200 Years of Struggle for One's Right in Politics
It is very easy to see Hillary Rodham Clinton on the newspaper every morning, she is busy solving foreign matters and advising President Obama on matters relating to foreign issues. Hillary Clinton is one of the most successful women politicians in America. However, the history of woman politicians is much shorter than man, the increasing number of woman politician shows that publicans need them.
Women in the United States have been seen as they were not interested and not involved in politics. They were mothers of their children and wives of their husbands, they were not seen as individuals in public. American women spend almost 200 years fighting for their rights in politics, these rights include voting, position in Congress, and presidential election. Since the 19th-century women started to argue that women should have the same rights in politics and that this country should not be only controlled by males. Currently, in United Stated, women are playing a more important role in politics than years ago.
Women in public office are doing better in several areas, and women are highly valuable when it comes to issues like dealing with the poor, health care, education, homelessness, aging, and the environment. Although, women face significant disadvantages in running for office and winning voters.
Voting is the most important right to women in America. But the right to vote did not come easily for all American women. The history of women's suffrage started before 300 years, and it was very hard to succeed.
During the 19th century, as male suffrage was gradually extended in the United State, women became increasingly active in the quest for their own suffrage. The beginning of the fight for women's suffrage is traced to the '' Declaration of Sentiments'' produced at the first woman's rights convention in Seneca Falls, N. Y. in 1848. After several years, Susan B. Anthony joined the fight, arguing that '' It was we, the people, not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizen; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union. And we formed it for women as well as men. It is a downright mockery to assure women of their enjoyment of the blessing of liberty while they are denied the use of the only means of securing them provided by this government—the ballot.''
Suffragists brought a series of court challenges to test whether voting was a privilege of U. S. Citizenship now belonging to women. One such challenge grew out of Susan B. Anthony for illegally voting in the 1872 election. The first case to make its way to the Supreme Court. But Court rejected the argument that 14th Amendment extended the vote to women. Then suffragists turned their attention from the court to the states and to Congress. In 1878, an amendment was proposed that provided the right of citizens to vote shall not be abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. This same amendment would be introduced in every session of Congress for the next 41 years.
In 1890, the Territory of Wyoming allowed women to vote, and it was admitted as a state. Wyoming became the first state with women's suffrage. By 1900, Utah, and Colorado joined Wyoming in allowing women to vote.
The necessary two-thirds vote in favor of the women's suffrage amendment was finally mustered in Congress. The role of woman has changed since 1920. The passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is 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. Although, Suffrage or the right to vote was achieved gradually and uneasy for all women in the United States.
Since 1964, more women than men voted for the presidential elections. It is clear that will continue to be a majority of the voting. And ever since, the female influence on American elections has been snowballing. More than ever, it's seen in the way pollsters poll, journalists report, and campaign. Suddenly, male and female perspectives on politics are ant virtual parity. In the 2000 elections, the percentage of women voting is higher than men reported voting. The rate of women's votes was high, about 7.8 million more women than men voted in the 2000 elections. In 2008, women's votes were a significant factor in Senator Barack Obama's victory, women strongly preferred Obama to Senator John McCain.
This change in the role of women was significant, and it will certainly contribute to the political modernization of America. 90 years ago, in the U. S. the major political influence of women had been felt through their role in educating children, either informally in the home, since most were not employed, or in the school system. In creasing their skill and interest in participation and contemporary political problems affected this role. While women traditionally have not been very active directly in politics or government administration, some change was introduced in these areas.
Women are 51 percent of the population, and with this majority voice, women can influence the direction of policies important to them. Retirement security, job opportunity, good schools, and housing costs are all of higher importance to women than homeland security. In fact, women can change the direction of policies by their votes.
Before the significant historical moment of women's right to vote in 1920, Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman who be elected in Congress in 1917. It is not only important to woman's right and also important to the development of Congress.
This paper chronicles four successive generations of Congresswomen whose legislative roles evolved over time. For the pioneer generation of Congresswomen, who came into the office between 1917 and 1934, a large percentage of them were widows who succeeded their late husbands. And most of them lacked experience in elective office. Their male colleagues and the national press viewed women members of the 1920s as a curiosity. Moreover, Congresswomen were unable to serve on powerful committees, and most of the women served in women's spheres, such as education, nursing, and veterans' affairs.
The second generation of women in Congress served a long institutional apprenticeship from1935 through 1954. In this generation women members slowly made inroads. More of them had precongressional careers and experience in elective office, they had the ability to be better committee assignments and experts in legislative areas. For the first time, women were assigned to prominent committees, such as Agriculture, Judiciary, and Armed Services in the House. The second generation had much better situation and work than the first generation in Congress.
The third generation in Congress was between 1955 and 1976, for the first time in half a century, the number of women members who came to Congress with experience in elective office exceeded the number of who came to Congress by way of a marital of familial connection. The number of Congresswomen increased gradually, women got much more important positions in Congress. Another significant meaning in this time is that women demanded economic, political, and social equality with men. It is a major sexual revolution in American society.
The fourth generation of women in Congress started at 1977, more than half of women who have served in Congress were elected during this period. The number of women in Congress doubled in the 1992 elections and continued to climb steadily into the early 21st century. In January 1977, 18 women served in the House and 16 served in the Senate. As the number of women Members increased, they became able to attain assignments on more-influential committees. Women's impressive gains in 1992 were not the product of special events. Demographics, global politics, scandal, and the ripple effect of the women's liberation movement all played a part in the results of that historic election. This historical moment is called ''Year of the Women.''
With a record number of women in Congress, women's issues commanded increased attention throughout the 1990s. As scholar Debra Dodson writes in her book, once the number of women reached a '' critical mass,'' they were freed somewhat from the need to fit into a power structure '' immersed in masculinist values.'' Women made the most visible difference on health issues, with Democrats and Republicans joining to educate their male colleagues about what they regarded as the second-class status of women's health concerns.
Women's groups counted major successes in health and abortion-related issues. Women-focused on the National Institutes of Health, and women succeeded in earmarking sharp funding increases for breast cancer research. Funding was also increased for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's screening program for breast and cervical cancer. Congresswomen made progress on other fronts, such as the Violence Against Women Act. It provided funding and a new federal cause of action to combat '' gender-motivated '' violence.
Wonder how many years ago women surely run for president? According to Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Victoria Woodhull, born in 1838 in Ohio, was selected by the Equal Rights Party to be its candidate in the 1872 election. She became the first woman candidate for president, running on the people's party ticket with Frederick Douglass as her running mate. She was known as a great feminist and the first woman running for president, her effort of promising women suffrage and improve woman's traditional legal disabilities had significant meaning for women.
After several years, Belva Ann Lockwood was the first woman in the United States to practice law and the first to win votes in a presidential election in 1884. In 1887 she was nominated by the Equal Right Party again. Julia Davis said ''All in all it was as much of a triumph as she could expect, and she certainly brought women's rights before the nation.'' All these women ran as minor party candidates, and most of the minor parties can not play major roles in the United States.
In 1972, women became more active in politics and the women's liberation movement was flourishing. Three women ran for president that year. They are Linda Jenness, who ran in the Socialist Workers Party, Patsy Mink, and Shirley Chisholm who ran in several Democratic Party primaries.
Margaret Chase Smith was a Republican Senator from Maine, and one of the most successful politicians in history. She was the first woman to be elected to both the U. S. House and the Senate, and she was also the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for the U. S. Presidency at a major party's convention.
In the twenty-first century, nine women got their names on a general election ballot for either the Democratic primary or the Republican Party primary. The most prominent of these was Hillary Rodham Clinton. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. In 2008, she was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president. She was elected to the U.S. Senate from New York in 2000 and re-elected in 2006. She serves on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; the Special Committee on Aging; and the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Hillary Clinton had been preparing for a potential candidacy for United States President sin 2003. On January 20, 2007, she announced via her website the formation of a presidential exploratory committee for the presidential election of 2008. It was the closest moment for a woman in United States President. Although, Clinton lost the game and Obama was acknowledged as the winner.
When she became a presidential candidate she won the allegiance of the masses. Denise Penn mentions,'' Hilary Clinton's bid for the presidency has inspired women across the country and throughout the world. Eighteen million voters put their faith in her to lead one of the most powerful countries in the world, and will never forget her strength, her confidence and how she took on her adversaries with dignity and grace. But she has been history for years, transforming the role of First Lady and tackling tough problems on behalf of the country in the Senate.''
As a senator, Hillary Clinton stands for better education and health insurance, and humanly military policy. Clinton worked hard for the expansion of economic opportunity and access to quality, affordable health care. She also supports better health care for the American nation's military and benefits for wounded service members. As a modern woman politician, she is not only a strong advocate for improving women's rights, but she also cares about every citizen in the United States.
Running for president is harder than running for other offices. The crucial test of political participation in America is the casting of votes for the election of the president and other elite officials. '' Although national-level polls reveal that nearly 20 percent of the electorate would not vote for a woman for president, the public appears to be more accepting of women in the U.S. Congress.'' It is hard to imagine that a woman was having a speech with a few listeners years ago, and most of them were women. Moreover, all these women who ran for president were elected by women, the majority of votes were from women not men. Even now, Hillary Clinton in her presidential campaign got more votes from women than men.
According to Marie C Wilson, '' Political participation in this country has dropped especially over the last few decades, beaten down by the divisive rhetoric used by the two parties that run our country. The American people are hungry for new leadership that can mend this country's wounds from Sept.11, from the three-year war in Iraq, from the devastation of Katrina. A woman candidate has the advantage of being able to run on a message of inclusion and fresh solutions, and could offer Americans a fresh start.'' America should start to consider a new era of leadership and be ready to have a woman president. It is time to close the leadership gap.
However, women still have significant disadvantages in running for the presidential election and winning voter approval. Those barriers are lower than before, but not completely gone. Hillary Clinton had received more critical coverage than Obama, and differences in press treatment. A study for the Center for Media and Public Affairs found that 84 percent of the comments about Obama on the major television networks were positive compared to only 51 percent of the comments about Clinton. Since the New Hampshire primary, the gap in positive coverage for Obama and Clinton has narrowed somewhat. Moreover, Obama continues to receive more positive coverage than Clinton on the network news programs.
Women never equal men in public office in the United States. Clinton's candidacy is a breakthrough that many of those who have followed women's fortunes in politics did not anticipate.
The history of American women in politics is about 200 years. Women fought for their right to vote and position in Congress, and now they are running for the presidential election. It is a significant movement of women's rights. Although women faced disadvantages in their election of a president or Congress, they still can not have equal rights as men. A result from these women politicians' excellent work on some areas, such as education, the world is much better than before.
