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Winning the Vote

Winning the Vote. The 72-year campaign for women’s suffrage. Women as Voters in the United States. Since 1964, more women than men have voted in every presidential election 9.9 million more women than men voted in the 2016 presidential election

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Winning the Vote

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  1. Winning the Vote The 72-year campaign for women’s suffrage

  2. Women as Voters in the United States • Since 1964, more women than men have voted in every presidential election • 9.9 million more women than men voted in the 2016 presidential election • Since 1980, the proportion of eligible female voters has exceeded the proportion of eligible male voters in every presidential election • 63.3% of women compared to 59.3% of men (+4% more) voted in 2016 • Since 1986, the proportion of women voting in mid-term elections has surpassed the proportion of men voting • 55% of women compared to 52% of men (+3%) voted in 2018 • What year were women granted the right to vote in the United States by federal constitutional amendment?

  3. Sound Smart: Women’s Suffrage History

  4. The 72-Year Campaign for Women’s Suffrage U.S. Women’s Suffrage Movement: • More than 7 decades (1848-1920) of ceaseless agitation • Three generations of suffragists • Suffragist = advocate for enfranchisement • Suffragette – coined by reporter to mock suffragists in U.K.; derogatory in U.S. • More than 900 local, state and national campaigns • Tens of thousands of grassroots volunteers • Millions of dollars

  5. Beginnings of the Movement – 1848-1868 • Closely aligned with abolition movement • Universal suffrage for women & African Americans • 1848 – Lucretia Mott & and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organize Seneca Falls Convention (July 19-20), which drafted a “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions” • “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal” • Among the 13 resolutions was the goal of achieving the “sacred right of franchise” • https://www.womenshistory.org/resources/primary-source/declaration-sentiments-and-resolution Lucretia Mott (1793-1880)

  6. Beginnings of the Movement – 1848-1868 • 1851 – Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) and Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) meet & forge lifetime alliance as women’s rights activists • Both were active in the abolition movement • 1866 – Formed the American Equal Rights Association, dedicated to the goal of suffrage for all regardless of gender or race 1867 – Sojourner Truth (1797- 1883) addresses 1st annual meeting of the American Equal Rights Association: “There is a great stir about colored men getting their rights, but not a word about the colored women.” 1868 – The 14th Amendment is ratified; “citizens" and "voters" are defined exclusively as male Stanton & Anthony

  7. Early Women’s Suffrage Movement in Iowa – 1855-1869 • 1855 – Amelia Jenks Bloomer (1818-1894) moves to Council Bluffs and becomes the first state resident to publicly speak for women’s suffrage • Did not invent “bloomers” – knee-length tunics worn loose or belted over Turkish pants – but wore the reform dress longer than most suffragists • Wrote extensively about “bloomers” and women’s suffrage in her temperance (anti-alcohol) newsletter, The Lilly • 1869 – Northern Iowa Woman Suffrage Association is founded in Dubuque • First organization dedicated solely to equal suffrage in Iowa

  8. Split in U.S. Women’s Suffrage Movement – 1869-1889 • 1869 – American Equal Rights Association splits over disagreements about the 14th Amendment (1868) and whether to support the 15th Amendment (1870) that enfranchised black men while avoiding the question of women’s suffrage  • 1869 – Stanton & Anthony establish the National Woman Suffrage Association to achieve the vote through a federal constitutional amendment and push for other women’s rights issues • 1869 – Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell, Julia Ward Howe and other more conservative activists form the American Woman Suffrage Association to work for women’s suffrage through amending individual state constitutions

  9. Women’s Suffrage Amendment • 1878 – Constitutional amendment to grant women the right to vote was first proposed in the U.S. Congress: • "The right of citizens to vote shall not be abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”  • 1878 petition signed by Frederick Douglass Jr. • Demonstrates support of African American community for women’s suffrage • This same amendment was introduced in every session of Congress for the next 41 years

  10. Women’s Suffrage Movement in Iowa – 1870-1889 • 1870 – Iowa Woman Suffrage Association (IWSA) founded • Later known as Iowa Equal Suffrage Association • 1870 – Iowa General Assembly approves resolution to amend constitution to allow women to vote • 1872 – Iowa General Assembly rejects women’s suffrage resolution • Amending constitution required approval in two consecutive legislative sessions and then vote by citizens (all male) • Women’s suffrage amendment considered in almost every legislative session from 1870 to 1916, when it passed two consecutive sessions but was rejected by male voters • 1886 – Mary Jane Whitely Coggeshall (1836-1911) appointed first editor of Iowa’s suffrage newspaper, The Woman’s Standard. Served several terms as president of IWSA. • Dubbed the “Mother of Woman Suffrage” in Iowa by Carrie Chapman Catt • 1887 – Carrie Chapman Catt (raised in Charles City & 1880 Iowa State graduate) becomes involved in Iowa Woman Suffrage Association

  11. U.S. Women’s Suffrage Movement Unites – 1890-1920 • 1890 – NWSA & AWSA merge as National American Woman Suffrage Association • Stanton is first president (1890-92), followed by Anthony (1892-1900), Carrie Chapman Catt (1900-04), Anna Howard Shaw (1904-15) and Catt (1915-20) • The movement initially focused efforts on securing suffrage at the state level • 1890 – Wyoming admitted to Union with a state constitution granting women’s suffrage • 1893 – Colorado adopts women’s suffrage • 1896 – Utah joins Union with full suffrage for women • 1896 – Idaho adopts women’s suffrage  • 1910 – Washington state adopts women’s suffrage Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947)

  12. Women’s Suffrage Movement in Iowa – 1890-1919 • 1894 – Iowa women granted partial suffrage to vote on bond issues and tax increases for schools and municipalities • 1908 – Boone hosts one of the first suffrage parades in the nation on Oct. 29 • 150 women marched; included speech by NAWSA president Dr. Anna Howard Shaw • 1912 – Flora Dunlap becomes first woman elected to Des Moines School Board • 1914 – Iowa Association of Colored Women’s Clubs establishes a standing suffrage committee headed by Teresa Adams of Davenport • 1916 – African American women in Buxton march for women’s suffrage in a family parade • 1916 – Male voters reject proposed suffrage amendment in corrupt election • 1919 – Iowa women granted right to vote in presidential elections

  13. African American Women & the Suffrage Movement • NAWSA did not exclude African American women from membership at the national level, but state and local organizations could and did choose to exclude them – especially in the South • 1896 – Mary Church Terrell & Ida B. Wells-Barnett found the National Association of Colored Women • 1898 – Terrell delivers speech, “The Progress of Colored Women,” at the NAWSA convention: “Consider if you will, the almost insurmountable obstacles which have confronted colored women in their efforts to educate and cultivate themselves since their emancipation . . . For, not only are colored women with ambition and aspiration handicapped on account of their sex, but they are everywhere baffled and mocked on account of their race.” • 1913 – Wells-Barnett establishes Alpha Suffrage Club to encourage more women of color to become involved in politics Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954)

  14. A Militant Wing Emerges – 1913-1920 • 1913 – Alice Paul & Lucy Burns organize Congressional Union (later known as National Woman’s Party) • Adopted more militant tactics of its English counterparts, picketing and conducting mass rallies and marches to raise public awareness and support • Organized first major NAWSA parade in DC in 1913 • Picketed at the White House in 1917-1918 & jailed • Drew a younger generation of women into the suffrage movement Alice Paul (1863-1954)

  15. Press Coverage of 1913 Women’s Suffrage Parade

  16. State-by-State Suffrage Campaigns Continue 1911 – California suffrage succeeds by small margin 1912 – Oregon, Kansas & Arizona adopt women’s suffrage 1914 Nevada & Montana adopt women’s suffrage 1915 – More than 25,000 march in NYC suffrage parade; New York Times warns that women will “play havoc for themselves and society” if they got the vote: “Imagine the chaos!”

  17. Carrie Chapman Catt’s “Winning Plan” – 1915-1920 • 1915 – Veteran suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt becomes president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association • 1916 – Catt announces “Winning Plan” in address to NAWSA convention, “The Crisis”: • “Other and even graver considerations . . . should compel us to make the Federal Amendment our ultimate aim and work in the States a program of preparedness to win nation-wide suffrage by amendment of the National Constitution.” • Financed by $1 million from estate of Miriam Leslie ($25 million today) Carrie Chapman Catt

  18. Women’s Suffrage Movement – 1916-1918 • 1916 – Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana elected to the U.S. House of Representatives • 1916 – Republican & Democratic Party platforms add planks in favor of women’s suffrage, but on state-by-state basis • 1917 – New York women gain suffrage • 1918 – Michigan, South Dakota & Oklahoma adopt women’s suffrage  • 1918 – President Woodrow Wilson (Democrat) states his support for a federal women’s suffrage amendment  Jeannette Rankin (1880-1973)

  19. Women’s Suffrage Movement – 1919-1920 • 1919 – House of Representatives votes to approve 19th Amendment by a wide margin on May 21, 1919, and Senate concurs on June 4, 1919 • Ratification needed in ¾ (36) states: • Illinois June 10, 1919 Michigan June 10, 1919 Wisconsin June 10, 1919 • Kansas June 16, 1919 New York June 16, 1919 Ohio June 16, 1919 • Pennsylvania June 24, 1919 Massachusetts June 25, 1919 Texas June 28,1919 • Iowa July 2, 1919 Missouri July 3, 1919 Arkansas July 28, 1919 • Montana Aug. 2, 1919 Nebraska Aug. 2, 1919Minnesota Sept. 8, 1919 • New Hampshire Sept. 10, 1919 Utah Oct. 2, 1919 California Nov. 1, 1919 • Maine Nov. 5, 1919 North Dakota Dec. 1, 1919 South Dakota Dec. 4, 1919 • Colorado Dec. 15, 1919 Kentucky Jan. 6, 1920 Rhode Island Jan. 6, 1920 • Oregon Jan. 13, 1920 Indiana Jan. 16, 1920 Wyoming Jan. 27, 1920 • Nevada Feb. 7, 1920 New Jersey Feb. 9, 1920 Idaho Feb. 11, 1920 • Arizona Feb. 12, 1920 New Mexico Feb. 21, 1920 Oklahoma Feb. 28, 1920 • West Virginia March 10, 1920 Washington March 22, 1920 Tennessee August 18, 1920

  20. 19th Amendment to U.S. Constitution • “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”   • First introduced to U.S. Congress in 1878 • Language never changed • Ratified on August 26, 1920, when U.S. Secretary of State certified approval of Tennessee state legislature • Celebrating 100th anniversary in 2020 • Carrie Chapman Catt: “The vote is the emblem of your equality, women of America, the guarantee of your liberty . . .Women have suffered agony of soul which you can never comprehend, that you and your daughters might inherit political freedom. That vote has been costly. Prize it! . . . Progress is calling to you to make no pause. Act!” (August 26, 1920, victory speech) •  27 million women enfranchised by 19th Amendment in 1920 • African American vote doubled (34 states had no voting barriers in place)

  21. Sources Bystrom, Dianne G., and Barbara Burrell (Editors). 2019. Women in the American Political System: An Encyclopedia of Women as Voters, Candidates, and Office Holders. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. Iowa Women’s Archives. 2011. Iowa’s Suffrage Scrapbook: 1854-1920. http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/exhibits/suffrage/. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa. National Women’s Suffrage Association. 2019. Woman Suffrage Timeline (1840-1920). http://www.crusadeforthevote.org/woman-suffrage-timeline-18401920

  22. Questions for Class Discussion • What were the goals and strategies of the American Woman Suffrage Association? • What were the goals and strategies of the National Woman Suffrage Association? • Why was the National American Woman Suffrage Association formed? • How did the National Woman’s Party differ from the National American Woman's Suffrage Association? • Who were the leaders of these suffrage organizations? Name one leader and one thing you found most interesting about her.

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