The growth of cities and the support of monarchs contributed to the spread of Renaissance ideas. The Northern Renaissance produced many great artists, writers, and scholars. Printing and the use of the vernacular helped to spread Renaissance ideas and increase learning.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony founded the NWSA first. The pair believed that instead of supporting the Fifteenth Amendment as it was, women's rights activists should fight for women to be included as well. They started the NWSA to lead this effort.