Rising from the Ashes of Defeat

This chapter discusses how women suffragists engaged in legislative and political maneuvering in the crucial years between 1915 and 1917. Rural, immigrant, and black women rarely had the ability to lobby the state legislature directly. Mainstream suffragists, however—eventually fortified by male supporters—maintained their legislative lobbying efforts throughout the entire movement. Although the suffrage referendum failed in 1915, ever-resilient suffrage activists immediately rallied to analyze their shortcomings, draw on extensive experience, and systematically target male politicians and voters. After decades of disappointment on the part of suffragists, New York men finally acknowledged women's inherent right to the franchise with their own votes. Thus, the chapter challenges the prevalent idea that the right of women to vote came as a consequence of their war work, arguing instead that almost seventy years of women's tenacious efforts culminated in 1917 with the New York suffrage campaign victory.