S01 E01 What is the National Votes for Women Trail?

In this episode, CM Marihugh gives an overview of how the stories of the women’s suffrage movement are represented in the National Votes for Women Trail (NVWT), which is a project of the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites (NCWHS). We talk with Ida Jones about the NCWHS vision. We also ask Pam Elam and Mary Melcher about their work that grew to become the NVWT.

We talk about the NVWT stories of the foot soldiers in the 70-plus year U.S. women’s suffrage campaign:

• The women’s suffrage political struggle resulted in the largest one-time increase in the elective franchise when 27 million citizens joined the ranks of America's representative democracy.
• The NVWT tells the stories of this movement and cuts across the lines of geography, race, ethnicity, class, and gender. The Trail currently has over 2,400 sites across the country. 
• Ida Jones is co-president of the NCWHS which advocates for historic sites that center the preservation and interpretation of the critical role of women and gender nonconforming individuals as core to the American story. 
• Pam Elam and Mary Melcher created an idea for a national trail back in 2008 while serving on the board of NCWHS. Later, others including Marsha Weinstein and Nancy Brown took up the idea and developed the NVWT to where it is today.
• Pam Elam is president of Monumental Women which seeks to increase awareness and appreciation of women’s history through a nationwide education campaign. The organization challenges municipalities across the country and the world to rethink the past and reshape the future by including tributes in their public spaces to the diverse women who helped create and inspire those cities.
• Mary Melcher is Board Secretary of the Arizona Women’s History Alliance– dedicated to expanding understanding and preservation of Arizona women's history.
• The NVWT is an ongoing project. Contact us below to get involved.

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

In this episode Ida Jones, NCWHS co-president, talks about the organization’s vision and work. Pam Elam is president of Monumental Women working to increase awareness and appreciation of women’s history. Mary Melcher is board secretary of the Arizona Women’s History Alliance which works to expand appreciation and preservation of Arizona women’s history.

Links to People, Places, Publications

• National Votes for Women Trail (here)
• National Votes for Women Trail - William G. Pomeroy historical markers (here)
• National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites (here)
• Historical Marker Database (here)
• Monumental Women (here)
• Arizona Women’s History Alliance (here)

CM Marihugh is a public history consultant and currently conducting independent research for a book on commemoration of the U.S. women’s suffrage movement. She has an M.A. in Public History from State University of New York, and an M.B.A. from Dartmouth College.

Learn more about:

• National Votes for Women Trail (here)
• National Votes for Women Trail - William G. Pomeroy historical markers (here)
• National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites (here)

Do you have a question, comment, or suggestion? Get in touch! Send an e-mail to [email protected]