Women's Suffrage

In the United States, the fight for women’s suffrage was a lengthy struggle. Since colonial times, American women were expected to care for the household and leave politics to men. However, many women wanted the vote so they could participate in government and work to change laws restricting their rights, including property rights. As the suffrage movement took off, activists were supported by other organizations, including those campaigning for abolition and temperance.

Various women began campaigning for equal rights in the decades leading up to the U.S. Civil War (1861–1865). At that time, women were divided—some sought immediate enfranchisement while others opposed it. Women’s suffrage activists Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902) and Lucretia Mott (1793–1880) took action, planning the first national...