Women's Suffrage Notes

• What is meant by "suffrage?"

  The right to vote
• What were some of the main reasons Americans opposed women's suffrage?

  • Women would become "too masculine"
  • Too easily manipulated by politicians
  • Politics would take away from their roles in the home
  • Even some women didn't want to vote for those reasons
• When and where did women first make a call for suffrage? Who were the organizers?

  Seneca Falls Convention 1848 - organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
• Who joined the movement later and became one of its major leaders?

  Susan B. Anthony
• What was the goal of the National Woman Suffrage Association? Who founded it?

  Stanton and Anthony founded it. It demanded a constitutional amendment and national women's suffrage
• How did the goals of the American Woman Suffrage Association differ? Where did they first start working?

  Only wanted state-level suffrage first. They started in Wyoming in 1890.
• What did Susan B. Anthony do in 1872? What happened to her? What was her defense?

  Anthony brought women to vote in the Presidential elections. She was arrested for civil disobedience.
• How did women achieve some success in gaining suffrage?

  Western states as they were required to form and work like men did.
• Why did they have little success on a national level?

  Their proposal always got voted down. It was known as the "Anthony Amendment."
• What other gains were made by women during the suffrage movement?

  Married women could buy, sell, and will property.
• What was the name of the new group founded by Stanton and Anthony? What were some new strategies they used?

  Recruit younger members to the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Their strategies included non-violent protesting, lobbying public officials, etc.
• What became of Stanton and Anthony?

  Both passed before women could vote at a national level. Stanton died in 1902, Anthony in 1906.
• Who became the new leaders of the movement? What were their strategies?

  Carrie Chapman Catt - she emphasized the "grass-roots" movement, which meant to start at local levels and work your way up.
• Why were members of the NAWSA opposed to the Congressional Union group?


  Alice Paul and Lucy Burns used aggressive tactics--Paul formed the Congression Union and fought for the amendment aggressively.
• How did the entry of the U.S. into World War I help the cause of women seeking suffrage?

  Women began volunteering and did patriotic duty. New York voted for suffrage in 1917.
• What was the 18th amendment? How did this help women seeking suffrage?

  Anti-prohibition groups no longer opposed women's suffrage (1918).
• When was the suffrage amendment proposed in Congress? When was it passed?

  1919 - suffrage amendment proposed and passed House of Reps in May 1919, passed Senate in June 1919.
• How many states were needed for ratification? When was this number achieved?

  36 needed; August 18, 1920.
• Which state was the first to ratify it? Which state was the most recent?

  The first was New York in 1917, and the most recent was Mississippi in 1984.