The Real Legacy of the Suffrage Movement
The cause produced undaunted trailblazers, Black and white, who continued to pursue social reform.
How Black Suffragettes Subverted the Domestic Sphere
Anna Julia Cooper was among the educators who emphasized the power of communal care as a method of addressing larger structural ills.
The Suffragists Who Opposed Birth Control
Their reasoning shows how far women’s rights have come since the late 1800s.
Why Men Thought Women Weren’t Made to Vote
During the suffrage movement, conventional wisdom held that civic duty was bad for the ovaries.
The Pioneering Female Doctor Who Argued Against Rest
Physicians once advised menstruating women against mental exertion, fearing it would ravage their health.
The Real Turning Point for Women’s Political Power
Female lawmakers needed a critical mass in Congress before they could begin chipping away at the inequalities baked into the nation’s laws.
When American Suffragists Tried to ‘Wear the Pants’
Starting in the 1850s, proponents of the movement for women’s rights traded their long dresses for bloomers—and paid a heavy social price for it.
Turn-of-the-Century Thinkers Weren’t Sure If Women Could Vote and Be Mothers at the Same Time
In the years leading up to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, Atlantic writers often pitted political participation against domestic duty.
Photos: The Battle for Women’s Suffrage in the U.S.
Images of some of the brave women who worked tirelessly for years to demand equal rights, and finally succeeded by having them written into law
The ‘Undesirable Militants’ Behind the Nineteenth Amendment
A century after women won the right to vote, The Atlantic reflects on the grueling fight for suffrage—and what came after.
How The Atlantic Covered the Fight for Women’s Suffrage
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, magazine contributors debated whether women should have the right to vote—and whether they truly wanted it.
The Epic Political Battle Over the Legacy of the Suffragettes
Activists on both sides of the abortion wars see themselves as inheritors of the early women’s movement—a history that’s become more contested than ever under Trump.