Equal Suffrage League of Virginia facts for kids
The Equal Suffrage League of Virginia was a group started in 1909 in Richmond, Virginia. Its main goal was to help women get the right to vote. This movement was part of a bigger effort happening across the United States. When the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920, giving women the right to vote everywhere, the Equal Suffrage League changed its name. It became the Virginia League of Women Voters, which is still active today. Even though the 19th Amendment passed in 1920, Virginia didn't officially approve it until 1952.
Lila Meade Valentine was the first president of the league. Kate Waller Barrett was the vice president. Adele Goodman Clark worked as the secretary and helped the group talk to lawmakers in the Virginia General Assembly. Other important people who helped start the league included Nora Houston, Ellen Glasgow, and Mary Johnston.
Contents
History of the League
How It Started
The Equal Suffrage League of Virginia began with a series of meetings in November 1909. These meetings took place at the home of Anne Clay Crenshaw in Richmond. Her mother, Mary Jane Warfield Clay, was also a supporter of women's voting rights in Kentucky. The house where they met, at 919 West Franklin Street, is now a historic landmark.
Records from the first meeting on November 20 show that many women who wanted to form a suffrage league were there. A week later, they chose their leaders and board members. The original eighteen founders included Lila Meade Valentine (president), Kate Waller Barrett (vice president), and Adele Goodman Clark (secretary). Other founders were Nora Houston, Ellen Glasgow, and Mary Johnston. In its first year, the league quickly grew to 120 members, mostly from Richmond. Many members were well-known women with good connections. They used their influence to help spread their ideas.
On January 21, 1910, the league held its first big public event. They invited Dr. Anna Howard Shaw, who was the president of a national women's suffrage group, to give a speech.
Facing Challenges
By 1909, when the league started in Virginia, the national movement for women's voting rights was gaining strength. However, in Virginia and other Southern states, the movement faced more difficulties. Some people who were against women voting worried about how it might change society and the way things were organized. Supporters of women's voting rights tried to explain that giving women the vote would not cause major social problems.
How the League Grew
The Equal Suffrage League of Virginia was connected to the National American Woman Suffrage Association. However, the Virginia group often felt like it was behind the national movement. While the national group was already talking to politicians and taking direct action, the Virginia league had to focus more on teaching people and raising awareness. This meant the movement in Virginia started a bit slower.
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In the early days, the group worked hard. They went door-to-door, handed out flyers, and gave speeches in public. Leaders traveled across the state, visiting women’s colleges, schools, fairs, and union meetings. In Richmond, a group of businessmen even started their own Men’s Equal Suffrage League of Virginia to help the cause. These efforts really paid off. By 1914, the league had 45 local groups across Virginia. This number grew to 115 by 1916. By 1919, ten years after it started, the league had an amazing 30,000 members! At this point, the league worked hard to change the state constitution so women could vote.
Success and New Beginnings
After the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920, the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia stopped being a separate group. It then became the Virginia League of Women Voters. Their new goals were to help women register to vote, teach them about important issues, and support social improvements. With the 19th Amendment, women in Virginia finally got the right to vote. However, the Virginia General Assembly didn't officially approve the amendment until 1952.
Important Members
- Adele Goodman Clark
- Mary Johnston
- Lila Meade Valentine
- Elizabeth Langhorne Lewis
- Maud Jamison
See also
