People

Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) stirred strong emotions in audiences from the 1840s to her death in 1902. She attracted attention and used it to push her ideas about women, rights, and families for more than fifty years.

One of eight children born to Quaker parents on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, Lucretia Coffin Mott dedicated her life to the goal of human equality. As a child, Mott attended Nine Partners, a Quaker boarding school located in New York. At school, she learned of the horrors of slavery from her readings and from visiting lecturers such as Elias Hicks, a well-known Quaker abolitionist. She also saw that women and men were not treated equally, even among the Quakers.

Mary Ann M’Clintock (1800-1884) was born to Quaker parents. In 1842, at an annual convention of the American Anti-Slavery Society held in Rochester, New York, Mary Ann and her husband Thomas became founding members of the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society and helped write its constitution. Mary Ann also became an organizer of the First Woman’s Rights Convention.

Abigail Adams (1744-1818) is known for her role as First Lady during the presidency of John Adams. In addition to being the wife of the second president, she was also the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States. She was one of the first advocates of women’s equal education and women’s property rights.

Remembered as a remarkable public speaker, Agnes J. Adams actively participated in the Black clubwomen's movement and other Boston organizations dedicated to racial justice.

A successful dressmaker and clubwoman, Alice Casneau had an active professional and public life in Boston during the turn of the 20th century.

Alva Erskine Smith Vanderbilt Belmont was a wealthy socialite who was also a committed suffragist. She used her fortune to support efforts to win the vote for women. She was the president and primary benefactor of the National Woman's Party founded by Alice Paul. Because of her support, the NWP was able to launch ambitious campaigns to pass the 19th Amendment, including protests at the White House which led to arrests and imprisonment for hundreds of women.

Angelina Grimké was the first American woman to speak in front of a legislative body at the Massachusetts State House in 1838. Her work as a lifelong activist, abolitionist, and women’s rights advocate defied gender standards of her time. 

As the youngest officer in the National Woman's Party, Anita Pollitzer traveled the nation campaigning for the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. Her lobbying efforts were instrumental in winning the last state, Tennessee. Researched and written by her grand-niece and NPS Volunteer, Patty Pollitzer

Working for African Americans’ civil and political rights, Arianna C. Sparrow joined Black women’s organizations to protest racial discrimination and support women’s suffrage.

Carrie Chapman Catt (1859 -1947) began her career as a national women’s rights activist when she addressed the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1890 at their national convention in Washington DC. She quickly became a dedicated writer, lecturer, and recruiter for the suffrage movement. She also worked for peace and was a co-founder of the League of Women Voters.

Alice Paul was one of the most prominent activists of the 20th-century women's rights movement. An outspoken suffragist and feminist, she tirelessly led the charge for women's suffrage and equal rights in the United States.

Dr. Anna Julia Cooper once stated, “It isn’t what we say about ourselves, it’s what our lives stand for.” A pioneer of Black feminist thought, Cooper dedicated her life to public service through her career as a teacher, author, and social activist.