See inside an exhibit that documents 80 years of women fighting for the right to vote

Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi spoke at the exhibit's opening in Washington.

April 9, 2019, 4:11 AM

2020 will be the year of the women, no matter who wins at the ballot box.

Next year the U.S. will mark the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed and protected women's right to vote.

Part of celebrating the 19th Amendment's 100th anniversary will include looking back at all the women who fought to make sure future generations of women had the right to vote.

"Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence" is a newly-opened exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., that outlines the more than 80-year movement for women's suffrage.

"Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence" is on display at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
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The exhibit opened in March with a gala dotted with attendees in white -- the color of the woman suffrage movement -- and headlined by the first female to hold the office of Speaker of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Hillary Clinton, who has set many firsts in her political career as first lady, senator, secretary of state and presidential candidate.

"Think about how hard it was and think about what each of us can do to make sure that all that struggle never is in vain, that we will remain committed to ensuring equality and the right to vote," Clinton said at the March 28 event.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pose for a group photo at a National Portrait Gallery Women's History Month reception in Washington, D.C., March 28, 2019.
Yuri Gripas/Reuters

The exhibit will be on display through January 2020. It features women whose names deserve to be remembered, including Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Ida B. Wells, Mary Church Terrell and many more.

It comes at a time when a record number of women are serving in Congress after an unprecedented number of female candidates ran for the first time in 2018.

Historian Kate Clarke Lemay, the curator of the exhibit, said she hopes people "see women everywhere and realize that women are half the population in this country and really deserve to be highlighted as major parts of American history."

Take a look at some of the items on display documenting 80 years of women fighting for the right to vote.

A reproduction from an original 1920 line photo-engraving by Elmer Andrews Bushnell is pictured on display at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington.
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PHOTO: Ballot Box
Ballot Box, Sitter: (Non-Portrait), Creator: Geo. D. Barnard & Co. Tin with black japanned finish, stenciled gold lettering, sunbursts, and bands, cast iron, lid and wire bale handle, 1870-1892 Collection of Ronnie Lapinsky Sax
Courtesy Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
PHOTO: Official program - Woman suffrage procession, Washington, D.C. March 3, 1913
Official program - Woman suffrage procession, Washington, D.C. March 3, 1913 Sitter: (Non-Portrait), Artist: Benjamin M. Dale, Photomechanical reproduction Collection of Ann Lewis & Mike Sponder
Courtesy Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
PHOTO: Patsy Takemoto Mink Poster
Patsy Takemoto Mink Poster, Artist: Unidentified Artist. Photomechanical reproduction c. 1970, Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
Courtesy Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
PHOTO: Mrs. Woodhull Asserting her Right to Vote; Harper's Weekly November 25, 1871
Mrs. Woodhull Asserting her Right to Vote; Harper's Weekly November 25, 1871 Sitter: Victoria Claflin Woodhull, Engraving. 25 Nov 1871 Collection of Robert P.J. Cooney, Jr.
Courtesy Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
PHOTO: "Congratulations," Life Magazine Cover
"Congratulations," Life Magazine Cover, Sitter: (Non-Portrait), Artist: Charles Dana Gibson, Photomechanical reproduction, 28 Oct 1920 Collection of Ann Lewis & Mike Sponder
Courtesy Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
PHOTO: The Awakening
The Awakening, Sitter: (Non-Portrait), Artist: Henry Mayer Chromolithograph, February 20, 1915 Cornell University - The PJ Mode Collection of Persuasive Cartography
Courtesy Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
PHOTO: The Woman Voter and The Next President of the United States
The Woman Voter and The Next President of the United States Sitter: (Non-Portrait), Photomechanical reproduction, Mar 1919 Collection of Ronnie Lapinsky Sax
Courtesy Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery