Seneca Falls Convention• Held in New York in

1848– The 1st women’s

rights convention in the U.S.

– Women activists first formally demanded the right to vote in 1848 at the meeting

– Marked the beginning of the women’s rights movement

Declaration of Sentiments & Resolutions

• Document issued by the Seneca Falls Convention– Called for equal rights for

women– Written by Elizabeth Cady

Stanton• Modeled the Declaration of

Independence

– Approved at Convention– Is credited with initiating the

struggle towards women's rights and woman suffrage.

Votes for Women . . .• Suffrage:

– The right to vote• Seen as a critical

right for women

– Struggle that women fought for beginning in the 1800s

– Led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony

Why Are you Opposed Women’s Suffrage?

1. Women are powerful enough without the right to vote.

2. Giving women the right to vote would blur the distinctions between the sexes and make women more masculine.

3. Women voters would establish prohibition

Susan B. Anthony• Worked for the

temperance movement & fought to abolish slavery

• Headed the National Woman Suffrage Association

• Practiced Civil Disobedience: a nonviolent refusal to obey a law in an effort to change the law—when she attempted to vote

National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)

• Formed in 1890 to push for women’s voting rights

• Worked at both the state & national levels to earn women the right to vote.

• Veteran leaders including Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, & Lucy Stone joined with younger activists

Suffragist Strategies• Strategy #1:

Pushed for a constitutional amendment– Difficult– First attempt in 1868

• Strategy #2: Get individual states to permit women to vote

Two Different Approaches:

•National American Woman Suffrage Association:

– Pursue individual states to give women the right to vote

•National Woman’s Party (NWP):

– An aggressive militant campaign for a constitutional amendment

– Held demonstrations—including in front of the White House

Alice Paul• “We women of America tell you

that America is not a democracy. Twenty million women are denied the right to vote.” ~Alice Paul– Female social activist who

used daring strategies to win the right to vote

– Formed the National Woman’s Party (NWP) in 1917

– Encouraged the use of public protest marches and was 1st group to use

– Went on hunger strike

The 19th Amendment• Congress formally

proposed the suffrage amendment in 1918

• Ratified by enough states (2/3) on August 24, 1920

• The 19th Amendment marked the last major reform of the Progressive Era

The Women’s Movement• In the 1960s & 1970s, women

were not a minority, but they recognized that certain aspects of society placed them at a disadvantage– Some began to work for more

equality– Had already worked for the right

to vote & equality in education and in jobs

• Feminism: Theory favoring the political, economic, & social equality of men and women– Feminists were those who

believed in or acted on behalf of this theory

The Women’s Movement of the 1960s

• Sought to change aspects of American life that had been accepted for decades:– Women were expected to put

home & family first

• By the 1960s, almost half of all women held jobs

• More women were going to college:– # with a Bachelors degree:

• 1950: 25%

• 1970: 41%

Working 9 to 5?• Despite their education, women often faced job

discrimination:– Males were often given the job over similarly qualified

females– Women faced difficulties trying to advance in their

professions– Women were encouraged to leave the workforce once

they had a family– Some employers refused to hire women– Women were often underemployed:

• Performed jobs below their abilities • Earned salaries below their abilities

– Women were paid less than men for the same job• 1963: were paid 63 cents for every dollar earned by a man • 1973: were paid 57 cents for every dollar earned by a man • 2003: were paid 75.5 cents for every dollar earned by a man

• Part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964:– Prohibits discrimination

based on race, gender, religion, or national origin

– Gave women the legal framework to fight discrimination

– Set up the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to enforce the federal prohibition on job discrimination

Affirmative Action• Idea introduced by

President Johnson in the 1960s– A policy that gives

special consideration to women and minorities to make up for past discrimination

– Improved opportunities by giving preference to them in school admissions & job applications

– Controversial policy

Women’s Groups Raise Consciousness

• Women began to meet together to compare experiences

• Many were inspired by Betty Friedan’s 1963 book The Feminine Mystique– Described cultural patterns that

prevented women from achieving their full potential

– Society valued women as wives and mothers

• Women began to form support groups

• Ms. Magazine is founded in 1972 and devotes itself to feminist issues

• Organization formed in 1966 to promote full participation of women in American society– Worked to achieve equality with

men– Sought fair pay & equal job

opportunities– Betty Friedan helped establish– Attacked the “false image of

women” in the media– Called for balanced marriages

• Proposed constitutional amendment, never ratified (approved), to prohibit discrimination on account of sex:– To become law, the

amendment had to be ratified by 38 states

– Over 30 approved– Strong opposition emerged

and it did not pass within the 7 year time limit

Leading Ladies….• Gloria Steinem:

– Journalist who tired to change awareness through mass media

– Founded political organizations to help women lobby for rights

– Most famous feminist leader of the 1970s

• Phyllis Schlafly:– A conservative political activist

against women’s liberation– Worked hard to defeat the

ERA

Roe v. Wade• Abortion was a critical issue:

– Many states had outlawed or restricted access to an abortion

– NOW and other groups worked to reform the laws governing a women’s right to choose

• 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion– Decision based on the constitutional right to privacy– The Court stuck down state regulation of abortion in the first

3 months of pregnancy – Ruling still allowed states to restrict abortions during the later

stages of pregnancy– Case was highly controversial

Violence Against Women Act

• Law passed in 1994– Increased federal resources to apprehend

and prosecute men guilty of violent acts against women.