The women's suffrage movement in the United States began in the mid-1800s and lasted nearly a century until the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on August 26, 1920, enfranchising all American women. The campaign for women's suffrage began in the decades prior to the Civil War, as women were becoming increasingly involved in reform groups such as temperance leagues, abolitionist organizations, and moral reform societies. In 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the Seneca Falls Convention to discuss issues surrounding women's rights. In 1890, the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was formed with Stanton acting as its first president. By 1910, some states began to extend the vote to women, but southern and eastern states in particular resisted. In 1916, NAWSA president Carrie Chapman Catt presented a plan to gain the right to vote, a campaign that mobilized state and local suffrage organizations across the nation, focusing particularly on the states that had taken a hard line against enfranchising women. The First World War slowed their progress initially, but in 1920 the 19th Amendment was finally ratified and approximately 8 million American women voted in elections for the first time on November 2, 1920.
This collection contains postcards, photographs, and other ephemera related to the women's suffrage movement. While the bulk of the materials relate to activities in the United States, there are also postcards and ephemera relating to suffragist movements in England, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Estonia, and Mexico. Most of the materials were published between 1900 and 1920 during the height of the movement.
This collection includes 54 postcards that depict both the positive aspects of enfranchising women and the many negative stereotypes associated with the suffragist movement. Some of these postcards are inscribed and stamped with dates between 1900 and 1913, while others remain blank.
Some additional items of note include a reprint of the July 16, 1915 edition of "Votes for Women – Official Organ of the United Suffragists." This publication, created by the Women's Social and Political Union in London, England, was the most widely circulated and influential piece of suffragist propaganda in England. There are also photographs of several well-known American and British suffragettes including Jane Addams, Carrie Chapman Catt, Millicent Garrett Fawcett, Emmeline Pankhurst, and Christabel Pankhurst.
Collection is open for research.
This collection is divided into three series. Series 1: Ephemera includes several publications related to the suffrage movement in the United States and England and a delegate ribbon for an N.R.L. conference in Connecticut in 1912. Series 2: Photographs includes formal portraits and candid photographs of prominent American and British suffragettes. This series is organized alphabetically by the individual's last name, with some general photographs of parades and protests at the end of the series. Series 3: Postcards contains 54 postcards from seven different countries depicting both positive and negative viewpoints on the women's suffrage movement. The postcards are organized by country of origin, as determined to the best of our ability.
This series consists of three folders that contain printed materials from the United States and England and a single folder containing a N.R.L. delegate ribbon from 1912.
This newsletter is a reprint of the July 16, 1915 edition of "Votes for Women – Official Organ of the United Suffragists." This publication, created by the Women's Social and Political Union in London, England, was the most widely circulated and influential piece of suffragist propaganda in England during the 1910s.
This pamphlet was published by the Committee to Oppose Conscription of Women in response to the Austin-Wadsworth National War Service Act of 1943, which proposed the conscription of women for the first time in United States history. The committee was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
This series contains photographs from the United States and England of prominent suffragettes, protests, and parades. Also in this series are three glass plate negatives depicting women voting in the 1920s. The significance of the women represented in these photographs is indicated with a note on each folder in this finding aid.
Jane Addams (1860-1935), known as the "mother of social work," was the founder of Hull House, a social settlement in Chicago. She was also a leader in the women's suffrage movement in the United States, holding the office of vice president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947) was an American women's suffrage leader. She served two terms as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association from 1900 to 1904 and 1915 to 1920. She also founded the League of Women Voters and the International Alliance of Women.
Cecilia Coolidge was the cousin of United States President Calvin Coolidge.
Cecilia Coolidge was the cousin of United States President Calvin Coolidge.
This image shows James Michael Curley (1874-1958), who served four terms as mayor of Boston and one term as governor of Massachusetts, with an unidentified woman who is voting. It is possible that this woman is his wife, Mary Emelda Herlihy, who died in 1930.
Anne Dallas Dudley (1876-1955) founded the Nashville Equal Suffrage League and served as president of the Tennessee Equal Suffrage Association before becoming the third vice president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1917.
Millicent Fawcett (1847-1929) was a British political leader and activist primarily known for her work as a suffragist. She was president of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies from 1897 to 1919.
A note on the back of the photograph identifies Edna Johnston as chairman of the Suffrage Committee of Washington D.C.
Christabel Pankhurst was a British suffragette and daughter of Emmeline Pankhurst, a leader in the suffrage movement in England. She co-founded the Women's Social and Political Union with her mother and was jailed twice for activities related to the suffrage movement. This image shows Christabel Pankhurst waving from a window at Holloway Prison in London. Holloway Prison, a facility for females only, was used to imprison suffragettes in England throughout the early 1900s.
Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928) was a British political activist and suffragette. In 1903, she co-founded the Women's Social and Political Union which was later led by her daughter, Christabel Pankhurst.
This series includes 54 postcards that depict both the positive aspects of enfranchising women and the many negative stereotypes that were associated with the suffragist movement. The postcards are arranged alphabetically by country of origin. Some of the postcards are inscribed and stamped with dates between 1900 and 1913, while others remain blank and undated.