#nawsa

Milestone Monday

The Power of Persistence

On August 18, 1920, history was made. The Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing women the right to vote. This monumental victory came after decades of relentless activism, strategy, and courage from suffragists across the nation. 

Victory: How Women Won It: A Centennial Symposium, 1840–1940 by the National American Woman Suffrage Association, is a vital resource for understanding this transformative era. Published in New York by H. W. Wilson in a limited edition of 300 copies in 1940, the book chronicles the struggles, strategies, and triumphs of the women who fought tirelessly for the ballot. Our copy bears a signed presentation inscription from suffrage leader Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947) to [Stella] Virginia Roderick (1880-1965), who among other things was an editor for Catt's suffrage periodical The Woman Citizen.

From marches and speeches to petitions and legal battles, this book preserves stories of determination that shaped democracy and reminds us that progress is hard-won but achievable.

1920 secured the vote for women; 2025 demands we defend it for all.

View more posts of Women's Suffrage.

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On 3 March 1913 (the day before Woodrow Wilson's presidential inauguration), thousands of women marched along Pennsylvania Avenue -- the same route that the inaugural parade would take the next day -- in a procession organized by the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA).

26-year-old activist and lawyer Inez Mulholland led the procession on horseback, followed by more than 20 floats, as well as representatives from around the world. Ida B. Wells had arrived with the Illinois delegation, but was asked by the leadership not to march. Wells marched anyway, along with 40 other black suffragists (including 25 students from Howard University). Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin (the first native woman to become a lawyer) marched with the lawyer delegation.

More than 250,000 people attended the march, with many trying to block the marchers from making their way down the parade route. They were taunted with sexist threats, spat upon, and physically assaulted. The women reported that they received no assistance from nearby police officers, who looked on bemusedly or told the women that they wouldn't be in this predicament if they had stayed home. U.S. Army troops were called in about an hour later to clear the street so that the procession could continue. A congressional investigation was held to determine why the police did not better protect the marchers.

Fannie Barrier Williams  Ca 1885                

Civil rights activist Fannie Barrier Williams helped found the National League of Colored Women in 1893, which became the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) in 1896. She was later involved in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Although Williams faced racial prejudice, she participated in National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) conventions and was friends with Susan B. Anthony.

Her work to secure women’s rights was recognized when she was the only African-American selected to eulogize Susan B. Anthony at the 1907 National American Women’s Suffrage Association convention.

Carrie Chapman Catt (January 9, 1859 - March 9, 1947) was born Carrie Clinton Lane on January 9, 1859, in Ripon, Wisconsin. Who was she you might ask? According to the Carrie Chapman Catt girlhood home website, Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt was a: 

Key coordinator of the woman suffrage movement and skillful political strategist, Carrie (Lane) Chapman Catt revitalized the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and played a leading role in its successful campaign to win voting rights for women. In 1920 she founded the League of Women Voters upon ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

After the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution on August 18, 1920 which gave women the right to vote, Mrs. Chapman Catt continued to work for equality for women and broadening her support of such causes as world peace and child labor. 

She would pass away on March 9, 1947. 

For Further Reading:

Carrie Chapman Catt from the National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection Home Page of the Library of Congress

CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT (1859-1947) from the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics of Iowa State University

Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947) from PBS.org

Carrie Lane Chapman Catt from the National Women’s History Museum website

“...composed entirely of women and does not align itself with any existing political party. The National Woman’s Party does not put forth a candidate for election. We are a single platform party... we pledge unceasing opposition to any and all political candidates who refuse to support this amendment.”

- Alice Paul in Iron Jawed Angels, pushing for a boycott of President Wilson in the next election even though he was a democrat president, even during wartime - aka “outsider tactics” - a sentiment very much needed in this era because if political loyalty is getting your movement nowhere, that party does not deserve your support

“Miss Paul is taking an irresponsible stand that amounts to support for the republican candidate.”