The Struggle for the Vote was one Aspect of Womens Movement - Essay Example

THE STRUGGLE FOR THE VOTE WAS ONE ASPECT OF WOMEN’S MOVEMENT The Struggle for the Vote was one Aspect of Women’s Movement The Struggle for the Vote was one Aspect of Women’s Movement Introduction The women’s or feminist’s movement is a series of campaigns that were conducted in order to realise some changes in areas such as domestic violence, reproductive rights, equal pay, and women’s suffrage among others (Antrobus 2004, pp. 80-82).1 The movement began in the 19th century and underwent three major waves, whereby, the first one entailed political equality and suffrage. The suffrage movement was concerned with the right of women to stand for the national electoral office positions and to vote. This is because most of the women from regions such as Finland, Sweden, and western US had limited voting rights that era (Marsico 2010, pp. 9-10).2 Therefore, this paper aims at giving more insights to the issue of feminist’s group, revealing some of the challenges and effects of the movement with regard to the inclusion of women in voting. Discussion Globally, one of the most outstanding developments was the feminist’s movement whereby women came collectively to demand for their rights. Different leaders, failures, and successes helped in shaping the history of the movement. Before its commencement, women were not perceived to be equal to men. As a result, they were denied the right to vote as well as hold political positions and most of the citizens thought it was natural to exclude them from top positions. However, during the 19th century, there were major changes and most of the scholars such as Mary Wollstonecraft decided to publish books with regard to the rights of women and their involvement in the economic, political, and social realms (Weider History Network 2013).3 It has been widely agreed that women are their own enemies and this is factual considering that though most of them came together to demand for their right, it is astonishing to note that some thought the idea of suffrage was completely outrageous and unnecessary. Therefore, although the struggle for women to vote was one of the main aspects that were included in the movement, it was challenging since there was internal resistance from the same people that the movement was meant to help. Most of the women felt that their inclusion in voting was a way of cancelling the votes of the non-white or lower class men (Bashevkin 2013, pp. 30-31).4 For that reason, in order to understand the reasons behind this movement and their struggle to have women included in the political domain, it is essential to comprehend the dynamics of the suffrage movement and its main aims. The suffrage era encompassed both men and women who had different perspectives. There were those who sought to make significant changes constitutionally, such as those that were led by Emmeline Pankhurst, who was a political activist. Others focused on the role of women in the society, whereby some felt that women were generally gentler and kind; hence, were viewed as weaker vessels (Office of Historian 2014).5 It is for this reason that they felt the need for women to be included in politics, mostly in voting as it was assumed that female voters would have an affirmative effect on politics and would come up with strategies to control negative social evils such as alcoholism (Schuyler 2008, pp.46-47).6 This was a rational notion and shows that the movement was beneficial in empowering women. This can be supported by the fact that although societies believed that the place of women was at home, it was only fair that they be included in influencing laws that affected their families. There was also another category of campaigners who agreed that both men and women were supposed to be equal and there was nothing as the ‘natural role’ of women (Banaszak 2006, pp.6-8).7 The problem with this view is that the majority of women believed that their place was at home with their husbands and children; hence, changing their mindset would have proven to be difficult. On the same note, claiming that there is nothing like the innate role of a woman is far-fetched since there are some chores that suit women well and are widely considered as women’s work. For instance, in most societies, cooking, breastfeeding a child, and doing other household chores is often considered as the role of a woman, irrespective of their educational or economic background (Rosen 2013, pp. 1960-1961).8 In order to recognize the main goals and objectives of the feminist’s movement, it is important to understand how women were initially viewed. In the 1960s, women in the US were denied various rights such as that to vote, hold high positions in the workplace, and be elected in government positions. They were supposed to follow a single path in which they were to marry in their early 20s, start their families, and devote their entire life making their husbands and children happy. Consequently, they spent a significant amount of time on domestic chores and had not right to own their husband’s property. Even in cases whereby the marriage did not work, divorce was always had to obtain since men wanted to control their wives (Mountjoy & McNeese 2007, pp. 21-22).9 Approximately 38% of the women who worked during that period were subjected to jobs such as being a teacher, secretary or nurse whereby they were paid meagre salaries. Subsequently, in 1962, journalists such as Betty Friedman wrote a book on the mystique of women, capturing their frustrations, despair and the feeling of being unfulfilled and trapped (Sherman 2002, pp. 92-94).10 According to Schomp (2007, pp.97-98), although Friedman’s work was mostly focused on the educated, white upper class women11, her work was influential and contributed largely to the passage of the 19th amendment where women were given the right to vote. It is undoubtedly that the struggle for the inclusion of women in voting and holding political positions were major aspects in the movement. The movement also aimed at dismantling inequality in the workplace such as denial of women to have better jobs and earn higher income. It was more focused on ending gender discrimination, claiming that women’s inequality in spheres such as politics or employment had grave ramifications to their personal life (Wallace 2014, p.99).12 This is factual considering that the failure of women to make decisions would affect their sexuality, relationships, and their views on issues such as abortion, clothing, childcare, and birth control among others. There are various factors that led to the success of the movement and more so the inclusion of women in the voting process. Largely, it is agreed that there was a favourable civic environment, which was rooted in the societal and economic changes that were observed. After the Second World War, the American economy outpaced the workforce; hence, made it necessary for more women to fill the available job openings and participate in decision making (Adams 2003, pp. 6-8).13 On the same note, since there was a need for people to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle, having incomes from both the husband and the wife became critical; thus, women were forced to participate more in the building of the nation. The female leaders were also encouraged by the Civil Rights Movement and most of them gained civic experience (Howard & Tarrant 2007, pp.136-137).14 In that case, for women to be included in voting and to have other rights, it is apparent that there was need for people to collaborate and ensure an affirmative holistic environment. The right to vote among women came with major challenges and the movement had to use different means in order to strive for justice and equality. The feminist leaders used strategies such as lobbying the congress to make legal reforms, publicizing critical issues such as domestic violence through the mainstream media, and reaching out to women to raise awareness on how the movement could assist them. They also gained the right through conventional channels such as petitions and testimonies before the legislatures as well as the congress. When the aforementioned strategies seemed futile, women engaged in public and innovative forms of protest (Crawford 2003, pp. 700-701).15 Major challenges were observed in the quest for equality such as disagreements, regarding strategy that crippled the women’s movement and there was poor communication on the importance of Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). As a result, the public failed to see the affirmative impacts that came with the inclusion of women in voting and other sectors. Failure to communicate had major grave effects since the critics alleged that the ERA was a plot to taint the foundation of the US. Opponents such as Phyllis Schlafly argued that there was no discrimination against women (Bolt 2014, pp. 241-244).16 Such criticism was far-fetched and illogical since it is clear that women were looked down upon; thus, were given lower positions and were not included in making political decisions. The women’s movement had various effects since by the year 1920; women were accorded the right to vote. It took reformers and activists almost 100 years to gain the right. For that to happen, there were local and national efforts by the National Woman’s Party (NWP) and the National American Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Nevertheless, it is disheartening that the movement succumbed to internal divisions and even with the passing of the 19th Amendment, some women failed to vote. For instance, in Illinois, only 40% of the women came out to vote with their male counterparts being as many as 70% (Ryan 2013, pp.35-36).17 It is then sound to ague that to most activists, the achievement of voting or suffrage reflected on the loss of the rallying symbol and the notion that perhaps their feminist presumptions, regarding the superiority of women were mere fallacy. Although the movement faced major challenges, most of them being within, it is irrational to argue that there it were not beneficial. After the suffrage movement, women have gained prominence in various positions. For example, in the year 2009, women occupied 90 of the 535 seats that were available in the American congress. There were seventy-three women who were working in the House of Representatives and three of them served as delegates. Today, women have a right to vote freely and be voted in political positions. For example, Nancy Pelosi was the first woman to be voted the position of the speaker. In that case, the struggle for the vote with regard to women’s movement was successful and led to increased education among women, social justice, increased rate of working class wives, and a positive culture of modernism where women enjoy similar rights to that of men (Ford 2010, pp. 132-133).18 Conclusion In conclusion, it is undoubtedly that struggle for the vote was one of the major aspects that characterised the feminist’s movement. It aimed at ensuring equality and making sure that women were elected in political positions as well as being included in the voting process. Before the passing of the 19th amendment, there were major challenges with the movement such as poor communication, which led to questioning on the need to have women perceived differently. However, with major efforts from local and national entities, women were accorded the right to vote and hold high positions. As a result, there was increased ate of literate women and social justice. It is sound to conclude that the suffrage campaign was indeed a success tale though the struggle still continues as equality for all is still a distant dream. It is also unfortunate that even with the struggle, some women hardly vote or try to gain political seats since they are blurred by the conservative notion that their place is in the house. Reference List/ Bibliography Adams, C, 2003, Women’s Suffrage: A Primary Source History of the Women’s Rights Movement in America, New York, NY: Rosen Publishing Group. Antrobus, P, the Global Women’s Movement: Issues and Strategies for the New Century, London, UK: Zed Books. Banaszak, L, 2006, the U.S. Women’s Movement in Global Perspective, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. Bashevkin, S, 2013, Women and Politics in Western, London, UK: Rutledge. Bolt, C, 2014, the Women’s Movements in the United States and Britain from the 1790s to the 1920s, London, UK: Rutledge. Crawford, E, 2003, the Women’s Suffrage Movement: a Reference Guide 1866-1928, London, UK: Rutledge. Ford, L, 2010 Women and Politics: the Pursuit of Equality, Kentucky, KY: Cengage Learning. Howard, A & Tarrant, S, 2007, Reaction to the Modern Women’s Movement, 1963 to the Present, Volume 3, New York, NY: Taylor & Francis. Office of the Historian, 2014, the Women’s Rights Movement, 1848-1920, [Online] Available at[viewed 30th Jan 2015] Marsico, K, 2010, Women’s Right to Vote: America’s Suffrage Movement, Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish. Mountjoy, S & McNeese, T, 2007, the Women’s Rights Movement: Moving toward Equality, New York: Infobase Publishing. Rosen, R, 2013, the World Split Open: how the Modern Women’s Movement Changed America, New York, NY: Tantor eBooks. Ryan, B, 2013, Feminism and the Women’s Movement: Dynamics of Change in Social Movement Ideology and Activism, London, UK: Rutledge. Schomp, V, 2007, American Voices from the Women’s Movement, Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish. Schuyler, L, 2008, Weight of their Votes: Southern Women and Political Leverage in the 1920s, North Carolina: the University of North Carolina Press. Sherman, J, 2002, Interviews with Betty Friedman, Mississippi: University of Mississippi, Wallace, D, 2014, Human Rights and Business: A policy-Oriented Perspective, Leiden, Boston: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers Weider History Network, 2013, Women’s Suffrage Movement, [Online] Available at < http://www.historynet.com/womens-suffrage-movement>[viewed 30th Jan 2015] Read More