Empowered Voices: Early 20th Century Women Leaders

This historical photograph captures four influential women from the early 20th century: Belle DeAcosta Greene, Alice Carpenter, Catherine Davis, and Maude Wetmore. They were members of the Women’s New York City Committee of the Hughes’ Alliance, a significant group in the suffrage movement advocating for women’s rights, particularly the right to vote. Taken by the Bain News Service on September 6, 1916, and published just a week later in the Press and Sun-Bulletin of Binghamton, New York, this image provides a rare glimpse into the dynamic figures who contributed to shaping womens roles in society during a pivotal time in American history.

In 1916, the fight for womens suffrage was gaining momentum. The Hughes’ Alliance, named after the prominent Republican presidential candidate Charles Evans Hughes, aimed to unite diverse womens groups in their push for suffrage across the nation. These four women not only participated in rallies and discussions but also played vital roles in promoting awareness and mobilizing support for the suffragist cause. The photography of that era serves as a visual record of these activists, their camaraderie, and their commitment to social change, illustrating the collective effort that would eventually lead to the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920.