As this presidential draws near, I remember my mother working at our local polling place. Until I read this book, I never realized my mother would have remembered when women gained the right to vote in a national election in 1920.  STORIES OF WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE: Votes for Women tells of five women, in particular, who diligently worked over a fifty year period to gain this right for women.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton began her work prior to the Civil War when many laws were unfavorable towards women. First she worked as an abolitionist before moving into women’s rights. In 1851, she met Susan B. Anthony and began collaborating with her. During the Civil War Elizabeth helped the abolitionists as she could. Then after the war, “Elizabeth and many other campaigners for women’s rights to vote became frustrated as more people began to support the right of black men to vote. Elizabeth refused to support the vote for black men only, instead demanding that this right should be extended to black and white women, too.” (22)

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony made a good team. Elizabeth liked working behind the scenes and Susan liked being out in front of the crowd. Elizabeth was the mother of seven children, while Susan never married. Susan traveled around the country giving speeches. She was very good at strategy, such as, scheduling her talks “just before politicians were due to discuss changes to the law. This got the attention of the newspapers and the lawmakers themselves.” (34) Susan used the 14th and 15th Amendments as the basis of her arguments. In 1872, Susan registered to vote, voted, and was then arrested for voting.

Across the Atlantic Ocean in Britain, Clementina Black was working to improve the lives of poorer working women. Clementina was asking for equal pay for equal work, breaks during the work time, limited hours to a work day, and a legal minimum wage. “Clementina’s work and writing has helped lay the ground for other campaigners for women’s rights, who were ready to give their lives for the right to vote.” (61)

Carrie Chapman Catt married newspaper man Leo Chapman and “became co-editor of the newspaper.”(65) Sometime after Leo’s death, Carrie married a wealthy George Catt who agreed with her views on women’s rights. George, on occasion, spoke for women’s rights with Carrie at rallies. Carrie’s strategy was to get women the right to vote at the state level and then finally get an Amendment to the Constitution.

Emmeline Pankhurst, in Britain, saw that peaceful protests were not achieving the results women wanted. Her motto was, “Deeds, not words.” She wanted the issues in front of the public everyday, in every way, even if it meant chaining women to fences shouting about women’s suffrage, so they couldn’t be removed and arrested.

Britain’s women could vote by 1918, if they were 30 years old, which changed to 21 years old in 1928. In the United States, the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920, though women in varying states could vote on local issues before then. Washington state women could vote by 1910.

These longer bios are followed by five one page mini-bios on: Lucretia Mott, Alice Paul, Millicent Fawcett, Annie Kenney, and Emily Davison.

Then, there is a timeline, Facthound.com, glossary, and index.