Insights into Philanthropy from the History of the Woman Suffrage Movement in the United States

About

The history of the movement to gain the right to vote for women provides myriad insights into how women used their Time, Talent, Treasure, Ties, and Testimony, to make change for women and gain political rights that they hoped would also bring social and economic power to women, as well as human rights.

Understanding the history of how women organized, communicated, strategized, and lobbied in this movement is essential to understanding social change. More narrowly, a focus on treasure reveals the ways in which wealthy white women tried to wield power in the national suffrage associations.

This presentation uses the 1909-1910 interactions among Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, Rose Schneiderman, and Irene Moorman to help us to think about the implications of privileged people (class, race, etc.) having undue weight in a movement.