New Books Network Susan Goodier and Karen Pastorello, "Women Will Vote: Winning Suffrage in New York State" (Cornell UP, 2017)
Apr 4, 2026
Karen Pastorello, historian of labor and women’s history and former Women and Gender Studies chair. Susan Goodier, historian of women’s history and suffrage and former New York History Journal board member. They trace suffrage origins in abolitionism and legal inequality. They map evolving tactics from petitions and parades to canvassing and early marketing. They highlight diverse supporters across class, race, and region.
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New York Win as Strategic Turning Point
- New York's suffrage victory was framed as a strategic turning point that would channel energy toward a national amendment.
- Carrie Chapman Catt called New York's win the "very greatest victory," and the authors originally wanted a title reflecting that long-term strategic effect.
Abolition Roots And Legal Disabilities Fuel Suffrage
- Early women's rights activism grew out of abolition and aimed to fix married women's lack of legal and economic rights in mid-19th century New York.
- Before 1848 women lacked rights to wages, property, testimony in court, and custody, which drove the shift toward political rights like suffrage.
Be Pragmatic And Test Diverse Campaign Tactics
- Adapt tactics pragmatically and keep what works; suffragists evolved from petitions to sophisticated marketing.
- They used parades, aerial leaflet drops, automobiles, beach wagons, door-to-door canvassing, and picketing to attract diverse audiences.
