Is it a coincidence that the freedom to travel offered by the automobile expanded during the time when the Women’s Suffrage movement finally became more successful? The automobile freed women from the constraints of train timetables and the physical labor involved in hitching up a team of horses. Improved roads further facilitated the spread of the automobile and thus increased women’s freedoms. Illinois was a national leader in both the Good Roads movement and the Women’s Suffrage movement. This presentation by Kay Shelton will explore how residents of other states looked to Illinois for inspiration in their own efforts. It will also investigate the intertwined histories of the abolition movement, President Lincoln’s role in emancipation, and the Women’s Suffrage movement.