In the years leading up to what is known as the Women's Suffrage movement, strong female voices were coming together and laying the groundwork for women's political engagement. Augusta Chissell was a civic leader in West Baltimore, Maryland that leadership positions in the Women’s Cooperative Civic League, a club that addressed issues of housing and public health, including food and dairy purity, clean air, and refuse disposal. This position gave her close neighborhood ties and valuable connections that she could later draw upon as an officer in the Colored Women’s Suffrage Club.