The International History of the U.S. Suffrage Movement

By

Katherine M. Marino

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A caricature of Lady Liberty.

The Awakening

A caricature of Lady Liberty tagged “Votes for Women” walks from western states, where women could vote by 1915, toward states without female voting rights.

National Women’s Party members picket outside the 1920 Republican Convention.

Suffrage Picketers

National Women’s Party members picket outside the 1920 Republican Convention in Chicago.

A woman’s organization focused on awareness of legal issues, women’s education, and health access for women.

Bangladesh Mahila Samity

A woman’s organization focused on awareness of legal issues, women’s education, and health access for women, the Dhaka branch of the Bangladesh Mahila Samity started in 1949.

French suffragists with Louise Weiss in 1935.

Louise Weiss

French suffragists with Louise Weiss in 1935 at the Bastille demanding the right to vote.

An 1829 caricature of Frances Wright.

Frances Wright Cartoon

An 1829 caricature of Frances Wright, a British-born activist, suffrage advocate, and outspoken critic of slavery.

New Zealand suffragists at a London demonstration in 1910.

New Zealand Suffragists

New Zealand suffragists at a London demonstration in 1910. (Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira.)

Ida B. Wells-Barnett with her four children.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett

Ida B. Wells-Barnett with her four children in 1909.

A 1792 illustration showing the figure of Liberty receiving a copy of Mary Wollstonecraft’s publication.

“Genius of the Ladies Magazine”

A 1792 illustration showing the figure of Liberty receiving a copy of Mary Wollstonecraft’s publication “Vindication of the Rights of Woman.”

An 1869 cartoon illustrates the proposed inseparable voting connection between women and African Americans.

Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper

An 1869 cartoon illustrates the proposed inseparable voting connection between women and African Americans. An African American man labeled “Negro suffrage” stands beside a woman labeled “universal suffrage” atop a ballot box, while the other woman labeled “female suffrage” holds a club labeled “sorosis.”

Seneca woman Ah-Weh-Eyu.

Ah-Weh-Eyu

Seneca woman Ah-Weh-Eyu (Pretty Flower) in 1908.

On the left, Seneca woman Ah-Weh-Eyu. On the top right, Ernestine Rose. On the bottom right, Sarah Parker Remond.

Abolitionists

Mathilde Franziska Anneke, 1817-1884 (left); Ernestine Rose, 1810-1892 (top right); Sarah Parker Remond, 1826-1894 (bottom right).

A French lithograph (c. 1850) shows a hot air balloon.

Universal Suffrage

A French lithograph (c. 1850) shows a hot air balloon labeled “Suffrage Universel” with wings floating above the Pyrenees, heading from France to Spain.

A parade float created in 1920 by WCTU members.

WCTU

A parade float created in 1920 by WCTU members in Bristol, Tennessee.

Hope Lee, a missionary from the U.K., sits with Indians in 1915 near Orissa, India.

Regions Beyond Missionary Union

Hope Lee, a missionary from the U.K., sits with Indians in 1915 near Orissa, India. (Image courtesy of the University of Southern California Digital Library.)

Madame C.J. Walker.

Madame C.J. Walker

Madame C.J. Walker (1867-1919) was a member of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs.

Clara Zetkin (left) and Rosa Luxemburg in 1910.

Zetkin & Luxemburg

Clara Zetkin (left) and Rosa Luxemburg in 1910 on their way to the SPD Congress (Social Democratic Party of Germany) in Magdeburg.

Labor protest.

Labor Protest

On April 5, 1911, labor organizations organized parades to mourn the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire victims and protest unsafe working conditions.

The Women’s Freedom League intended to airdrop promotion pamphlets.

Votes for Women Dirigible

The Women’s Freedom League intended to airdrop promotion pamphlets on England’s Parliament and King Edward from this airship in 1909.

Lucy Branham in 1917 picketing to support Alice Paul.

Lucy Branham

Lucy Branham in 1917 picketing to support Alice Paul, founder of the National Women’s Party.

Virginia Arnold poses with the 'Kaiser Wilson' banner.

Virginia Arnold

Virginia Arnold poses with the “Kaiser Wilson” banner in 1917.

The red and white text of this 1932 Soviet poster reads, 'The 8th of March: A day of rebellion by working women against kitchen slavery.'

Soviet Poster

The red and white text of this 1932 Soviet poster reads, “The 8th of March: A day of rebellion by working women against kitchen slavery.” The gray text in the lower right reads, “Say NO to the oppression and narrow-mindedness of household life!”

Clara González from Panama and Doris Stevens.

González & Stevens

Clara González from Panama (left) and Doris Stevens from the U.S. meeting in 1928 at the Pan-American Conference in Havana.

Hansa Mehta and the other delegates of the Sub-Commission on the Status of Women.

UN Women

Hansa Mehta (far right) and the other delegates of the Sub-Commission on the Status of Women in May 1946.

Chilean feminists rally during Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship.

Chilean Feminists

Chilean feminists rally during Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship (1973-1990).

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