Flashback: The Fight for Women's Right to Vote

Flashback: The Fight for Women's Right to Vote

The year is 1913. A new president has been elected and is about to take office. But when he arrives at the train station in Washington, DC, few people are there to meet him.

“Where are the crowds?” he asks.

They are already on Pennsylvania Avenue, watching something the American public has never seen before: thousands of women, marching in the streets.

What do they want? The right to vote.

“The U.S. Constitution didn’t say one thing about who could vote in its initial form. All of the power over who could vote was left to the states.”

Robyn Muncy is a history professor at the University of Maryland, College Park.

She explains that in America’s political system, power is divided between the federal government and the states.

“That meant that suffragists in the late 19th century had a choice: They could either try to get a federal amendment¹ … or, they could work state by state, where in a lot of cases, women had a lot more power at the state level.”

Women decided² to do both. The struggle for woman suffrage³ took place at the federal and state level from the 19th century through the 20th. “Suffrage” means the right to vote.

The 19th century: grassroots campaigns in the states

At first, only a few women were asking for suffrage. They said women had the same value as men, so they should have the same political and legal rights, too.

These women traveled across the U.S., giving talks about equal rights and meeting with lawmakers in town after town.

But Jean Baker⁴, a historian from Goucher College in Maryland, says their ideas were not always popular.

“There are stories of the women being chased after they finished their lecture, and they might be going back to a home to spend the night. And people would be peppering them with all kinds of rotten eggs, et cetera, et cetera.

“But they also suffered from the opposition⁵ of the majority opinion.”

At the time, most people – including women – thought that women voting just wasn’t natural. They believed that men and women were fundamentally opposites.

“That men were competitive, they were aggressive by nature, they were self-assertive by nature. And they belonged — they were fitted – for public life.

“While women were by nature nurturing⁶, cooperative and thrived really within the confines of their own homes.”

Historian Robyn Muncy says that, nevertheless, suffragists operated grassroots campaigns across the U.S. They worked town by town, persuading their neighbors, persuading people in their churches, and then trying to persuade their state legislators to enfranchise⁷ women.

By 1900, they had persuaded lawmakers in four states to give women the right to vote in all elections.

They had also succeeded in getting more women to support their own suffrage.

One big reason women were more willing to listen was industrialization. Things that women use to make in the home were increasingly being made in factories or sold in stores.

“If you’re not producing the milk or going to collect the eggs in the morning that you’re going to feed your family, you don’t know if those eggs and that milk are pure, if they’re not contaminated in some way.

“If you’re depending on drug companies to make drugs for your family rather than brewing⁸ things at home, you don’t know what’s in those drugs, you have no control over that.

“And so as production moved out of the home, a lot of women began to think, whoa, if we’re going to guarantee the well-being⁹ of our families – if we’re going to do what women are supposed to do, care for our children, care for our families – we have to have public power.”

The 20th century: A federal amendment

In 1913, the suffrage movement took a dramatic turn. A 28-year-old American named Alice Paul decided to engage the president himself on the debate.

Woodrow Wilson was not inclined to support woman suffrage, but Alice Paul knew the newly elected president had a lot of power. His party, the Democrats¹⁰, controlled the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. President Wilson could move forward an amendment to the Constitution that would guarantee the right to vote for most women across the country.

So Alice Paul began to get Wilson’s attention.

Historian Jean Baker says:

“She decided that she would have a parade the day before Woodrow Wilson arrives for his inauguration¹¹. So somehow she is able, almost single-handedly, to get 13,000 women to come to Washington.

“The parade begins down Pennsylvania Avenue, and the women are immediately assailed¹².

“Not just by the people – the males – watching, but by the police.”

Alice Paul and her group changed the campaign for women’s votes into a more radical¹³ movement. But at first they did not get very far in changing political or public opinion.

So four years later, after Wilson was re-elected, they decided to do something really wild.

Nora Hoffman-White is with the National Woman's Party at the Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument.

“The National Woman’s Party was the first organization to ever picket¹⁴ the White House. And they really targeted President Wilson. They held out banners and signs directly focused at him. So a lot of them began ‘Mr. President.’

“’Mr. President, what will you do for woman suffrage?’ ‘Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?’”

Women picketed¹⁵ the White House all day, five days a week.

“There were hecklers. Lots of people would come to the picket. They started to attack the women, pull down their banners, destroy them. And when this fight would break out in front of the White House and police arrived, the women picketers were arrested.”

Suffragists were sent to a prison in Virginia. There, the picketers were beaten. They were fed rotten food and denied medical treatment. When some women protested and went on a hunger strike, the jailers put tubes in their noses and forced them to eat.

“The imprisonments and then the force feedings were obviously very, very harsh, and really affected¹⁶ the women in many ways.

“But it did get them, again, a lot of media attention, and it started to change public perception.

“People didn’t see them as these crazy ladies out on the picket line agitating¹⁷ for something that wasn’t right. But instead, people started to see them as women who were willing to die for their cause.”

World War I

Another factor in all this was World War I. President Wilson said the U.S. was fighting for democracy abroad. So, the suffragists asked, why doesn’t the U.S. have democracy here at home? How can the government continue to deny women the vote?

Historian Jean Baker says the last straw comes when some Russian ministers arrive in Washington, DC.

“And the women put up a sign saying ‘Help us!’ to the Russians. ‘Help us! Free us! We are not free citizens of the United States. We cannot vote.’”

Finally, President Wilson cracked. He appealed to the Senate to support a constitutional amendment that said no citizen could be denied the right to vote on the basis of sex.

The next year, Congress passed the 19th amendment. But in order for the amendment to become law, a majority of states had to approve it, too.

The struggle for woman suffrage all came down to the state of Tennessee. On the first vote, lawmakers there split, 50/50. Half said no, half said yes.

Then, says Nora Hoffman-White, something unexpected happened.

“On the second vote, a very young state representative named Harry¹⁸ Burn changes his vote. So he had voted no, and he changed his vote to yes.

“So of course everybody wants to know what, what would change his mind on something that’s so important.

And he shows a note from his mother that he had received. And she in essence said, ‘Don’t keep them waiting, get ratification¹⁹ done. And, ‘Be a good boy, and take my advice.’

He said, ‘You know, you should listen to your mother’s advice,’ and he changed his vote.

“So with his vote, Tennessee ratifies²⁰, and the amendment becomes law.”

The 19th amendment

The 19th amendment enfranchised²¹ most – but not all – women.

Women in Puerto Rico and American Indians on reservations could not legally vote yet.

And African-American women had the same problems that black men had at the polls. People used all kinds of barriers to prevent them from voting.

But in the presidential election of 1920, more than 8 million women across the U.S. voted for the first time.

Almost immediately, U.S. policies began to change. In 1921, lawmakers supported an act to improve the health of mothers and babies. In the 1930s, women voters helped push through the Fair Labor²² Standards Act, and part of the Social Security Act.

While women do not always vote as a bloc²³ in the U.S., there is no question that women voters have shaped the 20th and 21st centuries.

At the same time, historian Robyn Muncy says that suffrage has helped change women’s roles in American society.

“As women gained the vote in the states, they were changing the very meaning of what it was to be a woman. They were changing the meaning of womanhood. They’re changing the meaning of democratic citizenship²⁴ for women. That is no small thing.”

That is our flashback to the fight for woman suffrage.

Words in This Story

suffragists - n. people in the past who worked to get voting rights for people who did not have them

grassroots - n. the ordinary people in a society or organization : the people who do not have a lot of money and power

enfranchise - v. to give (someone) the legal right to vote

bloc - n. a group of people or countries that are connected by a treaty or agreement or by common goals

1 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 suffrage   

n.投票，选举权，参政权

参考例句：

• The question of woman suffrage sets them at variance.妇女参政的问题使他们发生争执。
• The voters gave their suffrage to him.投票人都投票选他。

4 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 nurturing   

养育( nurture的现在分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• These delicate plants need careful nurturing. 这些幼嫩的植物需要精心培育。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants. 这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

7 enfranchise   

v.给予选举权，解放

参考例句：

• The company voted to enfranchise its 120 women members.公司投票决定给予其120名女职员选举权。
• If the city's foreign residents are enfranchised,they won't be able to vote until 1996.如果该市的外国居民获得选举权，他们要到1996年才能投票。

8 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

9 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

10 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

12 assailed   

v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对

参考例句：

• He was assailed with fierce blows to the head. 他的头遭到猛烈殴打。
• He has been assailed by bad breaks all these years. 这些年来他接二连三地倒霉。 来自《用法词典》

13 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

14 picket   

n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫

参考例句：

• They marched to the factory and formed a picket.他们向工厂前进,并组成了纠察队。
• Some of the union members did not want to picket.工会的一些会员不想担任罢工纠察员。

15 picketed   

用尖桩围住（picket的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• They picketed the restaurant. 他们在饭馆外设置纠察。
• Humboldt riotously picketed Von Trenk but the play was a hit. 尽管洪堡肆意破坏《冯·特伦克》的上演，然而这个剧还是轰动一时。

16 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

17 agitating   

搅动( agitate的现在分词 )； 激怒； 使焦虑不安； （尤指为法律、社会状况的改变而）激烈争论

参考例句：

• political groups agitating for social change 鼓吹社会变革的政治团体
• They are agitating to assert autonomy. 他们正在鼓吹实行自治。

18 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

19 ratification   

n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• The treaty is awaiting ratification.条约正等待批准。
• The treaty is subject to ratification.此条约经批准后才能生效。

20 ratifies   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• American Revolutionary War: The United States ratifies a peace treaty with England. 1784年的今天，美国独立战争：美国批准了一项与英国的和平条约。 来自互联网
• Each Member which ratifies this Convention shall ensure the effectiveapplication of its provis ions. 批准本公约的每一会员国应确保有效地实施本公约的规定。 来自互联网

21 enfranchised   

v.给予选举权( enfranchise的过去式和过去分词 )；（从奴隶制中）解放

参考例句：

• The slaves were enfranchised. 奴隶们被释放了。 来自互联网
• In Britain women were enfranchised in 1918. 1918年英国妇女获得议会选举权。 来自互联网

22 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

23 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

24 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。