Women's Suffrage During The Reconstruction Era

Have you ever heard the phrase “behind every successful man there is a successful woman.” Well during the Reconstruction Era, that is not what the Americans believed. At this time period, women were still seen as unequal to man. That’s why after the Civil War and when the freedmen earned rights, the women saw their chance to make a change in their life as well. They believed if they helped out the freedman’s cause then one day their cause would be seen to, so they were great supporters for freedmen’s rights. However, no matter what the women did men would not stand for their cause and help them fight. Their dream of having rights was falling apart. Women suffrage wasn’t an as important aspect during the Reconstruction Era due to the fact …show more content…
This is why women were shocked when abolitionist pushed the women aside. Abolitionists who were supporters of many causes to establish a world of equality started to see that women weren’t as important as the men. They established a list of causes and the order they wanted to go in and women were set to the bottom of the list. Abolitionists wished that the women would stand aside and wait for their turn. They felt that most important issue at the time was Negro suffrage and that the women should understand why. Even Frederick Douglass an African American supporter, ask the women to stand aside and let them focus on just Negro suffrage. He went on further explaining that the freedmen are having a harder time facing violence against the vigilantes and when the women are kicked out of their houses than their issues would be pushed for. This angered the women because they worked so hard to help the freedmen to establish their cause but, it was casted away every time they put it up front. Abolitionist also believed that if they didn’t fight for Negro suffrage then another war will come forward and that the women didn’t matter because they wouldn’t fight for themselves. The woman boiled with anger at the abolitionists’ comments and stated that they have forgotten their main goal which was to fight for individual’s rights. At this point …show more content…
The people who should help them in their fight push them away. Women believed their cause wasn’t a hard concept to approach or would cause that much trouble. The women were citizens and felt that they should be able to practice their rights. However, still the abolitionists kept their stance and distance themselves away from the women. They were okay to fight for emancipation, Negro suffrage, and anything else; just not women suffrage. Abolitionists knew that most white men didn’t approve of women having rights. They also knew if they approached this issue, then maybe their other causes wouldn’t be seen and this would cause more troubles to their plans. If they didn’t approach women’s right than the white male would see that it was better to give this right to this race than a female. The abolitionists just wanted to use the women suffer to their advantage and be able to put in some