Pattie Ruffner Jacobs was Alabama’s leading suffrage activist. She founded the Alabama Equal Suffrage Association (AESA) and served as its first president from 1912-1916. After the Alabama State Legislature failed to pass statewide women’s suffrage in 1915, Jacobs decided a federal amendment was the only way to guarantee women’s suffrage. She left Alabama to serve on the board of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. After the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, Jacobs helped transition AESA into a state affiliate of the League of Women Voters. She later served on the organization’s national board of directors.

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