Music and the United States' suffragettes
In 1848, women gathered at the Seneca Falls Convention in New York to discuss their rights, opportunities, and desire to obtain the vote in the United States. Throughout the following decades, the American Women’s Suffrage movement began to gain momentum. This first wave of feminism was aimed towards winning enfranchisement and making women’s voices heard. Music played an instrumental role in the parades, rallies, and conventions that were held and attended by suffragettes. The songs, written for the cause, unified women from varying geographic and socioeconomic positions because the empowering lyrics were  set to widely known tunes. Singing was expected from women, whereas political speaking was discouraged, which meant the use of music provided women with an outlet to voice their political opinion. Music made a significant impact on women’s rights efforts throughout the twentieth century. It also continues to be a medium to remember past suffrage and promote feminism today. Bringing women together. The United States’ Womens’ Suffrage movement unified thousands of women, each with differing backgrounds under the unified cause of enfranchisement. One way that the suffragette movement was made accessible to all was through music. Lyrics to suffragette  songs were often original socio-political commentary. However these songs were generally parodical in nature as they were set to well known tunes. For example, in "The Suffrage Song Book", the song “Three Blind Men” is set to the air of “Three Blind Mice": "Three blind men," "Three blind men." "See how they stare," "See how they stare;" "They each ran off with a woman’s rights" "And they each went blind in a single night." "Did you ever behold such a gruesome sight" "As these blind men?" As the title page of the book states the book is a  compilation of, "Original Songs...adapted to Popular Melodies.” The use of popular tunes, meant that women from varying circumstances and backgrounds could sing the songs. Most songs were not written as sheet music, but instead were printed as stanzas of lyrics. The tune was simply placed within the heading of the song. This made it more accessible to lower class women who were not musically trained. This also reduced the price of printing allowing for wider distribution. These books were compiled into books called “songsters”. These "songsters" relied on their shared cultural experience of nursery rhymes and common hymns to  unify everyone. A voice for women. Prior to the twentieth century, women were expected to remain silent, particularly in regards to political matters. With a few exceptions, the voice of the United States was predominantly male. Although some women, including Abigail Adams, fought for rights in the early days of the nation, women were given little to zero representation for one hundred years. Finally, in the mid-nineteenth century, the fight for women’s rights came together in an organized fashion in Seneca Falls, New York. This gathering sparked the fire that led to the first wave of feminism in  the US. Despite the strength that came from their drive, it remained incredibly difficult for them to speak for themselves on matters involving their government. During the nineteenth century, most Americans were a part of different Christian denominations. Although each congregation was different, hymns were a common way for members to come together in worship. Women grew up using their voices to sing their praises of God and Jesus Christ. Unable to preach, it was one of the few ways they could express their feelings in churches. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, women began to write their own  hymns with the purpose of sharing their testimonies and experiences through their own words. Despite the initial backlash they received from men in their churches, many women became successful hymnists. Women's role in composing hymns would eventually evolve into writing music for the Suffrage movement. Several songs were written in response to the Seneca Falls Convention, including “Women’s Rights Convention Waltz,” arranged by Julia F. Baker and “The Great Convention, or Woman’s Rights,” written by “a Lady”. But many of those songs did not include lyrics and were not yet used in protests and rallies for women ’s rights. As women across the nation worked to have their voice heard in the churches, suffragettes struggled against the political silence that had been forced upon them for decades. However, the success of female hymnists showed that songs could be a powerful way to express their desire for equality. In 1891, The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) held its first convention in Washington, D.C. Suffragettes from across the US gathered together and sang to express their desire for enfranchisement. NAWSA focused on the idea that the traditional roles of women, including motherhood, would be helpful for women to  vote for beneficial progress in the US. Another example of how singing provided a voice for women during protests was seen in Los Angeles. Prior to their protest on July 14, 1911, “prohibitive ordinances” had been enacted. Women who wanted to protest had been told by the authorities that they were unable to if they made political speeches. The women managed to maneuver around this ordinance by setting their speeches to music. Instead of speaking their political rhetoric they instead sang their sentiments. Similarly in 1917, music was used again in the fight for women’s rights when six women  were arrested for protesting outside of the White House. In response the women formed a song service which sparked song competitions across the country wherein the public could write and submit their own suffragette music. Role of music in 20th-21st century feminism. Music continues to be a medium to promote feminism today. As the second wave of feminism began to develop there was a resurgence in suffragist songs. This famously included the, “Sister Suffragette” song in the hit 1964 Disney film "Mary Poppins". Well known hymns were used again during this time period. The Battle Hymn of the Republic was  parodied by women in a suffrage style song during a Women’s Liberation March at Harvard. The song was entitled, “The Battle Hymn of Women,” replacing the lyrics, “glory, glory hallelujah,” with, “move on over or we’ll move on over you.” The introduction of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the 1970s led to the rise of pop culture songs playing a role in the feminist movement. This included songs such as Lesely Gore’s, “You Don’t Own Me,” and “Respect” by Aretha Franklin. In fact, in December 1972, Helen Reddy’s, “I Am Woman,<nowiki>"</nowiki> topped the  music charts at number one. Evidence that this year was important for women's rights as Shirley Chilsom was running for President and Roe V. Wade had reached courts. Music continues to play a huge role in women’s empowerment and modern day feminist movements with the creation of songs such as Beyonce’s, “Who Runs the World,” and Taylor Swift’s, “The Man," which aim to commentate on the current status of women. Music is also being used to teach about the suffragette movement and nineteenth amendment. For example, Soomo Learning released a parody of Lady Gaga’s “Bad  Romance,” called "Bad Romance: Women’s Suffrage". The video centers around the famous American Suffragette Alice Paul. Similarly, the educational television program Horrible Histories released “The Suffragettes’ Song,” a song relating events of women’s suffrage. These songs have been used as tools to recount to younger generations and educate them on the struggle towards women’s rights. List of songs. Battle Hymn of Women—Performed and Written By: Meredith Tax. Clear the Way, For Woman Voting—Words by: John W. Hutchinson. Music by: John W. Hutchinson. Female Suffrage—Words by: R.A. Cohen. Human Equality—Words by: William Lloyd Garrison . Music: Tune - "A Man’s a Man, For a’ That." Kansas Suffrage Song—Words by: P.P. Fowler and John W. Hutchinson. Music: Tune - "Old Dan Tucker." Let Us All Speak Our Minds If We Die for It—Words by: William Brough. Music by: J. Gaspard Maeder. New Battle Hymn of the Republic—Words by: Catharine A.F. Stebbins. Music: Air - "John Brown's Body.""" Our Suffrage Song—Words by: L. May Wheeler. Music: Air - "Hold the Fort.""" Rights of Ladies—Words by: Dennis McFlinn. Rights of Woman—Words: “By A Lady.” Music: Tune - "God Save America." Shall Women Vote—Words by : Joseph D. Payne. She's Good Enough to be Your Baby's Mother—Words by: Alfred Bryan. Music by: Herman Paley. Sister Suffragette—Performed by: Glynis Johns, Hermione Baddeley, and Reta Shaw. Composed by: Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. (In Disney's "Mary Poppins".) The Great Convention, or Woman’s Rights—Words: By a Lady. Music: Arranged from a celebrated German People’s Song. The Socialist and The Suffragist—Words by: Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Music by: Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Three Blind Men—Music: Air - "Three Blind Mice." Vote It Right Along!—Words by: John W. Hutchinson. Music by: John  W. Hutchinson. We’ll Show You When We Come to Vote—Words by: Frank Howard. Music by: Frank Howard. Woman is Going to Vote—Words by: Luke Collin. Music by: J.P. Webster. Woman's Rights—Words by: Kate Horn. Music by: Kate Horn. Women’s Rights Convention Waltz—Music by: Julia F. Baker. Woman’s Suffrage—Words by: H.H. Bryant. Music by: M. Keller. Woman’s Suffrage Jubilee—Words by: Rebecca N. Hazard. Music: Air - "Marching through Georgia."