Some friends have asked me to
provide a brief history of women's rights in the United
States. I am tempted to
reminisce about my own involvement with the women’s movement, but that is not
the assignment. This kind of exercise is always
a good opportunity to review, remember and assess how far we have come while remaining mindful that we do not have full equity yet. As one trained as a
historian, I really should not call this a ‘history’ or even a ‘brief history’
when it is more accurately a timeline. This is certainly not an exhaustive
timeline, so I have included links to websites that provide more in-depth information. I am not going to editorialize or share my opinion or feelings about anything listed here - this blog post is strictly an informative entry. Should you learn something new, that would be great. If you have any questions about anything here, please let me know. OK, I think that I have
covered all of the disclaimers and explanations, so let’s go!
1776 Abigail Adams writes to her
husband, John Adams who represented the Colony of Massachusetts at the Continental
Congress on March 31:
"I
long to hear that you have declared an independency. And, by the way, in the
new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire
you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than
your ancestors.” http://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/abigail-smith-adams/
1787
US Constitutional Convention places voting
qualifications in the hands of the states. Women in all states except New
Jersey lose the right to vote. http://www1.cuny.edu/portal_ur/content/voting_cal/the_constitution.html
1807
Women lose the right to vote in New Jersey, the last
state to revoke the right.
1848 The acknowledged start of the FIRST WAVE of Feminism.
The first women’s rights convention takes place in Seneca
Falls, New York. Participants sign a Declaration of Sentiments that call for
equal treatment and voting rights for women. http://www.nps.gov/wori/historyculture/report-of-the-womans-rights-convention.htm
1851
Former slave Sojourner Truth: http://www.nps.gov/wori/historyculture/sojourner-truth.htm Delivers her speech, “Ain't I A Woman?” At
the Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio:
Well, children, where there is so much racket there must
be something out of kilter. I think that 'twixt the negroes of the South and
the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a
fix pretty soon. But what's all this here talking about?
That man over there says that women need to be helped
into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere.
Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best
place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and
planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a
woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it -
and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children,
and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's
grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?
Then they talk about this thing in the head; what's this
they call it? [member of audience whispers, "intellect"] That's it,
honey. What's that got to do with women's rights or negroes' rights? If my cup
won't hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let
me have my little half measure full?
Then that little man in black there, he says women can't
have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ
come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had
nothing to do with Him.
If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to
turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to
turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it,
the men better let them.
Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner
ain't got nothing more to say.
1866 Congress passes the 14th Amendment, which
grants all citizens the right to vote. It is the first time that “citizens” and
“voters” are defined as “male” in the Constitution. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html
1869 Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
form the National Woman Suffrage Association, while Lucy Stone and others form
the American Woman Suffrage Association. http://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/susan-brownell-anthony/
1896 The National Association of Colored Women is
formed out of more than 100 black women’s clubs. http://www.nacwc.org/
1916 Margaret Sanger opens the first American
birth control clinic in Brooklyn, NY. Within ten days, the clinic is shut down
and Sanger is arrested. She eventually wins legal support and opens another
clinic in 1923. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Sanger
1920 Congress passes the 19th Amendment, granting
women suffrage. [Suffrage is the right to vote in a national election.] It
passes in the Senate by only two votes. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendment_19.html
1942 The
term "Rosie the Riveter" was first used in a song of the same name
written by Redd
Evans and John Jacob Loeb. http://www.nps.gov/pwro/collection/website/rosie.htm
1945
Millions of working women lose their jobs when
servicemen return from World War II, although surveys show that 80 percent want
to continue working.
1960 The acknowledged beginning of the SECOND WAVE of feminism.
The Food and Drug Administration approve birth control
pills. http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/WhatWeDo/History/ProductRegulation/SelectionsFromFDLIUpdateSeriesonFDAHistory/ucm092009.htm
1963
Betty
Friedan writes The Feminine Mystique. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_the_United_States
1964
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits
employment discrimination on the basis of race and sex. http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/titlevii.cfm
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is
established to investigate discrimination complaints. http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/civil-rights-act/
1966 The National Organization for Women (NOW) is
founded. http://www.now.org/
1968 The EEOC rules that sex-segregated help wanted
ads are illegal, a ruling later upheld by the Supreme Court. http://www1.eeoc.gov//laws/practices/index.cfm?renderforprint=1
Shirley Chisholm is the first black woman elected to
Congress. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Chisholm
The National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) is
founded. http://www.naral.org/
1970 The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist
Revolution is written by
Shulamith Firestone http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dialectic_of_Sex
Sisterhood is Powerful, edited by Robin Morgan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisterhood_is_Powerful
Sexual Politics is written by Kate
Millett http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_Politics
1972 The ERA is
passed by Congress and sent to states for ratification. http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/congress.htm
Title IX bans sex discrimination in schools. http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/coord/titleix.php
The Supreme Court rules that the right to privacy
includes an unmarried person’s right to use contraceptives. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenstadt_v._Baird
Ms. Magazine is
first published. http://www.msmagazine.com/
1973 In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court legalizes
abortion and overturns anti-abortion laws in many states. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_v._Wade
1974 The Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits
discrimination in consumer credits practices. http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/hce/housing_ecoa.php
1976 The first marital rape law passes in Nebraska,
making it illegal for a husband to rape his wife.
1978 The Pregnancy Discrimination Act passes,
banning employment discrimination against pregnant women. http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/pregnancy.cfm
The Female Eunuch is written by Germaine
Greer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Female_Eunuch
1981 Sandra Day O’Conner is the first woman ever
appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ruth Bader Ginsberg joins her in 1993.
1986
The Supreme Court rules that sexual harassment
is a form of illegal job discrimination. http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0477_0057_ZO.html
1990 The acknowledged beginning
of the THIRD WAVE of feminism.
1993
The Family and Medical Leave Act goes into
effect, allowing women workers to take employment leave after giving birth. http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/
1994 The Violence Against Women act increases
services for rape and domestic violence victims, as well as federal penalties
for sex offenders. http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/vawa_factsheet.pdf
2009 Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act signed by
President Obama eliminating the statute of limitations on claims of violations
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 pay equity clause. http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/epa_ledbetter.cfm
More
Information:
National
Women’s History Project http://www.nwhp.org/
New
York Times Comparative Timeline US History / Women’s History http://www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/millennium/m2/wolf-timeline.html
US
History.org http://www.ushistory.org/us/42c.asp
National
Parks Service, Women’s Suffrage History http://home.nps.gov/wori/historyculture/womens-suffrage-history-timeline.htm
Feminist
literature: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_feminist_literature
Onward,
~ Wendy
