Select the arrows in the box below to learn more about some key figures in the history of Women's Suffrage.
Anthony led the women's suffrage movement for more than 50 years before her death in 1906. She was president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), and worked tirelessly for the passage of laws, both at the state and federal level, which would grant American women their full rights as citizens.
In 1872, almost 50 years before women were legally granted the right to vote by the Nineteenth Amendment, Anthony managed to both register to vote AND cast a ballot in her hometown of Rochester, NY. However, she was arrested for what authorities called an act of civil disobedience.
Lucy Elmina Anthony was an internationally known leader in the Woman's Suffrage movement. She was the niece of American social reformer and women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony and longtime companion of women's suffrage leader Anna Howard Shaw.
A key architect of the women's suffrage victory in 1920, Carrie Chapman Catt was an activist-lecturer. In 1917, she edited her first book, Woman Suffrage by Federal Constitutional Amendment, a series of six essays - four of which she wrote herself. Here she analyzed briefly the political obstacles women faced and focused on the practical reasons why the federal amendment route seemed the only truly feasible one.
Terrell became an active member of the National American Suffrage Association and focused her attention on the special concerns of African American women. In "The Progress of Colored Women," Terrell noted the "almost insurmountable obstacles" that had confronted African American women. Not only were "colored women with ambition and aspiration handicapped on account of their sex, but they are everywhere baffled and mocked on account of their race."
An American Quaker, Mott was a pioneer feminist leader and radical abolitionist. Having been denied entry to the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention in London, Mott became inspired to advocate for abolitionism and women's suffrage.
American suffragist leader, reformer, and feminist, Anna Howard Shaw was the fourth president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Shaw spent most of her life as a champion of women's rights and was president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association for an unequaled eleven years.
A distinguished social reformer and feminist, Gilman produced several works of nonfiction devoted to her social and economic theories, as well as fictional texts embodying those principles. Her most famous works are The Yellow Wallpaper (1892), depicting a young mother's descent into madness, and the utopian fantasy Herland (1915).
Rankin was the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress. She served two terms, one beginning in 1917 and the other in 1941. A pacifist, she was the only congressperson to vote against both World War I and World War II. She was active in the women's suffrage movement and in peace movements throughout her life.
Stanton was one of the most prominent women's rights activists of the 19th century. Suffrage was the cause most dear to her heart. She dedicated her life to ensuring that women's voices were heard. In 1851, she met another tireless activist, Susan B. Anthony. Together the women spearheaded the suffrage movement. Although neither of them would live to see women get the vote, their dedication and courage were the basis for the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
The daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Blatch infused the movement with new life at the start of the 20th century. The elders of the movement, such as Stanton and Anthony, began to realize that it would be their daughters, and not themselves, who would finally exercise the right to vote.
Alice Stokes Paul was one of the foremost women's rights activists of the 20th century. She energized the movement for women's suffrage and led the fight for an Equal Rights Amendment. Through aggressive protest strategies she learned while visiting England, she was instrumental in getting the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified in 1920.
She came close in obtaining ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) over half a century later in the 1970s. Her tireless work and dedication influenced many governmental policies and was a model for feminists worldwide.
Lucy Stone was one of the first leaders of the Women's Rights movement in the United States. A noted lecturer and writer, Stone spent most of her life working for women's suffrage. She is also believed to be the first married woman in the United States to keep her maiden name.
Blackwell, the daughter of Lucy Stone, was an important figure in early American feminism, women's suffrage, and was also a pioneer of what would later be called human rights activism. Blackwell succeeded her mother as editor of Boston's Woman's Journal, a key publication in the fight for women's suffrage.
Sojourner Truth, who was formerly enslaved, traveled widely throughout the United States advocating for the abolition of slavery and the emancipation of women.
Ida Bell Wells-Barnett was a prominent and often controversial African American reformer who spoke out against racial oppression in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century.
Willard was a prominent American temperance crusader and women's suffrage leader. She appreciated the power of the ballot and was a lifelong supporter of suffrage for women. Willard argued that having the right to vote would further enable women to protect their homes and families. In 1888, she testified before a Senate committee, presenting herself as a conservative woman devoted to the idea of the ballot.
Park became first president of the League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan organization to educate new voters following the passage of woman's suffrage in 1920. The League of Women Voters is still in operation today.
