Women's History: From Abigail Adams to Hillary Clinton - Essay Example

Introduction

The history of women is full of challenges in their fight for equality as well as human rights in the United States. The challenges vary from Abigail Adams requesting her husband to “remember the ladies” when designing a government for the African Colonies to fight for the human right to vote through suffrages by women such as Susa B. Anthony, as well as the rise of feminism. Additionally, these milestones include the election of Hillary Clinton as one of the first female nominees for president by the major political party. These actions illustrate that American women have fought for a long time to attain equal rights in the country. Even though some of these events did not achieve intended expectation, the majority of them were successful in creating a mark in the history of women. Therefore, this paper will analyze the historical events of women from 1865 to present with emphasis on activities that contributed to the attainment of human rights or equality.

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Women Suffrage Movement

The suffrage movement was among the first historical events that called for equal rights of women to vote. The National Woman Suffrage Association was founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The women were responsible for coordinating the national suffrage movement (Roff par. 1). In 1869, the territory of Wyoming granted the first woman suffrage law in the United States. The suffrage law enabled women to vote as well as hold office. Wyoming became part of the United States’ history as the first country to grant women the right to vote (Hansen par. 2). Despite the attempts made by the movement to promote women’s rights and equality, they have faced challenges. For instance, in 1916, the first birth control clinic was opened by Margaret Sanger in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Despite her efforts, her clinic was identified as illegal under the law that forbade birth control. She eventually closed the clinic and founded the American Birth Control League in 1921. This league was ultimately renamed Planned Parenthood.

On the other hand, the suffrage movement has made significant headway in promoting women’s right to vote or hold office. For instance, in 1917, the activist, Jeannette Rankin from Montana, who was associated with the National Suffrage movement, was sworn in as the first woman elected into Congress as a member of the House of Representatives (IHistory par. 2). The sanction of the 19th Amendment into the Constitution of the United States was completed in 1920 with the declaration that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be abridged or denied by any country in the United States on account of sex” (IHistory par. 3). This Amendment is nicknamed as “The Susan B. Anthony Amendment” as a tribute to her work on behalf of women’s suffrage.

Civil Rights Movement

Between 18658 and 1920, the employment sector underwent a steady transformation as more women joined the labor market. Additionally, more women opted for longer at work, and more of them opted for white-collar jobs. However, the economic experiences of women were still identified as separate from the men due to gendered limitations that are determinant on demographic features more than that of the men. Even though men had to work, factors such as race, class, locality, and ethnicity may play a role in the type of work that they performed. Moreover, the census perceived that men worked as a necessity for the majority of their lives, even though 10% of free women held jobs. Marital status was also vital in identifying whether a woman worked for a salary despite the influence of age, race, ethnicity, and race (Kleinberg 105).

Movements such as the Civil Rights Movement were formed to facilitate equality in the employment of women. Specifically, the Civil rights movement was initiated by the actions of the black seamstress Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery. This movement was successful as it resulted in the enactment of two significant acts. This movement stirred the signing into law by President John Kennedy the Equal Pay Act in 1963. This Act barred sex-based discrimination of wages between men and women who were performing the same tasks in the same workplace (Morgado par. 4). Additionally, President Lyndon B. Johnson, as a result of this movement, signed the Civil Rights Act as part of the law under Title VII, which bans the discrimination of employees based on their race, national origin, religion, or even sex.

Title IX, Battle of the Sexes

The battle of the sexes incorporated the fight for equal opportunities for women in regards to education. In addition, this movement was marked by the significant tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in 1973 (Lo par. 8). In this match, the great Bobby Riggs had claimed that not even the best female tennis player could beat him in a game. Contrary to his comment, in a match aired on TV with over 90 million viewers, he lost to Billie Jean King. King commented that the women would be set back 50 years if she lost to Riggs. Additionally, she felt that the match was significant in building and maintaining women’s self-esteem (IHistory par. 19). Moreover, President Richard Nixon signs into law Title IX of the Education Amendments, which bars the discrimination or exclusion of people based on sex from receiving the benefits of any education program or federal financial assistance. This law facilitated the incorporation of women into education programs as well as obtaining financial aid.

Another significant event can be identified as the case of Roe vs. Wade. This ruling was complex and contentious as it focused on women’s rights that have been in question for over 75 years. In 1973, Roe vs. Wade highlighted the complex decision on whether to end a pregnancy of a woman intentionally. The Supreme Court ruled that doctors, courts, as well as politicians, could not decide for the women. As such, the court declared that the Constitution protects the legal right of a woman to carry out abortion (Hansen par. 5).

Women and Politics

One of the most significant events is the naming of Geraldine Ferraro as the running mate of Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale. This event made her the first woman to be nominated as the vice president by a major party. This selection by Mondale helped to advance the significance of women in politics. This step also helped to support the necessity of including women into politics by allowing them to engage in activities of political parties. Other instances of women in politics include the swearing-in of Janet Reno as the first female attorney general of the United States. President Clinton made this appointment in 1993, and in 1997, Madeleine Albright is sworn in as the country’s first female secretary of state. The selection of women in significant political positions is a testament to the gradual attainment of equality and women’s rights.

Another significant event is the signing of the Violence Against Women Act by Congress in 1994. This Act was made as part of the Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. Furthermore, the Act also provides funding to programs that help the victims of rape, stalking, domestic violence as well as sexual violence among other gender-related violence. These actions have immensely contributed to reducing gender-based violence as they made violent acts against women illegal. Moreover, the political position of women was greatly improved by the appointment of United States Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as the first female speaker of the house in 2007 as well as the presidential nomination of Hillary Clinton as the first woman in a major political party.

Conclusion

Women have undergone vital adjustments to attain relevance in today’s society. They have moved from being considered inferior to men to having equal rights and privileges. However, their journey has not been easy as they have faced numerous challenges, including resistance from society and influence from factors such as race, ethnicity, and status. The movements and events have resulted in a successful adjustment of the Constitution to support equality or promote women’s rights. Nevertheless, despite the success of the different campaigns and events, there is a lot of work that needs to be done to ensure that women attain equality in society.

Works Cited

Hansen, Kristine. "13 Moments That Changed Women’s History Forever." Reader's Digest, 28 Mar. 2020, www.rd.com/list/moments-that-changed-womens-history/.

History. "Women’s History Milestones: A Timeline." HISTORY, 26 Feb. 2019, www.history.com/topics/womens-history/womens-history-us-timeline.

Kleinberg, S. J. "Women’s Employment, 1865–1920." Women in the United States, 1830–1945, 1999, pp. 105-127.

Lo, Candice. "Decade by Decade: Major Events in Women's History." Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Mar. 2008, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/decade-by-decade-25263355/.

Morgado, Deanna. "The Most Historic Moments in Women’s History in the US." Culture Trip, 30 Jan. 2018, theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/historic-moments-womens-history-us/.

Roff, Sandra. "Women's Suffrage: The Early Leaders:Manuscript Division." American Memory: Remaining Collections, 8 Nov. 2018, rs6.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awmss5/leaders.html.