Women's Suffrage & The 19th Amendment (1890-1920)

Question 1

Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902)

Answer 1

• Took part in the Seneca Falls Convention, 1848
• Leading figure in the fight for female suffrage
• Prominent campaigner for the abolition of slavery
• 1890: Became the first president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)
• 1892: Part of a female delegation presenting the argument for female suffrage to Congress

Question 2

Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906)

Answer 2

• Social reformer and campaigner for women, the abolition of slavery and the temperance movement
• Worked closely with Elizabeth Cady Stanton
• 1878: presented a proposed constitutional amendment to Congress giving women the rights to vote (19th Amendment)
• Congress would pass this 15 years after her death

Question 3

Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947)

Answer 3

• 1915: Became president of NAWSA
• Wanted to primarily focus on campaigning for a constitutional amendment as their main goal
• Gained additional sympathy for women’s suffrage by actively cooperating with the war effort (WW1)

Question 4

Alice Paul (1885-1977)

Answer 4

• An American Quaker, suffragist, feminist, and women’s rights activist
• One of the main campaigning leaders for the 19th Amendment
• Represented the militant wing of the American women’s suffrage movement
• Often suffered police brutality and other physical abuse, always responded with non-violence and courage
• 1913: Woman Suffrage Possession initiated, organised the first suffragist parade in Washington D.C.
• 1917: ‘Silent Sentinels’ campaign, members of the National Women’s Party protested silently in front of the White House during Woodrow Wilson’s presidency
• Successful campaigns, resulted in the 19th Amendment

Question 5

National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)

Answer 5

• Founded in 1890
• Advocated in favour of women’s suffrage in the US
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton was its first president
• Played a pivotal role in passing the 19th Amendment
• Membership was about 7,000 at the time it was formed
• Eventually grew to 2 million members
• 1909: Organising public rallies, making closer links suffragette movement in Britain

Question 6

The National Woman’s Party (NWP)

Answer 6

• 1910: Alice Paul returned from the UK to the US
• Paul had been jailed and forced fed after hunger strikes
• 1916: Paul broke away from NAWSA due to internal divisions and formed the NWP
• NAWSA exploited its image of respectability and engaged in highly organised lobbying at both national and state levels
• NWP also engaged lobbying, became more increasingly known for more radical activities that were dramatic and confrontational