The 19th Amendment by Michael Burgan describes the struggle of women in their quest to vote. The fight for equal rights for women started in 1848 at the Seneca Falls convention and came to a close in 1920 when Tennessee ratified the 19th amendment. The right for women to vote was promoted by publicizing the cause in the form of holding rallies and parades. The suffragist main point was "Those who obey the laws should help to choose those who make the laws"(Burgan 5). But the main anti-suffragist point was in the Biblical terms (when Paul talked about how women should submit to men) and the rule of precedence (the fact that women have never had the right to vote before so why change it). But still, even after all that the women were up against they prevailed and achieved the right to vote.
The right to vote in my opinion should not be determined by sex. Now, when I say that I do not mean every woman/man should vote. I firmly believe that if you are educated on the topic, extremely passionate about the topic, and old enough you should be allowed to vote. I am probably going to make the initial suffragists mad, but, probably 70% of the people participating in the parades and rallies were there because their friends made them come to show false support. The people in the rallies and parades had one of the necessary three qualities in order to vote (in my criteria). They have the age, but very few had the passion, and very few had the knowledge of the topic. Hmm... Sounds like America today, doesn't it? People today have the age requirement but lack the vigor and knowledge on the topic. So the American people then decide to settle on a few other topics such as race, age, and the desire for change. This is how the election turned out, didn't it? Obama won the black people vote with his half blackness, Obama won the age vote because he is young, and Obama won the desire for change vote because his party was going against the percedent party that refused to change. McCain won the old white and die-hard Republican vote which isn't enough to win an election. So if we, Americans, could learn from the other 30% of the women participating in the rallies and parades with vigor, knowledge, and the appropriate age requirements then America will be for the people by the people once again.
The right to vote in my opinion should not be determined by sex. Now, when I say that I do not mean every woman/man should vote. I firmly believe that if you are educated on the topic, extremely passionate about the topic, and old enough you should be allowed to vote. I am probably going to make the initial suffragists mad, but, probably 70% of the people participating in the parades and rallies were there because their friends made them come to show false support. The people in the rallies and parades had one of the necessary three qualities in order to vote (in my criteria). They have the age, but very few had the passion, and very few had the knowledge of the topic. Hmm... Sounds like America today, doesn't it? People today have the age requirement but lack the vigor and knowledge on the topic. So the American people then decide to settle on a few other topics such as race, age, and the desire for change. This is how the election turned out, didn't it? Obama won the black people vote with his half blackness, Obama won the age vote because he is young, and Obama won the desire for change vote because his party was going against the percedent party that refused to change. McCain won the old white and die-hard Republican vote which isn't enough to win an election. So if we, Americans, could learn from the other 30% of the women participating in the rallies and parades with vigor, knowledge, and the appropriate age requirements then America will be for the people by the people once again.
Burgan, Michael. The 19th Amendment. Minnesota: Compass, Print.
