The American suffragists had no hash tags to urge them on. However, they fought courageously over decades to secure the right to vote for women in 1920. The leading suffragist was Susan B. Anthony, who headed the National American Women Suffrage Association for many years. Her home in Rochester, New York, was the headquarters for the Association when she was its president.
Today her former home, built in 1866, has become the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House. The house includes a collection of artifacts Susan had during her life. A photo gallery, a museum shop and many interesting programs are offered. Due to limitations during the COVID-19 pandemic the Museum is closed. But it looks forward to a time it can once again welcome guests into the home to see and hear an inspiring story. Visit the museum website to learn more about an amazing woman and her suffrage friends.
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Thirteen-year old Carrie Lane, growing up on a Charles City, Iowa farm, discovered her mother and other American women couldn’t vote to decide who would be next president of the United States. She vowed she would do something about it and did. She became the head of the National American Woman Suffrage Association when the 19th Amendment was passed. It was a hard struggle over many years to accomplish that feat. In 1991, the National 19th Amendment Society was founded and purchased Carrie’s girlhood home to honor the memory of Carrie Chapman Catt. The Charles City home has been restored and is now utilized as a center for the study of contemporary issues springing from the fields of interest to which Carrie devoted her life. To learn more about the adventures of Carrie and how a small local group of Charles City women, with the assistance of many friends, developed the center, visit the Society's website. You’ll find the Society provides interesting and unusual programs for adults and children. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic the National 19th Amendment Society is closed. However, it is looking forward to the time when it can open its doors and welcome visitors to the interesting exhibits and fun programs provided. In the 1870s Clara Shortridge Foltz was abandoned by her husband in San Jose, California, with five children to feed and support. She began a dress making business but a local sheriff took her sewing machine away to pay her ex-husband’s debts. Clara wanted to sue for the machine’s return but no male lawyer would take her case. She joined the woman suffrage movement as a lecturer and began reading law books on the side.
After a long struggle, Clara became a California lawyer. She presented her idea of having a public defender available to criminal defendants at a meeting of the Board of Lady Managers during the Chicago 1893 World’s Fair. Today, that concept is being used to provide assistance to impoverished criminal defendants across America. In 2002 the Criminal Courts building in Los Angeles was rededicated as the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in honor of California’s first woman attorney. Go to to Learn more about this courageous, fascinating woman on Wikipedia. The Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe Institute/Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts is one of the leading libraries featuring the history of American women. The suffragists who participated in the woman’s suffrage movement are among them. The library has outstanding collections of material, including photos and audios. Some are digitalized. Among the collections are Susan B. Anthony, Betty Friedan, Beecher-Stowe Family and the National Organization for Women. Papers of Maud Wood Park, who served at the highest levels in the National American Woman Suffrage Association and was the first president of the League of Women Voters, were given to the library in the Woman’s Rights Collection. To find out more about the Schlesinger Library, its collections and programs held during the year, visit its website. The National Women’s History Museum researches, collects and exhibits the contributions of women to the social, cultural, economic and political life of America. Founded in 1996 by Karen Stasser of Alaska, currently it is located in Alexandria, Virginia. In December 2014 Congress created a congressional commission to study the creation of a National Women’s History Museum. The U.S House of Representatives passed a bill, H.R. 1980, in February 2020 to establish a women’s history museum within the Smithsonian Institution with a location on the National Mall. The Museum’s mission is to tell the stories of women who transformed America. It hopes to educate, inspire, empower, and shape the future by providing a complete view of American history. To learn more about this interesting Museum and its current programs, visit the website. The Thought Co website put together a fascinating timeline on women's suffrage around the world. Take a look at the "International Women's Suffrage Timeline: 1851-Present."
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