IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE
By
ROMAN ERINBURG
Integrated Studies Project
submitted to Dr. LISA MICHEELSEN
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts – Integrated Studies
Athabasca, Alberta
FEBRUARY 28, 2013
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
Abstract
“There never will be complete equality until women themselves help to make laws and elect
lawmakers." These words, uttered by a Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906), a pioneer in the
American suffrage movement, underline the important role women played in obtaining a
political voice. Until 100 years ago, women were considered significantly lesser persons than
were men, and sometimes they were not considered persons at all.
Up until the decades of the mid to late 20th century, humanity was, by assumption and practice,
divided into two categories: superior and inferior. However, the world has changed. The passing
of laws in various nations that permitted women the right to vote serves as an example of a shift
in world views and societal values. This victory ushered in a new era in the democratic world.
The “inferior” half of the population was finally recognized as equal to the “superior” half.
In this essay, I will describe the history of women’s suffrage, their main achievements and
setbacks, the methods women used in their struggle, and what followed from their gaining the
right to vote. I will show that acquiring voting rights was the first step towards the liberation of
women; I will also demonstrate that, because women prevailed in their struggle for suffrage, the
world that we live in is freer, better, and more just.
2
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
3
Content
1. The Status of Women Prior to Suffrage
2. The Ways to Victory
3. The Chronology of the Suffrage Movement in the USA, Great Britain,
and Canada
4. A Comparison of Canadian Women’s Fight for Suffrage with their
Counterparts from the USA and Britain
a Prior to World War I
b The Final Push
5. Three Waves of Feminism and Suffrage
6. The Advancement of Women since Gaining Voting Rights
7. The Current Situation of Women and the Prevailing Points of
Women’s Concerns Regarding Equality
8. Conclusion
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
4
The Status of Women Prior to Suffrage
“A woman’s place is in the home, taking care of her husband and family” (anonymous
cited in Newman, p. 34). This sentiment was repeatedly used to keep a woman out of the
political process. Unfortunately, this point went uncontested by both men and women for a long
time, and therefore it was very difficult to contradict this mindset once the will to do so arose.
After the American Revolution, which culminated in the creation of the United States of
America, many innovations were introduced that expanded citizens’ legal and political rights.
However, those changes were not equally applied to every citizen, and women’s rights, along
with those of visible minorities, remained restricted. English common law persisted even in the
Constitution and Bill of Rights. As Abigail Smith Adams (1963) points out, “Under the common
law doctrine of coverture, a married woman’s legal identity and rights were covered by her
husband” (p. 26). This essentially meant that a woman could not buy or sell property, sign
contracts, or carry out any legal procedure without first receiving permission from her husband.
Women’s wages, her personal property, and even her clothes belonged to her husband. In theory,
unmarried women had better rights than their married counterparts. However, in fact, they were
commonly controlled by their male relatives.
Men and women were divided into two non-intersecting spheres, and this status quo
restricted women from the freedom men enjoyed. In her article entitled “Woman’s Sphere is
Restrictive (1845, p.54), Margaret Fuller compares the legal and social status of women to that of
slaves. The author argues that women are constrained by their lack of equal rights. She contends
that women are, at the very least, restricted to household work where they are unable to develop
their own talents. In worse cases, they are left defenceless against marital abuse.
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
5
In 1855, Gerrit Smith noted that, “Women’s fashion of the mid-1800s required use of
tight ribbed corsets, petticoats and floor hoop skirts” (p. 75).Those garments affected women
both psychologically and physically. Women could not move quickly and were even subject to
certain physical ailments as a result of wearing them. Most important however, as Smith
contends, “men continue to believe that women are physically inferior as long as women
voluntarily cripple themselves with their clothing” (p. 76).
In addition to being viewed as inherently inferior, women, until the end of the eighteenth
century in Britain, Canada and United States, were lacking in higher education. As Natasha
Tomsen (2007) remarks, “In the United States and Europe, women’s access to education was
limited to primary schooling until late 1800s, except among the rich” (p. 6). The combination of
women’s restricted rights and their limited access to education made it difficult for them to make
any significant changes to their status.
For example, women were not allowed to divorce, even if they suffered in abusive
marital relationships. As Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1860) noted in an early stage of feminism,
“Current laws that bind women in unhappy and loveless marriages require them to sacrifice their
lives for the purported good of society” (p. 88). In the case that a woman was granted a divorce,
the husband had the rights to the children.
Moreover, the United States legislated against abortion, and women had no rights over
the size of their family. Patriarchy and Christianity ruled England with an iron fist and both
promoted the notion that women were to bear children. Linda Gordon (1976) outlines a general
history of birth control. The publication begins by detailing efforts by nineteenth-century
feminists to secure women’s autonomy over their reproductive systems. Gordon calls this
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
6
movement a push for “voluntary motherhood” (p. 49). Anne Roiphe (1996) echoes Gordon,
saying, “When motherhood is an imposition not a choice, a tragedy not a desire, then women are
reduced to their biology” (p. 7).
The conditions for women were inarguably terrible. Their lack of independence regarding
decisions about their personal lives was demoralizing at best. The clothes that women wore were
uncomfortable and were imposed by society. The inability to be master of their own body
assured their inferiority. Their lack of access to higher education was equally damaging and
directly affected their inability to effectively protest their inequality. To wait for help from the
other half of humankind was not an option, since most men held strongly to the belief that
women were second class citizens. Not being able to speak publicly, thereby drawing attention to
their causes, made their difficult situation almost impossible to escape.
However, not all women sat quietly and accepted the above mentioned conditions. One of
the ways in which women asserted themselves was in petitioning for suffrage. The suffrage
movement did not start in a vacuum. Scott (1984, 1991) notes that women’s activism
demonstrated itself through participation in benevolent associations, the temperance movement,
moral reform organizations and many more. As early as the seventeenth-century, women
participated in the Quaker movement, which was established in England in the 1600s and rapidly
spread. The Quakers’ fundamental mission was to achieve equality among all humans. Women –
Quaker or otherwise – also joined the abolitionist movement. By helping others, they started to
gain experience that was crucial to helping themselves. Women started to promote their agenda
publicly, speaking to interested masses.
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
7
Despite being active in the antislavery movement, women were not permitted to speak
publicly at the World Antislavery Convention held in 1840 in London, England. This double
standard was unacceptable for some women. It lit the fire that would continue to burn until
suffrage was achieved. Two women who would become prominent suffragists met at this 1840
convention: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucrietta Mott. They decided to organize a convention
to discuss the issue of women’s rights. The Seneca Falls Convention began on July 19, 1848 in
New York. The conference “was attended by three hundred women and men, and for the first
time a formal demand was made in the United States for women’s right to vote” (Paxton and
Hughes, 2007, p. 34). After two days of debates, the Declaration of the Sentiments was signed by
one hundred people: sixty eight women and thirty two men.
Public response to this convention was varied from skepticism to mockery. All the local
newspapers harshly ridiculed the women. However, even bad press can help a cause and the
media attention was vital to building the women’s movement. Huge audiences, including men
and women, were now aware of the fight for women’s rights. Thousands of women who had
never given thought to the issue were now prompted to engage with it. The convention was
repeated in the same year in Rochester, New York. Following this second conference, new
women’s organizations began to open their doors around the country.
Despite the important role the Seneca Falls Convention played in public awareness for
women’s rights, the suffrage was the movement’s foundation. However, the suffrage movement
was not born without labour pains. As Dubois (1978) asserts, “In the first place, it initially met
with greater opposition within the [women’s rights] movement than other demands did” (p. 78).
Essentially, leaders of the movement felt that demanding suffrage was a drastic step; they felt it
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
8
was in their best interests to concentrate on other demands. Although suffrage barely passed
when delegates voted on it at the Seneca Falls Convention, it very quickly became central to the
women’s rights movement.
As popular as the call for women’s suffrage was, it faced steep opposition from men as
well as women. Whereas men’s arguments against women’s suffrage focused on anything from
women’s inferiority to a general distaste (Fawcett, 1871), women who were opposed typically
felt gaining suffrage would disrupt the centuries-old definition of family. The anti-suffragists
wanted to maintain the political status quo while at the same time bettering the social conditions
of women.
This narrow vision and inability to “go for broke” – to be “all in” – would continue to
affect women’s rights movements. The satisfaction over certain victories made some women
complacent before full equality was achieved. This mistake permitted opponents to make
frequent attacks on those achievements that had already been won. Until inequality is prohibited
by law, rendering it obsolete will be nearly impossible. I think of the example of Equal Rights
Amendment (ERA) in the United States, which is demonstrative of half-hearted legislation.
Though it first appeared nearly a century ago, it has not been ratified. This apathy is indicative of
a general failure to guarantee equal rights. Without laws in place to protect women, equal rights
can be denied to women, and the consequences of this could be severe.
The Ways to Victory: USA, Great Britain, and Canada
The three countries on which I will concentrate with regard to women’s suffrage are the
United States of America, Great Britain, and Canada. All three countries belong to the
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
9
Anglosphere. Of these, the United States and Great Britain were the leaders in the women’s
suffrage movement.
USA
As mentioned above, The Seneca Falls Convention represented the official creation of the
American women’s suffrage movement. For the next 72 years, until full suffrage was achieved in
1920, the movement took many shapes and suffered many setbacks even while it celebrated great
achievements. The most famous leaders in the movement were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and
Susan B. Anthony. The two met in the early 1850s and became lifelong friends who dedicated
themselves to supporting and complementing each other’s efforts toward equal treatment for
women.
The first 12 years after the Seneca Falls Convention was characterized by achievements
for women in the areas of education and legal rights. However, the Civil War brought many
changes to the movement, and not everyone agreed on how suffrage should be achieved. The
Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution introduced the word “male” into the Constitution
and Fifteenth Amendment gave suffrage to black males. It failed, however, to mention sex.
Despite the blow to women, the failure to include “sex” created a divide among the leaders who
were central to a flourishing of the women’s suffrage movement.
Stanton and Anthony formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in
1869, almost contemporaneously of the creation of the American Woman Suffrage Association
(AWSA) by Lucy Stone and her husband Henry Blackwell, both prominent suffragists. These
associations were divided on issues including whether men should be permitted to join or ally
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
10
with the associations and whether women should need to support the two recent amendments to
the constitution.
In order to garner as much support as possible and to keep the notions of a woman’s
place in the home and motherhood intact, Stone and Blackwell preferred a more moderate
approach to the women’s movement. NWSA's tactic was to achieve victory once and for all.
Despite their differences, the NWSA and AWSA united in 1890 to form National American
Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). In 1913, the organization divided along different lines
when a radical wing, led by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, broke off.
The women's suffrage movement was put aside during the First World War so that the
women could contribute to the war effort. Finally, in June 1919, the U.S. Congress voted for an
amendment to the constitution. It took another year to come into effect, but on August 18, 1920,
the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the vote.
Great Britain
The women’s movement in the United Kingdom came into being at almost the same
moment as the Seneca Falls Convention was taking place in the United States. Paxton and
Hughes (2007) report that, “In 1847, Ann Knight, a Quaker, produced the first recognizable
pamphlet, and the first British suffrage organization was formed 4 years later in 1851” (p. 50).
However, the real push for suffrage started with John Stuart Mill’s calling for universal suffrage
as an amendment to the 1867 Reform Act, which had already enfranchised working, urban males
in England and Wales. In 1872, the National Society for Women’s Suffrage (NSWS) was
formed. This was followed approximately 25 years later by the very powerful National Union of
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
11
Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). The newly established organization effectively
promoted suffrage, but was ultimately unsuccessful. In 1905, the military wing was established
with creation of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). It was less popular, however,
and most members continued to support the NUWSS. These associations’ efforts were curtailed
by the demands of World War I, during which time many members turned their attention to the
war effort. As Great Britain was experiencing a shortage of men, women adopted conventionally
male tasks, resulting in the “Eligibility of Women Act” at the end of the First World War. This
allowed women over the age of 30 to vote. It would take another 10 years to achieve full
suffrage, which occurred in 1928 with the “Representation of the People Act.”
Canada
In her book entitled Liberation Deferred (1983), Carol Lee Bacchi notes that, when
compared with other English-speaking countries, Canada’s suffrage movement began late and
was relatively uncomplicated (p. 33). The author further shows that the ease with which
Canadian suffragists earned their victory had to do with the moderate character of the movement,
the nature of leadership, and political opportunism.
In 1876, the first Canadian suffrage organization was born. Founded by Dr. Emily
Howard Stowe, it was called the Toronto Women’s Literary Club (TWLC). It was not until 1883
that it had fully emerged as the Toronto Women’s Suffrage Club (Strong-Boag, p. 275). Many of
their supporters, whose numbers had grown considerably by the 1890s, were less concerned with
women’s suffrage than they were with general improvements to society, but the support existed
nonetheless. The federal battle began in April 1885 (Carstairs & Higgins, 2004, p. 38), when
Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald tabled his Electoral Franchise Bill. The bill, in addition to
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
12
taking control of provincial voters’ lists, also included expansion of suffrage to particular
categories of women. The bill passed, but the suffrage portion was discarded.
The Canadian suffrage movement was clearly divided geographically. As Lee Bacchi
shows, (p.35) suffragists in British Columbia considered themselves autonomous, Saskatchewan,
Manitoba, and Alberta collaborated on the women’s suffrage movement, but had no interest in
aligning themselves with women suffragists in Eastern Canada.
One of the serious divisions that existed between women’s suffrage groups in Canada
were along generational lines. Older and younger generations had differing views on the
importance of the ballot. Some were more concerned with general perception of women than
they were with the vote specifically. Those who supported the feministic approach wanted to
change men’s perception of women while other reformers saw the social improvement of the
status of women as their prerogative.
Examining the ways to victory and the ultimate result of achieving it, it is clear that
violence does not necessarily accelerate victory. Rather, a moderation in demands seems to play
a more important role in pursuing suffrage. As frequently happens in history, events such as the
interference of political opportunists, as the Canadian case demonstrates, can provide a decisive
push to victory. The time limit also does not depend on the character of the movement. Consider
the achievement of federal suffrage in Canada, which took only two years where the same
achievement took 50 years in the United States and almost seven decades in England. Despite the
different methods employed in each of these countries, all of them were profoundly positively
affected by the First World War. It is noteworthy that, despite the time it took in America for
women to gain suffrage, their achievement had a wider reach: suffrage was won for all women.
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
13
This is in stark contrast to Canada and England, where sectors of women were left without
suffrage for many years.
The Chronology of the Suffrage Movement
United States of America, by state:
1870 Women in Wyoming become the first to vote following the granting of territorial status.
1887 Kansas grants women municipal suffrage.
July 23, 1890 Wyoming is admitted to the Union, becoming the first state since New Jersey
(1776–1807) to grant women full enfranchisement in its state constitution.
1893 Colorado adopts a constitutional amendment.
1896 Utah joins the Union, granting women full suffrage.
1896 Idaho adopts a state constitutional amendment.
1910 Washington State adopts a state constitutional amendment.
1911 California adopts women’s suffrage.
1912 Oregon adopts a constitutional amendment.
1912 Kansas and Arizona adopt a constitutional amendment.
1913 The Territory of Alaska adopts women’s suffrage.
1913 Illinois is the first state to grant women presidential suffrage by legislative enactment.
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
14
1914 Montana and Nevada adopt a constitutional amendment.
1917 North Dakota, Nebraska, and Rhode Island secure presidential suffrage by legislative
enactment.
1917 New York adopts a constitutional amendment.
1917 Arkansas secures primary suffrage by legislative enactment.
1918 Texas secures primary suffrage by legislative enactment.
1918 Michigan, South Dakota, and Oklahoma adopt a constitutional amendment.
1919 Indiana, Maine, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Kentucky
secure presidential suffrage for women by legislative enactment.
August 18, 1920
Tennessee becomes the 36th state to ratify the Amendment.
August 26, 1920
The Nineteenth Amendment becomes law, granting women the right to
vote.
Canada, by province (the date each province granted women’s suffrage):
Manitoba:
January 1916
Saskatchewan: March 1916
Alberta:
April 1916
British Columbia:
Ontario:
April 1917
April 1917
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
15
Nova Scotia: April 1918
New Brunswick:
April 1919
Prince Edward Island: May 1922
Dominion of Newfoundland: April 1925
Quebec:
April 1940
Federal:
May 1918
Great Britain, main steps:
1865 – John Stuart Mill elected as an MP, showing direct support for women's suffrage.
1889 – Women's Franchise League established.
1897 – National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) formed.
1903 – Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) is formed.
1904 – More militant protesting begins. Emmeline Pankhurst interrupts a Liberal Party meeting.
1907– The Women's Freedom League is founded.
1905, 1908, 1913 – 3 phases of WSPU militancy (Civil Disobedience – Destruction of Public
Property – Arson/Bombings)
1909 – The Women's Tax Resistance League is founded.
18 November, 1910 – Black Friday.
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
16
4 August, 1914 – First World War declared in Britain. WSPU activity immediately terminated.
Peaceful NUWSS activity continued.
1918 – The Representation of the People Act of 1918 enfranchised women over the age of 30
who were either a member or married to a member of the Local Government Register. As a
result, approximately 8.4 million women gained the vote.
November 1918 – The Eligibility of Women Act was passed, allowing women to be elected into
Parliament.
1928 – Women received the vote on the same terms as men.
A Comparison of Canadian Women’s Fight for Suffrage with their
Counterparts from the USA and Britain
Prior to World War I
Christine Bolt (p.19) quotes E. Sylvia Pankhurst (1911): “All over America the
Suffragists declare that they gained hope and inspiration from our great British movement. In the
early days of our long struggle it was we who drew inspiration from them. Our movements act
and react on each other.” Even though each nation’s movement shared a similar foundation –
egalitarianism – the means of achieving equality were slightly different.
The National Woman Suffrage Association’s (NWSA) early tactics were radical – they
wanted victory at any price. This strategy, which witnessed many doubtful measures, such as
segregation by race or alliance with the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), created
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
17
a split in the NWSA. The more moderate AWSA was created with the view that civil rights for
women and black people should be mutually exclusive and should both be advanced. However,
most experts on the suffrage movement agree that “playing the racist card” was necessary if
suffragists were going to gain the support of the American South. As Barbara Hilkert Andolsen
contends (1986), “If the suffragists had not resorted to racist tactics, the passage of the
Nineteenth Amendment undoubtedly would have been delayed, but this fact in no way excuses
their betrayal of black women’s right to vote.”(p.7) Prioritizing sex over race presented a
dilemma for early suffragists because of the deep-seated racism in the southern states, and
different women’s associations dealt with the challenge in varied ways. Prior to the merger
between the NWSA and AWSA in 1890, the former was, unfortunately, a voice for white
suffragists exclusively.
British suffragists were not confronted with the racial issues that afflicted their American
counterparts. Since John Stuart Mill’s attempt to gain the suffrage during the Reform Act of
1867 had failed, suffragists had become serious about gaining the vote. The NSWS and, later, the
NUWSS were created, giving the movement order and solid foundation. Until early into the
twentieth century, campaigners used the so-called constitutional approach, meaning that any
methods of protest – except violence – were permitted. The emergence of a number of journals,
such as Women’s Suffrage Journal and Englishwoman’s Review, gave leading suffragists a
forum for expressing their ideas and mobilizing new supporters. As Jane Rendall (1994) states,
“It is clear that suffragists believed that these were the influential opinion-changing journals, and
mobilized all their resources to publish in them” (p. 130). Despite modest achievements, such as
the Married Women’s Property Acts (1870 and 1882), which allowed a wife to own and manage
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
18
property, the first 30 years of the suffragist movement in Britain showed very little indication
that women would ever achieve the vote.
Meanwhile in Canada, the women’s suffrage movement was taking a different course.
The first phase of the Canadian suffrage movement began in 1876 with the establishment of the
TWLS. This phase ended in 1906, at which time the movement had grown stagnant and certain
political agitators felt the need to revive it differently. Canada, like Great Britain, was not
afflicted with the same racism that plagued the American women’s suffrage movement. As such,
Canadians were not in a position to learn their tactics from the American suffragists. The first
phase, which lasted 30 years, can be characterized as being composed of the efforts of a
combination of feminists and social reformers. By the end of the nineteenth century, relatively
few Canadian women were concerned with the idea of suffrage, and those few who were
concerned were growing old. It would take a few new leaders to revive the movement over the
next few years.
The Final Push
The establishment of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) by Emmeline Pankhurst
and two of her daughters, Cristabel and Sylvia, brought new blood to the movement. As Antonia
Raeburn states (1976), “Its main object was to be independent of any political party and to
persuade electors to vote against any parliamentary candidate who refused to consider votes for
women” (p. 9). The suffragettes’ early campaigns included refusal to pay taxes, heckling
politicians at public meetings, and urging electors to vote against the government at by-elections
(Bolt, 1993, p.146). Later on, Suffragettes (who were more militant than their sister group, the
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
19
Suffragists) engaged in more serious disturbances such as destruction of public and private
property.
Despite the fact that four states won suffrage prior to 1900, the slow advancement of the
movement on a state by state basis led some leading suffragists to question the peaceful tactics
that were being used. As the divide grew between British suffragists who believed in peaceful
protest and those who preferred the militancy, so did the American movement, in which some of
the suffragists wanted to employ radical measures. As Lunardini (1986) states, “The model for
militancy provided by the Pankhursts included all of the elements subsequently adapted to the
American situation, as well as some that were not incorporated, notably violence and zealous
martyrdom” (p. 160). However, as Bolt (1993) contends, “American critics’ basic objection to
British militancy in its violent last phase after 1909 was that the suffragettes had allegedly
become irresponsible vandals and lawbreakers, instead of the morally superior creatures women
were meant to be” (p. 153). When NAWSA split into two organizations in 1916, the newly
established radical National Woman’s Party started to mirror the actions of the British WSPU.
However, as Stevens (1995) contends, the strategy of “holding the party in power responsible”
(p. 20) for the failure to pass the votes to women, the one used by WSPU, was less effective than
in Great Britain, because of the complexity of American political system with its three branches
of government.
Meanwhile, the suffrage movement in the USA was advancing on two fronts: the
moderate, state-by-state approach of the NAWSA, with Carrie Chapman Catt as its leader, and
NWP’s radical approach, with Alice Paul as the leader. NAWSA, which included approximately
3 million members, saw constitutional amendment as a decisive way to secure women’s suffrage.
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
20
This was complemented by NWP, which, together with its regular tactics of lobbying the
Congress and President, used more radical methods, including picketing, parades, disorder near
government and political buildings, seeking imprisonment and declaring themselves political
prisoners.
The Canadian approaches to achieving women’s suffrage were universally more peaceful
than those of the British and American movements. Despite being influenced by Britain and the
United States, the Canadian women chose different strategies for advancing their agenda:
humour, reasoning, and quiet resistance.
Great Britain and Canada entered World War I in 1914 and the United States of America
did the same in 1917. It is a common belief that women’s activities during the war significantly
accelerated their quest for suffrage. Despite all three gaining ground, the responses from the
women’s movements in each of the three countries were different. In Great Britain, both the
NUWSS and the WSPU suspended their work and decided to dedicate themselves to their
country’s current needs. Both leaders – Christabel Pankhurst of WSPU and Millicent Fawcett of
NUWSS – declared support for their country in its struggle against Germany (Rooke, 1972, p.
110).Women assumed jobs at hospitals, factories, and filled in gaps in the public sectors. The
demanding work improved the public perception of women; they were now frequently viewed as
intelligent and capable. They also became more financially independent, since, now that they
were holding jobs, they had some disposable money. They also found a greater sense of selfassurance and the confidence to make greater changes in their lives.
Patriotism also informed the actions of Canadian suffragists. As one publication explains,
“For the most part, suffragists on both sides of the Atlantic quickly moved from relentless
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
21
criticism of their governments to active support” (Carstairs & Higgins, 2004, p.46).Canadian
women worked in many previously male-dominated domains, including munitions factories,
civil offices, and banks. During this time, they formed the “Suffragists' War Auxiliary,” designed
to provide an opportunity for women to do the jobs of men while the men were overseas.
In both Great Britain and Canada, politicians complimented women for their tireless help
throughout the war. As Lee Bacchi (1983) notes, “Invoking the Victorian motto that ‘justice
comes to those who earn it,’ Canadian politicians declared that women had proved that they
deserved the country’s highest honour, a political vote” (p. 142).
Unlike British and Canadian suffragists, American suffragists had no intention of giving
up their struggle during the war. In fact, it was during this time that, “In 1917, Alice Paul and the
NWP staged the first political protest ever to picket the White House” (Paxton & Hughes, 2007,
p. 44). This action marked the first nonviolent act of civil disobedience in American history. It
was followed by mass arrests of suffragists, incarcerations, and the brutal treatment of women.
However, with America on the brink of war, the moderate NAWSA encouraged women to
support the war. Women assumed positions ranging from public sector to industry, from
factories to nurses. They demonstrated that they were politically mature, intelligent, and socially
responsible.
Canadian women won the federal vote in 1918. However, Native women, covered by the
Indian Act, could not exercise their voting rights for band councils until 1951 and in federal
elections until 1960. Additionally, racial minorities including the Chinese, South Asians, and
Japanese were barred from voting until the late 1940s. These disturbing dates raise questions
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
22
about the extent of solidarity between women. It also highlights the divisions within the suffrage
movement, including separation by class and colour.
The British women’s suffrage movement also celebrated a partial victory in 1918: women
over the age of 30 gained the vote. Full suffrage came in 1928.
With passing of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, American women also won their
fight for suffrage.
Three Waves of Feminism and Suffrage
Because of its many strands, it is difficult to define feminism decisively. However, as
Adamson, Briskin, and McPhail express (1988), “at the core of all feminisms are certain
commonalities in political perspective: all believe in equal rights and opportunities for women,
all recognize that women are oppressed and exploited by virtue of being women” (p. 9).
The word “feminism,” which first appeared in the late nineteenth century, had a
connection to the suffrage movement, but it would be wrong to say that these two words were
synonymous. The word was also “interrelated with abolitions and temperance movements”
(Rampton, 2008). Cott (p.15) describes the way feminists felt, “To Feminists, the vote was only a
tool. The real goal was “complete social revolution”. Besides suffrage, feminists of the first wave
advocated for pregnancy rights, education, and economic independence (Adamson, p.30).
Despite its divergence from the suffrage movement from which it developed, feminism owes a
huge debt to the suffragists. The first wave of feminism ended with women getting the vote, even
though many issues that existed for women remained unresolved.
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
23
During the next four decades, which included World War II, the women’s movement
stagnated and made virtually no progress. One of the few achievements during this time, which
was a result of the newly won suffrage, was the birth control movement, which emerged in the
early 1920s in America. This was an important step in women achieving complete control over
their own bodies. As Thomsen states (2007), “This meant women needed to be educated about
birth control methods such as contraceptive suppositories and the decision to become a mother.
Women failed to build on winning the suffrage, and new victories were few and insignificant. As
Hunter Graham (1996) puts it, “The process of narrowing the women’s movement to the single
issue of woman suffrage resulted in successful pressure group for votes for women, but it
crippled the emerging women’s movements after the vote was won” (p. 153).
The term “second wave” first appeared in the early 1970s. As the name suggests, it
recognized that it was building on work undertaken by feminists of the “first wave.” Whereas
first wave women fought for explicit inequalities which rendered them unable to vote or run for
office, the second wave followers unmasked implicit inequalities and were fighting to eliminate
them.
In contrast with first wave feminism, which moved quite slowly, second wave feminism
was immediately aggressive. As Evans (2003) puts it, “a ‘second wave’ of women’s rights
activism in the last half of a century arose almost instantly in a fast-moving and unruly storm,
massive from very outset” (p. 1). As Evans maintains, the second wave, unlike first one, was
concerned with multiple issues. When it arrived in the 1960s, women were still widely
discriminated against. Among other things, they were not allowed to borrow money in their own
names, they had limited access to professional schools, and they received lower wages for the
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
24
same jobs they shared with men despite being part of the labour unions. In the early 1960s, as
Hurley (2001) observes, “a woman looking for a job would open her newspaper to find two lists
of employment advertisements: one for men and another for women” (p. 12). The jobs available
for women were tedious and without opportunity for advancement, whereas jobs for men
promised careers. As Freedman (2001) observes, “Second-wave feminism refers to resurgence of
feminist activity in the late 1960s and 1970s,when protest again centered around women’s
inequality, although this time not only in terms of women’s lack of equal political rights but in
the areas of family, sexuality and work” (p. 4).
After the Second World War, there was a general return to the sentiment that the
women’s sphere should be domestic, a sentiment which prevailed for approximately a decade
and a half. Women were expected to give up the jobs in favour of men returning from war. The
temporary work done by women was appreciated, but leaving men without jobs after their
sacrifice in the war effort was not considered a good taste. While by the 1960s many women,
especially married ones, were employed, persisting inequalities were dissatisfying. As such,
the1960s saw the emergence of many social and political movements. As O’Neill (1994) states,
“The new feminism drew heavily upon the experiences of these movements, which it would
outlive” (p. 312). It was during this time, in 1963, that Betty Friedan (1921-2006) published the
best-selling book The Feminine Mystique, which heralded feminism’s second wave (Jenainati &
Groves, 2007, p. 90). Prior to that, the publication of Simone de Beauvoir’s book, The Second
Sex (1949), brought renewed discussion about the social position of women. The many
achievements of the second wave included the 1963 passing of the Equal Pay Act in the USA,
followed by the UK in 1970 and Canada in 1977, the introduction in 1970 of the birth-control
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
25
pill, and Title vii of the Civil Rights Act in USA, which barred employment discrimination on
account of sex, race, and other factors – an act followed by the UK and Canada.
Even though second wave feminists drew heavily from the first wave, their methods,
tactics, and goals were different. Unlike the first wave's single goal of suffrage, the second wave
promoted social equality and the sexuality and cultural representation of women. It was aimed at
changing the view of women as being chiefly domestic to being fully-actualized human beings,
equal to men in everything. Another significant difference between first and second wave
feminists has to do with class and race – the first wave included predominantly middle-class
white women whereas the second wave was characterized by many women of colour, who
became active in the movement with agendas of their own.
The second wave of feminism was followed by a third: “The third wave of feminism
began in mid 90’s and is informed by post-colonial and post-modern thinking” (Rampton, p.1).
Despite sharing many similarities with the second wave, the third wave, which persists today,
has introduced many new ideas. It fights inequalities of race, age, economic situation, and sexual
orientation, among others. Despite these shifts, third wave feminists have benefited tremendously
from the efforts of feminists engaged in earlier waves. For example, current feminists are
protected by laws that were instituted because of the efforts of feminists in earlier waves. Despite
their different modes of expression, the new feminists certainly can be compared with American
and British suffragists and suffragettes.
The Advancement of Women since Gaining Voting Rights
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
26
It is difficult to underestimate the importance to women of gaining suffrage. For example,
in the 95 years since Manitoba women were triumphant in their quest, women have achieved
much more than in all previous years combined. Women in Canada are now represented in every
sphere of life and fill all job descriptions, from doctors to engineers, from judges to
parliamentarians, from government ministers to leaders of their parties. Gaining the right of
suffrage has closed, in my opinion, the last frontier of inequality de facto. It has helped to
improve many parts of our society, to shape many laws, and has allowed us to see many issues
from different angles. In the past, all people had to abide by laws that were determined by one
half of the population. Thus, achieving women’s right to vote has improved and civilized the
democratic process.
Canadian women came a long way in last 95 years. They have equal voting rights and
equal opportunity to run for office. Additionally, the women’s movement has resulted in an
increased consciousness among people who now, more often than not, view women as equals.
Women no longer have to depend on men; their lives are no longer predetermined by oppressive
laws. They can pursue careers, seek higher education, and participate as equals in every possible
aspect of life. Equal but special status of women is recognized by society, and a woman's special
role as child bearer has found place in provincial and federal legislations. Women doctors and
scientists are involved in cutting edge research and developing technologies. Women are also
demonstrating, through their role in the army and police departments, that they can capably serve
their nation. Finally, minority women are having an impact on Canadian society and achieve
heights that would have been impossible only a few years ago.
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
27
American women have also seen their lives improved through involvement in politics and
exercising their right to vote. Three American women of note are Madeline Albright,
Condoleezza Rice, and Hillary Clinton, who has served as Secretary of State, second only to the
post of President. American women serve in the military and as police officers; they become
lawyers, doctors, writers, scientists, and astronauts. American women are seeking education in
record numbers, and surpass men in achieving bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Many
organizations, such as National Organization for Women (NOW), exist with a mandate to
empower women economically, socially, and politically.
In Great Britain women have likewise come a long way since achieving suffrage.
Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister, and although not flawless , she made
very important changes to British society, especially in helping women to be seen as by society
as individuals, rather than a collective type. Additionally, Great Britain is publicly recognizing
the fact that historically, women’s unpaid domestic work has been under-recognized. Great
Britain also protects pregnant women in the workforce, who now have time before and after
delivery to prepare for motherhood without the fear of being fired. Moreover, women are now
represented in every sphere of life, holding top positions in many private and public sectors.
The Current Situation of Women and the Prevailing Points of Women’s
Concerns Regarding Equality
While the women’s’ achievements are obvious and represent reason for optimism, certain
women’s issues remain unsolved, or only partially solved. For example, in Canada, women still
earn less than men for the same work. Additionally, the work of homemakers and mothers who
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
28
do not seek employment outside the home is under-recognized. We still have not had a woman
Prime Minister, and the number of women in parliament is just under 25%. In America, a woman
is yet to serve as president and, in 2013, there were only 20 female senators – exactly 20% of the
Senate. There are many issues, specifically women’s’ issues, to be discussed on the parliament
floor, and more equal representation of women would make this work more effective.
Despite the progress made in the women’s movement, not all achievements are
considered positive by all. For example, Rona Ambrose, Canada’s Minister for the Status of
Women, commented on abortion in Canada. In an address on January 28, 2013 – a quarter
century after the Supreme Court had spoken out against the abortion ban – Ambrose noted that,
“Even though it's been 25 years since the Supreme Court declared in 1988 that the country's ban
on abortion was a violation of women's rights, many Canadians still can't access the procedure
because they live too far from clinics.”. The problem lies in not turning statements into law. To
state that banning abortion is a violation of women’s rights but then not to put laws in place that
match the statement, makes such an utterance a half-measure. Such ineffective measures provide
opponents with an opportunity to retract women’s gains.
The abortion debate returned to the Canadian parliamentary table in 2012, when
Members of Parliament considered creating a committee to investigate the legal definition of
when human life begins (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/04/26/f-abortionwoodworth-motion-parties.html). Even though most major players were opposed to reopening
the abortion debate, and despite the fact that the bill that would penalize anyone who “coerced” a
woman into ending her pregnancy against her will was defeated decisively in 2010, those who
wanted to turn history back did gain some ground. As International Co-operation Minister Bev
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
29
Oda disclosed for the first time in April 2011, Canada would not fund abortions in its G8 child
and maternal health-care initiative for developing countries, and this was despite the Canadian
pledge of 1.1 billion dollars towards global initiative on maternal and child health for developing
countries.
The abortion issue is debated even more tenaciously in the United States. A study by the
Guttmacher Institute reported that state legislatures passed 92 provisions restricting a woman’s
access to reproductive health care in 2011 — a number four times higher than the previous year.
Despite the fact that most Americans are pro-choice, the anti-abortion proponents remain very
active. Extreme examples of supporters can easily be found. Take, for instance, Rep. Todd Akin,
the Republican nominee for Senate in Missouri. Akin made headlines when he justified his
opposition to abortion rights even in case of rape with the claim that victims of “legitimate rape”
have unnamed biological defenses that prevent pregnancy. Another example can be found in the
statements of Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock, who said pregnancies
resulting from rape are part of God’s plan, tearfully explaining that he only supports abortions
when a mother’s life is in danger. Such outrageous statements, seemingly sweetened with the
words “when a mother’s life is not in danger,” show that misperceptions about abortion and
women’s rights still persist. They further demonstrate that there are implicit and explicit biases
that continue to influence American policy-makers.
Furthermore, violence against women is still a prevailing concern in all three countries,
and very often the punishment is too soft. Racism, especially towards women of colour , also
persists. Family laws continue to be weak and not enforced, which makes women vulnerable.
Social security remains ineffective for women, who during their lifetimes are earning less money
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
30
than men. Sexual discrimination in pay, promotion and compensation stubbornly persist. In other
words, equality on paper does not always suggest equality in fact. Many women's organizations
continue to fight for improved rights for women, but often find their supplications are ignored by
officials.
Conclusion
Despite a lot of reasons for celebration, there is a lot of work to be done.In the last
hundred years women have achieved much more than they had in all the previous years in the
pre-modern and modern era. Gaining suffrage helped women to liberate themselves in their own
eyes as well as in the eyes of the other half of humanity. The time when society in Canada,
America, and Britain viewed women as the 'silent half', without power or rights, are long gone.
Women are accepted in every part of society, have equal rights to education, divorce, and
property. Women hold some of the highest public positions and are present in every possible
sphere of life. Their rights as mothers are also protected with legislation that supports paid
maternity leaves.
Additionally, many other underprivileged sectors of American, Canadian, and British
societies have, through their own efforts and the support of allies, seen their status as individuals
recognized and improved. For example, people with physical and mental challenges fight for
their rights and are joined by supporters of their cause. Senior citizens are becoming increasingly
politically active, no longer accepting the fact that they are peripheral. Visible minorities demand
and achieve equal rights. As Morgan (1972) states, “Women have become citizens and, as Mrs
Catt might have said, to seek change and redress as a voter in America is a very different matter
from doing so as a non-voter” (p.199).
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
31
All these achievements would have been impossible without the right to vote. The goal is
now to continue to work towards contemporary women’s issues while celebrating the
achievements.
References:
Adams, A. S. (1963). Women should have more legal rights. The Adams Papers: Adams Family
Correspondence. Cambridge, MA. P.26
Adamson, N., Briskin, L., & McPhail, M. (1988). Feminists organizing for change: the
contemporary women’s movement in Canada. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press.
Andolesen Hilkert, B. (1986).” Daughters of Jefferson, daughters of Boothblacks”: racism and
American feminism. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press.
Bacchi, Carol Lee (1983). Liberation Deferred: The Ideas of the English-Canadian Suffragists,
1877-1918,Toronto, On, CAN: University of Toronto Press
Bolt, C. (1993). The women’s movements in the United States and Britain from 1790s to the
1920. In Baker, J. H. (Ed.), Votes for Women. (2002). Oxford: Oxford University Press,
Inc., pp.146, 153
Carstairs, S. and Higgins, T. (2004). Dancing backwards: a social history of Canadian women in
politics. Winnipeg, MB: Heartland Associates Inc.
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
32
Cott, N. F. (1987). The grounding of modern feminism. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Dubois, E. C. (1978). Feminism and suffrage: the emergence of an independent women’s
movement in America, 1848-1869. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Evans, S. M. (2003). Tidal wave: how women changed America at century’s end. New York,
NY: The Free Press.
Freedman, J. (2001). Feminism. Buckingham, PA: Open University Press.
Fuller, Margaret, 1845 Women’s Sphere is Restrictive, New York: Greeley and McElrath in
Brenda Stalcup, 1996, The Women’s Rights Movement, Opposing Viewpoints,
1996, Greenhaven Press, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA, p.54
Fawcett, Millicent Garrett, (1871) Electoral disabilities of women. In Lewis Jane, Before the
Vote was Won, Arguments for and against Women’s Suffrage 1864-1896, Routledge and
Kegan Paul Ltd, London.
Gordon, L. (1974). Woman’s body, woman’s right: a social history of birth control in America.
New York, NY: Grossman Publishers.
Hunter Graham, S. (1996). Woman suffrage and new democracy. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press.
Hurley, J. A. (2001). Feminism: opposing viewpoints. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press,
Inc.
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
33
Jenainati, C. & Groves, J. Introducing feminism. Totem Book.
Lunardini, C. A. (1986). From equal suffrage to equal rights: Alice Paul and the National
Woman’s Party, 1910-1928. New York, NY: New York University Press.
Morgan, D. (1972). Suffragists and democrats: the politics of woman suffrage in America. East
Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press.
O’Neil, W. O. (1994). Feminism in America: a history. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction
Publishers.
Paxton, P. & Hughes, M. M. (2007). Women, politics, and power. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine \
Forge Press.
Raeburn, A. (1976). The suffragette view. North Vancouver, BC: David & Charles Limited.
Rampton, M. (2008). The three waves of feminism. Pacific: The Magazine of Pacific University.
Retrieved from
http://www.pacificu.edu/magazine_archives/2008/fall/echoes/feminism.cfm
Rendall, J. (1994). Citizenship, culture and civilization: the languages of British
Suffragists,1866-1874. In Daley, C. & Nolan, M. (Eds.), Suffrage and Beyond. New
York, NY: New York University Press., p.130
Robb, L. D. (1996) .Lessons from the woman suffrage movement. In Newman, N. (Ed.), A voice
of our own. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, p.88
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
34
Roiphe, A. (1996). Fruitful. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Rooke, P. (1972). Women’s rights. London: Women’s Rights.
Scott, A. F. (1984). Making the invisible woman visible. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois
Press.
Scott, A. F. (1991). Natural Allies: women’s associations in American history. Champaign, IL:
University of Illinois Press.
Smith, G. (1855). History of Woman Suffrage (Vol.1). New York, NY: Fowler & Wells.
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, 1860, Tenth National Women’s Rights Convention, New York
Stevens, D. (1995). Jailed for freedom: American women win the vote. Troutdale, OR: NewSage
Press.
Strong-Boag, V. (1997). “Ever a Crusader:” Nellie McClung, First-Wave Feminist. In StrongBag, V. & Fellman, A. C. (Ed.s), Rethinking Canada: the promise of women’s history (3rd
ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.275
Tomsen, N. (2007). Global Issues: women’s rights. New York, NY: Infohouse Publishing.
http://archives.queensu.ca/Exhibits/archres/wwi-intro/women.html
http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/index-eng.html
http://www.now.org/issues/family/index.html
The importance of Women’s Suffrage
35
http://www.thedailypage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=708610
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/todd-akin-legitimate-rape.php
http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-foul-play-in-the-senate-and-todays-abortion-debate
http://www2.canada.com/opinion/letters/tuesday+letters+flat+only+fair+option/7884565/story.ht
ml?id=7881478