National Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA):
- Founded in 1869, the NAWSA was one of the earliest organizations dedicated to women's suffrage in the United States. It played a crucial role in the long and challenging fight to secure voting rights for women.
- The NAWSA initially focused on lobbying at the state level, supporting efforts to pass women's suffrage amendments in various states.
- Prominent leaders of the NAWSA included Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucy Stone.
- The organization employed a variety of strategies, including petitions, demonstrations, and public speaking campaigns, to raise awareness and gain public support for women's suffrage.
National Woman's Party (NWP):
- Founded in 1916, the NWP emerged as a more radical and militant organization within the women's suffrage movement. It took a more confrontational approach compared to the NAWSA.
- The NWP primarily focused on pressuring the federal government to pass a constitutional amendment that would guarantee women's suffrage nationwide.
- Key figures of the NWP included Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Inez Milholland.
- The NWP employed tactics such as picketing the White House, organizing protests, and engaging in civil disobedience to draw attention to their cause.
While both the NAWSA and NWP shared the goal of women's suffrage, they had different strategies and tactics. The NAWSA took a more moderate approach, concentrating on lobbying and state-level efforts, while the NWP adopted a more radical and confrontational strategy at the federal level. Nevertheless, both organizations were integral parts of the women's suffrage movement and made significant contributions to the ultimate achievement of women's voting rights in the United States in 1920 when the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified.