Women Will Vote

Susan Goodier is a historian, author, and educator. Her research examines women's social justice activism. She is the author of No Votes for Women.Karen Pastorello retired as Professor of US History at Tompkins Cortland Community College (SUNY). Her research explores women's political and labor activism. She is the author of The Progressives and A Power Among Them.

• AcknowledgmentsTimelineIntroduction1. Tenuous Ties2. "Ruffling the Somewhat Calm Comain"3. The Quest for Industrial Citizenship4. A Fundamental Component5. Persuading the "Male Preserve"6. Radicalism and Spectacle7. The Great Interruption8. Rising from the Ashes of DefeatConclusionAppendixesNotesBibliographyIndex

Goodier and Pastorello's key intervention is their ability to connect suffrage activism in New York City to community efforts across the state, demonstrating that suffrage activism was not exclusive to the city. By placing New York State at the center of their work, Goodier and Pastorello are able to flesh out the movement's nuance, widening their scope to encompass a breadth of suffrage activists and organizations, like the Jamestown Political Equality Club (1887), one of the many political coalitions for women in upstate New York.(The Gotham Center for NYC History Blog) Highly recommended to those interested in women's history as well as the history of New York State.(Library Journal) This stellar book... presents new information on the seven-decade struggle that culminated in the passing of the New York State referendum granting women—except Native American women—full suffrage.(Choice) An important book... engagingly written.(New York History) The book makes good use of letters and personal papers in general—and I found especially useful the papers and oral history of Mary Elizabeth Pidgeon, who volunteered with the National American Woman Suffrage Association after graduating from college, was invited to speak at a conference, attended a brief training session, and eventually became a paid organizer, working first in Buffalo and later in Auburn. In Buffalo she worked with labor groups in Polish and Italian neighborhoods and attended Parent-Teacher Association and union meetings.(American Historical Review)