Support like this was not uncommon. Women were demonstrating how useful they could become and by asserting their knowledge along with their feminine nature, they were showing men they could be a positive influence on society. As the effort grew, it became more organized and it gained momentum. In 1869, Lucy Stone helped establish the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), which worked for women's right to vote. The association became a powerful force behind the women's movement. Its main goal was to force individual states to grant women the right to vote to women. In 1890, the AWSA joined with the National Woman Suffrage Association, which Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton formed in 1869. The new organization was called the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and it held conventions, waged voting campaigns and distributed literature in support of women's voting rights.
The Equal Rights amendment was passed in 1972. This was the year that the government banned discrimination against women in federally assisted programs. Shirley Chisholm was the first African-American woman to run for president in this year as well. In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled abortion laws "except in narrowly defined circumstances, were unconstitutional" (White 48) and gave women the right to abort a child during first trimester. In 1981, Sandra Day O'Connor became the first women to be appointed to the Supreme Court. In 1998, the first Women's Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York, in honor of the 150-year anniversary of the women's movement. We often hear the journey of one thousand miles begins with a single step and we see this demonstrated throughout the history of the women's movement. Women now have the right to vote and they share most of the same opportunities as men. They are not seen as property and they are not held back because of their gender. In fact, many women will no doubt take their rights for granted to a certain extent simply they cannot fathom what it must have been like to live without them. Regardless, remarkable progress was made by women who knew they deserved more.
Progress is still being made. Women are achieving greater and greater things as a result of freedom and the right to pursue life,
The League of Women Voters is perhaps one of the most popular and powerful advocates not only for women but oppressed everywhere. This group carries on the belief that many of the pioneers for the women's movement held, which is that education is the key to establishing change and experiencing freedom. Whatever changes we remember or experience, perhaps one of the most compelling facts about the women's movement is the fact that it was heralded by intelligent women who knew that the only way to win their fight was to go into battle with their greatest weapon, logic. Because women are sometimes perceived as the fairer sex, they are also considered weaker and perhaps less educated. To combat this attitude, women everywhere needed to demonstrate they knew how to fight for their rights without becoming hysterical. Amelia Bloomer knew what she was doing when she used the Constitution to her advantage. She knew she was also revealing that women could read and debate. She was proving that women had enough sense and more to vote for what was happening in their communities.
Works Cited
Anthony, Susan B. "Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States 4 July 1876."
Rutgers University Online Database. 06 May, 2010. Web.
http://ecssba.rutgers.edu/docs/decl.html
Binder, Frederick. The Way We Lived D.C. Heath and Company. 1994. Print.
Bloomer, D.C. "Woman's Right to the Ballot." Life and Writings of Amelia Bloomer. City:
Publisher. 2009. Print.
Heinemann, Sue. Amazing Women in American History. New York: John Wiley and Sons, inc.
Publishers. 1998. Print.
Norton, Mary Beth, ed. A People and a Nation: Third Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Company. 1990. Print.
"Says Woman's Duty is to "Clean Up.'" The Rev. Dr. Grant Tells Federation Delegates No
Place Is Left for the Society Leader. New York Times (1857-1922). May 29, 1916. 07
May, 2010. ProQuest Online Database. http://www.proqust.com. Web.
White, James. Contemporary Moral Problems. New York: West Publishing Company. 1991.
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http://www.legacy98.org/timeline.html
