Suffrage movement photographs help prepare us for the centennial of all suffrage centennials: 2020

Women’s Suffrage Movement Photographs from the Library of Congress enrich Suffrage Centennial Celebrations on Vimeo.

Okay, let’s say you’re open to the idea of celebrating suffrage centennials and you might even plan travel in the future. But what’s a good place to start? By checking in with the suffrage activists themselves, on the streets and in parades and at rallies and special events. They were a creative group. This is a conclusion that comes after getting to know these activists who put themselves on the line from 1848 to 1920. And as we all know, the struggle for equality continues.

If you’d been around to ask some suffrage activists why they focused only on the ballot, a puzzled expression would have spread over their faces. They’d explain that equality has always been the goal and the franchise turned out to be such a hard nut to crack, it took several generations of women to put it out of the way. The woman’s suffrage photo collection at the Library of Congress is fascinating and this is by no means the entire collection. Consider it a beginning or a refresher. And keep your eye on the prize: suffrage movement events and celebrations from now through 2020, the nation’s big celebration, the centennial of all centennials.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Link for Library of Congress photo and prints collection. Terrific suffrage collections and educational programs are available from “American Memory,” under Women’s History, including: An American Time Capsule: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera; Words and Deeds in American History: Selected Documents Celebrating the Manuscript Division’s First 100 Years; Votes for Women: Selections from the National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection, 1848-1921; Miller NAWSA Suffrage Scrapbooks, 1897-1911; and American Women: A Gateway to Library of Congress Resources for the Study of Women’s History and Culture in the United States.

Thanks for this information roundup to Robert P.J. Cooney Jr., historian and author of “Winning the Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement” an illustrated reference book that can inspire your pilgrimage or journey to historic sites, suffrage events and centennial celebrations.

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