1. WOMEN’S LIBERATION
MOVEMENT
“„Liberation‟ is an historical and not a mental act, and it is brought about by historical
conditions, the development of industry, commerce, agriculture, and the conditions of inter-
course.”—Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the German Ideology (1846)

2. WHAT WAS THE WOMEN’S
LIBERATION MOVEMENT?
The Women’s Liberation Movement is not only a social struggle which eradicates forms of
oppression built on gender; but it was also a way for women to gain equal economic, political
and social status and earned women the right to live their lives equal to the opposite sex. The
Women’s Liberation Movement has been going on for over a hundred years. Since the late
1800s there has been an ongoing battle by women against their suppression as a sex. Throughout
the world, millions of women, especially young women-students, working women, housewives-
have challenged some of the most essential features of their centuries-old repression. The first
country in which this appeared as a mass phenomenon was the United States.

3. FAMOUS WOMEN OF THE
MOVEMENT
 Susan B. Anthony-
• dedicated her life to “the cause," the woman suffrage movement.
• Her accomplishments paved the way for the passage of the Nineteenth
Amendment in 1920 (14 years after her death) which gave women the
right to vote.
 Simone de Beauvoir
• wrote the book “The Second Sex” in 1949. Her book deals with the treatment
of women throughout history.
 Betty Friedan
• Wrote the book “The Feminine Mystique” in 1963 it depicted the roles of
women in industrial societies, especially the full-time homemaker role, in which
Friedan found stifling.
• Founder and first president of the National Women’s Organization
• was a principal organizer of women in their fight for equal rights.

4.  Jane Roe
• brought a class action challenging the constitutionality of the Texas
criminal abortion laws.
• Roe vs. Wade court case- was heard December 13, 1971, but wasn’t
decided until January 22, 1973.

5. AC C O M P L I S H M E N T S O F T H E
WO M E N ’ S L I B E R AT I O N
 19th Amendment
• passed in 1920, giving women the right to vote.
• Written by Susan B Anthony (Susan B. Anthony Amendment in 1878)
 U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s
• on May 9, 1960,pending approval of the first contraceptive
 The Equal Pay Act of 1963
• helped women to receive equal economic status in the job field.
 Legalize Abortions-
• In 1967, Colorado became the first state to legalize abortions.
• Roe vs. Wade

6. CONCLUSION
 Since the late 19th century women around the world have been seeking independence
and recognition, they joined together to create the Women’s Liberation Movement. In the
United State it can be traced back to women fighting for the right to vote in political
elections, numerous authors who wrote about women’s rights, birth control, abortion
rights, Equal Pay Act, and women’s groups like the National Organization for Women
that were all brought about for one reason, to fight for women to come into their own
power. Women wanted to have control of their own lives, to be equal to the opposite sex,
have equal pay and opportunities, and no longer stand on the sidelines of life. The
Women’s Liberation Movement did just that, it was an ERA of change, thanks to all the
brave women and men of this movement that made it possible for women to finally have
a VOICE.

7. WORK CITED
 Boston: Northeastern University Libraries, “Women’s Liberation” We Raise Our Voices the online edition of a Northeastern University Libraries
exhibition. (2003) http://www.lib.neu.edu/archives/voices
 United Press International, Inc., “1970 Year in Review 50th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage” Page 12
(1970)http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1970/50th-Anniversary-of-Women's-Suffrage/12303235577467-12/#ixzz26v0wEycd
 Teaching With Documents: “The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission”
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/civil-rights-act/
 Sink, Nancy. “1960’s-1980’s Women’s Liberation Movement.” Women’s Liberation Movement (2012) Accessed: Sept. 15, 2012
http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/his135/Events/womenslliberation/womensliberation.htm
 Mosak, Esther. “The Real Meaning of Freedom of Choice.” (ca.1977-1979) Accessed: September 16, 2012 We Raise Our Voices...Reproductive Rights
(ca. 1977-1979)
 Szustek, Anne. “On This Day: FDA Approves First Birth Control Pill.” Finding Dulcinea (2011) Accessed: September 16, 2012
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/May-June-08/On-this-Day--FDA-Approves-First-Birth-Control-Pill.html
 Francis, Roberta. “The History behind the Equal Rights Amendment.” The Equal Rights Amendment (2012) Accessed: September 17, 2012
http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/era.htm.
 McBride, Alex “Roe vs. Wade 1973.” Expanding Civil Rights (2006) Accessed: September 17, 2012
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_roe.html
 Johnson, Jone. “National Organization for Women – NOW” Women’s History (2012) Accessed: September 19, 2012
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/feminism/p/now.htm
 Linder, Doug. “The Trial of Susan B. Anthony for Illegal Voting” (2001) Accessed: September 21, 2012
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/anthony/sbaaccount.html