1. The Women's Movement

2. Seneca Falls Convention
Held in New York in 1848
The 1st women’s rights convention in the U.S.
Women activists first formally demanded the right to vote in 1848 at the meeting
Marked the beginning of the women’s rights movement

3. Declaration of Sentiments & Resolutions
Document issued by the Seneca Falls Convention
Called for equal rights for women
Written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Modeled the Declaration of Independence
Approved at Convention
Is credited with initiating the struggle towards women's rights and woman suffrage.

4. Votes for Women . . . Suffrage: The right to vote
Seen as a critical right for women
Struggle that women fought for beginning in the 1800s
Led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony

5. Why Are you Opposed Women’s Suffrage?
Women are powerful enough without the right to vote.
Giving women the right to vote would blur the distinctions between the sexes and make women more masculine.
Women voters would establish prohibition

6. Susan B. Anthony
Worked for the temperance movement & fought to abolish slavery
Headed the National Woman Suffrage Association
Practiced Civil Disobedience: a nonviolent refusal to obey a law in an effort to change the law—when she attempted to vote

7. National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)
Formed in 1890 to push for women’s voting rights
Worked at both the state & national levels to earn women the right to vote.
Veteran leaders including Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, & Lucy Stone joined with younger activists

9. Suffragist Strategies
Two Different Approaches:
National American Woman Suffrage Association:
Pursue individual states to give women the right to vote
National Woman’s Party (NWP):
An aggressive militant campaign for a constitutional amendment
Held demonstrations—including in front of the White House
Strategy #1: Pushed for a constitutional amendment
Difficult
First attempt in 1868
Strategy #2: Get individual states to permit women to vote

10. Alice Paul
“We women of America tell you that America is not a democracy. Twenty million women are denied the right to vote.” ~Alice Paul
Female social activist who used daring strategies to win the right to vote
Formed the National Woman’s Party (NWP) in 1917
Encouraged the use of public protest marches and was 1st group to use
Went on hunger strike

12. The 19th Amendment
Congress formally proposed the suffrage amendment in 1918
Ratified by enough states (2/3) on August 24, 1920
The 19th Amendment marked the last major reform of the Progressive Era

14. The Women’s Movement
In the 1960s & 1970s, women were not a minority, but they recognized that certain aspects of society placed them at a disadvantage
Some began to work for more equality
Had already worked for the right to vote & equality in education and in jobs
Feminism: Theory favoring the political, economic, & social equality of men and women
Feminists were those who believed in or acted on behalf of this theory

15. The Women’s Movement of the 1960s
Sought to change aspects of American life that had been accepted for decades:
Women were expected to put home & family first
By the 1960s, almost half of all women held jobs
More women were going to college:
# with a Bachelors degree:
1950: 25%
1970: 41%

16. Working 9 to 5?
Despite their education, women often faced job discrimination:
Males were often given the job over similarly qualified females
Women faced difficulties trying to advance in their professions
Women were encouraged to leave the workforce once they had a family
Some employers refused to hire women
Women were often underemployed:
Performed jobs below their abilities
Earned salaries below their abilities
Women were paid less than men for the same job
1963: were paid 63 cents for every dollar earned by a man
1973: were paid 57 cents for every dollar earned by a man
2003: were paid 75.5 cents for every dollar earned by a man

17. Title VII Part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964:
Prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, religion, or national origin
Gave women the legal framework to fight discrimination
Set up the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to enforce the federal prohibition on job discrimination

18. Affirmative Action Idea introduced by President Johnson in the 1960s
A policy that gives special consideration to women and minorities to make up for past discrimination
Improved opportunities by giving preference to them in school admissions & job applications
Controversial policy

19. Women’s Groups Raise Consciousness
Women began to meet together to compare experiences
Many were inspired by Betty Friedan’s 1963 book The Feminine Mystique
Described cultural patterns that prevented women from achieving their full potential
Society valued women as wives and mothers
Women began to form support groups
Ms. Magazine is founded in 1972 and devotes itself to feminist issues

20. National Organization for Women (NOW)
Organization formed in 1966 to promote full participation of women in American society
Worked to achieve equality with men
Sought fair pay & equal job opportunities
Betty Friedan helped establish
Attacked the “false image of women” in the media
Called for balanced marriages

21. Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
Proposed constitutional amendment, never ratified (approved), to prohibit discrimination on account of sex:
To become law, the amendment had to be ratified by 38 states
Over 30 approved
Strong opposition emerged and it did not pass within the 7 year time limit

23. Leading Ladies…. Gloria Steinem: Phyllis Schlafly:
Journalist who tired to change awareness through mass media
Founded political organizations to help women lobby for rights
Most famous feminist leader of the 1970s
Phyllis Schlafly:
A conservative political activist against women’s liberation
Worked hard to defeat the ERA

24. Roe v. Wade Abortion was a critical issue:
Many states had outlawed or restricted access to an abortion
NOW and other groups worked to reform the laws governing a women’s right to choose
1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion
Decision based on the constitutional right to privacy
The Court stuck down state regulation of abortion in the first 3 months of pregnancy
Ruling still allowed states to restrict abortions during the later stages of pregnancy
Case was highly controversial

25. Violence Against Women Act
Law passed in 1994
Increased federal resources to apprehend and prosecute men guilty of violent acts against women.