How the Women of the 1960s Paved the Way

How the Women of the 60s Paved the Way for Me

Elizabeth Parrotta

SS310-02

When people think of the 1960s the usually think of events such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which granted equality to black Americans, and the Vietnam War, which was one of the most controversial wars for the American people. Very seldom do you hear people mention women’s rights movement. I think part of it is that even though the women of the 1960s knocked down a huge barrier for the women of their time and every woman who comes after them, there is still a small struggle for women to be considered equal to our male counterparts. However, if it was not for those brazen women, I would not have the opportunities and rights afforded to me today. In this paper, I will talk about life for women before the movement, during the movement and what it accomplished for me and all other women.

Although the Women’s Rights Movement is most notable in the 1960s, it did not begin there. In 1776, Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, wrote a letter to her husband while he was at the Second Continental Congress during the debate on whether to declare American independence. Her note read: “If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation,” (Harrison, 2008). In my opinion, men had their warning then and choose to ignore. Thankfully, women are determined individuals who will stop at nothing to get what they desire. Although Mrs. Adam’s letter did not stir up a political movement, a generation later during the pre-Civil War the first generation of feminists emerged. These women include Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone and Susan B. Anthony. They learned to organize and hold public meetings as well as conduct petition campaigns as abolitionist during the antislavery campaign.

After the Civil War was over, the feminist movement began to...