Winning the West for Women

"Ross-Nazzal has nicely woven DeVoe's story into the politics of both the West and of the suffrage movement, exposing the gritty realities of both."

"The book provides vivid glimpses of America in its passage from the 19th into the 20th century. . . . We could use more voices like DeVoe's nowadays."

"This text does vital work in reclaiming the life of Emma Smith DeVoe, giving scholars deeper knowledge of the contradictions and complexities of the suffrage campaign."

"Ross-Nazzal argues convincingly that DeVoe made a vital contribution to the woman suffrage movement on both the state and national levels. While concentrating on DeVoe, this study reaffirms the important role western women played in the suffrage struggle."

"What makes DeVoe's story particularly fascinating is that suffrage leaders, including Susan B. Anthrony, disapproved of DeVoe's insistence on a more feminine approach. Ross-Nazzal correctly notes that not only were suffragists critical of DeVoe's strategy but historians have been as well."

"Ross-Nazzal brings the experiences of the movement to life. Her well-researched and closely chronicled account helps illuminate the significant role of women in the West and Midwest in attaining the vote for women."

"Ross-Nazzal's study helps us understand her difficult position—determined and resourceful but constrained by financial problems and prevailing gender norms—and appreciate the extent of her impressive accomplishments."

"Winning the West for Women is an intriguing study of the hard work, varying strategies and shifting alliances that were involved in securing the vote for women."

"Ross-Nazzal is right to suggest that Emma Smith DeVoe's important role in the women's suffrage struggles of the West has been overlooked and that western women did in fact play a crucial role in winning passage of the Nineteenth Amendment."

"At long last, here is a full account of the life of Emma Smith DeVoe, the powerhouse in engineering the successful woman suffrage campaign for Washington State in 1910. A winning strategist in a minefield of activists and opponents, her story exposes the complications of western politics a century ago."

"This biography tells the insider story of the first wave of feminism, complete with all the back-biting we’ve hungered for."