One hundred years ago Sunday was the watershed 1913 women's
suffrage march in Washington, D.C. Plus, Friday is International
Women's Day. It's therefore the perfect moment to reflect on the
strategies and tactics of several generations of amazing women.
We all know that the suffragettes won in the end by securing the
vote for U.S. women in 1920. But to stop with that fact is to
miss the phenomenal, inspirational, often nail-biting and
groundbreaking campaign that preceded their win, as well as the
lessons they have for activists today. Before telephones, before
TV, before the web, these women mobilized masses of people in a
widespread and colorful campaign. Their successful tactics
continue to shape campaigns today, even if many organizers have
no idea where those tactics originated. But no, this couldn’t
possibly be because of the suffragettes’ gender and the utter
lack of historical study on women’s issues until just a few
decades ago. First of all, it was huge Modern history often
gives the impression that