Women suffragettes visit TR at Sagamore [1917]

Film is the opening of the second New York State suffrage campaign on Sept. 8, 1917 at Sagamore Hill. The first campaign, beginning in 1913, was unsuccessful; the woman suffrage amendment was rejected by the voters in 1915. On Nov. 6, 1917, the suffrage amendment to the New York State Constitution was approved by the voters. The suffragists invited to Sagamore Hill were headed by Mrs. Norman deR. Whitehouse, State Chairman of the New York State Woman Suffrage Party. Sequence of TR talking to three women: the woman in the dark hat and coat is Mrs. Ogden Mills Reid; the woman dressed in furs next to TR is Mrs. Whitehouse; and the tall woman in the light hat and jacket is Mrs. James Lees Laidlaw.

Directed by —, Women suffragettes visit TR at Sagamore [1917] leans on a strong ensemble — Theodore Roosevelt, Norman deR. Whitehouse, Ogden Mills Reid — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 1917.