Research Guides: Women's Suffrage in the U.S. Special Collections Resources: Collections at Smith

Subject Collections

Suffrage collection

SSC-MS-00447

The Suffrage Collection documents efforts to gain the vote for women. Although primarily focused on U.S. campaigns, the collection also contains material from the English suffrage movement, and to a lesser extent, women's suffrage in other countries. Types of material include such printed material as pamphlets, leaflets, newspaper and periodical clippings, petitions, legislative documents, and books; manuscript materials including unpublished writings and correspondence; photographs, which document suffrage parades, demonstrations, organizations, and individuals; and suffrage memorabilia and ephemera, including fliers, cartoons, postcards, buttons, pins, stickers, banners, playing cards, songbooks, scrapbooks, and a cookbook.

Women's Rights Collection

SSC-MS-00397

This collection contains both printed materials and original sources documenting the broad spectrum of women's rights struggles and movements from the late eighteenth century to the present, primarily in the United States. Materials include biographical writings on individuals who made significant contributions to women's rights; an important concentration of sources on women's rights conferences and conventions; records pertaining to the E.R.A. fight; records of the President's Commission on the Status of Women and state-level Commissions on the Status of Women; and documents and publications of many national and local women's organizations.

Periodicals Collection

SSC-MS-00537

The Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History Periodicals Collection includes over 1,500 titles of current and historical, U.S. and international women's magazines, newsletters, and other serials dating from the 18th century to the present. Periodicals of the suffrage and birth control movements, and the mid-twentieth century women's liberation movement are well represented. Holdings range from full-runs to single issues for certain titles.

Organizations

International Alliance of Women records

SSC-MS-00313

Approximately half of the collection consists of programs and other material related to biennial conferences, particularly the 12th Congress held in Istanbul, in 1935. Material from this Congress includes committee reports and resolutions, correspondence, programs, publicity, speeches, and memorabilia. Documentation for other congresses is more sparse, consisting mainly of programs. There are also official conference reports (1906-61) and general documents such as agendas, publicity, position papers, newsletters, and printed material. Major topics addressed include women's rights, women's suffrage, the international women's movement, peace, and the United Nations.

International Council of Women records

SSC-MS-00352

The International Council of Women records are by no means the complete body of records for this organization. They appear to be a more idiosyncratic collection, possibly donated by a member active in the 1950s and 1960s. They include correspondence, minutes and committee reports; records of international conferences; constitutions; membership lists; and publications, including biographical information on Lady Ishbel Aberdeen, Rachel Foster Avery, May Wright Sewall, Frances Willard, and other ICW leaders. The committee files include material regarding the ICW's activities in specific subject areas, such as fine arts, health, education, housing, suffrage, laws, social welfare, trades and professions, The United Nations, and peace. Correspondents include Vera Beggs and Alice M.Stetten.

Saint Joan's International Alliance, U.S. Section records

SSC-MS-00631

The Saint Joan's International Alliance, U.S. Section records document the organization's early efforts to encourage support for woman suffrage within the Catholic Church and later to promote the ordination of women priests and broader social issues affecting women in the Church and society. The records also document the work of the SJIA the United Nations section in promoting women's rights at the international level including such causes as the abolition of child and forced marriage and slavery traffic; political rights of women; equal access to education and economic opportunities; and family law. Types of materials include correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, conference materials, membership files, publicity materials, audio recordings, articles, clippings, books, pamphlets, and memorabilia.

League of Women Voters of Northampton records

SSC-MS-00344

The records of the League of Women Voters of Northampton consist primarily of printed sources including their Constitution and By-Laws, Reports (1928-90s), publications, membership lists, correspondence (1937-90s), minutes (1922-90s), and research files. Also included are copies of the Massachusetts League Bulletin (1936-70); transcripts of League- sponsored radio broadcasts; videotapes of televised informational broadcasts and forums with local political candidates; and publications and fliers produced by the League concerning the structure and functions of local government, housing issues, schools, voter services and welfare reform.

Woman Suffrage Club, 1913-1921

CA-MS-00022

The Smith College Women’s Suffrage Club was founded in 1913 in support of the national women’s suffrage movement. The group held rallies, organized petitions, and tried to get the student body involved in getting women the right to vote.

Individuals and Families

Susan B. Anthony papers

SSC-MS-00005

Susan B. Anthony was a suffragist, feminist, temperance leader, and abolitionist. Anthony began her political career with the Women's New York State Temperance Society and became involved in women's rights, suffrage, and the abolitionist movements. The bulk of the collection consists of material by outside parties about Anthony, including biographical material; published writings by Anthony; memorabilia; correspondence; autograph collection; and photographs.

Carrie Chapman Catt papers

SSC-MS-00031

The Carrie Chapman Catt Papers date from 1880 to 1958 and consist of 1.75 linear feet of material relating primarily to her public life. Types of material include correspondence, speeches, pamphlets, photographs, reports, journal and newspaper articles, and political cartoons. The bulk of the papers surrounds Catt's work as president of both the National American Woman Suffrage Association and the International Woman Suffrage Alliance. There is also a significant amount of material pertaining to her peace activities, including the National Committee on the Cause and Cure of War. Major topics include federal- and state-level suffrage for women, the peaceful settlement of international disputes, and building an international network promoting women's equality. The collection is compelling as a record of the long struggle for women's suffrage in the United States, and the powerful network of women's organizations that sprang out of that struggle.

Frances Casement papers

SSC-MS-00030

The collection of Frances Casement, a suffrage leader in Ohio, includes printed materials relating to suffrage and women's rights associations in Ohio and nationally, and miscellaneous records of the Ohio Women's Suffrage Association.

Portia Willis Fitzgerald papers

SSC-MS-00380

Woman's club leader, suffragist, and lecturer. "The Prettiest Suffragette in New York State," Portia Willis was born to a well-connected and politically active New York City family, circa 1887. Much of the Portia Willis Fitzgerald collection appears to have been part of a scrapbook. Writings and speeches primarily relate to her father (Colonel and U.S. Representative Benjamin A. Willis), the League of Nations, suffrage, the Institute of Human Relations, and women's clubs. Correspondents include Gertrude Atherton, Carrie Chapman Catt, and Florence G. Tuttle.

Ethel Puffer Howes papers

CA-MS-01031

Ethel Dench Puffer Howes (Smith College, Class of 1891) was an educator, physchologist, and active participant in the women's rights movement of the 1910s-1930s. Working as the director of the Institute for the Coordination of Women's Interests at Smith College, she advocated for women's ability to balance marriage and a career. These papers include correspondence, published articles, photographs, and biographical information on Howes and her family, all compiled by granddaughter Candace Howes.

Isabel Howland papers

SSC-MS-00078

Suffragist and social Reformer. Papers consist of correspondence plus other materials related to her position as corresponding secretary of the Association for the Advancement of Women and of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association. Subjects include women's suffrage, women's rights, and other reform movements such as temperance and anti-slavery.

Amy Schwartz Oppenheim papers

SSC-MS-00116

Woman's club member; Suffragist. The collection contains correspondence relating to suffrage in New York State (1915-1918); newspaper clippings; and miscellaneous correspondence.

Ethel Eyre Valentine Dreier papers

SSC-MS-00050

Ethel Eyre Valentine Dreier was a settlement house president, suffragist, woman's club leader, and civic leader. The bulk of her professional papers relate to Dreier's suffrage work and civic activities and records of the New York state campaign for women's suffrage (1912-1917), and records of activities of the Women's City Club of New York (1919-65). Also documented is Dreier's advocacy of public housing; her work in politics; and her settlement house work. Materials include correspondence, speeches, writings, photographs, notebooks, and travel diaries and included in the suffrage papers are newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and committee reports on the progress of the woman suffrage movement through the work of the National and New York State Woman Suffrage Associations. Women's City Club of New York records includes club calendars, programs, and lists of members. The remainder of the professional papers document Ethel Dreier's work with the Brooklyn Garden Apartments (low cost housing development); the 1937 Fusion Mayoral Campaign to re-elect Fiorello H. LaGuardia; the Garden Club of America; King's Park Central School of Long Island; and Black Mountain College of North Carolina. Included is a scrapbook of newspaper clippings relating to her various social and civic activities.

Josephine Schain papers

SSC-MS-00139

The Josephine Schain Papers, dating from 1907 to 1960, consist of 5 linear feet and are primarily related to Schain's involvement in a host of women's organizations, the purpose of which was the advocacy for international peace through cooperative enterprise among nations. There is also a small amount of material relating to women and the vote, notably the Democratic National Committee, the Empire State Campaign Committee, and the League of Women Voters. Notable correspondents include Margaret Corbett Ashby, Mary Ritter Beard, Carrie Chapman Catt, Newton Diehl Baker, Helen Gahagan Douglas, India Edwards, Helen Hayes, Lorena Hickok, Stanley Hornbeck, Cordell Hull, Rosa Manus, Alva Reimer Myrdal, Maud Wood Park, Frances Perkins, and Virginia Rishel. The Carrie Chapman Catt correspondence is extensive, both with Schain and with others. The photographs in this collection are also noteworthy and include images of Catt and Schain, as well as group pictures taken at various international peace conferences.

Ames family papers

SSC-MS-00003

The Ames Family Papers span six generations and include two separate families with the surname "Ames," which came together in 1900 with the marriage of Blanche Ames (1844-1991; Smith Class of 1899) and Oakes Ames.Ames Family Papers (1844-2005). Blanche Ames was a suffragist and birth control advocate. Her papers include correspondence, subject files, and political cartoons created by Ames for Suffrage publications.

Madeleine Z. Doty papers

SSC-MS-00049

Madeleine Z. Doty Papers (1877-1963) was a lawyer, suffragist, journalist, prison reformer, pacifist, and teacher. Her papers include writings (including unpublished autobiography), memorabilia, diaries, and manuscripts. Photographs include Mahatma Gandhi, George Bernard Shaw, Maksim Gorky, and Aleksandr Kerensky. The bulk of the collection is correspondence, which includes Jane Addams, Roger Baldwin, Norman Douglas, Theodore Dreiser, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Dorothy Canfield Fisher, John Galsworthy, Judge Ben Lindsey, Salvador de Madariaga, Thomas Mott Osborne, David Graham Phillips, Frances Perkins Gilman, Emmeline and Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, H.G. Wells, and Rebecca West.

Garrison family papers

SSC-MS-00060

The Garrison Family Papers (1773-1997) document the abolitionist, women's rights, and other reform activities of William Lloyd Garrison II (1838-1909), Martha Coffin Wright (1806-1875), Lucretia Coffin Mott (1793-1880) and James Mott (1788-1868), and many of their descendants. In the first and second generations, there is significant correspondence within the family and with other leaders of the women's rights movement like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and members of the Blackwell-Stone family. The less prominent but nonetheless interesting suffrage activities of second and third-generation family members are documented in correspondence, speeches, clippings, and printed ephemera. Particularly noteworthy in this second group are papers of William Lloyd Garrison II, active as a speaker and writer from the 1880s to his death in 1909, and his daughter Eleanor (1880-1974, see box 24) and two daughters-in-law (see boxes 73-74), active as organizers in the 1910s in New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.

Alice Morgan Wright papers

SSC-MS-00176

Alice Morgan Wright (1881-1975) was a sculptor, suffragist, and animal rights advocate. Her papers (1880s-1978) contain correspondence and printed materials that document her suffrage activities. In addition to the radical suffrage movement in England, Wright was involved in the Collegiate Equal Suffrage League and the New York state suffrage campaign.