Major Social Change

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how one of the most dramatic movements of social change in the history of the United States has been the feminist movement. It looks at how many feminist scholars separate the feminist movement into waves, and label the women's suffrage movement the first wave and the equal right's movement of the 1960s as the second wave. It discusses how, although the leaders of both waves of the feminist movement did not accomplish all of their goals, it is obvious that the feminist movement has resulted in tremendous advancements for women in America.

From the Paper:

"In addition to a backlash against women, the mid 19th and mid 20th centuries were also marked by tremendous change in race relations. Women played an active role in both the abolitionist movement of the mid 19th century and the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Women's participation in these movements led to an increasing dissatisfaction with their circumscribed roles in greater society. Women were extremely active and vocal in the abolitionist movement. However, many of these early abolitionist leaders began to question their roles in the movement, since the same rights that they were seeking for slaves were rights that were denied to free white women. These problems became exacerbated after emancipation because feminist abolitionists saw a dramatic legal change in the status of ex-slave males, but no change in the legal status of women in America."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Barber, E. and B. Natanson. (1997). One hundred years toward suffrage: an overview. Retrieved June 14, 2006 from The Library of Congress Web site: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/vfwhtml/vfwtl.html
• Wikipedia Contributors. (2006). Women's suffrage. Retrieved June 14, 2006 from Wikipedia Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage#In_The_United_States

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