Suffrage: The Epic Struggle for Women's Right to Vote

by Susan L. Poulson

Overview

Four generations of women fought for the right to vote. This book shows how their grand reform effort overcame resistance from traditionalists fearing social decay, religious leaders citing scriptural prohibitions, and a stodgy political establishment reluctant to share power.

What was it like to be among the founders of the women's movement in the middle of the nineteenth century, with no script to follow and self-doubt dogging their every move? This book not only reminds us of the laws that conspired against women's equality in the post-Civil War United States, but it also illustrates—through the eyes of the suffragists themselves—the cultural and religious norms that had held women in second-class status for centuries. Early suffragists grappled with isolation and outright hostility as they lectured around the nation, even as they tried to reassure the public that politicized women would still serve the family. Others espoused outrage by organizing public protests.

This book shows how lasting political change comes about through a combination of working from within the system and outside of it, and deftly illustrates the tensions within the movement. Although the vote was finally won in 1920, it was not without tremendous sacrifice. The book lays bare the strategies that led to the single-minded focus on the vote and the consequences of postponing action on so many other issues that remained for later generations to address, including reproductive freedom, labor rights, and equal pay.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440867880
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/03/2019
Pages:	302
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 9.60(h) x 1.05(d)

About the Author

Susan L. Poulson is professor of U.S. history at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, where she teaches courses in women's history and 20th century U.S. hHistory.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations ix

Chapter 1 Awakening 1

Chapter 2 The Quaker 11

Chapter 3 The World Anti-Slavery Convention: June 12-23, 1840 22

Chapter 4 Home 28

Chapter 5 The Seneca Falls Convention 37

Chapter 6 Lucy Stone 44

Chapter 7 Worcester 53

Chapter 8 Sojourner Truth 60

Chapter 9 Susan B. Anthony 65

Chapter 10 The Woman Question 74

Chapter 11 Civil War 85

Chapter 12 The Negro's Hour 94

Chapter 13 The New Departure 107

Chapter 14 Wyoming and Utah 117

Chapter 15 Scandal 127

Chapter 16 Setbacks in the West 137

Chapter 17 The New Woman 146

Chapter 18 Colorado 159

Chapter 19 Transitions 168

Chapter 20 Sisterhood 179

Chapter 21 Success in the Pacific West 191

Chapter 22 Alice Paul 199

Chapter 23 The Winning Plan 214

Chapter 24 War 228

Chapter 25 Ratification 243

Chapter 26 Epilogue 260

Acknowledgments 269

Selected Bibliography 271

Index 277