Final answer:
The AWSA, preferring a state-by-state approach, and the NWSA, aiming for a constitutional amendment and broader reforms, represented conservative and radical branches of the early women's suffrage movement, respectively. They merged into NAWSA in 1890, which later combined both strategies under leadership advocating suffrage as a natural right and means for reform.
Step-by-step explanation:
The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) led by Lucy Stone and the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony disagreed on their approaches to securing votes for women. AWSA favored a more conservative state-by-state approach, hoping to work with male leaders to pass women's suffrage laws locally. In contrast, NWSA aimed for a federal constitutional amendment and broader changes to gender discrimination laws, adopting a more radical stance. In 1890, these two groups merged to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), which sought to unify their efforts and gain momentum for the women's suffrage movement.
Despite the eventual merge, the early divide reflected deeper strategic differences. AWSA's conservative approach led to several victories in local suffrage, especially in school and city elections, supporting the notion that women, as guardians of the home, should influence matters regarding children and community governance. Meanwhile, NWSA tackled a wider range of issues such as women's property rights, divorce laws, contraception, and the overall societal role of women, represented by figures like Victoria Woodhull who challenged the era's sexual double standards.
NAWSA, under leaders like Carrie Chapman Catt, eventually advocated suffrage both as a natural right and a tool for reform, merging the radical and conservative ideas and fighting against the violence and opposition the suffragists faced.