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Marcy Breffle

HIST 4115, Wolf

Suffrage Speech

02.22.11

Right This Wrong: A Call For Female Suffrage “We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union.” These words, insignificant individually but together emotionally compelling in their message, compose the beginning of the preamble to the United States Constitution. Conjuring up feelings of patriotism and hope, these words demonstrate the foundations of equality and democracy on which this nation was founded. Although the Founding Fathers appeared to guarantee equality for the nation’s citizens with the creation of this document, they instead produced a paradox that has continued to haunt society to this very day. Who exactly is the “we” that the preamble refers to? Susan B. Anthony states, “It was we, the people, not we, the white male citizens, nor yet we, the male citizens; be WE, the whole people, who formed this union.” [1] The Constitution affirms the citizenship of both men and women, but it is women who are denied the rights and privileges that should be afforded to all citizens of this country. Through political, social, and economic arguments, women have the right to political equality and the government must yield to the call for female suffrage. Only then will the United States truly be able to call itself the “land of the free.” Our government, one that stands as a beacon of democratic hope for societies still suffering until the rule of tyrants, is based upon the concept of natural rights and the entitlement of the individual citizen to participate in the construction of their government. In his various treatises concerning the relationship between the government and the individual entity, philosopher John Locke discusses the natural rights of life, liberty, and property, and the responsibilities of the government to protect those rights. Locke expanded upon the concept of a social contract, a mutual agreement between the government and the governed in which the individual relinquishes certain privileges in return for the protection of their unalienable rights. The concept of the social contract has become a pillar of democratic political theory and American citizens expect the maintenance of these rights in exchange for their consent to be governed. But how can the American government derive authority from the consent of its citizens, if one half of those governed are denied their right to vote and excluded from exercising their personal liberties? Various sections of the Constitution affirm the citizenship of women, therefore further emphasizing the injustice of the lack of female suffrage. The fourteenth amendment defines citizenship in its first article, stating, All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. [2]

If a woman is a citizen and a contributing member of society, what is the rationale behind denying her the right to actively participate in her own government through the electoral process? This woman is subject to her government laws, but cannot elect a representative to compose or amend those laws. She assumes that she has rights and freedoms, but she cannot exercise those liberties. This female figure, a symbol of all womankind, is therefore a slave within her own society, bound to obey laws that she cannot change to a government that she has never given her consent to. Susan B. Anthony explores the comparison between the denial of female voting rights and servitude in her 1873 article, “Is it a Crime for a Citizen of the United States to Vote.” In the article, Anthony analyzes the fifteenth amendment’s decree that the right of citizens to vote will not be denied on account of race, color, or “previous condition of servitude.” [3] Anthony argues that women must be included under the conditions of servitude as women, especially those who are married, are subject to the will of others. [4] Imprisoned in the status quo, women are subordinate to their husbands and fathers, and therefore like slaves, their property, wages, and even children are not their own. Married women are further burdened by the legal doctrine of coverture, in which wives become “feme coverts” upon their marriage and their legal rights are encompassed by the rights of their husbands. Married women have little rights to individual property, have difficulties obtaining divorces, and even lack control over their own bodies. Like the white master controlling the womb of his female slave, either by lending her to other plantations for intermarriage or keeping her for his own pleasure, women are unable to legally control their own reproduction through the use of contraceptives and can be forced to bear more children by their husbands. In the majority of cities and towns across this nation, women are denied control of their property, earnings, and even bodies. To deny that this is a condition of servitude would be morally wrong and the dissenter would be another proponent of this great injustice. The political argument for women’s suffrage, including the natural rights of women and the necessity for the government to acknowledge the citizenship of women, is not the only reason to grant female suffrage. One must merely look at modern society to understand that today’s world is ripe for the achievement of gender equality, beginning with the enfranchisement of women. The cult of domesticity, an established nineteenth century view of the roles of women that was built upon the separate spheres ideology, is outdated and its departure into obscurity is fast approaching. The changing expectations of the female population is personified by the New Woman, a figure that smokes, attends a university, participates in sports and other recreational activities, has a career, abandons the Victorian costume, and explores her sexuality. Women have greater access to education and more opportunities to join the workforce, which are among the many advantages available to women in their quest to become self-sufficient individuals. Although the changing attitudes towards social customs have afforded the female population new freedoms and privileges, without the political clout obtained through suffrage, there is no guarantee that these women would be able to retain their new liberties. Some men may support female empowerment and the suffrage cause, but ultimately their self-interest will force those supporters to side with their own gender should a conflict of interests arise between the two sexes. Women must become their own advocates and can only do so if they have political influence. Another example of the changing social and political atmosphere of the modern world is the successful enfranchisement of women in the west. Women have already achieved suffrage in ten states in the union: Wyoming (1869), Utah (1870), Colorado (1893), Idaho (1896), Washington (1910), California (1911), and Kansas, Oregon, and Arizona (1912). [5] We should be motivated by the pioneering spirit of our western counterparts. These states have taken the initiative in the fight for suffrage, and their success must be followed by the enfranchisement of women in New York and ultimately, the entire nation. In addition to political and social results, the achievement of female suffrage will be essential in the fight for economic equality in the guise of better working conditions and more sufficient wages. The suffrage supporters and the working class share the mutual goals of equality and the progression of society, which can be attainable through the cooperation of the factions. There are millions of women in the workforce across the nation, and in New York City alone, more than 27 percent of the city’s workforce is composed of women. [6] If this significant percentage of the workforce were to gain the right to vote, the goals envisioned by the labor supporters might be more attainable through the female workers’ political influence. Many labor supporters claim that they are fighting for better working conditions for women and want gender inequality to end in the workplace. But the logic behind these arguments is flawed. Why will you fight for freedoms for women in the factories and offices, but you will not aid the female population in their quest for their ultimate freedom, the right to vote and be counted as a citizen of this nation? The goals of the suffrage movement and the labor movement are not mutually exclusive, but enfranchisement for women must be the top priority. Only through the combined political clout of male and female voters will public opinion be able to sway the government into making labor provisions and other progressive reforms. The time for the enfranchisement of women and the achievement of gender equality is now. The arguments for suffrage far outweigh any objections. Visible in the rhetoric of the United States Constitution and other foundational documents, women are citizens of this nation and have the natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The cultural atmosphere reveals a society that is ready to shed the outdated perceptions of women and produce a self-sufficient and individualized female population. The achievement of female suffrage will be crucial in the fight for labor reforms and other progressive measures. Women have the right to rise up from oppression and actively participate as citizens of this nation through the electoral process, thus creating a more egalitarian society and a better world for all.

[1] Susan B. Anthony, “Is it a Crime for a Citizen of the United States to Vote?” [2] “The Constitution of the United States,” Amendment XIV, Section I. [3] “The Constitution of the United States,” Amendment XV, Section I.  [4] Susan B. Anthony, “Is it a Crime for a Citizen of the United States to Vote?” [5] Greenwich Village Game Book, 49. [6] Greenwich Village Game Book, 77.