The Cato Institute

This Day in History: Celebrating 96 Years of Women’s Suffrage

96 years ago today, on August 18, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. 

The amendment—which marked the culmination of the U.S. women’s suffrage movement—prohibited any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex.

“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 sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

— Nineteenth Amendment, U.S. Constitution

What a perfect time to remember not just the crucial role women played in launching the libertarian movement, but the role that women with libertarian values have played in advancing women’s rights.

In honor of this historic day, here are a few of our favorite articles, videos, and podcasts on women & liberty:

• Libertarians and the Struggle for Women’s Rights 
• “A libertarian must necessarily be a feminist, in the sense of being an advocate of equality under the law for all men and women, though unfortunately many contemporary feminists are far from being libertarians.”
• Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
  
• “Mary Wollstonecraft…is increasingly acknowledged as one of the most influential thinkers on women’s rights…Although not consistently libertarian, she was consistently in favor of equal legal rights for men and women, and she operated within a generally classical liberal framework.”
• Rights and Responsibilities of Women
  
• “When human beings are regarded as moral beings, sex, instead of being enthroned upon the summit, administering upon rights and responsibilities, sinks into insignificance and nothingness.”
• Frederick Douglass on the Rights of Women
  
• “A self-taught escaped slave, statesman, and leader of the American abolitionist movement, Frederick Douglass is best known for his speeches and autobiographies, in which he stressed the universal equality of all humans. While Douglass is well-known for his support for the abolition of slavery, he is less known for his outspoken support of the women’s liberation movement.”
• How is Libertarian Feminism Different from Other Feminisms?
  
• “Some libertarians are not aware of the differences between libertarian feminism and other kinds of feminism. They even criticize libertarian feminists just for being feminist without any knowledge of what libertarian feminism or even feminism itself stands for…Those libertarians…have not done their homework. When libertarian feminists say they want liberty for all women and men, they really mean it.”
• What Does Libertarian Feminism Look Like?
  
• “What does libertarian feminism look like? How does libertarianism appeal to women?…How can issues that affect women be approached from a libertarian perspective? It seems that there are more women among younger generations of libertarians. Is there an explanation for this?”
  
• Libertarian Feminism: An Honorable Tradition
  
• “Contrary to what some may think, the first feminist activists were not socialists, they were individualists and libertarians.”

Women’s Rights and Liberty

March is Women’s History Month, and today (March 8th) is International Women’s Day. What better time to remember the role women played in launching the libertarian movement, as well as the role women with libertarian values have played in advancing women’s rights?

It’s no accident that feminism (and abolitionism) emerged out of the Industrial Revolution and the American and French revolutions. The equality and individualism that underlay the emergence of capitalism and republican government in the 18th century naturally led people to start thinking about the individual rights of women and slaves.

Many women involved in the American abolitionist movement took up the feminist banner, grounding their arguments in both cases in the idea of self-ownership, the fundamental right of property in one’s own person.

That classically liberal, individualist strain of feminist thought continued into the 20th century, as feminists fought not just for the vote but for sexual freedom, access to birth control, and the right to own property and enter into contracts.

Though, unfortunately, many contemporary feminists are far from being libertarians, a libertarian must necessarily be a feminist, in the sense of being an advocate of equality under the law for all men and women. 

Read more….

Women’s Equality Day

Happy Women’s Equality Day! On this day in 1920, women were granted the right to vote when the 19th amendment was certified by law. In honor of this occasion read Cato research on feminism and women in the libertarian movement. 

“A so-called “libertarian moment” can only be helped along by expanded appeal among women, and among feminist-minded folks of all genders. Individual rights are at the heart of feminism. It’s time for libertarians to reclaim that.” — Elizabeth Nolan Brown at libertarianismdotorg

“A libertarian must necessarily be a feminist, in the sense of being an advocate of equality under the law for all men and women.” — David Boaz in huffingtonpost