America's Forgotten Suffragists
Missouri’s Virginia Minor forever changed the direction of Women’s Rights—not Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, Carrie Chapman Catt, or any of the other so-called “marquee names” of the suffrage movement—when she and her husband, Francis, argued Minor v Happersett in 1875. Despite the negative ruling, this landmark case brought the right to vote for women to the U.S. Supreme Court for the first and only time in the seventy-two year fight for women’s suffrage in the United States.
America’s Forgotten Suffragists: Virginia and Francis Minor is the first biography of these activists who had a profound impact on the suffrage movement but have largely been forgotten by history. Virginia and Francis were unique for their time in being jointly dedicated to the cause of female enfranchisement. Unlike the brief profiles available now, this book will paint a full picture of their lives, depicting their youth, married life, and their highly-lauded civilian work during the Civil War. Their early suffrage work and famous Supreme Court case will be covered in depth, along with an exploration of how it actually helped the suffrage movement by giving it a unifying direction, despite the court delivering a negative verdict. This biography will also cover Virginia and Francis’ continued fight for women’s suffrage after the case, including Virginia’s tax revolts, writings, and campaigning for the franchise in Nebraska.
Nicole Evelina is a USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction, non-fiction, and women’s fiction whose six books have won more than 40 awards, including three Book of the Year designations. The TV/movie option for her book Madame Presidentess, was recently acquired by Fortitude International.
Nicole was named Missouri’s Top Independent Author by Library Journal and Biblioboard as the winner of the Missouri Author Project in 2018. Her fiction tells the stories of strong women from history and today, with a focus on biographical historical fiction, while her non-fiction focuses on women’s history, especially sharing the stories of unknown or little-known figures. She is a passionate marketer and works tirelessly promoting her books as they are published. Nicole’s writing has also appeared in The Huffington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Independent Journal, Curve Magazine and numerous historical publications.
A native of St. Louis, where Virginia and Francis lived for forty years, Nicole has ready access to archives, in-person research and experts to interview. She has already conducted in-depth research both there and at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where the remaining Minor family records are held.
You can find her online at http://nicoleevelina.com/.