1
A Review of Founding Sisters and the Nineteenth Amendment
By Furechi Samuel
I.
Introduction
The book Founding Sisters and the Nineteenth Amendment by Eleanor Clifton highlights the role
of women fighting for the passage of the 19th amendment during the suffrage movement in the
United States. The book’s focus is on the contribution and experiences of prominent women
during the suffrage women. Those women include: Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Carrie Chapman Catt,
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Lucretia Mott, and Susan B. Anthony and many others.
There are several themes that the book presents to its readers. One of the themes in the book
explores the impact suffrage movement on women’s lives and their families. Another theme in
the book is the role of the sisters in suffrage in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment.
Therefore, Cliff Eleanor provides a comprehensive understanding of the women’s suffrage
struggles through a detailed analysis of the experiences and lives of the suffrage sisters. This
book review will discuss how Clift Eleanor successfully highlighted explored the role of women
during the suffrage movement. The review will also show how Clift examined the impact of the
19th Amendment on the women and their families.
II.
Analysis
A. Thesis
In the book Founding Sisters and the Nineteenth Amendment, Clift’s thesis explores the role of
women during the suffrage movement and how the 19th amendment impacted their lives. For
instance, she says “Lucy Stone, Elizabet Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony were leading
figures of the suffrage movement whose tireless efforts contributed to the establishment of the
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voting rights of women”.1 This statement indicates that the author knew the knows the persons
on the forefront of the suffrage movement and also, she has an idea of how their actions led to
the end result of the voting rights for women. The author also demonstrates the actual struggles
of the suffrages when they were trying to fight for voting rights. She says, “there were many
challenges faced by the suffragettes like opposition from political leaders, men, and women in
general”.2 She also notes that their consistency throughout these struggles by saying “they did
not back down but continued to fight for the voting rights of women”.3 This demonstration is
more convincing because she points out the resistance that the women faced during the time. One
of the specific struggles that Clift points in the book is the traveling part because it was not easy
since there were “incomplete rail lines requiring boats, stagecoaches, and sleighs as backup”.4
Additionally, Clift mentions the significant impact of the 19th amendment on women in her book.
She says, “the implementation of the 19th amendment was a huge milestone for the right of
women because it gave them the right to participate in political process”. 5 This statement by the
author indicates that the struggles of the women in the suffrage movement finally paid off when
they were granted the right to vote. Therefore, Clift supports her thesis convincingly while
depicting how the women struggled for the voting rights to be amended.
B. Evidence
One of the themes from the book Founding Sisters and the Nineteenth Amendment was the
impact of the suffrage movement on women’s lives and their families. Clift explains that the idea
of women’s suffrage had a positive impact on women’s lives because it drove for the increased
1
Clift, Eleanor. Founding Sisters and the Nineteenth Amendment. Vol. 7. John Wiley & Sons Incorporated, 2003.
Clift, Founding Sisters, 55
3
Ibid 45
4
Clift, Founding Sisters, 59
5
Clift, Founding Sisters, 65
2
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opportunities in education and employment. She says, “the movement had a goal of attaining
human rights for all, including employment and free speech for all people”.6 This shows that the
suffragettes were not just fighting were not just fighting for the right to vote but additional
human rights that could make them inclusive. Clift also attempts to explain that traditional
gender roles were broken by the suffrage movement. She says “Stanton had been rebelling
against the boundaries imposed on her gender”.7 There is also an emphasis on her will, “nothing
was off her limit because of her gender”.8 Clift’s explanation indicates that the leading women in
the suffrage movement had broken away from the traditionally defined gender roles and did not
want their life to be defined by gender. The book also indicates that the suffrage movement had a
positive impact on women’s lives in general since it resulted in the right to political participation.
Clift says, “the nineteenth amendment passed 66 to 30 exactly 40 years after it was introduced”.9
This quote shows that the author had the specific details and statistical evidence to support the
point of how the suffrage benefited women by getting the right to vote. It is also important to
note that some negative aspects arose with the suffrage movement. The book paints a picture of
hardship for the women participating in the movements because of the overwhelming resistance
from the society at large. Clift says, “they refused to pay fines and were sent to prison”.10 This
shows that while the fruits of the suffrage were good, the process itself was hard for the women
and those who supported them. These are compelling evidence by Clift to show how suffrage
movement impacted the women’s lives.
C. Evidence
6
Clift, Founding Sisters, 67
Clift, Founding Sisters, 68
8
Ibid
9
Clift, Founding Sisters, 72-73
10
Clift, Founding Sisters, 26
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4
The other theme from the book Founding Sisters and the Nineteenth Amendment is the role of
the sisters in suffrage and their influence in the passing of the nineteenth amendment. For
instance, Clift addresses the concept of the bond among the founding sisters mentioned and how
it played out in the success of the women’s suffrage. She says, “their unbreakable friendship
encouraged the wealthy white suffragists to form a bond with their less-well-off sisters”.11 This
unity meant that they were fighting together to make sure that their rights and the rights of the
future generations was attained. The suffrage sisters also motivated other women to fight for
their rights as human beings and not be treated as lesser beings in the society. Clift quotes one
elderly woman who had been arrested for lining up at white house with suffrage burners. “I
should be ashamed if I do not join these brave women in the fight for democracy in America”.12
This quote shows how Clift went extra miles to gather primary data to show readers the role
played by the suffrage sisters during the movement. The suffrage sisters also helped in spreading
awareness about women’s rights in the society. Clift says, “The sisters published a newspaper
called Woodhull and Claflin’s weekly, which they used as a forum for their suffrage ideas”.13
This shows that the author examined the specific details that made the suffrage sisters influential
during their time. Most importantly, the suffrage sisters are depicted to be the people that
inspired the generations to fight for their rights until the nineteenth amendment was attained.
Woodhull was one of the outspoken sisters because as Clift says, “she used her invitation to
speak before the House Judiciary Committee to tell them that women needed the right to vote”.14
However, the fight progressed for a long time. “Only one of the founding sisters was alive when
11
Clift, Founding Sisters, 32
Clift, Founding Sisters, 83
13
Clift, Founding Sisters, 52
14
Clift, Founding Sisters, 18
12
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the 19th amendment was enacted in 1920”.15 The author uses this evidence to pinpoint to the
readers that even though the other 5 sister had passed away, their spirit lived on in the younger
generations and they pushed for their voting rights. The key takeaway from these evidences is
that the unity of the sisters during the suffrage movement played an important part in the passing
of the 19th amendment.
D. comparison
There are four secondary sources selected for comparison with the book in this section. One of
the sources is Mintz’s article The Passage of the Nineteenth Amendment which addresses the role
of the suffrage organizations in the passage of the nineteenth amendment. Mintz says, “one of
the key organizations to push for the enactment of the nineteenth amendment was the National
American Women Suffrage Association”.16 This statement supports Clift’s point on the role of
the women on the passage of the women’s voting rights. Brown’s article The Nineteenth
Amendment and Women’s Equality gives an overview of how women’s rights were impacted by
the 19th amendment. The article states, “Therefore, the suffrage movement led to economic
empowerment for women”.17 This quote supports Clift’s theme on the impact of the suffrage
movement on the women’s lives. Schurz’s article Report on the conditions of the south highlights
the history of the nineteenth amendment, including the struggle of women during the suffrage
movement. Schurz writes, “the voting rights amendment represented an important step towards
equality because women had the right to participate in the political process”.18 Foner’s book Give
Me Liberty also highlights the steadfast of women in fighting for their rights. “Traditional gender
15
Ibid 22
Mintz, Steven. "The passage of the Nineteenth Amendment." OAH Magazine of History 21, no. 3 (2007): 47-50.
17
Brown, Jennifer K. "The Nineteenth Amendment and women's equality." The Yale Law Journal 102, no. 8 (1993):
2175-2204.
18
Schurz, Carl. Report on the Condition of the South. e-artnow, 2020.
16
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roles were changing because women were taking new workplace responsibilities and participated
in making public policies”.19 Additionally, Foner’s concepts support Clift’s ideas by analyzing
the Women’s Trade Union League roles. He says, “Women’s Trade Union League spearheaded
women’s ability to participate fully in the society, including political and economic”.20 These
four sources support Clift’s book by indicating the nineteenth amendment was a great step
towards gender equality.
E. Reaction
Clift’s Sisters and the Nineteenth Amendment has strengths and weakness which are important to
address to indicate that while she comprehensively addressed the suffrage movement and the 19 th
amendment, she may have fallen short on some issues. One of the strengths of the book is its
comprehensive overview of the American suffrage movement and the key figures involved. For
instance, Clift says. “The suffrage movement was unique because the intended beneficiaries
(women) were openly opposing it for over 70 years”.21 Such ideas are a great source for persons
interested in the suffrage movement. Another strength is the highlight of the challenges and
struggles that the sisters faced in their fight for suffrage. “It was a challenge to get the votes to
pass the nineteenth amendment since the democrat majority opposed it”.22 This quote gives
readers an understanding of why it took 40 years for the 19 th amendment to be amended since it
was introduced. Another strength is the writing style of Clift, which is engaging and interesting
for a wide range of readers. She mentions statistical evidences like “700 women were arrested
19
Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty! An American History: Seagull Fourth Edition, vol. 1 (WW Norton & Company, 2013),
45
20
Foner, Give Me Liberty!, 557.
21
Clift, Founding Sisters, 55
22
Clift, Founding Sisters, 60
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for protesting and holding suffrage signs at the white house” which are interesting to readers.23
However, the book has some weakness. Another strength is the book gives attention to the people
of color and their contribution to the suffrage movement. The book dedicates a whole chapter
“Ain’t I a woman? To Sojourner Truth, a black woman who was also a former slaver”.24 One
weakness is it majorly focuses on the suffrage events such that it does not address the broader
social context. For example, Foner states “The Women’s Trade Union League focused on labor
rights for women and other economic and sexual freedom”.25 These were important events
supporting gender equality during the suffrage movement that the book fails to address. These
strengths and weaknesses show that while the book may have some shortfalls, it is convincing
and interesting for a wide range of readers.
III.
Summary
The book Sisters and The Nineteenth Amendment highlights the role of women during the
suffrage movement and the passage of the voting rights through the 19 th amendment. Clift’s
thesis of the book addressed the role of women in fighting for their rights leading up to the
passing of the nineteenth amendment. This review’s first theme addressed the suffrage movement
and how it impacted the lives of the women. The second theme addressed the role of the sisters
in attaining the freedom for women. The review has also compared Clift’s concepts on the
suffrage movement with four other sources. Strengths and weakness of the book have also been
addressed in this book review. Therefore, the book has depicted a good picture of the suffrage
movement and highlighted how it eventually led to the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment.
23
Clift, Founding Sisters, 41
Clift, Founding Sisters, 36
25
Foner, Give Me Liberty!, 692-693
24
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Bibliography
Brown, Jennifer K. "The Nineteenth Amendment and women's equality." The Yale Law
Journal 102, no. 8 (1993): 2175-2204.
Clift, Eleanor. Founding Sisters and the Nineteenth Amendment. Vol. 7. John Wiley & Sons
Incorporated, 2003.
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History: Seagull Fourth Edition. Vol. 1. WW Norton
& Company, 2013.
Mintz, Steven. "The passage of the Nineteenth Amendment." OAH Magazine of History 21, no. 3
(2007): 47-50.
Schurz, Carl. Report on the Condition of the South. e-artnow, 2020.
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