Drawing of the Seneca Falls Convention from Harper’s Weekly, June 11, 1859.Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (300.00.00)
Beginning of a Movement
The Seneca Falls Convention is credited as beginning the women’s suffrage movement in the United States. The event was hosted in Seneca Falls, New York from July 19-20, 1848.
An estimated three hundred people gathered at Wesleyan Chapel to listen to speakers and form opinions on the topic. The event produced the document Declaration of Sentiments that explained women’s equality and was written in a style mimicking the natural-rights traditions of the Declaration of Independence.
The convention was drafted and hosted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott.
“Breach of Promise” an 1849 caricature depicting the Seneca Falls Convention by George Cruikshank for the 1850 Comic Almanack.
Gaining Momentum
Following the convention, the suffrage movement began to rapidly grow support and organizations were formed to further the cause:
National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) Founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in 1869
American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) Founded by Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell, and Julia Ward Howe in 1869
Ultimately, the AWSA was considered conservative compared to NWSA and under the leadership of Stanton the two organizations merged to become the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1890.
In 1913, Congressional Union, eventually known as National Woman’s Party, was founded by Alice Paul and Lucy Burn. Their approach was considered radical—staging hunger strikes, picketing the White House, and violent confrontation with authority figures.
A woman depicted wearing a pantsuit resembling a police officer’s uniform of the time. She is wielding a rolling pin and the dog’s collar reads “Police,” furthering her authoritative appearance.
Dunston-Weiler Lithograph Company, published January 1909.
Courtesy of Palczewski, Catherine H. Postcard Archive. University of Northern Iowa. Cedar Falls, IA.
Alice Paul holding a sign that reads “The time has come to conquer or submit for there is but one choice—we have made it.” She held this sign at a protest only days after law enforcers announced any protesters would be sentenced to at least six months in prison.
Image courtesy of the Library of Congress
