Today we honor all of those who fought for womens right to vote as we celebrate Election Day in the US. The fight for womens suffrage in the United States lasted 72 years from the first womens right conference in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848 to the passage of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote in 1920. The text of the amendment is simple, straightforward, and to modern Americans, absolutely obvious, but at the turn of the twentieth century, it was an unpopular point of view among many. The pamphlet pictured here was created by an organization founded in 1911 to actively oppose state and national suffrage efforts, the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage. In it, they listed several reasons for opposing womens suffrage including: Because it is unwise to risk the good we already have for the evil which may occur and Because in some States more voting women than voting men will place the Government under petticoat rule. The group disbanded in 1920 after the passage of the 19th Amendment. This year marks the 94th anniversary of womens right to vote and, for Election Day, were celebrating a few of the original Mighty Girls -- the suffragists! The suffragists were activists who worked tirelessly to secure that right for themselves, their daughters, and future generations of American women. Women are still grateful for the work of their suffragist sisters; since the 1980s, women have been turning out to vote in significantly higher numbers than men. To introduce children and teens to the amazing women of the US suffrage movement, check out our post on “How Women Won the Vote: Teaching Kids About the U.S. Suffrage Movement” for numerous reading recommendations: amightygirl/blog/?p=2346 A Mighty Girl features special collections showcasing books and other resources on two prominent early American suffragists: Susan B. Anthony (bit.ly/1mlifMW) and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (bit.ly/1oGAhIj). For an excellent depiction of the tireless work of two suffragists who helped bring the 19th Amendment to fruition, Lucy Burns and Alice Paul, we highly recommend the film Iron Jawed Angels for ages 13 and up: amightygirl/iron-jawed-angels
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 20:11:54 +0000
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