One hundred years ago, the 19th amendment to the United States Constitution officially made it constitutional for women in the U.S. to vote. In practice, this right did not initially extend to all women, but the victory in 1920 remains a major milestone, a long and hard-fought win in an ongoing struggle for women’s rights, voting rights, and civil rights.

Its passage was never certain, especially in Princeton, a town that embodied the difficulties in bringing communities, and families, to consensus on the issue of a woman’s right to vote. Though many towns experienced this division, the nation closely watched Princeton, then home to the sitting President and a former First Lady.

Click here to explore how the debate on women’s suffrage played out in Princeton in our new digital exhibition.

Co-sponsored by the Princeton Public Library