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Women's Rights from 1750-1900
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The first public high schools for girls are opened
In a major step for women's rights and education, the first public schools were opened in New York and Boston. One of these, the Boston High School for Girls, was so immensely popular, that it had to close just two years later due to the fact that it had too many applicants. -
Oberlin College becomes the first co-education college in the US
In another major step in women's education, Oberline College in Ohio becomes the first co-educational college in the United States. -
Snub of women in World Antislavery Convention
Held in London, the British and Foreign Antislavery Society, who was sponsoring the event, refused to seat women delegates at the convention. Forced to sit in the gallery, feminists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott discussed the need for a convention for women's rights. This conversation would later lead to the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. -
Lowell Female Labor Reform Association is founded
Founded by female textire workers in 1845, in just 6 months its membership grows to 500 members. The association demands 10 hour workdays, and is one of the first permanent labor assocations for women. -
First women's rights convention is held in Seneca Falls, New York
Created after the refusal to let women delegates in to the World Antislavery Convention in London, the Seneca Falls convention was held in New York, attracting 300 people (Including 40 men). At the convention, the activists adopt a "Declaration of Sentiments", asserting the rights for men and women. -
Women doctors are granted the right to practice medicine
The passage of a law granting women the right to become licensed doctors was marked by a woman named Elizabeth Blackwell becoming the first woman in the United States to receive a medical degree. This would start the trend of women leaving the traditional work forces. -
Amelia Jenks Bloomer launches the dress reform movement
Feminist Amelia Jenks Bloomer launches the first dress reform movement for women, a radical step in conservative 1800's America. She pushes a costume bearing her name, although it is later abondoned by a lot of suffragists who fear that it detracts attention from more important issues. -
University of Iowa begins to accept women applicants
The University of Iowa's decision to accept women into its college made it the first state school to do so. It was a major step for women's rights and education, and started a trend nationally for other state schools to do so too. -
American Equal Rights Association is founded
Led by feminists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, the AERA united African-Americans, abolitionists, feminists, and activists in the pursuit for equality. -
Kansas holds the first referendum on women's suffrage
A major step for women's rights was when the state of Kansas held a referendum to discuss women's suffrage. The measure failed, but it was the first time a state had ever brought the topic to that high of a level. -
Women lawyers are licensed in the United States
In another step for women in the workforce, women lawyers were licensed in the USA for the first time in 1868 by the federal government. Iowa would become the first state to admit a woman to the Bar Exam (Arabella Mansfield). -
14th Amendment is passed
As part of the reconstruction amendments, the US Congress passed the 14th amendment. However, the amendment specifically protected the voting rights of only male citizens of the Unites States. This would lead to several women's rights organizations being founded. -
NWSA is founded
In reaction to the narrow framing of the 14th Amendment, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony found the National Woman Suffrage Organization. This was a major step in the fight for women's rights, and worked to win rights on a national scale. -
Women are allowed to serve on juries
For the first time in history, women are allowed to serve on juries in the Wyoming Territory, thus marking a major step for women in the legal process. -
15th Amendment is passed
The 15th amendment stated that "the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Feminists would argue that this granted women the right to vote. -
Susan B. Anthony is arrested for voting
Trying to prove that the 14th and 15th amendments both granted women the right to vote, Susan B. Anthony attempted to cast a ballot for the 1872 president election. She was arrested and found guilty for casting an illegal ballot. -
Women's Suffrage Amendment is introduced to the Senate
Introduced by Senator A. A. Sargent of California, it was the first bill advocating women's rights to be introduced to Congress. The text of the bill would stay unchanged throughout the ratifaction process, where it then became the 19th amendment. -
Colorado grants women the right to vote
Colorado took a radical step at the time, adopting an amendment that gave full voting rights to women. Utah, Idaho, Washington, and California would be the next to follow. -
National Assocation of Colored Women is founded
The first of its kind, the NACW brought together over 100 colored women's clubs. Leaders included Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, Mary Church Terrell, and Anna Julia Cooper. -
Two-thirds of all divorces are initiated by the woman
Statistics show that two-thirds of all divorces in the USA are initiated by the woman. Just a century earlier, most women lacked the right to even sue, and were locked into bad marriages. By now, women's rights had started to expand, and this included family life.
