Today women are: house speakers, in sports, in entertainment, activists, law enforcement, presidential candidates, home owners, business owners and much more. Women had to endure a tremendous amount of trials, tribulations, doubts, negativity, and animosity to obtain the rights and opportunities they have today. So many achievements have been accomplished already, but women had to start at the bottom and prove themselves just to gain the trust of their society.
In the early 1800s, women had little to no freedom, no rights, and no voice in any way. Their main duties during this time were to tend to the children, the household chores and to cook their husband's meals. One major achievement for women in the early 1800s was due to Sarah Josepha Hale. She was trying to make a living for herself and support her children when she decided to give writing a try. In 1828, she became the editor of a magazine that later evolved into Godey's Lady's Magazine, and was billed as "the first magazine edited by a woman for women ... either in the Old World or the New.” The magazine focused on promoting the idea of women’s education and knowledge.
At this time African-American women were enslaved and could be sold and bought, like property. Unfortunately, they were property; they had no rights, equality, or freedom. Harriett Tubman, abolitionist, helped slaves from the South cross through the Underground railroads to get to freedom. She helped her sister, her sister’s family, her family, her parents, and many more get free of the treacherous conditions of slavery. Miraculously, she was never caught and never lost a passenger, even with a $40,000 reward for her death and capture. Since her achievements were highly praised, Union military commanders recruited her as a spy during the Civil War. She would wander the streets under the Confederate control and ask other slaves about the placement of the Confederate troops and their supply line. She was also a respected nurse guerrilla operative, helping to heal dying black and white soldiers.
In 1948 in Seneca Falls, New York the first meeting to discuss women’s rights and the initial meeting that launched the suffrage movement took place. The organizers of the convention were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. Only 100 people showed with a third of them being women. At this convention, Stanton made a draft of the “Declaration of Sentiments, Grievances, and Resolutions.” It emphasized the equality of men and women, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal,” which heavily resembled the Declaration of Independence. The goal of this historic document was to obtain equal social status, legal rights, and the right to vote for women. All of the attendees of this convention signed the Declaration of Sentiments.
In 1850, Stanton met a School teacher, Susan B. Anthony, who also took part in the abolitionist movement. They worked together to help try and gain women’s rights in equality, the right to vote and other social issues. Unfortunately they had no luck and decided to focus their efforts solely on the gaining the right to vote. In 1851 Sojourner Truth, a abolitionist, preacher and anti-slavery speaker, began a lecture tour that included a women’s rights conference in Akron, Ohio, where she delivered her famous “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech. It was famous for seeking the political equality for women, but also for expressing concern for black women’s rights. “I am a woman’s rights. I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal. I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am as strong as any man that is now,” said Truth. Her activism for the abolitionist movement gained the attention of President Abraham Lincoln, who invited her to the White House in October 1864. He showed her a Bible given to him by African-Americans in Baltimore.
In 1869, two different organizations for the suffrage movement emerged, both advocates for women’s suffrage. The first being the National Woman Suffrage Association(NWSA), created by Anthony and Stanton, which directed their focus on the fact that the 15th amendment excluded women, therefore they opposed it. The second organization, The National Women’s Party (NWP), was led by Alice Paul. The NWP undertook more physical actions including picketing the White House, in order to convince Wilson and Congress to pass a woman suffrage amendment. There was another reorganization that helped with the suffrage movement; American Suffrage Association (AWSA), created by Lucey Stone, a lobbyist for women’s rights. The AWSA and NWSA eventually merged together and formed the he National American Woman Suffrage Association. The NAWSA undertook campaigns to enfranchise women in individual states, and simultaneously lobbied President Wilson and Congress to pass a woman suffrage Constitutional Amendment. With years and years of fighting for rights, women finally got some hope. In 1869, Wyoming granted women the right to vote, then all other sates followed in later years. By 1920, with all the combined efforts of these organizations and great perseverance, the 19th amendment was finally ratified and women gained the right to vote in all elections.
By 1941, many women were entering the workforce to help pick up what the men left behind due to being enlisted in WWII. More than six million women joined the work force to build planes, bombs, tanks and other weapons that would eventually help to win the war. Rosie the Riveter’s first appearance was in a song written by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb in 1942, "that little frail girl can do/more than a man can do.” The influential posters of Rosie the Riveter was a big turning point in women’s history because it was the first time women were allowed to work full shifts and support their family, as men normally would have in this era. This gave them the confidence and knowledge they needed to know what they were actually capable of.
In the 90s women had started to gain certain rights and confidence within themselves that they did not need any man’s approval for anything. Mini skirts that showed of women’s legs became a popular fad during this time. Clothing was very bright and eccentric with brightly colored leggings and puffy leg warmers to match. Neon colors were everywhere, as well as high waisted jean shorts, jeans, skirts, and anything else that could be worn on bottom. There were matching suits, two piece outfits, windbreakers, crewnecks and plenty of heels and sneakers to match.
By 2013 women were able to enlist in the war and get married to the same sex under the Supreme Court’s reversal of the law which stated marriage for same sex couples is unconstitutional. By 2016 Hilary Clinton became the first female to run in a presidential election making world wide history for women everywhere.
The accomplishments and rights women have achieved thus far is remarkable and things are still underway. There are 102 women in Congress today, over 200,000 professional female athletes, 300 plus in entertainment, and so much more. The boundaries women are breaking is remarkable. The month of March is dedicated to all women nationwide because between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1995, Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month,” recognizing women for the incredible, brave, and admirable achievements they have made and overcome all these years.