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National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA)
The association was founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Standton in New York. Anthony and Standton had been advocating for equal right for all men and women for years. The 14th Amendment was a huge disappointment for them because it defined “citizens” as “men”. The NWSA association was formed in 1869 with the goal to achieve women’s voting right on a federal level. -
American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA)
The AWSA was a more conservative organization started in Boston, which was a center of reform movements, for women’s suffrage right at individual state level. AWSA supported the Fifteenth Amendment, unlike the NWSA, AWSA’s vision was that it would be easier to establish women’s right to vote at a state-by-state strategy. The NWSA and AWSA eventually merged as National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) in 1890 to continue fighting for women’s right. -
The First Women's Suffrage Law - Wyoming
Although the Fifteenth Amendment did not include women as qualified citizens to cast votes, individual states still had the power to adopt their own voting right. Wyoming became the first state to pass women’s suffrage law, stating "every woman of the age of twenty-one years, residing in this territory, may, at every election to be holden under the laws thereof, cast her vote." Soon after that, many other states were to follow Wyoming’s footstep and passed their own voting rights for women. -
Hull House
Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr founded the Hull House, a settlement house started in Chicago in 1889. The house was originally thought to be a place that provide art and education for people in need. The settlement house quickly became a movement that helped women seeking employment opportunities in social work. It also helped women, especially working class women, with childcare, evening classes, healthcare, and skills to empower women and to have their voices heard. -
National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)
After decades of working separately with different takes on the 14th and 15th Amendment and approaches to go about achieving women’s voting right, the NWSA and AWSA merged to form NAWSA for national suffrage movements. NAWSA uses both group’s strategies of working at the state and federal level to secure women’s right to vote. NAWSA later became the League of Women Voters after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. -
National Women's Trade Union League (NWTUL)
The increased amount of women working in low wage and poor working conditions united women of all backgrounds to form the NWTUL. The league consisted of working class women seeking for a change and a voice, and wealthy women who supported and donated to the cause of the organization. The “bond of womanhood” participated in strikes and suffrage movement. It was a place where women of all backgrounds join together to support one another. -
The First Congresswoman
Jeannette Rankin became the first American woman elected to represent her state, Montana, in the U.S. House of Representatives. She advocated for world peace and women's right. She challenged the Congressmen on the floor debate in the House about fighting for world democracy when the same people did not want to grant the same kind of democracy to women. -
Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor
In 1920, the Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor was formed to protect and collect information on women in workforce. This gave women a place to voice their concerns. The Bureau ensures women's employment and advancement opportunities, good work condition, and increase work efficiency. The Bureau also collaborated with other organizations to better serve and protect the working class and middle class women. -
Nineteenth Amendment
After decades of suffrage movements, the Nineteenth Amendment was finally passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920. This amendment states, "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." This marked the date that the federal government had officially recognized and given women the power to voice their concerns and to change. -
American Birth Control League
Margaret Sanger founded the American Birth Control League (ABCL) on November 10, 1921 in New York City. Her goal was to build a national organization to provide education, legislative reform, and research for women. The League had national support from physicians, scientists, and women throughout the country. The League later merged with Birth Control Research Bureau and became Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1942.
