Women's Suffrage Paves the Way: A Pictorial History
About by Amanda B.
Modern day "feminism" began as early as the 1700's with the publication of Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Right of Woman in 1792. A middle-class white woman from England, Wollstonecraft made one of the first appeals to the male dominated society for greater female empowerment. She criticized the "artificial weakness" and trivial emphasis on being "intoxicatingly alluring" that had been taught to young girls and upheld once married (Wollstonecraft). Instead, Wollstonecraft suggested, women needed to be educated and brought up to be "strong and useful" and to not fear being "masculine and respectable" (Wollstonecraft). Her work has gone down in history as a pivotal step to the modern feminist cause. The feminist movement further picked up steam in the mid 1800's with the Seneca Falls Convention in the summer of 1848. Lead by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the convention was a response to the negligence in female political power despite the increasing importance of women in the workforce (factories, shops, etc.). At the convention, the women drafted a "Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions," modeling the Declaration of Independence that emphasized the "inalienable" rights that, at that point in time, only half of the population enjoyed. The convention was another important leap forward toward gender equality in the United States. Women's fight for voting rights began in the late 1800's and culminated in the early twentieth century. "Suffrage", as it was dubbed, was denied to both black and white women around the world, and as the movement took off in England, the women of the United States, under the leadership of the National Women's Party (NWP) and the National American Women's Suffrage Association (NAWSA) began to voice their concerns toward the lack of female political power. While, like other civil right campaigns, leadership was divided (militant vs. passive), women were aggressive enough in pressuring President Wilson, that the the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on August 18th, 1920, finally granting the female sex the right to cast their ballots.
Inez Millholland, a suffragist rides into the battle for the vote for women during the Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913, and leads her fellow protesters towards awareness and equality.
"The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward women."
-Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions
Right before the ratification of the 19th Amendment, only 18 states had given women the complete right to vote.
The suffrage movement starts to reach the nation as the Western states begin to give women the vote. This feminist enlightenment is shown here spreading as women band together in the name of full citizenship and equality.
The women's suffrage movement crushes opposition in the fight for equal rights across the nation, and paves the way for future feminist impact.
Suffragists endure harsh conditions as they protest outside the White House. They hold up banners proudly displaying the tricolor (white, purple, and gold) suffragist banners and additional banners quoting president Wilson himself.