Answer: Women's suffrage.

The 1913 Women’s Suffrage Parade that was organized by members of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, including Burlington County (New Jersey) native Alice Paul, was no small affair. Thousands of marchers assembled in Washington D.C., on March 3rd, along with significant crowds along the parade route. That day saw dozens of floats, bands, and mounted brigades parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. According to the event’s program, the participants sought to “march in a spirit of protest against the present political organization of society, from which women are excluded.” This march was one of the first national women’s suffrage events in the country.

The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was formed when the National Woman Suffrage Association, which believed that women’s suffrage was best handled at the federal level, and the American Woman Suffrage Association, which believed that women’s suffrage would be more suitable served at the state level, merged in 1890. It was through the work and dedication of NAWSA members that women received the right to vote in 1920 with the passage of the 19th Amendment. With that achieved, the NAWSA eventually reformed into the League of Women Voters.

HSP holds extensive records of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania (#2095) and the League of Women Voters of Philadelphia (#1940). Also among our collections are papers from local women who were involved in the women’s suffrage movement of the early 20th century, such as Caroline Katzenstein (Am .8996), Dora Kelly Lewis (#2137), Jane Campbell (#3023), and Jane L. R. Bell (#2178).