Past Exhibitions

All is Possible:

Women’s Suffrage in California

2020
March 7 – Fall 2020

The Santa Monica History Museum is excited to announce the opening of our latest exhibition, “All Is Possible: Women’s Suffrage in California.” The exhibition explores the history of the local, state, and national suffrage movements to mark the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women in America the right to vote.

The exhibition’s title was inspired by Los Angeles activist Caroline Severance’s motto, “Nothing is impossible for organized womanhood.” The suffrage movement’s success depended in large part on the groundswell of state initiatives and the organization of local women’s clubs at the turn of the century. As the sixth state to allow women to vote in 1911, California served as a turning point, with a population large enough to double the eligible women voters in the country.

“While the 19^th Amendment was a landmark, it was only one element of the struggles for equal rights that took place at local, state and national levels. In this exhibition, we hope to tell the ongoing story of suffrage by illuminating the efforts of all women to establish their rights.” — Sara Crown, Archivist at the Santa Monica History Museum

On display are photographs and artifacts from local women’s clubs along with contemporary illustrations from publications such as Puck. Visitors may view artifacts from suffrage leaders, including never-before-seen personal letters from Alice Stone Blackwell and a Miramar Hotel guestbook signed by Susan B. Anthony and Reverend Anna Shaw during their 1895 visit to Santa Monica to rally support for a statewide suffrage ballot. Replicas of suffrage banners, ribbons, sashes, and china also are on view.

“This story is extremely relevant, even 100 years on the struggle for equal rights is by no means finished, so there’s something for everyone to learn from this exhibition.” — John Klopping, Museum Manager at the Santa Monica History Museum