Women's+Suffrage+and+the+Progressive+Movement

Women's Suffrage and the Progressive Movement

Women's Suffrage roots in america started way back before the Civil War. But these were never noticed too much and formed obscure groups such as the Cult of True Womanhood. These insignificant movements were brought to light after the Civil War when colored men achieved the right to vote. Reformers wanted the fifteenth amendment to include women as well as black people. Women did gained voting rights before the 1900s', such as Wisconsin, Idaho, and Utah. But the majority of states still resisted the right to women. In 1890 The National American Women Suffrage Association was formed with Elizabeth Stanton as its president. Elizabeth Stanton though wanted suffrage did not stop there, she wanted to advance women rights on all levels. She made speeches and appealed to law makers but died in 1902 and never lived to see women get the vote. Even though she did not get the right to vote she was a huge advocate in womens suffrage. Women heavily used the fifteenth and fourteenth amendment as an example. They said that the fourteenth amendment said that anyone born or naturalized in the U.S. have all the rights that comes with it. Also they said if colored people could vote, why not them?. Because of the reform feeling of the time and the obvious right for women to vote, they were finally able to attain the right to vote in 1920. By something called the nineteenth amendment they could now vote on all levels of gov't.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/suffrage/history.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_suffrage#United_States