Mary Ellis & Hannah Williams

1

Mary Ellis & Hannah Williams

Women & Modernism

Women’s Suffrage

February 15, 2008

Women’s Suffrage

Study Guide

Women’s suffrage, the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending the right to vote to women, has occurred in different places around the world across history. Most notable, is New Zealand, which in 1893 became the first nation to grant its citizens (including women) universal suffrage. The movement which had an important influence on the modernist literature of our studies was the American Women’s Suffrage Movement. Beginning in the early part of the nineteenth century, the American movement was a response to the marginalization that had plagued women for centuries. In the early nineteenth century, American women were not allowed to vote, to serve as jurors, to hold political offices, or even to attend college. Married women were restricted by coverture, a legal concept which dictated that a woman’s legal rights were subsumed by her husband. Married women had no legal control over their own personal property or the wages they earned. Women had no automatic right to the custody of their children at the death of their husbands, and even single women were expected to turn control over their legal affairs to their male relatives.

The catalyst for the beginning of the movement, however, was an element of women’s suppression: the denial of public voice to women. When male abolitionists did not allow the female delegates of the World Anti-Slavery Convention to take part in the proceedings of the 1840 meeting, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were so outraged that they vowed to hold the first convention on women’s rights. In July of 1848, Cady and Mott, along with several other women’s rights activists, held the first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York. Though it was hurriedly planned, the convention proved to be a great success. Nearly 300 people, forty of whom were men, attended the convention. By the end of the convention, one hundred signatures had been applied to Stanton’s Declaration of Rights, a series of twelve resolutions for the furtherment of women’s rights (including the right to vote). The reaction to the convention by the press, though less than pleasant and often ridiculing, did not dismay the convention’s leaders. Stanton viewed the publicity as “the first step of progress” in getting women and men to think about new questions regarding rights and privileges. Furthermore, the convention sparked the formation of new and annual conventions for women’s rights across the nation. The forerunners of this movement were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Both women were privileged enough to grow up in households where women’s expression and right to a good education were encouraged. Stanton’s father was a prominent judge and Anthony’s father was a respected Quaker, mill and factory owner. Both women excelled in their education and knew that they had to do something to enable more rights for women.

The Early Movement

The first few years of the movement consisted of women discussing ideas of what needed to be done. Some other key rights that women looked for were property rights, divorce laws, and higher education. The movement-at this stage-was without bylaws and headquarters until after the Civil War.

Civil War

During the Civil War, Anthony wanted to keep going, but others felt that persisting in the movement would seem irresponsible and unpatriotic. Other prominent leaders thought that they would be rewarded with the right to vote with the energy that they devoted to the war effort. Consequently, from 1861-1865, there were no women’s rights conventions. The women formed the Women’s National Loyal League which collected almost 4,000 signatures in support of the complete emancipation of slaves. Once the war ended, a draft of the 14th Amendment was forwarded to Stanton that specifically excluded women.

Two Approaches

The split was based on opposing social viewpoints. The National Women Suffrage Association was led by Stanton and Anthony. It opposed the passage of the 15th Amendment and it was the more revolutionary group. The American Women’s Suffrage Association was led by Lucy Stone. It focused mainly on women’s suffrage and broader women’s rights.

The Doldrums

The NWSA and AWSA joined in 1890 in response to the temperance movement. They formed the National American Women Suffrage Association. Between 1890 and 1910 the movement went through a stagnant period. In 1890, Anthony resigned from the presidency position of NAWSA. The main leaders aged and state referendums failed. New leaders like Carrie Chapman Catt and Anna Howard Shaw were not as effective.

The Militant Wing

English suffragettes inspired radical members of the American movement. They would disrupt government meetings, heckle legislators, stage street demonstrations, hold protests in front of Parliament and hand-cuff themselves to buildings. Harriot Stanton Blatch was Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s daughter. She was the first to import English tactics. Alice Paul and Lucy Burns formed the Congressional Union. This was a national group that concentrated on a federal suffrage amendment.

The 19th Amendment

The Congressional Union eventually merged into the National Women’s Party. It was led by Paul and Burns. On January 9, 1918, the support of federal suffrage amendment was granted by President Wilson. In 1919, both houses of Congress approved the measure and gave it to the states for ratification. On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment was signed into law. Millions of women voted for the first time. One elderly woman was in her nineties. Her name was Charlotte Woodward Pierce and she was the last remaining survivor of Seneca Falls.

Works Cited

Harper, E. Judith. “Not For Ourselves Alone: The Story of E.C.S. and S.B.A.” PBS Online. 11 Feb 2008.

“The History of Women’s Suffrage.” The History Channel Website. 11 Feb 2008.

Stalcup, Brenda. “A Brief History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement.” Women’s Suffrage.San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2000. 14-39.