LibGuides: Let's Talk About It: Women's Suffrage: April: "The Woman's Hour"

About the Book

Read an Excerpt

The Woman's Hour by Elaine Weiss
Call Number: JK1911.T2 W45 2019
ISBN: 9780143128991
Publication Date: 2019-03-05
Soon to be a major television event, the nail-biting climax of one of the greatest political battles in American history: the ratification of the constitutional amendment that granted women the right to vote. Nashville, August 1920. Thirty-five states have approved the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the right to vote; one last state--Tennessee--is needed for women's voting rights to be the law of the land. The suffragists face vicious opposition from politicians, clergy, corporations, and racists who don't want black women voting. And then there are the "Antis"--women who oppose their own enfranchisement, fearing suffrage will bring about the nation's moral collapse. And in one hot summer, they all converge for a confrontation, replete with booze and blackmail, betrayal and courage. Following a handful of remarkable women who led their respective forces into battle, The Woman's Hour is the gripping story of how America's women won their own freedom, and the opening campaign in the great twentieth-century battles for civil rights.

Discussion Questions

Use the questions below to guide your reading and prepare for the session. (All discussion questions provided by the ALA.)

Why do you think anti-suffragists were so powerful? Why did they oppose votes for women?
Many stories about the suffrage movement overlook the anti-suffragists. Why do you think they do that? What do you think anti-suffragists add to this story?
What kinds of tactics did suffragists use and which ones do you think proved to be the most effective?
Which activist–suffragist or anti-suffragist–most interested you and why?
Though Tennessee ratified the Nineteenth Amendment, Weiss shows us just how close the state's representatives came to rejecting it. How does Weiss create a compelling story?
There is a television adaptation of The Woman's Hour currently in the works. What do you hope to see in a screen version of this story?

Additional Resources

"The Woman's Hour" Reader's Guide

Q&A with author Elaine Weiss

Journalist and author Elaine Weiss discusses her book, The Woman’s Hour, about the lead-up to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on August 18, 1920, that guaranteed women the right to vote.

Let's Talk About It: Women's Suffrage

April 2022 Program

The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote

About the Book

Further Reading

Discussion Questions

Additional Resources

Q&A with author Elaine Weiss

Online Biographical Dictionary of the Woman's Suffrage Movement in the United States