March of the Suffragettes: Rosalie Gardiner Jones and the March for Voting Rights

by Zachary Michael Jack

March of the Suffragettes details the inspiring and little-known story of "General" Rosalie Gardiner Jones and the makeshift all-women's army of old friends and newfound suffrage "pilgrims" she assembled to march nearly two hundred miles to win the vote for women. Rosalie's army hiked hundreds of wintry miles for their cause, fighting not just Mother Nature in the form of wind, fog, sleet, snow, mud, and ice, but also overprotective parents, male and female hecklers, and escaped convicts along their route. They would meet and mingle with the rich and famous while attending glamorous balls and high-teas, but they would also fight blisters and bone-chilling cold, debate bitter Anti-suffragists, and dodge way-ward bullets and pyrotechnics aimed in their direction. They would compose and sing their own pilgrims' choruses and marching songs for sisterhood and solidarity, even as the differences among them threatened to tear them apart.

An inspiring account of social change for young and old alike, March of the Suffragettes reminds us of our historical amnesia where early feminists are concerned even as it vividly resurrects the memory of their bravery, moral courage, and indomitable fighting spirit.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Feminism, Historical, Autobiography, Middle Grade, Politics

160 pages, Hardcover

Published August 1, 2016

Reviews

[Mandy]

Disclaimer: I personally know the author, but I purchased the book myself and chose to review it.

See here for entire review.

March of the Suffragettes is a short, but important account of the march that women made from New York City to Albany in the pursuit of the right to vote.

It has clearly been well-researched and comes off as a very fateful narrative. It does read a little dry at times and I feel that younger readers may get a little bored with the lack of action.

Still, it's an important book about an event that I feel not enough people know about. I'm more enlightened after this book and I intend to learn more about the suffragette movement.

[Alicia]

Loved this! It moved along quickly and highlighted a woman that I knew nothing about, Rosalie Gardiner Jones aka the General and her march for voting rights for women in 1912. It's a short book, more an action story/biography that is fast-paced and could prove more tolerable to teens than some other narrative nonfiction books about the voting rights movement. It's especially exciting for Albany area teens who see Jones' trek through areas they know as she marched from New York City to Albany in December. Can you imagine? What grit!

The incorporation of her spirit to fight against the backdrop of family pressure (her mother and sister were "antis") along with other members of her marching party whose family also threatened action as the ladies marched, but also what they were up against and how they pushed through-- this was everything from blistered feet to the nervousness of marching near Sing-Sing where an escaped prisoner was on the loose. It was about how ladies couldn't ride bikes and they had real conversations about the kinds of clothes they should wear since some of their stops might include rallies or dinners where they would need dresses and different shoes. It was about how reports always are looking for an angle/a story and sometimes skew the truth. It's about unsung heroes or heroes we know nothing about like Rosalie Gardiner Jones and the governor "Plain Bill" and his insistence in congratulating and recognizing their tramp to Albany for these rights.

Kudos to the author to bring more of these stories of amazing Americans to light and providing the historical context through which these heroes had to push, pull, fight, and shout.

"Their hearts are so warm they will melt the snow."

[Melissa Whiting]

This book had some interesting facts and information, but was not a thrilling read. Rather, it read a bit too much like a 150-page school essay.

[Tonya]

Important reminder of the activities that happened so women can vote in the US. Also interesting history on women I hadn’t heard of and their actions to create change.

[Cheriee Weichel]

I wanted to love this book, but honestly, it just didn't work for me. I wanted to be inspired, but it just became tedious to read this.
It is both wordy and dry. I couldn't connect to these women and the cause because of this. I thought that maybe today, when the USA votes for a woman who could become president, I might find motivation. But honestly, it I have to work this hard, it isn't the kind of book that students will engage in.

[JoLee]

Featured in "Historical Nonfiction Books for Young Readers" on Intellectual Recreation.

In 1912 Rosalie Jones organized a march in support of Women's Suffrage from New York City to the state capitol in Albany. Incredibly, she and two other women took only two weeks to walk the entire 175 miles, arriving at their destination just before New Years. Zachary Michael Jack's book for young readers, March of the Suffragettes, tells the story of their journey.

I enjoyed learning about Rosalie and her compatriots. It was interesting to learn about those who supported them and those who did not. This topic seems particularly timely to me. As the 100th anniversary of the nineteenth amendment approaches, I would love to read more about the women who paved the way for women's suffrage.

Review copy from NetGalley.

[Stephanie Rathgeber]

Jack, Z. M. (2016). March of the suffragettes: Rosalie Gardiner Jones and the march for voting rights. San Francisco, CA: Zest Books.

Citation by Stephanie Rathgeber

Type of Reference: Biography

Call Number: B JON

Content/Scope: "March of the Suffragettes details the inspiring and little-known story of "General" Rosalie Gardiner Jones and the makeshift all-women's army of old friends and newfound suffrage "pilgrims" she assembled to march nearly two hundred miles to win the vote for women."

Accuracy/Authority/Bias: Positively reviewed in School Library Journal (November 2016)

Arrangement/Presentation: This biographical piece is written in an informal writing style that will have students feel like they are reading a story more than an informational text.

Timeliness/Permanence: This is a timeless piece that will always be accurate.

Accessibility/Diversity: Due to the recent election and potential future presidential elections where females run for office, this book has the ability to be very popular with young girls. It is written for grades 7 and up.


Cost: $14.99

[Kelly]

This follows the march Rosalie Gardiner Jones and a handful of fellow women took from the Bronx to Albany for women's rights. It's an interesting story and Jack does a good job of doing that -- telling the story. But that's all there really is to it; it's a story about the march. There's nothing much here with depth, and there's certainly no exploration of the role of the suffragettes or what the limits of their fight was for (i.e., nothing at all about it being all white women and why that was). That annoyed me deeply, since this is the kind of book that needs more depth and nuance. This might work okay as a starting point for research for middle graders, but otherwise, it's not especially compelling nor thought provoking.

[Brittany]

I give up. This is more of a play-by-play account of the actual march with a disappointing amount of background information on the suffragette movement. Unless you count the bits and pieces interspersed in the narrative, which is punctuated heavily by exclamations! So many exclamations!!