Women’s Suffrage

Alice Paul was born on January 11, 1885, in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.  Paul was a leader in the women’s suffrage movement, staging protests and parades to gain support for the right to vote. 

On November 30, 1880, Belva Ann Lockwood became the first woman to argue a case before the US Supreme Court. She was the first female member of the US Supreme Court Bar and paved the way for future female lawyers.

Marianne Craig Moore was born on November 15, 1887, in Kirkwood, Missouri.  Considered one of the greatest American female poets, Moore received several distinguished literary awards during her lifetime.

Suffragist and abolitionist Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born on November 12, 1815, in Johnstown, New York.  She was a leader of the women’s rights movement and the driving force behind the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls in 1848.

Abolitionist and Suffragist Lucy Stone was born on August 13, 1818, in West Brookfield, Massachusetts. Stone dedicated her life to helping women receive the same rights as men. She was the first woman from her state to earn a college degree and is considered the “heart and soul” of the women’s rights movement.

Author and activist Anna Julia Haywood Cooper was born on August 10, 1858, in Raleigh, North Carolina. She fought for education for women and African Americans and is often called the “Mother of Black Feminism.”

Ida Bell Wells was born July 16, 1862, in Holly Springs, Mississippi, just before President Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation.  Wells was an early leader in the Civil Rights and Women’s Suffrage movements, as well as a founder of the NAACP.  

Illustrator and writer Rose Cecil O’Neill was born on June 25, 1874, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. O’Neill was the highest-paid female illustrator of her time, most famous for creating Kewpie, the most well-known cartoon character until Mickey Mouse.

On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment went into effect, granting women’s suffrage.