ABSTRACT
Before the late eighteenth century, democracy was a term that generally carried a strong negative resonance. The American and French Revolutions together demonstrated the viability and power of democratic states. Governments making democratic claims encouraged social movements and social movements struggled to define how democracy would work. Prussia's growing economic power in the nineteenth century and eventual military renown made it an inspiring model for states outside of western Europe and North America. The women's movement had been quite close to the antislavery movement, many participants in the women's movement had first gained political experience in the antislavery cause. Former participants in the antislavery American Equal Rights Association established the National Women's Suffrage Association. The new United States had many of the same sorts of conditions that favored the early development of social movements. By the turn of the twentieth century, organizers of social movements had much experience in many countries to draw from in considering issues, tactics, and organization.
