As women found themselves increasingly laboring alongside the men, they began to demand equal footing in other social areas as well, starting with the ballot box. If they could work, their suffrage groups argued, they could vote. A smattering of such groups existed in various states around the country, but they would not be united until the formation of a national league.

On this day, February 14, in 1920, the League of Women Voters organized, according to a speech by its founder Carrie Catt, “to unite all existing organizations of women who believe in its principles” and to protect women “from suffering the untoward conditions which have hindered for so long the coming of equal suffrage.” Provocatively, Catt called out her future members: “Are the women of the United States big enough to see their opportunity?”

Catt’s challenge to the women of America succeeded, and the LWV became a strong voice, influencing government policies to come. The League was one of the principal supporters of federal acts allocating funds for childcare, as well as the Social Security Act and the Food and Drug Act.