Women's Suffrage

Women in the United States, beginning in 1848, fought for three-quarters of a century to gain the right to vote. Women's suffrage, along with abolition of slavery and reform of labor, was one of the three greatest reforms in U.S. society. The suffrage movement was born from female activism led by women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, who brought women across the nation into the movement and helped pave the road to equality for future generations of women. Anthony, Stanton, and others proved to be inspirational to women interested in the vote and equal rights for women. The outstanding leadership of early suffragists like Anthony and Stanton sparked the interest of future generations who joined the national crusade as leaders and participants in the women's suffrage movement.

Women historically have proven to be model leaders and have engaged in a wide array of reform movements. As it turns out, many of the reform movements of the nineteenth century occurred simultaneously and were led by women who counted among their primary goals the vote for women. The women's suffrage movement was not an isolated event; rather, it stemmed from the abolition movement and other reform movements that came about through the moral reforms proposed by evangelical Protestantism during the 1830s. Acting on moral principles and church dogma, men and women alike sought to reform an ailing society riddled with social injustices that included slavery and intemperance. Some women participated in the public sphere as abolition agents and as public speakers for emancipation of slaves. Others worked for a temperate society under the leadership of moral reform groups such as the Women's Christian Temperance Society. Temperance societies believed that curtailing alcohol consumption would help alleviate violence in society, control domestic strife, and eradicate child abuse and neglect. Women often worked harmoniously among male reformers, and many women accepted their gendered space within the hierarchy of a male dominated society. However, as more women became exposed to public activism and public speaking, many began to reject the restrictions placed on them by church leaders, male officials, and dominating husbands and fathers. Conflicting views regarding women's roles in public activism led to heated debates and splits within various churches.