History Talk: The 15th Amendment and the Women’s Rights Movement

The end of the Civil War prompted new discussions about citizenship and voting rights in the United States. Women and newly-freed African Americans each pushed for expanded civil rights during Reconstruction. However, a proposed 15th Amendment barred only racial discrimination at the polls, saying nothing about gender discrimination. Various activists such as Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton faced a crossroads: should they push for voting rights for women and African Americans at the same time, or did one group's needs trump the other in the short term? Historian and Curator Nick Sacco explores the ways the 15th Amendment caused severe splits within the women's rights movement during Reconstruction.  

The program is free but please call 314-842-1867 ext. 230 for reservations.