Women and Their Rights

Women and Their Rights

By Bella Gentry

5:36

VO: Did you know that women havent always had the rights that

they have today? In fact, back in the 1850s-1900s, men were

thought to be more superior than women.

 Women and Their Rights

VO: Women havent always had the right to vote. Women were not

allowed to vote until the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920. It

took nearly 100 years for women to win the right to vote!

VO: Women felt that all people should be treated equal, no matter

what their race or gender is. So, they fought for suffrage, also

known as the right to vote.

VO: In 1869, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed

the National Womens Suffrage Association. The National Womens

Suffrage Association worked to grant property rights to married

women and, of course, womens suffrage. Carrie Chapman Catt

became the president of the National Womens Suffrage Association

in 1915.

VO: In 1869, another association was formed. It was called the

American Women Suffrage Association. The leaders were Lucy Stone,

Julia Ward Howe, and Henry Blackwell. The American Women Suffrage

Association worked to secure the ballot through state

legislation. The AWSA and the NWSA disagreed on if they should

support the 15th Amendment since they werent given the right to

vote. In 1894, the NWSA and the AWSA merged together and became

the NAWSA. Their goal was to get the 19th Amendment passed.

VO: Alice Paul played a big role in the time of women suffrage.

She was imprisoned 3 times for her strong acts for women

suffrage. Women were heckled, jailed, and sometimes physically

abused by their opponents.

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VO: Women suffragists in Britain called themselves

`suffragettes`, while women in the U.S. called themselves

suffragists. In 1923, the National Womens Party offered an

amendment to the constitution that denied all discrimination on

the basis of gender. This Equal Rights Amendment has never been

ratified.

VO: Wyoming became the first state to adopt general womens

suffrage. The first country to grant women suffrage was New

Zealand in 1893, and Australia followed in 1902.

VO: We hold these truths to be self-evident, stated the

Declaration of Sentiments, that all men and women are created

equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain

inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the

pursuit of happiness.

EXT SCENE: Six girls outside in front of a building protesting.

Three are holding up signs, the other three are not. They are

protesting for womens rights. They are outside of a courthouse.

CAMERA FACING ALL GIRLS AT A STRAIGHT - ON ANGLE.

ALL GIRLS: WE WANT WOMENS SUFFRAGE! WE WANT WOMENS SUFFRAGE!

ALL PEOPLE DESERVE TO BE TREATED EQUAL BECAUSE WE ARE ALL CREATED

EQUAL!

*CHANTING STOPS*

GIRL 1: Will this ever work?

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 Women and Their Rights

GIRL 2: Yes it will, we just have to keep trying. Now, KEEP

CHANTING!

*CHANTING CONTINUES ON*

VO: The first convention for womens rights was in Seneca Falls,

New York in 1848. Around 300 people attended. Elizabeth Cady

Stanton led the convention. At the Seneca Falls Convention, most

delegates agreed that American women were individuals who

deserved their own political identities.

VO: On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment was signed, granting

women the right to vote. The text of the 19th Amendment states

that 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 an

account of sex.

VO: Another event that women played a big part in was the

Temperance Movement.

VO: The Temperance Movement was one of the first anti-alcohol

movements. Temperance means to be against and avoid alcohol

consumption. In 1847, Maine became the first state to adopt the

state law prohibiting alcohol.

VO: A womens temperance union was formed. It was called the

Womens Christian Temperance Union- also known as the WCTU. They

were an organization that fought against alcohol consumption.

Many women started avoiding alcohol. The organization was created

on December 23, 1873 in Hillsboro, Ohio. The WCTU was declared an

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official organization at a national convention in Cleveland, Ohio

in 1874.

VO: One woman was especially famous for her outrageous acts for

temperance. Her name is Carry Nation, and she was famous for

going into bars and saloons with a hatchet and smashing bottles

of alcohol and liquor.

VO: I threw as hard, and as fast as I could, smashing mirrors

and bottles and glasses and it was astonishing how quickly this

was done. - Carry Nation.

VO: The WCTU thought that alcohol was the main cause of social

problems rather than weakness or failing. They wanted women to

have a say in politics. They wanted to aid immigrants coming into

the United States. They felt that immigrants were more prone to

alcoholism. The WCTU focussed on suffrage. Through articles, they

tried to prove that the absence of alcohol would help people

succeed in life.

VO: The WCTU was concerned about removing poverty. They felt that

the best way to remove poverty was from the absence of alcohol.

They also focused on womens suffrage.

VO: The WCTU adopted the Willards Do Everything philosophy.

This philosophy meant that the WCTU campaigned for local, state,

and national prohibition and women's suffrage. The WCTU was

interested in issues such as labor, prostitution, public health,

sanitation, and international peace.

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VO: The WCTU was against tobacco. The WCTU formed the Department

for the Overthrow of the Tobacco Habit- also known as DOTH. The

DOTH published many anti- tobacco articles.

VO: Two years after the WCTU was formed, the International

Womens Christian Union was formed, also known as the IWCTU.

INT SCENE: 5 women protesting a bar/saloon and the same women

ordering 3 men to put their drinks down. They are in a

bar/saloon. The 3 men are standing talking, and then the women

come up to them. GROUP SHOT OF ALL PEOPLE. NO PEOPLE LOOKING

DIRECTLY AT THE CAMERA.

BOY 1: What are you ladies doing in this here saloon?

GIRL 1: Were here to tell you men to PUT THE DRINKS DOWN!

ALL GIRLS: YEAH!

*ALL BOYS GLANCE AT EACH OTHER*

BOY 2: And why should we do that?

GIRL 2: Because you know as well as I know that alcohol isnt

everything but good for you!

GIRL 3: Alcohol is the cause of social problems! You cant live a

healthy life with alcohol in it!

ALL GIRLS: PUT THE DRINKS DOWN!

VO: Women didnt always have the job and education opportunities

that they have today. There was a time when women got serious

about how they were treated in the economy compared to men- this

was called the Enlightenment period. The Enlightenment period was

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a time when women wanted to expand their roles in society and

careers.

VO: Women were characterized as unequal or potentially equal to

men. Women were inferior to men- mentally and socially.

VO: Women did not start going to college in equal numbers as men

until 1980. In The 1800s-1900s, few women got careers in

education.

VO: Womens occupations were limited to being a housewife.

Housewife is the term used to referring to womens occupation

of service to the husband and children. Very few housewives were

able to file a divorce.

VO: The housewifes responsibilities are as followed: keep the

house clean, prepare the food, make sure that the children are

behaving, and make sure that the servants are doing their job.

Many younger women were servants or worked in factories until

they got married and became housewives.

VO: Jean- Jacques Rousseau believed that women should play their

roles as mothers and wives. In 1742, Dorothea Erxleben wrote that

women should be able to attend universities.

VO: In the late 1900s, women started to get PHDs in science.

More higher paying jobs were provided for women in the 1900s.

VO: The first certified women doctor in the US was Elizabeth

Blackwell. She was certified in 1849.

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VO: African American women played a big role in the era of

beauty. African American women worked mainly in salons.

VO: In 1866, Lucy Hobbs Taylor became the first American woman to

receive a dentistry degree. In 1878, Mary L. Page became the

first American woman to receive a degree in architecture. In

1869, Arabella Mansfield became the first woman lawyer in

America.

VO: Many women took up the occupation of dress-making and

hemming. Many middle- aged women served as store clerks in

department stores. Many women began to take on teaching careers.

VO: During wars, many women adopted the career of serving as a

nurse.

VO: I hope you are more educated about womens rights and history

now! Thanks for watching!