It took the agitation of a nation: the road to womenâs suffrage. âWe have learned that our work must be upon long lines. We who have toiled up the steps of the Old Capitol only to see our bills defeated upon final vote. We who took our baby boys with us to those early meetings, now find these boys are voters, while their mothers are still asking for freedom. We only hope that the next generation of women may find their work made easier because we have trodden the path before them.â â Mary Jane Whitely Coggeshall Like many social movements, the right for women to gain the vote in the U.S. was an arduous and complex struggle that in many ways still continues to this day.