Visions of Gender in Victorian America - Essay Example

American Women History American Women History Throughout history, women have always played an important part in the fight against discrimination and slavery. This was commonly referred to as ‘abolition’, a term that was popularly used in the 19th century among those who fought hard towards the end of the slavery institution and women were highly involved in the abolition movement in various ways. The presence of women in abolition activism was considered appalling by most individuals during this period (Smith- Rosenberg, 1986). This was not only because of the matter of slavery itself but because activism was not a ‘proper’ for women in society during this period. Women were aware of this fact and felt the need to fight for their rights since they identified with what the slaves were going through. This led to the emergence of a group of courageous women that argued to issues of a greater magnitude of social importance (Smith- Rosenberg, 1986). The history of the women’s movement in the 19th century has several probable origins. This essay discusses the emergence of the women’s rights movement from the abolition activism. During the 19th century, women played an inferior role in society. They played a minimal role in the political, social and economic spheres and were expected to live according to the rules and regulations dictated upon them by men (Storer n. d.). They were expected to perform their duties and responsibilities as diligent mothers and wives, marry and raise families. Owing to the fact that the society was male dominated, women did not have the legal rights to vote, vie for office or own property (Fuller, n. d.). This clearly shows that the women were no better than the slaves and there was need for the establishment of a strong women rights movement to fight against this inequality in society. In the 18th century, women were free to vote in various American colonies. However, the constitution was amended in 1776 abolishing the women’s right to vote. In 1830s thousands of women were involved in the abolition activism. Their contribution in the movement was immense as they wrote articles for abolition campaigns, distributed abolition pamphlets and delivered petitions proposing the prohibition of slavery. Some women even became well-known leaders in abolition activism. Sarah Moore Grimke and Angelina Grimke became prominent for making important speeches against slavery (Smith- Rosenberg, 1986). The clergymen began to condemn them an as a result the Grimke sisters started fighting for women’s rights in society. In other words, the early leaders in the women rights movement started fighting for social justice with the aim of ending slavery. However, later they shifted their attention towards fighting for issues affecting women during this period. Women that were actively involved in the abolition movement became increasingly interested in the advocating for women’s rights for a number of reasons. They had come to the bitter realization that most of their male counterparts that were involved in the fight against slavery were opposed to women taking any active role or speaking parts in abolition activism. They constantly faced discrimination from the women within the movement and this resulted into politicization of the matter of women’s rights (Smith- Rosenberg, 1986). Furthermore, the women that were working towards the abolition of slavery began to make out some major similarities between what they were going through and that of the enslaved blacks. Later in 1840 during the World Anti- Slavery Convention in London prominent abolition activists Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady were refused to take a seat on the floor simply because they were women (Smith- Rosenberg, 1986). This drew out attention from women across the abolition movement. This was when Mott and Shanton resolved to hold the first convention addressing women’s rights. Eight years later, the Senaca Falls Convention was held in New York where the Declaration of Sentiments was drafted. This document called for the address of a wide range of issues most importantly being women’s rights to vote, right to education and equal treatment in the eyes of law (Fuller, n. d.). The convention was attended by three hundred individuals whose main agenda was to speak for the support of the women’s right to vote. The Convention went on for a period of two days debate, sixty eight women and thirty two men signed the document. The Convention believed that other the women’s rights could be achieved after the women’s right to vote had been achieved (Smith- Rosenberg, 1986). In the following decade, the women’s right movement worked tirelessly through various conventions that undertook efforts to promote the women’s rights to own property and secure other rights. Following the Seneca Convention, the women’s rights movement experienced a couple of divisive issues in their movement. Activists stated that men and women were equal in the eyes of God and therefore ought to be equal in all other sectors (Smith- Rosenberg, 1986). There were philosophical differences in the women’s rights movement and also they differed on the mode of strategy to be employed. The women temporarily took a break during the Civil War however, at the start of 1863, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Shanton mobilized women that were in support of the 13th Amendment that led to the abolition of slavery. After the Civil War ended in 1865, two new important amendments were proposed (Smith- Rosenberg, 1986). These were the 14th and 15th Amendments that were meant to transform the voting rights in the Country. However, the two amendments did not take the issue on women’s voting rights into account. The most disruptive issue that faced the women movement in the 19th century came up during the reconstruction of the nation. This was when the country was reflecting over the constitutional changes that could give voting rights to freed slaves. These constitution changes did not only create discord within the women’s movement but also destroyed the relationship between women’s rights activists. Abolition activist were thrilled by the passage of the 14th amendment as it promised to give a new definition to the rights of the freed slaves (Storer n. d.). On the other hand, women activists were opposed and disappointed by this amendment as it failed to include women’s rights. Additionally, vocal abolitionist activists including Wendell Philips and Fredrick Douglas failed to fight for women’s right stating that it was time to fight for the slaves (Smith- Rosenberg, 1986). This was owing to the fact that they feared inclusion of the women’s rights agenda in the activism would lead to an increased level of opposition against the proposed amendments. Nevertheless, the male abolitionists felt that the fourteenth amendment has sidelined female abolitionists and left them feeling betrayed and abandoned. At a later stage, the ratification of the 14th amendment was more disappointing to women rights activists and male abolitionists. The Southerners implemented regulations that prohibited black men from voting while women’s rights activists were disappointed by the fact that women remained left out by the 14th amendment. Republicans introduced the 15th amendment that prohibited any states from denying any citizens their rights to vote based on their former status of servitude, race or color. However, female activists were enraged as ‘sex’ was excluded from the amendment (Smith- Rosenberg, 1986). This led to divisions among the women’s rights activists. Women had taken a stand to fight for their rights in society; there are those that refused to pay takes by stating that they did not receive any representation from the legislature. Other women’s rights activists emerged from different parts of the country to support the fight for the women’s right to vote. These include the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) and the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) were launched in a move to facilitate suffrage. Both organizations worked tirelessly for women’s rights to vote although their efforts did not pay off as their successes were minimal (Fuller, n. d.). Many black women supported the course by these two organizations including Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman. They further added that it was about time for the universal acceptance of women’s voting rights. Later in 1874, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was established and became the most powerful women’s rights movement in the country. In 1890, the disagreement between the factions had ended and women had gained their right to vote in four different states including Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado (Smith-Rosenberg, 1986). An important issue that followed abolition and the women rights movement was education reforms. Women played a larger role in the education sectors as they played an important role as teachers. However, they worked under male superintendents and principals. Although significant steps had been achieved in the education sector, women felt that they could do more and proceed to pursue higher education (Smith- Rosenberg, 1986). In the second half of the nineteenth century, most institutions had opened their doors to female students and this played an important role towards the development of the women’s rights movement. Women’s involvement in the abolition movement led to the establishment of the women’s rights movement in the 19th century (Smith- Rosenberg, 1986). The women had acquired the necessary skills to organize a vibrant reform movement that could get the attention of the government and the masses. Women who played a key role in the abolition movement had learnt important lessons about activism and how to get attention to legislation issues affecting women. Most of the female abolitionists became leaders in the 19th century women’s movement. The 19th century also saw the politicization of the issue of abortion in the US. Legalization of abortion became a widely discussed topic in the social and political spheres (Storer, n. d.). This issue coincided with the emergence of the feminist movement in the US (Smith- Rosenberg, 1986). This period saw the establishment of the American Medical association that worked in collaboration with the Catholic Church to illegalize abortion for the first time. Abortion was illegalized and stiff penalties were established to deter it. In summary, the above discussion clearly shows the reasons behind the emergence of the women rights movement from abolition activism. The 19th century was characterized by a well established fight against slavery in the US. This attracted attention from various activists including women that were determined to end slavery and give all individuals equal rights to vote. However, the women that took part in abolition activism were viewed to be out of line by the clergy and members of society. Secondly, the women were discriminated against in the abolition activism. This led to the emergence of the women’s movement in the 19th century. Women had realized that they were no different as the law treated them as slaves. They did not have the right to vote or own property. It can therefore be concluded that abolition led to the emergence of the women’s rights movement. References Fuller, M. (n. d.). The great lawsuit: Man versus Men. Woman versus Women. Retrieved from http://transcendentalism-legacy.tamu.edu/authors/fuller/debate.html Smith- Rosenberg, C. (1986). Disorderly conduct: Visions of gender in Victorian America. Oxford University Press. Storer, H. R. (n. d). Criminal abortion. Read More