American History Women's Rights Reform Movements from 1877 to 2013 Research Paper

American History Women's Rights Reform Movements from 1877 to 2013 - Research Paper Example The paper therefore seeks to find a stand on whether Women Reform Movements have realized much of their goals over the years. This struggle in pursuit of rights has been turbulent over the years and still continues to date. In the United States, women rights movements have had a long history. As a result of their struggles, various legislative measures have been created over the years to safeguard the rights of women and prevent much of the discriminations seen in a society that is still skeptical about the ability of women. The core of the argument is therefore the determination of how the period spanning between 1877 to present could have seen tremendous positive steps towards the realization of equality with respect to men and women1. The suffrage movements were some of the most dominant women movements in history. For many years in the United States, women were not allowed to vote. In the early years of the women reform movements, the right to vote was therefore one of the centra l issues which the movements fought for. In 1878, Susan B. Anthony proposed and submitted a right-to-vote amendment to the constitution in order to grant women the right to vote in America. The era of women suffrage took much activity in the 1890s and Wyoming was the first state to have an organized women suffrage. The movement was mostly driven by the formation of the National American Women’s Suffrage association in 1890. ... The Anthony amendment which had been written earlier in 1878 was subsequently ratified as the 19th amendment and thereby became law in 19202. It must be emphasized that differences in leadership and other misunderstandings amongst the women led to the formation of several groups. The period following 1920 saw the creation of many splitter women political groups most of which fought for the same rights. The League of Women Voters was created in 1920 and became a very strong voice in championing for the rights of women. In order to address the rights of black women who experienced the worst discrimination than their white counterparts, the National Council of Negro Women was formed in 1935. These groups strongly fought for various forms of liberal reforms in the country. However, it should be remembered that many of the rights they fought for were not always granted easily. For instance, the National Women’s Party which was formed in 1913 proposed an equal rights amendment in 19 23 which actually stayed dormant for the next 50 years3. In the early years of the women rights movement, most of the women activists were concentrated in the North. This was due to the much awareness, industry and education in the North. It was not until 1890s that women began to organize in the south after much inspiration and influence from what was transpiring in the north. In pushing for the right to vote, the National Women Suffrage Association (NWSA) and the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) were working together but later separated on ideological grounds. While NWSA sought to transform the status of women on the basis of ideological foundations in the hitherto patriarchal society, AWSA was more conservative and