Suffrage Parade, 1913 | State Historical Society of Iowa

In the early 20th Century, women marched in parades to gain support for a suffrage amendment to the Constitution.

Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Suffrage Parade, 1913

Description

One of the strategies used by those fighting for women to get the right to vote was holding parades. Marchers in the parades carried signs, rode on floats and horses in order to gain popularity for their movement.

Source-Dependent Questions

Observe the image for two minutes. List three to five things you notice about the people, the action or the perspective of the photographer.
What might you be able to infer from the size of the crowd attending the suffrage parade?
This photograph was taken in 1913. The goal of women’s suffrage wasn’t met until 1920 when the 19th Amendment was added to the Constitution. Why do you think women were willing to take actions for so long to get the right to vote?
When the United States Constitution was ratified, only white men who owned property could vote. Based on this image and the words of Susan B. Anthony in “An account of the proceedings on the trial of Susan B. Anthony on the charge of illegal voting at the Presidential election in Nov., 1872” describe how suffragists helped change who got the right to vote.

Citation Information

Bain News Service, Publisher. Suffrage Parade. [March 3] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.