The Women Behind the Vote
1920 is a famous year in American History. It was the first year in which all women were allowed to exercise their right to vote. It was a 100 year fight that the women finally won. In the beginning, around 1820-1830, many reform groups were being created where women were able to voice their opinion. One of the first largest movements was the Seneca Falls Convention in New York in 1848. After the Civil War ended and many amendments were added to the Constitution such as giving black men the right to vote, women across America were enraged. Near the end of the 19th century, 2 groups called the National Women Suffrage Association and the American Women Suffrage Association were combined making the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Through activist movement, protests, hunger strikes, and more, women were finally granted the right to vote on August 18, 1920 when the 19th Amendment in the Constitution was ratified. But who was behind this entire movement?
Some of the most famous women associated with the Women's Suffrage movements are Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, and Ida B. Wells. Susan B. Anthony was born to a Quaker family and became a teacher before becoming a famous activist and leader of the NAWSA. In the 1850's, Anthony started campaigning for women's rights and against slavery. She was a firm believer that no right should granted unless it is granted to both men and women. Susan B. Anthony actually worked with Elizabeth Stanton and established the Women's New York State Temperance Society, the New York State Women's Rights Committee, and the American Equal Rights Association in 1866. Susan B. Anthony passed away before she was able to legally vote but is remembered as one the most famous women's suffrage activists.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a famous activist who worked with Anthony. She was born in New York in the early 1800's. She was exposed to the inequality between men and women when she was turned away from an abolitionist convention for being female. Stanton then joined the suffrage movement and worked with other activists and helped organize the Seneca Falls Convention in New York. Stanton voiced her opinion that laws for marriage and divorce should be reformed, women should have more access to education, and there should be less restrictions on clothing. Elizabeth Cady Stanton also passed away before the ratification of the 19th Amendment but is a famous women's suffrage figure in history.
Alice Paul is another important figure and is known for leading the "militant wing" of the suffrage movement. Paul was born to a Quaker family in New Jersey and got her feet into the movement quickly. After 2 years with the NAWSA, she helped co-found the Congressional Union and eventually founded the National Women's Party. Paul endured the pain of imprisonment, hunger strikes, and force feedings to gain publicity for the movement. Alice Paul was a huge driving force in ratifying the 19th Amendment.
Lucy Stone is another famous women's suffrage activist and abolitionist. She was a rebel at an early age by going to college against her parents' wishes. In 1847 she actually became the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a Bachelor's degree. Stone started working with the American Anti-Slavery Society which led her to her passion for public speaking. Later in 1868 she cofounded the State Women's Suffrage Association of New Jersey and eventually became the president of the organization. One thing Stone is famous for is refusing to take her husband's last name after getting married. Lucy Stone was an incredible activist who portrayed equal rights in her own life as well as her work.
Lastly, Ida B. Wells was a woman born into slavery but freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. Wells and her family faced lots of discrimination and prejudice in their lives but they rose above it. Wells' father was on the board of trustees at a university and this is where she received early schooling. She soon began writing for news paper about race issues and politics in the South. Ida Wells launched a crusade for anti-lynching laws and worked to expose the harsh life as an African American in the South. She fought hard for her cause until she died in 1931. These 5 brave and courageous women helped America get to where we are today. Although we still have a lot more to do, we must remember the women who started this cause.
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