Suffragists: Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement

At the time of the first Women’s Rights Convention, married American women could not:

• Make legal contracts;
  
  
• Divorce an abusive husband;
  
  
• Gain custody of their children.

At the time, American women (whether single or married) did not:

• Vote;
  
  
• Hold elective office;
  
  
• Attend college;
  
  
• Earn a living.

Today, in developing countries, statistics show that young women are more likely than young men to do well in college. Equally surprising, girls are more confident of success than boys.

It clearly follows that legal rights to actualize one’s potential benefits all of society. But when early champions of women’s rights struggled just to vote, they were ridiculed at every turn.