a.) Identity specific goals
b.) Strategies used to try to gain those goals
c.) Analyze extent to which goals were met
Throughout history women have been able to grow and create
change in the things that they accomplish, particularly in politics. There have
been multiple successes of the Women’s Liberation Movement; initially it began
with the awareness of inequality and the status of women. Following the
realization of the discrimination towards women, a very significant event took
place in 1964, the Civil Rights Act and this made discrimination based on
gender unacceptable. Title IX also held a place in the success of this movement
since it had an influence in both two areas, sports and education. Title 9 gave
women equal education opportunities as men had and this also took place in
sports. More women also began joining the work field and taking positions in
the professional field. Abortion was legalized which is known by the famous
Supreme Court case, Roe vs. Wade. However, one area in particular made a drastic
impact on the Feminist movements success, the increase of women in politics.
Today twenty percent of the House of Representatives are women, as well as
seventeen senators being women.
In the specific area of politics women have made a significant amount of progress, however, the journey has been long-lasting and was made possible through determination and hard work. The convention in Senaca Falls marked a very important moment in the history of the feminist movement, this was the moment when discussions such as the reforming of marriage and the property laws to a woman’s right to vote took place. The nineteenth amendment was the point in which women were able to have a first permanent step towards their goal. Their goals were simple, they wanted equal rights, to end discrimination, and be able to do the same things as any other human being in the world. Things such as the proposition of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972 expressed the goals of women throughout the movement, which section 1 stated that "Equality of Rights under law shall not be denied or abridged by the U.S. or by any state on the account of sex." Section 2 stated that "Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article" this held significance in the length of time it took to have this completely in effect, which was 10 years.
These goals that women had during the feminist movement were not attainable by simply fighting and being static, but through the use of numerous strategies like protesting, petitioning, boycotts, stand-ins, and many more. These strategies were very similar to the ones used by African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement but were used to a greater extent throughout the feminist movement. Ultimately, women achieved success in the area of politics throughout the feminist movement but with a vast amount of patience and persistance. Some of the greatest political leaders of our time are women and are well respected by the whole nation, but this could not have been achieved without the courage of women in the history of our nation.
