Woman's Suffrage in America
The firstwave of feminism in the United States of America up to (not including) the 20th century.
by Angela Zheng
"Remember the Ladies"
31 Mar 1776
Abigail Adams sends her husband, John Adams, a letter where she writes
"remember the ladies," urging him as well as the other congressmen to not forget about the nation's women.
"I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by
any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation. That your Sex are Naturally Tyrannical is a Truth so thoroughly established as to admit of no dispute, but such of you as wish to be happy willingly give up the harsh title of Master for the more tender and endearing one of Friend.”
Women Lose the Right to Vote in New Jersey
18 Dec 1807
Prior to 1807, women lost the right to vote in every other state in America except for New Jersey. In 1787, the U.S. Constitutional Convention gave the states the power to determine whether women would be allowed to vote or not.
Women Join AntiSlavery Associations
22 Feb 1832 - 1 Dec 1840
In Salem, MA, a group of female women of color made the first Antislavery Association society in the United States.
Seneca Falls Convention
19 Jul 1848 - 20 Jul 1848
A convention organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton was held at Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, NY. It was the first women's rights convention to be held in the United States. About 200 women attended the convention as well as abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Stanton read a treatise she had written titled the "Declaration of Sentiments and Grievances.” The declaration pleaded for women to have the same basic rights that men had: equality under the law, fair education, and equal employment. The members at the convention adopted and signed the declaration and passed 12 resolutions that called for specific women's rights.
First National Women's Rights Convention
24 Oct 1850
Over 1,000 delegates from 11 states attended the first National Women's Rights convention in Worchester, MA.Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Frederick Douglass, Paulina Wright Davis and other activists shared the desire for a successful movement.