Praxis II Citizenship

Answer: A - In 1893, New Zealand became the first country to grant universal suffrage to all adult women including M?ori women (the indigenous people of New Zealand). At the time, New Zealand was still part of the British Empire. In 1902, Australia, another member of the British Empire, was technically the second country to grant universal suffrage to women, though Aboriginal women were excluded for several decades. In 1906, the Grand Principality of Finland, the predecessor state of present-day Finland, (which was a part of the Russian Empire at the time) granted universal suffrage and opportunity to run for office to all adult citizens. A cascade of European countries followed, including the United Kingdom in 1918 (for women over 30). The United States recognized women’s suffrage in 1920. The issue became a hostage of a complicated political climate in France, and though the French were poised to recognize women’s right to vote in the early 1910s, it ultimately took another 30 years before it actually happened. After decades of political hindrance, President Charles de Gaulle simply decreed their suffrage in 1944 on the eve of the country’s liberation at the end of World War II.