Women's Vote

This image shows a woman standing in front of a sign that states "Factory Acts Regulations for Women." This postcard, illustrated by Emily Ford, depicts the poor working conditions women had to deal with in factories. They were powerless in their situations. One of NAWSA's missions was to improve the working conditions for working women and to advocate for women's suffrage, as depicted in the Presidential Address to NAWSA, which is why Emily Ford, a prominent women's suffragist, made this post card. These two examples of suffragist efforts show how the US was undergoing serious progressive movements.

Suffrage Postcard

The 19th Amendment gave the right to vote to all citizens of the U.S. regardless of gender. Prior to the 19th amendment, women had been fighting for equal footing with men for over 50 years, even though they were also human. As stated by Hilary Clinton, women deserved the same rights and privileges that men had because they were also human, and humans deserved the same rights women got. The image displays women protesting for their right to vote, as they believed that they deserved equality, similar to what Hilary Clinton says.

Votes for Women

The women's rights movement encompassed much more than the right to vote, but the right to equal treatment in the workplace, as well. In the quote above, Susan B. Anthony, one of the front leaders of the National American Women Suffrage Association, explains this by stating how women should not settle for less than what they deserve as humans. This connects to the image above as the visual depicts a protest by the NAWSA movement in which Susan B. Anthony, a member of this organization, would express these very values as listed above at such a protest. This protest would be advocating for the rights Susan B. Anthony listed above.

NAWSA Protest

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The Seneca Falls Convention met in 1848 to discuss the rights and conditions of women in society, religion, politics, economics, etc. Women at that time felt that men were ungrateful for their work and always saw women as inferior to men. The quote relates to the image because Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the prominent figure of the Convention, changing the declaration of independence to include women. The image displays ever changing modernization and how women were not satisfied being the "housekeeper" or "care taker" of the family anymore, they wanted equal rights.

The National Women's Party worked for equal rights for women and and advocated for equal treatment in the workplace. Frances Ellen Watkin Harper, a Black Female Suffragist, advocated for similar rights at the National Women's Rights Convention, as seen in the quote where she condemns those that do not aid the activists. The image in correlation to Harper's words, both showcase the feeling of need for change for women's rights within America during this time.

Women's Rights Protest

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The quote connects to the visual because the night of terror refers to the time when Jeanette Rankin of Montana became the first women to be elected into Congress. This marked a historic day, with women finally having power. The Suffragette Newspaper quote connects because the belief that women were resilient and determined to gain freedom and were of equal value of men is evident as it is with Rankin. This shows how the U.S. was modernizing, allowing women into power and eventually allowing them to vote.

The Night of Terror

This poem, written by Charlotte Anna Perkins Gilman, is written criticizing people who are anti-suffragists. The beginning of the poem begins by pointing out many stereotypical views of women that people have, each stanza ending in the claim "These tell us they have all the rights they want." As the poem continues, it beings to point out the struggles women dealt with living in the late 19th to early 20th century. It mentions how people think "that she is somehow not a human thing - And not to be helped on by human means." The poem brings out many negative views of women that men had, as well as the self deprecating view women had of themselves. The end of the poem calls the women against women's suffrage "traitors" who hide their sins under the name of Womanhood. This poem serves to show how the views of women by not only men but women themselves were skewed because of stereotypes and the poor treatment of women. This connects to the 19th Amendment as the idea that settling for comfortable compliancy is wrong given that women's voting rights were obtained when broken out of these comfortable and "safe" roles as the poem criticized them to be.

Poetry

The political cartoon above expresses the feelings of many women during this time in which they expressed that liberty, and the liberty to vote, was endowed to them as US citizens regardless of gender. The fact that the woman in the picture is pointing to Congress illustrates the idea that votes for women will allow the possibility of a "bright" future for women and for the country as a whole. This connects to the National Archives quote as this political cartoon was one of the efforts by the Women's Rights Movement described in the quote to obtain the right to vote for women. This, and many of the efforts by women during this time, show the changing social atmosphere of the US to a more collectively progressive atmosphere.

Votes for Women Political Cartoon