HISTORY

Last week, Hillary Clinton made history by becoming the first woman in the United States to receive a presidential nomination from a major party. (Al Jazeera)

We look back on a few highlights of women’s political progress in the US. Use our resources to learn about woman suffrage, suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and the first three waves of feminism.

Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit.

 

• 1848: Seneca Falls Convention
  • In Seneca Falls, New York, advocates Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organize the first women’s rights convention in the United States.
    • On the first day of the convention, only women are invited to attend and nearly 200 do. Elizabeth Cady Stanton shares a “Declaration of Sentiments,” which is based on the Declaration of Independence.
    • 40 men, including abolitionist Frederick Douglass attend the second day. Attendees agree unanimously on 11 resolutions related to specific rights for women.
      • A 12th resolution about a woman’s right to vote also passes, but it is controversial and inspires some supporters to withdraw.

• 1851: “Ain’t I a Woman?”
  • Preacher, human rights advocate, and former slave Sojourner Truth speaks extemporaneously at a women’s rights convention in Akron, Ohio, about the intersection of women’s rights and African-American’s rights:

That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman?

• 1866: American Equal Rights Association
  • During the Eleventh National Woman’s Rights Convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony found the American Equal Rights Association (AERA), which aims to “secure Equal Rights to all American citizens, especially the right of suffrage, irrespective of race, color, or sex.”
    • Founders Stanton and Anthony later leave the AERA after disagreeing with the more radical viewpoints of feminists like Lucy Stone and Julia Ward Howe. They then form the conservative feminist group, the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869.

• 1872: Arrested for Voting
  • After demanding to be registered and voting for Ulysses S. Grant in a presidential election, Susan B. Anthony is arrested in Rochester, New York. Meanwhile, Sojourner Truth is turned away from a polling booth in Michigan.

• 1892: Anti-Lynching Campaign
  • Ida B. Wells, a journalist, activist, and teacher, begins an anti-lynching campaign soon after three African-American men are lynched in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1892.
    • She travels around the South to gather research for publications on the topic, and eventually leads a protest at the White House calling for reforms.

• 1912: Theodore Roosevelt Supports Women’s Rights
  • Theodore Roosevelt pursues the presidency, including woman suffrage in his platform.
    • Woodrow Wilson wins the 1912 presidential election.

• 1916: First Woman in Congress
  • Jeannette Rankin, who hails from Montana, becomes the first woman elected to Congress.
    • Rankin runs as a progressive, promising to work for a woman suffrage amendment and to improve social welfare. She is also a pacifist and the only congressperson to vote against US engagement in the two World Wars.

• 1920: 19th Amendment Passes
  • Congress ratifies the 19th Amendment, which guarantees American women the right to vote.
    • Unfortunately, discriminatory literacy tests will continue to disenfranchise some people of color for the next 45 years (until the Voting Rights Act of 1965).

• 1932: First Female Senator
  • Hattie Caraway becomes the first woman in the Senate. She represents Arkansas.
    • Before taking office, Caraway influences her husband’s political career as a close and trusted advisor. When he passes away, Arkansas Governor Harvey Parnell appoints her to fill the empty spot.

• 1963: Equal Pay Act
  • Congress passes the Equal Pay Act, which seeks to eliminate wage discrimination on the basis of sex.
  • Today, women earn on average 79% compared to men.

• 1964: Civil Rights Act
  • Congress passes the Civil Rights Act, which forbids discrimination on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”
    • Representative Howard W. Smith added the word “sex” very late in the game. It is disputed whether he added the word in a genuine effort to prevent sexist discrimination or in attempt to weaken the bill’s chances for success.

• 1981: First Woman on the U.S. Supreme Court
  • Nominated by Ronald Reagan, Sandra Day O’Connor receives unanimous support from Senate and serves for 24 years.
  • O’Connor goes on to rule on several landmark cases, including Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which upholds Roe v. Wade in 1992, and Bush v. Gore, which settles the contested election in 2000.

• 1984: First Woman to Run as Vice President of a Major Party
  • Geraldine Ferraro runs with Walter Mondale, becoming the first vice presidential candidate on a major-party ticket.
    • Ferraro starts her career as an assistant district attorney and later serves in the House of Representatives.

 

TEACHERS TOOLKIT

Al Jazeera: Hilary Clinton accepts Democratic Party nomination

National Park Service: Woman’s Suffrage History Timeline

Nat Geo: Happy Birthday, Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Nat Geo: Woman Suffrage

Nat Geo: Women’s Lib