Op-Eds
WHY EVERYONE NEEDS SUFFRAGE BY CLAIRE SHARP
“I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.” -Mary Wollstonecraft. Men and Women are separated by one chromosome at conception. Does one chromosome mean enough to limit women to this extent? As 50% of the population of the USA, we deserve rights because we're people, not just lesser women. We all have a soul, a brain, a right to represent ourselves.
So what separates the rights of men and women? Well, men can do anything they want. Married woman don’t have the right to keep their wages, own property, or sign a contract. Women in general, don’t have the right to vote, sit on juries or hold public office. Let's break this down. Women, apparently, just change hands from their father to husband, because obviously, we don’t know how to think. This is wrong because, we all have a brain. The female brain is not any smaller than the male brain, us women do have thoughts in our heads. You were born by a woman, what makes men above their mothers, the person who gave them life? It’s simple, bigotry and ignorance. Just because men are physically stronger than women, doesn’t mean they are better. Emotional strength, determines the success of an individual. Woman like Joan of Arc, Amina, Catherine the Great, and many others led massive groups of people through difficult times. Astonishing I know. Bottom line is that women should have the same rights as men because we are equal mentally.
Along with women being mentally equal, why would we send a man to do a woman’s job? By job I mean our duties as United States citizens. It is your duty to vote to improve the government. Suffrage is needed to represent the needs of every US citizen. If women have to obey the laws, shouldn’t we have a say in making these decisions that affect everyone. Having women vote could also give a clearer view of the needs of America. How can a man vote for interests of a woman if he doesn’t know what it is to be a woman. Women aren’t allowed to sit on a jury. How is that a jury of peers? Men determining women’s fate when they don’t understand what it is to be in that situation is not logical. Men will never know the concern of a mother, the fear of a woman on the street at night, or the dreams of a young girl. Men cannot represent women because they have not shared the same experiences that women face.
But it is not just women in general, think about your mother, sister, daughter. Society is silencing them. It is not only the restricted rights but the typical outlook on women. Women are discouraged from speaking in public, sharing their views, or even learning. Don’t you want a future where your daughter has a voice, where she can speak out? Your mother who taught you important life lessons, shouldn’t she be able to teach the world those same lessons? Mothers learn valuable information, all woman do. Limiting 50% of the population could limit breakthroughs and slow down society’s development. Think about it this way, if you plant 100 seeds, but dig up 50 before they can even sprout, you will have a lesser harvest. In these revolutionary times, including women will help in bettering the world.
Women having a say in politics helps reforms to treat women better. If women could vote, the legislation of this country would make more laws for safety and equality. We could have more schools for girls, better safety for women and children, and better wages for women. Women are still paid less than men, and better wages could support more families and ultimately improve the economy. Better schooling would lead to educated women who could turn their knowledge into a career to improve any field of work. Laws to protect children could be passed more efficiently due to the voice of mothers. Voices that would be silenced can make a change, girls who are hushed could start a movement.
Woman need suffrage for the better of the entire social structure of the US. Just by shear statistics it would be better for the economy and government. Women give a unique perspective that could improve the world. Suffrage and rights can empower girls to make a change and create beautiful things. We are not incapable of speaking, thinking, or voting, so why do men insist on doing it for us? It is our rights as US citizens and helps to make the whole nation more fair. We can help guide this amazing country to new and brighter places of acceptance and equality. We’re not asking to take over, just the right to speak our mind and represent our values like the able minded people we are.WOMEN ARE ON THE RISE BY TORI K
Imagine working long hours, taking care of your children, and providing food for your family, but not being able to vote or speak in public. Women should be given the same rights as men. For centuries women have been banned from being allowed to vote, and have had men control their inheritance and wages. But this is about to change. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott began protesting when they weren’t allowed to attend the World Anti-Slavery Convention. They contributed so much to their work to the anti-slavery movement, but weren’t allowed to speak because men had felt that it was not a woman’s place to speak in public. After all of the hard work Mott and Stanton had done, they were forced to sit behind a heavy curtain in silence. This influenced Mott and Stanton to speak up and demand change. To start their rebellious protest, the women held the Seneca Falls Convention for women’s rights in New York. The convention attracted about 300 women and men ,and it helped develop a document for women’s equality that is modeled after the Declaration of Independence. This example alone is starting to prove that change is upon our nation.
A reason why women should be given the same rights as men is because women can be self sufficient and provide for themselves and their families. When men go off to war, their wives are usually the ones who have to tend the farms, earn money, and provide food and clothing for their children. Even when husbands are not at war and are at home, they might not be able to earn enough money for their family resulting in the wife also having to work. What I find interesting is that women play such a huge behind the scenes role in their family’s lives but the land they inherit or the wages they earn have to be controlled by their husbands.
A second reason why women should be given the same rights as men is because they are hard workers. Having to cook, clean, and take care of the children, women work long hours everyday to make ends meet, and to keep a roof over their family’s heads. Also, former slave, Sojourner Truth is currently speaking up about her struggles on being enslaved and for women’s rights. Truth has been doing lots of speeches about giving women the same rights as men for about thirty years, and doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. Famous for being the first black woman to win a court case against a white male, the devoted Christian has been fighting for women’s rights along with Susan B. Anthony for a of couple years. These women are just some of the many who are demanding change.
You might be thinking that women are dull and that they should have no say in politics, but that could not be any more false. Instead most women are just the opposite. A scientist named Maria Mitchell is a brilliant astronomer who has just recently discovered a new comet. Proving how smart she is, she is currently the first woman to be elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Another example is a brave woman who has turned the women’s movement for equal rights into a national organization. This woman’s name is Susan B. Anthony. Anthony is currently arguing that a woman must have a “purse of their own.” She has taught for 15 years, and in her first year, she was only paid $115. Within her lifetime she wishes to see demand for better pay for women jobs and for boys and girls to be taught in a coeducational environment. Along with Stanton, Anthony is making headways for speaking up for equal rights and abolishing slavery. Not only is she speaking up, but she is also taking abuse for her speaking up. She has had to suffer things being thrown at her in the streets and has recieved death threats to stick up for what she believes in. Although women are not allowed to speak in public, they still have opinions about politics and about what is going on in the world. Women should not be looked at as inferior to their husbands, instead they should be looked at as equals.
This country is experiencing some great changes. Among these changes is the fight for women’s rights. For centuries, women have been considered inferior to men, but this is not true. Although it is considered that women are unequal and dumb, many are protesting this this exact idea. Women including Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Lucretia Mott are just the few of the many who are finally taking a stand and fighting for what they believe in. Women should not be looked at as lesser than men, instead they should be seen as equals. Who knows what’s in store for our great nation, but I do know that women will not rest until they see the day where they receive the same rights as men.
IMPACT OF THE GOLD RUSH BY SHAELYN GADD
Although the Gold Rush had some devastating and non-reversal negative effects to the US, the Gold Rush played an important role and was a milestone towards opinions on abolishing slavery. This major event in history ruined many natives’ and foreigners’ lifestyles, as well as disturbed the balance in congress. At the same time, I believe the good outweighed the bad. These positive effects included a lot of growth progressing throughout the soon-to-be-state of California, including economic, financial, cultural, industrial, and the improvement of international relations. The final effect was crucial, when the huge migration was over it finally became a state which snowballs into many other things.
The Gold Rush had many negative results that our country would never fully recover from. First off, the Americans ruined the Californios, who are settlers of Spanish or Mexican descent. This is because the newcomers did not respect their customs or legal rights. In many cases, Americans seized their property. Examples of their injustice also included the destruction of their farms. They lost enormous amounts of money. Lastly, they lost rights in court, including property rights. We should have not all acted superior due to their different customs and beliefs. Everyone needs to be fair and treated the same.
Even though foreigners had it bad, Native Americans suffered more. Thousands died from diseases from newcomers, and at least 60% were affected. Also, miners hunted them down and killed thousands. They were hung and shot. The belief was that they stood in the way of progress. An estimate of 4,000 native children were sold into slavery. Another terrifying fact was that over $1,000,000 was recovered by the government from the cash spent on the trade of scalps and heads of the Native Americans. The most horrifying massacres of this genocide included the Clear Lake Massacre, Hayforlk Massacre, the Massacre of the Klamath River, and the Fresno Massacre of 1854.
Thankfully, the Gold Rush had many beneficial impacts making our country a better place. It is said that around $2,000,000,000 of gold was extracted from the area. For an example, the huge migration caused economic growth that is still booming to this day. This is because by the end of the decade, over 380,000 settlers lived in California. The increase in population resulted in more business in the area and more available jobs, leading to families getting better paying jobs. More money to the families led to more spending on luxury items, also. Secondly, San Francisco became a center of banking, manufacturing, shipping and trade. Thirdly, Sacramento became the center of a productive farming region.This continued to bring more people to the area, expanding business and more flow of money.
Most importantly was that the gold rush brought more debate over slavery. By the end of the Gold Rush, about 250,0000 additional people flooded into California, enormously escalating the population. The additional people easily passed the number required to permit a state to join the union. When it became a state, the number of free states outnumbered the quantity of slave states (16 free, 15 slave). Turmoil in Congress spread over the settlers because the balance in Congress was disrupted. However, the most important impact of the Gold Rush was to create discussion in the union over slavery. Before the Gold Rush, the number of free states was equal to slave states creating a status quo on opinions of slavery. With the free states now outnumbering the slave states, it presented new ideas and thoughts that stirred other opinions and plans on slavery in a different light. This was the first time in history that true debate and conflict began over the opinion of slavery and real movement in the overall US opinion which was finally starting to be heard.
This result gave the Northerners a chance to use their majority of free states over slave ones to abolish slavery, but this scared the Southerners, whose growth was based off of their agriculture which incorporated many slaves. This did not hurt the North’s economy, which was based off of industry, manufacturing, and trade with little slave labor. The overall effect swayed the Senate, because the House of Representatives already had most non-slavery state members.
As you can see, many impacts came out of the Gold Rush of 1849. It wasn’t all good, but it wasn’t all bad either. The negatives included the deaths of many natives and foreigners, which is terrible, but at the same time, our nation grew from the growth of California and it joining the state union. I strongly believe that all humans are created equal, and should be treated the same. Finally, light was being spread over this horrible issue and people would start to listen.
WHY TEXAS SHOULDN'T BE INDEPENDENT BY MICHAEL MORREALE
At a young age could you survive alone? In 1829, Texans were talking about how they should break from Mexico and become independent, even though Texas was not founded too long ago. Texas was not to old, but it already thought it was ready to become an independent country. Texans should not become independent, since it will cause many problems.
The first reason why Texas should not become independent, is that it would cause a nearly impossible war to win. If Texas were to try to break from Mexico, Mexico would get furious over this, and it would cause a war. Mexico would be really hard to beat in war, since it has tons of troops at its disposal. Mexican General Santa Anna has over six thousand troops at his use, since if the Texans were to anger Mexico with their independence, then Mexico would send about six thousand troops to stop the rebellion. If Texas wanted to fight back, then it would need a massive army, but so far, it doesn’t even have an organized army in the first place. Texas is just a group of people who settled in Texas. The only person in Texas with any military experience is Sam Houston, and it would be impossible to stop the great Mexican army with only a single man with some military skills. Even if Texas managed to get an army and was to fight Mexico, they would have barely any war supplies to fight with. If barely anyone in Texas had military experience, then there would most likely be a lack of war supplies. Even if they do have the proper guns and cannons, would good does it do if Texas doesn’t have a good supply of ammo? The Texans would run out ammo, and then the Mexicans can easily win the war. Therefore, it would almost be impossible to win the war with Mexico.
Secondly, it would lead to many deaths. It would cause war, which would kill many people. War is a very terrible thing, in which lives are sacrificed to gain freedom or land. In war, as a soldier, you could do two things: survive or die. In a war, you must fight for your life, or else you would be killed by the enemy. The rage and anger of General Santa Anna would also kill many people. Santa Anna would be furious if he found out that Texas was rebelling. He would order people in Texas to be killed for going against him. The Americans could also cause Texan deaths. If America were to go to war with Texas to gain Texas’s land, many people could die in the war. Texas breaking from Mexico would cause many lives to be taken.
Lastly, Texas independence could lead to trouble with other nations. It might lead to war with America. If Texas was to be independent, America may someday want to invade Texas and take it over. This would probably happen, since America has been expanding a lot now, especially from the Louisiana Purchase. Texas’s rich soil, forests, and space to graze animals would propel the Americans even more to invade the neighboring territory. Even if Texas’s independence doesn’t cause war, it would cause debate and more trouble with America. If Texas decided to become part of the United States, the country would have a debate on whether Texas should be a slave or a free state, but either way it would upset the balance in Congress. Congress has half of its supporters for slaves, and the other half against them. If Texas were to join America, then the balance of would be weighted one way, which would cause a lot of troubles in America. If America doesn’t cause enough problems already, assuming that Texas has somehow beat Mexico, Mexico could easily come back to take over Texas sometime in the future. Santa Anna would hate to lose to a small army in Texas, so he might try to come back and invade out of anger. He would have his great military built up again, and would stop at nothing to take Texas down. Texas would cause a lot of trouble with other countries if it were to be independent.
It would not be the best idea for the independency of Texas. It would cause a nearly impossible war to win, lead to many deaths, and would lead to trouble with other nations. Texas should stay part of Mexico, to avoid a lot of trouble and death that is completely unnecessary.