When WWI broke out in 1914, women in eight states – mostly in the west – had the right to vote. Women in the other 40 states that made up the US at that time did not have the right to vote. America’s involvement in the war spurred on many suffragists – who while not all united in their response to the war – viewed with hope President Woodrow Wilson’s framing of America’s involvement in World War I as a defense of democracy. They hoped such a commitment to democracy would encourage accountability at home – for how could you make the world safe for democracy with half the nation disenfranchised? As with the Preparedness movement and the war, Wilson’s public position on women’s suffrage evolved during his two terms. To discuss this evolution and Wilson's role in women's suffrage, the World War I Podcast hosted Andrew Phillips, curator of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton, VA.
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