Roses and Radicals: The Epic Story of How American Women Won the Right to Vote

by Susan Zimet, Todd Hasak-Lowy

Overview

The United States of America is almost 250 years old, but American women won the right to vote less than a hundred years ago.

And when the controversial nineteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution-the one granting suffrage to women-was finally ratified in 1920, it passed by a mere one-vote margin.

The amendment only succeeded because a courageous group of women had been relentlessly demanding the right to vote for more than seventy years. The leaders of the suffrage movement are heroes who were fearless in the face of ridicule, arrest, imprisonment, and even torture. Many of them devoted themselves to the cause knowing they wouldn't live to cast a ballot.
The story of women's suffrage is epic, frustrating, and as complex as the women who fought for it. Illustrated with portraits, period cartoons, and other images, Roses and Radicals celebrates this captivating yet overlooked piece of American history and the women who made it happen.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780451477545
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	01/16/2018
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Susan Zimet has dedicated her professional life to key public policy issues such as the environment and women's rights by serving as the executive director of the Hunger Action Network of New York State, the President of Zimet Group, Inc., and the President of 2020: Project Women, Inc. Roses and Radicals is her first book for young readers and she lives in New Paltz, New York, with her family.

Editorial Reviews

11/13/2017
Newcomer Zimet—founder of 2020: Project Women, a nonprofit celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment—and writer Hasak-Lowy present a compact composite portrait of the women who fought to secure voting rights for women. Tracking the turbulent path to the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment, the authors explain how the suffrage movement had its roots in abolitionism, dealt with schisms due to diverging philosophies, navigated changing political landscapes, and contended with sexism, which “simply described how the county worked back then.” Quotations from the crusaders’ writings and speeches bring their personalities into focus: “I forged the thunderbolts and she fired them,” said Elizabeth Cady Stanton of working with Susan B. Anthony. Sidebars spotlight additional suffragists, as well as contemporaneous campaigns and organizations. A conversational tone (one gathering begins with an indignant Stanton, “as we might say today, losing it”) makes this primer all the more accessible and relevant, as does the observation that, with the proposed Equal Rights Amendment still in limbo, the struggle for women’s rights is in no way over. Ages 10–up. Author’s agent: (for Zimet) Amy Berkower, Writers House; (for Hasak-Lowy) Daniel Lazar, Writers House. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Roses and Radicals by Susan Zimet:

"My mother said, 'Struggle is a never ending process. Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation.' Roses and Radicals is a must read about the history of the suffragist movement in America-the oppression of women-and the good, the bad, and the ugly relating to their struggle for the right to vote. It is not just a book for women, but for everyone, especially future generations because when we don't know our history, we may sadly repeat it." —Dr. Bernice A. King, CEO, The King Center, Daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King

"From Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Alice Paul and every crucial suffragist in between, Susan Zimet's Roses and Radicals offers a comprehensive and compelling account of a truly collective victory more than seventy years in the making. Zimet unpacks all of the intricacies of the suffrage movement, never shying away from its flaws, turbulent partnerships, and differing dogmas. For those tempted to label it an important book for young girls, think more broadly; it is an important book for all of us." —Tanya Lee Stone, Sibert Medalist and NAACP Image Award-winning auhtor of, most recently, Girl Rising: Changing the World One Girl at a Time

"The brave women and men who fought so hard for women's right to vote show us how to be brave when we need it the most. Which is always. Roses and Radicals is a must read for all kids and citizens!" —Andrea Beaty, award-winning author of Ada Twist, Scientist and Rosie Revere, Engineer

★ "With the 100th anniversary of the amendment’s passage coming up in 2020, the book is very timely."  —School Library Connection, starred review

★ "There are many books about the women's suffrage movement and the leaders who pushed, marched, insisted, and persisted until voting rights became a reality. But few offer such a comprehensive overview while still being appealingly accessible to a middle-grade audience." 
—Booklist, starred review 

"She [Zimet] reveals their complexities by discussing their marital and family choices, their racial backgrounds, their personality and generational differences, and their opinions on how efforts were to be organized. Readers will be captivated from beginning to end." —School Library Journal

"A timely, eye-opening history." —Kirkus Reviews

"A conversational tone. . .makes this primer all the more accessible and relevant, as does the observation that, with the proposed Equal Rights Amendment still in limbo, the struggle for women’s rights is in no way over."  —Publishers Weekly

"Zimet’s use of narrative techniques in this work of nonfiction brings this history to life and, often, it makes for an exciting read." —VOYA

From the Publisher

The passage of the nineteenth amendment to the U.S. constitution granting women the right to vote was never a foregone conclusion. In fact, it was just the opposite. From the time Elizabeth Cady Stanton publicly introduced the goal of women’s suffrage at the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 to the amendment’s final passage in 1919, the movement for women’s rights and suffrage demanded the dedication and influence of hardworking women such as Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, Ida B. Wells, and Alice Paul. Some were prominent public speakers; others were involved in political organizing on state and local levels. Still others engaged in acts of protest and civil disobedience. Many performed multiple roles across the movement. Roses And Radicals provides more than just portraits of individual women. It describes the long, controversial, sometimes tedious, and often discouraging process of attempting to pass a constitutional amendment. The story of the women’s suffrage movement is one of ideological and strategic disagreements and factional infighting, but it is also one of adaptation, compromise, and intense focus over time. Zimet’s use of narrative techniques in this work of nonfiction brings this history to life and, often, it makes for an exciting read. This book would provide excellent support for a middle school social studies curriculum and will appeal to students who are interested in history. Reviewer: Johanna Nation-Vallee; Ages 11 to 15.

VOYA, December 2017 (Vol. 40, No. 5) - Johanna Nation-Vallee

12/01/2017
Gr 6–8—Zimet tells the story of the women's suffrage movement in the United States beginning with the efforts of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott and concluding with an epilog about the Equal Rights Amendment. Zimet does not idolize the movement or the women involved. She reveals their complexities by discussing their marital and family choices, their racial backgrounds, their personality and generational differences, and their opinions on how efforts were to be organized. Readers will be captivated from beginning to end, in large part due to sidebars with titles such as "Know Your Radicals." Zimet deftly exposes readers to the strengths and flaws of these women, particularly the racist attitudes held by some of the white leaders. In a "Putting It in Perspective" section, Zimet highlights the racial divide surrounding voting rights, noting that universal suffrage did not occur until the 1960s; however, the suffrage struggles of Native American women are not mentioned. In addition, the word massacre is used in reference to the murder of Anne Hutchinson and her family. Zimet's position on women's rights is evident, yet her passion does not overshadow the story. VERDICT This engaging book educates, but it is slight on the history of voting rights for women of color.—Hilary Writt, Sullivan University, Lexington, KY

School Library Journal

2017-11-13
With Hasak-Lowy, Zimet, a founding member of Votes for Women 2020, an organization dedicated to, in part, celebrating the 100th anniversary of American women's right to vote, explores the decadeslong battle for suffrage and its many leaders. Although the account begins rather typically with a profile of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her burgeoning activism, it expands quickly, indicating how long women had been pushing for political freedom and how complicated their fight has been. Each chapter is its own contained lesson covering pivotal moments and key figures, extended by perfectly placed insets headed "Putting it in Perspective" or "Know Your Radicals." The connection between suffrage and abolition is probed, as well as how racist attitudes—including among movement leaders—damaged the cause. The focus here is almost exclusively on white suffragists. The movement suffered schisms and lost momentum even as more states granted suffrage. The fight was reinvigorated with a new generation of activists such as Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, who picketed the White House, were jailed and beaten, went on hunger strikes, and employed other protest techniques that are used today. When the final fight for ratification of the 19th Amendment is recounted (supporters wore yellow roses; opponents, red), readers will be as anxious and invested as their forebears were. Never melodramatic, this is a timely, eye-opening history. (foreword, introduction, epilogue, source notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews