Here’s How People Attempted To Deny Women The Right To Vote

Published August 6, 2016
Updated August 3, 2016

As the 2016 election draws closer and Hillary Clinton gets her chance to become America’s first female president, it’s easy to — as Michelle Obama recently noted — “take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States.”

But there was a time, not even 100 years ago, that a woman simply voting for president seemed like a pipe dream. It wasn’t until 1920 that women in the United States were given the right to vote — and even that came only after decades of agitation and activism.

Those activists, suffragettes, were not simply up against a prejudiced legal system, but — as the following vintage posters show — a culture unready to grant women greater rights.

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Woman Suffrage Memorabilia

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Woman Suffrage Memorabilia

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Woman Suffrage Memorabilia

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Flickr/Scrappy Annie

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Woman Suffrage Memorabilia

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Woman Suffrage Memorabilia

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Woman Suffrage Memorabilia

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Woman Suffrage Memorabilia

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Woman Suffrage Memorabilia

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Woman Suffrage Memorabilia

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Wikimedia Commons


Next, see some of the most arresting photos of the women's suffrage movement.

author
All That's Interesting
author
A New York-based publisher established in 2010, All That's Interesting brings together subject-level experts in history, true crime, and science to share stories that illuminate our world.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.