Evolution Of The Women Rights In The United States - Term Paper Example

Evolution Of The Women Rights In The United States I. Introduction The year 1848 is one of the most volatile years in the history of the United States and it ushered numerous changes that shaped the lives of the people beyond that era. During this period, society underwent several significant changes in terms of rights and privileges in the different sectors that forever changed the lives of men and women in the country. A number of events occurred during this year which leads to changes in the economic, political and social roles of women. Women leaders who advocated for changes during this period have varying perceptions of what changes should be made in the laws governing the land and how these should affect men and women, black or white. One of the most prominent social activists of that era was Elizabeth Cady Stanton who was one of the people who started the social revolution for women’s rights at the Seneca Falls Convention in New York in 1848 (McMillen, 2008). Together with other social activists at that time, Stanton organized the movement to champion women’s rights and rights to vote. The movement initiated by these groups of activists made a lasting change in the American system and gave women more rights and protection under the law to allow them to enjoy more freedom. II. Strengths and Weakness of Using the Woman’s Story as the Main Source of the Paper Using the story of a person to describe the changing roles of women over a certain period can be a double edge sword. Writing a bibliography entails a lot more than just interviewing the person who life you want to write about. Note that a bibliography is the account of the life and the societal events that affected the life of the subject so it is very important to get the facts right from the start to get a more accurate picture of what really transpired during the lifetime of the subject. As it is, there are pros and cons when it comes to using the story of the subject as the main source of information for writing the paper. The advantages of using the story of the subject as the main source of information is that it lends character to the paper and it gives a more poignant human interest angle. You see, when you interview the subject, that person gives her or his account of the events that happen according to his or her understanding. By using the story of the subject as the focal point of the paper will allow you to get another perspective of what really happened during that time and how the people involved in the events that transpired during that period reacted to these events. For instance, since the subject is close to Mrs. Stanton, he or she would have the privilege of knowing what really transpired behind the close door meetings and what concessions were negotiated by the advocated for change to achieve what they wanted. Note that 1848 is a politically trying time and although there were several people who favor the movement of the women, there were also a lot of people who look upon it with disfavor. As a person close to Mrs. Stanton, the subject may be a privy to some of the negotiations and may have some inside information as to what were the favors extended on both sides of the negotiating table to reach a settlement. The information that the subject can provide is very important to help readers understand this period better. Moreover, the personal experiences and accounts given by the subject about the people involved in these significant events lend more depth in the character of these people and make them more human in the eyes of the reader. By looking at the events of 1948 through the eyes of the subject, one can understand better the struggles and triumphs of women leaders at that time. On the other hand, while relying on the story of the subject to shape the bibliography may lend the paper more humane tone, it also has the tendency to skew the views presented in the paper in favor of one person or group of persons. You see, the subject in this case is close to Mrs. Stanton so he or she may have some personal biases for or against some people that the lady activists associated with. The personal perceptions of the subject regarding these people may color her judgement and may prevent her from telling the story as it really happened. Once the subject allows his or her biases to cloud his or her judgment, the integrity of the paper may be compromised. Moreover, the subject may not be able to remember dates and names of persons and places so if we rely solely on the account of the subject, we may not be able to present a factual paper. To illustrate our point, let us take a look at the events that transpired during this period including the political changes in terms of the right to vote, the economic changes in terms of property ownership and social changes in terms of child custody. These areas of concerns were some of the most controversial issues that women had to fight for at that time and played vital roles in the changing the roles of women in society. III. The Right To Vote The biggest political gain that women achieved in 1848 was the endorsement and inclusion universal suffrage in the Liberal Party’s platform (McMillen, 2008; Baker, 2005). Although it was not until 1928 when the Representation of the People Act of 1928 was passed that women were actually given the right to vote on the same terms as men, the movement to allow women to vote actually gained traction when the Liberal Party to include the women’s suffrage in their political agenda during their party convention held in Buffalo, New York in June 14-15, 1948 (Baker, 2002). According to the Liberal Party’s platform, the right of suffrage should be “allowed to extend beyond one of the sexes” and in so doing, cemented its support to allow women to vote and stand in equal footing with their male counterpart in the political arena (Wellman, 2004). The landmark political platform approved during the Liberal party convention is one of the key factors that ushered the political changes in the country. Yes, it took sometime before women were actually allowed to vote but after the initial moves to give women concrete political rights, several changes have occurred in the political arena. For instance, in the last 200 years, several women have not only voted but also held key public offices in the country. In fact, in 2008 United States presidential election, Hilary Clinton challenged President Barrack Obama at the Democrat’s primary for the presidency. Mrs. Clinton may not have won the party nomination to run as president but she eventually became the Secretary of State and served as the emissary of the American people to the world. If the women lead by Mrs. Stanton did not push for the right of women to vote way back in 1848, the political scenario of the country would have been very different from what it has been in the last 200 years. IV. Economic changes and Property Rights The right to vote was not the only right that Stanton and her fellow activists championed in 1948. In fact, the female activists at that time also championed a number of agenda including the right of women to own properties. The women at that time scored a significant victory when the New York State Assembly finally passed the Married Woman’s Property Act of 1848 allowing women to retain ownership of the properties they brought along with them when they got married as well as to acquire and own properties bought by their estate after they got married (Wellman, 2004). The Married Woman’s Property Act of 1848 also protected the properties of married women against being seized and used to pay the debts of their husbands. Weeks after the state of New York passed the act allowing married women to own properties, the state of Pennsylvania also passed a law to that effect and in the succeeding years, all of the states in the country passed similar laws giving women the right to own properties after marriage. Two hundred years after the women lobbied for the right to own properties, women in the United States still enjoy the freedom and the protection of the law in terms of property ownership and acquisition. V. Custody Rights The right to have custody of their own children was one of the big issues that women had to fight for in 1848. According to the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention Declaration of Rights and Sentiments, the laws of divorce of the United States gave too much power to the men and thereby inequitable giving men the upper hand when it comes to the custody of the children in the even of a divorce. Note that during that time, there was no clear guideline as to how to determine the issues involving custody battles and since the courts themselves were very patriarchal at that time, men were inadvertently given priority when it comes to the custody of the children. Women activists at that time struggled to gain more favorable grounds when it comes to child custody by relying on the words of the Declaration of Independence which affords women equal protection under the law. Although women did not really get a more favored status when it comes to child custody, the best interest of the child doctrine eventually made it through the legal system and became the barometer as to who should have custody of the children in case of a divorce. Also, the tender years doctrine established in the landmark case of People ex rel. Sinclair v. Sinclair provides that during the early years of the child, the mother should be given priority in custody cases as she has the natural nurturing gift to care for infants. At this point, where the wife proves to be a responsible person who is capable of giving the kind of care that the infant needs, the court will generally give her custody of the baby. VI. Conclusion The year 1948 was filled with complex and important events that need to be told from an unbiased point of view. Given the advantages and disadvantages of using the story of the subject as the main source for our paper, it is best to consider using several sources to write the bibliography. The story of the subject may serve as the backbone of the paper but significant events mentioned by the subject need to be researched independently and facts given by the subject must be verified in order to preserve the integrity of the paper. References: Baker, Jean H. Sisters: The Lives of America’s Suffragists Hill and Wang, New York, 2005. Baker, Jean H. Votes for Women: The Struggle for Suffrage Revisited Oxford University Press, 2002. Mani, Bonnie G. Women, Power, and Political Change, Lexington Books, 2007 McMillen, Sally Gregory. Seneca Falls and the origins of the Women’s Rights Movement. Oxford University Press, 2008. Wellman, Judith. The Road to Seneca Falls, University of Illinois Press, 2004. Read More