Infighting on the Path to Equality: Women’s Suffrage and the Black Rights Movement

This historiography paper was written for ASI 120. I began preparing for this project by reading Eric Foner\u27s A Short History of Reconstruction. While reading, I became interested in the relationship between the women\u27s suffrage movement and the black rights movement during Reconstruction. As I researched the topic further, I found that historians\u27 opinions of the relationship between the two movements, especially concerning how the movements diverged, have changed dramatically over time. The division between the black suffrage movement and the women\u27s rights movements has a continuing influence on the relationship between the movements today, giving the topics\u27 continued relevance. First, I found a number of different sources from different time periods to determine the patterns of how historians viewed the subject. Next, I wrote an annotated bibliography summarizing each source and dividing them into categories based on the interpretation used within each source. This annotated bibliography was then used as the basis for my historiography paper. The first draft was reviewed by my professor, Dr. Susan Trollinger, as well as the Write Place Consultants and my fellow Core students. My historiography was then edited to reflect the comments received and submitted to my professor. My final draft discusses the evolving view of the relationship between the black rights movement and the women\u27s suffrage movement, the connections between different interpretations, and an analysis of which interpretation I found most accurate