The Women's Movement in the United States - Essay Example

?The Women’s Movement in the United s Women’s movement in the United s was initially seen during the mid-19th century and its progression became persistent until the 1920s when women were finally granted the right to vote. At the time of the American Revolution, women were oppressed and they were mostly uneducated and suffered various financial burdens. They had little control over their lives and over their finances, mostly with their husbands or fathers controlling these matters for them. With various events in American history and with women taking the initiative to gain equal rights, eventually major changes in the lives of the women were seen. This paper shall describe and explain the women’s movement from 1848 to 1920, including the social and political events which eventually led to the 19th Amendment. Various major feminist groups fighting for women’s right to vote will also be discussed; a comparison of these groups would also be considered. A discussion on why the women’s movement faltered during the 1920s after women got the right to vote shall also be considered. This paper is being discussed in an attempt to establish a comprehensive discussion on women’s rights, including its highlights and how these highlights impacted on the current rights being enjoyed by women. Although major moves towards the establishment of women’s rights were first seen in 1948, previous actions to secure it were already being sought through smaller and minor activities and movements even before 1948 by women and different organizations. Angelina and Sarah Grimke are two of the women best known for their contribution to the establishment of women’s rights. They went through slavery and wrote various literature expressing their negative opinions about it. Angelina Grimke, in 1938, was the first woman to address the Massachusetts legislative body on the abolition of slavery; she also strongly expressed her desire for women’s equality and full citizenship. Other abolitionists also expressed their outrage against sexual discrimination and in 1848 they organized the first Woman’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls New York. In their Declaration of Sentiments, echoes of the Declaration of Independence were heard, pointing out that “all men and women are created equal” and therefore, they share the same inalienable rights – those of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Their declaration also expressed the need to change government policies, especially those which have traditionally been oppressive towards women. This Convention also supported various declarations, especially those which relate to legal and educational reforms which were not gender prejudiced. Finally, the convention also resolved that women had the right to secure their inherent right to vote. Their demands were immediately rejected and even scorned, especially by the religious leaders and other male leaders. Only few men expressed any form of support for women’s rights and sentiments. The women were however persistent in their objectives and they found allies in each other. Two of these close allies were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony whose persistence found their way to the pages of the book ‘History of Woman Suffrage.’ The American Civil War momentarily interrupted the women’s rights movement, however, the war was also able to secure one of the goals of the abolitionists – the abolition of slavery. As soon as the war ended, the women again persisted in the cries for equal opportunities and equal rights. They believed that since efforts were also being made to grant black men their votes, they too should be granted the same right to vote. These hopes would however be dashed as their persistence was apparently falling on deaf ears. They were continually being turned down and suppressed in their fight for equal rights. As a result, the women’s movement was split and became less effective in the years that would follow. In 1868, women’s rights to vote became even more endangered when the Fourteenth Amendment defined the voters as men. In other areas however, some progress was being made in gaining rights for women, including access to education. As a result, many women were now going to school, learning to read and write, and more importantly getting degrees. The first female physician was Elizabeth Blackwell and she was able to inspire others to also earn their degrees in professions which for a while have been dominated by men. Females also engaged in dress reforms, rejected prostitution, and called for better working conditions, as well as unionization. Most of the women were very much conservative about these issues, but the less cautious ones were active in angling the government for adequate attention. In 1871, Victoria Woodhull expressed her desire for an inalienable and natural right to free love; other women activists like Emma Goldman expressed their right to birth control. Charlotte Gilman also expressed her thoughts against female oppression and her book sought economic equality for women; she believed that economic equality was the main right which must be granted to women. In the midst of the slow start of women suffrage in the US, the rest of the world was gaining more progress in terms of women’s rights. The lack of women’s suffrage in the US was becoming a huge embarrassment for the country. With this pressure and the pressure from feminists, in 1920, the US Congress finally passed the 19th Amendment granting women’s right to vote. There are various feminist movements from 1870 to 1919. The Suffragists were one of the notable movements, mostly seeking to secure the right to vote for women. Initially, these Suffragists sought women’s right to suffrage because they believed that it was also their inherent right to vote. However, after the Civil War, they changed their reasoning. They now sought women’s right to vote because they believed that women were more noble and pure and therefore that these women could also purify the dirty traditions in politics. Another group of feminists were the social feminists. These feminists were in the same line of thinking with the suffragists in relation to women’s right to vote; however, these social feminists also sought other social reforms, aside from voting rights, to benefit women. Among the social feminists, the names Jane Addams and Florence Kelley gained strong repute for their efforts to secure these social reforms. Florence Kelley was among the first generation of women who was able to gain higher education, but as with her other women contemporaries, experienced much difficulty gaining employment for her knowledge and skills. She was also later able to gain a postgraduate degree in Law and eventually was appointed to head the National Consumers’ League, an organization which was seeking and campaigning for the rights of women and children. Other organizations for women were also lobbying for equal rights, including the Woman’s Trade Union League, the National Council of Jewish Women, and the National Council of Colored Women. Other feminists were less aggressive and more practical in their concerns, but regardless of their purposes and mission, they were all united in their cry for equal rights for women. Moreover, their goals were also not about gaining power over men, but in being able to stand as men’s equals in politics, economics, in social services, and in education. The radical feminists form another group of feminists which existed from 1870 to 1920. From their name alone, they are the more aggressive groups and they have indeed been more critical of American society, as well as its politics. One of their more prominent members was Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Gilman describes herself as a socialist and in 1898 she gained notice for her book ‘Women and Economics: The Economic Factor between Men and Women as a Factor in Social Evolution.’ This book strongly disagreed with the Victorian perception of women, but her strong opinions were severely radical for America at that time. She believed that the social context must be the determinant for men’s and women’s functions in society and that women should be freed from their homes in order to make their own contribution to society. These beliefs however were not shared by other feminists. Alice Paul is also another radical feminist. She established the Woman’s Party and in 1916 sought for the approval of the Equal Rights Amendment. The lobbying for the Equal Rights Amendment was however too aggressive and radical for other feminists and therefore many of them rejected its tenets. They felt that the ERA might also place protective legislation for women at risk. As a result, the lobbying for the ERA remained a minority movement. The three main feminist groups describes above basically had the same goals – equal rights for women. However, their orientation, their means, as well as their other goals and purposes were different. The Suffragists’ goals were bent towards gaining suffrage rights for women. All other goals and rights for women were not given much attention. The social feminists, on the other hand, were more inclusive in their goals and purposes. They sought to achieve voting as well as other rights to improve the lives of women. For the radical feminists, while their goals were similar to the social feminists, their means and methods in lobbying for these rights were more radical and aggressive. These methods were also not supported by other social feminists and Suffragists who preferred less radical options in securing women’s rights. Soon after the women’s right to vote was secured in 1920, feminism seemed to falter. Women’s right to vote was finally secured, however, various issues in its practice were soon apparent. For one, women did not vote as a group. They often voted differently in relation to candidates and social issues. In effect, there was no such thing as women’s vote. Women were also no longer bound by a common goal or purpose and worse, the younger women had little interest in securing reforms for their general betterment. Instead, they were more concerned about expressing their negative opinions against social conventions. In effect, these younger generations were busily exploring their new found liberties which did not have anything to do with social reforms, but had everything to do with smoking, drinking, removing their corsets, and being fashionably dressed. They were bent on enjoying sexual, social, and economic freedom, and were not much concerned about securing and protecting civil liberties or participating in social discussions. Under these circumstances, feminism seemed to reach a plateau in its development. Various developments in American history would soon reignite it, until then, feminism would remain static. The above discussion describes and discusses the development of feminism in America. From the very start, feminists went through significant difficulties in their struggle for equal rights, mostly from men in political and social power. These men did not believe that women deserved to have equal rights, and they also believed that these women did not have the mental prowess to be granted any political say-so. Persistent feminists however gained momentum as other countries eventually granted women their own rights and America stood as one of the few hold-outs. With much drive and persistence therefore, in 1920, women’s rights were finally granted. The years that followed this milestone however represented a time where feminism seemed to die down mostly due to the fact that the younger women were more concerned about exploring their liberties; as a result, their concerns for social issues were placed in the backburner. Nevertheless, the primary goal for feminism was achieved and this was a major milestone for women’s rights in America. Read More