Kristine Dang #9: The Women's Suffrage Movement
When I think of a group of individuals who fought tirelessly to gain the respect and opportunities they deserved, the first thing that comes to mind is the women’s suffrage movement. It took the movement “nearly 100 years” to gain their ultimate goal; the right to vote. Women such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and many others were extremely determined to accomplish this goal. To convince more men and women to support this cause, reformers traveled from state to state to make speeches and lectures for different audiences to educate them on why equal rights for all Americans was so important.
Not only did these reformers strive for equality for women, they also held much respect for African Americans which meant the two causes were often advocated alongside each other. Oftentimes, patrons that supported the women’s right movement also financed African Americans who strived for the right to vote as well. This did not last long, however, when women’s rights movements were becoming less popular whilst African American rights were growing in popularity. Nevertheless, advocates of the women’s rights movement progressed even as they struggled with financial stability and public popularity. It became harder for women’s rights advocates to maintain their newspaper companies or continue paying speakers to give speeches at lectures. Advocates of the movement were also repeatedly turned down by Congress when they proposed the amendment to allow women to vote, however, they continued to persist.
Eventually, one by one, states began to legalize the right for women to vote “starting in 1910” which gave relief to the women and men who spent long hours to achieve this long awaited goal. They changed the opinions of millions of Americans who, in previous years, picked fun at the thought of women being able to vote. Because of their efforts, women today are more commonly seen as equals to men rather than being inferior to them.
Hey Kristine, the woman’s suffrage movement is truly a phenomenal example of the power of voice and persistence. Although the movement had faced expected criticism and suppression in its beginnings, those women leading the cause did not prevail to such critics and persisted onwards. Keeping on with the determination of nonviolence demonstrations, they slowly converted the minds of the American public to support their much necessary cause. Like you said, finally a hundred years afterwards, the movement fulfilled their ambitious goal of women's suffrage, proving all those critics before them otherwise. They further proved to our world that in order to gain power, one does not necessarily need to turn to violent or economic procedures, and sometimes employing voice is even more effective than either of such strategies.
ReplyDeleteHey Kristine! Women’s suffrage and rights were always a struggle and it took a lot of persistence and hard work to achieve their goals. The discrimination against women at the time forced women to pursue their own power and let their own voices be heard. This meant pursuing their right to vote and voicing their opinions to be participating members of society. Their efforts have definitely paid off! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHey Kristine! Women’s suffrage is always an interesting topic because there's always something new to learn about their methods and sponsors. The fact that they allied with their fellow oppressed African Americans was new to me and really puts into perspective how new the idea of equality in America on the scale we see today is. Their persistence also shows the power of will and how the will of a few can change society as a whole.
ReplyDeleteHi Kristine, the struggle to advocate rights for women was such a pivotal change in history; however, it upsets me that many of the history textbooks we study in class do not go as in-depth with how impactful this stage was for so many. I remember in history class last year, my teacher often mentioned how the textbooks didn't do justice to the important societal and political roles women played throughout history. It is crucial to acknowledge the dedicated efforts that women put into achieving social equity.
ReplyDeleteHi Kristine! Thinking about the woman’s suffrage movement is always really inspiring. Even though they faced many hardships and discrimination, they fought until the end for their rights. Learning about the suffrage movement in history this year gave me a different perspective, and it was really interesting to think that there was also an extremist side to the movement as well. I actually didn’t know that the reformers also advocated for African American rights. Whenever new rights were mentioned in the past, they almost always excluded people of color. They truly believed in equality on a wider scale.
ReplyDeleteHi Kristine! The issue of women's suffrage has definitely been a long and tiresome battle for power. As you mentioned, the women's suffrage movement took almost 100 years to accomplish their goal and worked tirelessly, spreading their beliefs from state to state. I definitely did not know that it took such a long fight for women to finally earn the right to vote and it saddens me that many people in this movement did not live to see the day when women are finally allowed to vote. Similarly, the Civil Rights movement was also a battle for power from a group suppressed by our society. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWomen's Suffrage is an incredible sequence because the amount of force and numbers of people that had to rally behind this cause tirelessly is very admirable. These women worked for many years prior to the Niagara Movement and any of the conventions.
ReplyDeleteKristine, what a powerful and revolutionary movement to highlight. The women's suffrage movement is always a bittersweet movement to me. The fact that women had to fight for the basic right to vote is disappointing however the fight that they put up inspires me to preserve whenever faced with adversity. The power that holds even after 100% of their movement is prominent in society today. We see thousands to millions of women marching all across the world for equality in the workplace, pay, healthcare, and so many more. The power that the Women's suffrage movement had pushes and carries us on through the adversities women face in the modern world.
ReplyDeleteHi Kristene, this movement was super powerful and I am very thankful for it as it has directly affected the rights of so many women in our country. It's hard to believe that women's suffrage was achieved merely one hundred years ago. The amendment that granted women the right to vote was passed around 30 years after African American men were granted the right to vote, and that blows my mind. A lot of emphases was placed on African Americans not having right in the U.S., but it is often overlooked that white women also did not have many rights. The courage of the women who stood up and fought for their rights for over a century and the power they held is inspiring and changed our country for the better.
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