From the late 1840's all the way up until 1920, women across the nation aggressively fought for their right to vote. As time progressed, the requests and/or demands of women supporting the cause changed dramatically and spawned numerous distinct women's groups and clubs.
By 1890, large groups of women emerged out of their private lives seeking to actively participate in the public world. These women were no longer content letting their husbands have all the fun out there in the real world. Huge numbers of women sought the same rights and privileges that their husbands possessed merely because they were men. To many women, the right to vote was a privilege of utmost importance. That same year, the previously split National Woman Suffrage Association and American Woman Suffrage Association merged to form the more moderate, middle-of-the-road National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). This merge was an attempt to take full advantage of women's newfound desire for social activism and group as many women as was possible into one single association. The NAWSA organized formal political conventions and was far more professional than the previous divergent groups. .
The now defunct NWSA aggressively fought for a federal amendment for suffrage, whereas the old AWSA chose to go state by state to gain suffrage. The NAWSA also decided to drop efforts to fight for an out-of-reach federal amendment and instead diligently worked on campaigning in the states. The beginning of the NAWSA's state campaigning seemed to be a disappointing failure. But in this time, the women's suffrage movement experienced growing membership numbers, new and improved leadership, and a change in argument. .
Though suffragists were never very powerful in the South, as membership increased, the NAWSA attained a substantial group of southern leaders. The surfacing of other women's groups brought to the table networks on which suffragists could capitalize.
