Winning the Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement - Hardcover

Winning the Vote captures the color and excitement of a central, inspiring but nearly forgotten chapter in American history. This beautifully designed hardback presents the American woman suffrage movement clearly and chronologically with emphasis on the fascinating personalities and turbulent political campaigns of the early 20th century. Nearly 1,000 photographs, posters, leaflets and portraits illustrate this fascinating account of the expansion of American democracy. Large format images and a fast paced text highlight key developments between 1848 and 1920 including over 52 state electoral campaigns and the final, controversial drive for the 19th amendment. Winning the Vote shows how women have long been active participants in U.S. history and how many became politically powerful before winning the right to vote. There are profiles of 78 American women and men, black and white, who led the drive for equal rights, and an unprecedented display of the symbolism, color, and imagery used by the increasingly sophisticated suffrage movement. The opening three chapters, out of eighteen, cover efforts for full democracy in the 19th century, and an Epilogue follows suffragists into government and other influential areas after 1920.

“Never again can the claim be made that American women were given the vote. Women fought, sacrificed, and suffered for that cause. Women won the vote, and this book reveals, for the first time, what it cost them and exactly what it took to prevail. “For over 70 years, suffragists campaigned across the United States to win public support for their cause. In state after state supporters waged exciting electoral drives that challenged male voters to live up to their democratic ideals. But when suffragists took the same argument to Washington D.C., they found themselves in the halls of Congress one day and in the District jail the next. “Now the heroic efforts of three generations of suffragists can be fully appreciated in a book that captures their experiences with color, intensity, indignation, and humor. Here are the names, the faces, and the words of the nearly forgotten women who won the vote for half the American population. Here is their compelling story – rich with heroes and villains, challenges and setbacks, dreams and accomplishments. And here is their lasting, inspirational victory. “To create this book, designer Robert P. J. Cooney, Jr. scoured the manuscript collections, subject files, and photographic archives of dozens of private and public repositories including the Library of Congress, the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe, and the Huntington and Bancroft Libraries in California. His research over the course of 12 years uncovered a wealth of widely dispersed and rarely accessed material from the woman suffrage movement, most of which had never been published before. Combining images from over one hundred sources with a dramatic chronological narrative that highlights key events and recognized leaders, Winning the Vote shines a long-overdue spotlight on this fascinating part of American history.”