Starred Review. Grade 8 Up–Published on the 85th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, and in collaboration with the National Womens History Project, this lavishly illustrated volume focuses on the years from 1848 to 1920. The chronological chapters move, at first, by decades, and then, when discussing the most intense activity prior to winning the vote, by year. Each chapter begins with a narrative passage giving an overview of the period covered. The pages that follow offer vignettes, brief biographies, informatively captioned archival illustrations and other primary sources (posters, documents, political cartoons), and brief descriptions of events and incidents marking the struggle. A brief epilogue describes the political activism that the suffrage movement engendered and assesses its impact on women into the 21st century. The final pages provide references for text cited in the volume, followed by an extensive bibliography, photographic credits, and a comprehensive index. The language is clear throughout, bringing to life this complex period in American history. While appropriate for students, all history buffs will appreciate this splendid volume.
–Linda Greengrass, Bank Street College Library, New York City Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
"For more than seven decades, American women fought on the local, state, and federal level for themselves and their sisters to earn the right to vote. To celebrate the 85th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, Cooney (director, Woman Suffrage Media Project: coauthor, The Power of the People), in collaboration with the National Women's History Project, has assembled a visually rich collection of primary source materials intermingled with explanatory text that provides an approachable introduction to the women and the movements that made the victory possible.
Chronologically arranged chapters make good use of primary sources such as photographs, cartoons, posters, and newspaper articles culled from archives across the nation. Bibliographic references and an index increase the value of the work. Recommended for larger public and academic libraries with an interest in women's studies, even those who already own documentary volumes made up primarily of textual sources." -- Library Journal
"Winning The Vote: The Triumph Of The American Woman Suffrage Movement" by Robert Cooney in association with the National Women's History Project is a comprehensive, 496-page history of the struggle for American women to have the right to vote in local, state, and national political elections. Superbly and profusely illustrated with more than 960 color and b/w illustrations that include historic photographs, posters, leaflets, and campaign buttons, the informed and informative text is further enhanced for the non-specialist general reader with an extensive bibliography for further study or research. It's been 85 years since women won the right to vote in 1920, and a whole new generation of women voters has arrived who would benefit from knowing the long, hard, frustrating, long-odds struggle to provide them with an equal opportunity to participate in every facet of American political life from determining candidacies, to running and holding office, but most fundamentally--the right to cast a ballot to determine who will make, administer, and adjudicate the laws under which they and their families must live. No academic library's Women's Studies or Political Science collections can be considered either comprehensive or complete without the inclusion of Robert Cooney's Winning The Vote! -- Midwest Book Review
"Winning the Vote" is an excellent account for the general reader of how American women shaped their own history, and influenced countless other women around the world. Their story is an important source of power and inspiration for women and men today. "Winning the Vote" illuminates the origins of the American woman suffrage movement, some of the earliest organized activity on the subject in the world. The book covers formative events, then the central story of the mainstream National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). The illustrated history also gives detailed attention to the independent "militant" wing of the movement whose legendary direct actions were orchestrated by Alice Paul. Black suffragists, men, and anti-suffragists are also included. The movement is treated chronologically, with particular emphasis on the years 1910-1920, making full use of hundreds and hundreds of beautiful oversized photographs and color illustrations, many reproduced here for the first time. The author, an accomplished graphic designer and photo researcher (and creator of "The Power of the People: Active Nonviolence in the United States"), was closely advised by historians, feminist scholars and suffrage experts. This unique book will appeal and communicate to virtually any age because of its skillful use of graphics and original source material. -- Dr. Diane Atkinson, Historian, expert on the British suffragettes, and author of "The Purple, White & Green: Suffragettes in London, 1906-14" and "The Suffragettes in Pictures" (Museum of London).
If you think the women's suffrage movement began with Susan B. Anthony, add Winning the Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement to your bookshelf.
And do it today.
Women like Margaret Brent, who demanded the right to vote blazed the trail for women's rights as early as 1648, are featured in this fascinating retrospective.
Widely regarded in the Maryland colony for her courage and strength of character, a businesswoman and property owner, Brent appeared before the Maryland assembly and unsuccessfully demanded the right to vote.
Her story is one every woman should know, and it is included in the weighty 496-page volume researched and written by Robert PJ Cooney, Jr. in collaboration with the National Women's History Project. Written in a lively and dramatic style, Winning the Vote tracks the suffrage movement from its true roots, in a handful of women who spoke up for their rights, to its formal organization during the fight against slavery and the bitter, divisive battle that resulted in the 19th amendment, ratified in 1920.
Cooney spent 12 years studying manuscript and photos archives from of dozens of private and public libraries and collections, uncovering a vast array of information about the suffrage movement.
Interspersing photos from more than 100 sources makes the book a great coffee table addition, one that you'll pick up and read over and over again.
While bits and pieces of women's history have been scattered and forgotten over time, Winning the Vote weaves stories from around the country into a rich and exciting new tapestry. Many of the stories and photos included have never before been made available to the general public.
This valuable reference belongs in every school library and should be required reading in secondary high school classrooms, where "herstories" - our stories - have been sorely lacking. -- Michigan Women's Forum
