When Women Won the Vote focuses on the final decade (1910–1920) of American women’s fight for the vote—a fight that had already been underway for more than sixty years, and which culminated in the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920. Sandra Opdycke reveals how woman suffragists campaigned in communities across the country, building a mass movement and tirelessly publicizing their cause. Meanwhile, in Washington DC, the main suffrage organization led by Carrie Chapman Catt courted the President and Congress with diplomatic skill, while the smaller National Woman’s Party, headed by Alice Paul, intensified political pressure with confrontational picketing and demonstrations. Supported by primary documents and online eResources, this book adds context by describing the historical events that shaped this crucial decade in American women’s fight for the vote. The story of how American women won the vote is a compelling chapter in US women’s history and in the story of American democracy. This book is essential reading for students of American Political or Women’s History, Gender Studies, or Progressivism.
