1792-Wollstonecraft writes A Vindication of the Rights of Women

1840-Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth C. Stanton denied participation in World Anti-Slavery Convention because they are women

1848-Seneca Falls Convention demands equal rights for women

1869-American suffrage movement splits over goals and tactics

1876-Dr. Emily Stowe forms first Canadian women’s rights organization

1890-Wyoming becomes first state in the US to grant female suffrage

1893-National Council of Women of Canada is founded

1910-NCWC includes suffrage as part of its platform

1916-Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta enfranchise women

-Wartime Election Act gives 0.5 million Canadian women the federal vote

1918-Nova Scotia Enfranchises women

-Parliament of Canada passes Women’s Franchise Bill

1919-New Brunswick enfranchises women

1920-Nineteenth Amendment to US Constitution ratified, giving women the vote

1922-PEI enfranchises women

-Newfoundland, a colony of Britain at the time, enfranchises women

1929-Person’s case resolved in favor of women who henceforth can be appointed to the Canadian Senate

1940-Quebec enfranchises women

18th century’s period of Enlightenment, based on logic and intellectuality, started to question the accepted social views; it however, only challenged such views in relation to man. Nevertheless, early feminists, angered by Rousseau’s unfair views on the education of women that "ought to be relative to men", started to speak out openly. Such women, as Mary Wollstonecraft and Harriet Martineau of England, Fanny Wright of Scotland, Anna Jameson of Ireland, wrote and publicly spoke about their revolutionary goals of expanded options for women. As American Margaret Fuller stated: "Man cannot by right lay even well-meant restrictions on Woman." Unfortunately, these early feminists faced much ridicule, even though Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women and Fuller’s Women in the Nineteenth Century became the "bibles" of the future feminists.

Organized North American feminism openly began during the second half of the 19th century. (During the times of the Industrial Revolution) 300 people (out of whom 40 were men) met in the town of Seneca Falls, NY in 1848 and issued The Declaration of Rights and Sentiments:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women were created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness…The history of mankind is the history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man towards woman, having in direct object the establishment of absolute tyranny over her…"

It is of no surprise that the First Women’s Movement was born out of the Industrial Revolution: at this time the split between home and work occurred; men now worked in commercial organizations, while the home became "the private sector" and the "proper sphere" for a woman. Domesticity and increased dependence on a man was accompanied by increased leisure time for a woman, thanks to the newly-developed technology; family size fell. Many women turned to the "social-functions", forming clubs and association, in which they had a chance to express their leadership abilities.
 

The fight for the abolition of slavery (1830’s-1860’s) and the fight for the prohibition of alcohol (started in 1820’s; intensified between 1880’s-1920’s) were the two campaigns that made the women progress from social activists to women’s rights advocates. During the 1830’s, Sarah and Angelina Grimke began to address the issue of slavery publicly, and for that were denounced. Other American abolitionists, such as Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were banished behind the curtain and forbidden to speak at the London World Anti-Slavery convention. This resulted in the above-mentioned meeting at Seneca Falls. The Anti-Slavery movement made the women draw shocking parallels between their lives and those of slaves whom they were fighting to free. Only former male slaves were given the vote in the 14th Amendment of 1868, causing another shock within the women’s movement.

Female suffrage also fought to ban liquor, which, at that time, was cheaper than milk, was not taxed, and was available everywhere. Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was created, and by 1868 it was already a national organization both in the US and Canada. Two famous feminists, Nellie McClung, and Susan B. Anthony both got their start with WCTU. Within WCTU, women not only improved their organization skills, but also realized that they lacked political power, because male voters constantly turned down their "dry" petitions. Thus, for many feminists, the vote became the ultimate goal.

Organizations that fought for social issues soon were followed by creations of organizations that fought for women’s rights, such as the National Woman Suffrage Association. Also, a new, more subtle brand or women’s rights activism, maternal feminism emerged. National Women’s of Canada motto was "national motherhood"; these women were in favor of the vote, but their organization glorified stereotypical differences between men and women, which appeared to be less threatening to the politicians and Protestant churches. As a contrast, such radical feminists as "Red Emma" Goldman or Charlotte Perkins Gillman mocked maternal feminists and demanded much more, because they felt that women would not be emancipated by the right to vote, alone.

In summary, the late 19th-early 20th century feminists not only fought for the political right of being able to vote, but also for justice. According to many, women should have been granted rights not because they were "worthy" but because man-made laws denied their natural rights, such as access to education, and even equal pay for equal work, cooperative child care, divorce, and birth control (concepts, radical for those times). Although, by 1920, most places in North America granted women the vote, some believe the First Women’s Movement to be a failure. After all, numerous radical feminists were put in jail, deported; their voices were silenced by the cancellation of their columns in newspapers, etc. Others believe it to successful, because things that the early feminists fought for, such as communal child care or birth control, were eventually achieved.

 
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