What constraints did women, moral reformers, African Americans, and radicals who attempted to enter the political arena face and what was the outcome of the choices did they made?

Women, moral reformers, African Americans, and radicals had a hard time entering the political arena in the 19th century due to various issues. Constraints they faced included race, gender roles and expectations, economic limitations and legal restrictions (Chinweizu Nakpodia et al., 2019). For example, women were not allowed to vote before the 19th amendment was passed in 1920; African Americans were barred from voting through poll taxes or literacy tests; and radicals were often seen as too extreme for mainstream politics.

The outcomes of these constraints on political participation varied depending on the group. Women who attempted to enter politics faced social stigma for attempting to be outside of traditional gender roles. This could lead to them being ostracized by their communities or even face violence from those opposed to their efforts (Gillespie & Teague 2020). This caused many women reformers to focus more on grassroots organizing rather than actively seeking office or campaigning for candidates that supported their causes.

African Americans also experienced barriers when it came to engaging in politics due to racism and segregation laws that prevented them from participating fully in electoral processes like voting. Despite this discrimination however some African Americans still ran for office starting with John Mercer Langston who was elected mayor of Brownhelm Ohio in 1888 (Von Drehle 2017) . In addition black civil rights organizations such as The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People encouraged political engagement regardless of whether they had full citizenship rights at the time (Laird 2018).

Radicals also faced opposition when trying to enter politics mainly because their ideologies were considered too far out of line with mainstream culture at the time; leading politicians like Eugene V Debs facing imprisonment simply because they spoke out against government policy (Maroney 2014). Radicals eventually grew increasingly successful though primarily through protest movements that threw attention onto policies they disagreed with which resulted in some reforms being implemented nationally including a minimum wage ,workers’ compensation legislation ,and an end prohibition laws(Mulder 2010).

Lastly moral reformers generally focused less on working towards direct change within the system but instead sought indirect change through education campaigns about topics such as temperance and public health initiatives related to poverty relief(Horton 1987). These campaigns did have a lasting impact as states began passing stricter alcohol control laws along with other socially minded policies intended at addressing issues related public health.

Overall each group faced different challenges but successfully found ways around or overcame constraints preventing them from accessing mainstream political arenas while advocating for changes beneficial their respective causes .