By Medha Sridhar
Do you ever think about how women helped in getting freedom for America.? Or maybe how much women were treated unfairly? Well take a moment to think about that, because without women of our nation, the United states of America wouldn’t be a thing. Women didn’t always necessarily help in directly fighting in battles and war. Some were nurses, some were spies, and others were poets or writers who wrote about battles and fights. DId you know that more women died of diseases spread from soldiers than the soldiers in war themselves? Women risked their lives in amazing ways that deserve recognition. So get ready to learn about some women who helped in the battles and war, the long road to equality, and more on women scientists and inventors.
So who are some women who helped in shaping our nation? There are so many that if they were all in this essay, this essay would be a thousand pages long. But let’s talk about some basic and important women. Deborah Sampson was a key figure in the American Revolution. For example, she disguised herself as a man just so she could fight in the Civil War. Isn’t that such a brave thing to do?! Another very important woman in the war was Margaret Corbin. She helped our nation by taking over one of the cannons in the war as her husband was wounded and was the first woman to ever receive a pension after war. Finally, Sybil Ludington. This New York teenager rode super far through states just to warn the American colonies that the British soldiers were coming for war. This shows that women helped many people during war times.
So what is the Long road of equality? Even though women played important roles and helped in many ways, they didn’t actually get equal rights like voting, politics, and other things that men were allowed to do. They had to fight for their rights and freedom. They fought with public protests, which could mean marches on the street or in shops and restaurants. Women did organized activism. This meant they gave speeches that were pointed towards certain types of people. People could be people who don’t believe in women needing rights, it could be men, and could be male politicians. Finally, the 19th amendment was made. This amendment allowed women to have equal rights as men. This happened on August 18, 1920, which was the date the amendment was officially ratified into the U.S. constitution. This is the Long road to Equality. And thanks to these women who helped enforce equality, women today have all rights to do everything men do.
So who are some women who have jobs such as scientists or inventors? ( Which were considered men’s jobs back then) Some famous ones are Marie Curie, who discovered radioactivity, and Katherine Johnson. Marie Curie also found a cure for skin and other cancers called Radium therapy. Sadly, she also passed away due to cancer herself. Katherine found and invented NASA orbital mechanics. These calculate the trajectories, maneuvers, and, crucially, orbit determination of satellites and spacecraft using Newton’s laws of motion and gravity. And finally, Chien-Shiung Wu. She was a nuclear physicist. She conducted the Wu experiment. The Wu experiment was a particle and nuclear physics experiment. These are some women who did important things just like men do.
All in all, women can be just as helpful and smart as men can be. Although some people might redisagree and say that women aren’t fit for certain jobs, they deserve the same chances that men get. What would you do? Write down below in the comments!