Carrie Chapman Catt

Carrie Chapman Catt worked to end the prejudice against women. Catt believed that women should have the right to vote and she worked very hard to get the Nineteenth Amendment passed by the government. Additionally, Catt worked to end women suffrage and she continuously spoke, as president, to the National American Women Suffrage Association. In her "Prejudice Against Women" speech, Catt discussed the idea that when women finally began to stand up for their rights, men did not want to allow these changes to happen because they loved when women would depend upon them. "Her very weakness and dependence were dear to him and he loved to think of her as the tender clinging vine, while he was the strong and sturdy oak" (American Reader pg. 371-372). When the women began forming and joining movements and organizations, in order to gain educational as well as other opportunities, the men were opposed to this idea. Catt is trying to show the members of the National American Women Suffrage Association that men enjoyed feeling as if they were the head of the family and they wanted to continue to feel as if the women needed them. As I continued to read Catt's Prejudice Against Women speech, another part that I found very interesting was when she stated, "The whole aim of the women movement has been to destroy the idea that obedience is necessary to women" (American Reader pg. 372). I think that this demonstrates that Catt believes that for many years, women have had to obey the men and they have not had the ability to have equal opportunities. By forming and joining a movement, women are showing that they are ready to and that they want to destroy the obedience that has been placed over them. I feel as though this statement is very powerful and that it truly shows the essence behind what Catt wanted to fight for and what she wanted the National American Women Suffrage Association to fight for as well.

American Reader. Carrie Chapman Catt "Prejudice Against Women."