The web site SuffrageCentennials.com celebrates the exploding nature of information, research, stories and news about the suffrage movement that’s underway. An article about Jewish women from Montana who worked in the suffrage movement is well documented and illustrated in the excellent suffrage history series, “Women’s History Matters.” It’s a quality initiative, but more than that –the straight-forward accounts of grassroots women activists are enough to bring tears to the eyes of those fascinated about this under-reported slice of American history. An article, “The Lifelong Quest of Frieda Fliegelman and Belle Fligelman Winestine” recently published, is yet another example of a rich resource gathering momentum in the years leading up to the national 2020 suffrage centennial. Nevada and Montana currently are celebrating 100 years of their women as voters.
Suffragist Elisabeth Freeman is excellent example of someone we should call Great Aunt Elisabeth. Peg Johnston, Freeman’s great niece from Binghamton, NY, has produced a terrific web site about this energetic and courageous individual busy marching from New York City to Albany one hundred years ago. See centennial video for highlights. Freeman, who was born in England, had a long history of involvement in the English suffrage movement before devoting herself full-time to women’s rights and civil rights activism on this side of the Atlantic. A thorough and fascinating web site highlighting Freeman’s life and activism is available on an interactive web site and timeline for Elisabeth Freeman‘s life that provides an in-depth look at the wide range of actions and events that took place on the ground to support work in organizations on the local, state and national levels.
An excellent article in the Pasadena Weeky highlights some of Freeman’s other grassroots activism with a link to events in the present day that illustrates the interrelationship of issues, now and then. Freeman’s image often crops up in suffrage archives, and her career as an organizer is rich with examples of how women worked on the ground in order to build political power and recognition for their cause. Freeman’s use of a horse-drawn wagon for media events included work on Long Island, New York State, Ohio, and Massachusetts. See article in New York History.
Follow SuffrageCentennials.com for news about suffrage centennial events, programs, and related issues. Get ready for the 2020 votes for women centennial!