From Cowgirl to Congress: Journey of a Suffragist on the Front Lines

An eyewitness account of Jessie Haver Butler, a suffragist on the front lines of the women’s movement in 1920—with Alice Paul and Carrie Chapman Catt. During her long life devoted to women’s rights, Jessie lectured alongside George Bernard Shaw, Eleanor Roosevelt, Gloria Steinem and Marlo Thomas.

Jessie escaped a childhood of unthinkable tragedies on a Colorado cattle ranch and went on to attend Smith College, which propelled her into the center of the fight for the rights of women.
Inspired by meeting Susan B. Anthony at age ten, she later worked side by side with Alice Paul and Carrie Chapman Catt. When women won the right to vote on August 18, 1920, Jessie became the first official woman lobbyist at the Capitol in Washington, D. C. She also helped establish the Pulitzer School of Journalism and set the first minimum wage for women.

Jessie went on to live in London, where she shared the podium with George Bernard Shaw, attended parties with Emily Pankhurst, influenced Queen Mary, and met her lifelong friend, Lady Astor. Jessie later taught women the art of public speaking. She wrote Time to Speak Up and lectured alongside Eleanor Roosevelt, Gloria Steinem, and Marlo Thomas. She spoke out for women’s rights throughout her life and well into her nineties.

This timely memoir takes us back to the suffrage movement and the struggles that followed and includes unpublished letters from historical figures, as well as never-before-seen photographs.

Jessie Haver Butler was an extraordinary woman, who lived her life with a spirit of adventure and open-mindedness. She was a mother, wife, and active community member, and her story weaves these threads together to complete her compelling journey—from cowgirl to Congress.