Throughout American History, women have actively called for greater political, economic, and cultural equality. They argued that gender should not be the barrier that blocks women from society. They were enlightened by past reforms in the Western world, which demonstrated that women’s voices can be equally powerful and impactful. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, women in the United States believed that women’s suffrage rights were the key to unlocking the opportunities that the urbanizing country provided.
While the anti-slavery movement was predominant in this era, many female activists hopped into the discourse and joined white anti-slavery organizations, like Lucretia Mott and Lucy Stone. Yet, since women were still considered to be characters of “housewives” and “maids” during this time, they were restricted from speaking publicly or even joining the movement. The downplay of women’s societal significance inspired them to form the first Women’s Rights Convention, which advocated for women’s education, the right to vote, the right to own property, and organizational leadership. This had been the main goal of the first-wave feminist movement for the past 70 years. A famous speech by Sojourner Truth at the 1851 Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, argued for the rights of African Americans and women during and after the Civil War. In her speech “Ain’t I a Woman?”, Truth states, “If the first women God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back”.
Essentially saying that women hold just as much strength and capability as men, so why shouldn’t women hold as many rights as men? It was finally in 1920 that the 19th Amendment guaranteed white women the right to vote, which was a big milestone in the history of feminist movements. The suffrage movement’s triumph paved the way for future generations to continue fighting for greater civil rights, pushing the boundaries in hope of improving women’s social status over time.