Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Great Women of the Suffrage Movement
Nonfiction
For ages 9 to 12
Compass Point Books, 2006 ISBN: 978-0756512705
For many of us it is hard to imagine that there ever was a time when women did not have the vote. Imagine being the "property" of your husband and not having the right to get a job or an education. Imagine not being able to have access to your children if you and your husband got a divorce. These were the kinds of things that women had to deal with all the time in the years leading up to 1920, when American women finally were given the vote.
The reason why they won this right was because a number of brave, determined and hard working women devoted all or a large part of their lives to the suffrage movement. They were laughed at, scorned, arrested, and beaten for their efforts but they did not give up.
The women who formed the backbone of this movement included Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, Carrie Chapman Catt, and Alice Paul.
In this book the author looks at the lives and work of these seven very special women, showing how much they had to put up with just to be heard, and how much they suffered so that they could spread the word and get support for their cause.
Some of the women did not live long enough to see the passage of the 19th amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. Others were there on August 26th, 1920, celebrating the fact they there were at last "equal" enough to be able to go to the polls.
Wonderfully written, this We The People title will give young readers an excellent introduction to the life and work of some of the most well known and well respected members of the women's rights movement. In addition to the informative text, throughout the book there are numerous annotated photographs and illustrations, as well as quotes.
