The effects of single Parenting in women House-Holds Essay Example for Free

The effects of single Parenting in women House-Holds Essay Abstract This essay focuses on the issue of single parenting as one of the most effective family problems. A single parent is a parent who lives with one or more children without the second parent it could be either a dad or a mom. Usually the definition of single parenting depends on the local laws throughout different states, but there are other circumstances as well that could lead to single parenting, for example if a parent is left alone after getting divorced, if one of the parent just leaves the family or the child, if one of the parent is put to the jail or dies. Sometimes the single parent might not be the real father or mother of the child, some people decide to adopt a child or become a parent through implantation of babies or just take care of a family member child, who was abandoned by his real parents. The household of a single parent is very different from a normal household. But all the circumstances are distinctive, some Parents decide to become single parents if they see a relationship is not going well or if they see there might be a lot of family problems that might affect the child, and some have to do it if something happens like the loss of a the second parent. There are a lot of negative effects about being a single parent. For example, making decisions can be really hard sometimes and most of the time parents need that second person there to be able to make the best decision that will benefit the child and the parent. Frequently single parents do not have sufficient time to do all the house work and this involves children from the early age in doing house jobs which takes time away from them to do school work or other things. Single parents have to tell most of house problems to a child which doesn’t not help the child, they have to discuss these problems like if the child was an adult. If the other parent is alive they have to make the arrangements to take the child either to the other parent’s house or to jail if the parent is in jail which is not good because the  child will not have a stable home life and this will cause confusion. Single parenting starts with the divorce of a couple who have children, with the loss of a parent abandonment of a child or many other reasons. Most of the parents that become single parents are women. Non-custodial fathers usually don’t have much connection with their children, and contribution usually declines as time goes by I have seen this a lot in my job since I work with children I have seen how some parents just forget about their children mostly the male parents forget about their kid and stops communicating with them . Since most single-parent households are females their income are less that of a man, this causes economic issues on the mother and the child has less opportunities on being involved in activities after school or sports. Economic limitations may limit growth improving experiences of a child. Even the children that their fathers pay their child support check that they’re obligated to pay monthly still see limitations on outside activities. But there are a lot of parents that do not pay their monthly child support checks to their children which makes it even harder for a single mother. A lot of children strongly dislike divorces because having the most important people in your life live separated affects their lives greatly. For some children, divorce is not something that they will forget about quickly, but it’s something that will affect them for the rest of their lives. This is a traumatic experience for the child because it leaves them feeling alone, as if nobody in the world cares about them. I have experienced this a lot as well in my job. I have a lot of children that seek for my attention a lot, and I also have a lot of children that call me â€Å"dad† because they don’t have the male figure in their family. Single parenting affects each child differently depending on the childs age which ranges in four stages; infants, young children, the elementary school age and teenagers. Infants and young children can feel abandoned by the decision of parents to get divorced. Most of them need to feel, hear, and see both parents in order to bond wi th their parents. This connection is important for the parent and child relationship later on in the childs life â€Å"is the challenge for school age children, who are learning to make things use tools, and acquire skills for the adult life, children who fail these lessons of mastery and competence may come out of this stage feeling inadequate and inferior† (Erikson 1950). Parenting is hard at this age  because this young child requires a lot of love, and attention from the parents if a children fails in a situation like this it’s hard for the children to receive support since the parent barely has time for the child. Single parents don’t have time to give the appropriate amount of love and attention because they are forced to work and take care of the home responsibilities alone and the parent becomes very stressed since they worry about their children getting adequate attention. Family organization has changed has changed a lot in the last fifty years according to the research done. With higher percentages of marriage ending in divorce single parent families are growing quickly. â€Å"Seventy percent of all the children will spend all or part of their lives in a single-parent household† (Lindblad-Goldberg, M. 1989). These studies show that the children of single parenting families are affected greatly in a negative way. Women head the majority of single- parent families and as a result, children experience many social problems from growing up without a father. Some of these problems include lack of financial support and various emotional problems by not having a father around, which may contribute to problems later in life. One of the problems that they might face are anger issues a lot of the male boys that I mentor have a lot of anger issues and I believe that the cause of these issues is the missing of the male figure which is a symbol of authority in the house. Today, most researchers state that both models were not quite correct and are still not correct now. During the years 1860-1920 the black immigrant families could not afford only one earner for the family and these ideals were appropriate only for white middle class families. By the year 1893 more and more women were taking up jobs an d the number of divorces increased. â€Å"In 1950 – about 22% families had both working parents, in 1980 – the number increased to 42 %† (Morgan, K. 1993) Since the year 1980 the divorce rates were twice as big as before. This means that about one-third of all children lived in single parent families or in adoptive families. The statistical studies at that time showed that 25 % of all families didn’t have children at all 25% of all families lived in couples 25% of families were headed by females 4 % of families were extended (Lindblad Goldberg, M.1989). We can come to a assumption that as well as the family principles were changing, the amount of single-parent families were changing too. If we were to count the number of single mothers in the  difference to single fathers â€Å"the ratio is nine to one† ( Ceballo, R., Borquez, J. 1994) that means that children in most cases are left with their mother instead of their fathers. In my job most of the times all I see are single young mothers instead of single fathers taking care of their children which prove this ratio. It is clear that mothers are regularly closer to thei r children and care more about their children, but there are some exceptions, but there are a lot of difficulties that single mothers have to face. The problems of income are extremely difficult for single mothers headed households. All low earnings money families have economic problems, but in cases of single mother parenting women have to raise their children on top of these issues. Studies showed that â€Å"about 50 % of all households in poverty were female-headed. It is not only because of low wages that women get, but mostly because of the lack of another earners in the family, as a result there are cases when children start to work early in order to help their mothers† (Amato, P. R. 1993). This affects children a lot when they have to go and work at an early age it affects their studies and it prevents them from doing any extracurricular activity after school or participate in any sports team. These studies demonstrate that the wages of women from single female-headed households and from two-parent households are similar, but women from single female-headed households had to take additional hours or even work more than one job to support the family. There is often a problem of single mothers among teenagers. Young girls are left with their kids and their fathers just disappear. Then there are a lot of problems connected not only with finance but many others as well.The financial situation is not that hard by African-American single mothers, as the percentage of their income to the whole income of the family was bigger, but they have little chance to receive any child support money or other state payments. About â€Å"25% of Spanish households in Los Angeles, California and Arizona were headed by women, about 17.3 % of Hispanic households also had a female head† (Morgan, K. 1993). To draw a conclusion to this part we should mention that the cases of female-headed households happen more often, the problems they face are lack of finances and the need to spend a lot more of time at work. Fathers make about 13% of single parents in the USA. Currently fathers are more used to take some female roles at home. They are more involved with their children and in house responsibilities. Before men were  primary caregivers, only some of them had to raise their c hildren alone due to the death of their wives. As men typically have higher positions at work they have greater earnings as well, so they rarely face the same economic complications that single women do. On the other hand fathers do not always prosper in finding common language with their children and the results are that children raised by a single father are more likely to start using drugs or developing drinking habits, or start early sexual life since fathers are more flexible. Even though there is a common belief that fathers are stricter than mothers, they are often not able to converse with their children as well as the mothers can do it. Sometimes father are disciplined themselves or are not organized, it is not surprising if they cannot help their children to develop such qualities. I have been studying one of my children’s dad and the children has taken a lot of bad traits from his dad because the dad is not a great example he is not disciplined himself. A good father could be a good example for his son, and a go od model of behavior. A lot of single mothers have problems with their children at some time of their lives because they lack the strong influence of a man. The ratio of young fathers is lower in comparison with teenager girls who have kids. In the twentieth century the number of female-headed households enlarged significantly among Latino, Asian and Other race households. It’s a statement that single families are not the Americans. The number of single parent households increased greatly in England and in Australia during 1990s. â€Å"In the UK lone-parents families formed about 3.3% of all households, the percentage of them in Australia was even higher – 7.6%.Talking about other countries we should mention: Belgium – 1.8 – 2.7 % Ireland – 2.8 % Luxemburg – 2.2 % Japan – 5.1 %† (Borquez, J. 1994). In all countries most of single parents are women. Such countries as Greece, Portugal and Italy have more conformist opinions about family disputes even t hough they have a lower percentage of single parent families. Raising a child alone without any help from a second parent is pretty hard and a stressful experience, single parents have to put in a lot of work in order to follow an organized schedule that helps the parent as well as the child. The parents depend on many factors and have more responsibilities for their children. Being a single parent does not mean that a person should separate themselves from the whole world and isolate themselves with their complications and  problems. They should look for help provided by the government and any support that their family might provide. Single parents should never be embarrassed and they should never let their self-importance make complications for the support they can get from other people. If there is a lot of support from family members, friends or organizations it will be easier for the single parent to cope with all the problems. There are numerous areas where single parents need solid support from their friends, Family, or organizations. Throughout this paper we discussed the effects of single parenting. The effects that a child faces and the effects that a parent faces as a single parent are difficult. Both the child and the parent go through tough situations and difficulties that affect their lives greatly. There are some positive outcomes that come out from single parenting but there are more negative outcomes than positive outcomes. I have seen all of the negative outcomes in my job, I have experienced all of these things and all most of them are true children that come from single parenting families tend to have a lot of difficulties and problems in their lives, but these problems could diminish with good mentorship, and good support from other family members. References Amato, P. R. (1993). â€Å"Children’s adjustment to divorce: Theories, hypotheses, and empirical support.† Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55, 23-58. Bogenschneider, K., Kaplan, T., Morgan, K. (1993). â€Å"Single parenthood and children’s well-being.† Wisconsin Family Impact Seminars Briefing Report. Combrink-Graham (Ed.) Children in family contexts. New York: Guildford. Erikson, E.H. (1950). The Developmental stage of Erik Erikson. New York: Norton. Carole Wade. Carole Tavris. Tenth Edition Grossman, A. S., Hayghe, H. (1982). â€Å"Labor force activity of women receiving child support or alimony.† Monthly Labor Review, 105, 39-41. McLoyd, V. C., Jayaratne, T. E., Ceballo, R., Borquez, J. (1994). â€Å"Unemployment and work interruption among African American single mothers: Effects on parenting and adolescent socioemotional functioning.† Child Development, 65, 562-589. Lindblad-Goldberg, M. (1989). â€Å"Successful minority single-p arent families.† In L. Combrink-Graham (Ed.) Children in family contexts. New York: Guildford.

God Should Remain in the Pledge of Allegiance Essay -- Argumentative P

God Should Remain in the Pledge of Allegiance One of the most controversial issues, if â€Å"Under God† should remain in the pledge, and if children should be required to say it, went to court a few weeks ago. The argument was brought to court by Michael Newdow, the father to the girl on whose behalf the lawsuit was brought forward. Newdow argued in court and on many different public speaking occasions that knowing his child is being led to say â€Å"One nation under God† on a daily basis makes him feel â€Å"Disenfranchised†. (Hamilton, Marci A. CNN Special). He points out that â€Å"The Pledge, which has â€Å"liberty for all† is being used to inculcate his daughter in a religious worldview he cannot accept†. (Hamilton, Marci A. CNN Special). This means that the state is trying to educate his daughter on religion, and therefore â€Å"Under God† is unconstitutional. Michael Newdow does not have custody of his daughter; he is an atheist who feels his daughter is not being treated fairly because she is of the minority belief in religion. His wife a born again Christian, says their daughter has no trouble including God in the Pledge of Allegiance. Their daughter is in the second grade, she has informed her mother that she is comfortable reciting the pledge, her father made this claim based on his own feelings. As long as the statement â€Å"Under God† is not offending anyone it should remain in the Pledge of Allegiance to be recited by all willing students and teachers. The constitution assures immunity to anyone who offends any other human being in practicing their own religious beliefs or if they were to offend the religious views of others, if they are the majority or minority. The constitution does not however guarantee an exemption from doing what socie... ... opinion. The words â€Å"Under God† is not meant to directly offend anyone. It should remain in the Pledge of Allegiance for those willing participants to recite. Bibliography Ager, Susan. â€Å"Pledge of Allegiance Deserves Attention†. Monterey Country The Herald. 2 April 2004 Hamilton, Marci A. â€Å" Why the Department of Justice is wrong to support ‘Under God’†. Posted 2:10 PM EST. 26 March 2004. Harrison, Maureen. Gilbert, Steve. Landmark Decisions of the United States Supreme Court II. La Jolla, California. Copyright 1992. By Excellent Books. Muqaribu, Mudhillun. Letter. New York Times. Published 3/29/2004. Late Edition. Final Section A. Column 6. Page 20. Taylor, Bonnie B. Education and the Law. Contemporary Legal Issues. Santa Barbara, California. Copyright 1996. Pg. 252-253 God Should Remain in the Pledge of Allegiance Essay -- Argumentative P God Should Remain in the Pledge of Allegiance One of the most controversial issues, if â€Å"Under God† should remain in the pledge, and if children should be required to say it, went to court a few weeks ago. The argument was brought to court by Michael Newdow, the father to the girl on whose behalf the lawsuit was brought forward. Newdow argued in court and on many different public speaking occasions that knowing his child is being led to say â€Å"One nation under God† on a daily basis makes him feel â€Å"Disenfranchised†. (Hamilton, Marci A. CNN Special). He points out that â€Å"The Pledge, which has â€Å"liberty for all† is being used to inculcate his daughter in a religious worldview he cannot accept†. (Hamilton, Marci A. CNN Special). This means that the state is trying to educate his daughter on religion, and therefore â€Å"Under God† is unconstitutional. Michael Newdow does not have custody of his daughter; he is an atheist who feels his daughter is not being treated fairly because she is of the minority belief in religion. His wife a born again Christian, says their daughter has no trouble including God in the Pledge of Allegiance. Their daughter is in the second grade, she has informed her mother that she is comfortable reciting the pledge, her father made this claim based on his own feelings. As long as the statement â€Å"Under God† is not offending anyone it should remain in the Pledge of Allegiance to be recited by all willing students and teachers. The constitution assures immunity to anyone who offends any other human being in practicing their own religious beliefs or if they were to offend the religious views of others, if they are the majority or minority. The constitution does not however guarantee an exemption from doing what socie... ... opinion. The words â€Å"Under God† is not meant to directly offend anyone. It should remain in the Pledge of Allegiance for those willing participants to recite. Bibliography Ager, Susan. â€Å"Pledge of Allegiance Deserves Attention†. Monterey Country The Herald. 2 April 2004 Hamilton, Marci A. â€Å" Why the Department of Justice is wrong to support ‘Under God’†. Posted 2:10 PM EST. 26 March 2004. Harrison, Maureen. Gilbert, Steve. Landmark Decisions of the United States Supreme Court II. La Jolla, California. Copyright 1992. By Excellent Books. Muqaribu, Mudhillun. Letter. New York Times. Published 3/29/2004. Late Edition. Final Section A. Column 6. Page 20. Taylor, Bonnie B. Education and the Law. Contemporary Legal Issues. Santa Barbara, California. Copyright 1996. Pg. 252-253

The Mongolian Liberation

The political turbulence of 1990, and the release of Mongolia from Soviet control along with the backdown of 1000s of Russian military personnels and armored combat vehicles, accordingly led to the gap of the floodgates that had been keeping back Mongolia’s long denied desire for independency and a distinguishable national individuality. At last, Mongols could advert the name of Genghis Khan, the male parent of the Mongolian state in public without fright of animadversion or prosecution, public involvement in Mongolian history surged. Now, Genghis Khan’s name and image can be seen everyplace in Mongolia, whether it be political imagination, the merchandising of goods or the naming of eating houses, Genghis Khan is an ineluctable figure in modern twenty-four hours Mongolia. This is in contrast to the old Soviet business which to a great extent restricted and attempted to eliminate popular worship of the Great Khan, â€Å"Genghis Khan was banished from Mongol lives†1. The visual aspect that is presented of Genghis Khan under Soviet business heightens the contrast between the Soviet and modern Mongolia. The effort to wipe out history is replaced by an overpowering sum of modern twenty-four hours recognition, congratulations and the hunt for the â€Å"true† yesteryear. The individuality of Genghis Khan has thrived on a greater graduated table so what was seen before the Soviet effort to eliminate him from history. The national individuality of the Mongolian people had awoken. However, did the ejection of Genghis Khan from mundane Mongolian life truly go on? While there is no uncertainty that the image and name of Genghis Khan was repressed, to what extent is a controversial subject of research for Mongol research workers2. In the ulterior periods of Soviet business ( 1970s ) , the historical function of Genghis Khan was described as â€Å"reactionary†3. The forming of the Mongol Empire and the major function he played in the history of the 13Thursdayand 14Thursdaycenturies were seen as a program to protect the involvements of the governing baronial category.4 However, this was non the lone representation of the Great Khan during this period, and multiple readings of this history exist.5The portraiture of Genghis Khan shifted throughout the Soviet business of Mongolia. But, this highlights an of import fact, that many Soviet-era history books reference or have whole subdivisions dedicated to Genghis Khan. Research into the function of Genghis Khan was even encouraged under the initial Soviet business, and many research documents did look in scholarly publications.6From this, it can be reasoned that Genghis Khan was discussed and researched during the Soviet period, which conflicts with what the Mongolian people now â€Å"remember† to hold been the instance. When people say that under the Soviet business there was a forced forgetting of Genghis Khan from public memory, this is merely non rectify. What the Mongolian people are mentioning to alternatively of an existent forgetting is the fact that there were limitations on the public worship of Genghis Khan and that they could non speak approximately him as they wished.6This is a critical differentiation. While Genghis Khan had a presence in Mongolia at the clip, the usage of his name in a public Centre was to a great extent censored and restricted. Then, as now, the image of Genghis Khan was manipulated by the Government to imple ment and modulate the political orientations of the Mongolian people.7 The documented grounds of the period, being dissimilar to the collective and single memory of the clip, reveals a much more complex image. It reveals, both in the past and present, a deliberate â€Å"remembering† of events that seems to follow the form of political and cultural expediences.8That is to state, Genghis Khan was a important remembered figure under Soviet business. Yet, one would presume that this should be known throughout modern Mongolia. A good starting point for understanding the differences between the memory and documented grounds is the manner in which people inaccurately assign all of the Soviet period ( 1924 to 1990 ) into one indistinguishable stretch. Phrases such as â€Å"the Soviet period† itself, as I have done even here. This collapsing of a period in history gives an wholly corrupt position of the period as it is assigned the Acts of the Apostless peculiar to the ulterior phases of the period ( 1975-1980 ) . The concluding decennaries of Soviet control are projected backwards over the full 80 old ages.9The political orientations of the authorities and people are assumed to hold been the instance throughout the period. This nevertheless, is far from what was really the instance. The Soviets hold on Mongolia was fragile at most times.10The major illustration of this can be seen in the incident of 1928, the authorities had begun to implement policies aimed at the speedy debut of communism. Private trade and private conveyance were out, at the same clip Mongolia ‘s farm animal economic system was to be collectivized, the feudal Lords were expropriated and the Buddhist church was targeted by inordinate revenue enhancements.11Unfortunately, the state-sponsored conveyance and trade organisations were non at all able to replace the old, private-owned webs, and disregard and misdirection in the new-founded collectives lead to the loss of 7 million caputs of farm animal, or one tierce of the 1929 degree. All this resulted non merely in a steady watercourse across the boundary line to Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, but besides the rebellion at Togsbuyant monastery of Uvsaimag, which lasted from March to May 1930. This rebellion led to the acceptance of a more broa d policy by the Soviet authorities.12 The Soviet period was characterised by major ideological alterations and Soviet efforts at entire control of Mongolia, frequently through barbarous and violent agencies. This nevertheless, was non the instance for all of the Soviet business.13While in between the old ages of 1928 and 1935 in peculiar saw an addition in force and subjugation, which in its aftermath, left a permanent fright in the Mongolian people, this alteration nevertheless, was non every bit drastic as the Soviets would hold liked, the civil war of the old year’s holding non been forgotten. Even in the 1950s, at least a few of Mongolia’s taking functionaries were in private rehearsing the worship of Genghis Khan.14The Soviet authorities was successful in presenting new policy and transfusing fright in the Mongols, However the entire conquering of Mongolia and the achievement of greater workss, from a Soviets point of position, would take much longer.15As will be seen, Genghis Khan was actively studied and researched during the Soviet business of Mongolia. A bibliography published in theHarvard Journal of Asiatic Surveiesin 1986 shows that books touching on Genghis Khan were published throughout the early Soviet old ages.16The first one listed being TheMongol Empire in the clip of Genghis Khanwhich was published in 1932 and so republished in 1942.17Other such plants were published throughout the earlier periods of Soviet business, including a transcript of the Mongolian historyGolden Summary, published in 1923 which mostly matches what is written in the history,The Secret Historyalthough written with a Buddhist angle. In the secret history it said that, â€Å"Temujin was born with a fate ordained from Heaven above† Temujin being the birth name of Genghis Khan. Similarly in theGolden Summary â€Å"sanctum Temujin†is portrayed as a prophesier of Buddha sent to convey an terminal to â€Å"earthly suffering† of all life animals. It is clear that in neither of these histories is at that place anything that would propose a Soviet influence.18All of the texts from the early decennaries of Soviet business that I have been able to research hold no mark of any effort to render a Marxist history of Mongolian history. In fact legion texts have a wholly opposite position of Genghis Khan so one would anticipate from a Soviet-era text. John Boyle in his book Genghis Khan: The History of the World-Conquer mentions one text published in 1928,Siditu Kegur-un Uligerwhich compares Genghis Khan to a â€Å"reincarnated god† as his usage of military tactics and cognition were greater than any â€Å"mortal† . The text is mostly celebratory of Genghis Khans accomplishments, â€Å"40 provinces were destroyed, and 55 provinces of Xiya were established† and â€Å"Genghis Khans magnificent personal businesss were many.†19The day of the month that this text was published is peculiarly notable, as it is preceded by merely a few months after the crisp bend in authorities policy and the terminal o f the civil war in 1930. All the grounds shown above suggests a positive position of Genghis Khan and an active involvement in Mongolian history during the early period of Soviet business of Mongolia. This is backed up further by the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party ( MAN ) naming for a more in deepness survey of Genghis Khan in 1923.20 If Genghis Khan was written about during the period that encompasses the Soviet business of Mongolia, and rather extensively, so possibly the â€Å"forced forgetting† that the Mongolia people refer to is the eviction of Genghis Khan from Centres of larning? Many of the paperss published would non hold been read by the larger public. However, this is non the instance. A school text edition which had to be approved by the Ministry of Education, published in 1962 while harsh in the disapprobation of his achievements, â€Å"Kiev had been a really big and thickly populated town, but now it has been reduced about to nil, for there are at the present clip scarce two 100 houses at that place and the dwellers are kept in complete slavery.†21This history of Genghis Khan is comparatively unvarying in all text editions of the period.22However, one can non presume that Genghis Khan was taught in the schoolroom, it is believable that the establishment may hold omitted Genghis Khan fr om the course of study in fright of reprisal. Nevertheless, the fact that Genghis Khan is still present in an officially sanctioned text edition regardless of the manner he is presented or even if it was taught, is important. Genghis Khan continues to look in text editions published up until the political turbulence of 1990.23 While it non possible to wholly estimate the reactions of the Mongolian populace to the texts I have researched. What can be known is the simple fact that Genghis Khan was researched and written about during the Soviet business of Mongolia and non â€Å"forgotten† contrary to what is now acknowledged by the Mongolian people. And it was non until 1940 that the Soviet restraints on the worship of Genghis Khan became official policy.24Furthermore, even after this period, there is no grounds of a large-scale effort to wipe out him from the memory of the people, or from history wholly. However, there were cases where history was changed or omitted, as seen from the text editions of the period, and names of of import figures changed if they were seen as being ideologically suspect. While it is unrealistic to presume an full period can be â€Å"struck† from history, the position Genghis Khan was given by Soviet authorities was unneeded if they genuinely wanted to take him from history. While it is true that Genghis Khan’s image and name were censored throughout the period, the attending, whether it is negative or positive, was still unneeded attending. Because the Soviets attempted to take the redemptive qualities of Genghis Khan, they merely brought him closer to the public oculus, â€Å"Revolutionaries are merely revolutionists so long as there is something or person to be against.†25An illustration of this can be seen in the events taking up to the 1962, the hard-on of a memorial at Genghis Khans supposed birth topographic point and a conference held in memorialization for his 800th birthday led to unfavorable judgment from the Soviet Union and the dismissal of Tomor-Ochir, a secretary of the opinion Mongolian People ‘s Revolutionary Party Central Committee. The fact that this event was premeditated and had gained official blessing is indicant that Genghis Khan was still present in Mongolia during that period.

Womens Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment

After the American Civil War, several legal challenges faced the newly-reunited nation. One was how to define a citizen so that former slaves, and other African Americans, were included. (The Dred Scott decision, before the Civil War, had declared that black people had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.) The citizenship rights of those who had rebelled against the federal government or who had participated in secession were also in question. One response was the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, proposed on June 13, 1866, and ratified July 28, 1868. The Fight for Postwar Rights During the Civil War, the developing womens rights movement had largely put their agenda on hold, with most of the womens rights advocates supporting the Union efforts. Many of the womens rights advocates had been abolitionists as well, and so they eagerly supported the war which they believed would end slavery. When the Civil War ended, womens rights advocates expected to take up their cause once again, joined by the male abolitionists whose cause had been won. But when the Fourteenth Amendment was proposed, the womens rights movement split over whether to support it as a means of finishing the job of establishing full citizenship for the freed slaves and other African Americans. Beginnings: Adding Male to the Constitution Why was the Fourteenth Amendment controversial in womens rights circles? Because, for the first time, the proposed Amendment added the word male into the US Constitution. Section 2, which dealt explicitly with voting rights, used the term male. And womens rights advocates, especially those who were promoting suffrage, or the granting of the vote to women, were outraged. Some womens rights supporters, including Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, and Frederick Douglass, supported the Fourteenth Amendment as essential to guaranteeing black equality and full citizenship, even though it was flawed in only applying voting rights to males. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton led the efforts of some womens suffrage supporters to try to defeat both the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments because the Fourteenth Amendment included the offensive focus on male voters. When the Amendment was ratified, they advocated, without success, for a universal suffrage amendment. Each side of this controversy saw the others as betraying basic principles of equality: supporters of the 14th Amendment saw the opponents as betraying efforts for racial equality, and opponents saw the supporters as betraying efforts for the equality of the sexes. Stone and Howe founded the American Woman Suffrage Association and a paper, the Womans Journal. Anthony and Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association and began publishing the Revolution. The rift would not be healed until, in the late years of the 19th century, the two organizations merged into the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Myra Blackwell and Equal Protection Though the second article of the  Fourteenth Amendment  introduced the word male into the Constitution in respect to voting rights, nevertheless some womens rights advocates decided that they could make a case for womens rights including suffrage on the basis of the first article of the Amendment, which did not distinguish between males and females in granting citizenship rights. The case of Myra Bradwell was one of the first to advocate for use of the 14th Amendment to defend womens rights. Bradwell had passed the Illinois law exam, and a circuit court judge and a state attorney had each signed a certificate of qualification, recommending that the state grant her a license to practice law. However, the Supreme Court of Illinois denied her application on October 6, 1869. The court took into consideration the legal status of a woman as a femme covert—that is, as a married woman, Myra Bradwell was legally disabled. She was, under the common law of the time, prohibited from owning property or entering into legal agreements. As a married woman, she had  no legal existence apart from her husband. Myra Bradwell challenged this decision. She took her case back to the Illinois Supreme Court, using the Fourteenth Amendments equal protection language in the first article to defend her right to choose a livelihood. In her brief, Bradwell wrote, that it is one of the privileges and immunities of women as citizens to engage in any and every provision, occupation or employment in civil life. While the Bradwell case raised the possibility that the 14th Amendment could justify womens equality, the Supreme Court were not ready to agree. In a much-quoted concurring opinion, Justice Joseph P. Bradley wrote: It certainly cannot be affirmed, as a historical fact, that [the right to choose ones profession] has ever been established as one of the fundamental privileges and immunities of the sex. Instead, he wrote, The paramount destiny and mission of women are to fulfill the noble and benign offices of wife and mother. Minor, Happersett, Anthony, and Womens Suffrage While the second article of the  Fourteenth Amendment  to the Constitution  specified certain voting rights connected with males only, womens rights advocates decided that the first article could be used instead to support the full citizenship rights of women. In a strategy carried out by the more radical wing of the movement, led by Anthony and Stanton,  womens suffrage  supporters attempted to cast ballots in 1872.  Anthony  was among those who did so; she was  arrested and convicted  for this action. Another woman,  Virginia Minor, was turned away from the St. Louis polls when she tried to vote⠁  Ã¢â‚¬â€and her husband, Frances Minor, sued Reese Happersett, the registrar. (Under femme covert presumptions in the law, Virginia Minor could not sue in her own right.) The Minors brief argued that There can be no halfway citizenship. Woman, as a citizen in the United States, is entitled to all the benefits of that position, and liable to all its obligations, or to none. Once again, the Fourteenth Amendment was used to try to ground arguments for womens equality and the right as citizens to vote and hold office⠁  Ã¢â‚¬â€but the courts did not agree. In a unanimous decision, the United States Supreme Court in  Minor v. Happersett  found that women born or naturalized in the United States were indeed American citizens, and that they always had been even before the Fourteenth Amendment. But the Supreme Court also found that voting was not one of the privileges and immunities of citizenship, and therefore states need not grant voting rights or suffrage to women. Reed v. Reed Applies the Amendment to Women In 1971, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of  Reed v. Reed. Sally Reed had sued when Idaho law presumed that her estranged husband should be automatically selected as executor of the estate of their son, who had died without naming an executor. The Idaho law stated that males must be preferred to females in choosing estate administrators. The Supreme Court, in an opinion written by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, decided that the  Fourteenth Amendment  did prohibit such unequal treatment on the basis of sex⠁  Ã¢â‚¬â€the first US Supreme Court decision to apply the Fourteenth Amendments equal protection clause to gender or sexual distinctions. Later cases have refined the application of the Fourteenth Amendment to sex discrimination, but it was more than 100 years after passage of the Fourteenth Amendment before it was finally applied to womens rights. Expanding Rights in Roe v. Wade In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court found in  Roe v. Wade  that the Fourteenth Amendment restricted, on the basis of the Due Process clause, the governments ability to restrict or prohibit abortions. Any criminal abortion statute that did not take into account the stage of pregnancy and other interests than merely the life of the mother was deemed to be a violation of due process. Text of the Fourteenth Amendment The entire text of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, proposed on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 28, 1868, is as follows: Section. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.Section. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.Section. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.Section. 4. The validity of the public deb t of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.Section. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Text of the Fifteenth Amendment Section. 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.Section. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.