Review: Clarina Nichols: Frontier Crusader for Women's RIghts

Clarina Nichols: Frontier Crusader for Women's RIghts by Diane Eickhoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a young adult version of Eickhoff's larger biography of Clarina Nichols titled Revolutionary Heart: The Life of Clarina Nichols and the Pioneering Crusade for Women's Rights. Clarina Nichols was an early advocate for women's rights and abolition. Nichols grew up in Vermont in early the 19th century. As a young woman and mother, she began to speak out about the lack of rights women had. Her first husband ended up being a bad businessman and an unfit husband. Nichols came to the decision to divorce her husband but knew she would have to give up rights to her children, as men held all rights to children in divorce at that time. This particular situation would be part of her platform for women's rights and what would propel her into the suffrage movement. After regaining custody of her children, Nichols would remarry and move to Kansas, a territory that was fighting to be a free-state. After settling there, she would tour the nation speaking out for women's right to vote and for the rights of African-Americans. She also was a pit stop on the Underground Railroad. Nichols led an extraordinary life and is often overlooked as an early suffragist and civil rights advocate.

Although this book is considered a Y/A book, it's a good read that covers the life of Clarina Nichols without getting too scholarly. The chapters are short which makes it a quick read and it is full of pictures and drawings that would appeal to all ages.

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Review: Votes for Women!: American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot

Votes for Women!: American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot by Winifred Conkling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is listed as a Young Adult book. I think that is a miscategorization, although I would encourage young adults to read it. I thought this was a very engaging book that is well researched. It covers the American Suffragist movement from pre-Civil War days through the final ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920.

The author concentrates on the birth of the movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Seneca Falls Convention, as well as Stanton's friendship and work with Susan B. Anthony then moves into the later era of the movement headed by Carrie Chapman Catt and Alice Paul. This book is more than just an overview and covers key events including Stanton's Declaration of Sentiments, Anthony's arrest for voting, Catt's political relationship with President Woodrow Wilson, and Paul's demonstrations, jail time, and hunger strike. The appendices offer websites for more information, as well as a complete timeline of the movement.

This is a well-written book that should appeal to a wide range of people wanting to know more about the American suffrage movement. Not too much detail for those that know little or no information, yet hearty enough for those that need a good concise review from start to finish.

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