9 Questions About 90 Years of Suffrage

On Aug. 26 we celebrate Women’s Equality Day–and this year it’s the 90th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, when women in the U.S. finally won the right to vote. So how much do you know about the long fight for women’s suffrage? Take our test and find out:

Alice Paul was not present to witness the Secretary of State sign the document proclaiming the 19th Amendment a part of the Constitution on Aug. 26, 1920, because:

He specifically barred her from the ceremony because of her "militant" actions against President Wilson, such as picketing the White House and burning copies of his speeches.
When Alice Paul arrived for the ceremony, Carrie Chapman Catt threatened to walk out if she was admitted.
There was no ceremony, and no witnesses to the signing.

When mobs attacked suffrage marchers at a March 3, 1913 parade and pageant in Washington, D.C., what assistance did the U.S. Army provide?

Pilots buzzed the crowd with biplanes to distract the "hooligans" while police shooed them onto the sidewalk and replaced the barricades.
Troops from nearby Fort Myer staged an old-fashioned mounted cavalry charge down Pennsylvania Avenue to clear the marchers' way.
Judicious use of tear gas.

For every person who participated in New York City's first suffrage march in 1908, how many marched in 1915?

13
130
1,300

How many of the signers of the "Declaration of Sentiments" at Seneca Falls in 1848 cast a vote in the 1920 Presidential election--the first election in which women could vote?

none
one
four

When Susan B. Anthony staged the first "Get Out The Women's Vote" drive in 1872 by going to the polls with a number of other women to illegally vote, she was charged with "unlawful voting." What was the result in her case?

A hung jury, 9-3, for conviction for all, but no retrial.
A directed verdict of guilty, in which the judge determined that there was no rational way for the jury to acquit--so they were told to convict, and they did.
"Jury nullification" as a protest against unfair voting laws and the judge's instructions: Not guilty on all charges.

The state where women were legally eligible to vote until 1807 was:

Vermont
Maryland
New Jersey

Regarding the 1920 election:

The Missouri Legislature voted to have women mark pink ballots.
Georgia women still couldn't vote due to early registration requirements.
Both (a) and (b) are true
Neither (a) or (b) are true

The largest donation ever made to the suffrage cause was a bequest from Miriam Leslie, which in 1917 was declared to have an after-tax value of:

$252,661
$864, 919
$1,354,389

On Aug. 18, 1920, when Tennessee legislators voted to become the 36th and final state needed to ratify the 19th Amendment, most of the legislators wore roses in their lapels contributed by one of the opposing factions. Those who favored suffrage wore yellow roses, but what color did the anti-suffrage legislators wear?

pink
red
white

ABOVE: Photo of Susan B. Anthony reprinted under public domain.

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