North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and West Virginia. While Valentine's efforts earned her praise among those who shared her views, she did face personal and public backlash. Those she once called friends would ignore her when they saw her on the street. When she spoke publicly, she was often heckled. During one of her speeches at the Fairfax Courthouse the crowd was doused with pepper. Strategic changes and the Nineteenth Amendment When she first entered the women's suffrage movement, Valentine believed votes for women in the United States would be achieved by individual state legislatures passing their own amendments in support of the cause—in fact, she favored an amendment to Virginia's constitution rather than the United States Constitution. When the Equal Suffrage League was first founded in 1909, members agreed to draw a petition calling for a women's suffrage amendment to the state constitution to be presented to the General Assembly in 1912. On January 19, 1912 Valentine and fellow Virginia suffragists appeared before Virginia's House of Delegates to speak in favor of their petition. The hearing lasted from 4:00 PM until midnight, and while observers were impressed by Valentine's oratorical skills, the legislature did not pass the amendment. Virginia suffragists brought the issue of women's voting rights to the floor of the General Assembly in 1912, 1914, and 1916, but a women's suffrage amendment never passed. After the failure in 1916, Valentine and others turned their focus to fighting for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. By 1918 Valentine personally supported the Susan B. Anthony Amendment. Valentine's support of a federal amendment opened her up to new criticism from those who supported states' rights. After the United States Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment, Valentine and the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia fought for ratification. Despite their efforts, and faced with pressure from groups like the Virginia Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage, the General Assembly refused to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment, making Virginia one of nine southern states that would not give women the right to vote. Virginia's General Assembly did not vote to ratify the amendment until 1952. However, the Nineteenth Amendment became law in August 1920 after 36 states voted to ratify it. Final works, death, and legacy On June 10, 1919, less than a week after Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment, Valentine's husband, B.B., died after a series of heart attacks. She retreated to Northeast Harbor, Maine,