Carrie Chapman Catt Playlist

Carrie Chapman Catt was a journalist, founder of the League of Women Voters, and suffragette. She grew up in a time when women weren't allowed to vote, but nothing could stop her from seeing her dream become a reality. Because of strong women like Carrie and their accomplishments, women can now enjoy the freedom to vote. She truly is one of the most influential American women.

Playlist:

1. I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor LYRICS: I Will Survive

I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor tells the story of a woman finding strength after a breakup. While Catt did not go through a heart wrenching breakup, she would have enjoyed this song because of the empowering lyrics. The way the song is written takes the listener through the first stages of a breakup and then we get to see the remarkable transformation the woman undergoes. Catt went through a transformation of her own from a young girl just becoming aware of the injustices women face to a suffragette. These lyrics below and the explanations reveal a lot about Catt:

“First I was afraid, I was petrified” After graduating from high school Catt knew she had to further her education if she wanted fulfill her dreams, but her father refused to help pay for college. Catt was forced to work two jobs with an uncertain future.

“And I grew strong” When Carrie was 13, she questioned her mother why women couldn’t vote. Her mother answered that voting was 'too important a civic duty to leave to women.' Carrie reached a turning point in her life that day and grew strong.

“You think I’d crumble, you think I’d lay down and die, Oh no, not I. I will survive.” Carrie died March 9, 1947, but she and her legacy will “survive” and live on when every woman exercises her right to vote.

*Biographical information available from Link to Website

2. I am Woman - Helen Reddy LYRICS: I am Woman

Catt would include I am Woman by Helen Reddy on her playlist because it illustrates the power of a woman. This, like the above song, is a song about liberation and empowerment for women. Catt’s favorite line of the song could possibly have been “I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman.” This would have been her favorite line because she truly believed that if she worked hard enough she could become strong and invincible. She did not let traditional views of society and women keep her from achieving her dream.

3. Respect - Aretha Franklin LYRICS: Respect

The title of the song says it all. All Carrie Chapman Catt was asking for was a little “respect.” Catt once said, “The struggle for the vote was an effort to bring men to feel less superior and women to feel less inferior.” This quote goes well with the title of Aretha Franklin's song and in other words, all women, including Aretha Franklin, want the same thing, respect! Catt truly believed that men and women were created equal and therefore, should have equal rights. The path to these equal rights would be a long one, but she would make it. *Quote taken from Link to Website

4. You Don't Own Me - Lesley Gore LYRICS: You Don't Own Me

Catt once said, “The answer to one is the answer to all. Government by ‘the people’ is expedient or it is not. If it is expedient, then obviously all the people must be included.” Meaning that all Americans should be given the right to vote because the Constitution said it should be so. This quote compliments You Don’t Own Me by Ethel Merman because it is a song about freeing yourself from unnecessary control and living your life the way you want. This ties into Catt's story because she chose to live life the way she wanted, not the traditional way society wanted her to. Quote taken from Link to Website

5. Move Over - Janis Joplin LYRICS: Move Over

Move Over by Janis Joplin may seem to be just another song marking the female liberation movement, but Catt would have chosen this song in particular because of two lines towards the end of the song. “I can’t take it no more baby, and furthermore, I don’t intend to.” These famous two lines can be taken literally and be about breaking up, or we take them a step further as Catt would have and interpret them to mean women, especially Catt, would not take the injustice anymore and they did not intend to.

6. Woman's Worth - Alicia Keys LYRICS: Woman's Worth

Carrie Chapman Catt was very fortunate to have husbands (she was married twice) who supported her and her dream. While Catt was rallying and speaking at conferences, her husband would be working to support the two of them so Catt could do what she loved and not worry about their financial situation. Woman’s Worth by Alicia Keys would be included in Catt’s playlist in honor of her husbands who supported her from the early days until her dream became reality. Without the support of these two men, Catt would not have been able to travel world wide promoting women's rights. These men truly realized Catt's "Woman's Worth."

7. You'll See - Madonna LYRICS: You'll See

Madonna has long been seen as a pop cultural and fashion icon. Almost all of her songs would be appropriate for Catt’s playlist because Madonna represents so many firsts in the music industry and female independence. Catt is also a symbol of female independence and represents the first female voters. You’ll See is perhaps the most appropriate of Madonna's songs because of the lines, “It will be mine, no one can take it from me.” To make these lines applicable to Catt's life, we should interpret the "It" to be the right to vote.

8. Born to Take the Highway - Joni Mitchell *Not available from I Tunes LYRICS: Born to Take the Highway

If Carrie Chapman Catt could look back and choose one song to sum up her life, she would choose Born to Take the Highway by Joni Mitchell. She would choose this song because of the lines “I was born to take the highway, I was born to chase a dream.” Catt was born to start a revolution, she was born to chase her dream and she did chase that dream so that not only herself, but women across America could have equal voting rights. Catt was definitely a dream chaser.

9. Song for Equal Suffrage - Charlotte Perkins Gilman *Not available from I Tunes LYRICS: Song for Equal Suffrage Here’s a song to take you back. Song for Equal Suffrage by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, published in 1911, was an important song at many suffrage rallies. Catt probably sang this song many times as she traveled throughout the country. Catt is quoted as saying, “When a just cause reaches its flood-tide, as ours has done in that country, whatever stands in the way must fall before its overwhelming power.” Songs like this one and Catt's quote further demonstrate how strong the suffrage movement was in America.

Although, Song for Equal Suffrage is not available on I Tunes, I have found another suffrage song that I think will help portray what these rally songs were like before the 19th Amendment was passed. LISTEN: Sister Suffragette - Glynis Johns *Quote taken from Link to Website

10. Keep Woman in Her Sphere - D. Eastabrook *Not available from I Tunes LYRICS: Keep Woman in Her Sphere

Keep Woman in Her Sphere tells the story of 3 men and their responses to the question should women be allowed to vote. The first two men say no, “Keep woman in her sphere.” But the third man answers, “Her rights are just the same as mine, let woman choose her sphere.” This song can be found in many suffrage songbooks and is a song of protest against those who opposed equal voting rights and a song of inspiration for those who supported them. This song demonstrates the mixed feelings that the public had when it came to women's voting rights. Some were against the right to vote and believed that a woman's place is in the home, but there were those others who believed that women should be allowed to "...choose her sphere."