Women's Suffrage: Organization
The quest for woman suffrage had local, statewide, and national dimensions, which evolved throughout the 1910s. In spite of a county-by-county effort and strong support in the northern and western regions of Pennsylvania, the 1915 referendum to give Pennsylvania women the vote was defeated. Once the focus shifted from the state to the federal level, activists like Dora Lewis toured the western states where women already had the franchise to encourage them to vote against congressional candidates who had failed to support woman suffrage. Once Congress passed the 19th Amendment, state-by-state campaigns were waged to ensure its ratification. This shifting between state and national campaigns illustrates the formidable challenge of pursuing a substantial extension of the franchise and demonstrates the significant barriers to amending the Constitution.