Scope and Contents:
This collection is comprised of records from the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
The National American Woman Suffrage Association was formed in 1890 by the merger of two women's rights groups: the National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association. Its purpose was to advocate for women's suffrage in the United States, and it played a pivotal role in the passing of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on August 18, 1920, which states that the right of U.S. citizens to vote cannot be denied or abridged on account of sex.
The collection consists of materials dating from 1913-1920 pertaining to the campaign for women's suffrage in the United States. The bulk of the collection is comprised of records from the National Press Department of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. These include typed biographies of individual association members and press releases related to the 51st annual convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, which was held in Chicago from February 12, 1920 to February 18, 1920. The collection also includes pamphlets published by the association, photographs of women's suffrage figures, and miscellaneous documents.
The collection was acquired by the Illinois Historical Survey (predecessor to the Illinois History and Lincoln Collections) circa 1957.