A political science essay outlining the expansion of suffrage among the U.S. population throughout American history and the effects of a larger and more diverse electorate on voting trends and party control.
1,315 words (approx. 5.3 pages), 2 sources, 2002, $ 44.95
Abstract This paper discusses the history of suffrage in the United States and it's affect upon the distribution of power between the Republican and Democratic parties at different points in American History. It discusses the three most central suffrage movements in the United States: universal white male suffrage, universal black male suffrage, and universal female suffrage and the expansion of voting rights that coincided with each of these three movements.
From the paper:
"While the universal white male suffrage progressions in the first period had more to do with the influential ideas of the French Revolution and democracy in general, an incentive to settle the western frontier, and increasing trust of the non-upper classes, the suffrage progressions of blacks and women came about from more deliberate effort. Two main reasons for the attainment of the vote by blacks and women is the weakening of the political parties and the increased activist role of the federal government that occurred in the twentieth century."
Abstract The women's suffrage movement began before March 4th, 1912 in London, but it was on that day that the world understood that suffrage was no women's tea-party discussion, it was now a violent rage against the male oppression of women that had been in evidence since God stripped Hagar of her son and turned her back to slavery. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the suffrage movement at the turn of the last century within the context of Victorian England and to demonstrate that the ability to participate in the political system was only the tip of an iceberg that would eventually lead to a woman holding the highest public office in Great Britain.
Abstract The paper studies the first and second wave of feminism in Canada. The paper includes as a main topic how the issue of women's suffrage changes over this time period. The paper explains that essentially, suffrage was originally a political tool for the upper classes.
From the Paper "When most people hear the term women's suffrage they automatically think of feminism. There is a mistaken belief that the terms feminism and suffrage are interchangeable. However there are major differences between the terms. Feminism is the term used for a broad category of women's movements. When discussing the similarities within the currents of feminism, Nancy Adamson et al note, "All recognize that women are oppressed and exploited by virtue of being women; and all feminist organize to make change" (Adamson et al. 9)."
Abstract This paper traces the history of the women's suffrage movement in 19th century America, with an emphasis on its leaders and goals. In particular, the contributions of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Fanny Wright are illustrated through their writings and lectures. The paper states that women earning the right to vote meant a nearly complete transformation of social norms in the United States. The paper also describes the connection between the abolitionist movement and women's suffrage. The writer concludes that despite the ratification of the 19th Amendment, women still suffered from widespread discrimination and continue to fight for equal rights even today.
From the Paper "Susan B. Anthony and scores of other prominent suffragists rallied as much for the cause of abolition as for women's rights. One of the most notable companion causes of 19th century suffragists was the temperance movement. In fact, suffragist Frances Willard had been intimately involved in the Christian Temperance movement and in 1891 became president World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union. The temperance movement's primary objective was the reduction in alcohol abuse, and in 1872, the Prohibition Party became the "first national political party to recognize the right of suffrage for women in its platform," ("Women's History in America"). Therefore, the women's suffrage movement did not exist in isolation of other social, economic, and political causes."
Abstract This paper examines in-depth the suffrage movement which started in 1832 when Mary Smith, an unmarried property owner started the struggle for equality. This paper contains a wealth of facts and dates pertaining to women's voting rights, as well as a detailed history of the many protests and accomplishments for women's rights.
Topics covered in this report include:
Introduction
Why - Reasons for the Protest
Who - Types of People Involved
How - Methods of Protest
What - Accomplishments of the Protest
References
From the Paper "The first recorded hunger strike of a suffragette in prison was staged by Marion Wallace in 1909. Many others followed, such that the hunger strikes drew the sympathy of the public and the press, which were jolted from their own long-held belief that women's place was in the home. This growing feeling of sympathy turned to outrage when it was reported that prison authorities resorted to force-feeding the inmates by shoving a steel tube down their throat or nose."
Tags: popular, protest, rights, suffrage, vote, women, law, movement
Abstract In this article, the writer analyzes four speeches by women's rights activists regarding women's suffrage and the denial of franchise to women. The writer discusses the words of these women, that support equality of rights to women. This paper discusses speeches by Amelia Bloomer, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth and Jane Adams.
From the Paper "Much has been written about efforts undertaken by women activists in the United States and elsewhere to achieve the rights and privileges of full citizenship, specifically the right to vote. Linda Kerber commented that in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, American women advanced the claims of rights against the state arguing that the denial of the franchise to women should be regarded as unconstitutional and that the law of domestic relations which had positioned women as under obligation only to ... "
Abstract The paper discusses that the term 'Indian giver' has come to be a synonym for someone who gives something, only to take it back. The paper further explains that it was the Indians who were forced to give to the Europeans--their knowledge about farming and fishing in the Americas and ultimately their land. The paper discusses that in Jack Weatherford's book, "Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World," the exchange between Europeans and Native Americans was an unequal one, with Europeans taking of the positive benefits of the New World, while the Indians were doing all of the giving. The paper concludes that unwittingly, the Indians found themselves the recipient of the evils of European civilization, like slavery, and a disrespectful attitude to the land.
From the Paper "According to Weatherford, the early post-Columbian contact of the Europeans with the native populace actually enabled the Industrial Revolution to change Europe, and ultimately the world. "Had Europe and America not come together through Columbus or some other connection, the industrial revolution would never have happened in the way we know it," because Europeans would never have gained access to the metals of the New World, or to Indian mines (Weatherford 57). This contact also generated the money economy of Europe and fueled a shift to a European economy based upon real, hard, convertible currency. Metal-based currency also was critical in fueling industrialism and world trade. By beginning the book with tales of South American encounters with Europe, which were particularly brutal and unequal from the beginning of the Indian-European relationship, Weatherford initiates a tragic tone, explaining how enslaved South American Indians mining gold and silver in Potosi supplied the precious metals for most of the European coins that generated wealth for the Old World at the expense of the liberty of the New World."
This paper reviews and examines Donald Hughes' book "North American Indian Ecology" which focuses on a wide range of ecological and environmental issues faced by Native American Indians in the 20th century.
Abstract This paper explores and details North American Indian life and culture as portrayed in Donald Hughes' book "North American Indian Ecology." This paper discusses the land issues facing the North American Indian tribes including overgrazing, erosion and assessments of appropriate land usage. The writer of this paper finds Hughes' book to be straightforward and concise in clarifying the characteristics of Indian life such as hunting, food growing and rituals.
From the Paper "Tribes are having to mediate the disparate demands of their members and the industrial mindset of the BIA to balance forest use for economic need and preservation for cultural need. Tribes face many of the same problems as non-Native communities held hostage by the timber industry. Replanting has not always kept pace with harvesting on public or trust lands. The push to harvest old-growth timber is constrained by federal mandates to protect endangered species habitats, putting people out of work. Few local communities gain the "value-added" benefits of processing their own timber especially jobs and new businesses and when they do the environmental impact of mill sites has to be factored into any cost-benefit analysis."
Abstract This paper addresses the changes in American Indian warfare during the period of western settlement in the 19th century. It gives a summary of Plains Indian culture and reasons for conflict, and details conflicts between settlers and American Indian tribes. The paper's thesis, borne out in historical research, is that the introduction of horses and firearms made conflicts between US relocation forces and unwilling Indian tribesmen bloodier than necessary on both sides. The author does not take sides on the Native American sovereignty issue.
Abstract The paper explains that Jack Weatherford began to examine the history of the Native American as he discovered that many agricultural products would not have been produced in farming without the knowledge that Indians gave those in the new world. The paper describes how Weatherford further stipulates that it is through these advances in agriculture that the United States has remained a strong contender in the global market ,and that without the influences of the Native Americans on the early settlers those new to America would not have survived. The paper analyzes how, through his work, "Indian Givers: How Indians of the Americas Transformed the World", Volume I, Weatherford brings an insight to a people that most individuals have been negligent in understanding. The paper concludes that it is Weatherford's purpose to demonstrate that Native Americans have been a misrepresented and forgotten people when the history of North America is discussed.
Abstract This paper presents a brief history of the Native Americans of California, focusing on their struggles with colonizing Europeans and their eventual loss of land and civil rights. The paper traces the history of Native Americans in the US back to their arrival in North America from Asia. Next the author describes their settlement and cultures in North America, and California specifically. The paper highlights the arrival of Europeans to Californian, describing the Native American's subsequent loss of loss of land, culture and autonomy. Special attention is paid to the effects of reservations on the Native American population.
Outline:
California Indians Population Decline of California Indian Figure-1: Native California [Census 2000]
Figure-2: Native California Population [Census 2000]
Indian Plight since Columbian Period
Paper includes maps and charts.
From the Paper "This exploitation continued well into the twentieth century and displacement of Native Indian from reserves continued with little or no compensation until the early twentieth century. The enlightened society of the twentieth century began to apply the laws which have been on the statutes for centuries to all Americans. Discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion and sex can not be legally justified anymore. This important factor now provides legal rights and new protection to Native Indians. "
Abstract This paper discusses the public apology made by Kevin Gover, the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, to Native Americans for the harsh mistreatment they received at the hands of the U.S. Government. The paper looks at the many aspects of this mistreatment addressed by the apology, and suggests that, although late in coming, a public apology may open the door to reparations for American Indians.
From the Paper "In his speech, Gover made note of the Dawes Severalty Act, passed in 1887. This act was just one in a long line of examples of the early settlers? inability to understand the ways of the Native Americans. The act was created by whites who believed they were helping weak Native Americans by turning them into farmers and land owners. While this act uprooted the Native Americans from their homes and placed them in reservations, the American government alleged that they were helping, rather than hurting the Native Americans simply because of their belief in the superiority of America and of its culture."
Abstract The military history of British involvement in India began, fully, in 1857 when Indian forces staged a revolt against the British East India Company. The Indian army began as an indigenous force run by British officers. The British role in India, far surpassed the history of British Imperialism anywhere else in the world.
Abstract This paper is an anthropology paper that debates the true reason for resistance to Indian Casinos. The paper wholeheartedly supports the anthropologist Darrian-Smith in asserting that the one of the ultimate reasons for resistance to Indian Casinos lies in the centuries old traditions of non-Native discrimination towards natives, and both traditional and new age stereotyping.
From the Paper "Indian Casinos For much of hundreds of years the American people have variously exterminated, stolen from or assimilated their indigenous peoples. In more recent decades this has turned into milder forms of discrimination and stereotypical conceptualizations. The one enduring theme has been the patrimonial dominance over Native peoples, being the most regulated of all people within the boundaries of the United States. Relegated by land appropriations to remote, often worthless plots of reservation lands, the remnants of traditional Native societies have barely been able to eke out a subsistence living. However, taking advantage of laws previously designed against them, a limited number of Native American tribes have turned to Casinos as a source of revenue to alleviate them from their hardship."
Abstract This paper examines Indian-white relations on the post-revolutionary frontier up to the early 19th century. All social, political, and economic relations are marked by inequality and a dominant-inferior pattern.
