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Seneca Falls
In 1848 there was a convention in Seneca Falls, New York that was convened to protest the mistreatment of women in social, political, and religious life. A Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions based on the Declaration of Independence was presented by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. This document demanded that women be granted all the rights and privileges that men had, including the vote, because at this time married women lost their separateness in the eyes of the law. -
National Women’s Suffrage Association
The National Women’s Suffrage Association was born out of the shock and bitterness of women at the wording of the 14th Amendment. The amendment defined legal voters, “as male inhabitants” of the United States. Women were to be pure and “guardians of the home and family” is the way the male dominated society viewed women. The Association was begun by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and its main purpose was to gain the vote for women. -
Susan B Anthony Speech
Susan B Anthony SpeechSusan B Anthony was arrested and charged with illegal voting. She was to stand trial. She delivered her defense to 50 New York districts. The speech is know as “Is It a Crime for a US Citizen to Vote?” She stated, “I stand before you tonight, under indictment for the alleged crime of having voted at the last presidential election, without having a lawful right to vote. -
Susan B. Anthony Writes the Nineteenth Amendment
Susan B. wrote the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution (the Susan B. Anthony Amendment) in 1878 many years before it came into being. She gave seventy-five speeches a year for forty years in an effort to achieve the right to vote for women. She led a non-violent crusade for what she believed in so dearly. She died in 1908 and never saw it become the law of the land. Her last public words were, “Failure is Impossible”. -
Merger of the NWSA and The American Woman Suffrage Association
In 1890 the two existing women’s groups: National Women’s Suffrage Association and The American Woman Suffrage combined. They took the new name of National America Woman Suffrage Association. Stanton and Anthony were the first presidents followed by Carrie Chapman Catt. It’s main objective was to win the vote. They did this on a state by state approach. Progress was being made. -
National Association of Colored Women
The NACW was founded by black women who were tired of the disenfranchisement ,lynching, and segregation of their race. Among their members were: Harriet Tubman, Frances Harper, and Mary Terrel who was the first president. They felt that it was up to them to change the poor perception of the black race. Their motto was “Lifting us as we climb”. -
Muller vs. Oregon
The State of Oregon enacted a law to limit the hours of women laundry workers to ten hours a day. This was law challenged, and Louis Brandeis defended the law in court. He said that economic and sociological evidence showed that long hours damaged the health of women and the society as a whole. The law was upheld, and many states began to enact similar laws. The “Brandeis brief” was used to show the need for such legislation. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
The fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory highlighted the poor working conditions of the immigrants. When the fire broke out dozens of girls who worked in the factory jumped to their death to escape the fire. One hundred forty six immigrant workers lost their lives, most of them were women, some as young as fourteen. This horrible event pinpointed the inhumane working conditions. -
Women March for Voting Rights
Vote for WomenVideo of Suffragette Women parading for voting rights for women -
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Women and Blacks in War I
Women made some gains during the war because some were able to take the jobs of men who were in the war, but few made the same salaries as the men. Unions did not want to enroll women. The government encouraged women to fold bandages, knit clothes, etc.,all so-called “women’s jobs”, but it did not encourage them to enter the work force held by men before the war. At the end of the war most of the women in industry were either fired or quit. -
Suffragettes Arrested
Suffragettes ArrestedSixteen suffragettes, members of the National Women’s Party, picketed the White House and were arrested. Miss Julia Hurlbut of Morristown, New Jersey, led sixteen women in the picketing demonstration in front of the White House on July 14, 1917. -
Arrest of Margaret Sanger
Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in Brooklyn and was arrested for giving out contraception information. She was sentence to serve thirty days in prison. Margaret Sanger was a nurse in the slums of New York. She was deeply affected by the stories of poor women who had had multiple births. She believed that poverty and fertility were related. Sanger was the founder of Planned Parenthood.
