“Both a page-turning drama and an inspiration for every reader”–Hillary Rodham ClintonSoon to Be a Major Television EventThe nail-biting climax of one of the greatest political battles in American history: the ratification of the constitutional amendment that granted women the right to vote. “With a skill reminiscent of Robert Caro, [Weiss] turns the potentially dry stuff of legislative … Robert Caro, [Weiss] turns the potentially dry stuff of legislative give-and-take into a drama of courage and cowardice.”–The Wall Street Journal
“Weiss is a clear and genial guide with an ear for telling language … She also shows a superb sense of detail, and it’s the deliciousness of her details that suggests certain individuals warrant entire novels of their own… Weiss’s thoroughness is one of the book’s great strengths. So vividly had she depicted events that by the climactic vote (spoiler alert: The amendment was ratified!), I got goose bumps.”–Curtis Sittenfeld, The New York Times Book Review
Nashville, August 1920. Thirty-five states have ratified the Nineteenth Amendment, twelve have rejected or refused to vote, and one last state is needed. It all comes down to Tennessee, the moment of truth for the suffragists, after a seven-decade crusade. The opposing forces include politicians with careers at stake, liquor companies, railroad magnates, and a lot of racists who don’t want black women voting. And then there are the “Antis”–women who oppose their own enfranchisement, fearing suffrage will bring about the moral collapse of the nation. They all converge in a boiling hot summer for a vicious face-off replete with dirty tricks, betrayals and bribes, bigotry, Jack Daniel’s, and the Bible.
Following a handful of remarkable women who led their respective forces into battle, along with appearances by Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Frederick Douglass, and Eleanor Roosevelt, The Woman’s Hour is an inspiring story of activists winning their own freedom in one of the last campaigns forged in the shadow of the Civil War, and the beginning of the great twentieth-century battles for civil rights.
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Historical fiction
Great historical read
Even knowing the outcome I found I was on the edge of my chair counting votes and hoping it passed. This is about the 19th amendment. Women sure were not given the right to vote, 70 years of fighting for that right. The racial injustice issues are acknowledged, and owned. The characters come alive and their individual personal views are given value,
My grandmothers were able to vote only after they were married an had children. 1920 was not that long ago. Our right to vote was hard won, is very precious, and should not be taken for granted now. This book was very inspiring.
Wonderful history about women and voting
I came to this book thinking that I knew a good bit about the history of woman suffrage in the United States. After all, I had just written a book that figured a prominent suffragist, Matilda Joslyn Gage, as one of the main characters. Well, I was dead wrong! I knew next to nothing about this fascinating, exciting, inspiring, nail-biting story. The Woman’s Hour has it all: meticulous research, fantastic characters and an exciting, fast-paced, suspenseful narrative. The women and men who helped pass the 19th Amendment come vividly to life. And perhaps even more fascinating are the Antis– the women who fought the passage of the 19th Amendment, skilled politicians in their own right who fought so that they and their fellow women could not vote! This is the very best kind of narrative history, Highly recommended!
I came to this book thinking that I knew a good bit about the history of woman suffrage in the United States. After all, I had just written a book that figured a prominent suffragist, Matilda Joslyn Gage, as one of the main characters. Well, I was dead wrong! I knew next to nothing about this fascinating, exciting, inspiring, nail-biting story. The Woman’s Hour has it all: meticulous research, fantastic characters and an exciting, fast-paced, suspenseful narrative. The women and men who helped pass the 19th Amendment come vividly to life. And perhaps even more fascinating are the Antis– the women who fought the passage of the 19th Amendment, skilled politicians in their own right who fought so that they and their fellow women could not vote! This is the very best kind of narrative history, Highly recommended!
This book recounts the struggle and fight for “we The People” to mean all the people – all women are people too! The battle for suffrage told in a motivating, inspirational way, that also relates to the 21st century struggle facing women,
The Woman’s Hour was a fascinating look at the hows and whys of the suffragists’ fight for women’s equality and the right to vote. After 72 years (yes, 72!) of working to add the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, it finally came down to Tennessee, the 36th state, to make or break the deal. I was shocked by much of the information in this book, but I was most confounded and devastated to learn there were a large number of women — yes, women! — who lobbied against women obtaining the right to vote. Their reasons, among others, included: racism (they didn’t want black women to vote), corruption of the moral fiber of our country, and their absolute trust that the men in their lives would make the right political decisions for them.
The 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote was finally added to the Constitution in August 1920. By this time, women were allowed to vote in 26 other nations, including Germany and Russia (yet another shocking statistic of which I was unaware)!
“The vote is the emblem of your equality, women of America, the guarantee of your liberty. That vote of yours has cost millions of dollars and the lives of thousands of women… Women have suffered agony of soul which you never can comprehend, that you and your daughters might inherit political freedom. That vote has been costly. Prize it! The vote is a power, a weapon of offense and defense, a prayer… Use it intelligently, conscientiously, prayerfully… Progress is calling to you to make no pause. Act.” – Carrie Chapman Catt
I was also shocked to learn that due to state laws taking precedence over national laws, women weren’t able to vote in Maryland until 1958 and in Mississippi until 1984! Unreal. Furthermore, the following peoples weren’t granted voting rights until:
1870 – African Americans (men only and only in some states)
1920 – Women
1924 – Native Americans (only in some states)
1943 – Asian Americans
1946 – Asian Indian Americans
1952 – Japanese Americans
1957 – Native Americans (all states)
1965 – African Americans (all states)
I would highly recommend the audiobook version because the narrator was fantastic, and I also very much enjoyed the interview with the author at the end.
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Audiobook
I found this to be a compelling account of the long and tedious path to the ratification of the 14 th Amendment. I learned so much about the suffragist movement , and the women (and men) who were for it , and those “Antis” who fought it along the way. It is a very timely read, as we in my club discussed, in that we feel it is a continuing process to gain equal rights for women beyond gaining the right to vote. I was impressed with Weiss’s research ability and clear, cogent writing. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5, however, because it was a slow, tedious read as I waded through the data she presented over 320 pages.