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WMST 100

13 May 2017

Critical Reflection Essay

The lesson this week, the history of feminism, was very interesting to me, but also

overwhelming. I had no idea about the different waves of feminism, or much about Susan B.

Anthony’s work, before diving into this week’s lesson. Just a few days ago, I decided to enroll in

this course out of sheer curiosity. Although I did not need any more general education classes, I

had been sorting through textbooks at the bookstore where I work, and stumbled across

Feminism is for everybody. The title struck me, and I leafed through it. I learned that it was used

for Women Studies 100, and made the decision to enroll. I’m graduating next year and want to

take every opportunity to learn about new topics that interest me while I have the chance.

Prior to this week, I did not even really have a solid definition of feminism. I knew that it

had to do with gender equality, and I had heard of people attending the women’s march earlier

this year, but I did not understand the issues or reasons for it. Although I still have a ton to study

and learn, I feel that this lesson really helped me understand what life was like for women in the

early-mid 1900’s and how we have gotten to where we are today.

In this paper, I am going to focus on the first wave of feminism, including how it came

about, its struggles, and its successes.

As mentioned in our lecture, the first wave of feminism began in 1792 with Mary

Wollstonecraft’s publication of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. This book addressed

many issues including the rights of mankind, modesty, parental affection, and national education.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, women were viewed only as daughters and wives, to be owned by

a man. They had very few rights in any aspect of life.

The first wave of feminism gained power when the world Anti-Slavery Convention

occurred in 1840. Although permitted to attend, women were not allowed to be viewed or heard.

This is when Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott met and both were appalled at women’s

treatment at the convention.

Eight years later, the two women happened to be visiting the same area. They decided

that now was the time to fight for the rights of women and called for a meeting which became

the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848. Three hundred people, including 40 men attended. James

Mott (Lucretia’s husband) led the first convention because no woman felt capable of presiding.

They proposed that women were equal in all spheres. Women’s suffrage was ridiculed, even

initially by Lucretia Mott.

Many attendees were not only suffragists, but also abolitionists. A lot of the supporters

for women’s rights believed in equality for everyone, and were simultaneously fighting for the

freedom of slaves. As a result, these two movements are heavily intertwined.

The first National Women’s Rights Convention occurred in 1850, with efforts to

“secure…political, legal, and social equality with man” (NPS). They also sought sexual and

reproductive rights. As mentioned in Sanger’s paper “My Fight for Birth Control,” women were

not able to care for the amount of children they were having. They had illegal and dangerous

abortions, infants were dying, and poverty levels were increasing. In 1900, six to nine of every

1000 women died during childbirth, and one in five children died in the first 5 years life.

Distributing information about contraception was illegal under both federal and state laws. The

timing of ovulation, length of fertile period, and other reproductive facts were unknown (CDC).

At the meeting, resolutions and speeches were made, strategies were debated, and letters

were read. Mott and Stanton worked to “hold local meetings, raise funds, gather facts, and

publicize the movement through the press, tracts, books, and speakers” (NPS). They posed the

idea that women could potentially contribute just as much, if not more, to society than men.

A year later, a second national convention occurred, and they seemed amidst “a great

moral civil war.” This meeting was much larger than the first, and additional topics were debated

including access to paid labor, education, political rights, and social equality.

By the group’s fourth meeting in 1853, they had attracted over 1,500 participants.

However, in addition to gaining numerous supporters, a large group of opponents had also

surfaced. Screeches and hisses prevented women’s rights advocates from being easily heard.

Additionally, interpretations from the Bible were announced in objection to proposals for

women’s rights.

At the time of the 10th convention in 1860, women had just earned the right to joint

custody of their children, as well as sole use of their personal property and wages! This was a

huge step in the direction of equality. This meeting focused on the right for a woman to divorce

her husband in the case of drunkenness, insanity, desertion, or cruelty.

The Civil War brought to an end the annual Women’s Rights Conventions, and thus the

first wave of feminism, as women focused on the war efforts. Susan B. Anthony was “sick at

heart,” but failed to convinced Stanton, Mott, and others to continue to hold conventions during

war time. In 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified. It acknowledged women as full citizens and

gave them a right to vote.

One thing that I found particularly interesting was that many arguments for women’s

rights cites from the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Supporters

state that official documents clearly imply equality and suffrage for all people. As Susan B.

Anthony mentions on page 607 of Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions, the preamble of the

Federal Constitution begins with “We, the people…” not we, the male citizens. The speakers at

the women’s rights conventions also used these facts and documents that were written prior to

their time, to support their fight for rights. Mary Wollstonecraft also uses the basic principles in

Chapter 1 of her book. These “God-given rights” are protected by these documents for the whole

of the United States, not the chosen few.

This first wave of feminism was imperative to the second, third, and where we are today.

The bravery that these women showcased is admirable. They certainly had many opponents and

struggles along the way. But, if they had not stood up to question the morality and reasoning of

society’s rights, who would have?

Bibliography

“A Brief History: The Three Waves of Feminism.” Progressive Women’s Leadership. N.p., 24

Sept. 2015. Web. 12 May 2017.

“Achievements in Public Health, 1900-1999: Family Planning.” Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3 Dec. 1999. Web. 12 May

2017.

"Four Waves of Feminism." Four Waves of Feminism | Pacific University. N.p., 25 Oct. 2015.

Web. 11 May 2017.

“More Women’s Rights Conventions.” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior,

n.d. Web. 11 May 2017.