Two women who led the way     Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were the best known leaders of the women's suffrage (voting rights) movement in the late 1800s.  Both lived in New York State, and had been active in women's rights meetings even before the Civil War.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Susan B. Anthony

Marching for the right to vote    By 1913, when this women's suffrage parade was held in Washington, D.C., both Stanton and Anthony had passed away.  Their cause, however, was growing stronger year by year.

It was not an easy fight    As this newspaper page shows, the women marching in Washington, D.C., in 1913 were heckled by some of the men standing along the side of the parade route.  That tended to make women even more determined, of course, and also pulled in support from more respectable men.

Another point of view    This political cartoon from 1909 gives the "anti" (against) point of view on women's suffrage.  It predicts that if women start voting, men would soon be forced to take on a "woman's role" in the family, the dishes would never get cleaned, and even the cat would be upset!

Many men did support women's rights    The scrapbook shown here from around 1910 proves that there were many men all over the country who actively supported the idea of women's voting rights.

A big parade in New York City    A parade for women's suffrage held in New York City is shown in this photo from 1915.  By that time, the idea had won broad support from many of the nation's political leaders.  A number of states - all in the western part of the country - had already passed laws giving women in those states the right to vote.

Success at last for women's suffrage!    The document shown here is the proposal passed by Congress in 1919 for an Amendment to the Constitution to guarantee voting rights for women in all the states.  It was approved, and took effect in 1920 as the 19th Amendment.

A bonus effect for women's education    One effect of the women's suffrage movement was that it led more women to seek greater opportunities for education.  The number of colleges for women began expanding and some existing men's colleges began accepting women students.    The women in the college class below are studying electrical devices.  The photo is from a teacher's college in Washington, D.C., in 1899.

Photos and images except for the 19th Amendment image
are from the Library of Congress.
The 19th Amendment image is from the National Archives.
Some images have been edited or resized for this page.

Copyright Notice    Copyright 2009, 2012 by David Burns.  All rights reserved.  As a guide to the Virginia Standards of Learning, some pages necessarily include phrases or sentences from that document, which is available online from the Virginia Department of Education.  The author's copyright extends to the original text and graphics, unique design and layout, and related material.