History of the Woman's Suffrage Movement

Aileen S. Kraditor discusses the history of the Woman Suffrage Movement form 1890 to 1920, the movement by which women agitated for and finally received the vote, something they had been denied in the original U.S. Constitution. The fact that women were omitted shows the nature of power relations between the sexes at that time in our history, and the resistance encountered to suffrage at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries shows that little seemed to have changed. However, the women were able to make their point and bring about change. Kraditor specifically considers the role of the leadership of the movement and the ideas that motivated them and by which they motivated others. She begins from the view that the movement did not have a central ideology and instead involved a number of different ideas, approaches, and tactics. Kraditor in fact finds that the movement created its effective ideology over time through the interaction of different personalities and factions, and indeed this might be said of most movements. One of the forces with which the movement had to contend and which helped shape its ideology was the ideas that were used to bolster and justify the institutions then impeding women's progress. In other words, the movement was shaped both by internal battles and by battles with the enemy. The arguments conducted over this issue have appeared in similar form with reference to other issues and do to this day.

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cted groups of women together. Some offered a form of the rights argument or sought equality as stated in the Constitution. Some saw this as a religious question and looked to religion for support. Some connected the issue to the recently-decided issue of slavery and saw the next step in achieving full equality and freedom to be the vote for women. Some connected the matter to questions of home life and sought through greater rights to protect the home, though often they were portrayed by their enemies as challenging "family values" by seeking equality with men. This sort of duality was evident for most of the factions--the arguments they set forth in support of suffrage could also be turned against them by their enemies to counter the idea of suffrage. The use of religion in this conflict is cited by kraditor as such a case, and she notes that the problem was evident earlier with reference to the abolitionist movement: The issue of slavery had had to be fought out partly on the level of Biblical interpretation, with each side marshaling its evidence by Bible exegesis. An individual's interpretation of the Scriptural view of slavery might determine his opinion of slavery in America; or his opinion of slavery in America

Category: History - H