Explain in as much detail possible.?

Question:

Explain in as much detail possible.?

One of the major accomplishments of the progressive era was woman suffrage. Briefly characterize the struggle for the vote. How did the suffrage movement fit into the general progressive program of social justice and political reform? What factors divided the movement? Discuss the issues and situations that ultimately led to the passage of the nineteenth amendment?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: You don't want much for your ten points, do you? Put yourself in the situation women were in. Before women got the vote, they were the silent majority. Not only did they have no vote, but in most states they could not land or have bank accounts of their own. When they were widowed, they were expected to turn over their financial arrangements to the nearest male relative. Most were not allowed to run businesses, even those that had belonged to their husbands. This applied to both rich and poor. Poor women had the very same problems except they HAD to find work. They got paid less and were often expected to work longer hours than the men. The excuse employers gave is the same one they give today. The men have to provide for their families. Anyone who is a single mother (either divorced or unwed) just goes HUH?

Now the reason that Wyoming territory was so popular with women is from the beginning women were recognized as being able to own land, businesses and have bank accounts. It was a hard life, but a single woman or widow could actually come out to Wyoming and homestead and it was legally recognized as HERS. If she got married, she still lost it to the no-good thieving son-of-a-***** who went to town every Saturday and gambled away their money, but she COULD protect her assets with a good lawyer. In the eastern states she would have had no recourse.

The right to vote was just the tip of the iceberg. Women wanted it because they had a voice in Congress and legal recourse under the law.

Just think how much you would scream if MEN were denied the right to vote, the right to have separate bank accounts, and had ALL property in their wives names. Yup, you'd scream all right. It would mean you'd have to toe the line, too.