Swedish immigrants Ingeborg Kindstedt and Maria Kindberg visit San Francisco in the summer of 1915, planning to buy a car and explore the country on their way back to their home in Rhode Island. On impulse, they offer to bring along suffragists heading to Washington DC to demand voting rights for women from Congress and the President. Soon they are plunged into a difficult and dangerous journey that pushes them to the very limits of their endurance.

As they travel they encounter unexpected allies, and those opposed to women’s growing independence. Bad roads and harsh weather hinder their progress. Will they overcome these obstacles and arrive in DC at the appointed day and time?
We Demand is based on a true story. It is a tribute to the grit and determination of the women who made the trip and the suffrage movement that launched them.

We Demand is historical fiction, but Maine author Anne B. Gass did extensive research into this trip, including retracing the route in 2015. The talk is accompanied by historic slides.