ywca presentation
DESCRIPTION
March 22TRANSCRIPT
Moving Mountains: What can we learn from the woman
suffrage movement?
Woman suffrage
Outline
A little history. . .Some sociological jargon . . .What we now know about social movement success . . .
What does it matter?
Abigail Adams to John AdamsMarch 31, 1776
"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.
"Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”
Early activists
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (Mary Wollstonecraft, 1792)—
The 19th century “triumvirate” of woman suffrage Susan B. Anthony Elizabeth Cady Stanton Lucy Stone Blackwell +Lucretia Mott
The Subjection of Women (John Stuart Mill with Harriet Taylor Mill)--1851
What did these women want?Declaration of Sentiments 1848
Elective Franchise (suffrage)Property OwnershipFreedom from dominance of husbands and
recognition before the lawCustody of children in case of divorceAccess to well paying occupationsEducational opportunitiesPublic participation in the affairs of their
churchesRepresentation as a tax paying citizen
Conservatism and Woman Suffrage
Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, 1873 Francis Willard Focus on social reform
Alcoholism Prohibition Moral reform Prison reform
Evangelical Christian “more traditionally
feminine and appropriate organization for women”
Mountain West led the way
1869: Wyoming territorial legislature extends the vote to women.
1870: Utah territorial legislature extends the vote to women. 1870: Colorado territorial legislature does not grant women the
right to vote. 1876: Colorado enters the Union without enfranchising women. 1877: Colorado’s first woman suffrage referendum campaign
goes down to defeat. Women receive the right to vote in school elections and to hold school office (partial suffrage).
1883: Washington territorial legislature extends the vote to women.
1887: Congress rescinds woman suffrage in Utah. Territorial Supreme Court of Washington rescinds woman suffrage.
1890: Wyoming admitted to the Union as a suffrage state. 1895: Utah Statehood Convention approves woman suffrage. 1893: Colorado becomes the first state to grant women the
right to vote by popular referendum. 1896: Idaho adopts a constitutional amendment granting
suffrage to women.
Utah Suffrage Movement
Support from anti-polygamy activists in the East
Mormon women organized through the Relief Society
LDS Church leadershipsupportive
Lost vote; Edmunds- Tucker Act of 1887.
Woman suffrage successes by 1919, a state by state strategy
W A1910
O R1912
C A1911
NV1914
ID1896
UT1896
AZ1912
W Y1890
CO1893
SD1918
KS1912
OK1918
MI1918
NY1917
MT1914
Full Suffrage1890 - 18961910 - 19141915 - 1918No Suffrage
Was there something about the West?
Not easy More successes Successes came earlier 11 Western states have the vote by 1912 Encouraged women in the East
Susan B. Anthony votes in 1872 election after touring Western states
Alice Paul and the Women’s Party (13 Western states have the vote) pickets the White House hunger strike
Women in the West can vote?#!@
Social movementsWoman suffrage
Labor movement
Civil Rights movement
Women’s movement
Anti-War movements
Pro-Choice
Right to Life
LGBT movement
Environmental movement
Tea Party
Occupy Wall Street
Social movements
Social movements Organized action Focused on specific political or social issues. Carry out, resist, or undo social change. Made up of many different social movement organizations
Suffrage movement consisted of many different SMOs (social movement organizations) National Woman Suffrage (1869) American Woman Suffrage (1869) National American Woman Suffrage Movement (1890) Women’s Party (Alice Paul & Lucy Burns 1917) Women’s Christian Temperance Union (1873) finally joins suffrage
movement under the leadership of Francis Willard
Sometimes, but not always,
and only in certain ways
Do social movements matter?
“WHETHER A MOUNTAIN CAN BE MOVED DEPENDS AS MUCH ON THE CHARACTER OF THE MOUNTAIN
AS ON THE RESOURCES, STRATEGIES, AND COMMITMENT OF THE WOULD-BE MOVER”
What does matter?
The Character of the Mountain matters
The political process mattersRules and regulations regarding how to
change the constitution Constitutional majority required # of sessions required
Support of political elites Party support
Openness of the political system Initiative and referendum
Third Party challengers
Paths to woman suffrage
Constitutional Convention Seven conventions, three successful (Utah, Wyoming,
Nebraska)Initiative and Referenda
Nine initiatives, two successful (Oregon and Arizona)Legislation
582 bills between 1854 and 1918 24 state legislatures passed full suffrage amendments at
least once56 total referenda between 1867 and 1920
40 via legislative process 9 initiative and referenda 7 constitutional convention
Referenda Held (1848-1920)
First territorial success, 1869
First state-levelsuccess, 1883
Legislating suffrage
Legislative process Bill introduced by a state senator or representative Bill read and sent to committee Bills often stalled in committee or returned from
committee with unfriendly proposal Third reading and roll-call vote. As constitutional amendment, majority varied
51% 2/5 2/3 ¾
Introduced in the other house.
Summary of legislative successes
1860-1879 1880-1899 1900-1919 Total
Sessions 576 504 435 1515
Bill introduced 55 104 181 290
Roll call vote 31 70 103 204
Passed 1 house 16 29 60 115
Passed 2 houses
6 22 39 67
Success rate 1% 4.5% 9%
*Only 56 referenda held out of the 67. Some legislatures required that the amendment pass in consecutive sessions; in some states there was a limit as to how many amendments could be on the ballot.
How do social movements matter?
Mobilizing people
Framing issues
Setting agendas
Initiating the political process
ActivistsActivists PoliticiansPoliticians
Sense of political efficacy instigates action
Seek confirmation goals are within reach
Spurred on by “small victories”
Consider different strategies, weigh different tactics
Outline sequence of actions toward end goals
Legislators respond to threats to their political careers
Responsible to the will of the people
Attend to shifts in public opinion
Seek for ways to symbolically appease activists
Are less responsive at most consequential stages of political process
Opportunities for mobilization are not opportunities for policy reform
Cultural effects are important
Strong indicators of success?
Women’s employment in professional occupations provided resources for establishing state suffrage organizationsBill passage more likely in states with greater involvement of women in non-agricultural employment
What stalls the progress of change?
Lack of agreement among women
Intersections of race, social class, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, age, nation.
Interests are shaped by the things that divide. Black women voting rights sacrificed Regional divides (East vs. West) Agendas (social agendas vs. voting) Religious women and well-to-do women did not support
suffrage battle in early years
Insights for creating policy changes
Organizing social movements is an activity worlds apart from creating change Mobilizing resources—human capital, finances,
adherents Reading the environment, planning, and strategizing Framing issues and drawing media attention
Accessing support of political system is difficult; early support more easily achieved than in consequential stage of the legislation.
Suffrage movement was successful because women coalesced on one issue.