Finish the Fight! The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought For the Right to Vote

 Chambers, Veronica. Finish the Fight! The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought For the Right to Vote. 2020. 132p. ISBN 978-0-358-40830-7. Available at 324.6 FIN on the library shelves.

A hundred years ago, in 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed when Tennessee became the 36th state to vote in the affirmative for this amendment. Women gained the right to vote in all elections. This process started much earlier, in the 1800s, to allow women the same rights that white property owner males had. The lofty goals of the Declaration of Independence were far removed from the reality that most women experienced. The struggle that followed was hard and difficult and required a fundamental change in what men thought women were capable of.

Famous suffragists like Alice Paul, Lucy Stone, Lucretia Mott, and Susan B. Anthony moved the process forward, but they couldn't have been successful without hundred of thousands of other women who got involved in the fight for the right to vote and for equality. This book provides a quick summary of eleven strong women most readers are not familiar with, and the invaluable roles they played in promoting the right to vote and ensuring that women had every opportunity to participate in the civic life of the nation. These women were African-American, Latinas, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. All of them were American women who struggled in a world of men to make their mark and help other women achieve the American dream.

Fans of history will appreciate this introduction to women who played major but unacknowledged roles in the suffragist movement, and will gain a better understanding of how the right to vote was gained.