Suffrage in 60 Seconds: Inez Milholland

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Hi, I'm Ranger Lauren and welcome to another segment of Suffrage in 60 Seconds.

Behind me is a portrait of Inez Milholland Boissevain. She was a leader and role model in the U.S women's suffrage movement.

A graduate of Vassar and New York University School of Law, Inez Milholland was a fierce advocate for labor reform and would become the face of the National Woman's Party. She was the herald on the white horse that would lead the 1913 Suffrage Parade in Washington, DC.

As a celebrity, Inez used her status to contradict the negative rhetoric by the opposition. She was on a coast-to-coast campaign where she would give nearly 50 speeches in 11 days all while having an undiagnosed medical condition called pernicious anemia, an autoimmune disease where there was unfortunately no cure for at the time. When delivering a speech in Los Angeles, she collapsed on stage and the last thing she said was, "Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?"

She would be rushed to the hospital and die a few weeks later at the age of 30.

She is a great symbol of sacrifice and a role model of never-ending persistence to help others. To learn more about leaders in the suffrage movement please continue to check out more Suffrage in 60 Seconds videos

Duration:

1 minute, 12 seconds

Who was the New Woman of the 20th Century, the Herald of the Future, who rode a white horse at the beginning of the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession down Pennsylvania Avenue? Inez Milholland was a lawyer, an activist, and a powerful speaker who was also known as the "Most Beautiful Suffragist." Ranger Lauren has the story. What is the role of beauty and celebrity in the fight for equality?

Inez Milholland lived a ground-breaking life filled with many accomplishments. She was willing to use her beauty to further the cause of justice and peace.