Women's Right to Vote
Uploaded by Lm4103082 on Jun 18, 2000
After reading Francis Parkman's article, “Women Are Unfit to Vote”, I found myself both offended and annoyed. His arguments were not only shaky, but they were also illogical. He states that the family has been the political unit; consequently, the head of the family should be the political representative. He goes on by stating that women have shared imperfectly in the traditions and not in the practice of self-government. Lastly, he suggests women might vote that men should go off and fight in war. Not only are these statements wrong, but they are very much so offensive. Women are humans, too, and they should be treated how a man is treated. We are, after all, of an equal race, so why do we women not get the right to vote? In my opinion,this question cannot be answered logically. Many reasons can contradict Parkman’s statements included in his article, and I plan to do so.
To start with, Parkman declares that “the family, and not the individual, has been the political unit, and the head of the family... has been the political representative of the rest.” He is saying that the men are the head of the family; therefore, they should be the ones that vote. But what if the head of the family is a woman? Let’s say, for example, the husband dies unexpectedly, leaving the woman behind to raise the children and take the position as head of the family. Does she then get the right to vote? Or do we simply deny her that right because she is a woman? According to Francis Parkman, the head of the family is the political representative, and no where in that statement did he once specify the head of the family could not be a woman. Therefore, as long as the woman is the head of the family, they should be granted the right to vote. Many circumstances in one’s life may cause them to become, without notice, the head of their family. As quick as they become the new head, they should then be allowed to vote just as quickly. If they are denied that right, then Parkman’s statement is false. The head of the family should not be limited to just being a man, and neither should the right to vote.
Parkman follows by commenting that “they [women] have shared very imperfectly in the traditions, and not at all in the...