 The Fight for Equality
 onsidered inferior to males, a woman’s
station in life was limited to being a good wife and mother. Mothers educated their sons to be good citizens and wise voters. Single working women were required to pay taxes while still
denied the right to vote. Unable to vote and publicly voice their views women lived as second class citizens.
Nineteenth century married women lost most of their legal and economic rights. Husbands retained custody of the children if the couple divorced.
Tired of these economic, legal and social constraints, women gathered at Seneca Falls, NY for the first women’s rights convention.
The 1848 Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention called for sexual equality. The Convention brought women’s suffrage to the forefront, now
organized women began the fight for equality.
The Civil War slowed the suffrage movement as women’s rights activists supported the abolishment of slavery. After the Civil War, many believed
women and former slaves would be granted the vote. Passed in 1870, the 15th Amendment enfranchised African-American males but not women.
Four constitutional amendments strongly affected the fate and influence of women in society:
- The 14th Amendment termed “citizen” as male, passed in 1868.
- The 15th Amendment enfranchised African-American males, passed in 1870.
- The 18th Amendment prohibited alcoholic beverages, passed in 1919.
- The 19th Amendment enfranchised women, passed in 1920.
Fifty years of women’s political unions, suffrage parades, lobbying, and arrests would pass before the 19th Amendment allowed women to
vote. Although first proposed in 1923, an Equal Rights Amendment has yet to be passed.
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