Feminism through the Ages
Women’s battle for equality dates back centuries. With each decade, we see change. An excellent way to celebrate the new year is to look back and appreciate the women who sacrificed to bring opportunities to women. WORDS by SOFIA RAMIREZ ART by CLAIRE TOLLES
Seneca Falls Convention (1848) Women were denied fundamental rights, including property ownership, voting, financial independence, and education. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, an outspoken activist, organized the Seneca Falls Convention to advocate for women’s rights. Stanton and her supporters wrote the Declaration of Sentiments, which stated, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men and women are created equal.” These values parrot the Declaration of Independence but with gender equality. The Convention received bad press and public criticism, but it marked the beginning of the revolutionary Suffrage Movement.
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First Female Presidential Candidate (1872) Equal rights activist Victoria Woodhull despised the gender norms that kept women from essential jobs. In 1870, Woodhull and her sister, Lady Tennessee Celeste Claflin, Viscountess of Montserrat, also known as Tennie C., opened the first brokerage firm exclusively for women. Woodhull became a Suffrage leader and the first woman to run for president in 1872. Although she did not win, she set a precedent for women in government. Woodhull bravely faced the backlash of her actions to move equality forward. Though a woman has never won the presidency, America gets closer to this becoming a reality every year. thefourthestate.net
