In 1920 the 19th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution acknowledged womenâs right to vote.This
amendment was ratified after over 70 years of persistent demonstration and discussion,
across the nation and in Lowell.
These struggles came to a head in 1910 as the Massachusetts Womenâs Suffrage Association
got ready to host its annual conference in Lowell.
The conference itself lasted just the 27th and 28th of October, but days prior suffragists
began arriving. Notable suffragists like Margaret Foley of Boston as well as Florence Luscomb
(herself born in Lowell) participated in the convention.
These suffragists sought to enlist Lowellâs workforce for their cause, demonstrating in
the downtown, speaking at local unions to target male voters, and even setting up outside
of the Massachusetts Mills during workersâ lunch break.
As all efforts to pass suffrage at the state level were unsuccessful, it would be another
decade before these women were given the right to vote on August 19, 1920. What causes do
you feel strongly about?