Formed in 1890, NAWSA was the result of a merger between two rival factions--the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, and the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA). These opposing groups were organized in the late 1860s, partly as the result of a disagreement over strategy. NWSA favored women's enfranchisement through a federal constitutional amendment, while AWSA believed success could be more easily achieved through state-by-state campaigns. NAWSA combined both of these techniques, securing the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 through a series of well-orchestrated state campaigns under the dynamic direction of Carrie Chapman Catt. With NAWSA's primary goal of women's enfranchisement now a reality, the organization was transformed into the League of Women Voters.
Public sentiment in the United States grew increasingly in favor of Cuban independence for the following two reasons: "U. S. gained power in the Caribbean" and "<span> U.S. newspaper stories on Spanish injustices"</span>
