Carrie Chapman Catt Birthday

The founder of the League of Women Voters and a tireless advocate for women’s rights and peace.

As an organizer, Catt was highly effective. In 1900 she was elected to succeed Susan B Anthony as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Between 1905 and 1915 Catt reorganized the NAWSA along political-district lines. An accomplished public speaker herself, she trained women for direct political action and marshaled seasoned campaigners.

Tireless lobbying in Congress and then in state legislatures finally produced a ratified Nineteenth Amendment in August 1920, in large part a tribute to Catt’s imaginative and tactful leadership.

She reorganized the suffrage association ( 2 million strong) into the League of Women Voters to aid the newly enfranchised women and work for continuing progressive legislation throughout the nation.