The Woman Suffrage Movement in the United States

The Woman Suffrage Movement in the United States presents important moments and participants in the history of the American suffrage movement, ranging from the mid-nineteenth century through the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. The book highlights the many participants in the suffrage movement, including well-known leaders, lesser-known activists, major national organizations, and local efforts across the country. An array of perspectives is examined: the garment factory worker working for protective labor laws, the wealthy wife hoping to control her inheritance, the Black activist seeking voting power for her community, and the temperance worker wanting to vote for prohibition laws. The volume examines the crucial activism of Black suffragists and other women of color, as well as the fraught nature of the cross-racial coalition in the movement. The broad and accessible approach to this important period in history will enable students to consider questions such as: How could suffragists overcome their differences and build community? Were wealthy women who funded salaries, headquarters, and parades afforded more power? What tactics and strategies did suffragists utilize to lobby legislators and win over the public? How did suffragists and anti-suffragists wield racism as a political tactic both in support of and against the Nineteenth Amendment? How and when did women of color finally achieve the right to vote? Students will also be able to consider lessons from the suffrage movement for an inclusive feminist movement today. This book will be of interest to students and scholars in US women's history, the history of the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era, and those interested in the histories of social movements.

Joan Marie Johnson is Director for Faculty at Northwestern University, USA. She has written extensively about the history of women and gender, philanthropy, feminism, race, social reform, and education.

Part I: Background 1. Introduction Part II: Analysis 2. Early Demands for Women's Rights 3. Women in the Anti-Slavery Movement 4. Women's Rights Convention Begin 5. Suffrage and Citizenship after the Civil War 6. The Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), the "Home Protection Ballot," and Women's Clubs 7. State Suffrage Compaigns in the Nineteenth Century 8. The Suffrage Movement Expands 9. Infighting at NAWSA Headquarters 10. Victory in California 11. Suffragists Take to the Streets 12. Rival National Associations 13. The Public Relations Campaign to Win Support for Suffrage 14. Campaign Strategy in Illinois, Iowa, and New York 15. Lobbying Congress for the Nineteenth Amendment 16. The NWP and NAWSA in South Carolina, New Mexico, and Texas 17. Suffragists Win Supprt in Congress for a Federal Amendment 18. Tennessee: the Thirty-Sixth State to Ratify the Nineteenth Amendment Part III: Assessment 19. Conclusion: The Nineteenth Amendment and Voting Rights from 1920 to the Present Part IV: Documents