The battle for women\u27s suffrage in the Old Dominion

In 1909, twenty women launched an eleven-year campaign to win the vote in the Old Dominion. In 1920, the necessary number of states ratified the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution. However, Virginia was not among these states; her General Assembly rejected the Anthony Amendment by a wide margin. This study attempts to answer the following question: What was the woman\u27s suffrage movement like in Virginia? By exploring the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia, its leaders, arguments for and against suffrage, the public\u27s reaction, the reaction of the legislature and the conclusion, the answer(s) to this multi-dimensional question can be discovered. Primary sources included newspapers, letters, interviews, pamphlets, broadsides, and articles. In addition, manuscripts such as the Papers on Woman Suffrage in Virginia, the Lila Meade Valentine Papers, and the Adele Clark Papers provided an invaluable look into the soul of the movement