#and it turns out the women overthrew the government and made all the men fight for territory in rap battles

[lecliss]

So I finally learned what the plot of Hypn0sis M1c is...... 😶😶😶😶

[inky-duchess]

History Bites: Bad Ass Moments (Women)

In History Bites, I pick the best moments of history and the antics historical figures in order to give you inspiration for your WIP. Think of History Bites like prompts, only juicer and 90% accurate (results may vary).

Today, we will discuss the bad ass moments of history (women). This post may have a part two. Let's get to it.

Arsinoë IV was the younger sister of Cleopatra. During the civil war between her elder sister and brother who were meant to be jointly ruling, Caesar besieged Alexandria on behalf of Cleopatra, taking the royal family hostage within the palace. In the confusion after the Library of Alexandria was accidentally burned down (I mean Caesar, I love you but you're fucking dick for burning the library), Arsinoë escaped the palace and took command of the Egyptian army. Under her control, the army enjoyed success even trapping Caesar as he tried to take the Lighthouse of Alexandria. This was an important symbol to the city as well as a masterful weapon, whoever controlled the Lighthouse controlled the harbour. To escape, Caesar had to swim across the bay throwing off his great purple cloak and fine armour, holding up his important papers as he limped back to dry land, defeated by a 15-18 year old girl.

Katherine of Aragon handed Scotland its biggest defeat in history. She led troops at Flodden, winning a battle where the Scottish King died. When she wrote to Henry as well as sending him the Scottish king's coat and banners, she mentioned that she had wanted to send the body of the king but the nobles were being pussies and said no. It may have been the shadiest letter of all the Tudor period.

Artemisia Gentileschi was one of art and history's all time bad asses. She was a skilled painter at a time when women were not permitted to attend art schools. She surpassed her father's own works and some of his other students. At 18, she was raped by another artist. In a time far behind today's understanding of rape and justice, Artemisia took a great risk in publicly accusing her rapist. She underwent numerous tortures so the judges could be sure she was telling the truth. The rapist was convicted (a major win). Artemisia went on to become one of the Baroque period's most powerful painters.

Marguerite de Bressieux was a 15th century noblewoman in France. When her father's castle fell to the armies of the Prince of Orange, Marguerite and the other women of the castle were all sexually assaulted. As the French army passed through the devastated lands, they came by a group of twelve knights armoured and mounted, bearing a black banner with an orange pierced by a spear. The commander revealed their face... it was Marguerite. She asked to join the French King's forces and he allowed her though he was quite taken aback. At the Battle of Autun, each of the female knights and Marguerite hunted down the Prince of Orange's men, unmasking their faces before they killed their rapists so they would know just had come.

Harriet Tubman was an American slave who ran the Underground Railway, ferrying slaves off to freedom. After escaping herself, Harriet refused to leave others behind. Known as Moses, Harriet risked life and limb to free slaves from the plantations. During the Civil War, she worked for the Union first as a cook then as scout and spy. Over her life, Tubman released over 300 slaves.

Countess Constance Markievicz was the first woman to be elected to a British Parliament ... while imprisoned for her art in the numerous acts of rebellion in the last years of English rule. Markievicz was one of the figureheads for Irish freedom, even acting as a sniper during the 1916 Easter Rising. When the rising was over, she was imprisoned but not executed (being a woman and a high status woman) which made her angry. She believed that the fight for Irish freedom was not just a male one. Her advice to women and girls of the time was "Dress suitably in short skirts and strong boots, leave your jewels in the bank, and buy a revolver"

Grace/Grainne O'Malley, the Pirate Queen of Ireland was one of the Lords of the West of Ireland. On her father's death, she inherited his lands and fleets as his heir, turning her into one of the most powerful lords of the west. She fought in the Nine Years War, becoming a thorn in the side of the "Governor" Richard Bingham. When her sons and half brother were captured and threatened, Grainne turned her sails to London to speak with Elizabeth I. Grainne did not bow to Elizabeth and began hammering out the terms of a peace. Bingham was fired, her sons and brother were released on the terms that Grainne would stop supporting Gaelic uprisings. Grainne didn't.

Jeanne de Clisson or the Lioness of Brittany, was a 14th century noblewoman. Her husband was imprisoned by the French King who suspected him of being a spy who had lost a battle on purpose. He was executed. Jeanne went immediately to the fort her husband had commanded. The garrison let her in. Jeanne's army took the fort. By the time the French King heard, Jeanne was gone. After a treacherous crossing over the Channel where she lost at least one child, Jeanne resurfaced in England. The English king granted her three ships which she used to wage war on France in revenge.

Ching Shih was a Chinese pirate queen, formerly a prostitute. When her husband died, she took over his fleet of ships. Ching Shih went about on tightening the reigns on her sailors. They could not rape captives, if they did they were beheaded. If they wanted to have one of the women, a sailor had to marry her and treat her right. To disobey a superior twice was death. As she got the fleet into shipshape, Ching Shih began her reign of the seas amassing millions. The government fought her a few times but soon gave up their war, paying Ching Shih to go away. She retired as a respected millionaire.

Osh-Tisch or "Finds Them and Kills Them” was a Native American warrior. She had been born male but chose to live as a woman also known as a baté, a person which two souls in their body. Osh-Tisch took up arms along with the other batés when her tribe went to war with the Lakota, winning the war. As missionaries came to to stick their noses in where they weren't wanted, Osh-Tisch and the other batés were subject to horrific abuse. Batés were forced to dress and act as their assigned gender by the dickheaded missionaries. Osh-Tisch disregarded the missionaries and continued to work with batés across America in order to support one another.

Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in the years preceding the Civil War. Harriet refused to leave others behind and returned about nineteen times to volatile south to rescue slaves, under the name Moses. During the war, Harriet served as cook, nurse and spy for the Union. Harriet saved over 300 slaves.

Matilda, Lady of the English once escaped a besieged castle. How did she do this? She walked out of the gates and left. She was wearing a white cloak which camouflaged her against the snow. She walked eight miles in the snow to continue her fight for the crown.

Cleopatra VII (that Cleopatra) was once summoned to Tarsos go meet the new Governor of the Eastern Provinces of the Roman Empire, Mark Antony who wanted to borrow some money. They negotiated back and forth on who should come to who. Cleopatra refused to go... but then showed up in Tarsos on luxurious barge. While feasting with Antony at his expense, Cleopatra claimed that she could host the more expensive meal. She dropped a pearl earring into her wine, where it dissolved and downed it like a queen.

Caterina Sforza was an Italian noble woman in the Renaissance period and you could literally not find a bigger bad ass. She rode at the head of an army to occupy the great fortress of the Castel San Angelo in the name of her husband, while being seven months pregnant. At the siege of Ravaldino, Caterina and her children were prisoners of the treacherous Orsis family who had killed her husband. Caterina persuaded the commanders to let her enter the city to negotiate the surrender of the castle. One inside, she climbed the battles and cussed out the besiegers. Utterly stunned, one commander threatened to kill her children but Caterina lifted her skirts and flashed them, claiming she could make more. OK, that may be a rumour. She may have touched her belly or claimed to be already pregnant but still it was a moment. It ended up buying her enough time for more forces to come and beat the army outside.

Catherine the Great born a minor German Princess overthrew her husband Peter III in a successful military coup. A few days before the original coup was going to commence, a co-conspirator let slip to another guard that it was happening. The man was arrested. When the news got to her, Catherine left the palace via carriage commandeering horses along the way. She went to the barracks of the Ismailovsky regiment dressed in burrowed military uniform and made an impassioned plea to the soldiers to earn their support which they gave her. She was crowned sole ruler of Russia and forced her husband to sign his crown away.

Khutulun, the great-grandaughter of Genghis Khan was badass from the beginning. She was the only girl in a family of boys and grew up to be the fiercest. Khutulun was a highly sought after bride. She didn't hate men but felt she shouldn't be married to somebody unequal to her. Every man who sought to wed her had to wrestle her or pay ten horses. She had ten thousand horses by the time she died.

Boudicca was the Queen of the Iceni, a Celtic tribe in England. Her husband, an ally of the Romans, left half his kingdom to Rome and the other half to his daughters. When he died, Rome took it all. When Boudicca spoke out against it, she was flogged and her daughters were raped. Boudicca decided that it was time for the Romans to fuck off and die. Raising a massive host, Boudicca burned three major Roman settlements down Londinium (London), Verulamium (St. Albans) and Camulodunum (Colchester). She was the greatest threat the Rome since...

Amanirenas, Queen of Kush was an African Queen who fought the Romans. Kush lay south to the new conquered Egypt, which meant it was next on Rome's agenda. Kush moved first. Though one-eyed, she was an able warrior who survived at least a dozen battles. Though the Romans burned the capital and took slaves, Amanirenas still fought on bringing Rome to its knees. Rome and Kush signed a peace treaty, preventing Rome from crossing the border ever again. Amanirenas's badass moment came thousands of years after when archeologists were digging up the tombs. Found under her the foot of statue, was the head of the Emperor Augustus.

[happyrakshabandhan2020-blog]

Raksha Bandhan is a Very Popular Festival Of Hindus . It is Celebrated Mainly in India, Nepal and  Mauritius . On this day, sisters of all ages tie  rakhi, around the wrists of their brothers, symbolically protecting them, receiving a gift in return Rakhi is the Festival of Love and Care Between a Brother and a Sister. Raksha Bandhan is observed on the last day of the Hindu Lunar Calendar Month.. This Festival Raksha Bandhan Shows the Bond of Protection Between a Brother and Sister. On this Day Sisters Purchase Gifts for Brother Some Sisters  Send rakhi Online . Every Year we Celebrate Raksha Bandhan is the Month of August and In the year 2020 We Celebrate This Festival in the First Week of August. Now the Question Arise Here is Why We Celebrate this Festival Every Year? Earlier days the transportation was not so good and quick. It used to take many days to reach out to other cities or months to other states. Cell phones or Landlines weren't invented during that Time. In Such conditions how would you know if your sister/ Daughter was doing good and happy in her married life.That's where such festivals came in picture. On Rakhi the sister is supposed to come and tie Rakhi to the brother. She could come to her parents, stay with them where she can share Everything With her Parents and Brother And This is one of the best way to make the bond of a Brother and Sister More Stronger.It also made the brother feel responsible for taking care of her for lifetime as it's been a tread ( promise) of protection/ Rakhsha.The circle of rituals gets completed on bhai duj when brother visits her for lunch or dinner. Of what she serves, can be a declaration of how good financially her husband was doing. There Was Another mythology Regarding Celebration of  this auspicious occasion of Hindus.According to the mythology Raja Bali was such a great devotee of Lord Vishnu that Lord Indra felt insecure. Indra worshipped Vishnu and asked the Lord to save his throne. Lord Vishnu accepted Indra's prayer and overthrew Bali. Later, Lord Vishnu promised him to take care of his kingdom. To keep his promise Lord Vishnu went to ‘ Vaikunthdham ’ and went to safeguard Bali's kingdom.Soon, Goddess Lakshmi, wife of Lord Vishnu, went to Raja Bali as a poor brahmin lady, and requested him for shelter. She regarded Bali as her brother and tied a Rakhi on to his wrist, on the ‘ Shravana Purnima’ Day.When Bali wished to give her some present, she told him her true identity and the reason for her arrival. She asked Bali to send Lord Vishnu back to Vaikunthdham. Raja Bali requested Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi to return.On This Day Sister Ties Different Types of Designer Rakhi , Silver Rakhi and the most Famous Lumba Rakhi and Visits Their Brother Homes Along with Dry Fruits, Sweets and Gifts I Remember Last Year My Sister Ties me a Very Beautiful Lord Krishna Rakhi.Our Famous Leaders During the time of Indian Independence also  Use this to Unite Hindus and Muslims . In 1905 Rabindra Nath Tagore, a famous Bengali poet and a Nobel Laureate observed this festival in order to stop the chaos arising out of the movement of the Partition of Bengal. With observing this festival he tried to strengthen the ties between the Hindus and the Muslims ignoring their clash and also to give them the message of being united and joint fighting against the British Government for the freedom of India.Why don't Sikhs celebrate Raksha Bandhan?As the festival of Raksha Bandhan approaches each year, it’s no longer strange to see Sikh females lining up to purchase these threads to tie on the wrists of their brothers and fathers, in return for blessings and gifts. What was originally a Hindu festival has been ignorantly accepted in Sikh culture, without prior thought to what it is all about and why our Gurus would never support it.Sikhism is based on equality of all irrespective of caste , sex religion or region . At the time of Guru Nanak Dev ji women had to face a lot of discrimination and guru ji opposed this by saying “Why call her bad , who has given birth to kings”. There’s no harm in doing any of these things, but our Guru just did not approve them for his Sikhs. He’s taken us out of all the clutter of all those things that have no meaning in Sikhi and have instructed us to focus more on God than on worldly funfairs that eventually take the mortal away from God. The heritage of the Sikhs is so unique, that the men and women have been given an equal status. Why would a Khalsa Kaur ever need anyone’s protection when they have the power within them to defend themselves? That is why if Singh was given a Kirpan, so was Kaur granted the same. When the 40 Sikhs abandoned the Guru in his time of need, their wives took away their mens’ weapons and horses and left their husbands home to take their place. It was a proof of the might of the Guru’s daughters – that they are as mighty, or even mightier, than men. ‘Truth is high,’ Guru Nanak Dev Ji said and, further added, ‘but higher still is truthful living. ’ So how can a mere thread prove the love between a brother and sister.Rakhsha Bandhan is good for the Hindus, the Sikhs have their own beautiful way of life, made as simple as it could ever have been so that we can connect more to the Divine, and detatch more from the illusionary world.Sikhs were blessed with the root of the Guru so that they may emulate their example of life and living which would connect us to Waheguru. Ceremonies like rakhsha bandhan are good for those for whom it was made, for the Hindu faith has its own valid reasons. Sikhi is a completely distinct faith. And how? Guru Nanak did not accept the janeu; he rejected the offering of water to his ancestors; he did not recite the Hindu Vedas; nor prayed to the 330 million gods, but contemplated only on the SHABAD what was revealed to Him from the Court of the Lord.

Happy Rakshabandhan Likewise, the other Sikh Gurus further developed what Guru Nanak preached. In conclusion, while the ceremony is a beautiful one, it simply has no place in Sikhi because it is not higher than the Sikh way of life. The simple thread that is meant as a prayer to protect a sister and to seek the blessings of the brother’s long life and wellbeing, is not any higher than believing that it is Akaal Purakh that protects and blesses His beings. A thread is just an illusion, a Sikh of the Guru has no need for it to be reminded of his duty to the world, otherwise our Gurus would have allowed us to adopt it. Now, Let us Understand How this Festival Changed With Time?As modern and advanced the world has turned today, No one has time for Others . But being advanced makes people strive hard for success. And this many times comes at the expense of relations with the loved ones. A lot of times brothers are not able to visit their sisters for Rakhi and in Some Cases Sister s are Not able to Visit Their Brothers on this Festival which upsets both and to avoid this People Use Online Rakhi Delivery Sites So, That they can Easily Send their rakhi Directly through Online ways Of Delivering. There are Many Online Rakhi Stores which give you an opportunity to celebrate the pious festival of Raksha Bandhan anywhere in India or Out of India . You can Easily Send Rakhi to India From Other Countries or From India to Out of India In Just Few Clicks. You can Also Send Rakhi with Dry Fruits and Sweets Online Very Easily .

Rakhi

[historical-revolution]

The Russian Revolution

Probably one of the most shocking and important events of the 20th century the Russian Revolution shows us two sides of extreme politics and how much influence the common people have over the establishment.

What was the Russian Revolution?

The Russian Revolution was a series of events between 1905 and 1917 ( however this has been a topic of historical debate) that brought down the autocracy of the Russian Tsar and lead to the rise of a strict communist rule in Russia for the next 70 years.

Who were key figures?

Tsar Nicholas II

Tsar Nicholas reigned from the 1st November 1894 to his abdication on the 15th of March 1917

He was unfortunately a weak and out of touch autocrat kept in the dark about the state of his country and was ill equipped in mind and temperament to rule the Russian empire through the early 20th century. He loved his wife Empress consort Alexandra and his children dearly hardly being able to part from them, Unfortunately his obliviousness and stubbornness to change caused him to lose his throne, The Tsar along with his wife and children were brutally executed in 1918 by the Bolsheviks

Vladimir Lenin

Lenin was leader of the newly formed Soviet State from 1917 to his death in 1922. Lenin was a staunch Marxist and revolutionary who formed the Bolshevik party which eventually overthrew the Tsarist government in the February revolution of 1917. He was a very well educated and manic man who believed strongly in the Marxist worldview.

Grigori Rasputin

Rasputin is probably one of the most infamous and mysterious figures in all of modern history, a lowly peasant monk became one of the most politically powerful men in all of Russia. It was his close relationship and power over the Russian royal family that brought their downfall as well as his own.

Leon Trotsky

Trotsky was a key figure in the Bolshevik party although his beliefs weren’t as radical as Lenin’s. He was a well educated and highly rational intelligent man who initially sided with the Mensheviks in 1905 before switching to the Bolshevik party where he frequently clashed with Lenin’s extreme ideas.

So what caused this revolution?

Historians generally believe these were the issues that brought about the Russian Revolution...

Discontent Urban workers

Russia had just hit the Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century behind the rest of the world by about 150 years or so. The concept of factory work was new and therefore working conditions were terrible many workers got sick and severely injured. As a result they eventually got sick and tired of working 12 hours a day and barely being able to survive and support their family and so they rebelled and easily had hatred towards the autocracy

Discontent Peasants

Russian peasants still lived under feudalism in the 20th century, when there was poor harvest and lack of food year after year and their young working men were forced to fight and be brutally slaughtered in the Russo-Japanese war in 1905 and then in the First World War in 1914 they pretty much had enough of the establishment and combined with them being uneducated easily indoctrinated

The social structure promoting privilege and autocratic rule

Only 1.1% of the population controlled the population and lived in luxury while everyone else lived in feudalistic conditions. The peasants and working classes also had no legal protection no government body to represent them to the nobility and have their point of view considered. The newly educated urban worker also had to deal with limited civil liberties and disgustingly low wages. The Tsar and the other nobels refused to consider social and political change that may make the scales of Russian power more equal. To add to this the Tsar wasn’t a very charismatic or competent leader

What were the main events?

The revolution of 1905

Also known as Bloody Sunday this revolutionary event started as a protest march and petition the first strike was at the Putlov steelworks in St Petersburg on the 16th of January. The protesters hoped to achieve a guarantee of civil liberties such as freedom of speech, Measures to alleviate poverty, the introduction of an income tax, better working conditions such as a eight hour work day. However Nicholas II opposed every bit of that aim, he believed the Tsar’s word was law he made all decisions as a result he used censorship and his secret police to quash any ideas of political reform during his reign. The Revolution of 1905 was no exception and became known as ‘Bloody Sunday’ when a bunch of the Tsar’s soldiers went into the protest killing 92 people the backlash was two political parties against the status quo the Mensheviks and the more radical infamous Bolshevik party lead by Lenin.

The October manifesto and the Dumases

After everyone started calling the Tsar ‘Nicholas the bloody’ the government thought it was a good idea to give the people what they want or at least appear to. So the October manifesto was written as a sort of constitution. The Tsar also created the Dumas a representative government of which he had complete control. The first two Dumas in 1906 and 1907 were critical of the autocratic government and were quickly disbanded. The Tsar had been given the chance to hear the people and make social and economic amendments that benefited the majority. Instead he chose to remain ignorant of the people’s discontent. Before the third Duma was created the Nicholas altered electoral law and significantly reduced the representation of peasants, land owners and urban civilians. As a result these Dumas were more conservative and in favour of the Tsar. The third Duma was allowed to run its full term from 1907 to 1912 as was the fourth Dumas from 1912 to 1917.

World War One

The outbreak of WW1 put huge pressure on a country that was not equipped to deal with modern warfare let alone on that immense scale. Initially the country banded together to support the motherland the nobility and the impoverished alike this was not to last. In late August 1914 the Germans issued a devastating assault, the Russian army had lost 3.5 million men by the end of 1915. The war was the tip of the iceberg for a already discontent nation yearning for change, the massive economic toll the war took on the people was devastating with Fathers, sons and even horses being lost to what seemed to be a pointless war.

The first revolution of 1917

On the 8th of March civilians hungry for bread took to the streets of Petrograd (St Petersburg) supported by 90,000 men and women on strike, the protesters clashed with police and refused to leave the streets. By the 10th of March the protest had spread to Petrograd workers, mobs destroyed police stations, several factories elected deputies to the Petrograd council of workers following a model devised during the 1905 revolution. The army garrison was sent to quell the uprisings, there were some occasions where they opened fire killing demonstrators. Despite this the protestors stood their ground and eventually the army grew frustrated and began supporting the protesters. The imperial government had no choice but to resign and a provisional government was established, the Tsar formally abdicated three days later ending four hundred years of tsarist rule.

The October Revolution

The provisional government set up was still run by the nobility who hoped to prevent this revolution going any further and although the socialist soviets who represented the lower classes had a voice and control over some militia the government still had capitalist and aristocratic interest at heart. This period of dual power was very chaotic for Russia as a whole there were many strikes during this time. When Lenin called for an end to Russia’s involvement in WWI and the leaders of the new government decided to keep fighting this unpopular war the Bolsheviks and other socialist factions were able to exploit virtually universal disdain towards the war effort as justification to advance the revolution further. The Bolsheviks turned workers' militias under their control into the Red Guards (later the Red Army) over which they exerted substantial control. the Bolsheviks led an army of workers and soldiers in Petrograd that successfully overthrew the Provisional Government, which gave all its authority to the Soviets the was capital being relocated to Moscow soon afterwards. The Bolsheviks had secured a strong base of support within the Soviets and, as the now supreme governing party, established a federal government dedicated to reorganizing the former empire into the world's first socialist republic, practicing Soviet democracy on a national and international scale. The promise to end Russia's participation in the First World War was honored promptly with the Bolshevik leaders signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany in March 1918. To further secure the new state, the Cheka was established which functioned as a revolutionary security service that sought to weed out and punish those considered to be "enemies of the people.” Soon a civil war broke out between the red army (Bolsheviks) and the White army ( counter revolutionaries) and other less extreme socialists this lasted many years until the Bolsheviks took complete control and therefore rebranded themselves as the communist party, paving the way for the for the creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1922.

Sources:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17910046

https://youtu.be/KOK1TMSyKcM

https://youtu.be/VHQWpcpJVM0

https://www.netflix.com/title/80145290?s=i&trkid=13747225

https://youtu.be/zXHybEb4b_o

https://www.netflix.com/title/80158770?s=i&trkid=13747225

And my own Essay lmao

[marylandprelawland]

An Exploration Of Women’s Suffrage And Racial Enfranchisement

By Charlotte Kim, Johns Hopkins University Class of 2021

September 11, 2020

The 19th amendment of the United States Constitution states: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” This gave female American citizens the right to vote, but the difficult fight for suffrage spanned several decades [1]. The women’s suffrage movement began in the 1800s with suffragists using different tactics to progress their movement, including picketing the White House from 1917-1919 [11]. Hundreds of these women were jailed, and their brutal mistreatment by prison guards in 1918 coupled with suffragists’ persistent lobbying contributed to President Wilson having a change of heart and calling on Congress to work on the federal suffrage amendment [12]. The 19th amendment passed on June 4, 1919, even though it had first been introduced in Congress back in 1878 [1]; 100 years ago, on August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state needed to ratify the amendment [12].

Important to note is the critical influence that minority women played during the suffrage movement. White suffragists employed the strategy of turning to these women for inspiration even as they discriminated against Black suffragists.

The Declaration of Sentiments and Grievances, drafted by suffrage leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1848 at the first women’s rights convention (the Seneca Falls Convention), states, “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.” The addition of “and women” to the famous line from the Declaration of Independence sent a clear message: women should have the right to vote.

Once the Civil War began in 1861, the suffrage movement lost its momentum and split over disagreements about the 14th and 15thamendments [4]. The 14th amendment extended the Constitution’s protection to all citizens, meaning men—importantly including former male slaves[16], and the 15th amendment stated Black men could vote. An anti-15th-amendment group of suffragists preferred universal suffrage over only allowing Black men to vote. The pro-15th-amendment group thought it would be unfair to endanger Black enfranchisement and instead promoted women’s enfranchisement using a state-by-state approach.

In 1890, the two groups came together and changed their message from men and women being “created equal” to women being different from men. They wanted to make their domesticity a political virtue; “many middle-class white people were swayed once again by the argument that the enfranchisement of white women would ‘ensure immediate and durable white supremacy, honestly attained [4].’”That same year, Wyoming became the first state to allow women to vote, although women had been able to vote there since 1869 when it was a territory. 15 more states followed Wyoming before the 19th amendment was ratified [7].

However, the two groups coming together did not mean that their Black members were treated fairly. To gain support for White women’s voting rights in the South, the mainstream suffrage movement condoned racially discriminatory practices, such as asking Frederick Douglass not to attend a suffrage convention in Atlanta to not offend the Southern hosts, and white supremacist ideas.

Nannie Helen Burroughs, a Black feminist, wrote: “If white American women, with all their natural and acquired advantages, need the ballot, that right protective of all other rights; if Anglo Saxons have been helped by it…how much more do black Americans, male and female need the strong defense of a vote to help secure them their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?”

Marginalization and discrimination of Black men and women continued to increase at suffrage meetings, marches and events,so Black women split off and formed their own organization, the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), to promote suffrage and racial equality[5]. One of NACW’s founders, Mary Church Terrell, later denounced various White suffrage leaders, saying that they would pass the 19th amendment without giving Black women the right to vote if they could.

At the 1913 Women’s Suffrage Parade, she and the other Black suffragists were segregated from the White suffragists, walking at the back of the parade [5]. The parade, held on March 3, 1913 in Washington, D.C., was the movement’s first major national event, and it was not accidental that the White suffragists placed themselves at the head of the parade. Since Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration was the following day, the parade had maximal publicity, with thousands of spectators already in D.C. 5,000 women from all over the country marched as a call for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing women’s enfranchisement. Many newspapers covered the event, especially since several suffragists were violently attacked by male spectators and hospitalized while the police did little to help[6].

Yet, even as they discriminated against Black women, White suffrage leaders turned to communities historically discriminated against by Americans and U.S. laws for inspiration. In the 1880s, Matilda Joslyn Gage and Stanton investigated how Haudenosaunee women in the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy lived.

The Six Nation Haudenosaunee Confederacy followed a family/governmental structure based on female authority. It believed in the sacredness of women as creators of life, so Haudenosaunee women did not fear being harmed by men. If a man beat or raped a woman, the victim’s family could punish him, including by killing or banishing him. Women controlled their own property and belongings and the nation’s economy.  They had final authority over decisions about transferring land and engaging in war, and any children they bore stayed in their line and with their family instead of the father’s, even if she died. A woman, called the clan mother, shared equal leadership responsibilities with the chief of the nation. She could elect who became the chief and remove him if he did not make good decisions for future generations.The Haudenosaunee women, aware of White women’s legal status, resisted being forced to become U.S. citizens. One said, “As an Indian woman I was free. I owned my home, my person, the work of my own hands, and my children could never forget me. I was better as an Indian woman than under white law [2].”

The United States at the time followed British Blackstone code, which considered married women legally invisible: “By marriage the husband and wife are one person in law: that is, the very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage, or at least is incorporated and consolidated into that of the husband [3].”A woman had no right to her body or property. Once married, anything she owned or inherited became her husband’s to use as he pleased including any of her current or future wages, property and children. It was legal for her husband to rape or beat her as long as she was not permanently injured. Divorce was either illegal or nearly impossible by state law.

Seeing the Haudenosaunee women’s way of life was a revelation to suffragists;for years, their ministers had told them that their position was necessary punishment due to Eve’s sin and had been decreed by God. Additionally, science at the time dictated that women had smaller, less intelligent brains and were physically weaker than men making it natural that men should have authority over them. Seeing strong Haudenosaunee women with authority over their own lives and such societal freedom meant religion and science were not “proof” of women’s subordination and inferiority [2].

White suffrage leaders also turned to Chinese women, scarce as they were. Their low numbers were due to exclusionary immigration laws intended to keep Chinese immigrants out of the U.S. The Page Act of 1875, although it seemed to target prostitutes, was meant to ban Chinese women from immigrating to America; most Americans believed that Chinese women immigrating to the U.S. were coming to serve as prostitutes [8]. A second law, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, put a moratorium on Chinese immigration for 10 years and declared that Chinese immigrants were ineligible for citizenship. The Geary Act of 1892 extended the Chinese Exclusion Act for another 10 years and required Chinese immigrants to carry certificates of residence. If caught without one, they were sentenced to hard labor or deported unless a “credible white witness” could vouch for them. Although Chinese Americans tried to challenge the constitutionality of these acts, they failed. Chinese immigration was made permanently illegal in 1902[9].

In 1911, when the Chinese Revolution overthrew Chinese imperial rule, news spread in America that the Chinese government had enfranchised women (although really, each Chinese province was initially free to determine their stance on women’s enfranchisement). In 1912, White suffrage leaders, excited to learn more about successful global suffrage, invited women from local Chinese communities to speak at suffrage meetings. Chinese women were eager to talk about how women fought alongside men in the revolution and to take the opportunity to appeal to the White suffragists about the immigration laws, racism, and wrong stereotypes targeting Chinese people in the U.S.

At a separate meeting in New York, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, a 16-year-old Chinese girl, who would later go on to be the first Chinese woman in the U.S. to earn a PhD and a pioneering advocate for both women and Chinese communities, and other Chinese immigrants met with well-known White suffragists. The Chinese group cared about women’s rights even though the Exclusion Act denied them citizenship and were hoping that working with the suffragists might convince White Americans that the biases and stereotypes they held about China and Chinese people, such as the assumption that the Chinese were inherently passive and servile making them unable to participate in democratic governments, were wrong. Lee impressed the suffrage leaders so much that she was asked to lead the huge suffrage parade being planned for that year. She accepted, and interested newspapers all over the U.S. reported on her participation.

Women from Chinatown also participated in the march, carrying a sign reading: “Light from China.” Americans widely believed that their cultural values were superior to China’s with America being modern and China backwards, but the women’s sign and women in China being able to vote reversed that idea. Chinese suffragists hoped that their participation in the parade would refute racist stereotypes and help change immigration laws targeting Chinese immigrants. White suffragists also liked the role reversal between China and the U.S. and utilized it several more times. In fact, the president of NAWSAdid so during the parade by marching with a banner reading: “NAWSA Catching Up with China.” The words were meant to shame American men into supporting the suffrage movement.

However, even as Lee and other Chinese suffragists played an important role in the suffrage movement, advocating for equality of both gender and race, their hopes of changing U.S. immigration laws and opportunities for Chinese women did not materialize. Lee found that few opportunities for highly educated Chinese women existed in the U.S. [8], and in 1924, Congress passed the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act which completely banned immigrants from not only China but other Asian countries [10].

When the 19th amendment passed, it was a monumental victory for American women. However, even as there was cause to celebrate women’s enfranchisement in 1920, it is important for people today in 2020 to realize that the 19th amendment only granted White and limited numbers of Black women the right to vote when it was ratified. Since the 19th amendment declared that citizens could not be denied the right to vote based on sex, it barred minority women from voting for decades [13].

The 15th amendment forbade voter disenfranchisement based on race. However, by 1920, the American South and West had passed laws that suppressed Black voters [14]; they condoned confusing literacy tests and steep poll taxes. The voter rolls of registered Black voters were regularly purged, and some primaries were only open to White voters. Black voters also faced intimidation and violence; on election day, white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan showed up at polling sites to scare away Black voters. Threats of their homes, businesses and jobs being taken away if they tried to vote also repelled Black voters. In 1964, the 24th amendment abolished poll taxes, and the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 abolished literacy tests and required areas with histories of voter discrimination to seek pre-clearance from the federal government before they changed voting guidelines and to be overseen by federal examiners who could register qualified citizens to vote[15].

The VRA was expanded in 1975,requiring bilingual election materials and assistance be provided where "language minorities” or a “language minority group”, defined as people who are American Indian, Asian American, Alaskan Natives or of Spanish heritage, make up more than five percent of citizens of voting age of a state or political subdivision. [17].

The Act gave increased political power to minorities, especially Latinos facing language barriers (who faced discrimination at the polls and had not benefited from the 1965 VRA like English-speaking Latinos [21]) and naturalized citizens who had limited English proficiency. Yet, these naturalized citizens only had this power because of laws striking down minority groups’ exclusion from the American electoral process.

Native Americans were not allowed to vote because in 1876, a federal court ruled that they were not citizens under the 14th amendment [13]. In 1887, Congress, wanting to eliminate the social cohesion of Native American tribes, passed the Dawes Act, which allowed Native Americans to become U.S. citizens only if they accepted the federal government’s division of tribal lands into individual farming plots.Among other problems caused by this Act, Native Americans were paid little to have less land than they had originally owned and were required to switch to an unfamiliar lifestyle of ranching and agriculture, often on land that was unsuitable for farming. [18]. Native Americans and other racial minorities were granted citizenship and enfranchisement in 1918 if they had served in World War I. In 1924, the Indian Citizenship Act was passed, giving all Native Americans full citizenship, but discriminatory policies enacted by states such as fees, “competency tests” and voting bans placed on people living on reservations kept Native Americans disenfranchised for many decades.

For Asian immigrants and Asian Americans, their long-awaited enfranchisement came in phases. The repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943 allowed Chinese Americans to become citizens. In 1946, the Luce-Celler Act allowed Filipinos and Asian Indians to naturalize. Japanese and other Asian Americans did not gain the right to vote until 1952 when the McCarran-Walter Act was passed [19]. The VRA’s1975 amendment also helped to expand the number of Asians participating in the electoral process.

Yet, people of color in America still face problems when it comes to voting, whether they are a woman or not. The bipartisan U.S. Commission on Civil Rights’2018 report,An Assessment of Minority Voting Rights Access in the United States, states:

On June 25, 2013, in the case of Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court ruled that the VRA unconstitutionally determined which jurisdictions needed the federal government’s pre-approval to change their voting procedures. […] Since Shelby County, jurisdictions have made changes to their voting procedures that would not have received the federal government’s approval. For example, some jurisdictions […] have required strict forms of voter ID, purged voter rolls, reduced polling locations, required documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, and cut early voting, among other contested voting changes that, on the specific facts in those states, operate to denigrate minority voting access in ways that would have violated preclearance requirements if they were still in effect. Data indicate that these voting procedure changes disproportionately limit minority citizens’ ability to vote.After Shelby County, the federal government has limited tools to address these potentially discriminatory voting procedures and hardly any tools to prevent voting discrimination before it takes place [20].

As can be seen, there is still work to be done to ensure all Americans are allowed to exercise their right to vote unobstructed and equality for women. The centennial of the 19thamendment’s ratification is a reminder that enfranchisement has not been not fully protected or freely given in the U.S. and should not be taken for granted.

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[1] “19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women’s Right to Vote (1920).” ourdocuments,https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=63#.

[2]Wagner, Sally Roesch. “How Native American Women Inspired the Women’s RightsMovement.” Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, WSCC,

https://www.womensvote100.org/the-suff-buffs-blog/2020/4/17/how-native-american-women-inspired-the-womens-rights-movement.

[3] Lewis, Jone Johnsons. “The Blackstone Commentaries and Women’s Rights.” ThoughtCo, Feb. 11, 2020, https://www.thoughtco.com/blackstone-commentaries-profile-3525208.

[4] History.com Editors. “Women’s Suffrage.” HISTORY, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/the-fight-for-womens-suffrage.

[5] Harley, Sharon. “African American Women and the Nineteenth Amendment.” National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior,https://www.nps.gov/articles/african-american-women-and-the-nineteenth-amendment.htm.

[6] Cohen, Danielle. “This Day in History: The 1913 Women’s Suffrage Parade.” The White House President Barack Obama, USA.gov, 3 Mar. 2016, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2016/03/03/this-day-history-1913-womens-suffrage-parade.

[7] “1907-1930: We are a Diverse Nation, Confronting Our Differences.” Centuries of Citizenship: A Constitutional Timeline, National Constitution Center, https://constitutioncenter.org/timeline/html/cw08_12159.html.

[8] Cahill, Cathleen D. “Mabel Ping-Hua Lee: How Chinese-American Women Helped Shape the Suffrage Movement.” Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, WSCC,

https://www.womensvote100.org/the-suff-buffs-blog/2020/4/30/mabel-ping-hua-lee-how-chinese-american-women-helped-shape-the-suffrage-movement.

[9] History.com Staff. “Chinese Exclusion Act.” HISTORY, A&E Television Networks, 24 Aug.2018, https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/chinese-exclusion-act-1882.

[10] “The Immigration Act of 1924 (The Johnson-Reed Act).” Office of the Historian, United States Department of State,https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/immigration-act.

[11] “Suffragist History.” Turning Point Suffragist Memorial, Turning Point Suffragist Memorial Association, https://suffragistmemorial.org/suffrage-history/.

[12] Pruitt, Sarah. “The Night of Terror: When Suffragists Were Imprisoned and Tortured in 1917.” HISTORY, A&E Television Networks, 4 Mar. 2019,https://www.history.com/news/night-terror-brutality-suffragists-19th-amendment.

[13] Panetta, Grace, et al. “The 19th Amendment passed 100 years ago today. The evolution of American voting rights in 244 years shows how far we’ve come – and how far we still have to go.” Business Insider, Insider, 18 Aug. 2020, https://www.businessinsider.com/when-women-got-the-right-to-vote-american-voting-rights-timeline-2018-10#1920-the-19th-amendment-grants-suffrage-to-women-but-not-all-native-american-and-asian-women-have-citizenship-8.

[14] Jones, Martha S. “For Black women, the 19th Amendment didn’t end their fight to vote.” National Geographic, National Geographic Partners, 7 Aug. 2020, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/08/black-women-continued-fighting-for-vote-after-19th-amendment/.

[15] Blakemore, Erin. “How the U.S. Voting Rights Act was won – and why it’s under fire today.” National Geographic, National Geographic Partners, 6 Aug. 2020, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/reference/united-states-history/history-voting-rights-act/.

[16] “Voting Rights and the 14th Amendment.” Teachinghistory.org, the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University,https://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/23652.

[17] United States, Congress. Public Law 94-73.United States Statutes at Large, vol. 89, 1975, pp. 400-406. U.S. Government Printing Office, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-89/pdf/STATUTE-89-Pg400.pdf.

[18] “The Dawes Act.” National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior,

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/dawes-act.htm.

 [19] “Voting Rights & Democracy.” Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, AALDEF,  https://www.aaldef.org/programs/voting-rights-and-democracy/.

[20]An Assessment of MINORITY VOTING RIGHTS ACCESS in the United States. U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 2018,https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018/Minority_Voting_Access_2018.pdf.Accessed 18 Aug. 2020

[21] Reichard, Raquel. “A Brief History of Latino Voting Rights Since the 1960s.” Remezcla, 2018, https://remezcla.com/features/culture/latino-voting-rights-1960s/.