As a highly educated woman, Cotnam understood the importance of education. She told The Woman Citizen in 1919 that the “greatest handicap to good government in a republic is indifference and lack of intelligence on the part of the voters.”
With the anticipated ratification of the 19th Amendment, Cotnam reminded the suffragists in her speech “All’s Well That Ends Well” that their jobs were not finished. They needed “to give our country what she needs above all things, an interested and intelligent electorate.” Cotnam’s life mission to educate the public about politics had emerged.
Under the NAWSA, Cotnam led a national citizenship campaign in 12 states. Cotnam organized the League of Women Voters of Little Rock in 1919 from the AWSA. She became its first president and focused on organizing citizenship schools. While the schools mainly attracted women, they were open to everyone. Cotnam taught governmental procedure, the responsibilities of voters, and the right of citizenship. As a result, women formed citizenship study clubs that pushed for new labor laws, equal pay, and the elimination of child labor.
