Simone Lawson
The women's suffrage movement, which began in the mid-19th century, sought to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change in the Constitution: guaranteeing women the right to vote. This goal was finally realized with the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. The road to achieving this milestone was long and challenging, involving lectures, marches, lobbying, civil disobedience, and more confrontational tactics such as picketing and hunger strikes. While the 19th Amendment was a significant victory for women's rights, the fight for full enfranchisement continued, especially for women of color who faced ongoing discrimination and voter suppression.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Goal | Ratification of a constitutional amendment authorizing Prohibition |
| Time Period | Early 1900s |
| Supporters | Progressive Era Reformers |
| Other Proposals | National income tax, free and unlimited coinage of silver, and the direct election of senators |
| Other Amendments | 15th, 19th, 26th |
| Federalist Papers | Collection of 85 essays by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay |
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What You'll Learn
The Progressive Era
During the Progressive Era, reformers sought to increase citizen participation in government and reduce corruption by advocating for changes in governance, scientific methods, and professionalism. They also pushed for the regulation of businesses, the protection of the natural environment, and the improvement of urban living and working conditions. Progressives established direct primary elections, direct elections of senators, initiatives, and referendums to revitalize democracy.
The Progressive movement experienced a fracture with America's entry into World War I, but many organizations founded during the Progressive Era, such as labor unions and professional and civic groups, continued to play significant roles in American society.
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The Federalist Papers
The primary goal of the Federalist Papers was to promote the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. At the time, there were two factions in American politics: the Federalists, who supported the Constitution, and the Anti-Federalists, who opposed it. The Federalist Papers were written to urge New Yorkers to ratify the proposed Constitution, which had been drafted in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787. The essays explain and defend the provisions of the Constitution in detail, including the strengthened national government, expanded congressional powers, more powerful executive, and independent judiciary.
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The Bill of Rights
The United States Bill of Rights, which comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, was a pivotal event in the long story of liberty. The Bill of Rights was proposed following the 1787–88 debate over the ratification of the Constitution and written to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists.
The Constitution was drafted in 1787 by delegates from 13 states in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to replace the Articles of Confederation with a new form of government. It created a federal system with a national government composed of three separated powers, including a strong executive branch, a representative legislature, and a federal judiciary. However, the absence of a bill of rights turned out to be a significant obstacle to the Constitution's ratification by the states. The Anti-Federalists, who favoured a bill of rights to safeguard individual liberty, refused to support the Constitution without one.
James Madison, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, initially resisted the need for a bill of rights as unnecessary and dangerous. However, he eventually changed his mind and introduced a bill of rights in Congress on June 8, 1789, presenting a list of amendments that would follow Article VII. The House approved 17 amendments, of which the Senate approved 12, which were sent to the states for approval in August 1789. Ten amendments were approved (or ratified) by three-fourths of the states by December 15, 1791, becoming the "Bill of Rights".
The amendments in the Bill of Rights added specific guarantees of personal freedoms, such as freedom of speech, the right to publish, practice religion, possess firearms, assemble, and other natural and legal rights. They also included explicit declarations that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people. The Bill of Rights was strongly influenced by earlier documents, including the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the English Bill of Rights, and the Magna Carta.
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The Virginia Plan
The plan called for the creation of a supreme national government with three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The legislative branch would consist of two houses, with the number of representatives per state based on population. This was a radical departure from the Articles of Confederation, which the plan sought to correct and enlarge. The Virginia Plan proposed a bicameral legislature, with the members of the first branch (the House of Representatives) elected by the people of the several states for a term of three years. These members would be subject to rotation in office and recall elections. The first branch would then select the members of the second branch (the Senate) from candidates nominated by state legislatures. The national legislature would hold all the legislative power of the Confederation Congress, with additional new powers.
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The New Jersey Resolutions
The ratification debates took place from 1787 to 1788, with the Pennsylvania Packet newspaper publishing the draft of the Constitution for public consideration in September 1787. The Confederation Congress then voted to send the Constitution to the state legislatures, allowing state conventions to decide on ratifying the new framework of government.
The Federalists dominated the Pennsylvania convention, carrying the vote for ratification by 46 to 23. Despite this victory, the debates and bitterness continued. The spirit of compromise eventually led to the adoption of the Bill of Rights, reflecting the genuine patriotism of those involved and suggesting that the Americans were capable of self-government.
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Frequently asked questions
The primary goal of the women's suffrage movement was the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guaranteed women the right to vote.
The 19th Amendment was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, when Tennessee became the 36th state to approve it, crossing the three-fourths-of-states threshold needed.
Beginning in the mid-19th century, supporters of women's suffrage lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience. Some suffragists used more confrontational tactics such as picketing, silent vigils, and hunger strikes. In the second decade of the 20th century, they began staging large and dramatic parades to draw attention to their cause.
