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NationalAmericanWomanSuffrage
Associationwasformedin1890.Aftera
courageousandpersistentpolitical
campaign,the19thAmendmentwas
passedin1920.Thisamendmentgave
womentherighttovoteandhadenormous
politicalandsocialsignificance,even
thoughAmericanhistoryhasgivenitlittle
attention.Thesuffragists’deliberate
rejectionof violencemaybeoneof the
reasonsthemovementhasnotreceivedthe
attentionlavishedonothermorebloody
periodsofAmericanhistory(Cooney,
2005).
Full political citizenship for women is
tantamount to full human dignity.
Although women would continue to be

regarded as subordinate for years to come,

winning the right to vote was possibly the

biggest step toward equality.The right to

vote embodied the recognition that

women had the ability to reason,the

power of judgment,and the capability for

social responsibility and effective action

(Flexner & Fitzparick,1996).You do not

need to be female,a feminist,or even

politically minded to see the importance

of the suffrage movement.The

importance lies in the larger story,which

is about democracy and how a powerless

class of Americans won concessions and

guarantees from those in power,without

the use of violence (Cooney,2005).

The Role of Religion

During the early 1900s and further into

the century,a new missionary movement

gained strength.This movement began

after the CivilWar when missionaries

evangelized newly freed slaves (Matthews,

1995).It grew throughout the 1900s to

include a strong interest in international

missions (Bays,2005).Ironically,while

international mission outreach expanded,

religion’s power over the generalAmerican

community saw a decline during the same

time period.This parallels the

development of theAmerican family into

a more private institution,with the

practice of religion becoming a family

issue.

The Changing Face of theAmerican Family: Modern History

The importance of the suffrage movement lies in the

larger story about democracy and how a powerless

class of Americans won concessions and guarantees

from those in power without the use of violence.

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