An examination of the nationalism practiced by a core group within the white women's suffrage movement, 1848-1919. It is argued that these leaders used a nationalism based on exclusive citizenship conditioned on whiteness to gain support for their cause, & advanced their goals by racial exclusion & oppression. Women engaged in this struggle over national identity used difference-based feminism in the debates over women's suffrage to convince male politicians & voters that white women's votes would complement rather than challenge men's roles. It is concluded that this gender alliance between white men & women reinforced women's separate & subordinate role while contributing to the oppression of nonwhites. 54 References.