A Brief History of the First Wave of Feminism
‘Feminism is for everybody.’
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“A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.” — Gloria Steinem
Human beings have been on this planet for thousands of years but it’s hard to believe that the concept of equality is less than two hundred years old.
The first wave, the first fight, the first uprising for women’s rights refers to the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth century in the western world. In this article, I’m going to look at the first wave of feminism in the United States but I will also highlight the contributions of early feminists across the world.
It was the time when politics and businesses were completely dominated by men. They still are today but at that time no one could’ve imagined having a woman as a CEO or a leader of a political party.
Women were considered the property of their fathers and husbands. They were confined to their homes and didn’t even have the authority to file for divorce or appeal for the custody of their children. Women were treated as objects and not as living beings. The concept of marital rape was unheard of.
The first wave of feminism generally revolved around having basic legal rights for women. It was connected to the abolishment movement in the United States. Both movements were aimed at complete social reforms and liberation from oppression. Despite the setbacks it faced, it laid the foundation for several other waves of feminism.
Where it all Started
The wave officially began at the Seneca Falls Convention which was the first-ever women’s rights convention held in New York in July 1848. This convention launched the women’s suffrage movement which was aimed at giving women the right to vote. It was launched when Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott were denied a seat at the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention in London.
This led to the formation of The American Equal Rights Association (AERA) in 1866. It was founded by Elizabeth Stanton and Susan Anthony, and the goal was to give women the right to vote in the elections. Despite the involvement of women of color, the movement established itself as a movement only for white women. Black women were barred from participating in the demonstration. If they did come, they were forced to walk behind the white women.
The AERA collapsed with the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment which granted blacks the right to vote. Of course, this did not sit well with the white women who were not going to stand for the fact that they were not granted the right to vote before the blacks.
Consequently, Stanton and Anthony encouraged the AERA to support the 16th Amendment which would give the women the right to vote. A number of other leaders of AERA refused to do so, and because of this, the pair left the AERA to form the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in 1869. The remaining leaders mainly Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, and other radical feminists came together to form the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) in Nov 1869.
This NWSA was purely led by females. The aim was to work towards the uplifting of women in society on the national stage. The AWSA, on the other hand, focused on gaining the right to vote through state amendments. This divide resulted in the split of the movement and very little progress was made towards achieving the right to vote. However, the movement did manage to achieve some equality in education for women.
1869 and Beyond
Since both movements were fighting for the advancement of women’s rights, they eventually merged into the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Success was seen almost immediately when in 1869, Wyoming became the first state to grant suffrage to women.
The movement received support from other groups as well. In 1916, the National Woman’s Party (NWP) was formed by Alice Paul. The goal was to achieve suffrage by working towards constitutional amendments instead of state amendments. The party protested outside the White House and continued its movement throughout the First World War.
Several members were arrested, and several more went on strikes. People tried to bring pressure on Wilson's administration in favor of suffrage. At the same time, the president of the NAWSA supported the US’ War effort, thus indicating that NAWSA was also a patriotic organization that was aiming to protect its country and not one that aimed to disrupt it, as some politicians saw it at the time.
The movement continued to develop in other aspects of women’s life. For one thing, it started to question reproductive rights. In 1916, Margaret Sanger established the first birth control clinic in the US, defying the New York State law that forbade the distribution of contraception. Later on, she would establish the famous Planned Parenthood.
Finally, in 1920, after much protest and picketing, Congress passed the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. The Amendment declared, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” It is important to remember that while the amendment granted women of all colors the right to vote, in practice, it remained difficult for black women to vote, especially in the South.
The marginalization of Coloured Women
The first wave of feminism marginalized the black women, who faced discrimination because of their race and gender. It was because of this that the black women formed separate organizations. The aim was to work towards black suffrage and to raise awareness among the community members. As a result, the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) was founded in 1896 and the Alpha Suffrage Club was established in 1913.
Final Thoughts
The 19th Amendment was the biggest achievement of the first wave of feminism. After this, individual groups continued to work for reproductive freedom, equality in education, employment, and voting rights for black women. Very soon, the movement as a whole began to split. There was no unifying force present anymore. Things would continue this way until the second wave of feminism started.
More from the Author
References
https://feminisminindia.com/2018/04/24/summary-first-wave-of-feminism/
https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/feminism-womens-history
https://www.progressivewomensleadership.com/a-brief-history-the-four-waves-of-feminism/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-Equal-Rights-Association