Let's Talk Women's Suffrage!

Do u agree that age shoud not be
a criterion of the franchize ?





David

They once were even worse. There was a rebellion in western Massachusetts called Shays' Rebellion after the revolution but before the constitution was written. It scared a lot of membes of "the powers that were," but Massachusetts dealt with by co-opting the rebels, and they extended the franchise to all adult, white males. There other states followed sooner or later. It was considered by observers in Europe to be radical to the point that it would probably be self-destructive. It was also called "universal suffrage." Ha!

However, when you look at England at the time of the first reform bill (introduced 1830), where less than 5% of the adult, white male population could vote, you can see why the American experiment was considered radical. In England, not only was the franchise limited on the basis of property ownership (which meant, for example, that labor was not represented, which explains why labor unions were illegal), but there were many "rotton borroughs, when a handful of voters, beholden to a single man, chose two members of Parliament. Parliament was in the hands of wealthy merchants and the owners of large tracts of land--period.

Before 1971 I lived in Switzerland and did follow some of the arguments against women´s right to vote by women. Not by men.
In Switzerland people vote/voted on many more things than usually are the case in other countries. It is/was seen as your duty to vote and I think but I am not sure that you even had to pay a fine if you did not vote. An unnessery expence in the eyes of many.
Anyway some women told their husbands how to vote and off the man went to vote the way the wife told them.
When women got the right to vote the husbands could vote any odd way they wanted....and might even vote against the wish of the wife.
That was an argument........

saab, interesting!

Gracie, sozlet was in third grade at the time (not 8th). She's in fifth grade now.

As you know the English suffrages did or tried to destroy paintings in museums in London.
Before - I think it was 1914 - WW1 a relative of mine was in London. Women were not allowed to walk alone in a museum. They had to be in a group surrounded by custodians. Male of course.
If they had to go to the ladies´room a male custodian had to come along.....

Even though he stood outside the cabin....it was a bit to high a price to pay for the right to vote and under no circumstances amusing.

I never realized why it was called suffrage until I looked around at the present-day political lansdscape.

Yeah that was the argument, but was it true? Switzerland was and is very traditional and it's still a men's world there.

Whoa! 3rd grade and she was learning about Alice Paul? Awesome school, smart girl!

Cool! Lots of great info here guys! Thaaannnkk Youuu!!!

Are you suggesting an Electoral Middle School ?

As long as its students' votes count as much as anyone else's.

Incidentally, I suspect that if children DID vote,
then my candidates probably 'd do worse as a result,
but young citizens have as much in the way of natural rights as anyone else, regardless.





David

Gracie, as a 13 year old,
what r your sentiments about being disenfranchized?? (no vote)





David

Why do you doubt what I read and heard when I lived in Switzerland?
I did not say that every woman was thinking that way, but there were such women.

Oh sorry, you misunderstood - I am not doubting you at all, I am sure they said that but I was questioning if it was really true - meaning what they said too keep face and what really took place were two different things.

I am sure it was true as it was in different newpapers and also in the radio, but I am sure it was not the majority. A friend of ours she could not care less. Otherwise a very independent lady. As far as I remember it was something we hardly ever discussed. There seemed to be so many other things of interest than the right to vote.
The women I knew at that time, were well educated women, some with a doctor´s degree.

Being German and living in Munich, we spent a lot of time in Switzerland;
I did find it a tad of a backward country.

Of course there were certain areas in which Switzerland was backwards.
After Zürich I moved to Germany and found it old fashioned. Many of my neighbours did not even have a freezer, they still used washable diapers for the babies. That is just the practical side, but there was and still is a certain negative oldfashioned thinking in Germany.
The wifes were much more dependent of their husbands´thinking than in Switzerland, but maybe that was because I at first met another cathegory of women in Germany than in Switzerland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_women%27s_rights_%28other_than_voting%29

When you read this, it looks like neither Germany nor Switzerland were in any way very much ahead when it comes to women´s rights over the centuries.

I am not so sure what you're trying to say here, saab. The only time Germany was mentioned in your link was here
1754: Germany: Dorothea Erxleben the first woman doctor.

However, suffrage was granted to German women in 1918 at age 18 - even before Sweden.

Aha! Do you remember what year that was?