OCR Specification focus:
‘The women’s suffrage campaign broadened participation and achieved enfranchisement.’
From the mid-19th century to 1920, the women’s suffrage movement in the USA transformed political participation, evolving strategies and activism to secure the right to vote.
Origins of the Suffrage Movement
Antebellum Activism and Early Campaigners
The struggle for women’s suffrage — the right to vote — was rooted in broader 19th-century reform movements. Many early campaigners emerged from abolitionism and temperance, applying their organisational skills to gender equality. The Seneca Falls Convention (1848), organised by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, marked a turning point, issuing the Declaration of Sentiments, which demanded political equality and suffrage.
The Declaration of Sentiments (1848) articulated a comprehensive critique of women’s legal and political subordination and explicitly demanded suffrage. As a foundational text, it frames the ideological origins that later strategies translated into national campaigns and law. (Includes more textual detail than required for this subsubtopic, but it directly underpins the notes’ opening section.) Source
Elizabeth Cady Stanton emphasised legal and political change as essential for women’s liberation.
Susan B. Anthony focused on building networks and lobbying lawmakers, co-founding the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in 1869.
Suffrage: The right to vote in political elections.
Post-Civil War Disappointment
After the American Civil War (1861–65), women activists anticipated that the expansion of democracy would include them. However, the 14th Amendment (1868) defined voters as “male,” and the 15th Amendment (1870) enfranchised African American men but excluded women. This exclusion caused divisions in the movement and influenced strategies in subsequent decades.
Divisions and Strategies within the Movement
NWSA vs AWSA
The suffrage campaign split into two main organisations with differing tactics:
National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA):
Led by Stanton and Anthony, it pursued a federal constitutional amendment and criticised male-dominated politics.American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA):
Led by Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell, it favoured a state-by-state approach, believing incremental change more realistic.
The two groups merged in 1890 to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), uniting efforts and combining strategies.
Legal Challenges and Early Failures
Activists pursued legal challenges to test the Constitution. In Minor v. Happersett (1875), the Supreme Court ruled that citizenship did not guarantee voting rights, forcing suffragists to focus on changing the law rather than reinterpretation.
Some women, such as Anthony, cast ballots illegally to provoke legal scrutiny.
Others campaigned in Western states, where frontier conditions encouraged political experimentation. Wyoming (1869) and Utah (1870) granted women suffrage decades before the federal amendment.
Expanding the Movement and Broadening Participation
Grassroots Mobilisation and Local Campaigns
By the late 19th century, suffrage organisations focused on mass mobilisation:
Petitions and public lectures spread awareness and pressured politicians.
Suffrage newspapers like The Revolution promoted feminist arguments and countered hostile press.
Campaigners used state referenda, achieving partial successes in states such as Colorado (1893) and Idaho (1896).
NAWSA reframed suffrage as a means to purify politics and improve society, appealing to mainstream attitudes about women’s moral authority.
Social Change and Alliances
Industrialisation, urbanisation, and education reshaped women’s roles and increased political consciousness. Middle-class women engaged in progressive reform, linking suffrage to issues like child labour, education, and public health.
New organisations such as the Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL) allied suffrage with labour rights, while African American women formed groups like the National Association of Colored Women (1896), highlighting racial inequalities in suffrage debates.
Militant Tactics and Changing Strategies
Rise of the National Woman’s Party (NWP)
By the 1910s, some suffragists grew frustrated with NAWSA’s moderate approach. Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, inspired by British suffragettes, founded the National Woman’s Party (NWP) in 1916, adopting more confrontational tactics:
Picketing the White House — the first group to do so — even during wartime.
A National Woman’s Party “Silent Sentinel” holds a banner outside the White House reading, “Mr. President How long must women wait for liberty.” This image captures the move from moderate lobbying to highly visible protest and exemplifies how militant tactics reframed the suffrage struggle as an urgent test of American democracy. Source
Civil disobedience, including hunger strikes in prison, to attract media attention.
Public spectacles like parades and banners to dramatise demands.
These actions polarised public opinion but increased national visibility and pressured political leaders.
NAWSA’s Pragmatic Approach
While the NWP escalated direct action, Carrie Chapman Catt, president of NAWSA, pursued a dual strategy:
Continued state campaigns, expanding the electoral base.
Intensified lobbying for a constitutional amendment, emphasising women’s contributions to national life.
NAWSA’s “Winning Plan” focused on building bipartisan support in Congress while coordinating grassroots activism nationwide.
The First World War and Its Impact
War Work and Political Leverage
The First World War (1914–18) significantly altered the suffrage landscape. Women’s extensive contributions to the war effort — in factories, nursing, and voluntary services — showcased their patriotism and competence, undermining arguments against enfranchisement.
President Woodrow Wilson, initially lukewarm, shifted his stance, framing suffrage as a “vital war measure” necessary for democracy. In 1918, he endorsed the suffrage amendment in Congress.
Wartime rhetoric of democracy and self-determination abroad strengthened the case for expanding democracy at home.
The movement capitalised on this momentum to build cross-party support.
Victory: The Nineteenth Amendment
Legislative Success
After decades of activism, the Nineteenth Amendment was passed by Congress in June 1919 and ratified on 18 August 1920.
It declared:
“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.”
Tennessee became the decisive 36th state to ratify.
Over 8 million women were enfranchised, transforming the electorate.
Nineteenth Amendment: The 1920 constitutional amendment granting American women the right to vote.
Immediate and Long-Term Impact
The victory marked a turning point, but limitations persisted:
Many African American women in the South remained disenfranchised by Jim Crow laws.
Native American women were excluded until 1924, when citizenship was extended.
Political participation grew gradually; women often voted similarly to men in early elections.
Nevertheless, suffrage redefined women’s status, enabling participation in reform movements, party politics, and public office. It also laid the groundwork for later feminist campaigns, including the push for the Equal Rights Amendment and reproductive rights.
Legacy of the Suffrage Movement
The women’s suffrage campaign broadened participation in American democracy and redefined gender roles. By 1920, the movement’s persistent activism, strategic adaptation, and alliances had achieved its central aim — enfranchisement — transforming the political landscape and inspiring future struggles for equality.
FAQ
Opponents claimed that women’s political participation would disrupt traditional gender roles and family structures. They argued that women were morally suited to the private sphere and should influence politics indirectly through men.
Some feared that women voters would support social reforms, such as temperance, that threatened business interests. Others argued that women lacked the knowledge or temperament for political decision-making. Southern opponents particularly resisted suffrage due to fears it would empower African American women and challenge racial hierarchies.
Western territories and states were pioneers in enfranchising women, often motivated by a desire to attract settlers and promote equality in frontier societies.
Key examples include:
Wyoming (1869) – first to grant full suffrage.
Utah (1870) – enfranchised women early, though rights were later revoked and restored.
Colorado (1893) and Idaho (1896) – followed with successful campaigns.
These successes provided powerful evidence that women’s suffrage was practical and beneficial, strengthening national campaigns and challenging opponents’ arguments.
African American women organised separately from white-led groups due to racism and exclusion. Leaders such as Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Mary Church Terrell, and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper linked suffrage with the fight against racial injustice.
They founded groups like the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), combining campaigns for voting rights with education, anti-lynching work, and civil rights.
Their activism highlighted the intersection of race and gender, though they often faced discrimination even within the broader suffrage movement.
The press was a powerful tool and obstacle. Many newspapers mocked suffragists, portraying them as unfeminine or socially disruptive, which shaped negative perceptions.
Suffragists responded by founding their own publications, such as The Revolution, to present their arguments and report on campaigns.
Public spectacles — parades, marches, and protests — generated significant press coverage. Even hostile reporting helped raise awareness, making suffrage a national issue and pressuring politicians to address it.
After 1920, women gradually entered politics as voters, activists, and officeholders. Organisations such as the League of Women Voters focused on educating women about political participation and influencing legislation.
Some women were elected to local and state offices, though national representation remained limited. Suffrage also energised campaigns for broader gender equality, laying foundations for future movements like the campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment and mid-20th-century feminism.
Despite initial slow progress, the Nineteenth Amendment marked a significant shift in women’s public roles and political influence.
Practice Questions
Question 1 (2 marks)
Identify two methods used by the National Woman’s Party (NWP) in its campaign for women’s suffrage.
Mark Scheme:
Award 1 mark for each correct method identified.
Picketing the White House
Civil disobedience (e.g. hunger strikes while imprisoned)
Public spectacles such as parades and banners
Question 2 (6 marks)
Explain how the First World War influenced the achievement of women’s suffrage in the United States.
Mark Scheme:
Level 1 (1–2 marks): Basic statements or general knowledge with little explanation.
E.g. “Women worked during the war” or “The war helped them get the vote.”
Level 2 (3–4 marks): Developed explanation with some detail, though may lack depth or range.
E.g. “Women’s work during the First World War, such as in factories and nursing, showed they were capable and patriotic. This made people more supportive of women’s suffrage.”
Level 3 (5–6 marks): Well-developed explanation showing clear understanding of how the war influenced suffrage, with accurate and relevant detail.
E.g. “During the First World War, women contributed significantly to the war effort through work in factories, nursing, and voluntary services, proving their capability and patriotism. This undermined arguments against enfranchisement and increased political pressure. President Wilson changed his position and described suffrage as a ‘vital war measure’, helping secure support in Congress for the Nineteenth Amendment.”
