Bentley Historical Library

Meet Charlotte Brivio! ⭐ Charlotte has been researching women's advocacy for the right to vote during her fellowship at the Bentley Historical Library.

As part of her PhD in American History at the Sorbonne Université, Charlotte is gathering details about women across the United States who tried to cast their votes around the 1870s, many years before women were finally granted the right to vote.

These women hoped to have their votes challenged, in order to be brought to court and argue for their right to vote, Charlotte explains. Her research reveals hundreds of women who tried to vote this way!

One of those women was Sojourner Truth, whose life Charlotte has explored in the Berenice Bryant Lowe papers here at the Bentley, full of newspaper clippings, letters, and more. Another was Nannette Gardner, a widow in Michigan who successfully voted in 1871. Gardner's papers in the archives contain things like a diary entry from her daughter, describing how her mother brought a bouquet and a banner to the polls.

Charlotte is exploring how historical media depicted this strategy for women's right to vote in her dissertation!

Interested in learning more? Anyone is welcome to explore historical Michigan newspapers, the Nannette Gardner papers, and the Berenice Bryant Lowe papers in our reading room, which is free to visit and open to all.

in 1919, Michigan officially ratified the 19th Amendment for women's right to vote. It was the third state in the entire country to do so.

Women in Michigan had been campaigning for voting rights for many years, giving speeches, raising visibility with parades like this one, and more. This moment was a hard-won victory.

However, the suffrage movement itself was not equal; African Americans, Native Americans, and many other groups were often excluded, and faced voting restrictions white women didn't face. It took many years for all women to have the right to vote in the United States.

Anyone is welcome to check out collections like the Lucia Grimes papers and the Michigan Suffragist periodical in our reading room to learn more about the history of suffrage in Michigan!