The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV — John Shaqi
The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV
History
The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV
Women -- Suffrage -- History; Women -- Suffrage -- United States -- History; Women's rights -- History; Women's rights -- United States -- History
Aside from all political hostility, however, woman suffrage has to
face a tremendous opposition from other sources. The attitude of a
remonstrant is the natural one of the vast majority of people. Their
first cry on coming into the world, if translated, would be, "I
object." They are opposed on principle to every innovation, and the
greatest of these is the enfranchisement of women. To grant woman an
equality with man in the affairs of life is contrary to every
tradition, every precedent, every inheritance, every instinct and
every teaching. The acceptance of this idea is possible only to those
of especially progressive tendencies and a strong sense of justice,
and it is yet too soon to expect these from the majority. If it had
been necessary to have the consent of the majority of the men in every
State for women to enter the universities, to control their own
property, to engage in the various professions and occupations, to
speak from the public platform and to form great organizations, in not
one would they be enjoying these privileges to-day. It is very
probable that this would be equally true if they had depended upon the
permission of a majority of women themselves. They are more
conservative even than men, because of the narrowness and isolation of
their lives, the subjection in which they always have been held, the
severe punishment inflicted by society on those who dare step outside
the prescribed sphere, and, stronger than all, perhaps, their
religious tendencies through which it has been impressed upon them
that their subordinate position was assigned by the Divine will and
that to rebel against it is to defy the Creator. In all the
generations, Church, State and society have combined to retard the
development of women, with the inevitable result that those of every
class are narrower, more bigoted and less progressive than the men of
that class.
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