Even after all these offenses, women still held out hope that if they succeeded in helping their male counterparts in the Civil War, they would perhaps receive some recognition and eventually political equality. Despite their tireless work for the wartime cause, women did not receive any such recognition after the war and it became clear to them, as DuBois states, that "they could not put political trust in men; that it was nearly impossible for even the most liberal of men to understand how much woman feels her oppression and how much she wants her freedom." One betrayal by liberal men that DuBois mentions was the 14th Amendment, which extended citizenship to only the male sex. These injustices and betrayals led women to the first wave of feminism, which sought primarily to win suffrage. The second wave, DuBois points out, began in a similar way, once women realized their oppression in some of the more radical political movements including civil rights and the Vietnam War. Splintering off from these movements, women sought to eliminate "'steriotyped roles' of men and women." It is clear that women have realized through trial and tribulation that the only way to make their voices heard is to form their own political movement rather than work within others.
It is interesting to read the history of the first and second waves of feminism in history and how they were born out of alienation and further oppression within other political movements. When reading Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman," I wonder why a black feminist movement did not arise from the same feeling of alienation from the first wave of feminism, which sought to achieve political victories for those women who would benefit: white, middle/upper class, priviledged women. She talks about her experience as a black woman, which is clearly different from those white, privledged women who were not forced to work in the fields as a slave or receive protection from a spouse. She explains that she is a woman too, but with different experience and thus different needs.
Finally, in "The Declaration of Sentiments," Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott use the Declaration of Independence, a male-authored text, as a model to list all the ways in which man has oppressed woman. Some of the grievances stated in this declaration include the denial of suffrage, property, wages, and education. Moreover, the authors state women have been denied political representation and have been placed in a subordinate position under man and under the law. At the end of the declaration, the authors insist that women "have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of the United States." This document is interesting in that is is modeled after a male-authored text and appeals to men, the law makers, to take political action on behalf of women. In addition, I feel that this text could have perhaps alienated those black women, like Sojourner Truth, who did not have many of the privileges that white, upper/middle class women like Motts and Cady Stanton had.
Clearly, the history of the feminist movement is long and full of its ups and downs ranging from betrayal to setback to victory. I find that looking at each wave of feminism, I feel increasingly distraught that while feminism began in the late 19th century, we have yet to band together as an entire sex in solidarity and aspiration to see real change. Each wave of feminism has alienated some group, whether it was blacks in the first wave or conservatives in the second. I think that in order for women to win true victories as a sex, we must all band together, combining our unique backgrounds and heritages, toward one common goal. Unfortunately DuBois' hope that "perhaps two waves of feminism will be enough to free us," did not come true. Instead, let us hope that we end the waves that have so far characterized the feminist movement and create one large push to finally put an end to our oppression.
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