I am in the middle of working on homework and in History we are discussing Women's Suffrage during the Progessive Era.  :sad:  I was just curious what the Church's feelings were on this topic?

The earliest organized women's movement in the USA began at Seneca Falls, NY in the mid-19th century.  Cady Stanton was the Jane Fonda/Hillary Clinton of her time, up to a point.  Here's a largely favorable biography of her ( i.e., from the feminist pespective ):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Cady_Stanton

Highlighting a few points for you:

. Stanton was pro-contraception ( a central dogma of feminists, even then! )

. Stanton wrote her own "bible" ( thus, she was twice a heretic since she was raised a protestant and then foresook formal religion, only to re-invent it in her own fashion )

. Stanton produced a publication, "Revolution" ( a matter not very well looked upon by the Catholic Church, BEFORE Vatican II, that is... )

... you might come to the conclusion that, formally, the views of Stanton, including feminist-inspired "universal suffrage", would likely have been severely criticized by the Catholic Church in the 19th century.

Another element in your question, however, is whether women DID have a vote in various republics, kingdoms, etc. going back centuries before the American feminist ( and German and Russian/East European communist ) movements ever got under way?

Some times and places to research are ( courtesy of Fr. Sarda's great work, Liberalism Is A Sin ):

. the aristocratic republic of Venice

. the merchant republic of Genoa

. late 19th century Swiss cantons

. the Catalognia and Aragon monarchies ( the most "democratic" mixed
monarchies of their day in the Middle Ages )

. the elective monarchy of Poland