Women’s suffrage was about much more than women walking into voting booths and casting ballots.  For many people, women voting would bring a fundamental shift in an already changing world and promised to have tremendous repercussions, both positive and negative.  In 1918-19, Louisiana Senator Edward J. Gay had to decide whether to vote for or against the federal women’s suffrage bill. Gay’s constituents in Louisiana as well as people in other states sent him letters, petitions, flyers, and essays, trying to sway his opinion on the suffrage issue.

In this talk, LSU professor of history Dr. Catherine Jacquet will use the letters sent to Senator Gay to explore the battle for women's suffrage in the South. We will see how beliefs about race, gender, and the social order informed Southerners’ hopes and fears around extending the franchise to women. The lecture will be interactive and audience members will have the option to have hands-on experience reading and interpreting primary sources.

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