Premium Essay

Arguments Against Women's Suffrage

Submitted By
Words 661
Pages 3
Even though the pro suffragists “had national organizations since 1869, the anti-suffragists did not found their own group until 1911.” While waiting for an organizing the “suffrage opponents still bonded without an official institution.” Those opposing suffrage did whatever they could to influence the public; “artists created political cartoons that mocked suffragists, religious leaders spoke out against women’s political activism, and articles attacked women who took part in public life. Even without an official anti-suffrage organization “opposing women’s rights to vote was still popular.” After years of waiting “opponents of woman suffrage began to organize locally in the 1860s.” Massachusetts was home to leading suffrage advocates, but …show more content…
Even though men pretty much needed women to survive “many believed that men and women were fundamentally different and that women should not sully themselves in the dirty world of politics. Some women were also against suffrage “they argued that most women did not want the vote and that only a few, mostly radical, women would use it.” Others were worried that all women would receive their ballots at the same time, without racial consideration, education, or class distinctions. This frightened both men and women especially men in power, mostly the whites of the South. Out of the many against women’s suffrage, “industrialists, distillers, and brewers felt [strongly] threatened by the reforming potential of women voters.” They believed that women were in fact different than men and would vote according to their "natural maternal instinct to prohibit alcohol consumption, interfere in business practices, and regulate working conditions and hours.” ("Anti-Suffrage Arguments”). In the 1910s the National Association OPPOSED to Woman Suffrage published a pamphlet that stated many reasons why women should not be allowed to vote. Some of the reasons listed were, “because it means competition of women with men instead of co-operation, 80% of the women eligible to vote are married and can only double or annul their husband's votes, in some States more voting women than voting men will place the Government under

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Married Women In The Late 1800's

...1800’s during Kate Chopin’s time did not have rights and were considered to be the property of their husbands. Kate Chopin is a well-renowned author known for her writing about women’s lives and her support for the suffrage movement. Married women during the late 1800’s in Kate Chopin’s time were oppressed because they did not have rights to their property, did not have the right to vote, and were not considered to be equal to men. Women in the late 1800’s did not have rights to their own property as everything was considered to be their husbands. Women fought a long battle to just gain the rights to land that was already theirs. The “Declaration of Sentiments” created...

Words: 1627 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Votes for Women

...How important were the activities of the Women’s suffrage movement in the decision to grant women to vote. On February the 6th 1918 women over the age of 30 who were householders or married to a householder were granted the vote in Britain. This came after 60 years of suffrage campaigns. The women’s suffrage campaign was a powerful political force by 1914. There were 56 suffrage groups and two main bodies, whom of which were national - The suffragists (NUWSS) and The Suffragettes (WSPU). This essay will analyse how far the women’s suffrage movement was responsible for women being granted the vote by comparing it to other important factors such as the changing attitudes towards women in society, the part played by women in the war effort 1914-1918 and the changes in other countries. It can be argued that the activities of the suffrage movement in the decision to grant the vote for women was a big factor but their war work perhaps had just as big a part to play and the changes in other countries perhaps also just as big an influence. Therefore it can be argued the women’s suffrage movement was important in the decision to grant women the vote. It is undeniable that the activities of the women’s suffrage movement in the decision to grant them the vote was important as they were always being spoken about and they were known nationwide. The two different groups had two completely different approaches to their cause. The campaigning methods of the NUWSS were ‘peaceful’ tactics whereas...

Words: 1454 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Answering Objections To Women's Suffrage Summary

...In her arguments stated in “Answering Objections to Women's Suffrage”, Alice Stone Blackwell effectively deconstructs objections given by people who opposed women's suffrage in the 1920s by highlighting the importance of equality and women's roles. In one of her arguments, she quotes “The reasons why women should vote are the same as the reasons why men should vote are the same as the reasons for having a republic rather than a monarchy. It is fair and right that the people who must obey the laws should have a voice in choosing the law-makers, and that those who must pay the taxes should have a voice as to the amount of the tax, and how the money shall be spent.” Denying women the right to vote goes against the fundamental principle of equality...

Words: 348 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Annotated Bibliography: The Fight For Women's Suffrage

...Gwyneth Simard Mrs.Adams Honors English 7 September 2017 Annotated Bibliography The Fight for Women’s Suffrage. (2009). History.com Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/the-fight-for-womens-suffrage This article details the advancement of the women’s suffrage movement. It focuses on its 1848 beginning, and how the fight was for equal rights between men and women. The article reviews how the women’s rights movement evolved in the 1850s but fell out until the Civil War, resulting in some supporting the south because even black men had been given the right to vote, but still not women, and the the racist Southerners gave support just to gain more sway against black people’s rights to vote.Men refused to accept that women...

Words: 297 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Women's Rights Convention Analysis

...Elizabeth Cady Stanton made her first public statement for women's suffrage. Her call to her to action was codified in the groundbreaking piece of literature known as the declaration of sentiments. This moment in history marks the beginning of the woman's right's movement. The beginnings of the Seneca Falls Convention drawback to the anti-slavery movement, or more specifically the World's Anti-slavery Convention of 1840. The British abolitionist had denied female representation at the convention. Stanton and Mott, who were in attendance of this convention, decided to organize a protest convention back in the states. It would take several years for Stanton and...

Words: 1471 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Women's Suffrage Movement

...1914? Male attitude towards votes for women Male prejudice still existed despite the arguments put forward by women’s groups. A generally held view was that women in the later 19th century were considered to be second class citizens, physically, mentally and morally inferior to men and therefore incapable of voting. It was argued that women and men operated in different ‘spheres’ with their social roles being based on their differing abilities. While men were the protectors of family and the ‘breadwinners’ who had a role to play in government and professional life, woman by contrast, should focus on rearing the children and do ‘good deeds’ in charitable religious and educational work. As was said in a parliamentary debate in 1872, “we regard women as something to admire, to love . . . . she is the silver lining which lights the cloud of man’s existence.” Therefore, for many men there was no place for women in politics. Such attitudes of the majority MPs and working class men in British society delayed women’s suffrage as for it to occur they needed the support of the ‘dominant’ and powerful group in society i.e. Men. Female attitudes towards votes for women Very few women initially supported women’s fight for suffrage. In fact many women were strongly against giving women the vote or any form of education for women or rights. As Sarah Sewell, herself opposed to women’s suffrage said, “profoundly educated women rarely make good wives or mothers.” She continued that...

Words: 2170 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

How Did Elizabeth Cady Stanton Impact The Women's Rights Movement?

...American society on what women’s rights were. Stanton was known for her role in founding an organized women’s rights movement. Elizabeth Cady Stanton had the biggest impact on the United States as a whole by her constant efforts to fight for women’s equality by dedicating her life for future women’s rights, and impacted many future leaders to take part in a strong movement just as she did. Elizabeth Cady was born in Johnstown, New York on November 12, 1815 and brought up in a wealthy household. Stanton was raised by her wealthy mother and father who was a state legislature of New York, he also took worked in House of Representatives and also was a member of the...

Words: 977 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Ww1 and Female Suffrage: Help or Hindered?

...case of female suffrage? [40 Marks] In the sources presented, there are contrasting views as to whether the First World War helped or hindered the cause of female suffrage.  On the one hand, there were many people who argued that because women had worked so relentlessly during the war, it would be impossible to deny them the vote. This is argued in source 4 in which Asquith states it would be “impossible to withhold from women the power and the right of making their voices heard”, implying that women’s work and effort throughout the war should be recognised and their deeds should not simply be ‘swept under the table’, so to say. During the war some 4 million women were employed in jobs previously done by men, whether this is from munitions factories and land girls, to the extent of secretarial and administration work following the invention of the typewriter and telephone. What is unusual about source 4, is the individual this source has come from. Asquith was a Liberal MP most infamous in fact, for his anti-female enfranchisement views. Now, post war Asquith does change his mind on the issue and goes onto support female suffrage, however at this point he was still believed to be against the cause. Perhaps Asquith has given this speech with the intention of regaining support after losing the Prime Minister post to David Lloyd George in 1916 during the coalition government, therefore this source although somewhat accurate, provides less weight for the argument the war helped the...

Words: 1373 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Ethics During Change

...Margaret Mead. The Women’s Rights movement starts its beginning as July 13, 1848. This women’s movement didn’t just happen because someone thought that it was time for women to have the same rights as men but because women of all ages came together at the start of it in order to fight for equality among the sexes and this was something they were passionate about. Women have seriously affected changes in laws and human nature by holding meetings, petition drives, public speaking and other effective ways. These leaders of the movement fought for freedom in family life, religion, government, employment, and education. Over several years they have slowly but successfully gained access to these freedoms because of a group of women who never gave up for futuristic women and who fought in the things they believed in like freedoms. The year is 1840 and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott traveled with their husbands to the Worlds Anti-Slavery Convention, but the women were not allowed to participate. Mott and Stanton became friends and together planned their own convention to expand and further the cause for Women’s Rights. These women were both Quakers and came from small towns. Stanton is most famous for her Women’s Bible and leading the Women’s Right Convention. Finally the summer of 1848 came around and Stanton, along with Mott and three other women called together the Seneca Falls Convention. There were 300 attendees which included around 40 men. They discussed women’s rights and...

Words: 2180 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

The Stereotypes Of Women In The 19th Century

...Lauren Glover History 1301 Dr. Kibbe 14 April 2016 Throughout history, women continued to have a constant battle for the right to have equal opportunities and freedoms as everyone else. Women were viewed as secondary compared to men and higher authorities believed that laws and regulations should be imposed upon them. The stereotype of a women of the 19th century was basically known as a house wife. They were expected to get married, raise children, and take care of the home, but they could not participate in political events or even own their own property. Things began to change in the 19th century and women started to stand up for themselves and start fighting for their rights to be treated with equality. The convention of Seneca...

Words: 598 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Kelley Speech Rhetorical Analysis

...Kelley’s use of parallelism and compelling pathos create a remarkable speech that supports her argument against child labor with concise eloquence, influencing her audience to adopt her views on its despicable tendencies while also gathering strength for her argument. Kelley begins her speech by stating the fact that illegal child labor is rampant in the United States. She proposes her opinions on the issue by stating that the idea of any child working under the age of sixteen is abhorrent, and invokes pathos to strengthen this claim by creating a sense of melancholy that she will allude to throughout her entire speech. This emotional burden has a certain parallel to her audience: men and women fighting for the right of women’s suffrage....

Words: 965 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Women's Rights Dbq

...The Women’s Suffrage Movement was a huge part in history. “While the fourteenth amendment was being formulated in 1806, women’s rights leaders submitted thousands of signatures to Congress to see that the fourteenth amendment recognized their long standing claim to political rights and was truly democratic in its provisions” (Rogers 71). The second section of the fourteenth amendment, the one that addressed voting explicitly, used the term “male citizens” to designate the body of the voters whose representation would be reduced in case southern states disfranchised African Americans. The amendment made reference to sex only to exclude women (Rogers 71). Women were not even counted as citizens (Riley 68). Women were seen as the “weaker sex”...

Words: 2194 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Womans Suffrage Movement

...The suffrage movement occurred around the early 19th century and it was one of the primary social transformations in American history. Women battled for their rights and thought suffrage existed as the greatest effective to change an unfair system. Iron Jawed Angels was a flick that covered a period in U.S. history with the tussles from women that battled for their privileges to vote. In a nation controlled by prejudice, it was very challenging for women to battle against the men. Females were continuously labeled and were measured to be a weaker gender. The idea that was involved was that women were always seen to have certain responsibility. Men believed that caring for the children was to be their only role that was considered appropriate for females. The women was seen as a substandard when they contributed to legislations but, males were always seen to be the strong ones and their thinking’s that without man we would not be anywhere. Suffrage is known as, the right or opportunity of electing and is often combined among the rights of residency. Nevertheless, not all individuals in the United States are automatically allowed the privilege of citizenship, not all citizens are evenly capable with the right to vote. Throughout U.S. history, many individuals were refused suffrage established upon race, sex, age, and salary. The nonexistence of widespread suffrage traditionally stemmed in a landslide of debates, disputes and encouragement for political improvement. However, in...

Words: 1034 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

The History of Women's Suffrage

...walks through the door, having been alive the whole time. Mrs. Mallard literally dies of grief at seeing he is alive and well. This intrigued me, as I wondered why she was so upset he wasn’t dead, and I wanted to find out more about women’s roles in 1894. At the time this story was written, women did not have many rights. They could not seek higher education, own land or property, and they could not vote. In 1894, the fight had started but the battle was still a long way from being won. This story was inspiring to me, and it made me want to learn about the fight for women’s suffrage since 1848, which is when the Seneca Falls Convention was held on July 19 and 20th (“Rights for Women”). According to the National Woman’s History Museum, it took women more than seventy-two years to get right the vote (“Rights for Women”). I find it amazing that the United States denied women the right to vote for that long. The fight for women’s suffrage, which started with the Seneca Falls Convention and is still going on today, reveals a long and arduous struggle. This paper will explore the origins, the early history, the advancements in the 1900’s, the final outcome, and finally the fight for women’s equal rights that still exists today. According to the National Women’s History Museum, “In the early 1800’s, women were second class citizens. Women were expected to...

Words: 2619 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

First Wave Feminist Movemnt

...though feminism had been seen for quite some time, the actual term "feminist" was not first used until 1912. "The modern feminist movement began a as result of sweeping social, political and industrial changes in Europe and the United States" (Conger). Many suffragists did not refer to themselves as feminists. They advocated only for voting rights, not complete equality. Oppression as an Obstacle for Women Women advocated against a mindset, an entire system of socialization. "Women were socialized, both in their minds and in the minds of men, that their sole role in society was reproduction" (Fisher). "The average married female gave birth to seven children" (Conger). If a woman was engaging in public activities then "she was ignoring her biological weaknesses - a smaller brain and a more fragile physique - which she was supposed to protect in order to ensure her reproductive abilities" (Krolokke, 5). Women had little control over their life. Women were considered to be property of either their fathers or husbands. Women's value and role in society was framed as the "question of women". The question addressed education, marriage and social mobility as it related to women. Higher education was off limits for women. "Wealthier women could exercise limited authority in the domestic sphere but possessed no property rights or economic autonomy"...

Words: 2207 - Pages: 9