Any Great Change: The Centennial of the 19th Amendment

In 1853, suffragist and abolitionist Lucretia Coffin Mott stated, “Any great change must expect opposition.” The exhibition Any Great Change: The Centennial of the 19th Amendment commemorates the centennial of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified August 18, 1920. The exhibition documents how women gained the vote and the ways they have used political power over the last century.

The exhibition is located on the second floor of Swan House, Atlanta History Center’s historic house museum. The gallery explores the decades-long struggle for women’s suffrage as well as key groups, their strategies, and their leaders. The leadership in Georgia and Atlanta included Emily C. MacDougald and her daughter, Emily Inman. MacDougald was president of the Equal Suffrage Party of Georgia and Inman participated in Atlanta suffrage parades. Inman and her husband, Edward, built Swan House in 1928. She lived here until her death in 1965. 

The exhibition includes three primary themes related to the Women’s suffrage movement: 
I want laws that ensure my equality.
I want my representatives to reflect me and my values.
I want to have a say.

Key artifacts include a Votes for Women sash similar to those worn in marches and protests around the country, an invitation to join pickets at the White House from Alice Paul of the National Women’s Party, and a Georgia Suffrage Supporter Checklist, which outlines the many ways Georgia citizens could support the movement.

This gallery commemorates the civic and political work of women over the last 100 years, including those elected to office, those continuing the fight for equality, and those empowering future generations of women for full civic participation.

This gallery explores work that has continued since the 19th Amendment. Passage of the amendment gave women access to the vote. Yet, voting rights can be difficult to exercise for some women and other groups or individuals. Black women and men became activists in the Civil Rights Movement as they worked to eliminate segregation and barriers to voting.