Would You Have Been a Suffragist?

Iowa women contemplate whether or not they would have been a suffragist if they lived in that time period.

Transcript

Do you think that you would’ve been a suffragist?

Yeah, I do believe that.

Yeah, I would hope so, I think so.

I think I definitely would’ve.

That’s a good question. I hope so. It probably would have depended if I was in my twenties or in my fifties or sixties because when I was in my twenties, I was having children and that took a lot of time.

I think I would’ve, like I would’ve been, oh we need equality, but I don’t think I’d be I’d be brave enough to fight.

I would have considered it, my opinions and my duty and my necessity to vote. I think I would've done something about it. At least written letters.

It’s hard to know with the access to education and like what your family structure would be like, whether or not that would even be a possibility.

Oh I’m sure I would’ve… I always wanted to do things that were not allowed for girls to do. I wanted to be a lawyer like my dad and I was told that girls couldn’t do that...Then I thought I would like to be a minister like my grandfather and I was told girls couldn’t do that. And then one day I said to my mother, I think I’ll be a poet, and she said well girls don’t write poetry. And I was always sort of rebellious about that, so I’m sure I would’ve been a suffragist. Besides, I like to march.