American Women: Past, Present, and Future
“We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”
Does this sound familiar? If you thought this was an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, you were almost right. This statement comes from the Declaration of Sentiments, penned primarily by Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1848. Although the historical document parallels its more famous precursor, the Declaration of Sentiments contains one fundamental change in language that advocates for freedom from tyranny of a different sort.
In the early decades of the 1800s, History notes that Women’s Suffrage was in its infancy. Despite facing abuse, discrimination, exploitation, and unjust treatment for years, women were not deterred. They were fed up. As a reaction to all of the injustice, “reform groups were proliferating across the United States—temperance leagues, religious movements, moral-reform societies, anti-slavery organizations—and in many of these, women played a prominent role” (Women’s Suffrage. History.com. April 2019). In 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention attendees signed the Declaration of Sentiments. The document contained a list of arguments outlining the oppression of women, a plea for women’s right to vote, and a new vision for America’s future. The convention was the first of many formal gatherings of women and some men to rally for the autonomous rights of women and political representation. However, it would take more than seventy years of activism before America’s leaders instituted real change.
On August 26, 1920, US Congress ratified the 19th Amendment after a century of outrage. Advocates made great strides for women in the 1900s. Women were eventually allowed to earn income, hold official positions within their communities, and have legal claims over property and their children. This was a significant step forward. Things were finally looking up. The fight for equality was over! . . . Or some might have thought. Although we were leaps and bounds closer, the fight was hardly over. Fast forward 100 years after earning the right to vote, women still have not seen equal representation in public office, let alone in the white house.
When Kamala Harris was elected Vice President of the United States, tears were shed. Like the many women before me, I’ve experienced being cat-called crossing the street, overlooked for project leadership, and talked over in meetings because of my gender. When women move into positions of authority along side other diverse leaders, men and women of all backgrounds, teams are better equipped to foster creativity, trust, and understanding. This is true for governments and businesses. Representation matters. Empathy is a strength.
Why has it taken more than a century to elect a women to the nation’s highest public office? Are women any less presidential than many men who previously served in the white house? How would anyone know what a woman president should be like if we’ve never known one? Some of Harris’s political views may deviate from my own, but I’m not making this blog entry to comment on policy views. I am merely celebrating a moment in our nation’s present that will be a part of our history because having a Madam Vice President will affect our future.
I’m grateful to live in a nation where women can be thought leaders, activists, inventors, and role models. No matter what side of the fence you find yourself on, Vice President Harris is the first woman to lead the nation from its second highest public office, and I hope to see more brave women step up to the challenge.
This November, in the midst of the midterm election, I remember and thank the women and men at the Seneca Falls Convention and later civil rights activists who made Harris’s vice presidency possible. I feel encouraged by the progress, and am grateful that I have the right to cast my vote according to my vision for America’s future. Because ultimately, “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal…” in the image of God, and we will all stand before Christ in the end.
“I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”—Revelation 7:9