NOTES:
Some printed items are part of the LLMVC Ephemera Collection; they are listed by item title, with a link to the catalog record for the larger collection.
*Denotes unprocessed collection; see Notes & Tips tab for information on accessing unprocessed manuscript collections and oral history interviews.
The year 2020 marks the centennial of the passage of the 19th Amendment, establishing woman suffrage in the United States. Louisiana did not ratify the amendment until 1970, though the law was in effect as of August 1920. Supporters of suffrage argued that the state should make this determination, not the federal government.
LSU Libraries Special Collections maintains holdings related to the push for, and against, woman suffrage from as early as the 17th century.
Early Efforts
Manuscript collections:
Printed/Published materials:
- A serious proposal to the ladies: for the advancement of their true and greatest interest (1694)
- A vindication of the rights of woman (1796)
- Proceedings of the Convention of the Republican Party of Louisiana (1865)
- Old times in Dixie land; a southern matron's memories (1901)
Newspapers:
- Daily Picayune: May 8, 1879
20th Century: 19th Amendment and Beyond
Manuscript collections:
- Badley Family Papers
- Bowman-Turnbull Family Papers
- Common Cause Louisiana Records
- Josephus Daniels Letters
- Judith Hyams Douglas Papers
- Harry Pollard Gamble Papers
- Edward J. Gay III Congressional File
- Carmen Lindig Papers
- Louisiana State Executive Correspondence
- Roberta M. Madden Papers
- Joseph E. Ransdell Papers
- Alonzo Snyder Papers
- Edwin Lewis Stephens Correspondence
Printed/Published items:
- Rights of women in Louisiana (1910)
- Southern States Woman Suffrage Conference circular (c. 1913)
- An open letter to U.S. Senator Ransdell opposing the federal amendment for woman suffrage / by Harry Gamble (1918)
- Federal suffrage, a racial question in the South (1918)
- Woman suffrage, considered from a national and local standpoint. The constitution of the U.S. on the subject of the elective franchise reviewed and analyzed. An address to the people of the State of Louisiana (1918)
- Expert legal opinions on the ratification of the federal amendment to the Constitution for womans [sic] suffrage / presented by Louisiana Ratification Campaign Committee (1920)
- Your vote counts: facts for voters in Louisiana (1955)
- Issues and Answers: final report/ Louisiana Women's Conference (1977)
Newspapers:
- Colfax Chronicle: December 30, 1922
- Concordia Sentinel: August 28, 1920
- Donaldsonville Chief: May 6, 1916
- Morgan City Daily Review: November 4, 1918,
- Natchitoches Enterprise: June 17, 1920
- New Iberia Enterprise and Independent Observer: May 8, 1920
- St. Charles Herald: May 29, 1920
- St. Tammany Farmer: January 29, 1916
- Woman's Enterprise: March 10, 1922
Edward J. Gay III Congressional File
Letter to Senator Edward J. Gay III from the Woman Suffrage Party of Louisiana urging his support for women's suffrage, 1917