Womans Suffrage Essay, Research Paper
After the Civil War many male emancipationists voiced frights that the demands of adult females suffragists might hinder the run to derive vote rights for male ex-slaves. The issue came to a caput in 1868, when the emancipationists pressed for a constitutional amendment including all Americans irrespective of race, credo, or colour. Suffragists argued that the proposed amendment made no reference of adult females. The emancipationists answered that the suffragists should keep onto their claims instead than endanger transition of the amendment. To many suffragists, notably Stanton and Anthony, delay was unacceptable. In May 1869 the two women’s rightist leaders created the independent National Woman Suffrage Association, with the thought of procuring passage of a federal woman-suffrage jurisprudence. Another suffragist cabal, led by Lucy Stone and Henry Ward Beecher, countered in November of the same twelvemonth by establishing the American Woman Suffrage Association. That group worked for gradual acceptance of adult female right to vote on a state-by-state footing. The district of Wyoming gave adult females the ballot in 1869.
After the transition of the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1870, Anthony interpreted the jurisprudence as including American adult females every bit good as male ex-slaves. She went to the polls in Rochester, New York ; in 1872 and persuaded the election inspectors to allow her and 12 other adult females registry and ballot. Two hebdomads after the election she, her 12 friends, and 3 of the election inspectors were arrested. Anthony received a laughably unjust test, during which the justice repeatedly displayed antifeminist pre
judices. At the tallness of the proceedings the justice, seemingly expecting a jury finding of fact in her favour, dismissed the jury and imposed on her a mulct of $ 100. Anthony refused to pay the mulct, whereupon the justice, apprehensive that she might appeal to higher tribunals, allowed her to travel free. Her friends ne’er were brought to test. The election inspectors received heavy mulcts, which were paid by sympathetic witnesss. The instance aroused widespread involvement, but the prohibition against adult female right to vote remained.
In 1890 the Stanton-Anthony group merged with the Stone-Beecher cabal to organize the National American Woman Suffrage Association. For many old ages thenceforth the association worked to progress adult females & # 8217 ; s rights on both the province and federal degrees. Largely as a consequence of agitation by the association, right to vote was granted in the provinces of Colorado ( 1893 ) , Utah and Idaho ( 1896 ) , and Washington ( 1910 ) . In add-on, the association in 1910 secured 500,000 signatures for a request pressing federal woman-suffrage statute law. California granted adult females full right to vote in 1911 ; Kansas, Oregon, and Arizona followed in 1912 ; Nevada and Montana in 1914 ; New York in 1917 ; and Michigan, Oklahoma and South Dakota in 1918.
The American suffragist motion scored its biggest triumph shortly after World War I. In 1919 Congress approved the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which provided that The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall non be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on history of sex. Ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment became the jurisprudence of the land.
