| The American Revolution possessed a radical democratic spirit that has helped shape modern governments and political systems worldwide. Ideas of self-government found full expression in the Declaration of Independence. A citizen's civil liberties and basic rights were guaranteed protection under the law set forth in the Constitution. The Constitution certainly did not live up to the standards set forth in the Declaration of Independence as it systematically denied financial, legal, and political rights to women and African American slaves. Women's struggle to attain equality was not only rooted in the partiality of the Constitution, but in the traditional patriarchal society found throughout Europe as well.
The movement to assure women the right to vote did not formally begin until 1848. The long and arduous struggle persisted non-violently for over seventy years. |
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| Women's suffrage is a phenomenal example of true democracy at work, although an under-appreciated one at best. The strong resistance to women's suffrage only proved how much the right to vote was coveted by white males. Ultimately a strong and persistent conviction determined the outcome after decades of activity. In 1920 the 19th Amendment was ratified extending women the right to vote. | |
Copyright Molly Egan, Jason Wood; Lehigh University 1999