The March Toward Progress and Productivity Secured by Women's Right to Vote

The March Toward Progress and Productivity
Secured by Women's Right to Vote

Speech Presented by Diane Howard, Ph.D.
Accompanied with a Dramatic Presentation of the Life of Sojourner Truth
by Carlotta Russell Manceice
for the Garrison Command, Ft. Hood, Aug. 2005

Copyright © 2005

       It is a privilege to be with you as you celebrate the 85th anniversary of American women winning the right to vote. It is truly a joy to be with you, as the U.S. Army has always been near to my heart and life experiences. For most of my life I have been involved with the U.S. Army as a military wife, military family member, or as a university professor of military personnel. I am deeply grateful for the contributions of the U.S. military in providing freedom and extending equal rights for people around the world. It is an honor to consider with you today how we can continue to march forward toward advancing the rights and productivity of half the people of the globe- that is the women.

        The American Women's Rights Movement began in 1848, when Elizabeth Cady Stanton laid out the case to three female colleagues related to the limitations of women in the United States. The four women planned a specific, large-scaled strategy to increase the freedom of women in order that the country might benefit from active, female, civil involvement. The plan included the initial women's rights convention at Wesleyan Chapel
in Seneca Falls in 1848.

        To prepare for the meeting Stanton drafted a "Declaration of Sentiments," using the Declaration of Independence to connect women's rights directly to the most powerful American symbol of freedom. Familiar words from the Declaration of Independence were included. The new document stated..."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." As grievances had been listed by America's revolutionary forefathers in the Declaration of Independence, Stanton laid out unjust treatments of American women in the "Declaration of Sentiments." These included the following:

Married women had no legal rights

Women could not vote

Women had no voice in the development of laws to which they had to submit

Married women had no legal rights over property

Husbands had legal power over wives

Husbands could beat or imprison wives with impunity

Women did not have divorce or child custody rights

Most occupations and professions were closed to women

The few women who worked were paid a fraction of men's wages

Colleges were closed to female students

Women were stripped of self-confidence and self-respect

They were made totally dependent on men

          The Seneca Falls Convention described what was normative for American women in 1848- that is for Caucasian Women. It did not set forth the much worse conditions for enslaved, African-American women. At this meeting 12 resolutions received unanimous endorsement. The only resolution that did not pass unanimously was the appeal for women's right to vote. Ironically, it was not until Frederick Douglass, the great Black, abolitionist, orator, spoke that the resolution passed. "Suffrage," he stated, "is the power to choose rulers and make laws, and the right by which all other (rights) are secured." It would take 72 years, however, for women to win the right to vote, setting the stage for gaining other rights.
    Women's Rights Conventions were held regularly until the beginning of start of the Civil War. 
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Sojourner Truth traveled, lectured, and 
organized for many years.  Stanton and Anthony promoted equal rights for women, 
Caucasian women; but Sojourner Truth made the case for rights for women of color, as well. 
          A Women's Rights Convention was held in Akron, Ohio in 1851. The second day of the convention was contentious, as male clergy railed against the rights of women. They cited the superior intellect of the male, the manhood of Christ, and the sinful nature of Eve. Few women spoke. Sojourner Truth's involvement that day caused quite a stir. She rose slowly from her seat in the corner. She had scarcely lifted her head before then. "Don't let her speak!" insisted some. Sojourner moved slowly, solemnly to the front, laid her old bonnet at the president's feet, and turned her great eyes to the presiding officer. There were sounds of disapproval, but Sojourner Truth was introduced and gave her legendary "Ain't I A Woman" speech in which she argued the cause of black women. The president, Frances Dana Gage, asked for the ballot and for equality before the law for all adult citizens of sound minds, without regard to sex or color.

         In June, 1873, Susan B. Anthony was jailed for voting. She cast her ballot almost 50 years before the Nineteenth Amendment was enacted, giving women the right to vote. When the Fourteenth Amendment became part of the U.S. Constitution in July 1868, women's rights leaders, who had actively campaigned for decades for women's rights to vote, were angered by the wording of Section 2. It encouraged states to give the vote to black males and placed in doubt the citizenship of females.

         Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony urged women to vote in defiance of any state law that prohibited them from voting. Women in at least 10 states followed their stand and a few, including Anthony in 1872, were able to cast ballots when they threatened voting registrars with a lawsuit if turned away. Anthony and 14 other women registered and voted in the 1872 presidential election. Susan B. Anthony, the other women, and the registrars were arrested on November 28. Bail was set at $500, and all but Anthony chose to pay, rather than go to jail. Anthony's bail was reset at $1,000, but she again refused to pay. It was paid by a Judge Selden from whom she had sought legal advice.

         Before her trial, Anthony traveled throughout her county stating her case. She asserted, "Friends and fellow-citizens, I stand before you under indictment for the alleged crime of having voted illegally… The Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, the constitutions of the several states . . . propose to protect the people in the exercise of their God-given rights…One half of the people of this Nation today are utterly powerless to blot from the statute books an unjust law, or to write a new and just one. . . . This form of government… enforces taxation without representation… compels [women] to obey laws to which they have never given their consent… imprisons and hangs them without a trial by a jury of their peers… robs them… [leaves] half of the people wholly at the mercy of the other half…"

         On June 17, 1873, Anthony's trial opened. It was stated that "Miss Susan B. Anthony . . . upon the 5th day of November, 1872, . . . voted. . . . At that time she was a woman." When Selden, who represented Anthony, called her to the stand, there was an objection, since she was a female. Since she was a woman she was not considered competent to witness on her own behalf. Selden took the stand in her place. He testified that he had agreed with Anthony as to the Fourteenth Amendment's protection of women's rights and had advised her to vote.

         He stated, "If the same act had been done by her brother under the same circumstances, the act would have been not only innocent, but honorable and laudable; but having been done by a woman it is said to be a crime. The crime, therefore, consists not in the act done, but in the simple fact that the person doing it was a woman and not a man."

         The presiding judge directed the jury, " I have decided as a question of law . . . that under the Fourteenth Amendment, which Miss Anthony claims protects her, she was not protected in a right to vote. . . . I therefore direct you to find a verdict
of guilty."

          Susan B. Anthony never paid her fine or saw women given the right to vote. She spent much of her life promoting women's suffrage, that is for Caucasian women and not necessarily for women of color. Many of the early women rights proponents were limited in their thinking, just as their male counterparts had been. Even when women were given the right to vote in 1920, women of color were discouraged from voting in subtle and aggressive ways. The Civil Rights Movement
opened more doors for equal rights and opportunities for women of color.

         Since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's, progress has been made in challenging gender discrimination and in securing equal rights for all women, including women of color. But sometimes there have been steps forward and then back again concerning equal professional opportunities in public life for women. There have been laws, treaties, charters, and conventions established around the world affirming the equal and inalienable rights of human beings, irrespective of gender. Gender-specific protections have advanced the inherent dignity of women and have equalized their standing with men before the law. As women have been protected and freed to enter public life, societies have been enriched by their contributions and productivity. Even closed societies like China have made significant efforts to move women into the mainstream of society, to relieve poverty among them, to protect their human rights, and to increase their educational opportunities. These developments and advancements have contributed to economic and social growth in China.

         The U. S. Army has fought valiantly and sacrificially throughout the world to advance freedom for marginalized, subjugated, intimated, and terrorized people, including women. Thanks to their efforts, women are now being educated in Afghanistan and are participating in the political process. Afghanistan now has its first female provincial governor. This is a big step forward in the political progress of women in that country. Afghan women have become role models for other suppressed women throughout the world. They have demonstrated the importance and value of their being educated and allowed to participate in public life. The U. S. Army has advanced the march toward freedom and equal rights throughout the world in the past century and in the present one. Today we have a Secretary of State, Dr. Condelessa Rice, who as a professional role model demonstrates the validity and effectiveness of educated, female leadership.

          However, we can not take these advancements toward equal rights, equal opportunities, and therefore greater general productivity for granted. We have continued to take steps forward; but we have also taken steps backward again throughout history. Women continue to face unfair practices and policies in many spheres of public life, which only ends up hurting general economic and social progress. Women, simply because they are women, throughout the world and in our country commonly continue to experience unfair, humiliating, and debilitating public and private practices. Discrimination still exists when women are paid less than men for the same or comparable work, when they are denied advancement or promotions, when they are shut out of administrative positions, and when they are subjected to various forms of sexual harassment. Discrimination exists against women when they are denied equal rights and opportunities simply because they are women. In many fields, this discrimination is not necessarily open and obvious; but it frequently exists in subtle and passive aggressive forms. Progress has been made toward greater hope and possibilities for women throughout the world and in our country; but women are often still marginalized. Opportunities are frequently limited by gender and ethnicity.

        We have seen Carlotta Russell Maneice perform the story of Sojourner Truth. She portrayed Sojourner's determination to promote equal rights for women of color. We should thank God for the perseverance of great women like Sojourner and many others, who have sacrificially contributed to the greater good of us all. I have often written and spoken on women's issues and performed stories of leading and pioneering women. This history is rich with the contributions of women whose service has benefited people throughout the world for posterity. I think this celebration today gives us an opportunity to remind the general public of the great social contributions of women that have served societies at large. However, we still have a way to go for women to be appropriately respected, appreciated, and valued.

        Women are still generally marginalized around the globe. This is a tragedy, as it hurts the world when women are limited in what they can accomplish, contribute, and produce, simply because they are women. Equal rights and equal opportunities for all produce greater benefits and welfare for all. Let's not be complacent and limited in our thinking. Let us continue to advance equal rights and opportunities for all people. As Fredrick Douglass said, "Right is of no sex - Truth is of no color - God is the Father of us all, and we are all Brethren."

Sources

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Gender equality hits the mainstream. Retrieved March 17, 2005 from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/03/content_421158.htm

King, M & Mason, A., Engendering development through gender equality. World Bank. Retrieved April 13, 2005 from http://www1.worldbank.org/devoutreach/spring01/article.asp?id=109

Living the Legacy: The Women's Rights Movement 1848 - 1998, Retrieved Aug. 14, 2005, http://www.legacy98.org/move-hist.html

Religio-Political Insights of 19th Century Women. http://www.janushead.org/JHSumm99/moody.cfmUnited States v. Susan B. Anthony: 1873 http://www.gale.com/free_resources/whm/trials/anthony.htm