VOA慢速英语--纪念美国妇女选举权100周年

A little over a century ago, feminists² tirelessly campaigned for women's suffrage³ in the United States. They organized marches and other events in hopes of increasing public support for the campaign.

One hundred years ago this month, women were finally given the right to vote through the passage of the 19th Amendment⁴ to the U.S. Constitution. The amendment was first introduced to Congress in 1878. It took more than 40 years for it to be passed and then approved by three-fourths of the states.

On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the much-needed 36th state to ratify⁵ the amendment. At the time, the country had 48 states.

The fight for voting rights goes back to the country's first women's rights convention in 1848. The meeting was held at Wesleyan Methodist Church in Seneca Falls, New York.

An estimated 300 people attended the conference. One of them was abolitionist Frederick Douglass. No women of color were present.

Attendees included Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She was the lead writer of the Declaration of Sentiments, a document calling for equality with men, including the right to vote.

Today, the old building where the convention took place is part of the Women's Rights National Historic Park in Seneca Falls.

Andrea DeKoter is the park's acting⁶ superintendent⁷. She told VOA that the Declaration of Sentiments is modeled after the U.S. Declaration of Independence. But the words — "all men are created equal" — were changed to, "all men and women are created equal."

African American men were given voting rights in 1870 through the passage of the 15th Amendment. Women continued to fight for their own suffrage. However, DeKoter said there was "racism⁸ in the women's rights movement." White suffragists did not include Black women in their movement, she said.

Martha S. Jones is a history professor at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. She said the exclusion⁹ led Black women to "form a parallel movement within their own organizations." Jones said these included religious conferences, civil rights organizations, and antislavery groups.

Some states passed their own women's suffrage legislation. But women's rights activists¹⁰ wanted a national amendment.

New activists

As the lives and expectations of women were changing in the early 20th century, a new generation of young women continued the struggle. By 1916, these suffragists increased their protests. They organized marches, silent gatherings¹¹, and hunger strikes. Critics harassed¹³ and shouted at the women.

Renewed energy in the movement, along with President Woodrow Wilson's 1918 decision to support the amendment, helped lead to its passage two years later.

A century later, many women still face voter suppression, notes the League of Women Voters. This, the group says, includes "forcing discriminatory voter ID and proof-of citizenship¹⁴ restrictions¹⁵ on eligible¹⁶ voters, reducing polling place hours in communities of color, and illegally purging¹⁷ voters from the rolls."

Inequalities like these and others may be reduced through passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, or ERA, supporters say. The ERA was introduced to Congress in 1923, three years after American women gained voting rights. It was approved by the House of Representatives in 1971 and by the Senate in 1972. But it was only ratified¹⁸ by three-quarters of the states in January 2020 — many years after the target deadline.

Eleanor Smeal is president of the Feminist¹ Majority Foundation. She argues that if the deadline were removed, the amendment could become a part of the Constitution.

Like women who fought for voting rights, Smeal said, "the Equal Rights Amendment is very important because it establishes that all women must be treated equally under our Constitution."

Among other things, she said, it would end discrimination in areas such as pay and education, and help prevent violence against women.

I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

feminist - n. someone who believes that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities

suffrage - n. the right to vote in an election

introduce - v. to present (something) for discussion or consideration

abolitionist - n. a person who wants to stop or abolish slavery

parallel - adj. very similar and often happening at the same time

harass¹² - v. to annoy or bother (someone) in a constant or repeated way

eligible - adj. able to be chosen for something : able to do or receive something

polling place - n. a building where people go to vote in an election

purge¹⁹ - v. to remove people from an area, country, organization, etc., often in a sudden or violent way

deadline - n. a date or time when something must be finished

1 feminist   

adj.主张男女平等的，女权主义的

参考例句：

• She followed the feminist movement.她支持女权运动。
• From then on,feminist studies on literature boomed.从那时起，男女平等受教育的现象开始迅速兴起。

2 feminists   

n.男女平等主义者，女权扩张论者( feminist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Only 16 percent of young women in a 1990 survey considered themselves feminists. 在1990年的一项调查中，只有16%的年轻女性认为自己是女权主义者。 来自辞典例句
• The organization had many enemies, most notably among feminists. 这个组织有许多敌人，特别是在男女平等主义者中。 来自辞典例句

3 suffrage   

n.投票，选举权，参政权

参考例句：

• The question of woman suffrage sets them at variance.妇女参政的问题使他们发生争执。
• The voters gave their suffrage to him.投票人都投票选他。

4 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

5 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

6 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

7 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

8 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

9 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

12 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

13 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

14 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

15 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

16 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

17 purging   

清洗； 清除； 净化； 洗炉

参考例句：

• You learned the dry-mouthed, fear-purged, purging ecstasy of battle. 你体会到战斗中那种使人嘴巴发干的，战胜了恐惧并排除其他杂念的狂喜。
• Purging databases, configuring, and making other exceptional requests might fall into this category. 比如清空数据库、配置，以及其他特别的请求等都属于这个类别。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

18 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

19 purge   

n.整肃，清除，泻药，净化；vt.净化，清除，摆脱；vi.清除，通便，腹泻，变得清洁

参考例句：

• The new president carried out a purge of disloyal army officers.新总统对不忠诚的军官进行了清洗。
• The mayoral candidate has promised to purge the police department.市长候选人答应清洗警察部门。