Transcript Women`s Suffrage

Women’s Suffrage
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A Representative Democracy?
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The basic principle of a representative democracy is
“one person, one vote”
The U.S. Constitution began operating in 1789, but
not every adult was represented
Those excluded in 1789
 Poor
men who did not own land
 Slaves
 Women
 Native Americans
 People under 21 years old
Those Excluded in Society
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The Poor
Poor white men aged 21 or older gained the right to vote
in 1830s
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Slaves
 In the early 1860s, the Civil War between the
North and the South was fought over the issue
of slavery. After the Union forces from the
North won, new amendments (additions) were
added to the Constitution making all former
slaves citizens, and allowing them to vote.
Civil War Amendments
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The 13th Amendment (1865) ended
Slavery
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The 14th Amendment (1868) allowed
everyone to be equally protected by the law
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The 15th Amendment (1870) prevented
states from treating voters differently because of
race
Those excluded in 1789
Native Americans
 Before President Coolidge signed a bill in 1924 giving
citizenship to Native Americans, they could not vote
 However, in New Mexico and Arizona they were still told
they could not vote because they did not pay property
taxes
 In 1947 a group successfully challenged this law and said
because Native Americans paid other forms of taxes,
they should be able to vote.
Those excluded in 1789
People Under the Age of 21
 During the Vietnam War (1961-1975), men as young
as 18 were drafted to fight the war.
 Many of those who had to fight did not have any
voice in government because they were under age 21.
 In 1971 the 26th Amendment granted 18-year-old
citizens the right to vote.
The Seneca Falls Declaration
(1848)
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The Seneca Falls Declaration
of 1848 outlined the women's
rights movement of the mid19th century.
As can be seen in the opening
passages, the document was
modeled after the Declaration
of Independence.
“…We hold these truths to be
self-evident: that all men and
women are created equal; that
they are endowed by their
Creator with certain inalienable
rights; that among these are
life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness; that to secure
these rights governments are
instituted, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the
governed. “
Women’s Suffrage Map
Anti-Suffrage Pamphlet (c.1910)
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“Housewives!
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You do not need a ballot to clean out
your sink spout. A handful of potash
and some boiling water is quicker and
cheaper…
Why vote for pure food laws, when
your husband does that, while you can
purify your Ice-box with saleratus
water?”
“Vote NO on Woman Suffrage
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BECAUSE 90% of the women either do
not want it, or do not care.
BECAUSE it means competition of
women with men instead of cooperation.
BECAUSE 80% of the women eligible
to vote are married and can only
double or annul their husband’s
votes…
BECAUSE in some States more voting
women than voting men will place the
Government under petticoat rule.
BECAUSE it is unwise to risk the good
we already have for the evil which may
occur. “
Women's Voting Rights
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Possibly the biggest change in the political landscape of the 20th century has been
the enfranchisement of women. When the century began, only one small country
(New Zealand) allowed women to vote, but now, only one small country (Kuwait) does
not allow women to vote.
Chronology of Women’s Suffrage
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1869 Wyoming Territory grants suffrage to women.
1870 Utah Territory grants suffrage to women.
1880 New York state grants school suffrage to women.
1890 Wyoming joins the union as the first state with voting
rights for women. By 1900 women also have full suffrage in
Utah, Colorado and Idaho.
New Zealand is the first nation to give women suffrage.
1902 Women of Australia are enfranchised.
1906 Women of Finland are enfranchised.
1912 Suffrage referendums are passed in Arizona, Kansas,
and Oregon.
1914 Montana and Nevada grant voting rights to women.
1915 Women of Denmark are enfranchised.
1917 Women win the right to vote in North Dakota, Ohio,
Indiana, Rhode Island, Nebraska, Michigan, New York, and
Arkansas.
1918 Women of Austria, Canada, Czechoslovakia,
Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Scotland, and Wales
are enfranchised.
1919 Women of Azerbaijan Republic, Belgium, British East
Africa, Holland, Iceland, Luxembourg, Rhodesia, and
Sweden are enfranchised.
Passage of the 19th Amendment
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Passed in 1919
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“The right of citizens
of the United States
to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by
the United States or
by any state on
account of sex.”