In 1895, Utah’s leading suffragist, Emmeline B. Wells, welcomed her friends Susan B. Anthony and Reverend Anna Howard Shaw to a gathering of more than 8,000 people from around the nation at the Rocky Mountain Suffrage Convention. They were there to celebrate the suffrage movement’s recent wins and strategize their next triumphs. Pioneering the Vote tells the remarkable, largely unknown story of … story of the early suffrage victories that happened in states and territories in the American West. With the encouragement of the Eastern leaders, women from Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho came together in a unique moment of friendship and unified purpose to secure the vote for women in America.
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This non-fiction book is a fantastic look at women’s voting and suffragist history in Utah and the West. This book is full of information that I didn’t know a lot about. At the beginning of the book, readers learn that the first American women to cast a ballot as an equal citizen to men was a Salt Lake City resident. It happened on Feb. 14, 1870, by a twenty-three-year-old school teacher, Seraph Young. That made me super excited that it was a school teacher who cast this first ballot. 2020 is the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment which gave women the right to vote. Pioneering the Vote tells the story of the gathering of 8,000 people from around the West who came to the Rocky Mountain Suffrage Convention. Emmeline B. Wells was Utah’s leading Suffragist. I really enjoyed learning more about her life. I’d read before about Susan B. Anthony a very famous USA Suffragist, but in the book, readers learn about many women who brought about change to benefit all women back then and which has continued into today’s world.
This book is a wonderful read for those who love history, and especially for women to appreciate the sacrifices that so many women made for all women in our country. I will definitely be reading more from this author and the causes that she supports.
Neylan McBaine introduces the history of women receiving the right to vote in a unique and entertaining way. With snippets from the many different people involved in the story of women’s rights Pioneering the Vote brings to light a part of history seldom heard before. This book is well-written and empowering for women.
Such an emotional journey! I finished in tears as I reflected on the years of work and sacrifice countless women gave in the fight for women’s suffrage.
This book was well-written and well-researched, but is not a light read. There is a lot of information and the format does take some getting used to – it flips between the current setting of the book(the 1895 Rocky Mountain Women’s Suffrage convention), mini biographies of influential suffragettes, and the past events leading up to the convention. I did find it useful to read the the mini biographies at the beginning of the chapter rather than stopping to read them in the middle. Once I became used to the format, I did not mind it but it did take several chapters to get the flow down.
I loved that these women, some of whom I had never heard, came alive for me as I read their stories and learned of their struggles. One sister is quoted, referring to Emmeline Well’s writings in the Women’s Exponent, that “gaining the vote…was about being able to define ourselves, rather than be defined. It was a struggle to gain broader experience and usefulness, to acknowledge the dignity and value of the individual.” I am reminded of how privileged I am to have the opportunity and am grateful to the women who came before and paved the way for women everywhere.
A potent and informative read. Every woman – and man – should be acquainted with the history of the suffrage movement because understanding the past will help us to not take for granted our present circumstances and show us how we can make progress as a society in helping every man and women to achieve the dignity of participating in the political process.
I received a complimentary copy of this book but my opinions are my own.