American Women's Suffrage Association (AWSA)

The American Women's Suffrage Association (AWSA), founded in 1869 by Lucy Stone and Henry Ward Beecher, was a major organization dedicated to securing voting rights for women in the United States. It focused on peaceful, state-by-state efforts to achieve women’s suffrage, emphasizing education and gradual progress. AWSA believed in working within the political system to expand voting rights for women, particularly in Western states. In 1890, it merged with the National Woman Suffrage Association to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), which played a key role in ultimately securing women’s right to vote in 1920.