The Fight for Women's Suffrage | Portrait of a Struggle | 6

American History Tellers

Wondery

Society & Culture, Kids & Family, History, Education For Kids

4.7 • 18.3K Ratings

🗓️ 6 April 2022

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For Alice Paul and other leading white suffragists, image was important. They published their own newspapers and staged dramatic public protests to gain press attention and shape public opinion. But all too often, white suffrage activists refused to make room for Black allies in their idealized image of a woman voter.

In this episode, Lindsay speaks with Dr. Allison Lange, a historian who focuses on the intersection of gender and power, and how visual imagery shaped the battle for women’s suffrage. They'll discuss the way images were used both for and against suffrage, and how there are echoes of the suffragist's strategies in the way female politicians present themselves today.

Find out more about Dr. Lange’s book, Picturing Political Power: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo50270913.html

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, prime members, you can listen to American History Tellers add free on Amazon Music,
0:05.6	download the app today.
0:09.6	Imagine it's February 1921 in Washington, D.C. You're in a hotel ballroom for a convention
0:24.3	of the National Woman's Party. You were born in slave during the Civil War. You've devoted
0:29.3	your life to fighting for racial and gender equality. Inspired by Alice Paul's confrontational
0:34.4	tactics, you joined the National Woman's Party a few years ago. Now, six months after the
0:39.6	ratification of the 19th Amendment, you're determined to help shape the organization's future.
0:46.4	All eyes turn to the stage, as Paul steps up to the podium.
0:50.6	I know that these past few days, we've had our differences about how to focus our energies moving
0:56.8	forward. But it's plain to see that there is no goal more important than pursuing full
1:02.4	gender equality. Now that we have the ballot, this organization must devote itself to fighting
1:09.2	all laws that stand in the way of equality between women and men. Paul looks around the room
1:15.6	expectantly. Take a deep breath and stand. Ms. Paul, I believe there are more urgent matters.
1:22.9	What about the repression of the Black vote in the South? So many women still cannot vote,
1:29.5	despite the 19th Amendment. All these poll taxes and literacy tests, Black women are facing
1:36.3	the same tactics that have stopped Black men from voting for far too long. I propose we urge
1:42.1	Congress to appoint a committee to investigate this issue. Paul taps her foot impatiently.
1:48.6	It's terrible what Black women face in the South, of course. But that's an inequality based on race,
1:55.6	not gender. It's not our concern. I was a silent centon or two. I stood out in the cold at the
2:03.4	White House gates. I'm as much a member of this party as anyone. And I'm telling you, this must
2:10.8	be our concern. We've been over this before. Race is simply too divisive. Ms. Paul, Black women
2:19.0	are being terrorized in the South. They will never be able to vote unless the 19th Amendment is
	...

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