Writing Plan

Jerralyn Davis

HIS 200: Applied History

Southern New Hampshire University

January 19, 2019

The Woman Suffrage Movement and the Nineteenth Amendment

For my analysis of a historical event, the topic chosen for this paper is The Woman Suffrage Movement and the Nineteen Amendment of the Constitution. The event is important because it gives women the right to vote. American women played a vital role during World War I in taking those positions which were left vacant by men and soldiers who became part of the war. New jobs were also created during this phase, and due to the absence of men in the labor market, women were recruited and enhance their skills to perform job tasks as required. After the war was over women were given the right to vote, and for the first time, they had a chance to influence the politics of America. Women had to involve in the politics of America so that the upcoming female generation could influence the policies of America. The ideology of even the most skeptical people about women involvement in voting changed.

The contribution of women in World War I lead them to recognize how significant their role is in American society (Bolt, 2014). They analyzed that despite their continuous contribution for the sake of the nation, they were not given enough representation in policy-making of the country. The American women realized that they could only get this representation if all the states within the U.S gave full suffrage to women. They were in need of a movement to obtain their fundamental right to vote. Although woman suffrage movement was already active since the late 19th century, during World War I, its popularity increased among the women of America (Bolt, 2014). The pressure was so enormous that after several failures to win the votes for the amendment bill, the 19th constitutional amendment eventually got passed from Senate after the end of World War I (Siegel, 2001). Woman suffrage movement helped in making it possible for the women to vote.

The concept of women voting was alien to women, and after they got the voting right, no platform could help women to involve them in the politics of America. To get the women involved in the politics they would need a firm footing in the politics which was only possible through a political party dedicated to the women empowerment in politics. Mary Garrett Hay came up with the idea of a political party that works for the empowerment of women even when political were skeptical of the concept (Rymph, 2005). The involvement of women in the politics of America began to take root. More women got involved in politics. The establishment of a political hold for women in political party paved the way for the involvement of other women in the politics.

Even though republican disagreed with extensive involvement of women in politics that fact however changed with time. Female politicians like Phyllis Stewart became the front face of women politician in the Republican Party (Schlafly, 1977). The ideology that the Republicans had about the involvement of women in politics changed with time. The interview of Betty Ford shows how the ideology of Republican changed over time. “I must admit that, yes. I'm not the type that’s going to burn my bra or do something like that I really don't feel that strong about it” (Fordlibrarymuseum.gov, p.19). The interview of Betty Ford showed us that the idea of Republican changed over time and they became more accepting of the ideas.

The inclusion of the nineteenth amendment in the U.S constitution guaranteed voting rights for all American citizens regardless of their gender (Siegel, 2001). This constitutional amendment was a great success for women as now they were able to elect their candidates and make them part of the American Congress. This success was only possible due to the efforts women put in for the nation to make them progress during the critical period of World War I. After the 19th amendment, the perception regarding women's role in the politics changed. The movement for 19th amendment created a chain of events that resonated for the years to come and changed the political structure of America for everyone.

References

Bolt, C. (2014). The Women's Movements in the United States and Britain from the 1790s to the 1920s. Routledge.

Fordlibrarymuseum.gov. N. p., 2019. Web. 27 Jan. 2019

Rymph, C. E. (2005). Republican women : feminism and conservatism from suffrage through the rise of the new right. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu

Schlafly, Phyllis. The power of the positive woman. Jove Publications, 1977.

Siegel, R. B. (2001). She the People: The Nineteenth Amendment, Sex Equality, Federalism, and the Family. Harv. L. Rev., 115, 947.