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I think you are referring to the "suffragists," who were also sometimes called "suffragettes." Their name came from the old meaning of the word "suffrage" (which had nothing to do with suffering-- it had to do with "permission," and in this case, it meant permission to vote). The battle for women's suffrage, and other rights, officially began in 1848, at Seneca Falls NY, where a convention was held to advocate for women's equality.
At that time, the efforts were mostly unsuccessful; but they gradually led to more women demanding the right to vote: the women's suffrage movement gained some new supporters beginning in the late 1800s, as a handful of individual states (mostly on the west coast) gave women voting rights in local elections. But it was really in the period from about 1905-1915 that the suffrage movement got more national attention. During that time, it gained an increasing number of followers. American women finally got full suffrage in 1920.
