Foreword -- Introduction -- I. Prologue: No one will ever know -- II. The making of two she devils: The Kennedy clan ; Growing up gilded ; Vassar College ; The ugly duckling unbound -- III. The battle for suffrage: Rallying the troops ; Launching the campaign ; Taking the fight to the halls of power ; Taking it to the streets of Pittsburgh ; Sacrifice and new strategies ; Eleventh inning pitches for suffrage ; A pivotal vote ; Time out for love and marriage ; New game plans in the wake of defeat ; Warriors on the home front ; The bishop and Mr. Babcock ; Victory at last! -- IV. The battle for good government: Life and the leagues ; She devils at the door ; Vigilance in the halls of power ; Dirty air and dirty dealings ; Policing the police ; More scandal and sleights of hand -- V. Legacy: Accolades and eulogies.
Summary
"The true story of the Gilded Age’s “political twins” who brought women’s suffrage and political reform to the city of Pittsburgh. Sometimes troublemakers emerge from the most unlikely of places. This true story follows the lives of two daughters of the Gilded Age—Lucy and Eliza Kennedy—who were educated at Vassar College and became leaders of the suffrage movement. Then, after the Nineteenth Amendment was passed in 1920, they spent the next forty years fighting corruption in politics and government. Tenacious, smart, and witty, they captivated crowds, disarmed their opponents, and instilled particular dread among the corrupt politicians who were the unfortunate targets of their nonpartisan crusade. Their entry across the threshold of Pittsburgh’s City-County Building would reportedly invoke a flurry of hushed warnings through the halls: “The She Devils are at the door!” Together, Lucy and Eliza fought for the vote, empowered women to use it wisely, forced a mayor out of office in disgrace, took control of the city budget, exposed a series of scandals, spearheaded police reform, and launched a campaign that would eventually clear Pittsburgh of its smoky veil. Featuring the true story of two powerful women, this book comes at a propitious time, reminding us how far women have come and how vigilant we must remain." --
