Women's Equality Day: Thread

26 August, Women Equality Day is to celebrate the day on which women in the U.S. got equal right to vote due to the 19th Amendment of the Constitution in 1920 after the Women's Suffrage movement. This year we commemorate a century of the victory

The movement started in the 1820s and it took activists nearly 100 years to win the right to vote. The campaign was nowhere a piece of cake and involved massive blows.
This is not a story of just one struggle but many. It includes the Civil War and other events. So stay tuned.

It was the time when the right to vote was extended to all white men regardless of their financial resources. Also, reform groups were growing across the country such as anti-slavery. In many, women played a prominent role.

Many American women started to oppose the Cult of True Womanhood, the idea that a “true” woman was pious, submissive & concerned only with homely affairs. Humanitarian movements like these fired debates upon the role of women in society & inspired more women to revolt.

After the SENECA FALLS CONVENTION, 1848 demanded WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE for the 1st time. It proclaimed: "all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"

Soon, with the civil war, the movement received a break. The activists were busy helping with the casualties. After the war ended, the 14th Amendment and the 15th Amendment to the Constitution raised familiar questions of suffrage and citizenship.

14th amendment(1886): It extends the Constitution’s protection to all citizens—and defines “citizens” as “male”.
The 15th amendment(1870): guarantees Black men the right to vote.
Here the break between activists started and two groups were formed. But let's see the dialogue.

Many female suffragists at the time were outrage and could not believe that those who suffered 350 years of bondage would be enfranchised before America's women. Other activists argued that the 1860s was the time for the black male and opposition would surely accomplish nothing

A split weakened the movement.
National Woman Suffrage Association was founded by Elizabeth C. S. & Susan B. A. began to fight for universal suffrage. Activists Lucy S. & Henry B. formed the American Woman Suffrage Association & fought for the franchise on a state-by-state basis.

In 1872, the NWSA showed on election day. Turned down, they set up mock ballot boxes near the election sites for women to vote.

The AWSA actively lobbied state govts. WYOMING was the 1st to grant full suffrage. UTAH followed. No other state gave full suffrage until the 1890s.

After Lucy and Henry died, their daughter, Alice S. B. seeing the need for unison, approached the NWSA. Ghe two splinter groups formed the NATIONAL AMERICAN WOMAN SUFFRAGE ASSOCIATION (NAWSA) in 1890. There were still internal divisions but the movement gained pace.

US involvement in WW1 required the support of women. When the U.S. entered WW1, a woman suffrage amendment was submitted in the House of Representatives.
It passed both houses of Congress & was soon ratified by the necessary 36 states.

Black women: Black men & white women usually led civil rights organizations & set the agenda, excluding Black women. For eg: the National American Woman Suffrage Association prevented them from attending their conventions. Black women often marched separately in suffrage parades.

On August 18, 1920, after a long battle, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. And on November 2 of that year, more than 8 million women across the United States voted in elections for the first time.

The 1920 ammendment didn't ensure full enfranchisement. Decades of struggle to include African Americans & other minority women remained. Many women remained unable to vote because of discriminatory state voting laws. Nonetheless, this was a landmark achievement.

With this:-
Women's economic roles increased in society.

With more educational opportunities, more wome sensed their potential for meaningful professional careers.

Women's salaries increased though not to the amount that men received.

At the end: We women have a long way to go. We have so many inspiring women today, but this doesn't mean every woman has broken the shackles of patriarchy. Even the freed ones continue to fight this evil.
Many intersectionalities like caste, gender, race, etc. need to be tackled.

If read the whole thread, thankyouu
It means the world to me