Timeline
1607 –White settlement began in North America
White settlers began to arrive in 1607, many escaping religious prosecution, poverty, and/or the onus of monarchies. With them came a long history of slavery and indentured servitude that included enslaved people of all shades-even native Americans were frequently enslaved. In 1638 The first African enslaved people arrived in Massachusetts. The old customs and practices of European counties, especially England kept women, especially married women, in a clearly subservient role and still subject to being identified as witches and punished and burned.
1775 – Revolutionary War
Notwithstanding women’s subservient role, many risked their lives to assist with the Revolution. Just a few included Margaret Corbin, who was severely wounded when she took over for her husband who was killed during battle, Sybil Luddington, who rode twice as far as Paul Revere to warn of the British invasion, and Deborah Sampson, who like many others, dressed as a man to aid the war.
1776 – The New Government
On the eve of the formation of the new government, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband (who was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention) to, “remember the ladies” and asked that they be free the from the earlier customs and laws that burdened them. He seemed to find her request amusing, but there is no evidence that he tried to honor it.
1848 –
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucrettia Mott and a small committee of women called the first public meeting to discuss the rights and burdens of women. Fredrick Douglass, formerly enslaved, gave an impassioned speech in favor of women’s right to vote. The Declaration of Sentiments adopted at that convention addressed a wide variety of impediments to women being treated as equals with men. Some of those concerns have not yet been corrected.
1851 – A Powerful Alliance Begins
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton met for the first time and forged a relationship that changed the world. For over half a century they led the effort to have women and men of all shades recognize the injustices women had endured for centuries and live up to the promise of the Declaration of Independence that all people were created equal and with inalienable rights.
1861-1865 Civil War
During the Civil War most public suffrage activity ceased in favor of home defense societies.
1868 – The 14th Amendment Passed
The first time the word “male” appeared in the Constitution (14th Amendment) making it arguable that gender was intended to control voting rights, but also defining citizens to include all people “born or naturalized” in the United States—suggesting that women were citizens, therefore, had the citizens’ right to vote.
1872
Relying on the definition of “citizen” in the 14th Amendment, Susan B. Anthony and 14 other women from Rochester New York convinced the local election authorities to allow them to vote. Susan was arrested, charged with a crime, found guilty by a judge who directed a jury to return a guilty verdict, and fined.
Elizabeth Avery Meriwether in Memphis Tennessee (as well as several other women in other states) also voted in 1872. Elizabeth was not charged or arrested but did not know whether her vote was counted.
Elizabeth Avery Meriwether also called the first public meeting in the state of Tennessee to discuss suffrage.
1913 —Alice Paul and the first National Suffrage Parade
Alice Paul led thousands of suffragists in a “pageant” the day before President Wilson’s second inauguration. That parade drew national attention to the suffragists in part because the police did not protect them from the angry mobs that swarmed them. Over 200 suffragists were taken to the hospital for treatment. The parade demonstrated the depth of support for women’s rights by women of all occupations and shades and from all over the country.
1917
When President Wilson refused to make a plan to help the suffrage amendment through Congress and told them it was their burden to raise support for the suffrage movement, the National Women’s Party stationed “silent sentinels” at the White House gates to remind President Wilson anytime he entered or left the White House that more than half the people in his “democracy” could not vote.
After months of the demonstration, arrests and imprisonments began, often with no charges. Ultimately beatings, force feedings and torture were used to try, unsuccessfully, to discourage the suffragists.
November 27 1917- The Dixie Tour came to Knoxville
Former suffragist prisoners were sent to the South for a “Dixie Tour” to make sure the South was aware of the brutal treatment of the suffragist in Washington D.C. and New York. On this date Maud Younger and Joy Young were to speak at Market Hall in Market Square in Downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, but the contracts for the hall and their lodging were cancelled. They had been silenced in most cities and towns in Tennessee. Opposition to them speaking in Knoxville was strong and ultimately resulted in an armed confrontation at the Old Knoxville Court House. When armed union workers intervened, the women were able to speak. The opposition tactics backfired and contributed to the sudden change in the Southern Congressional opposition to the suffrage amendment.
1920 and beyond
All women citizens across the country had the legal right to vote in the 1920 presidential election. The reality was, however, that the opposition continued to fight, turning to tactics of voter suppression. In many states poll taxes were barriers to voting by all poor people. The South’s continued racism and tactics of the KKK and like organizations were employed to intimidate many voters of color, both men and women. The right to vote had been won, but the battle continued against voter suppression and become the Civil Rights Movement.