What Was The First Wave Of The Women's Movement

Although applauded for fighting for the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, the first wave of the Women’s Movement focused their efforts on more than the right to vote. During the time period within which the Women’s Movement took place, women had little to no power in nearly all aspects of life. From having a voice in government to having a voice in their own home, women were not regarded with respect and did not have many rights in the eyes of the government. First addressed by Elizabeth Cady Stanton during the Seneca Falls Convention, the grievances that defined the Women’s Movement included "social and institutional barriers that limited women’s rights; including family responsibilities, a lack of educational and economic opportunities,
and the absence of a voice in political debates” (The Women’s Rights Movement).

The woman who made up the majority of the anti-suffrage movement had one thing in common: class.
According to Corrine McConnaughy, professor of political science at George Washington University and author of The Woman Suffrage Movement in America: A Reassessment, the leaders of the anti-suffrage movement in America “were generally women of wealth, privilege, and social status and even political power” (Weeks). These women, who were all thriving in the current system, were resistant to say goodbye to their positions of high societal standing. Whether focused on maintaining the racial hierarchy (as anti-suffragists in the South) or worried about preserving gender roles, these woman banded together against their fellow women in order to protect their way of life. All anti-suffrage protestors argued against the passage of the bill with the argument that the reality afterwords was unclear. “Antisuffrage arguments had a certain plausibility, however, because no one could be sure of the impact of the measure if it passed, suffragists traditionally claimed that the vote would bring massive changes, and antisuffragists opposed suffrage precisely on this basis” (Buechler). Woman across the country believed that although uncertain, the female ways of life and standards of living would be compromised if the Nineteenth Amendment passed. From 1911 to 1916, the anti-suffrage movement saw a huge increase in members which peaked at 350,000 within the National Antisuffrage Organization and
twenty-six organizations anti-suffrage organizations across the country (Buechler).
During the second wave of the Women’s Movement, leaders drew inspiration from leader Alice Paul. After the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, Paul and the National Women’s party changed gears and began to fight for an additional amendment: The Equal Rights Amendment. The Equal Rights Amendment, or ERA, shielded women from discrimination and to Paul, was the next step on the road to equal rights (Alice Paul 1885-1977). This amendment, which further separated Paul from the leaders of the Women’s Movement, was never passed, but instead adopted by feminists during the second wave. Similar to the “Declaration of Sentiments and Grievances,” which outlined the grievances of the Women’s Movement and mirrored the Declaration of Independence, the National Organization for Women produced a Bill of Rights that summarized the grievances of the second wave. The movement defined their grievances in the form of seven measures as explained in this Bill of Rights: employment discrimination, maternity leave rights, female employment made possible by reasonable child care, tax deductions for funds spent on child care, equal education for all sexes and ethnic groups, contraceptive and abortion rights, and job-training for women of less advantaged classes. In addition to these seven measures, the leaders of the second wave insisted on the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA was received with the same reaction as it was in the first wave: with controversy. Although it passed Congress in 1972, the ERA faced opposition from the states during the ratification process (Burkett). It was the ratification of the ERA that provided the foundation for many counter-movements in the 1970’s.
In terms of the Women’s Movement of the second wave, the leaders who led the opposition followed in the footsteps of the anti-suffrage protestors who had paved the way decades before. Throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s, the female population split in terms of anti-feminists and feminists. In response to the ratification of the ERA, one of the most successful counter-movements of the Women’s Movement was formed by Phyllis Schlafly. Schlafly and her organization claimed that the ERA would “invalidate state sodomy laws, outlaw single sex bathrooms in public places, legalize same-sex marriage, and make taxpayer-funded abortion a constitutional right” (Burkett). In addition to these arguments, Schlafly, like the women of the anti-suffrage movement of the first wave, believed that the ratification of this amendment would disrupt the comfortable quality of life that women enjoyed and would redefine gender roles. She believed that “a woman’s place was in the kitchen,” and valued the protection women received from societal expectations and requirements such as the draft (Interview). In an interview with Michel Martin on National Public Radio, Schlafly expressed her belief that the feminists spearheading the Women’s Movement were fundamentally against marriage and homemaking. “They really wanted to get all women out of the homes and into the workforce. And again and again, they taught that the only fulfilling lifestyle was to be in the workforce reporting to a boss instead of being in the home reporting to a husband. That is an attitude toward marriage and homemaking that I think is intolerable and false” (Interview). She continued by explaining her support of gender roles by stating, “…I do think that gender roles are valid. We do look to the men to be providers and protectors” (Interview). Phyllis Schlafly represented the many women, and men, who sought to keep the world unchanged. Although they felt comfortable with their lives, it was hard to imagine stepping away from the role of housewife to join the career field. Men saw women’s desire to expand their horizons as a possible threat, and believed it would increase competition for jobs. In addition, women were not taken seriously and were not believed to have the ability to do the same work or think at the same level (Baig). There was no financial need to go to work, in the eyes of women like Schlafly, who thought similarly to the counter-movement leaders of the first wave who questioned the point of it all. Why upset the balance and ruin the lives of the already content mothers and caregivers of America? Just as the women in the first wave, the women of the second wave fought to protect their way of life.
Many aspects of the first wave of the Women’s Movement were echoed during the second wave of the movement in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
In terms of the protestors who fought for women’s rights, they faced opposition by the government, the male population, and even their fellow women. Alice Paul’s fierce tactics and ideas expressed during the first wave caused tensions to rise within the Women’s Movement, and the feminists who supported Paul’s failed amendment were seen as radical feminists of the time period who motivated the formation of a counter-movement aimed to repress the actions of the women’s rights forces. The counter-movement aimed to leave the female way of life unchanged and did not want to disrupt the norm. Both counter-movements of the first and second wave sought to maintain gender roles and received a substantial amount of support. Like the first wave of the Women’s Movement, the second wave feminists accomplished a lot. Despite not being able to achieve everything they set out to, such as the passage of the ERA, the second wave protestor efforts did result in the passage of legislation that changed the female way of life. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 “requires that men and women be given equal pay for equal work in the same establishment” (Facts About Equal Pay and Compensation
Discrimination).
Throughout the course of history, women have never stopped fighting for equal rights and female liberation. During the first wave of the Women’s Movement, women fought to secure equal rights throughout numerous aspects of society. These women outlined their grievances during the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 in the form of a document which mirrored the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Sentiments, Grievances, and Resolutions, created by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, included thirteen resolutions that challenged societal norms and gender roles. Amongst these resolutions, and the movements shining achievement, was women’s suffrage. Similar to the first wave of the Women’s Movement, the second wave of the movement challenged the norms that had defined the political field, career field, and domestic life. The movement was deemed successful after the Equal Opportunity Act was passed in 1972 (The Women’s Rights Movement). Although the two movements were successful and achieved what they set out to, although not in its entirety, the division that occurred both within the movement and the female population resulted in the formation of splinter organizations and counter-movements.
The counter-movements that disagreed with the Women’s Movement activist groups in the first and second waves stood for the preservation of gender roles and societal norms. Both the first and second waves of the Women’s Movement redefined the female way of life and changed the way females were viewed by society. The results of both the women’s rights supporters and opposers resembled the characteristics of the second wave during which those in favor of women’s rights and the counter-movements that aimed to squash the movement used similar tactics and expressed the same grievances. It is by analyzing the first two waves of the Women’s Movement that the underlying desire and motivation for liberation and rights can be seen within the female population. It is this desire for freedom that has and will always drive people to come together and challenge the system.