Friendships, Politics and Women’s Rights
Those who fought for abolitionism, like Frederick Douglass, and those who fought for Women’s Rights, like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, were initially united in their belief for Universal Rights for all men and women. Douglass, Anthony and Stanton were allies in the fight for universal human rights, and much was made of their friendship. Initially, They all wanted to see an end to slavery and subjugation of Black Americans, and they all wanted to see universal suffrage and equality under the law for Black men and all women. But with the passage of the 15th Amendment, which specifically gave Black men the right to vote, many in the women’s rights movement split between those continuing to advance universal human rights and those focused on advancing women’s rights specifically.
The 15th Amendment is significant because, for the first time in the constitution and its amendments, it specifically includes the word “man” in connection with the right to vote. Previously, suffragettes argued that the right to vote should apply to everyone, regardless of gender. Frederick Douglass fundamentally believed and fought for women’s rights but also embraced the 15th Amendment, as we believed that there was a more urgent need for African American rights. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were incensed and while they fought for universal suffrage, they also believed that white women were more qualified than black men to vote. Anthony, Stanton and Douglass parted ways after a heated debate at the American Equal Rights Association meeting in 1869.
But the story does not end there. There were plenty of women’s rights advocates who saw the fight for universal rights as an essential part of their struggle, and they continued to fight alongside men and women. Lucy Stone, Sojourner Truth, Lucretia Mott and Wendell Phillips, like Douglass himself, viewed the passage of the 15th Amendment as a partial win in their struggle and continued to fight for the right to vote for all people of all colors.