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In the 1830s, women did not have the legal right to own property, hold a bank account or vote. A woman was completely dependent on a man - often her father or her husband. However, by the 1840s, a group of women leaders began agitating for women rights. In this timeline, we will look at some particular actions that led to woman's suffrage in the US.
The picture represents Lucretia Coffin Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, key figures of this fight. -
The Seneca Falls Convention, also known as the Woman’s Rights Convention, was convened by 5 women, including Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, to raise awareness about social, civil and religious rights of women. More than 300 people gathered for the meeting, from July 19 to 20, 1848 at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls. The convention produced the Declaration of Sentiments, which demanded the right to vote and hold property. -
The Senate refused to officially approve woman's suffrage, because a powerful lobby pressured legislators, saying the law would be unconstitutional. Anti-suffragists argued that most women did not want the right to vote as their devotion to homes and families prevented them from keeping up to date on political issues. Some opponents even argued that women had no political expertise or lacked the mental capacity to have a political opinion. -
Alice Paul, an American feminist, was a key figure of the movement who organized many events like The Woman Suffrage Procession in 1913. In 1917, she was imprisoned for taking part in a silent protest in front of the White House. She suffered police brutality and physical abuse during the seven months she spent in the Washington jail. Lucy Braham and a few other suffragists protested for her freedom and denounced the “administrative terrorism” of which she was the victim. -
After fighting for decades, U.S. Representative James R. Mann, chairman of the House Suffrage Committee, proposed a resolution to approve the Susan Anthony Amendment for women's voting rights. Congress passed the 19th amendment on June 4, 1919. Following ratification n 1920, women were guaranteed the right to vote as the 19th Amendment was added to the Constitution. However, only white women obtained that right, since Black Americans were unable to vote. -