Women’s Suffrage

Patricia Roberts Harris, Vivian Malone and Zephyr Wright were among those in attendance at the March 1965 signing of the Voting Rights Act.

For Generations, Black Women Have Envisioned a Better, Fairer American Politics

A new book details the 200-plus years of trenchant activism, from anti-slavery in the earliest days of the U.S. to 21st-century voting rights

A visitor at Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument in Washington, D.C.

How the National Park Foundation Is Highlighting Women's History

The organization will allocate $460,000 toward projects at 23 parks across the country

A photo from the statue's unveiling in Central Park on Wednesday, August 26

Why the First Monument of Real Women in Central Park Matters—and Why It's Controversial

Today, New York City welcomed a public artwork honoring three suffragists. But some scholars argue that the statue obscures more than it celebrates

The age-of-consent campaigns of the 1880s and 1890s represent a vital yet little-known chapter in the history of suffrage.

What Raising the Age of Sexual Consent Taught Women About the Vote

Before many women could vote in the United States, they lobbied male legislators to change statutory rape laws and gained political skills in the process

An artist's rendering of the mosaic, which is on view at Union Station in Washington, D.C. through August 28

A 1,000-Square-Foot Mosaic of Ida B. Wells Welcomes Visitors to D.C.'s Union Station

The artwork, installed in honor of the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage, celebrates the pioneering civil rights leader and journalist

Ruth Law stands in front of her Wright Model B biplane at the New York State Fair, Yonkers, 1913.

Suffragists Took to the Skies

At the Air and Space Museum, the archives reveal touch on how women aviators advanced the suffrage movement

Susan B. Anthony (seen here in 1898) was fined $100 for casting her vote in the 1872 presidential election.

In 1872, Susan B. Anthony Was Arrested for Voting 'Unlawfully'

President Donald Trump posthumously pardoned the pioneering activist on the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage

In the 1913 march for women's suffrage, Inez Milholland (right) led the procession on Pennsylvania Avenue, while black suffragists like the women of Delta Sigma Theta sorority were relegated to the back.

What 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage Looks Like Through the Eyes of 100 Women Artists

A new book fills its pages with an illustrated, intersectional exploration of the past century

Read excerpts from women senators' testimonials below.

Women Senators Reflect on the 100th Anniversary of Suffrage

Twenty-four lawmakers shared testimonials with the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History

Women vote at the polls in Cheyenne, Wyoming. In Wyoming, women were voting fifty years before the Nineteenth Amendment was passed in 1920.

How the American West Led the Way for Women in Politics

Western territories and states were the first to expand voting rights for women

Queen Liliʻuokalani (above: circa 1891) became the first and only queen regnant of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1891 and shepherded the country through a period of intense growth.

How the 19th Amendment Complicated the Status and Role of Women in Hawai'i

For generations, women played a central role in government and leadership. Then, the United States came along

The League of Women Voters led registration efforts across the country.

What the First Women Voters Experienced When Registering for the 1920 Election

The process varied by state, with some making accommodations for the new voting bloc and others creating additional obstacles

None

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

How women have fought for and wielded the right to vote in the century since the 19th Amendment was ratified

Trixie Friganza, noted feminist, suffragist and inspiration for "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"

The Feminist History of ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’

Trixie Friganza, an actress and suffragist, inspired the popular song of the seventh inning stretch

Mary McLeod Bethune, pictured in the 1920s, when her school became a co-ed institution and she became the president of the National Association of Colored Women.

Mary McLeod Bethune Was at the Vanguard of More Than 50 Years of Black Progress

Winning the vote for women was a mighty struggle. Securing full liberation for women of color was no less daunting

Lucretia Mott’s signature Quaker bonnet—hand-sewn green silk with a stiff cotton brim—from the collection of the National Museum of American History.

What Made Lucretia Mott One of the Fiercest Opponents of Slavery and Sexism

Her humble Quaker upbringing taught her how to stand up for her beliefs

The valiant Inez Milholland, standard-bearer in the nation’s struggle for female enfranchisement, is portrayed here by Isabella Serrano.

Recreating a Suffragist's Barnstorming Tour Through the American West

Inez Milholland Boissevain's campaign to win the vote for women inspires a dramatic homage a century later

Shannon LaNier, a TV news anchor, has complex feelings about being descended from Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. “He was a brilliant man who preached equality, but he didn’t practice it. He owned people. And now I’m here because of it.”

These Portraits Revisit the Legacies of Famous Americans

Photographer Drew Gardner painstakingly recreates the images with the notable figures' descendants

The program for the National American Woman Suffrage Association procession in the capital city. This march occurred before the rift between the more moderate NAWSA and the less conciliatory National Woman's Party.

The Thorny Road to the 19th Amendment

Historian Ellen Carol DuBois chronicles the twists and turns of the nearly 75-year-path to securing the vote for women in her new book

Left, a photograph of Helen Hamilton Gardener circa 1920. Right, an image of the Smithsonian's NAWSA exhibition, featuring the table upon which the "Declaration of Sentiments" was written.

The Woman Who Pushed the Smithsonian to Preserve the Victory for Suffrage

After lobbying in support of the 19th Amendment, free thinker Helen Hamilton Gardener strove to preserve the movement's legacy in the public memory

Page 2 of 4