American Women Suffrage Movement - Essay Example

?American Women Suffrage Movement The 19th century saw a snowballing movement in terms of women's rights and equality. Formal organizations were created by various female leaders in an effort to present themselves as a legitimate political rights group in the eyes of the world. The battle for the women's suffrage movement was being fought on two battlefronts, the United States and England. However, the two countries were fighting for equal rights and the right to vote using highly different methods. The British version was controversial while the American version was more reserved and polite in terms of political action. But this paper is not about the British suffrage action, that was merely meant as a reference point. This paper will instead concentrate on the trials and tribulations that the pioneering feminist movement women of the United States of America had to endure in order to allow the average 21st century woman the power of equality of the sexes and the right to vote. Both are achievements that the modern day woman tend to take for granted and as such, deserve revisiting in order to remind the women of where these freedoms came from and at what cost to the early 20th century woman. The early to middle 20th century saw an era of rapid industrialization in the United States which resulted in more women joining the workforce. Originally, women were not give the right to representation in their place of work and during voting procedures because there was a belief that these women, most of whom were married, would be represented in the vote by their husbands. However, the continuous changes that were occurring in the factories, including the abuse of women in terms of labor practice, proved that the male vote could not protect the rights of women (Liazos, 128). This was the original cause that started the Women's Suffragette movement. It is important to note however that there was at the time, a sector of women that did not totally believe in the female cause of the era. It was the belief of the non suffragettes that; ... only one class of women wanted the vote and that the vast majority of women were content as they were. in fact, many immigrant women working for reform in labor did indeed “[view] women's suffrage irrelevant to basic political change , a mere plaything for the middle-classed, privileged woman. “ They felt that it was not as important as other social, industrial, educational, and moral progress (Liazos 126-127). One of the most notable names in the movement is that of Alice Paul who, raised in the Hicktite beliefs, always thought that equality of the sexes was something that was natural as their religious beliefs advocated that belief. Ms. Paul was born January 11, 1885 in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey to Quaker parents William and Tacie Paul. They were the first people who influenced the young Alice's belief in gender equality and the need to work for the betterment of society. The eldest of 4 siblings, Alice was the one who was most influenced by her mother's early association with the suffragette movement since the meetings for the cause were often held on Paulsdale, the family farm. Paul herself admitted to being exposed to the movement while in attendance at the family farm meetings with her mother. In fact, Alice often refers to her mother's advocacy and role in the movement when asked about why she had such a keen interest in seeing the desires of the movement become a reality, In a Time magazine article she was quoted as having credited “...her farm upbringing by quoting an adage she learned from her mother, "When you put your hand to the plow, you can't put it down until you get to the end of the row" (Carol, Myers, et. al. 1). Ms. Paul, having been raised within Quaker traditions explained that she had always been raised with a belief in equality of the sexes. It was, in her point of view, simply a normal part of Quaker life. In her best effort to explain the relation of her Quaker upbringing with her belief in the equality of the sexes, Ms. Paul made reference to the Quaker beliefs as: "When the Quakers were founded...one of their principles was and is equality of the sexes. So I never had any other idea...the principle was always there” (Carol, Myers, et. al. 3). This is the principle that most people believe explains why other Quaker raised women such as Susan B. Anthony and Lucretia Mott found themselves deeply involved in the suffragette movement as well. It is important to note however, that it was not until her trip to England that her exposure to the silent exposure to the suffragette movement began to come to the front. During her 1907 stay in England, Ms. Paul came across a crowd where a speaker, Christabel Pankhurts, the daughter of popular feminine activist Emmeline, was being jeered at by a large crowd. Making the acquaintance of the young woman, Alice found herself returning to America after having formally joined the movement. While in England, she personally took part in violent protests that included breaking windows, heckling, and rock throwing. These actions resulted in her arrest where, while in jail, she continued her protest via hunger strike. Her captors countered by force feeding her and her compatriots while incarcerated. In 1910, she returned to the United States quite hopeful that what she learned while participating directly in the suffrage movement in England would help revitalize and energize the stalled suffragette movement in her homeland. A member of the National American Women's Suffragette Association, she persuaded two friends in the cause -- Lucy Burns, and Crystal Eastmann to join her in Washington where they participated in an all female march on Pres. Wilson's inauguration day. It was a political practice that turned violent as the men attacked the women until they were stopped by military forces. The men spit on the women, jeered at them, stoned them, and hurled insults at them while they were marching. Yet these pioneering women soldiered on for their cause. The women, once again found themselves in jail but this time, with lot's of publicity in the newspapers that helped secure their release and publicize their cause (Carol, Myers, et. al. 4). These activities were but the tip of the iceberg when it came to innovative ideas that would eventually come to be identified with the cause of the suffragette movement. Having been raised in a democratic society that somehow allowed women to air their sentiments in public, women fought for their cause in a what was believed at that time to be the most logical manner by the leaders. Rather than staging angry protests that got them hauled off to jail or the insane asylums, they instead opted to go the diplomatic route. Calling attention to their cause as a political rather than a social issue and engaging their politicians in a debate whenever possible. According to Liazos (127), the suffragette movement executed their plans and calls to action with great temperance. The advocates for the cause even went as far as to go after the feminist cause using a 2 pronged system that called for both a state referendum on the cause of the woman's right to vote and a national referendum that would make it mandatory for states to recognize the woman's right to vote (Liazos 132). Lobbying and petitioning were never ending mainstays of the cause (“Tactics and Techniques of the National Woman's Party Suffrage Campaign”). The quest to get the question of the women's right to vote seemed to always get lost during the election season as the suffragettes came up against the highly debatable and socially charged topic of prohibition. With little knowledge of how to run a political campaign using the state referendum, the women did not have any pollwatchers at the precints during the vote count, which allowed the cause of prohibition to always win over the feminist cause (Liazos, 128). However, their silent and diplomatic method of protest did not seem to make a dent in their cause. Which is why it hit a dry spell which almost let the suffragette movement fade into the background as prohibition fast became a ballot vote issue due to political manipulation. When all else failed the The National Woman's Party or NWP decided that it was time to try something new in order to call attention to the suffragette cause. The organization added the following to their propaganda arsenal: The tactics used by the NWP to accomplish its goals were versatile and creative. Its leaders drew inspiration from a variety of sources–including the British suffrage campaign, American labor activism, and temperance, antislavery, and early women’s rights campaigns in the United States. Traditional lobbying and petitioning were a mainstay of party members. From the beginning, however, conventional politicking was supplemented by other more public actions–including parades, pageants, street speaking, demonstrations, and mass meetings. (“Tactics and Techniques Of the National Woman's Party Suffrage Campaign” 1). As students of history, we have to remember that the suffragette movement in America took place during a time when the American society was still steeped in the old ways that believed in the power of the male species over the female. As such, there was a belief that women belonged in only one place, the home, rather than the workplace where men did their jobs and brought home money to support their family. This was even as World War I was commencing and the female workforce were starting to become an integral part of the American society. Needless to say, the mere idea that women could actually do a man's job was something that the opposite sex found quite threatening and had a strong desire to quell in order to keep the women under control. Olivia Coolidge best summed up society's point of view on the issue of women's suffrage during its infancy stage; People just seemed to feel that with all the political corruption and other problems of the day, suffrage simply was not of paramount importance. Even the suffragists themselves seemed to believe that equal suffrage would just come on its own, without any hard work or effort on their part. It was just; therefore it would come. Clearly the movement lacked enthusiasm (qtd. in Liazos 126). That was the point of view that slowly came to change as the suffrage groups stepped up their game and became more aggressive in their campaign tactics. Later on, these women, whom we today herald as leaders of the feminist movement, were often times frowned upon by society. Men and women alike who believed that suffragettes were over stepping the bounds of social respect and decency got physical with them at times, causing traffic problems for which the protesters were often arrested in the guise of “obstructing traffic”. As far as the American society of the era was concerned, these women were a black mark on the way the world viewed America. On the verge of war, the people of the country believed that;“Americans should show a united front and patriotism. They felt that the suffragist's picketing was treasonous and and embarrassment to the country” (Liazos 135). In fact, there is a wide belief that President Woodrow Wilson only changed his stance to that of a suffrage supportive one after an intense amount of political pressure was exerted upon him by the suffragette parties National American Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) and the National Woman's Party (NWP) (Graham 665). Although the suffragette's movement left many of the men and women in society uncomfortable during that era, and the cause that the women fought for covered a span of seventy two years, their perseverance eventually paid off with the passing of the 19th amendment that allowed women in America the right to vote on August 26, 1920 (Carol, Myers, et. al. 4). The success of the women's suffragette movement in passing the 19th amendment or the women's right to vote was merely the tip of the iceberg when it came to the various causes that influenced the current freedoms and equal treatment that women receive across the United States today. Their methods of non-violent protest did not fade away with the cause. Rather, it continued to see use in other non-violent protests that demanded equal rights as well. Most famously resurrected by Martin Luther King in his advocacy for equal rights for African Americans, the statewide marches for equal gay rights, and other political and social causes has shown us that our country's human rights issues are steeped in the deep history of our land. It provides us with an insight into the timelessness of political protests and the fact that protest actions have not changed so much in the 21st century. Most recently, gay rights activists have been seeing great success in getting their state referendum issues regarding gay marriage recognized by ballot voting and / or political discussion. It is only a matter of time before a national law is passed regarding their issue. Without the women's suffragette movement in the United States, our country would not have been able to reach the pinnacles of success that it has achieved over the past century. This movement is what defined a whole generation of women for over seventy years. The success of this movement has afforded the so-called modern day woman the liberties that she now enjoys as an individual and the equality that she experiences but takes for granted each day that she reports for work as a financially independent woman. The freedom that women enjoy today is the result of the movement that gave rise to the voice of women in the 21st century. Without the tireless efforts of the members of the suffragette movement, women would still be voiceless and abused in their place of work and at home because the equality of sexes would never have existed. Works Cited Carol, Rebecca, Myers, Kristina, & Lindman, Janet. “Alice Paul: Feminist, Suffragist, and Political Strategist.”. alicepaul.org. alicepaul.org. n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. Graham, Sally Hunter. “Woodrow Wilson, Alice Paul, and the Woman Suffrage Movement”. Political Science Quarterly 98.4 (1983-84): 665-679. Print. Liazos, Ariane. “Women Suffrage: England's Influence on the American Movement”. The Concord Review. (1993). Print. “Tactics and Techniques of the National Woman's Party Suffrage Campaign”. American Memory . The Library of Congress. n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. Read More