Ellen Carol DuBois Bücher

Distinguished historian Ellen Carol DuBois begins in the pre-Civil War years with foremothers Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Sojourner Truth, exploring the connections between the woman suffrage movement and the abolition of slavery. After the Civil War, Congress granted freed African American men the right to vote but excluded both white and African American women, leading to profound disappointment. DuBois illustrates how suffrage leaders persevered through the Jim Crow era into the Progressive reform period. She introduces new champions Carrie Chapman Catt and Alice Paul, who advanced the fight into the 20th century, while African American women, led by Ida B. Wells-Barnett, demanded voting rights despite being overlooked by white suffragists. DuBois details how suffragists forged a coalition of moderate lobbyists and radical demonstrators, strategizing to win voting rights in key states, ultimately leading to constitutional suffrage for all American women. In vivid prose, she recounts the suffragists' final victories in Congress and state legislatures, culminating in the challenging ratification in Tennessee. DuBois also follows women's efforts to leverage their voting rights to secure political office, strengthen their voting power, and enact laws for child labor reform, maternal health, and greater equality. This work is poised to become the definitive account of a pivotal chapter in America

Explores the full scope of the movement to win the vote for women through portraits of its bold leaders and devoted activists.