“If it is within the bounds of possibility, I mean to have the franchise secured to women. Massachusetts ought to do it first.” Lucy Stone, November 24, 1852
When Lucy Stone wrote this to her sister-in-law Antoinette Brown Blackwell in 1852, it would be another 20 years before Massachusetts women could vote in limited school committee elections, nearly 70 years before women across the country could vote. For many women, suffrage meant more than just the vote; it meant expanded social, economic, and political rights. Explore the roots of suffrage in Boston, the long struggle to the 19th Amendment, and the enduring issues that extend beyond the right to vote.
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A video series that explores the many facets of the women’s rights movement in Boston. (Photo credit: Library of Congress)
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Learn more about suffrage in Massachusetts and the U.S. (Photo credit: Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University)
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Suffrage Articles
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 In 1915, the Massachusetts Legislature approved a state referendum on women's suffrage. For months, Bay State suffragists worked tirelessly to acquire support for the referendum. Learn more about the 1915 campaign for women's suffrage in Massachusetts.  “A born executive,” Mary Hutcheson Page made invaluable contributions to the suffrage movement in Massachusetts and the United States through her dedicated leadership, organizing, and fundraising.  Known for her generous philanthropy, Pauline Agassiz Shaw invested in education, immigrant communities, reform groups, and women’s suffrage. Supporting more than 30 schools in addition to social service institutions in the Greater Boston area, Shaw “put something better than money into her work: she put her heart and soul into it.”  In 1873, Lucy Stone spoke in front of a crow of 3,000 individuals at Faneuil Hall. Her words would energize the women's rights movement not only in Boston, but throughout the United States.  A renowned physician and humanitarian, Dr. Henry Ingersoll Bowditch dedicated much of his life to the cause of abolition, public health, and social reform. He also played a pivotal role in providing protection and assistance to freedom seekers escaping slavery through Boston.  A revolutionary social activist, Alice Stone Blackwell played a significant role in women's suffrage movement. Blackwell served as a leader in the Boston and Massachusetts movements, and she raised her voice nationally through her work as editor of "The Woman's Journal." She also participated in other 20th century social justice issues that defended the civil rights and liberties of others.  Considered the oldest active suffragist, Judith Winsor Smith spent seven decades at the center of the Boston suffrage movement.  Dr. Melnea Cass, distinguished in 1977 as a "Grand Bostonian," was a devoted advocate for the city's most vulnerable residents. Among her many efforts, Cass helped achieve legal protections for low-wage migrant workers and proved the potency of Black women's activism.  Mary Livermore dedicated her life to a variety of social causes, including: temperance, Civil War aid, and women's suffrage.  Educator and activist Maria Louise Baldwin belonged to a generation of Bostonian Black women involved in 19th and early 20th century activism. Her professional career and her life in activism set goals that are still being fought for today: social justice, equity, and representation for Black Americans.
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