Women's Rights

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how through passion and steadfast work, the women's movement changed minds and attitudes across American society. The paper explains that meetings, petition drives, lobbying, public speaking and nonviolent resistance secured major changes in the social and political lives of American women. The paper shows how the early twentieth-century suffragists moved from discreet political action and quiet organization building to bold demands in the public sphere for women's political equality. This included advancements in education, employment and birth control.

From the Paper:

"Just as there had been eighteen grievances declared in the Declaration of Independence, Stanton's Declaration of Sentiments also listed eighteen grievances, among which included: Women were not allowed to vote; Married women had no property rights; Husbands had legal power over their wives to the extent that they could imprison or beat them with impunity; Divorce and child custody laws favored men, giving no rights to women; Most occupations were closed to women and when women did work they were paid only a fraction of what men earned; Women were not allowed to enter professions such as medicine or law; and Women had no means to gain an education since no college or university would accept women students (History)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Boynton, Virginia R. "The Rise of the New Woman: The Women's Movement in America, 1875-1930." The Historian. June 22 2005. Retrieved March 07 2006 from HighBeam Research Library Web site.
• The Equal Rights Amendment. Retrieved March 07 2006 from:http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/
• "History of the Movement." Living the Legacy: The Women's Rights Movement 1848-1998. Retrieved March 07 2006 from:http://www.legacy98.org/move-hist.html
• McCammon, Holly J. "Out of the parlors and into the streets: The changing tactic repertoire of the U.S. women's suffrage movements." Social Forces. March 01 2003. Retrieved March 07 2006 from HighBeam Research Library Web site.

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