Overview

Overview

Women's rights are rights that promote a position of legal and social equality of women with men. 

In American history, women began as property to their husbands. They were not seen as equals nor were they treated as equals to men. Married women could not own property in their own names, sue, be sued, make contracts, sit on a jury, write a will, or even vote. Women  did not have the same opportunities for education and careers that men did. It was a man dominated country. This began to change in the 1800s.
 It was slow to gain momentum. The boom of women's rights began in the 1900s, which by then every state had passed legislation modeled after New York’s Married Women’s Property Act (1848), granting married women some control over their property and earnings. In 1920, the biggest event in women's rights history unfolded; women were granted the right to vote in all US elections. Since then, women have been fighting for equal pay, the decrease and execution of rape and the prosecution of rapists, and working towards an equal society where men and women stand the same.

Women's Rights: Then and Now

Then- Before the 20th century, women had no identity for themselves and were considered inferior to men.  The women's rights movement started when the 15th amendment was passed, giving voting rights to African-American men, when women began to realize they should be granted rights too.  When President Woodrow Wilson declared WWI a "war of democracy", women revolted to the streets claiming the U.S. was not a democracy, because their rights were still not set.  In 1920, Wilson passed the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote, but because of their success, American women did not stop there.  Next came The Civil Rights Act, passed to abolish sex discrimination in the work place, then laws were placed to increase awareness of Reproductive rights in 1973.  Pregnant women were given the right to leave whilst they were pregnant without discrimination and pension rights were passed for women soon after.  

Now- Women have been fighting for their rights for over 200 years and they are still not entirely equal to men.  The same stereotypes from the 19th century are still around today, because of these stereotypes many women lead men to believe that they are inferior.  Listed below are rights women are still fighting for today.  

What women are fighting for now: 

• Reproductive Rights (Abortion, etc.)

• Front Line Combat: Whether women should be allowed to fight on the Front Lines alongside men. 
• Military Draft: Whether women should be included in the Military Draft with men.   
• Equal Pay.  For every dollar a man makes, a women makes 77 cents.  
  

Famous Women Activists

Gloria Steinem- American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist. 
Elizabeth Cady Stanton- American social activist, abolitionist, and leading figure of the early women's rights movement.
Eleanor Roosevelt- Married to President Franklin Roosevelt, traveled for him during WWII, Chairman of the United Nations Human Rights Commission.
Jane Addams- Pioneer settlement worker, founder of Hull House in Chicago, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace.
Susan B. Anthony- Formed the National Woman’s Suffrage Association, pioneer in the fight for Women’s Rights, first woman to have her picture on an American coin.
Betty Friedan- American writer, activist, and feminist.
Louisa May Alcott- Famous author, wrote "Little Women" and "Little Men," worked to get voting rights for women.
Simone de Beauvoir- French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, political activist, feminist, and social theorist. 
Abigail Adams- Wife of President John Adams, mother of President John Quincy Adams, influential in beginnings of US as a nation, supporter of women’s rights.
Sojourner Truth- African American who spoke out against slavery and for the rights of women.
Gail Laughlin- Attorney and Women's Rights Activist.










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