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Passage 1 Although the womens rights movement in the United States is thought of as a recent development, its beginnings date back over one hundred and seventy years. At that time women were dependents in the eyes of the law, and they did not have the rights of adults. A woman had no property rights, even over what she had got it from her mother or father or over any wages that she earned. Decisions about family matters and about the children were made by her husband, the head of the family. The first public protests(请愿) against the low position of women were made in the 1830s. In 1848 the leaders of this movement( some of whom were for antislavery(反对奴隶制) activities as well) assembled the first Womens Rights Convention, demanding equality. In this struggle as well as in the long, hard fight for womens vote, those who took part in the activities were laughed at and insulted(侮辱). They were said to be immoral(违反伦理的), and their ideas were considered dangerous to society. Nevertheless by 1900 women had won the right to vote in several states; and in 1920 the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution granted them the right to vote throughout the United States. By the time many women were attending college, and increasing numbers were entering professions which had before been forbidden to women. A little number of women even held high academic and government positions. In spite of all this progress, career women were largely restricted(限制)to teaching, nursing, and office work. The womens Liberation movement, which developed during the 1960s, has focused on economic fights such as equal pay for equal work. In addition some groups have stressed psychological and social equality. The main purpose of Womens Liberation to free women from the restrict-ed role which society has given to them. It seeks to enable them to choose between a career and the home or to choose the two. It claims that society as a whole would benefit if every person was al-lowed to develop his