Many women’s rights advocates also supported the abolitionist movement and the right of African Americans to vote. After the Civil War and the emancipation of slaves in the United States, the Fifteenth Amendment, which would give African American men the right to vote, was proposed. This caused a great divide between women suffragists. Some women, including Stanton and Anthony, would not support the amendment because they felt that it should extend voting rights to all American citizens. Other women, including Lucy Stone and Julia Ward Howe, supported the amendment. They believed that once African American men had the vote, women would be next.
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Responses
Many women’s rights advocates also supported the abolitionist movement.
Many women’s rights advocates also supported the abolitionist movement.
Some women, including Stanton and Anthony, would not support the amendment because they felt that it should extend voting rights to all American citizens.
Some women, including Stanton and Anthony, would not support the amendment because they felt that it should extend voting rights to all American citizens.
The 15th Amendment was proposed.
The 15th Amendment was proposed.
Lucy Stone and Julia Ward Howe also did not support the amendment.
The piece of evidence that best supports the explicit point that "This caused a great divide between women suffragists" is:
"Some women, including Stanton and Anthony, would not support the amendment because they felt that it should extend voting rights to all American citizens."
This statement highlights the differing views among women suffragists regarding the Fifteenth Amendment, illustrating the divide between those who supported it and those who did not.
Read the historical account. Then answer the questions that follow.
The Fight for the Right to Vote
byRosaHernandez
Members of the suffrage movement fought hard for equal voting rights.
1 The right to vote is something that many American citizens take for granted. Few people
consider the fact that our ancestors fought long and hard to guarantee this right. In particular, the
women who led the suffrage movement in the United States should be remembered for helping to
secure the right to vote for women.
The Suffrage Movement Starts
2 By the early 1800s, voting rights had been extended to most white men. Still, women and
African Americans were not granted the vote until much later. Some men argued that women
should concern themselves only with household and family matters.
3 Although many women had been advocating for voting rights for years, the women’s suffrage
movement began to pick up steam in the mid-nineteenth century. A major milestone for the
movement occurred in 1848, when Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the first
convention for women’s rights in Seneca Falls, New York. The two women also supported the
abolition of slavery. They came up with the idea for the women’s rights convention after women
were barred from participating in the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention in London.
4 Almost two hundred women attended the Seneca Falls convention. There, a number of women’s
rights issues were discussed and a proclamation of demands, which included the right to vote, was
written. About forty men also attended the convention. One of these men was the famous
abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
5 Just as Mott and Stanton supported the abolitionist movement, Douglass supported the
women’s rights movement. Douglass even helped form the American Equal Rights Association
with Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in 1866. However, the group split up due to disagreements
concerning the Fifteenth Amendment.
The Great Divide
6 Many women’s rights advocates also supported the abolitionist movement and the right of African
Americans to vote. After the Civil War and the emancipation of slaves in the United States, the
Fifteenth Amendment, which would give African American men the right to vote, was proposed.
This caused a great divide between women suffragists. Some women, including Stanton and
Anthony, would not support the amendment because they felt that it should extend voting rights to
all American citizens. Other women, including Lucy Stone and Julia Ward Howe, supported the
amendment. They believed that once African American men had the vote, women would be next.
7 The divide led to the formation of two separate women’s groups that took different approaches
to getting the vote. Stanton and Anthony established the National Woman Suffrage Association,
which worked to change federal voting laws. Meanwhile, Stone formed the American Woman
Suffrage Association, an organization that petitioned state legislatures to get the vote. Eventually,
the two groups set aside their differences and united as the National American Woman Suffrage
Association in 1890.
The Continued Struggle
8 While some saw the Fifteenth Amendment as a setback for the women’s suffrage movement,
this did not discourage activists in their fight to win the vote. As women’s organizations continued
to work on getting new laws passed, individuals also took a stand to bring attention to the issue.
9 In the early 1870s, Virginia Louisa Minor and Victoria Woodhull attempted to use the Fourteenth
Amendment, which granted citizenship to all persons born in the United States, to secure the vote
for women. Myra Bradwell also attempted to use the amendment to earn the right to practice law.
Unfortunately, these attempts were all defeated in court. If women were citizens, and the Fifteenth
Amendment said that citizens had the right to vote, why couldn’t women vote? It was like sitting in
a row boat without any oars.
10 A major breakthrough in the struggle for the vote came in 1890, when Wyoming entered the
Union. The new state’s constitution gave female citizens the right to vote. This jumpstarted
campaigns across the country to get state legislatures to amend their constitutions to give women
equal voting rights. Still, it would take more than thirty years for women across the country to get
the vote.
Winning the Vote
11 In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, several states in the West extended
voting rights to women. However, states in the South and the North were reluctant to do the same.
The fact that countries such as New Zealand and Australia had recently granted women the right
to vote encouraged women in the United States to keep fighting.
12 The battle for women’s suffrage died down a bit when World War I broke out in 1914. Even so,
women’s participation in the war effort helped change people’s opinions concerning suffrage. Some
women worked as nurses and helped the troops. Others joined the workforce and took over jobs
usually held by men, often working for the same wages as men. Public opinion started to change
once women had proven that they were equal to men. By the time the war was over in 1918, the
country’s two major political parties supported women’s suffrage at last.
13 Finally, after almost one hundred years of struggle, women were granted the right to vote
when the Nineteenth Amendment was accepted on August 26, 1920. Some believed it was the
nation’s way of saying thank-you for participating in the war effort. In any case, it was a right that
was long overdue
Write a one paragraph (5-6 sentences) summary of the article “The Fight For the Right to Vote.
"The Fight for the Right to Vote" by Rosa Hernandez outlines the long and challenging struggle of women in the United States to secure voting rights. Starting in the early 1800s, the suffrage movement gained momentum with the 1848 Seneca Falls convention organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, where key issues, including the right to vote, were discussed. The movement faced a significant divide following the proposal of the Fifteenth Amendment, with some women, like Stanton and Anthony, opposing it because they wanted voting rights for all citizens, while others, like Lucy Stone, supported it, believing it would lead to women's suffrage. This division led to the formation of separate organizations advocating for voting rights. Despite setbacks and legal challenges, the movement gained strength, especially during World War I, which shifted public opinion in favor of suffrage. Ultimately, after nearly a century of activism, women secured the right to vote with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920.
"The Fight for the Right to Vote" by Rosa Hernandez chronicles the enduring struggle of women in the United States to secure their voting rights. Beginning in the early 1800s, the movement gained traction with the 1848 Seneca Falls convention organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, where the right to vote was a key demand. The movement faced a significant division over the Fifteenth Amendment, with some women opposing it because they believed it should grant voting rights to all citizens, while others supported it, viewing it as a stepping stone for women's suffrage. This split led to the formation of two separate suffrage organizations. Despite numerous challenges, including legal setbacks and societal opposition, the movement gained momentum, particularly during World War I, which helped shift public opinion. Ultimately, after nearly a century of activism, women achieved the right to vote with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920.
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