This book features famous suffragists Alice Paul (protest organizer), Ida B. Wells-Barnett (journalist) and Maud Malone (librarian/proud rabble-rouser) over a year or so as the march is organized. The newly elected President Wilson is racist and sexist (“I’ve never thought of women’s suffrage,” he claims here) and the ladies plan a giant protest to make him think of it. Maud pesters Wilson to say something about it and gets herself into legal trouble, which I think she kinda enjoys. Ida and Alice work towards getting integration and women of color being able to protest with white women, even if the Southern delegation is, well, you know. There’s various mini-dramas going on as to who gets to carry a letter to the president (like he’s gonna care) and things like that. The author does do a nice postscript at the end as to what happened to the characters and their fight, so I enjoyed that touch.
Honestly, it was a dutiful read, but I wasn’t totally swept away either? It’s a history book with a bit more personality. I’m interested in the suffrage movement, but felt like it was slow going to read about it, and it focuses more on the little dramas that were going on on the way to the march, because that’s where the plot is. It was an all right read, but I wasn’t blown away either, and I will probably forget about it once it’s done. Three stars.
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