Essay on Womens Right to Vote - 875 Words

Womens suffrage refers to the right of women to participate in democratic processes through voting on the same basis as men. In the medieval and early modern periods in Europe, the right to vote was typically severely limited for all people by factors such as age, ownership of property, and gender. The development of the modern democratic state has been characterized internationally by the erosion of these various limitations following periods of collective struggle. Womens suffrage has been achieved as part of this process of modernization at different times in different national contexts, although very few nations granted women the right to vote in elections before the twentieth century (Freedman, pp. 63). The first convention held†¦show more content†¦Following the failure of his attempt to amend the 1867 Reform Act to allow womens suffrage, a number of regional womens suffrage societies were established, culminating in the creation of the National Union of Womens Suffrage Societies in 1897 (Freedman, pp. 89). In 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst and others broke away from the National Union and established the Womens Social and Political Union, the â€Å"suffragettes,† who deployed much more confrontational forms of political campaigning, including demonstrations, hunger strikes, and vandalism of property. In 1918, after World War I, women over 30 were granted the vote in national elections, and in the Representation of the People Act of 1928, women in the United Kingdom were finally granted the vote on the same terms as men. New Zealand has some claim to be the first nation to allow women the right to vote on an equal basis to men; having done so in 1893, it was ahead of all presently existing independent countries. Australia followed closely behind, establishing womens suffrage in 1902, while Finland granted women the right to vote in 1905 (McElroy, pp. 163). Throughout the twentieth century, women across the globe gradually gained access to the right to vote. The length and intensity of campaigns to secure womens right to vote across this period indicates something of the strength of resistance to womens suffrage. The reasons for this areShow MoreRelatedWomens Right to Vote1122 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Womens Right to Vote Cover Letter ONE: My purpose in writing this essay in one sense is a reminder to myself and to anyone reading it that among the lesser known and yet enormously impactful injustices of the U.S. is the fact that it took 144 years from the time of the Declaration of Independence to 1920 when the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was put in place. In those 144 years there were august debates about freed slaves rights to vote; and of course there was a bloody war over statesRead MoreA Womens Right to Vote Essay758 Words   |  4 PagesWomens Right to Vote August 26, 1920 was perhaps one of the greatest victories of the century for women. Now when the polls open women and men stand next to each other and cast a vote that holds the same importance. Every person should remember the time and effort it took to get here as they approach the poll booth. There was a struggle to over come and that struggle was won. The landmark acceptance of the Nineteenth Amendment changed the way of life in American forever. We were sixteenRead MoreWomens Right to Vote Essay974 Words   |  4 PagesWomen’s right to voting Right from the Preamble of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (1948), the â€Å"equal rights of women and men† are mentioned, together with the fundamental human rights, to be reaffirmed by the UN’s member states to form the background for the demonstration of the Declaration (Universal Declaration on Human Rights, 1948). 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Paul was put in jail for that and started a hunger strike. Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Shanton supported the womens suffrage for fifty years later. Neither of them lived to see the 19th amendment ratifiedRead MoreThe Fight to Vote Essay1312 Words   |  6 Pageshave the right to vote. In many states, they could only vote if their state allowed them the privilege. The dedicated men and women fought for their right to vote in the Civil Rights Movement in the early and mid 1900s. Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act to give African Americans the rights to vote. It would have not occurred if the Civil Rights Movement had not taken place. The Nineteenth Amendment would not have occurred either if not for the Civil Rights Movement