During the 1800’s in the late 19th century into the early 20th century, women were treated unfairly with unequal rights. The cause of this movement was to have woman gain their rights and have a say in the government. Women did not have any political, economic or social rights at this time, which they definitely should have had like any other person. They didn’t have any say in the government and couldn’t vote. Only men could vote during this time, which is very unfair. Men had control of everything and could do whatever they wanted, while women had certain jobs to take care of and didn’t even have their rights. Something had to be done about this. The woman protested and wanted this changed.
Social rights are the ability to use good faculties without being discriminated. Unfortunately, women were discriminated against. Women had to drop out of school when they got married. If there was a divorce, the men got custody of the children. The men got everything which was 100% wrong. There were even laws telling woman what to wear.
Not only did women fight for the rights of themselves, but they also fought for others. Many suffragettes fought to end slavery. After the Civil War ended, they fought to get African American man and women to vote. The 15th amendment was passed but it only gave African American men the fight to vote. In 1848, a group of 300 suffragettes got together and met in
Seneca Falls, New York. They wrote a document called the Declaration of Sentiments. It was based upon the Declaration of Independence and they wrote “all men and women are created equal”, and should be treated equally in the
US. Many people saw this convention as an important starting point in the struggle for women’s civil rights.
Alice Paul was fed up with this and decided to speak up and put her foot on the ground. She needed to get the public on her side about this situation. She organized a big parade in
Washington DC to prove to the government that people were serious about this. She wanted the Constitution changed but it was difficult knowing men were in charge of the government. It was ridiculous about 50% of the people couldn’t vote. People who fought for the right to vote were called Suffragettes. They continued to protest for another five years.
In 1927, Alice Paul and other women were eventually arrested for they’re behavior towards this. The conditions of the prison they were sent to were atrocious. The women were beaten and were put into cells that were filled with rats and other running rodents. The women eventually went on huge strikes and protested about this again. Some women including Alice Paul who supported this movement were Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Carry Nation and many more.
Knowing what these women went through back then to get their rights, makes me feel thankful for the right and freedom that I have in my life. I feel bad for those women who were treated disrespectfully and not equal. It wasn’t right and they definitely didn’t deserve that behavior from people. But thankfully, women now have their rights today in 2008!
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