Suffrage Activism Legacy PDF

# 20 And Don't Forget ## Historic Figures - Countless activists fought for women's suffrage. - Many are nameless and only known through old photographs. - Some are known for a single action or moment. - Others are major historical figures whose other accomplishments overshadow their suffrage activ...

# 20 And Don't Forget ## Historic Figures - Countless activists fought for women's suffrage. - Many are nameless and only known through old photographs. - Some are known for a single action or moment. - Others are major historical figures whose other accomplishments overshadow their suffrage activism. ## Parker Pillsbury - September 22, 1809 - July 7, 1898. - He was a man who fought for the rights of women. - “It is mockery to talk of liberty and the pursuit of happiness, until the ballot in the hand of every citizens seals and secures it." - Parker Pillsbury. - In 1865, he helped draft the founding document of the American Equal Rights Association. - He believed that men should use their power to empower women. - He fought against the idea that men were being gallant by protecting women. - He suffered greatly for his activism, losing his job and his health. - He was a co-editor of _The Revolution_, an influential women's rights newspaper. ## Frederick Douglass - February 1818 - February 20, 1895. - He was a formerly enslaved man. - He understood what it was like to be at the mercy of others. - “She is absolutely in the hands of her political masters.” - Frederick Douglass. - He attended the Seneca Falls Convention. - He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Sentiments. - He was a forceful speaker in favor of women's suffrage. - He published the Declaration of Sentiments in his newspaper, _The North Star._ ## Amelia Jenks Bloomer - May 27, 1818 - December 30, 1894 - Women's clothes in the 1800s were impractical due to their weight and heat. - Women even wore ankle-length skirts and knit stockings at the beach. - Bloomer popularized a style of clothing called the "bloomer costume". - This constist of loose pants topped by a tunic. - Many suffragists adopted the style, but it fell out of favor because of ridicule. - Bloomer introduced Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Susan B. Anthony. - Bloomer founded the newspaper _The Lily_. - This newspaper was the first to address women's issues. ## Victoria Woodhull - September 23, 1838 - June 9, 1927. - Her father was a violent and alcoholic con man, and her mother believed herself to be a mystic. - Her father burned down his gristmill to fraudulently collect insurance money. - Victoria claimed to be a psychic. - She led a free-spirited life that shocked people. - She married three times and divorced twice. - She and her sister started the first female-led stock brokerage firm on Wall Street. - She publicly accused a famous preacher of having an affair, which caused a scandal. - She was called "Mrs. Satan". - She was the first woman to address women's suffrage before Congress. - She founded a political party, the Equal Rights Party, and ran for president decades before women could vote. ## Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin - August 31, 1842 - March 13, 1924. - She was a founding member of the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association. - She founded the first national club for black women, the Women's Era, and its newspaper, which voiced opinions about suffrage and the treatment of African Americans. - The motto of the club was “Aim to Make the World Better." - She was a champion for equality for all women. ## Nina Evans Allender - December 25, 1873 - April 2, 1957 - She brought her artistic talents to the suffrage fight. - She drew attention to the cause with memorable images. - Her cartoons were featured in _The Suffragist_ newspaper. - She created the "Suffrage Girl" cartoon. - Male cartoonists had previously depicted suffragists as ugly and strident. ## Alice Paul - She asked Nina Evans Allender to design the "Jailed for Freedom" suffrage pin. - This pin depicts a prison cell door secured with a heart-shaped lock and chain. ## Inez Milholland Boissevain - August 6, 1886 - November 25, 1916. - As a Vassar student, she led a group of students in a suffrage demonstration. - She led many suffrage parades, becoming the face of the movement. - In 1913, she led a parade of 8,000 women, riding astride a white horse, in a white gown and flowing cape, wearing a tiara. - She was also a lawyer who worked for many causes like job opportunities and safe workplaces for women. - She became a martyr for the suffrage cause after she collapsed on stage giving a speech and died ten days later of pernicious anemia. ## Nell Richardson - 1890-? ## Alice Snitjer Burke - May 12, 1875 - February 11, 1948. - She and Nell Richardson went on a 10,000 mile road trip to promote suffrage, in a Saxon roadster. - Their journey was difficult and dangerous with a lot of challenges, but they persisted. ## Harry T. Burn - November 12, 1895 - February 19, 1977. - He was 22 when he was elected to the Tennessee General Assembly. - His vote won ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. - He received a letter from his mother urging him to vote for women’s suffrage. - He broke the tie and helped to pass the amendment. ## Charlotte Woodward Pierce - 1829 - 1921. - She was 18 when she traveled to the Seneca Falls Convention. - She worked for women’s suffrage, along with the American Woman Suffrage Association. - She marched in the suffrage parade in New York at the age of 86. - She was the only signer of the Declaration of Sentiments still living when women gained the right to vote. ## Epilogue - Many people who opposed women's suffrage never came to see the light. - Women had to fight for their right to vote, even after suffrage became law. - Women spoke, traveled, wrote and petitioned for decades. - Women had to push for a constitutional amendment. - Women began to picket the White House. - Woodrow Wilson was reluctant to support the amendment because he was afraid he'd lose the support of the Democratic party. - Wilson finally came out in favor of the amendment in 1918. - He presented suffrage as a war measure rather than a right. - The amendment passed the House but was defeated in the Senate in 1918. - In 1919, the amendment passed the House again but was defeated in the Senate again, this time by only one vote. - In 1919, The amendment passed the House and the Senate for good. - Ratification by the states required 3/4 approval. - It was a close race to get the amendment passed. - Southern States were the last to ratify the amendment. - Tennessee was the deciding state. - It was a close vote in Tennessee. - Harry T. Burn was the deciding vote. - He initially planned to vote against the amendment. - His mother urged him to vote for the amendment. - The amendment passed in Tennessee, making the amendment official. - The right to vote was hard fought for after 1920. - Women and African American men were still discriminated against, especially in the South. - Native Americans did not receive the right to vote until 1924. - Chinese Americans received the right to vote in 1943. - Japanese Americans received the right to vote in 1945. - Residents of Washington D.C. received the right to vote in 1961. - The Voting Rights Act passed in 1965 to end voter discrimination. - The voting age was lowered to 18 in 1971. - The fight for voting rights continues, with efforts to restrict voting rights. - Civil rights activists continue to work to make voting more accessible. - The fight for women's suffrage started with a small group of women who met for tea. - Today over 168 million women are eligible to vote at the age of 18. - “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world… Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead. # Image Details - Two suffragists, Julia Emory and Bertha Graf, carry bundled flags and banners for a suffrage event in 1920. - The image is a black and white photograph. - The women are walking on a sidewalk, with a staircase in the background.