Her March to Democracy

In this episode, we talk about the final years leading up to the 19th Amendment passage in Washington D.C. and northern Virginia. Alice Paul and Lucy Burns were leaders of the militant wing of the suffrage fight in the U.S. and officially founded the National Woman’s Party in 1916. Inez Milholland was a suffragist and attorney who in 1916 campaigned in the western states with equal suffrage to ask...

In this episode, we talk about the suffrage movement in Connecticut.   ● Abby & Julia Smith – two sister farmers who refused to pay the unfair increase in their taxes declaring: no taxation without representation. ● Mary Townsend Seymour was a Black suffragist who worked as a union organizer as well as creating inter-racial coalitions to address issues including working conditions, segregation...

In this episode, we talk about the suffrage movement in Utah.   Some of the activists and events in the UT voting rights campaign: Hannah Kaaepa, a native Hawaiian living in a Latter-day Saints community in Utah, spoke powerfully for women’s suffrage alongside national leaders of the movement. Elizabeth Taylor was a suffragist, journalist, and equal rights leader, and in 1904, she established The...

In this episode, we talk about the suffrage movement in Indiana.   Some of the activists and events in the IN voting rights campaign: Sojourner Truth traveled to Indiana several times to speak in a number of towns, while the state’s 1851 constitution barred Black persons from entering to reside or settle. Helen Gougar mobilized scores of women to show up at the polls around the state in 1894, dema...

In this episode, three guests talk about the suffrage movement in Maryland. Some of the events and activists in the MD voting rights campaign: In 1648, Margaret Brent went before the Maryland Provincial Assembly and demanded a voice and a vote as a property owner in the Maryland colony. Augusta Chissell and Margaret Hawkins were African American women who held many suffrage meetings in their homes...

In this episode, Andrea Malcomb discusses the suffrage battle in Colorado. We talk about the events and activists in the CO voting rights campaign: Mrs. Margaret Brown (Molly Brown) was a staunch supporter of women’s suffrage and contributed her skills, time and funding to the campaign. Elizabeth Ensley and Ida Clark DePriest were African American activists who worked for women’s suffrage as part...

In this episode, Cynthia Holmes and Elyssa Ford discuss the suffrage battle at sites in Missouri.  Virginia and Francis Minor were a St. Louis power couple determined to get votes for women and took their case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which decided citizenship did not mean the right to vote.  Anna Holland Jones was an African American activist who in August 1915 wrote an article enti...

In this episode, Robyn Young discusses the suffrage movement in Pennsylvania. We talk about the events and activists in the PA voting rights campaign: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was a prominent speaker for abolition, African American rights, suffrage and education. She also authored poetry, articles, and books.  Hannah Patterson helped organize the 1915 "Suffrage Day" at the Philadelph...

In this episode, Mary Melcher and Melanie Sturgeon discuss the suffrage battle at sites in Arizona. We talk about the events and activists in the AZ voting rights campaign: Frances Willard Munds, suffragist leader, who said that it made her “blood boil” when women were told to stay in their domestic sphere and not get involved with voting. Sallie Davis Hayden passed on her convictions for women’s...

In this episode, Anne Gass, independent historian and author, discusses the suffrage struggle at sites in Maine. We talk about the events and activists in the ME voting rights campaign: Florence Brooks Whitehouse was a suffrage leader who traveled to D.C. to picket at the White House. Mabel Derricks, Edith Johnson, and Blanche Dymond–members of the Black community in Bangor–signed a petition in 19...

In this episode, Paula Casey discusses the stories of the suffrage struggle in Tennessee. We talk about the activists in the TN campaign: Juno Frankie Pierce and Dr. Mattie Coleman aided 2,000 African American women to vote in Nashville after the state partial suffrage law passed in 1919. Joseph Hanover –a Polish Jewish immigrant–was key to organizing the final dramatic victory in the legislature....

In this episode on Oregon, Janice Dilg, consulting historian and principal of HistoryBuilt, talks about the struggle for votes for women on the NVWT.  We talk about the events and fighters in OR suffrage campaign: Dr. Pesie Chan, a Chinese immigrant, met with a collegiate suffrage group in 1912 at the Portland Hotel and gave a speech supporting women's suffrage. Esther Pohl Lovejoy created Ev...

In this episode, Marsha Weinstein, past president of the NCWHS, discusses the struggle for the women’s vote at sites on the NVWT. We talk about the activists in KY votes for women campaigns: Susan Look Avery was an inclusive voice in the suffrage movement by advocating for both Black and white women. Georgia and Alice Nugent played a pivotal role in advancing the African American suffrage movement...

In this episode, Liz Almlie talks about the struggle of the suffrage movement in South Dakota by visiting sites along the National Votes for Women Trail.  We visit sites of the events and activists in the SD votes for women campaign.  Learn about the “Flying Squadron” suffrage rallies in the town of Lead where women gave street speeches and held rallies at the Homestake Opera Theater.  Alice and J...

In this episode on Illinois, Lori Osborne, Director of the Evanston Women’s History Project, discusses the struggle for the women’s vote at sites on the National Votes for Women Trail. We talk about stories of people and events of the IL campaign: Ida B. Wells-Barnett founded the Alpha Suffrage Club with Belle Squire in 1913, which was the first organization to promote suffrage for Black women in...

In this episode on Nevada, Dr. Joanne Goodwin, discusses the struggle for the women’s vote at sites on the NVWT. We talk about the events and suffragists in the NV votes for women campaign: Three prominent men in business and politics organized the first women's suffrage convention in Nevada in 1870. Frances Slaven Williamson fully dedicated herself to fighting for women’s suffrage after losi...

In this episode, Dr. Anne Boylan, Professor Emerita of History and Women & Gender Studies at the University of Delaware, discusses the suffrage struggle at sites on the NVWT. We talk about the events and activists in the DE voting rights campaign: Mabel Lloyd Ridgely employed lobbying techniques including buttonholing legislators–made easier given her Dover house was a stone’s throw from the S...

In the second of two episodes on Alabama, Dr. Alex Colvin, Public Programs Curator at the Alabama Department of Archives and History, talks about the struggle for voting rights in the decades after 1920. We talk about the events and foot soldiers in AL voting rights campaigns after 1920: Hattie Hooker Wilkins of Selma was the first woman to be elected to serve in the state legislature. Mrs. Indian...

In the first of two episodes on Alabama, Dr. Alex Colvin, Public Programs Curator at the Alabama Department of Archives and History, talks about the the suffrage struggle up until 1920 by visiting sites along the National Votes for Women Trail. We visit sites of the events and foot soldiers in the AL votes for women campaign: Susan B. Anthony’s visit to the Alabama Woman Suffrage Association in De...

In this episode, CM Marihugh gives an overview of how the stories of the women’s suffrage movement are represented in the National Votes for Women Trail (NVWT), which is a project of the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites (NCWHS). We talk with Ida Jones about the NCWHS vision. We also ask Pam Elam and Mary Melcher about their work that grew to become the NVWT. We talk about the NVWT...

 Welcome to Her March To Democracy where we're telling stories along the National Votes For Women Trail. The trail chronicles the fight for voting rights for women. If you are a historian, history enthusiast, heritage tourist, or simply want to be inspired, listen to the stories of these remarkable and heroic activists who never wavered in their belief in democracy and the rule of law.  CM Ma...