Women, Politics, and American Society, pg. 19-40 -- Notes

Textbook Reading, Nancy E McGlen, Karen O'Connor, Laure can Assendelft, Wendy Gunther-Canada

-1875: Sumpreme Court confirmed American wmn = citizrns, but citizenship not include suffrade.
-wmn=big strides in politics, cultural and social attitudes still bock
- 13.7% of 108th congress=wmn
-wmn's mvement success depends on public perception of rights sought.
-suffrage won from emphasizing potential benefits to society.
-no strong countermovements to suggrade because it wasn't thought of as a threat
-nature + implications of political rights sought + probablitity of victory = critical
-Seneca Falls Convention: 1848
-Constitutional ammendent in 1920
-ERA, equal rights ammendment, defeated in 1982
-1998: meeting on 150th anniversary of Seneca Falls

The Woman's Rights Movement and the Ballot
-Seneca Falls Convetion:securing greater economic +social rights, didn't all want to put on right to vote.
-Wmn's leaders saw issues of slavery similar to womn's rights
-Calls for controcersial changes in wmns status linked to wmns rights which hurt their success
-New Jersey Constitution of 1775 let all inhabitant worth "50 pounds a year" the right to vote
-Before Civil War wmn's rights inside abolitionists
-Created petition campaigns: w/signatures of men +wmn supporting specific issue
- National Women's Loyal League worked to end slavery
-1866 American Anti-Slavery Society reject appeals for wmn's rights + wmn formed new group: American Equal Rights Association (AERA)

The Civil WAr Amendments
-AERA abandoned wmn too in supprting 14th amendent "Now is the Negro's hour"
-14th amendent=1st time word male is in constitution possibly making another amendment necessary before wmn can vote.
-Wmn fought hard for including the word sex in the 15th amendment
-15th amendement make wmn realize that the movement needed to be national not state by state

New Groups Founded
-NWSA in 1869 by Stanton and Anthony in reaction to 15th amendment + abandoning AERA
-Fought for wmn in all spheres of life
-Lucy Stone: AWSA -> state by state route
-NWSA more informal + on national level = less support structure
-Many wmn didn't want the right to vote
-Reached out to wmn who worked with the abolitionists/belonged to NWLL
-Trying to attract more conservative wmn = NWSA toning down liberalism, focusing on suffrage

Woman Suffrage and the Fourteenth Amendment
-NWSA tried to "conservatise"
-Francis Minor wrote about wmns rights under 24th amendment in 1869
-The Revolution = nwespaper from Anthony + Stanton
-January 1871: Victoria Woodhull made presentation to Congress on opening day of NWSA's convention
-Advocated free love
-NWSA worked w/Woodhull some, damaged image, associated NWSA w/ free love
-AWSA fought hard against it, knowing links between them and more radical ideas = damaging
- Francis Minor urged test cases for wmn's rights, supported by Salmon Portland Chase (chief justice)
-NWSA not actually expect good court ruling + bad court ruling could damage cause
-1875 Minor v. Happersett only one of three major test cases given full hearing by Supreme Court. Sued St. Louis voter registrar when he refused her the right to register
-Defeated in Missouri courts, appealed to Supreme Court where defeated unanimously
-Maintained suffrage was not a right of citisenship

Toward a Constitutional Amendment
-1868-1875 = many attempts for female suffrage amendment
-Used strategy of education + agitation, William Lloyd Garrision "one must first changes ideas"
- July 4, 1876 @ US Centennial Celebration in philly, Anthony lead group of wmn to upper platform + gave chair of event a wmns rights declaration, then left while handing our copies. Stood and read declaration out side in Independence Square

Antisuffrage Movement
-"Bible counseled the exclusion of women from politics" : especially Genesis + writings of St. Paul
-wmn's natural roles = wife + mother, changing this would destroy society
-John Lockes ideas of male head of household representing whole family, if wmn had rights it would pitch wife against husband -> destruction of family
-CAtherine Beecher against wmn suffrage : additional burden on wmn bust with wife and motherhood

The Suffrage Movement: The Quest for the Vote Contines
- 1890 Alice Stone Blackwell helped unite NWSA + AWSA into NAWSA
-1869: Wyoming Territory enacted suffrage
-State suffrage opposed by liquor industries worried about wmn voting for Prohibition

Constituent Groups
-NAWSA idelogy closer to more conservative AWSA, going for single cause of suffrage
-Wmn's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) worked for wmns rights + to eliminate alcohol, first political efforts of wmn independent of men
-WCTU restricted sale of liquor in many areas + for a time the whole nation after 18th Amendment
-Frances Willard helped WCTU join wmn's suffrage: prohibition will only come if women can vote for it
-Brought traditional, religious, conservative wmn to suffrage cause
-Liquor industry not happy with tie between WCTU + wmn's rights, pours money into anti-suffrage effort
-Club mobement made by middle-class wmn in a variety of self-improvement clouds
-1888 Anthongy helped create National Council for wmn + then Generfal Federation of Women's Cluds ( CFWC) w/ more trhen 2 mil members by 1910
-2 types of clubs, self-improvement + civic/department clubs
- 1916 National Association of Colored Women , founded in 1896 had 28 state federations + more then 50,000 members
-Mary Church Terrell = 12t pres + in 1895= first African American wmn in country to be on school board
-Progressive organizations make wmn recognize ingerior status
-GFWC support suffrage officially in 1914
-Wmn chose club work over employment, fairly conservative
-Connected to progressivism to be able to extended trad roles as wife + mother
-poor wmn's rights so that they would be better mothers

Educated Suffrage
-postbellum era: change trands
-South: newly freed slaves + northern carpetbaggers -> turmoil + corruption
-North: immigrants crowd urban areas + formed powerful corrupt political machines
-made people think only the "better" elements of society should be in positions of political control.
-came to the idea of "political capacity/educated suffrage"
-NAWSA often unwilling connect suffrage w/"the colored problem"
-1898: Mary Church Terrel sopke at NAWSA annual meeting against segregation on trains
-NAWSA southern women very offended, NAWSA say it can't pass resolutions against railroad corporations
-Suffrage movement=predominantly white.
-NAWSA becomes slightly racist
0NAWSA say wmn = inherently less corrupt
-NAWSA becomes politically consercative as well, create state by state in 1903 so that southerns could exckude black women

Suffrage Flounders
-Early suffrage victories = Colorade, 1893, Idaho, 1896, Wymoing, 1890 + Utah 1896
-Wmn never win in every state, need national amendment
-Licuor still against suffrade control w.voting fraud
-Carrie Chapman Catt = NAWSA president in late 1915

Toward National Amendment
-1912=Alice Paul worked w/more militant British suffragettes and came to Congressional Committee in NAWSA
-Paul organized more than five thousandwmn to parade in DC for suffrage the day before Wilson's inauguration
-Marchers dressed in white, some on horseback
-obtained a permit but police offered no assitstance, there was eom violence
-People outraged at violence toard the women
-Congressional Union started by Alice Paul in April 1913, had to leave NAWSA
-Fought for passing a national suffrage bill w/ lots of marches
-Congressional Union become National Women's Party

A Winning Plan
-Carrie Chapman Catt created the Winning plan in 1916 to direct all NAWSA's power toward constitutional amendment by 1922
-Wanted to keep so much suffrage noise everywhere that no one knew where it was coming from
-Fought to get politicians avoiding suffrage not reelected in 1920
-World War I divereted many of the suffrage leaders energies, but Catt wouldn't let it all go
-Worked fr wmn's rights as a war mesaure, like the emancipation of the slaves
-Arkansas wmn won right tovote in March 1917, cracked solid south
-Southeren senators against ammendment, joined by others
-Female suffrage could hurt industry on south + northeast
-1918 NAWSA lauch campaign to defeat oppoents of suffrage who stood for reelection in 1918
-1919 = first house of reps then senate passed suffrage amendment.
-ratfication with 36 states completed in 1920
-First election where wmn voted = November of 1920