You Are There – Womens Rights, 1853AD. ep89, 500611.

As a delegation of women gather to fight for their right to vote, their male counterparts try to keep them in their place at home, and out of the world of politics and business. CBS reporters take us there to witness this milestone event.

I have to say, the men at the gathering are flat out rude. Shouting and catcalling while the women try to put forth their serious points. Why do these women want equal rights? Why not just stay at home and be content with the joys of being a mom and wife? All they really want is an equal input on who is in government. As a sign of their rebellion, the women at the delegation have shed their dresses for bloomers. A kind of pants, but with loose, billowy leggings. Shedding traditional fashion is just a visual statement that women aren’t content with being lumped together as second class citezens.

Some women would be content to be a housewife, if only they could be educated and own the money and property they have. Especially when their husbands are drunkards, or poor providers for them. Women of this era couldn’t go to school beyond elementary education, which limited their choices of careers, for those who wanted to pursue one.

Will the men in the meeting hall ever settle down? Will these women be heard? A victory is won, but it would take a while for women to have their own colleges, nearly a century before they could vote, and only in recent years where their equality in the workplace equals their male counterparts.

PS: The mudslinging and politics that run rampant in the delegation hall in this drama, seem awfully familiar even in our modern times. Even though we may have different hot button topics (abortion, same sex marriage, religious liberties, etc) it’s all about the need to be treated fairly.