In this episode, we talk about the final years leading up to the 19th Amendment passage in Washington D.C. and northern Virginia.

• Alice Paul and Lucy Burns were leaders of the militant wing of the suffrage fight in the U.S. and officially founded the National Woman’s Party in 1916.
• Inez Milholland was a suffragist and attorney who in 1916 campaigned in the western states with equal suffrage to ask women voters to support the disenfranchised women in the East. She collapsed during a speech in California and died one month later becoming a martyr for the movement.
• Mary Church Terrell was a prominent suffragist and a Silent Sentinel, who was the first President of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW). She spoke regularly at NAWSA conventions as well as international suffrage conferences.
• Phyllis Terrell Langston (Mary’s daughter) was also a Silent Sentinel who carried on her mother’s legacy in women’s suffrage and civil rights advocacy.

About our Guest:

Pat Wirth served as the CEO of the Turning Point Suffragist Memorial Association until 2021, when its mission to build the National Memorial in Lorton, Virginia, was completed. She now serves as the Coordinator for Docent-led tours of the memorial.

Links to People, Places, Publications:

Washington D.C. & the 19th Amendment (here)

Alice Paul Biographical Sketch (here)

Lucy Burns Biographical Sketch (here)

Inez Milholland Biographical Sketch (here)

National Woman’s Party overview (here)

Mary Church Terrell Biographical Sketch (here)

Phyllis Terrell Biographical Sketch (here)

Visit the Mary Church Terrell historical marker (here)

Doris Stevens Biographical Sketch (here) 

Visit the Turning Point Suffragist Memorial (here)

Alva Belmont Biographical Sketch (here)

Visit the Belmont-Paul Equality National Monument (here)

CM Marihugh is a public history consultant and currently conducting independent research for a book on commemoration of the U.S. women’s suffrage movement. She has an M.A. in Public History from State University of New York, and an M.B.A. from Dartmouth College.

Learn more about:

• National Votes for Women Trail (here)
• National Votes for Women Trail - William G. Pomeroy historical markers (here)
• National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites (here)

Do you have a question, comment, or suggestion? Get in touch! Send an e-mail to [email protected]