
Photo of Zitkála-Šá (Yankton Sioux) by Joseph T. Keiley. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.
This month the Smithsonian, Library of Congress, and National Archives are sharing lesser-known stories of suffragists who worked long before (and after) the 19th Amendment was passed. See our stories so far (stories 19 to 15 and 14 to 10). Also, use our new set of women's history-inspired animated gifs and Instagram stickers on your social media posts.
9: 1909 Factory Workers Strike

The 1909 garment workers strike in New York City was crucial in paving the way for women's suffrage in the state in 1917. The strike brought higher wages and union consciousness to thousands of women workers.
Leaders like Rose Schneiderman—who emigrated as a child from Russian Poland, worked in a factory, and became a force among New York's labor community—insisted that working women needed the vote to fight against low wages, long hours, and unsafe conditions.
As working-class women joined the suffrage movement during the 1910s, the movement gained supporters and leaders with deep experience in organizing labor. These working women won over powerful trade unions and working-class men. As labor organizations voiced their desire for a women's suffrage amendment, support in Congress mounted.
Learn more:
- Activism and Change: Clara Lemlich and the New York Shirtwaist Strike of 1909 from our Smithsonian Learning Lab
- Example of a shirtwaist blouse from the early 1900s from our National Museum of American History
- History of Sweatshops: 1880-1940 from our National Museum of American History
- Who Was Left out of the Story? from our National Museum of American History
8: Eight Million Women with Paychecks and No Votes

This poster declared that 8 million working women in the U.S. needed the vote. It was printed in 1917 by the National Woman Suffrage Publishing Co. Inc., one of the country's largest pro-suffrage groups. It's in our National Museum of American History's collection, along with postcards they created for a 1910 campaign.
The Women's Political Union (WPU), a radical suffrage group formed by Harriot Stanton Blatch, focused on women who supported themselves financially. Blatch started the WPU to bring working-class women into the suffrage movement. The group was responsible for holding one of the first large suffrage marches in the U.S. That march took place in New York City in 1910. The group joined with Alice Paul's suffrage organization in the spring of 1916, and they created posters, postcards, and pamphlets around labor rights.
Learn more:
- Woman suffrage button from the Women's Political Union from our National Museum of American History
- Votes for Women sash worn by a member of the Women's Political Union from our National Museum of American History
- Who Was Left out of the Story? from our National Museum of American History
- Portrait of Alice Paul from our National Portrait Gallery
7: Seven Notable Founders of the National Association of Colored Women

These seven women were among the founders of the National Association of Colored Women: Fanny Jackson Coppin, Charlotte Forten Grimké, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Mary Church Terrell, Harriet Tubman, Margaret Murray Washington, and Ida B. Wells. The organization merged several African American women's groups in 1896 to tackle issues nationally, promoting suffrage, education, and other causes.
Tubman elected Terrell to serve as the association's president. Addressing the National American Woman Suffrage Association in Washington, D.C. in 1898, Terrell discussed the efforts of black women within their homes and communities. She closed her speech by saying, "and so, lifting as we climb, onward and upward we go, struggling and striving, and hoping that the buds and blossoms of our desires will burst into glorious fruition ere long."
Learn More:
- Because of Her Story: Activist and Suffragist Mary Church Terrell from our National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Five You Should Know: African American Suffragists from our National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Uniting the Movement, about how a meeting of local African American women's clubs helped lead to the founding of the National Association of Colored Women, on our YouTube channel
- A Conversation: Diversity in Votes for Women from Because Of Her Story
- The Revolutionary Practice of Black Feminisms from our National Museum of African American History and Culture
6: Six Months in Jail

Suffragists arrested for picketing outside the White House could face six months in jail.
Starting January 10, 1917, women stood without speaking, holding banners, six days a week. Known as the "Silent Sentinels," suffragists were the first group to protest outside the White House. Predominantly white-led groups within the movement continued to perpetuate discrimination, rarely allowing African American women to take part in militant actions like picketing.
From June to November 1917, more than 200 protesters were arrested and charged with "obstructing sidewalk traffic." Many were convicted.
Held in horrifying conditions, some incarcerated women went on hunger strikes and endured forced feedings. The resulting publicity and public outcry over their treatment is often credited with compelling President Woodrow Wilson to support women's suffrage.
The protesters demonstrated for two and a half years until Congress passed a joint resolution proposing the 19th Amendment on June 4, 1919.
Learn more:
- Alice Paul and Suffragists Were First to Picket the White House, a Smithsonian Snapshot
- "Silent Sentinels" in Votes for Women, a Google Arts and Culture online exhibition from our National Portrait Gallery
- The Kaiser Wilson Banner on our National Museum of American History's YouTube channel
- Alice Paul: Champion of Woman Suffrage from our National Museum of American History
- Votes for All Women? from our National Museum of American History
- Portrait of Alice Paul from our National Portrait Gallery
5: More Than 5,000 Women

On March 3, 1913—the day before Woodrow Wilson's inauguration—more than 5,000 suffragists from around the country marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.
In the early 20th century, suffragists began staging large and dramatic parades to draw attention to their cause. This first national suffrage parade had costumes, nine bands, four mounted brigades, and 24 floats. The parade featured a dramatic tableau on the steps of the U.S. Treasury building, illustrating the ideals of Justice, Charity, Liberty, Peace, and Hope. Women marched in sections representing states, professions, and other groups. Suffragist Jennie Griswold wore this cape while riding horseback in the parade.
The rowdy, mostly-male crowd watching the parade pressed in on the demonstration, at times leaving barely enough room for the marchers to pass. Many women were verbally and physically assaulted while the police stood by, either unwilling or unable to control the crowd. Outrage over the violence resulted in a congressional investigation into the lack of police protection for the marchers and increased sympathy for women's suffrage.
Learn more:
- Object of the Month: 1913 Women's Suffrage Postcard on Because of Her Story
- Starting of suffrage parade coming up Pennsylvania Avenue in Votes for Women, a Google Arts and Culture online exhibition from our National Portrait Gallery
- Woman suffrage postcard, 1913 from our National Museum of American History
- The national woman suffrage parade, 1913 from our National Museum of American History
- Letter describing the 1913 suffrage parade from our National Museum of American History
- Report of the Senate hearing on the 1913 woman suffrage parade from our National Museum of American History
4: Four Years Later

Four years after the 19th Amendment was ratified, many American Indian women (and men) gained the right to vote through the Indian Citizenship Act, which deemed all American Indians citizens. But even after the Indian Citizenship Act, state governments used many methods to bar American Indians from voting, including literacy tests, poll taxes, tax laws, reservation residency, and other factors related to political status.
Zitkála-Šá (Yankton Sioux), a leader in the Society of American Indians (SAI), fought for citizenship rights. The SAI was the first national all-American Indian organization to advocate for American Indian rights.
An author, musician, and advocate for policy reform, Zitkála-Šá also founded the National Council of American Indians in 1926, which worked to make U.S. government policies toward American Indians more just.
Learn more:
- Getting the Vote: Native Americans from our National Museum of American History
- Native American Women Activists: Resistance, Resilience, and Passing the Torch panel discussion from our National Museum of the American Indian
- Who Was Left out of the Story? from our National Museum of American History
- Photo of Zitkála-Šá by Joseph T. Keiley from our National Portrait Gallery
- Photo of Zitkála-Šá by Gertrude Käsebier from our National Museum of American History
Continue the countdown with stories 3 to 1 or go back to read stories 14 to 10.