Introduction
The status of ­women as less than men is memorialized in the United States’ Dec-
laration of In­de­pen­dence, which asserted, “All men are created equal.” The use of
the word “men” was deliberate and referred specifically to white, land-­owning
males. The Declaration purposely excluded ­women, ­people of color, religious
minorities, and the poor. Despite this, ­women, including ­women of color and
sexual minorities, have lobbied, fought, and died for their full humanity to be
recognized by the government and their fellow citizens. Beginning in 1948, ­
women began to or­ ga ­ nize more formally on behalf of ­women’s rights. What is now
considered the first convention for ­ women’s rights or­ga­nized by ­ women was held
in the small town of Seneca Falls, New York. At this gathering, 68 ­women and 32
men signed the Declaration of Sentiments, modeled on the Declaration of In­de­
pen­dence, which professed, “All men and ­ women are created equal.” Taken for
granted in the 21st ­century, this new Declaration was greeted with hostility and
was quite controversial. Over 70 years ­later, ­women ­were fi­nally granted the right
to vote with the passing of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in 1920.
Despite ­ these gains, ­ women ­ were still denied full ­ legal status or civil rights for
de­cades to come.
As late as the 1960s, ­women ­ were still denied many basic rights and faced many
obstacles to full equality. ­Women could not keep their job while pregnant, file a
claim for workplace sexual harassment, refuse to have sex with their husband, serve
on a jury, get a credit card on their own, or even run in the Boston Marathon. Not ­
until more than 50 years ­ after the 19th Amendment would ­ there be another surge
of activism on behalf of ­women’s rights. Journalist Betty Friedan’s book The Femi-
nine Mystique (1963), which described the disaffected life of many suburban ­ women,
calling it the “prob­lem that has no name,” is widely credited for igniting what came
to be known as the ­ Women’s Liberation Movement. ­ Women demanded ­ legal status
equal to that of men. Now known as the second wave of feminism, the movement
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