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diff --git a/28556.txt b/28556.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2592f11 --- /dev/null +++ b/28556.txt @@ -0,0 +1,68060 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of History of Woman Suffrage, Volume III (of +III), by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: History of Woman Suffrage, Volume III (of III) + +Author: Various + +Editor: Elizabeth Cady Stanton + Susan B. Anthony + Matilda Joslyn Gage + +Release Date: April 11, 2009 [EBook #28556] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE *** + + + + +Produced by Richard J. Shiffer and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +[Transcriber's Note: Every effort has been made to replicate this +text as faithfully as possible, including obsolete and variant +spellings and other inconsistencies. Text that has been changed to +correct an obvious error is noted at the end of this ebook. + +Also, many occurrences of mismatched single and double quotes +remain as they were in the original.] + + + + +[Illustration: Phoebe W. Couzins.] + + + + + HISTORY + + of + + WOMAN SUFFRAGE. + + + EDITED BY + + + ELIZABETH CADY STANTON, + SUSAN B. ANTHONY, AND + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE. + + + ILLUSTRATED WITH STEEL ENGRAVINGS. + + + _IN THREE VOLUMES._ + + + VOL. III. + + 1876-1885. + + + "WOMEN ARE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES, ENTITLED TO ALL + THE RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES GUARANTEED + TO CITIZENS BY THE NATIONAL CONSTITUTION." + + + SUSAN B. ANTHONY, + 17 MADISON ST., ROCHESTER, N. Y. + + + Copyright, 1886, by SUSAN B. ANTHONY. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +The labors of those who have edited these volumes are not only +finished as far as this work extends, but if three-score years and +ten be the usual limit of human life, all our earthly endeavors +must end in the near future. After faithfully collecting material +for several years, and making the best selections our judgment has +dictated, we are painfully conscious of many imperfections the +critical reader will perceive. But since stereotype plates will not +reflect our growing sense of perfection, the lavish praise of +friends as to the merits of these pages will have its antidote in +the defects we ourselves discover. We may however without egotism +express the belief that this volume will prove specially +interesting in having a large number of contributors from England, +France, Canada and the United States, giving personal experiences +and the progress of legislation in their respective localities. + +Into younger hands we must soon resign our work; but as long as +health and vigor remain, we hope to publish a pamphlet report at +the close of each congressional term, containing whatever may be +accomplished by State and National legislation, which can be +readily bound in volumes similar to these, thus keeping a full +record of the prolonged battle until the final victory shall be +achieved. To what extent these publications may be multiplied +depends on when the day of woman's emancipation shall dawn. + +For the completion of this work we are indebted to Eliza Jackson +Eddy, the worthy daughter of that noble philanthropist, Francis +Jackson. He and Charles F. Hovey are the only men who have ever +left a generous bequest to the woman suffrage movement. To Mrs. +Eddy, who bequeathed to our cause two-thirds of her large fortune, +belong all honor and praise as the first woman who has given alike +her sympathy and her wealth to this momentous and far-reaching +reform. This heralds a turn in the tide of benevolence, when, +instead of building churches and monuments to great men, and +endowing colleges for boys, women will make the education and +enfranchisement of their own sex the chief object of their lives. + +The three volumes now completed we leave as a precious heritage +to coming generations; precious, because they so clearly +illustrate--in her ability to reason, her deeds of heroism and her +sublime self-sacrifice--that woman preeminently possesses the three +essential elements of sovereignty as defined by Blackstone: +"wisdom, goodness and power." This has been to us a work of love, +written without recompense and given without price to a large +circle of friends. A thousand copies have thus far been distributed +among our coadjutors in the old world and the new. Another thousand +have found an honored place in the leading libraries, colleges and +universities of Europe and America, from which we have received +numerous testimonies of their value as a standard work of reference +for those who are investigating this question. Extracts from these +pages are being translated into every living language, and, like so +many missionaries, are bearing the glad gospel of woman's +emancipation to all civilized nations. + +Since the inauguration of this reform, propositions to extend the +right of suffrage to women have been submitted to the popular vote +in Kansas, Michigan, Colorado, Nebraska and Oregon, and lost by +large majorities in all; while, by a simple act of legislature, +Wyoming, Utah and Washington territories have enfranchised their +women without going through the slow process of a constitutional +amendment. In New York, the State that has led this movement, and +in which there has been a more continued agitation than in any +other, we are now pressing on the legislature the consideration +that it has the same power to extend the right of suffrage to women +that it has so often exercised in enfranchising different classes +of men. + +Eminent publicists have long conceded this power to State +legislatures as well as to congress, declaring that women as +citizens of the United States have the right to vote, and that a +simple enabling act is all that is needed. The constitutionality of +such an act was never questioned until the legislative power was +invoked for the enfranchisement of women. We who have studied our +republican institutions and understand the limits of the executive, +judicial and legislative branches of the government, are aware that +the legislature, directly representing the people, is the primary +source of power, above all courts and constitutions. Research into +the early history of this country shows that in line with English +precedent, women did vote in the old colonial days and in the +original thirteen States of the Union. Hence we are fully awake to +the fact that our struggle is not for the attainment of a new +right, but for the restitution of one our fore-mothers possessed +and exercised. + +All thoughtful readers must close these volumes with a deeper sense +of the superior dignity, self-reliance and independence that belong +by nature to woman, enabling her to rise above such multifarious +persecutions as she has encountered, and with persistent +self-assertion to maintain her rights. In the history of the race +there has been no struggle for liberty like this. Whenever the +interest of the ruling classes has induced them to confer new +rights on a subject class, it has been done with no effort on the +part of the latter. Neither the American slave nor the English +laborer demanded the right of suffrage. It was given in both cases +to strengthen the liberal party. The philanthropy of the few may +have entered into those reforms, but political expediency carried +both measures. Women, on the contrary, have fought their own +battles; and in their rebellion against existing conditions have +inaugurated the most fundamental revolution the world has ever +witnessed. The magnitude and multiplicity of the changes +involved make the obstacles in the way of success seem almost +insurmountable. + +The narrow self-interest of all classes is opposed to the +sovereignty of woman. The rulers in the State are not willing to +share their power with a class equal if not superior to themselves, +over which they could never hope for absolute control, and whose +methods of government might in many respects differ from their own. +The annointed leaders in the Church are equally hostile to freedom +for a sex supposed for wise purposes to have been subordinated by +divine decree. The capitalist in the world of work holds the key to +the trades and professions, and undermines the power of labor +unions in their struggles for shorter hours and fairer wages, by +substituting the cheap labor of a disfranchised class, that cannot +organize its forces, thus making wife and sister rivals of husband +and brother in the industries, to the detriment of both classes. Of +the autocrat in the home, John Stuart Mill has well said: "No +ordinary man is willing to find at his own fireside an equal in the +person he calls wife." Thus society is based on this fourfold +bondage of woman, making liberty and equality for her antagonistic +to every organized institution. Where, then, can we rest the lever +with which to lift one-half of humanity from these depths of +degradation but on "that columbiad of our political life--the +ballot--which makes every citizen who holds it a full-armed +monitor"? + + + + +LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. + +VOL. III. + + + PHOEBE W. COUZINS _Frontispiece._ + MARILLA M. RICKER page 112 + FRANCES E. WILLARD 129 + JANE H. SPOFFORD 192 + HARRIET H. ROBINSON 273 + PHEBE A. HANAFORD 337 + ARMENIA S. WHITE 369 + LILLIE DEVEREUX BLAKE 417 + RACHEL G. FOSTER 465 + CORNELIA C. HUSSEY 481 + MAY WRIGHT SEWALL 545 + ELIZABETH BOYNTON HARBERT 592 + SARAH BURGER STEARNS 656 + CLARA BEWICK COLBY 689 + HELEN M. GOUGAR 704 + LAURA DEFORCE GORDON 753 + ABIGAIL SCOTT DUNIWAY 769 + CAROLINE E. MERRICK 801 + MARY B. CLAY 817 + MENTIA TAYLOR 833 + PRISCILLA BRIGHT MCLAREN 864 + GEORGE SAND 896 + + + + +CONTENTS. + + PAGE + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +THE CENTENNIAL YEAR--1876. + +The Dawn of the New Century--Washington Convention--Congressional +Hearing--Woman's Protest--May Anniversary--Centennial Parlors in +Philadelphia--Letters and Delegates to Presidential +Conventions--50,000 Documents sent out--The Centennial Autograph +Book--The Fourth of July--Independence Square--Susan B. Anthony +reads the Declaration of Rights--Convention in Dr. Furness' Church, +Lucretia Mott, Presiding--The Hutchinson Family, John and Asa--The +Twenty-eighth Anniversary, July 19, Edward M. Davis, +Presiding--Letters, Ernestine L. Rose, Clarina I. H. Nichols--The +_Ballot-Box_--Retrospect--The Woman's Pavilion 1 + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +NATIONAL CONVENTIONS, HEARINGS AND REPORTS. + +1877-1878-1879. + +Renewed Appeal for a Sixteenth Amendment--Mrs. Gage Petitions for a +Removal of Political Disabilities--Ninth Washington Convention, +1877--Jane Grey Swisshelm--Letters, Robert Purvis, Wendell +Phillips, Francis E. Abbott--10,000 Petitions Referred to the +Committee on Privileges and Elections by Special Request of the +Chairman, Hon. O. P. Morton, of Indiana--May Anniversary in New +York--Tenth Washington Convention, 1878--Frances E. Willard and +30,000 Temperance Women Petition Congress--40,000 Petition for a +Sixteenth Amendment--Hearing before the Committee on Privileges and +Elections--Madam Dahlgren's Protest--Mrs. Hooker's Hearing on +Washington's Birthday--Mary Clemmer's Letter to Senator +Wadleigh--His Adverse Report--Thirtieth Anniversary, Unitarian +Church, Rochester, N. Y., July 19, 1878--The Last Convention +Attended by Lucretia Mott--Letters, William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell +Phillips--Church Resolution Criticised by Rev. Dr. +Strong--International Women's Congress in Paris--Washington +Convention, 1879--Favorable Minority Report by Senator Hoar--U. S. +Supreme Court Opened to Women--May Anniversary at St. +Louis--Address of Welcome by Phoebe Couzins--Women in Council +Alone--Letter from Josephine Butler, of England--Mrs. Stanton's +Letter to _The National Citizen and Ballot-Box_ 57 + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +CONGRESSIONAL REPORTS AND CONVENTIONS. + +1880-1881. + +Why we Hold Conventions in Washington--Lincoln Hall +Demonstration--Sixty-six Thousand Appeals--Petitions Presented in +Congress--Hon. T. W. Ferry of Michigan in the Senate--Hon. Geo. B. +Loring of Massachusetts in the House--Hon. J. J. Davis of North +Carolina Objected--Twelfth Washington Convention--Hearings before +the Judiciary Committee of both Houses, 1880--May Anniversary at +Indianapolis--Series of Western Conventions--Presidential +Nominating Conventions--Delegates and Addresses to +each--Mass-Meeting at Chicago--Washington Convention, +1881--Memorial Service to Lucretia Mott--Mrs. Stanton's +Eulogy--Discussion in the Senate on a Standing Committee--Senator +McDonald of Indiana Champions the Measure--May Anniversary in +Boston--Conventions in the chief cities of New England 150 + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +CONGRESSIONAL DEBATES AND CONVENTIONS. + +1882-1883. + +Prolonged Discussions in the Senate on a Special Committee to Look +After the Rights of Women, Messrs. Bayard, Morgan and Vest in +Opposition--Mr. Hoar Champions the Measure in the Senate, Mr. Reed +in the House--Washington Convention--Representative Orth and +Senator Saunders on the Woman Suffrage Platform--Hearings Before +Select Committees of Senate and House--Reception Given by Mrs. +Spofford at the Riggs House--Philadelphia Convention--Mrs. Hannah +Whitehall Smith's Dinner--Congratulations from the Central +Committee of Great Britain--Majority and Minority Reports in the +Senate--E. G. Lapham, J. Z. George--Nebraska Campaign--Conventions +in Omaha--Joint Resolution Introduced by Hon. John D. White of +Kentucky, Referred to the Select Committee--Washington Convention, +January 24, 25, 26, 1883--Majority Report in the House. 198 + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +MASSACHUSETTS. + +The Woman's Hour--Lydia Maria Child Petitions Congress--First New +England Convention--The New England, American and Massachusetts +Associations--_Woman's Journal_--Bishop Gilbert Haven--The +Centennial Tea-Party--County Societies--Concord +Convention--Thirtieth Anniversary of the Worcester +Convention--School Suffrage Association--Legislative Hearing--First +Petitions--The Remonstrants Appear--Women in Politics--Campaign of +1872--Great Meeting in Tremont Temple--Women at the +Polls--Provisions of Former State Constitutions--Petitions, +1853--School-Committee Suffrage, 1879,--Women Threatened with +Arrest--Changes in the Laws--Woman Now Owns her own +Clothing--Harvard Annex--Woman in the Professions--Samuel E. Sewall +and William I. Bowditch--Supreme-Court Decisions--Sarah E. +Wall--Francis Jackson--Julia Ward Howe--Mary E. Stevens--Lucia M. +Peabody--Lelia Josephine Robinson--Eliza (Jackson) Eddy's Will 265 + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +CONNECTICUT. + +Prudence Crandall--Eloquent Reformers--Petitions for Suffrage--The +Committee's Report--Frances Ellen Burr--Isabella Beecher Hooker's +Reminiscences--Anna Dickinson in the Republican Campaign--State +Society Formed October 28, 29, 1869--Enthusiastic Convention in +Hartford--Governor Marshall Jewell--He recommends More Liberal Laws +for Women--Society Formed in New Haven, 1871--Governor Hubbard's +Inaugural, 1877--Samuel Bowles of the _Springfield +Republican_--Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, Chaplain, 1870--John Hooker, +Esq., Champions the Suffrage Movement--The Smith Sisters--Mary +Hall--Chief-Justice Park--Frances Ellen Burr--Hartford Equal Rights +Club 316 + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +RHODE ISLAND. + +Senator Anthony in _North American Review_--Convention in +Providence--State Association organized, Paulina Wright Davis, +President--Report of Elizabeth B. Chase--Women on School +Boards--Women's Board of Visitors to the Penal and Correctional +Institutions--Dr. Wm. F. Channing--Miss Ida Lewis--Letter of +Frederick A. Hinckley--Last Words of Senator Anthony 339 + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + +MAINE. + +Women on School Committees--Elvira C. Thorndyke--First Suffrage +Society organized, 1868, Rockland--Portland Meeting, 1870--John +Neal--Judge Goddard--Colby University Open to Girls, August 12, +1871--Mrs. Clara Hapgood Nash Admitted to the Bar, October 26, +1872--Tax-Payers Protest--Ann F. Greeley, 1872--March, 1872, Bill +for Woman Suffrage Lost in the House, Passed in the Senate by Seven +Votes--Miss Frank Charles, Register of Deeds--Judge Reddington--Mr. +Randall's Motion--Moral Eminence of Maine--Convention in Granite +Hall, Augusta, January, 1873, Hon. Joshua Nye, President--Delia A. +Curtis--Opinions of the Supreme Court in Regard to Women Holding +Offices--Governor Dingley's Message, 1875--Convention, +Representatives Hall, Portland, Judge Kingsbury, President, Feb. +12, '76--The two Snow Families--Hon. T. B. Reed 351 + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + +NEW HAMPSHIRE. + +Nathaniel P. Rogers--Parker Pillsbury--Galen Foster--The Hutchinson +Family--First Organized Action, 1868--Concord Convention--William +Lloyd Garrison's Letter--Rev. S. L. Blake Opposed--Rev. Mr. Sanborn +in Favor--_Concord Monitor_--Armenia S. White--A Bill to Protect +the Rights of Married Men--Minority and Majority Reports--Women too +Ignorant to Vote--Republican State Convention--Women on School +Committees, 1870--Voting at School District Meetings, 1878--Mrs. +White's Address--Mrs. Ricker on Prison Reform--Judicial Decision in +Regard to Married Women, 1882--Letter from Senator Blair 367 + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + +VERMONT. + +Clarina Howard Nichols--Council of Censors--Amending the +Constitution--St. Andrew's Letter--Mr. Reed's Report--Convention +Called--H. B. Blackwell on the _Vermont Watchman_--Mary A. +Livermore in the _Woman's Journal_--Sarah A. Gibbs' Reply to Rev. +Mr. Holmes--School Suffrage, 1880 383 + + +CHAPTER XXXVII. + +NEW YORK--1860-1885. + +Saratoga Convention, July 13, 14, 1869--State Society Formed, +Martha C. Wright, President--_The Revolution_ Established, +1868--Educational Movement--New York City Society, 1870, Charlotte +B. Wilbour, President--Presidential Campaign, 1872--Hearings at +Albany, 1873--Constitutional Commission--An Effort to Open Columbia +College, President Barnard in Favor--Centennial Celebration, +1876--School Officers--Senator Emerson of Monroe, 1877--Governor +Robinson's Veto--School Suffrage, 1880--Governor Cornell +Recommended it in his Message--Stewart's Home for Working +Women--Women as Police--An Act to Prohibit +Disfranchisement--Attorney-General Russell's Adverse Opinion--The +Power of the Legislature to Extend Suffrage--Great Demonstration in +Chickering Hall, March 7, 1884--Hearing at Albany, 1885--Mrs. +Blake, Mrs. Stanton, Mrs. Rogers, Mrs. Howell, Gov. Hoyt of Wyoming + 395 + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. + +PENNSYLVANIA. + +Carrie Burnham--The Canon and Civil Law the Source of Woman's +Degradation--Women Sold with Cattle in 1768--Women Arrested in +Pittsburg--Mrs. McManus--Opposition to Women in Colleges and +Hospitals; John W. Forney Vindicates their Rights--Ann +Preston--Women in Dentistry--James Truman's Letter--Swarthmore +College--Suffrage Association Formed in 1866, in Philadelphia--John +K. Wildman's Letter--Judge William S. Pierce--The Citizens' +Suffrage Association, 333 Walnut Street, Edward M. Davis, +President--Petitions to the Legislature--Constitutional Convention, +1873--Bishop Simpson, Mary Grew, Sarah C. Hallowell, Matilda +Hindman, Mrs. Stanton, Address the Convention--Messrs. Broomall and +Campbell Debate with the Opposition--Amendment Making Women +Eligible to School Offices--Two Women Elected to Philadelphia +School Board, 1874--The Wages of Married Women Protected--J. Edgar +Thomson's Will--Literary Women as Editors--The Rev. Knox +Little--Anne E. McDowell--Women as Physicians in Insane +Asylums--The Fourteenth Amendment Resolution, 1881--Ex-Gov. Hoyt's +Lecture on Wyoming 444 + + +CHAPTER XXXIX. + +NEW JERSEY. + +Women Voted in the Early Days--Deprived of the Right by Legislative +Enactment in 1807--Women Demand the Restoration of Their Rights in +1868--At the Polls in Vineland and Roseville Park--Lucy Stone +Agitates the Question--State Suffrage Society Organized in +1867--Conventions--A Memorial to the Legislature--Mary F. +Davis--Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford--Political Science Club-- Mrs. +Cornelia C. Hussey--Orange Club, 1870--Mrs. Devereux Blake gives +the Oration, July 4, 1884--Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell's Letter--The +Laws of New Jersey in Regard to Property and +Divorce--Constitutional Commission, 1873--Trial of Rev. Isaac M. +See--Women Preaching in his Pulpit--The Case Appealed--Mrs. Jones, +Jailoress--Legislative Hearings 476 + + +CHAPTER XL. + +OHIO. + +The First Soldiers' Aid Society--Mrs. Mendenhall--Cincinnati Equal +Rights Association, 1868--Homeopathic Medical College and +Hospital--Hon. J. M. Ashley--State Society, 1869--Murat Halstead's +Letter--Dayton Convention, 1870--Women Protest Against +Enfranchisement--Sarah Knowles Bolton--Statistics on Coeducation by +Thomas Wentworth Higginson--Woman's Crusade, 1874--Miriam M. +Cole--Ladies' Health Association--Professor Curtis--Hospital for +Women and Children, 1879--Letter from J. D. Buck, M. D.--March, +1881, Degrees Conferred on Women--Toledo Association, 1869--Sarah +Langdon Williams--_The Sunday Journal_--_The +Ballot-Box_--Constitutional Convention--Judge Waite--Amendment +Making Women Eligible to Office--Mr. Voris, Chairman Special +Committee on Woman Suffrage--State Convention, 1873--Rev. Robert +McCune--Centennial Celebration--Women Decline to Take +Part--Correspondence--Newbury Association--Women Voting, +1871--Sophia Ober Allen--Annual Meeting, Painesville, 1885--State +Society, Mrs. Frances M. Casement, President--Adelbert College 491 + + +CHAPTER XLI. + +MICHIGAN. + +Women's Literary Clubs and Libraries--Mrs. Lucinda H. +Stone--Classes of Girls in Europe--Ernestine L. Rose--Legislative +Action, 1849-1885--State Woman Suffrage Society, 1870--Annual +Conventions--Northwestern Association--Wendell Phillips' +Letter--Nannette Gardner votes--Catharine A. F. Stebbins +Refused--Legislative Action--Amendments Submitted--An Active Canvas +of the State by Women--Election Day--The Amendment Lost, 40,000 Men +Voted in Favor--University at Ann Arbor Opened to Girls, +1869--Kalamazoo Institute--J. A. B. Stone--Miss Madeline Stockwell +and Miss Sarah Burger Applied for Admission to the University in +1857--Episcopal Church Bill--Local Societies--Quincy--Lansing--St. +Johns--Manistee--Grand Rapids--Sojourner Truth--Laura C. +Haviland--Sybil Lawrence 513 + + +CHAPTER XLII. + +INDIANA. + +The First Woman Suffrage Convention After the War, 1869--Amanda M. +Way--Annual Meetings, 1870-85, in the Larger Cities--Indianapolis +Equal Suffrage Society, 1878--A Course of Lectures--In May, 1880, +National Convention in Indianapolis--Zerelda G. Wallace--Social +Entertainment--Governor Albert G. Porter--Susan B. Anthony's +Birthday--Schuyler Colfax--Legislative Hearings--Temperance Women +of Indiana--Helen M. Gougar--General Assembly--Delegates to +Political Conventions--Women Address Political Meetings--Important +Changes in the Laws for Women, from 1860 to 1884--Colleges Open to +Women--Demia Butler--Professors--Lawyers--Doctors--Ministers--Miss +Catharine Merrill--Miss Elizabeth Eaglesfield--Rev. Prudence Le +Clerc--Dr. Mary F. Thomas--Prominent Men and Women--George W. +Julian--The Journals--Gertrude Garrison 533 + + +CHAPTER XLIII. + +ILLINOIS. + +Chicago a Great Commercial Centre--First Woman Suffrage Agitation, +1855--A. J. Grover--Society at Earlville--Prudence +Crandall--Sanitary Movement--Woman in Journalism--Myra +Bradwell--Excitement in Elmwood Church, 1868--Mrs. Huldah +Joy--Pulpit Utterances--Convention, 1869, Library Hall, +Chicago--Anna Dickinson, Robert Laird Collier Debate--Manhood +Suffrage Denounced by Mrs. Stanton and Miss Anthony--Judge Charles +B. Waite on the Constitutional Convention--Hearing before the +Legislature--Western Suffrage Convention, Mrs. Livermore, +President--Annual Meeting at Bloomington--Women Eligible to School +Offices--Evanston College--Miss Alta Hulett Medical +Association--Dr. Sarah Hackett Stevenson--"Woman's Kingdom" in the +_Inter-Ocean_--Mrs. Harbert--Centennial Celebration at +Evanston--Temperance Petition, 180,000--Frances E. Willard--Social +Science Association--Art Union--Jane Graham Jones at International +Congress in Paris--Moline Association 559 + + +CHAPTER XLIV. + +MISSOURI. + +Missouri the first State to Open Colleges of Law and Medicine to +Woman--Liberal Legislation--Harriet Hosmer--Wayman Crow--Dr. Joseph +N. McDowell--Works of Art--Women in the War--Adeline +Couzins--Virginia L. Minor--Petitions--Woman Suffrage Association, +May 8, 1867--First Woman Suffrage Convention, Oct. 6, 1869--Able +Resolutions by Francis Minor--Action Asked for in the Methodist +Church--Constitutional Convention--Mrs. Hazard's Report--National +Suffrage Association, 1879--Virginia L. Minor Before the Committee +on Constitutional Amendments--Mrs. Minor Tries to Vote--Her Case in +the Supreme Court--Mrs. Annie R. Irvine--"Oregon Woman's +Union"--Miss Phoebe Couzins Graduates From the Law School, +1871--Reception by Members of the Bar--Speeches--Dr. Walker--Judge +Krum--Hon. Albert Todd--Ex-Governor E. O. Stanard--Ex-Senator +Henderson--Judge Reber--George M. Stewart--Mrs. Minor--Miss Couzins + 594 + + +CHAPTER XLV. + +IOWA. + +Beautiful Scenery--Liberal in Politics and Reforms--Legislation for +Women--No Right yet to Joint Earnings--Early Agitation--Frances +Dana Gage, 1854--Mrs. Amelia Bloomer Lectures in Council Bluffs, +1856--Mrs. Martha H. Brinkerhoff--Mrs. Annie Savery, 1868--County +Associations Formed in 1869--State Society Organized at Mt. +Pleasant, 1870, Henry O'Connor, President--Mrs. Cutler Answers +Judge Palmer--First Annual Meeting, Des Moines--Letter from Bishop +Simpson--The State Register Complimentary--Mass-Meeting at the +Capitol--Mrs. Savery and Mrs. Harbert--Legislative +Action--Methodist and Universalist Churches Indorse Woman +Suffrage--Republican Plank, 1874--Governor Carpenter's Message, +1876--Annual Meeting, 1882, Many Clergymen Present--Five Hundred +Editors Interviewed--Miss Hindman and Mrs. Campbell--Mrs. Callanan +Interviews Governor Sherman, 1884--Lawyers--Governor Kirkwood +Appoints Women to Office--County Superintendents--Elizabeth S. +Cook--Journalism--Literature-- +Medicine--Ministry--Inventions--President of a National Bank-- The +Heroic Kate Shelly--Temperance--Improvement in the Laws 612 + + +CHAPTER XLVI. + +WISCONSIN. + +Progressive Legislation--The Rights of Married Women--The +Constitution Shows Four Classes Having the Right to Vote--Woman +Suffrage Agitation--C. L. Sholes' Minority Report, 1856--Judge +David Noggle and J. T. Mills' Minority Report, 1859--State +Association Formed, 1869--Milwaukee Convention--Dr. Laura +Ross--Hearing Before the Legislature--Convention in Janesville, +1870--State University--Elizabeth R. Wentworth--Suffrage Amendment, +1880, '81, '82--Rev. Olympia Brown, Racine, 1877--Madam +Anneke--Judge Ryan--Three Days' Convention at Racine, 1883--Eveleen +L. Mason--Dr. Sarah Munro--Rev. Dr. Corwin--Lavinia Godell, +Lawyer--Angie King--Kate Kane 638 + + +CHAPTER XLVII. + +MINNESOTA. + +Girls in State University--Sarah Burger Stearns--Harriet E. Bishop, +the First Teacher in St. Paul--Mary J. Colburn Won the Prize--Mrs. +Jane Grey Swisshelm, St. Cloud--Fourth of July Oration, 1866--First +Legislative Hearing, 1867--Governor Austin's Veto--First Society at +Rochester--Kasson--Almira W. Anthony--Mary P. Wheeler--Harriet M. +White--The W. C. T. U.--Harriet A. Hobart--Literary and Art +Clubs--School Suffrage, 1876--Charlotte O. Van Cleve and Mrs. C. S. +Winchell Elected to School Board--Mrs. Governor +Pillsbury--Temperance Vote, 1877--Property Rights of Married +Women--Women as Officers, Teachers, Editors, Ministers, Doctors, +Lawyers 649 + + +CHAPTER XLVIII. + +DAKOTA. + +Influences of Climate and Scenery--Legislative Action, 1872--Mrs. +Marietta Bones--In February, 1879, School Suffrage Granted +Women--Constitutional Convention, 1883--Matilda Joslyn Gage +Addressed a Letter to the Convention and an Appeal to the Women of +the State--Mrs. Bones Addressed the Convention in Person--The +Effort to get the Word "Male" out of the Constitution +Failed--Legislature of 1885--Major Pickler Presents the +Bill--Carried Through Both Houses--Governor Pierce's Veto--Major +Pickler's Letter 662 + + +CHAPTER XLIX. + +NEBRASKA. + +Clara Bewick Colby--Nebraska Came into the Possession of the United +States, 1803--The Home of the Dakotas--Organized as a Territory, +1854--Territorial Legislature--Mrs. Amelia Bloomer Addresses the +House--Gen. Wm. Larimer, 1856--A Bill to Confer Suffrage on +Women--Passed the House--Lost in the Senate--Constitution +Harmonized with the Fourteenth Amendment--Admitted as a State March +1, 1867--Mrs. Stanton, Miss Anthony Lecture in the State, +1867--Mrs. Tracy Cutler, 1870--Mrs. Esther L. Warner's +Letter--Constitutional Convention, 1871--Woman Suffrage Amendment +Submitted--Lost by 12,676 against, 3,502 for--Prolonged +Discussion--Constitutional Convention, 1875--Grasshoppers Devastate +the Country--_Inter-Ocean_, Mrs. Harbert--Omaha _Republican_, +1876--Woman's Column Edited by Mrs. Harriet S. Brooks--"Woman's +Kingdom"--State Society Formed, January 19, 1881, Mrs. Brooks +President--Mrs. Dinsmoor, Mrs. Colby, Mrs. Brooks, before the +Legislature--Amendment again Submitted--Active Canvass of the +State, 1882--First Convention of the State Association--Charles F. +Manderson--Unreliable Politicians--An Unfair Count of Votes for +Woman Suffrage--Amendment Defeated--Conventions in Omaha--Notable +Women in the State--Conventions--_Woman's Tribune_ Established in +1883 670 + + +CHAPTER L. + +KANSAS. + +Effect of the Popular Vote on Woman Suffrage--Anna C. Wait--Hannah +Wilson--Miss Kate Stephens, Professor of Greek in State +University--Lincoln Centre Society, 1879--The Press--The Lincoln +_Beacon_--Election, 1880--Sarah A. Brown, Democratic +Candidate--Fourth of July Celebration--Women Voting on the School +Question--State Society, 1884--Helen M. Gougar--Clara Bewick +Colby--Bertha H. Ellsworth--Radical Reform Association--Mrs. A. G. +Lord--Prudence Crandall--Clarina Howard Nichols--Laws--Women in the +Professions--Schools--Political Parties--Petitions to the +Legislature--Col. F. G. Adams' Letter 696 + + +CHAPTER LI. + +COLORADO. + +Great American Desert--Organized as a Territory, February 28, +1860--Gov. McCook's Message Recommending Woman Suffrage, +1870--Adverse Legislation--Hon. Amos Steck--Admitted to the Union, +1876--Constitutional Convention--Efforts to Strike Out the Word +"Male"--Convention to Discuss Woman Suffrage--School Suffrage +Accorded--State Association Formed, Alida C. Avery, +President--Proposition for Full Suffrage Submitted to the Popular +Vote--A Vigorous Campaign--Mrs. Campbell and Mrs. Patterson of +Denver--Opposition by the Clergy--Their Arguments Ably Answered--D. +M. Richards--The Amendment Lost--_The Rocky Mountain News_ 712 + + +CHAPTER LII. + +WYOMING. + +The Dawn of the New Day, December, 1869--The Goal Reached in +England and America--Territory Organized, May, 1869--Legislative +Action--Bill for Woman Suffrage--William H. Bright--Gov. Campbell +Signs the Bill--Appoints Esther Morris, Justice of the Peace, +March, 1870--Women on the Jury, Chief-Justice Howe, Presiding--J. +W. Kingman, Associate-Justice, Addresses the Jury--Women Promptly +Take Their Places--Sunday Laws Enforced--Comments of the +Press--Judge Howe's Letter--Laramie _Sentinel_--J. H. +Hayford--Women Voting, 1870--Grandma Swain the First to Cast her +Ballot--Effort to Repeal the Law, 1871--Gov. Campbell's Veto--Mr. +Corlett--Rapid Growth of Public Opinion in Favor of Woman Suffrage + 726 + + +CHAPTER LIII. + +CALIFORNIA. + +Liberal Provisions in the Constitution--Elizabeth T. Schenck--Eliza +W. Farnham--Mrs. Mills' Seminary, now a State Institution--Jeannie +Carr, State Superintendent of Schools--First Awakening--_The +Revolution_--Anna Dickinson--Mrs. Gordon Addresses the Legislature, +1868--Mrs. Pitts Stevens Edits _The Pioneer_--First Suffrage +Society on the Pacific Coast, 1869--State Convention, January 26, +1870, Mrs. Wallis, President--State Association Formed, Mrs. +Haskell of Petaluma, President--Mrs. Gordon Nominated for +Senator--In 1871, Mrs. Stanton and Miss Anthony Visit +California--Hon. A. A. Sargent Speaks in Favor of Suffrage for +Women--Ellen Clark Sargent Active in the Movement--Legislation +Making Women Eligible to Hold School Offices, 1873--July 10, 1873, +State Society Incorporated, Sarah Wallis, President--Mrs. Clara +Foltz--A Bill Giving Women the Right to Practice Law--The Bill +Passed and Signed by the Governor--Contest Over Admitting Women +into the Law Department of the University--Supreme Court Decision +Favorable--Hon. A. A. Sargent on the Constitution and +Laws--Journalists and Printers Silk Culture--Legislative +Appropriation--Mrs. Knox Goodrich Celebrates July 4, 1876--Imposing +Demonstration--Ladies in the Procession 749 + + +CHAPTER LIV. + +THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. + +The Long Marches Westward--Abigail Scott Duniway--Mary Olney +Brown--The First Steps in Oregon--Col. C. A. Reed--Judge G. W. +Lawson--1870--The New Northwest, 1871--Campaign, Mrs. Duniway and +Miss Anthony--They Address the Legislature in Washington +Territory--Hon. Elwood Evans--Suffrage Societies Organized at +Olympia and Portland--Before the Oregon Legislature--Donation Land +Act--Hon. Samuel Corwin's Suffrage Bill--Married Woman's _Sole_ +Traders' Bill--Temperance Alliance--Women Rejected--Major Williams +Fights Their Battles and Triumphs--Mrs. H. A. Loughary--Progressive +Legislation, 1874--Mob-Law in Jacksonville, 1879--Dr. Mary A. +Thompson--Constitutional Convention, 1878--Woman Suffrage Bill, +1880--Hon. W. C. Fulton--Women Enfranchised in Washington +Territory, Nov. 15, 1883--Great Rejoicing, Bonfires, Ratification +Meetings--Constitutional Amendment Submitted in Oregon and Lost, +June, 1884--Suffrage by Legislative Enactment Lost--Fourth of July +Celebrated at Vancouvers--Benjamin and Mary Olney Brown--Washington +Territory--Legislation in 1867-68 Favorable to Women--Mrs. Brown +Attempts to Vote and is Refused--Charlotte Olney French--Women Vote +at Grand Mound and Black River Precincts, 1870--Retrogressive +Legislation, 1871--Abby H. Stuart in Land-Office--Hon. William H. +White--Idaho and Montana 767 + + +CHAPTER LV. + +LOUISIANA--TEXAS--ARKANSAS--MISSISSIPPI. + +St. Anna's Asylum, Managed by Women--Constitutional Convention, +1879--Women Petition--Clara Merrick Guthrie--Petition Referred to +Committee on Suffrage--A Hearing Granted--Mrs. Keating--Mrs. +Saxon--Mrs. Merrick--Col. John M. Sandige--Efforts of the Women all +in Vain--Action in 1885--Gov. McEnery--The _Daily Picayune_--Women +as Members of the School Board--Physiology in the Schools--Miss +Eliza Rudolph--Mrs. E. J. Nicholson--Judge Merrick's Digest of +Laws--Texas--Arkansas--Mississippi--Sarah A. Dorsey 789 + + +CHAPTER LV. (CONTINUED). + +DISTRICT OF +COLUMBIA--MARYLAND--DELAWARE--KENTUCKY--TENNESSEE--VIRGINIA--WEST +VIRGINIA--NORTH CAROLINA--SOUTH +CAROLINA--FLORIDA--ALABAMA--GEORGIA. + +Secretary Chase--Women in the Government Departments--Myrtilla +Miner--Mrs. O'Connor's Tribute--District of Columbia Suffrage +Bill--The Universal Franchise Association, 1867--Bill for a +Prohibitory Law Presented by Hon. S. C. Pomeroy, 1869--A Bill for +Equal Wages for the Women in the Departments, Introduced by Hon. S. +M. Arnell, 1870--In 1871 Congress Passed the Organic Act for the +District Confining the Right of Suffrage to Males--In 1875 it +Withdrew all Legislative Power from the People--Women in Law, +Medicine, Journalism and the Charities--Dental College Opened to +Women--Mary A. Stewart--The Clay Sisters--The School of +Pharmacy--Elizabeth Avery Meriwether--Judge Underwood--Mary Bayard +Clarke--Dr. Susan Dimock--Governor +Chamberlain--Coffee-Growing--Priscilla Holmes Drake--Alexander H. +Stephens 808 + + +CHAPTER LV. (CONCLUDED). + +CANADA. + +Miss Phelps of St. Catharines--The Revolt of the Thirteen +Colonies--First Parliament--Property Rights of Married +Women--School Suffrage Thirty Years--Municipal Suffrage, 1882, +1884--Women Voting in Toronto, 1886--Mrs. Curzon--Dr. Emily H. +Stone--Woman's Literary Club of Toronto--Nova Scotia--New +Brunswick--Miss Harriet Stewart 831 + + +CHAPTER LVI. + +GREAT BRITAIN. + +Women Send Members to Parliament--Sidney Smith, Sir Robert Peel, +Richard Cobden--The Ladies of Oldham--Jeremy Bentham--Anne +Knight--Northern Reform Society, 1858--Mrs. Matilda +Biggs--Unmarried Women and Widows Petition Parliament--Associations +Formed in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, 1867--John Stuart Mill in +Parliament--Seventy-three Votes for his Bill--John Bright's +Vote--Women Register and Vote--Lord-Chief-Justice of England +Declares their Constitutional Right--The Courts Give Adverse +Decisions--Jacob Bright Secures the Municipal Franchise--First +Public Meeting--Division on Jacob Bright's Bill to Remove Political +Disabilities--Mr. Gladstone's Speech--Work of 1871-72--Fourth Vote +on the Suffrage Bill--Jacob Bright Fails of Reelection--Efforts of +Mr. Forsyth--Memorial of the National Society--Some Account of the +Workers--Vote of the New Parliament, 1875--Organized +Opposition--Diminished Adverse Vote of 1878--Mr. Courtney's +Resolution--Letters--Great Demonstrations at +Manchester--London--Bristol--Nottingham--Birmingham--Sheffield-- +Glasgow--Victory in the Isle of Man--Passage of the Municipal +Franchise Bill for Scotland--Mr. Mason's Resolution--Reduction +of Adverse Majority to 16--Liberal Conference at Leeds--Mr. +Woodall's Amendment to Reform Bill of 1884--Meeting at +Edinburgh--Other Meetings--Estimated Number of Women +Householders--Circulars to Members of Parliament--Debate on +the Amendment--Resolutions of the Society--Further Debate--Defeat +of the Amendment--Meeting at St. James Hall--Conclusion 833 + + +CHAPTER LVII. + +CONTINENTAL EUROPE. + +The Woman Question in the Back-ground--In France the Agitation +Dates from the Upheaval of 1789;--International Women's Rights +Convention in Paris, 1878--Mlle. Hubertine Auclert Leads the Demand +for Suffrage--Agitation Began in Italy with the Kingdom--Concepcion +Arenal in Spain--Coeducation in Portugal--Germany: Leipsic and +Berlin--Austria in Advance of Germany Caroline Svetla of +Bohemia--Austria Unsurpassed in Contradictions--Marriage +Emancipates from Tutelage in Hungary--Dr. Henrietta Jacobs of +Holland--Dr. Isala Van Diest of Belgium--In Switzerland the +Catholic Cantons Lag Behind--Marie Goegg, the Leader--Sweden Stands +First--Universities Open to Women in Norway--Associations in +Denmark--Liberality of Russia toward Women--Poland--The +Orient--Turkey--Jewish Wives--The Greek Woman in Turkey--The Greek +Woman in Greece--An Unique Episode--Woman's Rights in the American +Sense not Known 895 + + +CHAPTER LVIII. + +REMINISCENCES. + +BY E. C. S. 922 + + +Appendix 955 + + +INDEX 985 + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +THE CENTENNIAL YEAR--1876. + + The Dawn of the New Century--Washington Convention--Congressional + Hearing--Woman's Protest--May Anniversary--Centennial Parlors in + Philadelphia--Letters and Delegates to Presidential + Conventions--50,000 Documents sent out--The Centennial Autograph + Book--The Fourth of July--Independence Square--Susan B. Anthony + reads the Declaration of Rights--Convention in Dr. Furness' + Church, Lucretia Mott, Presiding--The Hutchinson Family, John and + Asa--The Twenty-eighth Anniversary, July 19, Edward M. Davis, + Presiding--Letters, Ernestine L. Rose, Clarina I. H. Nichols--The + _Ballot-Box_--Retrospect--The Woman's Pavilion. + + +During the sessions of 1871-72 congress enacted laws providing for +the celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of American +independence, to be held July 4, 1876, in Philadelphia, the +historic city from whence was issued the famous declaration of +1776. + +The first act provided for the appointment by the president of a +"Centennial Commission," consisting of two members from each State +and territory in the Union; the second incorporated the Centennial +Board of Finance and provided for the issue of stock to the amount +of $10,000,000, in 1,000,000 shares of $10 each. It was at first +proposed to distribute the stock among the people of the different +States and territories according to the ratio of their population, +but subscriptions were afterward received without regard to States. +The stockholders organized a board of directors, April 1, 1873. The +design of the exhibition was to make it a comprehensive display of +the industrial, intellectual and moral progress of the nation +during the first century of its existence; but by the earnest +invitation of our government foreign nations so generally +participated that it was truly, as its name implied, an +"International and World's Exposition." + +The centennial year opened amid the wildest rejoicing. In honor of +the nation's birthday extensive preparations were made for the +great event. Crowds of people eager to participate in the +celebration, everywhere flocked from the adjacent country to the +nearest village or city, filling the streets and adding to the +general gala look, all through the day and evening of December 31, +1875. From early gas-light upon every side the blowing of horns, +throwing of torpedos, explosion of fire-crackers, gave premonition +of more enthusiastic exultation. As the clock struck twelve every +house suddenly blossomed with red, white and blue; public and +private buildings burst into a blaze of light that rivaled the +noon-day sun, while screaming whistles, booming cannon, pealing +bells, joyous music and brilliant fire-works made the midnight +which ushered in the centennial 1876, a never-to-be-forgotten hour. + +Portraits of the presidents from Washington and Lincoln +laurel-crowned, to Grant, sword in hand, met the eye on every side. +Stars in flames of fire lighted the foreign flags of welcome to +other nations. Every window, door and roof-top was filled with gay +and joyous people. Carriages laden with men, women and children in +holiday attire enthusiastically waving the national flag and +singing its songs of freedom. Battalions of soldiers marched +through the streets; Roman candles, whizzing rockets, and +gaily-colored balloons shot upward, filling the sky with trails of +fire and adding to the brilliancy of the scene, while all minor +sounds were drowned in the martial music. Thus did the old world +and the new commemorate the birth of a nation founded on the +principle of self-government. + +The prolonged preparations for the centennial celebration naturally +roused the women of the nation to new thought as to their status as +citizens of a republic, as well as to their rightful share in the +progress of the century. The oft-repeated declarations of the +fathers had a deeper significance for those who realized the +degradation of disfranchisement, and they queried with each other +as to what part, with becoming self-respect, they could take in the +coming festivities.[1] Woman's achievements in art, science and +industry would necessarily be recognized in the Exposition; but +with the dawn of a new era, after a hundred years of education in a +republic, she asked more than a simple recognition of the products +of her hand and brain; with her growing intelligence, virtue and +patriotism, she demanded the higher ideal of womanhood that should +welcome her as an equal factor in government, with all the rights +and honors of citizenship fully accorded. During the entire +century, women who understood the genius of free institutions had +ever and anon made their indignant protests in both public and +private before State legislatures, congressional committees and +statesmen at their own firesides; and now, after discussing the +right of self-government so exhaustively in the late anti-slavery +conflict, it seemed to them that the time had come to make some +application of these principles to the women of the nation. Hence +it was with a deeper sense of injustice than ever before that the +National Suffrage Association issued the call for the annual +Washington Convention of 1876: + + CALL FOR THE EIGHTH ANNUAL WASHINGTON CONVENTION.--The National + Woman Suffrage Association will hold its Eighth Annual Convention + in Tallmadge Hall, Washington, D. C., January 27, 28, 1876. In + this one-hundredth year of the Republic, the women of the United + States will once more assemble under the shadow of the national + capitol to press their claims to self-government. + + That property has its rights, was acknowledged in England long + before the revolutionary war, and this recognized right made "no + taxation without representation" the most effective battle-cry of + that period. But the question of property representation fades + from view beside the greater question of the right of each + individual, millionaire or pauper, to personal representation. In + the progress of the war our fathers grew in wisdom, and the + Declaration of Independence was the first national assertion of + the right of individual representation. That "governments derive + their just powers from the consent of the governed," + thenceforward became the watchword of the world. Our flag, which + beckons the emigrant from every foreign shore, means to him + self-government. + + But while in theory our government recognizes the rights of all + people, in practice it is far behind the Declaration of + Independence and the national constitution. On what just ground + is discrimination made between men and women? Why should women, + more than men, be governed without their own consent? Why should + women, more than men, be denied trial by a jury of their peers? + On what authority are women taxed while unrepresented? By what + right do men declare themselves invested with power to legislate + for women? For the discussion of these vital questions friends + are invited to take part in the convention. + + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, _President_, Fayetteville, N. Y. + + SUSAN B. ANTHONY, _Ch'n Ex. Com._, Rochester, N. Y. + +At the opening session of this convention the president, Matilda +Joslyn Gage, said: + + I would remind you, fellow-citizens, that this is our first + convention in the dawn of the new century. In 1776 we inaugurated + our experiment of self-government. Unbelief in man's capacity to + govern himself was freely expressed by every European monarchy + except France. When John Adams was Minister to England, the + newspapers of that country were filled with prophecies that the + new-born republic would soon gladly return to British allegiance. + But these hundred years have taught them the worth of liberty; + the Declaration of Independence has become the alphabet of + nations; Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and the isles of the + sea, will unite this year to do our nation honor. Our flag is + everywhere on sea and land. It has searched the North Pole, + explored every desert, upheld religious liberty of every faith + and protected political refugees from every nation, but it has + not yet secured equal rights to women. + + This year is to be one of general discussion upon the science of + government; its origin, its powers, its history. If our present + declaration cannot be so interpreted as to cover the rights of + women, we must issue one that will. I have received letters from + many of the Western States and from this District, urging us to + prepare a woman's declaration, and to celebrate the coming Fourth + of July with our own chosen orators and in our own way. I notice + a general awakening among women at this time. But a day or two + since the women of this District demanded suffrage for themselves + in a petition of 25,000 names. The men are quiet under their + disfranchisement, making no attempt for their rights--fit slaves + of a powerful ring. + +The following protest was presented by Mrs. Gage, adopted by the +convention, printed and extensively circulated: + + _To the Political Sovereigns of the United States in Independence + Hall assembled:_ + + We, the undersigned women of the United States, asserting our + faith in the principles of the Declaration of Independence and in + the constitution of the United States, proclaiming it as the best + form of government in the world, declare ourselves a part of the + people of the nation unjustly deprived of the guaranteed and + reserved rights belonging to citizens of the United States; + because we have never given our consent to this government; + because we have never delegated our rights to others; because + this government is false to its underlying principles; because it + has refused to one-half its citizens the only means of + self-government--the ballot; because it has been deaf to our + appeals, our petitions and our prayers; + + Therefore, in presence of the assembled nations of all the world, + we protest against this government of the United States as an + oligarchy of sex, and not a true republic; and we protest against + calling this a centennial celebration of the independence of the + people of the United States. + +Letters[2] were read and a series of resolutions were discussed and +adopted: + + _Resolved_, That the demand for woman suffrage is but the + next step in the great movement which began with _Magna + Charta_, and which has ever since tended toward vesting + government in the whole body of the people. + + _Resolved_, That we demand of the forty-fourth congress, in + order that it may adequately celebrate the centennial year, + the admission to the polls of the women of all the + territories, and a submission to the legislatures of the + several States of an amendment securing to women the + elective franchise. + + _Resolved_, That the enfranchisement of women means wiser + and truer wedlock, purer and happier homes, healthier and + better children, and strikes, as nothing else does, at the + very roots of pauperism and crime. + + _Resolved_, That if Colorado would come into the Union in a + befitting manner for the celebration of the centennial of + the Declaration of Independence, she should give the ballot + to brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, and thus + present to the nation a truly free State. + + _Resolved_, That the right of suffrage being vested in the + women of Utah by their constitutional and lawful + enfranchisement, and by six years of use, we denounce the + proposition about to be again presented to congress for the + disfranchisement of the women in that territory, as an + outrage on the freedom of thousands of legal voters and a + gross innovation of vested rights; we demand the abolition + of the system of numbering the ballots, in order that the + women may be thoroughly free to vote as they choose, without + supervision or dictation, and that the chair appoint a + committee of three persons, with power to add to their + number, to memorialize congress, and otherwise to watch over + the rights of the women of Utah in this regard during the + next twelve months. + + BELVA A. LOCKWOOD presented the annual report: The question of + woman suffrage is to be submitted to the people of Iowa during + the present centennial year, if this legislature ratifies the + action of the previous one. Colorado has not embodied the word + "male" in her constitution, and a vigorous effort is being made + to introduce woman suffrage there. In Minnesota women are allowed + to vote on school questions and to hold office by a recent + constitutional amendment. In Michigan, in 1874, the vote for + woman suffrage was 40,000, about 1,000 more votes than were + polled for the new constitution. The Connecticut legislature, + during the past year appointed a committee to consider and report + the expediency of making women eligible to the position of + electors for president and vice-president. The committee made a + unanimous report in its favor, and secured for its passage 82 + votes, while 101 votes were cast against it. In Massachusetts, + Governor Rice, in his inaugural address, recommended to the + legislature to secure to women the right to vote for presidential + electors. An address to the legislature of New York by Mesdames + Gage, Blake and Lozier upon this question, was favorably received + and extensively quoted by the press. At an agricultural fair in + Illinois the Hon. James R. Doolittle advocated household + suffrage. In the Senate of the thirteenth legislature of the + State of Texas, Senator Dohoney, Chairman of the Judiciary + Committee, made a report strongly advocating woman suffrage; and + in 1875, when a member of the Constitutional Convention, he + advocated the same doctrine, and was ably assisted by Hon. W. G. + L. Weaver. The governor of that State, in his message, + recommended that women school teachers should receive equal pay + for equal work. The word "male" does not occur in the new + constitution. In the territories of Wyoming and Utah, woman + suffrage still continues after five years' experiment, and we + have not learned that households have been broken up or that + babies have ceased to be rocked. + + Women physicians, women journalists and women editors have come + to be a feature of our institutions. Laura De Force Gordon, a + member of our association, is editing a popular daily--the + _Leader_--in Sacramento, Cal. Women are now admitted to the bar + in Kansas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Utah, Wyoming and + the District of Columbia. They are eligible and are serving as + school superintendents in Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois, Iowa and + Wisconsin. Illinois allows them to be notaries public. As + postmasters they have proved competent, and one woman, Miss Ada + Sweet, is pension agent at Chicago. Julia K. Sutherland has been + appointed commissioner of deeds for the State of California. In + England women vote on the same terms as men on municipal, + parochial and educational matters. In Holland, Austria and + Sweden, women vote on a property qualification. The Peruvian + Minister of Justice has declared that Peru places women on the + same footing as men. Thus all over the world is the idea of human + rights taking root and cropping out in a healthful rather than a + spasmodic outgrowth. + + The grand-daughter of Paley, true to her ancestral blood, has + excelled all the young men in Cambridge in moral science. Julia + J. Thomas, of Cornell University, daughter of Dr. Mary F. Thomas, + of Indiana, in the recent inter-collegiate contest, took the + first prize of $300, over eight male competitors, in Greek. The + recent decision in the United States Supreme Court, of Minor + _vs._ Happersett, will have as much force in suppressing the + individuality and self-assertion of women as had the opinion of + Judge Taney, in the Dred-Scott case, in suppressing the + emancipation of slavery. The day has come when precedents are + made rather than blindly followed. The refusal of the Superior + Court of Philadelphia to allow Carrie S. Burnham to practice law, + because there was no precedent, was a weak evasion of common law + and common sense. One hundred years ago there was no precedent + for a man practicing law in the State of Pennsylvania, and yet we + have not learned that there was any difficulty in establishing a + precedent. I do not now remember any precedent for the + Declaration of Independence of the United Colonies, and yet + during a century it has not been overturned. The rebellion of the + South had no precedent, and yet, if I remember, there was an + issue joined, and the United States found that she had + jurisdiction of the case. + + The admission of women to Cornell University; their reception on + equal footing in Syracuse University, receiving in both equal + honorary degrees; the establishment of Wellesley College, with + full professorships and capable women to fill them; the agitation + of the question in Washington of the establishment of a + university for women, all show a mental awakening in the popular + mind not hitherto known. A new era is opening in the history of + the world. The seed sown twenty-five years ago by Mrs. Stanton + and other brave women is bearing fruit. + + SARA ANDREWS SPENCER said it was interesting to pair off the + objections and let them answer each other like paradoxes. Women + will be influenced by their husbands and will vote for bad men to + please them. Women have too much influence now, and if we give + them any more latitude they will make men all vote their way. + Owing to the composition and structure of the female brain, women + are incapable of understanding political affairs. If women are + allowed to vote they will crowd all the men out of office, and + men will be obliged to stay at home and take care of the + children. That is, owing to the composition and structure of the + female brain, women are so exactly adapted to political affairs + that men wouldn't stand any chance if women were allowed to enter + into competition with them. Women don't want it. Women shouldn't + have it, for they don't know how to use it. Grace Greenwood (who + was one of the seventy-two women who tried to vote) said men were + like the stingy boy at school with a cake. "Now," said he, "all + you that don't ask for it don't want it, and all you that do ask + for it sha'n't have it." + + REV. OLYMPIA BROWN, pastor of the Universalist church in + Bridgeport, Conn., gave her views on the rights of women under + the constitution, and believed that they were entitled to the + ballot as an inalienable right. In this country, under existing + rulings of the courts as to the meaning of the constitution, no + one appeared likely to enjoy the ballot for all time except the + colored men, unless the clause, "previous condition of + servitude," as a congressman expressed it, referred to widows. + That being true, the constitution paid a premium only on colored + men, and widows. If the constitution did not guarantee suffrage, + and congress did not bestow it, then the republic was of no + account and its boast devoid of significance and meaning. Its + life had been in vain--dead to the interests for which it was + created. She wanted congress to pass a sixteenth amendment, + declaring all its citizens enfranchised, or a declaratory act + setting forth that the constitution already guaranteed to them + that right. + + Hon. FREDERICK DOUGLASS said he was not quite in accord with all + the sentiments that had been uttered during the afternoon, yet he + was willing that the largest latitude should be taken by the + advocates of the cause. He was not afraid that at some distant + period the blacks of the South would rise and disfranchise the + whites. While he was not willing to be addressed as the ignorant, + besotted creature that the negro is sometimes called, he was + willing to be a part of the bridge over which women should march + to the full enjoyment of their rights. + + Miss PHOEBE COUZINS of St. Louis reviewed in an able manner the + decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Virginia L. Minor. + + Mrs. DEVEREUX BLAKE spoke on the rights and duties of + citizenship. She cited a number of authorities, including a + recent decision of the Supreme Court, to prove that women are + citizens, although deprived of the privileges of citizenship. + Taking up the three duties of citizenship--paying taxes, serving + on jury, and military service--she said woman had done her share + of the first for a hundred years; that the women of the country + now contributed, directly and indirectly, one-third of its + revenues, and that the House of Representatives had just robbed + them of $500,000 to pay for a centennial celebration in which + they had no part. As for serving on jury, they did not claim that + as a privilege, as it was usually regarded as a most disagreeable + duty; but they did claim the right of women, when arraigned in + court, to be tried by a jury of their peers, which was not + accorded when the jury was composed wholly of men. Lastly, as to + serving their country in time of war, it was a fact that women + had actually enlisted and fought in our late war, until their sex + was discovered, when they were summarily dismissed without being + paid for their services. + +Hon. Aaron A. Sargent, of California, in the United States +Senate, and Hon. Samuel S. Cox, of New York, in the House of +Representatives, presented the memorial asking the enfranchisement +of the women of the District of Columbia, as follows: + + IN THE SENATE, Tuesday, January 25, 1876. + + Mr. SARGENT: I present a memorial asking for the establishment of + a government in the District of Columbia which shall secure to + its women the right to vote. This petition is signed by many + eminent ladies of the country: Mrs. Matilda Joslyn Gage, + President of the National Woman Suffrage Association, and the + following officers of that society: Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady + Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Henrietta Payne Westbrook, Isabella + Beecher Hooker, Mathilde F. Wendt, Ellen Clark Sargent; also by + Mary F. Foster, President of the District of Columbia Woman's + Franchise Association; Susan A. Edson, M. D.; Mrs. E. D. E. N. + Southworth, the distinguished authoress; Mrs. Dr. Caroline B. + Winslow; Belva A. Lockwood, a practicing lawyer in this District; + Sara Andrews Spencer, and Mrs. A. E. Wood. + + These intelligent ladies set forth their petition in language and + with facts and arguments which I think should meet the ear of the + Senate, and I ask that it be read by the secretary in order that + their desires may be known. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: Is there objection? The chair hears + none, and the secretary will report the petition. The secretary + read: + + _To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United + States in Congress assembled:_ + + Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States has affirmed + the decision of the Supreme Court of the District of + Columbia in the cases of Spencer _vs._ The Board of + Registration, and Webster _vs._ The Judges of Election, and + has decided that "by the operation of the first section of + the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United + States, women have been advanced to full citizenship and + clothed with the capacity to become voters; and further, + that this first section of the fourteenth amendment does not + execute itself, but requires the supervision of legislative + power in the exercise of legislative discretion to give it + effect"; and whereas the congress of the United States is + the legislative body having exclusive jurisdiction over the + District of Columbia, and in enfranchising the colored men + and refusing to enfranchise women, white or colored, made an + unjust discrimination against sex, and did not give the + intelligence and moral power of the citizens of said + District a fair opportunity for expression at the polls; and + whereas woman suffrage is not an experiment, but has had a + fair trial in Wyoming, where women hold office, where they + vote, where they have the most orderly society of any of the + territories, where the experiment is approved by the + executive officers of the United States, by their courts, by + their press and by the people generally, and where it has + "rescued that territory from a state of comparative + lawlessness" and rendered it "one of the most orderly in the + Union"; and whereas upon the woman suffrage amendment to + Senate bill number 44 of the second session of the + forty-third congress, votes were recorded in favor of woman + suffrage by the two senators from Indiana, the two from + Florida, the two from Michigan, the two from Rhode Island, + one from Kansas, one from Louisiana, one from Massachusetts, + one from Minnesota, one from Nebraska, one from Nevada, one + from Oregon, one from South Carolina, one from Texas, and + one from Wisconsin; and whereas a fair trial of equal + suffrage for men and women in the District of Columbia, + under the immediate supervision of congress, would + demonstrate to the people of the whole country that justice + to women is policy for men; and whereas the women of the + United States are governed without their own consent, are + denied trial by a jury of their peers, are taxed without + representation, and are subject to manifold wrongs resulting + from unjust and arbitrary exercise of power over an + unrepresented class; and whereas in this centennial year of + the republic the spirit of 1776 is breathing its influence + upon the people, melting away prejudices and animosities and + infusing into our national councils a finer sense of justice + and a clearer perception of individual rights; therefore, + + We pray your honorable body to establish a government for + the District of Columbia which shall secure to its women the + right to vote. + + Mr. SARGEANT: Even if this document were not accompanied by the + signatures of eminent ladies known throughout the land for their + virtues, intelligence and high character, the considerations + which it presents would be worthy of the attention of the senate. + I have no doubt that the great movement of which this is a part + will prevail. It is working its progress day by day throughout + the country. It is making itself felt both in social and + political life. The petitioners here well say that there has been + a successful experiment of the exercise of female suffrage in one + of our territories; that a territory has been redeemed from + lawlessness; that the judges, the press, the people generally of + Wyoming approve the results of this great experiment. I know of + no better place than the capital of a nation where a more + decisive trial can be made, if such is needed, to establish the + expediency of woman suffrage. As to its justice, who shall deny + it? I ask, for the purpose of due consideration, that this + petition be referred to the Committee on the District of + Columbia, so that in preparing any scheme for the government of + the District which is likely to come before this congress, due + weight may be given to the considerations presented. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The petition will be referred to the + Committee on the District of Columbia. + + IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Friday, March 31, 1876. + + Mr. COX: Mr. Speaker, I am requested to present a memorial, + asking for a form of government in the District of Columbia which + shall secure to its women the right to vote; and I ask the grace + and favor to have this memorial printed in the _Record_. + + Mr. BANKS: Mr. Speaker, I beg the privilege of saying a few words + in favor of the request made by the gentleman from New York who + presents this memorial. It is a hundred years this day since Mrs. + Abigail Adams, of Massachusetts, wrote to her husband, John + Adams, then a member of the continental convention, entreating + him to give to women the power to protect their own rights and + predicting a general revolution if justice was denied them. Mrs. + Adams was one of the noblest women of that period, distinguished + by heroism and patriotism never surpassed in any age. She was + wife of the second and mother of the sixth president of the + United States, and her beneficent influence was felt in political + as well as in social circles. It was perhaps the first demand for + the recognition of the rights of her sex made in this country, + and is one of the centennial incidents that should be remembered. + It came from a good quarter. This memorial represents half a + million of American women. They ask for the organization of a + government in the District of Columbia that will recognize their + political rights. I voted some years ago to give women the right + to vote in this District, and recalling the course of its + government I think it would have done no harm if they had enjoyed + political rights. + + Mr. KASSON: I suggest that the memorial be printed without the + names. + + Mr. COX: There are no names appended except those of the officers + of the National Woman Suffrage Association; and I hope they will + be printed with the memorial. + + Mr. HENDEE: I trust the gentleman will allow this petition to be + referred to the committee of which I am a member: the Committee + for the District of Columbia. There being no objection, the + memorial was read and referred to the Committee for the District + of Columbia, and ordered to be printed in the _Record_. + +At the close of the convention a hearing was granted to the ladies +before the committees of the Senate and House of Representatives on +the District of Columbia. + + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, of New York, said: _Mr. Chairman and + Gentlemen of the Committee_: On behalf of the National + Association, which has its officers in every State and territory + of the Union, and which numbers many thousands of members, and on + behalf of the Woman's Franchise Association of the District of + Columbia, we appear before you, asking that the right of suffrage + be secured equally to the men and women of this District. Art. 1, + sec. 8, clauses 17, 18 of the Constitution of the United States + reads: + + Congress shall have power to exercise exclusive legislation + in all cases whatsoever over such district as may become the + seat of government of the United States, * * * * * to make + all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying + into execution the foregoing powers. + + Congress is therefore constitutionally the special guardian of + the rights of the people of the District of Columbia. It + possesses peculiar rights, peculiar duties, peculiar powers in + regard to this District. At the present time the men and women + are alike disfranchised. Our memorial asks that in forming a new + government they may be alike enfranchised. It is often said as + an argument against granting suffrage to women that they do not + wish to vote; do not ask for the ballot. This association, + numbering thousands in the United States, through its + representatives, now asks you, in this memorial, for suffrage in + this District. Petitions from every State in the Union have been + sent to your honorable body. One of these, signed by thirty-five + thousand women, was sent to congress in one large roll; but what + is the value of a petition signed by even a million of an + unrepresented class? + + The city papers of the national capital, once bitterly opposed to + all effort in this direction, now fully recognize the dignity of + the demand, and have ceased to oppose it. One of these said, + editorially, to-day, that the vast audiences assembling at our + conventions, the large majority being women, and evidently in + sympathy with the movement, were proof of the great interest + women take in this subject, though many are too timid to openly + make the demand. The woman's temperance movement began two years + ago as a crusade of prayer and song, and the women engaged + therein have now resolved themselves into a national + organization, whose second convention, held in October last, + numbering delegates from twenty-two States, almost unanimously + passed a resolution demanding the ballot to aid them in their + temperance work. We who make our constant demand for suffrage, + knew that these women were in process of education, and would + soon be forced to ask for the key to all reform. + + The ballot says yes or no to all questions. Without it women are + prohibited from practically expressing their opinions. The very + fact that the women of this District make this demand of you more + urgently than men proves that they desire it more and see its + uses better. The men of this District who quietly remain + disfranchised have the spirit of slaves, and if asking for the + ballot is any proof of fitness for its use, then the women who do + ask for it here prove themselves in this respect superior to men, + more alive to the interests of this District, and better fitted + to administer the government. Women who are not interested in + questions of reform would soon become so if they possessed the + ballot. They are now in the condition we were when we heard of + the famine in Persia two years ago. Our sympathies were aroused + for a brief while, but Persia was far away, we could render it no + certain aid, and the sufferings of the people soon passed from + our minds. + + Our approaching centennial celebration is to commemorate the + Declaration of Independence, which was based on individual + rights. For ages it was a question where the governing power + rightfully belonged; patriarch, priest, and monarch each claimed + it by divine right. Our country declared it vested in the + individual. Not only was this clearly stated in the Declaration + of Independence, but the same ground was maintained in the secret + proceedings upon framing the constitution. The old confederation + was abandoned because it did not secure the independence and + safety of the people. It has recently been asked in congressional + debates, "What is the grand idea of the centennial?" The answer + was, "It is the illustration in spirit and truth of the + principles of the Declaration of Independence and of the + constitution." + + These principles are: + + _First_--The natural rights of each individual. + + _Second_--The exact equality of these rights. + + _Third_--That rights not delegated are retained by the + individual. + + _Fourth_--That no person shall exercise the rights of others + without delegated authority. + + _Fifth_--That non-use of rights does not destroy them. + + Rights did not come new-born into the world with the revolution. + Our fathers were men of middle age before they understood their + own rights, but when they did they compelled the recognition of + the world, and now the nations of the earth are this year invited + to join you in the celebration of these principles of free + government. + + We have special reasons for asking you to secure suffrage to the + women of the District of Columbia. Woman Suffrage has been tried + in Wyoming, and ample testimony of its beneficial results has + been furnished, but it is a far distant territory, and those not + especially interested will not examine the evidence. It has been + tried in Utah, but with great opposition on account of the + peculiar religious belief and customs of the people. But the + District of Columbia is directly under the eye of congress. It is + the capital of the nation, and three-fifths of the property of + the District belongs to the United States. The people of the + whole country would therefore be interested in observing the + practical workings of this system on national soil. With 7,316 + more women than men in this District, we call your special + attention to the inconsistency and injustice of granting suffrage + to a minority and withholding it from a majority, as you have + done in the past. If the District is your special ward, then + women, being in the majority here, have peculiar claims upon you + for a consideration of their rights. The freedom of this country + is only half won. The women of to-day have less freedom than our + fathers of the revolution, for they were permitted local + self-government, while women have no share in local, State, or + general government. + + Our memorial calls your attention to the Pembina debate in 1874, + when senators from eighteen States recognized the right of + self-government as inhering in women. One senator said: "I + believe women never will enjoy equality with men in taking care + of themselves until they have the right to vote." Another, "that + the question was being considered by a large portion of the + people of the United States." When the discussion was concluded + and the vote taken, twenty-two senators recorded their votes for + woman suffrage in that distant territory. During the debate + several senators publicly declared their intention of voting for + woman suffrage in the District of Columbia whenever the + opportunity was presented. These senators recognize the fact that + the ballot is not only a right, but that it is opportunity for + woman; that it is the one means of helping her to help herself. + In asking you to secure the ballot to the women of the District + we do not ask you to create a right. That is beyond your power. + We ask you to protect them in the exercise of a right. + + Mrs. SARA ANDREWS SPENCER, Secretary of the District of Columbia + Woman's Franchise Association, said: For no legal or political + right I have ever claimed in the District of Columbia do I ask a + stronger, clearer charter than the Declaration of Independence, + and the constitution of the United States as it stood before the + fourteenth amendment had entered the minds of men. A judicial + decision, rendered by nine men, upon the rights of ten millions + of women of this republic, need not, does not, change the + convictions of one woman in regard to her own heaven-endowed + rights, duties, and responsibilities. + + We have resorted to all the measures dictated by those who rule + over us for securing the freedom to exercise rights which are + sacredly our own, rights which are ours by Divine inheritance, + and which men can neither confer nor take away. We are not only + daughters of our Father in heaven, and joint heirs with you + there; but we are daughters of this republic, and joint heirs + with you here. Every act of legislation which has been placed as + a bar in our way as citizens has been an act of injustice, and + every expedient to which we have resorted for securing + recognition of citizenship has been with protest against the + existence of these acts of unauthorized power. + + When any man expresses doubt to me as to the use that I or any + other woman might make of the ballot if we had it, my answer is, + What is that to you? If you have for years defrauded me of my + rightful inheritance, and then, as a stroke of policy, or from + late conviction, concluded to restore to me my own domain, must I + ask you whether I may make of it a garden of flowers, or a field + of wheat, or a pasture for kine? If I choose I may counsel with + you. If experience has given you wisdom, even of this world, in + managing your property and mine, I should be wise to learn from + you. But injustice is not wont to yield wisdom; grapes do not + grow of thorns, nor figs of thistles. + + Born of the unjust and cruel subjection of woman to man, we have + in these United States a harvest of 116,000 paupers, 36,000 + criminals, and such a mighty host of blind, deaf and dumb, + idiotic, insane, feeble-minded, and children with tendencies to + crime, as almost to lead one to hope for the extinction of the + human race rather than for its perpetuation after its own kind. + The wisdom of man licenses the dram-shop, and then rears + station-houses, jails, and gibbets to provide for the victims. In + this District we have 135 teachers of public schools and 238 + police officers, and the last report shows that public safety + demands a police force of 900. We have 31,671 children of school + age; 31,671 reasons why I want to vote. We have here 7,000 more + children of school age than there are seats in all the public + schools, and from the swarm of poor, ignorant, and vagrant + children, the lists of criminals and paupers are constantly + supplied. To provide for these evils there is an annual + expenditure of $350,000, not including expenses of courts, while + for education the annual expenditure is $280,000. + + Will you say that the wives and the mothers, the house and + homekeepers of this small territory, have no interest in all + these things? If dram-shops are licensed and brothels protected, + are not our sons, our brothers, tempted and ruined, our daughters + lured from their homes, and lost to earth and heaven? Long and + patiently women have borne wrongs too deep to be put into words; + wrongs for which men have provided no redress and have found no + remedy. When five years ago, with our social atmosphere poisoned + with vices which as women we had no power to remove, men in + authority began a series of attempts to fasten upon us by law the + huge typical vice of all the ages--the social evil--in a form so + degrading to all womanhood that no man, though he were the prince + of profligates, would submit to its regulations for a day; then + we cried out so that the world heard us. We know the plague is + only stayed for a brief while. The hydra-headed monster every now + and then lifts a new front, and must be smitten again. Four times + in four successive years a little company of women of the + District have appeared before committees and compelled the + discussion and defeat of bills designed to fasten these measures + upon the community under the guise of security for public health + and morality. The last annual report of the board of health + speaks tenderly of the need of protecting vicious men by these + regulations, and says: + + The legalization of houses of ill-fame for so humane a + purpose, startling as it may be to the moral sense, has many + powerful advocates among the thoughtful, wise, and + philanthropic of communities. + + The report quotes approvingly Dr. Gross, of Philadelphia, who + says in behalf of laws to license the social evil: + + The prejudices which surround the subject must be swept + away, and men must march to the front and discharge their + duty, however much they may be reproached and abused by the + ignorant and foolish. + + Aside from the higher ground of our inherent right to + self-government, we declare here and now that the women of this + District are not safe without the ballot. Our firesides, our + liberties are in constant peril, while men who have no concern + for our welfare may legislate against our dearest interests. If + we would inaugurate any measure of protection for our own sex, we + are bound hand and foot by man. The law is his, the treasury is + his, the power is his, and he need not even hear our cry, except + at his good will and pleasure. + + If man had legislated justly and wisely for the interests of this + District, if its financial condition was sound, its social and + moral atmosphere pure, and all was well, there would be some show + of reason in your refusing to hazard a new experiment, even + though we could demonstrate it to be founded upon eternal + justice. But the history of the successive forms of government in + the District of Columbia is a history of failures. So will it + continue to be until you adopt a plan founded upon truly + republican principles. When, a few years ago, you put the ballot + into the hands of the swarming masses of freedmen who had + gathered here with the ignorance and vices of slaves, and refused + to enfranchise women, white or colored, you gave this District no + fair trial of a republican form of government. You did not even + protect the interests of the colored race. You admitted that the + colored man was not really free until he held the ballot in his + hand, and therefore you enfranchised him and left the woman twice + his slave. I know colored women in Washington far the superiors, + intellectually and morally, of the masses of men, who declare + that they now endure wrongs and abuses unknown in slavery. + + There is not an interest in this District that is not as vital to + me as to any man in Washington--that is not more vital to me than + it can be to any member of this honorable body. As a citizen, + seeking the welfare of this community, as a wife and mother + desiring the safety of my children, which of you can claim a + deeper interest than I in questions of markets, taxes, finance, + banks, railroads, highways, the public debt and interest thereon, + boards of health, sanitary and police regulations, station-houses + (wherein I find many a wreck of womanhood, ruined in her youth + and beauty), schools, asylums, and charities? Why deny me a voice + in any or all of these? Do you doubt that I would use the ballot + in the interests of order, retrenchment, and reform? Do you deny + a right of mine, which you will admit I know how to prize, + because there are women who do not appreciate its value, do not + demand it, possibly might not (any better than men) know how to + use it? What a mockery of justice! What a flagrant violation of + individual rights! I would cry out against it if no other woman + in the land felt the wrong. But among the 10,000,000 of mothers + of 14,000,000 of children in this country, vast numbers of + thoughtful, philanthropic, and pure women have come to see this + truth, and desire to express their mother love and home love at + the ballot-box! + + Frederick Douglass once said: "Whole nations have been bathed in + blood to establish the simplest possible propositions. For + instance, that a man's head is _his_ head; his body is _his_ + body; his feet are _his_ feet, and if he chooses to run away with + them it is nobody's business"; and all honor to him, he added, + "Now, these propositions have been established for the colored + man. Why does not man establish them for woman, his wife, his + mother?" + + Determined to surround the colored man with every possible + guarantee of protection in the possession of his freedom, + congress stopped the wheels of legislation, and made the whole + country wait, while day after day and night after night his + friends fought inch by inch the ground for the civil rights bill. + During that debate Senator Frelinghuysen said: + + When I took the oath as senator, I took the oath to support + the Constitution of the United States, which declares + equality for all: and in advocating this bill I am doing my + sworn duty in endeavoring to secure equal rights for every + citizen of the United States. + + But where slept his "sworn duty" when he recorded his vote in the + Senate against woman suffrage? With marvelous inconsistency, as a + reason for opposing woman suffrage, during the Pembina debate, + May 27, 1874, Senator Merrimon said of the relation of women to + the Constitution of the United States: + + They have sustained it under all circumstances with their + love, their hands, and their hearts; with their smiles and + their tears they have educated their children to live for + it, and to die for it. + + Therefore the honorable gentleman denies them the right to vote. + + Upon the civil rights bill, Senator Howe said: + + I do not know but what the passage of this bill will break + up the common schools. I admit that I have some fear on that + point. Every step of this terrible march has been met with a + threat; but let justice be done although the common schools + and the heavens do fall. + + In reply to the point made by Mr. Stockton that the people of the + United States would not accept this bill, Mr. Howe said: + + I would not turn back if I knew that of the forty million + people of the United States not one million would sustain + it. If this generation does not accept it there is a + generation to come that will accept it. What does this + provide? Not that the black man should be helped on his way; + not at all; but only that, as he staggers along, he shall + not be retarded, shall not be tripped up and made to fall. + + Brave and tender words these for our black brother; but see how + prone men are to invert truth, justice, and mercy in dealing with + women. During the Pembina debate, Senator Merrimon said: + + I know there are a few women in the country who complain; + but those who complain, compared with those who do not + complain, are as one to a million. + + As a literal fact, the women who have complained, have + petitioned, sued, reasoned, plead, have knocked at the doors of + your legislatures and courts, are as one to fifty in this + country, as we who watch the record know; and even that is a + small proportion of those who would, but dare not; who are bound + hand and foot, and will be bound until you make them free. But if + no others feel the wrong but those who have dared to complain; if + the poor, the ignorant, the betrayed, the ruined do not + understand the question, and the well-fed and comfortable "have + all the rights they want," do you give that for answer to our + just demand? What do we ask? Not that poor woman "shall be helped + on her way"--not at all; but only that, "as she staggers along, + she shall not be retarded, shall not be tripped up, shall not be + made to fall." + + And here on this national soil, for the women of this District of + Columbia--your peculiar wards--I ask you to try the experiment of + exact, even-handed justice; to give us a voice in the laws under + which we must live, by which we are tried, judged and condemned. + I ask it for myself, that I may the better help other women. I + ask it for other women, that they may the better help themselves. + As you hope for justice and mercy in your hour of need, may you + hear and answer. + +Rev. Olympia Brown, of Connecticut; Belva A. Lockwood, of +Washington; and Phoebe Couzins, of St. Louis, also addressed the +committees; enforcing their arguments with wit, humor, pathos and +eloquence. + +On her way home from Washington, Mrs. Gage stopped in Philadelphia +to secure rooms for the National Association during the centennial +summer, and decided upon Carpenter Hall, in case it could be +obtained. This hall belongs to the Carpenter Company of +Philadelphia, perhaps the oldest existing association of that city, +it having maintained an uninterrupted organization from the year +1724, about forty years after the establishment of the colonial +government by William Penn, and was much in use during the early +days of the revolution. The doors of the State House, where the +continental congress intended to meet, were found closed against +it; but the Carpenter Company, numbering many eminent patriots, +offered its hall for their use; and here met the first continental +congress, September 5, 1774. John Adams, describing its opening +ceremonies, said: + + Here was a scene worthy of the painter's art. Washington was + kneeling there, and Randolph, Rutledge, Lee and Jay; and by their + side there stood, bowed in reverence, the Puritan patriots of New + England, who at that moment had reason to believe that an armed + soldiery was wasting their humble households. It was believed + that Boston had been bombarded and destroyed.[3] They prayed + fervently for America, for the congress, for the province of + Massachusetts Bay, and especially for the town of Boston. Who can + realize the emotions with which in that hour of danger they + turned imploringly to heaven for Divine interposition. It was + enough to melt a heart of stone. I saw the tears gush into the + eyes of old, gray, pacific Quakers of Philadelphia. + +The action of this congress, which sat but seven weeks, was +momentous in the history of the world. "From the moment of their +first debate," said De Tocqueville, "Europe was moved." The +convention which in 1781 framed the constitution of the United +States, also met in Carpenter Hall in secret session for four +months before agreeing upon its provisions. This hall seemed the +most appropriate place for establishing the centennial rooms of the +National Woman Suffrage Association, but the effort to obtain +it proved unavailing[4] as will be seen by the following +correspondence: + + _To the President and Officers of the Carpenter Company of + Philadelphia:_ + + The National Woman Suffrage Association will hold its + headquarters in Philadelphia the centennial season of 1876, and + desires to secure your historic hall for that purpose. We know + your habit and custom of denying its use to all societies, yet we + make our request because our objects are in accord with the + principles which emanated from within its walls a hundred years + ago, and we shall use it in carrying out those principles of + liberty and equality upon which our government is based. + + We design to advertise our headquarters to the world, and old + Carpenter Hall, if used by us, would become more widely + celebrated as the birth-place of liberty. Our work in it would + cause it to be more than ever held in reverence by future ages, + and pilgrimages by men and women would be made to it as to + another Mecca shrine. + + We propose to place a person in charge, with pamphlets, speeches, + tracts, etc., and to hold public meetings for the enunciation of + our principles and the furtherance of our demands. Hoping you + will grant this request, + + I am respectfully yours, MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, + _President of the National Woman Suffrage Association._ + +Two months afterward, the following reply was received: + + HALL, CARPENTER COURT, 322 Chestnut St.,} + PHILADELPHIA, April 24, 1876.} + + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, _President of the Woman Suffrage + Association_: + + Your communication asking permission to occupy Carpenter Hall for + your convention was duly received, and presented to the company + at a stated meeting held the 16th instant, when on motion it was + unanimously resolved to postpone the subject indefinitely. + + [Extract of minutes]. GEORGE WATSON, _Secretary_. + +It was a matter of no moment to those men that women were soon to +assemble in Philadelphia, whose love of liberty was as deep, whose +patriotism was as pure as that of the fathers who met within its +walls in 1774, and whose deliberations had given that hall its +historic interest. + +In the midst of these preparations the usual May anniversary was +held: + + CALL FOR THE MAY ANNIVERSARY, 1876.--The National Woman Suffrage + Association will hold its Ninth Annual Convention in Masonic + Hall, New York, corner of Sixth avenue and Twenty-third street, + May 10, 11, 1876. + + This convention occuring in the centennial year of the republic, + will be a most important one. The underlying principles of + government will this year be discussed as never before; both + foreigners and citizens will query as to how closely this country + has lived up to its own principles. The long-debated question as + to the source of the governing power was answered a century ago + by the famous Declaration of Independence which shook to the + foundation all recognized power and proclaimed the right of the + individual as above all forms of government; but while thus + declaring itself, it has held the women of the nation accountable + to laws they have had no share in making, and taught as their one + duty, that doctrine of tyrants, unquestioning obedience. Liberty + to-day is, therefore, but the heritage of one-half the people, + and the centennial will be but the celebration of the + independence of one-half the nation. The men alone of this + country live in a republic, the women enter the second hundred + years of national life as political slaves. + + That no structure is stronger than its weakest point is a law of + mechanics that will apply equally to government. In so far as + this government has denied justice to woman, it is weak, and + preparing for its own downfall. All the insurrections, + rebellions, and martyrdoms of history have grown out of the + desire for liberty, and in woman's heart this desire is as strong + as in man's. At every vital time in the nation's life, men and + women have worked together; everywhere has woman stood by the + side of father, brother, husband, son in defense of liberty; + without her aid the republic could never have been established; + and yet women are still suffering under all the oppressions + complained of in 1776; which can only be remedied by securing + impartial suffrage to all citizens without distinction of sex. + + All persons who believe republican principles should be carried + out in spirit and in truth, are invited to be present at the May + convention. + + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, _President_. + + SUSAN B. ANTHONY, _Chairman Executive Committee_. + +This May anniversary, commencing on the same day with the opening +of the centennial exhibition, was marked with more than usual +earnestness. As popular thought naturally turned with increasing +interest at such an hour to the underlying principles of +government, woman's demand for political equality received a new +impulse. The famous Smith sisters, of Glastonbury, Connecticut, +attended this convention, and were most cordially welcomed. The +officers[5] for the centennial year were chosen and a campaign[6] +and congressional[7] committee appointed to take charge of affairs +at Philadelphia and Washington. The resolutions show the general +drift of the discussions:[8] + + WHEREAS, The right of self-government inheres in the individual + before governments are founded, constitutions framed, or courts + created; and + + WHEREAS, Governments exist to protect the people in the enjoyment + of their natural rights, and when any government becomes + destructive of this end, it is the right of the people to resist + and abolish it; and + + WHEREAS, The women of the United States, for one hundred years, + have been denied the exercise of their natural right of + self-government and self-protection; therefore, + + _Resolved_, That it is the natural right and most sacred duty of + the women of these United States to rebel against the injustice, + usurpation and tyranny of our present government. + + WHEREAS, The men of 1776 rebelled against a government which did + not claim to be of the people, but, on the contrary, upheld the + "divine right of kings"; and + + WHEREAS, The women of this nation to-day, under a government + which claims to be based upon individual rights, to be "of the + people, by the people, and for the people," in an infinitely + greater degree are suffering all the wrongs which led to the war + of the revolution; and WHEREAS, The oppression is all the more + keenly felt because our masters, instead of dwelling in a foreign + land, are our husbands, our fathers, our brothers and our sons; + therefore, + + _Resolved_, That the women of this nation, in 1876, have greater + cause for discontent, rebellion and revolution, than the men of + 1776. + + _Resolved_, That with Abigail Adams, in 1776, we believe that + "the passion for liberty cannot be strong in the breasts of those + who are accustomed to deprive their fellow-creatures of liberty"; + that, as Abigail Adams predicted, "We are determined to foment a + rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by laws in which we + have no voice or representation." + + WHEREAS, We believe in the principles of the Declaration of + Independence and of the Constitution of the United States, and + believe a true republic is the best form of government in the + world; and + + WHEREAS, This government is false to its underlying principles in + denying to women the only means of self-government, the ballot; + and + + WHEREAS, One-half of the citizens of this nation, after a century + of boasted liberty, are still political slaves; therefore, + + _Resolved_, That we protest against calling the present + centennial celebration a celebration of the independence of the + people of the United States. + + _Resolved_, That we meet in our respective towns and districts on + the Fourth of July, 1876, and declare ourselves no longer bound + to obey laws in whose making we have had no voice, and, in + presence of the assembled nations of the world gathered on this + soil to celebrate our nation's centennial, demand justice for the + women of this land. + + WHEREAS, The men of this nation have established for men of all + nations, races and color, on this soil, at the cost of countless + lives, the proposition (in the language of Frederick Douglass) + "that a man's head is his head, his body is his body, his feet + are his feet"; therefore, + + _Resolved_, That justice, equity and chivalry demand that man at + once establish for his wife and mother the corresponding + proposition, that a woman's head is her head, her body is her + body, her feet are her feet, and that all ownership and mastery + over her person, property, conscience, and liberty of speech and + action, are in violation of the supreme law of the land. + + _Resolved_, That we rejoice in the resistance of Julia and Abby + Smith, Abby Kelly Foster, Sarah E. Wall and many more resolute + women in various parts of the country, to taxation without + representation. + + _Resolved_, That the thanks of the National Woman Suffrage + Association are hereby tendered to Hon. A. A. Sargent, of + California, for his earnest words in behalf of woman suffrage on + the floor of the United States Senate, Jan. 25, 1876; and to Hon. + N. P. Banks, of Massachusetts, for his appeal in behalf of the + centennial woman suffrage memorial in the United States House of + Representatives, March 31, 1876. + + _Resolved_, That the repeated attempts to license the social evil + are a practical confession of the weakness, profligacy and + general unfitness of men to legislate for women, and should be + regarded with alarm as a proof that their firesides and liberties + are in constant peril while men alone make and execute the laws + of this country. + + WHEREAS, There are 7,000 more women than men in the District of + Columbia, and no form of government for said District has allowed + women any voice in making the laws under which they live; + therefore, + + _Resolved_, That in this centennial year the congress of the + United States having exclusive jurisdiction over that territory + should establish a truly republican form of government by + granting equal suffrage to the men and women of the District of + Columbia. + +Immediately at the close of the May convention Mrs. Gage again went +to Philadelphia to complete the arrangements in regard to the +centennial headquarters. Large and convenient rooms were soon +found upon Arch street, terms agreed upon and a lease drawn, when +it transpired that a husband's consent and signature must be +obtained, although the property was owned by a woman, as by the +laws of Pennsylvania a married woman's property is under her +husband's control. Although arrangements for this room had been +made with the real owner, the terms being perfectly satisfactory to +her, the husband refused his ratification, tearing up the lease, +with abuse of the women who claimed control of their own property, +and a general defiance of all women who dared work for the +enfranchisement of their sex. Thus again were women refused rooms +in Philadelphia in which to enter their protest against the tyranny +of this republic, and for the same reason--they were slaves. Had +the patriots of the revolutionary period asked rooms of King +George, in which to foster their treason to his government, the +refusal could have been no more positive than in these cases. + +The quarters finally obtained were very desirable; fine large +parlors on the first floor, on Chestnut street, at the fashionable +west end, directly opposite the Young Men's Christian Association. +The other members of the committee being married ladies, Miss +Anthony, as a _feme sole_, was alone held capable of making a +contract, and was therefore obliged to assume the pecuniary +responsibility of the rooms. Thus it is ever the married women who +are more especially classed with lunatics, idiots and criminals, +and held incapable of managing their own business. It has always +been part of the code of slavery, that the slave had no right to +property; all his earnings and gifts belonging by law, to the +master. Married women come under this same civil code. The +following letter was extensively circulated and published in all +the leading journals: + + NATIONAL WOMAN SUFFRAGE PARLORS, } + 1,431 Chestnut Street, PHILADELPHIA, PA. } + + The National Woman Suffrage Association has established its + centennial headquarters in Philadelphia, at 1,431 Chestnut + street. The parlors, in charge of the officers of the + association, are devoted to the special work of the year, + pertaining to the centennial celebration and the political party + conventions; also to calls, receptions, conversazioni, etc. On + the table a centennial autograph book receives the names of + visitors. Friends at a distance, both men and women, who cannot + call, are invited to send their names, with date and residence, + accompanied by a short expressive sentiment and a contribution + toward expenses. In the rooms are books, papers, reports and + decisions, speeches, tracts, and photographs of distinguished + women; also mottoes and pictures expressive of woman's + condition. In addition to the parlor gatherings, meetings and + conventions will be held during the season in various halls and + churches throughout the city. + + On July Fourth, while the men of this nation and the world are + rejoicing that "All men are free and equal" in the United States, + a declaration of rights for women will be issued from these + headquarters, and a protest against calling this centennial a + celebration of the independence of the people, while one-half are + still political slaves. + + Let the women of the whole land, on that day, in meetings, in + parlors, in kitchens, wherever they may be, unite with us in this + declaration and protest. And, immediately thereafter, send full + reports, in manuscript or print, of their resolutions, speeches + and action, for record in our centennial book, that the world may + see that the women of 1876 know and feel their political + degradation no less than did the men of 1776. + + The first woman's rights convention the world ever knew, called + by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, met at Seneca Falls, + N. Y., July 19, 20, 1848. In commemoration of the twenty-eighth + anniversary of that event, the National Woman Suffrage + Association will hold in ---- hall, Philadelphia, July 19, 20, of + the present year, a grand mass convention, in which eminent + reformers from the new and old world will take part. Friends are + especially invited to be present on this historic occasion. + + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, _Chairman Executive Committee_. + + SUSAN B. ANTHONY, _Corresponding Secretary_. + +From these headquarters numberless documents were issued during the +month of June. As the presidential nominating conventions were soon +to meet, letters were addressed to both the Republican and +Democratic parties, urging them to recognize the political rights +of women in their platforms. Thousands of copies of these letters +were scattered throughout the nation: + + _To the President and Members of the National Republican + Convention, Cincinnati, O., June 14, 1876._ + + GENTLEMEN: The National Woman Suffrage Association asks you to + place in your platform the following plank: + + _Resolved_, That the right to the use of the ballot inheres + in every citizen of the United States; and we pledge + ourselves to secure the exercise of this right to all + citizens, irrespective of sex. + + In asking the insertion of this plank, we propose no change of + fundamental principles. Our question is as old as the nation. Our + government was framed on the political basis of the consent of + the governed. And from July 4, 1776, until the present year, + 1876, the nation has constantly advanced toward a fuller practice + of our fundamental theory, that the governed are the source of + all power. Your nominating convention, occurring in this + centennial year of the republic, presents a good opportunity for + the complete recognition of these first principles. Our + government has not yet answered the end for which it was framed, + while one-half the people of the United States are deprived of + the right of self-government. Before the Revolution, Great + Britain claimed the right to legislate for the colonies in all + cases whatsoever; the men of this nation now as unjustly claim + the right to legislate for women in all cases whatsoever. + + The call for your nominating convention invites the cooeperation + of "all voters who desire to inaugurate and enforce the rights of + every citizen, including the full and free exercise of the right + of suffrage." Women are citizens; declared to be by the highest + legislative and judicial authorities; but they are citizens + deprived of "the full and free exercise of the right of + suffrage." Your platform of 1872 declared "the Republican party + mindful of its obligations to the loyal women of the nation for + their noble devotion to the cause of freedom." Devotion to + freedom is no new thing for the women of this nation. From the + earliest history of our country, woman has shown herself as + patriotic as man in every great emergency in the nation's life. + From the Revolution to the present hour, woman has stood by the + side of father, husband, son and brother in defense of liberty. + The heroic and self-sacrificing deeds of the women of this + republic, both in peace and war, must not be forgotten. Together + men and women have made this country what it is. And to-day, in + this one-hundredth year of our existence, the women--as members + of the nation--as citizens of the United States--ask national + recognition of their right of suffrage. + + The Declaration of Independence struck a blow at every existent + form of government, by declaring the individual the source of all + power. Upon this one newly proclaimed truth our nation arose. But + if States may deny suffrage to any class of citizens, or confer + it at will upon any class--as according to the Minor-Happersett + decision of the Supreme Court--a decision rendered under the + auspices of the Republican party against suffrage as a + constituent element of United States citizenship--we then possess + no true national life. If States can deny suffrage to citizens of + the United States, then States possess more power than the United + States, and are more truly national in the character of their + governments. National supremacy does not chiefly mean power "to + levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish + commerce"; it means national protection and security in the + exercise of the right of self-government, which comes alone, by + and through the use of the ballot. + + Even granting the premise of the Supreme-Court decision that "the + Constitution of the United States does not confer suffrage on any + one"; our national life does not date from that instrument. The + constitution is not the original declaration of rights. It was + not framed until eleven years after our existence as a nation, + nor fully ratified until nearly fourteen years after the + commencement of our national life. This centennial celebration of + our nation's birth does not date from the constitution, but from + the Declaration of Independence. The declared purpose of the + civil war was the settlement of the question of supremacy between + the States and the United States. The documents sent out by the + Republican party in this present campaign, warn the people that + the Democrats intend another battle for State sovereignty, to be + fought this year at the ballot-box. + + The National Woman Suffrage Association calls your attention to + the fact that the Republican party has itself reopened this + battle, and now holds the anomalous position of having settled + the question of State sovereignty in the case of black men, and + again opened it, through the Minor-Happersett decision, not only + in the case of women citizens, but also in the case of men + citizens, for all other causes save those specified in the + fifteenth amendment. Your party has yet one opportunity to + retrieve its position. The political power of this country has + always shown itself superior to the judicial power--the latter + ever shaping and basing its decisions on the policy of the + dominant party. A pledge, therefore, by your convention to secure + national protection in the enjoyment of perfect equality of + rights, civil and political, to all citizens, will so define the + policy of the Republican party as to open the way to a full and + final adjustment of this question on the basis of United States + supremacy. + + Aside from the higher motive of justice, we suggest your adoption + of this principle of equal rights to women, as a means of + securing your own future existence. The party of reform in this + country is the party that lives. The party that ceases to + represent the vital principles of truth and justice dies. If you + would save the life of the Republican party you should now take + broad national ground on this question of suffrage. + + By this act you will do most to promote the general welfare, + secure the blessings of liberty to yourselves and your posterity, + and establish on this continent a genuine republic that shall + know no class, caste, race, or sex--where all the people are + citizens, and all citizens are equal before the law. + + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, _Chairman Executive Committee_. + + SUSAN B. ANTHONY, _Corresponding Secretary_. + _Centennial Headquarters_, + 1,431 Chestnut street, _Philadelphia_, June 10, 1876. + + + _To the President and Members of the National Democratic + Convention assembled at St. Louis, June 27, 1876_: + + GENTLEMEN: In reading the call for your convention, the National + Woman Suffrage Association was gratified to find that your + invitation was not limited to voters, but cordially extended to + all citizens of the United States. We accordingly send delegates + from our association, asking for them a voice in your + proceedings, and also a plank in your platform declaring the + political rights of women. + + Women are the only class of citizens still wholly unrepresented + in the government, and yet we possess every qualification + requisite for voters in the several States. Women possess + property and education; we take out naturalization papers and + passports; we preempt lands, pay taxes, and suffer for our own + violation of the laws. We are neither idiots, lunatics, nor + criminals; and, according to your State constitutions, lack but + one qualification for voters, namely, sex, which is an + insurmountable qualification, and therefore equivalent to a bill + of attainder against one-half the people; a power no State nor + congress can legally exercise, being forbidden in article 1, + sections 9, 10, of our constitution. Our rulers may have the + right to regulate the suffrage, but they can not abolish it + altogether for any class of citizens, as has been done in the + case of the women of this republic, without a direct violation of + the fundamental law of the land. + + As you hold the constitution of the fathers to be a sacred legacy + to us and our children forever, we ask you to so interpret that + _Magna Charta_ of human rights as to secure justice and equality + to all United States citizens irrespective of sex. We desire to + call your attention to the violation of the essential principle + of self-government in the disfranchisement of the women of the + several States, and we appeal to you, not only because as a + minority you are in a position to consider principles, but + because you were the party first to extend suffrage by removing + the property qualification from all white men, and thus making + the political status of the richest and poorest citizen the same. + That act of justice to the laboring masses insured your power, + with but few interruptions, until the war. + + When the District of Columbia suffrage bill was under discussion + in 1866, it was a Democratic senator (Mr. Cowan, of Pennsylvania) + who proposed an amendment to strike out the word "male," and thus + extend the right of suffrage to the women, as well as the black + men of the District. That amendment gave us a splendid discussion + on woman suffrage that lasted three days in the Senate of the + United States. It was a Democratic legislature that secured the + right of suffrage to the women of Wyoming, and we now ask you in + national convention to pledge the Democratic party to extend this + act of justice to the women throughout the nation, and thus call + to your side a new political force that will restore and + perpetuate your power for years to come. + + The Republican party gave us a plank in their platform in 1872, + pledging themselves to a "respectful consideration" of our + demands. But by their constitutional interpretations, legislative + enactments, and judicial decisions, so far from redeeming their + pledge, they have buried our petitions and appeals under laws in + direct opposition to their high-sounding promises and + professions. And now (1876) they give us another plank in their + platform, approving the "substantial advance made toward the + establishment of equal rights for women"; cunningly reminding us + that the privileges and immunities we now enjoy are all due to + Republican legislation--although, under a Republican dynasty, + inspectors of election have been arrested and imprisoned for + taking the votes of women; temperance women arrested and + imprisoned for praying in the streets; houses, lands, bonds, and + stock of women seized and sold for their refusal to pay unjust + taxation--and, more than all, we have this singular spectacle: a + Republican woman, who had spoken for the Republican party + throughout the last presidential campaign, arrested by Republican + officers for voting the Republican ticket, denied the right of + trial by jury by a Republican judge, convicted and sentenced to a + fine of one hundred dollars and costs of prosecution; and all + this for asserting at the polls the most sacred of all the rights + of American citizenship--the right of suffrage--specifically + secured by recent Republican amendments to the federal + constitution. + + Again, the Supreme Court of the United States, by its recent + decision in the Minor-Happersett case, has stultified its own + interpretation of constitutional law. A negro, by virtue of his + United States citizenship, is declared under recent amendments a + voter in every State in the Union; but when a woman, by virtue of + her United States citizenship, applies to the Supreme Court for + protection in the exercise of this same right, she is remanded to + the State by the unanimous decision of the nine judges on the + bench, that "the Constitution of the United States does not + confer the right of suffrage upon any one." + + All concessions of privileges or redress of grievances are but + mockery for any class that has no voice in the laws and + lawmakers. Hence we demand the ballot--that scepter of power--in + our own hands, as the only sure protection for our rights of + person and property under all conditions. If the few may grant or + withhold rights at their own pleasure, the many cannot be said to + enjoy the blessings of self-government. Jefferson said, "The God + who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time. The hand of + force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them." While the first and + highest motive we would urge on you is the recognition in all + your action of the great principles of justice and equality that + underlie our form of government, it is not unworthy to remind you + that the party that takes this onward step will reap its just + reward. + + Had you heeded our appeals made to you in Tammany Hall, New York, + in 1868, and again in Baltimore, in 1872, your party might now + have been in power, as you would have had, what neither party can + boast to-day, a live issue on which to rouse the enthusiasm of + the people. Reform is the watchword of the hour; but how can we + hope for honor and honesty in either party in minor matters, so + long as both consent to rob one-half the people--their own + mothers, sisters, wives and daughters--of their most sacred + rights? As a party you defended the right of self-government in + Louisiana ably and eloquently during the last session of + congress. Are the rights of women in all the Southern States, + whose slaves are now their rulers, less sacred than those of the + men of Louisiana? "The whole art of government," says Jefferson, + "consists in being honest." + + It needs but little observation to see that the tide of progress, + in all countries, is setting toward the emancipation and + enfranchisement of women; and this step in civilization is to be + taken in our day and generation. Whether the Democratic party + will take the initiative in this reform, and reap the glory of + crowning fifteen million women with the rights of American + citizenship, and thereby vindicate our theory of self-government, + is the momentous question we ask you to decide in this eventful + hour, as we round out the first century of our national life. + + ELIZABETH CADY STANTON, _President_. + + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, _Chairman Executive Committee_. + SUSAN B. ANTHONY, _Corresponding Secretary_. + _Centennial Headquarters_, + 1,431 Chestnut street, _Philadelphia_, June 20, 1876. + +In addition to these letters delegates were sent to both the +Republican and Democratic conventions. Sara Andrews Spencer and +Elizabeth Boynton Harbert were present at the Republican convention +at Cincinnati; both addressed the committee on platform and +resolutions, and Mrs. Spencer, on motion of Hon. George F. Hoar, +was permitted to address the convention. Mrs. Virginia L. Minor and +Miss Phoebe W. Couzins were the delegates to the Democratic +convention at St. Louis, and the latter addressed that vast +assembly.[9] + +For a long time there had been a growing demand for a woman's +declaration to be issued on July Fourth, 1876. "Let us then protest +against the falsehood of the nation"; "If the old Declaration does +not include women, let us have one that will"; "Let our rulers be +arraigned"; "A declaration of independence for women must be issued +on the Fourth of July, 1876," were demands that came from all parts +of the country. The officers of the association had long had such +action in view, having, at the Washington convention, early in +1875, announced their intention of working in Philadelphia during +the centennial season, and were strengthened in their determination +by the hearty indorsement they received. At the May convention in +New York, Matilda Joslyn Gage, in her opening speech, announced +that a declaration of independence for women would be issued on the +Fourth of July, 1876. In response to this general feeling, the +officers of the National Association prepared a declaration of +rights of the women of the United States, and articles of +impeachment against the government. + +Application was made by the secretary, Miss Anthony, to General +Hawley, president of the centennial commission, for seats for fifty +officers of the association. General Hawley replied that "only +officials were invited"--that even his own wife had no place--that +merely representatives and officers of the government had seats +assigned them. "Then" said she, "as women have no share in the +government, they are to have no seats on the platform," to which +General Hawley assented; adding, however, that Mrs. Gillespie, of +the woman's centennial commission, had fifty seats placed at her +disposal, thus showing it to be in his power to grant places to +women whenever he so chose to do. Miss Anthony said: "I ask seats +for the officers of the National Woman Suffrage Association; we +represent one-half the people, and why should we be denied all part +in this centennial celebration?" Miss Anthony, however, secured a +reporter's ticket by virtue of representing her brother's paper, +_The Leavenworth Times_, and, ultimately, cards of invitation were +sent to four others,[10] representing the 20,000,000 disfranchised +citizens of the nation. + +Mrs. Stanton, as president of the association, wrote General +Hawley, asking the opportunity to present the woman's protest and +bill of rights at the close of the reading of the Declaration of +Independence. Just its simple presentation and nothing more. She +wrote: + + We do not ask to read our declaration, only to present it to the + president of the United States, that it may become an historical + part of the proceedings. + +Mrs. Spencer, bearer of this letter, in presenting it to General +Hawley, said: + + The women of the United States make a slight request on the + occasion of the centennial celebration of the birth of the + nation; we only ask that we may silently present our declaration + of rights. + + General HAWLEY replied: It seems a very slight request, but our + programme is published, our speakers engaged, our arrangements + for the day decided upon, and we can not make even so slight a + change as that you ask. + + Mrs. SPENCER replied: We are aware that your programme is + published, your speakers engaged, your entire arrangements + decided upon, without consulting with the women of the United + States; for that very reason we desire to enter our protest. We + are aware that this government has been conducted for one hundred + years without consulting the women of the United States; for this + reason we desire to enter our protest. + + General HAWLEY replied: Undoubtedly we have not lived up to our + own original Declaration of Independence in many respects. I + express no opinion upon your question. It is a proper subject of + discussion at the Cincinnati convention, at the St. Louis + convention,, in the Senate of the United States, in the State + legislatures, in the courts, wherever you can obtain a hearing. + But to-morrow we propose to celebrate what we have done the last + hundred years; not what we have failed to do. We have much to do + in the future. I understand the full significance of your very + slight request. If granted, it would be the event of the day--the + topic of discussion to the exclusion of all others. I am sorry to + refuse so slight a demand; we cannot grant it. + +General Hawley also addressed a letter to Mrs. Stanton: + + DEAR MADAM: I regret to say it is impossible for us to make any + change in our programme, or make any addition to it at this late + hour. + + Yours very respectfully, + JOS. R. HAWLEY, _President U. S. C. C._ + +As General Grant was not to attend the celebration, the acting +vice-president, Thomas W. Ferry, representing the government, was +to officiate in his place, and he, too, was addressed by note, and +courteously requested to make time for the reception of this +declaration. As Mr. Ferry was a well-known sympathizer with the +demands of woman for political rights, it was presumable that he +would render his aid. Yet he was forgetful that in his position +that day he represented, not the exposition, but the government of +a hundred years, and he too refused; thus this simple request of +woman for a half moment's recognition on the nation's centennial +birthday was denied by all in authority.[11] While the women of +the nation were thus absolutely forbidden the right of public +protest, lavish preparations were made for the reception and +entertainment of foreign potentates and the myrmidons of monarchial +institutions. Dom Pedro, emperor of Brazil, a representative of +that form of government against which the United States is a +perpetual defiance and protest, was welcomed with fulsome +adulation, and given a seat of honor near the officers of the day; +Prince Oscar of Sweden, a stripling of sixteen, on whose shoulder +rests the promise of a future kingship, was seated near. Count +Rochambeau of France, the Japanese commissioners, high officials +from Russia and Prussia, from Austria, Spain, England, Turkey, +representing the barbarism and semi-civilization of the day, found +no difficulty in securing recognition and places of honor upon that +platform, where representative womanhood was denied. + +Though refused by their own countrymen a place and part in the +centennial celebration, the women who had taken this presentation +in hand were not to be conquered. They had respectfully asked for +recognition; now that it had been denied, they determined to seize +upon the moment when the reading of the Declaration of Independence +closed, to proclaim to the world the tyranny and injustice of the +nation toward one-half its people. Five officers of the National +Woman Suffrage Association, with that heroic spirit which has ever +animated lovers of liberty in resistance to tyranny, determined, +whatever the result, to present the woman's declaration of rights +at the chosen hour. They would not, they dared not sacrifice the +golden opportunity to which they had so long looked forward; their +work was not for themselves alone, nor for the present generation, +but for all women of all time. The hopes of posterity were in their +hands and they determined to place on record for the daughters of +1976, the fact that their mothers of 1876 had asserted their +equality of rights, and impeached the government of that day for +its injustice toward woman. Thus, in taking a grander step toward +freedom than ever before, they would leave one bright remembrance +for the women of the next centennial. + +That historic Fourth of July dawned at last, one of the most +oppressive days of that terribly heated season. Susan B. Anthony, +Matilda Joslyn Gage, Sara Andrews Spencer, Lillie Devereux Blake +and Phoebe W. Couzins made their way through the crowds under the +broiling sun to Independence Square, carrying the Woman's +Declaration of Rights. This declaration had been handsomely +engrossed by one of their number, and signed by the oldest and most +prominent advocates of woman's enfranchisement. Their tickets of +admission proved open sesame through the military and all other +barriers, and a few moments before the opening of the ceremonies, +these women found themselves within the precincts from which most +of their sex were excluded. + +The declaration of 1776 was read by Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, +about whose family clusters so much of historic fame. The close of +his reading was deemed the appropriate moment for the presentation +of the woman's declaration. Not quite sure how their approach might +be met--not quite certain if at this final moment they would be +permitted to reach the presiding officer--those ladies arose and +made their way down the aisle. The bustle of preparation for the +Brazilian hymn covered their advance. The foreign guests, the +military and civil officers who filled the space directly in front +of the speaker's stand, courteously made way, while Miss Anthony in +fitting words presented the declaration. Mr. Ferry's face paled, as +bowing low, with no word, he received the declaration, which thus +became part of the day's proceedings; the ladies turned, scattering +printed copies, as they deliberately walked down the platform. On +every side eager hands were stretched; men stood on seats and asked +for them, while General Hawley, thus defied and beaten in his +audacious denial to women the right to present their declaration, +shouted, "Order, order!" + +Passing out, these ladies made their way to a platform erected for +the musicians in front of Independence Hall. Here on this old +historic ground, under the shadow of Washington's statue, back of +them the old bell that proclaimed "liberty to all the land, and all +the inhabitants thereof," they took their places, and to a +listening, applauding crowd, Miss Anthony read[12] the Declaration +of Rights for Women by the National Woman Suffrage Association, +July 4, 1876: + + While the nation is buoyant with patriotism, and all hearts are + attuned to praise, it is with sorrow we come to strike the one + discordant note, on this one-hundredth anniversary of our + country's birth. When subjects of kings, emperors, and czars, + from the old world join in our national jubilee, shall the women + of the republic refuse to lay their hands with benedictions on + the nation's head? Surveying America's exposition, surpassing in + magnificence those of London, Paris, and Vienna, shall we not + rejoice at the success of the youngest rival among the nations of + the earth? May not our hearts, in unison with all, swell with + pride at our great achievements as a people; our free speech, + free press, free schools, free church, and the rapid progress we + have made in material wealth, trade, commerce and the inventive + arts? And we do rejoice in the success, thus far, of our + experiment of self-government. Our faith is firm and unwavering + in the broad principles of human rights proclaimed in 1776, not + only as abstract truths, but as the corner stones of a republic. + Yet we cannot forget, even in this glad hour, that while all men + of every race, and clime, and condition, have been invested with + the full rights of citizenship under our hospitable flag, all + women still suffer the degradation of disfranchisement. + + The history of our country the past hundred years has been a + series of assumptions and usurpations of power over woman, in + direct opposition to the principles of just government, + acknowledged by the United States as its foundation, which are: + + _First_--The natural rights of each individual. + + _Second_--The equality of these rights. + + _Third_--That rights not delegated are retained by the + individual. + + _Fourth_--That no person can exercise the rights of others + without delegated authority. + + _Fifth_--That the non-use of rights does not destroy them. + + And for the violation of these fundamental principles of our + government, we arraign our rulers on this Fourth day of July, + 1876,--and these are our articles of impeachment: + + _Bills of attainder_ have been passed by the introduction of + the word "male" into all the State constitutions, denying to + women the right of suffrage, and thereby making sex a + crime--an exercise of power clearly forbidden in article I, + sections 9, 10, of the United States constitution. + + _The writ of habeas corpus_, the only protection against + _lettres de cachet_ and all forms of unjust imprisonment, + which the constitution declares "shall not be suspended, + except when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public + safety demands it," is held inoperative in every State of + the Union, in case of a married woman against her + husband--the marital rights of the husband being in all + cases primary, and the rights of the wife secondary. + + _The right of trial by a jury of one's peers_ was so + jealously guarded that States refused to ratify the original + constitution until it was guaranteed by the sixth amendment. + And yet the women of this nation have never been allowed a + jury of their peers--being tried in all cases by men, native + and foreign, educated and ignorant, virtuous and vicious. + Young girls have been arraigned in our courts for the crime + of infanticide; tried, convicted, hanged--victims, + perchance, of judge, jurors, advocates--while no woman's + voice could be heard in their defense. And not only are + women denied a jury of their peers, but in some cases, jury + trial altogether. During the war, a woman was tried and + hanged by military law, in defiance of the fifth amendment, + which specifically declares: "No person shall be held to + answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on + a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases + ... of persons in actual service in time of war." During the + last presidential campaign, a woman, arrested for voting, + was denied the protection of a jury, tried, convicted, and + sentenced to a fine and costs of prosecution, by the + absolute power of a judge of the Supreme Court of the United + States. + + _Taxation without representation_, the immediate cause of + the rebellion of the colonies against Great Britain, is one + of the grievous wrongs the women of this country have + suffered during the century. Deploring war, with all the + demoralization that follows in its train, we have been taxed + to support standing armies, with their waste of life and + wealth. Believing in temperance, we have been taxed to + support the vice, crime and pauperism of the liquor traffic. + While we suffer its wrongs and abuses infinitely more than + man, we have no power to protect our sons against this giant + evil. During the temperance crusade, mothers were arrested, + fined, imprisoned, for even praying and singing in the + streets, while men blockade the sidewalks with impunity, + even on Sunday, with their military parades and political + processions. Believing in honesty, we are taxed to support a + dangerous army of civilians, buying and selling the offices + of government and sacrificing the best interests of the + people. And, moreover, we are taxed to support the very + legislators and judges who make laws, and render decisions + adverse to woman. And for refusing to pay such unjust + taxation, the houses, lands, bonds, and stock of women have + been seized and sold within the present year, thus proving + Lord Coke's assertion, that "The very act of taxing a man's + property without his consent is, in effect, disfranchising + him of every civil right." + + _Unequal codes for men and women._ Held by law a perpetual + minor, deemed incapable of self-protection, even in the + industries of the world, woman is denied equality of rights. + The fact of sex, not the quantity or quality of work, in + most cases, decides the pay and position; and because of + this injustice thousands of fatherless girls are compelled + to choose between a life of shame and starvation. Laws + catering to man's vices have created two codes of morals in + which penalties are graded according to the political status + of the offender. Under such laws, women are fined and + imprisoned if found alone in the streets, or in public + places of resort, at certain hours. Under the pretense of + regulating public morals, police officers seizing the + occupants of disreputable houses, march the women in + platoons to prison, while the men, partners in their guilt, + go free. While making a show of virtue in forbidding the + importation of Chinese women on the Pacific coast for + immoral purposes, our rulers, in many States, and even under + the shadow of the national capitol, are now proposing to + legalize the sale of American womanhood for the same vile + purposes. + + _Special legislation for woman_ has placed us in a most + anomalous position. Women invested with the rights of + citizens in one section--voters, jurors, + office-holders--crossing an imaginary line, are subjects in + the next. In some States, a married woman may hold property + and transact business in her own name; in others, her + earnings belong to her husband. In some States, a woman may + testify against her husband, sue and be sued in the courts; + in others, she has no redress in case of damage to person, + property, or character. In case of divorce on account of + adultery in the husband, the innocent wife is held to + possess no right to children or property, unless by special + decree of the court. But in no State of the Union has the + wife the right to her own person, or to any part of the + joint earnings of the co-partnership during the life of her + husband. In some States women may enter the law schools and + practice in the courts; in others they are forbidden. In + some universities girls enjoy equal educational advantages + with boys, while many of the proudest institutions in the + land deny them admittance, though the sons of China, Japan + and Africa are welcomed there. But the privileges already + granted in the several States are by no means secure. The + right of suffrage once exercised by women in certain States + and territories has been denied by subsequent legislation. A + bill is now pending in congress to disfranchise the women of + Utah, thus interfering to deprive United States citizens of + the same rights which the Supreme Court has declared the + national government powerless to protect anywhere. Laws + passed after years of untiring effort, guaranteeing married + women certain rights of property, and mothers the custody of + their children, have been repealed in States where we + supposed all was safe. Thus have our most sacred rights been + made the football of legislative caprice, proving that a + power which grants as a privilege what by nature is a right, + may withhold the same as a penalty when deeming it necessary + for its own perpetuation. + + _Representation of woman_ has had no place in the nation's + thought. Since the incorporation of the thirteen original + States, twenty-four have been admitted to the Union, not one + of which has recognized woman's right of self-government. On + this birthday of our national liberties, July Fourth, 1876, + Colorado, like all her elder sisters, comes into the Union + with the invidious word "male" in her constitution. + + _Universal manhood suffrage_, by establishing an aristocracy + of sex, imposes upon the women of this nation a more + absolute and cruel depotism than monarchy; in that, woman + finds a political master in her father, husband, brother, + son. The aristocracies of the old world are based upon + birth, wealth, refinement, education, nobility, brave deeds + of chivalry; in this nation, on sex alone; exalting brute + force above moral power, vice above virtue, ignorance above + education, and the son above the mother who bore him. + + _The judiciary above the nation_ has proved itself but the + echo of the party in power, by upholding and enforcing laws + that are opposed to the spirit and letter of the + constitution. When the slave power was dominant, the Supreme + Court decided that a black man was not a citizen, because he + had not the right to vote; and when the constitution was so + amended as to make all persons citizens, the same high + tribunal decided that a woman, though a citizen, had not the + right to vote. Such vacillating interpretations of + constitutional law unsettle our faith in judicial authority, + and undermine the liberties of the whole people. + + These articles of impeachment against our rulers we now submit to + the impartial judgment of the people. To all these wrongs and + oppressions woman has not submitted in silence and resignation. + From the beginning of the century, when Abigail Adams, the wife + of one president and mother of another, said, "We will not hold + ourselves bound to obey laws in which we have no voice or + representation," until now, woman's discontent has been steadily + increasing, culminating nearly thirty years ago in a simultaneous + movement among the women of the nation, demanding the right of + suffrage. In making our just demands, a higher motive than the + pride of sex inspires us; we feel that national safety and + stability depend on the complete recognition of the broad + principles of our government. Woman's degraded, helpless position + is the weak point in our institutions to-day; a disturbing force + everywhere, severing family ties, filling our asylums with the + deaf, the dumb, the blind; our prisons with criminals, our cities + with drunkenness and prostitution; our homes with disease and + death. It was the boast of the founders of the republic, that the + rights for which they contended were the rights of human nature. + If these rights are ignored in the case of one-half the people, + the nation is surely preparing for its downfall. Governments try + themselves. The recognition of a governing and a governed class + is incompatible with the first principles of freedom. Woman has + not been a heedless spectator of the events of this century, nor + a dull listener to the grand arguments for the equal rights of + humanity. From the earliest history of our country woman has + shown equal devotion with man to the cause of freedom, and has + stood firmly by his side in its defense. Together, they have made + this country what it is. Woman's wealth, thought and labor have + cemented the stones of every monument man has reared to liberty. + + And now, at the close of a hundred years, as the hour-hand of the + great clock that marks the centuries points to 1876, we declare + our faith in the principles of self-government; our full equality + with man in natural rights; that woman was made first for her own + happiness, with the absolute right to herself--to all the + opportunities and advantages life affords for her complete + development; and we deny that dogma of the centuries, + incorporated in the codes of all nations--that woman was made for + man--her best interests, in all cases, to be sacrificed to his + will. We ask of our rulers, at this hour, no special favors, no + special privileges, no special legislation. We ask justice, we + ask equality, we ask that all the civil and political rights that + belong to citizens of the United States, be guaranteed to us and + our daughters forever.[13] + +The declaration was warmly applauded at many points, and after +scattering another large number of printed copies, the delegation +hastened to the convention of the National Association. A meeting +had been appointed for twelve, in the old historic First Unitarian +church, where Rev. Wm. H. Furness preached for fifty years, but +whose pulpit was then filled by Joseph May, a son of Rev. Samuel J. +May. To this place the ladies made their way to find the church +crowded with an expectant audience, which greeted them with thanks +for what they had just done; the first act of this historic day +taking place on the old centennial platform in Independence Square, +the last in a church so long devoted to equality and justice. The +venerable Lucretia Mott, then in her eighty-fourth year, presided. +Elizabeth Cady Stanton read the Declaration of Rights. Its +reception by the listening audience proclaimed its need and its +justice. The reading was followed by speeches upon the various +points of the declaration. + +Belva A. Lockwood took up the judiciary, showing the way that body +lends itself to party politics. Matilda Joslyn Gage spoke upon the +writ of _habeas corpus_, showing what a mockery to married women +was that constitutional guarantee. Lucretia Mott reviewed the +progress of the reform from the first convention. Sara Andrews +Spencer illustrated the evils arising from two codes of morality. +Mrs. Devereux Blake spoke upon trial by jury; Susan B. Anthony upon +taxation without representation, illustrating her remarks by +incidents of unjust taxation of women during the present year. +Elizabeth Cady Stanton spoke upon the aristocracy of sex, and the +evils arising from manhood suffrage. Judge Esther Morris, of +Wyoming, said a few words in regard to suffrage in that territory. +Mrs. Margaret Parker, president of the woman suffrage club of +Dundee, Scotland, and of the newly-formed Christian Woman's +International Temperance Union, said she had seen nothing like this +in Great Britain--it was worth the journey across the Atlantic. Mr. +J. H. Raper, of Manchester, England, characterized it as the +historic meeting of the day, and said the patriot of a hundred +years hence would seek for every incident connected with it, and +the next centennial would be adorned by the portraits of the women +who sat upon that platform. + +The Hutchinsons, themselves of historic fame, were present. They +were in their happiest vein, interspersing the speeches with +appropriate and felicitous songs. Lucretia Mott did not confine +herself to a single speech, but, in Quaker style, whenever the +spirit moved made many happy points. When she first arose to speak, +a call came from the audience for her to ascend the pulpit in order +that she might be seen. As she complied with this request, +ascending the long winding staircase into the old-fashioned octagon +pulpit, she said, "I am somewhat like Zaccheus of old who climbed +the sycamore tree his Lord to see; I climb this pulpit, not because +I am of lofty mind, but because I am short of stature that you may +see me." As her sweet and placid countenance appeared above the +pulpit, the Hutchinsons, by happy inspiration, burst into "Nearer, +my God, to Thee." The effect was marvelous; the audience at once +arose, and spontaneously joined in the hymn. + +Phoebe W. Couzins, with great pathos, referred to woman's work in +the war, and the parade of the Grand Army of the Republic the +preceding evening; she said: + + In such an hour as this, with my soul stirred to its deepest + depths, I feel unequal to the task of uttering words befitting + the occasion, and to follow the dear saint who has just spoken; + how can I? I am but a beginner, and to-day I feel that to sit at + the feet of these dear women who have borne the heat and burden + of this contest, and to learn of them is the attitude I should + assume. It is not the time for argument or rhetoric. It is the + time for introspection and prayer. We have come from Independence + Square, where the nation is celebrating its centennial birthday + of a masculine freedom. You have just heard from Mrs. Stanton the + reading of Woman's Declaration of Rights; that document has + already been presented in engrossed form, tied with the symbolic + red, white and blue, to the presiding officer of the day, Senator + Thomas W. Ferry, on their platform in yonder square; and the John + Hampden of our cause, the immortal Susan B. Anthony, rendered it + historic, by reading it from the steps of Independence Hall, to + an immense audience there gathered, that could not gain access to + the square or platform. [Great applause.] I cannot express to you + in fitting language the thoughts and feelings which stirred me as + I sat on the platform, awaiting the presentation of that + document. + + We were about to commit an overt act. Gen. Hawley, president of + the centennial commission and manager of the programme, had + peremptorily forbidden its presentation. Yet in the face of + this--in the face of the assembled nation and representatives + from the crowned heads of Europe, a handful of women actuated by + the same high principles as our fathers, stirred by the same + desire for freedom, moved by the same impulse for liberty, were + to again proclaim the right of self-government; were again to + impeach the spirit of King George manifested in our rulers, and + declare that taxation without representation is tyranny, that the + divine right of one-half of the people to rule the other half is + also despotism. As I followed the reading of Richard Henry Lee, + and marked the wild enthusiasm of its reception, and remembered + that at its close, a document, as noble, as divine, as grand, as + historic as that, was to be presented _in silence_; an act, as + heroic, as worthy, as sublime, was to be performed in the face of + the contemptuous amazement of the assembled world, I trembled + with suppressed emotion. When Susan Anthony arose, with a look of + intense pain, yet heroic determination in her face, I silently + committed her to the Great Father who seeth not in part, to + strengthen and comfort her heroic heart, and then she was lost to + view in the sudden uprising caused by the burst of applause + instituted by General Hawley in behalf of the Brazilian emperor. + And thus at the close of the reading of a document which + repudiated kings and declared the right of every person to life, + to liberty and the pursuit of individual happiness, the American + people, applauding a crowned monarch, received _in silence_ the + immortal document and protest of its discrowned queens! + + Shall I recount the emotion that swayed me, as I thought of all + that woman had done to build up this country; to sustain its + unity, to perpetuate its principles; of its self-denying and + heroic Pilgrim and revolutionary mothers; of the work of woman in + the anti-slavery cause; the agony and death of her travail in its + second birth for freedom; sustaining the nation by prayers, by + self-sacrificing contributions, by patriotic endeavors, by + encouraging words; and, reviewing the programme, and all the + attendant pageants, remembered that in these grand centennial + celebrations, when the nation rounded out its first century, _not + a tribute_, not a recognition in any shape, form or manner was + paid to woman; that upon the platform, as honored guests, sat + those who had been false in the hour of our country's peril; that + upon this historic soil, stood the now freeman, once a slave, + whose liberty and life were given him at the hands of woman; that + the inhabitants of the far off isles of the sea, India, Asia, + Africa, Europe, were gladly welcomed as free citizens, while + woman, a suppliant beggar, pleaded of one man, invested with + autocratic power, for the simple boon of presenting a protest in + silence, against her degradation, and was _denied_! + + I stood yesterday on the corner of Broad and Chestnut streets, + watching the march of the Grand Army of the Republic. As the torn + and tattered battle flags came by, all the terrors of that war + tragedy suddenly rushed over me, and I sat down and wept. Looking + again, I saw the car of wounded, soldiers; as in thought I was + suddenly transported to the banks of the Mississippi I felt the + air full of the horrors of the battle of Shiloh, and saw two + young girls waiting the landing of a steamer that had been + dispatched to succor the wounded on that terrible field. They + were watching for "mother"--who for the first time had left her + home charge, and hushing her own heart's pleadings, heard only + her country's call, and gone down to that field of carnage to + tenderly care for the soldier. As they boarded the steamer; what + a sight met their eyes! Maimed, bleeding, dying soldiers by the + hundreds, were on cots on deck, on boxes filled with amputated + limbs, and the dead were awaiting the last sad rites. Like + ministering angels walked two women, their mother and the now + sainted Margaret Breckenridge of Kentucky, amid these rows of + sufferers, with strong nerve and steady arm, comforting the + soldier boy, so far from friends and home; binding up the ghastly + wound, bathing the feverish brow, smoothing the dying pillow, and + with tender mother's prayer and tear, closing the eyes of the + dead. The first revelation of war; how it burned our youthful + brain! How it moved us to divine compassion, how it stirred us to + even give up our mother to the work for years, as we heard the + piteous pleading, "Don't leave us, mother"--"Oh, mother, we can + never forget." But alas they _did_ forget! This scene repeated + again, and again, during that long conflict, with hundreds of + women offering a like service in camp and floating hospital, + leaving sweet homes, without money, price or thought of + emolument, going to these battle-fields and tenderly nursing the + army of the republic to life again; while back of them were tens + of thousands other women of the great sanitary army, who, in + self-sacrifice at home, were sending lint, bandages, clothing, + delicacies of food and raiment of all kinds, by car-load and + ship-load, to comfort and ameliorate the sufferings of the grand + army of the republic, and yet as I watched its march in this + centennial year, its gala day--_not a tribute_ marked its + gratitude to her who had proved its savior and friend, in the + hour of peril. + + Again, came the colored man in rank and file--and in thought I + saw the fifteenth-amendment jubilee, which proclaimed his + emancipation. As banner after banner passed me, with the name of + Garrison, of Phillips, of Douglass, I looked in vain for the name + of Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose one book, "Uncle Tom's + Cabin"--did more to arouse the whole world to the horrors of + slavery, than did the words or works of any ten men. I searched + for a tribute to Lucretia Mott and other women of that conflict, + but none appeared. And so to-day, standing here with heart and + brain convulsed with all these memories and scenes, can you + wonder that we are stirred to profoundest depths, as we review + the base ingratitude of this nation to its women? It has taxed + its women, and asked the women, in whose veins flows the blood of + their Pilgrim and Revolutionary mothers, to assist by money, + individual effort and presence, to make it a year of jubilee for + the proclamation of a ransomed male nationality. Zenobia, in + gilded chains it may be, but chains nevertheless, marches through + the streets of Philadelphia to-day, an appendage of the chariot + wheels which proclaim the coming of her king, her lord, her + master, whether he be white or black, native or foreign-born, + virtuous or vile, lettered or unlettered. As the state-house + bell, with its inscription, "Proclaim liberty--throughout the + land, unto all the inhabitants thereof," pealed forth its + jubilant reiteration,--the daughters of Jefferson, of Hancock, of + Adams, and Patrick Henry, who have been politically outlawed and + ostracized by their own countrymen, here had no liberty + proclaimed for them; they are not inhabitants, only sojourners in + the land of their fathers, and as the slaves in meek subjection + to the will of the master placed the crown of sovereignty on the + alien from Europe, Asia, Africa, she is asked to sing in dulcet + strains: "The king is dead--long live the king!" + + And thus to-day we round out the first century of a professed + republic,--with woman figuratively representing freedom--and yet + all free, save woman. + +For five long hours of that hot mid-summer's day, that crowded +audience listened earnestly to woman's demand for equality of +rights before the law. When the convention at last adjourned, the +Hutchinsons singing, "A Hundred Years Hence,"[14] it was slowly +and reluctantly that the great audience left the house. Judged by +its immediate influence, it was a wonderful meeting. No elaborate +preparations had been made, for not until late on Friday evening +had it been decided upon, hoping still, as we did, for a +recognition in the general celebration on Independence Square. +Speakers were not prepared, hardly a moment of thought had been +given as to what should be said, but words fitting for the hour +came to lips rendered eloquent by the pressure of intense emotion. + +Day after day visitors to the woman suffrage parlors referred to +this meeting in glowing terms. Ladies from distant States, in +Philadelphia to visit the exposition, said that meeting was worth +the whole expense of the journey. Young women with all the +attractions of the day and the exposition enticing them, yet said, +"The best of all I have seen in Philadelphia was that meeting." +Women to whom a dollar was of great value, said, "As much as I need +money, I would not have missed that meeting for a hundred dollars"; +while in the midst of conversation visitors would burst forth, "Was +there _ever_ such a meeting as that in Dr. Furness' church?" and +thus was Woman's Declaration of Rights joyously received. + +The day was also celebrated by women in convocations of their own +all over the country.[15] + +An interesting feature of the centennial parlors was an immense +autograph book, in which the names of friends to the movement were +registered by the thousands, some penned on that historic day and +sent from the old world and the new, and others written on the spot +during these eventful months. From the tidings of all these +enthusiastic assemblies and immense number of letters[16] received +in Philadelphia, unitedly demanding an extension of their rights, +it was evident that the thinking women of the nation were hopefully +waiting in the dawn of the new century for greater liberties to +themselves. + +From "Aunt Lottie's Centennial Letters to her Nieces and Nephews," +we give the one describing this occasion: + + MY DEARS: I suppose I had best tell you in this letter about the + Fourth of July celebration at the centennial city--at least that + portion of it that I know about, and which I would not have + missed for the exhibition itself, and which I would not have you + miss for all the rest of my letters. I cannot expect you to be as + much interested in it as was I, but it is time you were becoming + interested in the subject; and, if you live a half century from + this time (in less than that, I hope,) you will see that what I + am about to relate was, as General Hawley admitted it would be, + "the event of the occasion." + + At the commencement of the exhibition, Miss Susan B. Anthony and + Mrs. Matilda Joslyn Gage came to Philadelphia and procured the + parlors of 1,431 Chestnut street for the accommodation of the + National Woman Suffrage Association. These rooms were open to the + friends of the association, and public receptions were held and + well attended every Tuesday and Friday evening. During these + months these two ladies--assisted the latter part of the time by + Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton--were engaged in preparing a history + of the suffrage movement and a declaration of rights to be + presented at the great centennial celebration of the Fourth of + July, 1876. This document is in form like the first declaration + of a hundred years ago, handsomely engrossed by Mrs. Sara Andrews + Spencer, of Washington--a lady delegate to the Cincinnati + Republican convention, June 12. + + The celebration was held in Independence Square, just back of the + old state-house where the first declaration was signed. There was + a great crowd of people collected; a poem was read by Bayard + Taylor and a speech delivered by William M. Evarts. But I knew it + was useless to go there expecting to hear any portion of either; + so I waited until twelve o'clock and then rode down in the cars + to Dr. Furness' church, corner of Broad and Locust streets, where + these ladies were to hold their meeting. The church was full, and + the exercises were opened by Mrs. Mott--the venerable and + venerated president--a Quaker lady of slight form, attired in a + plain, light-silk gown, white muslin neckerchief and cap, after + that exquisitely neat and quaint fashion. Then the Hutchinsons + sang a hymn, in which all were requested to join. Afterward Mrs. + Stanton came to the front of the pulpit, the house was hushed, to + a reverential stillness, and I never yet heard anything so solemn + and impressive as her reading of the Declaration of Rights of the + Women of the United States. + + A printed copy had been given me the day before, when between the + sessions of the New England American Association in the Academy + of Music, where were Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, Rev. Antoinette + Brown Blackwell, Elizabeth K. Churchill and other pleasant-faced, + sweet-voiced ladies, I had called at the rooms on Chestnut street + and folded declarations, for half an hour with Mrs. Stanton, + which they were distributing by post and in every way all over + the land. When I read it at home that night I realized its + importance, but as the next day (the Fourth) was excessively + warm, I very nearly gave up going, and then I should have missed + the impressiveness of her reading. When she first commenced, her + voice seemed choked with emotion. She must have realized what she + was doing, as we all knew it was the grandest thing that had been + done in a hundred years. Thrill after thrill went through my + veins, and the whole scene formed a picture that will yet be the + subject of artists' pencils and poets' pens. I should have been + contented to have had the meeting closed then with that best song + of the Hutchinsons upon the progress of reform, where the young + gentleman was so much applauded for his solo, "When Women Shall + be Free." Still we were all interested in Mrs. Spencer's account + of her interview with General Hawley, and his refusal to permit + the silent handing-in of the declaration, which, after her + persistence, assuring him "it would not take three minutes," he + was obliged to confess was because he was "very well aware it + would be the event of the occasion." "Immediately," said Mrs. + Spencer, "you cannot imagine what an inspiration we all had to do + it; for," added the slight, fair-haired, fluent lady, in a + humorous manner that called forth laughter and applause, "I never + yet was forbidden by a man to do a thing, but that I resolved to + do it." + + We were also pleased to hear from that earnest woman, Susan B. + Anthony, inspired by the immutable abstract truths of justice and + equity. Reports say that she has the air of a Catholic devotee. + She said that in defiance of "the powers that be" she took a + place on that platform in Independence square, and at the proper + time delivered the engrossed copy of the declaration to the Hon. + T. W. Ferry, who received it with a courteous bow; and afterward + on the steps of Independence Hall she read it to an assembled + multitude. She had done her centennial day's work for all time; + and small wonder that mind and body craved rest after such + tension. She is yet under a hundred dollars fine for voting at + Rochester, and although from her lectures the last six years she + has paid $10,000 indebtedness on _The Revolution_, she said she + never would have paid that fine had she been imprisoned till now. + + Mrs. Lucretia Mott, whom the younger Hutchinson[17] assisted into + the pulpit--a beautiful sight to see cultured youth supporting + refined old age--stated that she went up there, "not because she + was higher-minded than the rest, but so that her enfeebled voice + might be better heard." The dear old soul is so much stronger + than her body, that it would seem that she must have greatly + overtasked herself; though an inspired soul has wonderful + recuperative forces at command for the temple it inhabits. A + goodly number of gentlemen were present at this meeting and that + of the day before--three or four of them making short speeches. A + Mr. Raper of England, strongly interested in the temperance and + woman suffrage cause, told us that in his country "all women + tax-payers voted for guardians of the poor, upon all educational + matters, and also upon all municipal affairs. In that respect she + was in advance of this professed republic. In England there is an + hereditary aristocracy, here, an aristocracy of sex"; or, as the + spirited Lillie Devereux Blake who was present once amusingly + termed it, of "the bifurcated garment." And now perhaps some + materially-minded person will ask, "What are you going to do + about it? You can't fight!" forgetting that we are now fighting + the greatest of all battles, and that the weapons of woman's + warfare, like her nature at its best development, are moral and + spiritual. + + LEWISE OLIVER. + _Philadelphia_, July 13, 1876. + +The press of the country commented extensively upon the action of +the women: + + At noon to-day, in the First Unitarian church, corner Tenth and + South, the National Woman Suffrage Association will present the + Woman's Declaration of Rights. The association will hold a + convention at the same time and place, at which Lucretia Mott is + announced to preside, and several ladies to make speeches. Most + of the ladies are known as women of ability and earnest apostles + of the creed they have espoused for the political enfranchisement + of women. Their declaration of rights, we do not doubt, will be + strongly enforced. These ladies, or some of them, have been + assigned places upon the platform at the grand celebration + ceremonies to take place in Independence Square to-day; and they + have requested leave to present their declaration of rights in + form on that occasion. They do not ask to have it read, we + believe, but simply that the statement of their case shall go on + file with the general archives of the day, so that the women of + 1976 may see that their predecessors of 1876 did not let the + centennial year of independence pass without + protest.--[Philadelphia _Ledger_, July 4. + + There was yet another incident of the Fourth, in Independence + Square. Immediately after the Declaration of Independence had + been read by Richard Henry Lee, and while the strains of the + "Greeting from Brazil" were rising upon the air, two ladies + pushed their way vigorously through the crowd and appeared upon + the speaker's platform. They were Susan B. Anthony and Matilda + Joslyn Gage. Hustling generals aside, elbowing governors, and + almost upsetting Dom Pedro in their charge, they reached + Vice-President Ferry, and handed him a scroll about three feet + long, tied with ribbons of various colors. He was seen to bow and + look bewildered; but they had retreated in the same vigorous + manner before the explanation was whispered about. It appears + that they demanded a change of programme for the sake of reading + their address; but if so, this was probably a mere form intended + for future effect. More than six months ago some of the advocates + of female suffrage began in this city their crusade against + celebrating the centennial anniversary of a nation wherein women + are not permitted to vote. The demand of Miss Anthony and Mrs. + Gage to be allowed to take part in a commemoration which many of + their associates discouraged and denounced, would have been a + cool proceeding had it been made in advance. Made, as it was, + through a very discourteous interruption, it pre-figures new + forms of violence and disregard of order which may accompany the + participation of women in active partisan politics.--[New York + _Tribune_. + + The letter of a correspondent, printed in another column, + describing the presentation of a woman's bill of rights, in + Independence Square on the Fourth of July, will interest all + readers, whether or not they think with the correspondent, that + this little affair was the most important of the day's + proceedings. We have not a doubt that the persons who were + concerned in the affair enjoyed it heartily. Those of them who + made speeches naturally regarded their eloquence as a thing to + stir the nation. All persons who make speeches do. The day was a + warm one, and imagination, like the fire-cracker, was on fire. In + the heat of the occasion, of course, the women who want to vote + and who desire the protection of the writ of _habeas corpus_ + against the tyranny of actual or possible husbands, felt that + they were making great folios of history; but the sagacity of the + press agents and reporters was not at fault. The gatherers of + news know very well what they are about; and when they decided to + omit this part of the proceedings from their reports, they simply + obeyed that instinct upon which their livelihood depends--the + instinct, namely, to write only of matters in which the public is + interested. + + The good women who wrote and published this declaration, fancying + that they were throwing a bombshell into the gathered crowds of + American (male) citizens, are very much in earnest, doubtless, + and are entitled--we have platform authority for saying it--to + "respectful consideration"; but their movement scarcely rises, as + yet at least, to the dignity of a great historical event. There + is a prevailing indifference to their cause which is against it. + The public is not aroused to a fever heat of indignation over the + wrongs which women are everywhere suffering at the hands of the + tyrants called husbands. The popular mind is not yet awake to the + fact that men usually imprison their wives in back parlors and + maltreat them shamefully. The witnesses, wives to wit, refuse to + bear testimony to this effect, and the public placidly accepts + appearance for reality and believes that the gentlewomen who ride + about in their carriages or haunt the shops of our cities in gay + apparel are reasonably well contented with their lot in life. In + a word, it is not hostility so much as calm indifference with + which the advocates of woman suffrage have to contend, and + unluckily for them the indifference is very largely + feminine.--[New York _Evening Post_. + + There is something awful in the thought that should the woman + suffragists be continually refused a voice in the affairs of the + nation they might at last in a fit of desperation, do what our + fathers did, and frame a declaration of independence, No, 2. Just + think of an army of crinolines willing to take arms against the + tyrant man, and sacrifice their lives, if need be, to carry out + their principles! It is easier to ridicule the woman suffrage + movement than to answer the arguments advanced by some of the + leading advocates of that question. It is only the innate + mildness of the position of women in general that has prevented a + revolution on this same subject long ago. One hundred thousand + such fire-eaters as Susan B. Anthony or Elizabeth Cady Stanton in + the land, could raise a rumpus which would cause the late + unpleasantness to pale into insignificance. Armed and equipped, + what a sight would be presented by an army of strong-minded + women! There would be no considering the question of whether the + cavalry should ride side-saddle, or _a la_ clothes-pin. Such + detail would be of too small importance to receive the slightest + attention; the more vital questions would be, "How can we + slaughter the most men?" "How can we soonest convince the demons + that we have rights which must be respected?" The fact is, that + if these down-trodden women would take a firm stand in any thing + like respectable numbers, and assert their claims to suffrage at + the point of the bayonet, they would be allowed everything they + asked for. There is not a man in the land who would dare to take + up arms against a woman. Such a dernier resort on the part of the + women would be truly laughable, but the matter would cease to be + a joke, if General Susan B. Anthony, in command of a bloomer + regiment, should march into the halls of congress, armed + _cap-a-pie_, and demand the passage of a law in behalf of woman + suffrage, or the alternative of the general cleaning out of the + whole body. There is no immediate prospect of such an event, but + "hell hath no furies like a woman scorned." Long and loud have + been the appeals of the fair sex for recognition at the + ballot-box. With that faithful zeal so truly characteristic of + her sex, she has each time, for many years in the history of this + country, presented herself before the curious gaze of our + national conventions, asking, with no little stress of argument, + for a woman's plank in the platforms. If she has been heard at + all in the framed resolutions of the parties, the feeling + prevailing in the conventions has been rather to pacify and put + her off, than to grant her request through motives of political + policy. If perseverance is to be awarded, the agitators of the + woman question will yet carry off the prize they seek. Death + alone can silence such women as Susan B. Anthony and Cady + Stanton, and their teachings will live after them and unite + others of their sex into strong bands of sisterhood in a common + cause. It is safe to say, if events march on in the same + direction they have since the calling of the first National + Woman's Convention, another centennial will see woman in the + halls of legislation throughout the land, and so far as we are + concerned we have no objection, so long as she behaves + herself.--[St. Louis _Dispatch_, July 13. + + It is a curious anomaly that the movement for national woman + suffrage in our country is most obstructed by women, and that + even where the men have doubts, their natural admiration for the + gentler sex almost converts them into champions. Certain it is + that the Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States + that the National Woman Suffrage Association presented to the + vice-president, Mr. Ferry, while he was surrounded by foreign + princes and potentates and by the governors of most of the States + of the union, faced at the same time by a countless mass of + American and foreign visitors--certain it is, we repeat, that + when this altogether unique paper was presented by Miss Susan B. + Anthony and her sisters, it became a record in the minds and + memory of all who witnessed the strange proceeding. And it is a + very well written statement, and no doubt one hundred years hence + it will be read with an interest not less ecstatic than the + enthusiasm of its present pioneers; for, in the interval, these + advanced women may have won for their withholding sisters the + entire list of male prerogatives. What adds to the force of the + present woman suffrage party is the dignity, intelligence and + purity of its participants. The venerable Lucretia Mott; the + honest, straightforward Susan B. Anthony; the cultivated Ellen + Clark Sargent (wife of the California senator); the beloved + Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and indeed all the names attached to the + declaration command our respect. Whatever we may think of the + points of the declaration itself, with all our sincere admiration + of these gentlewomen, increased by the knowledge everywhere that + they are ardent republicans, we fear that their weakness, to + employ a paradox, consists in their strength, or, in other words, + that it is difficult to induce even the most benevolent and + sympathetic observer to believe that they are really as much + persecuted and oppressed as they claim to be. When the colored + man demanded his rights they were given to him because these + rights in republican constitutions were regarded as inherent, and + also because he had reciprocal duties to discharge, and heavy + burdens to carry, and when the Southern confederate demanded + restitution of his rights, he rested his claim upon the double + basis that he had earned forgiveness by his bravery, and that + political disfranchisement did not belong to a republican + example. Fortunately or unfortunately, it is very different with + the ladies; and so when they come forward insisting upon rights + heretofore accorded to men alone, they must encounter all the + differences created by the delicacy of their own sisters and the + reverence and love of the men, and the hard fact that these two + influences have made it heretofore impossible for women to + descend to the arena of politics. Having said this much, we + present a few of the cardinal points of the woman's declaration + of rights laid before the august memorial centennial celebration + last Tuesday, July 4, 1876.--[Philadelphia _Press_, July 15. + +On July 19, the Citizens' Suffrage Association, of Philadelphia, +joined with the National Association in commemorating the first +woman's rights convention called by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth +Cady Stanton, at Seneca Falls, N. Y., July 19, 1848--thus +celebrating the twenty-eighth anniversary of that historic event. +The meeting was presided over by Edward M. Davis, president of the +association, son-in-law of Lucretia Mott, and one of the most +untiring workers in the cause. The venerable Lucretia Mott +addressed the meeting, and Miss Anthony read letters from several +of the earliest and most valued pioneers of the movement: + + TENAFLY, New Jersey, July 19, 1876. + + LUCRETIA MOTT--_Esteemed Friend_: It is twenty-eight years ago + to-day since the first woman's rights convention ever held + assembled in the Wesleyan chapel at Seneca Falls, N. Y. Could we + have foreseen, when we called that convention, the ridicule, + persecution, and misrepresentation that the demand for woman's + political, religious and social equality would involve; the long, + weary years of waiting and hoping without success; I fear we + should not have had the courage and conscience to begin such a + protracted struggle, nor the faith and hope to continue the work. + Fortunately for all reforms, the leaders, not seeing the + obstacles which block the way, start with the hope of a speedy + success. Our demands at the first seemed so rational that I + thought the mere statement of woman's wrongs would bring + immediate redress. I thought an appeal to the reason and + conscience of men against the unjust and unequal laws for women + that disgraced our statute books, must settle the question. But I + soon found, while no attempt was made to answer our arguments, + that an opposition, bitter, malignant, and persevering, rooted in + custom and prejudice, grew stronger with every new demand made, + with every new privilege granted. + + How well I remember that July day when the leading ladies and + gentlemen of the busy town crowded into the little church; + lawyers loaded with books, to expound to us the laws; ladies with + their essays, and we who had called the convention, with our + declaration of rights, speeches, and resolutions. With what + dignity James Mott, your sainted husband, tall and stately, in + Quaker costume, presided over our novel proceedings. And your + noble sister, Martha C. Wright, was there. Her wit and wisdom + contributed much to the interest of our proceedings, and her + counsel in a large measure to what success we claimed for our + first convention. While so many of those early friends fell off + through indifference, fear of ridicule and growing conservatism, + she remained through these long years of trial steadfast to the + close of a brave, true life. She has been present at nearly every + convention, with her encouraging words and generous + contributions, and being well versed in Cushing's Manual, has + been one of our chief presiding officers. And my heart is filled + with gratitude, even at this late day, as I recall the + earnestness and eloquence with which Frederick Douglass advocated + our cause, though at that time he had no rights himself that any + white man was bound to respect. I marvel now, that in our + inexperience the interest was so well sustained through two + entire days, and that when the meeting adjourned everybody signed + the declaration and went home feeling that a new era had dawned + for woman. What had been done and said seemed so preeminently + wise and proper that none of us thought of being ridiculed, + ostracised, or suspected of evil. But what was our surprise and + chagrin to find ourselves, in a few days, the target for the + press of the nation; the New York _Tribune_ being our only strong + arm of defense. + + Looking over these twenty-eight years, I feel that what we have + achieved, as yet, bears no proportion to what we have suffered in + the daily humiliation of spirit from the cruel distinctions based + on sex. Though our State laws have been essentially changed, and + positions in the schools, professions, and world of work secured + to woman, unthought of thirty years ago, yet the undercurrent of + popular thought, as seen in our social habits, theological + dogmas, and political theories, still reflects the same customs, + creeds, and codes that degrade women in the effete civilizations + of the old world. Educated in the best schools to logical + reasoning, trained to liberal thought in politics, religion and + social ethics under republican institutions, American women + cannot brook the discriminations in regard to sex that were + patiently accepted by the ignorant in barbarous ages as divine + law. And yet subjects of emperors in the old world, with their + narrow ideas of individual rights, their contempt of all + womankind, come here to teach the mothers of this republic their + true work and sphere. Such men as Carl Schurz, breathing for the + first time the free air of our free land, object to what we + consider the higher education of women, fitting them for the + trades and professions, for the sciences and arts, and + self-complacently point Lucretia Mott, Maria Mitchell, Harriet + Beecher Stowe, Susan B. Anthony, to their appropriate sphere, as + housekeepers with a string of keys, like Madam Bismark, dangling + around their waists. + + The Rev. J. G. Holland, the Tupper of our American literature, + thanks his Creator that woman has no specialty. She was called + into being for man's happiness and interest--his helpmeet--to + wait and watch his movements, to second his endeavors, to fight + the hard battle of life behind him whose brain may be dizzy with + excess, whose limbs may be paralyzed, or if sound in body, may be + without aim or ambition, without plans or projects, destitute of + executive ability or good judgment in the business affairs of + life. And such sentimentalists, after demoralizing women with + their twaddle, discourage our demand for the right of suffrage by + pointing us to the fact that the majority of women are + indifferent to this movement in their behalf. Suppose they are; + have not the masses of all oppressed classes been apathetic and + indifferent until partial success crowned the enthusiasm of the + few? Carl Schurz would not have been exiled from his native land + could he have roused the majority of his countrymen to the same + love of liberty which burned in his own soul. Were his dreams of + freedom less real because the stolid masses were not awake to + their significance? Shall a soul that accepts martyrdom for a + principle be told he is sacrificing himself to a shadow because + the multitude can neither see nor appreciate the idea? + + I do not feel like rejoicing over any privileges already granted + to my sex, until all our rights are conceded and secured and the + principle of equality recognized and proclaimed, for every step + that brings us to a more equal plane with man but makes us more + keenly feel the loss of those rights we are still denied--more + susceptible to the insults of his assumptions and usurpations of + power. As I sum up the indignities toward women, as illustrated + by recent judicial decisions--denied the right to vote, denied + the right to practice in the Supreme Court, denied jury trial--I + feel the degradation of sex more bitterly than I did on that July + 19, 1848, and never more than in listening to your speech in + Philadelphia on the Fourth of July, our nation's centennial + birthday, remembering that neither years nor wisdom, brave words + nor noble deeds, could secure political honor or call forth + national homage for women. Let it be remembered by our daughters + in future generations that Lucretia Mott, in the eighty-fourth + year of her age, asked permission, as the representative woman of + this great movement for the enfranchisement of her sex, to + present at the centennial celebration of our national liberties, + Woman's Declaration of Rights, and was refused! This was the + "respectful consideration" vouchsafed American women at the close + of the first century of our national life. + + May we now safely prophesy justice, liberty, equality for our + daughters ere another centennial birthday shall dawn upon us! + + Sincerely yours, ELIZABETH CADY STANTON. + + + DETROIT, July 17, 1876. + + _To Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Mary Ann McClintock + and daughters, Amy Post, and all associated with them and myself + in the first Woman's Rights Convention, held in Seneca Falls, N. + Y., July 19, 1848, as well as to our later and present + associates, Greeting:_ + + Not able to be with you in your celebration of the nineteenth, I + will yet give evidence that I prize your remembrance of our first + assemblage and of our earliest work. That is, and will ever be as + the present is a memorable year; and may this be memorable too + for the same reason, a brave step in advance for human freedom. I + would that it could be a conclusive step in legislation for the + political freedom of the women of the nation. For it is only in + harmony with reason and experience to predict that the men as + well as the women of the near future will rejoice if this + centennial year is thus marked and glorified by so grand a deed. + + We may well congratulate each other and have satisfaction in + knowing that we have changed the public sentiment and the laws of + many States by our advocacy and labors. We also know that while + helping the growth of our own souls, we have set many women + thinking and reading on this vital question, who in turn have + discussed it in private and public, and thus inspired others. So + that at this present time few who have examined can deny our + claim. But we are grateful to remember many women who needed no + arguments, whose clear insight and reason, pronounced in the + outset that a woman's soul was as well worth saving as a man's; + that her independence and free choice are as necessary and as + valuable to the public virtue and welfare; who saw and still see + in both, equal children of a Father who loves and protects all. + + Men do not need to be convinced of the righteousness of entire + freedom for us; they have long been convinced of its justice; + they confess that it is only expediency which makes them withhold + that which they profess is precious to them. We await only an + awakened conscience and an enlarged statesmanship. + + I bid you and the women of the republic God-speed, and close in + the language of one who went before us, Mary Wollstonecraft, who + did so much in a thoughtless age to bring both men and women back + to virtue and religion. She says: "Contending for the rights of + woman, my main argument is built on this simple principle, that + if she be not prepared by education to become the companion of + man, she will stop the progress of knowledge and virtue; for + truth must be common to all or it will be inefficacious with + respect to its influence in general practice. And how can woman + be expected to cooeperate unless she know why she ought to be + virtuous; unless freedom strengthen her reason till she + comprehends her duty and sees in what manner it is connected with + her real good? If children are to be educated to understand the + true principle of patriotism, their mother must be a patriot; and + the love of mankind from which an orderly train of virtues + spring, can only be produced by considering the moral and civil + interests of mankind; but the education and situation of woman at + present, shuts her out from such investigations." + + With the greatest possible interest in your celebration and + deliberations, and assuring you that I shall be with you in + thought and spirit, I am most earnestly and cordially yours, + + CATHARINE A. F. STEBBINS. + + + ROCHESTER, N. Y., June 27, 1876. + + MY DEAR SUSAN ANTHONY: I thank thee most deeply for the assurance + of a welcome to your deliberative councils in our country's + centennial year, to reannounce our oft-repeated protest against + bondage to tyrant law. Most holy cause! Woman's equality, why so + long denied?... I was ready at the first tap of the drum that + sounded from that hub of our country, Seneca Falls, in 1848, + calling for an assembly of men and women to set forth and + remonstrate against the legal usurpation of our rights.... I + cannot think of anything that would give me as much pleasure as + to be able to meet with you at this time. I am exceedingly glad + that you appreciate the blessings of frequent visits and wise + counsel from our beloved and venerated pioneer, Lucretia Mott. I + hope her health and strength will enable her to see and enjoy the + triumphant victory of this work, and I wish you all the blessings + of happiness that belong to all good workers, and my love to them + all as if named. + + AMY POST. + + + POMO, Mendocino Co., California, June 26, 1876. + + July 4, 1776, our revolutionary fathers--in convention + assembled--declared their independence of the mother country; + solemnly asserted the divine right of self-government and its + relation to constituted authority. With liberty their shibboleth, + the colonies triumphed in their long and fierce struggle with the + mother country, and established an independent government. They + adopted a "bill of rights" embodying their ideal of a free + government. + + With singular inconsistency almost their first act, while it + secured to one-half the people of the body politic the right to + tax and govern themselves, subjected the other half to the very + oppression which had culminated in the rebellion of the colonies, + "taxation without representation," and the inflictions of an + authority to which they had not given their consent. The + constitutional provision which enfranchised the male population + of the new State and secured to it self-governing rights, + disfranchised its women, and eventuated in a tyrannical use of + power, which, exercised by husbands, fathers, and brothers, is + infinitely more intolerable than the despotic acts of a foreign + ruler. + + As if left ignobly to illustrate the truths of their noble + declarations, no sooner did the enfranchised class enter upon the + exercise of their usurped powers than they proceeded to alienate + from the mothers of humanity rights declared to be inseparable + from humanity itself! Had they thrust the British yoke from the + necks of their wives and daughters as indignantly as they thrust + it from their own, the legal subjection of the women of to-day + would not stand out as it now does--the reproach of our + republican government. As if sons did not follow the condition of + the mothers--as if daughters had no claim to the birthright of + the fathers--they established for disfranchised woman a "dead + line," by retaining the English common law of marriage, which, + unlike that of less liberal European governments, converts the + marriage altar into an executioner's block and recognizes woman + as a wife only when so denuded of personal rights that in legal + phrase she is said to be--"dead in law"! + + More considerate in the matter of forms than the highwayman who + kills that he may rob the unresisting dead, our gallant fathers + executed women who must need cross the line of human + happiness--legally; and administered their estate; and decreed + the disposition of their defunct personalities in legislative + halls; only omitting to provide for the matrimonial crypt the + fitting epitaph: "Here lies the relict of American freedom--taxed + to pauperism, loved to death!" + + With all the modification of the last quarter, of a century, our + English law of marriage still invests the husband with a + sovereignty almost despotic over his wife. It secures to him her + personal service and savings, and the control and custody of her + person as against herself. Having thus reduced the wife to a dead + pauper owing service to her husband, our shrewd forefathers, to + secure the bond, confiscated her natural obligations as a child + and a mother. Whether married or single, only inability excuses a + son from the legal support of indigent and infirm parents. The + married daughter, in the discharge of her wifely duties, may + tenderly care and toil for her husband's infirm parents, or his + children and grandchildren by a prior marriage, while her own + parents, or children by a prior marriage--legally divested of any + claim on her or the husband who absorbs her personal services and + earnings--are sent to the poor-house, or pine in bitter + privation; except with consent of her husband, she can give + neither her personal care nor the avails of her industry, for + their benefit. So, to be a wife, woman ceases, in law, to be + anything else--yields up the ghost of a legal existence! That she + escapes the extreme penalty of her legal bonds in any case is + due to the fact that the majority of men, married or single, are + notably better than their laws. + + Our fathers taught the quality and initiated the form of free + government. But it was left to their posterity to learn from the + discipline of experience, that truths, old as the eternities, are + forever revealing new phases to render possible more perfect + interpretations; and to accumulate unanswerable reasons for their + extended application. That the sorest trials and most appreciable + failures of the government our fathers bequeathed, to us, have + been the direct and inevitable results of their departures from + the principles they enunciated, is so patent to all Christendom, + that free government itself has won from our mistakes material to + revolutionize the world--lessons that compel depotisms to change + their base and constitutional monarchies to make broader the + phylacteries of popular rights. + + Is it not meet then, that on this one-hundredth anniversary of + American independence the daughters of revolutionary sires should + appeal to the sons to fulfill what the fathers promised but + failed to perform--should appeal to them as the constituted + executors of the father's will, to give full practical effect to + the self-evident truths, that "taxation without representation is + tyranny"--that "governments derive their just powers from the + consent of the governed"? With an evident common interest in all + the affairs of which government properly or improperly takes + cognizance, we claim enfranchisement on the broad ground of human + right, having proved the justice of our claim by the injustice + which has resulted to us and ours through our disfranchisement. + + We ask enfranchisement in the abiding faith that with our + cooeperative efforts free government would attain to higher + averages of intelligence and virtue; with an innate conviction, + that the sequestration of rights in the homes of the republic + makes them baneful nurseries of the monopolies, rings, and + fraudulent practices that are threatening the national integrity; + and that so long as the fathers sequester the rights of the + mothers and train their sons to exercise, and the daughters to + submit to the exactions of usurped powers, our government offices + will be dens of thieves and the national honor trail in the dust; + and honest men come out from the fiery ordeals of faithful + service, denuded of the confidence and respect justly their due. + Give us liberty! We are mothers, wives, and daughters of freemen. + + C. I. H. NICHOLS. + + + LONDON, Eng., July 4, 1876. + + MY DEAR SUSAN: I sincerely thank you for your kind letter. Many + times I have thought of writing to you, but I knew your time was + too much taken up with the good cause to have any to spare for + private correspondence. Occasionally I am pleased to see a good + account of you and your doings in the Boston _Investigator_. Oh, + how I wish I could be with you on this more than ordinarily + interesting and important occasion; or that I could at least send + my sentiments and views on human rights, which I have advocated + for over forty years, to the convention. + + This being the centenary day of the proclamation of American + independence, I must write a few lines, if but to let the friends + know that though absent in body I am with you in the cause for + which, in common with you, I have labored so long, and I hope not + labored in vain. + + The glorious day upon which human equality was first proclaimed + ought to be commemorated, not only every hundred years, or every + year, but it ought to be constantly held before the public mind + until its grand principles are carried into practice. The + declaration that "All men [which means all human beings + irrespective of sex] have an equal right to life, liberty, and + the pursuit of happiness," is enough for woman as for man. We + need no other; but we must reassert in 1876 what 1776 so + gloriously proclaimed, and call upon the law-makers and the + law-breakers to carry that declaration to its logical consistency + by giving woman the right of representation in the government + which she helps to maintain; a voice in the laws by which she is + governed, and all the rights and privileges society can bestow, + the same as to man, or disprove its validity. We need no other + declaration. All we ask is to have the laws based on the same + foundation upon which that declaration rests, viz.: upon equal + justice, and not upon sex. Whenever the rights of man are + claimed, moral consistency points to the equal rights of woman. + + I hope these few lines will fill a little space in the convention + at Philadelphia, where my voice has so often been raised in + behalf of the principles of humanity. I am glad to see my name + among the vice-presidents of the National Association. Keep a + warm place for me with the American people. I hope some day to be + there yet. Give my love to Mrs. Mott and Sarah Pugh. With kind + regards from Mr. Rose, + + Yours affectionately, ERNESTINE L. ROSE. + +A new paper, _The Ballot-Box_, was started in the centennial year +at Toledo, Ohio, owned and published by Mrs. Sarah Langdon +Williams. The following editorial on the natal day of the republic +is from her pen: + + THE RETROSPECT.--Since our last issue the great centennial + anniversary of American independence has come and gone; it has + been greeted with rejoicing throughout the land; its events have + passed into history. The day in which the great principles + embodied in the Declaration of Independence were announced by the + revolutionary fathers to the world has been celebrated through + all this vast heritage, with pomp and popular glorification, and + the nation's finest orators have signalized the event in + "thoughts that breathe and words that burn." Everywhere has the + country been arrayed in its holiday attire--the gay insignia + which, old as the century, puts on fresh youth and brilliancy + each time its colors are unfurled. The successes which the + country has achieved have been portrayed with glowing eloquence, + the people's sovereignty has been the theme of congratulation and + the glorious principles of freedom and equal rights have been + enthusiastically proclaimed. In the magnificent oration of Mr. + Evarts delivered in Independence Square, the spot made sacred by + the signing of the Declaration of Independence which announced + that "Governments derive their just powers from the consent of + the governed," these words occur: + + The chief concern in this regard, to us and the rest of the + world is, whether the proud trust, the profound radicalism, + the wide benevolence which spoke in the declaration and were + infused into the constitution at the first, have been in + good-faith adhered to by the people, and whether now the + living principles supply the living forces which sustain and + direct government and society. He who doubts needs but to + look around to find all things full of the original spirit + and testifying to its wisdom and strength. + + Yet that very day in that very city was a large assemblage of + women convened to protest against the gross wrongs of their + sex--the representatives of twenty millions of citizens of the + United States, composing one-half of the population being + governed without their consent by the other half, who, by virtue + of their superior strength, held the reins of power and + tyrannically denied them all representation. At that very meeting + at which that polished falsehood was uttered had the women, but + shortly before, been denied the privilege of silently presenting + their declaration of rights. More forcibly is this mortifying + disregard of the claims of women thrust in their faces from the + fact that, amid all this magnificent triumph with which the + growth of the century was commemorated, amid the protestations of + platforms all over the country of the grand success of the + principle of equal rights for all, the possibility of the future + according equal rights to women as well as to men was, with the + exception of one or two praiseworthy instances, as far as reports + have reached us, utterly ignored. The women have no + country--their rights are disregarded, their appeals ignored, + their protests scorned, they are treated as children who do not + comprehend their own wants, and as slaves whose crowning duty is + obedience. + + Whether, on this great day of national triumph and national + aspiration, the possibilities of a better future for women were + forgotten; whether, from carelessness, willfulness, or + wickedness, their grand services and weary struggles in the past + and hopes and aspirations for the future were left entirely out + of the account, certain it is that our orators were too much + absorbed in the good done by men and for men, to once recur to + the valuable aid, self-denying patriotism and lofty virtues of + the nation's unrepresented women. There were a few exceptions: + Col. Wm. M. Ferry, of Ottawa county, Michigan, in his historical + address delivered in that county, July Fourth, took pains to make + favorable mention of the daughter of one of the pioneers, as + follows: + + Louisa Constant, or "Lisette," as she was called, became her + father's clerk when twelve years old, and was as well known + for wonderful faculties for business as she was for her + personal attractions. In 1828, when Lisette was seventeen + years old, her father died. She closed up his business with + the British Company, engaged with the American Fur Company, + at Mackinaw, receiving from them a large supply of + merchandise, and for six years conducted the most successful + trading establishment in the northwest. + + Think of it, ye who disparage the ability of woman! This little + tribute we record with gratification. Colonel Ferry remembered + woman. Henry Ward Beecher, in his oration, delivered at + Peekskill, is reported, to have said: + + And now there is but one step more--there is but one step + more. We permit the lame, the halt and the blind to go to + the ballot-box; we permit the foreigner and the black man, + the slave and the freeman, to partake of the suffrage; there + is but one thing left out, and that is the mother that + taught us, and the wife that is thought worthy to walk side + by side with us. It is woman that is put lower than the + slave, lower than the ignorant foreigner. She is put among + the paupers whom the law won't allow to vote; among the + insane whom the law won't allow to vote. But the days are + numbered in which this can take place, and she too will + vote. + + But these words are followed by others somewhat problematical, at + least in the respect rendered to women: + + As in a hundred years suffrage has extended its bounds till + it now includes the whole population, in another hundred + years everything will vote, unless it be the power of the + loom, and the locomotive, and the watch, and I sometimes + think, looking at these machines and their performances, + that they too ought to vote. + + But Mr. Evarts approached the close of his oration with these + words--and may they not be prophetic--may not the orator have + spoken with a deeper meaning than he knew? + + With these proud possessions of the past, with powers + matured, with principles settled, with habits formed, the + nation passes as it were from preparatory growth to + responsible development of character and the steady + performance of duty. What labors await it, what trials shall + attend it, what triumphs for human nature, what glory for + itself, are prepared for this people in the coming century, + we may not assume to foretell. + + Whether the wise (?) legislators see it or not--whether the + undercurrent that is beating to the shore speaks with an + utterance that is comprehensible to their heavy apprehensions or + not, the coming century has in preparation for the country a + truer humanity, a better justice of which the protest and + declaration of the fathers pouring its vital current down through + the departed century, and surging on into the future, is, to the + seeing eye, the sure forerunner, the seed-time, of which the + approaching harvest will bring a better fruition for women--and + they who scoff now will be compelled to rejoice hereafter. But as + Mr. Evarts remarked in his allusions to future centennials: + + By the mere circumstance of this periodicity our generation + will be in the minds, in the hearts, on the lips of our + countrymen at the next centennial commemoration in + comparison with their own character and condition and with + the great founders of the nation. What shall they say of us? + How shall they estimate the part we bear in the unbroken + line of the nation's progress? And so on, in the long reach + of time, forever and forever, our place in the secular roll + of the ages must always bring us into observation and + criticism. + + Shall it then be recorded of us that the demand and the protest + of the women were not made in vain? Shall it be told to future + generations that the cry for justice, the effort to sunder the + shackles with which woman has been oppressed from the dim ages of + the past, was heeded? Or, shall it be told of us, in the + beginning of this second centennial, that justice has been + ignored, that only liberty to men entered at this stage of + progress, into the American idea of self-government? Freedom to + men and women alike is but a question of time--is America now + equal to the great occasion? Has her development expanded to that + degree where her legislators can say in very truth, as of the + colored man, "Let the oppressed go free"? + +The woman's pavilion upon the centennial grounds was an +after-thought, as theologians claim woman herself to have been.[18] +The women of the country after having contributed nearly $100,000 +to the centennial stock, found there had been no provision made for +the separate exhibition of their work. The centennial board, Mrs. +Gillespie, president, then decided to raise funds for the erection +of a separate building to be known as the Woman's Pavilion. It +covered an acre of ground and was erected at an expense of $30,000, +a small sum in comparison with the money which had been raised by +women and expended on the other buildings, not to speak of State +and national appropriations which the taxes levied on them had +largely helped to swell. + +The pavilion was no true exhibit of woman's work. First, few women +are as yet owners of business which their industry largely makes +remunerative. Cotton factories in which thousands of women work, +are owned by men. The shoe business, in some branches of which +women are doing more than half, is under the ownership of men. Rich +embroideries from India, rugs of downy softness from Turkey, the +muslin of Dacca, anciently known as "The Woven Wind," the pottery +and majolica ware of P. Pipsen's widow, the cartridges and +envelopes of Uncle Sam, Waltham watches whose finest mechanical +work is done by women, and ten thousand other industries found no +place in the pavilion. Said United States Commissioner Meeker,[19] +of Colorado, "Woman's work comprises three-fourths of the +exposition; it is scattered through every building; take it away +and there would be no exposition." + +But this pavilion rendered one good service to woman in showing her +capabilities as an engineer. The boiler which furnished the force +for running its work was under the management of a young Canadian +girl, Miss Alison, who from a child loved machinery, spending much +time in the large saw and grist mills of her father, run by engines +of two- and three-hundred horse-power, which she sometimes managed +for amusement. When her name was proposed for running the pavilion +machinery it brought much opposition. It was said the committee +would some day find the pavilion blown to atoms; that the woman +engineer would spend her time reading novels, instead of watching +the steam gauge; that the idea was impracticable and should not be +thought of. But Miss Alison soon proved her own capabilities and +the falseness of these prophecies by taking her place in the +engine-room and managing its workings with the ease that a child +spins a top. Six power looms on which women wove carpets, webbing, +silks, etc., were run by this engine. At a later period the +printing of _The New Century for Women_, a paper published by the +centennial commission in the woman's building, was also done by its +means. Miss Alison declared the work to be more cleanly, more +pleasant, and infinitely less fatiguing than cooking over a kitchen +stove. "Since I have been compelled to earn my own livelihood," she +said, "I have never been engaged in work I liked so well. Teaching +school is much harder, and one is not paid as well." She expressed +confidence in her ability to manage the engine of an ocean steamer, +and said there were thousands of small engines in use in various +parts of the country, and no reason existed why women should not be +employed to manage them--following the profession of engineer as a +regular business--an engine requiring far less attention than is +given by a nurse-maid or mother to a child. + +But to have made the woman's pavilion grandly historic, upon its +walls should have been hung the yearly protest of Harriet K. Hunt +against taxation without representation; the legal papers served +upon the Smith sisters when their Alderny cows were seized and sold +for their refusal to pay taxes while unrepresented; the papers held +by the city of Worcester for the forced sale of the house and lands +of Abby Kelly Foster, the veteran abolitionist, because she refused +to pay taxes, giving the same reason our ancestors gave when they +resisted taxation; a model of Bunker Hill monument, its foundation +laid by Lafayette in 1825, but which remained unfinished nearly +twenty years until the famous French _danseuse_ Fanny Ellsler, gave +the proceeds of an exhibition for that purpose. With these should +have been exhibited framed copies of all the laws bearing unjustly +upon woman--those which rob her of her name, her earnings, her +property, her children, her person; also, the legal papers in the +case of Susan B. Anthony, who was tried and fined for seeking to +give consent to the laws which governed her; and the decision of +Mr. Justice Miller (Chief-Justice Chase dissenting) in the case of +Myra Bradwell, denying national protection for woman's civil +rights; and the later decision of Chief-Justice Waite of the +Supreme Court against Virginia L. Minor, denying to women national +protection for their political rights, decisions in favor of +state-rights which imperil the liberties not only of all women, but +of every white man in the nation. + +Woman's most fitting contributions to the centennial exposition +would have been these protests, laws and decisions which show her +political slavery. But all this was left for rooms outside of the +centennial grounds, upon Chestnut street, where the National Woman +Suffrage Association hoisted its flag, made its protests, and wrote +the Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States. + +To many thoughtful people it seemed captious and unreasonable for +women to complain of injustice in this free land, amidst such +universal rejoicings. When the majority of women are seemingly +happy, it is natural to suppose that the discontent of the minority +is the result of their unfortunate individual idiosyncrasies, and +not of adverse influences in their established conditions. + +But the history of the world shows that the vast majority in every +generation passively accept the conditions into which they are +born, while those who demand larger liberties are ever a small, +ostracised minority whose claims are ridiculed and ignored. From +our stand-point we honor the Chinese women who claim the right to +their feet and powers of locomotion, the Hindoo widows who refuse +to ascend the funeral pyre of their husbands, the Turkish women who +throw off their masks and veils and leave the harem, the Mormon +women who abjure their faith and demand monogamic relations; why +not equally honor the intelligent minority of American women who +protest against the artificial disabilities by which their freedom +is limited and their development arrested? That only a few under +any circumstances protest against the injustice of long established +laws and customs does not disprove the fact of the oppressions, +while the satisfaction of the many, if real, only proves their +apathy and deeper degradation. That a majority of the women of the +United States accept without protest the disabilities that grow out +of their disfranchisement, is simply an evidence of their ignorance +and cowardice, while the minority who demand a higher political +status clearly prove their superior intelligence and wisdom. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] Some suggested that the women in their various towns and +cities, draped in black, should march in solemn procession, bells +slowly tolling, bearing banners with the inscriptions: "Taxation +without representation is tyranny," "No just government can be +formed without the consent of the governed," "They who have no +voice in the laws and rulers are in a condition of slavery." + +Others suggested that instead of women wearing crape during the +centennial glorification, the men should sit down in sackcloth and +ashes, in humiliation of spirit, as those who repented in olden +times were wont to do. The best centennial celebration, said they, +for the men of the United States, the one to cover them with glory, +would be to extend to the women of the nation all the rights, +privileges and immunities that they themselves enjoy. + +Others proposed that women should monopolize the day, have their +own celebrations, read their own declarations and protests +demanding justice, liberty and equality. The latter suggestion was +extensively adopted, and the Fourth of July, 1876, was remarkable +for the large number of women who were "the orators of the day" in +their respective localities. + +[2] Letters were read from the Hon. Alexander H. Stephens, of +Georgia; William J. Fowler, of Rochester, N. Y.; Isabella Beecher +Hooker, of Connecticut, and Susan B. Anthony. + +[3] News of the cannonade of Boston had been received the day +previous. + +[4] Though thus discourteously refused to an association to secure +equality of rights for women, it was subsequently rented to "The +International Peace Association." + +[5] _President_--Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Tenafly, New Jersey. + +_Vice-Presidents_--Lucretia Mott, Pa.; Ernestine L. Rose, England; +Paulina Wright Davis, R. I.; Clarina I. H. Nichols, Cal.; Amelia +Bloomer, Iowa; Mathilde Franceska Anneke, Wis.; Virginia L. Minor, +Mo.; Catharine A. F. Stebbins, Mich.; Julia and Abby Smith, Conn.; +Abby P. Ela, N. H.; Mrs. W. H. H. Murray, Mass.; Ann T. Greely, +Me.; Eliza D. Stewart, Ohio; Mary Hamilton Williams, Ind.; +Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, Ill.; Sarah Burger Stearns, Minn.; Ada +W. Lucas, Neb.; Helen E. Starrett, Kan.; Ann L. Quinby, Ky.; +Elizabeth Avery Meriwether, Tenn.; Mrs. L. C. Locke, Texas; Emily +P. Collins, La.; Mary J. Spaulding, Ga.; Mrs. P. Holmes, Drake, +Ala.; Flora M. Wright, Fla.; Frances Annie Pillsbury, S. C.; +Cynthia Anthony, N. C.; Carrie F. Putnam, Va.; Anna Ella Carroll, +Md.; Abigail Scott Duniway, Oregon; Hannah H. Clapp, Nevada; Dr. +Alida C. Avery, Col.; Mary Olney Brown, Wash. Ter.; Esther A. +Morris, Wyoming Ter.; Annie Godbe, Utah. + +_Advisory Committee_--Sarah Pugh, Pa.; Isabella Beecher Hooker, +Conn.; Charlotte B. Wilbour, N. Y.; Mary J. Channing, R. I.; +Elizabeth B. Schenck, Cal.; Judith Ellen Foster, Iowa; Lavinia +Goodell, Wis.; Annie R. Irvine, Mo.; Marian Bliss, Mich.; Mary B. +Moses, N. H.; Sarah A. Vibbart, Mass.; Lucy A. Snowe, Me.; Marilla +M. Ricker, N. H.; Mary Madden, Ohio; Emma Molloy, Ind.; Cynthia A. +Leonard, Ill.; Mrs. Dr. Stewart, Minn.; Julia Brown Bemis, Neb.; +Mrs. N. H. Cramer, Tenn.; Mrs. W. V. Tunstall, Tex.; Mrs. A. +Millspaugh, La.; Hannah M. Rogers, Fla.; Sally Holly, Va.; Sallie +W. Hardcastle, Md.; Mary P. Sautelle, Oregon; Mary F. Shields, +Col.; Amelia Giddings, Wash. Ter.; Amalia B. Post, Wyoming Ter. + +_Corresponding Secretaries_--Susan B. Anthony, Rochester, N. Y.; +Laura Curtis Bullard, New York; Jane Graham Jones, Chicago, Ill. + +_Recording Secretary_--Lillie Devereux Blake, New York. + +_Treasurer_--Ellen Clark Sargent, Washington, D. C. + +_Executive Committee_--Matilda Joslyn Gage, Fayetteville, N. Y.; +Clemence S. Lozier, M. D., Elizabeth B. Phelps, Mathilde F. Wendt, +Phebe H. Jones, New York; Rev. Olympia Brown, Connecticut; Sarah R. +L. Williams, Ohio; M. Adeline Thomson, Pennsylvania; Henrietta +Payne Westbrook, Pennsylvania; Nancy R. Allen, Iowa. + +[6] _1876 Campaign Committee_--Susan B. Anthony, N. Y.; Matilda +Joslyn Gage, N. Y.; Phoebe W. Couzins, Mo.; Rev. Olympia Brown, +Conn.; Jane Graham Jones, Ill.; Abigail Scott Duniway, Oregon; +Laura De Force Gordon, Cal.; Annie C. Savery, Iowa. + +[7] _Resident Congressional Committee_--Sara Andrews Spencer, Ellen +Clark Sargent, Ruth Carr Denison, Belva A. Lockwood, Mrs. E. D. E. +N. Southworth. + +[8] Among those who took part in the discussions were Dr. Clemence +Lozier, Susan B. Anthony, Helen M. Slocum, Sarah Goodyear, Helen M. +Cook, Abby and Julia Smith, Sara Andrews Spencer, Miss Charlotte +Ray, Lillie Devereux Blake and Matilda Joslyn Gage. + +[9] Letters were written to these conventions from different +States. Mrs. Elizabeth L. Saxon, New Orleans, La.; Elizabeth A. +Meriwether, Memphis, Tenn.; Mrs. Margaret V. Longley, Cincinnati, +O., all making eloquent appeals for some consideration of the +political rights of women. + +[10] Mrs. Mott, Mrs. Stanton, Mrs. Gage, and Mrs. Spencer. + +[11] On the receipt of these letters a prolonged council was held +by the officers of the association at their headquarters, as to +what action they should take on the Fourth of July. Mrs. Mott and +Mrs. Stanton decided for themselves that after these rebuffs they +would not even sit on the platform, but at the appointed time go to +the church they had engaged for a meeting, and open their +convention. Others more brave and determined insisted that women +had an equal right to the glory of the day and the freedom of the +platform, and decided to take the risk of a public insult in order +to present the woman's declaration and thus make it an historic +document.--[E.C.S. + +[12] During the reading of the declaration to an immense concourse +of people, Mrs. Gage stood beside Miss Anthony, and held an +umbrella over her head, to shelter her friend from the intense heat +of the noonday sun; and thus in the same hour, on opposite sides of +old Independence Hall, did the men and women express their opinions +on the great principles proclaimed on the natal day of the +republic. The declaration was handsomely framed and now hangs in +the vice-president's room in the capitol at Washington. + +[13] This document was signed by Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady +Stanton, Paulina Wright Davis, Ernestine L. Rose, Clarina I. H. +Nichols, Mary Ann McClintock, Mathilde Franceska Anneke, Sarah +Pugh, Amy Post, Catharine A. F. Stebbins, Susan B. Anthony, Matilda +Joslyn Gage, Clemence S. Lozier, Olympia Brown, Mathilde F. Wendt, +Adleline Thomson, Ellen Clark Sargent, Virginia L. Minor, Catherine +V. Waite, Elizabeth B. Schenck, Phoebe W. Couzins, Elizabeth +Boynton Harbert, Laura De Force Gordon, Sara Andrews Spencer, +Lillie Devereux Blake, Jane Graham Jones, Abigail Scott Duniway, +Belva A. Lockwood, Isabella Beecher Hooker, Sarah L. Williams, Abby +P. Ela. + +[14] + + One hundred years hence, what a change will be made, + In politics, morals, religion and trade, + In statesmen who wrangle or ride on the fence, + These things will be altered _a hundred years hence_. + + Our laws then will be uncompulsory rules, + Our prisons converted to national schools. + The pleasure of sinning 'tis all a pretense, + And the people will find it so, _a hundred years hence_. + + Lying, cheating and fraud will be laid on the shelf, + Men will neither get drunk, nor be bound up in self, + But all live together, good neighbors and friends, + Just as _Christian folks_ ought to, _a hundred years hence_. + + Then woman, man's partner, man's equal shall stand, + While beauty and harmony govern the land, + To think for oneself will be no offense, + The world will be thinking _a hundred years hence_. + + Oppression and war will be heard of no more, + Nor the blood of a slave leave his print on our shore, + Conventions will then be a useless expense, + For we'll all go _free-suffrage a hundred years hence_. + + Instead of speech-making to satisfy wrong, + All will join the glad chorus to sing Freedom's song; + And if the Millenium is not a pretense, + We'll all be good brothers _a hundred years hence_. + +This song was written in 1852, at Cleveland, Ohio, by Frances Dana +Gage, expressly for John W. Hutchinson. Several of the friends were +staying with Mrs. Caroline M. Severance, on their way to the Akron +convention, where it was first sung. + +[15] Protests and declarations were read by Mrs. Elizabeth Boynton +Harbert, in Evanston, Ill.; Sarah L. Knox, California; Mrs. Rosa L. +Segur, Toledo, Ohio; Mrs. Mary Olney Brown, Olympia, Washington +territory; Mrs. Henrietta Paine Westbrook, New York city. In +Maquoketa, Iowa; Mrs. Nancy R. Allen read the declaration at the +regular county celebration. Madam Anneke, Wis.; Elizabeth Avery +Meriwether, Tenn.; Lucinda B. Chandler, N. J.; Jane E. Telker, +Iowa; S. P. Abeel, D. C.; Mrs. J. A. Johns, Oregon; Elizabeth Lisle +Saxon, La.; Mrs. Elsie Stewart, Kan.; and many others impossible to +name, sent in protests and declarations. + +[16] See Appendix. + +[17] Henry Hutchinson, the son of John. + +[18] A German legend says, God first made a mouse, but seeing he +had made a mistake he made the cat as an afterthought, therefore if +woman is God's afterthought, man must be a mistake. + +[19] Afterwards killed by the Indians in Colorado. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +NATIONAL CONVENTIONS, HEARINGS AND REPORTS. + +1877-1878-1879. + + Renewed Appeal for a Sixteenth Amendment--Mrs. Gage Petitions for + Removal of Political Disabilities--Ninth Washington Convention, + 1877--Jane Grey Swisshelm--Letters, Robert Purvis, Wendell + Phillips, Francis E. Abbott--10,000 Petitions Referred to the + Committee on Privileges and Elections by Special Request of the + Chairman, Hon. O. P. Morton, of Indiana--May Anniversary in New + York--Tenth Washington Convention, 1878--Frances E. Willard and + 30,000 Temperance Women Petition Congress--40,000 Petition for a + Sixteenth Amendment--Hearing before the Committee on Privileges + and Elections--Madam Dahlgren's Protest--Mrs. Hooker's Hearing on + Washington's Birthday--Mary Clemmer's Letter to Senator + Wadleigh--His Adverse Report--Favorable Minority Report by + Senator Hoar--Thirtieth Anniversary, Unitarian Church, Rochester, + N. Y., July 19, 1878--The Last Convention Attended by Lucretia + Mott--Letters, William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips--Church + Resolution Criticised by Rev. Dr. Strong--International Women's + Congress in Paris--Washington Convention, 1879--U.S. Supreme + Court Opened to Women--May Anniversary at St. Louis--Address of + Welcome by Phoebe Couzins--Women in Council Alone--Letter from + Josephine Butler, of England--Mrs. Stanton's Letter to _The + National Citizen and Ballot-Box_. + + +With the close of the centennial year the new departure under the +fourteenth amendment ended. Though defeated at the polls, in the +courts, in the national celebration, in securing a plank in the +platforms of the Republican and Democratic parties, and in our own +conventions--so far as the few were able to rouse the many to +simultaneous action--nevertheless a wide-spread agitation had been +secured by the presentation of this phase of the question. + +Although the unanswerable arguments of statesmen and lawyers in the +halls of congress and the Supreme Court of the United States, had +alike proved unavailing in establishing the civil and political +rights of women on a national basis, their efforts had not been in +vain. The trials had brought the question before a new order of +minds, and secured able constitutional arguments which were +reviewed in many law journals. The equally able congressional +debates, reported verbatim, read by a large constituency in every +State of the Union, did an educational work on the question of +woman's enfranchisement that cannot be overestimated. + +But when the final decision of the Supreme Court in the case of +Virginia L. Minor made all agitation in that direction hopeless, +the National Association returned to its former policy, demanding a +sixteenth amendment. The women generally came to the conclusion +that if in truth there was no protection for them in the original +constitution nor the late amendments, the time had come for some +clearly-defined recognition of their citizenship by a sixteenth +amendment. + +The following appeal and petition were extensively circulated: + + _To the Women of the United States:_ + + Having celebrated our centennial birthday with a national + jubilee, let us now dedicate the dawn of the second century to + securing justice to women. For this purpose we ask you to + circulate a petition to congress, just issued by the National + Association, asking an amendment to the United States + Constitution, that shall prohibit the several States from + disfranchising citizens on account of sex. We have already sent + this petition throughout the country for the signatures of those + men and women who believe in the citizen's right to vote. + + To see how large a petition each State rolls up, and to do the + work as expeditiously as possible, it is necessary that some + person in each county should take the matter in charge, urging + upon all, thoroughness and haste. * * * The petitions should be + returned before January 16, 17, 1877, when we shall hold our + Eighth Annual Convention at the capital, and ask a hearing before + congress. + + Having petitioned our law-makers, State and national, for years, + many from weariness have vowed to appeal no more; for our + petitions, say they, by the tens of thousands, are piled up in + the national archives, unheeded and ignored. Yet it is possible + to roll up such a mammoth petition, borne into congress on the + shoulders of stalwart men, that we can no longer be neglected or + forgotten. Statesmen and politicians alike are conquered by + majorities. We urge the women of this country to make now the + same united effort for their own rights that they did for the + slaves at the South when the thirteenth amendment was pending. + Then a petition of over 300,000 was rolled up by the leaders of + the suffrage movement, and presented in the Senate by the Hon. + Charles Sumner. But the statesmen who welcomed woman's untiring + efforts to secure the black man's freedom, frowned down the same + demands when made for herself. Is not liberty as sweet to her as + to him? Are not the political disabilities of sex as grievous as + those of color? Is not a civil-rights bill that shall open to + woman the college doors, the trades and professions--that shall + secure her personal and property rights, as necessary for her + protection as for that of the colored man? And yet the highest + judicial authorities have decided that the spirit and letter of + our national constitution are not broad enough to protect woman + in her political rights; and for the redress of her wrongs they + remand her to the State. If our _Magna Charta_ of human rights + can be thus narrowed by judicial interpretations in favor of + class legislation, then must we demand an amendment that, in + clear, unmistakable language, shall declare the equality of all + citizens before the law. + + Women are citizens, first of the United States, and second of the + State wherein they reside; hence, if robbed by State authorities + of any right founded in nature or secured by law, they have the + same right to national protection against the State, as against + the infringements of any foreign power. If the United States + government can punish a woman for voting in one State, why has it + not the same power to protect her in the exercise of that right + in every State? The constitution declares it the duty of congress + to guarantee to every State a republican form of government, to + every citizen, equality of rights. This is not done in States + where women, thoroughly qualified, are denied admission into + colleges which their property is taxed to build and endow; where + they are denied the right to practice law and are thus debarred + from one of the most lucrative professions; where they are denied + a voice in the government, and thus, while suffering all the ills + that grow out of the giant evils of intemperance, prostitution, + war, heavy taxation and political corruption, stand powerless to + effect any reform. Prayers, tears, psalm-singing and + expostulation are light in the balance compared with that power + at the ballot-box that coins opinions into law. If women who are + laboring for peace, temperance, social purity and the rights of + labor, would take the speediest way to accomplish what they + propose, let them demand the ballot in their own hands, that they + may have a direct power in the government. Thus only can they + improve the conditions of the outside world and purify the home. + As political equality is the door to civil, religious and social + liberty, here must our work begin. + + Constituting, as we do, one-half the people, bearing the burdens + of one-half the national debt, equally responsible with man for + the education, religion and morals of the rising generation, let + us with united voice send forth a protest against the present + political status of woman, that shall echo and reecho through the + land. In view of the numbers and character of those making the + demand, this should be the largest petition ever yet rolled up in + the old world or the new; a petition that shall settle forever + the popular objection that "women do not want to vote." + + ELIZABETH CADY STANTON, _President._ + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, _Chairman Executive Committee._ + SUSAN B. ANTHONY, _Corresponding Secretary._ + + + _Tenafly, N. J._, November 10, 1876. + + _To the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress + assembled:_ + + The undersigned citizens of the United States, residents of + the State of ----, earnestly pray your honorable bodies to + adopt measures for so amending the constitution as to + prohibit the several States from disfranchising United + States citizens on account of sex. + +In addition to the general petition asking for a sixteenth +amendment, Matilda Joslyn Gage, this year (1877) sent an individual +petition, similar in form to those offered by disfranchised male +citizens, asking to be relieved from her political disabilities. +This petition was presented by Hon. Elias W. Leavenworth, of the +House of Representatives, member from the thirty-third New York +congressional district. It read as follows: + + _To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States + in Congress assembled:_ + + Matilda Joslyn Gage, a native born citizen of the United States, + and of the State of New York, wherein she resides, most earnestly + petitions your honorable body for the removal of her political + disabilities and that she may be declared invested with full + power to exercise her right of self government at the ballot-box, + all State constitutions, or statute laws to the contrary + notwithstanding. + +The above petition was presented January 24, and the following bill +introduced February 5: + + AN ACT _to relieve the political disabilities of Matilda Joslyn + Gage_: + + Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the + United States of America in congress assembled, that all + political disabilities heretofore existing in reference to + Matilda Joslyn Gage, of Fayetteville, Onondaga county, State of + New York, be removed and she be declared a citizen of the United + States, clothed with all the political rights and powers of + citizenship, namely: the right to vote and to hold office to the + same extent and in the same degree that male citizens enjoy these + rights. This act to take effect immediately. + +The following year a large number of similar petitions were sent +from different parts of the country, the National Association +distributing printed forms to its members in the various States. +The power of congress to thus enfranchise women upon their +individual petitions is as undoubted as the power to grant +individual amnesty, to remove the political disabilities of men +disfranchised for crime against United States laws, or to clothe +foreigners, honorably discharged from the army, with the ballot. + +The first convention[20] after the all-engrossing events of the +centennial celebration assembled in Lincoln Hall, Washington, +January 16, with a good array of speakers, Mrs. Stanton presiding. +After an inspiring song by the Hutchinsons and reports from the +various States, Sara Andrews Spencer, chairman of the congressional +committee, gave some encouraging facts in regard to the large +number of petitions being presented to congress daily, and read +many interesting letters from those who had been active in their +circulation. Over 10,000 were presented during this last session of +the forty-fourth congress. At the special request of the chairman, +Senator Morton of Indiana, they were referred to the Committee on +Privileges and Elections; heretofore they had always been placed in +the hands of the Judiciary Committee in both Senate and House. A +list of committees[21] was reported by Mrs. Gage which was adopted. +Mrs. Swisshelm of Pennsylvania, was introduced. She said: + + In 1846 she inherited an estate from her parents, and then she + learned the injustice of the husband holding the wife's property. + In 1848, however, she got a law passed giving equal rights to + both men and women, and everybody decried her for the injury she + had done to all homes by thus throwing the apple of discord into + families. So in Pennsylvania women now hold property absolutely, + and can sell without the consent of the husband. But actually no + woman is free. As in the days of slavery the master owned the + services, not the body of his slaves, so it is with the wife. The + husband owns the services and all that can be earned by his wife. + It is quite possible, as things now stand, to legislate a woman + out of her home, and yet she cooks, and bakes, and works, and + saves, but it all belongs to the man, and if she dies the second + wife gets it all, for she always manages him. The extravagance of + dress is due alone to-day to the fact that from what woman saves + in her own expenses and those of her house she gets no benefit at + all, nor do her children, for it goes to the second wife, who, + perhaps, turns the children out of doors. + +The resolutions called out a prolonged discussion, especially the +one on compulsory education, and that finally passed with a few +dissenting voices: + + WHEREAS one-half of the citizens of the republic being + disfranchised are everywhere subjects of legislative caprice, and + may be anywhere robbed of their most sacred rights; therefore, + + _Resolved_, That it is the duty of the Congress of the United + States to submit a proposition for a sixteenth amendment to the + national constitution prohibiting the several States from + disfranchising citizens on account of sex. + + WHEREAS a monarchial government lives only through the ignorance + of the masses, and a republican government can live only through + the intelligence of the people; therefore, + + _Resolved_, That it is the duty of Congress to submit to the + State legislatures propositions to so amend the Constitution of + the United States as to make education compulsory, and to make + intelligence a qualification for citizenship and suffrage in the + United States; said amendments to take effect January 1, 1880, + when all citizens of legal age, without distinction of sex, who + can read and write the English language, may be admitted to + citizenship. + + WHEREAS a century of experience has proven that the safety and + stability of free institutions and the protection of all United + States citizens in the exercise of their inalienable rights and + the proper expression of the will of the whole people, are not + guaranteed by the present form of the Constitution of the United + States; therefore, + + _Resolved_, That it is the duty of the several States to call a + national convention to revise the Constitution of the United + States, which, notwithstanding its fifteen amendments, does not + establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, promote the + general welfare, nor secure the blessings of liberty to us and to + our posterity. + + _Resolved_, That the thanks of the women of this nation are due + to the Rev. Isaac M. See, of the Presbytery of Newark, for his + noble stand in behalf of woman's right to preach. + + _Resolved_, That the action of the Presbytery of Newark in + condemning the Rev. I. M. See for his liberal course is an + indication of the tyranny of the clergy over the consciences of + women, and a determination to fetter the spirit of freedom. + +Among the many letters to the convention we give the following: + + + BOSTON, 16th January, 1877. + + DEAR FRIEND: These lines will not reach you in time to be of use. + I am sorry. But absence and cares must apologize for me. I think + you are on the right track--the best method to agitate the + question; and I am with you. I mean always to help everywhere and + every one. + + WENDELL PHILLIPS. + Miss ANTHONY. + + + MANCHESTER, Eng., January 3, 1877. + + MY DEAR MISS ANTHONY: It is with great pleasure that I write a + word of sympathy and encouragement, on the occasion of your Ninth + Annual Convention of the National Woman Suffrage Association. + + Beyond wishing you a successful gathering, I will say nothing + about the movement in the United States. Women of either country + can do nothing directly in promoting the movement in the other; + and if they attempt to do so, there is danger that they may + hinder and embarrass those who are bearing the burden and heat of + the day. The only way in which mutual help can be given is + through the women of each nation working to gain ground in their + own country. Then, every step so gained, every actual advance of + the boundaries of civil and political rights for women is a gain, + not only to the country which has secured it, but to the cause of + human freedom all over the world. + + This year marks the decennial of the movement in the United + Kingdom. In the current number of our journal, there is a sketch + of the political history of the movement here, which I commend to + the attention of your convention, and which I need not repeat. + The record will be seen to be one of great and rapid advance in + the political rights of women, but there has been an equally + marked change in other directions; women's interests in + education, and women's questions generally, are treated now with + much more respectful consideration than they were ten years ago. + We are gratified in believing that much of this consideration is + due to the attention roused by our energetic and persistent + demand for the suffrage, and in believing that infinitely greater + benefits of the same kind will accrue when women shall be in + possession of the franchise. Beyond the material gains in + legislation, we find a general improvement in the tone of feeling + and thought toward women--an approach, indeed, to the sentiment + recently expressed by Victor Hugo, that as man was the problem of + the eighteenth century, woman is the problem of the nineteenth + century. May our efforts to solve this problem lead to a happy + issue. + + Yours truly, + LYDIA E. BECKER. + + + BOSTON, Mass., January 10, 1877. + + DEAR MRS. STANTON: It is with some little pain, I confess, that I + accept your very courteous invitation to write a letter for your + Washington convention on the 19th instant; for what I must say, + if I say anything at all, is what I know will be very + unacceptable--I fear very displeasing--to the majority of those + to whom you will read it. If you conclude that my letter will + obstruct, and not facilitate the advancement of the cause you + have so faithfully labored for these many years, you have my most + cheerful consent to deliver it over to that general asylum of + profitless productions--the waste-basket. + + Running this risk, however, I have this brief message to send to + those who now meet on behalf of woman's full recognition as + politically the equal of man, namely: that every woman suffragist + who upholds Christianity, tears down with one hand what she seeks + to build up with the other--that the Bible sanctions the slavery + principle itself, and applies it to woman as the divinely + ordained subordinate of man--and that by making herself the great + support and mainstay of instituted Christianity, woman rivets the + chain of superstition on her own soul and on man's soul alike, + and justifies him in obeying this religion by keeping her in + subjection to himself. If Christianity and the Bible are true, + woman is man's servant, and ought to be. The Bible gave to + negro-slavery its most terrible power--that of summoning the + consciences of the Christians to its defense; and the Bible gives + to woman-slavery the same terrible power. So plain is this to me + that I take it as a mere matter of course, when all the eloquence + of the woman-suffrage platform fails to arouse the Christian + women of this country to a proper assertion of their rights. What + else could one expect? Women will remain contented subjects and + subordinates just so long as they remain devoted believers in + Christianity; and no amount of argument, or appeal, or agitation + can change this fact. If you cannot educate women as a whole out + of Christianity, you cannot educate them as a whole into the + demand for equal rights. + + The reason of this is short: Christianity teaches the rights of + God, not the rights of man or woman. You may search the Bible + from Genesis to Revelations, and not find one clear, strong, bold + affirmation of _human rights as such_; yet it is on human rights + as such--on the equality of all individuals, man or woman, with + respect to natural rights--that the demand for woman suffrage + must ultimately rest. I know I stand nearly alone in this, but I + believe from my soul that the woman movement is fundamentally + _anti-Christian_, and can find no deep justification but in the + ideas, the spirit, and the faith of free religion. Until women + come to see this too, and to give their united influence to this + latter faith, political power in their hands would destroy even + that measure of liberty which free-thinkers of both sexes have + painfully established by the sacrifices of many generations. Yet + I should vote for woman suffrage all the same, because it is + woman's right. + + Yours very cordially, + FRANCIS E. ABBOT. + + + WASHINGTON, D. C., January 16, 1877. + + MY DEAR FRIENDS: I thank you for your generous recognition of me + as an humble co-worker in the cause of equal rights, and regret + deeply my inability to be present at this anniversary of your + association. I tender to you, however, my hearty congratulations + on the marked progress of our cause. Wherever I have been, and + with whomsoever I have talked, making equal rights invariably the + subject, I find no opposing feeling to the simple and just + demands we make for our cause. The chief difficulty in the way is + the indifference of the people; they need an awakening. Some + Stephen S. Foster or Anna Dickinson should come forward, and with + their thunder and lightning, arouse the people from their deadly + apathy. I am glad to know that you are to have with you our + valued friend, E. M. Davis, of Philadelphia. We are indebted to + him more than all besides for whatever of life is found in the + movement in Pennsylvania. He has spared neither time, money, nor + personal efforts. Hoping you will have abundant success, I am, + dear friends, with you and the cause for which you have so nobly + labored, a humble and sincere worker. + + ROBERT PURVIS. + + + OAKLAND, Cal., January 9, 1877. + + _To the National Suffrage Convention, Washington, D. C.:_ + + Our incorporated State society has deputed Mrs. Ellen Clark + Sargent, the wife of Hon. A. A. Sargent, our fearless champion in + the United States Senate, to represent the women of California in + your National Convention, and with one so faithful and earnest, + we know our cause will be well represented; but there are many + among us who would gladly have journeyed to Washington to + participate in your councils. Many and radical changes have taken + place in the past year favorable to our sex, not the least of + which was the nomination and election of several women to the + office of county superintendent of common schools, by both the + Democratic and Republican parties, in which, however, the + Democrats led. Important changes in the civil code favorable to + the control of property by married women, have been made by the + legislatures during the last four years, through the untiring + efforts of Mrs. Sarah Wallis, Mrs. Knox and Mrs. Watson, of Santa + Clara county. In our schools and colleges, in every avenue of + industry, and in the general liberalization of public opinion + there has been marked improvement. + + Yours very truly, + LAURA DEFORCE GORDON, + _Pres. California W. S. S._ (Incorporated). + +Mrs. Stanton's letter to _The Ballot-Box_ briefly sums up the +proceedings of the convention: + + TENAFLY, N. J., January 24, 1877. + + DEAR EDITOR: If the little _Ballot-Box_ is not already stuffed to + repletion with reports from Washington, I crave a little space to + tell your readers that the convention was in all points + successful. Lincoln Hall, which seats about fifteen hundred + people, was crowded every session. The speaking was good, order + reigned, no heart-burnings behind the scenes, and the press + vouchsafed "respectful consideration." + + The resolutions you will find more interesting and suggestive + than that kind of literature usually is, and I ask especial + attention to the one for a national convention to revise the + constitution, which, with all its amendments, is like a kite with + a tail of infinite length still to be lengthened. It is evident a + century of experience has so liberalized the minds of the + American people, that they have outgrown the constitution adapted + to the men of 1776. It is a monarchial document with republican + ideas engrafted in it, full of compromises between antagonistic + principles. An American statesman remarked that "The civil war + was fought to expound the constitution on the question of + slavery." Expensive expounding! Instead of further amending and + expounding, the real work at the dawn of our second century is to + make a new one. Again, I ask the attention of our women to the + educational resolution. After much thought it seems to me we + should have education compulsory in every State of the Union, and + make it the basis of suffrage, a national law, requiring that + those who vote after 1880 must be able to read and write the + English language. This would prevent ignorant foreigners voting + in six months after landing on our shores, and stimulate our + native population to higher intelligence. It would dignify and + purify the ballot-box and add safety and stability to our free + institutions. Mrs. Jane Grey Swisshelm, who had just returned + from Europe, attended the convention, and spoke on this subject. + + Belva A. Lockwood, who had recently been denied admission to the + Supreme Court of the United States, although a lawyer in good + practice for three years in the Supreme Court of the District, + made a very scathing speech, reviewing the decision of the Court. + It may seem to your disfranchised readers quite presumptuous for + one of their number to make those nine wise men on the bench, + constituting the highest judicial authority in the United States, + subjects for ridicule before an audience of the sovereign people; + but, when they learn the decision in Mrs. Lockwood's case, they + will be reassured as to woman's capacity to cope with their + wisdom. "To arrive at the same conclusion, with these judges, it + is not necessary," said Mrs. Lockwood, "to understand + constitutional law, nor the history of English jurisprudence, nor + the inductive or deductive modes of reasoning, as no such + profound learning or processes of thought were involved in that + decision, which was simply this: 'There is no precedent for + admitting a woman to practice in the Supreme Court of the United + States, hence Mrs. Lockwood's application cannot be considered.'" + + On this point Mrs. Lockwood showed that it was the glory of each + generation to make its own precedents. As there was none for Eve + in the garden of Eden, she argued there need be none for her + daughters on entering the college, the church, or the courts. + Blackstone--of whose works she inferred the judges were + ignorant--gives several precedents for women in the English + courts. As Mrs. Lockwood--tall, well-proportioned, with dark hair + and eyes, regular features, in velvet dress and train, with + becoming indignation at such injustice--marched up and down the + platform and rounded out her glowing periods, she might have + fairly represented the Italian Portia at the bar of Venice. No + more effective speech was ever made on our platform. + + Matilda Joslyn Gage, whose speeches are always replete with + historical research, reviewed the action of the Republican party + toward woman from the introduction of the word "male" into the + fourteenth amendment of the constitution down to the celebration + of our national birthday in Philadelphia, when the declaration of + the mothers was received in contemptuous silence, while Dom Pedro + and other foreign dignitaries looked calmly on. Mrs. Gage makes + as dark a chapter for the Republicans as Mrs. Lockwood for the + judiciary, or Mrs. Blake for the church. Mrs. B. had been an + attentive listener during the trial of the Rev. Isaac See before + the presbytery of Newark, N. J., hence she felt moved to give the + convention a chapter of ecclesiastical history, showing the + struggles through which the church was passing with the + irrepressible woman in the pulpit. Mrs. Blake's biblical + interpretations and expositions proved conclusively that Scott's + and Clark's commentaries would at no distant day be superceded by + standard works from woman's standpoint. It is not to be supposed + that women ever can have fair play as long as men only write and + interpret the Scriptures and make and expound the laws. Why would + it not be a good idea for women to leave these conservative + gentlemen alone in the churches? How sombre they would look with + the flowers, feathers, bright ribbons and shawls all gone--black + coats only kneeling and standing--and with the deep-toned organ + swelling up, the solemn bass voice heard only in awful solitude; + not one soprano note to rise above the low, dull wail to fill the + arched roof with triumphant melody! One such experiment from + Maine to California would bring these bigoted presbyteries to + their senses. + + Miss Phoebe Couzins, too, was at the convention, and gave her new + lecture, "A Woman without a Country," in which she shows all that + woman has done--from fitting out ships for Columbus, to sharing + the toils of the great exposition--without a place of honor in + the republic for the living, or a statue to the memory of the + dead. Hon. A. G. Riddle and Francis Miller spoke ably and + eloquently as usual; the former on the sixteenth amendment and + the presidential aspect, modestly suggesting that if twenty + million women had voted, they might have been able to find out + for whom the majority had cast their ballots. Mr. Miller + recommended State action, advising us to concentrate our forces + in Colorado as a shorter way to success than constitutional + amendments. + + His speech aroused Susan B. Anthony to the boiling point; for, if + there is anything that exasperates her, it is to be remanded, as + she says, to John Morrissey's constituency for her rights. She + contends that if the United States authority could punish her for + voting in the State of New York, it has the same power to protect + her there in the exercise of that right. Moreover, she said, we + have two wings to our movement. The American Association is + trying the popular-vote method. The National Association is + trying the constitutional method, which has emancipated and + enfranchised the African and secured to that race all their civil + rights. To-day by this method they are in the courts, the + colleges, and the halls of legislation in every State in the + Union, while we have puttered with State rights for thirty years + without a foothold anywhere, except in the territories, and it is + now proposed to rob the women of their rights in those + localities. As the two methods do not conflict, and what is done + in the several States tells on the nation, and what is done by + congress reacts again on the States, it must be a good thing to + keep up both kinds of agitation. + + In the middle of November the National Association sent out + thousands of petitions and appeals for the sixteenth amendment, + which were published and commented on extensively by the press in + every State in the Union. Early in January they began to pour + into Washington at the rate of a thousand a day, coming from + twenty-six different States. It does not require much wisdom to + see that when these petitions were placed in the hands of the + representatives of their States, a great educational work was + accomplished at Washington, and public sentiment there has its + legitimate effect throughout the country, as well as that already + accomplished in the rural districts by the slower process of + circulating and signing the petitions. The present uncertain + position of men and parties, has made politicians more ready to + listen to the demands of their constituents, and never has woman + suffrage been treated with more courtesy in Washington. + + To Sara Andrews Spencer we are indebted, for the great labor of + receiving, assorting, counting, rolling-up and planning the + presentation of the petitions. It was by a well considered _coup + d'etat_ that, with her brave coadjutors, she appeared on the + floor of the House at the moment of adjournment, and there, + without circumlocution, gave each member a petition from his own + State. Even Miss Anthony, always calm in the hour of danger, on + finding herself suddenly whisked into those sacred enclosures, + amid a crowd of stalwart men, spittoons, and scrap-baskets, when + brought _vis-a-vis_ with our champion, Mr. Hoar, hastily + apologized for the intrusion, to which the honorable gentleman + promptly replied, "I hope, Madam, yet to see you on this floor, + in your own right, and in business hours too." Then and there the + work of the next day was agreed on, the members gladly accepting + the petitions. As you have already seen, Mr. Hoar made the motion + for the special order, which was carried and the petitions + presented. Your readers will be glad to know, that Mr. Hoar has + just been chosen, by Massachusetts, as her next senator--that + gives us another champion in the Senate. As there are many + petitions still in circulation, urge your readers to keep sending + them until the close of the session, as we want to know how many + women are in earnest on this question. It is constantly said, + "Women do not want to vote." Ten thousand told our + representatives at Washington in a single day that they did! What + answer? + + Yours sincerely, ELIZABETH CADY STANTON. + +The press commented as follows: + + SIXTEENTH AMENDMENT.--The woman suffragists, who had a benefit in + the House of Representatives, on Friday, when their petitions + were presented, transferred their affections to the Senate on + Saturday to witness the presentation of a large number of + petitions in that body. It is impossible to tell whether the + results desired by the women will follow this concerted action, + but it is certain that they have their forces better organized + this year than they ever had before, and they have gone to work + on a more systematic plan.--[_National Republican._ + + SIXTEENTH AMENDMENT IN THE SENATE--THE TEN THOUSAND PETITIONERS + ROYALLY TREATED.--That women will, by voting, lose nothing of + man's courteous, chivalric attention and respect is admirably + proven by the manner in which both houses of congress, in the + midst of the most anxious and perplexing presidential conflict in + our history, received their appeals from twenty-three States for + a sixteenth amendment protecting the rights of women. + + In both houses, by unanimous consent, the petitions were + presented and read in open session. The speaker of the House + gallantly prepared the way yesterday, and the most prominent + senators to-day improved the occasion by impressing upon the + Senate the importance of the question. Mr. Sargent reminded the + senators that there were forty thousand more votes for woman + suffrage in Michigan than for the new State constitution, and Mr. + Dawes said, upon presenting the petition from Massachusetts, that + the question was attracting the attention of both political + parties in that State, and he commended it to the early and + earnest consideration of the Senate. Mr. Cockrell of Missouri, + merrily declared that his petitioners were the most beautiful and + accomplished daughters of the State, which of course he felt + compelled to do when Miss Couzins' bright eyes were watching the + proceedings from the gallery. Mr. Cameron of Pennsylvania, + suggested that it would have been better to put them all together + and not consume the time of the Senate with so many + presentations. + + The officers of the National Woman Suffrage Association held a + caucus after the adjournment of the Senate, and decided to thank + Mr. Cameron for his suggestion, and while they had no anxiety + lest senators should consume too much time attending to the + interests of women whom they claim to represent, and might + reasonably anticipate that ten millions of disfranchised citizens + would trouble them considerably with petitions while this + injustice continued, yet they would promptly adopt the senator's + counsel and roll up such a mammoth petition as the Senate had not + yet seen from the thousands of women who had no opportunity to + sign these. Accordingly they immediately prepared the + announcement for the friends of woman suffrage to send on their + names to the chairman of the congressional committee. They + naturally feel greatly encouraged by the evident interest of both + parties in the proposed sixteenth amendment, and will work with + renewed strength to secure the cooeperation of the women of the + country.--[_Washington Star._ + + The time has evidently arrived when demands for a recognition of + the personal, civil and political rights of + one-half--unquestionably the better half--of the people cannot be + laughed down or sneered down, and recent indications are that + they cannot much longer be voted down. It was quite clear on + Friday and Saturday, when petitions from the best citizens of + twenty-three States were presented in House and Senate, that the + leaders of the two political parties vied with each other in + doing honor to the grave subject proposed for their + consideration. The speaker of the House set a commendable example + of courtesy to women by proposing that the petitions be delivered + in open House, to which there was no objection. The early + advocates of equal rights for women--Hoar, Kelley, Banks, Kasson, + Lawrence, and Lapham--were, if possible, surpassed in courtesy by + those who are not committed, but are beginning to see that a + finer element in the body politic would clear the vision, purify + the atmosphere and help to settle many vexed questions on the + basis of exact and equal justice. + + In the Senate the unprecedented courtesy was extended to women of + half an hour's time on the floor for the presentation of + petitions, exactly alike in form, from twenty-one States, and + while this kind of business this session has usually been + transacted with an attendance of from seven to ten senators, it + was observed that only two out of twenty-three senators who had + sixteenth amendment petitions to present were out of their seats. + Senator Sargent said the presence of women at the polls would + purify elections and give us a better class of public officials, + and the State would thus be greatly benefited. The subject was + receiving serious consideration in this country and in England. + Senator Dawes, in presenting the petition from Massachusetts, + said the subject was commanding the attention of both political + parties in his own State. + + The officers of the National Association, who had been able to + give only a few days' time to securing the cooeperation of the + women of the several States in their present effort, held a + caucus after the adjournment of the Senate, and decided to + immediately issue a new appeal for a mammoth petition, which + would even more decidedly impress the two houses with the + importance of protecting the rights of women by a constitutional + amendment. Considering the many long days and weeks consumed in + both houses in discussing the political rights of the colored + male citizens, there is an obvious propriety in giving full and + fair consideration to the protection of the rights of wives, + mothers and daughters.--[_The National Republican_, January 22, + 1877. + +The National Association held its anniversary in Masonic Temple, +New York, May 24, 1877. Isabella Beecher Hooker, vice-president for +Connecticut, called the meeting to order and invited Rev. Olympia +Brown to lead in prayer. Mrs. Gage made the annual report of the +executive committee. Dr. Clemence S. Lozier of New York was elected +president for the coming year. Pledges were made to roll up +petitions with renewed energy; and resolutions were duly +discussed[22] and adopted: + + WHEREAS, Such minor matters as declaring peace and war, the + coining of money, the imposition of tariff, and the control of + the postal service, are forbidden the respective States; and + whereas, upon the framing of the constitution, it was wisely + held that these property rights would be unsafe under the + control of thirteen varying deliberative bodies; and whereas, by + a curious anomaly, power over suffrage, the basis and + corner-stone of the nation, is held to be under control of the + respective States; and + + WHEREAS, the experience of a century has shown that the personal + right of self-government inhering in each individual, is wholly + insecure under the control of thirty-eight varying deliberative + bodies; and + + WHEREAS, the right of self-government by the use of the ballot + inheres in the citizen of the United States; therefore, + + _Resolved_, That it is the immediate and most important duty of + the government to secure this right on a national basis to all + citizens, independent of sex. + + _Resolved_, That the right of suffrage underlies all other + rights, and that in working to secure it women are doing the best + temperance, moral reform, educational, and religious work of the + age. + + _Resolved_, That we solemnly protest against the recent memorial + to congress, from Utah, asking the disfranchisement of the women + of that territory, and that we ask of congress that this request, + made in violation of the spirit of our institutions, be not + granted. + + _Resolved_, That the thanks of the National Woman Suffrage + Association are hereby tendered to the late speaker of the House + of Representatives, Hon. Samuel J. Randall, Pa.; and to + Representatives Banks, Mass.; Blair, N. H.: Bland, Mo.; Brown, + Kan.; Cox, N. Y.; Eames, R. I.; Fenn, Col.; Hale, Me.; Hamilton, + N. J.; Hendee, Vt.; Hoar, Mass.; Holman, Ind.; Jones, N. H.; + Kasson, Iowa; Kelley, Pa. Knott, Ky.; Lane, Oregon; Lapham, N. + Y.; Lawrence, O.; Luttrel, Cal.; Lynde, Wis.; McCrary, Iowa; + Morgan, Mo.; O'Neill, Pa.; Springer, Ill.; Strait, Minn.; + Waldron, Mich.; Warren, Conn.; Wm. B. Williams, Mich.; and + Senators Allison, Iowa; Bogy, Mo.; Burnside, R. I. (for Conn. and + R. I.); Cameron, Pa.; Cameron, Wis.; Chaffee, Col.; Christiancy, + Mich.; Cockrell, Mo.; Conkling, N. Y.; Cragin, N. H.; Dawes, + Mass.; Dorsey, Ark. (a petition from Me.); Edmunds, Vt.; + Frelinghuysen, N. J.; Hamlin, Me.; Kernan, N. Y.; McCreery, Ky.; + Mitchell, Oregon; Morrill, Vt.; Morton, Ind.; Oglesby, Ill.; + Sargent, Cal.; Sherman, Ohio; Spencer, Ala. (a petition from the + District); Thurman, Ohio (a petition from Kansas); Wadleigh, N. + H.; Wallace, Pa.; Windom, Minn.; Wright, Iowa, for representing + the women of the United States in the presentation of the + sixteenth amendment petitions from ten thousand citizens, in open + House and Senate, at the last session of congress. + + _Resolved_, That while we recognize with gratitude the opening of + many new avenues of labor and usefulness to women, and the + amelioration of their condition before the law in many States, we + still declare there can be no fair play for women in the world of + business until they stand on the same plane of citizenship with + their masculine competitors. + + _Resolved_, That in entering the professions and other + departments of business heretofore occupied largely by men, the + women of to-day should desire to accept the same conditions and + tests of excellence with their brothers, and should demand the + same standard for men and women in business, art, education, and + morals. + + _Resolved_, That the thanks of this association are hereby + tendered to the Hon. Geo. F. Hoar of Massachusetts, for rising in + his place in the Cincinnati presidential convention, and asking + in behalf of the disfranchised women of the United States that + the convention grant a hearing to Mrs. Spencer, of Washington, + the accredited delegate of the National Woman Suffrage + Association. + +Great unanimity was reached in these sentiments and the enthusiasm +manifested gave promise of earnest labor and more hopeful results. +It was felt that there was reason to thank God and take courage. + +The day before the opening of the Tenth Washington Convention a +caucus was held in the ladies' reception-room[23] in the Senate +wing of the capitol. A roll-call of the delegates developed the +fact that every State in the Union would be represented by women +now here and _en route_, or by letter. Mrs. Spencer said she had +made a request in the proper quarter, that the delegates should be +allowed to go on the floor when the Senate was actually in session, +and present their case to the senators. She had been met with the +statement that such a proceeding was without precedent. Mrs. Hooker +suggested that inasmuch as there was a precedent for such a course +in the House, the delegates should meet the following Thursday to +canvass for votes in the House of Representatives. Another delegate +recalled the fact that Mrs. General Sherman and Mrs. Admiral +Dahlgren had been admitted upon the floor of the Senate while it +was in session, to canvass for votes against woman suffrage. + +This agitation resulted in a resolution introduced by Hon. A. A. +Sargent, January 10: + + WHEREAS, Thousands of women of the United States have + petitioned congress for an amendment to the constitution + allowing women the right of suffrage; and whereas, many of + the representative women of the country favoring such + amendment are present in the city and have requested to be + heard before the Senate in advocacy of said amendment, + + _Resolved_, That at a session of the Senate, to be held on + ----, said representative women, or such of them as may be + designated for that purpose, may be heard before the Senate; + but for one hour only. + + Mr. EDMUNDS demanded the regular order. + + Mr. SARGENT advocated the resolution, and urged immediate action, + as delay would detain the women in the city at considerable + expense to them. He thought the question not so intricate that + senators require time for consideration whether or not the women + should be heard. + + Mr. EDMUNDS said there was a rule of long standing that forbids + any person appearing before the Senate. There was much to be said + in favor of the petitions, but it was against the logic of the + resolution that the petitioners required more than was accorded + any others. He, therefore, insisted on his demand for the regular + order. + + Mr. SARGENT gave notice that he would call up his resolution + to-morrow, and reminded the senators that no rule was so sacred + that it could not be set aside by unanimous consent. + +On the next day there was a lively discussion, Senators Edmunds, +Thurman and Conkling insisting there was no precedent; Mr. Sargent, +assisted by Senators Burnside, Anthony and Dawes, reminding them +of several occasions when the Senate had extended similar +courtesies. The resolution was voted down--31 to 13.[24] + +Hon. Wm. D. Kelly, of Pennsylvania, performed like service in the +House: + + Mr. KELLY asked leave to offer a resolution, reciting that + petitions were about to be presented to the House of + Representatives from citizens of thirty-five States of the Union, + asking for the adoption of an amendment to the constitution to + prohibit the disfranchisement of any citizen of any State; and + that there be a session of the House on Saturday, January 12, at + which time the advocates of the constitutional amendment may be + heard at the bar. These petitions ask the House to originate a + movement which it cannot consumate, but which it can only submit + to the States for their action. The resolution only asks that the + House will hear a limited number of the advocates of this + amendment, who are now in the city, and on a day when there is + not likely to be a session for business. They only ask the + privilege of stating the grounds of their belief why the + constitution should be amended in the direction they indicate. + Many of these ladies who petition are tax-payers, and they + believe their rights have been infringed upon. + + Mr. CRITTENDEN of Missouri, objected, and the resolution was not + entertained. + +This refusal to women pleading for their own freedom was the more +noticeable, as not only had Mesdames Sherman and Dahlgren been +heard upon the floor of the Senate in opposition, but the floor of +the House was shortly after granted to Charles Stewart Parnell, M. +P., that he might plead the cause of oppressed Ireland. The +Washington _Union_ of January 11, 1878, largely sustained by +federal patronage, commented as follows: + + To allow the advocates of woman suffrage to plead their cause on + the floor of the Senate, as proposed yesterday by Mr. Sargent, + would be a decided innovation upon the established usages of + parliamentary bodies. If the privilege were granted in this case + it would next be claimed by the friends and the enemies of the + silver bill, by the supporters and opponents of resumption, by + hard money men and soft money men, by protectionists and + free-traders, by labor-reformers, prohibitionists and the Lord + knows whom besides. In fact, the admission of the ladies to speak + on the floor of the Senate would be the beginning of lively times + in that body. + +The convention was held in Lincoln Hall, January, 8, 9, 1878. The +house was filled to overflowing at the first session. A large +number of representative women occupied the platform.[25] In +opening the meeting the president, Dr. Clemence Lozier, gave a +resume of the progress of the cause. Mrs. Stanton made an argument +on "National Protection for National Citizens."[26] Mrs. Lockwood +presented the following resolutions, which called out an amusing +debate on the "man idea"--that he can best represent the home, the +church, the State, the industries, etc., etc.: + + _Resolved_, That the president of this convention appoint a + committee to select three intelligent women who shall be paid + commissioners to the Paris exposition; and also six other women + who shall be volunteer commissioners to said exposition to + represent the industries of American women. + + _Resolved_, That to further this object the committee be + instructed to confer with the President, the Secretary of State, + and Commissioner McCormick. + +A committee was appointed[27] and at once repaired to the +white-house, where they were pleasantly received by President +Hayes. After learning the object of their visit, the president +named the different classes of industries for which no +commissioners had been appointed, asked the ladies to nominate +their candidates, and assured them he would favor a representation +by women. + + Miss JULIA SMITH of Glastonbury, Conn., the veteran defender of + the maxim of our fathers, "no taxation without representation," + narrated the experience of herself and her sister Abby with the + tax-gatherers. They attended the town-meeting and protested + against unjust taxation, but finally their cows went into the + treasury to satisfy the tax-collector. + + ELIZABETH BOYNTON HARBERT of the Chicago _Inter-Ocean_, spoke on + the temperance work being done in Chicago, in connection with the + advocacy of the sixteenth amendment. + + LILLIE DEVEREUX BLAKE reviewed the work in New York in getting + the bill through the legislature to appoint women on school + boards, which was finally vetoed by Governor Robinson. + + Dr. MARY THOMPSON of Oregon, and Mrs. CROMWELL of Arkansas, gave + interesting reports from their States, relating many laughable + encounters with the opposition. + + ROBERT PURVIS of Philadelphia, read a letter from the suffragists + of Pennsylvania, in which congratulations were extended to the + convention. + + MARY A. S. CAREY, a worthy representative of the District of + Columbia, the first colored woman that ever edited a newspaper in + the United States, and who had been a worker in the cause for + twenty years, expressed her views on the question, and said the + colored women would support whatever party would allow them their + rights, be it Republican or Democratic. + + Rev. OLYMPIA BROWN believed that a proper interpretation of the + fourteenth and fifteenth amendments did confer suffrage on women. + But men don't so understand it, and as a consequence when Mahomet + would not come to the mountain the mountain must go to Mahomet. + She said the day was coming, and rapidly, too, when women would + be given suffrage. There were very few now who did not + acknowledge the justice of it. + + ISABELLA BEECHER HOOKER gave her idea on "A Reconstructed + Police," showing how she would rule a police force if in her + control. Commencing with the location of the office, she + proceeded with her list of feminine and masculine officers, the + chief being herself. She would have a superintendent as aid, with + cooerdinate powers, and, besides the police force proper, which + she would form of men and women in equal proportions; she would + have matrons in charge of all station-houses. Her treatment of + vagrants would be to wash, feed, and clothe them, make them + stitch, wash and iron, take their history down for future + reference, and finally turn them out as skilled laborers. The + care of vagrant children would form an item in her system. + + Mrs. LAWRENCE of Massachusetts, said the country is in danger, + and like other republics, unless taken care of, will perish by + its own vices. She said twelve hundred thousand men and women of + this country now stand with nothing to do, because their + legislators of wealth were working not for the many, but the few, + drunkenness and vice being superinduced by such a state of + things. She insisted that women were to blame for much of the + evil of the world--for bringing into life children who grow up in + vice from their inborn tendencies. + + Dr. CAROLINE B. WINSLOW of Washington, referred to the speech of + Mrs. Lawrence, saying she hoped God would bless her for having + the courage to speak as she did. There is no greater reform than + for man and woman to be true to the marital relations. + + BELVA A. LOCKWOOD said the only way for women to get their rights + is to take them. If necessary let there be a domestic + insurrection. Let young women refuse to marry, and married women + refuse to sew on buttons, cook, and rock the cradle until their + liege-lords acknowledge the rights they are entitled to. There + were more ways than one to conquer a man; and women, like the + strikers in the railroad riots, should carry their demands all + along the line. She dwelt at length upon the refusal of the + courts in allowing Lavinia Dundore to become a constable, and + asked why she should not be appointed. + + The Rev. OLYMPIA BROWN said that if they wanted wisdom and + prosperity in the nation, health and happiness in the home, they + must give woman the power to purify her surroundings; the right + to make the outside world fit for her children to live in. Who + are more interested than mothers in the sanitary condition of our + schools and streets, and in the moral atmosphere of our towns and + cities? + + Marshal FREDERICK DOUGLASS said his reluctance to come forward + was not due to any lack of interest in the subject under + discussion. For thirty years he had believed in human rights to + all men and women. Nothing that has ever been proposed involved + such vital interests as the subject which now invites attention. + When the negro was freed the question was asked if he was capable + of voting intelligently. It was answered in this way: that if a + sober negro knows as much as a drunken white man he is capable of + exercising the elective franchise. + + LAVINIA C. DUNDORE, introduced as the lady who had made + application for an appointment as a constable and been refused, + made a pithy address, in which she alluded to her recent + disappointment. + + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE spoke of the influence of the church on + woman's liberties, and then referred to a large number of law + books--ancient and modern, ecclesiastical and lay--in which the + liberties of woman were more or less abridged; the equality of + sexes which obtained in Rome before the Christian era, and the + gradual discrimination in favor of men which crept in with the + growth of the church. + + Mrs. DEVEREUX BLAKE said there is no aspect of this question that + strikes us so forcibly as the total ignoring of women by public + men. However polite they may be in private life, when they come + to public affairs they seem to forget that women exist. The men + who framed the last amendment to the constitution seemed to have + wholly forgotten that women existed or had rights.... Huxley said + in reply to an inquiry as to woman suffrage, "Of course I'm in + favor of it. Does it become us to lay additional burdens on those + who are already overweighted?" It is always the little men who + oppose us; the big-hearted men help us along. All in this + audience are of the broad-shouldered type, and I hope all will go + out prepared to advocate our principles. In reply to the + objection that women do not need the right to vote because men + represent them so well, she asked if any man in the audience ever + asked his wife how he should vote, and told him to stand up if + there was such a one. [Here a young man in the back part of the + hall stood up amidst loud applause.] + +The various resolutions were discussed at great length and adopted, +though much difference of opinion was expressed on the last, which +demands that intelligence shall be made the basis of suffrage: + + _Resolved_, That the National Constitution should be so amended + as to secure to United States citizens at home the same + protection for their individual rights against State tyranny, as + is now guaranteed everywhere against foreign aggressions. + + _Resolved_, That the civil and political rights of the educated + tax-paying women of this nation should take precedence of all + propositions and debates in the present congress as to the future + status of the Chinese and Indians under the flag of the United + States. + + WHEREAS, The essential elements of justice are already recognized + in the constitution; and, whereas, our fathers proposed to + establish a purely secular government in which all forms of + religion should be equally protected, therefore, + + _Resolved_, That it is preeminently unjust to tax the property of + widows and spinsters to its full value, while the clergy are made + a privileged class by exempting from taxation $1,500 of their + property in some States, while in all States parsonages and other + church property, amounting to millions of dollars, are exempted, + which, if fairly taxed, would greatly lighten the national debt, + and thereby the burdens of the laboring masses. + + _Resolved_, That thus to exempt one class of citizens, one kind + of property, from taxation, at the expense of all others, is a + great national evil, in a moral as well as a financial point of + view. It is an assumption that the church is a more important + institution than the family; that the influence of the clergy is + of more vital consequence in the progress of civilization than + that of the women of this republic; from which we emphatically + dissent. + + _Resolved_, That universal education is the true basis of + universal suffrage; hence the several States should so amend + their constitutions as to make education compulsory, and, as a + stimulus to the rising generation, declare that after 1885 all + who exercise the right of suffrage must be able to read and write + the English language. For, while the national government should + secure the equal right of suffrage to all citizens, the State + should regulate its exercise by proper attainable qualifications. + +On January 10, 1878, our champion in the Senate, Hon. A. A. +Sargent, of California, by unanimous consent, presented the +following joint resolution, which was read twice and referred to +the Committee on Privileges and Elections: + + JOINT RESOLUTION _proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of + the United States_.-- + + _Resolved_ by the Senate and House of Representatives of the + United States of America in congress assembled, two-thirds of + each House concurring therein, That the following article be + proposed to the legislatures of the several States as an + amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when + ratified by three-fourths of the said legislatures, shall be + valid as part of the said constitution, namely: + + ARTICLE 16, SEC. 1.--The right of citizens of the United States + to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or + by any State on account of sex. + + SEC. 2.--Congress shall have power to enforce this article by + appropriate legislation. + +The Committee on Privileges and Elections granted hearings to the +National Association on January 11, 12, when the delegates,[28] +representing the several States, made their respective arguments +and appeals. Clemence S. Lozier, M. D., president of the +association, first addressed the committee and read the following +extract from a recent letter from Victor Hugo: + + Our ill-balanced society seems as if it would take from woman all + that nature had endowed her with. In our codes there is something + to recast. It is what I call the woman-law. Man has had his law; + he has made it for himself. Woman has only the law of man. She by + this law is civilly a minor and morally a slave. Her education is + embued with this twofold character of inferiority. Hence many + sufferings to her which man must justly share. There must be + reform here, and it will be to the benefit of civilization, + truth, and light. + + In concluding, Dr. Lozier said: I have now the honor to introduce + Miss Julia E. Smith, of Glastonbury, Conn., who will speak to you + concerning the resistance of her sister and herself to the + payment of taxes in her native town, on the ground that they are + unrepresented in all town meetings, and therefore have no voice + in the expenditure of the taxes which they are compelled to pay. + + Miss SMITH said: _Gentlemen of the Committee_--This is the first + time in my life that I have trod these halls, and what has + brought me here? I say, oppression--oppression of women by men. + Under the law they have taken from us $2,000 worth of + meadow-land, and sold it for taxes of less than $50, and we were + obliged to redeem it, for we could not lose the most valuable + part of our farm. They have come into our house and said, "You + must pay so much; we must execute the laws"; and we are not + allowed to have a voice in the matter, or to modify laws that are + odious. + + I have come to Washington, as men cannot address you for us. We + have no power at all; we are totally defenseless. [Miss Smith + then read two short letters written by her sister Abby to the + Springfield _Republican_.] These tell our brief story, and may I + not ask, gentlemen, that they shall so plead with you that you + will report to the Senate unanimously in favor of the sixteenth + amendment, which we ask in order that the women of these United + States who shall come after us may be saved the desecration of + their homes which we have suffered, and our country may be + relieved from the disgrace of refusing representation to that + half of its people that men call the better half, because it + includes their wives and daughters and mothers? + + ELIZABETH BOYNTON HARBERT, vice-president for Illinois: + _Gentlemen of the Committee_--We recognize your duty as men + intrusted with the control and guidance of the government to + carefully weigh every phase of this momentous question. Has the + time arrived when it will be safe and expedient to make a + practical application of these great principles of our government + to one-half of the governed, one-half of the citizens of the + United States? The favorite argument of the opposition has been + that women are represented by men, hence have no cause for + complaint. Any careful student of the progress of liberty must + admit that the only possible method for securing justice to the + represented is for their representatives to be made entirely + responsible to their constituents, and promptly removable by + them. We are only secure in delegating power when we can dictate + its use, limit the same, or revoke it. How many of your honorable + committee would vote to make the presidency an office for life, + said office to descend to the heirs in a male line forever, with + no reserved power of impeachment? Yet you would be more fairly + represented than are American women, since they have never + elected their representatives. So far as women are concerned you + are self-constituted rulers. We cannot hope for complete + representation while we are powerless to recall, impeach, or + punish our representatives. We meet with a case in point in the + history of Virginia. Bancroft gives us the following quotation + from the official records: + + The freedom of elections was further impaired by "frequent + false returns," made by the sheriffs. Against these the + people had no sufficient redress, for the sheriffs were + responsible neither to them nor to officers of their + appointment. And how could a more pregnant cause of + discontent exist in a country where the elective franchise + was cherished as the dearest civil privilege?--If land is to + be taxed, none but landholders should elect the + legislature.--The other freemen, who are the more in number, + may refuse to be bound by those laws in which they have no + representation, and we are so well acquainted with the + temper of the people that we have reason to believe they had + rather pay their taxes than lose that privilege. + + Would those statesmen have dared to tax those landholders and yet + deny them the privilege of choosing their representatives? And + if, forsooth, they had, would not each one of you have declared + such act unconstitutional and unjust? We are the daughters of + those liberty-loving patriots. Their blood flows in our veins, + and in view of the recognized physiological fact that special + characteristics are transmitted from fathers to daughters, do you + wonder that we tax-paying, American-born citizens of these United + States are here to protest in the name of liberty and justice? We + recognize, however, that you are not responsible for the present + political condition of women, and that the question confronting + you, as statesmen called to administer justice under existing + conditions, is, "What are the capacities of this great class for + self-government?" You have cautiously summoned us to adduce proof + that the ballot in the hands of women would prove a help, not a + hindrance; would bring wings, not weights. + + First, then, we ask you in the significant name of history to + read the record of woman as a ruler from the time when Deborah + judged Israel, and the land had rest and peace forty years, even + down to this present when Victoria Regina, the Empress Queen, + rules her vast kingdom so ably that we sometimes hear American + men talk about a return "to the good old ways of limited + monarchy," with woman for a ruler. John Stuart Mill, after + studious research, testifies as follows: + + When to queens and emperors we add regents and viceroys of + provinces, the list of women who have been eminent rulers of + mankind swells to a great length. The fact is so undeniable + that some one long ago tried to retort the argument by + saying that queens are better than kings, because under + kings women govern, but under queens, men. Especially is her + wonderful talent for governing evinced in Asia. If a Hindoo + principality is strongly, vigilantly, and economically + governed; if order is preserved without oppression; if + cultivation is extending, and the people prosperous, in + three cases out of four that principality is under a woman's + rule. This fact, to me an entirely unexpected one, I have + collected from a long official knowledge of Hindoo + governments. There are many such instances; for though by + Hindoo institutions a woman cannot reign, she is the legal + regent of a kingdom during the minority of the heir--and + minorities are frequent, the lives of the male rulers being + so often prematurely terminated through their inactivity and + excesses. When we consider that these princesses have never + been seen in public, have never conversed with any man not + of their own family, except from behind a curtain; that they + do not read, and if they did, there is no book in their + languages which can give them the smallest instruction on + political affairs, the example they afford of the natural + capacity of women for government is very striking. + + In view of these facts, does it not appear that if there is any + one distinctively feminine characteristic, it is the + mother-instinct for government? But now with clearer vision we + reread the record of the past. True, we find no Raphael or + Beethoven, no Phidias or Michael Angelo among women. No woman has + painted the greatest picture, carved the finest statue, composed + the noblest oratorio or opera. Not many women's names appear + after Joan of Arc's in the long list of warriors; but, as a + ruler, woman stands to-day the peer of man. + + While man has rendered such royal service in the realm of art, + woman has not been idle. Infinite wisdom has intrusted to her the + living, breathing marble or canvas, and with smiles and tears, + prayers and songs has she patiently wrought developing the latent + possibilities of the divine Christ-child, the infant Washington, + the baby Lincoln. Ah! since God and men have intrusted to woman + the weightiest responsibility known to earth, the development and + education of the human soul, need you fear to intrust her with + citizenship? Is the ballot more precious than the soul of your + child? If it is safe in the home, in the school-room, the + Sunday-school, to place in woman's hands the education of your + children, is it not safe to allow that mother to express her + choice in regard to which one of these sons, her boys whom she + has taught and nursed, shall make laws for her guidance? + + Just here, in imagination, is heard the question, "How much help + could we expect from women on financial questions?" We accept the + masculine idea of woman's mathematical deficiencies. We have had + slight opportunity for discovering the best proportions of a + silver dollar, owing to the fact that the family specimens have + been zealously guarded by the male members; and yet, we may have + some latent possibilities in that direction, since already the + "brethren" in our debt-burdened churches wail out from the depths + of masculine indebtedness and interest-tables, "Our sisters, we + pray you come over and help us!" And, in view of the fact of the + present condition of finances, in view of the fact of the + enormous taxes you impose upon us, can you look us calmly in the + face and assert that matters might, would, should, or could have + been worse, even though Julia Ward Howe, Mary A. Livermore, or + Elizabeth Cady Stanton, had voted on the silver bill? + + A moment since I referred to the great responsibilities of + motherhood, and doubtless your mental comment was, "Yes, that is + woman's peculiar sphere; there she should be content to remain." + It _is_ our sphere--beautiful, glorious, almost infinite in its + possibilities. We accept the work; we only ask for opportunity to + perform it. The sphere has enlarged, that is all. There has been + a new revelation. That historic "first gun" proclaimed a + wonderful message to the daughters of America; for, when the + smoke of the cannonading had lifted, the entire horizon of woman + was broadened, illuminated, glorified. On that April morn, when a + nation of citizens suddenly sprang into an army of warriors, with + a patriotism as intense, a consecration as true, American women + quietly assumed their vacated places and became citizens. New + boundaries were defined. A Mary Somerville or Maria Mitchell + seized the telescope and alone with God and the stars, cast a new + horoscope for woman. And the new truth, electrifying, glorifying + American womanhood to-day, is the discovery that the State is + but the larger family, the nation the old homestead, and that in + this national home there is a room and a corner and a duty for + "mother." A duty recognized by such a statesman as John Adams, + who wrote to his wife in regard to her mother: + + Your mother had a clear and penetrating understanding and a + profound judgment, as well as an honest, a friendly and + charitable heart. There is one thing, however, which you + will forgive me if I hint to you. Let me ask you rather if + you are not of my opinion. Were not her talents and virtues + too much confined to private, social and domestic life? My + opinion of the duties of religion and morality comprehends a + very extensive connection with society at large and the + great interests of the public. Does not natural morality + and, much more, Christian benevolence make it our + indispensable duty to endeavor to serve our fellow-creatures + to the utmost of our power in promoting and supporting those + great political systems and general regulations upon which + the happiness of multitudes depends? The benevolence, + charity, capacity and industry which exerted in private life + would make a family, a parish or a town happy, employed upon + a larger scale and in support of the great principles of + virtue and freedom of political regulations, might secure + whole nations and generations from misery, want and + contempt. + + Intense domestic life is selfish. The home evidently needs + fathers as much as mothers. Tender, wise fatherhood is beautiful + as motherhood, but there are orphaned children to be cared for. + These duties to the State and nation as mothers, true to the + highest needs of our children, we dare not ignore; and the nation + cannot much longer afford to have us ignore them. + + As statesmen, walking on the shore piled high with the + "drift-wood of kings," the wrecks of nations and governments, you + have discovered the one word emblazoned as an epitaph on each and + every one, "Luxury, luxury, luxury!" You have hitherto placed a + premium upon woman's idleness, helplessness, dependence. The + children of most of our fashionable women are being educated by + foreign nurses. How can you expect them to develop into patriotic + American statesmen? For the sake of country I plead--for the sake + of a responsible, exalted womanhood; for the sake of a purer + womanhood; for home and truth, and native land. As a daughter, + with holiest, tenderest, most grateful memories clinging to the + almost sacred name of father; as a wife, receiving constant + encouragement, support, and cooeperation from one who has revealed + to her the genuine nobility of true manhood; as a mother, whose + heart still thrills at the first greeting from her little son; + and as a sister, watching with intense interest the entrance of a + brother into the great world of work, I could not be half so + loyal to woman's cause were it not a synonym for the equal rights + of humanity--a diviner justice for all! + + With one practical question I rest my case. The world objected to + woman's entrance into literature, the pulpit, the lyceum, the + college, the school. What has she wrought? Our wisest thinkers + and historians assert that literature has been purified. Poets + and judges at international collegiate contests award to woman's + thought the highest prize. Miss Lucia Peabody received upon the + occasion of her second election to the Boston school board the + highest vote ever polled for any candidate. Since woman has + proved faithful over a few things, need you fear to summon her to + your side to assist you in executing the will of the nation? And + now, yielding to none in intense love of womanhood; standing here + beneath the very dome of the national capitol overshadowed by the + old flag; with the blood of the revolutionary patriots coursing + through my veins; as a native-born, tax-paying American citizen, + I ask equality before the law. + + ELIZABETH CADY STANTON said: _Gentlemen of the Committee_: In + appearing before you to ask for a sixteenth amendment to the + United States Constitution, permit me to say that with the Hon. + Charles Sumner, we believe that our constitution, fairly + interpreted, already secures to the humblest individual all the + rights, privileges and immunities of American citizens. But as + statesmen differ in their interpretations of constitutional law + as widely as they differ in their organizations, the rights of + every class of citizens must be clearly defined in concise, + unmistakable language. All the great principles of liberty + declared by the fathers gave no protection to the black man of + the republic for a century, and when, with higher light and + knowledge his emancipation and enfranchisement were proclaimed, + it was said that the great truths set forth in the prolonged + debates of thirty years on the individual rights of the black + man, culminating in the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to + the constitution, had no significance for woman. Hence we ask + that this anomalous class of beings, not recognized by the + supreme powers as either "persons" or "citizens" may be defined + and their rights declared in the constitution. + + In the adjustment of the question of suffrage now before the + people of this country for settlement, it is of the highest + importance that the organic law of the land should be so framed + and construed as to work injustice to none, but secure as far as + possible perfect political equality among all classes of + citizens. In determining your right and power to legislate on + this question, consider what has been done already. + + As the national constitution declares that "all persons born or + naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction + thereof, are citizens of the United States, and of the State + wherein they reside," it is evident: _First_--That the immunities + and privileges of American citizenship, however defined, are + national in character, and paramount to all State authority. + _Second_--That while the constitution leaves the qualification of + electors to the several States, it nowhere gives them the right + to deprive any citizen of the elective franchise; the State may + regulate but not abolish the right of suffrage for any class. + _Third_--As the Constitution of the United States expressly + declares that no State shall make or enforce any law that shall + abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United + States, those provisions of the several State constitutions that + exclude citizens from the franchise on account of sex, alike + violate the spirit and letter of the Federal constitution. + _Fourth_--As the question of naturalization is expressly withheld + from the States, and as the States would clearly have no right to + deprive of the franchise naturalized citizens, among whom women + are expressly included, still more clearly have they no right to + deprive native-born women-citizens of the right. + + Let me give you a few extracts from the national constitution + upon which these propositions are based: + + _Preamble:_ We, the people of the United States, in order to + form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure + domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, + promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of + liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and + establish this constitution. + + This is declared to be a government "of the people." All power, + it is said, centers in the people. Our State constitutions also + open with the words, "We, the people." Does any one pretend to + say that men alone constitute races and peoples? When we say + parents, do we not mean mothers as well as fathers? When we say + children, do we not mean girls as well as boys? When we say + people, do we not mean women as well as men? When the race shall + spring, Minerva-like, from the brains of their fathers, it will + be time enough thus to ignore the fact that one-half the human + family are women. Individual rights, individual conscience and + judgment are our great American ideas, the fundamental principles + of our political and religious faith. Men may as well attempt to + do our repenting, confessing, and believing, as our voting--as + well represent us at the throne of grace as at the ballot-box. + + ARTICLE 1, SEC. 9.--No bill of attainder, or _ex post facto_ + law shall be passed; no title of nobility shall be granted + by the United States. + + SEC. 10.--No State shall pass any bill of attainder, _ex + post facto_ law, or law impairing the obligation of + contracts, or grant any title of nobility. + + Notwithstanding these provisions of the constitution, bills of + attainder have been passed by the introduction of the word "male" + into all the State constitutions denying to woman the right of + suffrage, and thereby making sex a crime. A citizen disfranchised + in a republic is a citizen attainted. When we place in the hands + of one class of citizens the right to make, interpret and execute + the law for another class wholly unrepresented in the government, + we have made an order of nobility. + + ARTICLE 4, SEC. 2.--The citizens of each State shall be + entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in + the several States. + + The elective franchise is one of the privileges secured by this + section approved in Dunham _vs._ Lamphere (3 Gray Mass. Rep., + 276), and Bennett _vs._ Boggs (Baldwin's Rep., p. 72, Circuit + Court U. S.). + + ARTICLE 4, SEC. 4.--The United States shall guarantee to + every State in the Union a republican form of government. + + How can that form of government be called republican in which + one-half the people are forever deprived of all participation in + its affairs? + + ARTICLE 6.--This Constitution, and the laws of the United + States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, ... shall + be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every + State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution + or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. + + ARTICLE 14, SEC. 1.--All persons born or naturalized in the + United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are + citizens of the United States.... No State shall make or + enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges and + immunities of citizens of the United States. + + In the discussion of the enfranchisement of woman, suffrage is + now claimed by one class of thinkers as a privilege based upon + citizenship and secured by the Constitution of the United States, + as by lexicographers as well as by the constitution itself, the + definition of citizen includes women as well as men. No State can + rightfully deprive a woman-citizen of the United States of any + fundamental right which is hers in common with all other + citizens. The States have the right to regulate, but not to + prohibit the elective franchise to citizens of the United States. + Thus the States may determine the qualifications of electors. + They may require the elector to be of a certain age--to have had + a fixed residence--to be of sane mind and unconvicted of + crime,--because these are qualifications or conditions that all + citizens, sooner or later, may attain. But to go beyond this, and + say to one-half the citizens of the State, notwithstanding you + possess all of these qualifications, you shall never vote, is of + the very essence of despotism. It is a bill of attainder of the + most odious character. + + A further investigation of the subject will show that the + constitutions of all the States, with the exception of Virginia + and Massachusetts, read substantially alike. "White male + citizens" shall be entitled to vote, and this is supposed to + exclude all other citizens. There is no direct exclusion except + in the two States above named. Now the error lies in supposing + that an enabling clause is necessary at all. The right of the + people of a State to participate in a government of their own + creation requires no enabling clause, neither can it be taken + from them by implication. To hold otherwise would be to + interpolate in the constitution a prohibition that does not + exist. + + In framing a constitution, the people are assembled in their + sovereign capacity, and being possessed of all rights and powers, + what is not surrendered is retained. Nothing short of a direct + prohibition can work a deprivation of rights that are + fundamental. In the language of John Jay to the people of New + York, urging the adoption of the constitution of the United + States: "Silence and blank paper neither give nor take away + anything." And Alexander Hamilton says (_Federalist_, No. 83): + + Every man of discernment must at once perceive the wide + difference between silence and abolition. The mode and + manner in which the people shall take part in the government + of their creation may be prescribed by the constitution, but + the right itself is antecedent to all constitutions. It is + inalienable, and can neither be bought nor sold nor given + away. + + But even if it should be held that this view is untenable, and + that women are disfranchised by the several State constitutions, + directly or by implication, then I say that such prohibitions are + clearly in conflict with the Constitution of the United States + and yield thereto. + + Another class of thinkers, equally interested in woman's + enfranchisement, maintain that there is, as yet, no power in the + United States Constitution to protect the rights of all United + States citizens, in all latitudes and longitudes, and in all + conditions whatever. When the constitution was adopted, the + fathers thought they had secured national unity. This was the + opinion of Southern as well as Northern statesmen. It was + supposed that the question of State rights was then forever + settled. Hon. Charles Sumner, speaking on this point in the + United States Senate, March 7, 1866, said the object of the + constitution was to ordain, under the authority of the people, a + national government possessing unity and power. The + confederation had been merely an agreement "between the States," + styled, "a league of firm friendship." Found to be feeble and + inoperative through the pretension of State rights, it gave way + to the constitution which, instead of a "league," created a + "union," in the name of the people of the United States. + Beginning with these inspiring and enacting words, "We, the + people," it was popular and national. Here was no concession to + State rights, but a recognition of the power of the people, from + whom the constitution proceeded. The States are acknowledged; but + they are all treated as component parts of the Union in which + they are absorbed under the constitution, which is the supreme + law. There is but one sovereignty, and that is the sovereignty of + the United States. On this very account the adoption of the + constitution was opposed by Patrick Henry and George Mason. The + first exclaimed, "That this is a consolidated government is + demonstrably clear; the question turns on that poor little thing, + 'We, the people,' instead of the States." The second exclaimed, + "Whether the constitution is good or bad, it is a national + government, and no longer a confederation." But against this + powerful opposition the constitution was adopted in the name of + the people of the United States. Throughout the discussions, + State rights was treated with little favor. Madison said: "The + States are only political societies, and never possessed the + right of sovereignty." Gerry said: "The States have only + corporate rights." Wilson, the philanthropic member from + Pennsylvania, afterward a learned Judge of the Supreme Court of + the United States and author of the "Lectures on Law," said: + "Will a regard to State rights justify the sacrifice of the + rights of men? If we proceed on any other foundation than the + last, our building will neither be solid nor lasting." + + Those of us who understand the dignity, power and protection of + the ballot, have steadily petitioned congress for the last ten + years to secure to the women of the republic the exercise of + their right to the elective franchise. We began by asking a + sixteenth amendment to the national constitution. March 15, 1869, + the Hon. George W. Julian submitted a joint resolution to + congress, to enfranchise the women of the republic, by proposing + a sixteenth amendment: + + ARTICLE 16.--The right of suffrage in the United States + shall be based on citizenship, and shall be regulated by + Congress, and all citizens of the United States, whether + native or naturalized, shall enjoy this right equally, + without any distinction or discrimination whatever founded + on sex. + + While the discussion was pending for the emancipation and + enfranchisement of the slaves of the South, and popular thought + led back to the consideration of the fundamental principles of + our government, it was clearly seen that all the arguments for + the civil and political rights of the African race applied to + women also. Seeing this, some Republicans stood ready to carry + these principles to their logical results. Democrats, too, saw + the drift of the argument, and though not in favor of extending + suffrage to either black men, or women, yet, to embarrass + Republican legislation, it was said, they proposed amendments for + woman suffrage to all bills brought forward for enfranchising the + negroes. + + And thus, during the passage of the thirteenth, fourteenth and + fifteenth amendments, and the District suffrage bill, the + question of woman suffrage was often and ably discussed in the + Senate and House, and received both Republican and Democratic + votes in its favor. Many able lawyers and judges gave it as their + opinion that women as well as Africans were enfranchised by the + fourteenth and fifteenth Amendments. Accordingly, we abandoned, + for the time being, our demand for a sixteenth amendment, and + pleaded our right of suffrage, as already secured by the + fourteenth amendment--the argument lying in a nut-shell. For if, + as therein asserted, all persons born or naturalized in the + United States are citizens of the United States; and if a + citizen, according to the best authorities, is one possessed of + all the rights and privileges of citizenship, namely, the right + to make laws and choose lawmakers, women, being persons, must be + citizens, and therefore entitled to the rights of citizenship, + the chief of which is the right to vote. + + Accordingly, women tested their right, registered and voted--the + inspectors of election accepting the argument, for which + inspectors and women alike were arrested, tried and punished; the + courts deciding that although by the fourteenth amendment they + were citizens, still, citizenship did not carry with it the right + to vote. But granting the premise of the Supreme Court decision, + "that the constitution does not confer suffrage on any one," then + it inhered with the citizen before the constitution was framed. + Our national life does not date from that instrument. The + constitution is not the original declaration of rights. It was + not framed until eleven years after our existence as a nation, + nor fully ratified until nearly fourteen years after the + inauguration of our national independence. + + But however the letter and spirit of the constitution may be + interpreted by the people, the judiciary of the nation has + uniformly proved itself the echo of the party in power. When the + slave power was dominant the Supreme Court decided that a black + man was not a citizen, because he had not the right to vote; and + when the constitution was so amended as to make all persons + citizens, the same high tribunal decided that a woman, though a + citizen, had not the right to vote. An African, by virtue of his + United States citizenship, is declared, under recent amendments, + a voter in every State of the Union; but when a woman, by virtue + of her United States citizenship, applies to the Supreme Court + for protection in the exercise of this same right, she is + remanded to the State, by the unanimous decision of the nine + judges on the bench, that "the Constitution of the United States + does not confer the right of suffrage upon any one." Such + vacillating interpretations of constitutional law must unsettle + our faith in judicial authority, and undermine the liberties of + the whole people. Seeing by these decisions of the courts that + the theory of our government, the Declaration of Independence, + and recent constitutional amendments, have no significance for + woman, that all the grand principles of equality are glittering + generalities for her, we must fall back once more to our former + demand of a sixteenth amendment to the federal constitution, + that, in clear, unmistakable language, shall declare the status + of woman in this republic. + + The Declaration of Independence struck a blow at every existent + form of government by making the individual the source of all + power. This is the sun, and the one central truth around which + all genuine republics must keep their course or perish. National + supremacy means something more than power to levy war, conclude + peace, contract alliances, establish commerce. It means national + protection and security in the exercise of the right of + self-government, which comes alone by and through the use of the + ballot. Women are the only class of citizens still wholly + unrepresented in the government, and yet we possess every + requisite qualification for voters in the United States. Women + possess property and education; we take out naturalization-papers + and passports and register ships. We preempt lands, pay taxes + (women sometimes work out the road-tax with their own hands) and + suffer for our own violation of laws. We are neither idiots, + lunatics, nor criminals, and according to our State constitution + lack but one qualification for voters, namely, sex, which is an + insurmountable qualification, and therefore equivalent to a bill + of attainder against one-half the people, a power neither the + States nor the United States can legally exercise, being + forbidden in article 1, sections 9, 10, of the constitution. Our + rulers have the right to regulate the suffrage, but they cannot + abolish it for any class of citizens, as has been done in the + case of the women of this republic, without a direct violation of + the fundamental law of the land. All concessions of privileges or + redress of grievances are mockery for any class that have no + voice in the laws, and law-makers; hence we demand the ballot, + that scepter of power in our own hands, as the only sure + protection for our rights of person and property under all + conditions. If the few may grant and withhold rights at their + pleasure, the many cannot be said to enjoy the blessings of + self-government. + + William H. Seward said in his great speech on "Freedom and + Union," in the United States Senate, February 29, 1860: + + Mankind have a natural right, a natural instinct, and a + natural capacity for self-government; and when, as here, + they are sufficiently ripened by culture, they will and must + have self-government, and no other. + + Jefferson said: + + The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time; + the hand of freedom may destroy, but cannot disjoin them. + + Few people comprehend the length and breadth of the principle we + are advocating to-day, and how closely it is allied to everything + vital in our system of government. Our personal grievances, such + as being robbed of property and children by unjust husbands; + denied admission into the colleges, the trades and professions; + compelled to work at starving prices, by no means round out this + whole question. In asking for a sixteenth amendment to the United + States Constitution, and the protection of congress against the + injustice of State law, we are fighting the same battle as + Jefferson and Hamilton fought in 1776, as Calhoun and Clay in + 1828, as Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis in 1860, namely, the + limit of State rights and federal power. The enfranchisement of + woman involves the same vital principle of our government that is + dividing and distracting the two great political parties at this + hour. + + There is nothing a foreigner coming here finds it so difficult to + understand as the wheel within a wheel in our national and State + governments, and the possibility of carrying them on without + friction; and this is the difficulty and danger we are fast + finding out. The recent amendments are steps in the right + direction toward national unity, securing equal rights to all + citizens, in every latitude and longitude. But our congressional + debates, judicial decisions, and the utterances of campaign + orators, continually falling back to the old ground, are bundles + of contradictions on this vital question. Inasmuch as we are, + first, citizens of the United States, and second, of the State + wherein we reside, the primal rights of all citizens should be + regulated by the national government, and complete equality in + civil and political rights everywhere secured. When women are + denied the right to enter institutions of learning, and practice + in the professions, unjust discriminations made against sex even + more degrading and humiliating than were ever made against color, + surely woman, too, should be protected by a civil-rights bill and + a sixteenth amendment that should make her political status equal + with all other citizens of the republic. + + The right of suffrage, like the currency of the post-office + department, demands national regulation. We can all remember the + losses sustained by citizens in traveling from one State to + another under the old system of State banks. We can imagine the + confusion if each State regulated its post-offices, and the + transit of the mails across its borders. The benefits we find in + uniformity and unity in these great interests would pervade all + others where equal conditions were secured. Some citizens are + asking for a national bankrupt law, that a person released from + his debts in one State may be free in every other. Some are for a + religious freedom amendment that shall forever separate church + and State; forbidding a religious test as a condition of suffrage + or a qualification for office; forbidding the reading of the + Bible in the schools and the exempting of church property and + sectarian institutions of learning or charity from taxation. Some + are demanding a national marriage law, that a man legally married + in one State may not be a bigamist in another. Some are asking a + national prohibitory law, that a reformed drunkard who is + shielded from temptation in one State may not be environed with + dangers in another. And thus many individual interests point to a + growing feeling among the people in favor of homogeneous + legislation. As several of the States are beginning to legislate + on the woman suffrage question, it is of vital moment that there + should be some national action. + + As the laws now are, a woman who can vote, hold office, be tried + by a jury of her own peers--yea, and sit on the bench as justice + of the peace in the territory of Wyoming, may be reduced to a + political pariah in the State of New York. A woman who can vote + and hold office on the school board, and act as county + superintendent in Kansas and Minnesota, is denied these rights in + passing into Pennsylvania. A woman who can be a member of the + school board in Maine, Wisconsin, Iowa, and California, loses all + these privileges in New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware. When + representatives from the territories are sent to congress by the + votes of women, it is time to have some national recognition of + this class of citizens. + + This demand of national protection for national citizens is fated + to grow stronger every day. The government of the United States, + as the constitution is now interpreted, is powerless to give a + just equivalent for the supreme allegiance it claims. One sound + democratic principle fully recognized and carried to its logical + results in our government, declaring all citizens equal before + the law, would soon chase away the metaphysical mists and fogs + that cloud our political views in so many directions. When + congress is asked to put the name of God in the constitution, and + thereby pledge the nation to some theological faith in which some + United States citizens may not believe and thus subject a certain + class to political ostracism and social persecution, it is asked + not to protect but to oppress the citizens of the several States + in their most sacred rights--to think, reason, and decide all + questions of religion and conscience for themselves, without fear + or favor from the government. Popular sentiment and church + persecution is all that an advanced thinker in science and + religion should be called on to combat. The State should rather + throw its shield of protection around those uttering liberal, + progressive ideas; for the nation has the same interest in every + new thought as it has in the invention of new machinery to + lighten labor, in the discovery of wells of oil, or mines of + coal, copper, iron, silver or gold. As in the laboratory of + nature new forms of beauty are forever revealing themselves, so + in the world of thought a higher outlook gives a clearer vision + of the heights man in freedom shall yet attain. The day is past + for persecuting the philosophers of the physical sciences. But + what a holocaust of martyrs bigotry is still making of those + bearing the richest treasures of thought, in religion and social + ethics, in their efforts to roll off the mountains of + superstition that have so long darkened the human mind! + + The numerous demands by the people for national protection in + many rights not specified in the constitution, prove that the + people have outgrown the compact that satisfied the fathers, and + the more it is expounded and understood the more clearly its + monarchical features can be traced to its English origin. And it + is not at all surprising that, with no chart or compass for a + republic, our fathers, with all their educational prejudices in + favor of the mother country, with her literature and systems of + jurisprudence, should have also adopted her ideas of government, + and in drawing up their national compact engrafted the new + republic on the old constitutional monarchy, a union whose + incompatibility has involved their sons in continued discussion + as to the true meaning of the instrument. A recent writer says: + + The Constitution of the United States is the result of a + fourfold compromise: _First_--Of unity with individual + interests; of national sovereignty with the so-called + sovereignty of States; _Second_--Of the republic with + monarchy; _Third_--Of freedom with slavery; _Fourth_--Of + democracy with aristocracy. + + It is founded, therefore, on the fourfold combination of + principles perfectly incompatible and eternally excluding each + other; founded for the purpose of equally preserving these + principles in spite of their incompatibility, and of carrying + out their practical results--in other words, for the purpose of + making an impossible thing possible. And a century of discussion + has not yet made the constitution understood. It has no settled + interpretation. Being a series of compromises, it can be + expounded in favor of many directly opposite principles. + + A distinguished American statesman remarked that the war of the + rebellion was waged "to expound the constitution." It is a + pertinent question now, shall all other contradictory principles + be retained in the constitution until they, too, are expounded by + civil war? On what theory is it less dangerous to defraud twenty + million women of their inalienable rights than four million + negroes? Is not the same principle involved in both cases? We ask + congress to pass a sixteenth amendment, not only for woman's + protection, but for the safety of the nation. Our people are + filled with unrest to-day because there is no fair understanding + of the basis of individual rights, nor the legitimate power of + the national government. The Republican party took the ground + during the war that congress had the right to establish a + national currency in every State; that it had the right to + emancipate and enfranchise the slaves; to change their political + status in one-half the States of the union; to pass a civil + rights bill, securing to the freedman a place in the schools, + colleges, trades, professions, hotels, and all public conveyances + for travel. And they maintained their right to do all these as + the best measures for peace, though compelled by war. + + And now, when congress is asked to extend the same protection to + the women of the nation, we are told they have not the power, and + we are remanded to the States. They say the emancipation of the + slave was a war measure, a military necessity; that his + enfranchisement was a political necessity. We might with + propriety ask if the present condition of the nation, with its + political outlook, its election frauds daily reported, the + corrupt action of men in official position, governors, judges, + and boards of canvassers, has not brought us to a moral necessity + where some new element is needed in government. But, alas! when + women appeal to congress for the protection of their natural + rights of person and property, they send us for redress to the + courts, and the courts remand us to the States. You did not trust + the Southern freedman to the arbitrary will of courts and States! + Why send your mothers, wives and daughters to the unwashed, + unlettered, unthinking masses that carry popular elections? + + We are told by one class of philosophers that the growing + tendency to increase national power and authority is leading to a + dangerous centralization; that the safety of the republic rests + in local self-government. Says the editor of the Boston _Index_: + + What is local self-government? Briefly, that without any + interference from without, every citizen should manage his + own personal affairs in his own way, according to his own + pleasure; that every town should manage its own town affairs + in the same manner and under the same restriction; every + county its own county affairs, every State its own State + affairs. But the independent exercise of this autonomy, by + personal and corporate individuals, has one fundamental + condition, viz.: the maintenance of all these + individualities intact, each in its own sphere of action, + with its rights uninfringed and its freedom uncurtailed in + that sphere, yet each also preserving its just relation to + all the rest in an all comprehensive social organization. + Every citizen would thus stand, as it were, in the center of + several concentric and enlarging circles of relationship to + his kind; he would have duties and rights in each relation, + not only as an individual but also as a member of town, + county, State and national organization. His local + self-government will be at his highest possible point of + realization, when in each of these relations his individual + duties are discharged and his rights maintained. + + On the other hand, what is centralization? + + It is such a disorganization of this well-balanced, + harmonious and natural system as shall result in the + absorption of all substantial power by a central authority, + to the destruction of the autonomy of the various + individualities above mentioned; such as was produced, for + instance, when the _municipia_ of the Roman empire lost + their corporate independence and melted into the vast + imperial despotism which prepared the way for the collapse + of society under the blows of Northern barbarism. Such a + centralization must inevitably be produced by decay of that + stubborn stickling for rights, out of which local + self-government has always grown. That is, if individual + rights in the citizen, the town, the county, the State, + shall not be vindicated as beyond all price, and defended + with the utmost jealousy, at whatever cost, the spirit of + liberty must have already died out, and the dreary process + of centralization be already far advanced. It will thus be + evident that the preservation of individual rights is the + only possible preventative of centralization, and that free + society has no interest to be compared for an instant in + importance with that of preserving these individual rights. + No nation is free in which this is not the paramount + concern. Woe to America when her sons and her daughters + begin to sneer at rights! Just so long as the citizens are + protected individually in their rights, the towns and + counties and States cannot be stripped; but if the former + lose all love for their own liberties as equal units of + society, the latter will become the empty shells of + creatures long perished. The nation as such, therefore, if + it would be itself free and non-centralized, must find its + own supreme interest in the protection of its individual + citizens in the fullest possible enjoyment of their equal + rights and liberties. + + As this question of woman's enfranchisement is one of national + safety, we ask you to remember that we are citizens of the United + States, and, as such, claim the protection of the national flag + in the exercise of our national rights, in every latitude and + longitude, on sea, land, at home as well as abroad; against the + tyranny of States, as well as against foreign aggressions. Local + authorities may regulate the exercise of these rights; they may + settle all minor questions of property, but the inalienable + personal rights of citizenship should be declared by the + constitution, interpreted by the Supreme Court, protected by + congress and enforced by the arm of the executive. It is nonsense + to talk of State rights until the graver question of personal + liberties is first understood and adjusted. President Hayes, in + reply to an address of welcome at Charlottesville, Va., September + 25, 1877, said: + + Equality under the laws for all citizens is the corner-stone + of the structure of the restored harmony from which the + ancient friendship is to rise. In this pathway I am going, + the pathway where your illustrious men led--your Jefferson, + your Madison, your Monroe, your Washington. + + If, in this statement, President Hayes is thoroughly sincere, + then he will not hesitate to approve emphatically the principle + of national protection for national citizens. He will see that + the protection of all the national citizens in all their rights, + civil, political, and religious--not by the muskets of United + States troops, but by the peaceable authority of United States + courts--is not a principle that applies to a single section of + the country, but to all sections alike; he will see that the + incorporation of such a principle in the constitution cannot be + regarded as a measure of force imposed upon the vanquished, since + it would be law alike to the vanquished and the victor. In short, + he will see that there is no other sufficient guarantee of that + equality of all citizens, which he well declares to be the + "corner-stone of the structure of restored harmony." The Boston + _Journal_ of July 19, said: + + There are cases where it seems as if the constitution should + empower the federal government to step in and protect the + citizen in the State, when the local authorities are in + league with the assassins; but, as it now reads, no such + provision exists. + + That the constitution does not make such provision is not the + fault of the president; it must be attributed to the leading + Republicans who had it in their power once to change the + constitution so as to give the most ample powers to the general + government. When Attorney-General Devens was charged last May + with negligence in not prosecuting the parties accused of the + Mountain Meadow massacre, his defense was, that this horrible + crime was not against the United States, but against the + territory of Utah. Yet, it was a great company of industrious, + honest, unoffending United States citizens who were foully and + brutally murdered in cold blood. When Chief-Justice Waite gave + his charge to the jury in the Ellentown conspiracy cases, at + Charleston, S. C., June 1, 1877, he said: + + That a number of citizens of the United States have been + killed, there can be no question; but that is not enough to + enable the government of the United States to interfere for + their protection. Under the constitution that duty belongs + to the State alone. But when an unlawful combination is made + to interfere with any of the rights of natural citizenship + secured to citizens of the United States by the national + constitution, then an offense is committed against the laws + of the United States, and it is not only the right but the + absolute duty of the national government to interfere and + afford the citizens that protection which every good + government is bound to give. + + General Hawley, in an address before a college last spring, said: + + Why, it is asked, does our government permit outrages in a + State which it would exert all its authority to redress, + even at the risk of war, if they were perpetrated under a + foreign government? Are the rights of American citizens more + sacred on the soil of Great Britain or France than on the + soil of one of our own States? Not at all. But the + government of the United States is clothed with power to act + with imperial sovereignty in the one case, while in the + other its authority is limited to the degree of utter + impotency, in certain circumstances. The State sovereignty + excludes the Federal over most matters of dealing between + man and man, and if the State laws are properly enforced + there is not likely to be any ground of complaint, but if + they are not, the federal government, if not specially + called on according to the terms of the constitution, is + helpless. Citizen A.B., grievously wronged, beaten, robbed, + lynched within a hair's breadth of death, may apply in vain + to any and all prosecuting officers of the State. The forms + of law that might give him redress are all there; the + prosecuting officers, judges, and sheriffs, that might act, + are there; but, under an oppressive and tyrannical public + sentiment, they refuse to move. In such an exigency the + government of the United States can do no more than the + government of any neighboring State; that is, unless the + State concerned calls for aid, or unless the offense rises + to the dignity of insurrection or rebellion. The reason is, + that the framers of our governmental system left to the + several States the sole guardianship of the personal and + relative private rights of the people. + + Such is the imperfect development of our own nationality in this + respect that we have really no right as yet to call ourselves a + nation in the true sense of the word, nor shall we have while + this state of things continues. Thousands have begun to feel this + keenly, of which a few illustrations may suffice. A communication + to the New York _Tribune_, June 9, signed "Merchant," said: + + Before getting into a quarrel and perhaps war with Mexico + about the treatment of our flag and citizens, would it not + be as well, think you, for the government to try and make + the flag a protection to the citizens on our own soil? + + That is what it has never been since the foundation of our + government in a large portion of our common country. The kind of + government the people of this country expect and intend to + have--State rights or no State rights, no matter how much blood + and treasure it may cost--is a government to protect the humblest + citizen in the exercise of all his rights. + + When the rebellion of the South against the government began, one + of the most noted secessionists of Baltimore asked one of the + regular army officers what the government expected to gain by + making war on the South. "Well," the officer replied, laying his + hand on the cannon by which he was standing, "we intend to use + these until it is as safe for a Northern man to express his + political opinions in the South, as it is for a Southern man to + express his in the North." Senator Blaine, at a banquet in + Trenton, N. J., July 2, declared that a "government which did not + offer protection to every citizen in every State had no right to + demand allegiance." Ex-Senator Wade, of Ohio, in a letter to the + Washington _National Republican_ of July 16, said of the + president's policy: + + I greatly fear this policy, under cover of what is called + local self-government, is but an ignominious surrender of + the principles of nationality for which our armies fought + and for which thousands upon thousands of our brave men + died, and without which the war was a failure and our + boasted government a myth. + + Behind the slavery of the colored race was the principle of State + rights. Their emancipation and enfranchisement were important, + not only as a vindication of our great republican idea of + individual rights, but as the first blow in favor of national + unity--of a consistent, homogeneous government. As all our + difficulties, State and national, are finally referred to the + constitution, it is of vital importance that that instrument + should not be susceptible of a different interpretation from + every possible standpoint. It is folly to spend another century + in expounding the equivocal language of the constitution. If + under that instrument, supposed to be the _Magna Charta_ of + American liberties, all United States citizens do not stand equal + before the law, it should without further delay be so amended as + in plain, unmistakable language to declare what are the rights, + privileges, and immunities that belong to citizens of a republic. + + There is no reason why the people of to-day should be governed by + the laws and constitutions of men long since dead and buried. + Surely those who understand the vital issues of this hour are + better able to legislate for the living present than those who + governed a hundred years ago. If the nineteenth century is to be + governed by the opinions of the eighteenth, and the twentieth by + the nineteenth, the world will always be governed by dead men.... + + The cry of centralization could have little significance if the + constitution were so amended as to protect all United States + citizens in their inalienable rights. That national supremacy + that holds individual freedom and equality more sacred than State + rights and secures representation to all classes of people, is a + very different form of centralization from that in which all the + forces of society are centered in a single arm. But the + recognition of the principle of national supremacy, as declared + in the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, has been practically + nullified and the results of the war surrendered, by remanding + woman to the States for the protection of her civil and political + rights. The Supreme Court decisions and the congressional reports + on this point are in direct conflict with the idea of national + unity, and the principle of States rights involved in this + discussion must in time remand all United States citizens alike + to State authority for the protection of those rights declared to + inhere in the people at the foundation of the government. + + You may listen to our demands, gentlemen, with dull ears, and + smile incredulously at the idea of danger to our institutions + from continued violation of the civil and political rights of + women, but the question of what citizens shall enjoy the rights + of suffrage involves our national existence; for, if the + constitutional rights of the humblest citizen may be invaded with + impunity, laws interpreted on the side of injustice, judicial + decisions based not on reason, sound argument, nor the spirit and + letter of our declarations and theories of government, but on the + customs of society and what dead men are supposed to have + thought, not what they said--what will the rights of the ruling + powers even be in the future with a people educated into such + modes of thought and action? The treatment of every individual in + a community--in our courts, prisons, asylums, of every class of + petitioners before congress--strengthens or undermines the + foundations of that temple of liberty whose corner-stones were + laid one century ago with bleeding hands and anxious hearts, with + the hardships, privations, and sacrifices of a seven years' war. + He who is able from the conflicts of the present to forecast the + future events, cannot but contemplate with anxiety the fate of + this republic, unless our constitution be at once subjected to a + thorough emendation, making it more comprehensively democratic. + + A review of the history of our nation during the century will + show the American people that all the obstacles that have impeded + their political, moral and material progress from the dominion of + slavery down to the present epidemic of political corruptions, + are directly and indirectly traceable to the federal constitution + as their source and support. Hence the necessity of prompt and + appropriate amendments. Nothing that is incorrect in principle + can ever be productive of beneficial results, and no custom or + authority is able to alter or overrule this inviolate law of + development. The catch-phrases of politicians, such as "organic + development," "the logic of events," and "things will regulate + themselves," have deceived the thoughtless long enough. There is + just one road to safety, and that is to understand the law + governing the situation and to bring the nation in line with it. + Grave political problems are solved in two ways--by a wise + forethought, and reformation; or by general dissatisfaction, + resistance, and revolution. + + In closing, let me remind you, gentlemen, that woman has not been + a heedless spectator of all the great events of the century, nor + a dull listener to the grand debates on human freedom and + equality. She has learned the lesson of self-sacrifice, + self-discipline, and self-government in the same school with the + heroes of American liberty.[29] + + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, of New York, corresponding secretary of the + association, said: _Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the + Committee_--You have heard the general argument for woman from + Mrs. Stanton, but there are women here from all parts of the + Union, and each one feels that she must say a word to show how + united we stand. It is because we have respect for law that we + come before you to-day. We recognize the fact that in good law + lies the security of all our rights, but as woman has been denied + the constructive rights of the declaration and constitution, she + is obliged to ask for a direct recognition in the adoption of a + sixteenth amendment. + + The first principle of liberty is division of power. In the + country of the czar or the sultan there is no liberty of thought + or action. In limited monarchies power is somewhat divided, and + we find larger liberty and a broader civilization. Coming to the + United States we find a still greater division of power, a still + more extended liberty--civil, religious, political. No nation in + the world is as respected as our own; no title so proud as that + of American citizen; it carries with it abroad a protection as + large as did that of Rome two thousand years ago. But as proud as + is this name of American citizen, it brings with it only shame + and humiliation to one-half of the nation. Woman has no part nor + lot in the matter. The pride of citizenship is not for her, for + woman is still a political slave. While the form of our + government seems to include the whole people, one-half of them + are denied a right to participate in its benefits, are denied the + right of self-government. Woman equally with man has natural + rights; woman equally with man is a responsible being. + + It is said women are not fit for freedom. Well, then, secure us + freedom and make us fit for it. Macaulay said many politicians of + his time were in the habit of laying it down as a self-evident + proposition that no people were fit to be free till they were in + a condition to use their freedom; "but," said Macaulay, "this + maxim is worthy of the fool in the old story, who resolved not to + go into the water till he had learned to swim. If men [or women] + are to wait for liberty till they become good and wise in + slavery, they may indeed wait forever." + + There has been much talk about precedent. Many women in this + country vote upon school questions, and in England at all + municipal elections. I wish to call your attention a little + further back, to the time that the Saxons first established free + government in England. Women, as well as men, took part in the + Witenagemote, the great national council of our Saxon ancestors + in England. When Whightred, king of Kent, in the seventh century, + assembled the national legislature at Baghamstead to enact a new + code of laws, the queen, abbesses, and many ladies of quality + signed the decrees. Also, at Beaconsfield, the abbesses took part + in the council. In the reign of Henry III. four women took seats + in parliament, and in the reign of Edward I. ten ladies were + called to parliament and helped to govern Great Britain. Also, in + 1252, Henry left his Queen Elinor as keeper of the great seal, or + lord chancellor, while he went abroad. She sat in the Aula Regia, + the highest court of the kingdom, holding the highest judicial + power in great Britain. Not only among our forefathers in Britain + do we find that women took part in government, but, going back to + the Roman Empire, we find the Emperor Heliogabalus introducing + his mother into the senate, and giving her a seat near the + consuls. He also established a senate of women, which met on the + Collis Quirinalis. When Aurelian was emperor he favored the + representation of women, and determined to revive this senate, + which in lapse of time had fallen to decay. Plutarch mentions + that women sat and deliberated in councils, and on questions of + peace and war. Hence we have precedents extending very far back + into history. + + It is sometimes said that women do not desire freedom. But I tell + you the desire for freedom lives in every heart. It may be hidden + as the water of the never-freezing, rapid-flowing river Neva is + hidden. In the winter the ice from Lake Lagoda floats down till + it is met by the ice setting up from the sea, when they unite and + form a compact mass over it. Men stand upon it, sledges run over + it, splendid palaces are built upon it; but beneath all the Neva + still rapidly flows, itself unfrozen. The presence of these women + before you shows their desire for freedom. They have come from + the North, from the South, from the East, from the West, and from + the far Pacific slope, demanding freedom for themselves and for + all women. + + Our demands are often met by the most intolerable tyranny. The + Albany _Law Journal_, one of the most influential legal journals + of the great State of New York, had the assurance a few years ago + to tell Miss Anthony and myself if we were not suited with "our + laws" we could leave the country. What laws did they mean? Men's + laws. If we were not suited with these men's laws, made by them + to protect themselves, we could leave the country. We were + advised to expatriate ourselves, to banish ourselves. But we + shall not do it. It is our country, and we shall stay here and + change the laws. We shall secure their amendment, so that under + them there shall be exact and permanent political equality + between men and women. Change is not only a law of life; it is an + essential proof of the existence of life. This country has + attained its greatness by ever enlarging the bounds of freedom. + + In our hearts we feel that there is a word sweeter than mother, + home, or heaven. That word is LIBERTY. We ask it of you now. We + say to you, secure to us this liberty--the same liberty you have + yourselves. In doing this you will not render yourselves poor, + but will make us rich indeed. + + Mrs. STEWART of Delaware, in illustrating the folly of adverse + arguments based on woman's ignorance of political affairs, gave + an amusing account of her colored man servant the first time he + voted. He had been full of bright anticipations of the coming + election day, and when it dawned at last, he asked if he could be + spared from his work an hour or so, to vote. "Certainly, Jo," + said she, "by all means; go to the polls and do your duty as a + citizen." Elated with his new-found dignity, Jo ran down the + road, and with a light heart and shining face deposited his vote. + On his return Mrs. Stewart questioned him as to his success at + the polls. "Well," said he, "first one man nabbed me and gave me + the tickets he said I ought to vote, and then another man did the + same. I said yes to both and put the tickets in my pocket. I had + no use for those Republican or Democratic bits of paper." "Well, + Jo," said Mrs. Stewart, "what did you do?" "Why I took that piece + of paper that I paid $2.50 for and put it in the box. I knew that + was worth something." "Alas! Jo," said his mistress, "you voted + your tax receipt, so your first vote has counted nothing." Do you + think, gentlemen, said Mrs. Stewart, that such women as attend + our conventions, and speak from our platform, could make so + ludicrous a blunder? I think not. + + The Rev. OLYMPIA BROWN, a delegate from Connecticut, addressed + the committee as follows: _Gentlemen of the Committee_--I would + not intrude upon your time and exhaust your patience by any + further hearing upon this subject if it were not that men are + continually saying to us that we do not want the ballot; that it + is only a handful of women that have ever asked for it; and I + think by our coming up from these different States, from + Delaware, from Oregon, from Missouri, from Connecticut, from New + Hampshire, and giving our testimony, we shall convince you that + it is not a few merely, but that it is a general demand from the + women in all the different States of the Union; and if we come + here with stammering tongues, causing you to laugh by the very + absurdity of the manner in which we advocate our opinions, it + will only convince you that it is not a few "gifted" women, but + the rank and file of the women of our country unaccustomed to + such proceedings as these, who come here to tell you that we all + desire the right of suffrage. Nor shall our mistakes and + inability to advocate our cause in an effective manner be an + argument against us, because it is not the province of voters to + conduct meetings in Washington. It is rather their province to + stay at home and quietly read the proceeding of members of + congress, and if they find these proceedings correct, to vote to + return them another year. So that our very mistakes shall argue + for us and not against us. + + In the ages past the right of citizenship meant the right to + enjoy or possess or attain all those civil and political rights + that are enjoyed by any other citizen. But here we have a class + who can bear the burdens and punishments of citizens, but cannot + enjoy their privileges and rights. But even the meanest may + petition, and so we come with our thousands of petitions, asking + you to protect us against the unjust discriminations imposed by + State laws. Nor do we find that there is any conflict between the + duties of the national government and the functions of the State. + The United States government has to do with general interests, + but everything that is special, has to do with sectional + interests, belongs to the State. Said Charles Sumner: + + The State exercises its proper functions when it makes local + laws, promotes local charities, and by its local knowledge + brings the guardianship of government to the homes of its + citizens; but the State transcends its proper functions when + in any manner it interferes with those equal rights recorded + in the Declaration of Independence. + + The State is local, the United States is universal. And, says + Charles Sumner, "What can be more universal than the rights of + man?" I would add, "What can be more universal than the rights of + woman?" extending further than the rights of man, because woman + is the heaven-appointed guardian of the home; because woman by + her influence and in her office as an educator makes the + character of man; because women are to be found wherever men are + to be found, as their mothers bringing them into the world, + watching them, teaching them, guiding them into manhood. Wherever + there is a home, wherever there is a human interest, there is to + be felt the interest of women, and so this cause is the most + universal of any cause under the sun; and, therefore, it has a + claim upon the general government. Therefore we come petitioning + that you will protect us in our rights, by aiding us in the + passage of the sixteenth amendment, which will make the + constitution plain in our favor, or by such actions as will + enable us to cast our ballots at the polls without being + interfered with by State authorities. And we hope you will do + this at no distant day. I hope you will not send my sister, the + honorable lady from Delaware, to the boy, Jo, to ask him to + define her position in the republic. I hope you will not bid any + of these women at home to ask ignorant men whether they may be + allowed to discharge their obligations as citizens in the matter + of suffrage. I hope you will not put your wives and mothers in + the power of men who have never given a half hour's consideration + to the subject of government, and who are wholly unfit to + exercise their judgment as to whether women should have the right + of suffrage. + + I will not insult your common sense by bringing up the old + arguments as to whether we have the right to vote. I believe + every man of you knows we have that right--that our right to vote + is based upon the same authority as yours. I believe every man + understands that, according to the declaration and the + constitution, women should be allowed to exercise the right of + suffrage, and therefore it is not necessary for me to do more + than bear my testimony from the State of Connecticut, and tell + you that the women from the rank and file, the law-abiding women, + desire the ballot; not only that they desire it, but they mean + to have it. And to accomplish this result I need not remind you + that they will work year in and year out, that they will besiege + members of congress everywhere, and that they will come here year + after year asking you to protect them in their rights and to see + that justice is done in the republic. Therefore, for your own + peace, we hope you will not keep us waiting a long time. The fact + that some States have made, temporarily, some good laws, does not + weaken our demand upon you for the protection which the ballot + gives to every citizen. Our interests are still uncared for, and + we do not wish to be thus sent from pillar to post to get our + rights. We wish to take our stand as citizens of the United + States, as we have been declared to be by the Supreme Court, and + we wish to be protected in the rights of citizenship. We hope the + day is at hand when our prayers will be heard by you. Let us have + at an early day in the _Congressional Record_, a report of the + proceedings of this committee, and the action of the Senate in + favor of woman's right to vote. + +Brief remarks were also made by Mrs. Lawrence of Massachusetts, +Mary A. Thompson, M. D., of Oregon, Mary Powers Filley of New +Hampshire, Mrs. Blake of New York, Mrs. Hooker of Connecticut, and +Sara Andrews Spencer of Washington. + +At the close of these two day's hearings before the Committee on +Privileges and Elections,[30] Senator Hoar of Massachusetts, +offered, and the committee adopted the following complimentary +resolution: + + _Resolved_, That the arguments upon the very important questions + discussed before the committee have been presented with + propriety, dignity and ability, and that the committee will + consider the same on Tuesday next, at 10 A.M. + +The Washington _Evening Star_ of January 11, 1876, said: + + The woman suffrage question will be a great political issue some + day. A movement in the direction of alleged rights by a body of + American citizens cannot be forever checked, even though its + progress may for many years be very gradual. Now that the + advocates of suffrage for woman have become convinced that the + thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments are not + sufficiently explicit to make woman's right to vote unquestioned, + and that a sixteenth amendment is necessary to effect the + practical exercise of the right, the millennial period that they + look for is to all intents and purposes indefinitely postponed, + for constitutional amendments are not passed in a day. But there + are so many sound arguments to be advanced in favor of woman + suffrage that it cannot fail in time to be weighed as a matter of + policy, after it shall have been overwhelmingly conceded as a + matter of right. And it is noticeable that the arguments of the + opponents are coming more and more to be based on expediency, and + hardly attempt to answer the claim that as American citizens + women are entitled to the right. If the whole body of American + women desired the practical exercise of this right, it is hard to + see what valid opposition to their claims could be made. All this + however does not amend the constitution. Woman suffrage must + become a matter of policy for a political party before it can be + realized. Congress does not pass revolutionary measures on + abstract considerations of right. This question is of a nature to + become a living political issue after it has been sufficiently + ridiculed. + +On Saturday evening, January 12, a reception was given to the +delegates to the convention by Hon. Alexander H. Stephens of +Georgia, at the National Hotel. The suite of rooms so long occupied +by this liberal representative of the South, was thus opened to +unwonted guests--women asking for the same rights gained at the +point of the sword by his former slaves! Seated in his wheel-chair, +from which he had so often been carried by a faithful attendant to +his place in the House of Representatives, he cordially welcomed +the ladies as they gathered about him, assuring them of his +interest in this question and promising his aid. + +For the first time Miss Julia Smith of anti-tax fame, of +Glastonbury, Connecticut, was present at a Washington convention. +She was the recipient of much social attention. A reception was +tendered her by Mrs. Spofford of the Riggs House, giving people an +opportunity to meet this heroic woman of eighty-three, who, with +her younger sister Abby, had year after year suffered the sale of +their fine Jersey cows and beautiful meadow lands, rather than pay +taxes while unrepresented. Many women, notable in art, science and +literature, and men high in political station were present on this +occasion. All crowded about Miss Smith, as, supported by Mrs. +Hooker, in response to a call for a speech, particularly in regard +to the Gladstonbury cows, as famous as herself, she said: + + There are but two of our cows left at present, Taxey and Votey. + It is something a little peculiar that Taxey is very obtrusive; + why, I can scarcely step out of doors without being confronted by + her, while Votey is quiet and shy, but she is growing more docile + and domesticated every day, and it is my opinion that in a very + short time, wherever you find Taxey there Votey will be also. + +At the close of Miss Smith's remarks, Abby Hutchinson Patton sang +"Auld Lang Syne" in a very effective manner; one or two readings +followed, a few modern ballads were sung, and thus closed the +first of the many delightful receptions given by Mr. and Mrs. +Spofford to the officers and members of the National Association. + +Mrs. Hooker spent several weeks at the Riggs House, holding +frequent woman suffrage conversazioni in its elegant parlors; also +speaking upon the question at receptions given in her honor by the +wives of members of congress, or residents of Washington.[31] + +During the week of the convention, public attention was called to a +scarcely known Anti-Woman Suffrage Society, formed in 1871, of +which Mrs. General Sherman, Mrs. Admiral Dahlgren and Mrs. Almira +Lincoln Phelps were officers, by the publication of an undelivered +letter from Mrs. Phelps to Mrs. Hooker: + + _To the Editor of the Post:_ + + The following was written nearly seven years since, but was never + sent to Mrs. Hooker. The letter chanced to appear among old + papers, and as there is a meeting of women suffragists, with Mrs. + Hooker present, and, moreover, as they have mentioned the names + of Mrs. Dahlgren and Mrs. General Sherman, opposers, I am willing + to bear my share of the opposition, as I acted as corresponding + secretary to the Anti-Suffrage Society, which was formed under + the auspices of these ladies. + + Mrs. DAHLGREN. + + + EUTAW PLACE, BALTIMORE, January, 30, 1871. + + _To Mrs. Beecher Hooker:_ + + DEAR MADAM--Hoping you will receive kindly what I am about to + write, I will proceed without apologies. I have confidence in + your nobleness of soul, and that you know enough of me to believe + in my devotion to the best interests of woman. I can scarcely + realize that you are giving your name and influence to a cause, + which, with some good but, as I think, misguided women, numbers + among its advocates others with loose morals. * * * We are, my + dear madam, as I suppose, related through our common ancester + Thomas Hooker. * * * Your husband, I believe, stands in the same + relation to that good and noble man. Perhaps he may think with + you on this woman suffrage question, but it does seem to me that + a wife honoring her husband would not wish to join in such a + crusade as is now going on to put woman on an equality with the + rabble at the "hustings." If we could with propriety petition the + Almighty to change the condition of the sexes and let men take a + turn in bearing children and in suffering the physical ailments + peculiar to women, which render them unfit for certain positions + and business, why, in this case, if we really wish to be men, and + thought God would change the established order, we might make our + petition; but why ask congress to make us men? Circumstances drew + me from the quiet of domestic life while I was yet young; but + success in labors which involved publicity, and which may have + been of advantage to society, was never considered as an + equivalent to my own heart for the loss of such retirement. In + the name of my sainted sister, Emma Willard, and of my friend + Lydia Sigourney, and I think I might say in the name of the women + of the past generation, who have been prominent as writers and + educators (the exception may be made of Mary Wollstonecraft, + Frances Wright, and a few licentious French writers) in our own + country and in Europe, let me urge the high-souled and honorable + of our sex to turn their energies into that channel which will + enable them to act for the true interests of their sex. + + Yours respectfully, + ALMIRA LINCOLN PHELPS. + +To which Mrs. Hooker, through _The Post_, replied: + + WASHINGTON, January 15, 1878. + + Mrs. DAHLGREN--_Dear Madam_: Permit me to thank you for the + opportunity to exonerate myself and the women of the suffrage + movement all over the United States from the charge of favoring + immorality in any form. I did not know before that Mrs. Phelps, + whom I have always held in highest esteem as an educator and as + one of the most advanced thinkers of her day, had so misconceived + the drift of our movement; and you will pardon me, dear madam, + for saying that it is hardly possible that Mrs. Sherman and + yourself, in your opposition to it, can have been influenced by + any apprehension that the women suffragists of the United States + would, if entrusted with legislative power, proceed to use it for + the desecration of their own sex, and the pollution of the souls + of their husbands, brothers and sons. But having been publicly + accused through your instrumentality of sympathy with the + licentious practices of men, I shall take the liberty to send you + a dozen copies of a little book entitled, "Womanhood; its + Sanctities and Fidelities," which I published in 1874 for the + specific purpose of bringing to the notice of American women the + wonderful work being done across the water in the suppression of + "State Patronage of Vice." * * * It is with a deep sense of + gratitude to God that I am able to say that, according to my + knowledge and belief, every woman in our movement, whether + officer or private, is in sympathy with the spirit of this little + book. I know of no inharmony here, however we may differ upon + minor points of expediency as to the best methods of working for + the political advancement of woman. And further, it is the deep + conviction of us all that the chief stumbling-block in the way of + our obtaining the use of the ballot, is the apprehension among + men of low degree that they will surely be limited in their base + and brutal and sensual indulgencies when women are armed with + equal political power. + + As to my husband, to whose ancestry Mrs. Phelps so kindly + alludes, permit me to say that he is not only descended from + Thomas Hooker, the beloved first pastor of the old Centre Church + in Hartford, and founder of the State of Connecticut, but further + back his lineage takes root in one of England's most honored + names, Richard Hooker, surnamed "The Judicious"; and I have been + accustomed to say that, however it may be as to learning and + position, the characteristic of judiciousness has not departed + from the American stock. I will only add that Mr. Hooker is + treasurer of our State suffrage association, and has spoken on + the platform with me as president, whenever his professional + duties would permit, and that he is the author of a tract on "The + Bible and Woman Suffrage." Our society has printed several + thousand copies of this tract, and the London National Women's + Suffrage Society has reprinted it with words of high commendation + for distribution in Great Britain. * * * And now, dear madam, + thanking you once more for this most unexpected and most grateful + opportunity for correcting misapprehensions that others may have + entertained as well as Mrs. Phelps in regard to the design and + tendencies of our movement, may I not ask that you will kindly + read and consider the papers I shall take the liberty to send + you, and hand them to your co-workers at your convenience? + + That we all, as women who love our country and our kind, may be + led to honor each other in our personal relations, while we work + each in her respective way for that higher order of manhood and + womanhood that alone can exalt our nation to the ideal of the + fathers and mothers of the early republic, and preserve us an + honored place among the peoples of the earth, is the prayer of + + Yours sincerely, + ISABELLA BEECHER HOOKER. + +Evidently left without even the name of Mrs. Sherman or the +Anti-Suffrage Society to sustain her, Mrs. Dahlgren memorialized +the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections against the +submission of the sixteenth amendment: + + _To the Honorable Committee on Privileges and Elections:_ + + GENTLEMEN--Allow me, in courtesy, as a petitioner, to present one + or two considerations regarding a sixteenth amendment, by which + it is proposed to confer the right of suffrage upon the women of + the United States. I ask this favor also in the interests of the + masses of silent women, whose silence does not give consent, but + who, in most modest earnestness, deprecate having the political + life forced upon them. + + This grave question is not one of simple expediency or the + reverse; it might properly be held, were this the case, as a + legitimate subject for agitation. Our reasons of dissent to this + dangerous inroad upon all precedent, lie deeper and strike + higher. They are based upon that which in all Christian nations + must be recognized as the higher law, the fundamental law upon + which Christian society in its very construction must rest; and + that law, as defined by the Almighty, is immutable. Through it + the women of this Christian land, as mothers, wives, sisters, + daughters, have distinct duties to perform of the most complex + order, yet of the very highest and most sacred nature. + + If in addition to all these responsibilities, others, + appertaining to the domain assigned to men, are allotted to us, + we shall be made the victims of an oppression not intended by a + kind and wise Providence, and from which the refining influences + of Christian civilization have emancipated us. We have but to + look at the condition of our Indian sister, upon whose bended + back the heavy pack is laid by her lord and master; who treads in + subjection the beaten pathway of equal rights, and compare her + situation with our own, to thank the God of Christian nations who + has placed us above that plane, where right is might, and might + is tyranny. We cannot without prayer and protest see our + cherished privileges endangered, and have granted us only in + exchange the so-called equal rights. We need more, and we claim, + through our physical weakness and your courtesy as Christian + gentlemen, that protection which we need for the proper discharge + of those sacred and inalienable functions and rights conferred + upon us by God. To these the vote, which is not a natural right + (otherwise why not confer it upon idiots, lunatics, and adult + boys) would be adverse. + + When women ask for a distinct political life, a separate vote, + they forget or they willfully ignore the higher law, whose logic + may be thus condensed: Marriage is a sacred unity. The family, + through it, is the foundation of the State. Each family is + represented by its head, just as the State ultimately finds the + same unity, through a series of representations. Out of this come + peace, concord, proper representation, and adjustment--union. + + The new doctrine, which is illusive, may be thus defined: + Marriage is a mere compact, and means diversity. Each family, + therefore, must have a separate individual representation, out of + which arises diversity or division, and discord is the + corner-stone of the State. + + Gentlemen, we cannot displace the corner-stone without + destruction to the edifice itself! The subject is so vast, has so + many side issues, that a volume might as readily be laid before + your honorable committee as these few words hastily written with + an aching woman's heart. Personally, if any woman in this vast + land has a grievance by not having a vote, I may claim that + grievance to be mine. With father, brother, husband, son, taken + away by death, I stand utterly alone, with minor children to + educate and considerable property interests to guard. But I would + deem it unpatriotic to ask for a general law which must prove + disastrous to my country, in order to meet that exceptional + position in which, by the adorable will of God, I am placed. I + prefer, indeed, to trust to that moral influence over men which + intelligence never fails to exercise, and which is really more + potent in the management of business affairs than the direct + vote. In this I am doubtless as old-fashioned as were our + grandmothers, who assisted to mold this vast republic. They knew + that the greatest good for the greatest number was the only safe + legislative law, and that to it all exceptional cases must + submit. + + Gentlemen, in conclusion, a sophism in legislation is not a mere + abstraction; it must speedily bear fruit in material results of + the most disastrous nature, and I implore your honorable + committee, in behalf of our common country, not to open a + Pandora's box by way of experiment from whence so much evil must + issue, and which once opened may never again be closed. + + Very respectfully, + MADELEINE VINTON DAHLGREN. + +Mrs. Dahlgren was ably reviewed by Virginia L. Minor of St. Louis, +and the Toledo Woman Suffrage Association. Mrs. Minor said: + + In assuming to speak for the "silent masses" of women, Mrs. + Dahlgren declares that silence does not give consent; very + inconsequently forgetting, that if it does not on one side of the + question, it may not on the other, and that she may no more + represent them than do we. + +The Toledo society, through its president Mrs. Rose L. Segur, said: + + We agree with you that this grave question is not one of + expediency. It is simply one of right and justice, and therefore + a most legitimate subject for agitation. As a moral force woman + must have a voice in the government, or partial and unjust + legislation is the result from which arise the evils consequent + upon a government based upon the enslavement of half its + citizens. + +To this Mrs. Dahlgren replied briefly, charging the ladies with +incapacity to comprehend her. + +The week following the convention a hearing was granted by the +House Judiciary Committee to Dr. Mary Walker of Washington, Mary A. +Tillotson of New Jersey and Mrs. N. Cromwell of Arkansas, urging a +report in favor of woman's enfranchisement. On January 28, the +House sub-committee on territories granted a hearing to Dr. Mary +Walker and Sara Andrews Spencer, in opposition to the bill +proposing the disfranchisement of the women of Utah as a means of +suppressing polygamy. + +On January 30 the House Judiciary Committee granted Mrs. Hooker a +hearing. Of the eleven members of the committee nearly all were +present.[32] The room and all the corridors leading to it were +crowded with men and women eager to hear Mrs. Hooker's speech. At +the close of the two hours occupied in its delivery, Chairman Knott +thanked her in the name of the committee for her able argument. + +Immediately after this hearing Mr. Frye of Maine, in presenting in +the House of Representatives the petitions of 30,000 persons asking +the right of women to vote upon the question of temperance, +referred in a very complimentary manner to Mrs. Hooker's argument, +to which he had just listened. Upon this prayer a hearing was +granted to the president and ex-president of the Woman's Christian +Temperance Union, Frances E. Willard and Annie E. Wittenmyer. + +Hon. George F. Hoar of Massachusetts, February 4, presented in the +Senate the 120 petitions with their 6,261 signatures, which, by +special request of its officers, had been returned to the +headquarters of the American Association, in Boston. In her appeal +to the friends to circulate the petitions, both State and national, +Lucy Stone, chairman of its executive committee, said: + + The American Suffrage Association has always recommended + petitions to congress for a sixteenth amendment. But it + recognizes the far greater importance of petitioning the State + legislatures. _First_--Because suffrage is a subject referred by + the constitution to the voters of each State. _Second_--Because + we cannot expect a congress composed solely of representatives of + States which deny suffrage to women, to submit an amendment which + their own States have not yet approved. Just so it would have + been impossible to secure the submission of negro suffrage by a + congress composed solely of representatives from States which + restricted suffrage to white men. While therefore we advise our + friends to circulate both petitions together for signature, we + urge them to give special prominence to those which apply to + their own State legislatures, and to see that these are presented + and urged by competent speakers next winter. + +By request of a large number of the senators,[33] the Committee on +Privileges and Elections granted a special hearing to Mrs. Hooker +on Washington's birthday--February 22, 1878. It being understood +that the wives of the senators were bringing all the forces of +fashionable society to bear in aid of Mrs. Dahlgren's protest +against the pending sixteenth amendment, the officers of the +National Association issued cards of invitation asking their +presence at this hearing. We copy from the Washington _Post_: + + The conflicting rumors as to who would be admitted to hear Mrs. + Hooker's argument before the Senate Committee on Privileges and + Elections, led to the assembling of large numbers of women in + various places about the capitol yesterday morning. At 11 o'clock + the doors were opened and the committee-room at once filled.[34] + Mrs. Hooker, with the fervor and eloquence of her family, + reviewed all the popular arguments against woman suffrage. She + said she once believed that twenty years was little time enough + for a foreigner to live in this country before he could cast a + ballot. She understands the spirit of our institutions better + now. If disfranchisement meant annihilation, there might be + safety in disfranchising the poor, the ignorant, the vicious. But + it does not. It means danger to everything we hold dear. + + The corner-stone of this republic is God's own doctrine of + liberty and responsibility. Liberty is the steam, responsibility + the brakes, and election-day, the safety-valve. The foreigner + comes to this country expecting to find it a paradise. He finds, + indeed, a ladder reaching to the skies, but resting upon the + earth, and he is at the bottom round. But on one day in the year + he is as good as the richest man in the land. He can make the + banker stand in the line behind him until he votes, and if he has + wrongs he learns how to right them. If he has mistaken ideas of + liberty, he is instructed what freedom means. + + Wire-pulling politicians may well fear to have women + enfranchised. There are too many of them, and they have had too + much experience in looking after the details of their households + to be easily duped by the tricks of politicians. You can't keep + women away from primary meetings as you do intelligent men. Women + know that every corner in the house must be inspected if the + house is to be clean. Fathers and brothers want women to vote so + that they can have a decent place for a primary meeting, a decent + place to vote in and a decent man to vote for. + + The Indian question would have been peacefully and righteously + settled long ago without any standing army, if Lucretia Mott + could have led in the councils of the nation, and the millions + spent in fighting the Indians might have been used in + kindergartens for the poor, to some lasting benefit. Down with + the army, down with appropriation bills to repair the + consequences of wrong-doing, when women vote. Millions more of + women would ask for this if it were not for the cruelty and abuse + men have heaped upon the advocates of woman suffrage. Men have + made it a terrible martyrdom for women even to ask for their + rights, and then say to us, "convert the women." No, no, men have + put up the bars. They must take them down. Mrs. Hooker reviewed + the Chinese question, the labor question, the subjects of + compulsory education, reformation, police regulations, the social + evil, and many other topics upon which men vainly attempt to + legislate without the loving wisdom of mothers, sisters and + daughters. The senators most interested in the argument were + observed to be those previously most unfriendly to woman + suffrage. + +It was during this winter that Marilla M. Ricker of New Hampshire, +then studying criminal law in Washington and already having quite +an extensive practice, applied to the commissioners of the District +of Columbia for an appointment as notary public. The question of +the eligibility of woman to the office was referred to the +district-attorney, Hon. Albert G. Riddle, formerly a member of +congress from Ohio, and at that time one of the most prominent +criminal and civil lawyers before the bar. Mr. Riddle's reply was +an able and exhaustive argument, clearly showing there was no law +to prevent women from holding the office. But notwithstanding this +opinion from their own attorney, the commissioners rejected Mrs. +Ricker's application.[35] + +Bills to prohibit the Supreme Court from denying the admission of +lawyers on the ground of sex had been introduced at each session of +congress during the past four years. The House bill No. 1,077, +entitled "A bill to relieve certain disabilities of women," was +this year championed by Hon. John M. Glover of Missouri, and passed +by a vote of 169 ayes to 87 nays. In the Senate, Hon. George F. +Edmunds of Vermont, chairman of the Judiciary Committee reported +adversely. While the question was pending, Mrs. Lockwood addressed +a brief to the Senate, ably refuting the assertion of the Court +that it was contrary to English precedent: + + _To the Honorable, the Senate of the United States:_ + + The provisions of this bill are so stringent, that to the + ordinary mind it would seem that the conditions are hard enough + for the applicant to have well earned the honor of the + preferment, without making _sex_ a disability. The fourteenth + amendment to the constitution declares that: + + All persons born or naturalized in the United States and + subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are _citizens_ of the + United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State + shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the + privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States. + Nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or + property without due process of law, nor deny to any person + within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. + + To deny the right asked in this bill would be to deny to women + citizens the rights guaranteed in the Declaration of Independence + to be self-evident and inalienable, "life, liberty and the + pursuit of happiness"; a denial of one of the fundamental rights + of a portion of the citizens of the commonwealth to acquire + property in the most honorable profession of the law, thereby + perpetuating an invidious distinction between male and female + citizens equally amenable to the law, and having an equal + interest in all of the institutions created and perpetuated by + this government. The articles of confederation declare that: + + The free inhabitants of each of these States--paupers and + fugitives from justice excepted--shall be entitled to all + privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several + States. + + Article 4 of the constitution says: + + Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the + public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every + other State. + + Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Wyoming, + Utah, and the District of Columbia admit women to the bar. What + then? Shall the second cooerdinate branch of the government, the + judiciary, refuse to grant what it will not permit the States to + deny, the privileges and immunities of citizens, and say to + women-attorneys when they have followed their cases through the + State courts to that tribunal beyond which there is no appeal, + "You cannot come in here we are too holy," or in the words of the + learned chancellor declare that: + + By the uniform practice of the court from its organization + to the present time, and by a fair construction of its + rules, none but men are admitted to practice before it as + attorneys and counselors. This is in accordance with + immemorial usage in England, and the law and practice in all + the States until within a recent period, and the court does + not feel called upon to make a change until such a change is + required by statute, or a more extended practice in the + highest courts of the States. + + With all due respect for this opinion, we beg leave to quote the + rule for admission to the bar of that court as laid down in the + rule book: + + RULE NO. 2.--_Attorneys_: It shall be requisite to the + admission of attorneys or counselors to practice in this + court, that they shall have been such for three years past + in the Supreme Courts of the States to which they + respectively belong, and that their private and professional + character shall appear to be fair. + + There is nothing in this rule or in the oath which follows it, + either express or implied, which confines the membership of the + bar of the United States Supreme Court to the male sex. Had any + such term been included therein it would virtually be nullified + by the first paragraph of the United States Revised Statutes, + ratified by the forty-third congress, June 20, 1875, in which + occur the following words: + + In determining the meaning of the Revised Statutes, or of + any act or resolution of congress passed subsequent to + February 25, 1871, words importing the singular number may + extend and be applied to several persons or things; words + importing the masculine gender may be applied to _females_, + etc., etc. + + Now, as to "immemorial usage in England." The executive branch of + that government has been vested in an honored and honorable woman + for the past forty years. Is it to be supposed if this + distinguished lady or any one of her accomplished daughters + should ask to be heard at the bar of the Court of the Queen's + Bench, the practice of which the United States Supreme Court has + set up as its model, that she would be refused? + + Blackstone recounts that Ann, Countess of Pembroke, held the + office of sheriff of Westmoreland and exercised its duties in + person. At the assizes at Appleby she sat with the judges on the + bench. (See Coke on Lit., p. 326.) The Scotch sheriff is properly + a judge, and by the statute 20, Geo., II, c. 43, he must be a + lawyer of three years standing. + + Eleanor, Queen of Henry III. of England, in the year 1253, was + appointed lady-keeper of the great seal, or the supreme + chancellor of England, and sat in the _Aula Regia_, or King's + Court. She in turn appointed Kilkenny, arch-deacon of Coventry, + as the sealer of writs and common-law instruments, but the more + important matters she executed in person. + + Queen Elizabeth held the great seal at three several times during + her remarkable reign. After the death of Lord-keeper Bacon she + presided for two months in the _Aula Regia_. + + It is claimed that "admission to the bar constitutes an office." + Every woman postmaster, pension agent and notary public + throughout the land is a bonded officer of the government. The + Western States have elected women as school superintendents and + appointed them as enrolling and engrossing clerks in their + several legislatures, and as State librarians. Of what use are + our seminaries and colleges for women if after they have passed + through the curriculum of the schools there is for them no + preferment, and no emolument; no application of the knowledge of + the arts and sciences acquired, and no recognition of the + excellence attained? + + But this country, now in the second year of the second century of + her history, is no longer in her leading strings, that she should + look to Mother England for a precedent to do justice to the + daughters of the land. She had to make a precedent when the first + male lawyer was admitted to the bar of the United States Supreme + Court. Ah! this country is one that has not hesitated when the + necessity has arisen to make precedents and write them in blood. + There was no precedent for this free republican government and + the war of the rebellion; no precedent for the emancipation of + the slave; no precedent for the labor strikes of last summer. The + more extended practice, and the more extended public opinion + referred to by the learned chancellor have already been + accomplished. Ah! that very opinion, telegraphed throughout the + land by the associated press, brought back the response of the + people as on the wings of the wind asking you for that special + act now so nearly consummated, which shall open this professional + door to women. + + BELVA A. LOCKWOOD, _Attorney and Solicitor_. + _Washington, D. C._, March 7, 1878. + +Mrs. Lockwood's bill, with Senator Edmond's adverse report, was +reached on the Senate calendar April 22, 1878, and provoked a +spirited discussion. Hon. A. A. Sargent, made a gallant fight in +favor of the bill, introducing the following amendment: + + No person shall be excluded from practicing as an attorney + and counselor at law in any court of the United States on + account of sex. + + Mr. SARGENT: Mr. President, the best evidence that members of the + legal profession have no jealousy against the admission of women + to the bar who have the proper learning, is shown by this + document which I hold in my hand, signed by one hundred and + fifty-five lawyers of the District of Columbia, embracing the + most eminent men in the ranks of that profession. That there is + no jealousy or consideration of impropriety on the part of the + various States is shown by the fact that the legislatures of many + of the States have recently admitted women to the bar; and my own + State, California, has passed such a law within the last week or + two; Illinois has done the same thing; so have Michigan, + Minnesota, Missouri and North Carolina; and Wyoming, Utah and the + District of Columbia among the territories have also done it. + There is no reason in principle why women should not be admitted + to this profession or the profession of medicine, provided they + have the learning to enable them to be useful in those + professions, and useful to themselves. Where is the propriety in + opening our colleges, our higher institutions of learning, or any + institutions of learning, to women, and then when they have + acquired in the race with men the cultivation for higher + employment, to shut them out? There certainly is none. We should + either restrict the laws allowing the liberal education of women, + or, we should allow them to exercise the talents which are + cultivated at the public expense in such departments of + enterprise and knowledge as will be useful to society and will + enable them to gain a living. The tendency is in this direction. + I believe the time has passed to consider it a ridiculous thing + for women to appear upon the lecture platform or in the pulpit, + for women to attend to the treatment of diseases as physicians + and nurses, to engage in any literary employment, or appear at + the bar. Some excellent women in the United States are now + practicing at the bar, acceptably received before courts and + juries; and when they have conducted their cases to a successful + issue or an unsuccessful one in any court below, why should the + United States courts to which an appeal may be taken and where + their adversaries of the male sex may follow the case up, why + should these courts be closed to these women? * * * + + Mr. GARLAND: I should like to ask the senator from California if + the courts of the United States cannot admit them upon their own + motion anyhow? + + Mr. SARGENT: I think there is nothing in the law prohibiting it, + but the Supreme Court of the United States recently in passing + upon the question of the admission of a certain lady, said that + until some legislation took place they did not like to depart + from the precedent set in England, or until there was more + general practice among the States. The learned chief-justice, + perhaps, did not sufficiently reflect when he stated that there + were no English precedents. The fact is that Elizabeth herself + sat in the _Aula Regia_ and administered the law, and in both + Scotland and England women have fulfilled the function of judges. + The instances are not numerous but they are well established in + history. I myself have had my attention called to the fact that + in the various States the women are now admitted by special + legislation to the bar. I do not think there is anything in the + law, properly considered, that would debar a woman from coming + into this profession. I think the Supreme Court should not have + required further legislation, but it seems to have done so, and + that makes the necessity for the amendment which I have now + offered. + + The chairman of the committee in reporting this bill back from + the Judiciary Committee said that the bill as it passed the House + of Representatives gave privileges to women which men did not + enjoy; that is to say, the Supreme Court can by a change of rule + require further qualification of men, whereas in regard to women, + if this provision were put into the statute, the Supreme Court + could not rule them out even though it may be necessary in its + judgment to get a higher standard of qualifications than its + present rules prescribe. Although I observe that my time is up, I + ask indulgence for a moment or two longer. As this is a question + of some interest and women cannot appear here to speak for + themselves, I hope I may be allowed to speak for them a moment. + Now, there is something in the objection stated by the chairman + of the Committee on the Judiciary--that is to say, the bill would + take the rule of the Supreme Court and put it in the statute and + apply it to women, thereby conferring exceptional privileges; but + that is not my intention at all, and therefore I have proposed + that women shall not be excluded from practicing law, if they are + otherwise qualified, on account of sex, and that is the provision + which I want to send back to the Judiciary Committee. + + Mr. GARLAND: I wish to ask one question of the senator from + California. Suppose the court should exclude women, but not on + account of sex, then what is their remedy? + + Mr. SARGENT: I do not see any pretense that the court could + exclude them on except on account of sex. + + Mr. GARLAND: If I recollect the rule of the Supreme Court in + regard to the admission of practitioners (and I had to appear + there twice to present my claim before I could carry on my + profession in that court), I do not think any legislation is + necessary to aid them by giving them any more access to that + court than they have at present under the rules of the Supreme + Court. + + Mr. SARGENT: I believe if the laws now existing were properly + construed (of course I speak with all deference to the Supreme + Court, but I express the opinion) they would be admitted, but + unfortunately the court does not take that view of it, and it + will wait for legislation. I purpose that the legislation shall + follow. If there is anything in principle why this privilege + should not be granted to women who are otherwise qualified, then + let the bill be defeated on that ground; but I say there is no + difference in principle whatever, not the slightest. There is no + reason because a citizen of the United States is a woman that she + should be deprived of her rights as a citizen, and these are + rights of a citizen. She has the same right to life, liberty and + the pursuit of happiness and employment, commensurate with her + capacities, as a man has; and, as to the question of capacity, + the history of the world shows from Queen Elizabeth and Queen + Isabella down to Madame Dudevant and Mrs. Stowe, that capacity is + not a question of sex. + + Mr. MCDONALD: I have simply to say, Mr. President, that a number + of States and territories have authorized the admission of women + to the legal profession, and they have become members of the bar + of the highest courts of judicature. It may very frequently + occur, and has in some instances I believe really occurred, that + cases in which they have been thus employed have been brought to + the Supreme Court of the United States. To have the door closed + against them when the cause is brought here, not by them, or when + in the prosecution of the suits of their clients they find it + necessary to come here, seems to me entirely unjust. I therefore + favor the bill with the amendment. The proposed amendment is + perhaps better because it does away with any tendency to + discrimination in regard to the admissibility of women to + practice in the Supreme Court. + + The PRESIDING OFFICER: The senator from California moves that the + bill be recommitted to the Committee on Judiciary. + + Mr. SARGENT: I have the promise of the chairman of the committee + that the bill will soon be reported back, and therefore I am + willing that it go to the committee, and I make the motion that + it be recommitted. [The motion was agreed to.] + + Mr. SARGENT: I ask that the amendment which I propose be printed. + + The PRESIDING OFFICER: The order to print will be made. + +Mary Clemmer, the gifted correspondent of the New York +_Independent_, learning that Senator Wadleigh was about to report +adversely upon the sixteenth amendment, wrote the following private +letter, which, as a record of her own sentiments on the question, +she gave to Miss Anthony for publication in this history: + + Hon. BAINBRIDGE WADLEIGH--_Dear Sir_: The more I think of it the + more I regret that, as chairman of the Committee on Privileges + and Elections, you regard with less favor the enfranchisement of + women than did your distinguished predecessor, Senator Morton. At + this moment, when your committee is discussing that subject, I + sigh for the large outlook, the just mind, the unselfish decision + of that great legislator. You were his friend, you respected his + intellect, you believed in his integrity, you sit in his seat. + You are to prepare the report that he would prepare were he still + upon the earth. May I ask you to bring to that labor as fair a + spirit, as unprejudiced an outlook, as just a decision as he + would have done? + + I ask this not as a partisan of woman's rights, but as a lover of + the human race. In this faint dawn of woman's day, I discern not + woman's development of freedom merely, but the promise of that + higher, finer, purer civilization which is to redeem the world, + the lack of which makes men tyrants and women slaves. You cannot + be unconscious of the fact that a new race of women is born into + the world, who, while they lack no womanly attribute, are the + peers of any man in intellect and aspiration. It will be + impossible long to deny to such women that equality before the + law granted to the lowest creature that crawls, if he happens to + be a man; denied to the highest creature that asks it, if she + happens to be a woman. + + On what authority, save that of the gross regality of physical + strength, do you deny to a thoughtful, educated, tax-paying + person the common rights of citizenship because she is a woman? I + am a property-owner, the head of a household. By what right do + you assume to define and curtail for me my prerogatives as a + citizen, while as a tax-payer you make not the slightest + distinction between me and a man? Leave to my own perception what + is proper for me as a lady, to my own discretion what is wise for + me as a woman, to my own conscience what is my duty to my race + and to my God. Leave to unerring nature to protect the subtle + boundaries which define the distinctive life and action of the + sexes, while you as a legislator do everything in your power to + secure to every creature of God an equal chance to make the best + and most of himself. + + If American men could say as Huxley says, "I scorn to lay a + single obstacle in the way of those whom nature from the + beginning has so heavily burdened," the sexes would cease to war, + men and women would reign together, the equal companions, + friends, helpers, and lovers that nature intended they should be. + But what is love, tenderness, protection, even, unless rooted in + justice? Tyranny and servitude, that is all. Brute supremacy, + spiritual slavery. By what authority do you say that the country + is not prepared for a more enlightened franchise, for political + equality, if six women citizens, earnest, eloquent, + long-suffering, come to you and demand both? No words can express + my regret if to the minority report I see appended only the + honored name of George F. Hoar of Massachusetts. + + Your friend, MARY CLEMMER. + +In response to all these arguments, appeals and petitions, Senator +Wadleigh, from the Committee on Privileges and Elections, presented +the following adverse report, June 14, 1878: + + _The Committee on Privileges and Elections, to whom was referred + the Resolution (S. Res. 12) proposing an Amendment to the + Constitution of the United States, and certain Petitions for and + Remonstrances against the same, make the following Report:_ + + This proposed amendment forbids the United States, or any State + to deny or abridge the right to vote on account of sex. If + adopted, it will make several millions of female voters, totally + inexperienced in political affairs, quite generally dependent + upon the other sex, all incapable of performing military duty and + without the power to enforce the laws which their numerical + strength may enable them to make, and comparatively very few of + whom wish to assume the irksome and responsible political duties + which this measure thrusts upon them. An experiment so novel, a + change so great, should only be made slowly and in response to a + general public demand, of the existence of which there is no + evidence before your committee. + +[Illustration: Marilla M. Ricker] + + Petitions from various parts of the country, containing by + estimate about 30,000 names, have been presented to congress + asking for this legislation. They were procured through the + efforts of woman suffrage societies, thoroughly organized, with + active and zealous managers. The ease with which signatures may + be procured to any petition is well known. The small number of + petitioners, when compared with that of the intelligent women in + the country, is striking evidence that there exists among them no + general desire to take up the heavy burden of governing, which so + many men seek to evade. It would be unjust, unwise and impolitic + to impose that burden on the great mass of women throughout the + country who do not wish for it, to gratify the comparatively few + who do. + + It has been strongly urged that without the right of suffrage, + women are, and will be, subjected to great oppression and + injustice. + + But every one who has examined the subject at all knows that, + without female suffrage, legislation for years has improved and + is still improving the condition of woman. The disabilities + imposed upon her by the common law have, one by one, been swept + away, until in most of the States she has the full right to her + property and all, or nearly all, the rights which can be granted + without impairing or destroying the marriage relation. These + changes have been wrought by the spirit of the age, and are not, + generally at least, the result of any agitation by women in their + own behalf. + + Nor can women justly complain of any partiality in the + administration of justice. They have the sympathy of judges and + particularly of juries to an extent which would warrant loud + complaint on the part of their adversaries of the sterner sex. + Their appeals to legislatures against injustice are never + unheeded, and there is no doubt that when any considerable part + of the women of any State really wish for the right to vote, it + will be granted without the intervention of congress. + + Any State may grant the right of suffrage to women. Some of them + have done so to a limited extent, and perhaps with good results. + It is evident that in some States public opinion is much more + strongly in favor of it than it is in others. Your committee + regard it as unwise and inexpedient to enable three-fourths in + number of the States, through an amendment to the national + constitution, to force woman suffrage upon the other fourth in + which the public opinion of both sexes may be strongly adverse to + such a change. + + For these reasons, your committee report back said resolution + with a recommendation that it be indefinitely postponed. + +This adverse report was all the more disappointing because Mr. +Wadleigh, as Mrs. Clemmer's letter states, filled the place of Hon. +Oliver P. Morton of Indiana, one of the most steadfast friends of +woman suffrage, who, at the last session of congress, had asked as +a special favor the reference of our petitions to the Committee on +Privileges and Elections, of which he was chairman, that they might +receive proper attention and that he might report favorably upon +them. In the discussion on the Pembina bill in 1874, Senator +Morton made an earnest speech in favor of woman's enfranchisement. +In his premature death our cause lost one of its bravest champions. + +Senator Wadleigh's report called forth severe criticism; notably +from the _New Northwest_ of Oregon, the _Woman's Journal_ of +Boston, the _Inter-Ocean_ of Chicago, the _Evening Telegram_ and +the _National Citizen_ of New York. We quote from the latter: + + The report is not a statesman-like answer based upon fundamental + principles, but a mere politician's dodge--a species of + dust-throwing quite in vogue in Washington. "Several millions of + voters totally inexperienced in political affairs"! They would + have about as much experience as the fathers in 1776, as the + negroes in 1870, as the Irish, English, Italians, Norwegians, + Danes, French, Germans, Portuguese, Scotch, Russians, Turks, + Mexicans, Hungarians, Swedes and Indians, who form a good part of + the voting population of this country. Did Mr. Wadleigh never + hear of Agnes C. Jencks--the woman who has stirred up politics to + its deepest depth; who has shaken the seat of President Hayes; + who has set in motion the whole machinery of government, and who, + when brought to the witness stand has for hours successfully + baffled such wily politicians as Ben Butler and McMahon;--a woman + who thwarts alike Republican and Democrat, and at her own will + puts the brakes on all this turmoil of her own raising? Does + Senator Wadleigh know nothing of that woman's "experience in + politics"? + + "Quite dependent upon the other sex." It used to be said the + negroes were "quite dependent" upon their masters, that it would + really be an abuse of the poor things to set them free, but when + free and controlling the results of their own labor, it was found + the masters had been the ones "quite dependent," and thousands of + them who before the war rolled in luxury, have since been in the + depths of poverty--some of them even dependent upon the bounty of + their former slaves. When men cease to rob women of their + earnings they will find them generally, as thousands now are, + capable of self-care.[36] + + "Military duty." When women hold the ballot there will not be + quite as much military duty to be done. They will then have a + voice and a vote in the matter, and the men will no longer be + able to throw the country into a war to gratify spite or + ambition, tearing from woman's arms her nearest and dearest. All + men do not like "military duty." "The key to that horrible + enigma, German socialism, is antagonism to the military system," + and nations are shaken with fear because of it. But when there is + necessity for military duty, women will be found in line. The + person who planned the Tennessee campaign, in which the Northern + armies secured their first victories, was a woman, Anna Ella + Carroll. Gen. Grant acted upon her plan, and was successful. She + was endorsed by President Lincoln, Seward, Stanton, Wade, Scott, + and all the nation's leaders in its hour of peril, and yet + congress has not granted her the pension which for ten years her + friends have demanded. Mr. Wadleigh holds his seat in the United + States Senate to-day, because of the "military duty" done by this + woman. + + "About 30,000 names," to petitions. There have been 70,000 sent + in during the present session of congress, for a sixteenth + amendment, besides hundreds of individual petitions from women + asking for the removal of their own political disabilities. Men + in this country are occasionally disfranchised for crime, and + sometimes pray for the removal of their political disabilities. + Nine such disfranchised men had the right of voting restored to + them during the last session of congress. But not a single one of + the five hundred women who individually asked to have their + political disabilities removed, was even so much as noticed by an + adverse report, Mr. Wadleigh knows it would make no difference if + 300,000 women petitioned. But whether women ask for the ballot or + not has nothing to do with the question. Self-government is the + natural right of every individual, and because woman possesses + this natural right, she should be secured in its exercise. + + Mr. Wadleigh says, "nor can woman justly complain of any + partiality in the administration of justice." Let us examine: A + few years ago a married man in Washington, in official position, + forced a confession from his wife at the mouth of a pistol, and + shot his rival dead. Upon trial he was triumphantly acquitted and + afterwards sent abroad as foreign minister. A few months ago a + married woman in Georgia, who had been taunted by her rival with + boasts of having gained her husband's love, found this rival + dancing with him. She drew a knife and killed the woman on the + spot. She was tried, convicted, and, although nursing one infant, + and again about to become a mother, was sentenced to be hanged by + the neck till she was 'dead, dead, dead.' There is Mr. Wadleigh's + equal administration of justice between man and woman! There is + "the sympathy of judges and juries." There is the "extent which + would warrant loud complaint on the part of their adversaries of + the sterner sex." And this woman escaped the gallows not because + of "the sympathy of the judge" or "jury," but because her own sex + took the matter up, and from every part of the country sent + petitions by the hundreds to Governor Colquitt of Georgia, asking + her pardon. That pardon came in the shape of ten years' + imprisonment;--ten years in a cell for a woman, the mother of a + nursing and an unborn infant, while for General Sickles the + mission to Madrid with high honors and a fat salary. + + Messrs. Wadleigh of New Hampshire, McMillan of Minnesota, Ingalls + of Kansas, Saulsbury of Delaware, Merrimon of North Carolina and + Hill of Georgia, all senators of the United States, are the + committee that report it "inexpedient" to secure equal rights to + the women of the United States. But we are not discouraged; we + are not disheartened; all the Wadleighs in the Senate, all the + committees of both Houses, the whole congress of the United + States against us, would not lessen our faith, nor our efforts. + We know we are right; we know we shall be successful; we know the + day is not far distant, when this government and the world will + acknowledge the exact and permanent political equality of man and + woman, and we know that until that hour comes woman will be + oppressed, degraded; a slave, without a single right that man + feels himself bound to respect. Work then, women, for your own + freedom. Let the early morning see you busy, and dusky evening + find you planning how you may become FREE. + +But the most severe judgment upon Mr. Wadleigh's action came from +his own constituents, who, at the close of the forty-fifth congress +excused his further presence in the United States Senate, sending +in his stead the Hon. Henry W. Blair, a valiant champion of +national protection for national citizens.[37] + +In April, 1878, Mrs. Williams transferred the _Ballot-Box_ to Mrs. +Gage, who removed it to Syracuse, New York, and changed its name to +the _National Citizen_. In her prospectus Mrs. Gage said: + + The _National Citizen_ will advocate the principle that suffrage + is the citizen's right, and should be protected by national law, + and that, while States may regulate the suffrage, they should + have no power to abolish it. Its especial object will be to + secure national protection to women in the exercise of their + right to vote; it will oppose class legislation of whatever form. + It will support no political party until one arises which is + based upon the exact equality of man and woman. + + As the first step towards becoming well is to know you are ill, + one of the principal aims of the _National Citizen_ will be to + make those women discontented who are now content; to waken them + to self-respect and a desire to use the talents they possess; to + educate their consciences aright; to quicken their sense of duty; + to destroy morbid beliefs, and fit them for their high + responsibilities as citizens of a republic. The _National + Citizen_ has no faith in that old theory that "a woman once lost + is lost forever," neither does it believe in the assertion that + "a woman who sins, sinks to depths of wickedness lower than man + can reach." On the contrary it believes there is a future for the + most abandoned, if only the kindly hand of love and sympathy be + extended to rescue them from the degradation into which they have + fallen. The _National Citizen_ will endeavor to keep its readers + informed of the progress of women in foreign countries, and will, + as far as possible, revolutionize this country, striving to make + it live up to its own fundamental principles and become in + reality what it is but in name--a genuine republic. + +Instead of holding its usual May anniversary in New York city, the +National Association decided to meet in Rochester to celebrate the +close of the third decade of organized agitation in the United +States, and issued the following call: + + The National Association will hold a convention in Rochester, N. + Y., July 19, 1878. This will be the thirtieth anniversary of the + first woman's rights convention, held July 19, 1848, in the + Wesleyan church at Seneca Falls, N. Y., and adjourned to meet, + August 2, in Rochester. Some who took part in that convention + have passed away, but many others, including both Mrs. Mott and + Mrs. Stanton, are still living. This convention will take the + place of the usual May anniversary, and will be largely devoted + to reminiscences. Friends are cordially invited to be present. + + CLEMENCE S. LOZIER, M. D., _President_. + + SUSAN B. ANTHONY, _Chairman Executive Committee_. + +The meeting was held in the Unitarian church on Fitzhugh street, +occupied by the same society that had opened its doors in 1848; and +Amy Post, one of the leading spirits of the first convention, still +living in Rochester and in her seventy-seventh year, assisted in +the arrangements. Rochester, known as "The Flower City," +contributed of its beauty to the adornment of the church. It was +crowded at the first session. Representatives from a large number +of States were present,[38] and there was a pleasant interchange of +greetings between those whose homes were far apart, but who were +friends and co-workers in this great reform. The reunion was more +like the meeting of near and dear relatives than of strangers whose +only bond was work in a common cause. Such are the compensations +which help to sustain reformers while they battle ignorance and +prejudice in order to secure justice. In the absence of the +president, Dr. Clemence S. Lozier, Mrs. Stanton took the chair and +said: + + We are here to celebrate the third decade of woman's struggle in + this country for liberty. Thirty years have passed since many of + us now present met in this place to discuss the true position of + woman as a citizen of a republic. The reports of our first + conventions show that those who inaugurated this movement + understood the significance of the term "citizens." At the very + start we claimed full equality with man. Our meetings were + hastily called and somewhat crudely conducted; but we intuitively + recognized the fact that we were defrauded of our natural rights, + conceded in the national constitution. And thus the greatest + movement of the century was inaugurated. I say greatest, because + through the elevation of woman all humanity is lifted to a higher + plane. To contrast our position thirty years ago, under the old + common law of England, with that we occupy under the advanced + legislation of to-day, is enough to assure us that we have passed + the boundary line--from slavery to freedom. We already see the + mile-stones of a new civilization on every highway. + + Look at the department of education, the doors of many colleges + and universities thrown wide open to women; girls contending for, + yea, and winning prizes over their brothers. In the working world + they are rapidly filling places and climbing heights unknown to + them before, realizing, in fact, the dreams, the hopes, the + prophesies of the inspired women of by-gone centuries. In many + departments of learning woman stands the peer of man, and when by + higher education and profitable labor she becomes self-reliant + and independent, then she must and will be free. The moment an + individual or a class is strong enough to stand alone, bondage is + impossible. Jefferson Davis, in a recent speech, says: "A Caesar + could not subject a people fit to be free, nor could a Brutus + save them if they were fit for subjugation." + + Looking back over the past thirty years, how long ago seems that + July morning when we gathered round the altar in the old Wesleyan + church in Seneca Falls! It taxes and wearies the memory to think + of all the conventions we have held, the legislatures we have + besieged, the petitions and tracts we have circulated, the + speeches, the calls, the resolutions we have penned, the + never-ending debates we have kept up in public and private, and + yet to each and all our theme is as fresh and absorbing as it was + the day we started. Calm, benignant, subdued as we look on this + platform, if any man should dare to rise in our presence and + controvert a single position we have taken, there is not a woman + here that would not in an instant, with flushed face and flashing + eye, bristle all over with sharp, pointed arguments that would + soon annihilate the most skilled logician, the most profound + philosopher. + + To those of you on this platform who for these thirty years have + been the steadfast representatives of woman's cause, my friends + and co-laborers, let me say our work has not been in vain. True, + we have not yet secured the suffrage, but we have aroused public + thought to the many disabilities of our sex, and our countrywomen + to higher self-respect and worthier ambition, and in this + struggle for justice we have deepened and broadened our own lives + and extended the horizon of our vision. Ridiculed, persecuted, + ostracised, we have learned to place a just estimate on popular + opinion, and to feel a just confidence in ourselves. As the + representatives of principles which it was necessary to explain + and defend, we have been compelled to study constitutions and + laws, and in thus seeking to redress the wrongs and vindicate the + rights of the many, we have secured a higher development for + ourselves. Nor is this all. The full fruition of these years of + seed-sowing shall yet be realized, though it may not be by those + who have led in the reform, for many of our number have already + fallen asleep. Another decade and not one of us may be here, but + we have smoothed the rough paths for those who come after us. The + lives of multitudes will be gladdened by the sacrifices we have + made, and the truths we have uttered can never die. + + Standing near the gateway of the unknown land and looking back + through the vista of the past, memory recalls many duties in + life's varied relations we would had been better done. The past + to all of us is filled with regrets. We can recall, perchance, + social ambitions disappointed, fond hopes wrecked, ideals in + wealth, power, position, unattained--much that would be + considered success in life unrealized. But I think we should all + agree that the time, the thought, the energy we have devoted to + the freedom of our countrywomen, that the past, in so far as our + lives have represented this great movement, brings us only + unalloyed satisfaction. The rights already obtained, the full + promise of the rising generation of women more than repay us for + the hopes so long deferred, the rights yet denied, the + humiliation of spirit we still suffer. + + And for those of you who have been mere spectators of the long, + hard battle we have fought, and are still fighting, I have a + word. Whatever your attitude has been, whether as cold, + indifferent observers--whether you have hurled at us the shafts + of ridicule or of denunciation, we ask you now to lay aside your + old educational prejudices and give this question your earnest + consideration, substituting reason for ridicule, sympathy for + sneers. I urge the young women especially to prepare themselves + to take up the work so soon to fall from our hands. You have had + opportunities for education such as we had not. You hold to-day + the vantage-ground we have won by argument. Show now your + gratitude to us by making the uttermost of yourselves, and by + your earnest, exalted lives secure to those who come after you a + higher outlook, a broader culture, a larger freedom than have yet + been vouchsafed to woman in our own happy land. + +Congratulatory letters[39] and telegrams were received from all +portions of the United States and from the old world. Space admits +the publication of but a few, yet all breathed the same hopeful +spirit and confidence in future success. Abigail Bush, who presided +over the first Rochester convention, said: + + No one knows what I passed through upon that occasion. I was born + and baptized in the old Scotch Presbyterian church. At that time + its sacred teachings were, "if a woman would know anything let + her ask her husband at home." * * * I well remember the incidents + of that meeting and the thoughts awakened by it. * * * Say to + your convention my full heart is with them in all their + deliberations and counsels, and I trust great good to women will + come of their efforts. + +Ernestine L. Rose, a native of Poland, and, next to Frances Wright, +the earliest advocate of woman's enfranchisement in America, wrote +from England: + + How I should like to be with you at the anniversary--it reminds + me of the delightful convention we had at Rochester, long, long + ago--and speak of the wonderful change that has taken place in + regard to woman. Compare her present position in society with the + one she occupied _forty_ years ago, when I undertook to + emancipate her from not only barbarous laws, but from what was + even worse, a barbarous public opinion. No one can appreciate the + wonderful change in the social and moral condition of woman, + except by looking back and comparing the past with the present. * + * * Say to the friends, Go on, go on, halt not and rest not. + Remember that "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty" and of + right. Much has been achieved; but the main, the vital thing, has + yet to come. The suffrage is the magic key to the statute--the + insignia of citizenship in a republic. + +Caroline Ashurst Biggs, editor of the _Englishwoman's Review_, +London, wrote: + + I have read with great interest in the _National Citizen_ and the + _Woman's Journal_ the announcement of the forthcoming convention + in Rochester. * * * I cannot refrain from sending you a cordial + English congratulation upon the great advance in the social and + legal position of women in America, which has been the result of + your labor. The next few years will see still greater progress. + As soon as the suffrage is granted to women, a concession which + will not be many years in coming either in England or America, + every one of our questions will advance with double force, and + meanwhile our efforts in that direction are simultaneously + helping forward other social, legal, educational and moral + reforms. Our organization in England does not date back so far as + yours. There were only a few isolated thinkers when Mrs. John + Stuart Mill wrote her essay on the enfranchisement of women in + 1851. For twenty years, however, it has progressed with few + drawbacks. In some particulars the English laws in respect of + women are in advance of yours, but the connection between England + and America is so close that a gain to one is a gain to the + other. + +Lydia E. Becker, editor of the _Women's Suffrage Journal_, +Manchester, England, wrote: + + * * * I beg to offer to the venerable pioneers of the movement, + more especially to Lucretia Mott, a tribute of respectful + admiration and gratitude for the services they have rendered in + the cause of enfranchisement. * * * As regards the United + kingdom, the movement in a practical form is but twelve years + old, and in that period, although we have not obtained the + parliamentary franchise, we have seen it supported by at least + one-third of the House of Commons, and our claim admitted as one + which must be dealt with in future measures of parliamentary + reform. We have obtained the municipal franchise and the + school-board franchise. Women have secured the right to enter the + medical profession and to take degrees in the University of + London, besides considerable amendment of the law regarding + married women, though much remains to be done. + +Senator Sargent, since minister to Berlin, wrote: + + I regret that the necessity to proceed at once to California will + deprive me of the pleasure of attending your convention of July + 19, the anniversary of the spirited declaration of rights put + forth thirty years ago by some of the noblest and most + enlightened women of America. Women's rights have made vast + strides since that day, in juster legislation, in widened spheres + of employment, and in the gradual but certain recognition by + large numbers of citizens of the justice and policy of extending + the elective franchise to women. It is now very generally + conceded that the time is rapidly approaching when women will + vote. The friends of the movement have faith in the result; its + enemies grudgingly admit it. Courage and work will hasten the + day. The worst difficulties have already been overcome. The + movement has passed the stage of ridicule, and even that of + abuse, and has entered that of intelligent discussion, its worst + adversaries treating it with respect. You are so familiar with + all the arguments in favor of this great reform that I will not + attempt to state them; but I wish to say that as an observer of + public events, it is my deliberate judgment that your triumph is + near at hand. There are vastly more men and women in the United + States now who believe that women should have the right to vote + than there were in 1848 who believed the slave should be freed. + This is a government of opinions and the growing opinion will be + irresistible. + + Respectfully yours, A. A. SARGENT. + +The following letters from the great leaders of the anti-slavery +movement were gratefully received. As Mr. Garrison soon after +finished his eventful life, this proved to be his last message to +our association: + + BOSTON, June 30, 1878. + + MY DEAR MISS ANTHONY--Your urgent and welcome letter, inviting me + to the thirtieth anniversary of the woman's rights movement at + Rochester, came yesterday. Most earnestly do I wish I could be + present to help mark this epoch in our movement, and join in + congratulating the friends on the marvelous results of their + labors. No reform has gathered more devoted and self-sacrificing + friends. No one has had lives more generously given to its + service; and you who have borne such heavy burdens may well + rejoice in the large harvest; for no reform has, I think, had + such rapid success. You who remember the indifference which + almost discouraged us in 1848, and who have so bravely faced + ungenerous opposition and insult since, must look back on the + result with unmixed astonishment and delight. Temperance, and + finance--which is but another name for the labor movement--and + woman's rights, are three radical questions which overtop all + others in value and importance. Woman's claim for the ballot-box + has had a much wider influence than merely to protect woman. + Universal suffrage is itself in danger. Scholars dread it; social + science and journalists attack it. The discussion of woman's + claim has done much to reveal this danger, and rally patriotic + and thoughtful men in defense. In many ways the agitation has + educated the people. Its success shows that the masses are sound + and healthy; and if we gain, in the coming fifteen years, half as + much as we have in the last thirty, woman will hold spear and + shield in her own hands. If I might presume to advise, I should + say close up the ranks and write on our flag only one claim--the + ballot. Everything helps us, and if we are united, success cannot + long be delayed. + + Very cordially yours, + WENDELL PHILLIPS. + + + BOSTON, July 16, 1878. + + MY DEAR FRIEND--The thirtieth anniversary of the first woman's + rights convention ever held with special reference to demanding + the elective franchise irrespective of sex well deserves to be + commemorated in the manner set forth in the call for the same, at + Rochester, on the 19th instant. As a substitute for my personal + attendance, I can only send a brief but warm congratulatory + epistle on the cheering progress which the movement has made + within the period named. For how widely different are the + circumstances under which that convention was held, and those + which attend the celebration of its third decade! Then, the + assertion of civil and political equality, alike for men and + women, excited widespread disgust and astonishment, as though it + were a proposition to repeal the laws of nature, and literally to + "turn the world upside down"; and it was ridiculed and + caricatured as little short of lunacy. Now, it is a subject of + increasing interest and grave consideration, from the Atlantic to + the Pacific, and what at first appeared to be so foolish in + pretension is admitted by all reflecting and candid minds to be + deserving of the most respectful treatment. Then, its avowed + friends, were indeed "few and far between," even among those + disfranchised as the penalty of their womanhood. Now, they can be + counted by tens of thousands, and their number is + augmenting--foremost in intelligence, in weight of character, in + strength of understanding, in manly and womanly development, and + in all that goes to make up enlightened citizenship. Then, with + rare exceptions, women were everywhere remanded to poverty and + servile dependence, being precluded from following those + avocations and engaging in those pursuits which make competency + and independence not a difficult achievement. Now, there is + scarcely any situation or profession, in the arrangements of + society, to which they may not and do not aspire, and in which + many of them are not usefully engaged; whether in new and varied + industrial employment, in the arts and sciences, in the highest + range of literature, in philosophic and mathematical + investigations, in the professions of law, medicine, and + divinity, in high scholarship, in educational training and + supervision, in rhetoric and oratory, in the lyceum, or in + discharging the official duties connected with the various + departments of the State and national governments. + + Almost all barriers are down except that which prevents women + from going to the polls to help decide who shall be the + law-makers and what shall be the laws, so that the general + welfare may be impartially consulted, and the blessings of + freedom and equal rights be enjoyed by all. That barrier, too, + must give way wherever erected, as sure as time outlasts and + baffles every device of wrong-doing, and truth is stronger than + falsehood, and the law of eternal justice is as reliable as the + law of gravitation. Yes! the grand fundamental truths of the + Declaration of Independence shall yet be reduced to practice in + our land--that the human race are created free and equal; that + government derives its just powers from the consent of the + governed, and that taxation without representation is tyranny. + And I confidently predict that this will be witnessed before the + expiration of another decade. + + Yours, to abate nothing of heart or hope, + WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. + +Mrs. Mott never seemed more hopeful for the triumph of our +principles than on this occasion. She expressed great satisfaction +in the number of young women who for the first time that day graced +our platform.[40] Though in her eighty-sixth year, her enthusiasm +in the cause for which she had so long labored seemed still +unabated, and her eye sparkled with humor as of yore while giving +some amusing reminiscences of encounters with opponents in the +early days. Always apt in biblical quotations she had proved +herself a worthy antagonist of the clergy on our platform. She had +slain many Abimelechs with short texts of Scripture, whose defeat +was the more humiliating because received at the hand of a woman. +As she recounted in her happiest vein the triumphs of her +coadjutors she was received with the heartiest manifestations of +delight by her auditors. She took a lively interest in the +discussion of the resolutions that had been presented by the +chairman of the committee, Matilda Joslyn Gage: + + _Resolved_, That a government of the people, by the people and + for the people is yet to be realized; for that which is formed, + administered and controlled only by men, is practically nothing + more than an enlarged oligarchy, whose assumptions of natural + superiority and of the right to rule are as baseless as those + enforced by the aristocratic powers of the old world. + + _Resolved_, That in celebrating our third decade we have reason + to congratulate ourselves on the marked change in woman's + position--in her enlarged opportunities for education and labor, + her greater freedom under improved social customs and civil laws, + and the promise of her speedy enfranchisement in the minor + political rights she has already secured. + + _Resolved_, That the International Congress[41] called in Paris, + July 20, to discuss the rights of woman--the eminent Victor Hugo, + its presiding officer--is one of the most encouraging events of + the century, in that statesmen and scholars from all parts of the + world, amid the excitement of the French Exposition, propose to + give five days to deliberations upon this question. + + _Resolved_, That the majority report of the chairman of the + Committee on Privileges and Elections, Senator Wadleigh of New + Hampshire, against a sixteenth amendment to secure the political + rights of woman in its weakness, shows the strength of our + reform. + + _Resolved_, That the national effort to force citizenship on the + Indians, the decision of Judge Sawyer in the United States + Circuit Court of California against the naturalization of the + Chinese, and the refusal of congress to secure the right of + suffrage to women, are class legislation, dangerous to the + stability of our institutions. + + WHEREAS, Woman's rights and duties in all matters of legislation + are the same as those of man. + + _Resolved_, That the problems of labor, finance, suffrage, + international rights, internal improvements, and other great + questions, can never be satisfactorily adjusted without the + enlightened thought of woman, and her voice in the councils of + the nation. + + _Resolved_, That the question of capital and labor is one of + special interest to us. Man, standing to woman in the position of + capitalist, has robbed her through the ages of the results of her + toil. No just settlement of this question can be attained until + the right of woman to the proceeds of her labor in the family and + elsewhere is recognized, and she is welcomed into every industry + on the basis of equal pay for equal work. + + _Resolved_, That as the first duty of every individual is + self-development, the lessons of self-sacrifice and obedience + taught woman by the Christian church have been fatal, not only to + her own vital interests, but through her, to those of the race. + + _Resolved_, That the great principle of the Protestant + Reformation, the right of individual conscience and judgment + heretofore exercised by man alone, should now be claimed by + woman; that, in the interpretation of Scripture, she should be + guided by her own reason, and not by the authority of the church. + + _Resolved_, That it is through the perversion of the religious + element in woman--playing upon her hopes and fears of the future, + holding this life with all its high duties in abeyance to that + which is to come--that she and the children she has trained have + been so completely subjugated by priestcraft and superstition. + +This was the last convention ever attended by Lucretia Mott. Her +family had specially requested that she should not be urged to go; +but on seeing the call, she quietly announced her intention to be +at the meeting, and, with the ever faithful Sarah Pugh as her +companion, she made the journey from Philadelphia in the intense +heat of those July days. Mrs. Mott was the guest of her husband's +nephew, Dr. E.M. Moore, who, fearing that his aunt would be utterly +exhausted, called for her while she was in the midst of her closing +remarks. As she descended the platform, she continued speaking +while she slowly moved down the aisle, shaking hands upon either +side. The audience simultaneously rose, and on behalf of all, +Frederick Douglass ejaculated, "Good-by, dear Lucretia!" + +The last three resolutions called out a prolonged discussion[42] +not only in the convention but from the pulpit and press of the +State. + +One amusing encounter in the course of the debate is worthy of +note. Perhaps it was due to the intense heat that Mr. Douglass, +usually clear on questions of principle, was misled into opposing +the resolutions. He spoke with great feeling and religious +sentiment of the beautiful Christian doctrine of self-sacrifice. +When he finished, Mrs. Lucy Coleman, always keen in pricking +bubbles, arose and said: "Well, Mr. Douglass, all you say may be +true; but allow me to ask you why you did not remain a slave in +Maryland, and sacrifice yourself, like a Christian, to your master, +instead of running off to Canada to secure your liberty, like a +man? We shall judge your faith, Frederick, by your deeds." + +An immense audience assembled at Corinthian Hall in the evening to +listen to the closing speeches[43] of the convention. Mrs. Robinson +of Boston gave an exhaustive review of the work in Massachusetts, +and her daughter, Mrs. Shattuck, gave many amusing experiences as +her father's[44] clerk in the legislature of that State. + +The resolutions provoked many attacks from the clergy throughout +the State, led by Rev. A.H. Strong, D.D., president of the Baptist +Theological Seminary in Rochester, Of his sermon the _National +Citizen_ said: + + None too soon have we issued our resolutions, proclaiming woman's + right to self-development--to interpret Scripture for herself, to + use her own faculties. In speaking of what Christianity has done + for woman, Dr. Strong stultifies his own assertions by referring + to Switzerland and Germany "where you may see any day hundreds of + women wheeling earth for railroad embankments." Does he not + remember that Switzerland and Germany are Christian countries and + that it is part of their civilization that while women do this + work, some man takes the pay and puts it in his own pocket quite + in heathen fashion? The reverend doctor in the usual style of + opposition to woman--which is to quote something or other having + no bearing upon the question--refers to Cornelia's "jewels," + forgetting to say that Cornelia delivered public lectures upon + philosophy in Rome, and that Cicero paid the very highest tribute + to her learning and genius. + + Dr. Strong advocates the old theory that woman and man are not + two classes standing upon the same level, but that the two are + one--that one on the time-worn theory of common law, the husband; + and talks of the "dignity and delicacy of woman" being due to the + fact of her not having been in public life, and that this + "dignity and delicacy" would all evaporate if once she were + allowed to vote, which reminds one of the story of Baron + Munchausen's horn, into which a certain coach-driver blew all + manner of wicked tunes. The weather being very cold, these tunes + remained frozen in the horn. When hung by the fire, the horn + began to thaw out, and these wicked tunes came pealing forth to + the great amazement of the by-standers. The reverend gentlemen + seems to think women are full of frozen wickedness, which if they + enter public life will be thawed out to the utter demolition of + their "dignity and delicacy" and the disgust of society. He deems + it "too hazardous" to allow women to vote. "Bad women would + vote." Well, what of it? Have they not equal right with bad men, + to self-government? Bad is a relative term. It strikes us that + the very reverend Dr. Strong is a "bad" man--a man who does not + understand true Christianity--who is not just--who would strike + those who are down--who would keep woman in slavery--who quotes + the Bible as his authority: thus fettering woman's conscience, + binding her will, and playing upon her hopes and fears to keep + her in subjection. + + From Augustine, down, theologians have tried to compel people to + accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the + tortures of the inquisition, the rack, the thumb-screw, the + stake, the persecutions of witchcraft, the whipping of naked + women through the streets of Boston, banishment, trials for + heresy, the halter about Garrison's neck, Lovejoy's death, the + branding of Captain Walker, shouts of infidel and atheist, have + all been for this purpose. + + We know the ignorance that exists upon these points. Few have yet + begun to comprehend the influence that ecclesiasticism has had + upon law. Wharton, a recognized authority upon criminal law, + issued his seventh edition before he ascertained the vast bearing + canon law had had upon the civil code, and we advise readers to + consult the array of authorities, English, Latin, German, to + which he, in his preface, refers. We hope to arouse attention + and compel investigation of this subject by lawyers and + theologians as well as by women themselves. + +Francis E. Abbot, editor of _The Index_, the organ of the Free +Religious Association, spoke grandly in favor of the resolutions. +He said: + + These resolutions we have read with astonishment, admiration and + delight. We should not have believed it possible that the + convention could have been induced to adopt them. They will make + forever memorable in the history of the organized woman movement, + this thirtieth anniversary of its birth. They put the National + Woman Suffrage Association in an inconceivably higher and nobler + position than that occupied by any similar society. They go to + the very root of the matter. They are a bold, dignified, and + magnificent utterance. We congratulate the convention on a record + so splendid in the eyes of all true liberals. From this day forth + the whole woman movement must obey the inspiration of a higher + courage and a grander spirit than have been known to its past. + Opposition must be encountered, tenfold more bitter than was ever + yet experienced. But truth is on the side of these brave women; + the ringing words they have spoken at Rochester will thrill many + a doubting heart and be echoed far down the long avenue of the + years. + +During the same week of the Rochester convention, the Paris +International Congress opened it sessions, sending us a telegram of +greeting to which we responded with two hundred and fifty francs as +a tangible evidence of our best wishes. The two remarkable features +of that congress were the promise of so distinguished a man as +Victor Hugo to preside over its deliberations, though at last +prevented by illness; and the fact that the Italian government sent +Mlle. Mozzoni as an official delegate to the congress to study the +civil position of woman in various countries, in order that an +ameliorating change of its code, in respect to woman, could be +wisely made. + +The newspapers of the French capital in general treated the +congress with respect. The _Rappel_, Victor Hugo's organ, spoke of +it in a most complimentary manner. Theodore Stanton, in a letter to +the _National Citizen_, said: + + In one important respect this congress differed entirely from an + American convention of like character--it made no demand for + suffrage. The word was never mentioned except by the American + delegates. In continental Europe the idea of demanding for woman + a share in the government, is never considered. This is the more + remarkable in France, as this claim was made at the time of the + revolution. But every imaginable side of the question was + discussed, except the side that comprehends all the others. To an + American, therefore, European woman's rights is rather tame; it + is like the play of Hamlet with Hamlet left out. But Europe is + moving, and the next international congress will, undoubtedly, + give more attention to suffrage and less to hygiene. + +The Eleventh Washington Convention was held January 9, 10, 1879. +The resolutions give an idea of the status of the question, and the +wide range of discussion covered by the speakers:[45] + + _Resolved_, That the forty-fifth congress, in ignoring the + individual petitions of more than three hundred women of high + social standing and culture, asking for the removal of their + political disabilities, while promptly enacting special + legislation for the removal of the political disabilities of + every man who petitioned, furnishes an illustration of the + indifference of this congress to the rights of citizens deprived + of political power. + + WHEREAS, Senator Blaine says, it is the very essence of tyranny + to count any citizens in the basis of representation who are + denied a voice in their laws and a choice in their rulers; + therefore, + + _Resolved_, That counting women in the basis of representation, + while denying them the right of suffrage, is compelling them to + swell the number of their tyrants and is an unwarrantable + usurpation of power over one-half the citizens of this republic. + + WHEREAS, In President Hayes' last message, he makes a truly + paternal review of the interests of this republic, both great and + small, from the army, the navy, and our foreign relations, to the + ten little Indians in Hampton, Va., our timber on the western + mountains, and the switches of the Washington railroads; from the + Paris Exposition, the postal service, the abundant harvests, and + the possible bull-dozing of some colored men in various southern + districts, to cruelty to live animals, and the crowded condition + of the mummies, dead ducks and fishes in the Smithsonian + Institute--yet forgets to mention twenty million women robbed of + their social, civil and political rights; therefore, + + _Resolved_, That a committee of three be appointed from this + convention to wait upon the president and remind him of the + existence of one-half of the American people whom he has + accidentally overlooked, and of whom it would be wise for him to + make some mention in his future messages. + + WHEREAS, All of the vital principles involved in the thirteenth, + fourteenth and fifteenth constitutional amendments have been + denied in their application to women by courts, legislatures and + political parties; therefore, + + _Resolved_, That it is logical that these amendments should fail + to protect even the male African for whom said courts, + legislatures and parties declare they were expressly designed and + enacted. + + _Resolved_, That the judges of the Supreme Court of the United + States in denying Belva A. Lockwood admission to its bar, while + she was entitled under the law and under its rules to that right, + violated their oath of office. + + _Resolved_, That the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Edmonds + chairman, in its report on the bill to allow women to practice + law in the courts of the United States in which it declares that + "further legislation is not necessary," evaded the plain question + at issue before it in a manner unworthy of judges learned in the + honorable profession of the law, and thereby sanctioned an + injustice to the women of the whole country. + + WHEREAS, The general government has refused to exercise federal + power to protect women in their right to vote in the various + States and territories; therefore, + + _Resolved_, That it should forbear to exercise federal power to + disfranchise the women of Utah, who have had a more just and + liberal spirit shown them by Mormon men than Gentile women in the + States have yet perceived in their rulers. + + WHEREAS, The proposed legislation for the Chinese women on the + Pacific slope and for outcast women in our cities, and the + opinion of the press that no respectable woman should be seen in + the streets after dark, are all based upon the presumption that + woman's freedom must be forever sacrificed to man's licence; + therefore, + + _Resolved_, That the ballot in woman's hand is the only power by + which she can restrain the liberty of those men who make our + streets and highways dangerous to her, and secure the freedom + that belongs to her by day and by night. + + +[Illustration: Frances E. Willard] + + +At the close of the convention it was decided at a meeting of the +executive committee to present an address to the president and both +houses of congress, and that a printed copy of the resolutions +should be laid on the desk of every member. The president having +granted a hearing,[46] the following address was presented: + + _To his Excellency, the President of the United States_: + + WHEREAS, Representatives of associations of women waited upon + your excellency before the delivery of your first and second + annual messages, asking that in those documents you would + remember the disfranchised millions of citizens of the United + States; and, + + WHEREAS, Upon careful examination of those messages, we find + therein specifically enumerated, the interests, great and small, + of all classes of men, and recommendations of needful legislation + to protect their civil and political rights, but find no mention + made of any need of legislation to protect the political, civil, + or social rights of one-half of the people of this republic, and, + + WHEREAS, There is pending in the Senate a constitutional + amendment to prohibit the several States from disfranchising + United States citizens on account of sex, and a similar amendment + is pending upon a tie vote in the House Judiciary Committee; and + as petitions to so amend the constitution have been presented to + both houses of congress from more than 40,000 well-known citizens + of thirty-five States and five territories, + + THEREFORE, we respectfully ask your excellency, in your next + annual message, to make mention of the disfranchised millions of + wives, mothers and daughters of this republic, and to recommend + to congress that women equally with men be protected in the + exercise of their civil and political rights. + + On behalf of the National Woman Suffrage Association. + + ELIZABETH CADY STANTON, _President_. + + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, _Corresponding Secretary_. + SUSAN B. ANTHONY, _Chairman Executive Committee_. + +The delegates from the territory of Utah were also received by the +president. They called his attention to the effect of the +enforcement of the law of 1862 upon 50,000 Mormon women, to render +them outcasts and their children nameless, asking the chief +executive of the nation to give some time to the consideration of +the bill pending under different headings in both houses. The +president asked them to set forth the facts in writing, that he +might carefully weigh so important a matter. A memorial was also +presented to congress by these ladies, closing thus: + + We further pray that in any future legislation concerning the + marriage relation in any territory under your jurisdiction you + will consider the rights and the consciences of the women to be + affected by such legislation, and that you will consider the + permanent care and welfare of children as the sure foundation of + the State. + + And your petitioners will ever pray. + + EMMELINE B. WELLS. + ZINA YOUNG WILLIAMS. + +Mr. Cannon of Utah moved that the memorial be referred to the +Committee on the Judiciary with leave to report at any time. It was +so referred. The Judiciary Committee of the Senate brought in a +bill legitimatizing the offspring of plural marriages to a certain +date; also authorizing the president to grant amnesty for past +offenses against the law of 1862. + +The _Congressional Record_ of January 24, under the head of +petitions and memorials, said: + + The vice-president, Mr. Wheeler of New York, presented the + petition of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Matilda Joslyn Gage and Susan + B. Anthony, officers of the National Association, praying for the + passage of Senate joint resolution No. 12, providing for an + amendment to the Constitution of the United States, protecting + the rights of women, and also that the House Judiciary Committee + be relieved from the further consideration of a similar + resolution. + + Mr. FERRY--If there be no objection I ask that the petition be + read at length. + + The VICE-PRESIDENT--The Chair hears no objection, and it will be + reported by the secretary. + + The petition was read and referred to the Committee on Privileges + and Elections, as follows: + + _To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United + States, in Congress assembled:_ + + WHEREAS, More than 40,000 men and women, citizens of + thirty-five States and five territories, have petitioned the + forty-fifth congress asking for an amendment to the federal + constitution prohibiting the several States from + disfranchising United States citizens on account of sex; and + + WHEREAS, A resolution providing for such constitutional + amendment is upon the calendar (Senate resolution No. 12, + second session forty-fifth congress), and a similar + resolution is pending upon a tie vote in the Judiciary + Committee of the House of Representatives; and + + WHEREAS, The women of the United States constitute one-half + of the people of this republic and have an inalienable right + to an equal voice with men in the nation's councils; and + + WHEREAS, Women being denied the right to have their opinions + counted at the ballot-box, are compelled to hold all other + rights subject to the favors and caprices of men; and + + WHEREAS, In answer to the appeals of so large a number of + honorable petitioners, it is courteous that the forty-fifth + congress should express its opinion upon this grave question + of human rights; therefore, + + We pray your honorable body to take from the calendar and + pass Senate resolution No. 12, providing for an amendment to + the constitution protecting the rights of women; and + + We further pray you to relieve the House Judiciary Committee + from the further consideration of the woman suffrage + resolution brought to a tie vote in that committee, February + 5, 1878, that it may be submitted to the House of + Representatives for immediate action. + + And your petitioners will ever pray. + + ELIZABETH CADY STANTON, _President_. + + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, _Corresponding Secretary_. + SUSAN B. ANTHONY, _Chairman Executive Committee_. + +At the opening of the last session of the forty-fifth congress most +earnest appeals (copies of which were sent to every member of +congress) came from all directions for the presentation of a +minority report from the Committee on Privileges and Elections. The +response from our representatives was prompt and most encouraging. +The first favorable report our question had ever received in the +Senate of the United States was presented by the Hon. George F. +Hoar, February 1, 1879: + + _The undersigned, a minority of the Committee on Privileges and + Elections, to whom were referred the resolution proposing an + amendment to the constitution prohibiting discrimination in the + right of suffrage on account of sex, and certain petitions in aid + of the same, submit the following minority report:_ + + The undersigned dissent from the report of the majority of the + committee. The demand for the extension of the right of suffrage + to women is not new. It has been supported by many persons in + this country, in England and on the continent, famous in public + life, in literature and in philosophy. But no single argument of + its advocates seems to us to carry so great a persuasive force as + the difficulty which its ablest opponents encounter in making a + plausible statement of their objections. We trust we do not fail + in deference to our esteemed associates on the committee when we + avow our opinion that their report is no exception to this rule. + + The people of the United States and of the several States have + founded their political institutions upon the principle that all + men have an equal right to a share in the government. The + doctrine is expressed in various forms. The Declaration of + Independence asserts that "all men are created equal" and that + "governments derive their just powers from the consent of the + governed." The Virginia bill of rights, the work of Jefferson and + George Mason, affirms that "no man or set of men are entitled to + exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges from the rest of + the community but in consideration of public services." The + Massachusetts bill of rights, the work of John Adams, besides + reaffirming these axioms, declares that "all the inhabitants of + this commonwealth, having such qualifications as they shall + establish by their frame of government, have an equal right to + elect officers, and to be elected for public employment." These + principles, after full and profound discussion by a generation of + statesmen whose authority upon these subjects is greater than + that of any other that ever lived, have been accepted by + substantially the whole American people as the dictates alike of + practical wisdom and of natural justice. The experience of a + hundred years has strengthened their hold upon the popular + conviction. Our fathers failed in three particulars to carry + these principles to their logical result. They required a + property qualification for the right to vote and to hold office. + They kept the negro in slavery. They excluded women from a share + in the government. The first two of these inconsistencies have + been remedied. The property test no longer exists. The fifteenth + amendment provides that race, color, or previous servitude shall + no longer be a disqualification. There are certain qualifications + of age, of residence, and, in some instances of education, + demanded; but these are such as all sane men may easily attain. + + This report is not the place to discuss or vindicate the + correctness of this theory. In so far as the opponents of woman + suffrage are driven to deny it, for the purpose of an argument + addressed to the American people, they are driven to confess that + they are in the wrong. This people are committed to the doctrine + of universal suffrage by their constitutions, their history and + their opinions. They must stand by it or fall by it. The poorest, + humblest, feeblest of sane men has the ballot in his hand, and no + other man can show a better title to it. Those things wherein men + are unequal--intelligence, ability, integrity, experience, title + to public confidence by reason of previous public service--have + their natural and legitimate influence under a government wherein + each man's vote is counted, to quite as great a degree as under + any other form of government that ever existed. + + We believe that the principle of universal suffrage stands to-day + stronger than ever in the judgment of mankind. Some eminent and + accomplished scholars, alarmed by the corruption and recklessness + manifested in our great cities, deceived by exaggerated + representations of the misgovernment of the Southern States by a + race just emerging from slavery, disgusted by the extent to which + great numbers of our fellow-citizens have gone astray in the + metaphysical subtleties of financial discussion, have uttered + their eloquent warnings of the danger of the failure of universal + suffrage. Such utterances from such sources have been frequent. + They were never more abundant than in the early part of the + present century. They are, when made in a serious and patriotic + spirit, to be received with the gratitude due to that greatest of + public benefactors--he who points out to the people their dangers + and their faults. + + But popular suffrage is to be tried not by comparison with ideal + standards of excellence, but by comparison with other forms of + government. We are willing to submit our century of it to this + test. The crimes that have stained our history have come chiefly + from its denial, not from its establishment. The misgovernment + and corruption of our great cities have been largely due to men + whose birth and training have been under other systems. The + abuses attributed by political hostility to negro governments at + the South--governments from which the intelligence and education + of the State held themselves sulkily aloof--do not equal those + which existed under the English or French aristocracy within the + memory of living men. There have been crimes, blunders, + corruptions, follies in the history of our republic. Aristides + has been banished from public employment, while Cleon has been + followed by admiring throngs. But few of these things have been + due to the extension of the suffrage. Strike out of our history + the crimes of slavery, strike out the crimes, unparalleled for + ferocity and brutality, committed by an oligarchy in its attempt + to overthrow universal suffrage, and we may safely challenge for + our national and State governments comparison with monarchy or + aristocracy in their best and purest periods. + + Either the doctrines of the Declaration of Independence and the + bills of rights are true, or government must rest on no principle + of right whatever, but its powers may be lawfully taken by force + and held by force by any person or class who have strength to do + it, and who persuade themselves that their rule is for the public + interest. Either these doctrines are true, or you can give no + reason for your own possession of the suffrage except that you + have got it. If this doctrine be sound, it follows that no class + of persons can rightfully be excluded from their equal share in + the government, unless they can be proved to lack some quality + essential to the proper exercise of political power. + + A person who votes helps, first, to determine the measures of + government; second, to elect persons to be intrusted with public + administration. He should therefore possess, first, an honest + desire for the public welfare; second, sufficient intelligence to + determine what measure or policy is best; third, the capacity to + judge of the character of persons proposed for office; and, + fourth, freedom from undue influence, so that the vote he casts + is his own, and not another's. That person or class casting his + or their own vote, with an honest desire for the public welfare, + and with sufficient intelligence to judge what measure is + advisable and what person may be trusted, fulfill every condition + that the State can rightfully impose. + + We are not now dealing with the considerations which should + affect the admission of citizens of other countries to acquire + the right to take part in our government. All nations claim the + right to impose restrictions on the admission of foreigners + trained in attachment to other countries or forms of rule, and to + indifference to their own, whatever they deem the safety of the + State requires. We take it for granted that no person will deny + that the women of America are inspired with a love of country + equal to that which animates their brothers and sons. A capacity + to judge of character, so sure and rapid as to be termed + intuitive, is an especial attribute of woman. One of the greatest + orators of modern times has declared: + + I concede away nothing which I ought to assert for our sex + when I say that the collective womanhood of a people like + our own seizes with matchless facility and certainty on the + moral and personal peculiarities and character of marked and + conspicuous men, and that we may very wisely address + ourselves to such a body to learn if a competitor for the + highest honors has revealed that truly noble nature that + entitled him to a place in the hearts of a nation. + + We believe that in that determining of public policies by the + collective judgment of the State which constitutes + self-government, the contribution of woman will be of great + importance and value. To all questions into the determination of + which considerations of justice or injustice enter, she will + bring a more refined moral sense than that of man. The most + important public function of the State is the provision for the + education of youths. In those States in which the public school + system has reached its highest excellence, more than ninety per + cent. of the teachers are women. Certainly the vote of the women + of the State should be counted in determining the policy that + shall regulate the school system which they are called to + administer. + + It is seldom that particular measures of government are decided + by direct popular vote. They are more often discussed before the + people after they have taken effect, when the party responsible + for them is called to account. The great measures which go to + make up the history of nations are determined not by the voters, + but by their rulers, whether those rulers be hereditary or + elected. The plans of great campaigns are conceived by men of + great military genius and executed by great generals. Great + systems of finance come from the brain of statesmen who have made + finance a special study. The mass of the voters decide to which + party they will intrust power. They do not determine particulars. + But they give to parties their general tone and direction, and + hold them to their accountability. We believe that woman will + give to the political parties of the country a moral temperament + which will have a most beneficent and ennobling effect on + politics. + + Woman, also, is specially fitted for the performance of that + function of legislative and executive government which, with the + growth of civilization, becomes yearly more and more + important--the wise and practical economic adjustment of the + details of public expenditures. It may be considered that it + would not be for the public interest to clothe with the suffrage + any class of persons who are so dependent that they will, as a + general rule, be governed by others in its exercise. But we do + not admit that this is true of women. We see no reason to believe + that women will not be as likely to retain their independence of + political judgment, as they now retain their independence of + opinion in regard to the questions which divide religious sects + from one another. These questions deeply excite the feelings of + mankind, yet experience shows that the influence of the wife is + at least as great as that of the husband in determining the + religious opinion of the household. The natural influence exerted + by members of the same family upon each other would doubtless + operate to bring about similarity of opinion on political + questions as on others. So far as this tends to increase the + influence of the family in the State, as compared with that of + unmarried men, we deem it an advantage. Upon all questions which + touch public morals, public education, all which concern the + interest of the household, such a united exertion of political + influence cannot be otherwise than beneficial. + + Our conclusion, then, is that the American people must extend the + right of suffrage to woman or abandon the idea that suffrage is a + birthright. The claim that universal suffrage will work mischief + in practice is simply a claim that justice will work mischief in + practice. Many honest and excellent persons, while admitting the + force of the arguments above stated, fear that taking part in + politics will destroy those feminine traits which are the charm + of woman, and are the chief comfort and delight of the household. + If we thought so we should agree with the majority of the + committee in withholding assent to the prayer of the petitioners. + This fear is the result of treating the abuses of the political + function as essential to its exercise. The study of political + questions, the forming an estimate of the character of public men + or public measures, the casting a vote, which is the result of + that study and estimate, certainly have in themselves nothing to + degrade the most delicate and refined nature. The violence, the + fraud, the crime, the chicanery, which, so far as they have + attended masculine struggles for political power, tend to prove, + if they prove anything, the unfitness of men for the suffrage, + are not the result of the act of voting, but are the expressions + of course, criminal and evil natures, excited by the desire for + victory. The admission to the polls of delicate and tender women + would, without injury to them, tend to refine and elevate the + politics in which they took a part. When, in former times, women + were excluded from social banquets, such assemblies were scenes + of ribaldry and excess. The presence of women has substituted for + them the festival of the Christian home. + + The majority of the committee state the following as their + reasons for the conclusion to which they come: + + _First_--If the petitioners' prayer be granted it will make + several millions of female voters. + + _Second_--These voters will be inexperienced in public + affairs. + + _Third_--They are quite generally dependent on the other + sex. + + _Fourth_--They are incapable of military duty. + + _Fifth_--They are without the power to enforce the laws + which their numerical strength may enable them to make. + + _Sixth_--Very few of them wish to assume the irksome and + responsible duties which this measure thrusts upon them. + + _Seventh_--Such a change should only be made slowly and in + obedience to a general public demand. + + _Eighth_--There are but thirty thousand petitioners. + + _Ninth_--It would be unjust to impose "the heavy burden of + governing, which so many men seek to evade, on the great + mass of women who do not wish for it, to gratify the few who + do." + + _Tenth_--Women now have the sympathy of judges and juries + "to an extent which would warrant loud complaint on the part + of their adversaries of the sterner sex." + + _Eleventh_--Such a change should be made, if at all, by the + States. Three-fourths of the States should not force it on + the others. In any State in which "any considerable part of + the women wish for the right to vote, it will be granted + without the intervention of congress." + + The first objection of the committee is to the large increase of + the number of the voting population. We believe on the other + hand, that to double the numbers of the constituent body, and to + compose one-half that body of women, would tend to elevate the + standard of the representative both for ability and manly + character. Macaulay in one of his speeches on the Reform bill + refers to the quality of the men who had for half a century been + members for the five most numerous constituencies in + England--Westminster, Southwark, Liverpool, Bristol and Norwich. + Among them were Burke, Fox, Sheridan, Romilly, Windham, Tierney, + Canning, Huskisson. Eight of the nine greatest men who had sat in + parliament for forty years sat for the five largest represented + towns. To increase the numbers of constituencies diminishes the + opportunity for corruption. Size is itself a conservative force + in a republic. As a permanent general rule the people will desire + their own best interest. Disturbing forces, evil and selfish + passions, personal ambitions, are necessarily restricted in their + operation. The larger the field of operation, the more likely are + such influences to neutralize each other. + + The objection of inexperience in public affairs applies, of + course, alike to every voter when he first votes. If it be valid, + it would have prevented any extension of the suffrage, and would + exclude from the franchise a very large number of masculine + voters of all ages. + + That women are quite generally dependent on the other sex is + true. So it is true that men are quite generally dependent on the + other sex. It is impossible so to measure this dependence as to + declare that man is more dependent on woman or woman upon man. It + is by no means true that the dependence of either on the other + affects the right to the suffrage. + + Capacity for military duty has no connection with capacity for + suffrage. The former is wholly physical. It will scarcely be + proposed to disfranchise men who are unfit to be soldiers by + reason of age or bodily infirmity. The suggestion that the + country may be plunged into wars by a majority of women who are + secure from military dangers is not founded in experience. Men of + the military profession, and men of the military age are commonly + quite as eager for war as non-combatants, and will hereafter be + quite as indifferent to its risks and hardships as their mothers + and wives. + + The argument that women are without the power to enforce the laws + which their numerical strength may enable them to make, proceeds + from the supposition that it is probable that all the women will + range themselves upon one side in politics and all the men on the + other. Such supposition flatly contradicts the other arguments + drawn from the dependence of women and from their alleged + unwillingness to assume political burdens. So men over fifty + years of age are without the power to enforce obedience to laws + against which the remainder of the voters forcibly rebel. It is + not physical power alone, but power aided by the respect for law + of the people, on which laws depend for their enforcement. + + The sixth, eighth and ninth reasons of the committee are the same + proposition differently stated. It is that a share in the + government of the country is a burden, and one which, in the + judgment of a majority of the women of the country, they ought + not to be required to assume. If any citizen deem the exercise of + this franchise a burden and not a privilege, such person is under + no constraint to exercise it. But if it be a birthright, then it + is obvious that no other power than that of the individual + concerned can rightfully restrain its exercise. The committee + concede that women ought to be clothed with the ballot in any + State where any considerable part of the women desire it. This is + a pretty serious confession. On the vital, fundamental question + whether the institutions of this country shall be so far changed + that the number of persons in it who take a part in the + government shall be doubled, the judgment of women is to be and + ought to be decisive. If woman may fitly determine this question, + for what question of public policy is she unfit? What question of + equal importance will ever be submitted to her decision? What has + become of the argument that women are unfit to vote because they + are dependent on men, or because they are unfit for military + duty, or because they are inexperienced, or because they are + without power to enforce obedience to their laws? + + The next argument is that by the present arrangement the + administration of justice is so far perverted that one-half the + citizens of the country have an advantage from the sympathies of + juries and judges which "would warrant loud complaint" on the + part of the other half. If this be true, it is doubtless due to + an instinctive feeling on the part of juries and judges that + existing laws and institutions are unjust to women, or to the + fact that juries composed wholly of men are led to do injustice + by their susceptibility to the attractions of women. But + certainly it is a grave defect in any system of government that + it does not administer justice impartially, and the existence of + such a defect is a strong reason for preferring an arrangement + which would remove the feeling that women do not have fair play, + or for so composing juries that, drawn from both sexes, they + would be impartial between the two. + + The final objection of the committee is that "such a change + should be made, if at all, by the States. Three-fourths of the + States should not force it upon the others. Whenever any + considerable part of the women in any State wish for the right to + vote, it will be granted without the intervention of congress." + Who can doubt that when two-thirds of congress and three-fourths + of the States have voted for the change, a considerable number of + women in the other States will be found to desire it, so that, + according to the committee's own belief, it can never be forced + by a majority on unwilling communities? The prevention of unjust + discrimination by States against large classes of people in + respect to suffrage is even admitted to be a matter of national + concern and an important function of the national constitution + and laws. It is the duty of congress to propose amendments to the + constitution whenever two-thirds of both houses deem them + necessary. Certainly an amendment will be deemed necessary, if it + can be shown to be required by the principles on which the + constitution is based, and to remove an unjust disfranchisement + from one-half the citizens of the country. The constitutional + evidence of general public demand is to be found not in + petitions, but in the assent of three-fourths of the States + through their legislatures or conventions. + + The lessons of experience favor the conclusion that woman is fit + for a share in government. It may be true that in certain + departments of intellectual effort the greatest achievements of + women have as yet never equaled the greatest achievements of + men. But it is equally true that in those same departments women + have exhibited an intellectual ability very far beyond that of + the average of men and very far beyond that of most men who have + shown very great political capacity. But let the comparison be + made in regard to the very thing with which we have to deal. Of + men who have swayed chief executive power, a very considerable + proportion have attained it by usurpation or by election, + processes which imply extraordinary capacity on their part as + compared with other men. The women who have held such power have + come to it as sovereigns by inheritance, or as regents by the + accident of bearing a particular relation to the lawful sovereign + when he was under some incapacity. Yet it is an undisputed fact + that the number of able and successful female sovereigns bears a + vastly greater proportion to the whole number of such sovereigns, + than does the number of able and successful male sovereigns to + the whole number of men who have reigned. An able, energetic, + virtuous king or emperor is the exception and not the rule in the + history of modern Europe. With hardly an exception the female + sovereigns or regents have been wise and popular. Mr. Mill, who + makes this point, says: + + We know how small a number of reigning queens history + presents in comparison with that of kings. Of this small + number a far larger proportion have shown talents for rule, + though many of them have occupied the throne in difficult + periods. When to queens and empresses we add regents and + viceroys of provinces, the list of women who have been + eminent rulers of mankind swells to a great length.... + Especially is this true if we take into consideration Asia + as well as Europe. If a Hindoo principality is strongly, + vigilantly and economically governed; if order is preserved + without oppression; if cultivation is extending and the + people prosperous, in three cases out of four that + principality is under a woman's rule. This fact, to me an + entirely unexpected one, I have collected from a long + official knowledge of Hindoo governments. + + Certainly history gives no warning that should deter the American + people from carrying out the principles upon which their + government rests to this most just and legitimate conclusion. + Those persons who think that free government has anywhere failed, + can only claim that this tends to prove, not the failure of + universal suffrage, but the failure of masculine suffrage. Like + failure has attended the operation of every other great human + institution, the family, the school, the church, whenever woman + has not been permitted to contribute to it her full share. As to + the best example of the perfect family, the perfect school, the + perfect church, the love, the purity, the truth of woman are + essential, so they are equally essential to the perfect example + of the self-governing State. + + GEO. F. HOAR, + JOHN H. MITCHELL, + ANGUS CAMERON. + +Thousands of copies of this report were published and franked to +every part of the country. On February 7, just one week after the +presentation of the able minority report, the bill allowing women +to practice before the Supreme Court passed the Senate[47] and +received the signature of President Hayes. Senators McDonald, Hoar +and Sargent made the principal speeches. We give Mr. Hoar's speech +in full because of its terse and vigorous presentation of the fact +that congress is a body superior to the Supreme Court of the United +States. Mr. Hoar said: + + _Mr. President_--I understand the brief statement which was made, + I think, during this last session by the majority of the + Judiciary Committee in support of their opposition to this bill, + did not disclose that the majority of that committee were opposed + to permitting women to engage in the practice of law or to be + admitted to practice it in the Supreme Court of the United + States, but the point they made, was that the legislation of the + United States left to the Supreme Court the power of determining + by rule who should be admitted to practice before that tribunal, + and that we ought not by legislation to undertake to interfere + with its rules. Now, with the greatest respect for that tribunal, + I conceive that the law-making and not the law-expounding power + in this government ought to determine the question what class of + citizens shall be clothed with the office of the advocate. I + believe that leaving to the Supreme Court by rule to determine + the qualifications or disqualifications of attorneys and + counselors in that court is an exception to the nearly uniform + policy of the States of the Union. Would it be tolerated if the + Supreme Court undertook by rule to establish any other + disqualification, any of those disqualifications which have + existed in regard to holding any other office in the country? + Suppose the court were of the opinion we had been too fast in + relieving persons who took part in the late rebellion from their + disabilities, and that it would not admit persons who had so + taken part to practice before the Supreme Court; is there any + doubt that congress would at once interfere? Suppose the Supreme + Court were of opinion that the people of the United States had + erred in the amendment which had removed the disqualification + from colored persons and declined to admit such persons to + practice in that court; is there any doubt that congress would + interfere and would deem it a fit occasion for the exercise of + the law-making power? + + Now, Mr. President, this bill is not a bill merely to admit women + to the privilege of engaging in a particular profession; it is a + bill to secure to the citizen of the United States the right to + select his counsel, and that is all. At present a case is tried + and decided in the State courts of any State of this Union which + may be removed to the Supreme Court of the United States. In the + courts of the State, women are permitted to practice as + advocates, and a woman has been the advocate under whose + direction and care and advocacy the case has been won in the + court below. Is it tolerable that the counsel who has attended + the case from its commencement to its successful termination in + the highest court of the State should not be permitted to attend + upon and defend the rights of that client when the case is + transferred to the Supreme Court of the United States? Everybody + knows, at least every lawyer of experience knows, the + impossibility of transferring with justice to the interests of a + client, a cause from one counsel to another. A suit is instituted + under the advice of a counsel on a certain theory, a certain + remedy is selected, a certain theory of the cause is the one on + which it is staked. Now that must be attended to and defended by + the counsel under whose advice the suit has taken its shape; the + pleadings have been shaped in the courts below. + + Under the present system, a citizen of any State in the Union + having selected a counsel of good moral character who has + practiced three years, who possesses all-sufficient professional + and personal qualifications, and having had a cause brought to a + successful result in the State court, is denied by the present + existing and unjust rule having counsel of his choice argue the + cause in the Supreme Court of the United States. + + The greatest master of human manners, who read the human heart + and who understood better than any man who ever lived the + varieties of human character, when he desired to solve just what + had puzzled the lawyers and doctors, placed a woman upon the + judgment seat; and yet, under the present existing law, if Portia + herself were alive, she could not defend the opinion she had + given, before the Supreme Court of the United States. + +The press commented favorably upon this new point gained for women. +We give a few extracts: + + The senators who voted to-day against the bill "to relieve + certain legal disabilities of women" are marked men and have + reason to fear the result of their action.--[Telegraph to the New + York _Tribune_, February 7. + + The women get into the Supreme Court in spite of the + determination of the justices. They gained a decided advantage + to-day in the passage by the Senate of a bill providing that any + woman who shall have been a member of the highest court in any + State or territory, or of the Supreme Court of the District of + Columbia, for three years, may be admitted to the Supreme Court. + The bill was called up by Senator McDonald, in antagonism to Mr. + Edmunds' amendment to the constitution which was the pending + order. Mr. Edmunds objected to the consideration of the bill and + voted against it. There was not much discussion, the main + speeches being by Mr. Sargent and Mr. Hoar.--[Special dispatch to + the New York _World_, February 7. + + A WOMAN'S RIGHTS VICTORY IN THE SENATE.--The Lockwood bill, + giving women authority to practice before the Supreme Court of + the United States, passed the Senate yesterday by a vote of two + to one, and now it only requires the approval of Mr. Hayes to + become a law. The powerful effect of persistent and industrious + lobbying is manifested in the success of this bill. When it was + first introduced, it is doubtful if one-fourth the members of + congress would have voted for it. Some of the strong-minded + women, who were interested in the bill, stuck to it, held the + fort from day to day, and talked members and senators into + believing it a just measure. Senator McDonald gave Mr. Edmunds a + rebuff yesterday that he will not soon forget. The latter + attempted to administer a rebuke to the Indiana senator for + calling up a bill during the absence of the senator who had + reported it. Mr. McDonald retorted that he knew the objection of + the senator from Vermont was made for the purpose of defeating + the bill and not, as pretended, to give an absent senator + opportunity to speak upon it.--[Washington _Post_, February 8. + + The credit for this victory belongs to Mrs. Belva Lockwood, of + this city, who, having been refused admission to the bar of the + United States Supreme Court, appealed to congress, and by dint of + hard work has finally succeeded in having her bill passed by both + houses. She called on Mrs. Hayes last evening, who complimented + her upon her achievement, and informed her that she had sent a + bouquet to Senator Hoar, in token of his efforts in behalf of the + bill.--[Washington _Star_, February 8. + + The bill was carried through merely by the energetic advocacy of + Senators McDonald, Sargent and Hoar, whose oratorical efforts + were reenforced by the presence of Mrs. Lockwood. After the + struggle was over, all the senators who advocated the bill were + made the recipients of bouquets, while the three senators whose + names we have given received large baskets of flowers. This is a + pleasing omen of that purification of legal business which it is + hoped will flow from the introduction of women to the courts. It + was not flowers that used to be distributed at Washington and + Albany in the old corrupt times, among legislators, in testimony + of gratitude for their votes. Let us hope that venal legislation + at Washington will be extirpated by the rise of this beautiful + custom.--[New York _Nation_. + + It was noticeable that all the presidential candidates dodged the + issue except Senator Blaine, who voted for the bill.--[Chicago + _Inter-Ocean_. + + How humiliated poor old Judge Magruder must feel, since the + congress of the United States paid the woman whom he forbade to + open her mouth in his august presence, in his little court, so + much consideration as to pass an act opening to her the doors of + the Supreme Court of the United States. All honor to the brave + woman, who by her own unaided efforts thus achieved honor, + fortune and fame--the just rewards of her own true + worth.--[_Havre Republican_, Havre de Grace, Maryland. + + ENTER PORTIA.--An act of congress was not necessary to authorize + women to be lawyers, if their legal acquirements fitted them for + that vocation; nor was it necessary to state, as an expression of + opinion by the national legislature, that some women are so fully + qualified for the legal profession that no barriers should be + permitted to stand in their way. It was needed simply as a key + whereby the hitherto locked door of the Supreme Court of the + United States may be opened if a woman lawyer, with the usual + credentials, should knock thereon. That is all; and there is no + new question opened for profitless debate. The ability of some + women to be lawyers is like the ability of others to make + bread--it rests upon the facts. There is no room for elaborate + argument to prove either their fitness or unfitness for legal + studies, so long as in Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, the + District of Columbia, Iowa and North Carolina there are women in + more or less successful practice and repute. * * * Nowhere are + these great attributes of civilization and regulated + liberty--law, conservatism, justice, equity and mercy in the + administration of human affairs put in broader light or truer, + than they are by the words that Shakespeare puts in the mouth of + this woman jurist.--[_Public Ledger_, Philadelphia, February 12. + + When congress recently passed a law allowing women to practice in + the Supreme Court, it was not a subject of any special or eager + comment. A woman who is a lawyer sent flowers to the desks of the + members who voted for the bill, and before they had faded, + comment was at an end. The home was still safe and the country + was not in peril. It was one of the questions which had settled + itself and was a foregone conclusion. * * * United States Senator + Edmunds of Vermont, has fallen into disfavor with the ladies for + voting against the above bill.--[From John W. Forney's + _Progress_, February 22. + +On March 3, by motion of Hon. A. G. Riddle, Mrs. Lockwood was +admitted to the bar of the United States Supreme Court,[48] taking +the official oath and receiving the classic sheep-skin; and the +following week she was admitted to practice before the Court of +Claims. The forty-sixth congress contained an unusually large +proportion of new representatives, fresh from the people, ready for +the discussion of new issues, and manifesting a chivalric spirit +toward the consideration of woman's claims as a citizen. On +Tuesday, April 29, the following resolution was submitted to the +Committee on Rules in the House of Representatives: + + _Resolved_, That a select committee of nine members be appointed + by the speaker, to be called a Committee on the Rights of Women, + whose duty it shall be to consider and report upon all petitions, + memorials, resolutions and bills that may be presented in the + House relating to the rights of women. + +Admitting the justice of a fair consideration of a question +involving every human right of one-half of the population of this +country, Alex. H. Stephens of Georgia, James A. Garfield of Ohio, +Wm. P. Frye of Maine, immediately declared themselves in favor of +the appointment of said committee, and Speaker Randall, the +chairman, ordered it reported to the House. A similar resolution +was introduced in the Senate, before the adjournment of the special +session. This showed a clearer perception of the magnitude of the +question, and the need of its early and earnest consideration, than +at any time during the previous thirty years of argument, heroic +struggle and sacrifice on the altar of woman's freedom. + +The anniversary of 1879 was held in St. Louis, Missouri, May 7, 8, +9. Mrs. Virginia L. Minor and Miss Phoebe W. Couzins made all +possible arrangements for the success of the meeting and the +comfort of the delegates.[49] Mrs. Minor briefly stated the object +of the convention and announced that, as the president of the +association had not arrived, Mrs. Joslyn Gage would take the chair. +Miss Couzins gave the address of welcome: + + _Mrs. President and Members of the National Woman Suffrage + Association:_ + + It becomes my pleasant duty to welcome you to the hospitalities + of my native city. To extend to you who for the first time meet + beyond the Mississippi, a greeting--not only in behalf of the + friends of woman suffrage, but for those of our citizens who, + while not in full sympathy with your views, have a desire to hear + you in deliberative council and to cordially tender you the same + courtesies offered other conventions which have chosen St. Louis + as their place of annual gathering. + + And I am the more happy to do this because of the opportunity it + affords me to disabuse your minds of certain impressions which + have gone abroad concerning our slowness of action in the line of + advanced ideas. Certainly in some phases of that reformation to + which you and your co-laborers have pledged your lives, your + fortunes--the cause of woman--St. Louis is the leader. + + When, eighteen or twenty years since, Harriet Hosmer desired to + study anatomy, to perfect herself in her art, not a college in + New England would open its doors to her; she traveled West, and + through the generous patronage of Wayman Crow of this city, she + became a pupil of the dean of the St. Louis Medical college. + + When other cities had refused equality of wages and position, St. + Louis placed Miss Brackett at the head of our normal school, + giving her--a heretofore exclusively male prerogative--the + highest wages, added to the highest educational rank. + + And here in St. Louis began the advance march which has finally + broken down the walls of the highest judicial fortress, the + Supreme Court of the United States. Washington University, in + response to my request, unhesitatingly opened its doors, and for + the first time in the history of America, woman was accorded the + right to a legal course of training with man, and, at its close, + after successful examination, I was freely accorded the degree of + Bachelor of Laws! A city or a State that could perpetrate the + anomaly of a female bachelor, is certainly not far behind the + radicalism of the age. + + Again, as I turn to its record on suffrage, I find as early as + 1866 the Hon. B. Gratz Brown of Missouri made a glowing speech + for woman's enfranchisement, in the United States Senate, on Mr. + Cowan's motion to strike out "male" from the District of Columbia + suffrage bill, which resulted in an organization in 1867, through + the efforts of Mrs. Virginia L. Minor, its first president. And + again, I remember when that hydra-headed evil arose in our midst, + degrading all women and violating all the sweet and sacred + sanctities of life--a blow at our homes and a lasting stigma on + our civilization--the people of this community, led by the + chancellor of Washington University, at the ballot-box but + recently laid that monster away in a tomb, never, I trust, to be + resurrected. + + And now, Mrs. President, let me add, in words which but faintly + express the emotion of my heart, the gratitude we feel towards + the noble women who have borne the burden and heat of the day. + They who have been ridiculed, villified, maligned, but through it + all maintained an unswerving allegiance to truth. In the name of + all true womanhood I welcome this association in our midst as + worthy of the highest honor. + + We have lived to see the enlargement of woman's thought in all + directions. From our laboratories, libraries, observatories, + schools of medicine and law, universities of science, art and + literature, she is advancing to the examination of the problems + of life, with an eye single only to the glory of truth. Like the + Spartan of old she has thrown her spear into the thickest of the + fray, and will fight gloriously in the midst thereof till she + regains her own. No specious sophistry or vain delusion--no + time-honored tradition or untenable doctrine can evade her + searching investigation. + +Mrs. Gage responded to this address in a few earnest, appropriate +words. + +Of the many letters[50] read in the convention none was received +with greater joy than the few lines, written with trembling hand, +from Lucretia Mott, then in the eighty-seventh year of her age: + + ROADSIDE, Fourth Month, 26, 1879. + + MY DEAR SUSAN ANTHONY--It would need no urgent appeal to draw me + to St. Louis had I the strength for the journey. You will have no + need of my worn-out powers. Our cause itself has become + sufficiently attractive. Edward M. Davis has a joint letter on + hand for my signature, so this is enough, with my mite toward + expenses. And to all assembled in St. Louis best wishes for--yes, + full faith in your success. I have signed Edward's letter, so it + is hardly necessary for me to say, + + LUCRETIA MOTT. + +The distinguishing feature of this convention was an afternoon +session of ladies alone, prompted by an attempt to reenact a law +for the license of prostitution, which had been enforced in St. +Louis a few years before and repealed through the united efforts of +the best men and women of the city. Mrs. Joslyn Gage opened the +meeting by reading extracts from the Woman's Declaration of Rights +presented at the centennial celebration, and drew especial +attention to the clause referring to two separate codes of morals +for men and women, arising from woman's inferior political +position: + + There are two points which may be considered open for discussion + during the afternoon--one, the fact that there are existing in + all forms of society, barbaric, semi-civilized, civilized or + enlightened, two separate codes of morals; the strict code to + which women are held accountable, and the lax code which governs + the conduct of men. + + The other question which can very properly be discussed at the + present time is, "Why in this country, and in all civilized + nations, do one-half of the population die under five years of + age, and in some countries a very large proportion under one + year?" + +A letter was read from Mrs. Josephine E. Butler. As the experiment +of licensing prostitution had been extensively tried in England, +and she had watched the effects of the system not only in her own +country but on the continent, her opinions on this question are +worthy of consideration: + + _To the Annual Meeting of the National Suffrage Association in + St. Louis:_ + + DEAR FRIENDS--As I am unable to be present at your convention on + May 7, 8, 9, and as you ask for a communication from me, I gladly + write you on some of the later phases of our struggle against + legalized prostitution. A brave battle has been fought in St. + Louis against that iniquity, and we have regarded it with + sympathy and admiration; but you are not yet safe against the + devices of those who uphold this white slavery, nor are we safe, + although we know that in the end we shall be conquerors. You tell + me that "England is held up as an example of the beneficial + working of the legalizing of vice." England holds a peculiar + position in regard to the question. She was the last to adopt + this system of slavery and she adopted it in that thorough manner + which characterizes the Anglo-Saxon race. In no other country has + prostitution been regulated by law. It has been understood by the + Latin races, even when morally enervated, that the law could not + without risk of losing its majesty violate justice. In England + alone the regulations are law. Their promoters, by their + hardihood in asking parliament to decree injustice, have brought + on unconsciously to themselves, the beginning of the end of the + whole system. The Englishman is a powerful agent for evil as for + good. In the best times of our history my countrymen possessed + preeminently vigorous minds in vigorous bodies. But when the + animal nature has outgrown the moral, the appetites burst their + proper restraints, and man has no other notion of enjoyment save + bodily pleasure; he passes by a quick and easy transition into a + powerful brute. And this is what the upper-class Englishman has + to a deplorable extent become. There is no creature in the world + so ready as he to domineer, to enslave, to destroy. But together + with this development towards evil, there has been in our country + a counter development. Moral faith is still strong among us. + There are powerful women, as well as strong, pure, and + self-governed men, of the real old Anglo-Saxon type. It was in + England then, which adopted last the hideous slavery, that there + arose first a strong national protest in opposition. English + people rose up against the wicked law before it had been in + operation three months. English men and women determined to carry + abolition not at home only, but abroad, and they promptly carried + their standard to every country on the continent of Europe. In + all these countries men and women came forward at the first + appeal, and said, "We are ready, we only waited for you, + Anglo-Saxons, to take the lead; we have groaned under the + oppression, but there was not force enough among us to take the + initiative step." + + We have recently had a visit from Monsieur Aimi Humbert of + Switzerland, our able general secretary for the continent. Much + encouragement was derived from the reports which reached us from + France, Holland, Denmark, Sweden and even Spain, where a noble + lady, Donna Concepcion Arenal of Madrid, and several gentlemen + have warmly espoused our cause. The progress is truly + encouraging; yet, on the other hand, it is obvious that the + partisans of this legislation have recently been smitten with a + kind of rage for extending the system everywhere, and are on the + watch to introduce it wherever we are off our guard. In almost + all British colonies they are very busy. At the Cape of Good + Hope, where the Cape parliament had repealed the law, the + governor, Sir Bartle Frere, has been induced by certain + specialists and immoral men, to reintroduce it. But since he + could not count on the parliament at Cape Town for doing this, he + has reintroduced the miserable system by means of a proclamation + or edict, without the sanction and probably, to a great extent, + without the knowledge of parliament. The same game is being + played in other colonies. These facts seem to point to a more + decided and bitter struggle on the question than we have yet + seen. An energetic member of our executive committee, M. Pierson + of Zetten, in Holland, says: + + I look upon legalized prostitution as the system in which + the immorality of our age is crystalized, and that in + attacking it we attack in reality the great enemies which + are hiding themselves behind its ramparts. But if we do not + soon overthrow these ramparts we must not think our work is + fruitless. A great work is already achieved; sin is once + more called sin instead of necessary evil, and the true + standard of morality--equal for men and women, for rich and + poor--is once more raised in the face of all the nations. + + This legalization of vice which recognized the "necessity" of + impurity for man and the institution of slavery for woman, is the + most open denial which modern times have seen of the principle of + the sacredness of the individual human being. It is the + embodiment of socialism in its worst form. An English high-class + journal confessed this, when it dared to demand that women who + are unchaste shall henceforth be dealt with "not as human beings, + but as foul sewers," or some such "material nuisance" without + souls, without rights and without responsibilities. When the + leaders of public opinion in a country have arrived at such a + point of combined depotism as to recommend such a manner of + dealing with human beings, there is no crime which that country + may not legalize. Were it possible to secure the absolute + physical health of a whole province, or an entire continent by + the destruction of one, only one poor and sinful woman, woe to + that nation which should dare, by that single act of destruction, + to purchase this advantage to the many! It will do it at its + peril. + + We entreat our friends in America to renew their alliance with us + in the sacred conflict. Union will be strength. The women of + England are beginning to understand their responsibilities. Like + yourselves, we are laboring to obtain the suffrage. The wrong + which has fallen upon us in this legalizing of vice has taught us + the need of power in legislation. Meanwhile, the crusade against + immorality is educating women for the right use of suffrage when + they obtain it. The two movements must go hand in hand. + +Altogether this was an impressive occasion in which women met heart +to heart in discussing the deepest humiliations of their sex. After +eloquent speeches by Mrs. Meriwether, Mrs. Spencer, Mrs. Leonard, +Mrs. Thompson and Rev. Olympia Brown, the audience slowly +dispersed. + +The closing scenes of the evening were artistic and interesting. +The platform was tastefully decked with flags and flowers, and the +immense audience that had assembled at an early hour--hundreds +unable to gain admission--made this the crowning session of the +convention. Miss Couzins announced the receipt of an invitation +from Mr. John Wahl, inviting the convention to visit the Merchants' +Exchange, "with assurances of high regard." The announcement was +heard with considerable merriment by those who remembered her +criticisms on Mr. Wahl for his failure to deliver the address of +welcome at the opening of the convention. She also announced the +receipt of an invitation from Secretary Kalb to visit the +fair-grounds, and moved that the convention first visit the +Exchange and then proceed to the fair-grounds in carriages, the +members of the Merchants' Exchange, of course paying the bill. The +motion was carried amidst applause. An invitation was also received +from Dr. Eliot, chancellor of Washington University, to attend the +art lecture of Miss Schoonmaker at the Mary Institute, Monday +evening. In a letter to the editor of the _National Citizen_, Mrs. +Stanton thus describes the incident of the evening: + + The delegates from the different States, through May Wright + Thompson of Indianapolis, presented Miss Anthony with two baskets + of exquisite flowers. She referred in the most happy way to Miss + Anthony's untiring devotion to all the unpopular reforms through + years of pitiless persecution, and thanked her in behalf of the + young womanhood of the nation, that their path had been made + smoother by her brave life. Miss Anthony was so overcome with the + delicate compliments and the fragrant flowers at her feet, that + for a few moments she could find no words to express her + appreciation of the unexpected acknowledgement of what all + American women owe her. As she stood before that hushed audience, + her silence was more eloquent than words, for her emotion was + shared by all. With an effort she at last said: + + Friends, I have no words to express my gratitude for this + marked attention. I have so long been the target for + criticism and ridicule, I am so unused to praise, that I + stand before you surprised and disarmed. If any one had come + to this platform and abused all womankind, called me hard + names, ridiculed our arguments or denied the justice of our + demands, I could with readiness and confidence have rushed + to the defence, but I cannot make any appropriate reply for + this offering of eloquent words and flowers, and I shall not + attempt it. + + Being advertised as the speaker of the evening, she at once began + her address, and as she stood there and made an argument worthy a + senator of the United States, I recalled the infinite patience + with which, for upwards of thirty years, she had labored for + temperance, anti-slavery and woman suffrage, with a faithfulness + worthy the martyrs in the early days of the Christian church, and + said to myself, verily the world now as ever crucifies its + saviors. + + Thanks to the untiring industry of Mrs. Minor and Miss Couzins, + the convention was in every way a success, morally, financially, + in crowded audiences, and in the fair, respectful and + complimentary tone of the press. Looking over the proceedings and + resolutions, the thought struck me that the National Association + is the only organization that has steadily maintained the + doctrine of federal power against State rights. The great truths + set forth in the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments of United + States supremacy, so clearly seen by us, seem to be vague and dim + to our leading statesmen and lawyers if we may judge by their + speeches and decisions. Your superb speech on State rights should + be published in tract form and scattered over this entire nation. + How can we ever have a homogeneous government so long as + universal principles are bounded by State lines. + +The delegates remaining in the city went on Change in a body at 12 +o'clock Saturday, on invitation of the president, John Wahl. They +were courteously received and speeches were made by Mesdames +Couzins, Stanton, Anthony, Meriwether and Thompson. Mrs. +Meriwether's speech was immediately telegraphed in full to Memphis. +All wore badges of silk on which in gold letters appeared "N. W. S. +A., May 10, 1879, Merchants' Exchange." From the Exchange the +ladies proceeded in carriages to the fair-grounds, and Zooelogical +Gardens where they took refreshments. + +On Saturday evening Miss Couzins gave a delightful reception. Her +parlors were crowded until a late hour, where the friends of woman +suffrage had an opportunity to use their influence socially in +converting many distinguished guests. On Sunday night Mrs. Stanton +was invited by the Rev. Ross C. Houghton to occupy his pulpit in +the Union Methodist church, the largest in the city of that +denomination. She preached from the text in Genesis i., 27, 28. The +sermon was published in the _St. Louis Globe_ the next morning.[51] +Mrs. Thompson was also invited to occupy a Presbyterian pulpit, +but imperative duties compelled her to leave the city. + +The enthusiasm aroused by the convention in woman's enfranchisement +was encouraging to those who had so long and earnestly labored in +this cause.[52] This was indeed a week of profitable work. With +arguments and appeals to man's reason and sense of justice on the +platform, to his religious emotions and conscience in the pulpit, +to his honor and courtesy in the parlor, all the varied influences +of public and private life were exerted with marked effect; while +the press on the wings of the wind carried the glad tidings of a +new gospel for woman to every town and hamlet in the State. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[20] The annual convention of the National Woman Suffrage +Association will be held in Lincoln Hall, Washington, D. C., +January 16, 17, 1877. + +As by repeated judicial decisions, woman's right to vote under the +fourteenth amendment has been denied, we must now unitedly demand a +sixteenth amendment to the United States Constitution, that shall +secure this right to the women of the nation. In certain States and +territories where women had already voted, they have been denied +the right by legislative action. Hence it must be clear to every +thinking mind that this fundamental right of citizenship must not +be left to the ignorant majorities in the several States; for +unless it is secured everywhere, it is safe nowhere. + +We urge all suffrage associations and friends of woman's +enfranchisement throughout the country to send delegates to this +convention, freighted with mammoth petitions for a sixteenth +amendment. Let all other proposed amendments be held in abeyance to +the sacred rights of the women of this nation. The most reverent +recognition of God in the constitution would be justice and +equality for woman. On behalf of the National Woman Suffrage +Association, + + ELIZABETH CADY STANTON, _President_. + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, _Chairman Ex. Committee_. + SUSAN B. ANTHONY, _Corresponding Secretary_. + _Tenafly, N. J._, November 10, 1876. + + + +[21] Committees: _Finance_--Sara A. Spencer, Ellen Clark Sargent, +Lillie Devereux Blake. _Resolutions_--Matilda Joslyn Gage, Susan B. +Anthony. Belva A. Lockwood, Edward M. Davis, C. B. Purvis, M. D., +Jane G. Swisshelm. _Business_--John Hutchinson. Mary F. Foster, +Rosina M. Parnell, Mary A. S. Carey, Ellen H. Sheldon, S. J. +Messer, Susan A. Edson, M. D. + +[22] The speakers at this May anniversary were Mrs. Devereux Blake, +Rev. Olympia Brown, Clara Neyman, Helen Cooke, Helen M. Slocum, +Mrs. Hooker, Mrs. Gage and Acting-Governor Lee of Wyoming +territory. + +[23] This reception-room, a great convenience to the ladies +visiting the Capitol, has since been removed; and a small, dark, +inaccessible room on the basement floor set aside for their use. + +[24] _Yeas_--Anthony, Bruce, Burnside, Cameron of Wis., Dawes, +Ferry, Hoar, Matthews, Mitchell, Rollins, Sargent, Saunders, +Teller--13. + +_Nays_--Bailey, Bayard, Beck, Booth, Butler, Christiancy, Cockrell, +Coke, Conkling, Davis of W. Va., Eaton, Edmunds, Eustis, Grover, +Hamlin, Harris, Hereford, Hill, Howe, Kernan, Kirkwood, Lamar, +McDonald, McMillan, McPherson, Morgan, Plumb, Randolph, Saulsbury, +Thurman, Wadleigh--31. + +[25] Grace Greenwood, Clara Barton, Abby Hutchinson Patton, Mrs. +Juan Lewis, Mrs. Morgan of Mississippi, Dr. Mary A. Thompson of +Oregon, Marilla M. Ricker, Julia E. Smith, Rev. Olympia Brown, Mrs. +Blake, Mrs. Lockwood, Mrs. Spencer, Mrs. Gage, Mrs. Stanton, Dr. +Lozier and others. + +[26] This argument was subsequently given before the Committee on +Privileges and Elections and will be found on page 80. + +[27] The members of the committee were Belva A. Lockwood, Matilda +Joslyn Gage, Mary A. Thompson, M. D., Marilla M. Ricker, Elizabeth +Boynton Harbert. + +[28] At this hearing the speakers were Clemence S. Lozier, M. D., +New York; Julia E. Smith, Connecticut; Elizabeth Cady Stanton, New +Jersey; Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, Illinois; Matilda Joslyn Gage, +New York; Priscilla Rand Lawrence, Massachusetts; Rev. Olympia +Brown, Connecticut; Mary A. Thompson, M. D., Oregon; Mary Powers +Filley, New Hampshire; Lillie Devereux Blake, New York; Sara +Andrews Spencer, District of Columbia; Isabella Beecher Hooker, +Connecticut; Mary A. Stewart, Delaware. + +[29] In the whole course of our struggle for equal rights I never +felt more exasperated than on this occasion, standing before a +committee of men many years my juniors, all comfortably seated in +armchairs, I pleading for rights they all enjoyed though in no +respect my superiors, denied me on the shallow grounds of sex. But +this humiliation I had often felt before. The peculiarly +aggravating feature of the present occasion was the studied +inattention and contempt of the chairman, Senator Wadleigh of New +Hampshire. Having prepared my argument with care, I naturally +desired the attention of every member of the committee, all of +which, with the exception of Senator Wadleigh, I seemingly had. He +however took special pains to show that he did not intend to +listen. He alternately looked over some manuscripts and newspapers +before him, then jumped up to open or close a door or window. He +stretched, yawned, gazed at the ceiling, cut his nails, sharpened +his pencil, changing his occupation and position every two minutes, +effectually preventing the establishment of the faintest magnetic +current between the speakers and the committee. It was with +difficulty I restrained the impulse more than once to hurl my +manuscript at his head.--[E. C. S. + +[30] The first hearing was held in the committee room, but that not +being large enough to accommodate the crowds that wished to hear +the arguments, the use of the Senate reception room was granted for +the second, which although very much larger, was packed, with the +corridors leading to it, long before the committee took their +places. + +[31] Mr. and Mrs. Holt, of 1,339 L street, entertained their +friends and a numerous company of distinguished guests on Friday +evening, in honor of Mrs. Beecher Hooker. She delivered one of her +ablest speeches on the woman suffrage question. She was listened to +with breathless silence by eminent men and women, who confessed, at +the termination of her speech, that they were "almost persuaded" to +join her ranks--the highest tribute to her eloquent defense of her +position. Mrs. Hooker's intellect is not her only charm. Her +beautiful face and attractive manners all help to make converts. +Mrs. Julia N. Holmes, the poet, one of the most admired ladies +present, and Mrs. Southworth, the novelist, wore black velvet and +diamonds. Mrs. Hodson Burnett, that "Lass o' Lowrie," in colored +and rose silk with princess scarf, looked charmingly. Mrs. Senator +Sargent, Mrs. Charles Nordhoff and her friends, the elegant Miss +Thurman, of Cincinnati, and Miss Joseph, a brilliant brunette with +scarlet roses and jet ornaments, of Washington, were much observed. +Mrs. Dr. Wallace, of the _New York Herald_, wore cuir colored +gros-grain with guipure lace trimmings, flowers and diamonds. Miss +Coyle was richly attired. Mrs. Ingersoll, wife of the exceptional +orator, was the center of observation with Mrs. Hooker; she wore +black velvet, roses, and diamonds--has a noble presence and Grecian +face. General Forney, of Alabama, Hon. John F. Wait, M. C., Captain +Dutton and Colonel Mallory, of U. S. Army, Judge Tabor (Fourth +Auditor), Dr. Cowes, Col. Ingersol, Mrs. Hoffman, of New York, a +prominent lady of the Woman's Congress, lately assembled in this +city, wore a distinguished toilette. Mrs. Spofford, of the Riggs +House, was among the most noticeable ladies present, elegant and +delightful in style and manner. Dr. Josephs and Col. G. W. Rice, of +Boston, were of the most conspicuous gentlemen present, who retired +much edified with the entertainment of the evening. + + H. LOUISE GATES. + +Society was divided Saturday evening between the literary club +which met at Willard's under the auspices of Mrs. Morrell, and the +reception given at the residence of Senator Rollins, on Capitol +Hill, to Mrs. Beecher Hooker, who spoke on the question of woman +suffrage. It was said of Theodore Parker, if all his hearers stood +on the same lofty plane that he did, his theology would be all +right for them, and so in this matter of woman's rights. If all the +advocates were as cultivated, refined, and convincing as Mrs. +Hooker, one might almost be tempted to surrender. She certainly +possesses that rare magnetic influence which seems to say, "Lend me +your ears and I shall take your heart." Among her listeners we +noticed Mrs. Joseph Ames, Grace Greenwood, Senator and Mrs. +Rollins, Senator and Mrs. Wadleigh, Miss Rollins, Mrs. Solomon +Bundy, Mrs. J. M. Holmes, Mrs. Brainerd, Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle, +Dr. Patton and son, Prof. Thomas Taylor, Miss Robena Taylor, Mrs. +Spofford, of the Riggs House, Prof. G. B. Stebbins, Mrs. Captain +Platt, and Mr. and Mrs. Holt.--[Washington _Post_. + + +[32] The members of the committee present were Hon. Proctor Knott +(the chairman), General Benjamin F. Butler, Messrs. Lynde, Frye, +Conger, Lapham, Culberson, McMahon. Among the ladies were Mesdames +Knott, Conger, Lynde, Frye. + +[33] Mrs. Hooker has won, just as we predicted she would. Senators +Howe, Ferry, Coke, Randolph, Jones, Blaine, Beck, Booth, Allison, +Wallace, Eaton, Johnston, Burnside, Saulsbury, Merrimon, and +Presiding-officer Wheeler, together with nineteen other senators, +have formally invited her to address the Committee on Privileges +and Elections on February 22, an invitation which she has +enthusiastically accepted. Nobody but congressmen will be admitted +to hear the distinguished advocate of woman suffrage.--[Washington +_Post_. + +[34] Among those present were Mrs. Senator Beck, Mrs. Stanley +Matthews, Mrs. Sargent, Mrs. Spofford, Mrs. Holmes, Mrs. Snead, +Mrs. Baldwin, Miss Blodgett of New York; Mrs. Baldwin, Mrs. +Spencer, Mrs. Juan Lewis of Philadelphia; Mrs. Morgan of +Mississippi, Mrs. Brooks, Mrs. Olcott, Mrs. Bartlett, Miss Sweet, +Mrs. Myers, Mrs. Gibson, Miss Jenners, Mrs. Levison, Mrs. Hereford, +Mrs. Folsom, Mrs. Mitchell, Mrs. Lynde, Mrs. Eldridge, Miss Snowe, +Mrs. Curtis, Mrs. Hutchinson Patton, Mrs. Boucher and many others. +Of the committee and Senate there were Senators Wadleigh, Cameron +of Wisconsin; Merrimon, Mitchell, Hoar, Vice-president Wheeler, +Senators Jones, Bruce, Beck and others. Several representatives +and their wives also were there, and seemed deeply +interested.--[Washington _Post_. + +[35] Mrs. Ricker makes a specialty of looking after the occupants +of the jail--so freely is her purse opened to the poor and +unfortunate that she is known as the prisoners' friend. Many an +alleged criminal owes the dawning of a new life, and the +determination to make it a worthy one, to the efforts of this noble +woman. And Mrs. Ricker's special object in seeking this office was +that prisoners might make depositions before her and thus be saved +the expense of employing notaries from the city. + +[36] THE SELFISH RATS--A FABLE BY LILLIE DEVEREUX BLAKE.--Once some +gray old rats built a ship of State to save themselves from +drowning. It carried them safely for awhile until they grew eager +for more passengers, and so took on board all manner of rats that +had run away from all sorts of places--Irish rats and German rats, +and French rats, and even black rats and dirty sewer rats. + +Now there were many lady mice who had followed the rats, and the +rats therefore thought them very nice, but in spite of that would +not let them have any place on the ship, so that they were forced +to cling to a few planks and were every now and then overwhelmed by +the waves. But when the mice begged to be taken on board saying, +"Save us also, we beg you!" The rats only replied, "We are too +crowded already; we love you very much, and we know you are very +uncomfortable, but it is not expedient to make room for you." So +the rats sailed on safely and saw the poor little mice buffeted +about without doing the least thing to save them. + +_Moral_: Woe to the weaker. + +[37] Senator Blair has just been elected (June, 1885) to a second +term, thus insuring his services to our cause in the Senate for +another six years. + +[38] DELEGATES TO THE THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY.--Alabama, Priscilla +Holmes Drake; California, Ellen Clark Sargent; District of +Columbia, Frederick Douglass, Belva A. Lockwood, Sara Andrews +Spencer, Caroline B. Winslow, M. D.; Indiana, Margaret C. Conklin, +Mary B. Naylor, May Wright Thompson; Massachusetts, Harriet H. +Robinson, Harriette R. Shattuck; Maryland, Lavinia C. Dundore; +Michigan, Catherine A. F. Stebbins, Frances Titus, Sojourner Truth; +Missouri, Phoebe W. Couzins; New Hampshire, Parker Pillsbury; North +Carolina, Elizabeth Oakes Smith; New Jersey, Elizabeth Cady +Stanton, Sarah M. Hurn; New York, _Albany county_, Arethusa L. +Forbes; _Dutchess_, Helen M. Loder; _Lewis_, Mrs. E. M. Wilcox; +_Madison_, Helen Raymond Jarvis; _Monroe_, Susan B. Anthony, Amy +Post, Sarah H. Willis, Mary H. Hallowell, Mary S. Anthony, Lewia C. +Smith and many others; _Orleans_, Mrs. Plumb, Mrs. Clark; +_Onondaga_, Lucy N. Coleman, Dr. Amelia F. Raymond, Matilda Joslyn +Gage; _Ontario_, Elizabeth C. Atwell, Catherine H. Sands, Elizabeth +Smith Miller, Helen M. Pitts; _Queens_, Mary A. Pell; _Wayne_, +Sarah K. Rathbone, Rebecca B. Thomas; _Wyoming_, Charlotte A. +Cleveland; _Genesee_, the Misses Morton; _New York_, Clemence S. +Lozier, M. D., Helen M. Slocum, Sara A. Barret, M. D., Hamilton +Wilcox; Ohio, Mrs. Ellen Sully Fray; Pennsylvania, Lucretia Mott, +Sarah Pugh, Adeline Thomson, Maria C. Arter, M. D., Mrs. Watson; +South Carolina, Martha Schofield; Wisconsin, Mrs. C. L. Morgan. + +[39] From Wendell Phillips, William Lloyd Garrison, Lucy Stone, +Caroline H. Dall, Boston; Hon. A. A. Sargent, Washington; Clara +Barton, Mathilde F. Wendt, Abby Hutchinson Patton, Aaron M. Powell, +Father Benson, Margaret Holley, Mary L. Booth, Sarah Hallock, +Priscilla R. Lawrence, Lillie Devereux Blake, New York; Samuel May, +Elizabeth Powell Bond, John W. Hutchinson, Lucinda B. Chandler, +Sarah E. Wall, Massachusetts; Caroline M. Spear, Robert Purvis, +Edward M. Davis, Philadelphia; Isabella Beecher Hooker, Julia E. +Smith, Lavinia Goodell, Connecticut; Lucy A. Snowe, Ann T. Greeley, +Maine; Caroline F. Barr, Bessie Bisbee Hunt, Mary A. Powers Filley, +New Hampshire; Catherine Cornell Knowles, Rhode Island; Antoinette +Brown Blackwell, New Jersey; Annie Laura Quinby, Joseph B. Quinby, +Sarah R. L. Williams, Rosa L. Segur, Ohio; Sarah C. Owen, Michigan; +Laura Ross Wolcott, M. D., Mary King, Angie King, Wisconsin; +Frances E. Williard, Clara Lyons Peters, Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, +Illinois; Rachel Lockwood Child, Janet Strong, Nancy R. Allen, +Amelia Bloomer, Iowa; Sarah Burger Stearns, Hattie M. White, +Minnesota; Mary F. Thomas, M. D., Emma Molloy, Indiana; Matilda +Hindman, Sarah L. Miller, Pennsylvania; Anna K. Irvine, Virginia L. +Minor, Missouri; Elizabeth H. Duvall, Kentucky; Mrs. G.W. Church, +Tennessee; Mrs. Augusta Williams, Elsie Stuart, Kansas; Ada W. +Lucas, Nebraska; Emeline B. Wells, Annie Godbe, Utah; Mary F. +Shields, Alida C. Avery, M. D., Colorado; Harriet Loughary, Mrs. L. +F. Proebstel, Mrs. Coburn, Abigail Scott Duniway, Oregon; Clarina +I. H. Nichols, Elizabeth B. Schenck, Sarah J. Wallis, Abigail Bush, +Laura de Force Gordon, California; Mrs. A.H.H. Stuart, Washington +Territory; Helen M. Martin, Arkansas; Helen R. Holmes, District of +Columbia; Caroline V. Putnam, Virginia; Elizabeth Avery Meriwether, +Tennessee; Elizabeth L. Saxon, Louisiana; Martha Goodwin Tunstall, +Texas; Priscilla Holmes Drake, Buell D. M'Clung, Alabama; Ellen +Sully Fray, Ontario; Theodore Stanton, France; Ernestine L. Rose, +Caroline Ashurst Biggs, Lydia E. Becker, England. + +[40] While May Wright Thompson was speaking she turned to Mrs. +Stanton and said. "How thankful I am for these bright young women +now ready to fill our soon-to-be vacant places. I want to shake +hands with them all before I go, and give them a few words of +encouragement. I do hope they will not be spoiled with too much +praise." + +[41] For account of this International Congress, see chapter on +Continental Europe in this volume. + +[42] Mrs. Mott, Mrs. Gage, Mrs. Stanton, Mrs. Coleman, Mr. Wilcox, +Mrs. Slocum, Mrs. Dundore, Mrs. Stebbins, Mrs. Sands, Mrs. Amy +Post, and Mrs. Elizabeth Oakes-Smith, who having resided in North +Carolina had not been on our platform for many years, were among +the speakers. + +[43] By Miss Couzins, Mr. Douglass, Mrs. Spencer. + +[44] Mr. Robinson, as "Warrington," was well known as one of the +best writers on the _Springfield Republican_. + +[45] Ellen Clark Sargent, California; Elizabeth Oakes Smith, North +Carolina; Elizabeth Cady Stanton, New Jersey; Mrs. Devereux Blake, +Mrs. Joslyn Gage, Helen M. Slocum, Helen Cooke, Susan B. Anthony, +New York; Julia Brown Dunham, Iowa; Marilla M. Ricker, New +Hampshire; Lavinia C. Dundore, Maryland; Robert Purvis, Julia and +Rachel Foster, Pennsylvania; Emeline B. Wells, Zina Young Williams, +Utah; Ellen H. Sheldon, Dr. Caroline Winslow, Sara Andrews Spencer, +Belva A. Lockwood, Frederick Douglass, Julia A. Wilbur, Dr. Cora M. +Bland, Washington. + +[46] The president invited the ladies into the library, that they +might be secure from interruption, and gave them throughout a most +respectful and courteous hearing, asking questions and showing +evident interest in the subject, and at the close promising sincere +consideration of the question. + +[47] At its final action, the bill was called up by Hon. J. E. +McDonald of Indiana. After some discussion it was passed without +amendment--40 to 20. _Yeas_--Allison, Anthony, Barnum, Beck, +Blaine, Booth, Burnside, Cameron (Pennsylvania), Cameron +(Wisconsin), Dawes, Dorsey, Ferry, Garland, Gordon, Hamlin, Hoar, +Howe, Ingalls, Jones (Florida), Jones (Nevada), Kellogg, Kirkwood, +McCreery, McDonald, McMillan, McPherson, Matthews, Mitchell, +Oglesby, Ransom, Rollins, Sargent, Teller, Voorhees, Wadleigh, +Windom, Withers. _Nays_--Baily, Chaffee, Coke, Davis (Illinois), +Davis (West Virginia), Eaton, Edmunds, Eustis, Grover, Harris, +Hereford, Hill, Kernan, Maxey, Merrimon, Morgan, Randolph, +Saulsbury, Wallace, White. + +[48] Conspicuous in the large and distinguished audience present +were Senator M'Donald, Attorney-general Williams, Hon. Jeremiah +Wilson, Judge Shellabarger, Hon. George W. Julian, who with many +others extended hearty congratulations to Mrs. Lockwood. + +[49] _Washington, D. C._--Sara A. Spencer. _Illinois_--Clara Lyon +Peters, Watseka; Mrs. G. P. Graham, Martha L. Mathews, Amanda E. +and Matilda S. Frazer, Aledo; Hannah J. Coffee, Abby B. Trego, +Orion; Mrs. Senator Hanna, Fairfield; Sarah F. Nourse, Moline; +Mrs. E. P. Reynolds, Rock Island; Cynthia Leonard, Chicago. +_Missouri_--Virginia L. Minor, Mrs. M. A. Peoquine, Mrs. P. W. +Thomas, Eliza J. Patrick, Mrs. E. M. Dan, Eliza A. Robbins, Phoebe +W. Couzins, Alex. Robbins, St. Louis; James L. Allen, Oregon; Miss +A. J. Sparks, Warrensburg. _Wisconsin_--Rev. Olympia Brown, Racine. +_New York_--Susan B. Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage, Mary R. Pell, +Florence Pell. _Indiana_--Helen Austin, Richmond; May Wright +Thompson, Amy E. Dunn, Gertrude Garrison, Mary E. Haggart, +Indianapolis. _Tennessee_--Elizabeth Avery Meriwether, Minor Lee +Meriwether, Memphis, _Kentucky_--Mary B. Clay, Richmond. +_Louisiana_--Emily P. Collins, Ponchatoula. _Ohio_--Eva L. Pinney, +South Newbury. _Pennsylvania_--Mrs. L. P. Danforth, Julia and +Rachel Foster, Philadelphia. + +[50] Letters sympathizing with the purposes of the convention were +received from Lucretia Mott, Pa.; Clarina I. H. Nichols, Cal.; +Lucinda B. Chandler, N. J.; Annie Laura Quinby, Ky.; Mrs. N. R. +Allen, Ia.; Isabella B. Hooker, Ct.; Emeline B. Wells, Utah; Sarah +Burger Stearns, Minn.; Mary A. Livermore, Mass.; Elizabeth Oakes +Smith, N. Y.; Hannah Tracy Cutler, M. D., Ill.; Mrs. S. F. +Proebstell, Ore.; Mrs. C. C. Knowles, R. I.; Dr. Clemence S. +Lozier, Lillie Devereux Blake, N. Y. (with a fable, "Nothing New"); +Lavinia Goodell, Wis.; Elizabeth H. Duvall, Ky.; Alida C. Avery, M. +D., Col.; Hattie M. Crumb, Mo.; Mrs. J. H. Pattee, Ill.; Caroline +B. Winslow, M. D., Washington; Miss Kate Trimble, Ky.; Mrs. M. +M'Clellan Brown, Pa.; Alice Black, Mo.; Margaret M. Baker, Mo.; +Mrs. Elsie Stewart, Kan.; Edward M. Davis, Pa.; Mrs. Scott Saxton, +Louisville; Kate Gannett Wells, Boston; Anna R. Irvine, Mo.; Sarah +M. Kimball, Salt Lake; Lelia E. Partridge, Pa.; Ellen H. Sheldon, +D. C.; Rev. W. C. Gannett, Minn.; Elizabeth L. Saxon, New Orleans; +Mrs. J. Swain, Ill.; Geo. M. Jackson, John Finn, A Practical Woman, +St. Louis; Maria Harkner, Mrs. J. Martin, Kate B. Ross, Ill.; Emma +Molloy, Ind.; Maria J. Johnston, Mo.; Zenas Brockett, N.Y.; Kate N. +Doggett, president of the Association for the Advancement of Women; +Rebecca N. Hazard, president of the American Woman Suffrage +Society; Madam Anneke, for the Wisconsin Suffrage Association; The +Hutchinson Family ("Tribe of John"); South Newbury Ohio Woman +Suffrage Society. Foreign letters were also received from Jessie +Morrison Wellstood, Edinburgh; Lydia E. Becker, Manchester, +England, editor _Woman's Suffrage Journal_. + +[51] Though an extra edition was struck off not a paper was to be +had by 10 o'clock in the morning. Gov. Stannard and other prominent +members of the suffrage association bought and mailed every copy +they could obtain. + +[52] On the Tuesday following the convention a large number of St. +Louis people met and formed a woman suffrage society, auxiliary to +the National. Miss Anthony who had remained over, called the +meeting to order; Mrs. E. C. Johnson made an effective speech; Mrs. +Minor was chosen president. Over fifty persons enrolled as +members. The second meeting held a fortnight after, was also +crowded--twenty-five new members were obtained. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +CONGRESSIONAL REPORTS AND CONVENTIONS. + +1880-1881. + + Why we Hold Conventions in Washington--Lincoln Hall + Demonstration--Sixty-six Thousand Appeals--Petitions Presented in + Congress--Hon. T. W. Ferry of Michigan in the Senate--Hon. George + B. Loring of Massachusetts in the House--Hon. J. J. Davis of + North Carolina Objected--Twelfth Washington Convention--Hearings + before the Judiciary Committees of both Houses--1880--May + Anniversary at Indianapolis--Series of Western + Conventions--Presidential Nominating Conventions--Delegates and + Addresses to each--Mass-meeting at Chicago--Washington + Convention, 1881--Memorial Service to Lucretia Mott--Mrs. + Stanton's Eulogy--Discussion in the Senate on a Standing + Committee--Senator McDonald of Indiana Championed the + Measure--May Anniversary in Boston--Conventions in the Chief + Cities of New England. + + +The custom of holding conventions at the seat of government in +mid-winter has many advantages. Congress is then in session, the +Supreme Court sitting, and society, that mystic, headless, power, +at the height of its glory. Being the season for official +receptions, where one meets foreign diplomats from every civilized +nation, it is the time chosen by strangers to visit our beautiful +capital. Washington is the modern Rome to which all roads lead, the +bright cynosure of all eyes, and is alike the hope and fear of +worn-out politicians and aspiring pilgrims. From this great center +varied influences radiate to the vast circumference of our land. +Supreme-court decisions, congressional debates, presidential +messages and popular opinions on all questions of fashion, +etiquette and reform are heralded far and near, awakening new +thought in every State in our nation and, through their +representatives, in the aristocracies of the old world. Hence to +hold a suffrage convention in Washington is to speak to the women +of every civilized nation. + +The Twelfth Annual Convention of the National Association assembled +in Lincoln Hall, January 21, 1880. Many distinguished ladies and +gentlemen occupied the platform, which was tastefully decorated +with flags and flowers, and around the walls hung familiar +mottoes,[53] significant of the demands of the hour. On taking the +chair Susan B. Anthony made some appropriate remarks as to the +importance of the work of the association during the presidential +campaign. Mrs. Spencer called the roll, and delegates[54] from +sixteen States responded. + +Mrs. Gage read the call: + + The National Association will hold its twelfth annual convention + in Lincoln Hall, Washington, D. C., January 21, 22, 1880. + + The question as to whether we are a nation, or simply a + confederacy of States, that has agitated the country from the + inauguration of the government, was supposed to have been settled + by the war and confirmed by the amendments, making United States + citizenship and suffrage practically synonymous. Not, however, + having been pressed to its logical results, the question as to + the limits of State rights and national power is still under + discussion, and is the fundamental principle that now divides the + great national parties. As the final settlement of this principle + involves the enfranchisement of woman, our question is one of + national politics, and the real issue of the hour. If it is the + duty of the general government to protect the freedmen of South + Carolina and Louisiana in the exercise of their rights as United + States citizens, the government owes the same protection to the + women in Massachusetts and New York. This year will again witness + an exciting presidential election, and this question of momentous + importance to woman will be the issue then presented. Upon its + final decision depends not only woman's speedy enfranchisement, + but the existence of the republic. + + A sixteenth amendment to the national constitution, prohibiting + the States from disfranchising United States citizens on the + ground of sex, will be urged upon the forty-sixth congress by + petitions, arguments and appeals. The earnest, intelligent and + far-seeing women of every State should assemble at the coming + convention, and show by their wise counsels that they are worthy + to be citizens of a free republic. All associations in the + United States which believe it is the duty of congress to submit + an amendment protecting woman in the exercise of the right of + suffrage, are cordially invited to send delegates. Those who + cannot attend the convention, are urged to address letters to + their representatives in congress, asking them to give as careful + attention to the proposed amendment and to the petitions and + arguments urged in its behalf, as though the rights of men, only, + were involved. A delegate from each section of the country will + be heard before the committees of the House and Senate, to whom + our petitions will be referred.[55] + +Mrs. Spencer presented a series of resolutions which were ably +discussed by the speakers and adopted: + + _Resolved_, That we are a nation and not a mere confederacy, and + that the right of citizens of the United States to + self-government through the ballot should be guaranteed by the + national constitution and protected everywhere under the national + flag. + + _Resolved_, That while States may have the right to regulate the + time, place and manner of elections, and the qualifications of + voters upon terms equally applicable to all citizens, they should + be forbidden under heavy penalties to deprive any citizen of the + right to self-government on account of sex. + + _Resolved_, That it is the duty of the forty-sixth congress to + immediately submit to the several States the amendment to the + national constitution recently proposed by Senator Ferry and + Representative Loring, and approved by the National Suffrage + Association. + + _Resolved_, That it is the duty of the House of Representatives + to pass immediately the resolution recommended by the Committee + on Rules directing the speaker to appoint a committee on the + rights of women. + + _Resolved_, That the giant labor reform of this age lies in + securing to woman, the great unpaid and unrecognized laborer and + producer of the whole earth, the fruits of her toil. + + _Resolved_, That the theory of a masculine head to rule the + family, the church, or the State, is contrary to republican + principles, and the fruitful source of rebellion and corruption. + + _Resolved_, That the assumption of the clergy, that woman has no + right to participate in the ministry and offices of the church is + unauthorized theocratic tyranny, placing a masculine mediator + between woman and her God, which finds no authority in reason, + and should be resisted by all women as an odious form of + religious persecution. + + _Resolved_, That it is the duty of the congress of the United + States to provide a reform school for girls and a home for the + children whom no man owns or protects, and who are left to die + upon the streets of the nation's capital, or to grow up in + ignorance, vice and crime. + + _Resolved_, That since man has everywhere committed to woman the + custody and ownership of the child born out of wedlock, and has + required it to bear its mother's name, he should recognize + woman's right as a mother to the custody of the child born in + marriage, and permit it to bear her name. + + _Resolved_, That the National Association will send a delegate + and an alternate to each presidential nominating convention to + demand the rights of woman, and to submit to each party the + following plank for presidential platform: _Resolved_, That the + right to use the ballot _inheres_ in the citizen of the United + States, and we pledge ourselves to secure protection in the + exercise of this right to all citizens irrespective of sex. + + _Resolved_, That one-half of the number of the supervisors of the + tenth census, and one-half of the collectors of said census, + should be educated, intelligent women, who can be safely + entrusted to enumerate women and children, their occupations, + ages, diseases and deaths, and who would not be likely to + overlook ten millions of housekeepers. + + _Resolved_, That Ulysses S. Grant won his first victories through + the military plans and rare genius of a woman, Anna Ella Carroll, + of Maryland, and while he has been rewarded with the presidential + office through two terms, and a royal voyage around the world, + crowned with glory and honor, Miss Carroll has for fifteen years + been suffering in poverty unrecognized and unrewarded. + + _Resolved_, That the thanks of this association are hereby + tendered to Governor Chas. B. Andrews, of Connecticut, for + remembering in each annual message to ask for justice to women. + +The comments of the press[56] were very complimentary, and their +daily reports of the convention full and fair. Among the many +letters[57] to the convention, the following from a Southern lady +is both novel and amusing: + + MEMPHIS, Tenn., December 11, 1889. + + DEAR MRS. SPENCER: You want petitions. Well I have two which I + got up some time ago, but did not send on because I thought the + names too few to count much. The one is of _white_ women 130 in + number. The other contains 110 names of black women. This last is + a curiosity, and was gotten up under the following circumstances: + + Some ladies were dining with me and we each promised to get what + names we could to petitions for woman suffrage. My servant who + waited on table was a coal-black woman. She became interested + and after the ladies went away asked me to explain the matter to + her, which I did. She then said if I would give her a paper she + could get a thousand names among the black women, that many of + them felt that they were as much slaves to their husbands as ever + they had been to their white masters. I gave her a petition, and + said to her, "Tell the women this is to have a law passed that + will not allow the men to _whip their wives_, and will put down + drinking saloons." "Every black woman will go for that law!" She + took the paper and procured these 110 signatures against the + strong opposition of black men who in some cases threatened to + whip their wives if they signed. At length the opposition was so + great my servant had not courage to face it. She feared some + bodily harm would be done her by the black men. You can see this + is a genuine negro petition from the odd way the names are + written, sometimes the capital letter in the middle of the name, + sometimes at the end. + + Yours, ELIZABETH AVERY MERIWETHER. + +In response to 66,000 documents containing appeals to women, issued +by the National Association, 250 petitions, signed by over 12,000, +arrived in Washington in time for presentation to congress before +the assembling of the convention, and were read on the floor of the +Senate, with the leading names, January 14, 16, 20, 21, by +forty-seven senators. + +In the House of Representatives this courtesy (reading petitions +and names), requires unanimous consent, and one man, Hon. J. J. +Davis of North Carolina, who had no petition from the women of his +State, objected. Sixty-five representatives presented the petitions +at the clerk's desk, under the rule, January 14, 15, 16. In answer +to these appeals to both Houses, on Monday, January 19, Hon. T. W. +Ferry, of Michigan, introduced in the Senate a joint resolution for +a sixteenth amendment, which with all the petitions was referred to +the Committee on the Judiciary. Tuesday, January 20, Hon. George B. +Loring, of Massachusetts, introduced the same resolution in the +House of Representatives, and it was referred, with all the +petitions, to the Committee on the Judiciary. There were also +during this congress presented over 300 petitions from law-abiding, +tax-paying women, praying for the removal of their political +disabilities. + +On Friday and Saturday, January 23, 24, these committees granted +hearings of two hours each to delegates from ten States who had +been in attendance at the convention. Thoughtful attention was +given to arguments upon every phase of the question, and senators +and representatives expressed a strong determination to bring the +subject fairly before the people. + +The committees especially requested that only the delegates should +be present, wishing, as they said, to give their sole attention to +the arguments undisturbed by the crowds who usually seek +admittance. Even the press was shut out. These private sessions +with most of the members present, and the close attention they gave +to each speaker, were strong proof of the growth of our reform, as +but a few years before representatives sought excuses for absence +on all such occasions. + + THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, U. S. SENATE, } + Friday, Jan. 23, 1880. } + + The committee assembled at half-past 10 o'clock A.M. Present, Mr. + Thurman, _chairman_, Mr. McDonald, Mr. Bayard, Mr. Davis of + Illinois, Mr. Edmunds. + + The CHAIRMAN: Several members of the committee are unable to be + here. Mr. Lamar is detained at his home in Mississippi by + sickness; Mr. Carpenter is confined to his room by sickness; Mr. + Conkling has been unwell; I do not know how he is this morning; + and Mr. Garland is chairman of the Committee on Territories, + which has a meeting this morning that he could not fail to + attend. I do not think we are likely to have any more members of + the committee than are here now, and we will hear you, ladies. + + Mrs. ZERELDA G. WALLACE of Indiana said: _Mr. Chairman, and + Gentlemen of the Committee_: It is scarcely necessary to say that + there is not an effect without a cause. Therefore it would be + well for the statesmen of this nation to ask themselves the + question, What has brought the women from all parts of this + nation to the capital at this time? What has been the strong + motive that has taken us away from the quiet and comfort of our + own homes and brought us before you to-day? As an answer to that + question I will read an extract from a speech made by one of + Indiana's statesmen. He found out by experience and gave us the + benefit of it: + + You can go to meetings; you can vote resolutions; you can + attend great demonstrations in the street; but, after all, + the only occasion where the American citizen expresses his + acts, his opinions, and his power is at the ballot-box; and + that little ballot that he drops in there is the written + sentiment of the times, and it is the power that he has as a + citizen of this great republic. + + That is the reason why we are here; the reason why we want to + vote. We are not seditious women, clamoring for any peculiar + rights; it is not the woman question that brings us before you + to-day; it is the human question underlying this movement. We + love and appreciate our country; we value its institutions. We + realize that we owe great obligations to the men of this nation + for what they have done. To their strength we owe the subjugation + of all the material forces of the universe which give us comfort + and luxury in our homes. To their brains we owe the machinery + that gives us leisure for intellectual culture and achievement. + To their education we owe the opening of our colleges and the + establishment of our public schools, which give us these great + and glorious privileges. This movement is the legitimate result + of this development, and of the suffering that woman has + undergone in the ages past. + + A short time ago I went before the legislature of Indiana with a + petition signed by 25,000 of the best women in the State. I + appeal to the memory of Judge McDonald to substantiate the truth + of what I say. Judge McDonald knows that I am a home-loving, + law-abiding, tax-paying woman of Indiana, and have been for fifty + years. When I went before our legislature and found that one + hundred of the vilest men in our State, merely by the possession + of the ballot, had more influence with our lawmakers than the + wives and mothers it was a startling revelation. + + You must admit that in popular government the ballot is the most + potent means for all moral and social reforms. As members of + society, we are deeply interested in all the social problems with + which you have grappled so long unsuccessfully. We do not intend + to depreciate your efforts, but you have attempted to do an + impossible thing; to represent the whole by one-half, and because + we are the other half we ask you to recognize our rights as + citizens of this republic. + + JULIA SMITH PARKER of Glastonbury, Conn., said: _Gentlemen_: You + may be surprised to see a woman of over four-score years appear + before you at this time. She came into the world and reached + years of discretion before any person in this room was born. She + now comes before you to plead that she can vote and have all the + privileges that men have. She has suffered so much individually + that she thought when she was young she had no right to speak + before the men; but still she had courage to get an education + equal to that of any man at the college, and she had to suffer a + great deal on that account. She went to New Haven to school, and + it was noised around that she had studied the languages. It was + such an astonishing thing for girls at that time to have the + advantages of education, that I had actually to go to cotillon + parties to let people see that I had common sense. [Laughter.] + + She has had to pay $200 a year in taxes without knowing what + becomes of it. She does not know but that it goes to support + grog-shops. She knows nothing about it. She has had to suffer her + cows to be sold at the sign-post six times. She suffered her + meadow land, worth $2,000, to be sold for a tax less than $50. If + she could vote as the men do she would not have suffered this + insult; and so much would not have been said against her as has + been said if men did not have the whole power. I was told that + they had the power to take anything that I owned if I would not + exert myself to pay the money. I felt that I ought to have some + little voice in determining what should be done with what I paid. + I felt that I ought to own my own property; that it ought not to + be in these men's hands; and I now come to plead that I may have + the same privileges before the law that men have. I have seen + what a difference there is, when I have had my cows sold, by + having a voter to take my part. + + I have come from an obscure town on the banks of the Connecticut, + where I was born. I was brought up on a farm. I never had an idea + that I should come all the way to Washington to speak before + those who had not come into existence when I was born. Now, I + plead that there may be a sixteenth amendment, and that women may + be allowed the privilege of owning their own property. I have + suffered so much myself that I felt it might have some effect to + plead before this honorable committee. I thank you, gentlemen, + for hearing me so kindly. + + ELIZABETH L. SAXON of Louisiana, said: _Gentlemen_: I feel that + after Mrs. Wallace's plea there is no necessity for me to say + anything. I come from the extreme South, she from the West. + People have asked me why I came. I care nothing for suffrage + merely to stand beside men, or rush to the polls, or to take any + privilege outside of my home, only, as Mrs. Wallace says, for + humanity. I never realized the importance of this cause, until we + were beaten back on every side in the work of reform. If we + attempted to put women in charge of prisons, believing that + wherever woman sins and suffers women should be there to teach, + help and guide, every place was in the hands of men. If we made + an effort to get women on the school-boards we were combated and + could do nothing. + + In the State of Texas, I had a niece living whose father was an + inmate of a lunatic asylum. She exerted as wide an influence as + any woman in that State; I allude to Miss Mollie Moore, who was + the ward of Mr. Cushing. I give this illustration as a reason why + Southern women are taking part in this movement. Mr. Wallace had + charge of that lunatic asylum for years. He was a good, + honorable, able man. Every one was endeared to him; the State + appreciated him as superintendent of this asylum. When a + political change was made and Gov. Robinson came in, Dr. Wallace + was ousted for political purposes. It almost broke the hearts of + some of the women who had sons, daughters or husbands there. They + determined at once to try and have him reinstated. It was + impossible, he was out, and what could they do? + + A gentleman said to me a few days ago, "These women ought to + marry." I am married; I am a mother; and in our home the sons and + brothers are all standing like a wall of steel at my back. I have + cast aside the prejudices of the past. They lie like rotted hulks + behind me. + + After the fever of 1878, when our constitutional convention was + about to convene, I suppressed the agony and grief of my own + heart (for one of my children had died) and took part in the + suffrage movement in Louisiana with the wife of Chief-Justice + Merrick, Mrs. Sarah A. Dorsey, and Mrs. Harriet Keating of New + York, the niece of Dr. Lozier. These three ladies aided me + faithfully and ably. I went to Lieutenant-Governor Wiltz, and + asked him if he would present or consider a petition which I + wished to bring before the convention. He read the petition. One + clause of our State law is that no woman can sign a will. Some + ladies donated property to an asylum. They wrote the will and + signed it themselves, and it was null and void, because they were + women. That clause, perhaps, will be wiped out. Many gentlemen + signed the petition on that account. Governor Wiltz, then + lieutenant-governor, told me he would present the petition. He + was elected president of the convention. I presented my first + petition, signed by the best names in the city of New Orleans + and in the State. I had the names of seven of the most prominent + physicians. Three prominent ministers signed it for moral + purposes alone. When Mrs. Dorsey was on her dying bed the last + time she ever signed her name was to a letter to go before that + convention. Mrs. Merrick and myself addressed the convention. We + made the petition then that we make here; that we, the mothers of + the land, should not be barred on every side in the cause of + reform. I pledged my father on his dying bed that I would never + cease work until woman stood with man equal before the law. + + I beg of you, gentlemen, to consider this question seriously. We + stand precisely in the position of the colonies when they plead, + and, in the words of Patrick Henry, were "spurned with contempt + from the foot of the throne." We have been jeered and laughed at; + but the question has passed out of the region of ridicule. This + clamor for woman suffrage, for woman's rights, for equal + representation, is extending all over the land. + + I plead because my work has been combated in the cause of reform + everywhere that I have tried to accomplish anything. The children + that fill the houses of prostitution are not of foreign blood and + race. They come from sweet American homes, and for every woman + that went down some mother's heart broke. I plead by the power of + the ballot to be allowed to help reform women and benefit + mankind. + + MARY A. STEWART of Delaware said: The negroes are a race + inferior, you must admit, to your daughters, and yet that race + has the ballot, and why? It is said they earned it and paid for + it with their blood. Whose blood paid for yours? The blood of + your forefathers and our forefathers. Does a man earn a hundred + thousand dollars and lie down and die, saying, "It is all my + boys'"? Not a bit of it. He dies saying, "Let my children, be + they cripples, be they idiots, be they boys, or be they girls, + inherit all my property alike." Then let us inherit the sweet + boon of the ballot alike. When our fathers were driving the great + ship of State we were willing to sail as deck or cabin + passengers, just as we felt disposed; we had nothing to say; but + to-day the boys are about to run the ship aground, and it is high + time that the mothers should be asking, "What do you mean to do?" + In our own little State the laws have been very much modified in + regard to women. My father was the first man to blot out the old + English law allowing the eldest son the right of inheritance to + the real-estate. He took the first step, and like all those who + take first steps in reform he received a mountain of curses from + the oldest male heirs. + + Since 1868 I have, by my own individual efforts, by the use of + hard-earned money, gone to our legislature time after time and + have had this law and that law passed for the benefit of women; + and the same little ship of State has sailed on. To-day our men + are just as well satisfied with the laws in force in our State + for the benefit of women as they were years ago. A woman now has + a right to make a will. She can hold bonds and mortgages of her + own. She has a right to her own property. She cannot sell it + though, if it is real-estate, simply because the moment she + marries, her husband has his right of courtesy. The woman does + not grumble at that; but still when he dies owning real-estate, + she gets only the rental value of one-third, which is called the + widow's dower. Now I think the man ought to have the rental value + of one-third of the woman's maiden property or real-estate, and + it ought to be called the widower's dower. It would be just as + fair for one as for the other. All that I want is equality. + + The women of our State, as I said before, are taxed without + representation. The tax-gatherer comes every year and demands + taxes. For twenty years I have paid tax under protest, and if I + live twenty years longer I shall pay it under protest every time. + The tax-gatherer came to my place not long since. "Well," said I, + "good morning, sir." Said he, "Good morning." He smiled and said, + "I have come bothering you." Said I, "I know your face well. You + have come to get a right nice little woman's tongue-lashing." + Said he, "I suppose so, but if you will just pay your tax I will + leave." I paid the tax, "But," said I, "remember I pay it under + protest, and if I ever pay another tax I intend to have the + protest written and make the tax-gatherer sign it before I pay + the tax, and if he will not sign that protest then I shall not + pay, and there will be a fight at once," Said he, "Why do you + keep all the time protesting against paying this small tax?" Said + I, "Why do you pay your tax?" "Well," said he, "I would not pay + it if I did not vote." Said I, "That is the very reason why I do + not want to pay it. I cannot vote." Who stay at home from the + election? The women, and the black and white men who have been to + the whipping-post. Nice company to put your wives and daughters + in. + + It is said that the women do not want to vote. Every woman + sitting here wants to vote, and must we be debarred the privilege + of voting because some luxurious woman, rolling around in her + carriage in her little downy nest that some good, benevolent man + has provided for her, does not want to vote? There was a society + that existed up in the State of New York called the Covenanters + that never voted. Were all you men disfranchised because that + class or sect up in New York would not vote? Did you all pay your + taxes and stay at home and refrain from voting because the + Covenanters did not vote? Not a bit of it. You went to the + election and told them to stay at home if they wanted to, but + that you, as citizens, were going to take care of yourselves. + That was right. We, as citizens, want to take care of ourselves. + + One more thought, and I will be through. The fourteenth and + fifteenth amendments, in my opinion, and in the opinion of a + great many smart men in the country, and smart women, too, give + the right to women to vote without any "if's" or "and's" about + it, and the United States protects us in it; but there are a few + who construe the law to suit themselves, and say that those + amendments do not mean that, because the congress which passed + the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments had no such intention. + Well, if that congress overlooked us, let the wiser congress of + to-day take the eighth chapter and the fourth verse of the + Psalms, which says, "What is man that Thou art mindful of him?" + and amend it by adding, "What is woman, that they never thought + of her?" + + NANCY R. ALLEN of Iowa said: _Mr. Chairman, and Gentlemen of the + Judiciary Committee_: I am a representative of a large class of + women of Iowa, who are heavy taxpayers. There is now a petition + being circulated throughout our State, to be presented to the + legislature, praying that women be exempted from taxation until + they have some voice in the management of the affairs of the + State. You may ask, "Do not your husbands protect you? Are not + all the men protecting you?" We answer that our husbands are + grand, noble men, who are willing to do all they can for us, but + there are many who have no husbands and who own a great deal of + property in the State of Iowa. Particularly in great moral + reforms the women there feel the need of the ballot. By + presenting long petitions to the legislature they have succeeded + in having better temperance laws enacted, but the men have failed + to elect the officials who will enforce those laws. Consequently + they have become as dead letters upon the statute books. + + To refer again to taxes. I have a list showing that in my city + three women pay more taxes than all the city officials together. + They are good temperance women. Our city council is composed + almost entirely of saloon-keepers, brewers and men who patronize + them. There are some good men, but they are in the minority, and + the voices of these women are but little regarded. All these + officials are paid, and we have to help support them. As Sumner + said, "Equality of rights is the first of rights." If we can only + be equal with man under the law, it is all that we ask. We do not + propose to relinquish our domestic life, but we do ask that we + may be represented. + +Remarks were also made by Mrs. Chandler, Mrs. Archibald and Mrs. +Spencer. The time having expired, the committee voted to give +another hour to Miss Anthony to state the reasons why we ask +congress to submit a proposition to the several legislatures for a +sixteenth amendment, instead of asking the States to submit the +question to the popular vote of their electors.[58] When Miss +Anthony had finished, the chairman, Senator Thurman of Ohio, said: + + I have to say, ladies, that you will admit that we have listened + to you with great attention, and I can certainly say, with great + interest; your appeals will be duly and earnestly considered by + the committee. + + Mrs. WALLACE: I wish to make just one remark in reference to what + Senator Thurman said as to the popular vote being against woman + suffrage. The popular vote is against it, but not the popular + voice. Owing to the temperance agitation in the last six years, + the growth of the suffrage sentiment among the wives and mothers + of this nation has largely increased. + + + HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 24, 1880. + + The CHAIRMAN _pro tem._ (Mr. HARRIS of Virginia): The order of + business for the present session of the committee is the delivery + of arguments by delegates of the Woman Suffrage Convention now + holding its sessions in Washington. I am informed that the + delegates are in attendance upon the committee. We will be + pleased to hear them. A list of the names, of the ladies + proposing to speak, with a memorandum of the limit of time + allotted to each, has been handed to me for my guidance; and, in + the absence of the chairman [Mr. Knott] it will be my duty to + confine the speakers to the number of minutes apportioned to them + respectively upon the paper before me. As an additional + consideration for adhering to the regulation, I will mention that + members of the committee have informed me that, having made + engagements to be at the departments and elsewhere on business + appointments, they will be compelled to leave the committee-room + upon the expiration of the time assigned. The first name upon the + list is that of Mrs. Emma Mont. McRae of Indiana, to whom five + minutes are allowed. + + Mrs. MCRAE said: _Mr. Chairman, and Gentlemen of the Judiciary + Committee_: In Indiana the cause of woman has made marked + advancement. At the same time we realize that we need the right + to vote in order that we may have protection. We need the ballot + because through the medium of its power alone we can hope to + wield that influence in the making of laws affecting our own and + our children's interests. + + Some recent occurences in Indiana, one in particular in the + section of the State from which I come, have impressed us more + sensibly than ever before with the necessity of this right. The + particular incident to which I refer was this: In the town of + Muncie, where I reside, a young girl, who for the past five years + had been employed as a clerk in the post-office, and upon whom a + widowed mother was dependent for support, was told on the first + of January that she was no longer needed in the office. She had + filled her place well; no complaint had been made against her. + She very modestly asked the postmaster the cause of her + discharge, and he replied: "We have a man who has done work for + the party and we must give that man a place; I haven't room for + both of you." Now, there you have at once the reason why we want + the ballot; we want to be able to do something for the party in a + substantial way, so that men may not tell us they have no room + for us because we do nothing _for the party_. When they have the + ballot women will work for "the party" as a means of enabling + them to hold places in which they may get bread for their mothers + and for their children if necessity requires. + + Miss JESSIE T. WAITE of Illinois said: _Mr. Chairman, and + Gentlemen of the Judiciary Committee_: In the State of Illinois + we have attained to almost every right except that of the ballot. + We have been admitted to all the schools and colleges; we have + become accustomed to parliamentary usages; to voting in literary + societies and in all matters connected with the interests of the + colleges and schools; we are considered members in good standing + of the associations, and, in some cases, the young ladies in the + institutes have been told they hold the balance of power. The + same reason for woman suffrage that has been given by the + delegate from Indiana [Mrs. McRae] holds good with reference to + the State of Illinois. Women must have the ballot that they may + have protection in getting bread for themselves and their + families, by giving to the party that looks for their support + some substantial evidence of their strength. Experience has + demonstrated, especially in the temperance movement, how + fruitless are all their efforts while the ballot is withheld from + their hands. They have prayed; they have petitioned; they have + talked; they have lectured; they have done all they could do, + except to vote; and yet all avails them nothing. Miss Frances + Williard presented to the legislature of Illinois a petition of + such length that it would have reached around this room. It + contained over 180,000 signatures. The purpose of the petition + was to have the legislature give the women of the State the right + to vote upon the question of license or no license in their + respective districts. + + In some of the counties of our State we have ladies as + superintendents of schools and professors in colleges. One of the + professors in the Industrial University at Champaign is a lady. + Throughout the State you may find ladies who excel in every + branch of study and in every trade. It was a lady who took the + prize at "the Exposition" for the most beautiful piece of + cabinet-work. This is said to have been a marvel of beauty and + extraordinary as a specimen of fine art. She was a foreigner; a + Scandinavian, I believe. Another lady is a teacher of + wood-carving. We have physicians, and there are two attorneys, + Perry and Martin, now practicing in the city of Chicago. + Representatives of our sex are also to be found among real-estate + agents and journalists, while, in one or two instances as + preachers they have been recognized in the churches. + + CATHERINE A. STEBBINS of Michigan said: "Better fifty years of + Europe than a cycle of Cathay!" So said the poet; and I say, + Better a week with these inspired women in conference than years + of an indifferent, conventional society! Their presence has been + a blessing to the people of this District, and will prove in the + future a blessing to our government. These women from all + sections of our country, with a moral and spiritual enthusiasm + which seeks to lift the burdens of our government, come to you, + telling of the obstacles that have beset their path. They have + tried to heal the stricken in vice and ignorance; to save our + land from disintegration. One has sought to reform the drunkard, + to save the moderate drinker, to convert the liquor-seller; + another, to shelter the homeless; another, to lift and save the + abandoned woman. "Abandoned?" once asked a prophet-like man of + our time, who added, "There never was an abandoned woman without + an abandoned man!" Abandoned of whom? let us ask. Surely not by + the merciful Father. No; neither man nor woman is ever abandoned + by him, and he sends his instruments in the persons of some of + these great-hearted women, to appeal to you to restore their + God-given freedom of action, that "the least of these" may be + remembered. + + But in our councils no one has dwelt upon _one_ of the great + evils of our civilization, the scourge of war; though it has been + said that women will fight. It is true there are instances in + which they have considered it a duty; there were such in the + rebellion. But the majority of women would not declare war, would + not enlist soldiers and would not vote supplies and equipments, + because many of the most thoughtful believe there _is_ a better + way, and that women can bring a moral power to bear that shall + make war needless. + + Let us take one picture representative of the general features of + the war--we say nothing of our convictions in regard to the + conflict. Ulysses S. Grant or Anna Ella Carroll makes plans and + maps for the campaign; McClellan and Meade are commanded to + collect the columbiads, muskets and ammunition, and move their + men to the attack. At the same time the saintly Clara Barton + collects her cordials, medicines and delicacies, her lint and + bandages, and, putting them in the ambulance assigned, joins the + same moving train. McClellan's men meet the enemy, and + men--brothers--on both sides fall by the death-dealing missiles. + Miss Barton and her aids bear off the sufferers, staunch their + bleeding wounds, soothe the reeling brain, bandage the crippled + limbs, pour in the oil and wine, and make as easy as may be the + soldier's bed. What a solemn and heartrending farce is here + enacted! And yet in our present development men and women seek to + reconcile it with the requirements of religion and the + necessities of our conflicting lives. So few recognize the + absolute truth! + + Mrs. DEVEREUX BLAKE said: _Mr. Chairman, and Gentlemen of the + Committee_: I come here with your own laws in my hands--and the + volume is quite a heavy one, too--to ask you whether women are + citizens of this nation? I find in this book, under the heading + of the chapter on "Citizenship," the following: + + Sec. 1,992. All persons born in the United States and not + subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, + are declared to be citizens of the United States. + + I suppose you will admit that women are, in the language of the + section, "persons," and that we cannot reasonably be included in + the class spoken of as "Indians not taxed." Therefore I claim + that we are "citizens." The same chapter also contains the + following: + + Sec. 1,994. Any woman who is now or may hereafter be married + to a citizen of the United States, and who might herself be + lawfully naturalized, shall be deemed a citizen. + + Under this section also we are citizens. I am myself, as indeed + are most of the ladies present, married to a citizen of the + United States; so that we are citizens under this count if we + were not citizens before. Then, further, in the legislation known + as "The Civil Rights Bill," I find this language: + + All persons within the jurisdiction of the United States + shall have the same right, in every State and territory, to + make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, give + evidence, and to the full and equal benefit of all laws and + proceedings for the security of persons and property as is + enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like + punishments, pains, penalties, etc. + + One would think the logical conclusion from that which I have + last read would be that _all citizens_ are entitled to equal + protection everywhere. It appears to mean that. Then I turn to + another piece of legislation--that which is known as "The + Enforcement Act"--one which some of you, gentlemen, did not like + very much when it was enacted--and there I find another + declaration on the same question. The act is entitled "An Act to + Enforce the Right of Citizens of the United States to Vote in the + Several States of this Union, and for other purposes." The right + of "citizens" to vote appears to be conceded by this act. In the + second section it says: + + It shall be the duty of every such person and officer to + give to all citizens of the United States the same and equal + opportunity to perform such prerequisite, and to become + qualified to vote, without distinction of race, color or + previous condition of servitude. + + I ask you, gentlemen of the committee, as lawyers, whether you do + not think that, after we have been declared to be citizens, we + have the right to claim the protection of this enforcement act? + When you gentlemen from the North rise in your places in the + halls of congress and make these walls ring with your eloquence, + you are prone to talk a great deal about the right of every + United States citizen to the ballot, and the necessity of + protecting every such citizen in its exercise. What do you mean + by it? + + It occurs to me here to call your attention to a matter of recent + occurrence. As you know, there has been a little unpleasantness + in Maine--a State which is not without a representative among the + members of the Judiciary Committee--and certain gentlemen there, + especially Mr. Blaine, have been greatly exercised in their minds + because, as they allege, the people of Maine have not been + permitted to express their will at the polls. Why, gentlemen, I + assert that a majority of the people of Maine have never been + permitted to express their will at the polls. A majority of the + people of Maine are women, and from the foundation of this + government have never exercised any of the inalienable rights of + citizens. Mr. Blaine made a speech a day or two ago in Augusta. + He began by reciting the condition of affairs, owing to the + effort, as he states, "to substitute a false count for an honest + ballot," and congratulated his audience upon the + instrumentalities by which they had triumphed-- + + Without firing a gun, without shedding a drop of blood, + without striking a single blow, without one disorderly + assemblage. _The people_ have regained their own right + through the might and majesty of their own laws. + + He goes on in this vein to speak of those whom he calls "the + people of Maine." Well, gentlemen, I do not think you will deny + that _women are people_. It appears to me that what Mr. Blaine + said in that connection was nonsense, unless indeed he forgot + that there were any others than men among the people of the State + of Maine. I don't suppose that you, gentlemen, are often so + forgetful. Mr. Blaine said further: + + The Republicans of Maine and throughout the land felt that + they were not merely fighting the battle of a single year, + but for all the future of the State; not merely fighting the + battle of our own State alone, but for all the States that + are attempting the great problem of State government + throughout the world. The corruption or destruction of the + ballot is a crime against free government, and when + successful is a subversion of free government. + + Does that mean the ballot _for men only_ or the ballot _for the + people_, men and women too? If it is to be received as meaning + anything, it ought to mean not for one sex alone, but for both. + Mr. Lincoln declared, in one of his noblest utterances, that no + man was good enough to govern another man without that man's + consent. Of course he meant it in its broadest terms; he meant + that no man or woman was good enough to govern another man or + woman without that other man's or woman's consent. + + Mr. Blaine, on another occasion, in connection with the same + subject-matter, had much to say of the enormity of the oppression + practiced by his political opponents in depriving the town of + Portland of the right of representation in view of its paying + such heavy taxes as it does pay. He expressed the greatest + indignation at the attempt, forgetting utterly that great body of + women who pay taxes but are deprived of the right of + representation. In this connection it may be pertinent for me to + express the hope, by way of a suggestion, that hereafter, when + making your speeches, you will not use the term "citizens" in a + broad sense, unless you mean to include women as well as men, and + that when you do not mean to include women you will speak of male + citizens as a separate class, because the term, in its general + application, is illogical and its meaning obscure if not + self-contradictory. + + President Hayes was so pleased with one of the sentences in his + message of a year ago that in his message of this year he has + reiterated it. It reads thus: + + That no temporary or administrative interests of government + will ever displace the zeal of our people in defense of the + primary rights of citizenship, and that the power of public + opinion will override all political prejudices and all + sectional and State attachments in demanding that all over + our wide territory the name and character of citizen of the + United States shall mean one and the same thing and carry + with them unchallenged security and respect. + + Let me suggest what he ought to have said unless he intended to + include women, although I am afraid that Mr. Hayes, when he wrote + this, forgot that there were women in the United States, + notwithstanding that his excellent wife, perhaps, stood by his + side. He ought to have said: + + An act having been passed to enforce the rights of _male_ + citizens to vote, the true vigor of _half_ the population is + thus expressed, and no interests of government will ever + displace the zeal of _half_ of our people in defense of the + primary rights of our _male_ citizens. _The prosperity of + the States depends upon the protection afforded to our male + citizens_; and the name and character of _male_ citizens of + the United States shall mean one and the same thing and + carry with them unchallenged security and respect. + + If Mr. Hayes had thus expressed himself, he would have made a + perfectly logical and clear statement. Gentlemen, I hope that + hereafter, when speaking or voting in behalf of the citizens of + the United States, you will bear this in mind and will remember + that women are citizens as well as men, and that they claim the + same rights. + + This question of woman suffrage cannot much longer be ignored. In + the State from which I come, although we have not a right to + vote, we are confident that the influence which women brought to + bear in determining the result of the election last fall had + something to do with sending into retirement a Democratic + governor who was opposed to our reform, and electing a + Republican who was in favor of it. Recollect, gentlemen, that the + expenditure of time and money which has been made in this cause + will not be without its effect. The time is coming when the + demand of an immense number of the women of this country cannot + be ignored. When you see these representatives coming from all + the States of the Union to ask for this right, can you doubt + that, some day, they will succeed in their mission? We do not + stand before you to plead as beggars; we ask for that which is + our right. We ask it as due to the memory of our ancestors, who + fought for the freedom of this country just as bravely as did + yours. We ask it on many considerations. Why, gentlemen, the very + furniture here, the carpet on this floor, was paid for with our + money. We are taxed equally with the men to defray the expenses + of this congress, and we have a right equally with them to + participate in the government. + + In closing, I have only to ask, is there no man here present who + appreciates the emergencies of this hour? Is there no one among + you who will rise on the floor of congress as the champion of + this unrepresented half of the people of the United States? The + time is not far distant when we shall have our liberties, and the + politician who can now understand the importance of our cause, + the statesman who can now see, and will now appreciate the + justice of it, that man, if true to himself, will write his name + high on the scroll of fame beside those of the men who have been + the saviors of the country. Gentlemen I entreat you not to let + this hearing go by without giving due weight to all that we have + said. You can no more stay the onward current of this reform than + you can fight against the stars in their courses. + + Mr. WILLITS of Michigan: _Mr. Chairman_: I would like to make a + suggestion here. The regulation amendment, as it has heretofore + been submitted, provided that the right of citizens of the United + States to vote should not be abridged on account of sex. I notice + that the amendment which the ladies here now propose has prefixed + to it this phrase: "The right of suffrage in the United States + shall be based on citizenship." I call attention to this because + I would like to have them explain as fully as they may why they + incorporate the phrase, "shall be based on citizenship." Is the + meaning this, that all citizens shall have the right to vote, or + simply that citizenship shall be the basis of suffrage? The + words, "or for any reason not applicable to all citizens of the + United States," also seem to require explanation. The proposition + in the form in which it is now submitted, I understand, covers a + little more than has been covered by the amendment submitted in + previous years. + + SARA A. SPENCER of Washington, D. C.: If the committee will + permit me, I will say that the amendment in its present form is + the concentrated wish of the women of the United States. The + women of the country sent to congress petitions asking for three + different forms of constitutional amendment, and when preparing + the one now before the committee these three were concentrated in + the one now before you (identical with that of the resolution + offered in the House by Hon. George B. Loring and by Hon. T. W. + Ferry in the Senate), omitting, at the request of each of the + three classes of petitioners, all phrases which were regarded by + any of them as objectionable. The amendment as now presented is + therefore the combined wish of the women of the country, viz., + that citizenship in the United States shall mean suffrage, and + that no one shall be deprived of the right to vote for reasons + not equally applicable to all citizens. + + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE said: It is necessary to refer to a + remarkable decision of the Supreme Court. The case of Virginia L. + Minor, claiming the right to vote under the fourteenth amendment, + was argued before the Supreme Court of the United States, October + term, 1874; decision rendered adversely by Chief-Justice Waite, + March, 1875, upon the ground that "the United States had no + voters in the States of its own creation." This was a most + amazing decision to emanate from the highest judicial authority + of the nation, and is but another proof how fully that body is + under the influence of the dominant political party. + + Contrary to this decision, I unhesitatingly affirm that the + United States has possessed voters in States of its own creation + from the very date of the constitution. In Article I, Sec. 2, the + constitution provides that + + The House of Representatives shall be composed of members + chosen every second year by the people of the several + States, and the electors in each State shall have the + qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous + branch of the State legislature. + + The persons so designated are voters under State laws; but by + this section of the national constitution they are made United + States voters. It is directed under what conditions of State + qualification they may cast votes in their respective States for + members of the lower house of congress. The constitution here + created a class of United States voters by adoption of an already + voting class. Did but this single instance exist, it would be + sufficient to nullify Chief-Justice Waite's decision, as Article + VI, Sec. 2, declares + + The constitution and the laws of the United States which + shall be made in pursuance thereof * * * shall be the + supreme law of the land. + + This supreme law at its very inception created a class of United + States voters. If in the Minor case alone, the premises of the + Supreme Court and Chief-Justice Waite were wrong, the decision + possesses no legal value; but in addition to this class, the + United States, by special laws and amendments has from time to + time created other classes of United States voters. + + Under the naturalization laws citizenship is recognized as the + basis of suffrage. No State can admit a foreigner to the right of + the ballot, even under United States laws, unless he is already a + citizen, or has formally declared his intention of becoming a + citizen of the United States. The creation of the right here is + national; its regulation, local. + + Men who commit crimes against the civil laws of the United States + forfeit their rights of citizenship. State law cannot + re-habilitate them, but within the last five years 2,500 such men + have been pardoned by congressional enactment, and thus again + been made voters in States by United States law. Is it not + strange that with a knowledge of these facts before him + Chief-Justice Waite could base his decision against the right of + a woman to the ballot, on the ground that the United States had + no voters in the States of its own creation? + + Criminals against the military law of the United States, who + receive pardon, are still another class of voters thus created. A + very large body of men, several hundred thousand, forfeited their + rights of citizenship, their ballot, by participation in the + rebellion; they were political criminals. When general amnesty + was proclaimed they again secured the ballot. They had been + deprived of the suffrage by United States law and it was restored + to them by the same law. + + It may be replied that the rebellious States had been reduced to + the condition of territories, over whose suffrage the general + government had control. But let me ask why, then, a large class + of men remained disfranchised after these States again took up + local government? A large class of men were especially exempted + from general amnesty and for the restoration of their political + rights were obliged to individually petition congress for the + removal of their political disabilities, and these men then + became "voters in States," by action of the United States. Here, + again, the United States recognized citizenship and suffrage as + synonymous. If the United States has no voters of its own + creation in the States, what are these men? A few, the leaders in + the rebellion, are yet disfranchised, and no State has power to + change this condition. Only the United States can again make them + voters in States. + + Under the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments the colored men of + the South, who never had possessed the ballot, and those colored + men of the North over whom some special disqualification hung, + were alike made voters by United States law. It required no + action of Delaware, Indiana, New York, or any of those States in + which the colored man was not upon voting equality with the white + men, to change their constitutions or statutes in order to do + away with such disqualifications. The fourteenth amendment + created another class of United States voters in States, to the + number of a million or more. The fourteenth amendment, and the + act of congress to enforce it, were at once recognized to be + superior to State law--abrogating and repealing State + constitutions and State laws contradictory to its provisions. + + By an act of congress March 3, and a presidential proclamation of + March 11, 1865, all deserters who failed to report themselves to + a provost marshall within sixty days, forfeited their rights of + citizenship as an additional penalty for the crime of desertion, + thus losing their ballot without possibility of its restoration + except by an act of congress. Whenever this may be done + collectively or individually, these men will become State voters + by and through the United States law. + + As proving the sophistry used by legal minds in order to hide + from themselves and the world the fact that the United States has + power over the ballot in States, mention may be made of a case + which, in 1866, came before Justice Strong, then a member of the + Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, but since a justice of the Supreme + Court of the United States. For sophistical reasoning it is a + curiosity in legal decisions. One point made by Judge Strong was, + that congress may deprive a citizen of the opportunity to enjoy + a right belonging to him as a citizen of a State even the right + of voting, but cannot deprive him of the right itself. This is on + a par with saying that congress may deprive a citizen of the + opportunity to enjoy a right belonging to him as an individual, + even the right of life, but cannot deprive him of life itself. + + A still more remarkable class of United States voters than any + yet mentioned, exists. Soon after the close of the war congress + enacted a law that foreigners having served in the civil war and + been honorably discharged from the army, should be allowed to + vote. And this, too, without the announcement of their intention + of becoming citizens of the republic. A class of United States + voters were thus created out of a class of non-citizens. + + I have mentioned eight classes of United States voters, and yet + not one of the States has been deprived of the powers necessary + to local self-government. To States belong all matters of + strictly local interest, such as the incorporation of towns and + cities, the settlement of county and other boundaries; laws of + marriage, divorce, protection of life and property, etc. It has + been said, the ordaining and establishment of a constitution for + the government of a State is always the act of a State in its + highest sovereign capacity, but if any question as to nationality + ever existed, it was settled by the war. Even State constitutions + were found unable to stand when in conflict with a law of the + United States or an amendment to its constitution. All are bound + by the authority of the nation. + + This theory of State sovereignty must have a word. When the Union + was formed several of the States did not even frame a + constitution. It was in 1818 that Connecticut adopted her first + State constitution. Rhode Island had no constitution until 1842. + Prior to these years the government of these States was + administered under the authority of royal charters brought out + from England. + + Where was their State sovereignty? The rights even of suffrage + enjoyed by citizens of these States during these respective + periods of forty-two and sixty-six years, were either secured + them by monarchial England or republican United States. If by the + latter all voters in these two States during these years were + United States voters. It is a historical fact that no State save + Texas was ever for an hour sovereign or independent. The + experience of the country proves there is but one real + sovereignty. It has been said, with truth, + + There is but one sovereign State on the American continent + known to international or constitutional law, and that is + the republic itself. This forms the United States and should + be so called. + + I ask for a sixteenth amendment because this republic is a nation + and not a confederacy of States. I ask it because the United + States not only possesses inherent power to protect its citizens + but also because of its national duty to secure to all its + citizens the exercise of their rights of self-government. I ask + it because having created classes of voters in numberless + instances, it is most flagrant injustice to deny this protection + to woman. I ask it because the Nation and not the State is + supreme. + + PHOEBE W. COUZINS of Missouri, to whom had been assigned the + next thirty minutes, said: _Mr. Chairman, and Gentlemen of the + Judiciary Committee_: I am invited to speak of the dangers which + beset us at this hour in the decision of the Supreme Court of the + United States in Mrs. Minor's case, which not only stultifies its + previous interpretation of the recent constitutional amendments + and makes them a dead letter, but will rank, in the coming ages, + in the history of the judiciary, with the Dred Scott decision. + The law, as explained in the Dred Scott case, was an infamous + one, which trampled upon the most solemn rights of the loyal + citizens of the government, and declared the constitution to mean + anything or nothing, as the case might be. Yet the decision in + that case had a saving clause, for it was not the unanimous voice + of a Democratic judiciary. Dissenting opinions were nobly uttered + from the bench. In the more recent case, under the rule of a + Republican judiciary created by a party professing to be one of + justice, the rights of one-half of the people were deliberately + abrogated without a dissenting voice. This violation of the + fundamental principles of our government called forth no protest. + In all of the decisions against woman in the Republican court, + there has not been found one Lord Mansfield, who, rising to the + supreme height of an unbiased judgment, would give the immortal + decree that shall crown with regal dignity the mother of the + race: "I care not for the dictates of judges, however eminent, if + they be contrary to principle. If the parties will have judgment, + let justice be done, though the heavens fall." + + The Dred Scott decision declared as the law of citizenship, "to + be a citizen is to have actual possession and enjoyment, or the + perfect right to the acquisition and enjoyment of an entire + equality of privileges, civil and political." But the slave-power + was then dominant and the court decided that a black man was not + a citizen because he had not the right to vote. But when the + constitution was so amended as to make "all persons born or + naturalized in the United States citizens thereof," a negro, by + virtue of his United States citizenship, was declared, under the + amendments, a voter in every State in the Union. And the Supreme + Court reaffirmed this right in the celebrated slaughter-house + cases (16 Wallace, 71). It said, "The negro, having by the + fourteenth amendment, been declared to be a citizen of the United + States, is thus made a voter in every State in the Union." + + But when the loyal women of Missouri, apprehending that "all + persons beneath the flag were made citizens and voters by the + fourteenth amendment," through Mrs. Minor, applied to the Supreme + Court for protection in the exercise of that same right, this + high tribunal, reversing all its former decisions, proclaims + State sovereignty superior to national authority. This it does in + this strange language: "Being born in the United States, a woman + is a person and therefore a citizen"--we are much obliged to them + for that definition of our identity as persons--"but the + constitution of the United States does not confer the right of + suffrage upon any one." And then, in the face of its previous + decisions, the court declared: "The United States has no voters + in the States of its own creation", that the elective officers of + the United States are all elected, directly or indirectly by + State voters. It remands woman to the States for her protection, + thus giving to the State the supreme authority and overthrowing + the entire results of the war, which was fought to maintain + national supremacy over any and all subjects in which the rights + and privileges of the citizens of the United States are involved. + + No supreme allegiance, gentlemen of the committee, can be claimed + for or by a government, if it has no citizens of its own + creation, and constitutional amendments cannot confer authority + over matters which have no existence in the constitution. Thus, + our supreme law-givers hold themselves up for obloquy and + ridicule in their interpretation of the most solemn rights of + loyal citizens, and make our constitutional law to mean anything + or nothing as the case may be. You will see, gentlemen, that the + very point which the South contended for as the true one is here + acknowledged to be the true one by the Supreme Court--that of + State rights superior to national authority. The whole of the + recent contest hinged upon this. The appeal to arms and the + constitutional amendments were to establish the subordination of + the State to national supremacy, to maintain the national + authority over any and all subjects in which the rights and + privileges of the citizens of the United States were involved; + but this decision in Mrs. Minor's case completely nullifies the + supreme authority of the government, and gives the States more + than has hitherto been claimed for them by the advocates of State + rights. The subject of the franchise is thus wholly withdrawn + from federal supervision and control. If "the United States has + no citizens of its own creation," of course no supreme allegiance + can be claimed over the various citizens of the States. + + The constitutional amendments cannot confer authority over a + matter which has no existence in the constitution. If it has no + voters, it can have nothing whatever to do with the elections and + voting in the States; yet the United States invaded the State of + New York, sent its officers there to try, convict, and sentence + Miss Anthony for exercising a right in her own State which they + declared the United States had no jurisdiction over. They send + United States troops into the South to protect the negro in his + right to vote, and then declare they have no jurisdiction over + his voting. Then, mark the grave results which may and can follow + this decision and legislation. I do not imagine that the Supreme + Court, in its cowardly dodging of woman's right to all the rights + and privileges which citizenship involves, designed to completely + abrogate the principles established by the recent contest, or to + nullify the ensuing legislation on the subject. But it certainly + has done all this; for it must logically follow that if the + United States has no citizens, it cannot legislate upon the + rights of citizens, and the recent amendments are devoid of + authority. It has well been suggested by Mr. Minor, in his + criticism of the decision, that if members of the House of + Representatives are elected by _State_ voters, as the Supreme + Court has declared, there is no reason why States may not refuse + to elect them as in 1860, and thus deprive congress of its power. + And if a sufficient number could be united to recall at their + pleasure these representatives, what authority has the federal + government, under this decision, for coercing them into + subjection or refusing them a separation, if all these voters in + the States desired an independent existence? None whatever. Mr. + Garfield, in the House, in his speech last March, calls attention + to this subject, but does not allude to the fact that the Supreme + Court has already opened the door. He says: + + There are several ways in which our government may be + annihilated without the firing of a gun. For example, + suppose the people of the United States should say, we will + elect no representatives to congress. Of course this is a + violent supposition; but suppose that they do not. Is there + any remedy? Does our constitution provide any remedy + whatever? In two years there would be no House of + Representatives; of course, no support of the government and + no government. Suppose, again, the States should say, + through their legislatures, we will elect no senators. Such + abstention alone would absolutely destroy this government; + and our system provides no process of compulsion to prevent + it. Again, suppose the two houses were to assemble in their + usual order, and a majority of one in this body or in the + Senate should firmly band themselves together and say, we + will vote to adjourn the moment the hour of meeting arrives, + and continue so to vote at every session during our two + years of existence--the government would perish, and there + is no provision of the constitution to prevent it. + + The States may inform their representatives that they can do + this; and, under this position, they have the power and the right + so to do. + + Gentlemen, we are now on the verge of one of the most important + presidential campaigns. The party in power holds its reins by a + very uncertain tenure. If the decision shall favor the one which + has been on the anxious bench for lo! these twenty years, and in + probation until hope has well-nigh departed, what may be its + action if invested again with the control of the destinies of + this nation? The next party in power may inquire, and answer, by + what right and how far the Southern States are bound by the + legislation in which they had no part or consent. And if the + Supreme Court of a Republican judiciary now declares, _after_ the + war, _after_ the constitutional amendments, that federal suffrage + does not exist and never had an existence in the constitution, it + follows that the South has the right to regulate and control all + of the questions arising upon suffrage in the several States + without any interference on the part of an authority which + declares it has no jurisdiction. An able writer has said: + + All injustice at last works out a loss. The great ledger of + nations does not report a good balance for injustice. It has + always met fearful losses. The irrepealable law of justice + will, sooner or later, grind a nation to powder if it fail + to establish that equilibrium of allegiance and protection + which is the essential end of all government. Woe to that + nation which thinks lightly of the duties it owes to its + citizens and imagines that governments are not bound by + moral laws. + + It was the tax on tea--woman's drink prerogative--which + precipitated the rebellion of 1776. To allay the irritation of + the colonies, all taxes were rescinded save that on tea, which + was left to indicate King George's dominion. But our + revolutionary fathers and mothers said, "No; the tax is paltry, + but the principle is great"; and Eve, as usual, pointed the moral + for Adam's benefit. A most suggestive picture, one which aroused + the intensest patriotism of the colonies, was that of a woman + pinioned by her arms to the ground by a British peer, with a + British red-coat holding her with one hand and with the other + forcibly thrusting down her throat the contents of a tea-pot, + which she heroically spewed back in his face; while the figure of + Justice, in the distance, wept over this prostrate Liberty. Now, + gentlemen, we might well adopt a similar representation. Here is + Miss Smith of Glastonbury, Conn., whose cows have been sold every + year by the government, contending for the same principle as our + forefathers--that of resistance to taxation without + representation. We might have a picture of a cow, with an + American tax-collector at the horns, a foreign-born assessor at + the heels, forcibly selling the birthright of an American + citizen, while Julia and Abby Smith, in the background, with + veiled faces, weep over the degeneracy of Republican leadership. + + But there are those in authority in the government who do not + believe in this decision by the Supreme Court of the United + States. The attorney-general, in his instructions to the United + States marshals and their deputies or assistants in the Southern + States, when speaking of the countenance and support of all good + citizens of the United States in the respective districts of the + marshals, remarks: + + It is not necessary to say that it is upon such countenance + and support that the United States mainly rely in their + endeavor to enforce the right to vote which they have given + or have secured. + + You notice the phraseology. Again, he says: + + The laws of the United States are supreme, and so, + consequently, is the action of officials of the United + States in enforcing them. + + Secretary Sherman said in his speech at Steubenville, July 6: + + The negroes are free and are citizens and voters. That, at + least, is a part of the constitution and cannot be changed. + + And President Hayes in his two last messages, as Mrs. Blake + recited to you, has declared that-- + + United States citizenship shall mean one and the same thing + and carry with it all over our wide territory unchallenged + security and respect. + + And that is what we ask for women. + + In conclusion, gentlemen, I say to you that a sense of justice is + the sovereign power of the human mind, the most unyielding of + any; it rewards with a higher sanction, it punishes with a deeper + agony than any earthly tribunal. It never slumbers, never dies. + It constantly utters and demands justice by the eternal rule of + right, truth and equity. And on these eternal foundation-stones + we stand. + + Crowning the dome of this great building there stands the + majestic figure of a woman representing Liberty. It was no + idealistic thought or accident of vision which gave us Liberty + prefigured by a woman. It is the great soul of the universe + pointing the final revelation yet to come to humanity, the + prophecy of the ages--the last to be first.[59] + +When the proposition to print these speeches came before the House +a prolonged debate against it showed the readiness of the +opposition to avail themselves of every legal technicality to +deprive women of equal rights and privileges. But the measure +finally passed and the documents were printed. To the Hon. Elbridge +G. Lapham of New York we were largely indebted for the success of +this measure. + +The Washington _Republican_ of February 6, 1880, describes a novel +event that took place at that time: + + In the Supreme Court of the United States, on Monday, on motion + of Mrs. Belva Lockwood, Samuel R. Lowry of Alabama was admitted + to practice. Mr. Lowry is president of the Huntsville, Ala., + industrial school, and a gentleman of high attainments. It was + quite fitting that the first woman admitted to practice before + this court should move the admission of the first Southern + colored man. Both will doubtless make good records as + representatives of their respective classes. This scene was + characterized by George W. Julian as one of the most impressive + he ever witnessed--a fitting subject for an historical painting. + +In 1880, women were for the first time appointed census +enumerators. Gen. Francis Walker, head of that department, said +there was no legal obstacle to the appointment of women as +enumerators, and he would gladly confirm the nomination of suitable +candidates. Very different was the action of the head of the +post-office department, who refused, on the ground of sex, the +application of 500 women for appointment as letter-carriers. + +In view of the important work to be done in a presidential +campaign, the National Association decided to issue an appeal to +the women of the country to appoint delegates from each State and +territory, and prepare an address to each of the presidential +nominating conventions. In Washington a move was made for an act of +incorporation in order that the Association might legally receive +bequests. Tracts containing a general statement of the status of +the movement were mailed to all members of congress and officers of +the government. + +At a meeting of the Committee on Rules, Mr. Randall, a Democratic +member of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Garfield, a Republican member of +Ohio, reminded Mr. Frye of Maine that he had been instructed by +that committee, nearly a year before, to present to the House a +resolution on the rights of women. The _Congressional Record_ of +March 27 contains the following: + + Mr. FRYE: I am instructed by the Committee on Rules to report a + resolution providing for the appointment of a special committee + on the political rights of women, and to move that it be placed + on the House calendar. + + Mr. CONGER: Let it be read. + + The clerk read the resolution as follows: + + _Resolved by the House of Representatives_, That the speaker + appoint a special committee of nine members, to whom shall + be referred all memorials, petitions, bills and resolutions + relating to the rights of the women of the United States, + with power to hear the same and report thereon by bill or + otherwise. The resolution was referred to the House + calendar. + +This was a proof of the advancing status of our question that both +Republican and Democratic leaders regarded the "rights of women" +worthy the consideration of a special committee. + +In the spring of 1880, the National Association held a series of +mass meetings in the States of Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and +Michigan, commencing with the May anniversary in Indianapolis, at +which sixteen States were represented.[60] The convention was held +in Park Theatre, Miss Anthony presiding. The arrangements devolved +chiefly on Mrs. May Wright Thompson, who discharged her +responsibilities in a most praiseworthy manner, providing +entertainment for the speakers, and paying all the expenses from +the treasury of the local association. A series of resolutions was +presented, discussed by a large number of the delegates, and +adopted. + +In accordance with the plan decided upon in Washington of attending +all the nominating conventions, the next meeting was held in +Chicago, beginning on the same day with the Republican convention. +Farwell Hall was filled at an early hour; Miss Anthony in the +chair. A large number of delegates[61] were present from every +part of the Union, among whom were many of the most distinguished +advocates of woman suffrage. Mrs. Harbert gave an eloquent address +of welcome. + +Committees were appointed to visit the delegates from the different +States to the Republican convention, to secure seats for the +members of the National Association, and to ask that a plank +recommending a sixteenth amendment be incorporated in the platform +adopted by the Republican party. The proprietor of the Palmer House +gave the use of a large parlor to the Association for business +meetings and the reception of Republican delegates, many of whom +were in favor of a woman's plank in their platform, and of giving +the ladies seats in the convention. Strenuous efforts had been made +to this end. One hundred and eighteen senators and representatives +addressed a letter to the chairman of the National Republican +committee--Don Cameron--asking that seventy-six seats should be +given in the convention to the representatives of the National +Woman Suffrage Association. It would naturally be deemed that a +request, proceeding from such a source, would be heeded. The men +who made it were holding the highest positions in the body politic; +but the party managers presumed to disregard this request, and also +the vote of the committee. The question of furnishing seats for our +delegates was brought up before the close of their deliberations by +Mr. Finnell, of Kentucky, who said: + + A committee of women have been here and they ask for seventy-six + seats in this convention. I move that they be furnished. + +Mr. Cary of Wyoming, made some remarks showing that woman suffrage +in his territory had been to the advantage of the Republican party, +and seconded the motion of Mr. Finnell, which was adopted. The +following resolution of the Arkansas delegation to the National +Republican convention was read and received with enthusiasm: + + _Resolved_, That we pledge ourselves to secure to women the + exercise of their right to vote. + +It is here to be noted that not only were the Arkansas delegation +of Republicans favorable to the recognition of woman suffrage in +the platform of that party, but that the Southern delegates were +largely united in that demand. Mr. New told the ladies that the +Grant men had voted as a unit in favor of the women, while the +Blaine and Sherman men unanimously voted against them. + +But the ladies, well knowing the uncertainty of politicians, were +soon upon the way to the committee-room, to secure positive +assurance from the lips of the chairman himself--Don Cameron of +Pennsylvania--that such tickets should be forthcoming, when they +were stopped by a messenger hurrying after them to announce the +presence of the secretary of the committee, Hon. John New, at their +headquarters, in the grand parlor of the Palmer House, with a +communication in regard to the tickets. He said the seventy-six +seats voted by the committee had been reduced to _ten_ by its +chairman, and these ten were not offered to the Association in its +official capacity, but as complimentary or "guest tickets," for a +seat on the platform back of the presiding officers. + +The Committee on Resolutions, popularly known as the platform +committee, held a meeting in the Palmer House, June 2, to which +Belva A. Lockwood obtained admission. On motion of Mr. Fredley of +Indiana, Mrs. Lockwood was given permission to present the memorial +of the National Woman Suffrage Association to the Republican party. + + _To the Republican Party in Convention assembled, Chicago, June + 2, 1880_: + + Seventy-six delegates from local, State and National suffrage + associations, representing every section of the United States, + are here to-day to ask you to place the following plank in your + platform: + + _Resolved_, That we pledge ourselves to secure to women the + exercise of their right to vote. + + We ask you to pledge yourselves to protect the rights of one-half + of the American people, and to thus carry your own principles to + their logical results. The thirteenth amendment of 1865, + abolishing slavery, the fourteenth of 1867, defining citizenship, + and the fifteenth of 1870, securing United States citizens in + their right to vote, and your prolonged and powerful debates on + all the great issues involved in our civil conflict, stand as + enduring monuments to the honor of the Republican party. Impelled + by the ever growing demand among women for a voice in the laws + they are required to obey, for their rightful share in the + government of this republic, various State legislatures have + conceded partial suffrage. But the great duty remains of securing + to woman her right to have her opinions on all questions counted + at the ballot-box. + + You cannot live on the noble words and deeds of those who + inaugurated the Republican party. You should vie with those men + in great achievements. Progress is the law of national life. You + must have a new, vital issue to rouse once more the enthusiasm of + the people. Our question of human rights answers this demand. The + two great political parties are alike divided upon finance, + free-trade, labor reform and general questions of political + economy. The essential point in which you differ from the + Democratic party is national supremacy, and it is on this very + issue we make our demand, and ask that our rights as United + States citizens be secured by an amendment to the national + constitution. To carry this measure is not only your privilege + but your duty. Your pledge to enfranchise ten millions of women + will rouse an enthusiasm which must count in the coming closely + contested election. But above expediency is right, and to do + justice is ever the highest political wisdom. + +The committee then adjourned to meet at the Sherman-house club +room, where they reaessembled at 8 o'clock. Soon after the calling +to order of our own convention in Farwell Hall, word came that a +hearing had been accorded before the platform committee. This +proved to be a sub-committee. Ten minutes were given Miss Anthony +to plead the cause of 10,000,000--yes, 20,000,000 citizens of this +republic(?), while, watch in hand, Mr. Pierrepont sat to strike the +gavel when this time expired. Ten minutes!! Twice has the great +Republican party, in the plentitude of its power, allowed woman +_ten_ minutes to plead her cause before it. Ten minutes twice in +the past eight years, while all the remainder of the time it has +been fighting for power and place and continued life, heedless of +the wrongs and injustice it was constantly perpetrating towards +one-half the people. Ten minutes! What a period in the history of +time. Small hope remained of a committee, with such a chairman, +introducing a plank for woman suffrage. + +The whole Arkansas delegation had expressed itself in favor; most +of the Kentucky delegation were known to be so, while New York not +only had friends to woman suffrage among its number, but even an +officer of the State association was a delegate to the Republican +convention. These men were called upon, a form of plank placed in +their hands and they were asked to offer it as an amendment when +the committee reported, but that plan was blocked by a motion that +all resolutions should be referred to the committee for action. + +Senator Farr of Michigan, a colored man, was the only member of the +platform committee who suggested the insertion of a woman suffrage +plank, the Michigan delegation to a man, favoring such action. The +delegates were ready in case opportunity offered, to present the +address to the convention. But no such moment arrived. + +The mass convention had been called for June 2, but the crowds in +the city gave promise of such extended interest that Farwell Hall +was engaged for June 1, and before the second day's proceedings +closed, funds were voluntarily raised by the audience to continue +the meeting the third day. So vast was the number of letters and +postals addressed to the convention from all parts of the country +from women who desired to vote, that the whole time of each session +could have been spent in reading them--one day's mail alone +bringing letters and postals from twenty-three States and three +territories. Some of these letters contained hundreds of names, +others represented town, county, and State societies. Many were +addressed to the different nominating conventions, Republican, +Greenback, Democratic, while the reasons given for desiring to +vote, ranged from the simple demand, through all the scale of +reasons connected with good government and morality. So highly +important a contribution to history did the Chicago Historical +Society[62] deem these expressions of woman's desire to vote, that +it made a formal request to be put in possession of _all_ letters +and postals, with a promise that they should be carefully guarded +in a fire-proof safe. + +After the eloquent speeches[63] of the closing session, Miss Alice +S. Mitchell sang Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic," +Mrs. Harbert playing the accompaniment, and the immense audience of +3,000 people joining in the chorus. This convention held three +sessions each day, and at all except the last an admission fee was +charged, and yet the hall was densely crowded throughout. For +enthusiasm, nothing ever surpassed these meetings in the history of +the suffrage movement. A platform and resolution were adopted as +the voice of the convention. + + The special object of the National Woman Suffrage Association is + to secure national protection for women in the exercise of their + right of suffrage. It recognizes the fact that our government was + formed on the political basis of the consent of the governed, and + that the Declaration of Independence struck a blow at every + existing form by declaring the individual to be the source of all + power. The members of this association, outside of our great + question, have diverse political affiliations, but for the + purpose of gaining this great right to the ballot, its members + hold their party predilections in abeyance; therefore, + + _Resolved_, That in this year of presidential nominations and + political campaigns, we announce our determination to support no + party by whatever name called, unless such party shall, in its + platform, first emphatically endorse our demand for a recognition + of the exact and permanent political equality of all citizens. + +A delegation[64] went to the Greenback convention and presented the +following memorial: + + When a new political party is formed it should be based upon the + principles of justice to all classes hitherto unrecognized. The + finance question, as broad as it is, does not reach down to the + deepest wrong in the nation. Beneath this question lies that of + the denial of the right of self-government to one-half the + people. It is impossible to secure the property rights of the + people without first recognizing their personal rights. More than + any class of men, woman represents the great unpaid laborer of + the world--a slave, who, as wife and daughter, absolutely works + for her board and clothes. The question of finance deeply + interests woman, but her opinions upon it are valueless while + deprived of the right of enforcing them at the ballot box. You + are here in convention assembled, not alone to nominate a + candidate for president, but also to promulgate your platform of + principles to the world. Now is your golden opportunity. The + Republican party presents no vital issue to the country; its + platform is a repetition of the platitudes of the past twenty + years. It has ceased to be a party of principles. It lives on the + past. The deeds of dead men hold it together. Its disregard of + principles has thrown opportunity into your hands. Will you make + yourselves the party of the future? Will you recognize woman's + right of self-government? Will you make woman suffrage an + underlying principle in your platform? If you will make these + pledges, the National Association will work for the triumph of + your party in the approaching closely contested campaign. + +The ladies were accorded hearings by several delegations previous +to the assembling of the convention. A resolution committee of one +from each State was appointed, and each member allowed two minutes +to present either by speech or writing such principles as it +requested incorporated in the platform. Lucinda B. Chandler, being +a Greenbacker on principle, was a regularly elected delegate and by +courtesy was added to a sub-committee on resolutions. The one +prepared by the National Association was placed in her hands, but, +as she was forbidden to speak upon it, her support could only be +given by vote, and a meaningless substitute took its place. The +courtesy of placing Mrs. Chandler upon the committee was like much +of man's boasted chivalry to woman, a seeming favor at the expense +of right. + +After trying in vain for recognition as a political factor from the +Republican and Greenback nominating conventions the delegates went +to Cincinnati.[65] + +Committees were at once appointed to visit the different +delegations. Women were better treated by the Democrats at +Cincinnati than by the Republicans at Chicago. A committee-room in +Music Hall was at once placed at their disposal, placards pointing +to their headquarters were printed by the local committee at its +own expense, and sixteen seats given to the ladies upon the floor +of the house, just back of the regular delegates. A hearing[66] +before the platform committee was granted with no limit as to time. +At the close a delegate approached the table, saying, "I favor +giving woman a plank," "So do I," replied Mr. Watterson, chairman +of the committee. Many delegates in conversation, favored the +recognition of woman's political rights, and a large number of the +platform committee favored the introduction of the following plank: + + That the Democratic party, recognizing the rapid growth of the + woman suffrage question, suggests a consideration of this + important subject by the people in anticipation of the time, near + at hand, when it must become a political issue. + +But although the platform committee sat until 2 A.M., no such +result was reached, in consequence, it was said, of the objection +of the extreme Southern element which feared the political +recognition of negro women of the South. + +The delegations from Maine, Kansas and New York were favorable, and +offered the Association the use of their committee-rooms at the +Burnett House and the Grand Hotel whenever desired. Mayor Prince of +Boston not only offered a committee-room but secured seats for the +delegates on the floor of the house. Mr. Henry Watterson, of the +Louisville _Courier-Journal_, as chairman of the Platform +Committee, extended every courtesy within his power. Mayor Harrison +of Chicago did his best to secure to the delegates a hearing before +the convention. He offered to escort Miss Anthony to the platform +that she might at least present the address. "You may be +prevented," suggested one. "I'd like to see them do it," he +replied. "Have I not just brought about a reconciliation between +Tammany and the rest of New York?" Taking Miss Anthony upon his arm +and telling her not to flinch, he made his way to the platform, +when the chairman, Hon. Wade Hampton of South Carolina, politely +offered her a seat, and ordered the clerk to read the address: + + _To the Democratic Party in Nominating Convention Assembled, + Cincinnati, June 22, 1880:_ + + On behalf of the women of the country we appear before you, + asking the recognition of woman's political rights as one-half + the people. We ask no special privileges, no special legislation. + We simply ask that you live up to the principles enunciated by + the Democratic party from the time of Jefferson. By what + principle of democracy do men assume to legislate for women? + Women are part of the people; your very name signifies government + by the people. When you deny political rights to women you are + false to your own principles. + + The Declaration of Independence recognized human rights as its + basis. Constitutions should also be general in character. But in + opposition to this principle the party in power for the last + twenty years has perverted the Constitution of the United States + by the introduction of the word "male" three times, thereby + limiting the application of its guarantees to a special class. It + should be your pride and your duty to restore the constitution to + its original basis by the adoption of a sixteenth amendment, + securing to women the right of suffrage; and thus establish the + equality of all United States citizens before the law. + + Not for the first time do we make of you these demands. At your + nominating convention in New York, in 1868, Susan B. Anthony + appeared before you, asking recognition of woman's inherent + natural rights. At your convention of 1872, in Baltimore, + Isabella Beecher Hooker and Susan B. Anthony made a similar + appeal. In 1876, at St. Louis, Phoebe W. Couzins and Virginia L. + Minor presented our claims. Now, in 1880, our delegates are + present here from the Middle States, from the West and from the + South. The women of the South are rapidly uniting in their demand + for political recognition, as they have been the most deeply + humiliated by a recognition of the political rights of their + former slaves. + + To secure to 20,000,000 of women the rights of citizenship is to + base your party on the eternal principles of justice; it is to + make yourselves the party of the future; it is to do away with a + more extended slavery than that of 4,000,000 of blacks; it is to + secure political freedom to half the nation; it is to establish + on this continent the democratic theory of the equal rights of + the people. + + In furtherance of this demand we ask you to adopt the following + resolution: + + WHEREAS, Believing in the self-evident truth that all + persons are created with certain inalienable rights, and + that for the protection of these rights governments are + instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of + the governed; therefore, + + _Resolved_, That the Democratic party pledges itself to use + all its powers to secure to the women of the nation + protection in the exercise of their right of suffrage. + + On behalf of the National Woman Suffrage Association. + + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, _Chairman Executive Committee_. + +That the women however, in the campaign of 1880, received the best +treatment at the hands of the National Prohibition party is shown +by the following invitation received at the Bloomington convention: + + _To the National Woman Suffrage Association of the United + States:_ + + The woman suffragists are respectfully invited to meet with and + participate in the proceedings of the National Prohibition + Convention to be held at Cleveland, Ohio, June, 1880. + + JAMES BLACK, _Chairman of National Committee._ + + Per J. W. HAGGARD. + +A letter was received from Mr. Black urging the acceptance of the +invitation. Accordingly Miss Phoebe Couzins was sent as a delegate +from the association. The Prohibition party in its eleventh plank +said: + + We also demand that women having privileges as citizens in other + respects, shall be clothed with the ballot for their own + protection, and as a rightful means for a proper settlement of + the liquor question. + +After attending all these nominating conventions, some of the +delegates[67] went to Wisconsin where the State and National +Associations held a joint convention, in the Opera House at +Milwaukee, June 4, 5. Madam Anneke gave the address of welcome.[68] +Fresh from the exciting scenes of the presidential conventions, the +speakers were unusually earnest and aggressive. The resolutions +discussed at the Indianapolis convention were considered and +adopted. Carl Doerflinger read a greeting in behalf of the German +Radicals of the city. Letters were read from prominent persons, +expressing their interest in the movement.[69] Dr. Laura Ross +Wolcott made all the arrangements and contributed largely to the +expenses of the convention. The roll of delegates shows that the +State, at least, was well represented.[70] + +Thus through the terrible heat of June this band of earnest women +held successive conventions in Bloomington, Ill., Grand Rapids, +Mich., Lafayette and Terre Haute, Ind. They were most hospitably +entertained, and immense audiences greeted them at every point. +Mrs. Cordelia Briggs took the entire responsibility of the social +and financial interests of the convention at Grand Rapids, which +continued for three days with increasing enthusiasm to the close. +Mrs. Helen M. Gougar made the arrangements for Lafayette which were +in every way successful. + +After the holding of these conventions, delegations from the +National Association called on the nominees of the two great +parties to ascertain their opinions and proposed action, if any, on +the question of woman suffrage. Mrs. Blake, and other ladies +representing the New York city society, called on General Hancock +at his residence and were most courteously received. In the course +of a long conversation in which it was evident that he had given +some thought to the question, he said he would not veto a District +of Columbia Woman Suffrage bill, provided such a bill should pass +congress, thereby putting himself upon better record than Horace +Greely the year of his candidacy, who not only expressed himself as +opposed to woman suffrage, but also declared that, if elected, he +would veto such a bill provided it passed congress. + +Miss Anthony visited James A. Garfield at his home in Mentor, Ohio. +He was very cordial, and listened with respect to her presentation +of the question. Although from time to time in congress he had +uniformly voted with our friends, yet he expressed serious doubts +as to the wisdom of pressing this measure during the pending +presidential campaign. + +As it was deemed desirable to get some expression on paper from the +candidates the following letter, written on official paper, was +addressed to the Republican and Democratic nominees: + + ROCHESTER, N. Y., August 17, 1880. + + Hon. JAMES A. GARFIELD: _Dear Sir_: As vice-president-at-large of + the National Woman Suffrage Association, I am instructed to ask + you, if, in the event of your election, you, as President of the + United States, would recommend to congress, in your message to + that body, the submission to the several legislatures of a + sixteenth amendment to the national constitution, prohibiting the + disfranchisement of United States citizens on account of sex. + What we wish to ascertain is whether you, as president, would use + your _official influence_ to secure to the women of the several + States a _national guarantee_ of their right to a voice in the + government on the same terms with men. Neither platform makes any + pledge to secure political equality to women--hence we are + waiting and hoping that one candidate or the other, or both, will + declare favorably, and thereby make it possible for women, with + self-respect, to work for the success of one or the other or both + nominees. Hoping for a prompt and explicit statement, I am, sir, + very respectfully yours, + + SUSAN B. ANTHONY. + +To this General Hancock vouchsafed no reply, while General Garfield +responded as follows: + + MENTOR, O., August 25, 1880. + + Dear MISS ANTHONY: Your letter of the 17th inst. came duly to + hand. I take the liberty of asking your personal advice before I + answer your official letter. I assume that all the traditions and + impulses of your life lead you to believe that the Republican + party has been and is more nearly in the line of liberty than its + antagonist the Democratic party; and I know you desire to advance + the cause of woman. Now, in view of the fact that the Republican + convention has not discussed your question, do you not think it + would be a violation of the trust they have reposed in me, to + speak, "as their nominee"--and add to the present contest an + issue that they have not authorized? Again, if I answer your + question on the ground of my own private opinion, I shall be + compelled to say, that while I am open to the freest discussion + and fairest consideration of your question, I have not yet + reached the conclusion that it would be best for woman and for + the country that she should have the suffrage. I may reach it; + but whatever time may do to me, that fruit is not yet ripe on my + tree. I ask you, therefore, for the sake of your own question, do + you think it wise to pick my apples now? Please answer me in the + frankness of personal friendship. With kind regards, I am very + truly yours, + + JAMES A. GARFIELD. + Miss SUSAN B. ANTHONY, Rochester, N. Y. + + + ROCHESTER, N. Y., September 9, 1880. + + Hon. JAMES A. GARFIELD: _Dear Sir_: Yours of the 25th ult. has + waited all these days that I might consider and carefully reply. + + _First_. The Republican party did run well for a season in the + "line of liberty"; but since 1870, its congressional enactments, + majority reports, Supreme Court decisions, and now its + presidential platform, show a retrograde movement--not only for + women, but for colored men--limiting the power of the national + government in the protection of United States citizens against + the injustice of the States, until what we gained by the sword is + lost by political surrenders. And we need nothing but a + Democratic administration to demonstrate to all Israel and the + sun the fact, the sad fact, that all _is lost_ by the + _Republican_ party, and not _to be lost_ by the _Democratic_ + party. I mean, of course, the one vital point of national + supremacy in the protection of United States citizens in the + enjoyment of their right to vote, and the punishment of States or + individuals thereof, for depriving citizens of the exercise of + that right. The first and fatal mistake was in ceding to the + States the right to "abridge or deny" the suffrage to + foreign-born men in Rhode Island, and all women throughout the + nation, in direct violation of the principle of national + supremacy. And from that time, inch by inch, point by point has + been surrendered, until it is only in _name_ that the Republican + party is the party of national supremacy. Grant did not protect + the negro's ballot in 1876--Hayes cannot in 1880--nor could + Garfield in 1884--for the "sceptre has departed from Judah." + + _Second_. For the candidate of a party to _add_ to the + discussions of the contest an issue unauthorized or unnoted in + its platform, when that issue was one vital to its very life, + would, it seems to me, be the grandest act imaginable. And, for + doing that very thing, with regard to the protection of the + negroes of the South, you are to-day receiving more praise from + the best men of the party, than for any and all of your + utterances _inside_ the line of the platform. And I _know_, if + you had in your letter of acceptance, or in your New York speech, + declared yourself in favor of "perfect equality of rights for + women, civil and political," you would have touched an electric + spark that would have fired the heart of the women of the entire + nation, and made the triumph of the Republican party more grand + and glorious than any it has ever seen. + + _Third_. As to picking fruit before it is ripe! Allow me to + remind you that very much fruit is _never_ picked; some gets + nipped in the blossom; some gets worm-eaten and falls to the + ground; some rots on the trees before it ripens; some, too slow + in ripening, gets bitten by the early frosts of autumn; while + some rich, rare, ripe apples hang unpicked, frozen and worthless + on the leafless trees of winter! Really, Mr. Garfield, if, after + passing through the war of the rebellion and sixteen years in + congress;--if, after seeing, and hearing, and repeating, that _no + class_ ever got justice and equality of chances from any + government except it had the power--the ballot--to clutch them + for itself;--if, after all your opportunities for growth and + development, you cannot yet see the truth of the great principle + of individual self-government;--if you have only reached the idea + of class-government, and that, too, of the most hateful and cruel + form--bounded by sex--there must be some radical defect in the + ethics of the party of which you are the chosen leader. + + No matter which party administers the government, women will + continue to get only subordinate positions and half-pay, not + because of the party's or the president's lack of chivalric + regard for woman, but because, in the nature of things, it is + impossible for any government to protect a disfranchised class in + equality of chances. Women, to get justice, must have political + freedom. But pardon this long trespass upon your time and + patience, and please bear in mind that it is not for the many + _good_ things the Republican party and its nominee have done in + extending the area of liberty, that I criticise them, but because + they have failed to place the women of the nation on the plane of + political equality with men. I do not ask you to go beyond your + convictions, but I do most earnestly beg you to look at this + question from the stand-point of woman--alone, without father, + brother, husband, son--battling for bread! It is to help the + millions of these unfortunate ones that I plead for the ballot in + the hands of all women. With great respect for your frank and + candid talk with one of the disfranchised, I am very sincerely + yours, + + SUSAN B. ANTHONY. + +As Mr. Garfield was the only presidential nominee of either of the +great parties who deigned a reply to the National Association, we +have given his letter an honored place in our history, and desire +to pay this tribute to his memory, that while not fully endorsing +our claims for political equality he earnestly advocated for woman +all possible advantages of education, equal rights in the trades +and professions, and equal laws for the protection of her civil +rights. + +The Thirteenth Annual Washington Convention assembled in Lincoln +Hall, January 18, 1881. The first session was devoted to memorial +services in honor of Lucretia Mott. A programme[71] for the +occasion was extensively circulated, and the response in character +and numbers was such an audience as had seldom before crowded that +hall. The spacious auditorium was brilliant with sunlight and the +gay dresses, red shawls and flowers of the ladies of the +fashionable classes. Mrs. Hayes with several of her guests from the +White House occupied front seats. The stage was crowded with +members of the association, Mrs. Mott's personal friends and wives +of members of congress. The decorations which had seldom been +surpassed in point of beauty and tastefulness of arrangement, +formed a fitting setting for this notable assemblage of women. The +background was a mass of colors, formed by the graceful draping of +national flags, here and there a streamer of old gold with heavy +fringe to give variety, while in the center was a national shield +surmounted by two flags. On each side flags draped and festooned, +falling at the front of the stage with the folds of the rich maroon +curtains. Graceful ferns and foliage plants had been arranged, +while on a table stood a large harp formed of beautiful red and +white flowers.[72] At the other end was a stand of hot-house +flowers, while in the center, resting on a background of maroon +drapery, was a large crayon picture of Lucretia Mott. Above the +picture a snow-white dove held in its beak sprays of smilax, +trailing down on either side, and below was a sheaf of ripened +wheat, typical of the life that had ended. The occasion which had +brought the ladies together, the placid features of that kind and +well-remembered face, had a solemnizing effect upon all, and +quietly the vast audience passed into the hall. The late-comers +finding all the seats occupied stood in the rear and sat in the +aisles. + +Presently Miss Couzins, stepping to the front of the stage said +gently, "In accordance with the custom of Mrs. Mott and the +time-honored practice of the Quakers, I ask you to unite in an +invocation to the Spirit." She bowed her head. The audience +followed her example. For several minutes the solemn stillness of +devotion pervaded the hall. When Miss Couzins had taken her seat +the quartette choir of St. Augustine's church (colored) which was +seated on the platform, sang sweetly an appropriate selection, +after which Mrs. Stanton delivered the eulogy,[73] holding the +rapt attention of her audience over an hour. At the close Frederick +Douglass said: + + He had listened with interest to the fine analysis of the life + and services of Lucretia Mott. He was almost unwilling to have + his voice heard after what had been said. He was there to show by + his presence his profound respect and earnest love for Lucretia + Mott. He recognized none whose services in behalf of his race + were equal to hers. Her silence even in that cause was more than + the speech of others. He had no words for this occasion. + +Robert Purvis at the request of a number of colored citizens of +Washington, presented a beautiful floral harp to Mr. Davis, the +son-in-law of Lucretia Mott, the only representative of her family +present. He paid a tender tribute to the noble woman whose +life-long friendship he had enjoyed. Mr. Davis having a seat on the +platform, received the gift with evident emotion, and returning +thanks, he said: + + He would follow the example of Mrs. Mott who seldom kept a gift + long, and present these rare flowers to Mrs. Spofford, the + treasurer of the Association. + + Miss ANTHONY said: The highest tribute she could pay, was, that + during the past thirty years she had always felt sure she was + right when she had the approval of Lucretia Mott. Next to that of + her own conscience she most valued the approval of her sainted + friend. And it was now a great satisfaction that in all the + differences of opinion as to principles and methods in our + movement, Mrs. Mott had stood firmly with the National + Association, of which she was to the day of her death the honored + and revered vice-president. + +Mrs. Sewall, after speaking of the many admirable qualities of Mrs. +Mott, said: + + In looking around this magnificent audience I cannot help asking + myself the question, Where are the young girls? They should be + here. It is the birthright of every girl to know the life and + deeds of every noble woman. I think Lucretia Mott was as much + above the average woman as Abraham Lincoln above the average man. + +Miss Couzins closed with a few graceful words. She expressed her +pleasure in meeting so magnificent an audience, and thought the +whole occasion was a beautiful tribute to one of America's best and +noblest women. She hoped the mothers present would carry away the +impressions they had received and teach their daughters to hold the +name of Lucretia Mott ever in grateful remembrance. The choir sang +"Nearer, My God, to Thee." The entire audience arose and joined in +the singing, after which they slowly dispersed, feeling that it had +indeed been a pentacostal occasion. + +An able paper from Alexander Dumas, on "Woman Suffrage as a means +of Moral Improvement and Prevention of Crime,"[74] was translated +for this meeting by Thomas Mott, the only son of James and Lucretia +Mott. This convention continued two days, with the usual number of +able speakers.[75] It was announced at the last session that an +effort would be made by Senator McDonald, next day, to call up a +resolution providing for the appointment of a standing committee +for women; accordingly the ladies' gallery in the Senate was well +filled with delegates. + +From the _Congressional Record_, January 20, 1881: + + Mr. MCDONALD: On February 16, 1880, I submitted a resolution + providing for the appointment of a committee of nine senators, + whose duty it shall be to receive, consider and report upon all + petitions, memorials, resolutions and bills relating to the + rights of women of the United States, said committee to be called + "Committee on the Rights of Women." It is on the calendar, and I + ask for its present consideration. + + The VICE-PRESIDENT (Mr. Wheeler of New York): The senator from + Indiana calls up for consideration a resolution on the calendar, + which will be reported. + + The chief clerk read the resolution, as follows: + + _Resolved_, That a committee of nine senators be appointed + by the Senate, whose duty it shall be to receive, consider + and report upon all petitions, memorials, resolutions and + bills relating to the rights of women of the United States, + said committee to be called the Committee on the Rights of + Women. + + The VICE-PRESIDENT: The question is, Will the Senate agree to the + resolution? + + Mr. MCDONALD: Mr. President, it seems to me that the time has + arrived when the rights of the class of citizens named in the + resolution should have some hearing in the national legislature. + We have standing committees upon almost every other subject, but + none to which this class of citizens can resort. When their + memorials come in they are sometimes sent to the Committee on the + Judiciary, sometimes to the Committee on Privileges and + Elections, and sometimes to other committees. The consequence is + that they pass around from committee to committee and never + receive any consideration. In the organization and growth of the + Senate a number of standing committees have been from time to + time created and continued from congress to congress, until many + of them have but very little duty now to perform. It seems to me + to be very appropriate to consider this question now, and provide + some place in the capitol, some room of the Senate, some branch + of the government, where this class of applicants can have a full + and fair hearing, and have such measures as may be desired to + secure to them such rights brought fairly and properly before + the country. I hope there will be no opposition to the resolution + but that it will be adopted by unanimous consent. + + Mr. CONKLING: Does the senator from Indiana wish to raise a + permanent committee on this subject to take its place and remain + on the list of permanent committees? + + Mr. MCDONALD: That is precisely what I propose to do. + + Mr. CONKLING: Mr. President, I was in hopes that the honorable + senator from Indiana, knowing how sincere and earnest he is in + this regard, intended that an end should be made soon of this + subject; that the prayer of these petitioners should be granted + and the whole right established; but now it seems that he wishes + to create a perpetual committee, so that it is to go on + interminably, from which I infer that he intends that never shall + these prayers be granted. I suggest to the senator from Indiana + that, if he be in earnest, if he wishes to crown with success + this great and beneficent movement, he should raise a special + committee, which committee would understand that it was to + achieve and conclude its purpose, and this presently, and not + postpone indefinitely in the vast forever the realization of this + hope. I trust, therefore, that the senator from Indiana will make + this a special committee, and will let that special committee + understand that before the sun goes down on the last day of this + session it is to take final, serious, intelligent action, for + which it is to be responsible, whether that action be one way or + the other.[76] + + Mr. MCDONALD: The senator from New York misapprehends one purpose + of this committee. I certainly have no desire that the rights of + this class of our citizens should be deferred to that far-distant + future to which he has made reference, nor would this committee + so place them. If it be authorized by the Senate, it will be the + duty of the committee to receive all petitions, memorials, + resolutions and bills relating to the rights of women, not merely + presented now but those presented at any future time. It is + simply to provide a place where one-half the people of the United + States may have a tribunal in this body before which they can + have their cases considered. I apprehend that these rights are + never to be ended. I do not suppose that the time will ever come + in the history of the human race when there will not be rights of + women to be considered and passed upon. Therefore, to make this + merely a special committee would not accomplish the purpose I had + in view. While it would of course give a committee that would + receive and hear such petitions as are now presented and consider + such bills as should now be brought forward, it would be better + to have a committee from term to term, where these same plaints + could be heard, the same petitions presented, the same bills + considered, and where new rights, whatever they might be, can be + discussed and acted upon. Therefore I cannot accept the + suggestion of the senator from New York to make this a special + committee. + + Mr. DAVIS of West Virginia: I think it a bad idea to raise an + extra committee. I move that the resolution be referred to the + Committee on Rules, I think it ought to go there. That is where + the rules generally require all such resolutions to be referred. + + The VICE-PRESIDENT: The question is on the motion of the senator + from Virginia, that the resolution be referred to the Committee + on Rules. + + Which was agreed to by a vote of 26 yeas to 23 nays.[77] + +Amid all the pleasure of political excitement the social amenities +were not forgotten. A brilliant reception[78] and supper were given +to the delegates by Mrs. Spofford at the Riggs House. During the +evening Mrs. Stanton presented the beautiful life-size photograph +of Lucretia Mott which had adorned the platform at the convention, +to Howard University, and read the following letter from Edward M. +Davis: + + Mrs. ELIZABETH CADY STANTON--_Dear Madam_: As an expression of my + gratitude to the colored people of the District for their + beautiful floral tribute to the memory of my dear mother, I + desire in the name of her children to present to Howard + University the photograph of Lucretia Mott which adorned the + platform during the convention. It is a fitting gift to an + institution that so well illustrates her principles in opening + its doors to all youth without regard to sex or color. With + sincere regret that I cannot be present this evening at the + reception, I am gratefully yours, + + EDWARD M. DAVIS. + +In receiving the beautiful gift, Dr. Patton, president of the +institution, made a graceful response. + +In the spring of 1881, the National Association held a series of +conventions through New England, beginning with the May anniversary +in Boston, of which we give the following description from the +_Hartford Courant_: + + Among the many anniversaries in Boston the last week in May, one + of the most enthusiastic was that of the National Woman Suffrage + Association, held in Tremont Temple. The weather was cool and + fair and the audience fine throughout, and never was there a + better array of speakers at one time on any platform. The number + of thoughtful, cultured young women appearing in these + conventions, is one of the hopeful features for the success of + this movement. The selection of speakers for this occasion had + been made at the Washington convention in January, and different + topics assigned to each that the same phases of the question + might not be treated over and over again. + + +[Illustration: Jane H. Spofford] + + + Mrs. Harriet Hansom Robinson (wife of "Warrington," so long the + able correspondent of the _Springfield Republican_), who with her + daughter made the arrangements for our reception, gave the + address of welcome, to which the president, Mrs. Stanton, + replied. Rev. Frederic Hinckley of Providence, spoke on "Unity of + Principle in Variety of Method," and showed that while differing + on minor points the various woman suffrage associations were all + working to one grand end. Anna Garlin Spencer made a few remarks + on "The Character of Reformers." Rev. Olympia Brown gave an + exceptionally brilliant speech a full hour in length on + "Universal Suffrage"; Harriette Robinson Shattuck's theme was + "Believing and Doing"; Lillie Devereux Blake's, "Demand for + Liberty"; Matilda Joslyn Gage's, "Centralization"; Belva A. + Lockwood's, "Woman and the Law". Mary F. Eastman followed showing + that woman's path was blocked at every turn, in the professions + as well as the trades and the whole world of work; Isabella + Beecher Hooker gave an able argument on the "Constitutional Right + of Women to Vote"; Martha McLellan Brown spoke equally well on + the "Ethics of Sex"; Mrs. Elizabeth Avery Meriwether of + Tennessee, gave a most amusing commentary on the spirit of the + old common law, cuffing Blackstone and Coke with merciless + sarcasm. Mrs. Elizabeth L. Saxon of Louisiana spoke with great + effect on "Woman's Intellectual Powers as Developed by the + Ballot." These two Southern ladies are alike able, witty and + pathetic in their appeals for justice to woman. Mrs. May Wright + Sewall's essay on "Domestic Legislation," showing how large a + share of the bills passed every year directly effect home life, + was very suggestive to those who in answer to our demand for + political power, say "Woman's sphere is home," as if the home + were beyond the control and influence of the State. Beside all + these thoroughly prepared addresses, Susan B Anthony, Dr. + Clemence Lozier, Dr. Caroline Winslow, ex-Secretary Lee of + Wyoming, spoke briefly on various points suggested by the several + speakers. + + The white-haired and venerable philosopher, A. Bronson Alcott, + was very cordially received, after being presented in + complimentary terms by the president. Mr. Alcott paid a glowing + tribute to the intellectual worth of woman, spoke of the divinity + of her character, and termed her the inspiration font from which + his own philosophical ideas had been drawn. Not until the women + of our nation have been granted every privilege would the liberty + of our republic be assured.[79] The well-known Francis W. Bird + of Walpole, who has long wielded in the politics of the Bay + State, the same power Thurlow Weed did for forty years in New + York, being invited to the platform, expressed his entire + sympathy with the demand for suffrage, notwithstanding the common + opinion held by the leading men of Massachusetts, that the women + themselves did not ask it. He recommended State rather than + national action. + + Rev. Ada C. Bowles of Cambridge, and Rev. Olympia Brown, of + Racine, Wis., opened the various sessions with prayer--striking + evidence of the growing self-assertion of the sex, and the rapid + progress of events towards the full recognition of the fact that + woman's hour has come. Touching deeper and tenderer chords in the + human soul than words could reach, the inspiring strains of the + celebrated organist, Mr. Ryder, rose ever and anon, now soft and + plaintive, now full and commanding, mingled in stirring harmony + with prayer and speech. And as loving friends had covered the + platform with rare and fragrant flowers, the aesthetic taste of + the most fastidious artist might have found abundant + gratification in the grouping and whole effect of the assemblage + in that grand temple. Thus through six prolonged sessions the + interest was not only kept up but intensified from day to day. + + The National Association was received right royally in Boston. On + arriving they found invitations waiting to visit Governor Long at + the State House, Mayor Prince at the City Hall, the great + establishment of Jordan, Marsh & Co., and the Reformatory Prison + for Women at Sherborn. Invitations to take part were extended to + woman suffrage speakers in many of the conventions of that + anniversary week. Among those who spoke from other platforms, + were Matilda Joslyn Gage, Ellen H. Sheldon, Caroline B. Winslow, + M. D., editor of _The Alpha_, and Rev. Olympia Brown. The + president of the association, Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, + received many invitations to speak at various points, but had + time only for the "Moral Education," "Heredity," and "Free + Religious" associations. Her engagement at Parker Memorial Hall, + prevented her from accepting the governor's invitation, but + Isabella Beecher Hooker and Susan B Anthony led the way to the + State house and introduced the delegates from the East, the West, + the North and the South, to the honored executive head of the + State, who had declared himself, publicly, in favor of woman + suffrage. The ceremony of hand-shaking over, and some hundred + women being ranged in a double circle about the desk, Mrs. Hooker + stepped forward, saying: + + Speak a word to us, Governor Long, we need help. Stand here, + please, face to face with these earnest women and tell us + where help is to come from. + + The Governor responded, and then introduced his secretary, who + conducted the ladies through the building. + + Mrs. HOOKER said: Permit me, sir, to thank you for this + unlooked-for and unusual courtesy in the name of our + president who should be here to speak for herself and for + us, and in the name of these loyal women who ask only that + the right of the _people_ to govern themselves shall be + maintained. In this great courtesy extended us by good old + Massachusetts as citizens of this republic unitedly + protesting against being taxed without representation, and + governed without our consent, we see the beginning of the + end--the end of our wearisome warfare--a warfare which + though bloodless, has cost more than blood, by as much as + soul-suffering exceeds that of mere flesh. I see as did + Stephen of old, a celestial form close to that of the Son of + Man, and her name is Liberty--always a woman--and she bids + us go on--go on--even unto the end. + + Miss Anthony standing close to the governor, said in low, + pathetic tones: + + Yes, we are tired. Sir, we are weary with our work. For + forty years some of us have carried this burden, and now, if + we might lay it down at the feet of honorable men, such as + you, how happy we should be. + + The next day Mayor Prince, though suffering from a late severe + attack of rheumatism, cordially welcomed the delegates in his + room at the City Hall, and chatting familiarly with those who had + been at the Cincinnati convention and witnessed his great + courtesy, some one remarked that from that time Miss Anthony had + proclaimed him the prince among men, and Mrs. Stanton immediately + suggested that if the party with which he was identified were + wise in their day and generation they would accept his + leadership, even to the acknowledgement of the full citizenship + of this republic, and thus secure not only their gratitude but + their enthusiastic support in the next presidential election. + Having compassion upon his Honor because of his manifest physical + disability, the ladies soon withdrew and went directly to the + house of Jordan, Marsh & Co., where were assembled in a large + hall at the top of the building such a crowd of handsome, happy, + young girls as one seldom sees in this work-a-day world; that + well-known Boston firm within the last six months having fitted + up a large recreation room for the use of their employes at the + noon hour. Half a hundred girls were merrily dancing to the music + of a piano, but ceased in order to listen to words of cheer from + Mrs. Lockwood, Mrs. Hooker and Mrs. Sewall. At the close of their + remarks Mr. Jordan brought forward a reluctant young girl who + could give us, if she would, a charming recitation from "That + Lass o' Lowrie's," in return for our kindness in coming to them. + And after saying in a whisper to one who kindly urged compliance + to this unexpected call, that this had been such a busy day she + feared her dress was not all right, her face became unconscious + of self in a moment, and with true dramatic instinct, she gave + page after page of that wonderful story of the descent into the + mine and the recognition there of one whom she loved, precisely + as you would desire to hear it were the scene put upon the stage + with all the accessories of scenery and companion actors. + + From Jordan, Marsh & Co.'s a large delegation proceeded to visit + the Reformatory Prison at Sherborn which was established three or + four years ago. The board of directors, consisting of three women + and two men, has charge of all the prisons of the State. Mrs. + Johnson, one of the directors, a noble, benevolent woman, + interested in the great charities of Boston, was designated by + Governor Long--through whose desire the Association visited the + prison--to do the honors and accompany the party from Boston. The + officers, matron and physician of the Sherborn prison, are all + women. Dr. Mosher, the superintendent, formerly the physician, is + a fair, noble-looking woman about thirty-five years of age. She + has her own separate house connected with the building. The + present physician, a delicate, cultured woman, with sympathy for + her suffering charges, is a recent graduate of Ann Arbor. + + The entire work is done by the women sent there for restraint, + and the prison is nearly self-supporting; it is expected that + within another year it will be entirely so. Laundry work is done + for the city of Boston, shirts are manufactured, mittens knit, + etc. The manufacturing machinery will be increased the coming + year. The graded system of reward has been found successful in + the development of better traits. It has four divisions, and + through it the inmates are enabled to work up by good behavior + toward more pleasant surroundings, better clothes and food and + greater liberty. From the last grade they reach the freedom of + being bound out; of seventy-eight thus bound during the past year + but seven were returned. The whole prison, chapel, school-room, + dining-room, etc., possesses a sweet, clean, pure atmosphere. The + rooms are light, well-ventilated, vines trailing in the windows + from which glimpses of green trees and blue sky can be seen. + + Added to all the other courtesies, there came the invitation to a + few of the representatives of the movement to dine with the Bird + Club at the Parker House, in the same cozy room where these + astute politicians have held their councils for so many years, + and whose walls have echoed to the brave words of many of New + England's greatest sons. The only woman who had ever been thus + honored before was Mrs. Stanton, who, "escorted by Warrington," + dined with these honorable gentlemen in 1871. On this occasion + Susan B. Anthony and Harriet H. Robinson accompanied her. Around + the table sat several well-known reformers and distinguished + members of the press and bar. There was Elizur Wright whose name + is a household word in many homes as translator of La Fontaine's + fables for the children. Beside him sat the well-known Parker + Pillsbury and his nephew, a promising young lawyer in Boston. At + one end of the table sat Mr. Bird with Mrs. Stanton on his right + and Miss Anthony on his left. At the other end sat Frank Sanborn + with Mrs. Robinson (wife of "Warrington") on his right. On either + side sat Judge Adam Thayer of Worcester, Charles Field, Williard + Phillips of Salem, Colonel Henry Walker of Boston, Mr. Ernst of + the Boston _Advertiser_, and Judge Henry Fox of Taunton. The + condition of Russia and the Conkling imbroglio in New York; the + new version of the Testament and the reason why German Liberals, + transplanted to this soil, immediately become conservative and + exclusive, were all considered. Carl Schurz, with his narrow + ideas of woman's sphere and education, was mentioned by way of + example. In reply to the question how the Suffrage Association + felt in regard to Conkling's reelection. Mrs. Robinson said: + + That the leaders, who are students of politics were unitedly + against him. Their only hope is in the destruction of the + Republican party, which is too old and corrupt to take up + any new reform. + + Frank Sanborn, fresh from the perusal of the New Testament, asked + if women could find any special consolation in the Revised + Version regarding everlasting punishment. Mrs. Stanton replied: + + Certainly, as we are supposed to have brought "original sin" + into the world with its fearful forebodings of eternal + punishment, any modification of Hades in fact or name, for + the _men_ of the race, the innocent victims of our + disobedience, fills us with satisfaction. + + From the club the ladies hastened to the beautiful residence of + Mrs. Fenno Tudor, fronting Boston Common, where hundreds of + friends had already gathered to do honor to the noble woman so + ready to identify herself with the unpopular reforms of her day. + Among the many beautiful works of art, a chief attraction was the + picture of the grand-mother of Parnell, the Irish agitator, by + Gilbert Stuart. The house was fragrant with flowers, and the + unassuming manners of Mrs. Tudor, as she moved about among her + guests, reflected the glory of our American institutions in + giving the world a generation of common-sense women who do not + plume themselves on any adventitous circumstances of wealth or + position, but bow in respect to morality and intelligence + wherever they find it. At the close of the evening Mrs. Stanton + presented Mrs. Tudor with the "History of Woman Suffrage" which + she received with evident pleasure and returned her sincere + thanks. + +At the close of the anniversary week in Boston, successful meetings +were held in various cities,[80] beginning at Providence, where Dr. +Wm. F. Channing made the arrangements. These conventions were the +first that the National Association ever held in the New England +States, presenting the national plan of woman's enfranchisement +through a sixteenth amendment to the United States Constitution. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[53] "True labor reform: the ballot for woman, the unpaid laborer +of the whole earth." + + "Man's work is from sun to sun, + But woman's work is never done." + +"Taxation without representation is tyranny. Woman is taxed to +support pauperism and crime, and is compelled to feed and clothe +the law-makers who oppress her." + +"Women are voting on education, the bulwark of the republic, in +Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado, Oregon, New Hampshire and +Massachusetts." + +"Women are voting on all questions in Wyoming and Utah. The vote of +women transformed Wyoming from barbarism to civilization." + +"The financial problem for woman: equal pay for equal work, and one +hundred cents on the dollar." + +"When a woman _Will_, she WILL, and you may depend on it, she WILL +vote." + +[54] _California_, Jane B. Archibald; _Connecticut_, Julia E. Smith +(Parker), E. C. Champion; _Delaware_, Mary A. Stuart; _District of +Columbia_, Sara Andrews Spencer, Jane H. Spofford, Ellen H. +Sheldon, Sara J. Messer, Amanda M. Best, Belva A. Lockwood, Mary A. +S. Carey, Rosina M. Parnell, Mary L. Wooster, Helen Rand Tindall, +Lura McNall Orme; _Illinois_, Miss Jessie Waite, daughter of +Caroline V. and Judge Waite; _Indiana_, Zerelda G. Wallace, Emma +Mont McRae; Flora M. Hardin; _Iowa_, Nancy R. Allen; _Kansas_, +Della Ross; _Louisiana_, Elizabeth L. Saxon, _Maine_, Sophronia C. +Snow; _Maryland_, Lavinia Dundore; _Michigan_, Catherine A. F. +Stebbins; _Missouri_, Phoebe W. Couzins; _New Hampshire_, Marilla +M. Ricker; _New Jersey_, Lucinda B. Chandler; _New York_, Susan B. +Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage, Lillie Devereux Blake, Dr. A. +W. Lozier, Jennie de M. Lozier, M. D., Helen M. Slocum; +_Pennsylvania_, Rachel G. Foster, Julia T. Foster; _South +Carolina_, Mary R. Pell. + +[55] Signed by Matilda Joslyn Gage, _Chairman Executive Committee_: +Susan B. Anthony, _Vice-president-at-large_; Sara Andrews Spencer, +_Corresponding Secretary_: Jane H. Spofford, _Treasurer_. + +[56] This week has been devoted almost exclusively to the women, +who as temperance leaders, female suffragists and general +reformers, have become a power in the land which can no longer be +ridiculed or ignored. Yesterday Lincoln Hall was packed to its +utmost capacity with such an audience as no other entertainment or +amusement has ever before gathered in this city. Women of +refinement and cultivation, of thought and purpose, women of +standing and position in society, mothers of families, wives of +clergymen, were there by the hundreds, to listen to the words of +wisdom and eloquence that fell from the lips of that assembly, the +most carefully organized, thoroughly governed, harmoniously acting +association in this great country. Members of congress, professors +of colleges, judges and gentlemen of leisure, sat or stood in +admiration of the progress of the women, who are so earnestly +striving to regenerate our beloved republic, over which the shadow +of anarchy and dissolution is hovering with outspread wings. These +women are no longer trembling suppliants, feeling their way +cautiously and feebly amid an overpowering mass of obstructions; +they are now strong in their might, in their unity, and in the +righteousness of their cause. Men will do wisely if they attract +this power instead of repelling it; if they permit women to work in +concert with them, instead of compelling them to be arrayed against +them. The fate of Governor Robinson and Senator Ecelstine of New +York, indicates what they can do, and what they will do, if obliged +to assume the attitude of aggressors. Congress has heard no such +eloquence upon its floors this week as we have listened to from the +lips of these noble women.--[Washington correspondent of the +Portland (Me.) _Transcript_, Jan. 23, 1880. + +These conventions occur yearly and although the ladies have fought +long and hard, and seem to have not yet reached a positive +assurance of success, still they continue to force the fight with +greater earnestness and redoubled energy, and their meetings are +conducted with much wisdom and decided spirit. There is one thing +to the credit of these ladies which cannot be said of the opposite +sex, and that is, their conventions are models of good order and +parliamentary eloquence, and they put their work through in a +graceful, business-like manner.--[Washington _Critic_, Jan. 21, +1880. + +The announcement that the public session of the National Woman +Suffrage Convention would begin at one o'clock yesterday afternoon +at Lincoln Hall sufficed to attract a most brilliant audience, +composed principally of ladies, occupying every seat and thronging +the aisles. The inconvenience of remaining standing was patiently +endured by hundreds who seemed loth to leave while the convention +was in progress.--[Washington _National Republican_, Jan. 22, 1880. + +The session of the Woman Suffrage Convention in Washington this +week has developed the fact that these strong-minded women are +making progress. The convention itself was composed of women of +marked ability, and its proceedings were marked by dignity and +decorum. The very best citizens of the city attended the +meetings.--[Washington correspondent Syracuse _Daily Standard_. + +[57] Letters were read from Mary Powers Filley, N. H.; Martha G. +Tunstall, Texas; M. A. Darling, Mich.; May Wright Thompson, Ind.; +Sarah Burger Stearns, Minn.; Miss Martin, Ill.; W. G. Myers, O.; +Annie L. Quinby, Ky.; Zina Young Williams, Utah; Barbara J. +Thompson, Neb.; Mira L. Sturgis, Me.; Orra Langhorne, Va.; Emily P. +Collins, La.; Charles P. Wellman, esq., Ga. + +[58] Judge Edmunds meeting Miss Anthony afterwards, complimented +her on having made an argument instead of what is usually given +before committees, platform oratory. He said her logic was sound, +her points unanswerable. Nor were the delegates familiar with that +line of argument less impressed by it, given as it was without +notes and amid many interruptions. It was one of those occasions +rarely reached, in which the speaker showed the full height to +which she was capable of rising. We have not space for the whole +argument, and the train of reasoning is too close to be +broken.--[M. J. G. + +[59] Speeches were also made by Mrs. Saxon, Mrs. Spencer and Miss +Anthony. + +[60] _Alabama_, Mrs. P. Holmes Drake, Huntsville. _Connecticut_, +Elizabeth C. Champion, Bridgeport. _District of Columbia_, Belva A. +Lockwood, Eveleen L. Mason, Jerusha G. Joy, Ellen H. Sheldon, Sara +Andrews Spencer, Jane H. Spofford. _Illinois_, Elizabeth Boynton +Harbert, vice-president of the National Association and editor of +the "Woman's Kingdom" in the _Chicago Inter-Ocean_, Evanston; +Dr. Ann M. Porter, Danville. _Indiana_, Mary E. Haggart, +vice-president; Martha Grimes, Zerelda G. Wallace, May Wright +Thompson, A. P. Stanton, Indianapolis; Salome McCain, Frances +Joslin, Crawfordsville; Mrs. Helen M. Gougar, editor of the +"Bric-a-brac department" of the _Lafayette Courier_, Lafayette; +Thomas Atkinson, Oxford; Mrs. Dr. Rogers, Greencastle; Florence M. +Hardin, Pendelton. _Iowa_, Mrs. J. C. M'Kinney, Mrs. Weiser, +Decorah. _Kentucky_, Mary B. Clay, Richmond; Mrs. Carr, Mrs. E. T. +Housh, Louisville. _Louisiana_, Elizabeth L. Saxon, New Orleans, +_Maryland_; Mary A. Butler, Baltimore. _Michigan_, Catherine A. F. +Stebbins, Detroit. _Missouri_, Mrs. Virginia L. Minor, Mrs. Eliza +J. Patrick, Mrs. Annie T. Anderson, Mrs. Caroline Johnson Todd, +Mrs. Endie J. Polk, Miss Phoebe Couzins, Miss M. A. Baumgarten, +Miss Emma Neave, Miss Eliza B. Buckley, St. Louis; Mrs. Frances +Montgomery, Oregon. _New Hampshire_, Parker Pillsbury, Concord. +_New Jersey_, Lucinda B. Chandler. _New York_, Mrs. Blake, Mrs. +Gage, Miss Anthony. _Ohio_, Mrs. Amanda B. Merrian, Mrs. Cordelia +A. Plimpton, Cincinnati; Sophia L. O. Allen, Eva L. Pinney, South +Newberry; Mrs. N. L. Braffet, New Paris. _Pennsylvania_, Rachel +Foster, Julia T. Foster, Philadelphia. _South Carolina_, Mary R. +Pell, Cowden P. O. + +[61] _Colorado_, Florence M. Haynes, Greely. _Connecticut_, +Elizabeth C. Champion, Bridgeport. _District of Columbia_; Belva A. +Lockwood, Sara Andrews Spencer, Jane H. Spofford, Ellen H. Sheldon, +Eveleen L. Mason, Jersuha G. Joy, Helen Rand Tindall, Amanda M. +Best, Washington. _Illinois_, Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, Sarah +Hackett Stephenson, Kate Newell Doggett, Catherine V. Waite, +Elizabeth J. Loomis, Alma Van Winkle, Chicago; Dr. Ann Porter, +Danville; Mrs. F. Lillebridge, Rockford; Ann L. Barnett, Lockport; +Mrs. F. A. Ross, Mrs. I. R. Lewison, Mansfield; Amanda Smith, +Prophetstown. _Indiana_, Helen M. Gougar, Lafayette; Dr. Rachel B. +Swain, Gertrude Garrison, Indianapolis. _Iowa_, Nancy R. Allen, +Maquoketa; Jane C. M'Kinney, Mrs. Weiser, Decorah; Virginia +Cornish, Hamburg; Ellen J. Foster, Clinton; Clara F. Harkness, +Humboldt. _Kansas_, Amanda B. Way, Elizabeth M'Kinney, Kenneth. +_Kentucky_, Mary B. Clay, Sallie Clay Bennett, Richmond. +_Louisiana_, Elizabeth L. Saxon, New Orleans. _Maryland_, Mary A. +Butler, Baltimore. _Massachusetts_, Addie N. Ayres, Boston. +_Minnesota_, A. H. Street, Albert Lee. _Michigan_, Catherine A. F. +Stebbins, Detroit; Eliza Burt Gamble, Miss Mattie Smedly, East +Saginaw; P. Engle Travis, Hartford; Dr. Elizabeth Miller, South +Frankford. _Missouri_, Virginia L. Minor, Phoebe W. Couzins, Annie +T. Anderson, Caroline J. Todd, St. Louis; Dr. Augusta Smith, +Springfield. _New Hampshire_, Parker Pillsbury, Concord. +_Nebraska_, Harriet S. Brooks, Omaha; Dr. Amy R. Post, Hastings. +_New Jersey_, Margaret H. Ravenhill. _New York_, Susan B. Anthony, +Rochester; Matilda Joslyn Gage, Fayetteville; Lillie Devereux +Blake, New York city. _Ohio_, Eva L. Pinney, South Newbury; Julia +B. Cole. _Oregon_, Mrs. A. J. Duniway (as substitute), Portland. +_Pennsylvania_, Rachel Foster, Julia T. Foster, Lucinda B. +Chandler, Philadelphia; Cornelia H. Scarborough, New Hope. _South +Carolina_, Mary R. Pell, Cowden P. O. _Tennessee_, Elizabeth Avery +Meriwether, Memphis. _Wisconsin_, Rev. Olympia Brown, Racine; +Almedia B. Gray, Schofield Mills. _Wyoming Territory_, Amelia B. +Post. + +[62] HISTORICAL SOCIETY ROOMS, 140-42 DEARBORN AVE., + CHICAGO, May 19, 1880. + +_Mrs. E. C. Stanton, President National Woman Suffrage Association, +476 West Lake street:_ + +_Dear Madam:_ I write you in behalf of the Chicago Historical +Society, and with the hope that you will obligingly secure for and +present to this society a full manuscript record of the +_mass-meeting_ to be held in Farwell Hall in this city, June 2, +1880, duly signed by its officers. We hope too you will do the +society the great favor to deposit in its archives all the letters +and postals which you may receive in response to your invitations +to attend that meeting. + +This meeting may be an important one and long to be remembered. It +is hard to measure the possibilities of 1880. I hope this meeting +will mark an epoch in American history equal to the convention held +in Independence Hall in 1776. How valuable would be the attested +manuscript record of that convention and the correspondence +connected therewith! The records of the Farwell-hall meeting may be +equally valuable one hundred years hence. Please let the records be +kept in the city in which the convention or mass-meeting is held. + +I am a Republican. I hope the party to which I belong will be +consistent. On the highest stripe of its banner is inscribed +"Freedom and Equal Rights." I hope the party will not be so +inconsistent as to refuse to the "better half" of the people of the +United States the rights enjoyed by the liberated slaves at the +South. + +The leaders should not be content _to suffer it to be so_, but +should work with a will to make it so. I have but little confidence +in the sincerity of the man who will shout himself hoarse about +"shot guns" and "intimidation" at the South, when ridicule and +sneers come from his "shot gun" pointed at those who advocate the +doctrine that our mothers, wives and sisters are as well qualified +to vote and hold official position as the average Senegambian of +Mississippi. + +We should be glad to have you and your friends call at these rooms, +which are open and free for all. + + Very Respectfully, A. D. HAGER, _Librarian_. + +[63] By Mrs. Saxon of New Orleans, La.; Mrs. Meriwether of Memphis, +Mrs. Sallie Clay Bennett, daughter of Cassius M. Clay of Richmond +Ky.; and others. Mrs. Bennett related a little home incident. She +said: A few days ago she was in her front yard planting with her +own hands some roses, when "our ex-governor," passing by, +exclaimed: "Mrs. Bennett, I admire that in you; whatever one wants +well done he must do himself." She immediately answered: "That is +true Governor, and that is why we women suffragists have determined +to do our own voting hereafter." She then informed him that she +wanted to speak to him on that great question. He was rather +anxious to avoid the argument, and expressed his surprise and "was +sorry to see a woman like her, surrounded by so many blessings, +with a kind husband, numerous friends and loving children, +advocating woman suffrage! She ought to be contented with these. +She was not like Miss Anthony--" "Stop, Governor," I exclaimed, +"Don't think of comparing me to that lady, for I feel that I am not +worthy to touch the hem of her garments." She was, she said, indeed +the mother of five dear children, but she [Miss Anthony] is the +mother of a nation of women. She thought the women feared God +rather than man, and it was only this which encouraged them to +speak on this subject, so dear to their hearts, in public. One lady +gave as a reason why she wanted to vote, that it was because "the +men did not want them to," which evoked considerable merriment. +This induced the chair to remind the audience of Napoleon's rule: +"Go, see what your enemy does not want you to do and do it." Of the +audience the _Inter-Ocean_ said: "The speakers of all the sessions +were listened to with rapt attention by the audience, and the +points made were heartily applauded. It would be difficult to +gather so large an audience of our sex whose appearance would be +more suggestive of refinement and intelligence." + +[64] Miss Anthony, Mrs. Gage, Mrs. Chandler, Mrs. Spencer and Mrs. +Haggart. + +[65] Twenty delegates from eleven different States, who had been in +attendance at Chicago, went to Cincinnati. + +[66] Before which Mrs. Gage, Mrs. Meriwether, Miss Anthony, Mrs. +Spencer and Mrs. Blake spoke. + +[67] Miss Anthony, Mrs. Gage, Mrs. Blake, Mrs. Meriwether, Mrs. +Saxon, Miss. Couzins, Rev. Olympia Brown, Misses Rachel and Julia +Foster. + +[68] This was the last time this noble German woman honored our +platform, as her eventful life closed a few years after. + +[69] Among others, from Assemblyman Lord, +State-Superintendent-of-Public-Instruction Whitford, J. M. Bingham +and Superintendent MacAlister. + +[70] The delegates were Olympia Brown, _Racine_; L. C. Galt, M. M. +Frazier, _Mukwonago_; E. A. Brown, _Berlin_; E. M. Cooley, +_Eureka_; E. L. Woolcott, _Ripon_; O. M. Patton, M. D., _Appleton_; +H. Suhm, E. Hohgrave, _Sauk City_; M. W. Mabbs, C. M. Stowers, +_Manitowoc_; S. C. Guernsey, _Janesville_; H. T. Patchin, _New +London_; Jennie Pomeroy, _Grand Rapids_; Mrs. H. W. Rice, +_Oconomowoc_; Amy Winship, _Racine_; Almedia B. Gray, Matilda +Graves, Jessie Gray, _Scholfield Mills_; Mrs. Mary Collins, +_Mukwonago_; Mrs. Jere Witter, _Grand Rapids_; Mrs. Lucina E. +DeWolff, _Whitewater_. The Milwaukee delegates were: Dr. Laura R. +Wolcott, Mme. Mathilde Franceske Anneke, Mrs. A. M. Bolds, Mrs. A. +Flagge, Agnes B. Campbell, Mary A. Rhienart, Matilda Pietsch, N. J. +Comstock, Sarah R. Munro, M. D., Juliet H. Severance, M. D., Mrs. +Emily Firega, Carl Doerflinger. Maximillian Grossman and Carl +Herman Boppe. + +[71] 1. Silent Invocation. 2. Music. 3. Eulogy, Elizabeth Cady +Stanton. 4. Tributes, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony. 5. +Music. 6. Tributes, Robert Purvis, May Wright Sewall, Phoebe W. +Couzins. 7. Closing Hymn--"_Nearer, my God, to Thee_." + +[72] Of the floral decorations, to which reference is made above as +contributing so largely to the handsome appearance of the stage, +the harp was furnished through Mr. Wormley in behalf of the colored +admirers of Mrs. Mott, and the _epergne_ was provided for the +occasion by the National Association. There was also a basket of +flowers, conspicuous for its beauty, sent in by Senator Cameron of +Pennsylvania. + +[73] The eulogy will be found in Volume I., page 407. + +[74] See _National Citizen_ of February, 1881. + +[75] Edward M. Davis, Susan B. Anthony, Marilla M. Ricker, Rachel +and Julia Foster, Frederick Douglass, Belva A. Lockwood, Robert +Purvis, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. This was the first time that Mrs. +Martha M'Clellan Brown, Miss Jessie Waite, Mrs. May Wright Sewall +and Mrs. Thornton Charles were on our Washington platform. The +latter read a poem on woman's sphere. + +[76] A standing committee is a permanent one about which no +question can be raised in any congress. A special committee is a +transient one to be decided upon at the opening of each congress; +hence may be at any time voted out of existence. No one understood +this better than New York's Stalwart senator, and his plausible +manner of killing the measure deceived the very elect. Enough +senators were pledged to have carried Mr. McDonald's motion had it +been properly understood, but they, as well as some of the ladies +in the gallery, were entirely misled by Mr. Conkling's seeming +earnest intention to hasten the demands of the women by a +short-lived committee, and while those in the gallery applauded, +those on the floor defeated the measure they intended to carry. + +[77] _Yeas_--Messrs. Beck, Booth, Brown, Coke, Davis (W. Va.), +Eaton, Edmunds, Farley, Garland, Groome, Hill (Ga.), Harris, +Ingalls, Kernan, Lamar, Morgan, Morrill, Pendleton, Platt, Pugh, +Ransom, Saulsbury, Slater, Vance, Vest and Withers--26. + +_Nays_--Messrs. Anthony, Blair, Burnside, Butler, Call, Cameron +(Pa.), Cameron (Wis.), Conkling, Dawes, Ferry, Hoar, Johnston, +Jonas, Kellogg, Logan, McDonald, McMillan, McPherson, Rollins, +Saunders, Teller, Williams and Windom--23. + +[78] Of this reception the _National Republican_ said: The +attractions presented by the fair seekers of the ballot were so +much superior to those of the dancing reception going on in the +parlors above, that it was almost impossible to form a set of the +lanciers until after the gathering in the lower parlors had +entirely dispersed. + +[79] Miss Anthony was presented with a beautiful basket of flowers +from Mrs. Mary Hamilton Williams of Fort Wayne, Ind., and returned +her thanks. Another interesting incident during the proceedings of +the convention was the presentation of an exquisite gold cross from +the "Philadelphia Citizens' Suffrage Association," to Miss Anthony. +Mrs. Sewall of Indianapolis, in a speech so tender and loving as to +bring tears to many eyes, conveyed to her the message and the gift. +Miss Anthony's acceptance was equally happy and impressive. As +during the last thirty years the press of the country has made +Susan B. Anthony a target for more ridicule and abuse than any +other woman on the suffrage platform, it is worth noting that all +who know her now vie with each other in demonstrations of love and +honor.--[E. C. S. + +[80] PROVIDENCE, R. I.--First Light Infantry Hall, May 30, 31. Rev. +Frederick A. Hinckley gave the address of welcome. + +PORTLAND, Me.--City Hall, June 2, 3. Rev. Dr. McKeown of the M. E. +Church made the address of welcome. Letter read from Dr. Henry C. +Garrish. Among the speakers were Charlotte Thomas, A. J. Grover. + +DOVER, N. H.--Belknap Street Church, June 3, 4. Marilla M. Ricker +took the responsibility of this meeting. + +CONCORD, N. H.--White's Opera House, June 4, 5. Speakers +entertained by Mrs. Armenia Smith White. Olympia Brown and Miss +Anthony spoke before the legislature in Representatives +Hall--nearly all the members present--the latter returned on Sunday +and spoke on temperance and woman suffrage at the Opera House in +the afternoon, Universalist church in the evening. + +KEENE, N. H.--Liberty, Hall, June 9, 10. Prayer offered by Rev. Mr. +Enkins. Mayor Russell presided and gave the address of welcome. + +HARTFORD, Ct.--Unity Hall. June 13, 14. Mrs. Hooker presiding; +Frances Ellen Burr, Emily P. Collins, Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, +Caroline Gilkey Rogers, Mary A. Pell taking part in the meetings. + +NEW HAVEN, Ct.--Athaeneum, June 15, 16. Joseph and Abby Sheldon, +Catherine Comstock and others entertained the visitors and +speakers. + +The speakers who made the entire New England tour were Rev. Olympia +Brown, Mrs. Gage, Mrs. Saxon, Mrs. Meriwether, the Misses Foster +and Miss Anthony. The arrangements for all these conventions were +made by Rachel Foster of Philadelphia. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +CONGRESSIONAL DEBATES AND CONVENTIONS. + +1882-1883. + + + Prolonged Discussions in the Senate on a Special Committee to + Look After the Rights of Women, Messrs. Bayard, Morgan and Vest + in Opposition--Mr. Hoar Champions the Measure in the Senate, Mr. + Reed in the House--Washington Convention--Representative Orth and + Senator Saunders on the Woman Suffrage Platform--Hearings Before + Select Committees of Senate and House--Reception Given by Mrs. + Spofford at the Riggs House--Philadelphia Convention--Mrs. Hannah + Whitehall Smith's Dinner--Congratulations from the Central + Committee of Great Britain--Majority and Minority Reports in the + Senate--Nebraska Campaign--Conventions in Omaha--Joint Resolution + Introduced by Hon. John D. White of Kentucky, Referred to the + Select Committee--Washington Convention, January 24, 25, 26, + 1883--Majority Report in the House. + +Although the effort to secure a standing committee on the political +rights of women was defeated in the forty-sixth congress, by New +York's Stalwart Senator, Roscoe Conkling, motions were made early +in the first session of the forty-seventh congress, by Hon. George +F. Hoar in the Senate, and Hon. John D. White in the House, for a +special committee to look after the interests of women.[81] It +passed by a vote of 115 to 84 in the House, and by 35 to 23 in the +Senate. On December 13, 1881, the Senate Committee on Rules +reported the following resolution for the appointment of a special +committee on woman suffrage: + + _Resolved_, That a select committee of seven senators be + appointed by the Chair, to whom shall be referred all + petitions, bills and resolves providing for the extension of + suffrage to women or the removal of their legal + disabilities. + + DECEMBER 14. + + Mr. HOAR: I move to take up the resolution reported by the + Committee on Rules yesterday, for the appointment of a select + committee on the subject of woman suffrage. + + Mr. VEST: Mr. President, I am constrained to object to the + passage of this resolution, and I do it with considerable + reluctance. At present we have thirty standing committees of the + Senate; four joint and seven special committees, in addition to + the one now proposed. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The Chair will inform the senator + from Missouri that a majority of the Senate has to decide whether + the resolution shall be considered. + + Mr. VEST: I understood the Chair to state that it was before the + Senate. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: It is before the Senate if there be + no objection. The Chair thought the senator made objection to its + consideration. + + Mr. HOAR: It went over under the rule yesterday and comes up now. + + Mr. EDMUNDS: It is the regular order now. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: Certainly. The Chair thought the + senator from Missouri objected to its consideration. + + Mr. VEST: No, sir. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The resolution is before the Senate + and open to debate. + + Mr. VEST: I have had the honor for a few years to be a member of + the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, and my colleagues + on that committee will bear witness with me to the trouble and + annoyance which at every session have arisen in regard to giving + accommodations to the special committees. Two sessions ago there + was a conflict between the Senate and House in regard to + furnishing committee-rooms for three special committees, and it + is only upon the doctrine of _pedis possessio_ that the Senate + to-day holds three committee-rooms in the capitol, the House + still laying claim as a matter of law, through their Committee on + Public Buildings and Grounds, for the possession of these rooms. + At the special session, on account of the exigencies in regard to + rooms, we were compelled to take the retiring-room assigned near + the gallery to the ladies, and cut it into two rooms, to + accommodate select committees. + + At this session we have created two special committees more, and + I should like to make the inquiry when and where this manufacture + of special committees is to cease? As soon as any subject becomes + one of comment in the newspapers, or, respectfully I say it, a + hobby with certain zealous partisans throughout the country, + application is made to the Senate of the United States and a + special committee is to be appointed. For this reason, and for + the simple reason that a stop must be had somewhere to the + raising of special committees, I oppose the proposition now + before the Senate. + + But, Mr. President, I will be entirely ingenuous and give another + reason. This is simply a step toward the recognition of woman + suffrage, and I am opposed to it upon principle in its inception. + In my judgment it has nothing but mischief in it to the + institutions and to the society of this whole country. I do not + propose to enter into a discussion of that subject to-day, but it + will be proper for me to make this statement, and I make it + intending no reflection upon the zealous ladies who have engaged + for the past ten years in manufacturing a public sentiment upon + this question. I received to-day a letter from a distinguished + lady in my own State, for whom I have personally the greatest + admiration and respect, calling my attention to the fact that I + propose to deny justice to the women of the country. Mr. + President, I deny it. It is because I believe that the + conservative influence of society in the United States rests with + the women of the country that I propose not to degrade the wife + and mother to the ward politician, the justice of the peace, or + the notary public. It is because I believe honestly that all the + best influences for the conservation of society rest upon the + women of the country in their proper sphere that I shall oppose + this and every other step now and henceforth as violating, as I + believe, one of the great essential fundamental laws of nature + and of society. + + Mr. President, the revenges of nature are sure and unerring, and + these revenges are just as certain in political matters and in + social matters as in the physical world. Now and here I desire to + record once for all my conviction that in this movement to take + the women of the country out of their proper sphere of social + influence, that great and glorious sphere in which nature and + nature's God have placed them, and rush them into the political + arena, the attempt is made to put them where they were never + intended to be; and I now and here record my opposition to it. + This may seem to be but a small matter, but as this letter shows, + and I reveal no private confidence, it recognizes the first great + step in this reform, as its advocates are pleased to term it. My + practice and conviction as a public man is to fight every wrong + wherever I believe it to exist. I am opposed to this movement. I + am opposed to it upon principle, upon conviction, and I shall + call for the yeas and nays in order to record my vote against it. + + + DECEMBER 15. + + The Senate resumed the consideration of the resolution reported + from the Committee on Rules by Mr. Hoar on the 13th inst. + + Mr. VEST: Mr. President, I disclaim any intention again to incite + or excite any general discussion in regard to woman suffrage. The + senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Hoar], for whom I have very great + regard, was yesterday pleased to observe that the State + governments furnished by the senator from Missouri and other + senators in the past had been no argument in favor of manhood + suffrage. Mr. President, I have been under the impression that + the American people to-day are the best governed, the best + clothed, the best fed, the best housed, the happiest people upon + the face of the globe, and that, too, notwithstanding the fact + that they have been under the domination of the Republican party + for twenty long years. I have also been under the impression that + the institutions of the States and of the United States are an + improvement upon all governmental theories and schemes hitherto + known to mortal man; but we are to learn to-day from the senator + from Massachusetts that this government and the State governments + have been failures, and that woman suffrage must be introduced in + order to purify the political atmosphere and elevate the + suffrage. + + Mr. HOAR: Will the senator allow me to interrupt him for a + moment? + + Mr. VEST: Of course. + + Mr. HOAR: I desire to disclaim the meaning which the honorable + senator seems to have put upon my words. I agree with him that + the American governments have been the best on the face of the + earth, but it is because of their adoption of that principle of + equality more than any other government, the logical effect of + which will compel them to yield the right prayed for to women, + that they are the best. But still best as they are, I said, and + mean to say, that the business of governing mankind has been the + one business on the face of the earth which has been done most + clumsily, which has been, even where most excellent, full of + mistakes, expense, injustice, and wrong-doing. What I said was + that I did not think the persons to whom that privileged function + had been committed so far were entitled to claim any special + superiority for the masculine intellect in the results which it + had achieved. + + Mr. VEST: To say that the governments, State and national, now in + existence upon this continent are imperfect is but to announce + the truism that everything made by man is necessarily imperfect. + But I stand here to declare to-day that the governments of the + States, and the national government, in theory, although failing + sometimes in practice, are a standing monument to the genius and + intellect of the men who created them. But the senator from + Massachusetts was pleased to say further, that woman suffrage + should obtain in this country in the interest of education. I + permit not that senator to go further than myself in the line of + universal public education. I have declared, over and over again, + in every county in my State for the past ten years, that + universal education should accompany universal suffrage, that the + school-house should crown every mound in prairie and forest, that + it was the temple of liberty and the altar of law and order. + + I well remember that I was thrilled with the eloquence of the + distinguished senator from Massachusetts at the last session of + the last congress, when, upon a bill to provide for general + education by a donation of the public lands, he so pathetically + and justly described the mass of dark ignorance and illiteracy + projected upon the people of the South under the policy of the + Republican party, and the senator then stood here and said that + the people of Massachusetts extended the public lands to relieve + the people of the South from this monstrous burden. What does the + senator propose to do to-day? He proposes with one stroke of the + pen to double, and more than double, the illiterate suffrage of + the United States. The senator says that one-half the people of + the United States are represented in this measure of woman + suffrage. I deny it, sir. If the senator means that the women of + America, comprising one-half of the population, are interested in + this measure, I deny it most emphatically and most peremptorily. + Not one-tenth of them want it. Not one-tenth of the mothers and + sisters and Christian women of this land want to be turned into + politicians or to meddle in a sphere to which God and nature have + not assigned them. + + Sir, there are some ladies--and I do not intend to term them + anything but ladies--who are zealously engaged in this cause, and + they have flooded this hall with petitions, and have called their + women's rights conventions all over the land. I assail not their + motives, but I deny that they represent the women of the United + States. I say that if woman suffrage obtains, the worst class of + the women of the country will rush to the polls and the best + class will remain away by a large majority. That is my deliberate + judgment and firm conviction. But, Mr. President, a word in + regard to the committees. I desire no general discussion upon + woman suffrage, and simply alluded in passing to what had been + said by the senator from Massachusetts. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The hour of one o'clock has arrived, + and the morning hour is closed. + + + DECEMBER 16. + + Mr. JONES of Florida: I desire to call up a resolution now lying + on the table, which I introduced on the 14th instant, calling for + information from the Secretary of War touching a ship-canal + across the peninsula of Florida. + + Mr. HOAR: Mr. President-- + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The senator from Florida asks leave + to call up a resolution submitted by him. + + Mr. HOAR: My resolution was before the Senate yesterday, and + comes up in order. I hope we shall vote on it. + + Mr. JONES of Florida: I will only say that my resolution was laid + over temporarily on the objection of the senator from Vermont + [Mr. Edmunds], which he will not insist upon. + + Mr. HOAR: Allow me to call the attention of the Chair to the + fact; it is not the question of a resolution which has not been + taken up. The resolution reported by me from the Committee on + Rules was taken up, and was under discussion when the senator + from Missouri [Mr. Vest] was taken from the floor by the + expiration of the morning hour, in the midst of his remarks. + Certainly his right to conclude his remarks takes precedence of + other business under the usual practice of the Senate. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The Chair thought the senator from + Missouri had ended his remarks, or he would not have interposed + when he did. + + Mr. HOAR: No, sir. + + Mr. JONES of Florida: My resolution involves no debate. It is + merely a resolution of inquiry. + + Mr. HOAR: The other will be disposed of, I hope, in a few + moments. + + Mr. JONES of Florida: The resolution to which I refer went over + informally on the objection of the senator from Vermont, and I + think he has no objection now. + + Mr. HOAR: The other will be disposed of in a moment, and I hope + we shall vote on it. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The Chair lays before the Senate the + resolution of the senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Hoar]. + + The Senate resumed the consideration of the resolution reported + from the Committee on Rules by Mr. Hoar on the 13th instant. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The Chair would state to the senator + from Missouri [Mr. Vest] that the Chair supposed yesterday that + he had finished his remarks, or the Chair would not have stopped + him at that moment. The question is on agreeing to the + resolution, on which the senator from Missouri [Mr. Vest] is + entitled to the floor. + + Mr. VEST: Mr. President, I was on the eve of finishing my remarks + yesterday when the morning hour expired, and I do not now wish to + detain the Senate. I was about to say at that time that the + Senate now has forty-one committees, with a small army of + messengers and clerks, one-half of whom, without exaggeration, + are literally without employment. I shall not pretend to specify + the committees of this body which have not one single bill, + resolution, or proposition of any sort pending before them, and + have not had for months. I am very well aware that if I should + name one of them, Liberty would lie bleeding in the streets at + once, and that committee would become the most important on the + list of committees of the Senate. I shall not venture to do that. + I am informed by the Sergeant-at-arms that if this resolution is + adopted he must have six additional messengers to be added to + that body of ornamental employes who now stand or sit at the + doors of the respective committee-rooms. I have heard that this + committee is for the purpose of giving a committee to a senator + in this body. I have heard the statement made, but I cannot + believe it, and I am very certain that no senator will undertake + to champion the resolution upon any such ground. + + The senator from Massachusetts was pleased to say that the + Committee on the Judiciary had so many important questions + pending before it, that the subject of woman suffrage should not + be added to them. The Committee on Territories is open to any + complaint or suggestion by the ladies who advocate woman + suffrage, in regard to this subject in the territories; and the + Committee on Privileges and Elections to which this subject + should go most appropriately, as affecting the suffrage, has not + now before it, as I am informed, one single bill, resolution, or + proposition of any sort whatever. That committee is also open to + inquiry upon this subject. + + But, Mr. President, out of all committees without business, and + habitually without business, in this body, there is one that + beyond any question could take jurisdiction of this matter and do + it ample justice. I refer to that most respectable and antique + institution, the Committee on Revolutionary Claims. For thirty + years it has been without business. For thirty long years the + placid surface of that parliamentary sea has been without one + single ripple. If the senator from Massachusetts desires a + tribunal for calm judicial equilibrium and examination, a + tribunal far from the "madding crowd's ignoble strife," a + tribunal eminently respectable, dignified and unique, why not + send this question to the Committee on Revolutionary Claims? When + I name the _personnel_ of that committee it will be evident that + any consideration on any subject touching the female sex would + receive not only deliberate but immediate attention, for the + second member upon that committee is my distinguished friend from + Florida [Mr. Jones], and who can doubt that he would give his + undivided attention to the subject? [Laughter.] It is eminently + proper that this subject should go to that committee because if + there is any revolutionary claim in this country it is that of + woman suffrage. [Laughter.] It revolutionizes society; it + revolutionizes religion; it revolutionizes the constitution and + laws; and it revolutionizes the opinions of those so + old-fashioned among us as to believe that the legitimate and + proper sphere of woman is the family circle as wife and mother + and not as politician and voter--those of us who are proud to + believe that-- + + A woman's noblest station is retreat; + Her fairest virtues fly from public sight; + Domestic worth--that shuns too strong a light. + + Before that Committee on Revolutionary Claims why could not this + most revolutionary of all claims receive immediate and ample + attention? More than that, as I said before, if there is any + tribunal that could give undivided time and dignified attention, + is it not this committee? If there is one peaceful haven of rest, + never disturbed by any profane bill or resolution of any sort, it + is the Committee on Revolutionary Claims. It is, in parliamentary + life, described by that ecstatic verse in Watts' hymn: + + There shall I bathe my wearied soul + In seas of endless rest, + And not one wave of trouble roll + Across my peaceful breast. + + For thirty years there has been no excitement in that committee, + and it needs to-day, in Western phrase, some "stirring-up." By + all natural laws stagnation breeds disease and death; and what + could stir up this most venerable and respectable institution + more than an application of the strong-minded, with short hair + and shorter skirts, invading its dignified realm and elucidating + all the excellences of female suffrage? Moreover, if these ladies + could ever succeed, in the providence of God, in obtaining a + report from that committee, it would end this question forever; + for the public at large and myself included, in view of that + miracle of female blandishment and female influence, would + surrender at once, and female suffrage would become + constitutional and lawful. Sir, I insist upon it that in + deference to this committee, in deference to the fact that it + needs this sort of regimen and medicine, this whole subject + should be so referred. [Laughter.] + + Mr. MORRILL: Mr. President, I do not desire to say anything as to + the merits of the resolution, but I understand the sole purpose + of raising this committee is to have a committee-room. So far as + I know, there are some five or six committees now which are + destitute of rooms, and it would be impossible for the Committee + on Public Buildings and Grounds to assign any room to this + committee--the object which I understand is at the foundation of + the introduction of the proposition; that is to say, to give + these ladies an opportunity to be heard in some appropriate + committee-room on the questions which they wish to agitate and + submit. + + Mr. HOAR: They would find room in some other committee-room. They + could have the room of the Committee on Privileges and Elections, + if there were no other place. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The question is on the adoption of + the resolution reported by the senator from Massachusetts. + + Mr. HARRIS: Did not the senator from Missouri [Mr. Vest] offer an + amendment? + + Mr. GARLAND: As I understand, he moved to refer the subject to + the Committee on Revolutionary Claims. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: Does the Chair understand that the + senator from Missouri has offered an amendment? + + Mr. VEST: Yes, sir; I move to refer the matter to the Committee + on Revolutionary Claims. + + Mr. CONGER: Let the resolution be reported. + + The acting secretary read the resolution. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The senator from Missouri offers an + amendment, that the subject be referred to the standing Committee + on Revolutionary Claims. The question is on the amendment of the + senator from Missouri. [Putting the question.] The noes appear to + have it. + + Mr. FARLEY called for the yeas and nays, and they were ordered + and taken. + + Mr. BLAIR [after having voted in the negative]: I have voted + inadvertently. I am paired with the senator from Alabama [Mr. + Pugh]. Were he present he would have voted "yea," as I have voted + "nay." I withdraw my vote. + + Mr. WINDOM: I am paired with the senator from West Virginia [Mr. + Davis], but as I understand he would vote "nay" on this question, + I vote "nay." + + Mr. INGALLS: I am paired with the senator from Mississippi [Mr. + Lamar]. + + The result was announced--yeas 22, nays 31. So the motion was not + agreed to. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The question recurs on the adoption + of the resolution. + + Mr. BAYARD: Is it in order for me to move the reference of the + subject to the Committee on the Judiciary? + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: It is in order to move to refer the + resolution to the Committee on the Judiciary, the Chair + understands. + + Mr. BAYARD: Then I make a motion that the resolution be sent to + the Committee on the Judiciary. I would state that I voted with + some regret and hesitancy upon the motion of the senator from + Missouri [Mr. Vest] to refer this matter to the Committee on + Revolutionary Claims. My regret was owing to the fact that I do + not wish even to seem to treat a subject of this character in a + spirit of levity, or to indicate the slightest disrespect by such + a reference, to those whose opinions upon this subject differ + essentially from my own. I cast the vote because I considered it + would be taking the subject virtually away from the consideration + of congress at its present session. I do, however, hold that + there is no necessity for the creation of a special committee to + attend to this subject. The Committee on the Judiciary has within + the last few years, upon many occasions, attempted to deal with + it. Since you, sir, and I have been members of that committee-- + + Mr. HOAR: Mr. President-- + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: Will the senator from Delaware yield + to the senator from Massachusetts? + + Mr. BAYARD: I will, if he thinks it necessary to interrupt me. + + Mr. HOAR: I desire to ask the senator, if he is willing, having + been lately a member of the committee to which he refers, whether + it is not the rule of that committee to allow no hearings to + individual petitioners, a rule which is departed from only in + very rare and peculiar cases? + + Mr. BAYARD: I will reply to the honorable senator that the + occasion which arose to my mind and caused me to remember the + action of that committee was the audience given by it to a very + large delegation of woman suffragists, _to wit_, the + representatives of a convention held in this city, who to the + number, I think, of twenty-five, came into the committee-room of + the Committee on the Judiciary, and were heard, as I remember, + for more than one day, or certainly had more than one hearing, + before that committee, of which you, sir, and I were members. + + Mr. HOAR: If the senator will pardon me, however, he has not + answered my question. I asked the senator not whether on one + particular occasion they gave a hearing on this subject, but + whether it is not the rule of that committee, occasioned by the + necessity of its business, from which it departs only in very + rare cases, not to give hearings? + + Mr. BAYARD: I cannot answer whether a rule so defined as that + suggested by the honorable senator from Massachusetts exists in + that committee. It is my impression, however, that cases are + frequently, by order of that committee, argued before it. We have + had very elaborate and able arguments upon subjects connected + with the Pacific railroads, I remember; and we have had arguments + upon various subjects. It is constantly our pleasure to hear + members of the Senate upon a variety of questions before that + committee. It may be only a proof that women's rights are not + unrecognized nor their influence unfelt when I state the fact + that if there be such a rule as is suggested by the honorable + senator from Massachusetts of excluding persons from the audience + of that committee, on the occasion of the application of the + ladies a hearing was granted, and they came in force,--not only + force in numbers, but force in the character and intelligence of + those who appeared before the committee. They were listened to + with great respect, but their views were not concurred in by the + committee as it was then composed. We were all entertained by the + bright wit, the clever and, in my judgment, in many respects, the + just sarcasm of our honorable friend from Missouri [Mr. Vest], + but my habit is not to consider public measures in a jocular + light; it is not to consider a question of this kind in a jocular + light. Whatever may be the merits or demerits of this + proposition, whatever may be the reasons for or against it, no + man can doubt that it will strike at the very roots of the + present organization of society, and that its consequences will + be most profound and far-reaching should the advocates of the + measure proposed prevail. + + Therefore it is that I think this subject should not be + considered separately; it should not have a special + committee--either of advocates or opponents arranged for its + consideration; but it should go where proposed amendments to the + fundamental law of the land have always been sent for + consideration,--to that committee to which judicial questions, + questions of a constitutional nature, have always in the history + of this government been committed. There is no need, there is no + justice, there is no wisdom in attempting to separate the fate of + this question, which affects society so profoundly and generally, + from the other questions that affect society. It cannot be made a + specialty: it ought not to be. You cannot tear this question from + the great contest of human passions, affections, and interests + which surround it, and treat it as a thing by itself. It has many + sides from which it may be viewed, some that are not proper or + fitting for this forum, and a discussion now in public. There are + the claims of religion itself to be considered in connection with + this case. Civil rights, social rights, political rights, + religious rights, all are bound up in the consideration of a + measure like this. In its consideration you cannot safely attempt + to segregate this question and leave it untouched and + uninfluenced by all those other questions by which it is + surrounded and in the consideration of which it is bound to be + connected and concerned. Therefore, without going further, + prematurely, into a discussion of the merits of the proposition + itself or its desirability, I say that it should take the usual + course which the practice and laws of this body have given to + grave public questions. Let it go to the Committee on the + Judiciary, and let them, under their sense of duty, deal with it + according to its gravity and importance, and if it be here + returned let it be passed upon by the grave deliberations of the + Senate itself. I hope the special committee proposed will not be + raised, and I trust the Senate will concur with me in thinking + that the subject should be sent to the Committee on the + Judiciary. + + Mr. LOGAN rose. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The morning hour has expired. + + Mr. LOGAN: I want to say just one word. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: It requires unanimous consent. + + Mr. LOGAN: I do not wish to make a speech; I merely desire to say + a word in response to what the senator from Delaware [Mr. Bayard] + has said in relation to the reference to the Judiciary Committee. + + Mr. HARRIS: I ask unanimous consent that the senator from + Illinois may proceed. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: There being no objection unanimous + consent will be presumed to have been given for the senator from + Illinois to make his explanation. + + Mr. LOGAN: This question having been once before the Judiciary + Committee, and it being a request by many ladies, who are + citizens of the United States just as we are, that they should + have a special committee of the Senate before which they can be + heard, I deem it proper and right, without any committal whatever + in reference to my own views, that they should have that + committee. It is nothing but fair, just, and right that they + should have a committee organized as nearly as can be in the + Senate in favor of the views they desire to present. It is + treating them only as other citizens would desire to be treated + before a body of this character. I am, therefore, opposed to the + reference of the proposition to the Judiciary Committee, and I + hope the Senate will give these ladies a special committee where + they can be heard, and that that committee may be so organized as + that it will be as favorable to their views as possible, so that + they may have a fair hearing. That is all I desire to say. + + Mr. MORRILL: I hope this subject will be concluded this morning, + otherwise it is to come up constantly and monopolize all the time + of the morning hour. I do not think it will require many minutes + more to dispose of it now. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The Chair will entertain a motion on + that subject. + + Mr. MORRILL: I move to set aside other business until this + resolution shall be disposed of. If it should continue any length + of time of course I would withdraw the suggestion. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The senator from Vermont-- + + Mr. VOORHEES: Mr. President, I feel constrained to call for the + regular order. + + + DECEMBER 19, 1881. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: Are there further "concurrent or + other resolutions"? + + Mr. HOAR: I call up the resolution in regard to woman suffrage, + reported by me from the Committee on Rules. + + Mr. JONES of Florida: I ask for information how long the morning + hour is to extend? + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The regular business of the morning + hour is closed. The morning hour, however, will not expire until + twenty minutes past one. The senator from Massachusetts asks to + have taken up the resolution reported by him from the Committee + on Rules. + + Mr. HOAR: I hope we may have a vote on the resolution this + morning. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The question is on the amendment + proposed by the senator from Delaware [Mr. Bayard], that the + subject be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. + + Mr. HOAR: It is not intended by the resolution to commit the + Senate, or any senator in the slightest degree to any opinion + upon the question of woman suffrage, but it is merely the + question of a convenient mode of hearing. I hope we shall be + allowed to have a vote on the resolution. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: Is the Senate ready for the question + on the motion of the senator from Delaware? + + Mr. BAYARD and Mr. FARLEY called for the yeas and nays, and they + were ordered. + + Mr. BECK: Mr. President, I have received a number of + communications from very respectable ladies in my own State upon + this important question; but I am unable to comply with their + request and support the female suffrage which they advocate. I + shall vote for the reference to the Committee on the Judiciary in + order that there may be a thorough investigation of the question. + I wholly disagree with the suggestion of the senator from + Illinois [Mr. Logan], that a committee ought to be appointed as + favorable to the views of these ladies as possible. I desire a + committee that will have no views, for or against them, except + what is best for the public good. Such a committee I understand + the Committee on the Judiciary to be. + + I desire to say only in a word that the difficulty I have and the + question I desire the Committee on the Judiciary to report upon + is, the effect of this question upon suffrage. By the fifteenth + amendment to the Constitution of the United States there can be + no discrimination made in regard to voting on account of race, + color or previous condition. Intelligence is properly regarded as + one of the fundamental principles of fair suffrage. We have been + compelled in the last ten years to allow all the colored men of + the South to become voters. There is a mass of ignorance there to + be absorbed that will take years and years of care in order to + bring that class up to the standard of intelligent voters. The + several States are addressing themselves to that task as + earnestly as possible. Now it is proposed that all the women of + the country shall vote; that all the colored women of the South, + who are as much more ignorant than the colored men as it is + possible to imagine, shall vote. Not one perhaps in a hundred of + them can read or write. The colored men have had the advantages + of communication with other men in a variety of forms. Many of + them have considerable intelligence; but the colored women have + not had equal chances. Take them from their wash-tubs and their + household work and they are absolutely ignorant of the new duties + of voting citizens. The intelligent ladies of the North and the + West and the South cannot vote without extending that privilege + to that class of ignorant colored people. I doubt whether any man + will say that it is safe for the republic now, when we are going + through the problem we are obliged to solve, to fling in this + additional mass of ignorance upon the suffrage of the country. + Why, sir, a rich corporation or a body of men of wealth could buy + them up for fifty cents apiece, and they would vote without + knowing what they were doing for the side that paid most. Yet we + are asked to confer suffrage upon them, and to have a committee + appointed as favorable to that view as possible, so as to get a + favorable report upon it! + + I want the Committee on the Judiciary to tell the congress and + the country whether they think it is good policy now to confer + suffrage on all the colored women of the South, ignorant as they + are known to be, and thus add to the ignorance that we are now + struggling with, and whether the republic can be sustained upon + such a basis as that. For that reason, and because I want that + information from an unbiased committee, because I know that + suffrage has been degraded sufficiently already, and because it + would be degraded infinitely more if a report favorable to this + extension of suffrage should be adopted and passed through + congress, I am opposed to this movement. No matter if there are a + number of respectable ladies who are competent to vote and desire + it to be done, because of the very fact that they cannot be + allowed this privilege without giving all the mass of ignorant + colored women in the country the right to vote, thus bringing in + a mass of ignorance that would crush and degrade the suffrage of + this country almost beyond conception, I shall vote to refer the + subject to the Judiciary Committee, and I shall await their + report with a good deal of anxiety. + + Mr. MORGAN: Mr. President-- + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The morning hour has expired, and + the unfinished business is before the Senate. + + + DECEMBER 20, 1881. + + Mr. HOAR: I now call up the resolution for appointing a special + committee on woman suffrage. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The morning hour having expired, the + senator from Massachusetts calls up the resolution which was + under consideration yesterday. + + Mr. INGALLS: What is the regular order? + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: There is no regular unfinished + business. The senator from Florida [Mr. Call] gave notice + yesterday that he would ask the indulgence of the Senate to-day + to consider the subject of homestead rights. + + Mr. HOAR: I hope this matter may be disposed of. It is very + unpleasant to me to stand before the Senate in this way, taking + up its time with this matter in a five minutes' debate every day + in succession for an unlimited period of time. It is a matter + which every senator understands. It has nothing to do with the + merits of the woman suffrage question at all. It is a mere desire + on the part of these people to have a particular form of hearing, + which seems to me the most convenient for the Senate, and I hope + the Senate will be willing to vote on the resolution and let it + pass. + + Mr. MORGAN: I have no objection to proceeding to the + consideration of the resolution, but I desire to address the + Senate upon it. + + Mr. HOAR: I think I must ask now as a favor of the senator from + Alabama that he let the resolution be disposed of promptly. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The senator from Alabama states that + he has no objection to the present consideration of the + resolution, but he asks leave to make some remarks upon it. The + Chair hearing no objection to the consideration of the + resolution, it is before the Senate. + + Mr. FARLEY: I object to the consideration of the resolution. + + Mr. HOAR: I move to take it up. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The senator from Massachusetts calls + it up as a matter of right. If a majority of the Senate agree to + take up the resolution it is before the Senate, and the Chair + will put the question. The question is on agreeing to the motion + of the senator from Massachusetts to proceed to the consideration + of the resolution. [The motion was agreed to; and the Senate + resumed the consideration of the resolution reported from the + Committee on Rules by Mr. Hoar on the 13th instant, which was + read.] + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The pending question is on the + motion of the senator from Delaware [Mr. Bayard] to refer the + subject to the Committee on the Judiciary, on which the yeas and + nays have been ordered. + + Mr. MORGAN: Mr. President, I stand in a different relation to + this question from that of the senator from Kentucky [Mr. Beck], + who said yesterday that he had received a number of + communications from very respectable ladies in his own State upon + this very important subject, and yet felt constrained by a sense + of duty to deny the action which they solicited at the hands of + congress. I am not informed that any woman from Alabama has ever + sent a petition to the Senate, or to either house, upon this + matter. Indeed, it is my impression that no petitions or letters + have ever been addressed by any lady in the State of Alabama to + either house of congress upon this question. It may be that that + peculiar type of civilization which drives women from their homes + to the ballot-box to seek redress and protection against their + husbands has never yet reached the State of Alabama, and I shall + not be disagreeably disappointed if it should never come upon our + people, for they have lived in harmony and in prosperity now for + many years. Besides the relief which the State has seen proper to + give to married women in respect of their separate estates, we + have not thought it wise or politic in any sense to go further + and undertake to make a line of demarkation between the husband + and wife as politicians. On the contrary, according to our + estimate of a proper civilization, we look to the family relation + as being the true foundation of our republican institutions. + Strike out the family relation, disband the family, destroy the + proper authority of the person at the head of the family, either + the wife or the husband, and you take from popular government all + legitimate foundation. + + The measure which is now brought before the Senate of the United + States is but the initial measure of a series which has been + urged upon the attention of States and territories, and upon the + attention of the Congress of the United States in various forms + to draw a line of political demarkation through a man's + household, through his fireside, and to open to the intrusion of + politics and politicians that sacred circle of the family where + no man should be permitted to intrude without the consent of both + the heads of the family. What picture could be more disagreeable + or more disgusting than to have a pot-house politician introduce + himself into a gentleman's family, with his wife seated at one + side of the fireplace and himself at the other, and this man + coming between to urge arguments why the wife should oppose the + policy that the husband advocates, or that the husband should + oppose the policy that the wife advocates? + + If this measure means anything it is a proposition that the + Senate of the United States shall first vote to carry into effect + this unjust and improper intrusion into the home circle. Suppose + this resolution to raise a select committee should be passed: + that committee will have its hands full and its ears full of + petitions and applications and speeches from strong-minded women, + and of course it must make some report to the Senate; and we + shall have this subject introduced in here as one that requires a + peculiar application of the powers of the Senate for its + digestion and for the completion of the bills and measures + founded upon it. At the next session of congress this select + committee will become a standing committee of the Senate, and + then we shall have that which appears to be the most potential + and at the same time the most dangerous element in politics + to-day, agitation, agitation, agitation. It seems that the + legislators of the United States Government are not to be allowed + to pass in quiet judgment upon measures of this character, but + like many other things which are addressing themselves to the + attention of the people on this side of the water and the other, + they must all be moved against the Senate and against the House + by agitation. You raise your committee and allow the agitators to + come before them, yea, more than that, you invite them to come; + and what is the result? The Congress of the United States will + for the next ten or perhaps twenty years be continually assailed + for special and peculiar legislation in favor of the women of the + land. + + I do not understand that a woman in this country has any more + right to a select committee than a man has. It would be just as + rational and as proper in every legislative and parliamentary + sense to have a select committee for the consideration of the + rights of men as to have a committee for the consideration of the + rights of women. I object, sir, to this disseverance between the + sexes, and I object to the Senate of the United States giving its + sanction in advance or in any way to this character of + legislation. It is a false principle, and it will work evil, and + only evil, in this country. + + What jurisdiction do you expect to exercise in the Senate of the + United States for the benefit of the women in respect of suffrage + or in respect of separate estates? Where are the boundaries of + your jurisdiction? You find them in the territories and in the + District of Columbia. If you expect to proceed into the States + you must have the Constitution of the United States amended so as + to put our wives and our daughters upon the footing of those who + are provided for in the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments. Your + jurisdiction is limited to the territories and to the District of + Columbia. + + Inasmuch as this measure, I understand, has been made a party + measure by the decree of a caucus, I propose to make some little + inquiry into the past legislation of the Congress of the United + States under Republican rule in respect of the extension of the + right of suffrage to certain classes of people in this country. I + will take up first the territories. + + Let us look for a moment at the result of woman suffrage in some + of the territories. The territorial legislature of Utah has gone + forward and conferred the right of suffrage upon women. The + population in the last decade has reached from 64,000, I believe, + to about 150,000. The territorial legislature of Utah conferred + upon the females of that territory the right of suffrage, and how + have they exercised that right? Sir, I am ashamed to say it, but + it is known to the world that the power of Mormonism and polygamy + in Utah territory is sustained by female suffrage. You cannot get + rid of those laws. Ninety per cent. of the legislative power of + Utah territory is Mormon and polygamous. If female suffrage is to + be incorporated into the laws of our country with a view to the + amelioration of our morals or our political sentiments, we stand + aghast at the spectacle of what has been wrought by its exercise + in the territory of Utah. There stands a power supporting the + crime of polygamy through what they call a divine inspiration, or + teaching from God, and all the power of the judges of the United + States and of the Congress of the United States has been + unavailing to break it down. Who have upheld it? Those who in the + family circle represent one husband to fifteen women. A continual + accumulation of the power of the church and of polygamy is going + on, and when the Gentiles, as they are called, enter that + territory with the view of breaking it up they are confronted by + the women, who are allowed to vote, and from whom we should + naturally expect a better and a higher morality in reference to + subjects of the kind. But this only shows the power of man over + woman. It only shows how through her tender affections, her + delicate sensibilities, and her confiding spirit she can be made + the very slave and bond-servant of man, and can scarcely ever be + made an independent participant in the stronger exercise of the + powers which God seems to have intrusted to him. Never was there + a picture more disgusting or more condemnatory of the extension + of the franchise to women as contradistinguished from men than is + presented in the territory of Utah to-day. + + Where is the necessity of raising the number of voters in the + United States from 10,000,000 to 20,000,000? That would be the + direct effect of conferring suffrage upon the women, for they are + at least one-half, if not a little more than one-half, of the + entire population of the country above the age of twenty-one. We + have now masses of voters so enormous in numbers as that it seems + to be almost beyond the power of the law to execute the purposes + of the elective franchise with justice, with propriety, and + without crime. How much would these difficulties and these + intrinsic troubles be increased if we should raise the number of + voters from 10,000,000 to 20,000,000 in the United States? That + would be the direct and immediate effect of conferring the + franchise upon the women. What would be the next effect of such + an extension of the suffrage? It was described by my friend from + Missouri [Mr. Vest] and by other senators who have spoken upon + this subject. The effect would be to drive the ladies of the + land, as they are termed, the well-bred and well-educated women, + the women of nice sensibilities, within their home circle, there + to remain, while the ruder of that sex would thrust themselves + out on the hustings and at the ballot-box, and fight their way to + the polls through negroes and others who are not the best of + company even at the polls, to say nothing of the disgrace of + association with them. You would paralyze one-third at least of + the women of this land by the very vulgarity of the overture made + to them that they should go struggling to the polls in order to + vote in common with the herd of men. They would not undertake it. + The most intelligent and trustworthy part of the suffrage thus + placed upon the land would never be available, while that which + was not worthy of respect either for its character or for its + information would take the matter in hand and move along in the + circle of politicians to cast their suffrages at the ballot-box. + + As the States to be formed out of the territories are admitted + into the Union, they will come stamped with the characteristics + which the legislatures of the territories have imprinted upon + them; and if after due consideration in those territories the men + who have the regulation of public affairs should come to the + conclusion that it was best to have woman suffrage, then we can + allow them, under existing laws, to go on and perfect their + systems and apply for admission into the Union with them as they + may choose to adopt them and to shape them. The law upon that + subject as it exists is liberal enough, for it gives to the + legislatures the right to regulate the qualifications of + suffrage. It leaves it to each local community, wherever it may + be throughout the territories of the United States, to determine + for itself what it may prefer to have. + + Is it the object in the raising of this committee only that it + shall have so many speeches made, so much talk about it, or is it + to be the object of the committee to have legislation brought + here? If you bring legislation here, what will you bring? An + amendment to the constitution like the fourteenth amendment, or + else some provision obligatory upon the territories by which + female suffrage shall be allowed there, whether the people want + it or whether they do not? For my part, before this session of + congress ends I intend to introduce a bill to repeal woman + suffrage in the territory of Utah, knowing and believing that + that will be the most effectual remedy for the extirpation of + polygamy in that unfortunate territory. If you choose to repeal + the laws of any territory conferring the right of suffrage upon + women you have the power in congress to do it; but there are no + measures introduced here and none advocated in that direction. + The whole drift of this movement is in the other direction. This + committee is sought to be raised either for the accommodation of + some senator who wants a chairmanship and a clerk, or it is + sought to be raised for the purpose of encouraging a raid on the + laws and traditions of this country, which I think would end in + our total demoralization, I therefore oppose this measure in the + beginning, and I expect to oppose it as far as it may go. + + Now let us notice for a moment the case of the District of + Columbia. There are some senators here who have given themselves + a great deal of trouble in the advocacy of the right of suffrage + of the people of the United States, and especially of the colored + people. They put themselves to great trouble, and doubtless at + some expense of feeling, to worry and beset and harry gentlemen + who come from certain States of this Union, in reference to the + votes of the negroes: and yet these very gentlemen have been + either in this House or in the other when the Republican party + has had a two-thirds majority of both branches and has + deliberately taken from the people of the District of Columbia + the right to elect any officer from a constable to a mayor, all + because when the experiment was tried here it was found that the + negroes were a little too strong. There was too much African + suffrage in the ballot-box, and they must get rid of it, and to + get rid of it on terms of equality they have disfranchised every + man in the District of Columbia. + + I shall have more faith in the sincerity of the declarations of + gentlemen of their desire to have the women vote when I see that + they have made some step toward the restoration of the right of + suffrage to the people of the District of Columbia. While they + let this blot remain upon our law, while they allow this damning + conviction to stand, they may stare us in the face and accuse us + continually of a want of candor and sincerity on this subject, + but they will address their arguments to me in vain, even as + coming from men who have an infatuation upon the subject. I do + not believe a word of it, Mr. President. + + I cannot be convinced against these facts that this new movement + in favor of female suffrage means anything more than to add + another patch to the worn-out garment of Republicanism, which + they patched with Mahoneism in Virginia, with repudiation + elsewhere, and which they now seek to patch further by putting on + the delicate little silk covering of woman suffrage. I do not + believe that this movement has its root and branch in any sincere + desire to give to the women of this land the right of suffrage. I + think it is a mere party movement with a view of attempting to + draw into the reach of the Republican party some little support + from the sympathy and interest they suppose the ladies will take + in their cause if they should advocate it here. No bill, perhaps, + is expected to be reported. The committee will sit and listen and + profess to be charmed and enlightened and instructed by what may + be said, and then the subject will be passed by without any + actual effort to secure the passage of a bill. + + Introduce your bills and let them go to the Judiciary Committee, + where the rights of men are to be considered as well as the + rights of women. If this subject is of that pressing national + importance which senators seem to think it is, it is not to be + supposed that the Committee on the Judiciary will fail to give it + profound and early attention. When you bring a select committee + forward under the circumstances under which this is to be raised, + you must not expect us to give credit generally to the idea that + the real purpose is to advance the cause of woman suffrage, but + rather that the real purpose is to advance the cause of political + domination in this country. I can see no reason for the raising + of this select committee, unless it be to furnish some senator, + as I have remarked, with a clerk and messenger. If that were the + avowed reason or could even be intimated, I think I should be + disposed to yield that courtesy to the senator, whoever he might + be; but I cannot do it under the false pretext that the real + object is to bring forward measures here for the introduction of + woman suffrage into the District of Columbia, where we have no + suffrage, or into the territories, where they have all the + suffrage that the territorial legislatures see proper to give + them. I therefore shall oppose the resolution. + + Mr. BAYARD: I move the that Senate proceed to the consideration + of executive business. [The motion was agreed to.] + + + JANUARY 9, 1882. + + Mr. HOAR: I now ask for the consideration of the resolution + relating to a select committee on woman suffrage. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: There being ten minutes left of the + morning hour, the senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Hoar] asks for + the consideration of the resolution relating to woman suffrage. + The pending question is on the motion of the senator from + Delaware [Mr. Bayard] to refer the subject-matter to the + Committee on the Judiciary, on which the yeas and nays have been + ordered. + + The principal legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. + + Mr. BUTLER (when Mr. Pugh's name was called): I was requested by + the senator from Alabama [Mr. Pugh] to announce his pair with the + senator from New York [Mr. Miller]. + + The roll-call was concluded. + + Mr. TELLER: On this question I am paired with the senator from + Alabama [Mr. Morgan]. If the senator from Alabama were present, I + should vote "nay." + + Mr. MCPHERSON (after having voted in the affirmative): I rise to + ask the privilege of withdrawing my vote. I am paired with my + colleague [Mr. Sewell] on all political questions, and this seems + to have taken a political shape. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The senator from New Jersey + withdraws his vote. + + The result was announced--yeas 27, nays 31. So the motion was not + agreed to. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The question recurs on the adoption + of the resolution. + + Mr. EDMUNDS: Let it be read for information. The secretary read + the resolution. + + Mr. EDMUNDS: "Shall" ought to be stricken out and "may" inserted, + because the Senate ought always to have the power to refer any + particular measure as it pleases. + + Mr. HOAR: I have no objection to that modification. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The senator from Massachusetts + accepts the suggestion of the senator from Vermont, and the word + "may" will be substituted for "shall." + + Mr. HILL of Georgia: I wish to say that I have opposed all + resolutions, whether originating on the other side of the chamber + or on this side, appointing special committees. They are all + wrong. They are not founded, in my judgment, on a correct + principle. There is no necessity to raise a select committee for + this business. The standing committees of the Senate are ample to + do everything that it is proposed the select committee asked for + shall do. The only result of appointing more special committees + is to have just that many more clerks, just that much more + expense, just that many more committee-rooms. This is not the + first time I have opposed the raising of a select committee. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The morning hour has expired, and it + requires unanimous consent for the senator from Georgia to + proceed with his remarks. + + + JANUARY 21, 1882. + + Mr. HOAR: I move that the Senate proceed with the consideration + of the resolution. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: If there is no objection, unanimous + consent will be assumed. + + Mr. FARLEY and others: I object. + + Mr. HOAR: I move that the Senate proceed with the consideration + of the resolution. + + Mr. SHERMAN: Let it be proceeded with informally, subject to the + call for other business. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The question is on the motion of the + senator from Massachusetts. [Putting the question.] The Chair is + uncertain from the sound and will ask for a division. + + The motion was agreed to; there being on a division--ayes 32, + noes 20. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The resolution is before the Senate + and the senator from Georgia [Mr. Hill] has the floor. + + Mr. HILL of Georgia: Mr. President, I do not intend to say one + word on the subject of woman suffrage. I shall not get into that + discussion which was alluded to by the senator from + Massachusetts. The senator will remember, if he refreshes his + recollection, that when my late colleague, now no longer a + senator, made a motion for the appointment of a select committee + in relation to the inter-oceanic canal, I opposed it distinctly, + though it came from my colleague, upon the ground that the + appointment of select committees ought to stop, that it was + wrong; and I oppose this resolution for the same reason. I voted + against a resolution to raise a select committee offered by a + senator on this side of the chamber at the present session, and I + have voted against all resolutions of that character. + + No senator, in my judgment, will rise in his place in the Senate + and say that it is necessary to appoint a special committee to + consider the matters referred to in the resolution. It is true I + am a member of the committee, and perhaps ought not to refer to + it, but we have a standing committee, of which the distinguished + senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Hoar] is chairman, the Committee + on Privileges and Elections, that, I take occasion to say, is a + very proper committee for this matter to go to; and that + committee has almost nothing on earth to do. There is but one + single subject-matter now before it, and I believe there will be + scarcely another question before that committee at this session. + There is not a contested election; there is not a dispute about + anybody's seat; and yet it is a Committee on Privileges and + Elections. What is the reason for going on continually and + appointing these select committees, when there are standing + committees here, properly organized to consider the very question + specified by the resolution, with nothing to do? + + Now, I am going to say one other thing, I do not pretend that the + purpose I am now about to state is the purpose of the senator + from Massachusetts. I have no reflections to make as to what this + resolution is intended for, but we do know that there is an idea + abroad that select committees are generally appointed for the + purpose of giving somebody a chairmanship, that somebody may have + a clerk. That is not the case here, I dare say. I do not mean to + intimate that it is the case here, but it ought to be put a stop + to; it is all wrong. I think, though, that there ought to be a + resolution passed by this body giving every senator who has not a + committee a clerk. Everybody knows that every chairman of a + committee has a clerk in the clerk of that committee. The other + senators, at least in my opinion, ought each to have a clerk. I + would vote for such a resolution. I believe it would be right, + and I believe the country would approve it. Every senator knows + that he has more business to attend to here than he can possibly + perform. Why, sir, if I were to attend to all the business in the + departments and otherwise that my constituents ask me to perform, + I could not discharge half my duties in this chamber; and every + senator, I dare say, has the same experience. It is to the + public interest, therefore, in my judgment, that every senator + should have a clerk. I am unable to employ a clerk from my own + funds; many other senators are more fortunately situated; but + still I must do that or move the appointment of a special + committee for the purpose in an indirect way of getting a clerk. + It is not right. + + It has been said that if senators each have a clerk, for + instance, a clerk at $100 a month salary during the session, + which would be a very small matter, the members of the other + House would each want a clerk. It does not follow. There is a + vast difference. A member of the other House represents a narrow + district, a single district; a senator represents a whole State. + Take the State of New York. There are thirty-three + representatives in the House from the State of New York; there + are but two senators here from that State. Those two senators in + all likelihood have as much business to perform here for their + constituents as the thirty-three members of the House. There is, + therefore, an eminent reason why a senator should have a clerk + and why a member of the House should not. + + I cannot vote for the appointment of select committees unless you + raise a select committee for every senator in the body so as to + give him a clerk. You have appointed select committees for this + business and for that. It gives a few men an advantage when the + business of the country does not require it, whereas if you + appointed a clerk for each senator, with a nominal salary of $100 + per month during the session, it would enable every senator to do + his work more efficiently both here and for his constituents; it + would put all the senators on a just equality; it would be in + furtherance of the public interest; and it would avoid what I + consider (with all due deference and not meaning to be offensive) + the unseemly habit of constantly moving the appointment of select + committees in this body. This is all I have to say. I vote + against the resolution simply because I am opposed to the + appointment of a select committee for this or any other purpose + that I can now think of. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: The question is on the adoption of + the resolution. + + Mr. VEST called for the yeas and nays, and they were ordered, and + the principal legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. + + Mr. JONES of Florida (when his name was called): I propose to + vote for this resolution, but at the same time I do not regard my + vote as in any way committing myself on the subject of female + suffrage. If they think an investigation of this subject should + be had in this way, I for one am willing to have it. I vote + "yea." + + Mr. TELLER, (when his name was called): On this question I am + paired with the senator from Alabama [Mr. Morgan]; otherwise I + should vote "yea." + + The roll-call having been concluded, the result was + announced--yeas 35, nays 23; so the resolution was agreed + to.[82] + + + IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, December 20, 1881. + + Mr. WHITE of Kentucky: I ask consent to offer for consideration + at this time the resolution which I send to the clerk's desk. + + The clerk read as follows: + + _Resolved_, That a select committee of seven members of the + House of Representatives be appointed by the Speaker, to + whom shall be referred all petitions, bills and resolves + providing for the extension of suffrage to women, or for the + removal of legal disabilities. + + Mr. MILLS of Texas: I object. + + Mr. KELLEY of Pennsylvania: A similar resolution has already been + referred to the Committee on Rules. + + The SPEAKER (Mr. Keifer of Ohio): Objection being made to its + consideration at this time, the resolution will be referred to + the Committee on Rules. + + The resolution was referred accordingly. + + + IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, February 25, 1882. + + Mr. REED of Maine: I rise to make a privileged report. The + Committee on Rules, to whom were referred sundry resolutions + relating to the subject, have instructed me to report the + resolution which I send to the desk. + + The clerk read as follows: + + _Resolved_, That a select committee of nine members be + appointed, to whom shall be referred all petitions, bills + and resolves asking for the extension of suffrage to women + or the removal of their legal disabilities. + + The SPEAKER: The question is on the adoption of the report of the + Committee on Rules. + + Mr. HOLMAN of Indiana: I ask that the latter portion of the + resolution be again read. It was not heard in this part of the + house. + + The resolution was again read. + + Mr. TOWNSHEND of Illinois: I rise to make a parliamentary + inquiry. + + The SPEAKER: The gentleman will state it. + + Mr. TOWNSHEND: My inquiry is whether that resolution should not + go to the House calendar. + + The SPEAKER: It is a privileged report under the rules of the + House from the Committee on Rules. The question is on the + adoption of the resolution. + + Mr. MCMILLIN of Tennessee: I make the point of order that it must + lie over for one day. + + The SPEAKER: It is the report of a committee privileged under the + rules. + + Mr. MCMILLIN: The committee are privileged to report, but under + the rule the report has to lie over a day. + + The SPEAKER: The gentleman from Tennessee will oblige the Chair + by directing his attention to any rule which requires such a + report to lie over one day. It changes no standing rule or order + of the House. + + Mr. MCMILLIN: It does, by making a change in the number and + nature of the committees. All measures of a particular class, the + resolution states, must be referred to the proposed committee, + whereas heretofore they have been referred to a different + committee. Therefore the resolution changes the rules of the + House. + + The SPEAKER: The Chair is of opinion the resolution does not + rescind or change any standing rule of the House. The question is + on the adoption of the resolution. + + Mr. SPRINGER: Mr. Speaker, I desire to call the attention of the + Chair to the fact that this does distinctly change one of the + standing rules of the House. One of the standing rules is-- + + The SPEAKER: The Chair has passed on that question, and no appeal + has been taken from his decision. + + Mr. SPRINGER: I desire to call the attention of the Chair to Rule + 10, which specifically provides for the appointment of the full + number of committees this House is to have, and this is not one + of them. + + The SPEAKER: Not one of the standing committees, but a select + committee. + + Mr. SPRINGER: That rule provides there shall be a certain number + of committees, the names of which are therein given. + + Mr. REED: I sincerely hope this will not be made a matter of + technical discussion or debate. It is a matter upon which members + of this House must have opinions which they can express by + voting, in a very short time, without taking up the attention of + the House beyond what is really necessary for a bare discussion + of the merits of the question. + + Mr. MCMILLIN: Will the gentleman permit me to ask him a question? + + Mr. REED: Certainly. + + Mr. MCMILLIN: Would you not, as a parliamentarian, concede that + this does change the existing rules of the House? + + Mr. REED: By no manner of means, especially when the accomplished + Speaker has decided the other way, and no gentleman has taken an + appeal from his decision. [Laughter.] + + Mr. MCMILLIN: Then you have no opinion beyond his decision? + + The SPEAKER: The Chair will state to the gentleman from Illinois + [Mr. Springer] that this resolution does not change any of the + standing committees of the House which are provided for in Rule + 10. + + Mr. SPRINGER: It provides for a new committee. + + The SPEAKER: It provides for a select committee. The subject was + referred to the Committee on Rules by order of the House, and + this is a report on the resolution so referred. + + Mr. SPRINGER: The rule provides that no standing rule or order of + the House shall be rescinded or changed without one day's notice. + + The SPEAKER: The Chair would decide that this does not propose + any change or rescinding of any standing rule of the House. + + Mr. SPRINGER: Does the Chair hold that the making of a new rule + is not a change of the existing rules? + + The SPEAKER: The Chair does not decide anything of the kind. + + Mr. SPRINGER: What does the Chair decide? + + The SPEAKER: The Chair does not undertake to decide any such + question, for it is not now presented. + + Mr. SPRINGER: Is this not a new rule? + + The SPEAKER: It is not. + + Mr. SPRINGER: It is not? + + The SPEAKER: It is a provision for a select committee. + + Mr. SPRINGER: Can you have a committee without a rule of the + House providing for it? + + The SPEAKER: The question is on the adoption of the resolution + reported from the Committee on Rules. + + Mr. ATKINS: On that question I call for the yeas and nays. + + The yeas and nays were ordered. + + The question was taken and there were--yeas 115, nays 84, not + voting 93; so the resolution was carried.[83] + + Mr. REED moved to reconsider the vote by which the resolution was + adopted; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on + the table. The latter motion was agreed to. + + On Monday, March 13, 1882, the Chair announced the appointment of + the following gentlemen as the Select Committee on Woman Suffrage + authorized by the House: Mr. Camp of New York, Mr. White of + Kentucky, Mr. Sherwin of Illinois, Mr. Stone of Massachusetts, + Mr. Hepburn of Iowa, Mr. Springer of Illinois, Mr. Vance of North + Carolina, Mr. Muldrow of Mississippi and Mr. Stockslager of + Indiana. + +The Annual Washington Convention was held in Lincoln Hall as usual, +January 18, 19, 20, 1882. The afternoon before the convention, at +an executive session held at the Riggs House, forty delegates were +present from fourteen different States.[84] Among these were five +from Massachusetts, and for the first time that State was +represented on the platform of the National Association. Mrs. +Stanton gave the opening address, and made some amusing criticisms +on a recent debate on Senator Hoar's proposition for a special +committee on the rights and disabilities of women. Such a committee +had been under debate for several years and it was during this +convention that the bill passed the Senate. + +Invitations to attend the convention were sent to all the members +of congress, and many were present during the various sessions. +Miss Ellen H. Sheldon, secretary, read the minutes of the last +convention, and, instead of the usual dry skeleton of facts, she +gave a glowing description of that eventful occasion. Clara B. +Colby gave an interesting narration of the progress of woman +suffrage in Nebraska, and of the efforts being made to carry the +proposition pending before the people, to strike the word "male" +from the constitution in the coming November election. + +Rev. Frederick A. Hinckley of Providence, R. I., spoke upon "Our +Demand in the Light of Evolution." He said: + + It is about a century since our forefathers declared that + "governments derive their just powers from the consent of the + governed," and about a half century since woman began to see that + she ought to be included in this declaration. At present the + expressions of the Declaration of Independence are a "glittering + generality," for only one-half of the people "consent." Modern + science has demonstrated the truth of evolution--like causes + produce like results--and this is seen in the progress of + government and of woman. From the time when physical force ruled, + up to the present, when _ostensibly_ in the United States every + person is his own ruler, there have been many steps. The + importance of the masses has steadily taken the place of the + importance of individuals. At first the idea was "You shall obey + because I say so"; then, "You shall obey because I am your + superior, and will protect you"; now it is "Everyone shall be his + own protector." But we do not live up to this idea while only + one-half instead of the whole of "everyone" is his own protector. + The phases of woman's advancement are fitly described by the four + words--slave, subject, inferior, dependent; and no step in this + advance has been accomplished without a hard struggle. The logic + of evolution in government points to universal suffrage. The same + logic points to unqualified individual freedom for woman. + +Mrs. Blake in reporting from her State said: + + Governor Cornell was the first New York Governor to mention woman + in an inaugural address, and the bill allowing women to vote in + school elections was passed the same winter. There was a great + deal of opposition in different parts of the State to the voting + of women. In some country districts where the polls are in the + school-houses, certain men went early and locked the doors, + filled the room with smoke and even put tobacco on the stoves to + make it as disagreeable for the women as possible. More + respectable men had to ventilate and clean the rooms to make them + decent for either man or woman. From this lowest class of + opponents up to those who say: "My dear, you'd better not make + yourself conspicuous!" the spirit is the same. Believing that + under our constitution women are already entitled to the ballot, + we do not ask for a constitutional amendment, but for a bill + extending the suffrage at once. + + Mrs. COLBY in contrast to this stated that in Nebraska the + greatest courtesy had always been shown to women who voted at + school elections. There is only one organized effort against + woman suffrage, and that is made by the "Sons of Liberty!" "O, + Consistency, thou art a jewel!" + +The following resolution introduced into the Senate, January 11, by +Mr. Morgan of Alabama, was finally referred to the Committee on +Woman Suffrage. This was the first subject brought before them for +action. + + _Resolved_, That the committee on "The extension of suffrage + to women, or the removal of their disabilities," be directed + to examine into the state of the law regulating the right of + suffrage in the territory of Utah, and report a bill to set + aside and annul any law or laws enacted by the legislature + of said territory conferring upon women the right of + suffrage. + +Miss Couzins made an admirable speech on the following resolution: + + _Resolved_, That Senator Morgan's bill to deprive the + _women_ of Utah of the right of suffrage because of the + social institutions and religious faith originated and + maintained by the _men_ of the territory, is a travesty on + common justice. While the wife has not absolute possession + of even one husband, and the husband has many wives, surely + the men and not the women, if either, should be deprived of + the suffrage. + + Miss COUZINS said: The task of dealing fairly and justly with + this territorial complication should never be committed to the + blundering legislation of man alone. His success as a legislator + and executive for woman in the past does not inspire a confidence + that in this most serious problem he will be any the less an + unbiased judge and law-giver. This government of men permitted + the establishment of a religious colony, so called, whose basis + of faith was the complete humiliation of women; recognized the + system by appointing its chief, Brigham Young, governor of the + territory, under whose fostering care polygamy grew to its + present proportions. + + That woman has not thrown off the yoke of religious despotism can + be readily appreciated when we recognize the fact that man, from + time immemorial, has played upon her religious faith to exalt his + own attributes and degrade hers; that through this teaching her + abiding belief in his superior capacity to interpret scriptural + truths for her has been the means of sacrificing her power of + mind, her tender affections, her delicate sensibilities, on the + altar of his base selfishness throughout the ages. Orthodoxy + recognizes no "inspiration" for woman to-day. She is not "called" + save to serve man. Under its teaching her thought has been + padlocked in the name of Divinity, and her lips sealed in + sacrilegious pretense of authority from heaven; and nothing so + clearly bespeaks the degenerating influence of the ages of this + masculine teaching as the absolute faith manifested by the women + of Utah in this _ipse dixit_ of man's religious doctrine. Their + emancipation must necessarily be slow. + + The paternal government allowed polygamy to be planted, take + root, and grow in a wilderness where the attraction of nobler + minds and freer thoughts was not known. The victims came from the + political despotisms of the old world to be shackled in a land of + freedom with a still darker despotism, and under the aegis of the + American flag they have borne children as a religious duty they + owed to God and man; and surely it can not be expected, even with + that grand emancipator, from king and priestcraft rule, the + ballot, that at once they will vote themselves outcast and their + children illegitimate. + + It took the white men of this nation one hundred years to put + away that relic of barbarism, slavery; the removal of the twin + relic will come through liberty for woman, higher education for + children, and the incoming tide of Gentile immigration. The + fitting act of justice is not disfranchisement of woman, as + Senator Morgan proposes, and the reenactment of that old Adamic + cry: "The woman whom thou gavest," but the disfranchisement of + man, who is the only polygamist, and the stepping down and out of + the sex as a legislator under whose fostering care this evil has + grown. Retire to your sylvan groves and academic shades, + gentlemen, as Mrs. Stanton suggests, and let the Deborahs, the + Huldahs, and the Vashtis come to the front, and let us see what + we can do toward the remedy of your wretched legislation. But + suffrage for women in Utah has accomplished great good. I spent + one week there in close observation. Outside of their religious + convictions, the women are emphatic in condemnation of wrong. + Their votes banished the liquor saloon. I saw no drunkenness + anywhere; the poison of tobacco smoke is not allowed to vitiate + the air of heaven, either on the streets or in public assemblies. + Their court-room was a model of neatness and good order. Plants + were in the windows and handsome carpets graced the floor. During + my stay, the daughter of a Mormon, the then advocate-general of + the territory, was admitted to the bar by Chief-Justice McKean of + the United States Court, who, in fitting and beautiful language, + welcomed her to the profession as a woman whose knowledge of the + law fitted her to be the peer of any man in his court. She told + me that she detested polygamy, but felt that she could render + greater service to the emancipation of her sex inside of Utah + than out. At midnight I wandered, with one of my own sex, about + the streets to test the assertion that it was as safe for women + then as at mid-day. No bacchanalian shout rent the air; no man + was seen reeling in maudlin imbecility to his home. No guardians + put in an appearance, save the stars above our heads; no sound + awoke the stillness but the purling of the mountain brooks which + washed the streets in cleanliness and beauty. What other city on + this continent can present such a showing? With murder for man + and rapine for woman where man alone is maker and guardian of the + laws, it behooves him to pause ere he launches invectives at the + one result of woman's votes. + +Mrs. Gougar, on our Washington platform for the first time, +delighted the audience with her readiness and wit. She has a good +voice, fine presence, and speaks fluently, without notes. + + She spoke of the reformatory prison for women in her State, and + said that the statistics showed that eighty-two per cent. of the + women confined there were sent out reformed. Speaking of the + gallantry of men, she cited a case of a man who came to an + Indiana lawyer and desired him to make a will. The following + conversation ensued: "I want you to make this will so that my + wife will have $400 a year; that's enough for any woman." "Is she + the only wife you ever had?" "Yes." "How long have you been + married?" "Forty-two years." "How many children have you had?" + "Eleven." "Did you have all your property before marriage?" "No; + didn't have a cent; I've earned it all." "Has your wife helped + you in any way to earn it?" "Why, yes, I suppose she has; but + then I want to fix my will so she can only have $400 a year; it's + enough." "Well, sir, you will have to move out of the State of + Indiana then, for the law provides for the wife better than that, + and you will have to get another lawyer." It is needless to say + that this lawyer is a staunch champion of woman suffrage, and it + is pleasant to know that there are more such men being educated + by this agitation. + +Mrs. Maxwell gave a fine recitation of "The Dying Soldier," at one +of the evening sessions. It was evident by the sparkling eyes of +the Indiana delegation that the ladies had in reserve some pleasant +surprise for the convention, which at last revealed itself in the +person of Judge Orth, a live member of congress from Indiana, who +stood up like a man and avowed his belief in woman suffrage. His +words were few but to the point, and his hearers all knew exactly +where he stood on the question. + +The next evening the Nebraska delegation, determining not to be +outdone, captured one of their United States senators and +triumphantly brought him on the platform. It was a point gained to +have a congressman publicly give in his adhesion to the question, +but how much greater the achievement to appear in the convention +with a United States senator. It was a proud moment for Mrs. Colby +when Senator Saunders, a large man of fine proportions, stepped to +the front. But alas! her triumph over the Indiana ladies was short +indeed, for while the senator surpassed the representative in size +and official honors, he fell far below him in the logic of his +statements and the earnestness of his principles. In fact the +audience and the platform were in doubt at the close of his remarks +as to his true position on the question. Mrs. May Wright Sewall, +who followed him, sparkled with the satisfaction she expressed in +paying most glowing tributes to the men of Indiana and their State +institutions. She said: + + The principal objection to woman suffrage has always been that it + will take women from their homes and destroy all home life. She + showed that there is not an interest of home which is not + represented in the State, and that the subordination of the State + to the family has kept pace with the subordination of physical to + spiritual force. Woman has an interest in everything which + affects the State, and only lacks the legitimate instrument of + these interests--the ballot--with which to enforce them. Life + regulates legislation. Domestic life is woman's sphere, but a + sphere of much larger dimensions than has ever yet been accorded + it, these dimensions reaching out and controlling the functions + of the State. The ballot is not a political or a military, but a + domestic necessity. + +Mrs. Harriette R. Shattuck spoke on the golden rule, asking men to +put themselves in the place of disfranchised women, and then +legislate for them as they would be legislated for. Mrs. Robinson +gave a resume of the legal, political and educational position of +women in Massachusetts. Mrs. Hooker showed that political equality +would dignify woman in home life, give added weight to her opinions +on all questions, and command new respect for her from all classes +of men. Mrs. Colby gave an interesting address on "The Social +Evolution of Woman": + + She traced the history of woman from the time when she was bought + and sold, up to the present. She said that the first believer in + woman's rights was the one who first proposed that women should + be allowed to eat with their husbands. This once granted, + everything else has followed of necessity, and the ballot will be + the crowning right. Once women were not allowed to sing soprano + because it was the "governing part." From these and many like + indignities woman has gradually evolved until she now stands on + an equality with man in many social rights. + +Martha McClellan Brown read an able essay on "The Power of the +Veto." She is a woman of fine presence, pleasing manners and a well +trained voice that can fill any hall. Her address was one of the +best in the convention and all felt that in her we had a valuable +acquisition to our Association. Mrs. Gage gave an able address on +"The Moral Force of Woman Suffrage." + +During the first day of the convention a request, signed by the +officers of the association, was sent to the Special Committee on +Woman Suffrage in the Senate, asking for a hearing on the sixteenth +amendment to the constitution. The hearing was granted on Friday +morning, January 20, 1882. A distinguished speaker in England +having advised the friends of suffrage there to employ young and +attractive women to advocate the measure, as the speediest means of +success, Miss Anthony took the hint in making the selection for the +first hearing before the committee of those who had never been +heard before,[85] of whom some were young, and all attractive as +speakers. Miss Anthony said that she would introduce some new +speakers to the committee, in order to disprove the allegation that +"it was always the same old set." The committee listened to them +with undivided attention throughout, and at the conclusion of the +hearing the following resolution, offered by Senator George of +Mississippi, was adopted unanimously: + + _Resolved_, That the committee are under obligations to the + representatives of the women of the United States for their + attendance this morning, and for the able and instructive + addresses which have been made, and that the committee + assure them that they will give to the subject of woman + suffrage the careful and impartial consideration which its + grave importance demands. + +In describing the occasion for the _Boston Transcript_, Mrs. +Shattuck said: + + As we stood in the committee-room and presented our plea for + freedom, we felt that at last we had obtained a fair hearing, + whatever its result might be. And the most encouraging sign of + the impression made by our words was the change in the faces of + some of the members of the committee as the speaking went on. At + first there was a look of indifference and scorn--merely + toleration; this gradually changed to interest mingled with + surprise; finally, as Miss Anthony closed with one of her most + eloquent appeals, all the faces showed a decided and almost eager + interest in what we had to say. Senator George, who certainly + looked more unpropitious than any other one, assured the ladies + that he would give to the subject of woman suffrage that careful + and impartial consideration which its grave importance demands. + This, from one who heralded his entrance by inquiring of Miss + Anthony, in stentorian tones, if she "wanted to go to war," was, + to say the least, a concession. The speakers were closely + questioned by some members of the committee, who afterwards told + us "that they had never heard a speech on the subject before and + were surprised to find so much in the demand, and to see such + ability as was manifested by the women before them." + +The committee having expressed a wish to hear others on the +subject, appointed the next morning at 10 o'clock.[86] Mrs. +Stanton, being introduced by the chairman, said: + + Gentlemen, when the news of the appointment of this committee was + flashed over the wires, you cannot imagine the satisfaction that + thrilled the hearts of your countrywomen. After fourteen years of + constant petitioning, we are grateful for even this slight + recognition at last. I never before felt such an interest in any + congressional committee, and I have no doubt that all who are + interested in this reform, share in my feelings. Fortunately your + names make a great couplet in rhyme, + + Lapham, Anthony and Blair, + Jackson, George, Ferry and Fair. + + which will enable us to remember them always. This I discovered + in writing your names in this volume, which allow me to present + you. + +The gentlemen rising in turn received with a gracious bow "The +History of Woman Suffrage" which, Mrs. Stanton told them, would +furnish all the arguments they needed to defend their clients +against the ignorance and prejudice of the world. Mr. George of +Mississippi asked why this agitation was confined to Northern +women; he had never heard the ladies of the South express the wish +to vote. Mrs. Stanton referred him to those to whom the volume +before him was dedicated. "There," said she, "you will find the +names of two ladies from one of the most distinguished families in +South Carolina, who came North over forty years ago, and set this +ball for woman's freedom in motion. But for those noble women, +Sarah and Angelina Grimke, we might not stand here to-day pleading +for justice and equality." As the speakers had requested the +committee to ask questions, they were frequently interrupted. All +urged the importance of a national protection, preferring +congressional action, to submitting the proposition to the popular +vote of the several States. On this point Mr. Jackson of Tennessee +asked many pertinent questions. Mrs. Shattuck, writing of this +occasion to the _Boston Transcript_, said: + + One of the speakers eloquently testified to the interest of many + Southern women in this subject, and urged the Southern members of + the committee not to declare that the women of the South do not + want the ballot until they have investigated the matter. After + the hearing three Southern ladies, wives of congressmen, thanked + her for what she had said. The member from Mississippi showed a + great deal of interest and really became quite waked up before + the session ended. But, when we look at it in one light, there is + something exceedingly humiliating in the thought that women + representing the best intellect and the highest morality of our + country, should come here in their grand old age and ask men for + that which is theirs by right. Is it not time that this + aristocracy of sex should be overthrown? Several of the senators + were so moved by the speeches that they personally expressed + their thanks, and one who has long been friendly, said the + speeches were far above the average committee-hearings on any + subject. We might well have replied that the reason is because + all the speakers feel what they say and know that the question is + one of vital importance. + + In securing these hearings before this special committee of the + Senate the friends feel they have reached a milestone in the + progress of their reform. To secure the attention for four hours + of seven representative men of the United States, must have more + effect than would a hundred times that amount of time and labor + expended upon their constituents. If one of these senators, for + instance, should become convinced of the justice of woman's claim + to the ballot, his constituency would begin to look upon that + question with respect, whereas it would take years to bring that + same constituency up to the position where they could elect such + a representative. To convince the representatives is to sound the + keynote, and it is for this reason that these hearings before the + Senate committee are of such paramount importance to the suffrage + cause. + + At the close of the hearing Mrs. Robinson presented each member + of the committee with her little volume, "Massachusetts in the + Woman Suffrage Movement." + +January 23 the House Committee on Rules[87] gave a hearing to Mrs. +Jane Graham Jones of Chicago, Mrs. May Wright Sewall and Miss +Anthony. During this congress the question of admitting the +territory of Dakota as a State was discussed in the Senate. Our +committee stood ready to oppose it unless the word "male" were +stricken from the proposed constitution. + +Immediately after this most of the speakers went[88] to +Philadelphia where Rachel Foster had made arrangements for a +two-days convention. Rev. Charles G. Ames gave the address of +welcome. + + He told of his conversion to woman suffrage from the time when he + believed women and men were ordained to be unequal, just as in + nature the mountain is different from the valley--he looking down + at her, she gazing up at him--until the time when he began to see + that women are not of necessity the valleys, nor men of necessity + the mountains; and so on, until now he believes women entitled + to stand on an equal plane with men, socially and politically. + +The President, Mrs. Stanton, responded. Hannah Whitehall Smith of +Germantown, prominent in the temperance movement, spoke of the +hardship of farmers' wives, and asked: + + If that condition was not one of slavery which obliged a woman to + rise early and cook the family breakfast while her husband lay in + bed; to work all day long, and then in the evening, while he + smoked his pipe or enjoyed himself at the corner grocery, to mend + and patch his old clothes. But she thought the position of woman + was changing for the better. Even among the Indians a better + feeling is beginning to prevail. It is Indian etiquette for the + man to kill the deer or bear, and leave it on the spot where it + is struck down for the woman to carry home. She must drag it over + the ground or carry it on her back as best she may, while he + quietly awaits her coming in the family wigwam. A certain Indian, + after observing that white folks did differently by their women, + once resolved to follow their example. But such was the force of + public opinion that, when it was discovered that he brought home + his own game, both he and his wife were murdered. This shows what + fearful results prejudice may bring about; and the only + difference between the prejudice which ruled his tribe in regard + to woman and that which rules white American men to-day, is a + difference in degree, dependent upon the difference in + enlightenment. The principle is the same. The result would be the + same were each equally ignorant. + +The familiar faces of Edward M. Davis, Mary Grew, Adeline Thompson, +Sarah Pugh, Anna McDowell and two of Lucretia Mott's noble +daughters, gladdened many a heart during the various sessions of +the convention. Beautiful tributes were paid to Mrs. Mott by +several of the speakers. The Philadelphia convention was +supplemented by a most delightful social gathering, without mention +of which a report of the occasion would be incomplete: + + Like many historical events, this was entirely unpremeditated, no + one who participated in its pleasures had any forewarning, aside + from an informal invitation to lunch with Mrs. Hannah Whitehall + Smith and her generous husband, both earnest friends of + temperance and important allies of the woman suffrage movement. + Mrs. Smith met the guests at the station in Philadelphia, tickets + in hand, marshaling them to their respective seats in the cars as + if born to command, and on arriving at Germantown, transferred + them to carriages in waiting, with the promptness of a railroad + official. Without noise or confusion one and all crossed the + threshold of her well-ordered mansion, and with other invited + guests were soon seated in the spacious parlor, talking in groups + here and there. "Ah!" said Mrs. Smith on entering, "this will + never do, think of all the good things that will be lost in these + side talks. My plan is to have a general conversation, a kind of + love-feast, each telling her experience. It would be pleasant to + know how each has reached the same platform, through the tangled + labyrinths of human life." Soon all was silence and one after + another related the special incidents in childhood, girlhood and + mature years that had turned her thoughts to the consideration of + woman's position. The stories were as varied as they were + pathetic and amusing, and were listened to amidst smiles and + tears with the deepest interest. And when all[89] had finished + the tender revelations of the hopes and fears, the struggles and + triumphs through which each soul had passed, these sacred + memories seemed to bind us anew together in a friendship that we + hope may never end. A sumptuous lunch followed, and amid much + gaiety and laughter the guests dispersed, giving the hospitable + host and hostess a warm farewell--a day to be remembered by all + of us. + +Our Senate committee, through its chairman, Hon. Elbridge G. +Lapham, very soon reported in favor of the submission of a +sixteenth amendment. We had had a favorable minority report in the +House in 1871 and in the Senate in 1879--but this was the first +favorable majority report we had ever had in either house: + + IN THE SENATE, MONDAY, June 5, 1882. + + Mr. LAPHAM: I am instructed by the Select Committee on Woman + Suffrage, to whom was referred the joint resolution (S. R. No. + 60) proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United + States, to report it with a favorable recommendation, without + amendment, for the consideration of the Senate. This is a + majority report, and the minority desire the opportunity to + present their report also, and have printed the reasons which + they give for dissenting. As this is a question of more than + ordinary importance, I should like to have 1,000 extra copies of + the report printed for the use of the committee. + + Mr. GEORGE: I present the views of the minority of the committee, + consisting of the senator from Tennessee [Mr. Jackson], the + senator from Nevada [Mr. Fair], and myself. + + The PRESIDENT _pro tempore_: It is moved that 1,000 extra copies + of the report be printed for the use of the Senate. + + Mr. ANTHONY: The motion should go by the statute to the Committee + on Printing. + + Mr. LAPHAM: I will present it in the form of a resolution for + reference to the Committee on Printing. + + The resolution was referred to the Committee on Printing, as + follows: + + _Resolved_, That 1,000 additional copies of the report and + views of the minority on Senate Joint Resolution No. 60 be + printed for the use of the Select Committee on Woman + Suffrage. + +In the Senate of the United States, June 5, 1882, Mr. Lapham, from +the Committee on Woman Suffrage, submitted the following report: + + _The Select Committee on Woman Suffrage, to whom was referred + Senate Resolution No. 60, proposing an amendment to the + Constitution of the United States to secure the right of suffrage + to all citizens without regard to sex, having considered the + same, respectfully report: _ + + The gravity and importance of the proposed amendment must be + obvious to all who have given the subject the consideration it + demands. + + A very brief history of the origin of this movement in the United + States and of the progress made in the cause of female suffrage + will not be out of place at this time. A World's Anti-slavery + Convention was held in London on June 12, 1840, to which + delegates from all the organized societies were invited. Several + of the American societies sent women as delegates. Their + credentials were presented, and an able and exhaustive discussion + was had by many of the leading men of America and Great Britain + upon the question of their being admitted to seats in the + convention. They were allowed no part in the discussion. They + were denied seats as delegates, and, by reason of that denial, it + was determined to hold conventions after their return to the + United States, for the purpose of asserting and advocating their + rights as citizens, and especially the right of suffrage. Prior + to this, and as early as the year 1836, a proposal had been made + in the legislature of the State of New York to confer upon + married women their separate rights of property. The subject was + under consideration and agitation during the eventful period + which preceded the constitutional convention of New York in the + year 1846, and the radical changes made in the fundamental law in + that year. In 1848 the first act "For the More Effectual + Protection of the Property of Married Women" was passed by the + legislature of New York and became a law. It passed by a vote of + 93 to 9 in the Assembly and 23 to 1 in the Senate. It was + subsequently amended so as to authorize women to engage in + business on their own account and to receive their own earnings. + This legislation was the outgrowth of a bill prepared several + years before under the direction of the Hon. John Savage, + chief-justice of the Supreme Court, and of the Hon. John C. + Spencer, one of the ablest lawyers in the State, one of the + revisers of the statutes of New York, and afterward a cabinet + officer. Laws granting separate rights of property and the right + to transact business, similar to those adopted in New York, have + been enacted in many, if not in most of the States, and may now + be regarded as the settled policy of American legislation on the + subject. + + After the enactment of the first law in New York, as before + stated, and in the month of July, 1848, the first convention + demanding suffrage for women was held at Seneca Falls in said + State. The same persons who had been excluded from the World's + Convention in London were prominent and instrumental in calling + the meeting and in framing the declaration of sentiments adopted + by it, which, after reciting the unjust limitations and wrongs to + which women are subjected, closed in these words: + + Now, in view of this entire disfranchisement of one-half of + the people of this country and their social and religious + degradation; in view of the unjust laws above mentioned, and + because women do feel themselves aggrieved, oppressed and + fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights, we insist + that they have immediate admission to all the rights and + privileges which belong to them as citizens of the United + States. In entering upon the great work before us we + anticipate no small amount of misconception, + misrepresentation and ridicule; but we shall use every + instrumentality within our power to effect our object. We + shall employ agents, circulate tracts, petition the State + and national legislatures, and endeavor to enlist the pulpit + and the press in our behalf. We hope this convention will be + followed by a series of conventions embracing every part of + the country. + + The meeting also adopted a series of resolutions, one of which + was in the following words: + + _Resolved_, That it is the duty of the women of this country + to secure to themselves their sacred right to the elective + franchise. + + This declaration was signed by seventy of the women of Western + New York, among whom was one or more of those who addressed your + committee on the subject of the pending amendment, and there were + present, participating in and approving of the movement, a large + number of prominent men, among whom were Elisha Foote, a lawyer + of distinction, and since that time Commissioner of Patents, and + the Hon. Jacob Chamberlain, who afterwards represented his + district in the other House. From the movement thus inaugurated, + conventions have been held from that time to the present in the + principal villages, cities and capitals of the various States, as + well as the capital of the nation. + + The First National Convention upon the subject was held at + Worcester, Mass., in October, 1850, and had the support and + encouragement of many leading men of the republic, among whom we + name the following: Gerrit Smith, Joshua R. Giddings, Ralph Waldo + Emerson, John G. Whittier, A. Bronson Alcott, Samuel J. May, + Theodore Parker, William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, Elizur + Wright, William J. Elder, Stephen S. Foster, Horace Greeley, + Oliver Johnson, Henry Ward Beecher, Horace Mann. The Fourth + National Convention was held at the city of Cleveland, Ohio, + October, 1853. The Rev. Asa Mahan, president of Oberlin College, + and Hon. Joshua R. Giddings were there. Horace Greeley and + William Henry Channing addressed letters to the convention. The + letter of Mr. Channing stated the proposition to be that-- + + The right of suffrage be granted to the people, universally, + without distinction of sex; and that the age for attaining + legal and political majority be made the same for women as + for men. + + In 1857, Hon. Salmon P. Chase, chief-justice of the Supreme Court + of the United States, then governor of Ohio, recommended to the + legislature a constitutional amendment on the subject, and a + select committee of the Senate made an elaborate report, + concluding with a resolution in the following words: + + _Resolved_, That the Judiciary Committee be instructed to + report to the Senate a bill to submit to the qualified + electors, at the next general election for senators and + representatives, an amendment to the constitution, whereby + the elective franchise shall be extended to the citizens of + Ohio _without distinction of sex_. + + During the same year a similar report was made in the legislature + of Wisconsin. From the report on the subject we quote the + following: + + We believe that political equality, by leading the thoughts + and purposes of men and women into the same channel, will + more completely carry out the designs of nature. Woman will + be possessed of a positive power, and hollow compliments + will be exchanged for well-grounded respect when we see her + nobly discharging her part in the great intellectual and + moral struggles of the age that wait their solution by a + direct appeal to the ballot-box. Woman's power is at present + poetical and unsubstantial; let it be practical and real. + There is no reality in any power that cannot be coined in + votes. + + The effect of these discussions and efforts has been the gradual + advancement of public sentiment towards conceding the right of + suffrage without distinction of sex. In the territories of + Wyoming and Utah, full suffrage has already been given. In regard + to the exercise of the right in the territory of Wyoming, the + present governor of that territory, Hon. John W. Hoyt, in an + address delivered in Philadelphia, April 3, 1882, in answer to a + question as to the operation of the law, said: + + First of all, the experience of Wyoming has shown that the + only actual trial of woman suffrage hitherto made--a trial + made in a new country where the conditions were not + exceptionably favorable--has produced none but the most + desirable results. And surely none will deny that in such a + matter a single ounce of experience is worth a ton of + conjecture. But since it may be claimed that the sole + experiment of Wyoming does not afford a sufficient guaranty + of general expediency, let us see whether reason will not + furnish a like answer. The great majority of women in this + country already possess sufficient intelligence to enable + them to vote judiciously on nearly all questions of a local + nature. I think this will be conceded. Secondly, with their + superior quickness of perception, it is fair to assume that + when stimulated by a demand for a knowledge of political + principles--such a demand as a sense of the responsibility + of the voter would create--they would not be slow in rising + to at least the rather low level at present occupied by the + average masculine voter. So that, viewing the subject from + an intellectual stand-point merely, such fears as at first + spring up, drop away, one by one, and disappear. But it must + not be forgotten that a very large proportion of questions + to be settled by the ballot, both those of principle and + such as refer to candidates, have in them a _moral_ element + which is vital. And here we are safer with the ballot in the + hands of woman; for her keener insight and truer moral sense + will more certainly guide her aright--and not her alone, but + also, by reflex action, all whose minds are open to the + influence of her example. The weight of this answer can + hardly be overestimated. In my judgment, this moral + consideration far more than offsets all the objections that + can be based on any assumed lack of an intellectual + appreciation of the few questions almost wholly commercial + and economical. Last of all, a majority of questions to be + voted on touch the interests of woman as they do those of + man. It is upon her finer sensibilities, her purer + instincts, and her maternal nature that the results of + immorality and vice in every form fall with more crushing + weight. + + A criticism has been made upon the exercise of this right by the + women of Utah that the plural wives in that territory are under + the control of their polygamous husbands. Be that as it may, it + is an undoubted fact that there is probably no city of equal size + on this continent where there is less disturbance of the peace, + or where the citizen is more secure in his person or property, + either by day or night, than in the city of Salt Lake. A + qualified right of suffrage has also been given to women in + Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Vermont, New + Hampshire, Massachusetts, Michigan, Kentucky, and New York. Of + the operation of the law in the last-named State, Governor + Cornell in a message to the legislature on May 12, said: + + The recent law, 1882, making women eligible as school + trustees, has produced admirable results, not only in + securing the election of many of them as trustees of + schools, but especially in elevating the qualifications of + men proposed as candidates for school-boards, and also in + stimulating greater interest in the management of schools + generally. The effect of these new experiences is to widen + the influence and usefulness of women. + + So well satisfied are the representatives in the legislature of + that State with these results that the assembly, by a large + majority, recently passed to a third reading an act giving the + full right of suffrage to women, the passage of which has been + arrested in the Senate by an opinion of the attorney-general that + a constitutional amendment is necessary to accomplish the object. + In England women are allowed to vote at all municipal elections, + and hold the office of guardian of the poor. In four States, + Nebraska, Indiana, Oregon, and Iowa, propositions have passed + their legislatures and are now pending, conferring the right of + suffrage upon women. + + Notwithstanding all these efforts, it is the opinion of the best + informed men and women, who have devoted more than a third of a + century to the consideration and discussion of the subject, that + an amendment to the federal constitution, analogous to the + fifteenth amendment of that instrument, is the most safe, direct, + and expeditious mode of settling the question. It is the question + of the enfranchisement of half the race now denied the right, and + that, too, the most favored half in the estimation of those who + deny the right. Petitions, from time to time, signed by many + thousands, have been presented to congress, and there are now + upon our files seventy-five petitions representing eighteen + different States. Two years ago treble the number of petitions, + representing over twenty-five States, were presented. + + If congress should adopt the pending resolution, the question + would go before the intelligent bodies who are chosen to + represent the people in the legislatures of the various States, + and would receive a more enlightened and careful consideration + than if submitted to the masses of the male population, with all + their prejudices, in the form of an amendment to the + constitutions of the several States. Besides, such an amendment, + if adopted, would secure that uniformity in the exercise of the + right which could not be expected by action from the several + States. We think the time has arrived for the submission of such + an amendment to the legislatures of the States. We know the + prejudices which the movement for suffrage to all without regard + to sex, had to encounter from the very outset, prejudices which + still exist in the minds of many. The period for employing the + weapons of ridicule and enmity has not yet passed. Now, as in the + beginning, we hear appeals to prejudice and the baser passions of + men. The anathema, "woe betide the hand that plucks the wizard + beard of hoary error," is yet employed to deter men from acting + upon their convictions as to what ought to be done with reference + to this great question. To those who are inclined to cast + ridicule upon the movement, we quote the answer made while one of + the early conventions was in session in the State of New York: + + A collection of women arguing for political rights and for + the privileges usually conceded only to the other sex is one + of the easiest things in the world to make fun of. There is + no end to the smart speeches and the witty remarks that may + be made on the subject. But when we seriously attempt to + show that a woman who pays taxes ought not to have a voice + in the manner in which the taxes are expended, that a woman + whose property and liberty and person are controlled by the + laws should have no voice in framing those laws, it is not + so easy. If women are fit to rule in a monarchy, it is + difficult to say why they are not qualified to vote in a + republic; nor can there be greater indelicacy in a woman + going to the ballot-box than there is in a woman opening a + legislature or issuing orders to an army. + + To all who are more serious in their opposition to the movement, + we would remind them of the words of a few distinguished men:-- + + I go for all sharing the privileges of the government who + assist in bearing its burdens, by no means excluding + women.--[ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + I believe that the vices in our large cities will never be + conquered until the ballot is put into the hands of + women.--[Bishop SIMPSON. + + I do not think our politics will be what it ought to be till + women are legislators and voters.--[Rev. JAMES FREEMAN + CLARKE. + + Women have quite as much interest in good government as men, + and I have never heard or read of any satisfactory reason + for excluding them from the ballot-box; I have no more doubt + of their ameliorating influence upon politics than I have of + the influence they exert everywhere else.--[GEORGE WILLIAM + CURTIS. + + In view of the terrible corruption of our politics, people + ask, can we maintain universal suffrage? I say no, not + without women. The only bear-gardens in our community are + the town-meeting and the caucus. Why is this? Because these + are the only places at which women are not present.--[Bishop + GILBERT HAVEN. + + I repeat my conviction of the right of woman suffrage. + Because suffrage is a right and not a grace, it should be + extended to women who bear their share of the public cost, + and who have the same interest that I have in the selection + of officials and the making of laws which affect their + lives, their property, and their happiness.--[Governor LONG + of Massachusetts. + + However much the giving of political power to woman may + disagree with our notions of propriety, we conclude that, + being required by that first prerequisite to greater + happiness, the law of equal freedom, such a concession is + unquestionably right and good.--[HERBERT SPENCER. + + In the administration of a State neither a woman as a woman, + nor a man as a man has any special functions, but the gifts + are equally diffused in both sexes. The same opportunity for + self-development which makes man a good guardian will make + woman a good guardian, for their original nature is the + same.--[PLATO. + + It has become a custom, almost universal, to invite and to + welcome the presence of women at political assemblages, to listen + to discussions upon the topics involved in the canvass. Their + presence has done much toward the elevation, refinement, and + freedom from insincerity and hypocrisy, of such discussions. Why + would not the same results be wrought out by their presence at + the ballot-box? Wherever the right has been exercised by law, + both in England and this country, such has been its effect in the + conduct of elections. + + The framers of our system of government embodied in the + Declaration of Independence the statement that to secure the + rights which are therein declared to be inalienable and in + respect to which all men are created equal, "governments are + instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent + of the governed." The system of representative government they + inaugurated can only be maintained and perpetuated by allowing + all citizens to give that consent through the medium of the + ballot-box--the only mode in which the "consent of the governed" + can be obtained. To deny to one-half of the citizens of the + republic all participation in framing the laws by which they are + to be governed, simply on account of their sex, is political + despotism to those who are excluded, and "taxation without + representation" to such of them as have property liable to + taxation. Their investiture with separate estates leads, + logically and necessarily, to their right to the ballot as the + only means afforded them for the protection of their property, as + it is the only means of their full protection in the enjoyment of + the immeasurably greater right to life and liberty. To be + governed without such consent is clear denial of a right declared + to be inalienable. + + It is said that the majority of women do not desire and would not + exercise the right, if acknowledged. The assertion rests in + conjecture. In ordinary elections multitudes of men do not + exercise the right. It is only in extraordinary cases, and when + their interests and patriotism are appealed to, that male voters + are with unanimity found at the polls. It would doubtless be the + same with women. In the exceptional instances in which the + exercise of the right has been permitted, they have engaged with + zeal in every important canvass. Even if the statement were + founded in fact, it furnishes no argument in favor of excluding + women from the exercise of the franchise. _It is the denial of + the right of which they complain._ There are multitudes of men + whose vote can be purchased at an election for the smallest and + most trifling consideration. Yet all such would spurn with scorn + and unutterable contempt a proposition to purchase their _right + to vote_, and no consideration would be deemed an equivalent for + such a surrender. Women are more sensitive upon this question + than men, and so long as this right, deemed by them to be sacred, + is denied, so long the agitation which has marked the progress of + this contest thus far will be continued. + + Entertaining these views, your committee report back the proposed + resolution without amendment for the consideration of the Senate, + and recommend its passage. + + E. G. LAPHAM, + T. M. FERRY, + H. W. BLAIR. + + The constitution is wisely conservative in the provision for its + own amendment. It is eminently proper that whenever a large + number of the people have indicated a desire for an amendment, + the judgment of the amending power should be consulted. In view + of the extensive agitation of the question of woman suffrage, and + the numerous and respectable petitions that have been presented + to congress in its support, I unite with the committee in + recommending that the proposed amendment be submitted to the + States. + + H. B. ANTHONY. + +June 5, 1882, Mr. George, from the Committee on Woman Suffrage, +submitted the following views of the minority: + + The undersigned are unable to concur in the report of the + majority recommending the adoption of the joint resolution + proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, + for reasons which they will now proceed to state. + + We do not base our dissent upon any ground having relation to the + expediency or inexpediency of vesting in women the right to vote. + Hence we shall not discuss the very grave and important social + and political questions which have arisen from the agitation to + admit to equal political rights the women of our country, and to + impose on them the burden of discharging, equally with men, + political and public duties. Whether so radical a change in our + political and social system would advance the happiness and + welfare of the American people, considered as a whole, without + distinction of sex, is a question on which there is a marked + disagreement among the most enlightened and thoughtful of both + sexes. Its solution involves considerations so intimately + pertaining to all the relations of social and private life--the + family circle--the status of women as wives, mothers, daughters, + and companions, to the functions in private and public life which + they ought to perform, and their ability and willingness to + perform them--the harmony and stability of marriage, and the + division of the labors and cares of that union--that we are + convinced that the proper and safe discussion and weighing of + them would be best secured by deliberations in the separate + communities which have so deep an interest in the rightful + solution of this grave question. Great organic changes in + government, especially when they involve, as this proposed change + does, a revolution in the modes of life, long-standing habits, + and the most sacred domestic relations of the people, should + result only upon the demand of the people, who are to be affected + by them. Such changes should originate with, and be molded and + guided in their operation and extent by, the people themselves. + They should neither precede their demand for them, nor be delayed + in opposition to their clearly expressed wishes. Their happiness, + their welfare, their advancement, are the sole objects of the + institution of government; of these they are not only the best, + but they are the exclusive judges. They have commissioned us to + exercise for their good the great powers which they have + intrusted to us by their letter of attorney, the constitution; + not to assume to ourselves a superior wisdom, or usurp a + guardianship over them, dictating reforms not demanded by them, + and attempting to grasp power not granted. + + The organization of our political institutions is such that the + great mass of the powers of government, the proper exercise of + which so deeply concerns the welfare of the people, is left to + the States. In that depository the will of the people is most + certainly ascertained, and the exercise of power is more directly + under their guidance. Our free institutions have had their great + development and owe their stability more to causes connected with + the direct exercise of the power of the people in local + self-government than to all other causes combined. Recent events, + though tending strongly to centralization, have not destroyed in + the public mind the inestimable value of local self-government. + Among the powers which have hitherto been esteemed as most + essential to the public welfare is the power of the States to + regulate their domestic institutions in their own way; and among + those institutions none has been preserved by the States with + greater jealousy than their absolute control over marriage and + the relation between the sexes. + + Another power of the States, deemed by the people when they + assented to the Constitution of the United States most essential + to the public welfare, was the right of each State to determine + the qualifications of electors. Wherever the federal constitution + speaks of elections for a federal office, it adopts the + qualifications for electors prescribed by the State in which the + election is to be held. + + Nor has this fundamental rule been departed from in the fifteenth + amendment. That impairs it only to the extent that race, color, + or previous condition of servitude shall not be made a ground of + exclusion from the right of suffrage. In all else that pertains + to the qualifications of electors the absolute will of the State + prevails. This amendment was inserted from considerations which + pertain to no other part of the question of suffrage. The negro + race had been recently emancipated; it was supposed that the + antagonism between them and their old masters and the prejudice + of race would be such as to obstruct the equal enjoyment of the + rights of freedom conferred by the national forces, and would + prevent the white race of the South from admitting the negro + race, however deserving it might be, to equal political + privileges. And, moreover, it was deemed by the North a point of + honor that, having conferred freedom on the negro, he should be + provided with the right of suffrage. + + None of these considerations applies in the present case. It is + not pretended that any such antagonism or prejudice exists + between the sexes. It is not pretended that women have been + redeemed from an intolerable slavery by the power of the + government. It is not pretended that the sex in whose hands is + the political power of the States is unwilling, from any cause, + to do full justice to the other; for it is conceded that if the + proposed amendment should be adopted, its incorporation into the + constitution must result from the voluntary action of that sex in + which is vested this political power. No good reason has been + given why the congress of the United States should force or even + hasten the States into such action, and no such reason can be + given without a reversal of the theories on which our free + institutions are based. + + The history given by the majority, of the legislation of the + several States in relation to the rights of persons and property + of married women showing as it does a steady advance in the + abolition of their common-law disabilities, conclusively + demonstrates that this question may be safely left for solution + where it now is and has always hitherto belonged. The public mind + is now being agitated in many of the States as to the rights of + women, not only as to suffrage, but as to their engaging in the + various employments from which they have hitherto been excluded. + This exclusion from certain employments has not been the result + of municipal but of social laws--the strongest of all human + regulations. As these social laws have been modified, so the + sphere of woman's activities and usefulness has been enlarged. + These social laws are in the main the groundwork of the exclusion + of women from the right of suffrage. In the establishment of + these laws, as in their modification, women themselves have even + a greater influence than men. Their disability to vote is, + therefore, self-imposed; when they shall will otherwise, it is + not too much to say that the disability will no longer exist. If + in the future it shall be found that these laws deny a right to + women the enjoyment of which they desire, and for the exercise of + which they are qualified, it cannot be doubted that they will + give way. If, on the contrary, neither of these shall be + discovered, it will happen that the exclusion of suffrage will + not be considered as a denial of a right, but as an exemption + granted to women from cares and burdens which a tender and + affectionate regard for womanhood refuses to cast on them. + + We are convinced, therefore, that the best mode of disposing of + the question is to leave its solution to that power most amenable + to the influences and usages of society in which women have so + large and so potential a share, confident that at no distant day + a right result will be reached in each State which will be + satisfactory to both sexes and perfectly consistent with the + welfare and happiness of the people. Certainly this must be so if + the people themselves, the source and foundation of all power, + are capable of self-government. + + At two of its meetings the committee listened with great pleasure + to several eminent ladies who appeared before it as advocates of + the proposed amendment. At none of the meetings of the committee, + including that at which the members voted on the proposed + amendment, was there any discussion of this important subject; + none was asked for or desired by any member of the committee, and + the vote was taken. The reports of the majority and of the + minority of the committee are therefore to be construed only as + the individual opinions of the members who respectively concur in + them. They are in no sense to be treated as the judgment of a + deliberative body charged with the examination of this important + subject. + + The foregoing leads us to but one recommendation: that the + committee should be discharged from the further consideration of + the subject, that the resolution raising it be rescinded, and + that the proposed amendment be rejected. + + J. Z. GEORGE, + HOWELL E. JACKSON, + JAMES G. FAIR. + +In a letter from Miss Caroline Biggs to the president of the +National Association the following congratulations came from the +friends of suffrage in England: + + + CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR } + WOMAN SUFFRAGE, 64 Berners Street, LONDON, W. } + + At a meeting of the Executive Committee, on May 18, 1882, the + following resolution was proposed by Mrs. Lucas, seconded by Miss + Jane Cobden, and passed unanimously: + + _Resolved_, That the Executive Committee of the National + Society for Woman Suffrage have heard with hearty + satisfaction that a select committee of the United States + Senate in Washington has passed by a majority of votes the + recommendation to adopt a constitutional amendment in favor + of women's suffrage. They feel that the cause of woman is + one in all countries, and they offer their most cordial + congratulations to the women of America on the important + step which has just been gained, and their warmest + good-wishes for a speedy success in obtaining a measure + which will guarantee justice and equal rights to half the + population of a sister country. + +Nebraska now became the center of interest, as a constitutional +amendment to secure the right of suffrage to woman was submitted to +be voted upon in the November election. As the submission of such a +proposition makes an important crisis in the history of a State, as +well as in the suffrage movement, the notes of preparation were as +varied as multitudinous throughout the nation, rousing all to +renewed earnestness in the work. Both the American and National +associations decided to hold their annual conventions in Omaha, the +chief city of the State, and to support as many speakers[90] as +possible through the campaign, that meetings might be held and +tracts distributed in every county of the State, an Herculean +undertaking, as Nebraska comprises 230,000 inhabitants scattered +over an area of 76,000 square miles, divided into sixty-six +counties; and yet this is what the friends of the measure proposed +to do. The American Association[91] held its convention September +12, 13, 14. The National[92] continued three days, September 27, +28, 29. + +The Opera House, in which the National Association held its +meeting, was completely filled during all the sessions. The address +of welcome was given by Hon. A. J. Poppleton, one of the most +distinguished lawyers in that State. He said: + + I deem it no light compliment that, in the face of an explicit + declaration that I am not in favor of woman suffrage, I have been + asked to make, on behalf of the people of Omaha and the State, an + address of welcome to the many distinguished men and women whom + this occasion has brought together. Doubtless the consideration + shown me is a recognition of the fact that I have been a + life-long advocate of the advancement of women through the + agencies of equality in education, equality in employment, + equality in wages, equality in property-rights and personal + liberty, in short, a fair, open, equal field in the struggle for + life. That I cannot go beyond this and embrace equal suffrage, is + due rather to long adherence to the political philosophy of + Edmund Burke than any lack of conviction of the absolute equality + of men and women in natural rights. + + In the winter of 1852-3, when a student at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., + while the spot on which we now stand was Indian country as yet + untouched by the formative power of national legislation, I + listened to Miss Susan B. Anthony, Miss Antoinette Brown and + others in the advocacy of the rights of women. It seems a strange + fortune that brings now, nearly thirty years after, one of those + speakers, crowned with a national reputation, into a State carved + out of that Indian country and containing 60,000 people, in + advocacy of equal suffrage for her sex. This single fact + proclaims in thunder tones the bravery, the fidelity, the + devotion of these pioneers of reform, and challenges for them the + sympathy, respect, esteem and admiration of every good man and + woman in America. + + The thirty years commencing about 1850 have been prolific of + momentous changes. It is the era of the sewing machine, of the + domestication of steam and electricity, the overthrow of the + great rebellion, the destruction of slavery, the consolidation of + the German empire, the fall of the second Napoleon, the birth of + the French republic, the incorporation of India into the British + empire, and the revolution of commerce by the Pacific railways + and the Suez canal. Great changes have likewise taken place in + the structure of our own State and national legislation, the most + conspicuous and pronounced result being the centralization of + power in the federal government. It has been preeminently a + period of amelioration, a long stride in the direction of + tolerance of opinion, belief, speech and creed. Hospitals, + asylums, schools, colleges and the manifold agencies of an + advanced Christian civilization for alleviating the average lot + of humanity, have grown and multiplied beyond the experience of + former times, and men like Matthew Vassar, George Peabody and + John Hopkins have hastened to consecrate the abundant fruits of + honorable lives to the exaltation and advancement of the race. + + But in no direction have greater changes occurred in this country + than in the condition of woman in respect to employment, wages, + personal and property rights. In all heathen countries at this + hour the mass of women are slaves or worse, wholly deprived of + civil rights. In most Christian countries their legal status is + one of absolute subordination in person and property to men. In + this republic alone have we attained an altitude where some small + measure of justice is meted out to women by the laws. In 1850 a + fair measure of her rights was the grim edict of the common law + holding her in guardianship prior to marriage, and upon marriage + making her and all her possessions practically the property of + her husband, while a cruel, unreasonable and vicious public + opinion excluded her from all except menial and ill-paid service. + One by one and year by year these barriers have given way, until + in many States her property and personal rights enjoy the + complete shelter of the law. Now more than half the occupations + and employments of this age of industrial activity and progress + are thronged with the faithful, efficient and contented labor of + women. + + The law has broken forever the thraldom of an odious and hopeless + marriage by reasonable laws for divorce for just cause, given her + the custody of her children, vested her with the absolute power + of disposition and control over her property, inherited or + acquired, freed it from the claims of her husband's creditors, + and clothed her with ample legal remedies even against her + husband. Perhaps Nebraska alone of all the States, by its court + of last resort, has upheld the power of the wife to make + contracts with her husband and enforce them against him in her + own name by the appropriate legal remedies. This surely is + progress. Beyond this there lies but one field to win or fortress + to reduce. Then surely the worn soldier in the long campaign + crowned with the garlands of victory may rest from the battle. + + Not many years ago, coming from Wisconsin, I think, a girl + presented herself in the Illinois courts for admission to the + bar, and after a rigid and unsparing examination she was admitted + with public compliment. She took an office in the great city of + Chicago and in the short remnant of an uncertain life so wrought + in her profession as to attain an average professional income, + and win the undivided respect and esteem of her professional + associates. And when from a far country, whither she had gone in + hope to escape a fell disease, her lifeless corpse was brought + back for sepulture, many of the foremost lawyers of Chicago + gathered about her bier and bore emphatic testimony to her + virtues as a woman and her attainments as a lawyer. To me no + greater work has been done by any American woman. When Alta + Hulett unobtrusively, silently but indomitably pressed her way to + the front of the legal profession, and established herself there, + she vindicated the right of her sex to contend for the highest + prizes of life, and left her countrywomen a legacy which will + ultimately blazon her name imperishably in the history of the + advancement of women; and every American woman who, like her, + goes to the front of any honorable occupation, employment or + profession, and stays there, becomes her coaedjutor in work and a + sharer in her reward. + + Laden with the trophies of thirty years of conflict, of progress, + of measurable success, the vice-president of the National Woman + Suffrage Association and her associates present themselves to + Nebraska and ask a hearing upon the final issue, "Shall this work + be crowned by granting to women in this State the highest + privilege of the citizen--suffrage?" On behalf of the people of a + State whose legislature has granted everything else to + women--whose devotion to free speech, untrammeled discussion and + an independent press has been conspicuous in its constitutional + and legislative history--I welcome them to this city and State, + and bespeak for them a patient, candid, respectful, appreciative + hearing. + +Miss Anthony replied briefly to Mr. Poppleton's eloquent address +and returned the thanks of the convention for the courtesy with +which its members had been received by the citizens of Omaha.[93] +She then read a letter from the president of the convention: + + TOULOUSE, France, September 1, 1882. + + _To the National Woman Suffrage Association in Convention + assembled:_ + + DEAR FRIENDS: People never appreciate the magnitude and + importance on any step in progress, at the time it is taken, nor + the full moral worth of the characters who inspire it, hence it + will be in line with the whole history of reform from the + beginning if woman's enfranchisement in Nebraska should in many + minds seem puerile and premature, and its advocates fanatical and + unreasonable. Nevertheless the proposition speaks for itself. A + constitutional amendment to crown one-half of the people of a + great State with all their civil and political rights, is the + most vital question the citizens of Nebraska have ever been + called on to consider; and the fact cannot be gainsaid that some + of the purest and ablest women America can boast, are now in the + State advocating the measure. + + For the last two months I have been assisting my son in the + compilation of a work soon to be published in America, under the + title, "The Woman Question in Europe," to which distinguished + women in different nations have each contributed a sketch of the + progress made in their condition. One interesting and significant + fact as shown in this work, is, that in the very years we began + to agitate the question of equal rights, there was a simultaneous + movement by women for various privileges, industrial, social, + educational, civil and political, throughout the civilized world. + And this without the slightest concert of action, or knowledge of + each other's existence, showing that the time had come in the + natural evolution of the species, in the order of human + development, for woman to assert her rights, and to demand the + recognition of the feminine element in all the vital interests of + life. + + To battle against a palpable fact in philosophy and the + accumulated facts in achievement that can be seen on all sides in + woman's work for the last forty years, from slavery to equality, + is as vain as to fight against the law of gravitation. We shall + as surely reach the goal we purposed when we started, as that the + rich prairies of Nebraska will ere long feed and educate millions + of brave men and women, gathered from every nation on the globe. + Every consideration for the improvement of your home life, for + the morality of your towns and cities, for the elevation of your + schools and colleges, and the loftiest motives of patriotism + should move you, men of Nebraska, to vote for this amendment. + Galton in his great work on Heredity says: + + We are in crying want of a greater fund of ability in all + stations of life, for neither the classes of statesmen, + philosophers, artisans nor laborers, are up to the modern + complexity of their several professions. An extended + civilization like ours comprises more interests than the + ordinary statesmen or philosophers of our race are capable + of dealing with, and it exacts more intelligent work than + our ordinary artisans and laborers, are capable of + performing. Our race is overweighted, and appears likely to + be dragged into degeneracy by demands that exceed its + powers. If its average ability were raised a grade or two, a + new class of statesmen would conduct our complex affairs at + home and abroad, as easily as our best business men now do + their own private trades and professions. The needs of + centralization, communication, and culture, call for more + brains and mental stamina, than the average of our race + possesses. + + Does it need a prophet to tell us where to begin this work? Does + not the physical and intellectual condition of the women of a + nation decide the capacity and power of its men? If we would give + our sons the help and inspiration of woman's thought and interest + in the complex questions of our present civilization, we must + first give her the power that political responsibility secures. + With the ballot in her own right hand, she would feel a new sense + of dignity, and command among men a respect they have never felt + before. + + Nebraska has now the opportunity of making this grand experiment + of securing justice, liberty, equality, for the first time in the + world's history, to woman, through her education and + enfranchisement, of lifting man to that higher plane of thought + where he may be able wisely to meet all the emergencies of the + period in which he is called on to act. Let every man in Nebraska + now so do his duty, that, when the sun goes down on the eighth of + November, the glad news may be sent round the world that at last + one State in the American republic has fully accorded the sacred + right of self-government to all her citizens, black and white, + men and women. With sincere hope for this victory, + + Cordially yours, ELIZABETH CADY STANTON. + +Many interesting letters were received from friends at home and +abroad, of which we give a few. The following is from our Minister +Plenipotentiary at the German Court: + + BERLIN, September 9, 1882. + + Miss ANTHONY: _Esteemed Friend_: At this great distance I can + only sympathize with the earnest effort to be made this fall to + secure political recognition for women in Nebraska. I am glad + that the prospect is so good and that Nebraska, which gave a + name, with Kansas, to the first successful resistance to the + encroachments of slavery, is the arena where the battle is to be + fought under such promise of a just result. By recognizing the + right of its women to an equal share in all the duties and + responsibilities of life, Nebraska will honor itself while + securing for all time wholesome laws and administration. + + I believe society would more benefit itself than grant a favor to + women by extending the suffrage to them. All the interests of + women are promoted by a government that shall guard the family + circle, restrain excess, promote education, shield the young from + temptation. While the true interests of men lie in the same + direction, women more generally appreciate these facts and + illustrate in their lives a desire for their attainment. Could we + bring to the ballot-box the great fund of virtue, intelligence + and good intention stored up in the minds and hearts of our wives + and sisters, how great the reinforcement would be for all that is + noble, patriotic and pure in public life! Who should fear the + result who desires the public welfare? From the stand-point of + better principles applied to the direction of public affairs and + the best individuals in office, the argument seems impregnable. + + It is getting late to resist this measure on the ground that the + character of women themselves would be lowered by contact with + politics. That objection is identical with the motive which + causes the Turk to shut up his women in a harem and closely veil + them in public. He fears their delicacy will be tarnished if they + speak to any man but their proprietor. So prejudice feared woman + would be unsexed if she had equal education with man. The + professions were closed to women for the same consideration. + Women have vindicated their ability to endure the education and + engage in the dreaded pursuits, yet society is not dissolved, and + these fearful imaginings have proved idle dreams. As every + advance made by woman since the days when it was a mooted + law-point how large could be the stick with which her husband + could punish her, down to the day when congress opened to her the + bar of the United States Supreme Court, has been accompanied by + constantly refuted assertions that she and society were about to + be ruined. I think we can safely trust to her good sense, virtue + and delicacy to preserve for us the loved and venerated object we + have always known, even if society shall yield the still further + measure of complete enfranchisement, and thus add to her social + dignity, duties and responsibilities. + + No class has ever been degraded by the ballot. All have rather + been elevated by it. We cannot rationally anticipate less + desirable personal consequences to those whose tendencies are + naturally good, than to those on whom the ballot has been + conferred belonging to a lower plane of being. But these + considerations go only to show the policy of granting suffrage to + women. From the stand-point of justice the argument is more + pressing. If woman asks for the ballot shall man deny it? By what + right? Certainly not by the right of a majority; for women are at + least as numerous. Certainly not by any right derived from + nature; for our common mother has set no brand on woman. If one + woman shall ask for a voice in the regulation of society of + which she is at least one-half, who shall say her nay? If any + woman shall ask it, who shall deny it because another woman does + not ask it? There are many men who do not value their + citizenship; shall other men therefore be deprived of the ballot? + Suppose many women would not avail themselves of such a function, + are those with higher, or other views, to be therefore kept in + tutelage? + + I trust you may succeed in this work in Nebraska. It is of + supreme importance to the cause. The example of Nebraska would + soon be followed by other States. The current of such a reform + knows no retiring ebb. The suffrage once acquired will never be + relinquished; first, because it will recommend itself, as it has + in Wyoming, by its results; second, because the women will + jealously guard their rights, and defend them with their ballots. + Wishing I could do more than send you good wishes for the + cause,[94] I am, respectfully yours, + + A. A. SARGENT. + +The following letter is from a daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton +(a graduate of Vassar College, and classmate of Miss Elizabeth +Poppleton), who two years before, on the eve of her departure for +Europe, gave her eloquent address on Edmund Burke in that city: + + TOULOUSE, France, September 3, 1882. + + _To the Voters of my Generation in Nebraska:_ + + It is not my desire to present to you any argument, but only to + give you an episode in my own life. I desire to lay before you a + fact, not a fiction; a reality, not a supposition; an experience + not a theory. + + I was born in a free republic and in my veins runs very + rebellious blood. An ancestor of my father was one of those + intrepid men who left the shores of old England and sailed forth + to establish on a distant continent the grandest republic that + has ever yet been known. That, you see, is not good blood to + submit to injustice. And on my mother's side we find a sturdy old + Puritan from whom our stock is traced, fleeing from England + because of the faith that was in him, and joining his rebellious + life to one of that honest Holland nation which had defied so + nobly the oppressions of the Catholic church and Spanish + inquisition. As if this were not sufficiently independent blood + to pass on to other generations, my own father became an + abolitionist, and step by step fought his belief to victory, and + my mother early gave her efforts to the elevation of woman. It is + all this, together with my living in the freest land on the globe + and in a century rife with discussions of all principles of + government, that has made me in every fiber a believer in + republican institutions. + + Having been reared in a large family of boys where we enjoyed + equal freedom, and having received the same collegiate education + as my brothers, it is not until lately that I have felt the crime + of my womanhood. I have dwelt thus upon the antecedents and + influences of my life in order to ask you one question: Do you + not think I can appreciate the real meaning, the true sacredness + of a republic? Do you not believe I feel the duties it demands + of its citizens? But I want you to hold your reply in abeyance, + till I give you one bit more of history. + + A ship at sea crossing on the Atlantic between Europe and + America. Of two persons on this vessel I wish to speak to you. Of + one I have already told you much; I need but add that my two + years spent in Europe,[95] previous to my return to America for a + few months last winter, had not made me less American, less a + lover of republicanism. And now this ship, baffling the February + storm, was sweeping nearer the land where the people reign. My + heart beat high as I thought it was in my native country where + women were free, more honored than in any nation in the world. As + I stood on the deck, the strong sea-wind blowing wildly about me, + and the ocean bearing on its heart-wave mountains, visions of the + grandeur of the nation lying off beyond the western horizon, rose + before me. And it was a proud heart that cried--"My Country!" + + And the other person I want to speak of? It is a man, a German, + coming to the United States to escape military service in + Prussia. He came in the steerage; was poor and ignorant. He could + speak no English, not one word of your language and mine. His + fellows were all Irish, so I offered to be an interpreter for + him. I visited the steerage quarters, and returned with a heavy + heart. Such brutal faces as I saw! Ignorance, cruelty, + subserviency, were everywhere depicted. Herds of human beings + that I feared, they looked so dull and brutal. The full meaning + of a terrible truth rushed upon me. Soon these men would be my + sovereigns--I their subject! + + I had just spent a year in that German's native land, and I + remembered that I had seen their women doing the work of men in + the fields, husbands returning from their day's labor + empty-handed, and their wives toiling on behind bent under heavy + burdens, and as I thought on this, our ship bore him and me + towards the land that glories in having given birth to Lucretia + Mott. In the country where he had been reared, I had seen women + harnessed with beasts of burden, dragging laden wagons, and yet + our vessel carried him and me at each moment towards a safe + harbor, in a land that pays homage to the memory of Margaret + Fuller. Our ship sailed on, taking him from a land where he had + been taught to worship royalty, whatever its worth or crime; + where he had paid cringing submission to an arbitrary rule of + police; where he had been surrounded by the degrading effects of + the mightiest military system on the globe. The ship plowed on + and on through the waves, bringing him to a republic, not one + principle of which he comprehended. + + And now we sail up New York bay. The day is bright, and a + softening haze hangs over all. Surely this is some vision-land. + Yes, it is indeed a vision-land, for it has never known the + presence of a royal line; against its oppressors it fought in no + mean rebellious spirit, but rose in revolution with its motto, + "Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the + governed," written on its brow to be known of all men. And I + think as we slowly sail up the bay on our vessel, Does that + deadened soul respond to what lies before him? Does there in his + heart rise the prayer, Oh, God! make me true to the duties about + to be laid upon me; make me worthy of being free? Yes, then, for + the first time I felt the full depth of the indignity offered to + my womanhood. I felt my enthusiasm for America wavering--love of + country dead. _My_ country!--I have no country. + + Young men of Nebraska, I ask you to free your minds from + prejudice, to be just towards the demands of another human soul, + to be frank, to be wholly truthful, and answer my demand: Why + should I not be a citizen of this republic? In replying, read + between the lines of my tedious story and bear in mind the words + of Voltaire: "Who would dare change a law that time has + consecrated? Is there anything more respectable than an ancient + abuse! Reason is more ancient, replied Zadig." + + Respectfully, HARRIOT STANTON. + + + MANCHESTER NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR WOMAN SUFFRAGE, } + MANCHESTER, England, September 5, 1882. } + + DEAR MISS ANTHONY: Will you accept a word of cheer and God-speed + from your sisters in England in your crusade for the emancipation + of woman in Nebraska? You carry with you the hopes and + sympathetic wishes of all on this side of the water. If you win, + as I trust you may, your victory will have a distinct influence + on the future of our parliamentary campaign, which we hope to + begin in early spring in England. In the name of English women I + would appeal to the men of Nebraska to assent to the great act of + justice to women which is proposed to them by their elected + representatives, and by so doing to aid in the enfranchisement of + women all over the world. + + Yours faithfully, LYDIA E. BECKER. + + + LONDON, September 1, 1882. + + DEAR MISS ANTHONY: Having heard that the next convention of the + National Woman Suffrage Association will meet at Omaha this + month, I cannot refrain from sending a few lines to assure our + friends who are working so steadfastly in America for the same + sacred cause as our own, of our loving sympathy and good-wishes + for success in the coming struggle. The eyes and hearts of + hundreds of women are, like my own, turned to Nebraska, where so + momentous an issue is to be decided two months hence. The news of + their vote, if rightly given, will "echo round the world" like + the first shot fired at Concord. It will be the expression of + their determination to establish their freedom by giving freedom + to others, and their example will be followed by Indiana and + Oregon, and soon by the other States of the Union and by England. + Everything points with us to a speedy triumph of the principle of + equal justice for woman. Next November, about the time when + Nebraska will be voting for equal suffrage, the women in Scotland + will be voting for the first time in their municipal elections. + The session of 1882 will be memorable in future for having passed + the act which gives a married woman the right to hold her own + property, make contracts, sue and be sued, in the same manner as + if she were a single woman. It is nearly thirty years since we + first began our efforts in this matter, and each succeeding step + has been won very slowly and with great difficulty through the + efforts of those who are working to obtain the suffrage. Mr. + Gladstone still expresses the hope that next session will place + the franchise on a "fair" basis, meaning thereby the same right + of voting for counties as for boroughs. We maintain that the + franchise can never be said to be on a fair basis while women are + debarred from the right of voting. Our progress and your progress + will keep even pace together, for if women are free in America no + long time can elapse before they are free here. We can but offer + you our sympathy and we beg this favor of you, that as soon as + you have the returns of the vote ascertained, you will telegraph + the news to us, that our English societies may keep the day of + rejoicing heart in heart with the American National Association. + + With cordial sympathy in all your efforts, I am, faithfully + yours, + + CAROLYN ASHURST BIGGS. + + + _To the National Woman Suffrage Association, in Convention + assembled, at Omaha, Nebraska, September 26, 27, 28:_ + + DEAR FRIENDS: The most pressing work before the National Woman + Suffrage Convention, is bringing all its forces to bear upon + congress for the submission of a sixteenth amendment to the + national constitution, which shall prohibit States from + disfranchising citizens of the United States, on the ground of + sex, or for any cause not equally applicable to all citizens. + While we of the National are glad to see an amendment to a State + constitution proposed, securing suffrage to woman, as is the case + in Nebraska this fall, we must not be led by it to forget or + neglect our legitimate work, an amendment to the national + constitution, which will secure suffrage at one and the same + moment to the women of each State. While all action of any kind + and everywhere is good because it is educational, the only real, + legitimate work of the National Woman Suffrage Association, is + upon congress. Never have our prospects been brighter than + to-day. A select committee on woman suffrage having been + appointed in both houses during the last session of congress, and + a resolution introduced in the Senate, proposing an amendment to + the Constitution of the United States, to secure the right of + suffrage to all citizens irrespective of sex, having been + referred to this select committee and receiving a favorable + majority report thereon, we have every reason to expect the + submission of such an amendment at the next session of congress. + + The work then, most necessary, is with each representative and + senator; and the legislatures of the several States should be + induced to pass resolutions requesting the senators and + representatives from each State to give voice and vote in favor + of the submission of such an amendment. This work is vitally + important for the coming winter, and none the less so, even + should Nebraska vote aye November 7, upon the woman suffrage + amendment to its own constitution. In view of the probability of + the submission of a sixteenth amendment at the coming session of + congress, I offer the following resolution, which I consider one + of the most important of the series I have been asked to prepare + for adoption by the convention: + + _Resolved_, That it is the duty of every woman to work with + the legislature of her own State, to secure from it the + passage of a joint resolution requesting its senators and + representatives in congress to use voice and vote in favor + of the submission of an amendment to the national + constitution which shall prohibit States from disfranchising + citizens on the ground of sex. + + I hope the above resolution will be unanimously adopted, and that + each woman will strive to carry its provisions into effect as a + religious duty. With my best wishes for a grand and successful + convention, and the hope that Nebraska will set itself right + before the world by the adoption of the woman suffrage amendment + this fall, I am, + + Very truly yours, MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE.[96] + +_The Republican_ in describing the closing scenes of the +convention, said: + + Fully 2,500 people assembled last evening to listen to the + closing proceedings of the convention. The stage, which was + beautifully furnished and upholstered, was completely occupied by + the ladies of the Association; and as they all were in full + dress, in preparation for the reception at the Paxton Hotel, the + sight was a brilliant one. As respects the audience, not only the + seats, but the lobbies were crowded, and hundreds upon hundreds + were turned away. Manager Boyd remarked as we passed in, "You + will see to-night the most magnificent gathering that has ever + been in the Opera House," and such truly it was--the intellect, + fashion and refinement of the city. Addresses were given by M'me + Neyman, whose earnest and eloquent words were breathlessly heard; + Mrs. Minor of St. Louis, whose utterances were serious and + weighty; and Miss Phoebe Couzins, who touched the springs of + sentiment, sympathy, pathos and humor by turns. After answering + two or three objections that had not been fully touched upon, + Miss Couzins fairly carried away the house, when she said in + conclusion, "Miss Anthony and myself, and another who has + addressed you are the only spinsters in the movement. We, indeed, + expect to marry, but we don't want our husbands to marry slaves + [great merriment]; we are waiting for our enfranchisement. And + now, if you want Miss Anthony and myself to move into your + State--" this hit, with all it implied, set the audience into a + convulsion of cheers and laughter which was quite prolonged; and + after the merriment had subsided, Miss Couzins completed her + sentence by saying, "We are under sailing orders to receive + proposals!" whereupon the applause broke out afresh. "However," + she added, seeing Miss Anthony shake her head, "it takes a very + superior woman to be an old maid, and on this principle I think + Miss Anthony will stick to her colors." Miss Couzins quoted + Hawthorne as speaking through "Zenobia": + + "It is my belief, yea, my prophecy, that when my sex shall + have attained its freedom there will be ten eloquent women + where there is now one eloquent man," and instanced this + convention as an illustration of what might be expected. + +Miss Couzins was followed by Mrs. Saxon, Mrs. Neyman and Miss +Hindman. The resolutions,[97] which were presented by Mrs. Sewall, +among their personal commendations expressed the appreciation of +the Association for the services rendered by Mrs. Clara Bewick +Colby, in making preparations for the convention. Mrs. Colby in +making her acknowledgments said: + + There was another to whom the Association owed much for the work + done which has made possible the brilliant success of the + convention--one to whom, while across the water their thoughts + and hearts had often turned; and she was sure that all present + would gladly join in extending a welcome to the late president, + and now chairman of the executive committee of the State + association, Mrs. Harriet S. Brooks. + +Mrs. Brooks came forward amid applause, and said: + + That at this late hour while a speech might be silvern, silence + was golden; and she would say no more than, on behalf of all the + members and officers of the State association, and the friends of + the cause in Omaha, to tender their most grateful thanks to the + National Association for "the feast of reason and the flow of + soul" with which they have been favored during the last three + days. + +At the close of the convention the spacious parlors of the Paxton +House were crowded. Over a thousand ladies and gentlemen passed +through, shaking hands with the delegates and congratulating them +on the great success of the convention. + +Another enthusiastic meeting was held at Lincoln, the capital of +the State, and radiating from this point in all directions these +missionaries of the new gospel of woman's equality traversed the +entire State, scattering tracts and holding meetings in churches, +school-houses and the open air, and thus the agitation was kept up +until the day of election. As it was the season for agricultural +fairs, the people were more easily drawn together, and the ladies +readily availed themselves, as they had opportunity, of these great +gatherings. Two notable debates were held in Omaha in answer to the +many challenges sent by the opposition. Miss Couzins, the first to +enter the arena, was obliged to help her antagonist in his +scriptural quotations, while Miss Anthony was compelled to supply +hers with well-known statistics. It was evident that neither of the +gentlemen had sharpened his weapons for the encounter. + +To look over the list of counties visited and the immense distances +traveled in public and private conveyances, enables one in a +measure to appreciate the physical fatigue these ladies endured. In +reading of their earnest speeches, debates, conversations at every +fireside and dinner-table, in every car and carriage as they +journeyed by the way or waited at the station, their untiring +perseverance must command the unqualified admiration of those who +know what a political campaign involves. During those six weeks of +intense excitement they were alike hopeful and anxious as to the +result. At last the day dawned when the momentous question of the +enfranchisement of 75,000 women was to be decided. Every train +brought some of the speakers to their headquarters in Omaha, with +cheering news from the different localities they had canvassed. And +now one last effort must be made, they must see what can be done at +the polls. Some of the ladies went in carriages to each of the +polling booths and made earnest appeals to those who were to vote +for or against the woman's amendment. Others stood dispensing +refreshments and the tickets they wished to see voted, all day +long. And while the men sipped their coffee and ate their viands +with evident relish, the women appealed to their sense of justice, +to their love of liberty and republican institutions. Vain would be +the attempt to describe the patient waiting, the fond hopes, the +bright visions of coming freedom, that had nerved these brave women +to these untiring labors, or to shadow in colors dark enough the +fears, the anxieties, the disappointments, all centered in that +November election. A fitting subject for an historical picture was +that group of intensely earnest women gathered there, as the last +rays of the setting sun warned them that whether for weal or for +woe the decisive hour had come; no word of theirs could turn defeat +to victory. + +The hours of anxious waiting were not long, the verdict soon came +flashing on every wire, from the north, the south, the west: "No!" +"No!" "No!" The mothers, wives and daughters of Nebraska must still +wear the yoke of slavery; they who endured with man the hardships +of the early days and bravely met the dangers of a pioneer life, +they who have reared two generations of boys and taught them the +elements of all they know, who have stood foremost in all good +works of charity and reform, who appreciate the genius of free +institutions, native-born American citizens, are still to be +governed by the ignorant, vicious classes from the old world. What +a verdict was this for one of the youngest States in the American +republic in the nineteenth century! + +But these heroic women did not sit down in sackcloth and ashes to +weep over the cruel verdict. Anticipating victory, they had engaged +the Opera House to hold their jubilee if the women of Nebraska were +enfranchised; or, if the returns brought them no cause for +rejoicing, they would at least exalt the educational work that had +been done in the State, and dedicate themselves anew to this +struggle for liberty. They had survived three defeats, in Kansas, +Michigan, Colorado, and tasted the bitterness of repeated +disappointments, and another could not crush them. When the hour +arrived, an immense audience welcomed them in the Opera House, and +from this new baptism of sorrow they spoke more eloquently than +ever before. In their calm, determined manner they seemed to say +with Milton's hero: + + "All is not lost: the unconquerable will is ours." + +A report of the Fifteenth Annual Washington Convention, Jan. 23, +24, 25, 1883, was written by Miss Jessie Waite of Chicago, and +published in the _Washington Chronicle_, from which we give the +following extracts: + + The proceedings of the Association were inaugurated at Lincoln + Hall Monday evening by a novel lecture, entitled "Zekle's Wife," + by Mrs. Amy Talbot Dunn of Indianapolis. The personality of Mrs. + Dunn is so entirely lost in that of Zekle's wife that it is hard + to realize that the old lady of so many and so varied experiences + is a happy young wife. As a character sketch Mrs. Dunn's "Zekle's + Wife" stands on an equality with Denman Thompson's "Joshua + Whitcomb" and with Joe Jefferson's "Rip Van Winkle." To sustain a + conception so foreign to the natural characteristics of the actor + without once allowing the interest of the audience to flag, + requires originality of thought, independence of idea, and genius + for action. Mrs. Dunn, herself the author of her sketch, + possesses to a remarkable degree the power to impress upon her + audience the feeling that the old lady from "Kaintuck" is before + them, not only to say things for their amusement, but also to + impress upon them those great truths which have presented + themselves to her mind during the fifty years of her married + life. "Zekle's Wife" is a keen, shrewd, warm-hearted, lovable old + woman, without education or culture, yet with an innate sense of + refinement and a touching undercurrent of desire "not to be too + hard on Zekle." As she tells her story, which she informs us is a + true one from real life, she engages the attention and wins the + sympathy of all her hearers, and frequent bursts of applause + evidence the satisfaction of the audience. + + The convention proper opened on Tuesday morning with the + appointment of various committees,[98] and reports[99] from the + different States filled up most of the time during the day. May + Wright Sewall said: + + Women must learn that power gives power; that intelligence + alone can appreciate or be influenced by intelligence; that + justice alone is moved by appeals based on justice. More + than anything in the course of suffrage labor does the + Nebraska campaign justify the primary method of this + National Association. We have a right to expect that each + legislature will be composed of the picked men of the State. + We have a right to believe that as the intelligence, wisdom + and justice of the picked men of the nation are superior to + the same qualities in the mass of men, so is the fitness of + national and State legislators to consider the demands for + the ballot. + + Mrs. Mills of Washington sang, as a solo, "Barbara Fritchie," in + excellent style. Mrs. Caroline Hallowell Miller (wife of Francis + Miller, esq., late assistant attorney for the District of + Columbia) spoke with the greatest ease and most remarkable + command of language. She is in every sense a strong woman. She + said that, born and reared as she was in a Virginia town noted + for its intense conservatism, where she had seen a woman stripped + to the waist and brutally beaten by order of the law (her skin + happened to be of a dark color) whose only crime was that of + alleged impertinence, and that impertinence provoked by improper + conduct on the part of a young man; that, reared in such a cradle + as this, still, through the blessing of a good home, she had + learned to deeply appreciate the noble efforts of women who dared + to tread new paths, to break their own way through the dense + forest of prejudice and ignorance. Man cannot represent woman. If + woman breaks any law of man, of nature, or of God, she alone must + suffer the penalty. "This fact seems to me," said Mrs. Miller, + "to settle the whole question." + + Miss Anthony read the following letter from Hon. Benjamin F. + Butler, who, she said, had the honor of being an advocate of this + cause, in addition to being governor of Massachusetts: + + WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 23, 1883. + + MY DEAR MISS ANTHONY: I received your kind note asking me to + attend the National Convention of the friends of woman + suffrage at Washington, for which courtesy I am obliged. My + engagements, which have taken me out of the commonwealth, + cover all, and more than all, of my time, and I find I am to + hurry back, leaving some of them undisposed of. It will + therefore be impossible for me to attend the convention. + + As I have already declared my conviction that the fourteenth + amendment fully covers the right of all persons to vote, and + as I assume that the women of the country are persons, and + very important persons to its happiness and prosperity, I + never have been able to see any reason why women do not come + within its provisions. I think such will be the decision of + the court, perhaps quite as early as you may be able to get + through congress and the legislatures of the several States + another amendment. But both lines of action may well be + followed, as they do not conflict with each other. This + course was taken in the case of the fifteenth amendment, + which was supposed to be necessary to cover the case of the + negro, although many of the friends of the colored man + looked coldly upon that amendment, because it seemed to be + an admission that the fourteenth amendment was not + sufficient. Therefore I can without inconsistency, I think, + bid you "God speed" in your agitation for the sixteenth + amendment. It will have the effect to enlighten the public + mind as to the scope of the fourteenth amendment. I am very + truly, your friend and servant, + + BENJ. F. BUTLER. + + Mrs. Blake presented a series of resolutions, which were laid on + the table for consideration: + + WHEREAS, In larger numbers than ever before the women of the + United States are demanding the repeal of arbitrary + restrictions which now debar them from the use of the + ballot; and + + WHEREAS, The recent defeat in Nebraska of a constitutional + amendment, giving the women of the State the right to vote, + proves that failure is the natural result of an appeal to + the masses on a question which is best understood and + approved by the more intelligent citizens; therefore, + + _Resolved_, That we call upon this congress to pass, without + delay, the sixteenth amendment to the federal constitution + now pending in the Senate. + + _Resolved_, That all competitive examinations for places in + the civil service of the United States should be open on + equal terms to citizens of both sexes, and that any + so-called civil service reform that does not correct the + existing unjust discrimination against women employes, and + grade all salaries on merit and not sex, is a dishonest + pretense at reform. + + WHEREAS, The Constitution of the United States declares that + no State shall be admitted to the Union unless it have a + republican form of government; and whereas, no true republic + can exist unless all the inhabitants are given equal civil + and political rights; therefore, + + _Resolved_, That we earnestly protest against the admission + of Dakota as a State, unless the right of suffrage is + secured on equal terms to all her citizens. + + _Resolved_, That the women of these United States have not + deserved the infliction of this punishment of + disfranchisement, and do most earnestly demand that they be + relieved from the cruelties it imposes upon them. + + WHEREAS, During the war hundreds of women throughout our + land entered the service of the nation as hospital nurses; + and + + WHEREAS, Many of these women were disabled by wounds and by + disease, while many were reduced to permanent invalidism by + the hardships they endured; therefore, + + _Resolved_, That these women should be placed on the pension + list and rewarded for their services. + + After the reading of the resolutions an animated discussion + followed, Miss Anthony showing in scathing terms the injustice of + the employment of women to do equal work with men at half the + salaries, in the departments at Washington and elsewhere. An + additional resolution was adopted declaring that paying Dr. Susan + A. Edson for her services as attendant physician to President + Garfield, $1,000 less than was paid for an equivalent service + rendered by Dr. Boynton, a more recent graduate of the same + college from which she received her diploma, is an unjust + discrimination on account of sex. + + Mrs. SEWALL said men in the departments were given extra + leave of absence each year to go home to vote, and suggested + that women be given (until the time comes for them to vote) + extra leave to meditate upon the ballot. + + Miss ANTHONY said she had addressed a letter to each + secretary asking that such women as desired be given + permission to attend the meetings of this convention without + loss of time to them. She had received but one answer, which + was from Secretary Folger, who wrote: "_The condition of the + public business prevents us from acceding to your request_." + + Mrs. HARRIETTE R. SHATTUCK of Boston said: Tired as some of + the audience must be of hearing the same old argument in + favor of the ballot for women repeated from year to year, + they could not possibly be more tired than the friends of + the cause were of hearing the same old objections repeated + from year to year. While the forty-year-old objections are + raised the forty-year-old rejoinders must be given. We must + continue to agitate until we force people to listen. It is + like the ringing of a bell. At first no one notices it; in a + little while, a few will listen; finally, the perpetual + ding-dong, ding-dong, will force itself to be heard by every + one. The oldest of all the old arguments is that of right + and justice, and the tune which my little bell shall ring is + merely this: "_It is right!_" This cry of woman for liberty + and equality increases every day, and it is a cry that must + some day be heard and responded to. + + Mrs. Virginia L. Minor of St. Louis was then introduced as the + woman who stands to this cause in the same relation that Dred + Scott had stood to the Republican party. Miss Couzins said that + in introducing Mrs. Minor she wanted to say one word about the + work Mrs. Minor had done for the soldiers, during the sanitary + fair and all through the war. She had canned fruit, refusing the + money offered in payment, returning it all to be used for the + sick and wounded soldiers [applause]. Mrs. Minor spoke in a calm, + deliberate manner, with perfect conviction in the truth of her + statements and with a winning sweetness of expression that + indicated the highest sensibilities of a refined nature. She + showed that women voted in the early days of the country, and + that undoubtedly it was the intention of the framers of the + constitution that they should do so. This right had been taken + away when the constitution was amended and the word "male" + inserted. What is now desired is simply restoration of that which + had been taken away. She believed that this restoration was made, + unwittingly, by the addition of the fourteenth amendment, which, + without doubt, makes women citizens. It is men who have abused + the republican institution of suffrage; it is women who desire to + restore it to its proper exercise. Miss Anthony read a letter + from Mrs. Wallace, the wife of one of the former governors of + Indiana: + + INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., January 21, 1883. + + DEAR MISS ANTHONY: When in the call I read that for fourteen + consecutive years the National Woman Suffrage Association + had held a convention in Washington, I was oppressed by two + thoughts: First, how hard it is to overcome prejudice and + ignorance when they have been fortified by the usages and + customs of ages; and secondly, the sublime faith, courage + and perseverance of the advocates of woman's + enfranchisement, and their confidence in the ultimate + triumph of justice. After all, by what are governments + organized and maintained? By brute force alone? Despotisms + may be, but republics never. What are the qualifications for + the ballot? The power to fight? Are they not rather + intelligence, virtue, truth and patriotism? I scarce think + the most obstinate and egotistical of our opponents will + assert that men possess a monopoly of these virtues, or even + a moiety of them. As to their fighting capacities, of which + we hear so much, I think they would have cut a sorry figure + in the wars which they have been compelled to wage in order + to establish and maintain this government, if they had not + had the sympathy and cooeperation of woman. I entirely agree + with you that, while agitation in the States is necessary as + a means of education, a sixteenth amendment to the national + constitution is the quickest, surest and least laborious way + to secure the success of this great work for human liberty. + Any legislature of Indiana in the last six years would have + ratified such an amendment. With highest regards for + yourself and the best wishes for the success of the + convention, I remain, + + Yours, etc., ZERELDA G. WALLACE. + + After several other speakers,[100] Madame Clara Neyman of New + York city, delivered what was, without question, one of the best + addresses of the convention. She spoke with a slightly German + accent, which only served to enhance the interest and hold the + attention of the audience. Her eloquence and argument could not + fail to convince all of her earnest purpose. After showing the + philosophy of reform movements, and every step of progress, she + said: + + Woman's enfranchisement will be wrought out by peaceful + means. We shall use no fire-arms, no torpedoes, no heavy + guns to gain our freedom. No precious human lives will be + sacrificed; no tears will be shed to establish our right. We + shall capture the fortresses of prejudice and injustice by + the force of our arguments; we shall send shell after shell + into these strongholds until their defective reasoning gives + way to victorious truth. "Inability to bear arms," says + Herbert Spencer, "was the reason given in feudal times for + excluding woman from succession," and to-day her position is + lowest where the military spirit prevails. A sad + illustration of this is my own country. Being a born German, + and in feeling, kindred, and patriotism attached to the + country of my birth and childhood, it is hard for me to make + such a confession. But the truth must be told, even if it + hurts. It has been observed by those who travel in Europe, + that Germany, which has the finest and best universities, + which stands highest in scholarship, nevertheless tolerates, + nay, enforces the subjection of woman. The freedom of a + country stands in direct relation to the position of its + women. America, which has proclaimed the freedom of man, has + developed _pari passu_ a finer womanhood, and has done more + for us than any other nation in existence. A new type of + manhood has been reared on American soil--a type which + Tennyson describes in his Princess: + + Man shall be more of woman, she of man; + He gain in sweetness and in moral height, + Nor lose the thews that wrestle with the world; + She, mental breadth, nor fail in childward care, + Nor lose the childlike in the larger mind; + Till at the last they set them each to each, + Like perfect music unto noble words. + Then comes the statelier Eden back to man; + Then springs the crowning race of human kind. + + At the evening session the time was divided between Lillie + Devereux Blake and Phoebe W. Couzins. Mrs. Blake spoke on the + question, "Is it a Crime to be a Woman?" + + She showed in a clear, logical manner that wherever a woman + was apprehended for crime the discrimination against her was + not because of the crime she had committed, but because the + crime was committed by a woman. Every woman in this country + is treated by the law as if she were to blame for being a + woman. In New York an honorable married woman has no right + to her children. A man may beat his wife all he pleases; but + if he beats another man the law immediately interferes, + showing that the woman is not protected simply because she + is so indiscreet as to _be a woman_. If it is not a crime to + be a woman, why are women subjected to unequal payment with + men for the same service? Why are they forced at times to + don men's clothes in order to obtain employment that will + keep them from starvation? + + Miss COUZINS said that the American-born woman was "a woman + without a country"; but before she had closed she had proved + that this country belonged exclusively to the women. It was + a woman, Queen Isabella, that enabled a man to discover this + country, and in the old flag the initials were "I" and "F," + representing Isabella and Ferdinand, showing that it was + acknowledged that the woman's initial was the more important + in this matter and to be first considered. It was a woman, + Mary Chilton, that first landed on Plymouth rock. It was a + woman, Betsy Ross, that designed our beautiful flag, the + original eagle on our silver dollar, and the seal of the + United States without which no money is legal. All the way + down in our national history woman has been hand in hand + with man, has assisted, supported and encouraged him, and + now there are women ready to help reform the life of the + body politic, and side by side with man work to purify, + refine and ennoble the world. Miss Couzins seemed Inspired + by her own thoughts and carried the audience along with her + in her flights of eloquence. + + Being asked to make a few closing remarks, Mrs. May Wright Sewall + said: + + Difficult, indeed, is the task of closing a three days' + convention; vain is the hope to do it with fitting words + which shall not be mere repetitions of what has been said on + this platform. The truth which bases this claim lies in a + nut-shell, and the shell seems hard to be cracked. It is + unfair, when comparing the ability of men and women, to + compare the average woman to the exceptional man, but this + is what man always does. If, perchance, he admits not only + the equality but the superiority of woman, he tells her she + must not vote because she is so nearly an angel, so much + better than he is, and this, in the face of the fact that + every angel represented or revealed has been shown in the + form of a _handsome young man_. If any class then must + abstain from meddling in politics on account of relation to + the angels, it is the men! But she informed the gentlemen + she had no fears for them on that ground, for their + relationship was not _near_ enough to cause any serious + inconvenience. Speaking of the objections to women + undertaking grave or deep studies, that woman lacks the + logical faculty, that she has only intuition, nerve-force, + etc., Mrs. Sewall said: It is true of every woman who has + done the worthiest work in science, literature, or reform, + from Diotima, the teacher of Socrates, to Margaret Fuller, + the pupil of Channing and the peer of Emerson, that ignoring + the methods of nerves and instincts, she has placed herself + squarely on the basis of observation, investigation and + reason. Men will admit that these women had strength and + logic, but say they are exceptional women. So are Gladstone, + Bismarck, Gambetta, Lincoln and Garfield exceptional men. + She mentioned Miss Anthony's proposed trip to Europe, and + said that she had not had a holiday for thirty years. + + Miss ANTHONY said she wished to call attention to the report + of the Special Committee of the Senate, which distinctly + stated that the question had had "general agitation," and + that the petitions at different times presented were both + "_numerous_ and respectable." This was sufficient answer, + coming from such high authority, that of Senator Anthony, to + all the insinuations and unjust remarks about the petitions + presented to congress, and with regard to the assertion that + women themselves did not want the ballot. She expressed her + obligations to the press, and mentioned that the _Sunday + Chronicle_ had announced its intention of giving much + valuable space to the proceedings, and that when she had + learned this, she had ordered 1,000 copies, which she would + send to the address of any friend in the audience free of + charge. + + The "Star Spangled Banner" was then sung, Miss Couzins and Mrs. + Shattuck singing the solos, Mr. Wilson of the Foundry M. E. + Church, leading the audience in the chorus, the whole producing a + fine effect. Miss Anthony said the audience could see how much + better it was to have a man to help, even in singing. This + brought down the house. + + In closing this report, a word may be said of the persons most + conspicuous in it. This year several remarkable additions have + been made to our number, and it is of these especially that we + would speak. Mrs. Minor of St. Louis, in her manner has all the + gentleness and sweetness of the high-born Southern lady; her + personal appearance is very pleasant, her hair a light chestnut, + untouched with gray; her face has lost the color of youth, but + her eyes have still their fire, toned down by the sorrow they + have seen. Madame Neyman is also new to the Washington platform. + She is a piquant little German lady, with vivacious manner, most + agreeable accent, and looked in her closely-fitting black-velvet + dress as if she might have just stepped out of a painting. In + direct contrast is Mrs. Miller of Maryland--a large, dark-haired + matron, past middle age, but newly born in her enthusiasm for the + cause. She is a worker as well as a talker, and is a decided + acquisition to the ranks. The other novice in the work is Mrs. + Amy Dunn, who has taken such a novel way to render assistance. + Mrs. Dunn is tall and slender, with dark hair and eyes. She is a + shrewd observer, does not talk much socially, but when she says + anything it is to the point. Her character sketch, "Zekle's + Wife," will be a stepping-stone to many a woman on her way to the + suffrage platform. + + Two women who have done and are doing a great work in this city, + and who are not among the public speakers, are Mrs. Spofford, the + treasurer, wife of the proprietor of the Riggs House, and Miss + Ellen H. Sheldon, secretary of the Association. To these ladies + is due much of the success of the convention. Mrs. Sheldon is of + diminutive stature, with gray hair, and Mrs. Spofford is of large + and queenly figure, with white hair. Her magnificent presence is + always remarked at the meetings. + + The following were among the letters read at this convention: + + 10 DUCHESS STREET, PORTLAND PLACE, LONDON, Eng., Jan. 12. + + DEAR MISS ANTHONY: To you and our friends in convention + assembled, I send greeting from the old world. It needs but + little imagination to bring Lincoln Hall, the usual fine + audiences, and the well-known faces on the platform, before + my mind, so familiar have fifteen years of these conventions + in Washington made such scenes to me. How many times, as I + have sat in your midst and listened to the grand speeches of + my noble coaedjutors, I have wondered how much longer we + should be called upon to rehearse the oft-repeated arguments + in favor of equal rights to all. Surely the grand + declarations of statesmen at every period in our history + should make the principle of equality so self-evident as to + end at once all class legislation. + + It is now over half a century since Frances Wright with + eloquent words first asserted the political rights of women + in our republic; and from that day to this, inspired + apostles in an unbroken line of succession have proclaimed + the new gospel of the motherhood of God and of humanity. We + have plead our case in conventions of the people, in halls + of legislation, before committees of congress, and in the + Supreme Court of the United States, and our arguments still + remain unanswered. History shows no record of a fact like + this, where so large a class of virtuous, educated, + native-born citizens have been subjugated by the national + government to foreign domination. While our American + statesmen scorn the thought that even the most gifted son of + a monarch, an emperor or a czar should ever occupy the proud + position of a president of these United States, and by + constitutional provision deny to all foreigners this high + privilege, they yet allow the very riff-raff of the old + world to make laws for the proudest women of the republic, + to make the moral code for the daughters of our people, to + sit in judgment on all our domestic relations. + + England has taken two grand steps within the last year in + extending the municipal suffrage to the woman of Scotland + and in passing the Married Woman's Property bill. They are + holding meetings all over the country now in favor of + parliamentary suffrage. Statistics show that women generally + _exercise_ the rights already accorded. They have recently + passed through a very heated election for members of the + school-board in various localities. Miss Lydia Becker was + elected in Manchester, and Miss Eva Mueller in one of the + districts of London, and several other women in different + cities. + + A little incident will show you how naturally the political + equality of woman is coming about in Queen Victoria's + dominions. I was invited to dine at Barn Elms, a beautiful + estate on the banks of the Thames, a spot full of classic + associations, the residence of Mr. Charles McLaren, a member + of parliament. Opposite me at dinner sat a bright young girl + tastefully attired; on my right the gentleman to whom she + was engaged; at the head of the table a sparkling matron of + twenty-five, one of the most popular speakers here on the + woman suffrage platform. The dinner-table talk was such as + might be heard in any cultivated circle--art, literature, + amusements, passing events, etc., etc.--and when the repast + was finished, ladies and gentlemen, in full dinner dress, + went off to attend an important school-board meeting, our + host to preside and the young lady opposite me to make the + speech of the evening, and all done in as matter-of-fact a + way as if the party were going to the opera. Members of + parliament and lord-mayors preside and speak at all their + public meetings and help in every way to carry on the + movement, giving money most liberally; and yet how seldom + any of our senators or congressmen will even speak at our + meetings, to say nothing of sending us a check of fifty or a + hundred dollars. I trust that we shall accomplish enough + this year to place the women of republican America at least + on an even platform with monarchical England. With sincere + wishes for the success of the convention, cordially yours, + + ELIZABETH CADY STANTON. + + + LONDON, January 10, 1883. + + DEAR MISS ANTHONY: I was very glad indeed to receive notice + of your mid-winter conference in time to send you a few + words about the progress of our work in England. I believe + our disappointment at the result of the vote in Nebraska + must have been greater than yours, as, being on the spot, + you saw the difficulties to be surmounted. I had so hoped + that the men of a free new State would prove themselves + juster and wiser than the men of our older civilizations, + whose prejudice and precedents are such formidable barriers. + But we cannot, judging from a distance, look upon the work + of the campaign as thrown away. Twenty-five thousand votes + in favor of woman suffrage in the face of such enormous odds + is really a victory, and the legislatures of these States + are deeply pledged to ratify the constitutional amendment, + if passed by congress. We look forward hopefully to the + discussion in congress. The majority report of the Senate + cannot fail to secure attention, and I hope your present + convention will bring together national forces that will + greatly influence the debate. + + CAROLINE A. BIGGS. + + + 51 RUE DE VARENNE, PARIS, January 15, 1883. + + MY DEAR MISS ANTHONY: Perhaps a brief account of what has + been done with the two packages of "The History of Woman + Suffrage" which you sent me for distribution in Europe may + prove interesting to the convention. In the first place, + sets in sheep have been deposited already, or will have been + before spring, in all the great continental libraries from + Russia to France, and from Denmark to Turkey. In the second + place, copies in cloth have been presented to reformers, + publicists, editors, etc, in every country of the old + world. This generous distribution of a costly work has + already begun to produce an effect. Besides a large number + of private letters from all parts of Europe acknowledging + the receipt of the volumes and bestowing on their contents + the highest praise, the History has been reviewed in + numerous reform, educational and socialistic periodicals and + newspapers in almost every modern European tongue. Nor is + this all. Every week a new pamphlet or book is sent me, or + comes under my notice, in which this History is cited, + sometimes at great length, and is pronounced to be the + authority on the American women's movement. I have carefully + kept all these letters, newspaper notices, etc., and at the + proper time I hope to prepare a little pamphlet for your + publisher on European opinion concerning your great work. + + Very truly yours, THEODORE STANTON. + + + 51 RUE DE VARENNE, PARIS, January 15, 1883. + + DEAR MISS ANTHONY: My husband has just read me a letter he + has written you concerning the enthusiastic reception your + big History has had among liberal people on this side of the + Atlantic, but he did not inform you that he should send the + American public next spring a similar though much smaller + work, entitled "The Woman Question in Europe." The Putnams + of New York are now busy on the volume. You in the new world + have little idea how the leaders of the women's movement + here watch everything you do in the United States. The great + fact which my husband's volume will teach you in America is + the important and direct influence your movement is having + on the younger, less developed, but growing revolution in + favor of our sex, now in progress in every country of the + old world. While assisting in the preparation of the + manuscript for this book this fact has been thrust upon my + notice at every instant, and never before did I fully + realize the grand role the United States is acting in this + nineteenth century, for, rest assured, the moment European + women are emancipated monarchy gives way to the republic + everywhere. + + Most sincerely yours, MARGUERITTE BERRY STANTON. + + + 134 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, S. E., January 25, 1883. + + DEAR SUSAN ANTHONY: I believe that this is the only week of + the whole winter when I could not come to you nor attend + your convention, much as I wish to do so. It has been an + exceptional week to me in the way of work and engagements, + full of both as I always am. I could not call on you last + Monday, as I was in my own crowded parlors from 1 till 10 + o'clock at night. I tell you this that you may know that I + did not of my own accord stay away from you. I have not had + a moment to write you a coherent letter, such as I would be + willing you should read. But I _have_ saved the best reports + of the convention, and it shall have a good notice in the + _Independent_ of week after next. It shall have only praise. + Of course I could write a brighter, more characteristic + notice could I myself have attended. Should you stay over + next Sunday I can see you yet; but if not, remember I think + of you always with the warmest interest, and meet you always + with unchanged affection. + + Ever your friend, MARY CLEMMER. + + May God bless and keep you, I ever pray.[101] + + + HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THURSDAY, March 1, 1883. + + Mr. WHITE, by unanimous consent, from the Special Committee on + Woman Suffrage, reported back the joint resolution (H. Res., 255) + proposing an amendment to the constitution, which was referred to + the House calendar, and, with the accompanying report, ordered to + be printed. + + Mr. SPRINGER: As a member of that committee I have not seen the + report, and do not know whether it meets with my + concurrence.[102] + + Mr. WHITE: I ask by unanimous consent that the minority may have + leave to submit their views, to be printed with the majority + report. + + The SPEAKER: The Chair hears no objection. + + MR. WHITE, from the Select Committee on Woman Suffrage, submitted + the following: + + _The Select Committee on Woman Suffrage, to whom was + referred House Resolution No. 255, proposing an amendment to + the Constitution of the United States to secure the right of + suffrage to citizens of the United States without regard to + sex, having considered the same, respectfully report:_ + + In attempting to comprehend the vast results that could and + would be attained by the adoption of the proposed article to + the constitution, a few considerations are presented that + are claimed by the friends of woman suffrage to be worthy of + the most serious attention, among which are the following: + + I. There are vast interests in property vested in women, + which property is affected by taxation and legislation, + without the owners having voice or representation in regard + to it. The adoption of the proposed amendment would remove a + manifest injustice. + + II. Consider the unjust discriminations made against women + in industrial and educational pursuits, and against those + who are compelled to earn a livelihood by work of hand or + brain. By conferring upon such the right of suffrage, their + condition, it is claimed, would be greatly improved by the + enlargement of their influence. + + III. The questions of social and family relations are of + equal importance to and affect as many women as men. Giving + to women a voice in the enactment of laws pertaining to + divorce and the custody of children and division of property + would be merely recognizing an undeniable right. + + IV. Municipal regulations in regard to houses of + prostitution, of gambling, of retail liquor traffic, and of + all other abominations of modern society, might be shaped + very differently and more perfectly were women allowed the + ballot. + + V. If women had a voice in legislation, the momentous + question of peace and war, which may act with such fearful + intensity upon women, might be settled with less bloodshed. + + VI. Finally, there is no condition, status in life, of rich + or poor; no question, moral or political; no interest, + present or future; no ties, foreign or domestic; no issues, + local or national; no phase of human life, in which the + mother is not equally interested with the father, the + daughter with the son, the sister with the brother. + Therefore the one should have equal voice with the other in + molding the destiny of this nation. + + Believing these considerations to be so important as to + challenge the attention of all patriotic citizens, and that + the people have a right to be heard in the only + authoritative manner recognized by the constitution, we + report the accompanying resolution with a favorable + recommendation in order that the people, through the + legislatures of their respective States, may express their + views: + + JOINT RESOLUTION _proposing an amendment to the Constitution + of the United States_: + + _Resolved_ by the Senate and House of Representatives of the + United States of America in congress assembled, (two-thirds + of each House concurring therein), That the following + article be proposed to the legislatures of the several + States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United + States, which, when ratified by three-fourths of the said + legislatures, shall be valid as part of said constitution, + namely: + + SECTION 1. The right of citizens of the United States to + vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or + by any State on account of sex. + + SEC. 2. The congress shall have power, by appropriate + legislation, to enforce the provisions of this article. + +Thus closed the forty-seventh congress, and although with so little +promise of any substantial good for women, yet this slight +recognition in legislation was encouraging to those who had so long +appealed in vain for the attention of their representatives. A +committee to even consider the wrongs of woman was more than had +ever been secured before, and one to propose some measures of +justice, sustained by the votes of a few statesmen awake to the +degradation of disfranchisement, gave some faint hope of more +generous action in the near future. The tone of the debates[103] in +these later years even, on the nature and rights of women, is +wholly unworthy the present type of developed womanhood and the age +in which we live. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[81] During the autumn Miss Anthony, Mrs. Jones, Miss Snow and Miss +Couzins, spending some weeks in Washington, asked for an audience +with President Chester A. Arthur, and urged him to recommend in his +first message to congress the appointment of a standing committee +and the submission of a sixteenth amendment. + +[82] _Yeas_--Aldrich, Allison, Anthony, Blair, Cameron of Pa., +Cameron of Wis., Conger, Davis of Ill., Dawes, Edmunds, Ferry, +Frye, Harrison, Hawley, Hill of Col., Hoar, Jones of Fla., Jones of +Nev., Kellogg, Lapham, Logan, McDill, McMillan, Miller of Cal., +Mitchell, Morrill, Platt, Plumb, Ransom, Rollins, Saunders, Sawyer, +Sewell, Sherman, Windom--35. + +_Nays_--Bayard, Beck, Brown, Butler, Camden, Cockrell, Coke, Davis +of W. Va., Fair, Farley, Garland, Hampton, Hill of Ga., Jackson, +Jonas, McPherson, Maxey, Saulsbury, Slater, Vance, Vest, Walker, +Williams--23. + +_Absent_--Call, George, Gorman, Groome, Grover, Hale, Harris, +Ingalls, Johnston, Lamar, Mahone, Miller of N. Y., Morgan, +Pendleton, Pugh, Teller, Van Wyck, Voorhees--18. + +The members of the committee were Senators Lapham of New York, +Anthony of Rhode Island, Blair of New Hampshire, Jackson of +Tennessee, George of Mississippi, Ferry of Michigan and Fair of +Nevada. + +[83] _Yeas_--Aldrich, Anderson, Bayne, Beach, Belford, Bingham, +Black, Bliss, Brewer, Briggs, Browne, Brumm, Buck, Burrows, Julius +C., Butterworth, Calkins, Camp, Campbell, Candler, Cannon, +Carpenter, Caswell, Converse, Crapo, Davis, George R., Dawes, +Deering, De Motte, Dezendorf, Dingley, Dwight, Farwell, Sewall S., +Finley, Flower, Geddes, Grout, Hardenburgh, Harris, Henry, S., +Haseltine, Haskell, Hawk, Hazelton, Heilman, Henderson, Hepburn, +Hill, Hiscock, Horr, Houk, Hubbell, Humphrey, Hutchinson, Jacobs, +Jadwin, Jones, Phineas, Kasson, Kelley, Ladd, Lord, Marsh, Mason, +McClure, McCoid, McCook, McKinley, Miles, Miller, Moulton, Murch, +Nolan, Norcross, O'Neill, Orth, Page, Parker, Paul, Payson, Poole, +Pierce, Pettibone, Pound, Prescott, Ranney, Ray, Reed, Rice. Theron +M., Richardson, D. P., Ritchie, Robeson, Robinson, Geo. D., +Robinson, James S., Ryan, Scranton, Shallenberger, Sherwin, +Skinner, Smith, A. Herr, Smith, Dietrich C., Spaulding, Spooner, +Steele, Stephens, Stone, Strait, Taylor, Updegraff, J. T., +Updegraff, Thomas, Valentine, Van Aernam, Walker, Watson, West, +White, Williams, Chas. G., Willits--115. + +_Nays_--Aiken, Atkins, Berry, Blackburn, Bland, Blount, Bragg, +Buchanan, Buckner, Cabell, Caldwell, Cassiday, Chapman, Clark, +Clements, Cobb, Colerick, Cox, William R., Covington, Cravens, +Culberson, Curtin, Deuster, Dibrell, Dowd, Evins, Forney, Frost, +Fulkerson, Garrison, Guenther, Gunter, Hammond, N. J., Hatch, +Herbert, Hewitt, G. W. Hoge, Holman, House, Jones, George W., +Jones, James K., Joyce, Kenna, Klotz, Knott, Latham, Leedom, +Manning, Martin, Matson, McMillin, Mills, Money, Morrison, +Mutchler, Oates, Phister, Reagan, Rosecrans, Ross, Schackleford, +Shelley, Simonton, Singleton, Jas. W., Singleton, Otho R., Sparks, +Speer, Springer, Stockslager, Thompson, P. B., Thompson, Wm. G., +Tillman, Tucker, Turner, Henry G., Turner, Oscar, Upson, Vance, +Warner, Whittihore, Williams, Thomas, Willis, Wilson, Wise, George +D., Young--84. + +[84] _Connecticut_, Isabella Beecher Hooker, Frances Ellen Burr. +_Colorado_, Mrs. Elizabeth G. Campbell, _District of Columbia_, +Ellen H. Sheldon, Jane H. Spofford, Dr. Caroline B. Winslow, Ellen +M. O'Conner, Eliza Titus Ward, Belva A. Lockwood, Mrs. H. L. +Shephard, Martha Johnson. _Indiana_, Helen M. Gongar, May Wright +Sewall, Laura Kregelo, Alexiana S. Maxwell. _Maine_, Sophronia C. +Snow. _Massachusetts_, Mrs. Harriet H. Robinson, Harriette R. +Shattuck, Laura E. Brooks, Mary R. Brown, Emma F. Clary. +_Nebraska_, Clara B. Colby. _New Jersey_, Mrs. Stanton, Mrs. +Chandler. _New York_, Mrs. Caroline Gilkey Rogers, Mrs. Blake, Mrs. +Gage, Miss Anthony, Mrs. Helen M. Loder. _Pennsylvania_, Mrs. +McClellan Brown, Rachel G. Foster, Emma C. Rhodes. _Rhode Island_, +Rev. Frederick A Hinckley, Mrs. Burgess. _Wisconsin_, Miss Eliza +Wilson and Mrs. Painter. + +[85] Short speeches were made by Mrs. Robinson and Mrs. Shattuck of +Massachusetts, Mrs. Sewall and Mrs. Gougar of Indiana, Mrs. Saxon +of Louisiana, Mrs. Colby of Nebraska. + +[86] When Mrs. Stanton, Mrs. Gage and Mrs. Blake of New York, Mrs. +Hooker of Connecticut and Mrs. Saxon of Louisiana, and Mrs. Sewall, +by special request of the chairman, again addressed the committee. + +[87] Mr. Blackburn, Mr. Robeson, and Mr. Reed were present. + +[88] Mrs. Saxon, Mrs. Gage, Mrs. Sewall, Mrs. McClellan Brown, Mrs. +Colby, Miss Couzins, Miss Anthony, Edward M. Davis, Robert Purvis, +Mrs. Shattuck, Rev. Frederick A. Hinckley, Mrs. Robinson. + +[89] Those present were Mesdames Spofford, Stanton, Robinson, +Shattuck, Sewall and Saxon; Misses Thompson, Anthony, Couzins and +Foster. Many pleasant ladies from the Society of Friends were there +also and contributed to the dignity and interest of the occasion. + +[90] The speakers in the American convention were Lucy Stone, Henry +B. Blackwell, Margaret W. Campbell, Mary E. Haggart, Judge Kingman +and Governor Hoyt of Wyoming, Hannah Tracy Cutler, Mary B. Clay, +Dr. Mary F. Thomas, Rebecca N. Hazzard, Ada M. Bittenbender, Mrs. +O. C. Dinsmore, Matilda Hindman, Rev. W. E. Copeland, Erasmus M. +Correll. + +The speakers at the National convention were Virginia L. Minor, +Phoebe Couzins, Mrs. Saxon, Mrs. Bloomer, Mrs. McKinney, Mrs. +Shattuck, Mrs. Neyman, Mrs. Colby, Mrs. Sewall, Mrs. Mason, Mrs. +Brooks, Mrs. Blake, Miss Anthony, Mrs. Dinsmore, Miss Hindman, Mrs. +Gougar, Mr. Correll and Mrs. Harbert. Many of those from both +associations took part in the canvass. Miss Rachel G. Foster went +out in the spring and made all the arrangements for the work of the +National. She studied the geography of the State, and the +railroads, and mapped out all the meetings for its twelve speakers. + +[91] For full reports of the American convention see the _Woman's +Journal_, edited by Lucy Stone and published in Boston. + +[92] For reports of the National see _Our Herald_, edited by Helen +M. Gougar and published in Lafayette, Ind. The daily papers of +Omaha had full reports, the most fair by the _Republican_, edited +by Mr. Brooks. + +[93] Their many courtesies are well summed up by Miss Foster in a +letter to _Our Herald_:--DEAR HERALD: As your readers will know +from the report of the executive meetings, it was decided to have a +headquarters for National Woman Suffrage Association speakers at +Omaha. When your editor left, the arrangements had not been +completed for office-room and furnishings. It is finally decided +that I, as secretary of the National Woman's Suffrage Association, +remain in charge of this Omaha office, with Mrs. C. B. Colby as my +associate, while Mrs. Bittenbender has charge of the headquarters +at Lincoln, and manages the American and State speakers, these two +officers of the campaign committee being in constant consultation. + +I cannot too strongly express the gratitude which our committee, +and especially our National Woman's Suffrage Association, owes to +the kind firm of Kitchen Brothers, proprietors of the Paxton Hotel. +During our late convention their attention has been unremitting, +and they now crown it by giving us, rent free, a large, +well-lighted office to be occupied until election as the Omaha +headquarters of our campaign committee. I was somewhat puzzled +about the suitable furnishings for the room, but Mr. Kitchen told +me he would attend to that himself, and through his kindness it +will be made very comfortable for us to occupy for the next five +weeks. + +Messrs. Dewey and Stone of this city, large dealers in furniture, +have given the use of a handsome and convenient desk which will +enable us to bring order out of chaos. So you can imagine us, +surrounded by all convenient appliances, hard at work in our new +quarters a good part of every day for this last month before +election. We can certainly not complain that we are not made +welcome to the best the city affords by these kind citizens of +Omaha. Why, we even had a special engine and car given us by the +accommodating manager of the Burlington & Missouri railroad to run +one of our speakers from Omaha to Lincoln to enable her to attend a +meeting which would otherwise have lacked a speaker. Mr. +Montmorency, on behalf of the Burlington & Missouri railroad, +extended this courtesy (and in our need at that hour it was highly +appreciated) to us because of the work in which we are engaged. As +all know ere this, both this road and the Union Pacific have given +to our speakers and delegates generous reductions over all their +lines in this State. + +Mayor Boyd, owner of the Opera House, has also done his share to +aid us toward success, in his great reduction of ordinary rates to +us while we occupy his handsome building with our suffrage mass +meetings. We have the Opera House now secured for October 4, 13, +19, 26, November 2 and 6, on which dates large meetings will be +addressed by some of our principal speakers. The first date is to +be filled by Miss Phoebe Couzins, on "The Woman Without a Country." + +The full report of our proceedings at the Omaha and Lincoln +conventions, with the newspaper comments upon the size and +character of the audiences there assembled, as well as the +courtesies which I have just mentioned, will convince our readers +that we are seemingly welcome guests here in Nebraska, and I may +say especially in Omaha. I will keep the _Herald_ posted from week +to week upon campaign committee work. + + Yours for success, RACHEL G. FOSTER. + +Headquarters of Suffrage Campaign Committee, Paxton House, Omaha, +October 2, 1882. + +[94] A private letter was received from Mrs. Ellen Clark Sargent, +enclosing a check for $50. + +[95] Miss Stanton, having studied astronomy with Professor Maria +Mitchell, went to Europe to take a degree in Mathematics from the +College of France; but before completing her course, she shared the +fate of too many of our American girls; she expatriated herself by +marrying a foreigner. + +[96] Letters were also received from Rebecca Moore, England; Mrs. +Z. G. Wallace, Indianapolis; Frederick Douglass, Washington, D. C.; +Theodore Stanton, Paris, France; Sarah Knox Goodrich, Clarina +Howard Nichols, California, and many others. + +[97] WHEREAS, The National Woman Suffrage Association has labored +unremittingly to secure the appointment of a committee in the +congress of the United States to receive and consider the petitions +of women and whereas, this Association realizes the importance of +such a committee, + +_Resolved_, That the thanks of this Association are due and are +hereby tendered to congress for the appointment at its last session +of a Select Woman Suffrage Committee in each house. + +_Resolved_, That the thanks of this Association are hereby tendered +to Senators Lapham, Ferry, Blair and Anthony, of the Select +Committee, for their able majority report. + +_Resolved_, That it is the paramount duty of congress at its next +session to submit a sixteenth amendment to the constitution which +shall secure the enfranchisement of the women of the republic. + +_Resolved_, That the recent action of King Christian of Denmark, in +conferring the right of municipal suffrage upon the women in +Iceland, and the similar enlargement of woman's political freedom +in Scotland, India and Russia, are all encouraging evidences of the +progress of self-government even in monarchical countries. And +farther, that while the possession of these privileges by our +foreign sisters is an occasion of rejoicing to us, it still but +emphasizes the inconsistency of a republic which refuses political +recognition to one-half of its citizens. + +_Resolved_, That the especial thanks of the officers and delegates +of this convention are due and are hereby most cordially tendered +to Mrs. Clara Bewick Colby, for the exceptionally efficient manner +in which she has discharged the onerous duties which devolved upon +her in making all preparations for this convention and for the +grand success which her efforts have secured. + +_Resolved_, That the National Woman Suffrage Association on the +occasion of this, its fourteenth annual convention, does, in the +absence of its honored president, desire to send greeting to +Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and to express to her the sympathetic +admiration with which the members of this body have followed her in +her reception in a foreign land. + +[98] Committee on Resolutions, composed of Lillie Devereux Blake of +New York city, Virginia L. Minor of St. Louis, Harriet R. Shattuck +of Boston, May Wright Sewall of Indianapolis, and Ellen H. Sheldon +of the District of Columbia. + +[99] Mrs. Spofford, the treasurer, reported that $5,000 were spent +in Nebraska in the endeavor to carry the amendment in that State. + +[100] Short speeches were made by Mrs. Rogers, Mrs. Lockwood, Mrs. +McKinney, Mrs. Loder and others. + +[101] This was the last word from this dear friend to one of our +number. I met her afterward as Mrs. Hudson with her husband in +London. We dined together one evening at the pleasant home of +Moncure D. Conway. She was as full as ever of plans for future +usefulness and enjoyment. From England she went for a short trip on +the continent. In parting I little thought she would so soon finish +her work on earth. E. C. S. + +[102] Mr. Springer had never been present at a single meeting of +the committee, though always officially notified. Neither did Mr. +Muldrow of Mississippi ever honor the committee with his presence. +However, Mr. Stockslager of Indiana and Mr. Vance of North Carolina +were always in their places, and the latter, we thought, almost +persuaded to consider with favor the claims of women to political +equality. + +[103] Reports of congressional action and the conventions of +1884-85 have been already published in pamphlet form, and we shall +print the reports hereafter once in two years, corresponding with +the terms of congress. Our plan is to bind these together once in +six years, making volumes of the size of those already published. +These pamphlets, as well as the complete History in three volumes, +are for sale at the publishing house of Charles Mann, 8 Elm Park, +Rochester, N. Y. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +MASSACHUSETTS. + +BY HARRIET H. ROBINSON. + + The Woman's Hour--Lydia Maria Child Petitions Congress--First New + England Convention--The New England, American and Massachusetts + Associations--_Woman's Journal_--Bishop Gilbert Haven--The + Centennial Tea-party--County Societies--Concord + Convention--Thirtieth Anniversary of the Worcester + Convention--School Suffrage Association--Legislative + Hearing--First Petitions--The Remonstrants Appear--Women in + Politics--Campaign of 1872--Great Meeting in Tremont + Temple--Women at the Polls--Provisions of Former State + Constitutions--Petitions, 1853--School-Committee Suffrage, + 1879--Women Threatened with Arrest--Changes in the Laws--Woman + Now Owns her own Clothing--Harvard Annex--Woman in the + Professions--Samuel E. Sewall and William I. Bowditch--Supreme + Court Decisions--Sarah E. Wall--Francis Jackson--Julia Ward + Howe--Mary E. Stevens--Lucia M. Peabody--Lelia Josephine + Robinson--Eliza (Jackson) Eddy's Will. + + +From 1860 to 1866 there is no record to be found of any public +meeting on the subject of woman's rights, in Massachusetts.[104] +During these years the war of the rebellion had been fought. +Pending the great struggle the majority of the leaders, who were +also anti-slavery, had thought it to be the wiser policy for the +women to give way for a time, in order that all the working energy +might be given to the slave. "It is not the woman's but the negro's +hour"; "After the slave--then the woman," said Wendell Phillips in +his stirring speeches, at this date. "Keep quiet, work for us," +said other of the anti-slavery leaders to the women. "Wait! help us +to abolish slavery, and then we will work for you." And the women, +who had the welfare of the country as much at heart as the men, +kept quiet; worked in hospital and field; sacrificed sons and +husbands; did what is always woman's part in wars between man and +man--and waited. If anything can make the women of the State regret +that they were silent as to their own claims for six eventful years +that the freedom of the black man might be secured, it is the +fact that now in 1885 his vote is ever adverse to women's +enfranchisement. When the fourteenth amendment to the United States +Constitution was proposed, in which the negro's liberty and his +right to the ballot were to be established, an effort was made to +secure in it some recognition of the rights of woman. Massachusetts +sent a petition, headed with the name of Lydia Maria Child, against +the introduction of the word "male" in the proposed amendment. When +this petition was offered to the greatest of America's emancipation +leaders, for presentation to congress, he received and presented it +under protest. He thought the woman question should not be +forced at such a time, and the only answer from congress this +"woman-intruding" petition received was found in the fourteenth +amendment itself, in which the word "male," with unnecessary +iteration, was repeated, so that there might be no mistake in +future concerning woman's rights, under the Constitution of the +United States.[105] + +The war was over. The rights of the black man, for whom the women +had worked and waited, were secured, but under the new amendment, +by which his race had been made free, the white women of the United +States were more securely held in political slavery. It was time, +indeed, to hold conventions and agitate anew the question of +woman's rights. The lesson of the war had been well learned. Women +had been taught to understand politics, the "science of +government," and to take an interest in public events; and some who +before the war had not thought upon the matter, began to ask +themselves why thousands of ignorant _men_ should be made voters +and they, or their sex, still kept in bondage under the law. + +In 1866, May 31, the first meeting of the American Equal Rights +Association was held at the Meionaon in Boston.[106] In 1868 the +call for a New England convention was issued and the meeting was +held November 18, 19, at Horticultural Hall, Boston. James Freeman +Clarke presided. In this convention sat many of the distinguished +men and women of the New England States,[107] old-time advocates, +together with newer converts to the doctrine, who then became +identified with the cause of equal rights irrespective of sex. This +convention was called by the Rev. Olympia Brown.[108] The hall was +crowded with eager listeners anxious to hear what would be said on +a subject thought to be ridiculous by a large majority of people in +the community. Some of the teachers of Boston sent a letter to the +convention, signed with their names, expressing their interest as +women. Henry Wilson avowed his belief in the equal rights of woman, +but thought the time had not yet come for such a consummation, and +said that, for this reason, he had voted against the question in +the United States Senate; "though," he continued, "I was afterwards +ashamed of having so voted." Like another celebrated Massachusetts +politician, he believed in the principle of the thing, but was +"agin its enforcement." At this date the popular interest +heretofore given to the anti-slavery question was transferred to +the woman suffrage movement. + +The New England Woman Suffrage Association was formed at this +convention. Julia Ward Howe was elected its president, and made her +first address on the subject of woman's equality with man. On its +executive board were many representative names from the six New +England States.[109] By the formation of this society, a great +impetus was given to the suffrage cause in New England. It held +conventions and mass-meetings, printed tracts and documents, and +put lecturers in the field. It set in motion two woman suffrage +bazars, and organized subscription festivals, and other enterprises +to raise money to carry on the work. It projected the American, and +Massachusetts suffrage associations; it urged the formation of +local and county suffrage societies, and set up the _Woman's +Journal_. The New England Association held its first anniversary in +May, 1869, and the meeting was even more successful than the +opening one of the preceding year. On this occasion Mrs. Livermore +spoke in Boston for the first time, and many new friends coming +forward gave vigor and freshness to the movement.[110] Wendell +Philips, Lucy Stone and Gilbert Haven, spoke at this convention. It +was on this occasion that the "good Bishop," as he afterward came +to be called, was met on leaving the meeting by one who did not +know his opinion on the subject. This person expressed surprise on +seeing him at a woman's rights meeting, and said: "_What! you_ +here?" "Yes," said he, "I _am_ here! I _believe_ in this reform. I +am going to start in the beginning, and ride with the procession." +After this, not until his earthly journey was finished, was his +place in "the procession" found vacant. Since 1869 the New England +Association has held its annual meeting in Boston during +anniversary week, in May, when reports from various States are +offered, concerning suffrage work done during the year. The +American Woman Suffrage Association was organized in 1869. Since +its formation it has held its annual conventions in some of the +chief cities of the several States.[111] A meeting was held in +Horticultural Hall, Boston, January 28, 1870, to organize the +Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association.[112] + +The Massachusetts Association is the most active of the three +societies named. Its work is generally local though it has sent +help to Colorado, Michigan, and other Western States. It has kept +petitions in circulation, and has presented petitions and memorials +to the State legislatures. It has asked for hearings and secured +able speakers for them. It has held conventions, mass-meetings, +Fourth of July celebrations. It has helped organize local Woman +suffrage clubs and societies, and has printed for circulation +numerous woman suffrage tracts. The amount of work done by its +lecturing agents can be seen by the statement of Margaret W. +Campbell, who alone, as agent of the American, the New England and +the Massachusetts associations, traveled in twenty different States +and two territories, organizing and speaking in conventions.[113] +As part of the latest work of this society may be mentioned its +efforts to present before the women of the State, in clear and +comprehensive form, an explanation of the different sections of the +new law "allowing women to vote for school committees." As soon as +the law passed the legislature of 1879, a circular of instructions +to women was carefully prepared by Samuel E. Sewall, an eminent +lawyer and member of the board of the Massachusetts Association, in +which all the points of law in relation to the new right were ably +presented. Thousands of copies of this circular were sent to women +all over the State. + +The Centennial Tea Party was held in Boston, December 15, 1873, in +response to the following call: + + The women of New England who believe that "taxation without + representation is tyranny," and that our forefathers were + justified in defying despotic power by throwing the tea into + Boston harbor, invite the men and women of New England to unite + with them in celebrating the one-hundredth anniversary of that + event in Fanueil Hall.[114] + +Three thousand people were in attendance, and it was altogether an +enthusiastic occasion and one long to be remembered. + +The record of conventions and meetings held by the Massachusetts +Association by no means includes all such gatherings held in +different towns and cities of the State. The county and local +societies have done a vast amount of work. The Hampden society was +started in 1868, with Eliphalet Trask, Frank B. Sanborn and +Margaret W. Campbell as leading officers. This was the first county +society formed in the State. Julia Ward Howe, a fresh convert of +the recent convention went to Salem to lecture on woman suffrage, +and the Essex county society was formed with Mrs. Sarah G. Wilkins +and Mrs. Delight R. P. Hewitt--the only two Salem women who went to +the 1850 convention at Worcester--on its executive board. The +Middlesex county society followed, planned by Ada C. Bowles and +officered by names well known in that historic old county. The +Hampshire and Worcester societies brought up the rear; the former +planned by Seth Hunt of Northampton. Notable conventions were held +by the Middlesex society in 1876--one in Malden, one in Melrose and +one in Concord, organized and conducted by its president, Harriet +H. Robinson. This last celebrated town had never before been so +favored. These meetings were conducted something after the style of +local church conferences. They were well advertised, and many +people came. A collation was provided by the ladies of each town, +and the feast of reason was so judiciously mingled with the +triumphs of cookery, that converts to the cause were never so +easily won. Many women present said to the president: "I never +before heard a woman's rights speech. If these are the reasons why +women should vote, I believe in voting." + +The Concord convention was held about a month after the great +centennial celebration of April 19, 1875--a celebration in which no +woman belonging to that town took any official part. Nor was there +any place of honor found for the more distinguished women who had +come long distances to share in the festivities. Some of the women +were descendents of Governor John Hancock, Dr. Samuel Prescott, +Major John Buttrick, Rev. William Emerson and Lieutenant Emerson +Cogswell. Though no seat of honor in the big tent in which the +speeches were made was given to the women of to-day, silent +memorials of those who had taken part in the events of one hundred +years ago, had found a conspicuous place there--the scissors that +cut the immortal cartridges made by the women on that eventful day, +and the ancient flag that the fingers of some of the mothers of the +Revolution had made. Though the Concord women were not permitted to +share the centennial honors, they were not deprived of the +privilege of paying their part of the expenses incident to the +occasion. To meet these, an increased tax-rate was assessed upon +all the property owners in the town; and, since one-fifth of the +town tax of Concord is paid by women, it will be seen what was +their share in the great centennial celebration of 1876. + +The knowledge of the proceedings at Concord added new zest to the +spirit of the three conventions, and the events of the day were +used by the speakers to point the moral of the woman's rights +question. Lucy Stone made one of her most effective and eloquent +speeches upon this subject. She said: + + FELLOW CITIZENS (I had almost said fellow subjects): What we need + is that women should feel their mean position; when that happens, + they will soon make an effort to get out of it. Everything is + possible to him that wills. All that is needed for the success of + the cause of woman suffrage is to have women know that they want + to vote. Concord and Lexington got into a fight about the + centennial, and Concord voted $10,000 for the celebration in + order to eclipse Lexington. One-fifth of the tax of Concord is + paid by the women, yet not one of these women dared to go to the + town hall and cast her vote upon that subject. This is exactly + the same thing which took place one hundred years ago--taxation + without representation, against which the _men_ of Concord then + rebelled. If I were an inhabitant of Concord, I would let my + house be sold over my head and my clothes off my back and be + hanged by the neck before I would pay a cent of it! Men of + Melrose, Concord and Malden, why persecute us? Would you like to + be a slave? Would you like to be disfranchised? Would you like to + be bound to respect the laws which you cannot make? There are + 15,000,000 of women whom the government denies legal rights. + +It might be supposed that a spot upon which the battle for freedom +and independence was first begun would always be the vantage ground +of questions relating to personal liberty. But such is not the +fact. Concord was never an anti-slavery town, though some of its +best citizens took active part in all the abolition movements. When +the time came that women were allowed to vote for school +committees, the same intolerant spirit which ignored and shut them +out of the centennial celebration was again manifested toward +them--not only by the leading magnates, but also by the petty +officials of the town. Some of them have from the first shown a +great deal of ingenuity in inventing ways to intimidate and mislead +the women voters. + +At the annual convention of the Massachusetts Association, in May, +1880, the following resolution was passed: + + WHEREAS, We believe in keeping the land-marks and traditions of + our movement; and + + WHEREAS, It will be thirty years next October since the first + woman's rights meeting was held in the State, and it seems + fitting that there should be some celebration of the event; + therefore, + + _Resolved_, That we will hold a woman suffrage jubilee in + Worcester, October 23 and 24 next, to commemorate the anniversary + of our first convention. + +A committee[115] of arrangements was chosen, and the meeting was +held. There were present many whose silver hairs told of long and +faithful service. The oldest ladies there were Mrs. Lydia Brown of +Lynn, Mrs. Wilbour of Worcester, and Julia E. Smith Parker of +Glastonbury, Conn. On the afternoon of the first day there was an +informal gathering of friends in the ante-room of Horticultural +Hall. Old-time memories were recalled by those who had not seen +each other for many years, and the common salutation was: "How gray +you've grown!" Many of them had indeed grown gray in the service, +and their faces were changed, but made beautiful by a life devoted +to a noble purpose. There were many present who had attended the +convention of thirty years ago--Abby Kelley Foster, Lucy Stone, +Antoinette Brown Blackwell, Paulina Gerry, Rev. Samuel May, Rev. W. +H. Channing, Joseph A. Howland, Adeline H. Howland, Dr. Martha H. +Mowry and many, many others. It was very pleasant indeed to hear +these veterans whose clear voices have spoken out so long and so +bravely for the cause. The speaking[116] at all the sessions was +excellent, and the spirit of the convention was very reverent and +hopeful. + +The tone of the press concerning woman's rights meetings had +changed greatly since thirty years before. "Hen conventions" had +gone by, and a woman's meeting was now called by its proper name. +Representatives of leading newspapers from all parts of the State +were present, and the reports were written in a just and friendly +spirit. + + +[Illustration: Harriet H. Robinson] + + +The Massachusetts School Suffrage Association was formed in 1880, +Abby W. May, president.[117] Its efforts are mostly confined to +Boston. An independent movement of women voters in Boston, distinct +from all organizations, was formed in 1884, and subdivided into +ward and city committees. These did much valuable work and secured +a larger number of voters than had qualified in previous years. In +1880 the number of registered women in the whole State was 4,566, +and in Boston 826. In 1884, chiefly owing to the ward and city +committees, the number in Boston alone was 1,100. This year (1885) +a movement among the Roman Catholic women has raised the number who +are assessed to vote to 1,843; and it is estimated that when the +tax-paying women are added, the whole number will be about 2,500. + +The National Woman Suffrage Association[118] of Massachusetts was +formed in January, 1882, of members who had joined the National +Association at its thirteenth annual meeting, held in Tremont +Temple, Boston, May 26, 27, 1881. According to Article II. of its +constitution, its object is to secure to women their right to the +ballot, by working for national, State, municipal, school, or any +other form of suffrage which shall at the time seem most expedient. +While it is auxiliary to the National Association, it reserves +to itself the right of independent action. It has held +conventions[119] in Boston and some of the chief cities of the +State, sent delegates to the annual Washington Convention[120] and +published valuable leaflets.[121] It has rolled up petitions to the +State legislature and to congress. Its most valuable work has been +the canvass made in certain localities in the city and country in +1884, to ascertain the number of women in favor of suffrage, the +number opposed and the number indifferent. The total result showed +that there were 405 in favor, 44 opposed, 166 indifferent, 160 +refusing to sign, 39 not seen; that is, over nine who would sign +themselves in favor to one who would sign herself opposed. This +canvass was made by women who gave their time and labor to this +arduous work, and the results were duly presented to the +legislature. + +In 1883 this Association petitioned the legislature to pass a +resolution recommending congress to submit a proposition for a +sixteenth amendment to the national constitution. The Senate +Committee on Woman Suffrage granted a hearing March 23, and soon +after presented a favorable report; but the resolution, when +brought to a vote, was lost by 21 to 11. This was the first time +that the National doctrine of congressional action was ever +presented or voted upon in the Massachusetts legislature. A second +hearing[122] was granted on February 28, 1884, before the Committee +on Federal Relations. They reported leave to withdraw. + +The associations mentioned are not the only ones that are aiding +the suffrage movement. Its friends are found in all the women's +clubs, temperance associations, missionary movements, charitable +enterprises, educational and industrial unions and church +committees. These agencies form a network of motive power which is +gradually carrying the reform into all branches of public work. + +The _Woman's Journal_ was incorporated in 1870 and is owned by a +joint stock company, shares being held by leading members of the +suffrage associations of New England. Shortly after it was +projected, the _Agitator_, then published in Chicago by Mary A. +Livermore, was bought by the New England Association on condition +that she should "come to Boston for one year, at a reasonable +compensation, to assist the cause by her editorial labor and +speaking at conventions." Lucy Stone and Henry B. Blackwell, +invited by the same society to "return to the work in +Massachusetts," at once assumed the editorial charge. T. W. +Higginson, Julia Ward Howe and W. L. Garrison were assistant +editors. "Warrington," Kate N. Doggett, Samuel E. Sewall, F. B. +Sanborn, and many other good writers, lent a helping hand to the +new enterprise. The _Woman's Journal_ has been of great value to +the cause. It has helped individual women and brought their +enterprises into public notice. It has opened its columns to +inexperienced writers and advertised young speakers. To sustain the +paper and furnish money for other work, two mammoth bazars or fairs +were held in Music Hall in 1870, 1871. Nearly all the New England +States and many of the towns in Massachusetts were represented by +tables in these bazars. Donations were sent from all directions and +the women worked, as they generally do in a cause in which they are +interested, to raise money to furnish the sinews of war. The +newspapers from day to day were full of descriptions of the +splendors of the tables, and the reporters spoke well of the women +who had taken this novel method to carry on their movement. People +who had never heard of woman suffrage before came to see what sort +of women were those who thus made a public exhibition of their zeal +in this cause. In remote places, as well as nearer the scene of +action, many people who had never thought of the significance of +the woman's rights movement, began to consider it through reading +the reports of the woman suffrage bazar. + +Female opponents of the suffrage movement began to make a stir as +early as 1868. A remonstrance was sent into the legislature, from +two hundred women of Lancaster, giving the reasons why women should +not enjoy the exercise of the elective franchise: "It would +diminish the purity, the dignity and the moral influence of woman, +and bring into the family circle a dangerous element of discord." +In _The Revolution_ of August 5, 1869, Parker Pillsbury said: + + Dolly Chandler and the hundred and ninety-four other women who + asked the Massachusetts legislature not to allow the right of + suffrage, were very impudent and tyrannical, too, in petitioning + for any but themselves. They should have said: "We, Dolly + Chandler and her associates, to the number of a hundred and + ninety-five in all, do not want the right of suffrage; and we + pray your honorable bodies to so decree and enact that we shall + never have it." So far they might go. But when they undertake to + prevent a hundred and ninety-four thousand other women who do + want the ballot and who have an acknowledged right to it, and are + laboring for it day and night, it is proper to ask, What business + have Dolly Chandler and her little coterie to interpose? Nobody + wants them to vote unless they themselves want to. They can stay + at home and see nobody but the assessor, the tax-gatherer and the + revenue collector, from Christmas to Christmas, if they so + prefer. Those gentlemen they will be pretty likely to see, + annually or quarterly, and to feel their power, too, if they have + pockets with anything in them, in spite of all petitions to the + legislature. + +It did not occur to these women that by thus remonstrating they +were doing just what they were protesting against. What _is_ a +vote? An expression of opinion or a desire as to governmental +affairs, in the shape of a ballot. The "aspiring blood of +Lancaster" should have mounted higher than this, since, if it +really was the opinion of these remonstrants that woman cannot vote +without becoming defiled, they should have kept themselves out of +the legislature, should have kept their hands from petitioning and +their thoughts from agitation on either side of the subject. Just +such illogical reasoning on the woman suffrage question is often +brought forward and passes for the profoundest wisdom and +discreetest delicacy! The same arguments are used by the +remonstrants of to-day, who are now fully organized and doing very +efficient political work in opposing further political action by +women. In their carriages, with footman and driver, they solicit +names to their remonstrances. As a Boston newspaper says: + + The anti-woman suffrage women get deeper and deeper into politics + year by year in their determination to keep out of politics. By + the time they triumph they will be the most accomplished + politicians of the sex, and unable to stop writing to the papers, + holding meetings, circulating remonstrances, any more than the + suffrage sisterhood. + +These persons, men and women, bring their whole force to bear +before legislative committees at woman suffrage hearings, and use +arguments that might have been excusable forty years ago. However +this is merely a phase of the general movement and will work for +good in the end. It can no more stop the progress of the reform +than it can stop the revolution of the globe. + +Political agitation on the woman suffrage question began in +Massachusetts in 1870. A convention to discuss the feasibility of +forming a woman suffrage political party was held in Boston, at +which Julia Ward Howe presided, and Rev. Augusta Chapin offered +prayer. The question of a separate nomination for State officers +was carefully considered.[123] Delegates were present from the +Labor Reform and Prohibition parties, and strong efforts were made +by them to induce the convention to nominate Wendell Phillips, who +had already accepted the nomination of those two parties, as +candidate for governor. The convention at one time seemed strongly +in favor of this action, the women in particular thinking that in +Mr. Phillips they would find a staunch and well tried leader. But +more politic counsels prevailed, and it was finally concluded to +postpone a separate nomination until after the Republican and +Democratic conventions had been held. A State central committee was +formed, and at once began active political agitation. A memorial +was prepared to present to each of the last-named conventions; and +the candidates on the State tickets of the four political parties +were questioned by letter concerning their opinions on the right of +the women to the ballot. At the Republican State convention held +October 5, 1870, the question was fairly launched into politics, by +the admission, for the first time, of two women, Lucy Stone and +Mary A. Livermore, as regularly accredited delegates. Both were +invited to speak, and the following resolution drawn up by Henry B. +Blackwell, was presented by Charles W. Slack: + + _Resolved_, That the Republican party of Massachusetts is mindful + of its obligations to the loyal women of America for their + patriotic devotion to the cause of liberty; that we rejoice in + the action of the recent legislature in making women eligible as + officers of the State; that we thank Governor Claflin for having + appointed women to important political trusts; that we are + heartily in favor of the enfranchisement of women, and will hail + the day when the educated, intelligent and enlightened conscience + of the women of Massachusetts has direct expression at the ballot + box. + +This resolution was presented to the committee, who did not agree +as to the propriety of reporting it to the convention, and they +instructed their chairman, George F. Hoar, to state the fact and +refer the resolution back to that body for its own action. A warm +debate arose, in which several members of the convention made +speeches on both sides of the question. The resolution was finally +defeated, 137 voting in its favor, and 196 against it. Although +lost, the large vote in the affirmative was thought to mean a great +deal as a guaranty of the good faith of the Republican party, and +the women were willing to trust to its promises. It was thought +then, as it has been thought since, that most of the friends of +woman suffrage were in the Republican party, and that the interests +of the cause could best be furthered by depending on its action. +The women were, however, mistaken, and have learned to look upon +the famous resolution in its true light. It is now known as the +_coup d'etat_ of the Worcester convention of 1870, which +really had more votes than it was fairly entitled to. After +that,--"forewarned, forearmed," said the enemies of the enterprise, +and woman suffrage resolutions have received less votes in +Republican conventions. + +When the memorial prepared by the State Central Committee was +presented to the Democratic State convention, that body, in +response, passed a resolution conceding the _principle_ of women's +right to suffrage, but at the same time declared itself against its +being _enforced_, or put into practice. To finish the brief record +of the dealings of the Democratic party, with the women of the +State, it may be said that since 1870, it has never responded to +their appeals, nor taken any action of importance on the question. + +In 1871 a resolution endorsing woman suffrage was passed in the +Republican convention. In June, 1872, the national convention at +Philadelphia, passed the following: + + _Resolved_, That the Republican party is mindful of its + obligations to the loyal women of America for their noble + devotion to the cause of freedom; their admission to wider fields + of usefulness is viewed with satisfaction; and the honest demand + of any class of citizens for additional rights, should be treated + with respectful consideration. + +The Massachusetts Republican State Convention, following this lead, +again passed a woman suffrage resolution: + + _Resolved_, That we heartily approve the recognition of the + rights of woman contained in the fourteenth clause of the + national Republican platform; that the Republican party of + Massachusetts, as the representative of liberty and progress, is + in favor of extending suffrage to all American citizens + irrespective of sex, and will hail the day when the educated + intellect and enlightened conscience of woman shall find direct + expression at the ballot-box. + +This was during the campaign of 1872, when General Grant's chance +of reelection was thought to be somewhat uncertain, and the +Republican women in all parts of the country were called on to +rally to his support. The National Woman Suffrage Association had +issued "an appeal to the women of America," asking them to +cooeperate with the Republican party and work for the election of +its candidates. In response to this appeal a ratification meeting +was held at Tremont Temple, in Boston, at which hundreds stayed to +a late hour listening to speeches made by women on the political +questions of the day. An address was issued from the "Republican +women of Massachusetts to the women of America." In this address +they announced their faith in and willingness to "trust the +Republican party and its candidates, as saying what they mean and +meaning what they say, and in view of their honorable record we +have no fear of betrayal on their part." Mrs. Livermore, Lucy Stone +and Huldah B. Loud took part in the canvass, and agents employed by +the Massachusetts Association were instructed to speak for the +Republican party.[124] Women writers furnished articles for the +newspapers and the Republican women did as much effective work +during the campaign as if each one had been a "man and a voter." +They did everything but vote. All this agitation was a benefit to +the Republican party, but not to woman suffrage, because for a time +it arrayed other political parties against the movement and caused +it to be thought merely a party issue, while it is too broad a +question for such limitation. + +General Grant was reelected and the campaign was over. When the +legislature met and the suffrage question came up for discussion, +that body, composed in large majority of Republicans, showed the +women of Massachusetts the difference between "saying what you mean +and meaning what you say," the Woman Suffrage bill being defeated +by a large majority. The women learned by this experience that +nothing is to be expected of a political party while it is in +power. To close the subject of suffrage resolutions in the platform +of the Republican party, it may be said that they continued to be +put in and seemed to mean something until after 1875, when they +became only "glittering generalities," and were as devoid of real +meaning or intention as any that were ever passed by the old Whig +party on the subject of abolition. Yet from 1870 to 1874 the +Republican party had the power to fulfill its promises on this +question. Since then, it has been too busy trying to keep breath in +its own body to lend a helping hand to any struggling reform. At +the Republican convention, held in Worcester in 1880, an attempt +was made by Mr. Blackwell to introduce a resolution endorsing the +right conferred upon women in the law allowing them to vote for +school committees, passed by the legislature of 1879. This +resolution was rejected by the committee, and when offered in +convention as an amendment, it was voted down without a single +voice, except that of the mover, being raised in its support. Yet +this resolution only asked a Republican convention to endorse an +existing right, conferred on the women of the State by a Republican +legislature! A political party as a party of freedom must be very +far spent when it refuses at its annual convention to endorse an +act passed by a legislature the majority of whose members are +representatives elected from its own body. Since that time the +Republican party has entirely ignored the claims of woman. In 1884, +at its annual convention, an effort was made, as usual, by Mr. +Blackwell, to introduce a resolution, but without success, and yet +some of the best of our leaders advised the women to "stand by the +Republican party."[125] + +The question of forming a woman suffrage political party had, since +1870, been often discussed.[126] In 1875 Thomas J. Lothrop proposed +the formation of a separate organization. But it was not until 1876 +that any real effort in this direction was made. The Prohibitory +(or Temperance) party sometimes holds the balance of political +power in Massachusetts, and many of the members of that party are +also strong advocates of suffrage. The feeling had been growing +for several years that if forces could be joined with the +Prohibitionists some practical result in politics might be reached, +and though there was a difference of opinion on this subject, many +were willing to see the experiment tried. + +The Prohibitory party had at its convention in 1876 passed a +resolution inviting the women to take part in its primary meetings, +with an equal voice and vote in the nomination of candidates and +transaction of business. After long and anxious discussions, the +Massachusetts Woman Suffrage State Central Committee, in whose +hands all political action rested, determined to accept this +invitation. A woman suffrage political convention was held, at +which the Prohibitory candidates were endorsed and a joint State +ticket was decided on, to be headed "Prohibition and Equal Rights." +These tickets were sent to women all over the State, and they were +strongly urged to go to the polls and distribute them on election +day. Lucy Stone, Mary A. Livermore and other leading speakers took +part in the campaign, and preparations were completed by which it +was expected both parties would act harmoniously together. Clubs +were formed at whose headquarters were seen men and women gathered +together to organize for political work. From some of these +headquarters hung transparencies with "Baker and Eddy" on one side, +and "Prohibition and Equal Rights" on the other. Caucuses and +conventions were held in Chelsea, Taunton, Malden, Lynn, Concord, +and other places. A Middlesex county (first district) senatorial +convention was called and organized by women, and its proceedings +were fully reported by the Boston newspapers.[127] + +The nominations made at these caucuses were generally unanimous, +and it seemed at the time as if the two wings of the so-called +"Baker party" would work harmoniously together. But, with a few +honorable exceptions, the Prohibitionists, taking advantage of the +fact that the voting power of the women was over, once outside the +caucus, repudiated the nominations, or held other caucuses and shut +the doors of entrance in the faces of the women who represented +either the suffrage or the Prohibitory party. This was the case +invariably, excepting in towns where the majority of the voting +members of the Prohibitory party were also in favor of woman +suffrage. This result is what might have been expected. Of what use +was woman in the ranks of any political party, with no vote outside +the caucus? + +After being thus ignored in one of their caucuses in Malden, +Middlesex county, the suffragists in that town determined to hold +another caucus. This was accordingly done, and two "straight" +candidates were nominated as town representatives to the +legislature. A "Woman Suffrage ticket"[128] was thereupon printed +to offer to the voters on election day. The next question was, who +would distribute these ballots most effectively at the polls. Some +men thought that the women themselves should go and present in +person the names of their candidates. At first the women who had +carried on the campaign shrank from this last test of their +faithfulness; but, after carefully considering the matter, they +concluded that it was the right thing to do. The repugnance felt at +that time, at the thought of "women going to the polls" can hardly +be appreciated to-day. Since they have begun to vote in +Massachusetts the terror expressed at the idea of such a proceeding +has somewhat abated; but in 1876 it was thought to be a rash act +for a woman to appear at the polls in company with men. Some +attempt was made to deter them from their purpose, and stories of +pipes and tobacco and probable insults were told; but they had no +terrors for women who knew better than to believe that their +neighbors would be turned into beasts (like the man in the fairy +tale) for this one day in the year.[129] + +It was a sight to be remembered, to behold women "crowned with +honor" standing at the polls to see the freed slave go by and vote, +and the newly-naturalized fellow-citizen, and the blind, the +paralytic, the boy of twenty-one with his newly-fledged vote, the +drunken man who did not know Hayes from Tilden, and the man who +read his ballot upside down. All these voted for the men they +wanted to represent them, but the women, being neither colored, nor +foreign, nor blind, nor paralytic, nor newly-fledged, nor drunk, +nor ignorant, but only _women_, could not vote for the men they +wanted to represent them.[130] + +The women learned several things during this campaign in +Massachusetts. One was, that weak parties are no more to be trusted +than strong ones; and another, that men grant but little until the +ballot is placed in the hands of those who make the demand. They +learned also how political caucuses and conventions are managed. +The resolution passed by the Prohibitionists enabled them to do +this. So the great "open sesame" is reached. It is but fair to +state that since 1876 the Prohibitory party has treated the woman +suffrage question with consideration. In its annual convention it +has passed resolutions endorsing woman's claims to political +equality, and has set the example to other parties of admitting +women as delegates. At the State convention in 1885 the following +resolution was adopted by a good majority: + + _Resolved_, That women having interests to be promoted and rights + to be protected, and having ability for the discharge of + political duties, should have the right to vote and to be voted + for, as is accorded to man. + +In the early history of Massachusetts, when the new colony was +governed by laws set down in the Province charter (1691, third year +of William and Mary) women were not excluded from voting. The +clause in the charter relating to this matter says: + + The great and general court shall consist of the governor and + council (or assistants for the time being) and of such + freeholders as shall be from time to time elected or deputed by + the major part of the freeholders and other inhabitants of the + respective towns or places, who shall be present at such + elections. + +In the original constitution (1780) women were excluded from voting +except for certain State officers.[131] In the constitutional +convention of 1820, the word "male" was first put into the +constitution of the State, in an amendment to define the +qualifications of voters. In this convention, a motion was made at +three different times, during the passage of the act, to strike out +the intruding word, but the motion was voted down. Long before the +second attempt was made to revise the constitution of the State, +large numbers of women began to demand suffrage. Woman's sphere of +operations and enterprise had become so widened, that they felt +they had not only the right, but also an increasing fitness for +civil life and government, of which the ballot is but the sign and +the symbol. + +In the constitutional convention of 1853, twelve petitions were +presented, from over 2,000 adult persons, asking for the +recognition of woman's right to the ballot, in the proposed +amendments to the constitution of the State. The committee reported +leave to withdraw, giving as their reason that the "consent of the +governed" was shown by the small number of petitioners. Hearings +before this committee were granted.[132] The chairman of this +committee, in presenting the report, moved that all debate on the +subject should cease in thirty minutes, and on motion of Benjamin +F. Butler of Lowell, the whole report, excepting the last clause, +was stricken out. There was then left of the whole document +(including more than two closely-printed pages of reasoning) only +this: "It is inexpedient for this convention to take any action." + +Legislative action on the woman's rights question began in 1849, +when William Lloyd Garrison presented the first petition on the +subject to the State legislature. Following him was one from +Jonathan Drake and others, "for a peaceable secession of +Massachusetts from the Union." Both these petitions were probably +considered by the legislature to which they were addressed as of +equally incendiary character, since they both had "leave to +withdraw." In 1851 an order was introduced asking "whether any +legislation was necessary concerning the wills of married women?" +In 1853 a bill was enacted "to exempt certain property of widows +and unmarried women from taxation." In the legislature of 1856 the +first great and important act relating to the property rights of +women was passed. It was to the effect that women could hold all +property earned or acquired independently of their husbands. This +act was amended and improved the next session. + +In 1857 a hearing was held before the Committee on the Judiciary to +listen to arguments in favor of the petition of Lucy Stone and +others for equal property rights for women and for the "right of +suffrage." Another hearing was held in the same place in February, +1858, before the Joint Special Committee on the Qualifications of +Voters. A second hearing on the right of suffrage for women was +held the following week before the same committee. Thomas W. +Higginson made an address and Caroline Kealey Dall read an essay. + +In 1858, Stephen A. Chase of Salem, from the same Committee on the +Qualifications of Voters, made a long report on the petitions. This +report closed with an order that the State Board of Education make +inquiry and report to the next legislature "whether it is not +practicable and expedient to provide by law some method by which +the women of this State may have a more active part in the control +and management of the schools." There is nothing in legislative +records to show that the State Board of Education reported +favorably; but from the above statement it appears that ten years +before Samuel E. Sewall's petition on the subject, a movement was +made towards making women "eligible to serve as members of +school-committees." + +The petitions for woman's rights were usually circulated by women +going from house to house. They did the drudgery, endured the +hardships and suffered the humiliations attendant upon the early +history of our cause; but their names are forgotten, and others +reap the benefit of their labors. These women were so modest and so +anxious for the success of their petitions, that they never put +their own names at the head of the list, preferring the signature +of some leading man, so that others seeing his name, might be +induced to follow his example. Among the earliest of these silent +workers was Mary Upton Ferrin. Her petitions were for a change in +the laws concerning the property rights of married women, and for +the political and legal rights of all women. In 1849 she prepared a +memorial to the Massachusetts legislature in which are embodied +many of the demands for woman's equality before the law, which have +so often been made to that body since that time.[133] + +In 1861 the legislature debated a bill to allow a widow, "if she +have woodland as a part of her dower, the privilege of cutting wood +enough for one fire." This bill failed, and the widow, by law, was +_not_ allowed to keep herself warm with fuel from her own wood-lot. +In 1863 a bill providing that "a wife may be allowed to be a +witness and proceed against her husband for desertion," was +reported inexpedient, and a bill was passed to _prevent_ women from +forming copartnerships in business. In 1865, Gov. John A. Andrew, +seeing the magnitude of the approaching woman question, in his +annual message to the legislature, made a memorable suggestion: + + I know of no more useful object to which the commonwealth can + lend its aid, than that of a movement, adopted in a practical + way, to open the door of emigration to young women who are wanted + for teachers and for every appropriate, as well as domestic, + employment in the remote West, but who are leading anxious and + aimless lives in New England. + +By the "anxious and aimless" it was supposed the governor meant the +widowed, single or otherwise unrepresented portion of the citizens +of the State. No action was taken by the legislature on this +portion of the governor's message. But a member of the Senate +actually made the following proposition before that body: + + That the "anxious and aimless women" of the State should assemble + on the Common on a certain day of the year (to be hereafter + named), and that Western men who wanted wives, should be invited + to come here and select them. + +Legislators who make such propositions, do not foresee that the +time may come, when perhaps those nearest and dearest to them, may +be classed among the superfluous or "anxious and aimless" women! + +In 1865 bills allowing married women to testify in suits at law +where their husbands are parties, and permitting them to hold trust +estates were rejected. It will be seen that though all this +legislation was adverse to woman's interest, the question had +forced itself upon the attention of the members of both House and +Senate. In 1866 a joint committee of both houses was appointed to +consider: + + If any additional legislation can be adopted, whereby the means + of obtaining a livelihood by the women of this commonwealth may + be increased and a more equal and just compensation be allowed + for their labor. + +In 1867, Francis W. Bird presented the petition of Mehitable +Haskell of Gloucester for "an amendment to the constitution +extending suffrage to women." In 1868 Mr. King of Boston presented +the same petition, and it was at this time, and in answer thereto, +that the subject first entered into the regular orders of the day, +and became a part of the official business of the House of +Representatives. Attempts to legislate on the property question +were continued in 1868, in bills "to further protect the property +of married women," "to allow married women to contract for +necessaries," and if "divorced from bed and board, to allow them to +dispose of their own property." These bills were all defeated. +Annual legislative hearings on woman suffrage began in 1869. These +were first secured through the efforts of the executive committee +of the New England Woman Suffrage Association. Eight thousand women +had petitioned the legislature that suffrage might be allowed them +on the same terms as men, and in answer, two hearings were held in +the green room at the State House.[134] In 1870 a joint special +committee on woman suffrage was formed, and since that time there +have been one or more annual hearings on the question. To what +extent legislative sentiment has been created will be shown later +in the improvement of many laws with regard to the legal status of +woman. + +William Claflin was the first governor of Massachusetts to present +officially to the voters of the commonwealth the subject of woman's +rights as a citizen. In his address to the legislature of 1871, he +strongly recommended a change in the laws regarding suffrage and +the property rights of woman. His attitude toward this reform made +an era in the history of the executive department of the State. +Since that time nearly every governor of the State has, in +his annual message, recommended the subject to respectful +consideration. In 1879 Governor Thomas Talbot proposed a +constitutional amendment which should secure the ballot to women on +the same terms as to men. In response to this portion of the +governor's message, and to the ninety-eight petitions presented on +the subject, a general suffrage bill passed the Senate by a +two-thirds majority, and an act to "give women the right to vote +for members of school committees," passed both branches of the +legislature and became a law of the State.[135] Governor John D. +Long, in his inaugural address before the legislature of 1880, +expressed his opinion in favor of woman suffrage perhaps more +decidedly than any who had preceded him in that high official +position. He said: + + I repeat my conviction of the right of woman suffrage. If the + commonwealth is not ready to give it in full by a constitutional + amendment, I approve of testing it in municipal elections. + +The law allowing women to vote for school committees is one of the +last results of the legislative agitations, though it is true that +the petition, the answer to which was the passage of this act, did +not emanate from any suffrage association. It was the outcome of a +conference on the subject, held in the parlors of the New England +Women's Club.[136] + +But the petitions of the suffragists had always been for general +and unrestricted suffrage, and they opposed any scheme for securing +the ballot on a class or a restricted basis, holding that the true +ground of principle is equality of rights with man. The practical +result, so far, of voting for school committees has justified this +position; for, as shown by the recent elections, the women of the +State have not availed themselves to any extent of their new right +to vote, and, therefore, the measure has not forwarded the cause of +general suffrage. In fact, the school-committee question is not a +vital one with either male or female voters, and it is impossible +to get up any enthusiasm on the subject. As a test question upon +which to try the desire of the women of the State to become voters, +it is a palpable sham. Our Revolutionary fathers would not have +fought, bled and died for such a figment of a right as this; and +their daughters, or grand-daughters, inherit the same spirit, and +if they vote at all, want something worth voting for. The result +is, that the voting has been largely done by those women who have +long been in favor of suffrage, and who have gone to the polls on +election day from pure principle and a sense of duty.[137] + +The law allowing women to vote for school committees was very +elastic and capable of many interpretations. It reminded one of the +old school exercise in transposing the famous line in Gray's Elegy, + + "The ploughman homeward plods his weary way," + +which has been found to be capable of over twenty different +transpositions. The collectors and registrars in some towns and +cities took advantage of this obscurity of expression, and +interpreted the law according to their individual opinion on the +woman suffrage question. In places where these officials were in +sympathy, a broad construction was put upon the provisions of the +law, the poll-tax payers were allowed to vote upon the payment of +one dollar (under the divided tax law of 1879), and the women +voters generally were given all necessary information, and treated +courteously both by the assessors and registrars and at the polls. +In places where leading officials were opposed to women's voting, +the case was far different. Without regarding the clause in the law +which said that a woman may vote upon paying either State or county +poll-tax, such officials have threatened the women with arrest when +they refused to pay both. In some towns they have been treated with +great indignity, as if they were doing an unlawful act. In one town +the women were actually required to pay a poll-tax the second year, +in spite of the clause in the law that a female citizen who has +paid a State or county tax within two years shall have the right to +vote. The town assessor, whose duty it was to inform the women on +this point of the law when asked concerning the matter, _willfully_ +withheld the desired information, saying he "did not know," though +he afterwards said that he _did_ know, but intended to let the +women "find out for themselves." This assessor forgot that the +women, as legal voters, had a right to ask for this information, +and that by virtue of his official position he was legally obliged +to answer. In another town two ladies who were property tax-payers +were made to pay the two dollars poll-tax, and the record of this +still stands on the town books. Some ladies were frightened and +paid the tax under protest; others ran the risk. Here is a letter +addressed to a lady 83 years of age: + + MALDEN, Dec. 2, 1879. + + HARRIET HANSON: There is a balance of ninety cents due on your + poll-tax of 1879, duly assessed upon you. Payment of the same is + hereby demanded, and if not paid within fourteen days from this + date, with twenty cents for the summons, the collector is + required to proceed forthwith to collect the same in manner + provided by law. + + THEODORE N. FOGUE, _Collector_. + +Mrs. Hanson paid no attention to the summons, and that was the end +of it. + +In 1881, under the amended act the poll-tax was reduced to fifty +cents, and the property tax-paying women (who are not required to +pay a poll-tax) are no longer obliged to make a return of property +exempt from taxation, as was required under the original statute. +Though some of the disabilities were removed, yet the privileges +are no greater; and it is for members of school-committees and for +nothing else, that the women of this State can vote. This is hardly +worthy to be called "school suffrage"! It is to be regretted that a +better test than that of school-committee suffrage, could not have +been given to the women of the State, so that the issue of what +under the circumstances cannot be called a fair trial of their +desire to vote, might be more nearly what the friends of reform had +desired. + +The first petition to the Massachusetts legislature, asking that +women might be allowed to serve on school-boards was presented in +1866 by Samuel E. Sewall of Boston. The same petition was again +presented in 1867. About this time Ashfield and Monroe, two of the +smallest towns in the State, elected women as members of the school +committee. Worcester and Lynn soon followed the good example, and +in 1874, Boston, for the first time, chose six women to serve in +this capacity.[138] There had hitherto been no open objection to +this innovation, but the school committee of Boston not liking the +idea of women co-workers, declared them ineligible to hold such +office. Miss Peabody applied to the Supreme Court for its opinion +upon the matter, but the judges refused to answer, and dismissed +the petition on the ground that the school committee itself had +power to decide the question of the qualifications of members of +the board. The subject was brought before the legislature of the +same year, and that body, almost unanimously, passed "An Act to +Declare Women Eligible to Serve as Members of School Committees." +Thus the women members were reinstated.[139] + +This refusal on the part of the Supreme Judicial Court of +Massachusetts to answer a question relating to woman's rights under +the law, was received with a knowing smile by those who remembered +the three adverse decisions relating to women which had been given +by that august body. The first of these was on the case of Sarah E. +Wall of Worcester. The second was concerning a clause in the will +of Francis Jackson of Boston, who left $5,000 and other property to +the woman's rights cause. Its third adverse decision was given in +1871. In that year, Julia Ward Howe and Mary E. Stevens were +appointed by Governor Claflin as justices of the peace. Some member +of the governor's council having doubted whether women could +legally hold the office, the opinion of the Supreme Court was asked +and it decided substantially that because women were women, or +because women were not _men_, they could _not_ be justices of the +peace; and the appointment was not confirmed. + +Changes in the common law began in 1845 with reference to the +wife's right to hold her own property. In 1846 she could legally +sign a receipt for money earned or deposited by herself.[140] +Before 1855 a woman could not hold her own property, either earned +or acquired by inheritance. If unmarried, she was obliged to place +it in the hands of a trustee, to whose will she was subject. If she +contemplated marriage, and desired to call her property her own, +she was forced by law to make a contract with her intended husband, +by which she gave up all title or claim to it. A woman, either +married or unmarried, could hold no office of trust or power. She +was not a person. She was not recognized as a citizen. She was not +a factor in the human family. She was not a unit; but a zero, a +nothing, in the sum of civilization. + +To-day, a married woman can hold her own property, if it is held or +bought in her own name, and can make a will disposing of it. A man +is no longer the sole heir of his wife's property. A married woman +can make contracts, enter into co-partnerships, carry on business, +invest her own earnings for her own use and behoof,--and she is +also responsible for her own debts. She can be executor, +administrator, guardian or trustee. She can testify in the courts +for or against her husband. She can release, transfer, or convey, +any interest she may have in real estate, subject only to the life +interest which the husband may have at her death. Thirty years ago, +when the woman's rights movement began, the status of a married +woman was little better than that of a domestic servant. By the +English common law, her husband was her lord and master. He had the +sole custody of her person, and of her minor children. He could +"punish her with a stick no bigger than his thumb," and she could +not complain against him.[141] But the real "thumb" story seems to +have originated with a certain Judge Buller of England, who lived +about one hundred years ago. In his ruling on one of those cases of +wife-beating, now so common in our police courts, he said that a +man had a right to punish his wife, "with a stick no bigger than +his thumb." That was his opinion. Shortly after this some ladies +sent the judge a letter in which they prayed him to give the size +of his thumb! We are not told whether he complied with their +request.] + +The common law of this State held man and wife to be one person, +but that person was the husband. He could by will deprive her of +every part of his property, and also of what had been her own +before marriage. He was the owner of all her real estate and of her +earnings. The wife could make no contract and no will, nor, without +her husband's consent, dispose of the legal interest of her real +estate. He had the income of her real estate till she died, and if +they ever had a living child his ownership of the real estate +continued to his death. He could forbid her to buy a loaf of bread +or a pound of sugar, or contract for a load of wood to keep the +family warm. She did not own a rag of her own clothing. She had no +personal rights, and could hardly call her soul her own. + +Her husband could steal her children, rob her of her clothing, and +her earnings, neglect to support the family; and she had no legal +redress. If a wife earned money by her labor, the husband could +claim the pay as his share of the proceeds. There is a clause +sometimes found in old wills, to the effect that if a widow marry +again, she shall forfeit all right to her husband's property. The +most conservative judge in the commonwealth would now rule that a +widow cannot be kept from her fair share of the property, by any +such unjust restriction. In a husband's eyes of a hundred and fifty +years ago, a woman's mission was accomplished after she had been +_his_ wife and borne _his_ children. What more could be desired of +her, he argued, but a corner somewhere in which, respectably +dressed as his _relict_, she could sit down and mourn for him, for +the rest of her life.[142] + +The law no longer sanctions such a will, but provides that the +widow shall have a fair share of all personal property. If a widow +permits herself to-day to be defrauded of her legal rights in the +division of property, it is her own fault, and because she does not +study and understand for herself the general statutes of +Massachusetts, and the laws concerning the rights of married women. +The result of thirty years of property legislation for women is +well stated by Mr. Sewall in his admirable pamphlet, in which he +says, "the last thirty years have done more to improve the law for +married women than the four hundred preceding." The legislature +has, during this time, enacted laws allowing women to vote in +parishes and religious societies, declaring that women _must_ +become members of the board of trustees of the three State primary +and reform schools, of the State workhouse, of the State almshouse +at Tewksbury, and of the board of prison commissioners; also, that +certain officers and managers of the reformatory prison for women +at Sherborn "shall be women." Without legislation, women now are +school supervisors, overseers of the poor, trustees of public +libraries and members of the State Board of Education and of the +State Board of Health, Lunacy and Charity.[143] + +These great changes in legislation for the women of Massachusetts +are the result of their own labors. By conventions and documents +they have informed the people and enlightened public sentiment. By +continued agitation the question has been kept prominently before +their representatives in the legislature. And, though so much has +been gained, they are still hard at work, nor will they rest until, +woman's equality with man before the law is firmly established. + +Among the most important acts passed recently is one of 1879, by +which a married woman is the owner of her own clothing to the value +of $2,000, although the act granting this calls such apparel the +"gifts of her husband," not recognizing the fact that most married +women earn or help to earn their own clothes. A law was passed, in +1881, to "mitigate the evils of divorce." Two important acts were +passed by the legislature of 1882, one allowing women to become +practising attorneys, and the other providing, that in case of the +death of a married woman intestate and leaving children, one-half +only of her personal estate shall go to her husband, instead of the +whole, as in previous years. In 1883, a wife was given the right of +burial in any lot or tomb belonging to her husband. In 1884, the +only measures were a bill providing for the appointment of women on +the board of State lunatic hospitals, and another providing for the +appointment of women assistant physicians in the same hospitals, +and an act giving women the power to dispose of their separate +estates by will or deed. In 1885, very little was done to improve +the legal status of women. + +When any vote on the Suffrage bill is taken, it is enough to make +the women who sit in the gallery weep to hear the "O's" and the +"Mc's," almost to a man, thunder forth the emphatic "_No!_"; and to +think that these men (some of whom a few years ago were walking +over their native bogs, with hardly the right to live and breathe) +should vote away so thoughtlessly the rights of the women of the +country in which they have found a shelter and a home. When they +came to this country, poor, and with no inheritance but the +"shillalah," the ballot was freely given to them, as the poor man's +weapon for defence. Why cannot men, who have been political serfs +in their own country, see the incongruity of voting against the +enfranchisement of over one-half of the inhabitants of the State +which has made free human beings of them? It is not long since one +of these adopted citizens, in a discussion, said: + + When the women show that they want to vote, I am willing to give + them all the rights they want. + +Give! I thought. Where did you get the right to _give_ +Massachusetts women the right to vote? You did not inherit it. In +what consists your prerogative over the women whose ancestors +fought to secure the very right of suffrage of which you so glibly +talk, and which neither you, nor your father before you, did aught +to establish or maintain? + +The improvement in the social or general condition of woman has +been even greater than that in legislation. Previous to 1840, women +were employed only as teachers of summer schools, to "spell the +men" during the haying season; and this only occasionally. They +held no responsible position in any public school in the State. +To-day there are eight women to one man employed in all grades of +this profession, and there are numerous instances where women are +head-teachers of departments, or principals of high, normal and +grammar schools. Previous to 1825, girls could attend only the +primary schools of Boston. Through the influence of Rev. John +Pierpont, the first high-school for girls was opened in that city. +There was a great outcry against this innovation; and, because of +the excitement on the subject, and the _great number of girls_ who +applied for admission, the scheme was abandoned. The public-school +system, as it is now called, was established in Boston in 1789; +boys were admitted the whole year round; girls, from April to +October. This inequality in the opportunities for education roused +John Pierpont's indignation, and moved him to make strenuous +efforts to secure justice for girls. Now there are 6,246 schools, +seventy-two academies, six normal schools, two colleges, Boston +University and the "Harvard Annex" all open to girls. In the town +of Plymouth, where the Pilgrim fathers and mothers first landed, +when the question whether girls should receive any public +instruction first came up in town-meeting, there was great +opposition to it. However, the majority showed a liberal spirit, +and voted to give the girls one hour of instruction daily. This +was in 1793. In 1853 a normal school for girls was established in +Boston; in 1855 its name was changed to the Girls' High and Normal +School. In 1878 the Girls' Latin School in Boston was founded. The +establishment of this successful institution was the result of +discussions on the subject first brought before the public by +ladies of Boston. High schools in almost all the towns and cities +of the State have long been established, in which the boys and +girls are educated together. In 1880 the pupils in the high and +normal schools of Boston were about 2,000 girls to 1,000 boys. In +1867 the Lowell Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of +Technology advertised classes free to both sexes in French, +mathematics and in practical science.[144] Since that time Chauncy +Hall School and Boston University have been opened to women, with +the equal privileges of male students. It might be explained here +that the "Harvard Annex," or "Private Collegiate Instruction for +Women," is not an organic part of the University itself. Under a +certain arrangement, a limited number of young women are allowed a +few of the privileges of the young men. They are also permitted to +use all the books belonging to the library and to attend many of +the lectures. No college-building is appropriated for this purpose, +but recitation-rooms are provided in private houses. A witty +Cambridge lady called this mythical college the "Harvard Annex"; +the public adopted the name, and many people suppose that there is +such a building. From the last annual report of the "Private +Collegiate Instruction for Women," it appears that in 1885 +sixty-five women availed themselves of the privilege of attending +this course of instruction.[145] Three-fourths of this number are +Massachusetts girls. Some of the professors say that the average of +scholarship there is higher than in the University. Fifty courses +of studies are open to women students. Miss Brown of Concord, a +graduate of 1884, astonished the faculty by her high per cent. in +the classics. Her average was higher than that reached by any young +man. These students go unattended to the lectures and to the +library of the college. A great change indeed, since the time when +women began to attend the Lowell Institute lectures! Then it was +thought almost disgraceful to go to a public meeting without male +protection, and they went with veiled faces, as if ashamed to be +seen of men. The "Annex" has some advantages, but they cannot +compare with Girton and Newnham of Cambridge, England. + +The treasurer of the "Harvard Annex" declares the great need that +exists for funds to provide a suitable building, etc., for the +numerous women who continue to apply there for admission; and he +appeals to the generosity of the public for contributions of money +to be used for this purpose. The casual observer might suggest that +those women who will hereafter become the benefactors of this +university should remember the needs of their own sex, and leave +their donations or bequests so that they can be used for the +benefit of the "Harvard Annex," which is a wholly private +enterprise, conducted by the University instructors and supervised +by a committee of ladies. + +Colleges for women have also been founded. Wellesley and Smith have +long been doing good university work. Thirty years ago there was no +college in the country, except Oberlin, to which women were +admitted. To-day, even conservative Harvard begins to melt a little +under this regenerating influence, and invites women, through the +doors of its "Annex," to come and enjoy some of the privileges +found within its sacred halls of learning. This was a late act of +grace from a college whose inception was in the mind of a +woman[146] longing for a better opportunity than the new colony +could give to educate her afterward ungrateful son. + +The number of young men educated by the individual efforts of women +cannot be estimated. T. W. Higginson, in the _Woman's Journal_, +says: + + The late President Walker once told me that, in his judgment, + one-quarter of the young men in Harvard College were being + carried through by the special self-denial and sacrifices of + women. I cannot answer for the ratio, but I can testify to having + been an instance of this, myself; and to having known a + never-ending series of such cases of self-devotion. + +Some of these men, educated by the labor and self-sacrifice of +others, look down upon the social position in which their women +friends are still forced to remain. The result to the recipient has +often been of doubtful value, so far as the development of the +affections is concerned. Sometimes the great obligation has been +forgotten. Only in rare instances, to either party did the +life-long sacrifice on the part of the women of the family become +of permanent and spiritual value! + +The average woman of forty years ago was very humble in her notions +of the sphere of woman. What if she did hunger and thirst after +knowledge? She could do nothing with it, even if she could get it. +So she made a _fetich_ of some male relative, and gave him the +mental food for which she herself was starving, and devoted all her +energies towards helping him to become what she felt, under better +conditions, she herself might have been. It was enough in those +early days to be the _mother_ or _sister_ of somebody. Women were +almost as abject in this particular as the Thracian woman of old, +who said: + + "I am not of the noble Grecian race, + I'm poor Abrotonon, and born in Thrace; + Let the Greek women scorn me, if they please, + I was the mother of Themistocles." + +There are women still left who believe their husbands, sons, or +male friends can study, read and _vote_ for them. They are like +some frugal house-mothers, who think their is no need of a dinner +if the good-man of the family is not coming home to share it. Just +as if the man-half of the human family can "eat, learn and inwardly +digest," to make either physical or mental strength for the other +half! + +Maria Mitchell of Massachusetts became Professor of Astronomy and +Mathematics at Vassar, in 1866, the first woman in the country to +hold such a position. Since that time women have become members of +the faculty in several of the large colleges in the country. + +In the early days of the commonwealth women practiced midwifery, +and were very successful. Mrs. John Eliot, Anne Hutchinson, Mrs. +Fuller and Sarah Alcock were the first in the State. Janet +Alexander, a Scotchwoman, was a well-trained midwife.[147] She +lived in Boston, and was always recognized as a good practitioner +in her line by the leading doctors in that city. Dr. John C. Warren +of Boston invited this lady to come to this country. His biography, +recently published, contains a short record of the matter, in which +he says: "We determined to recommend Mrs. Alexander. She was a +Scotchwoman, regularly educated, and having Dr. Hamilton's +diploma." Quite a storm was raised among the younger physicians of +Boston by this attempted innovation, because they thought Dr. +Warren was trying to deprive them of profitable practice. But Mrs. +Alexander, supported by Dr. Warren, and perhaps other physicians, +continued her occupation and educated her daughter in the same +profession. Dr. Harriot K. Hunt practiced in Boston as early as +1835. She sought admission to the Harvard Medical School, and was +many times refused. She was not what is called a "regular +physician." In her day there existed no schools or colleges for the +medical education of women, but she studied by herself, and +acquired some knowledge of diseases peculiar to women. Her success +was so great in her line of practice that she proved the need +existing for physicians of her own sex. + +Dr. Hunt's tussle with the medical faculty will long be remembered. +She was the first woman in the State who dared assert her right to +recognition in this profession. For this, and for her persistent +efforts to secure for them a higher education, she deserves the +gratitude of every woman who has since followed her footsteps into +a profession over which the men had long held undisputed control. +In 1853 the degree of M. D. was conferred on her by the Woman's +Medical College of Pennsylvania. The first medical college for +women, organized by Dr. Samuel Gregory of Boston, was chartered in +1856, under the name of the New England Female Medical College, and +in 1874, by an act of the legislature, united with the Boston +University School of Medicine. In 1868 it had graduated seventy-two +women, among whom were Dr. Lucy E. Sewall and Dr. Helen Morton (who +afterwards went to Paris and studied obstetrics at Madame Aillot's +Hospital of Maternity) and Dr. Mercy B. Jackson.[148] There are now +205 regular practitioners in the State. + +In 1863, Dr. Zakrzewska, in cooeperation with Lucy Goddard and Ednah +D. Cheney, established the New England Hospital for Women and +Children. Its avowed objects were: (1) to provide women the medical +aid of competent physicians of their own sex; (2) to assist +educated women in the practical study of medicine; (3) to train +nurses for the care of the sick. This was the first hospital in New +England over which women have had entire control, both as +physicians and surgeons. Boston University is open to both sexes, +with equal studies, duties and privileges. This institution was +incorporated in 1869, and includes, among other schools and +colleges, schools of theology, law and medicine. The faculty +consists of many distinguished men and women. Boston University +School of Medicine (homeopathic) was organized in 1873. Of the +thirty-two lecturers and professors who constitute the faculty, +five are women. In 1884 the three highest of the four prizes for +the best medical thesis were won by women. Of the 610 pupils in +1884, 155 were women; sixty of these were in the school of +medicine. There are women in all departments, except agriculture +and theology. They do not study theology because they cannot be +ordained to preach in any of the leading churches. + +The Massachusetts Medical Society in 1884, on motion of Dr. Henry +I. Bowditch, voted to admit women to membership. Dr. Emma L. Call +and Dr. Harriet L. Harrington were the first two women admitted. +January 11, 1882, at the monthly meeting of Harvard overseers, the +question of admitting women to the Medical School came before the +board. An individual desiring to contribute a fund for the medical +education of women in Harvard University asked the president and +fellows whether such a fund would be accepted and used as designed. +Majority and minority reports were submitted by the committee in +charge, and after a long discussion it was voted, 11 to 6, to +accept the fund, the income to be ultimately used for the medical +education of women. At the April meeting, the Committee on the +Medical Education of Women presented a report, which was adopted by +a vote of 13 to 12: + + That, in the opinion of the board, it is not advisable for the + University to hold out any encouragement that it will undertake + the medical education of women. + +The Harvard Divinity School at Cambridge sometimes admits women, +but does not recognize them publicly, nor grant them degrees; but +there are other theological schools in the State where a complete +preparation for the ministerial profession can be obtained. The +attitude of the churches toward women has changed greatly within +thirty years. As early as 1869, women began to serve on committees, +and to be ordained deaconesses of churches. They also hold +important offices connected with the different church +organizations. They serve on the boards of State and national +religious associations. There are also missionary associations, +both home and foreign, and Christian unions, all officered and +managed exclusively by women. Even the treasurers of these large +bodies are women, and their husbands or trustees are no longer +required to give bonds for them.[149] At the general conference of +the Methodist Episcopal Church, the word "male" was stricken from +the discipline, and the word "person" inserted in its place, in all +cases save those that concerned the ordination of clergy. + +Olympia Brown was the first woman settled as pastor in the State. +Her parish was at Weymouth Landing. In 1864 she petitioned the +Massachusetts legislature "that marriages performed by a woman +should be made legal." The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom the +matter was referred, reported that no legislation was necessary, as +marriages solemnized by women were already legal.[150] Thus the +legislature of the State established the precedent, that "he" meant +"she" under the law, in one instance at least. Phebe Hanaford, Mary +H. Graves and Lorenza Haynes were the first Massachusetts women to +be ordained preachers of the gospel. Rev. Lorenza Haynes has been +chaplain of the Maine House of Representatives. + +The three best-known women sculptors in this country were born and +bred in Massachusetts. They are Harriet Hosmer, Margaret Foley and +Anne Whitney. Harriet Hosmer was the first to free herself from the +traditions of her sex and follow her profession as a sculptor. When +she desired to fit herself for her vocation there was no art school +east of the Mississippi river where she could study anatomy, or +find suitable models. Margaret Foley, who, amid the hum of the +machinery of the Lowell cotton mills, first conceived the idea of +chiseling her thought on the surface of a "smooth-lipped shell," +was obliged to go to Rome in order to get the necessary instruction +in cameo-cutting. There her genius developed so much that she began +to model in clay, and soon became a successful sculptor in marble. +Lucy Larcom, in her "Idyl of Work," says of Miss Foley: + + "That broad-browed delicate girl will carve at Rome + Faces in marble, classic as her own." + +One of her finest creations is "The Fountain," first exhibited in +Horticultural Hall at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, +1876. A free art-school was opened to women in Boston in 1867, and +Anne Whitney was not obliged to go to Rome for instruction in the +appliances of her art. Harriet Hosmer and Margaret Foley have both +made statues which adorn the public buildings and parks of their +native country; and Anne Whitney's statues of Samuel Adams and +Harriet Martineau are the crowning works of her genius. + +No great work has yet been done by Massachusetts women in oil +painting; but in water colors, and in decorative art, many have +excelled, first prizes in superiority of design having been taken +by them over their masculine competitors. Lizzie B. Humphrey, +Jessie Curtis, Sarah W. Whitman and Fidelia Bridges, take high rank +as artists. Helen M. Knowlton, a pupil of William M. Hunt, is a +skillful artist in charcoal and has produced some fine pictures. +Women form a large proportion of the students in the school of +design recently opened in Boston. A great deal of the ornamental +painting now so fashionable on cards and all fancy articles is done +by the deft fingers of women. The census of 1880 reports 268 +artists and 1,270 musicians and teachers of music. + +Of woman as actress and public singer, it is unnecessary to speak, +since she has the right of way in both these professions. Here, +fortunately, the supply does not exceed the demand; consequently +she has her full share of rights, and what is better, equitable pay +for her labor. In 1880 there were 111 actresses. Charlotte Cushman, +Clara Louise Kellogg and Annie Louise Cary were born in +Massachusetts. + +The drama speaks too feebly on the right side of the woman +question. No successful modern dramatist has made this "humour" of +the times the subject of his play. An effort was made in 1879, by +the executive committee of the New England Association, to secure a +woman suffrage play: but it was not successful, and there is yet to +be written a counteractive to that popular burlesque, "The Spirit +of '76." It is to be regretted that the stage still continues to +ridicule the woman's rights movement and its leaders; for, as +Hamlet says: + + "The play's the thing, + Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king." + +In 1650, when Anne Bradstreet lived and wrote her verses, a woman +author was almost unknown in English literature. This lady was the +wife of the governor of Massachusetts, and because of her literary +tendencies was looked upon by the people of her time as a marvel of +womankind. Her contemporaries called her the "tenth muse lately +sprung up in America," and one of them, Rev. Nathaniel Ward, was +inspired to write an address to her, in which he declares his +wonder at her success as a poet, and playfully foretells the +consequences if women are permitted to intrude farther into the +domain of man. The closing lines express so well the conflicting +emotions which torment the minds of the opponents of the woman +suffrage movement, that I venture to quote them: + + "Good sooth," quoth the old Don, "tell ye me so? + I muse whither at length these Girls will go. + It half revives my chil, frost-bitten blood + To see a woman once do aught that's good. + And, chode by Chaucer's Boots and Homer's Furrs, + Let men look to't least Women wear the Spurrs." + +In 1818, Hannah Mather Crocker, grand-daughter of Cotton Mather, +published a book, called "Observations on the Rights of Women." In +speaking of Mary Wollstonecraft, Mrs. Crocker says, that while that +celebrated woman had a very independent mind, and her "Rights of +Woman" is replete with fine sentiments, yet, she continues, +patronizingly, "we do not coincide with her respecting the total +independence of the sex." Mrs. Crocker evidently wanted her sex to +be not too independent, but just independent enough.[151] + +In 1841, when Lydia Maria Child edited the _Anti-Slavery Standard_, +Margaret Fuller the _Dial_, and Harriot F. Curtis and Harriet +Farley the _Lowell Offering_, there were perhaps in New England no +other well-known women journalists or editors. Cornelia Walter of +the _Evening Transcript_ was the first woman journalist in Boston. +To-day, women are editors and publishers of newspapers all over the +United States; and the woman's column is a part of many leading +newspapers. Sallie Joy White was the first regular reporter in +Boston. She began on the _Boston Post_, a Democratic newspaper, in +1870. Her first work was to report the proceedings of a woman +suffrage meeting. She is now on the staff of the _Boston Daily +Advertiser_. Lilian Whiting is on the staff of the _Traveller_, and +most of the other Boston newspapers have women among their editors +and reporters. Some of the best magazine writing of the time is +done by women; one needs but to look over the table of contents of +the leading periodicals to see how large a proportion of the +articles is written by them. Really, the sex seems to have taken +possession of what Carlyle called the "fourth estate"--the literary +profession, and they journey into unexplored regions of thought to +give the omniverous modern reader something new to feed upon. The +census of 1880 reports 445 women as authors and literary persons. + +The newspaper itself, that great engine "whose ambassadors are in +every quarter of the globe, whose couriers upon every road," has +slowly swung round, and is at last headed in the right direction. +Reporters for the daily press in Massachusetts no longer write in a +spirit of flippancy or contempt, and there is not an editor in the +State of any account who would permit a member of his staff to +report a woman's meeting in any other spirit than that of courtesy. +Teachers occupying high positions and presidents of colleges have +given pronounced opinions in favor of the reform. Said President +Hopkins of Williams College, in 1875: + + I would at this point correct my teaching in "The Law of Love," + to the effect that _home_ is peculiarly the sphere of woman, and + civil government that of man. I now regard the home as the joint + sphere of man _and_ woman, and the sphere of civil government + more of an open question between the two. + +The New England Women's Club, parent[152] of the modern clubs and +associations for the advancement of women, has been one of the +factors in the woman's rights movement. Its members have, in their +work and in their lives, illustrated the doctrine of woman's +equality with man. It was formed in February, 1868.[153] + +There has never been, from time immemorial, much difference of +opinion concerning woman's right to do a good share in the +_drudgery_ of the world. But in the remunerative employments, +before 1850, she was but sparsely represented. In 1840, when +Harriet Martineau visited this country, she found to her surprise +that there were only seven vocations, outside home, into which the +women of the United States had entered. These were "teaching, +needlework, keeping boarders, weaving, type-setting, and folding +and stitching in book-bindery." In contrast, it is only necessary +to mention that in Massachusetts alone, woman's ingenuity is now +employed in nearly 300 different branches of industry. It cannot be +added that for doing the same kind and amount of work women are +paid men's wages. The census does not include the services of the +mother and daughter among the _paid_ vocations, though, as is well +known, in many instances they do all the housework of the family. +They get no wages, and therefore do not appear among the +"useful classes." They are not earners, but savers of money. A +money-_saver_ is not a recognized factor, either in political +economy or in the State census. The mother, daughter or wife is put +down in its pages as "keeping house." If they were paid for their +services they would be called "housekeepers," and would have their +place among the paid employments. + +Among the many rights woman has appropriated to herself must be +included the "patent right." The charge has often been made that +women never invent anything, but statistics on the subject declare +that in 1880 patents for their own inventions were issued to +eighty-seven different women in the United States. A fair +proportion of these were from Massachusetts. + +This progress in the various departments encountered great +opposition from certain teachers and writers. Dr. Bushnell's +"Reform Against Nature," Dr. Fulton's talk both in and out of the +pulpit, served to show the weakness of that side of the question. +Frances Parkman, Dr. Holland, Dr. W. H. Hammond, Rev. Morgan Dix, +and even some women have added their so-called arguments in the +vain attempt to keep woman as they think "God made her." + +Much the stronger writers and speakers have been found on the right +side of this question. The names of leading speakers, such as +William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips and Theodore Parker, have +already been mentioned. Perhaps the most suggestive articles in +favor of the reform were T. W. Higginson's "Ought Women to Learn +the Alphabet," published in the _Atlantic Monthly_ of February, +1859, and Samuel Bowles' "The Woman Question and Sex in Politics," +published at a later date in the _Springfield Republican_. +"Warrington," in his letters to the same newspaper, from 1868 to +1876, never failed to present a good and favorable argument on some +phase of the woman question. Caroline Healey Dall's lectures before +1860, and her book "The College, the Market and the Court," +published in 1868, were seed-grain sown in the field of this +reform. Samuel E. Sewall's able digest of the laws relating to the +legal condition of married women, and William I. Bowditch's +admirable pamphlets,[154] have done incalculable service. + +Of women in the civil service, there are: 58 clerks, 266 employes +and 387 officials--total, 411. This includes postmasters and clerks +in bureaus. In 1880, General F. A. Walker, superintendent of the +census, instructed the supervisors of the several districts to +appoint women as enumerators when practicable. They were +accordingly so appointed in many parts of the United States. +Carroll D. Wright, supervisor of the district of Massachusetts was +in favor of General Walker's instructions, and out of the 903 +enumerators appointed by him, thirty were women. This was an +exceedingly large proportion compared with the number appointed in +States where supervisors were not in favor of women enumerators. + +Thanks to the efforts of Caroline Healey Dall, the American Social +Science Association, formed in 1865, put women on its board of +officers, as did the Boston Social Science Association, organized +the same year. These were the first large organizations in the +country to admit women on an absolute equality with men. The result +of this action vindicated at once and forever woman's fitness to +occupy positions of honor in associations that man had hitherto +claimed for himself alone. This has encouraged women to express +themselves in the presence of the wisest men, and enabled them to +present to the public the woman side of some great questions. Women +are officers as well as members of many societies originally +established exclusively for men. A national society for political +education, formed in 1880, of which women are members, has at least +one woman on its board of officers. What would have been thought +thirty years ago, if women had studied finance, banks and banking, +money, currency, sociology and political science? + +The Summer School of Philosophy at Concord was founded in +1879.[155] A majority of the students are women, as was not the +case in the elder schools of philosophy, and they come from far and +near to spend a few weeks of their summer vacation in the enjoyment +of this halcyon season of rest. Day after day they sit patiently on +the aesthetic benches of the Hillside chapel and bask in the calm +light of mild philosophy. Its seed was sown forty years ago, in +what was called the Transcendental movement in New England. The +Concord school finds in Mr. Sanborn its executive spirit, without +which it could no more have come into existence at this time than +its first seed could have been planted forty years ago, without the +conceptive thought of Mr. Emerson, Mr. Alcott and Margaret Fuller. + +Boston University long ago offered the advantages of its law-school +to women, but they do not much avail themselves of this privilege. +Lelia J. Robinson, in March, 1881, made her application for +admission to the bar. In presenting her claim before the court, +April 23, Mr. Charles R. Train admitted that it was a novel one; +but in a very effective manner he went on to state the cogent +reasons why a woman who had carefully prepared herself for the +profession of the law should be permitted to practice in the +courts. At the close, Chief-Justice Gray gave the opinion, +informally, that the laws, as they now exist, preclude woman from +being attorney-at-law; but he reserved the matter for the +consideration of the full bench. The Supreme Judicial Court +rendered an adverse decision. Petitions were then sent to the +legislature of 1882, and that body passed an act[156] declaring +that, "The provisions of law relating to the qualification and +admission to practice of attorneys-at-law shall apply to women." +The petition of Lelia Josephine Robinson to the Supreme Court was +as follows: + + 1. The best administration of justice may be most safely secured + by allowing the representation of all classes of the people in + courts of justice. + + 2. To allow women to practice at the bar as attorneys is only to + secure to the people the right to select their own counsel. It is + to give the women of Massachusetts the opportunity of consulting + members of their own sex for that advice and assistance which + none but authorized attorneys and counsellors are legally + qualified to give. + + 3. To exclude women from the bar would be to do an injustice to + the community, in preventing free and wholesome competition of + existing talent, and to do still greater injustice to those women + who are qualified for the profession, by shutting them out from + an honorable and remunerative means of gaining a livelihood. + + 4. To exclude women from the bar because there are certain + departments of the profession which are peculiarly ill-adapted to + their sex and nature, would be to assume arbitrarily that, with + entire lack of judgment or discretion, modesty or policy, they + would seek or accept such business; and to close to them those + avenues of the profession for which they are generally admitted + to be eminently well adapted, for such a reason, and upon such an + assumption, would be so grossly unjust that no argument can be + based on such an impossible contingency. + + Your applicant, having faithfully and diligently pursued the + study of law for three years, being a graduate of the Boston + University Law School, and having complied with the other + requirements of the statute and the rules of court upon the + subject, respectfully prays that her petition for examination, + which was duly filed, may be favorably considered, and that it be + included in the general notice to the Board of Examiners of + Suffolk county. LELIA JOSEPHINE ROBINSON. + +The opinion given by the Supreme Judicial Court, so far as it +relates to the main point at issue, is as follows: + + The question presented by this petition and by the report on + which it has been reserved for our determination, is whether, + under the laws of the commonwealth, an unmarried woman is + entitled to be examined for admission as an attorney and + counsellor of this Court. This being the first application of the + kind in Massachusetts, the Court, desirous that it might be fully + argued, informed the executive committee of the Bar Association + of the city of Boston of the application, and has received + elaborate briefs from the petitioner in support of her petition + and from two gentlemen of the bar as _amici curiae_ in opposition + thereto. The statute under which the application is made is as + follows: "A citizen of this State, or an alien who has made the + primary declaration of his intention to become a citizen of the + United States, and who is an inhabitant of this State, at the age + of twenty-one years and of good moral character, may, on the + recommendation of an attorney, petition the Supreme Judicial or + Superior Court to be examined for admission as an attorney, + whereupon the Court shall assign a time and place for the + examination, and if satisfied with his acquirements and + qualifications he shall be admitted." St. 1876, c. 107. + + The word "citizen," when used in its most common and most + comprehensive sense, doubtless includes women; but a woman is + not, by virtue of her citizenship, vested by the Constitution of + the United States, or by the constitution of the commonwealth, + with any absolute right, independent of legislation, to take part + in the government, either as voter or as an officer, or to be + admitted to practice as an attorney. _Miuor vs. Happersett, 51 + Wall. 162. Bradwell vs. Illinois, 16 Wall. 130._ The rule that + "words importing the masculine gender maybe applied to females," + like all other general rules of construction of statutes, must + yield when such construction would be either "repugnant to the + context of the same statute," or "inconsistent with the manifest + intent of the legislature." Gen. Sts. c. 3, Sec. 7. + + The only statute making any provisions concerning attorneys, that + mentions women, is the poor-debtor act, which, after enumerating + among the cases in which an arrest of the person may be made on + execution in an action of contract, that in which "the debtor is + attorney-at-law," who has unreasonably neglected to pay to his + client money collected, enacts, in the next section but one, + "that no woman shall be arrested on any civil process except for + tort." Gen. Sts. c. 124, Sec.Sec. 5, 7. If these provisions do not + imply that the legislature assumed that women should not be + attorneys, they certainly have no tendency to show that it + intended that they should. The word "citizen," in the statute + under which this application is made, is but a repetition of the + word originally adopted with a view of excluding aliens, before + the statute of 1852, c. 154, allowed those aliens to be admitted + to the bar who had made the preliminary declaration of intention + to become citizens. Rev. Sts., c. 88, Sec. 19. Gen. Sts., c. 121, Sec. + 28. + + The reenactment of the act relating to the admission of attorneys + in the same words without more so far as relates to the personal + qualifications of the applicant, since other statutes have + expressly modified the legal rights and capacity of women in + other important respects, tends rather to refute than to advance + the theory that the legislature intended that these words should + comprehend women. No inference of an intention of the legislature + to include women in the statutes concerning the admission of + attorneys can be drawn from the mere omission of the word "male." + The only statute to which we have referred, in which that word is + inserted, is the statute concerning the qualifications of voters + in town affairs, which, following the language of the article of + the constitution that defines the qualifications of voters for + governor, lieutenant-governor, senators and representatives, + speaks of "every male citizen of twenty-one years of age," etc. + Gen. Sts. c. 18, Sec. 19. Const. Mass. Amendments, art. 3. Words + which taken by themselves would be equally applicable to women + and to men are constantly used in the constitution and statutes, + in speaking of offices which it could not be contended, in the + present state of law, that women were capable of holding. + + The Courts of the commonwealth have not assumed by their rules to + admit to the bar any class of persons not within the apparent + intent of the legislature as manifested in the statutes. The word + "persons," in the latest rule of Court upon the subject, was the + word used in the rule of 1810 and in the statutes of 1785 and + 1836, at times when no one contemplated the possibility of a + woman's being admitted to practice as an attorney. 121 Mass. 600. + 6. Mass. 382. St. 1785, c. 23. Rev. St. c. 18, 20. Gen. Sts. c. + 121, Sec. 29. The United States Court of Claims, at December term, + 1873, on full consideration, denied an application of a woman to + be admitted to practice as an attorney upon the ground "that + under the constitution and laws of the United States a Court is + without power to grant such an application, and that a woman is + without legal capacity to take the office of an attorney." + _Lockwood's Case, 9 Ct. of Claims, 346, 356._ At October terms + 1876 of the Supreme Court of the United States, the same + petitioner applied to be admitted to practice as an attorney and + counsellor of that Court, and her application was denied. + + The decision has not been officially reported, but upon the + record of the Court, of which we have an authentic copy, it is + thus stated: "Upon the presentation of this application, the + chief-justice said that notice of this application having been + previously brought to his attention, he had been instructed by + the Court to announce the following decision upon it: By the + uniform practice of the Court from its organization to the + present time, and by the fair construction of its rules, none but + men are permitted to practice before it as attorneys and + counsellors. This is in accordance with immemorial usages in + England, and the law and the practice in all the States until + within a recent period, and the Court does not feel called upon + to make a change until such change is required by statute or a + more extended practice in the highest Courts of the States." The + subsequent act of congress of February 15, 1879, enables only + those women to be admitted to practice before the Supreme Court + of the United States who have been for three years members of the + bar of the highest Court of a State or territory, or of the + Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. + + The conclusion that women cannot be admitted to the bar under the + existing statutes of the commonwealth is in accordance with + judgments of the highest Courts of the States of Illinois and + Wisconsin. _Bradwell's Case, 55 Ill., 525. Goodell's Case, 39 + Wis., 232._ The suggestion in the brief of the petitioner that + women have been admitted in other States can have no weight here, + in the absence of all evidence that (except under clear + affirmative words in a statute) they have ever been so admitted + upon deliberate consideration of the question involved, or by a + Court whose decisions are authoritative. + + It is hardly necessary to add that our duty is limited to + declaring the law as it is, and that whether any change in that + law would be wise or expedient is a question for the legislative + and not for the judicial department of the government. + + Petition dismissed. MARCUS MORTON, _Chief-Justice_, + + [Signed:] CHARLES DEVENS, WILLIAM E. ENDICOTT, + WILLIAM ALLEN, OTIS P. LORD, + CHARLES ALLEN, WALBRIDGE A. FIELD. + +The three preceding decisions of the Supreme Judicial Court of +Massachusetts against the rights of the women of the commonwealth +were as follows: + +The first decision was in the case of Sarah E. Wall of Worcester, +who had refused to pay her taxes under the following protest: + + Believing with the immortal Declaration of Independence that + taxation and representation are inseparable; believing that the + constitution of the State furnishes no authority for the taxation + of woman; believing also that the constitution of the higher law + of God, written on the human soul, requires us, if we would be + worthy the rich inheritance of the past and true to ourselves and + the future, to yield obedience to no statute that shall tend to + fetter its aspirations, I shall henceforth pay no taxes until the + word _male_ is stricken from the voting clauses of the + constitution of Massachusetts. + + Worcester _Daily Spy_, October 5, 1858. SARAH E. WALL. + +Miss Wall was prosecuted by the city collector, and she carried her +case before the Supreme Court, where she appeared for herself, W. +A. Williams appearing for the collector. In an account of this +matter in 1881, Miss Wall says: "Although it was in 1858 that my +resistance to taxation commenced, it was not until 1863 that the +contest terminated and the decision was rendered. I think the +Supreme Court would always find some way to evade a decision on +this question." + + _Wheeler vs. Wall, 6 Allen, 558_: By the constitution of + Massachusetts, c. 1, Sec. 1, article 4, the legislature has power to + impose taxes upon all the inhabitants of and persons resident, + and estates lying within the said commonwealth. By the laws + passed by the legislature in pursuance of this power and + authority, the defendant is liable to taxation, although she is + not qualified to vote for the officers by whom the taxes were + assessed. The Court, acting under the constitution, and bound to + support it and maintain its provisions faithfully, cannot declare + null and void a statute which has been passed by the legislature, + in pursuance of an express authority conferred by the + constitution.--[Opinion by the chief-justice, George Tyler + Bigelow. + +The second decision on the will of Francis Jackson is copied +_verbatim_ from _Allen's Reports_: + + _Jackson vs. Phillips and others, 14 Allen, 539_: A bequest to + trustees, to be expended at their discretion, * * * * "to secure + the passage of laws granting whether women, married or unmarried, + the right to vote, to hold office, to hold, manage and devise + property, and all other civil rights enjoyed by men," is not a + charity. + + _Bill in equity by the executor of the will of Francis Jackson of + Boston, for instructions as to the validity and effect of the + following bequests and devises:_ + + Art. 6th. "I give and bequeath to Wendell Phillips of said + Boston, Lucy Stone, formerly of Brookfield, Mass., now the wife + of Henry Blackwell of New York, and Susan B. Anthony of + Rochester, N. Y., their successors and assigns, $5,000, not for + their own use, but in trust, nevertheless, to be expended by them + without any responsibility to any one, at their discretion, in + such sums, at such times and in such places as they may deem fit, + to secure the passage of laws granting women, whether married or + unmarried, the right to vote, to hold office, to hold, manage and + devise property, and all other civil rights enjoyed by men; and + for the preparation and circulation of books, the delivery of + lectures, and such other means as they may judge best; and I + hereby constitute them a board of trustees for that intent and + purpose, with power to add two other persons to said board if + they deem it expedient. And I hereby appoint Wendell Phillips + president and treasurer, and Susan B. Anthony secretary of said + board. I direct the treasurer of said board not to loan any part + of said bequest, but to invest, and, if need be, sell and + reinvest the same in bank or railroad shares, at his discretion. + I further authorize and request said board of trustees, the + survivor and survivors of them, to fill any and all vacancies + that may occur from time to time by death or resignation of any + member or any officer of said board. One other bequest, + hereinafter made, will, sooner or later, revert to this board of + trustees. My desire is that they may become a permanent + organization, until the rights of women shall be established + equal with those of men; and I hope and trust that said board + will receive the services and sympathy, the donations and + bequests, of the friends of human rights. And being desirous that + said board should have the immediate benefit of said bequest, + without waiting for my exit, I have already paid it in advance + and in full to said Phillips, the treasurer of said board, whose + receipt therefor is on my files." + + OPINION.--Gray, J. IV. It is quite clear that the bequest in + trust to be expended "to secure the passage of laws granting + women, whether married or unmarried, the right to vote, to hold + office, to hold, manage and devise property, and all other civil + rights enjoyed by men," cannot be sustained as a charity. No + precedent has been cited in its support. This bequest differs + from the others, in aiming directly and exclusively to change the + laws; and its object cannot be accomplished without changing the + constitution also. Whether such an alteration of the existing + laws and frame of government would be wise and desirable, is a + question upon which we cannot, sitting in a judicial capacity, + properly express any opinion. Our duty is limited to expounding + the laws as they stand. And those laws do not recognize the + purpose of overthrowing or changing them, in whole or in part, as + a charitable use. This bequest, therefore, not being for a + charitable purpose, nor for the benefit of any particular + persons, and being unrestricted in point of time, is inoperative + and void. For the same reason, the gift to the same object, of + one-third of the residue of the testator's estate after the death + of his daughter, Mrs. Eddy, and her daughter, Mrs. Bacon, is also + invalid, and will go to his heirs-at-law as a resulting trust. + +Decision third was on the right of women to hold judicial offices. +To quote again from _Allen's Reports_: + + On June 8, 1871, the following order was passed by the governor + and council, and on June 10 transmitted to the Justices of the + Supreme Judicial Court, who, on June 29, returned the reply which + is annexed. _Ordered_, That the opinion of the Supreme Judicial + Court be requested as to the following questions: _First_--Under + the constitution of this commonwealth, can a woman, if duly + appointed and qualified as a justice of the peace, legally + perform all acts appertaining to that office? _Second_--Under the + laws of this commonwealth, would oaths and acknowledgments of + deeds, taken before a married or unmarried woman duly appointed + and qualified as a justice of the peace, be legal and valid? + + OPINION.--By the constitution of the commonwealth, the office of + justice of the peace is a judicial office, and must be exercised + by the officer in person, and a woman, whether married or + unmarried, cannot be appointed to such an office. The law of + Massachusetts at the time of the adoption of the constitution, + the whole frame and purport of the instrument itself, and the + universal understanding and unbroken practical construction for + the greater part of a century afterwards, all support this + conclusion, and are inconsistent with any other. It follows that, + if a woman should be formally appointed and commissioned as a + justice of the peace, she would have no constitutional or legal + authority to exercise any of the functions appertaining to that + office. Each of the questions proposed must, therefore, be + respectfully answered in the negative. + + [Signed:] REUBEN A. CHAPMAN, HORACE GRAY, JR., + JOHN WELLS, JAMES D. COLT, + SETH AMES, MARCUS MORTON. + + _Boston_, June 29, 1871. + +It is to be remarked that the clause on which the court determined +its judgment was of no practical consequence, since the money +devised had already been paid to Wendell Phillips, who had disposed +of it as the bequest required, and he had given his receipt to the +testator for the amount. + +Even the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has begun to +understand the trend of the woman's rights movement, and has +rendered its first favorable decision, in the famous Eddy-will +case. Wendell Phillips told me that he drew up this will, and that +its provisions were so carefully worded, that even the Supreme +Court could find no flaw in it. It is in his own hand-writing, and +Chandler R. Ransom was the executor. Eliza F. Eddy was the daughter +of Francis Jackson, and just before her death in 1882, desiring to +help the suffrage cause and thus carry out her father's intentions, +she made her will in which she bequeathed $40,000 for this purpose. +The clause relating to this bequest is as follows: + + Whatever is left, after paying the above legacies, I direct shall + be divided into equal portions. One of said portions I leave to + Susan B. Anthony of Rochester, N. Y.; and the other portion I + leave to Lucy Stone, wife of Henry B. Blackwell, as her own + absolute separate property, free from any control by him. I + request said Susan and Lucy to use said fund thus given to + further what is called the "Woman's Rights' Cause"; but neither + of them is under any legal responsibility to any one or any court + to do so. + +Her will was filed and the Probate Court declared its validity. +This decision was appealed from for several unimportant reasons by +relatives of Mrs. Eddy, Francis W. and Jerome A. Bacon, minors; and +the case was carried to the Supreme Judicial Court. After many +delays it was finally decided in favor of the validity of the will, +March, 1885, R. M. Morse, jr., and S. J. Elder for the plaintiff, +and B. F. Butler and F. L. Washburn for the defendants. The court's +final decision, rendered by Hon. Charles Devens, is as follows: + + ALBERT F. BACON and others, executors and others _vs._ CHANDLER + R. RANSOM, executor, and others. + + Suffolk. March 18, 19, 1885. W. ALLEN, COLBURN AND HOLMES, _Js._, + absent. + + After a bequest in trust to A. and B., to be by them expended in + securing the passage of laws granting women the right to vote, + had been decreed void as not being a charity, a daughter of the + testator bequeathed the residue of her estate (being about the + amount she had received from her father's estate) to A. and B. + "as their absolute property"; and added: "I request said A. and + B. to use said fund thus given to further what is called the + Woman's Rights Cause. But neither of them is under any legal + responsibility to any one or any court to do so." _Held_, that + the bequest was valid, and did not create a trust. + + Bill in equity by the executors of the will of Lizzie F. Bacon, + and certain legatees thereunder, against the executor of the will + of Eliza F. Eddy, Lucy Stone, wife of H. B. Blackwell, Susan B. + Anthony, and other legatees thereunder, and the attorney-general, + to compel the executor of said Eddy's will to pay over to the + plaintiffs the residue of her estate. The bill alleged the + following facts: + + Francis Jackson, the father of said Eliza F. Eddy, died in 1861, + leaving a will, by the sixth article of which he gave $5,000 to + Wendell Phillips, Lucy Stone Blackwell and Susan B. Anthony, in + trust, "to be expended by them without any responsibility to any + one, at their discretion, in such sums, at such times, and in + such places as they may deem fit, to secure the passage of laws + granting women, whether married or unmarried, the right to vote, + to hold office, to hold, manage and devise property, and all + other civil rights enjoyed by men; and for the preparation and + circulation of books, the delivery of lectures, and such other + means as they may judge best." By the eighth article he gave + one-third of the residue to a trustee, to pay the income to his + daughter, Eliza F. Eddy, during her life, and upon her death + one-half of the income to the trustees and on the trusts named in + the sixth article, and the other half to Mrs. Eddy's daughter, + Mrs. Lizzie F. Bacon, during her life, and, on the death of Mrs. + Bacon, the principal to the trustees and on the trusts named in + the sixth article. + + It was held by this court that these bequests were not a charity + (see _Jackson vs. Phillips, 14 Allen, 539_). + + In consequence of this decision, certain agreements, releases, + and a partition were made, by which one-third of the residue of + Mr. Jackson's estate became the property of Mrs. Eddy, subject to + being held in trust for herself for life, and thereafter, as to + one-half, for her daughter, Mrs. Bacon, during her life. Mrs. + Eddy died December 29, 1881, leaving a will by which she gave + absolute legacies to the amount of $24,500 to various persons + therein named. This disposed of all her estate except what came + to her from her father's estate. Her will then provided as + follows: + + "What is left, after paying the above legacies, I direct shall be + divided into two equal portions; one of said portions I leave to + Miss Susan B. Anthony of Rochester, in the State of New York, as + her absolute property, and the other portion I leave to Lucy + Stone, wife of H. B. Blackwell, as her own absolute and separate + property, free from any control of him. I request said Susan and + Lucy to use said fund thus given to further what is called the + woman's rights cause; but neither of them is under any legal + responsibility to any one or any court to do so." + + The will further alleged that this residue was substantially the + estate received from Francis Jackson; that the will was intended + by the testatrix to defeat the decision of this court, before + mentioned; that the testatrix had no personal acquaintance with + Lucy Stone or Susan B. Anthony; that said gift was intended as a + gift _in perpetuam_ to the said cause, and was, without limit of + time, upon trust in favor of said cause; and that said cause was + not a charity within the meaning of the law, and was null and + void. + + The defendants demurred to the bill for want of equity. The case + was heard by C. Allen, _J._, on the bill and demurrer, and a + decree was entered sustaining the demurrer and dismissing the + bill. The plaintiffs appealed to the full court. + + R. M. MORSE, Jr., and S. J. ELDER, for the plaintiffs. + + B. F. BUTLER and F. L. WASHBURN, for the defendants. + + Judge CHARLES DEVENS. The fact that the respective portions of + the estate bequeathed by Mrs. Eddy to Mrs. Stone and Miss Anthony + were in amount equal to-or precisely the same as those which came + to her by descent from her father, Francis Jackson, is not of + importance in the case at bar. It had been held in _Jackson vs. + Phillips, 14 Allen, 539_, that a certain bequest made by Mr. + Jackson in trust was not, legally speaking, a public charity, and + that it could not therefore pass to the beneficiaries named in + his will. The property which he thus attempted to bequeath + descended therefore to his legal representatives, of whom Mrs. + Eddy was one. She received it with the same right to deal with it + or dispose of it in her lifetime, or by will at her decease, that + she had in any other estate which was her lawful property. + + The bill alleges "that said will was intended by the testatrix to + defeat the decision of the court, before mentioned; that the + testatrix had no personal acquaintance with Lucy Stone or Susan + B. Anthony; that said gift was intended as a gift _in perpetuam_ + to the said cause." But if Mrs. Eddy has complied with the rules + of law in the disposition of her property, even if she has hoped + thereby to attain the same object as that desired by her father, + the decision referred to is not defeated, but is recognized and + conformed to; and, whatever her intention may have been, her + bequest is to be upheld. + + Her gift to her beneficiaries is absolute in terms. They may do + what they will with the property bequeathed to them, as they may + with any other property which is lawfully their own. It is true + that the gift is accompanied by a request that they will use the + fund bequeathed "to further what is called the woman's rights + cause." A request made by one who has the right to direct is + often, perhaps generally, interpreted as a command. For this + reason, recommendatory or precatory words used in a bequest are + frequently treated as an express direction. Thus, if a legacy + were given to A., with a request that out of the sum bequeathed + he would pay to another a certain sum, or a portion thereof, it + might well be construed as a legacy, to the amount named, to such + person. The expression of the desire of the testator would be the + expression of his will, and the words in form recommendatory + would be held to be mandatory and imperative. Where such words + are used, it is therefore a question of the fair construction to + be attributed to them (_Whipple vs. Adams, 1 Met., 444; Warner + vs. Bates, 98 Mass., 274; Spooner vs. Lovejoy, 108 Mass., 529_). + + But the testatrix in the case at bar has left nothing to + construction. Apparently aware that a request, where she had a + right to direct, might be treated as a command, and desirous to + make it entirely clear that no restraint or duty in any legal + sense was imposed upon her legatees, and that the request of the + will was such in the limited sense of the word only, and in no + respect mandatory, she adds thereto, referring to the legatees, + "But neither of them is under any legal responsibility to any one + or to any court to do so." Each of the legatees is therefore the + sole judge of whether she will follow, or how far or in what way + she will follow, the suggestion of the testatrix in the + disposition of the estate absolutely bequeathed to her. It is a + matter in which she is to be guided only by her judgment and + conscience, and no trust is imposed upon the property she + receives. + + As no trust is created, it would be superfluous to consider + whether, if the request of the testatrix were treated as a + command, one would then be indicated capable of enforcement + according to the rules of law. + + _Bill dismissed._ [Signed:] MARCUS MORTON, _Chief-Justice_, + + WALBRIDGE ABNER FIELD, CHARLES DEVENS, + WILLIAM ALLEN, CHARLES ALLEN, + WALDO COBURN, OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, Jr. + + * * * * * + +From these decisions our daughters should learn the importance of +having some knowledge of law. Had not Mrs. Eddy learned from +experience in her father's case that property could not be left in +trust to any societies except those called religious and +charitable, and made her bequest absolutely to persons, the gift of +$56,000 would have been lost to the woman suffrage movement. As it +was, nearly $10,000 was swallowed up in litigation to secure what +the donees did finally obtain. Considering that Mrs. Eddy[157] is +the only woman who has ever had both the desire and the power to +make a large bequest to this cause, its friends have great reason +to rejoice in her wisdom as well as her generosity. + +Civilization would have been immeasurably farther advanced than it +now is, had the many rich women, who have left large bequests to +churches, and colleges for boys, concentrated their wealth and +influence on the education, elevation and enfranchisement of their +own sex. We trust that Mrs. Eddy's example may not be lost on the +coming generation of women.--[EDITORS. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[104] For details of early history see vol. I., chap. viii. See +also "Massachusetts in the Woman Suffrage Movement," Roberts Bros., +Boston. + +[105] As an original question, no friend of woman suffrage can deny +that it was a mean thing to put the word "male" into the fourteenth +amendment. It was, doubtless, wise to adopt that amendment. It was +an extension of the right of suffrage, and so far in the line of +American progress, yet it was also an implied denial of the +suffrage to women.--[Warrington in the _Springfield Republican_. + +[106] See Vol. II., page 178. + +[107] John Neal came from Maine; Nathaniel and Armenia White from +New Hampshire; Isabella Hooker from Connecticut; Thomas W. +Higginson from Rhode Island; and John G. Whittier, Samuel May, jr., +Gilbert Haven, John T. Sargent, Frank W. Bird, Wendell Phillips, +William Lloyd Garrison, William S. Robinson, Stephen and Abby +Kelley Foster, with a host of others, from Massachusetts. Lucy +Stone and Henry B. Blackwell, who then lived in New Jersey, were +also among the speakers. + +[108] In giving an account of her efforts in this direction she +says: "After my return from Kansas in 1867, I felt that we ought to +do something for the cause in Massachusetts. There was at that time +no organization in the State, and there had been no revival of the +subject in the minds of the people since the war, which had +swallowed up every other interest. In the spring of 1868, I wrote +to Abby Kelley Foster, telling her my wish to have something done +in our own State, and she advised me to call together a few persons +known to be in favor of suffrage, some day during anniversary week, +in some parlor in Boston. I corresponded with Adin Ballou, E. D. +Draper, and others, on the subject, and talked the matter over with +Prof. T. T. Leonard, teacher of elocution, who offered his hall for +a place of meeting. I wrote a notice inviting all persons +interested in woman suffrage to come to Mr. Leonard's hall, on a +certain day and hour. At the time appointed the hall was full of +people. I opened the meeting, and stated why I had called it; +others took up the theme, and we had a lively meeting. All agreed +that something should be done, and a committee of seven was +appointed to call a convention for the purpose of organizing a +woman suffrage association. Caroline M. Severance, Stephen S. +Foster, Sarah Southwick and myself, were of this committee. We held +a number of meetings and finally decided to call a convention early +in the autumn of 1868. This convention was held in Horticultural +Hall, and the result was the organization of the New England Woman +Suffrage Association." + +[109] _President_, Julia Ward Howe; _Vice-presidents_, William +Lloyd Garrison, Boston; Paulina W. Davis, Providence, R. I.; James +Freeman Clarke, Boston; Sarah Shaw Russell, Boston; Neil Dow, Me.; +Lucy Goddard, Boston; Samuel E. Sewall, Melrose; Lidian Emerson, +Concord; John Hooker, Isabella Beecher Hooker, Hartford, Ct.; +Harriot K. Hunt, Boston; James Hutchinson, jr., West Randolph, Vt.; +Armenia S. White, Concord, N. H.; Louisa M. Alcott, Concord; L. +Maria Child, Wayland; John Weiss, Watertown. _Corresponding +Secretary_, Sara Clark, Boston. _Recording Secretary_, Charles K. +Whipple, Boston. _Treasurer_, E. D. Draper, Boston. _Executive +Committee_: Lucy Stone, Newark, N. J.; T. W. Higginson, Newport, R. +I.; Caroline M. Severance, West Newton; Francis W. Bird, East +Walpole; Mary E. Sargent, Boston; Nathaniel White, Concord, N. H.; +Richard P. Hallowell, Boston; Stephen S. Foster, Worcester; Sarah +H. Southwick, Grantville; Rowland Connor, Boston; B. F. Bowles, +Cambridge; George H. Vibbert, Rockport; Olympia Brown, Weymouth; +Samuel May, jr., Leicester; Nina Moore, Hyde Park. + +[110] Ednah D. Cheney, Rev. C. A. Bartol, Rev. F. E. Abbot, Rev. +Phoebe Hanaford and Hon. George F. Hoar. + +[111] For report of American Association see Vol. II., page 756. + +[112] Lucy Stone, Mary A. Livermore, Stephen S. and Abby Kelley +Foster, H. B. Blackwell, Rev. W. H. Channing, Rev. J. F. Clarke, +Rev. Gilbert Haven, Julia Ward Howe and Elizabeth K. Churchill made +eloquent speeches. + +The first board of officers of the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage +Association was: _President_, Julia Ward Howe. _Vice-presidents_: +William Lloyd Garrison, Roxbury; Anne B. Earle, Worcester; John G. +Whittier, Amesbury; Lidian Emerson. Concord; Hon. Robert C. Pitman, +New Bedford; Mrs. Richmond Kingman, Cummington; Rev. R. B. +Stratton, Worcester; Edna D. Cheney, Jamaica Plain; Hon. Isaac +Ames, Haverhill; Sarah Shaw Ames, Boston; J. Ingersoll Bowditch, +West Roxbury; Lydia Maria Child, Wayland; Mary Dewey, Sheffield; +Hon. George F. Hoar, Worcester; Sarah Grimke, Hyde Park; Sarah R. +Hathaway, Boston; William I. Bowditch, Boston; Harriot K. Hunt, M. +D., Boston; Hon. Samuel E. Sewall, Melrose; A. Bronson Alcott, +Concord; Angelina G. Weld, Hyde Park; Hon. Henry Wilson, Natick; +Rev. James Freeman Clarke, Boston; Charlotte A. Joy, Mendon; Jacob +M. Manning, D. D., Lucy Sewall, M. D., Boston; Rev. Joseph May, +Newburyport; Maria Zakrzewska, M. D., Roxbury; Rev. William B. +Wright, Boston; Rev. Jesse H. Jones, Natick; Phoebe A. Hanaford, +Reading; Seth Hunt, Northampton: Maria S. Porter, Melrose. +_Executive Committee_: Rev. Rowland Connor, Boston; Caroline M. +Severance, West Newton; Rev. W. H. H. Murray, Boston; Gordon M. +Fiske, Palmer; Sarah A. Vibbert, Rockport; Rev. Gilbert Haven, +Maiden; Caroline Remond Putman, Salem; Frank B. Sanborn, +Springfield; Mercy B. Jackson, M. D., Boston; Samuel May, jr., +Leicester; Margaret W. Campbell, Springfield; Rev. C. M. Wines, +Brookline; Mary A. Livermore, Melrose; William S. Robinson, Maiden; +Henry B. Blackwell, Boston; Lucy Stone, Boston; S. S. Foster, +Worcester; Mrs. Wilcox, Worcester; Ada R. Bowles, Cambridge. +_Corresponding Secretary_, Nina Moore, Hyde Park. _Recording +Secretary_, Charles C. Whipple, Boston. _Treasurer_, E. D. Draper, +Hopedale. + +[113] Mary F. Eastman, Ada C. Bowles, Lorenza Haynes, Elizabeth K. +Churchill, Hulda B. Loud, Matilda Hindman and other agents in the +lecture field have also done a great deal of missionary work. + +[114] The committee of arrangements were Mrs. Isaac Ames, Harriet +H. Robinson, Sarah B. Otis, Philip Wheeler, Jane Tenney, Mrs. A. A. +Fellows, Mrs. Jackson, Miss Talbot and Miss Halsey. + +The speakers were: Wendell Phillips, Mary A. Livermore, Frederick +Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Elizabeth K. Churchill, Margaret +W. Campbell, Mary F. Eastman, Henry B. Blackwell, Lucy Stone and +others. Julia Ward Howe and Mr. C. P. Cranch, read original poems. +Two old-time tea-party songs, curiosities in their line, were read. +One, dated Boston, 1773, entitled "Lines on Bohea Tea," was written +by Susannah Clarke, great-aunt of W. S. Robinson; the other, copied +from Thomas' _Boston Journal_, of December 2, 1773, was written by +Mrs. Ames, a tailoress. + +[115] _Committee of Arrangements_--Lucy Stone, Abby Kelley Foster, +Thomas J. Lothrop, Timothy K. Earle, Sarah E. Wall, Harriet H. +Robinson and E. H. Church. At this public gathering, Athol, Boston, +Haverhill, Leicester, Leominster, Lowell, Malden, Melrose, Milford, +North Brookfield, Taunton, and many other Massachusetts towns were +well represented. + +[116] The speakers were Lucy Stone, Rev. W. H. Channing, Mary A. +Livermore, Mary F. Eastman, Kate N. Doggett, Rev. F. A. Hinckley, +Ednah D. Cheney, T. Wentworth Higginson, Isabella Beecher Hooker, +Anna Garlin Spencer and Julia E. Parker. Harriet H. Robinson read a +condensed history of Massachusetts in the woman suffrage movement. +Interesting letters were received from Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, F. +W. Bird, H. B. Blackwell, Margaret W. Campbell, Mrs. C. I. H. +Nichols and Frances D. Gage. Two original woman suffrage songs, +written by Anna Q. T. Parsons and Caroline A. Mason, were sung on +the occasion. + +[117] Board of officers for 1885: _President_, Miss Abby W. May; +_Vice-president_, Mrs. Edna Dean Cheney; _Secretary_, Miss Brigham; +_Treasurer_, Miss S. F. King; _Assistant-secretary_, Miss Von +Arnim; _Directors_, Miss H, Lemist, Mrs. J. W. Smith, Mrs. M. P. +Lowe, Mrs. H. G. Jackson, Mrs. L. H. Merrick, Mrs. G. L. Ruffin, +Mrs. Walton, Mrs. Whitman, Miss Rogers, Miss E. Foster, Miss Shaw, +Miss Lougee, Miss L. M. Peabody, Dr. A. E. Fisher, Mrs. Buchanan, +Mrs. O. A. Cheney, Mrs. E. Hilt, Mrs. M. W. Nash, Mrs. M. H. Bray, +Mrs. Fifield, Mrs. J. F. Clarke, Miss L. P. Hale, Mrs. A. H. +Spalding; _Lecture Committee_, Miss Lucia M. Peabody, Mrs. Fifield +and Mrs. L. H. King. + +[118] It is the only organization in the State whose business is +managed by its members. Its officers are a president, one or more +vice-presidents for each county, a secretary, treasurer, auditor, +and a standing committee of seven with power to add to its number. +These officers are elected annually. Executive meetings, in which +all members participate, are held monthly. _President_, Harriette +R. Shattuck; _Vice-presidents_, Dr. Salome Merritt, Joan D. Foster, +Emma F. Clarry, Louisa E. Brooks, Esther P. Hutchinson, Sarah S. +Eddy, Harriet M. Spaulding, Martha E. S. Curtis, Dr. Sarah E. +Sherman, Sarah G. Todd, Abbie M. Meserve, Sophia A. Forbes, Esther +B. Smith, Emma A. Todd. _Treasurer_, Sara A. Underwood; _Auditor_, +Lavina A. Hatch; _Secretaries_, Hannah M. Todd, Elizabeth B. +Atwell, Harriet H. Robinson; _Standing Committee_, H. R. Shattuck, +Dr. S. Merritt, H. H. Robinson, Lydia E. Hutchings, Mary R. Brown, +E. B. Attwill, Lucretia H. Jones. + +[119] South Framingham, South Boston, Winchester, Rockland, +Wakefield, Uxbridge, Millbury, Bedford, Westboro', Salem, Lynn, +Lowell, Rowley, Concord, Woburn, Malden, Cambridge, Beverly Farms. + +[120] Two of these, Harriet H. Robinson and Harriette R. Shattuck, +spoke at the first hearing before the Senate committee. It chanced +that Mrs. Robinson was the first woman to speak before this Special +Committee. The other delegates were: Mary R. Brown, Emma F. Clarry, +Louisa E. Brooks, Mrs. G. W. Simonds, Sarah S. Eddy, Mr. and Mrs. +D. W. Forbes, Mary H. Semple, Louisa A. Morrison and Cora B. Smart. + +[121] The authors and compilers of these leaflets are Harriette R. +Shattuck, Sara A. Underwood, Hannah M. Todd and Mary R. Brown. + +[122] The speakers at these hearings were Harriette R. Shattuck, +Mary R. Brown, Sidney D. Shattuck, Nancy W. Covell, Dr. Julia C. +Smith, Mr. S. C. Fay, Louisa A. Morrison, Sara A. Underwood and +Harriet H. Robinson. + +[123] The speakers were Rev. J. T. Sargent, A. Bronson Alcott, H. +B. Blackwell, Dr. Mercy B. Jackson, S. S. Foster, Mary A. +Livermore, Rev. B. F. Bowles, F. B. Sanborn, W. S. Robinson, +Gilbert Haven and many others. + +[124] In the records of the executive meetings of this Association +I find the following votes. In October, 1872, it was voted, That +any invitation to speak at Republican meetings, extended to our +agents by Republican committees in this State, be accepted by them +until the coming election, their usual salaries being paid by this +Association; that Miss Loud be notified by Lucy Stone of our +arrangement in regard to Republican meetings, and be requested, +after the 15th instant, to hold her meetings in that manner as far +as practicable; that the balance of expenses of the woman's meeting +held at Tremont Temple be paid by this Association. [This was a +political meeting held by the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage +Association to endorse General Grant as the presidential candidate +of the Republican party.] + +[125] The National Association of Massachusetts at its executive +session, August 23, passed the following: + + _Resolved_, That while we respect the advice of our leaders, as + their private political opinion, we deem it worse than useless to + "stand by the Republican" or any other party while we are + deprived of the only means of enforcing a political opinion; and + that we advise all associations, to concentrate their efforts + upon securing the ballot to women, withholding all attempt at + political influence until they possess the right which alone can + make their influence effective. + + +[126] At the executive meeting of the New England Association, May, +1874, it was voted that a circular be sent to the friends of woman +suffrage, requesting them to meet in Boston, May 25, to consider +the expediency of calling a convention to form a political party +for woman suffrage. + +[127] The call for this convention was signed by Harriet H. +Robinson, Rev. A. D. Sargent, Rev. G. H. Vibbert, William Johnson, +Mrs. T. R. Woodman, Helen Gale and Mrs. M. Slocum. Judge Robert C. +Pitman was the candidate for governor. + +[128] This "Woman Suffrage ticket," the first ever offered to a +Massachusetts voter, received 41 votes out of the 1,340 cast in all +by the voters of the town, a larger proportion than that first cast +by the old Liberty party in Massachusetts, which began with only +307 votes in the whole State, and ended in the Free Soil and +Republican parties. + +[129] Election day dawned and it rained hard, but the women braved +the storm. There they stood from 9 o'clock A.M. till a quarter of 5 +P.M. and distributed votes, only leaving their positions long +enough to get a cup of coffee and a luncheon, which was provided at +the headquarters. They distributed 1,700 woman suffrage ballots and +1,000 circulars containing arguments on the rights of women. They +were treated with unexceptionable politeness and kindness by the +voters. + +[130] The first time women went to the polls in Massachusetts was +in 1870, when forty-two women of Hyde Park, led by Angelina Grimke +Weld and Sarah Grimke, deposited their ballots, in solemn protest +"against the political ostracism of women, against leaving every +vital interest of a majority of the citizens to the monopoly of a +male minority." It is hardly needful to record that these ballots +were not counted. + +[131] For summary of voting laws relating to women from 1691 to +1822, see "Massachusetts in the Woman Suffrage Movement," by +Harriet H. Robinson: Roberts Brothers, Boston. + +[132] Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Lucy Stone, Theodore Parker, +Wendell Phillips, and other speakers of ability, presented able +arguments in favor of giving women the right to vote. + +[133] This memorial was printed by order of the legislature (Leg. +Doc. Ho. 57) and is called "Memorial of the Female Signers of the +Several Petitions of Henry A. Hardy and Others," presented March 1, +1849. The document is not signed and Mrs. Ferrin's name is not +found with it upon the records, neither does her name appear in the +journal of the House in connection with any of the petitions and +addresses she caused to be presented to the legislature of the +State. But for the loyal friendship of the few who knew of her work +and were willing to give her due credit, the name of Mary Upton +Ferrin [see Vol. I., page 208] and the memory of her labors as well +as those of many another silent worker, would have gone into the +"great darkness." + +[134] The committee was addressed by Wendell Phillips, Julia Ward +Howe, Lucy Stone, Rev. James Freeman Clarke and Hon. George F. +Hoar. + +[135] Two years before (1869), while sitting as visitor in the +gallery of the House of Representatives, I heard the whole subject +of woman's rights referred to the (bogus) committee on graveyards! + +[136] It was perhaps intended to serve as a means of reinstating +Abby W. May and other women who had been defeated as candidates for +reelection on the Boston school-board. The names of Isa E. Gray, +Mrs. C. B. Richmond, Elizabeth P. Peabody and John M. Forbes led +the lists of petitioners. + +[137] At the first annual election for school committees in cities +and towns in 1879-80, about 5,000 women became registered voters. + +[138] Lucretia P. Hale, Abby W. May, Lucia M. Peabody, Mary J. S. +Blake, Kate G. Wells, Lucretia Crocker. + +[139] This act, so brief and so _expressive_, is worthy to be +remembered. It simply reads: "_Be it enacted, etc., as follows_: + +SEC. 1. No person shall be deemed ineligible to serve upon a school +committee by reason of sex. + +SEC. 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage. (_Approved +June 30, 1874._) + +By force of habit, the legislature said not a word in the law about +_women_. There are now (1885) 102 women members of school-boards in +Massachusetts. + +[140] See "Women under the law of Massachusetts," Henry H. Sprague. +Boston: W. B. Clarke & Carruth. + +[141] The authority for this old "thumb" tradition, that "a man had +the right to whip his wife with a stick no bigger than his thumb," +is found in an early edition of _Phillip's Evidence_. That book was +authority in English common law and in it Phillips is quoted as +saying, that according to the law of his day a husband "might +lawfully chastise his wife with a reasonable weapon, as a +_broomstick_," adding, however, "but if he use an unreasonable +weapon, such as an iron bar, and death ensue, it would be +murder."--[Chamberlin, p. 818. + +[142] In an old will, made a hundred and fifty years ago, a husband +of large means bequeathed to his "dearly beloved wife" $50 and a +new suit of clothes, with the injunction that she should return to +her original, or family home. And with this small sum, as her share +of his property, he returned her to her parents. + +[143] The little actual gain in votes since 1874, in favor of +municipal or general suffrage for women, might cause the careless +observer to draw the inference that no great progress had been made +in legislative sentiment during all these years. In 1870 the vote +in the House of Representatives on the General Woman Suffrage Bill +was 133 to 68. In 1885 the bill giving municipal suffrage was +defeated in the House by a vote of 130 to 61. But this is not a +true index of the progress of public opinion. + +[144] Mrs. Ellen M. Richards was the first woman who entered. + +[145] The Harvard Annex, so called, began its seventh year with +sixty-five young ladies enrolled for study. The enrollment for the +preceding six years was as follows: First year, 29: second, 47; +third 40; fourth, 39; fifth, 49, sixth, 55. Some of the students +come from distant places, but a majority are from the Cambridge and +neighboring high-schools. The institution occupies this year for +the first time a building which has been conveniently arranged for +its purposes. The endowment of the association which manages the +work now amounts to $85,000. + +[146] This lady was Lucy Downing, a sister of the first governor of +Massachusetts. She was the wife of Emanuel Downing, a lawyer of the +Inner Temple, a friend of Governor Winthrop and afterward a man of +mark in the infant colony. In a letter to her brother, Lucy Downing +expresses the desire of herself and husband to come to New England +with their children, but laments that if they do come her son +George cannot complete his studies. She says: "You have yet noe +societies nor means of that kind for the education of youths in +learning. It would make me goe far nimbler to New England, if God +should call me to it, than otherwise I should, and I believe a +colledge would put noe small life into the plantation." This letter +was written early in 1636, and in October of the same year the +General Court of the Massachusetts colony agreed to give L400 +towards establishing a school or college in Newtowne (two years +later called Cambridge). Soon afterwards Rev. John Harvard died and +left one-half of his estate to this "infant seminary," and in 1638 +it was ordered by the General Court that the "Colledge to be built +at Cambridge shall be called Harvard Colledge." + +Early in 1638 Lucy Downing and her husband arrived in New England, +and the name of George Downing stands second on the list of the +first class of Harvard graduates in 1642. The Downings had other +sons who do not seem to have been educated at Harvard, and +daughters who were put out to service. The son for whom so much was +done by his mother, was afterwards known as Sir George Downing, and +he became rich and powerful in England. Downing street in London is +named for him. In after life he forgot his duty to his mother, who +so naturally looked to him for support; and her last letter written +from England after her husband died, when she was old and feeble, +tells a sad story of her son's avarice and meanness, and leaves the +painful impression that she suffered in her old age for the +necessaries of life. + +It is hard to estimate how much influence the earnest longing of +this one woman for the better education of her son, had in the +founding of this earliest college in Massachusetts. But for her +thinking and speaking at the right time the enterprise might have +been delayed for half a century. It is to be deplored that Lucy +Downing established the unwise precedent of educating one member of +the family at the expense of the rest; an example followed by too +many women since her time. Harvard College itself has followed it +as well, in that it has so long excluded from its privileges that +portion of the human family to which Lucy Downing belonged. + +Although women have never been permitted to become students of this +college, or of any of the schools connected with it, yet they have +always taken a great interest in its pecuniary welfare, and the +University is largely indebted to the generosity of women for its +endowment and support. From the records of Harvard College, it +appears that funds have been contributed by 167 women, which +amount, in the aggregate, to $325,000. Out of these funds a +proportion of the university scholarships were founded, and at +least one of its professors' chairs. In its Divinity school alone +five of the ten scholarships bear the names of women. Caroline A. +Plummer of Salem gave $15,000 to found the Plummer Professorship of +Christian Morals. Sarah Derby bequeathed $1,000 towards founding +the Hersey Professorship of Anatomy and Physic. The Holden Chapel +was built with money given for that purpose by Mrs. Samuel Holden +and her daughters. Anna E. P. Sever, in 1879, left a legacy to this +college of $140,000. [See Harvard Roll of Honor for women in +_Harvard Register_ in 1880-81.] Other known benefactors of Harvard +University are: Lady Moulson, Hannah Sewall, Mary Saltonstall, +Dorothy Saltonstall, Joanna Alford, Mary P. Townsend, Ann Toppan, +Eliza Farrar, Ann F. Schaeffer, Levina Hoar, Rebecca A. Perkins, +Caroline Merriam, Sarah Jackson, Hannah C. Andrews, Nancy Kendall, +Charlotte Harris, Mary Osgood, Lucy Osgood, Sarah Winslow, Julia +Bullock, Marian Hovey, Anna Richmond, Caroline Richmond, Clara J. +Moore and Susan Cabot.--[H. H. R. + +The question is often asked, why are women so much more desirous +than men to see their children educated? Because it is a right that +has been denied to themselves. To them education means liberty, +wealth, position, power. When the black race at the South were +emancipated, they were far more eager for education than the poor +whites, and for the same reason.--[EDS. + +[147] Ruth Barnaby, aged 101 in 1875, Elizabeth Phillips and Hannah +Greenway were also members of this branch of the profession. The +last was midwife to Mrs. Judge Sewall, who was the mother of +nineteen children. Judge Samuel E. Sewall mentions this fact in his +diary, recently published. + +[148] Dr. Jackson had a large practice in Boston, and filled for +five years the chair of professor of diseases of children in the +Boston University School of Medicine. + +[149] In 1840, a Massachusetts woman could not legally be treasurer +of even a sewing society without having some man responsible for +her. In 1809, it was necessary that the subscriptions of a married +woman for a newspaper or for charities should be in the name of her +husband. + +[150] Olympia Brown's own account of this transaction is as +follows: In 1864, soon after my settlement in Weymouth, I +solemnized a marriage. It was the first time a woman had officiated +in this capacity, and there was so much talk about the legality of +the act, that I petitioned the legislature to take such action as +was necessary in order to make marriages solemnized by me legal. +The committee to whom it was referred reported that no legislation +was necessary. + +[151] This little book is worthy of mention, from the fact that it +is probably the first publication of its kind in Massachusetts, if +not in America. The whole title of the book is, "Observations on +the Rights of Women, with their appropriate duties agreeable to +Scripture, reason and common sense." Mrs. Crocker, in her +introduction, says: "The wise author of Nature has endowed the +female mind with equal powers and faculties, and given them the +same right of judging and acting for themselves as he gave the male +sex." She further argues that, "According to Scripture, woman was +the first to transgress and thus forfeited her original right of +equality, and for a time was under the yoke of bondage, till the +birth of our blessed Savior, when she was restored to her equality +with man." + +This is a very fine beginning, and would seem to savor strongly of +the modern woman's rights doctrine; but, unfortunately, the author, +with charming inconsistency, goes on to say,--"We shall strictly +adhere to the principle of the impropriety of females ever +trespassing on masculine grounds, as it is morally incorrect, and +physically impossible." + +[152] In 1836 there was a small woman's club of Lowell factory +operatives, officered and managed entirely by women. This may be a +remote first cause of the origin of the New England Women's Club, +since it bears the same relation to that flourishing institution, +that the native crab does to the grafted tree. This was the first +woman's club in the State, if not in the whole country. + +[153] A few ladies met at the house of Dr. Harriot K. Hunt to +consider a plan for organization. Its avowed object was "to supply +the daily increasing need of a great central resting place, for the +comfort and convenience of those who may wish to unite with us, and +ultimately become a center for united and organized social thought +and action." Its first president was Caroline M. Severance. On the +executive board were the names of Julia Ward Howe, Ednah D. Cheney, +Lucy Goddard, Harriet M. Pitnam, Jane Alexander, Abby W. May, and +many others who have since become well known. This club held its +first meetings in private houses, but it has for several years +occupied spacious club rooms on Park street in Boston. Julia Ward +Howe is its president. The club has its own historian, and when +this official gives the result of her researches to the public, +there will be seen how many projects for the elevation of women and +the improvement of social life have had their inception in the +brains of those who assemble in the parlors of the New England +Woman's Club. In 1874, it projected the movement by which women +were first elected on the school committee of Boston, and also +prepared the petition to be sent to the Massachusetts legislature +of 1879, the result of which was the passage of the law allowing +women to vote for school committees. In the _Woman's Journal_ for +1883 will be found a sketch of this club. + +[154] "Taxation of Women in Massachusetts"; "Woman Suffrage +a Right, not a Privilege," and "The Forgotten Woman in +Massachusetts." + +[155] Its projectors were A. Bronson Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, +Professor W. T. Harris, Frank B. Sanborn, Professor Benjamin +Pierce, Dr. H. K. Jones, Elizabeth P. Peabody and Ednah D. Cheney. + +[156] This act is almost as brief as a certain clause in one of the +election laws of the State of Texas, which says: "The masculine +gender shall include the feminine and neuter." + +[157] We deeply regret that we have been unable to procure a good +photograph of our generous benefactor, as it was our intention to +make her engraving the frontispiece of this volume, and thus give +the honored place to her through whose liberality we have been +enabled at last to complete this work. We are happy to state that +Mrs. Eddy's will was not contested by any of the descendents of the +noble Francis Jackson, but by Jerome Bacon, a millionaire, the +widower of her eldest daughter who survived the mother but one +week. When the suit was entered the daughters of Mrs. Eddy, Sarah +and Amy, her only surviving children, in a letter to the executor +of the estate, Hon. C. R. Ransom, said: "We hereby consent and +agree that, in case this suit now pending in the court shall be +decided against the claims of Lucy Stone and Susan B. Anthony, we +will give to them the net amount of any sum that as heirs may be +awarded to us, in accordance with our mother's will." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +CONNECTICUT. + + Prudence Crandall--Eloquent Reformers--Petitions for + Suffrage--The Committee's Report--Frances Ellen Burr--Isabella + Beecher Hooker's Reminiscences--Anna Dickinson in the Republican + Campaign--State Society Formed, October 28, 29, + 1869--Enthusiastic Convention in Hartford--Governor Marshall + Jewell--He Recommends More Liberal Laws for Women--Society Formed + in New Haven, 1871--Governor Hubbard's Inaugural, 1877--Samuel + Bowles of the _Springfield Republican_--Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, + Chaplain, 1870--John Hooker, esq., Champions the Suffrage + Movement. + + +While Connecticut has always been celebrated for its puritanical +theology, political conservatism and rigid social customs, it was +nevertheless the scene of some of the most hotly contested of the +anti-slavery battles. While its leading clergymen and statesmen +stoutly maintained the letter of the old creeds and constitutions, +the Burleighs, the Mays, and the Crandalls strove to illustrate the +true spirit of religion and republicanism in their daily lives by +"remembering those that were in bonds as bound with them." + +The example of one glorious woman like Prudence Crandall,[158] who +suffered shameful persecutions in establishing a school for colored +girls at Canterbury, in 1833, should have been sufficient to rouse +every woman in Connecticut to some thought on the basic principles +of the government and religion of the country. Yet we have no +record of any woman in that State publicly sustaining her in that +grand enterprise, though no doubt her heroism gave fresh +inspiration to the sermons of Samuel J. May, then preaching in the +village of Brooklyn, and the speeches and poems of the two eloquent +reformers, Charles C. and William H. Burleigh. The words and deeds +of these and other great souls, though seeming to slumber for many +years, gave birth at last to new demands for another class of +outraged citizens. Thus liberty is ever born of the hateful spirit +of persecution. One question of reform settled forever by +the civil war, the initiative for the next was soon taken. In +_The Revolution_ of January 16, 1868, we find the following +well-considered report on woman's enfranchisement, presented by a +minority of the Committee on Constitutional Amendments to the +legislature of Connecticut at its session of 1867: + + The undersigned members of the committee believe that the prayer + of the petitioners ought to be granted. It would be much easier + for us to reject the petition and silently to acquiesce in the + opinions of the majority upon the subject to which it relates, + but our attention was challenged and an investigation invited by + the bold axioms upon which the cause of suffrage for woman was + claimed to rest, and the more we have examined the subject the + more convinced we have become that the logic of our institutions + requires a concession of that right. It is claimed by some that + the right to vote is not a natural right, but that it is a + privilege which some have acquired, and which may be granted to + others at the option of the fortunate holders. But they fail to + inform us how the possessors first acquired the privilege, and + especially how they acquired the rightful power to withhold that + privilege from others, according to caprice or notions of + expediency. We hold this doctrine to be pernicious in tendency, + and hostile to the spirit of a republican government; and we + believe that it can only be justified by the same arguments that + are used to justify slavery or monarchy--for it is an obvious + deduction of logic that if one thousand persons have a right to + govern another thousand without their consent, one man has a + right to govern all. + + Mr. Lincoln tersely said, "If slavery is not wrong nothing is + wrong." So it seems to us that if the right to vote is not a + natural right, there is no such thing as a natural right in human + relations. The right to freedom and the right to a ballot both + spring from the same source. The right to vote is only the right + to a legitimate use of freedom. It is plain that if a man is not + free to govern himself, and to have a voice in the taxation of + his own property, he is not really free in any enlightened sense. + Even Edward I. of England said, "It is a most equitable rule that + what concerns all should be approved by all." This must + rightfully apply to women the same as to men. And Locke, in his + essay on civil government, said, "Nothing is more evident than + that creatures of the same species and rank, promiscuously born + to the same advantages of nature, and the use of the same + faculties, should also be equal, one with another, without + subordination or subjection." Talleyrand said, as an argument for + monarchy, "The moment we reject an absolutely universal suffrage, + we admit the principle of aristocracy." The founders of this + nation asserted with great emphasis and every variety of + repetition, the essential equality of human rights as a + self-evident truth. The war of the Revolution was justified by + the maxim, "Taxation without representation is tyranny"; and all + republics vindicate their existence by the claim that + "Governments derive their just power from the consent of the + governed." Yet woman, in Connecticut, is governed without her + consent, and taxed without representation. + + Lord Camden, one of England's ablest jurists, long ago declared, + "My position is this--taxation and representation are + inseparable. The position is founded in a law of nature--nay + more, it is itself an eternal law of nature." Our forefathers + held to this principle, and fought seven years to establish it. + They maintained their favorite theory of government against + immense odds, and transmitted to their posterity the great work + of putting it logically into practice. It is acknowledged by this + legislature that "taxation without representation is tyranny," + and that "governments derive their just power from the consent of + the governed." If these phrases are anything more than the + meaningless utterances of demagogues, anything more than the + hypocritical apologies of rebellious colonies in a strait--then + we submit that a _prima facie_ case for woman's right to vote has + already been made out. To declare that a voice in the government + is the right of all, and then give it to less than half, and that + to the fraction to which the theorist himself happens to belong, + is to renounce even the appearance of principle. + + It is plain to your committee that neither the State nor the + nation can have peace on this suffrage question until some fair + standard shall be adopted which is not based on religion, or + color, or sex, or any accident of birth--a test which shall be + applicable to every adult human being. In a republic the ballot + belongs to every intelligent adult person who is innocent of + crime. There is an obvious and sufficient reason for excluding + minors, state-prison convicts, imbeciles and insane persons, but + does the public safety require that we shall place the women of + Connecticut with infants, criminals, idiots and lunatics? Do they + deserve the classification? It seems to your committee that to + enfranchise woman--or rather to cease to deprive her of the + ballot, which is of right hers, would be reciprocally beneficial. + We believe that it would elevate the character of our + office-holders; that it would purify our politics; that it would + render our laws more equitable; that it would give to woman a + protection against half the perils which now beset her; that it + would put into her hands a key that would unlock the door of + every respectable occupation and profession; that it would insure + a reconstruction of our statute laws on a basis of justice, so + that a woman should have a right to her own children, and a right + to receive and enjoy the proceeds of her own labor. John Neal + estimates that the ballot is worth fifty cents a day to every + American laborer, enabling each man to command that much higher + wages. Does not gentlemanly courtesy, as well as equal justice, + require that that weapon of defense shall be given to those + thousands of working women among us who are going down to + prostitution through three or four half-paid, over-crowded + occupations? + + It is said that woman is now represented by her husband, when she + has one; but what is this representation worth when in + Connecticut, two years ago, all of the married woman's personal + property became absolutely her husband's, including even her + bridal presents, to sell or give away, as he saw fit--a statute + which still prevails in most of the States? What is that + representation worth when even now, in this State, no married + woman has the right to the use of her own property, and no woman, + even a widow, is the natural guardian of her own children? Even + in Connecticut, under man's representation, a widow whose husband + dies without a will is regarded by law as an encumbrance on the + estate which she, through years of drudgery, has helped to + acquire. She can inherit none of the houses or land, but has + merely the use of one-third, while the balance goes to his + relatives--rich, perhaps, and persons whom she never saw. Does + not this suggest reasons why woman should wish to represent + herself? + + It is said that women do not desire the ballot. This is by no + means certain. It can be ascertained only by taking a vote. It is + not proved by the fact that they have not yet generally clamored + for the right, nor by the fact that some protest against it. In + Persia, it is a law of society that virtuous women shall appear + in public with their faces covered, and instead of murmuring at + the restraint, they are universal in upholding it, and wonder at + the immodesty and effrontery of English women who appear upon the + streets unveiled. Custom hardens us to any kind of degradation. + When woman was not admitted to the dinner-table as an equal with + man, she undoubtedly thought the exclusion was perfectly proper, + and quite in the nature of things, and the dinner-table became + vile and obscene. When she was forbidden to enter the church, she + approved the arrangement, and the church became a scene of + hilarity and bacchanalian revel. When she was forbidden to take + part in literature, she thought it was not her sphere, and + disdained the alphabet, and the consequence was that literature + became unspeakably impure, so that no man can now read in public + some of the books that were written before woman brought chastity + and refinement into letters. The Asiatics are probably not in + favor of political liberty, or the American Indians in favor of + civilization; but that does not prove that these would be bad for + them, especially if thousands of the most enlightened did desire + and demand the change. It is assumed that women are not in favor + of this right; how can this be better ascertained than by + submitting to them the question to vote upon--"yes" or "no." + + If this legislature shall be averse to trusting woman to give her + opinion even on the question of her own enfranchisement, we + recommend that an amendment, striking the word "male" from the + State constitution, be submitted to the qualified electors of the + State. Can there be any possible danger in trusting those who + have trusted us? They, not we, are the law-makers. An assembly is + elected only because it would be inconvenient for all the + citizens to vote upon every statute. But when any change in the + fundamental law is seriously asked, it should be remitted to the + people without hesitation, especially when that proposed change + will render our logic consistent, and our institutions + harmonious; when it will enforce the democratic doctrine that, in + society, every human being has a right to do anything that does + not interfere with the rights of others, and when it will + establish equality in place of partiality, and vindicate the + principle of All Rights for All. We therefore recommend the + adoption of the following resolution: [Here follows a resolution + submitting to the people an amendment of the constitution giving + women the right to vote equally with men.] + +The members of the committee who signed this early declaration in +favor of the rights of women should be remembered with honor. They +are Henry Ashley, William Steele and J. D. Gallup, jr. The +resolution recommended received 93 votes in the House of +Representatives, against 111 in opposition. So strong an expression +in favor of it at that time is a noteworthy fact in the history of +the cause. + +The petitions that called out this able report were secured through +the influence of Frances Ellen Burr, who may be said to have been +the pioneer of woman suffrage in Connecticut. She had made several +attempts, through conversations with influential friends, to +organize a State society many years before. From the inauguration +of the State association until the present time Miss Burr has been +one of its most efficient members, and has done more to popularize +the question of woman suffrage throughout the State than any other +person. Her accomplishments as a writer and speaker, as a reporter +and stenographer, as well as her connection with the _Hartford +Times_ (a journal that has a very large circulation in the State), +edited by her brother, have qualified her for wide and efficient +influence. Her niece, Mrs. Ella Burr McManus, edits a column in +that paper, under the head of "Social Notes." She is also an +advocate of suffrage for women, and makes telling points, from week +to week, on this question. In issuing the first numbers of _The +Revolution_, the earliest words of good cheer came from Frances +Ellen Burr.[159] + +The general rebellion among women against the old conditions of +society and the popular opinions as to their nature and destiny, +has been organized in each State in this Union by the sudden +awakening of some self-reliant woman, in whose soul had long +slumbered new ideas as to her rights and duties, growing out of +personal experiences or the distant echoes of onward steps in other +localities. In Connecticut this woman was Isabella Beecher Hooker, +who had scarcely dared to think, and much less to give shape in +words, to the thoughts that, like unwelcome ghosts, had haunted her +hours of solitude from year to year. Elizabeth Barrett Browning +describes a hero as one who does what others do but say; who says +what others do but think; and thinks what others do but dream. The +successive steps by which Mrs. Hooker's dreams at last took shape +in thoughts, words and actions, and brought her to the woman +suffrage platform, are well told by herself: + + My mind had long been disturbed with the tangled problem of + social life, but it involved so many momentous questions that I + could not see where to begin nor what to do. I could only protest + in my heart, and leave the whole matter for God[160] to deal with + in his wisdom. Thus matters stood until the year 1861, when Anna + Dickinson, then a girl of nineteen, came to Hartford to speak in + behalf of the Republican party, particularly on its hostility to + the extension of slavery. I shall never forget the dismay--I know + not what else to call it--which I felt at the announcement of her + first speech in one of our public halls, lest harm should come to + the political cause that enlisted my sympathies, and anxiety + about the speaker, who would have to encounter so much adverse + criticism in our conservative and prejudiced city. It was + certainly a most startling occurrence, that here in my very home, + where there had been hardly a lisp in favor of the rights of + women, this girl should speak on political subjects, and that, + too, upon the invitation of the leaders of a great political + party. Here was a stride, not a mere step; and a stride almost to + final victory for the suppressed rights of women. + + My husband and I, full of anxiety and apprehension, but full, + too, of determination to stand by one who so bravely shook off + her trammels, went to hear this new Joan of Arc, and in a few + minutes after she began we found ourselves, with the rest of the + large audience, entranced by her eloquence. At the close of the + meeting we went with many others to be introduced and give her + the right hand of fellowship. She came home with us for the + night, and after the family retired she and I communed together, + heart to heart, as mother and daughter, and from this sweet, + grand soul, born to the freedom denied to all women except those + known as Quakers, I learned to trust as never before the + teachings of the inner light, and to know whence came to them the + recognition of equal rights with their brethren in the public + assembly. + + It was she who brought me to the knowledge of Mrs. John Stuart + Mill, and her remarkable paper on "The Enfranchisement of Women," + in _The Westminster Review_. She told me, too, of Susan B. + Anthony, a fearless defender of true liberty and woman's right of + public speech; but I allowed an old and ignorant prejudice + against her and Mrs. Stanton to remain until the year 1864, when, + going South to nurse a young soldier who was wounded in the war, + I met Mrs. Caroline Severance from Boston, who was residing in + South Carolina, where her husband was in the service of the + government, who confirmed what Miss Dickinson had told me of Miss + Anthony, and unfolded to me the whole philosophy of the woman + suffrage movement. + + She afterwards invited me to her home near Boston, where I joined + Mr. Garrison and others in issuing a call for a convention, which + I attended, and aided in the formation of the New England Woman + Suffrage Association. At this meeting, which I will not attempt + to describe, I met Paulina Wright Davis, whose mere presence upon + the platform, with her beautiful white hair and her remarkable + dignity and elegance, was a most potent argument in favor of + woman's participation in public affairs. I sought an introduction + to her, and confessing my prejudice against Mrs. Stanton and Miss + Anthony, whom I had never yet seen, she urged me to meet them as + guests at her home in Providence; and a few weeks later, under + the grand old trees of her husband's almost ducal estate, we went + over the whole subject of man's supremacy and woman's subjection + that had lain so many years a burden upon my heart, and, sitting + at their feet, I said: "While I have been mourning in secret over + the degradation of woman, you have been working, through + opposition and obloquy, to raise her to self-respect and + self-protection through enfranchisement, knowing that with equal + political rights come equal social and industrial opportunities. + Henceforth, I will at least share your work and your obloquy." + + In September, 1869, just one year from that time, after spending + several weeks in correspondence with friends all over the State, + and making careful preliminary arrangements, I issued a call for + the first woman suffrage convention that was ever held in + Connecticut, at which a State society was formed. To my surprise + and satisfaction, the city press each day devoted several columns + to reports of our proceedings, and the enthusiasm manifested by + the large audiences was as unexpected as it was gratifying. The + speakers were worthy of the reception given them, and few + occasions have gathered upon one platform so notable an + assemblage of men and women.[161] The resolutions which formed + the basis of the discussions were prepared and presented by Mr. + Hooker: + + _Resolved_, That there is no consideration whatever that + makes the right of suffrage valuable to men, or that makes + it the duty or the interest of the nation to concede it to + men, that does not make it valuable to women, and the duty + and interest of the nation to concede it to women. + + _Resolved_, That the ballot will bring to woman a higher + education, larger industrial opportunities, a wider field + for thought and action, a sense of responsibility in her + relations to the public welfare, and, in place of mere + complaisance and flattery, the higher and truer respect of + men. + + _Resolved_, That political affairs, involving nearly all + those questions that relate to the welfare of the nation and + the progress of society towards a perfect Christian + civilization, ought to interest deeply every intelligent + mind and every patriotic heart; and, while women love their + country and the cause of Christian progress no less than + men, they ought to have the same opportunity with men to + exert a political power in their behalf. + + _Resolved_, That in the alarming prevalence of public + dishonesty and private immorality, which the present forces + on the side of public and private virtue are proving wholly + unable to control, it is our firm conviction that women, + educated to the responsibilities of a participation with men + in political rights, would bring to the aid of virtuous men + a new and powerful element of good, which cannot be spared, + and for which there can be no substitute. + + _Resolved_, That in advocating the opening to woman of this + larger sphere, we do not undervalue her relations as a wife + and mother, than which none can be more worthy of a true + woman's love and pride; but it is only by a full development + of her faculties and a wide range for her thought that she + can become the true companion of an intelligent husband, and + the wise and inspiring educator of her children; while mere + domestic life furnishes no occupation to the great number of + women who never marry, and a very inadequate one to those + who, at middle age, with large experience and ripe wisdom, + find their children grown up around them and no longer + needing their care. + + _Resolved_, That all laws which recognize a superior right + in the husband to the children whom the wife has borne, or a + right on the part of the husband to the property of the + wife, beyond the right given to her in his property, and all + laws which hold that husband and wife do not stand in all + respects in the relation of equals, ought to be abrogated, + and the perfect equality of husband and wife established. + + _Resolved_, That this equality of position and rights we + believe to have been intended by the Creator as the ultimate + perfection of the social state, when he said, "Let us make + man in our image, after our likeness, and let THEM have + dominion"; and to have been a part of our Savior's plan for + a perfect Christian society, in which an Apostle says, + "there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor + female." + +The _Hartford Courant_, in its description of the convention, said: + + After a speech by Mr. Garrison, the Hutchinsons sang some of the + religious songs of the Southern negroes with excellent taste, and + then, led by them, the whole audience united in the chorus; and + as the melody rose strong and clear a pathos fell upon the + assembly that brought tears to many eyes. The tableau upon the + stage was striking and memorable. There stood the family of + singers, with the same cheerful, hopeful courage in their + uplifted faces with which for twenty years they have sung of the + good time _almost_ here, of every reform; there stood William + Lloyd Garrison, stern Puritan, inflexible apostle, his work + gloriously done in one reform, lending the weight of his + unwearied, solid intellect to that which he believes is the last + needed; there was Mrs. Paulina Wright Davis, a Roman matron in + figure, her noble head covered with clustering ringlets of white, + courageous after a quarter of a century of unsullied devotion, + though she had just confessed that sometimes she was almost + weary; there was Miss Anthony, unselfish, patient, wise and + practical; the graceful Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, the poet of the + movement; the tall and elegant Mrs. Celia Burleigh; the + benevolent Dr. Clemence Lozier; Mrs. Isabella B. Hooker, with + spiritual face and firm purpose, just taking her place in the + reform that has long had her heart and deep conviction, and many + others of fine presence and commanding beauty--matrons, with gray + hair and countenances illuminated with lives of charity; young + women, flushed with hope; and as the grand Christian song went + on, many a woman, leaning against a supporting pillar, gave way + to the tears that would come, tears of hope deferred, tears of + weary longings, tears of willing, patient devotion--e'en though + it be a cross that raiseth me--and then the benediction, and the + assembly dispersed, touched, it may be, into a moment's sympathy. + * * * + + At the closing evening session the opera house was completely + filled by an audience whose attendance was a compliment. * * * + The chairman, Rev. N. J. Burton, said: "Has not this convention + been a success? I say, emphatically, it has. We have had the very + best of audiences at every session, and we have provided speakers + as good as the audience. We have not given you even one poor + speech. I thank the audience and the speakers, one and all. I + feel like thanking everybody, myself included, as chairman. In + Stewart's store in New York they told me 1,500 persons were + employed, all guided by one brain up-stairs, and that one brain + giving the store a national reputation. This convention has been + inspired and managed by one person--Mrs. Hooker of this city." + After speculating as to the possible oratorical power of Mrs. H., + had she received the advantages and enjoyed the practice of her + brother, who spoke the previous evening, he said: "But of course + Mrs. Hooker couldn't vote, nor be a member of the legislature, or + even a justice of the peace. Insufferable nonsense! If such women + don't vote before I die--well, like Gough's obstinate deacon, I + won't die till they do." + + On motion of Franklin Chamberlin, esq., the thanks of the + convention were tendered to Mrs. Hooker for her efforts. At her + request the chairman said that she was wholly surprised by this + reference to herself. She would only say, "Thank God for our + success," to which the chairman added, "Amen and Amen." He then + introduced Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, daughter of the late + Judge Cady of Albany, wife of the Hon. Henry B. Stanton of New + York, and editor of _The Revolution_. She is perhaps fifty, and + in general appearance much resembles Mrs. Davis. She is + apparently in robust health, dresses in black, with just enough + of white lace, and, with her gray hair loosely gathered, and her + strong, symmetrical and refined face and perfect self-possession, + is a noble-looking woman. Her address, or oration, was before + her, but she was not hampered by it. Her voice is clear, her + gesticulation simple, and her general manner not surpassed by + Wendell Phillips. Rough notes of an oration so finished can only + indicate the main drift of her thoughts. * * * The eloquent + peroration was heard in profound silence, followed by + enthusiastic applause. * * * The chairman read the constitution + and offered it for signatures, and the officers of the + Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association were chosen.[162] + +In _The Revolution_ of November 11, 1869, Mrs. Stanton giving a +description of the convention, refers to the liberality of the +governor, Marshall Jewell, and the genial hospitalities of his +noble wife:[163] + + In company with Mrs. Howe and Miss Anthony, we were entertained + at the governor's mansion, a fine brick building in the heart of + the town. It has a small pond on one side, and eight acres of + land, laid out in gardens, walks and lawns, with extensive + greenhouses and graperies. The house is spacious, elegantly and + tastefully furnished, with all the comforts and luxuries that + wealth can command. With a conservatory, library, pictures, + statuary, beautiful (strong-minded) wife and charming daughters, + the noble governor is in duty bound to remain the happy, genial, + handsome man he is to-day. Though the governor, owing to his + pressing executive duties, did not honor our convention with his + presence, we feel assured, in reading over his last able message, + that he feels a deep interest in the education and elevation of + women. In speaking of their school system, he calls attention to + the low wages of female teachers, and the injustice of excluding + girls from the scientific schools and polytechnic institutions in + the State. He says: + + I would especially call the attention of the legislature to + the importance of furnishing to women such educational + facilities as will better fit them for the industrial + pursuits which the true progress of the times is opening to + them. + + On the rights of married women, he says: + + While our laws with regard to married women have been + amended from time to time for several years past, so as to + secure to them in a more ample manner their property, held + before or acquired after marriage, yet we are still + considerably behind many of our sister States, and even + conservative England, in our legislation on the subject. I + would recommend to your favorable consideration such an + amendment of our laws as will secure to a married woman all + her property, with the full control of it during her married + life, and free from liability for any debts, except those + contracted by herself or for which she has voluntarily made + herself responsible, with the same right on the part of the + husband to an interest in her property, on his surviving + her, that she now has, or that it may be best to give her, + in his. + + On the subject of divorce the governor says: + + I recommend a revision of our laws with regard to divorce. + According to the report of the State librarian there were in + the State last year 4,734 marriages and 478 divorces. + Discontented people come here from other States, to take + advantage of what is called our liberal legislation, to + obtain divorces which would be denied them at home. As the + sacredness of the marriage relation lies at the foundation + of civilized society, it should be carefully guarded. Under + our present laws the causes of divorce are too numerous, and + not sufficiently defined, and too wide a discretion is given + to the courts. I think the law of 1849 should be modified, + and so much of the statute as grants divorces for "any such + misconduct as permanently destroys the happiness of the + petitioner, and defeats the purposes of the marriage + relation," should be repealed. I would also suggest that the + law provide that no decree of divorce shall take effect till + one year after it is granted. + + In conversation with the governor on this point in his + message he stated the singular fact that the majority of the + applications for divorce were made by women. If this be so, + we suggested that the laws of Connecticut should stand as + they are until the women have the right of suffrage, that + they may have a voice in a social arrangement in which they + have an equal interest with man himself. If Connecticut, + with its blue laws, disloyal Hartford convention, and + Democracy, has, nevertheless, been a Canada for fugitive + wives from the yoke of matrimony, pray keep that little + State, like an oasis in the desert, sacred to sad wives, at + least until the sixteenth amendment of the federal + constitution shall give the women of the republic the right + to say whether they are ready to make marriage, under all + circumstances, for better or worse, an indissoluble tie. We + have grave doubts as to the sacredness of a relation in + which the subject-class has no voice whatever in the laws + that regulate it. We shall never know what "laws lie at the + foundation of all civilized society" until woman's thought + finds expression in the State, the church and the home. It + is presumption for man longer to legislate alone on this + vital question, when woman, too, should have a word to say + in the matter. + + The morning after the convention we had a pleasant breakfast + under Mr. and Mrs. Hooker's hospitable roof, where Boston + and New York amicably broke bread and discussed the + fifteenth amendment together. All the wise and witty sayings + that passed around that social board, time fails to + chronicle. + + In 1877 Governor Hubbard called the attention of the legislature + to the wrongs of married women, in the following words: + + There has been for the last few years in this State much + slip-shod and fragmentary legislation in respect to the + property rights of married women. The old common law assumed + the subjugation of the wife, and stripped her of the better + part of her rights of person and nearly all her rights of + property. It is a matter of astonishment that Christian + nations should have been willing for eighteen centuries to + hold the mothers of their race in a condition of legal + servitude. It has been the scandal of jurisprudence. Some + progress has been made in reforming the law in this State, + but it has been done, as I have already said, by patch-work + and shreds, sometimes ill-considered, and often so + incongruous as to provoke vexatious litigation and defy the + wisdom of the courts. The property relations of husband and + wife do not to-day rest on any just or harmonious system. + Not only has the husband absolute disposal of all his own + property freed from all dower rights, but he is practically + the owner during coverture of all his wife's estate not + specially limited to her separate use; and after her death + has, in every case, a life use in all her personal, and in + most cases in all her real property, by a title which the + wife, no matter what may have been his ill-deserts, is + powerless to impair or defeat; whereas, on the other hand, + the wife has during the husband's life no more power of her + own right to sell, convey, or manage her own estate than if + she were a lunatic or slave, and in case of his death has a + life use in only one-third part of the real estate of which + he dies possessed, and no indefeasible title whatever in any + of his personal estate. As a consequence, a husband may + strip his wife, by mere voluntary disposition to strangers, + of all claim on his estate after his death, and thus add + beggary to widowhood. + + I am sure this cannot seem right to any fair-minded man. + Neither is it strange that some of our countrywomen, stung + by the injustice of the law towards their sex, should be + demanding, as a mode of redress, a part in the making of the + laws which govern them. I am confident there is manhood + enough in our own sex to right this obvious wrong to which I + have alluded. + + I therefore recommend that the law on this subject be so + recast that, in all marriages hereafter contracted, the wife + shall hold her property and all her earnings for personal + services not rendered to her husband or minor children, as a + sole and separate estate, with absolute power of disposition + in her own name, and that the surviving wife shall have, by + law, the same measure of estate in the property of the + deceased husband, as the surviving husband shall be allowed + to have in the property of his deceased wife. This will + reduce their property relations to a principle of equality, + and, in my judgment, is demanded by the most obvious + dictates of justice and equity. Those who are not satisfied + with this can make a different law for themselves by + ante-nuptial settlements. + + I am not unmindful that the husband alone is liable in the + first instance for the support of the family; but this is + much more than neutralized by the fact that, in most cases, + the wife's whole life is spent in the toilsome and unpaid + service of the household, and that the whole drift of her + estate, in consequence of her more unselfish and generous + nature, is towards the husband's pockets, in spite of all + the guards of the law and every consideration of prudence. + + Calling attention to this stirring appeal, the _Hartford Times_, + Democratic, used the following language: + + Another notable feature of the message is its outspoken and + manly call for a reformation in our laws concerning the + property rights of married women. Here as in other points it + is a model message. The governor's experience as a lawyer + has brought him often face to face with this disgraceful + one-sidedness of our laws on this subject, and in some terse + sentences he shows up the injustice more effectively than + has ever been done in any of the so-called women's rights + conventions.[164] + + The following editorial from the _Springfield Republican_, gives + a good digest of the new law passed upon Governor Hubbard's + recommendation: + + Connecticut has taken a great leap forward in the reform of + the property relations of married persons. The law had been + long neglected in that State, the obvious right of a married + woman to property acquired before marriage, which is now + secured in most States by constitutional provision, having + been there denied. In Massachusetts, the modification of the + former inequalities has gone on by piecemeal, till it is + said that in some respects the woman is now the more favored + party. + + The new Connecticut statute also puts the burden of the + family maintenance on the man, as under most circumstances + the real bread-winner. It simply lays down the principle of + absolute equality in the rights and privileges of the + husband and wife, with the above exception. In all marriages + hereafter contracted, neither husband nor wife shall acquire + any right to or interest in any property of the other, + whether held before the marriage or acquired after the + marriage, except as provided in this law. The separate + earnings of the wife shall be her sole property. She shall + have the same right to make contracts with third persons as + if she were not married, and to convey her real and personal + estate. Her property is liable for her debts and not for + his; his is not liable for her debts, except those + contracted for the support of the family. Purchases made by + either party shall be presumed to be on the private account + of the party, but both shall be liable where any article + purchased by either shall have in fact gone to the support + of the family, or for the joint benefit of both, or for the + reasonable apparel of the wife, or for her reasonable + support while abandoned by her husband. It shall, however, + be the duty of the husband to support his family, and his + property, when found, shall be first applied to satisfy any + such joint liability. The wife shall be entitled to + indemnity for any money of her own used to pay such claims. + We have used almost the precise language of the first and + second sections of the act. + + On the death of either, the survivor shall be entitled to + the use for life of one-third the estate of the deceased, + which right cannot be defeated by will. If the deceased + leaves no children or representatives of children, the + survivor is entitled to one-half instead of one-third. When + either party gives a legacy to the other, the latter may + choose between its rights under the will, and those under + the statute. Abandonment without cause may defeat this + provision, and a marriage contract may supersede it + entirely. Parties already married may contract to surrender + their present rights for those secured by this statute, such + contracts to be recorded in the probate court. + + Thus we have a new and clear statute framed in accordance + with a simple principle of reform, for which the + _Republican_ has long done battle--the equality of married + persons in their rights and responsibilities of property. + The adoption of the reform is due deeply to the general + agitation of the rights of women, the efforts of Mrs. + Isabella Beecher Hooker, the Smith girls' cows, and perhaps + some flagrant instance of injustice to rich wives by tyrant + husbands near the capital. But the great occasion and + immediate cause, without which this generation might have + pleaded for it in vain, was the perception of the justice of + it by Governor Hubbard, and his open advocacy of it in his + message. Lawyers have one answer for all reforms regarding + property or civil contracts--they are impossible. But here + was undeniably the best lawyer in the State who said, and + threw the weight of his first State paper on the + proposition, that this thing was possible, and, if he said + it was possible, there was no man who could gainsay it. The + legislature took the reform on its own sense of justice and + on the assurance of Richard D. Hubbard, that it would work. + +On June 6, 1870, at a second hearing[165] before the Joint +Committee on Woman Suffrage, in the capitol at New Haven, Rev. +Phebe A. Hanaford of the Universalist church, Mrs. Benchley and +Mrs. Russell were the speakers. During that session of the +legislature Mrs. Hanaford acted as chaplain both in the Senate and +House of Representatives, and received a check for her services +which she valued chiefly as a recognition of woman's equality in +the clerical profession. + +Mrs. Hooker was ably sustained in her new position by her husband, +a prominent lawyer of the State. Being equally familiar with civil +and canon law, with Blackstone and the Bible, he was well equipped +to meet the opponents of the reform at every point. While Mrs. +Hooker held meetings in churches and school-houses through the +State, her husband in his leisure hours sent the daily press +articles on the subject. And thus their united efforts stirred the +people to thought and at last roused a Democratic governor of the +State to his duty on this question. From the many able tracts +issued and articles published in the journals we give a few +extracts. In answer to the common objections of "free love" and +"easy divorce," in the _Evening Post_ of January 17, 1871, Mr. +Hooker said: + + The persons who advocate easy divorce would advocate it just as + strongly if there was no woman suffrage movement. The two have no + necessary connection. Indeed one of the strongest arguments in + favor of woman suffrage is, that the marriage relation will be + safer with women to vote and legislate upon it than where the + voting and legislation are left wholly to the men. Women will + always be wives and mothers, above all things else. This law of + nature cannot be changed, and I know of nobody who desires to + change it. The marriage relation will therefore always be more to + woman than to man, and we, who would give her the right to vote, + have no fear to trust to her the sanctity and purity of that + relation. It is the opponents of woman suffrage who distrust the + fidelity of woman to her divine instincts and dare not let her + vote. Our little State has been two hundred years under male + legislation, and yet a long memorial from hundreds of clergymen + and other Christian men went up to our legislature two years ago, + representing our legislation on divorce as demoralizing and as + fatal to the best interests of the marriage relation. It really + seems as if the incompetency for the management of public affairs + which by mere assumption is charged in advance upon women, has + been proved with regard to men by an actual experience of many + years. The true idea is for man and woman to share together the + responsibilities and duties of legislation, and until this is + done I have no hope for any real progress towards purity in the + administration of our public affairs. We who favor woman suffrage + speak confidently on this subject because the reform works so + well wherever it has been tried, in England, Sweden, Austria and + Wyoming Territory. + + No rational man can suppose for a moment that with woman suffrage + established in England and on the continent of Europe, we in this + country, which so specially stands on equal representation, are + going to refuse it. It must be set down as one of the certain + things of the future. And when it has come, and women vote, it + will excite no more attention or comment than the voting of our + colored people. + + Now if woman suffrage is to come, is it worth while to be making + the impression that the women of our country are not to be + trusted with it, and that the marriage relation is to be + imperiled by it? Above all, is it manly or just to be charging + corrupt motives on nine-tenths of those who advocate the reform? + The notoriety which to some extent its advocates must get is + almost universally painful to the women who are the subjects of + it. One noble woman, whose whole soul is in this cause, and the + purity of whose motives in this, as in everything else, I have + had good opportunity to learn, said to me, on reading Dr. + Bushnell's remark in his book on woman suffrage, that these women + were only trying to make themselves men: "Cruel, cruel words! If + so noble a man as Dr. Bushnell so utterly fails to comprehend a + woman's nature, shall not she be allowed to speak for herself, + and no testimony be taken but hers?"[166] + +Much might be said in regard to the most famous women of +Connecticut, the historic "Maids of Glastonbury," celebrated for +their resistance to taxation. After the death of Abby, July 23, +1878, Mrs. Elizabeth Oakes Smith, in a beautiful tribute to the +sisters, said: + + Many years ago they took a stand akin to that of the illustrious + Hampden, which has made his name a synonym for patriotism as well + as just and manly opposition to unconstitutional revenue + exaction. "The tax may be a small matter for an English gentleman + to pay, but it is too much for a British freeman to pay," was + the ground of his noble resistance, and this view precipitated + that great Revolution which more than all other modern movements + consolidated and strengthened the rights of the British subject. + These two women deserve to stand upon a platform side by side + with the great Hampden. Other women have paid their taxes under + protest, but Abby and Julia Smith have done more than protest; + they have suffered loss as well as inconvenience, their property + having been seized and sold again and again because of their + honest conviction that taxation without representation was as + unjust to women as to men. Their steadfastness has been the more + remarkable because, by their social position, their learning and + their wealth, they might be supposed to be indifferent to the + ballot-box, as so many thus situated claim to be. Abby and her + sister were no ordinary women. The family originally consisted of + five sisters, all more or less accomplished. The father was a man + of learning, a graduate of Yale and a clergyman. The mother was + familiar with French and Italian, and no mean astronomer. Thus + parented, it is not surprising that the Glastonbury sisters were + of marked individualism as well as superior scholarship. They + were more or less acquainted with Hebrew, Greek and Latin, and + have made a translation of the Bible from these sources, giving + its original meaning. + + The maids of Glastonbury planted themselves upon the right of the + sex to suffrage, from purely philosophic and statesman-like + grounds. They had no other disabilities of which to complain--no + other grievance--no social ostracism, as is so often charged, and + most unjustly, against other advocates of the doctrine. They were + unmarried, studious, upright, simple-minded gentlewomen, and were + much esteemed and honored in the community in which they lived. + They occupied the old homestead, doing their own work, their + interests well cared for in the person of Mr. Kellogg, an + intelligent tenant of theirs, as well as friend and neighbor. + + _The Hartford Post_, in a tender mention of the life and death of + Abby, with a brief sketch of the family, thus bears honorable + testimony to her worthiness: + + In the death of Miss Smith the cause of woman suffrage has + met with a severe loss, as her firm resistance to what she + believed to be the unjust treatment of women greatly + encouraged her companions in the contest; her sister has + lost her chief support, and the community in which she lived + a faithful friend and a worthy exponent of the virtues of + truthfulness, firmness, and adherence to the right as she + understood it. + + _The Hartford Times_ said: + + A notable woman who died last week was Miss Abigail H. + Smith, of Glastonbury, Conn., one of the two sisters who + resisted the collection of their taxes on the ground that + they had no voice in the levy. It will be remembered that + their cows were seized and some of their personal property + sold two years ago. Of course there were friends who were + willing and anxious to pay the taxes, but the plucky old + ladies were fighting for a principle, and they would allow + no one to stand in the way. The notoriety, which they + neither sought nor avoided, undoubtedly did a great deal to + call public attention to the anomalous condition of woman + under the law. It would be very hard for any man to argue + successfully that he possessed any stronger natural claim to + the suffrage than was possessed by these shrewd, honest, + energetic old ladies. + +Many encouraging letters were written the sisters during their many +trials, of which the following is a fair specimen: + + Near BOSTON, January 14, 1874. + + MY DEAR MADAM: The account of your hardships is interesting, and + your action will be highly beneficial in bringing the subject to + public notice, and in leading to the correction of a great + injustice. The taxation of the property of women, without + allowing them any representation, even in town affairs, is so + unfair that it seems only necessary to bring it to public view to + make it odious and to bring about a change. Therefore you deserve + the greater honor, not only because you have suffered in a good + cause, but because you have set an example that will be followed, + and that will lead to happy results. + + Your case has its parallel in every township of New England. In + the town where this is written a widow pays into the treasury + $7,830 a year, while 600 men, a number equal to half the whole + number of voters, pay $1,200 in all. Another lady pays $5,042. + Yet neither has a single vote, not even by proxy. That is, each + one of 600 men who have no property, who pay only a poll-tax, and + many of whom cannot read or write, has the power of voting away + the property of the town, while the female _owners_ have no power + at all. We have lately spent a day in celebrating the heroism of + those who threw overboard the tea; but how trifling was the + tea-tax, and how small the injustice to individuals compared with + this one of our day! The principle, however, was the same--that + there should be no taxation where there is no representation. And + this is what we ought to stand by. Please to accept the sympathy + and respect of one of your fellow citizens. No doubt you will + have the same from all in due time; or, at any rate, from all who + love to see fair play. + + Very truly yours, AMOS A. LAWRENCE. + + _Miss Abby H. Smith, Glastonbury, Conn._ + +A marked evidence of the advance of public sentiment was manifested +by a decision of the Supreme Court in 1882, by which the women of +Connecticut were held to have the right to practice law. The +opinion of Chief-Justice Park concerning the legality of the +admission of Miss Mary Hall of Hartford to the bar, giving her the +right to practice in the courts of the State, is as follows: + + This is an application by a woman for admission to the bar of + Hartford county. After having completed the prescribed term of + study she has passed the examination required and has been + recommended by the bar of the county to the Superior Court for + admission, subject to the opinion of the court upon the question + whether, as a woman, she can legally be admitted. The Superior + Court has reserved the case for our advice. + + The statute with regard to the admission of attorneys by the + court is the 29th section of chapter 3, title 4, of the General + Statutes, and is in the following words: "The Superior Court may + admit and cause to be sworn as attorneys such persons as are + qualified therefor agreeably to the rules established by the + judges of said court; and no other person than an attorney so + admitted shall plead at the bar of any court of this State, + except in his own cause." + + It is not contended, in opposition to the application, that the + language of this statute is not comprehensive enough to include + women, but the claim is that at the time it was passed its + application to women was not thought of, while the fact that + women have never been admitted as attorneys, either by the + English courts or by any of the courts of this country, had + established a common-law disability, which could be removed only + by a statute intended to have that effect. + + It is hardly necessary to consider how far the fact that women + have never pursued a particular profession or occupied a + particular official position, to the pursuit or occupancy of + which some governmental license or authority was necessary, + constitutes a common-law disability for receiving such license or + authority, because here the statute is ample for removing that + disability if we can construe it as applying to women; so that we + come back to the question whether we are by construction to limit + the application of the statute to men alone, by reason of the + fact that in its original enactment its application to women was + not intended by the legislators that enacted it. And upon this + point we remark, in the first place, that an inquiry of this sort + involves very serious difficulties. No one would doubt that a + statute passed at this time in the same words would be sufficient + to authorize the admission of women to the bar, because it is now + a common fact and presumably in the minds of legislators, that + women in different parts of the country are, and for some time + have been, following the profession of law. But if we hold that + the construction of the statute is to be determined by the + admitted fact that its application to women was not in the minds + of the legislators when it was passed, where shall we draw the + line? All progress in social matters is gradual. We pass almost + imperceptibly from a state of public opinion that utterly + condemns some course of action to one that strongly approves it. + At what point, in the history of this change, shall we regard a + statute, the construction of which is to be affected by it, as + passed in contemplation of it? When the statute we are now + considering was passed, it probably never entered the mind of a + single member of the legislature that black men would ever be + seeking for admission under it. Shall we now hold that it cannot + apply to black men? We know of no distinction in respect to this + rule between the case of a statute and that of a constitutional + provision. When our State constitution was adopted in 1818 it was + provided in it that every elector should be "eligible to any + office in the State," except where otherwise provided in the + constitution. It is clear that the convention that framed, and + probably all the people who voted to adopt the constitution, had + no idea that black men would ever be electors, and contemplated + only white men as within any possible application of the + provision, for the same constitution provided that only white men + should be electors. But now that black men are made electors, + will it do to say that they are not entitled to the full rights + of electors in respect to holding office, because an application + of the provision to them was never thought of when it was + adopted? Events that gave rise to enactments may always be + considered in construing them. This is little more than the + familiar rule that in construing a statute we always inquire what + particular mischief it was designed to remedy. Thus, the Supreme + Court of the United States has held that in construing the recent + amendments of the federal constitution, although they are general + in their terms, it is to be considered that they were passed with + reference to the exigencies growing out of the emancipation of + the slaves, and for the purpose of benefiting the blacks + (_Slaughter-house Cases, 16 Wall., 67_; _Strauder vs. West + Virginia, 100 U. S. Reps., 306_). But this statute was not passed + for the purpose of benefiting men as distinguished from women. It + grew out of no exigency caused by the relation of the sexes. Its + object was wholly to secure the orderly trial of causes and the + better administration of justice. Indeed, the preamble to the + first statute providing for the admission of attorneys, states + its object to be "for the well-ordering of proceedings and pleas + at the bar." + + The statute on this subject was not originally passed in its + present form. The first act with regard to the admission of + attorneys was that of 1708, which was as follows: "That no + person, except in his own cause, shall be admitted to make any + plea at the bar without being first approved by the court before + whom the plea is to be made, nor until he shall take in the said + court the following oath," etc. (Col. Records, 1706 to 1716, page + 48). This act seems to have contemplated an approval by the court + in each particular case in which an attorney appeared before it. + The first act with regard to the general admission of attorneys + appears in the revision of 1750, and is as follows: "That the + county courts of the respective counties in this colony shall + appoint, and they are hereby empowered to approve, nominate and + appoint attorneys in their respective counties, as there shall be + occasion, to plead at the bar; * * and that no person, except in + his own case, shall make any plea at the bar in any court but + such as are allowed and qualified attorneys, as aforesaid." Thus + the statute stood until the revision of 1821; when, for the first + time, it took essentially its present form. Up to this time the + word "person" had been used in this statute only in the clause + that "no person" should be allowed to practice before the courts + except where formally admitted by the court, a use of the word + which, of course, could not be regarded as limited to the male + sex, as women would undoubtedly have been held to be included in + the term. The language of the statute as now adopted was as + follows: "The county courts may make such rules and regulations + as to them shall seem proper relative to the admission and + practice of attorneys; and may approve of, admit and cause to be + sworn as attorneys, such persons as are qualified therefor + agreeably to the rules established; * * and no person not thus + admitted, except in his own cause, shall be admitted or allowed + to plead at the bar of any court." The statute in this form + passed through the compilations of 1835 and 1838, the revision of + 1849 and the compilation of 1854, and appears, with a slight + modification, in the revision of 1866. The county courts had now + been abolished, and the power to admit attorneys, as well as to + make rules on the subject, had been given to the Superior Court; + the expression, "such persons," being preserved, and the + provision that "no person" not thus admitted should be allowed to + plead, being omitted. + + The statute finally took its present form in the revision of + 1875. It retains the provision that the Superior Court may make + rules for the admission of attorneys, and provides that the court + "may admit and cause to be sworn as attorneys such persons as are + qualified therefor agreeably to the rules established," and + restores the provision, dropt in the revision of 1866, that "no + person other than an attorney so admitted shall plead at the bar + of any court in this State, except in his own cause." + + These changes, though not such as to affect the meaning of the + statute at any point of importance to the present question, are + yet not wholly without importance. The adoption by the + legislature of the revision of the statutes becomes, both in law + and in fact, a reenactment of the whole body of statutes; and + though in determining the meaning of a statute, we are not to + regard it as then enacted for the first time, especially if there + be no change in its phraseology, yet, where there is such a + change, it follows that the attention of the revisers had been + particularly directed to that statute, as of course also that of + the legislature, and that with the changes made it expresses the + present intent of both. Thus, in this case, it is clear that the + revisers gave particular thought to the phraseology of the + statute we are considering, and put it in a form that seemed to + them best with reference to the present state of things, and + decided to leave the words "such persons" to stand with full + knowledge that they were sufficient to include women, and that + women were already following the profession of law in different + parts of the country. The legislators must be presumed to have + acted with the same consideration and knowledge. It would have + been perfectly easy, if either had thought best, to insert some + words of limitation or exclusion, but it was not done. Not only + so, but a clause omitted in the revision of 1866 was restored, + providing that no "person" not regularly admitted should act as + an attorney--a term which necessarily included women, and the + insertion of which made it necessary, if the word "persons" as + used in the first part of the statute should be held not to + include women, to give two entirely different meanings to the + same word where occurring twice in the same statute and with + regard to the same subject matter. + + The object of a revision of statutes is, that there may be such + changes made in them as the changes in political and social + matters may demand, and where no changes are made it is to be + presumed that the legislature is satisfied with it in its present + form. And where some changes are made in a particular statute, + and other parts of it are left unchanged, there is the more + reason for the inference from this evidence that the matter of + changing the statute was especially considered, that the parts + unchanged express the legislative will of to-day, rather than + that of perhaps a hundred years ago, when it was originally + enacted. + + But this statute, in the revision of 1875, is placed immediately + after another with regard to the appointment of commissioners of + the Superior Court, the necessary construction of which, we + think, throws light upon the construction of the statute in + question. That act was passed in 1855, after women had begun, + with general acceptance, to occupy a greatly enlarged field of + industry and some professional and even public positions; and it + has been held by the Superior Court, very properly we think, as + applying to women, a woman having three years ago been appointed + commissioner under it. Its language is as follows: "The Superior + Court in any county may appoint any number of persons in such + county to be commissioners of the Superior Court, who, when + sworn, may sign writs and subpoenas, take recognizances, + administer oaths and take depositions and the acknowledgement of + deeds, and shall hold office for two years from their + appointment." Here the very language is used which is used in the + statute with regard to attorneys. In one it is, "any number of + persons," in the other, "such persons as are qualified." These + two statutes are placed in immediate juxtaposition in the + revision of 1875 and deal with kindred subjects, and it is + reasonable to presume that the revisers and legislature intended + both to receive the same construction. It would seem strange to + any common-sense observer that an entirely different meaning + should be given to the same word in the two statutes, especially + when in giving the narrower meaning to the word in the statute + with regard to attorneys, we are compelled to give it a different + meaning from that which the same word requires in the next line + of the same statute. + + We are not to forget that all statutes are to be construed, as + far as possible, in favor of equality of rights. All restrictions + upon human liberty, all claims for special privileges, are to be + regarded as having the presumption of law against them, and as + standing upon their defense, and can be sustained if at all by + valid legislation, only by the clear expression or clear + implication of the law. + + We have some noteworthy illustrations of the recognition of women + as eligible or appointable to office under statutes of which the + language is merely general. Thus, women are appointed in all + parts of the country as postmasters. The act of congress of 1825 + was the first one conferring upon the postmaster-general the + power of appointing postmasters, and it has remained essentially + unchanged to the present time. The language of the act is, that + "the postmaster-general shall establish post-offices and appoint + postmasters." Here women are not included, except in the general + term "postmasters," a term which seems to imply a male person; + and no legislation from 1825 down to the present time authorizes + the appointment of women, nor is there any reference in terms to + women until the revision of 1874, which recognizes the fact that + women had already been appointed, in providing that "the bond of + any married woman who may be appointed postmaster shall be + binding on her and her sureties." Some of the higher grades of + postmasters are appointed by the president, subject to + confirmation by the Senate, and such appointments and + confirmations have repeatedly been made. The same may be said of + pension agents. The acts of congress on the subject have simply + authorized "the President, by and with the advice and consent of + the Senate, to appoint all pension agents, who shall hold their + offices for the term of four years, and shall give bond," etc. At + the last session of congress a married woman in Chicago was + appointed for a third term pension agent for the State of + Illinois, and the public papers stated that there was not a + single vote against her confirmation in the Senate. Public + opinion is everywhere approving of such appointments. They + promote the public interest, which is benefitted by every + legitimate use of individual ability, while mere justice, which + is of interest to all, requires that all have the fullest + opportunity for the exercise of their abilities. These cases are + the more noteworthy as being cases of public offices, to which + the incumbent is appointed for a term of years, upon a + compensation provided by law, and in which he is required to give + bond. If an attorney is to be regarded as an officer, it is in a + lower sense. + + We have had pressed upon us by the counsel opposed to the + applicant, the decisions of the courts of Massachusetts, + Wisconsin and Illinois, and the United States Court of Claims, + adverse to such an application. While not prepared to accede to + all the general views expressed in those decisions, we do not + think it necessary to go into a discussion of them, as we regard + our statute, in view of all the considerations affecting its + construction, as too clear to admit of any reasonable question as + to the interpretation and effect which we ought to give it. + + In this opinion Carpenter and Loomis, Js., concurred; Pardee, J., + dissented. + +In 1884, the State society held a spirited and successful +convention.[167] Julia Smith gave an extemporaneous talk to the +great delight of the audience, who applauded continually; Mrs. +Crane, a fine elocutionist, gave a reading from Carlyle; Mrs. +Hooker closed with a brief resume of the work the society had +accomplished. + +We are also indebted to Frances Ellen Burr for many facts, as the +following letter will show: + + HARTFORD, September 17, 1885. + + MY DEAR MISS ANTHONY: I have received your letter of inquiry. As + to that petition in 1867, I was one of the signers, and, probably + had something to do with getting the other signatures, though I + have nothing but my memory to depend on as to that; but I was + pretty much alone here in those days, on the woman suffrage + question. Who the other signers were I made an attempt to find + out in the secretary of state's office the other day, but found + that it would take days, instead of the few hours I had at my + command. I find in my journal a reference to Lucy Stone and Mr. + Blackwell addressing the committee in the House of + Representatives, and that was the committee that made the report + afterwards published in _The Revolution_. Mr. Croffut made the + opening address on the day of the hearing. He was always ready to + aid us in whatever way he could, and I felt grateful to him, for + a helping hand was doubly appreciated in those days. I find by + the journal of the House for that year that the vote on the + question was 93 yeas to 111 nays. The name of Miss Susie + Hutchinson heads one petition, with 70 others. How many other + petitions there were that year I do not know, but I believe there + have been several every year since, besides a number of + individual petitions. Since that time the House has voted + favorably on the question twice, at least, but I believe we have + never had a majority in the Senate. + + You ask when I first wrote or spoke for the ballot. My first + venture in that line was in 1853. I was then at the age of + twenty-two, living with my sister in Cleveland, O., and had never + given any attention to the subject of woman suffrage, and cared + nothing about it any further than the spirit of rebellion--born + with me--against everything unjust, might be said to have made me + a radical by nature. In the fall of that year a woman's rights + convention met in Cleveland, and I attended it alone, none of the + rest of the family caring to go. In my old journal I find this + entry: + + October 7, 1853. Attended a woman's rights convention which + has met here. Never saw anything of the kind before. A Mr. + Barker spent most of the morning trying to prove that + woman's rights and the Bible cannot agree. The Rev. + Antoinette L. Brown replied in the afternoon in defense of + the Bible. She says the Bible favors woman's rights. Miss + Brown is the best-looking woman in the convention. They + appear to have a number of original and pleasing characters + upon their platform, among them Miss Lucy Stone--hair short + and rolled under like a man's; a tight-fitting velvet waist + and linen collar at the throat; bombazine skirt just + reaching the knees, and trousers of the same. She is + independent in manner and advocates woman's rights in the + strongest terms:--scorns the idea of woman _asking_ rights + of man, but says she must boldly assert her own rights, and + _take_ them in her own strength. Mrs. Ernestine L. Rose, a + Polish lady with black eyes and curls, and rosy cheeks, + manifests the independent spirit also. She is graceful and + witty, and is ready with sharp replies on all occasions. + Mrs. Lucretia Mott, a Philadelphia Quaker, is meek in dress + but not in spirit. She gets up and hammers away at woman's + rights, politics and the Bible, with much vigor, then + quietly resumes her knitting, to which she industriously + applies herself when not speaking to the audience. She wears + the plain Quaker dress and close-fitting white cap. Mrs. + Frances D. Gage, the president, is a woman of sound sense + and a good writer of prose and poetry. Mrs. Caroline + Severance has an easy, pleasing way of speaking. Mr. Charles + Burleigh, a Quaker, appears to be an original character. He + has long hair, parted in the middle like a woman's, and + hanging down his back. He and Miss Stone seem to reverse the + usual order of things. + + My first speech in public, I find by my old journal--which serves + me better than I thought it would--was given in Music Hall in + this city in November, 1870. This meeting was held under the + auspices of the State association, and was presided over by the + Rev. Olympia Brown. I find that in the winter of 1871 I made + addresses in various parts of the State. The journal also tells + of a good deal of trotting about to get signatures to petitions, + for I had more time to do that thing then than I have now. + + The first woman suffrage meeting ever held in Hartford, and the + first, probably, in Connecticut, was the one you and Mrs. Stanton + held in Allyn Hall in December, 1867. Our State Suffrage + Association was organized in October, 1869. The signers[168] to + the call for that convention were quite influential persons. + + In my hunt through the journals of the two legislative houses I + found in the House journal for 1878 that Mr. Pratt of Meriden had + presented the petition of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac C. Lewis. Mr. Clark + of Enfield, presented the petition of Lucy A. Allen; Mr. + Gallagher of New Haven presented several petitions that year, one + of them being headed by Mr. Henry A. Stillman of Wethersfield, + followed by 532 names, and another by Mrs. D. F. Connor, M. D. + Mr. Broadhead of Glastonbury presented the petition of the Smith + sisters. This unique petition Miss Mary Hall, who was with me in + the secretary's office, chanced to light upon, and she copied it. + It is a document well worth handing down on the page of history, + and runs as follows: + + _The Petition of Julia E. Smith and Abby H. Smith, of + Glastonbury, to the Senate of the State of Connecticut:_ + + This is the first time we have petitioned your honorable + body, having twice come before the House of Assembly, which + the last time gave a majority that we should vote in town + affairs; but it was negatived in the Senate. + + We now pray the highest court in our native State that we + may be relieved from the stigma of birth. For forty years + since the death of our father have we suffered intensely for + being born women. We cannot even stand up for the principles + of our forefathers (who fought and bled for them) without + having our property seized and sold at the sign-post, which + we have suffered four times; and have also seen eleven acres + of our meadow-land sold to an ugly neighbor for a tax of + fifty dollars--land worth more than $2,000. And a threat is + given out that our house shall be ransacked and despoiled of + articles most dear to us, the work of lamented members of + our family who have gone before us, and all this is done + without the least excuse of right or justice. We are told + that it is the law of the land made by the legislature and + done to us, two defenceless women, who have never broken + these laws, made by not half the citizens of this State. And + it was said in our Declaration of Independence that + "Governments derive their just powers from the consent of + the governed." + + For being born women we are obliged to help support those + who have earned nothing, and who, by gambling, drinking, and + the like, have come to poverty, and these same can vote away + what we have earned with our own hands. And when men meet to + take off the dollar poll-tax, the bill for the dinner comes + in for the women to pay. Neither have we husband, or + brother, or son, or even nephew, or cousin, to help us. All + men will acknowledge that it is as wrong to take a woman's + property without her consent as to take a man's without his + consent; and such wrong we suffer wholly for being born + women, which we are in no wise to blame for. To be sure, for + our consolation, we are upheld by the learned, the wise and + the good, from all parts of the country, having received + communications from thirty-two of our States, as well as + from over the seas, that we are in the right, and from many + of the best men in our own State. But they have no power to + help us. We therefore now pray your honorable body, who have + power, with the House of Assembly, to relieve us of this + stigma of birth, and grant that we may have the same + privileges before the law as though we were born men. And + this, as in duty bound, we will ever pray. + + JULIA and ABBY SMITH. + + _Glastonbury, Conn., January 29, 1878._ + + The story of the Smith sisters, from 1873 and on, will be handed + down as one of the most original and unique chapters in the + history of woman suffrage. Abby Smith, with my friend Mrs. + Buckingham, attended with me the first meeting of the Woman's + Congress, in New York, in October, 1873. While there, she said + she should, on her return, address her town's people on woman + suffrage and taxation, as they had not been treated fairly in the + matter of their taxes. She did so on the fifth of November, + addressing the Glastonbury town meeting in the little red-brick + town-house of that place--a building that will always hereafter + be connected with the names of Abby and Julia Smith. Several + years after, wishing to address them again, she was refused + entrance there, so she and Julia addressed the people from an + ox-cart that stood in front. This was after their continued + warfare against "taxation without representation" had aroused the + opposition of their townsmen, but that first speech in 1873 was + the beginning of their fame. Abby sent it to me for publication + in the _Times_ of this city, but the editor not having room for + it sent it to the _Courant_, which gave it a place in its + columns, thus (unwittingly) setting a ball in motion that ran all + round the country, and even over the ocean. The simplicity and + uniqueness of the story of "Abby Smith and her cows," gave a boom + to the cause of woman suffrage as welcome as it was unexpected. + The Glastonbury mails were more heavily laden than ever before in + the history of this hitherto unknown town, for letters came + pouring in from all quarters to the sisters. The fame did not + rest entirely on Abby and her cows; Julia and her Bible came in + for an important share, and the newspaper articles in regard to + them were a remarkable blending of cows and Biblical lore, dairy + products and Greek and Hebrew. Many of the articles were wide of + the facts, being written with a view to make a bright and + readable column. For instance, a Chicago paper got up a highly + colored article in which it said that Abby Smith's mother--Hannah + Hickok--was such an intense student that her father had a glass + cage made for her to study in. The only vestage of truth in this + story was that, lacking our modern facilities for heating, Mr. + Hickok had an extra amount of glass put into the south side of + his daughter's room that the sun might give it a little more heat + in cold weather. Hannah Hickok seems to have had a mental + equipment much above that of the average woman of that day; she + had a taste for literature, and was something of a linguist, and + wrote, moreover, at different times, quite an amount of readable + verse. She had a taste for mathematics, and also for astronomy, + and made for her own use an almanac, for these were not so plenty + then as now; she could, on awakening, tell any hour of the night + by the position of the stars. Evidently Hannah Hickok Smith was + not an ordinary woman; and it is quite as evident that her + daughters were equally original, though in a different direction. + Women who have translated the Bible are not to be met with every + day--nor men either, for that matter, but Julia Smith not only + did this, but translated it five times,--twice from the Hebrew, + twice from the Greek, and once from the Latin; and thirty years + later, or after the age of eighty, published the translation; and + then, to crown the list of marvels, married at the age of + eighty-five. + + +[Illustration: Phebe A. Hanaford] + + + One point more, and the one nearest my heart. You ask me about my + "dear friend Mrs. Buckingham." I can give no details of her + suffrage work, but her heart was in it, and her name should be + handed down in your History. She was at one time chairman of the + executive committee of our State association, and she would, if + she had thought it necessary, have spent of her little income to + the last cent to help along the cause. She made public addresses + and wrote many suffrage articles and letters that were published + in different papers, but she made no noise about it; her work was + all done with her own characteristic gentleness. Generous to a + fault, winning and beautiful as the flowers she scattered on the + pathway of her friends, she passed on her way; and one memorable + Easter morning she left us so gently that none knew when the + sleep of life passed into the sleep of death; we only knew that + the glorious light of her eyes--a light like that which "never + shone on sea or land"--had gone out forever. + + "She died in beauty like the dew + Of flowers dissolved away; + She died in beauty like a star + Lost on the brow of day." + + The Hartford Equal Rights Club[169] was organized in March, 1885, + and holds semi-monthly meetings. Its membership is not large, but + what it lacks in numbers it makes up in earnestness. Its + proceedings are reported pretty fully and published in the + _Hartford Times_, which has a large circulation, thus gaining an + audience of many thousands and making its proceedings much more + important than they would otherwise be. It is managed as simply + as possible, and is not encumbered with a long list of officers. + There are simply a president, Mrs. Emily P. Collins;[170] a + vice-president, Miss Mary Hall; and a secretary, Frances Ellen + Burr, who is also the treasurer. Debate is free to all, the + platform being perfectly independent, as far as a platform can be + independent within the limits of reason. Essays are read and + debated, and many interesting off-hand speeches are made. It is + an entirely separate organization from the Connecticut State + Suffrage Association, founded in 1869. But its membership is not + confined to the city; it invites people throughout the State, or + in other States, to become members--people of all classes and of + all beliefs. Opponents of woman suffrage are always welcome, for + these furnish the spice of debate. Among the topics discussed has + been that of woman and the church, and upon this subject Mrs. + Stanton has written the club several letters. + + Last spring (1885) a number of the members of the club were given + hearings before the Committee on Woman Suffrage in the + legislature in reference to a bill then under consideration, + which was exceedingly limited in its provisions. The House of + Representatives improved it and then passed it, but it was + afterwards defeated in the Senate. Some of the meetings of the + club have been held in Hartford's handsome capitol, a room having + been allowed for its use, and a number of members of the House of + Representatives have taken part in the discussions. Mrs. Collins, + president of the club, is always to be depended upon for good + work, and Miss Hall, its vice-president, is active and efficient. + She is in herself an illustration of what women can become if + they only have sufficient confidence and force of will. She is a + practicing lawyer, and a successful one. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[158] The life of William Lloyd Garrison, Vol. 1.: The Century +Company, New York. + +[159] She was soon followed by Mrs. Middlebrook and Mrs. Lucy R. +Elms, with warm benedictions. The latter called some meetings in +her neighborhood in the autumn of 1868, and entertained us most +hospitably at her beautiful home. + +[160] Those who leave the tangled problem of life to God for +solution find, sooner or later, that God leaves it to them to +settle in their own way.--[E. C. S. + +[161] Among them were Paulina Wright Davis, Dr. Clemence Lozier, +Mary A. Livermore, Julia Ward Howe, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan +B. Anthony, Celia Burleigh, Caroline M. Severance, Rev. Olympia +Brown, Frances Ellen Burr, Charlotte B. Wilbour, William Lloyd +Garrison, Henry Ward Beecher, Nathaniel I. Burton, John Hooker, the +Hutchinsons, with Sister Abby and her husband, Ludlow Patton. + +[162] _President_, Rev. N. J. Burton, Hartford. _Vice-presidents_, +Brigadier-general B. S. Roberts, U. S. A., New Haven; Mrs. Harriet +Beecher Stowe, Hartford; Rev. Dr. Joseph Cummings, Middletown; Rev. +William L. Gage, Hartford; Rev. Olympia Brown, Bridgeport. +_Secretary_, Miss Frances Ellen Burr. _Executive Committee_, Mrs. +Isabella B. Hooker, Mrs. Lucy Elmes, Derby; Mrs. J. G. Parsons and +Miss Emily Manning, M. D., Hartford. _Treasurer_, John Hooker. + +[163] On her departure for St. Petersburg, where her husband was +minister plenipotentiary, Mrs. Jewell left a check of $200 for the +State society. She was an honored officer of the National Suffrage +Association until the time of her death, in 1883. + +[164] Mrs. Hooker writes us that the act passed upon Governor +Hubbard's recommendation was prepared at his request by Mr. Hooker, +and was essentially the same that had been unsuccessfully urged by +him upon the legislature eight years before. She then goes on to +say: "What part our society had in our bringing about so beneficent +a change in legislation, cannot be better set forth than in two +private letters from Samuel Bowles of the _Springfield Republican_, +and Governor Hubbard. While these gentlemen were friends of Mr. +Hooker and myself, yet, as politically opposed to each other, their +united testimony is exceedingly valuable, and since they have both +passed on to a world of more perfect adjustments, I feel that +nothing would give them greater satisfaction than to be put upon +record here as among the earliest defenders of the rights of women. + + "SPRINGFIELD, Mass., March 28, 1877. + + "MY DEAR MRS. HOOKER:--I return your letters and paper as you + desired. It is an interesting story, and a most gratifying + movement forward. I am more happy over the bill passed, than I am + sorry over the bill that failed. We shall move fast enough. The + first great step is this successful measure in Connecticut--the + establishment in practice of the principle of equal, mutual, + legal rights, and equal, mutual, legal responsibilities, for + which I have been preaching and praying these twenty years. We + owe the success this year, _first_ to the right of the matter; + _second_, to the agitation of the whole question which has + disseminated the perception of that right; _third_, to you and + your husband in particular; and _fourth_, to the fact that you + had in Connecticut this year a governor who was recognized as the + leading lawyer of the State, a genuine natural conservative who + yet said the measure was right and ought to go. It is this last + element that has given Connecticut its chief leadership. It is a + bigger thing than it seems at first to have an eminent + conservative lawyer on the side of such legislative reform. I + hate very much to take your husband's side against you, and yet + now that I am over fifty years old, I find I more and more + sympathize with his patience and philosophy with the slow-going + march of reform. But with such things going forward in national + politics, and such a sign in the heavens as this in Connecticut, + we ought all to be very happy--and I believe I am, in spite of + debts, hard work, fatigue and more or less chronic invalidism. At + any rate I salute you both with honor and with affection." + + "Very faithfully yours, SAMUEL BOWLES. + + "This letter I enclosed to Governor Hubbard and received the + following reply: + + "EASTER, April 1, 1877. + + "MY GOOD FRIEND:--It was a 'Good Friday' indeed that brought your + friendly missive. And what a dainty and gracious epistle Sam. + Bowles does know how to write! He is a good fellow, upon my word, + full of generous instincts and ideas. He ought to be at the head + of the _London Times_ and master of all the wealth it brings. Add + to this, that the Good Physician should heal him of his 'chronic + invalidism' and then--well what's the use of dreaming? Thank + _yourself_, and such as you for what there is of progress in + respect of woman's rights amongst us. I do believe our bill is a + 'great leap forward' as Bowles says in his editorial. 'Alas!' + says my friend ----, 'it has destroyed the divine conception of + the unity of husband and wife.' As divine, upon my soul, as the + unity of the lamb and the devouring wolf. * * * But enough of + this. I salute you my good friend, with a thousand salutations of + respect and admiration. I do not agree with you in all things, + but I cannot tell you how much I glorify you for your courage and + devotion to womanhood. I am a pretty poor stick for anything like + good work in the world, but I am not without respect for it in + others. And so I present myself to yourself and to your good and + noble husband whom I take to be one of the best, with every + assurance of affection and esteem. Thanking you for your kind + letter, I remain, dear madam, + + "Yours very truly, R. D. HUBBARD." + +[165] At the various hearings Mrs. Anna Middlebrook, Mr. and Mrs. +Joseph Sheldon, Julia and Abby Smith, Rev. Olympia Brown, Mr. and +Mrs. Hooker were the speakers. + +[166] See Appendix for Mr. Hooker's article, "Is the Family the +Basis of the State?" + +[167] At the convention of March 17 and 18, 1884, the speakers were +Mrs. Hooker, Susan B. Anthony, the Rev. Charles Stowe, Julia Smith +Parker, Mrs. Emily Collins, Abigail Scott Duniway, Miss Leonard, +Mrs. C. G. Rogers, the Rev. Dr. A. J. Sage, Mrs. Ellis, Miss Gage, +the Rev. J. C. Kimball, the Rev. Mr. Everts of Hartford, Mary Hall +and F. E. Burr. The officers elected at this meeting were: Isabella +B. Hooker, _President_: F. Ellen Burr, _Secretary_; Mary Hall, +_Assistant-secretary_; John Hooker, _Treasurer_. _Executive +Committee_; Mrs. Ellen Burr McManus, Mrs. Emily P. Collins, Mrs. +Amy A. Ellis, Mrs. J. G. Parsons Hartford; Mrs. Susan J. Cheney, +South Manchester; Mrs. John S. Dobson, Vernon Depot; Judge Joseph +Sheldon, Charles Atwater, James Gallagher, New Haven. + +[168] John Hooker, Isabella B. Hooker, the Rev. N. J. Burton, +Rachel C. Burton, Franklin Chamberlin, Francis Gillette, Eliza D. +Gillette, Frances Ellen Burr, Catharine E. Beecher, Esther E. +Jewell, Calvin E. Stowe, Harriet Beecher Stowe and others, +Hartford; Joseph Cummings, Middletown, President of Wesleyan +University; Thomas Elmes, Lucy R. Elmes, Derby; Charles Atwater, +New Haven; Thomas T. Stone, Laura Stone, Brooklyn. The officers +elected for the Association were: _President_, the Rev. N. J. +Burton, Hartford; _Secretary_, Frances Ellen Burr; _Executive +Committee_, Isabella B. Hooker; Mrs. Lucy R. Elmes, Derby; Mrs. J. +G. Parsons, Miss Emily Manning, M. C., Hartford; Mr. Charles +Atwater, New Haven; Mr. Ward Cheney, Mrs. Susan J. Cheney, South +Manchester; Mrs. Virginia Smith, Hartford. _Treasurer_, William B. +Smith, Hartford. There was a long list of vice-presidents, which I +presume you do not care for, nor for the other names that were +added as changes had to be made in the years that followed. + +[169] A member of the club says: "We receive more of our life and +enthusiasm from Frances Ellen Burr than all other members combined; +indeed, the chief part of the work rests on her shoulders." + +[170] See Mrs. Collins's Reminiscences, chapter V., Vol. I. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +RHODE ISLAND. + + Senator Anthony in _North American Review_--Convention in + Providence--Work of State Association--Report of Elizabeth B. + Chace--Miss Ida Lewis--Letter of Frederick A. Hinckley--Last + Words from Senator Anthony. + + +Rhode Island, though one of the smallest, is, in proportion to the +number of its inhabitants, one of the wealthiest states in the +Union. In political organization Rhode Island, in colonial times, +contrasted favorably with the other colonies, nearly all of which +required a larger property qualification, and some a religious test +for the suffrage. The home of Roger Williams knew nothing of such +narrowness, but was an asylum for those who suffered persecution +elsewhere. Nevertheless this is now, in many respects, the most +conservative of all the States. + +In the November number of the _North American Review_ for 1883, +Senator Anthony, in an article on the restricted suffrage in Rhode +Island, stoutly maintains that suffrage is not a natural right, and +that in adhering to her property qualification for foreigners his +State has wisely protected the best interests of the people. In his +whole argument on the question, he ignores the idea of women being +a part of the people, and ranks together qualifications of sex, +age, and residence. He quite unfairly attributes much of Rhode +Island's prosperity--the result of many causes--to her restricted +suffrage. His position in this article, written so late in life, is +the more remarkable as he had always spoken and voted in his place +in the United States Senate (where he had served nearly thirty +years) strongly in favor of woman's enfranchisement. And the +_Providence Journal_, which he owned and controlled, was invariably +respectful and complimentary towards the movement. + +While such a man as Senator Anthony, one of the political leaders +in his State, regarded suffrage as a privilege which society may +concede or withhold at pleasure, we need not wonder that so little +has been accomplished there in the way of legislative enactments +and supreme-court decisions. Nevertheless that State has shared in +the general agitation and can boast many noble men and women who +have taken part in the discussion of this subject. + +The first woman suffrage association was formed in Rhode Island in +December, 1868. In describing the initiative steps, Elizabeth B. +Chace in a letter to a friend, says: + + In October 1868, while in Boston attending the convention that + formed the New England society, Paulina Wright Davis[171] + conceived the idea that the time had come to organize the friends + of suffrage in Rhode Island. After consultation with a few of the + most prominent friends of the cause, a call was issued for a + convention, to be held in Roger Williams Hall, Providence, + December 11th, signed by many leading names. No sooner did the + call appear than, as usual, some clergyman publicly declared + himself in opposition. The Rev. Mark Trafton, a Methodist + minister, gave a lecture in his vestry on "The Coming Woman," who + was to be a good housekeeper, dress simply, and not to vote. This + was published in the _Providence Journal_, and called out a + gracefull vindication of woman's modern demands from the pen of + Mrs. Sarah Helen Whitman, the poet, and Miss Norah Perry, a + popular writer of both prose and verse. The convention was all + that its most ardent friends could have desired, and resulted in + forming an association.[172] The audience numbered over a + thousand, at the different sessions, and among the speakers were + some of the ablest men in the State. Though the friends were + comparatively few in the early days, yet there was no lack of + enthusiasm and self-sacrifice. Weekly meetings were held, tracts + and petitions circulated; conventions[173] and legislative + hearings were as regular as the changing seasons, now in + Providence, and now in Newport, following the migratory + government. + +Mrs. Davis was president of the association for several successive +years in which her labors were indefatigable. Finally failing +health compelled her to resign her position as president of the +association.[174] Since then her able coadjutor Elizabeth B. Chace, +has been president of the Rhode Island Suffrage Association, and +with equal faithfulness and persistence, carried on the work. She +steadily keeps up the annual conventions and makes her appeals to +the legislature. Among the names[175] of those who have appeared +from year to year before the Rhode Island legislature we find many +able men and women from other States as well as many of their own +distinguished citizens. + +In this State an effort was made early to get women on the board of +managers for schools, prisons and charitable institutions. In a +letter to Mrs. Davis, John Stuart Mill says: + + I am very glad to hear of the step in advance made by Rhode + Island in creating a board of women for some very important + administrative purpose. Your proposal that women should be + empanneled on every jury where women are to be tried seems to me + very good, and calculated to place the injustice to which women + are subjected at present by the entire legal system in a very + striking light. + +In 1873 an effort was made to place women on the Providence School +Board, with what success the following extracts from the daily +papers show. The _Providence Press_ of April 25, 1873, says: + + A shabby trick was perpetrated by the friends of John W. Angell, + which was certainly anything but "angelic," and which ought to + consign the parties who committed it to political infamy. + + Yesterday, for the first time in the history of this city, women + were candidates for political honors--in the fifth ward, Mrs. + Sarah E. H. Doyle, and in the fourth ward, Mrs. Rhoda A. F. + Peckham, were candidates for positions on the school committee; + both, however, failed of an election. Mrs. Doyle received the + unanimous nomination of the large primary meeting of the National + Union Republican party, and Mrs. Peckham was run as an outside + candidate against the regular nominee. These ladies would + undoubtedly have made excellent members of the committee, and + unlike a great portion of that body, would have been found in + their places at the meetings, and we should have been glad to + have seen the experiment tried of women in the position for which + their names were presented. When the polls opened in the fifth + ward, instead of Mrs. Doyle's name being on the ballots for the + place to which she had been nominated there appeared the name of + John W. Angell, esq., and until about 11 o'clock A. M. he had + the field to himself. At that hour, however, Mrs. Doyle's friends + appeared with the "_regular_" nomination, and from that time to + the close of the polls she received 145 votes; Mr. Angell, + notwithstanding his several hours' start in the race, only + winning by a majority of 38. From this fact it is clear that had + Mrs. Doyle's name been in its proper place at the opening of the + polls she would have beaten her opponent handsomely. Mrs. + Peckham's opponent obtained but 23 majority in a poll of 349. It + is evident from the vote yesterday, that if they have but a fair + show, women will at the next election be successful as candidates + for the school committee. Had the intelligent ladies of the fifth + ward been allowed to vote, Mrs. Doyle would have led even the + gubernatorial vote of that ward. + +The _Providence Journal_ makes the following comment: + + We are sorry to observe that the two estimable and admirably + qualified ladies whose names were presented for school committee + in this city, failed of success. Their influence in official + connection with the schools could not have been other than + salutary. The treatment accorded Mrs. Doyle in the fifth ward was + wofully shabby. Without her solicitation, the Republican caucus + unanimously nominated her for a member of the school committee. + Being a novice in political proceedings, she naturally enough + supposed that the party that desired her services so much as to + place her in nomination, would make provision for electing their + candidate. There was not gallantry enough in the ward, however, + for that duty, and it was not until 11 o'clock on election day + that any tickets bearing the name of Mrs. Doyle were to be found + in the ward-room; but a ticket with the names of two men was on + hand at sunrise, and the time lost in procuring tickets for the + regular nominee proved fatal to her success. Mrs. Doyle has now + learned something of the ways of politicians, and is not likely + to put her trust again in the faithfulness of ward committees. + +At a meeting of the State association, held in Providence, on +Thursday, May 18, 1871, the following preamble and resolutions +were, after a full and earnest discussion, unanimously adopted: + + WHEREAS, It is claimed, in opposition to the demand that the + elective franchise shall be given to women, that they are + represented in the government by men, so that they do not need + the ballot for their protection, inasmuch as all their rights are + secured to them by the interest of these men in their welfare; + and, whereas, in February last, in view of the appalling facts + frequently coming to our notice, consequent upon the + mismanagement of poor-houses and asylums for the insane, this + association did earnestly petition our State legislature to enact + a law providing for the appointment of women in all the towns in + our State to act as joint commissioners with men in the care and + control of these institutions; and, whereas, in utter disregard + of our request, the Committee on State Charities, to whom it was + referred, in reporting back our petition to the House of + Representatives, did recommend that the petitioners be given + leave to withdraw, and the House, without (so far as we could + learn) one word of protest from any member thereof, did so + dispose of our petition; therefore, + + _Resolved_, That this association do most solemnly declare, that + so far from being represented in our legislature, the rights of + the women of this State were in this instance trampled under foot + therein, and the best interests of humanity, in the persons of + the poorest and most unfortunate classes, were not sufficiently + regarded, under this system of class legislation. + + _Resolved_, That, despairing of obtaining for women even the + privileges which would enable them to look after the welfare of + the destitute and the suffering, with any power or authority to + improve their condition, until equal rights in the government + itself are guaranteed to all without regard to sex, we will + henceforth make use of this treatment we have received as a new + argument in favor of the emancipation of women from the legal + status of idiots and criminals, and, with this weapon in our + hands, we will endeavor to arouse the women of our State to a + keener sense of their degraded condition, and we will never abate + our demand until an amendment to the constitution is submitted to + the people granting suffrage to the women of Rhode Island. + + _Resolved_, That this preamble and these resolutions be offered + for publication to the daily papers of this city. + + ELIZABETH B. CHACE, _President_. + + SUSAN B. P. MARTIN, _Secretary_. + +For several years the philanthropic women of Rhode Island made many +determined efforts to secure some official positions in the +charitable institutions of the State, with what success the +following report by Elizabeth B. Chace, at the annual meeting of +the American Association, in Philadelphia, in 1876, will show: + + The Rhode Island Woman Suffrage Association, while holding its + monthly meetings through the year, circulating petitions to the + legislature, and, in other ways, constantly endeavoring to + revolutionize the entire sentiment of the State on the question + of woman suffrage, still has less progress to report than its + friends would have desired. Our last annual meeting, as usual, + drew together a large audience. Among our speakers from abroad + was William Lloyd Garrison, who, in a speech of almost + anti-slavery force and fervor, appeared to send conviction into + many minds. Our home speakers included a clergyman of Providence + and one of our ablest lawyers, and an ex-legislator who had never + stood on our platform before. + + As usual, our petitions went into the legislature. They were + referred to the Judiciary Committee, before whom we had a + hearing, at which three Providence lawyers gave us their + unqualified support and earnest advocacy. One of these men set + forth in the strongest light the injustice of our laws in regard + to the property of married women and their non-ownership of their + minor children. The committee made no report to the legislature, + and so our petitions lie over until the next session, when we + hope for some evidence of progress. In the meantime we intend to + very much increase their number. For many years we have been + begging of our law-makers to permit women to share in the + management of the penal, correctional and charitable institutions + of the State; we have, however, only succeeded in obtaining an + advisory board of women, which has been in operation for the last + six years. + + Last spring a majority of these women, having become weary of the + service in which they had no power to decide that any improvement + should be made in the management of these institutions, resigned + their positions on this board, some of them giving through the + press their reasons therefor. When the time came for making the + new appointments for the year, the governor earnestly urged + these women to permit him to appoint them, voluntarily pledging + himself to recommend at the opening of the next session of the + legislature, that a bill should be passed providing for the + appointment of women on the boards of management of all these + prisons and reformatories, with the same power and authority with + which the men are invested, who now alone decide all questions + concerning them. On this condition these women consented to serve + on the advisory board a few months longer, with the understanding + that, if the legislature fails to make this important provision, + their advice will be withdrawn, and the men will be left to take + care of thieves, criminals and paupers until they are ready to + ask for our help on terms of equality and justice. + +In the _Providence Journal_ appeared the following: + + Mrs. Doyle seems to have learned by experience that the board, as + now constituted under the law, can have no real efficiency. The + ladies are responsible for the management of no part of any of + the institutions which they are permitted officially to visit. + Their reports are not made to the boards which are charged with + the responsibility of managing these institutions, and, in the + case of the reform school, are not made to the body which elects + and controls the board of management. The State ought not to + place ladies in such an anomalous position. The women's board + should have positive duties and direct responsibilities in its + appropriate sphere, or it should be abolished. The following is + Mrs. Doyle's letter of resignation: + + _To His Excellency Henry Lippitt, Governor of the State:_ + + SIR: Please accept my resignation as member of the Board of + Lady Visitors to the Penal and Correctional Institutions of + the State. The recent action of a part of the board, in + regard to the annual report made to the General Assembly, + makes it impossible for me to continue longer as a member. + Before the report was submitted, it was carefully examined + by the members signing it, and was acquiesced in by them, as + their signatures testify. Still further, I am confirmed in + the opinion that so important a trust as this should be + coupled with some power for action; without this we are + necessarily confined to suggestions only to the male boards, + which suggestions receive only the attention they may + consider proper. Believing that this board, as now + empowered, can have no efficiency except where its + suggestions or criticisms meet the entire approval of the + male boards, and failing to see any good which can result + from our inspections under such conditions, or any honor to + the board thus examining, I respectfully tender my + resignation. + + SARAH E. H. DOYLE, + + _Providence, R. I._ + + Three more ladies of the Women's Board of Visitors to the Penal + and Correctional Institutions of the State attest the correctness + of the repeated suggestions that the board, as organized under + the existing laws, must be comparatively powerless for good. The + question now comes, will the Rhode Island General Assembly enact + a law which shall give to women certain definite duties and + responsibilities in connection with the care and correction of + female offenders? We propose to refer to this matter further. We + are requested to publish the following communications to his + excellency, the governor: + + _To Henry Lippitt, Governor of Rhode Island:_ + + My appointment on the Women's Board of Visitors to the Penal + and Correctional Institutions of the State, which I received + from your hands for this year, I am now compelled + respectfully to resign. My experience in this board for + nearly six years has convinced me that this office, which + confers on its holders no power to decide that any + improvement shall be made in the government or workings of + these institutions, is so nearly useless that I am forced to + the conclusion that, for myself, the time spent in the + performance of its duties can be more effectively employed + elsewhere. That the influence of women is indispensable to + the proper management of these institutions I was never more + sure than I am at this moment; but to make it effectual, + that influence must be obtained by placing women on the + boards of direct control, where their judgment shall be + expressed by argument and by vote. + + A board of women, whose only duties, as defined by the law, + are to visit the penal and correctional institutions, elect + its own officers and report annually to the legislature, + bears within itself the elements of weakness and + insufficiency. And if the annual reports contain any + exposure of abuses, they are sure to give offense to the + managers, to be followed by timidity and vacillation in the + board of women itself. Our late report, written with great + care and conscientious adherence to the truth, which called + the attention of the legislature to certain abuses in one of + our institutions, and to some defect in the systems + established in the others, has, thus far, elicited no + official action, has brought censure upon us from the press, + while great dissatisfaction has been created in our own body + by the failure of a portion of its members to sustain the + allegations to which the entire board, with the exception of + one absentee, had affixed their names. + + When the State of Rhode Island shall call its best women to + an equal participation with men in the direction of its + penal and reformatory institutions, I have no doubt they + will gladly assume the duties and responsibilities of such + positions; and I am also sure that the beneficent results of + such cooeperation will soon be manifest, both in benefit to + individuals and in safety to the State. But under present + circumstances I most respectfully decline to serve any + longer on the advisory board of women. + + _Valley Falls, R. I._ ELIZABETH B. CHACE. + + + GOVERNOR LIPPITT: _Dear Sir_: When I accepted an appointment + on the Ladies' Board of Visitors to the Penal and + Correctional Institutions of the State, I did so with the + hope that much good might be accomplished, especially toward + the young girls at the reform school, in whose welfare I + felt a deep interest. To that institution my attention has + been chiefly devoted during my brief experience in this + office. This experience, however, has convinced me that a + board of officers constituted and limited like this can have + very little influence toward improvement in an institution + whose methods are fixed, and which is under the exclusive + control of another set of officers, who see no necessity for + change. Those causes render this women's board so weak in + itself that I cannot consent to retain my position therein. + I therefore respectfully tender to you my resignation. + + ABBY D. WEAVER. + + _Providence, R. I._ + + + GOVERNOR LIPPITT: Please accept the resignation of my + commission as a member of the Ladies' Board of Visitors to + the Penal and Correctional Institutions of the State, + conferred by you in June, 1875. + + Yours respectfully, + + _Westerly, R. I._ ELIZA C. WEEDEN. + +Early in the year 1880 the State association issued the following +address: + + _To the friends of Woman Suffrage throughout the State of Rhode + Island:_ + + In behalf of the Rhode Island Woman Suffrage Association, we beg + leave to call your attention to the result of our last year's + work, and to our plans for future effort. We went before the + General Assembly with petitions for suffrage for women on all + subjects, and also with petitions asking only for school + suffrage. The former, bearing nearly 2,500 names, was presented + in the Senate and finally referred, with other unfinished + business, to the next legislature; they will thus be subject to + attention the coming year. The latter, bearing nearly 3,500 + names, was presented in the House and referred to the Committee + on Education. This committee reported unanimously: + + _Resolved_, That the following amendment to the constitution + of the State is hereby proposed: Article ----. Women + otherwise qualified are entitled to vote in the election of + school committees and in all legally organized + school-district meetings. + + This resolution was adopted in the House by 48 to 11, but + rejected in the Senate by 20 to 13.[176] Nineteen members being + required to make a majority of a full Senate, the amendment + failed by six votes. Had the ballots in the two branches been + upon a proposition to extend general suffrage to women, they + would have been the most encouraging, and, as it is, they show + signs of progress; but a resolve to submit the question of school + suffrage to the voters of Rhode Island, ought to have been + successful this year. Why was it defeated? Simply for the lack of + political power behind it. To gain this, our cause needs a + foothold in every part of the State. We need some person or + persons in each town, to whom we can look for hearty cooeperation. + If our work is to be effective, it must not only continue as + heretofore--one of petitioning--but must include also a constant + vigilance in securing senators and representatives in the General + Assembly, favorable to woman suffrage. We propose the coming + year: + + _First_--To petition congress in behalf of the following + amendment to our national constitution, viz.: + + ARTICLE XVI. Section 1--The right of citizens of the United + States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United + States or by any State on account of sex. Section + 2--Congress shall have power to enforce this article by + appropriate legislation. + + _Second_--To secure a hearing and action upon the petitions + referred from the last Assembly, for such amendment to our State + constitution as shall extend general suffrage to women. + + _Third_--To petition the General Assembly for the necessary + legislation to secure school suffrage to women.[177] + +The arguments in the various hearings before the legislature with +the majority and minority reports, are the same as many already +published, in fact nothing new can be said on the question. As none +of the women in this State, by trying to vote, or resisting +taxation, have tested the justice of their laws, they have no +supreme-court decisions to record. + +Honorable mention should be made of Dr. William F. Channing, who +has stood for many years in Providence the noblest representative +of liberal thought. He is a worthy son of that great leader of +reform in New England, Rev. William Ellery Channing. In him the +advocates of woman's rights have always found a steadfast friend. +He sees that this is the fundamental reform; that it is the key to +the problems of labor, temperance, social purity and the +cooeperative home. Those who have had the good fortune of a personal +acquaintance with Dr. Channing have felt the sense of dignity and +self-respect that the delicate courtesy and sincere reference of a +noble man must always give to woman. + +Though Mrs. Channing has not been an active participant in the +popular reforms, having led a rather retired life, yet her +sympathies have been with her husband in all his endeavors to +benefit mankind. She has given the influence of her name to the +suffrage movement, and extended the most generous hospitalities to +the speakers at the annual conventions. Their charming daughters, +Mary and Grace, fully respond to the humanitarian sentiments of +their parents, constituting a happy family united in life's +purposes and ambitions. + +The New York _Evening Post_ of September, 1875, gives the following +of one of Rhode Island's brave women, but the State has not as yet, +thought it worth while to honor her in any fitting manner: + + Yesterday noon Miss Ida Lewis again distinguished herself by + rescuing a man who was in danger of drowning in the lower Newport + harbor. Miss Lewis first came into prominence in 1866, when she + saved the life of a soldier who had set out for a sail in a light + skiff. It was one of the coldest and most blustering days ever + known in this latitude, yet a girl but 25 years old, impelled by + the noblest spirit of humanity, ventured to the assistance of a + man who had brought himself into a sorry plight through sheer + fool-hardiness. One day, during the autumn of the next year, + while a terrible gale was raging, two men sat out to cross the + harbor with several sheep. One of the animals fell overboard + while the boat was rocked by the heavy sea, and its keepers, in + trying to save it, were in imminent peril of swamping their + craft. Ida Lewis saw them from the window of her father's + lighthouse on Lime Rock, and in a few minutes was rowing them in + safety toward the shore. After landing the men, she went back + again and rescued the sheep. + + These brave deeds, with others of a less striking character, made + Miss Lewis' name famous throughout the world, and won for her the + title of "the Grace Darling of America"; but in 1869 the + newspapers were filled with the story of what was perhaps her + greatest exploit. On March 29 two young soldiers set sail from + Newport for Fort Adams in a small boat, under the guidance of a + boy who pretended to understand the simple rules of navigation. + Mrs. Lewis chanced to be looking out of the lighthouse window, + and saw a squall strike the boat and overturn it. She called to + her daughter, telling her of the casualty. Ida, though ill at the + time, rushed out of the house, launched her life-boat and sprang + in, with neither hat on her head nor shoes on her feet. By the + time she reached the scene of the disaster the boy had perished, + and the two soldiers were clinging desperately to the wreck, + almost ready to loose their hold from exhaustion. They were + dragged into the life-boat, and carried to Lime Rock, and, with + careful nursing, were soon sufficiently restored to proceed to + Fort Adams. + + Miss Lewis' repeated acts of philanthropy have been recognized by + gifts at various times, but no national testimonial, so far as we + are aware, has yet been offered to her. True generosity, like + true virtue, is its own reward, and we of the world are not often + disposed to meddle with its quiet enjoyment by its possessor. It + seems eminently fitting, however, that among the first to receive + the new decoration to be bestowed by congress for heroic deeds in + saving life, should be the heroine of Newport harbor. + +Writing from Valley Falls September 9, 1885, Elizabeth B. Chace, +president of the Rhode Island Association, in summing up the steps +of progress, says: + + On December 4, 1884, by unanimous consent of our General Assembly + the state-house was granted to us for the first time, for a woman + suffrage convention. A large number of our best men and women, + and some of our ablest speakers[178] were present. An immense + audience greeted them and listened with eager interest + throughout. The occasion was one of the most pleasant and + profitable we have enjoyed in a long time. At the following + session of our Legislature, 1885, an amendment to our State + constitution was proposed giving the franchise to women, on equal + terms with men. It passed both Houses by a large majority vote, + but by some technicality, for which no one seemed to blame, it + was not legally started on its round to the vote of the people. + Hence the proposition to submit the amendment will be again + passed upon this year, and with every promise of success. We have + strong hopes of making our little commonwealth the banner State + in this grand step of progress. + +The following letter from Frederick A. Hinckley, makes a fitting +mention of some of the noble women who have represented this +movement in his State: + + PROVIDENCE, R. I., Sept. 14, 1885. + + DEAR FRIENDS: You ask for a few words from me concerning salient + points in the history of the woman suffrage movement in Rhode + Island. As you know, ours is a very small State--the smallest in + the Union--and has a very closely compacted population. With us + the manufacturing interest overshadows everything else, + representing large investments of capital. On the one hand we + have great accumulations of wealth by the few; on the other hand, + a large percentage of unskilled foreign labor. For good or for + ill we feel all those conservative influences which naturally + grow out of this two-fold condition. This accounts in the main, + for the Rhode Islander's extreme and exceptionally tenacious + regard for the institutions of his ancestors. This is why we have + the most limited suffrage of any State, many _men_ being debarred + from voting by reason of the property qualification still + required here of foreign-born citizens. Such a social atmosphere + is not favorable to the extension of the franchise, either to men + or women, and makes peculiarly necessary with us, the educational + process of a very large amount of moral agitation before much can + be expected in the way of political changes. + + My own residence here dates back only to 1878, though before that + from my Massachusetts home I was somewhat familiar with + Rhode-Island people and laws. Our work has consisted of monthly + meetings, made up usually of an afternoon session for address and + discussion, followed by a social tea; of an annual State + convention in the city of Providence; and of petitioning the + legislature each year, with the appointment of the customary + committees and hearings. For many years the centre of the woman + movement with us has been the State association, and since my own + connection with that, the leader about whom we have all rallied, + has been your beloved friend and mine, Elizabeth B. Chace. Hers + is that clear conception of, and untiring devotion to principles, + which make invincible leadership, tide over all disaster, and + overcome all doubt. By her constant appearance before legislative + committees, her model newspaper articles which never fail to + command general attention even among those who would not think of + agreeing with her, and by her persistent fidelity to her sense of + duty in social life, she is the recognized head of our agitation + in Rhode Island. But she has not stood alone. She has been the + centre of a group of women whose names will always be associated + with our cause in this locality. Elizabeth K. Churchill lived and + died a faithful and successful worker. The Woman's Club in this + city was her child; temperance, suffrage, and the interests of + working-women were dear to her heart. She was independent in her + convictions, and true to herself, even when it compelled dissent + from the attitude of trusted leaders and friends, but her work on + the platform, in the press, and in society, made her life a tower + of strength to the woman's rights cause and her death a + lamentable loss. Another active leader in the work here, though + not a speaker, who has passed on since my residence in + Providence, was Susan B. P. Martin. I think those of us + accustomed to act with her always respected Mrs. Martin's + judgment and felt sure of her fidelity. What more can be said of + any one than that? + + It is difficult to speak publicly of one's friends while living. + But no history of woman suffrage agitation in Rhode Island would + be complete which did not place among those ever to be relied on, + the names of Anna Garlin Spencer, Sarah E. H. Doyle, Anna E. + Aldrich and Fanny P. Palmer. Mrs. Spencer moved from the State + just as I came into it, but the influence of her logical mind was + left behind her and the loss of her quick womanly tact has been + keenly felt. Mrs. Doyle has long been chairman of the executive + committee of the association, Mrs. Aldrich a safe and trusted + counsellor, and Mrs. Palmer as member of the Providence school + committee, and more recently as president of the Woman's Club, + has rendered the cause eminent service. + + If final victory seems farther off here than in some of the newer + States, as it certainly does, that is only the greater reason for + earnest, and ceaseless work. We know we are right, and be it + short or long I am sure we have all enlisted for the war. + + Always sincerely yours, FREDERIC A. HINCKLEY. + +Below is the last utterance of Senator Anthony on this question. In +writing to Susan B. Anthony, he said: + + + UNITED STATES SENATE CHAMBER, WASHINGTON, March 4, 1884. + + MY DEAR COUSIN: I am honored by your invitation to address the + National Woman Suffrage Association at the convention to be held + in this city. I regret that it is not in my power to comply with + your complimentary request. The enfranchisement of woman is one + of those great reforms which will come with the progress of + civilization, and when it comes those who witness it will wonder + that it has been so long delayed. The main argument against it is + that the women themselves do not desire it. Many men do not + desire it, as is evidenced by their omission to exercise it, but + they are not therefore deprived of it. I do not understand that + you propose compulsory suffrage, although I am not sure that that + would not be for the public advantage as applied to both sexes. A + woman has a right to vote in a corporation of which she is a + stockholder, and that she does not generally exercise that right + is not an argument against the right itself. The progress that is + making in the direction of your efforts is satisfactory and + encouraging. + + Faithfully yours, H. B. ANTHONY. + +Senator Anthony was one of the ever-to-be-remembered nine senators +who voted for woman suffrage on the floor of the United States +Senate in 1866. He also made a most logical speech on our behalf +and has ever since been true to our demands. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[171] To Mrs. Davis, a native of the State of New York, belongs the +honor of inaugurating this movement in New England, as she called +and managed the first convention held in Massachusetts in 1850, and +helped to arouse all these States to action in 1868. With New +England reformers slavery was always the preeminently pressing +question, even after the emancipation of the slaves, while in New +York woman's civil and political rights were considered the more +vital question.--[E. C. S. + +[172] _The Revolution_ of December 17, 1868, says: The meeting last +week in Providence, was, in numbers and ability, eminently +successful. Mrs. Elizabeth B. Chace, of Valley Falls, presided, and +addresses were made by Colonel Higginson, Paulina Wright Davis, +Lucy Stone, Frederick Douglass, Mrs. O. Shepard, Rev. John Boyden, +Dr. Mercy B. Jackson, Stephen S. and Abbey Kelly Foster. The +officers of the association were: _President_, Paulina Wright +Davis. _Vice-presidents_, Elizabeth B. Chace of Valley Falls, Col. +T. W. Higginson of Newport, Mrs. George Cushing, J. W. Stillman, +Mrs. Buffum of Woonsocket and P. W. Aldrich. _Recording Secretary_, +Martha W. Chase. _Corresponding Secretary_, Mrs. Rhoda Fairbanks. +_Treasurer_, Mrs. Susan B. Harris. _Executive Committee_, Mrs. +James Bucklin, Catharine W. Hunt, Mrs. Lewis Doyle, Anna Aldrich, +Mrs. S. B. G. Martin, Dr. Perry, Mrs. Churchill, Arnold B. Chace. + +[173] Among the speakers at these annual conventions we find +Rowland G. Hazard, Rev. John Boyden, Rev. Charles Howard Malcolm, +the brilliant John Neal, Portland, Maine, Hon. James M. Stillman +Gen. F. G. Lippett, Theodore Tilton, Rev. Olympia Brown, Rev. Phebe +A. Hanaford, Elizabeth K. Churchill. For a report of the convention +held at Newport during the fashionable season, August 25, 26, 1869, +see vol. II., page 403, also _The Revolution_, September 2, 1869. + +[174] Mrs. Chace says in a letter, speaking of Mrs. Davis: "After +several years absence in Europe she returned, a helpless invalid, +unable to resume her labors. But her devotion in early years will +long remain fresh in the memory of those associated with her, who +were inspired by her self-sacrifice and enthusiasm." For farther +details of Mrs. Davis' earlier labors, see vol. I, pages 215, 283. + +[175] Julia Ward Howe, Celia Burleigh, William Lloyd Garrison, +Aaron M. Powell, Caroline H. Dall, Mrs. Ednah D. Cheney, Miss Mary +F. Eastman, Elizabeth K. Churchill, Rev. Augustus Woodbury Hon. +Amasa M. Eaton, Mr. Stillman, Hon. Thomas Davis, Hon George L. +Clarke, Rev. Frederick Hinckley, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Hon. +A. Payne. + +[176] IN THE HOUSE. _For the Amendment._--Davis Aldrich, North +Smithfield; Thomas Arnold, Warwick; Clark Barber, Richmond; Thos. +P. Barnefield, Pawtucket; Frank M. Bates, Pawtucket; John Beattie, +Cranston; Amos M. Bowen, Providence; Issac B. Briggs, Jamestown; +Albert Buffum, Burillville; John C. Barrington, Barrington; Chas. +Capwell, West Greenwich; Geo. B. Carpenter, Hopkinton; Obadiah +Chase, Warren; Albert I. Chester, Westerly; Chas. E. Chickering, +Pawtucket; John F. Clark, Cumberland; LeBaron B. Colt, Bristol; +James Davis, Pawtucket; Benjamin T. Eames, Providence; Henry H. +Fay, Newport; Edward L. Freeman, Lincoln; Z. Herbert Gardner, +Exeter; John P. Gregory, Lincoln; Henry D. Heydon, Warwick; Edwin +Jenckes, Pawtucket; Thos. E. Kenyon, East Greenwich; Israel B. +Mason, Providence; B. B. Mitchell, jr., New Shoreham; Francis L. +O'Reilly, Woonsocket; Joseph Osborn, Tiverton; Abraham Payne, +Providence; James M. Pendleton, Westerly; Wm. A. Pirce, Johnston; +Clinton Puffer, Woonsocket; Olney W. Randall, No. Providence; John +P. Sanborn, Newport; Wm. P. Sheffield, Newport; Israel R. Sheldon, +Warwick; Martin S. Smith, Scituate; Wm. H. Spooner, Bristol; Henry +A. Stearns, Lincoln; Simon S. Steere, Smithfield; Joseph +Tillinghast, Coventry; Wm. C. Townsend, Newport; Stephen A. Watson, +Portsmouth; Stillman White, Providence; Benj. F. Wilbor, Little +Compton; Andrew Winsor, Providence--48. + +IN THE SENATE. _For the Amendment._--Lieut.-Gov. Howard, E. +Providence; Ariel Ballou, Woonsocket; Cyrus F. Cooke, Foster; +Edward T. DeBlois, Portsmouth; Rodney F. Dyer, Johnston; Anson +Greene, Exeter; Daniel W. Lyman, No. Providence; Jabez W. Mowry, +Smithfield; Dexter B. Potter, Coventry; Stafford W. Razee, +Cumberland; T. Mumford Seabury, Newport; Lewis B. Smith, +Barrington; John F. Tobey, Providence--13. + +[177] [Signed:] _President_, Elizabeth B. Chace; _Secretaries_, +Fanny P. Palmer, Elizabeth C. Hinckley; _Treasurer_, Susan B. P. +Martin; _Executive Committee_, Sarah E. H. Doyle, Susan Sisson, +William Barker, Francis C. Frost, Anna E. Aldrich, Frederick A. +Hinckley, Susan G. Kenyon, Rachael E. Fry, A. A. Tyng, Arnold B. +Chace. + +[178] The speakers were Abraham Payne, John Wyman, Matilda Hindman, +Frederick A. Hinckley, Rev. Mr. Wendt, Elizabeth B. Chace, William +I. Bowditch, Mary F. Eastman, William Lloyd Garrison, jr., Lucy +Stone, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, Henry B. Blackwell. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + + +MAINE. + + Women on School Committees--Elvira C. Thorndyke--Suffrage + Society, 1868--Rockland--The Snow Sisters--Portland Meeting, + 1870--John Neal--Judge Goddard--Colby University Open to Girls, + August 12, 1871--Mrs. Clara Hapgood Nash Admitted to the Bar, + October 26, 1872--Tax-payers Protest--Ann F. Greeley, + 1872--March, 1872, Bill for Woman Suffrage Lost in the House, + Passed in the Senate by Seven Votes--Miss Frank Charles, Register + of Deeds--Judge Reddington--Mr. Randall's Motion--Moral Eminence + of Maine--Convention in Granite Hall, Augusta, January, 1873, + Hon. Joshua Nye, President--Delia A. Curtis--Opinions of the + Supreme Court in Regard to Women Holding Offices--Governor + Dingley's Message, 1875--Convention, Representatives Hall, + Portland, Judge Kingsbury, President, February 12, 1876. + +The first movement in Maine, in 1868, turned on the question of +women being eligible on school committees. Here, as in Vermont, the +men inaugurated the movement. The following letter, from the +_Portland Press_, gives the initiative steps: + + HIRAM, March 15, 1868. + + MR. EDITOR: A statement is going the rounds of the press that the + Democrats of Hiram supported a lady for a member of the school + committee. I am unwilling that any person or party shall be + ridiculed or censured for an act of which I was the instigator, + and for which I am chiefly responsible. I am in favor of electing + ladies to that office, and accordingly voted for one, without her + knowledge or consent; several Democrats as well as Republicans + voted with me. I have reason to believe that scores of Democrats + voted for the able and popular candidate of the Republicans (Dr. + William H. Smith), and but for my peculiar notion I should have + voted for him myself, as I always vote with the Republican party. + I am in favor, however, of laying aside politics in voting for + school committees, and the question of capability should outweigh + the question of sex. A few years ago we had a large number of boy + schoolmasters, but agents are learning to appreciate teachers of + tact, experience and natural qualifications, as well as + book-knowledge. Of eleven schools under the care of the writer + the past year, but one had a male teacher, and by turning to the + reports I find that of forty-nine schools in Hiram during the + past two years, forty-two were taught by ladies. Four of these + teachers of the past year have taught respectively twenty, + twenty-one, twenty-three and thirty schools. I put the question, + why should a lady who has taught thirty schools be considered + less suitable for the office of school committee than the + undersigned, who has taught but two, or scores of men who never + taught school at all? Slowly and with hesitation over the ice of + prejudice comes that unreasonable reason--"_O, 'cause._" But + regardless of pants or crinoline, the question remains unanswered + and unanswerable. It is not deemed improper for the ladies of + Hiram to go with their husbands to the town-house to a cattle + show and fair, and serve as committees on butter and cheese, but + it is considered unreasonable for ladies to serve as + superintendents of school committees. + + General Washington gave a lieutenant's commission to a woman for + her skill and bravery in manning a battery at the battle of + Monmouth. He also granted her half-pay during life. It is stated + in "Lincoln's Lives of the Presidents" that "she wore an + epaulette, and everybody called her Captain Molly." And yet I do + not read in history that General Washington was ever impeached. + Females have more and better influence than males, and under + their instruction our schools have been improving for some years. + There is less kicking and cudgeling, and more attention is given + to that best of all rules, "The Golden Rule." If they are more + efficient as teachers is it not fair to presume that they would + excel as committees? + + Very respectfully yours, + + LLEWELLYN A. WADSWORTH. + +The editor of the _Press_ adds to the above his own endorsement, in +these words: + + We are pleased to have Mr. Wadsworth's explanation of the reform + movement in Hiram, which we had been misled into crediting to the + Democrats. * * * Go on, Mr. Wadsworth, you have our best wishes. + There is nothing in the way of the general adoption of your ideas + but a lot of antiquated and obsolete notions, sustained by the + laughter of fools. + +The same year we have the report of the first suffrage society in +that State, which seems to place Maine in the van of her New +England sisters, notwithstanding the great darkness our +correspondent deplores: + + DEAR REVOLUTION: A society has just been organized here called + the Equal Rights Association of Rockland. It bids fair to live, + although it requires all the courage of heroic souls to contend + against the darkness that envelopes the people. But the + foundation is laid, and many noble women are catching the + inspiration of the hour. When we are fully under way, we shall + send you a copy of our preamble and resolutions. + + ELVIRA C. THORNDYKE, _Cor. Sec'y_. + +The Hon. John Neal, who was foremost in all good work in Maine, in +a letter to _The Revolution_, describes the first meeting called in +Portland, in May, 1870, to consider the subject of suffrage for +woman. He says: + + DEAR REVOLUTION: According to my promise, I sent an advertisement + to all three of our daily papers last Saturday, in substance like + the following, though somewhat varied in language: + + ELEVATION OF WOMAN.--All who favor Woman Suffrage, the + Sixteenth Amendment, and the restoration of woman to her + "natural and inalienable rights," are wanted for + consultation at the audience room of the Portland Institute + and Public Library, on Wednesday evening next, at half-past + seven o'clock. Per order + + JOHN NEAL. + + The weather was unfavorable; nevertheless, the small room, + holding from sixty to seventy-five, to which the well-disposed + were invited for consultation and organization, was crowded so + that near the close not a seat could be had; and crowded, too, + with educated and intelligent women, and brave, thoughtful men, + so far as one might judge by appearances, and about in equal + proportions. Among the latter were Mr. Talbot, United States + district-attorney, a good lawyer and a self-convinced fellow + laborer, so far as suffrage is concerned; but rather unwilling to + go further at present, lest if a woman should be sent to the + legislature (against her will, of course!) she might neglect her + family, or be obliged to take her husband with her, to keep her + out of mischief; just as if Portland, with 35,000 inhabitants and + four representatives, would not be likely to find _two_ unmarried + women or widows, or married women not disqualified by matrimonial + incumbrances or liabilities, to represent the sex; or lest, if + she should get into the post-office, being by nature so curious + and inquisitive, she might be found peeping--as if the chief + distinction between superior and inferior minds was not this very + disposition to inquire and investigate; as if, indeed, that which + distinguishes the barbarous from the civilized, were not this + very inquisitiveness and curiosity; the savage being satisfied + with himself and averse to inquiry; the civilized ever on the + alert, in proportion to his intelligence, and, like the + Athenians, always on the look-out for some "new thing." + + And then, too, we had Judge Goddard, of the Superior Court, one + of our boldest and clearest thinkers, who could not be persuaded + to take a part in the discussion, though declaring himself + entirely opposed to the movement. And yet, he is the very man + who, at a Republican convention several years ago, offered a + resolution in favor of impartial suffrage, only to find himself + in a minority of two; but persevered nevertheless, year after + year, until the very same resolution, word for word, was + unanimously adopted by another Republican convention! Of course, + Judge Goddard will not be likely to shrink from giving his + reasons hereafter, if the movement should propagate itself, as it + certainly will. + + We had also for consideration a synopsis of what deserves to be + called most emphatically "The Maine Law," in relation to married + women, prepared by Mr. Drummond, our late speaker and formerly + attorney-general, and one of our best lawyers, where it was + demonstrated, both by enactments and adjudications, running from + March, 1844, to February, 1866, that a married woman--to say + nothing of widows and spinsters--has little to complain of in our + State, her legal rights being far ahead of the age, and not only + acknowledged, but enforced; she being mistress of herself and of + her earnings, and allowed to trade for herself, while "her + contracts for any lawful purpose are made valid and binding, and + to be enforced, as if she were sole agent of her property, but + she cannot be arrested." + + Then followed Mr. S. B. Beckett, just returned from a trip to the + Holy Land, who testified, among other things, that he had seen + women both in London and Ireland who knew "how to keep a hotel," + which is reckoned among men as the highest earthly + qualification--and proved it by managing some of the largest and + best in the world. + + And then Mr. Charles Jose, late one of our aldermen, who, half in + earnest and half in jest, took t'other side of the question, + urging, first, that this was a political movement--as if that + were any objection, supposing it true; our whole system of + government being a political movement, and that, by which we + trampled out the last great rebellion, another, both parties and + all parties cooeperating in the work; next, that women did not ask + for suffrage--it was the men who asked for it, in their names; + that there were no complaints and no petitions from women! As if + petitions had not gone up and complaints, too, by thousands, from + all parts of the country, from school-teachers and office clerks + and others, as well as from the women at large, both over sea and + here. + + But enough. The meeting stands adjourned for a week. Probably no + organization will be attempted, lest it might serve to check free + discussion. + + J. N. + + _May 5, 1870._ + +Mr. W. W. McCann wrote to the _Woman's Journal_ of this suffrage +meeting in Portland, in 1870: + + Judge Howe's voice, when he addressed the jury of Wyoming as + "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Grand Jury," fell upon the ears of + that crowded court-room as a strange and unusual sound. Equally + strange and impracticable seemed the call for a "woman suffrage + meeting," at the city building, to the conservative citizens of + Portland. However, notwithstanding the suspicion and prejudice + with which this movement is regarded, quite a large and highly + respectable audience assembled at an early hour to witness the + new and wonderful phenomenon of a meeting to aid in giving the + ballot to woman. + + Hon. John Neal, who issued the call for the meeting, was the + first to speak. He reviewed the history of this movement, both in + this country and in England. He gave some entertaining + reminiscences of his acquaintance with John Stuart Mill forty + years ago. Mr. Mill was not then in favor of universal suffrage; + he advocated the enfranchisement of the male sex only. Mr. Neal + claimed the right for women also. He was happy to learn that + since then Mr. Mill has thrown all the weight of his influence + and his masterly intellect in favor of universal suffrage. He + then entered into an elaborate discussion of some of the + objections brought against woman suffrage, and, much to the + surprise of many present, showed that the rights which women + demand are just and reasonable, and ought to be granted. John M. + Todd remarked that he was not so much impressed by the logical + arguments in favor of suffrage as by the shallow and baseless + arguments of the opposition. The friends of woman suffrage are + becoming active and earnest in their efforts, and discussion is + freely going on through the daily papers. + + To-day, the _Eastern Argus_, a leading Democratic organ of this + city, denounces this movement as the most "damnable heresy of + this generation." We venture the prediction that its friends, if + true to the progressive tendencies of the day, will realize the + consummation of their cherished heresy in the proposed sixteenth + amendment, which will abolish all distinction of class and sex. + +On August 12, 1871, the announcement that Colby University would be +opened to girls gave general satisfaction to the women of Maine. A +correspondent says: + + Hereafter young women will be admitted to this institution on + "precisely the same terms as young men." They may take the + regular course, or such a course as they may select, taking at + least two studies each term. They will room and board in families + in the village, and simply attend the required exercises at the + college. The next examination for entrance will be on Wednesday, + August 30. One young lady has already signified her purpose to + enter the regular course. Four New England colleges are now open + to women--Bates, at Lewiston; Colby, at Waterville, Me.; Vermont + University, at Burlington, Vt., and Wesleyan, at Middletown, + Conn. Let's have no more women's colleges established, for the + next decade will make them unnecessary, as by that time all the + colleges of the country will be opened to them. + +October 26, 1872, another advance step was heralded abroad: + + On motion of the Hon. James S. Milliken, Mrs. Clara Hapgood Nash, + of Columbia Falls, was formally admitted to the bar as an + attorney-at-law. During the session of the court in the forenoon, + Mrs. Nash had presented herself before the examining committee, + Messrs. Granger, Milliken and Walker, and had passed a more than + commonly creditable examination. After the opening of the court + in the afternoon, Mr. Milliken arose and said: "May it please the + court, I hold in my hand papers showing that Mrs. Hapgood Nash, + of Columbia Falls, has passed the committee appointed by the + court to examine candidates for admission to the bar as + attorneys-at-law and has paid to the county treasurer the duty + required by the statute; and I now move the court that she be + admitted to this bar as an attorney-at-law. In making the motion + I am not unaware that this is a novel and unusual proceeding. It + is the first instance in this county and this State, and, so far + as I am aware, the first instance in New England, of the + application of a woman to be formally admitted to the bar as a + practitioner. But knowing Mrs. Nash to be a modest and refined + lady, of literary and legal attainments, I feel safe in assuring + Your Honor that by a course of honorable practice, and by her + courteous intercourse with the members of the profession, she + will do her full part to conquer any prejudice that may now exist + against the idea of women being admitted as attorneys at law." + Judge Barrows, after examining the papers handed to him, said: "I + am not aware of anything in the constitution or laws of this + State prohibiting the admission of a woman, possessing the proper + qualifications, to the practice of the law. I have no sympathy + with that feeling or prejudice which would exclude women from + any of the occupations of life for which they may be qualified. + The papers put into my hands show that Mrs. Nash has received the + unanimous approval of the examining committee, as possessing the + qualifications requisite for an acceptable attorney, and that she + has paid the legal duty to the county treasurer, and I direct + that she be admitted." + +On May 10, 1873, the trustees of the Industrial School for Girls +issued the following appeal to the people of the State: + + The undersigned, trustees of the Maine Industrial School for + Girls, hereby earnestly appeal to the generosity of the State, to + the rich and poor alike, for aid to this important movement. Our + call is to mothers and fathers blessed with virtuous and obedient + children; to those who have suffered by the waywardness of some + beloved daughter; and to all who would gladly see the neglected, + exposed and erring girls in our midst reclaimed. For six years + has this subject been agitated in the State and presented to the + consideration of several legislatures; and during that time the + objects, plans and practical workings of such an institution, + have become familiar to the public mind. The project is now so + near consummation that by prompt and liberal response to this + appeal, the school can be in active operation by the first of + July next. + + By the terms of the resolution of the legislature granting State + aid of five thousand dollars, the sum of twenty thousand dollars + must first be secured from other sources. Of this, five thousand + at least has been contributed by two generous ladies in + Hallowell. For the balance the trustees confidentially look to + the citizens of the whole State as equally to be benefited. Let + them send their contributions, whether large or small, freely and + at once, to either of the undersigned and the receipt of the same + shall be duly acknowledged.[179] + +Some of the women tax-payers[180] in Ellsworth, Maine, sent the +following protest to the assessors of that city: + + We the undersigned residents of the city of Ellsworth, believing + in the declaration of our forefathers, that "governments derive + their just powers from the consent of the governed," and that + "taxation without representation is tyranny," beg leave to + protest against being taxed for support of laws that we have no + voice in making. By taxing us you class us with aliens and + minors, the only males who are taxed and not allowed to vote, you + make us the political inferiors of the most ignorant foreigners, + negroes, and men who have not intellect enough to learn to write + their names, or to read the vote given them. Our property is at + the disposal of men who have not the ability to accumulate a + dollar's worth and who pay only a poll-tax. We therefore protest + against being taxed until we are allowed the rights of citizens. + + + AUGUSTA, March 1, 1872. + + EDITORS WOMAN'S JOURNAL: I have never seen a letter in the + _Woman's Journal_ written from Augusta, the capital of Maine, and + as some things have transpired lately which might interest your + readers, I take the liberty of writing a few lines. The bill for + woman suffrage was defeated in the House, fifty-two to forty-one. + In the Senate the vote was fifteen in favor to eight against. I + think the smallness of the vote was owing to the indifference of + some of the members and the determination of a few to kill the + bill. Some politicians are afraid of this innovation just now, + lest the Republican party be more disrupted than it already is. + Day after day, when the session was drawing to a close, women + went to the state-house expecting to hear the question debated. + Wednesday every available place was filled with educated women. + The day was spent--if I should say how, my criticism might be too + severe. Gentlemen from Thomaston, Biddeford, Burlington and + Waldoborough had the floor most of the time during the afternoon. + In the evening, while those same women and some of the members of + the legislature were attending a concert, the bill was taken up + and voted upon, _without any discussion whatever_. Now, I submit + to any fair-minded person if this was right. I have listened to + discussions upon that floor this winter for which I should have + hung my head in shame had they been conducted by women. The whole + country, from Maine to California, calls loudly for better + legislation--for morality in politics. + + A member of the House said to me yesterday, that he thought that + some of the members from the rural districts were not + sufficiently enlightened upon the question of woman suffrage, and + the bill ought to have been thoroughly discussed. Yes, and + perhaps treated with respect by its friends. I saw the member + from Calais while a vote was being taken. Standing in his seat, + with his hand stretched toward the rear of the House, where it is + generally supposed that members sit who are a little slow in + voting at the beck of politicians, he said: "_Yes_ is the way to + vote, gentlemen! Yes! Yes!" When women have such politicians for + champions equal suffrage is secured. But do we want such men? The + member from Calais voted against woman's right of suffrage. He is + said to be an ambitious aspirant in the fifth congressional + district. See to it, women of the fifth district, that you do not + have him as an opponent of equal rights in congress. There is a + throne behind a throne. Let woman be _regal_ in the background, + where she must stand for the present, in Maine. + + But I am happy and proud to state that some very high-minded men, + and some of the best legislators in the House, did vote for the + bill, viz.: Brown of Bangor, Judge Titcomb of Augusta, General + Perry of Oxford, Porter of Burlington, Labroke of Foxcroft, and + many others; in the Senate, the president and fourteen others, + the real bone and marrow of the Senate, voted for the bill. The + signs of the times are good. The watchman of the night discerns + the morning light in the broad eastern horizon. + + [Signed:] PATIENCE COMMONSENSE. + +The _Portland Press_, in a summary of progress in Maine for 1873, +says: + + Women certainly have no reason to complain of the year's dealings + with them, for they have been recognized in many ways which + indicate the gradual breaking down of the prejudices that have + hitherto given them a position of _quasi_ subjection. Mrs. Mary + D. Welcome has been licensed to preach by the Methodists; Mrs. + Fannie U. Roberts of Kittery has been commissioned by the + governor to solemnize marriages; Clara H. Nash, of the famous law + firm of F. C. & C. H. Nash, of Columbia Falls, has argued a case + before a jury in the Supreme Court; Miss Mary C. Lowe of Colby + University has taken a college prize for declamation. They are + the first Maine women who have ever enjoyed honors of the kind. + Miss Cameron spoke, too, at the last Congregational conference, + and Miss Frank Charles was appointed register of deeds in Oxford + county. + + It is further to be noted that the legislature voted as follows + on the question of giving the ballot to women: Senate--14 yeas, + 14 nays; House--62 yeas, 69 nays. Women are rapidly obtaining a + recognized position in our colleges. There are now five young + women at Colby, three at Bates, and three at the Agricultural + College--eleven in all. Bates has already graduated two. In the + latter college a scholarship for the benefit of women has been + endowed by Judge Reddington. Finally, the first Woman Suffrage + Association ever formed in Maine held its first meeting at + Augusta last January, and was a great success. Carmel, Monroe, + Etna and some other towns have elected women superintendents of + schools, but this has been done in other years. For a little + movement in the right direction we must credit Messrs. Amos, + Abbott & Co., woolen manufacturers of Dexter, who divide ten per + cent. of their profits with their operatives. + +Clara H. Nash, the lady who, in partnership with her husband, has +recently entered upon the practice of law in Maine, says: + + Scarcely a day passes but something occurs in our office to rouse + my indignation afresh by reminding me of the utter insignificance + with which the law, in its every department, regards woman, and + its utter disregard of her rights as an individual. Would that + women might feel this truth; then, indeed, would their + enfranchisement be speedy. + +In the _Woman's Journal_ of January 1, 1873, we find the following +call: + + The people of Maine who believe in the extension of the elective + franchise to women as a beneficent power for the promotion of the + virtues and the correction of the evils of society, and all who + believe in the principles of equal justice, equal liberty and + equal opportunity, upon which republican institutions are + founded, and have faith in the triumph of intelligence and reason + over custom and prejudice, are invited to meet at Granite Hall, + in the city of Augusta, on Wednesday, January 29, 1873, for the + purpose of organizing a State Woman Suffrage Association, and + inaugurating such measures for the advancement of the cause as + the wisdom of the convention may suggest.[181] + +The _Portland Press_, in a leading editorial on the "Moral Eminence +of Maine," says: + + Maine has been first in many things. She has taught the world how + to struggle with intemperance, and pilgrims come hither from all + quarters of the earth to learn the theory and practice of + prohibition. She was among the first to practically abolish + capital punishment and to give married women their rights in + respect to property. She is, perhaps, nearer giving them + political rights, also, than any of her sister commonwealths. If + Maine should be first among the States to give suffrage to women, + she would do more for temperance than a hundred prohibitory laws, + and more for civilization and progress than Massachusetts did + when she threw the tea into Boston harbor in 1773, or when she + sent the first regiment to the relief of Washington in 1861. + + The leaders of the temperance reform in Maine are fully alive to + the necessity of woman suffrage as a means to that end. At the + meeting of the State Temperance Association of Maine, in Augusta, + recently, Mr. Randall said that "as the woman suffrage convention + has adjourned over this afternoon in order to attend the + temperance meeting, he would move that when we adjourn it be to + Thursday morning, as the work at both conventions is intimately + connected. If the women of Maine went to the ballot-box, we + should have officers to enforce the law." Mr. Randall's motion + was carried, and the temperance convention adjourned. + +The Woman Suffrage Association assembled Wednesday, January 29, in +Granite Hall, Augusta. There was a very large attendance, a +considerable number of those present being members of the +legislature. Hon. Joshua Nye presided. He made a few remarks +relating to the removal of political disabilities from women, and +introduced Mrs. Agnes A. Houghton of Bath, who spoke on the +"Turning of the Tide," contending that woman should be elevated +socially, politically and morally, enjoying the same rights as man. +She was followed by Judge Benjamin Kingsbury, jr., of Portland, who +declared himself unequivocally in favor of giving woman the right +to vote, and who trusted that she would be accorded this right by +the present legislature. More than 1,000 persons were in the +audience, and great enthusiasm prevailed. The morning session was +devoted to business and the election of officers.[182] In order not +to conflict with a meeting of the State Temperance Association, no +afternoon session was held, and, in return, the State Temperance +Society gave up its evening meeting to enable its members to attend +the suffrage convention. + +Speeches were made by Henry B. Blackwell of Boston, Rev. Ellen +Gustin of Mansfield, Mary Eastman of Lowell, and others. +Resolutions were passed pledging the association not to cease its +efforts until the unjust discrimination with regard to voting is +swept away; that in the election of president, and of all officers +where the qualifications of voters are not prescribed by the State +constitution, the experiment should be tried of allowing women to +vote; that in view of the large amount of money which has been +expended in Maine for the exclusive benefit of the Boys' Industrial +School during the past twenty years, it is the prayer of the ladies +of Maine that the present legislature vote the sum asked for the +establishment of an Industrial School for girls. + +In 1874 we find notices of other onward steps: + + EDITORS JOURNAL: Woman's cause works slowly here, though in one + respect we have been successful. Our county school-superintendent + is a lady. She had a large majority over our other candidate, and + over two gentlemen, and she is decidedly "the right person in the + right place." She is a graduate from the normal school, the + mother of four children, a widow for some six years past, and a + lady. What more can we ask, unless, indeed, it be for a very + conscientious idea of duty? That, too, she has, and also energy, + with which she carries it out. The sterner sex admit that women + are competent to hold office. But some say we are not intelligent + enough to vote. What an appalling amount of wisdom they show in + this idea! It would be "unwomanly" in us to suggest such a word + as inconsistency. + + Fraternally, M. J. M. + + _Cairo, Me., April, 1874._ + +In Searsport a woman was elected one of the two +school-superintendents of the town. The following advertisement +appears in the local newspaper: + + SEARSPORT SCHOOL NOTICE.--The superintending school-committee of + Searsport will meet to examine teachers at the town library, + April 17 and May 1, 1874, at 1 o'clock P. M. + + DELIA A. CURTIS, + JOHN NICHOLS, + _S. S. Com. of Searsport._ + + Teachers will be expected to discountenance the use of tobacco + and intoxicating liquors, and to use their best endeavors to + impress on the minds of the children and youth committed to their + care and instruction a proper understanding of the evil tendency + of such habits; and no teacher need apply for a certificate to + teach in this town, the ensuing year, who uses either. + + DELIA A. CURTIS. + + + DEAR JOURNAL: Aroostook, though occupying the extreme + northeastern portion of our good State of Maine, and still in the + blush of youth, is not behind her sister counties in recognition + of woman's fitness for office. The returns of town elections, so + far as I have yet seen, give three towns in the county which have + elected ladies[183] to serve as members of the school committee. + + L. J. Y. W. + _Houlton, Maine._ + +In the autumn of 1874 the governor and council requested the +opinion of the Supreme Judicial Court on the following questions: + + _First_--Under the constitution and laws of this State, can a + woman, if duly appointed and qualified as a justice of the peace, + legally perform all acts pertaining to that office? + + _Second_--Would it be competent for the legislature to authorize + the appointment of a married woman to the office of justice of + the peace; or to administer oaths, take acknowledgment of deeds + or solemnize marriages, so that the same may be legal and valid? + +The following responses to these inquiries were received by the +governor: the opinion of the court, drawn by Chief-justice +Appleton, and concurred in by Justices Cutting, Peters, Danforth +and Virgin; a dissenting opinion from Justices Walton and Barrows +and one from Justice Dickerson. The opinion of the court is given +below: + + To the questions proposed we have the honor to answer as follows: + + Whether it is expedient that women should hold the office of + justice of the peace is not an inquiry proposed for our + consideration. It is whether, under the existing constitution, + they can be appointed to such office, and can legally discharge + its duties. + + By the constitution of Massachusetts, of which we formerly + constituted a portion, the entire political power of that + commonwealth was vested under certain conditions, in its male + inhabitants of a prescribed age. They alone, and in the exclusion + of the other sex, as determined by its highest court of law, + could exercise the judicial function as existing and established + by that instrument. + + By the act relating to the separation of the district of Maine + from Massachusetts, the authority to determine upon the question + of separation, and to elect delegates to meet and form a + constitution was conferred upon the "inhabitants of the several + towns, districts and plantations in the district of Maine + qualified to vote for governor or senators," thus excluding the + female sex from all participation in the formation of the + constitution, and in the organization of the government under it. + Whether the constitution should or should not be adopted, was + especially, by the organic law of its existence, submitted to the + vote of the male inhabitants of the State. + + It thus appears that the constitution of the State was the work + of its male citizens. It was ordained, established, and ratified + by them, and by them alone; but by the power of government was + divided into three distinct departments: legislative, executive + and judicial. By article VI., section 4, justices of the peace + are recognized as judicial officers. + + By the constitution, the whole political power of the State is + vested in its male citizens. Whenever in any of its provisions, + reference is made to sex, it is to duties to be done and + performed by male members of the community. Nothing in the + language of the constitution or in the debates of the convention + by which it was formed, indicates any purpose whatever of any + surrender of political power by those who had previously enjoyed + it or a transfer of the same to those who had never possessed it. + Had any such design then existed, we cannot doubt that it would + have been made manifest in appropriate language. But such + intention is nowhere disclosed. Having regard then, to the rules + of the common law as to the rights of women, married and + unmarried, as then existing--to the history of the past--to the + universal and unbroken practical construction given to the + constitution of this State and to that of the Commonwealth of + Massachusetts upon which that of this State was modeled, we are + led to the inevitable conclusion that it was never in the + contemplation or intention of those framing our constitution that + the offices thereby created should be filled by those who could + take no part in its original formation, and to whom no political + power was intrusted for the organization of the government then + about to be established under its provisions, or for its + continued existence and preservation when established. + + The same process of reasoning which would sanction the conferring + judicial power on women under the constitution would authorize + the giving them executive power by making them sheriffs and + major-generals. But while the offices enacted by the constitution + are to be filled exclusively by the male members of the State, we + have no doubt that the legislature may create new ministerial + offices not enumerated therein, and if it deem expedient, may + authorize the performance of the duties of the offices so created + by persons of either sex. + + To the _first_ question proposed, we answer in the negative. + + To the _second_, we answer that it is competent for the + legislature to authorize the appointment of married or unmarried + women to administer oaths, take acknowledgment of deeds or + solemnize marriages, so that the same shall be legal and valid. + + JOHN APPLETON, JOHN A. PETERS, + JONAS CUTTING, WM. WIRT VIRGIN, + CHARLES DANFORTH. + +The dissenting opinion was as follows: + + We, the undersigned, Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court, + concur in so much of the foregoing opinion as holds that it is + competent for the legislature to authorize the appointment of + women to administer oaths, take the acknowledgment of deeds and + solemnize marriages. But we do not concur in the conclusion that + it is not equally competent for the legislature to authorize the + appointment of women to act as justices of the peace. + + The legislature is authorized to enact any law which it deems + reasonable and proper, provided it is not repugnant to the + constitution of this State, nor to that of the United States. A + law authorizing the appointment of women to act as justices of + the peace would not, in our judgment, be repugnant to either. We + fail to find a single word, or sentence, or clause of a sentence, + which, fairly construed, either expressly or impliedly forbids + the passage of such a law. So far as the office of justice of the + peace is concerned, there is not so much as a masculine pronoun + to hang an objection upon. + + It is true that the right to vote is limited to males. But the + right to vote and the right to hold office are distinct matters. + Either may exist without the other. And it may be true that the + framers of the constitution did not contemplate--did not + affirmatively intend--that women should hold office. But it by no + means follows that they intended the contrary. The truth probably + is that they had no intention one way or the other; that the + matter was not even thought of. And it will be noticed that the + unconstitutionality of such a law is made to rest, not on any + expressed intention of the framers of the constitution that women + should not hold office, but upon a presumed absence of intention + that they should. + + This seems to us a dangerous doctrine. It is nothing less than + holding that the legislature cannot enact a law unless it appears + affirmatively that the framers of the constitution intended that + such a law should be enacted. We cannot concur in such a + doctrine. It would put a stop to all progress. We understand the + correct rule to be the reverse of that; namely, that the + legislature may enact any law they may think proper, unless it + appears affirmatively that the framers of the constitution + intended that such a law should not be passed. And the best and + only safe rule for ascertaining the intention of the makers of + any written law, is to abide by the language which they have + used. And this is especially true of written constitutions; for + in preparing such instruments it is but reasonable to presume + that every word has been carefully weighed, and that none is + inserted and none omitted without a design for so doing. Taking + this rule for our guide we can find nothing in the constitution + of the United States, or of this State, forbidding the passage of + a law authorizing the appointment of women to act as justices of + the peace. We think such a law would be valid. + + C. W. WALTON, + WM. G. BARROWS. + +The right of women to hold office was affirmed in the message of +Governor Dingley, January, 1875: + + In response to the questions propounded by the governor and + council, a majority of the justices of the Supreme Court have + given an opinion that, under the constitution of Maine, women + cannot act as justices of the peace, nor hold any other office + mentioned in that instrument; but that it is competent for the + legislature to authorize persons of either sex to hold any + ministerial office created by statute. As there can be no valid + objection to, but on the contrary great convenience in, having + women who may be acting as clerks in public or private offices + authorized to administer oaths and take acknowledgment of deeds, + I recommend the passage of an act providing for the appointment + of persons of either sex, to perform such official duties. + Indeed, if further legislation be necessary to establish that + principle, I suggest the justice and expediency of an enabling + act recognizing the eligibility of women to office in the same + manner as men; for I know of no sufficient reason why a woman, + otherwise qualified, should be excluded from any position adapted + to her tastes and acquirements, which the people may desire she + should fill. + +The legislature passed the bill recommended by the governor. + +In 1875 the Constitutional Committee, by a vote of six to two, +defeated the proposition to so amend the constitution as to make +women electors under the same regulations and restrictions as men. + + The Maine Woman Suffrage Association held its third annual + meeting at Augusta on January 12, 1876, in the hall of the House + of Representatives, the use of which had been courteously + extended to the association. The hall and galleries were crowded + in every part with an intelligent audience, whose close attention + through all the sessions showed an earnest interest in the cause. + + The meeting was called to order by Judge Kingsbury of Portland, + president of the association.[184] Prayer was offered by Miss + Angell of Canton, N. Y. Judge Kingsbury made the introductory + address. Addresses were also made by H. B. Blackwell, Miss + Eastman and Lucy Stone, showing the right and need of women in + politics, and the duty of law-makers to establish justice for + them. It was especially urged that the centennial celebration + would be only a mockery if the Fourth of July, 1876, finds this + government still doing to women what the British government did + to the colonists a hundred years ago. Rev. Mr. Gage of Lewiston + urged the right of women to vote in the interest of civilization + itself. In the perilous times upon which we have fallen in the + great experiment of self-government, some new force is needed to + check growing evils. The influence in the home is that which is + needed in legislation, and it can only be had by the ballot in + the hand of woman. Mrs. Quinby, from the Business Committee, + reported a series of resolutions. After their adoption Mrs. Abba + G. Woolson, in an earnest and forcible speech, claimed the right + of women to vote, as the final application of the theory of the + consent of the governed. She had personally noticed the good + effects of the ballot conferred upon the women in Wyoming, and + should be glad to have her native State of Maine lead in this + matter, and give an illustration of the true republic. Miss + Lorenza Haynes, who had been the day before ordained over the + Universalist Church in Hallowell, followed with a speech of + remarkable wit and brilliancy, to which no report can do justice. + +A writer in the _Woman's Journal_ about this time said: + + During the early part of the session of our late legislature + woman suffrage petitions were numerously signed by the leading + men and women throughout the State receiving an earnest and + respectful consideration from the people generally, even from + those who were not quite ready to sign petitions. Consequently, + it seemed an easy matter to get a bill before the legislature, + and we were almost certain of a majority in one branch of the + House, at least, especially as it was generally understood that + our new governor favored the cause; and it is believed yet that + Governor Dingley does sympathize with it, even though he failed + to mention it in his otherwise admirable message. The petitions + were duly presented and referred to a joint committee, where the + matter was allowed to quietly drop. + + It is neither riches, knowledge, nor culture that constitutes the + electoral qualifications, but gender and a certain implied brute + force. By this standard legislative bodies have been wont to + judge the exigency of this mighty question. More influential than + woman, though unacknowledged as such by the average legislator of + States and nations, even the insignificant lobster finds earnest + champions where woman's claims fail of recognition; which + assertion the following incident will substantiate: Being present + in the Representatives Hall in Augusta when the "lobster + question" came up for discussion (the suffrage question was then + struggling before the committee), I was struck by the air of + earnestness that pervaded the entire House on that memorable + occasion. And why not? It was a question that appealed directly + to man's appetite, and there he is always interested. After the + morning hour a dozen ready debators sprang to their feet, + eloquent in advocating the rights of this important member of the + crustacean family. The discussion waxed into something like + enthusiasm, when finally an old tar exclaimed with terrific + violence: "Mr. Speaker, I insist upon it, this question must be + considered. It is a great question; one before which all others + will sink into insignificance; one of vastly more importance than + any other that will come before this honorable body during this + session!" + + DIRIGO. + +In closing this chapter it is fitting to mention some of our +faithful friends in Maine, whose names have not appeared in +societies and conventions as leaders or speakers, but whose +services in other ways have been highly appreciated. + +Rockland is the home of Lucy and Lavinia Snow, who, from the +organization of the first society in 1868, have never failed to +send good words of cheer and liberal contributions to all our +National conventions. Another branch of the worthy Snow family, +from the town of Hamlin, has given us equally generous coaedjutors +in Mrs. Spofford and her noble sisters in Washington. + +As early as 1857, Mrs. Anna Greeley and Miss Charlotte Hill of +Ellsworth constituted themselves a committee to inaugurate a course +of lyceum lectures in that town, taking the entire financial +responsibility. Miss Hill was an excellent violinist and taught a +large class of boys and girls, and also played at balls and +parties, thus gaining a livelihood. Some of her patrons threatened +that if she persisted in bringing such people[185] to that town and +affiliated with them, they would no longer patronize her. "Very +well" she replied, "I shall maintain my principles, and if you +break up my classes I can go back to the sea-shore and dig clams +for a living as I have done before." Tradition says the lecture +course was a success. She continued her classes and the neighbors +danced as ever to her music. + +Gail Hamilton, who resides in Maine at least half her time, is one +of the most brilliant and pungent American writers. In denouncing +the follies and failures of her sex, her critical pen has +indirectly aided the suffrage movement by arousing thought upon all +phases of the question as to what are the rights and duties of +woman, though she stoutly maintains that she is opposed to woman's +enfranchisement. + +In Portland there has always been a circle of noble men and women, +steadfast friends alike of the anti-slavery, temperance and woman +suffrage movements. The names of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Dennett, Miss. +Charlotte A. Thomas and Mrs. Ellen French Foster are worthy of +mention. That untiring reformer, the Hon. Neal Dow, has clearly +seen and declared in the later years of his labors, that suffrage +for women is the short path to the advancement of prohibition. + +The Hon. Thomas B. Reed has done us great service in congress as +leader of the Republican party in the House, and member of the +Judiciary Committee. His report,[186] in 1884, on the submission of +the sixteenth amendment has had an extended influence. It is an +able argument, and as a keen piece of irony it is worthy the pen of +a Dean Swift. In the Senate we have a fast friend in William P. +Frye, who has always voted favorably in both houses on all +questions regarding the interests of woman. In 1878, in presenting +Miss Willard's petition of 30,000 for woman's right to vote on the +temperance question, he made an able speech recommending the +measure.[187] + +And in closing, the name of Maine's venerable statesman, Hannibal +Hamlin, so long honored by his State in a succession of official +positions from year to year, must not be forgotten. As chairman of +the Committee on the District of Columbia in 1870 he presided at +the first hearing of the National Woman Suffrage Association, +listened with respect and courtesy, and at the close introduced the +ladies to each member of the committee, and said "he had been +deeply impressed by the arguments, and was almost persuaded to +accept the new gospel of woman's equality." Mr. Hamlin's vote has +always been favorable and we have no words of his recorded in the +opposition. + +Hon. James G. Blaine has generally maintained a dignified silence +on the question. Thus far in his History, a reviewer says, "he has +ignored the existence of woman"; but perhaps in his researches he +has not yet reached the garden of Eden, nor taken cognizance of the +part the daughters of Eve have played in the rise and fall of +mighty nations. + +Nevertheless in our prolonged struggle of half a century for equal +rights for woman, we have found in every State the traditional ten +righteous men necessary to save its people from destruction. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[179] Signed: _President_, Benj. Kingsbury, Portland; _Secretary_, +E. R. French, S. Chesterville; _Treasurer_, William Deering +Portland; _ex officio_, Gov. Sidney Perham, Secretary of State Geo. +G. Stacy, Superintendent of Schools Warren Johnson; John B. +Nealley, S. Berwick; Nelson Dingley, jr., Lewiston; J. S. +Wheelright, Bangor; H. K. Baker, Hallowell; Mrs. C. A. L. Sampson, +Bath; Mrs. James Fernald, Portland. + +[180] Ann F. Greely, Sarah Jarvis, C. B. Grant, E. E. Tinker, A. D. +Hight, M. J. Brooks, C. W. Jarvis, E. B. Jarvis, Rebecca M. Avery. + +[181] Signed by John Neal, S. T. Pickard, Mrs. Oliver Dennet, Mrs. +Eleanor Neal, Portland; J. J. Eveleth, mayor, Joshua Nye, Chandler +Beal, William H. Libbey, George W. Quinby, William P. Whitehouse, +General Selden Conner. H. H. Hamlen, H. S. Osgood, Mrs. C. A. +Quinby, Mrs. W. K. Lancey, Mrs. D. M. Waitt, Mrs. William B. +Lapham, Mrs. S. M. Barton, Augusta; Mary A. Ross and fifty others; +Rev. W. L. Brown, Mrs. E. A. Dickerson, Mrs. W. H. Burrill, Mrs. N. +Abbott, Mrs. Thomas N. Marshall, Miss A. A. Hicks, Belfast; John D. +Hopkins, Rev. William H. Savary, C. J. Peck, mayor, A. E. +Drinkwater, Mrs. Ann F. Greely, Ellsworth; Mrs. A. H. Savary and +twenty others; Mrs. M. C. Crossman, Mrs. S. D. Morison, Mrs. J. +Tillson, Mrs. Sarah J. Prentiss, Mrs. Amos Pickard, Bangor; Miss M. +Phillips and twelve others; Rev. John W. Hinds, Lewiston; Rev. T. +P. Adams, Bowdoinham; A. H. Sweetser and twenty others, Rockland; +Rev. W. H. Bolster, Wiscasset; W. T. C. Runnels, Searsport; Rev. M. +V. B. Stinson, Kittery; John U. Hubbard, Alfred Winslow, West +Waterville; Mrs. M. S. Philbrick, Skowhegan; Mrs. Simeon Conner, +Fairfield; George Gifford, Mrs. Mary W. Southwick, H. M. N. Bush, +M. A. Bush, A. E. Prescott, Vassalboro; A. R. Dunham and fourteen +others; R. C. Caldwell and eight others, Gardiner; Albert Crosby, +Mrs. S. G. Crosby, Albion; Noah F. Norton, Mercy G. Norton, +Penobscot. + +[182] _President_, Benjamin Kingsbury of Portland; _Secretary_, +Miss Addie Quimby of Augusta; _Treasurer_, Mrs. W. K. Lancey of +Augusta. Among the vice-presidents are the Hon. S. F. Hersey of +Bangor, and John Neal of Portland. An Executive Committee was +elected, which included John P. Whitehouse, Hon. Joshua Nye, Neal +Dow, jr., and other leading citizens. + +[183] Miss Louisa Coffin, Dalton; Miss Annie Lincoln, Mapleton; +Miss Ada DeLaite, Littleton. + +[184] The following officers were elected: _President_, Hon. +Benjamin Kingsbury of Portland; _Chairman Executive Committee_, +Hon. Joshua Nye; _Corresponding Secretary_, Mr. C. A. Quinby, +Augusta; _Recording Secretary_, Mrs. W. D. Eaton, Dexter; +_Treasurer_, Mrs. W. K. Lancey, Pittsfield. + +[185] Those invited were Wendell Philips, Harriet K. Hunt, Caroline +H. Dall and Susan B. Anthony. + +[186] Mr. Reed's report is published in full in our annual report, +of 1884, which can be obtained of Susan B. Anthony, Rochester, N. +Y. + +[187] See page 104. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + +NEW HAMPSHIRE. + + Nathaniel P. Rogers--First Organized Action, 1868--Concord + Convention--William Lloyd Garrison's Letter--Rev. S. L. Blake + Opposed--Rev. Mr. Sanborn in Favor--_Concord Monitor_--Armenia S. + White--A Bill to Protect the Rights of Married Men--Minority and + Majority Reports--Women too Ignorant to Vote--Republican State + Convention--Women on School Committees--Voting at School-District + Meetings--Mrs. White's Address--Mrs. Ricker on Prison + Reform--Judicial Decision in Regard to Married Women, + 1882--Letter from Senator Blair. + + +A State that could boast four such remarkable families as the +Rogers, the Hutchinsons, the Fosters, and the Pillsburys, all +radical, outspoken reformers, furnishes abundant reason for its +prolonged battles with the natural conservatism of ordinary +communities. Every inch of its soil except its mountain tops, where +no man could raise a school-house for a meeting, has been overrun +by the apostles of peace, temperance, anti-slavery, and woman's +rights in succession. + +To the early influence of Nathaniel P. Rogers and his revolutionary +journal, _The Herald of Freedom_, we may trace the general +awakening of the true men and women of that State to new ideas of +individual liberty. But while some gladly accepted his words as +harbingers of a new and better civilization, others resisted all +innovations of their time-honored customs and opinions. And when +the clarion voices of Foster and Pillsbury arraigned that State for +its compromises with slavery, howling mobs answered their arguments +with brickbats and curses; mobs that nothing could quell but the +sweet voices of the Hutchinson family. Their peans of liberty, so +readily accepted when set to music, were obstinately resisted when +uttered by others, though in most eloquent speech. Thus with music, +meetings and mobs, New Hampshire was at least awake and watching, +and when the distant echoes of woman's uprising reverberated +through her mountains she gave a ready response. + +In 1868, simultaneously with other New England States, she felt the +time had come to organize for action on the question of suffrage +for women. A call for a convention was issued to be held in +Concord, December 22, 23, and signed by one hundred and twenty men +and women,[188] some of the most honored and influential classes of +all callings and professions. Nathaniel P. White, always ready to +aid genuine reformatory movements, was the first to sign the call. +As a member of the legislature he had helped to coin into law many +of the liberal ideas sown broadcast in the early days[189] by the +anti-slavery apostles. Galen Foster, a brother of Stephen, used his +influence also as a member of the legislature, to vindicate the +rights of women to civil and political equality. This first +convention was held in Eagle Hall, Concord, with large and +enthusiastic audiences. A long and interesting letter was read from +William Lloyd Garrison: + + BOSTON, December 21, 1868. + + DEAR MRS. WHITE: I must lose the gratification of being present + at the Woman Suffrage Convention at Concord and substitute an + epistolary testimony for a speech from the platform. + + The two conventions recently held in furtherance of the movement + for universal and impartial suffrage--one in Boston, the other in + Providence--were eminently successful in respect to numbers, + intellectual ability, moral strength and unity of action; and + their proceedings such as to challenge attention and elicit + wide-spread commendation. I have no doubt that the convention in + Concord will exhibit the same features, be animated by the same + hopeful spirit and produce as cheering results. + + The only criticism seemingly of a disparaging tone, I have seen, + of the speeches made at the conventions alluded to, is, that + there was nothing new advanced on the occasion; as though novelty + were the main thing, and the reiteration of time-honored truths, + with their latest application to the duties of the hour, were + simply tedious! For one, I ask no more light upon the subject; + nor am I so vain as to assume to be capable of throwing any + additional light upon it. One drop of water is very like another, + but it is the perpetual dropping that wears away the stone. The + importunate widow had nothing fresh or new to present to the + unjust judge, but by her persistent coming she wearied him into + compliance with her petition. The end of the constant assertion + of a right withheld is restitution and victory. The whole + anti-slavery controversy was expressed and included in the Golden + Rule, morally, and in the Declaration of Independence, + politically; nor could anything new be added to these by the + wisest, the most ingenious, or the most eloquent. "Line upon + line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little"; + that is the essential method of reform. If there is nothing new + to be said in favor of suffrage for women, is there anything new + to be urged against it? But though the objections are exceedingly + trite and shallow, it is still necessary to examine and refute + them by arguments and illustrations none the less forcible + because exhausted at an earlier period. + + +[Illustration: Armenia S. White] + + + The first objection is positively one of the most urgent reasons + for granting suffrage to women; for it is predicated on the + concession of the superiority of woman over man in purity of + purpose and excellence of character. Hence the cry is, that it + will not only be descending, but degrading for her to appear at + the polls. But, if government is absolutely necessary, and voting + not wrong in practice, it is surely desirable that the admittedly + purest and best in the nation should find no obstacle to their + reaching the ballot-box. Nay, the way should be opened at once, + by every consideration pertaining to the public welfare, the + justice of legislation, the preservation of popular liberty. It + is impossible for a portion of the people, to be wiser and more + trustworthy than the whole people, or better qualified to decide + what shall be the laws for the government of all. The more minds + consulted, the more souls included, the more interests at stake, + in determining the form and administration of government, the + more of justice and humanity, of security and repose, will be the + result. The exclusion of half the population from the polls, is + not merely a gross injustice, but an immense loss of brain and + conscience, in making up the public judgment. As a nation we have + discarded absolutism, monarchy, and hereditary aristocracy; but + we have not fully attained even to manhood suffrage. Men are + proscribed on account of their complexion, women because of their + sex. The entire body politic suffers from this proscription. + + The second objection refutes the first; it is based on the + alleged natural inferiority of woman to man, and the transition + is thus quickly made for her, from a semi-angelic state, to that + of a menial, having no rights that men are bound to respect + beyond what they choose to allow. In the scale of political + power, therefore, one male voter, however ignorant or depraved, + outweighs all the women in America! For, no matter how + intelligent, cultured, refined, wealthy, intellectually vigorous, + or morally great, any of their number may be,--no matter what + rank in literature, art, science, or medical knowledge and skill + they may reach,--they are political non-entities, unrepresented, + discarded, and left to such protection under the laws, as brute + force and absolute usurpation may graciously condescend to give. + Yet they are as freely taxed and held amendable to penal law as + strictly as though they had their full share of representation in + the legislative hall, on the bench, in the jury-box, and at the + polls. This cry of inferiority is not peculiar in the case of + woman. It was the subterfuge and defiance of negro slavery. It + has been raised in all ages by tyrants and usurpers against the + toiling, over-burdened millions, seeking redress for their + wrongs, and protection for their rights. It always indicates + intense self-conceit, and supreme selfishness. It is at war with + reason and common-sense, and is a bold denial of the oneness of + the human race. + + The third objection is, that women do not wish to vote. If this + were true, it would not follow that they should not be + enfranchised, and left free to determine the matter for + themselves. It was confidently declared that the slaves at the + south neither wished to be free, nor would they take their + liberty if offered them by their masters. Had that assertion been + true, it would have furnished no justification whatever, for + making man the property of his fellow-man, or for leaving the + slaves in their fetters. But it was not true. Nor is it true that + women do not wish to vote. Tens of thousands are ready to go to + the polls and assume their share of political responsibility, as + soon as they shall be legally permitted to do so; and they are + not the ignorant and degraded of their sex, but women remarkable + for their intelligence and moral worth. The great mass will, ere + long, be sufficiently enlightened to claim what belongs to them + of right. I hope to be permitted to live to see the day when + neither complexion nor sex shall be made a badge of degradation, + but men and women shall enjoy the same rights and privileges, and + possess the same means for their protection and defense. + + Very faithfully yours, WM. LLOYD GARRISON. + + Mrs. A. S. WHITE. + +At the close of this convention a State association was formed with +Mrs. Armenia S. White president.[190] This society has been +unremitting in its efforts to rouse popular thought, holding annual +conventions, scattering tracts, rolling up petitions, and +addressing legislatures. Many of the best speakers, from time to +time, from other States[191] have rendered valuable aid in keeping +up the agitation. + +The opposition of a clergyman produced a sensation in Concord. + + On last fast-day, 1871, Rev. S.L. Blake of the Congregational + church in Concord, preached a sermon in which he came out against + the woman's rights convention held there last January, bringing + the stale charge of "free-love" against its advocates--a charge + that always leaps to the lips of men of prurient + imagination--with much similar clap-trap of the Fulton type. Rev. + Mr. Sanborn of the Universalist church replied to him the next + Sunday evening, an immense audience being in attendance, and + completely disproved the baseless allegations of the reverend + maligner, to the satisfaction of all. Rev. Mr. Blake has + published his discourse in pamphlet form, repeating his disproved + charges, whereupon Rev. J.F. Lovering of the Unitarian church + came out with a reply, in which he characterized Mr. Blake's + charges as "unmitigated falsehoods" and "an insult to every + member of the convention," and demanded of the author to "unsay + his words." + +Brainard Cogswell, in his journal, the _Concord Monitor_, of July +2, 1870, published the following letter: + + Petitions for woman's enfranchisement have been pouring into the + New Hampshire legislature, until at last they have been referred + to a special committee. On Thursday week this committee gave the + petitioners a hearing; and on their invitation, Mrs. Julia Ward + Howe, Mrs. Elizabeth K. Churchill and ourself went to Concord to + give "the reasons why" women should have the ballot. The members + of the legislature came out in force to hear, and our good, tried + friends, Nathaniel and Armenia White, learning their intention in + advance, opened the spacious Eagle Hall for their convenience, + and that of the towns-people who wished to see and to hear. Warm + as the evening was, the thermometer up in the nineties, the hall + was packed, and great numbers went away that could not gain + admittance. Rev. Mr. Blake, a Congregationalist minister of + Concord, has done the cause good service by vilifying and abusing + it, until he roused quite an interest. It was partly owing to his + efforts that we had so grand an audience. + + General Wilson, who twenty years ago was famed throughout New + Hampshire for his eloquence and oratory, was chairman of the + committee, and presided at the meeting, and very handsomely + introduced the speakers. Mrs. Howe spoke with more pointed and + pungent power than usual, dwelling on the deterioration of + American womanhood, showing the cause, and suggesting the remedy. + We have never been so impressed by her as on this occasion. Mrs. + Churchill read a letter from Rev. Mr. Savage, a Congregationalist + clergyman of the State, who advocates woman suffrage, and who, in + a late ministerial gathering, took up the gauntlet thrown down by + Mr. Blake, and defended the woman's cause and its advocates from + the slanders of his brother minister. + +The president of the New Hampshire association, in writing from +Concord to the _Woman's Journal_, January 30, 1871, says: + + Our second annual meeting was a grand success, if we count by + money and numbers. The intense cold on Wednesday and Thursday + made our audiences thinner than heretofore, but they were large + in spite of the elements, Mrs. Churchill and Mrs. Emma Coe Still, + who had never presented the subject here before, were well + received. Rev. Dr. Savage of Franklin made an excellent address, + and encouraged us by timely suggestions. Stephen S. Foster + aroused us, as he always does, with his bold declarations. The + resolutions adopted look toward future work, and embody the + principles which move us to act. + +Lucy Stone, in the _Woman's Journal_ of June 14, 1871, says: + + The Select Committee, Harry Bingham, chairman, to whom was + referred a bill for the further protection of the rights of + married men, reported the bill in a new draft as follows: + + Marriages shall not hereafter render the husband liable for + the debts contracted by his wife prior to their marriage: + _Second section_--No marriage shall hereafter discharge the + wife from liability to pay the debts contracted by her + before such marriage, but she, and all property which she + may hold in her own right, shall be held liable for the + payment of all debts, whether contracted before or after + marriage; in the same manner as if she continued sole and + unmarried. + + This report was signed by eight of the ten members of the + committee. The minority, through Mr. Sprague of Swanzey, made a + report recommending that the whole subject be postponed to the + time when women in New Hampshire have the right to vote. Mr. + Sprague moved that the minority report be substituted for the + majority, but the motion was lost by an almost unanimous vote. + The majority report was sustained in remarks by Messrs. Wadleigh + of Milford and Cogswell of Gilman. The latter, hard pushed by an + interrogatory concerning his social status, admitted that he was + not married, but intended to be soon. The bill reported by the + majority was then ordered to a second reading. + + If this action should be sustained by the legislature, we can + imagine some future suitor for a lady's hand telling her that he + shall expect her duly to keep his house and his wardrobe in + order, to prepare his meals, to entertain his visitors, to bear + his children, and that she will be required by law to pay her own + bills; that for this inestimable privilege she shall be called + Mrs. John Snooks, and may, perhaps, have the honor of being + written in the newspapers, and on her tombstone, as the relic of + Mr. John Snooks. Could any woman withstand that? + +The following statistics have been used by speakers in the +opposition, to show that women are too ignorant to vote: + + A decided sensation has been produced throughout the country by + the publication in the third number of the "Transactions of the + American Social Science Association" of statistics concerning the + illiteracy of women in the United States. The subject has + received very general discussion, and these are the conclusions + reached: + + 1. That there is a large excess of female illiteracy. 2. + That from 1850 to 1860 there was an increase of illiterate + women to the extent of 53 per cent. in New Hampshire, 27 in + Vermont, 24 in Massachusetts, 33 in Rhode Island, 16 in + Connecticut, 37 in the District of Columbia, 33 in + Wisconsin and 32 in Minnesota. 3. That this state of things + is alarming, and ought to be remedied. + + When the London _Saturday Review_ raised the cry of alcoholic + drunkenness among women, the conservative journals all over the + world swelled the sound and confirmed the charges. Now that that + story has run itself to death, a new assault is projected, and a + general clamor concerning their illiteracy follows. If the + charges are true, there is nothing very astonishing about them. + The education of women has been considered a matter of secondary + importance until very recently, and with our foreign population + the education of girls has been almost wholly neglected. When the + customs and usages of the world have made ignorance largely + compulsory in women, it is somewhat inconsistent in men to go + into spasms about the results. + +January 17, 1874, at the Republican State convention, Mayor Briggs +of Manchester, on taking the chair, made a speech, rehearsing the +history of the party and laying out its programme for the future, +closing as follows: + + The Republican party has future duties. Its mission cannot end + and its work should not, so long as any radical reform shall yet + urge its demands in behalf of humanity. The civil service reform + is eminent and important. In this regard the movement of the + present administration is in the right direction, and yet it is + only a first step of many which must ultimately be taken. To the + people, not to a part of the people, belongs the sovereignty of + this nation. Let them keep it. To this end great care should be + taken to guard against the caucus system. Nothing should be more + scrupulously avoided in the management of political parties. + Anti-republican in spirit, it is sometimes exclusive in practice. + The people have the same right to nominate that they have to + elect their own officers. Why not? Ultimately, too, they will + take that right, and for its own sake no party can afford to make + itself the nursery of caucus power. The political machinery + should be simplified, that nothing which mere politicians can + desire shall stand between the people and their government. In a + genuine republic, every act of the government should be but a + practical expression of its subjects. All the subjects, too, + should share equally the power of such expression. There should + be no exclusion among intelligent, qualified classes. Involved in + this principle is the idea of woman suffrage, the next great + moral issue, in my judgment, which this country must meet, and a + reform which no party can afford to despise. Indubitably right, + as I believe it to be, I regard its success as inevitable, and + that whatever party opposes it is as surely destined to defeat, + as was the party which arrayed itself in opposition to the + anti-slavery cause. + +The following letter in the _Woman's Journal_ shows that something +of the spirit of the Connecticut Smith-sisters has been found in +New Hampshire: + + I have long felt a deep interest in the subject of woman's + rights, and some fifteen years ago I resisted taxation two + successive years. The second year I worked out my highway tax, + for which crime I brought down upon my guilty head a severe + persecution from both men and women, from clergymen and lawyers, + as well as other classes of my fellow townsmen. The + tax-collectors came into my house and attached furniture and sold + it at auction in order to collect my tax, one of whom made me all + the cost the laws would allow. The most incensed town officers + threatened that if I resisted taxation the next year, they would + take my house from me and sell it at auction. One of the + tax-gatherers asked me what I thought I could do alone in + resisting taxation. He said he did not believe there was another + woman in the State of New Hampshire who possessed the hardihood + to take such a stand against the laws. The editor of one of our + weekly journals, who professed to be an advocate of woman's + rights, and who was a candidate for representative in the State + legislature, condemned me through the columns of his paper, in + order to secure the votes of his fellow townsmen who were opposed + to woman's rights. He had nothing to fear from me, knowing that I + was only a disfranchised slave. Such unjust treatment seemed so + cruel that I sometimes felt I could willingly lay down my life, + if it would deliver my sex from such degrading oppression. I + have, every year since, submissively paid my taxes, humbly hoping + and praying that I may live to see the day that women will not be + compelled to pay taxes without representation. + + MARY L. HARRINGTON. + + _Claremont, N. H., January 17, 1874._ + +In 1870 a law was passed allowing women to be members of school +committees; and eight years later a law was enacted permitting +women to vote at school meetings. On the evening of August 7, 1878, +the House Special Committee granted a hearing to the friends[192] +of the School-suffrage bill, which had already passed the Senate by +a unanimous vote; and the next day, when the bill came up for final +action in the House, the following debate occurred: + + Mr. BATCHELDER of Littleton said: This bill is one of the + greatest importance, and before we vote upon it let us have the + views of the committee. + + Mr. GALEN FOSTER of Canterbury called upon Mr. Blodgett to give + his opinion as to the power of the legislature upon the question. + + Mr. BLODGETT of Franklin said he had no doubt of the + constitutionality of the bill. School districts were created by + statute and not by the constitution; hence the legislature had a + perfect right to say who should vote in controlling their + affairs. + + Mr. FOSTER said: The mothers of our children should have a voice + in their education. We have allowed women to hold certain offices + in connection with schools, but we have never given them a voice + in the control of the money expended upon them. The mothers take + ten times more interest in the education of the young than the + fathers do, and should have an equal voice in the affairs of the + school districts. This is a matter of right and justice. + + Mr. SINCLAIR of Bethlehem said: There ought not to be any + objection to this bill. If there is any class that ought to have + a voice in the education of children, it is the mothers. + [Applause.] Some of the best school committees in the State are + women. If they can be elected to that office, is it proper to say + they shall have no voice in the elections? + + Mr. WHICHER of Strafford thought they would get a little mixed in + carrying out the provisions of this bill, in the face of the + statutes relating to school-district meetings. He would move to + indefinitely postpone the bill. + + Mr. MOSHER of Dover said: There ought to be a new motion gotten + up; to "indefinitely postpone" is getting to be stereotyped. This + bill needs no further championing. Its justice is apparent. + + Mr. HOBBS of Ossippee said: If women are capable of holding + office they are also capable of saying who shall hold it. + [Applause.] + + Mr. PATTEN of Manchester favored the bill and hoped the motion of + Mr. Whicher would be voted down. + + The SPEAKER [Mr. WOOLSON of Lisbon] said: The bill had passed the + Senate unanimously, been reported unanimously by the committee, + and he hoped it would be passed promptly by the House. + [Applause.] + + Mr. PATTERSON of Hanover said he would congratulate the gentleman + from Bethlehem on being orthodox on this question. + + Mr. SINCLAIR congratulated his friend from Hanover on his display + of courage in waiting until the ice was broken all round before + making a forward step. + +Mr. Whicher withdrew his motion to postpone and then moved to lay +the bill upon the table. This being lost, the bill was passed, +August 8, 1878. Mrs. White, the president of the State association, +in a letter to a friend, wrote as follows: + + To our surprise and delight the bill allowing women to vote at + school-district meetings passed the House yesterday amid much + cheering and clapping of hands, the ladies in the gallery joining + in the demonstration. Thus conservative New Hampshire leads New + England in this branch of reform for women. + +The governor, B. F. Prescott, signed the bill without delay and +words of cheer poured into the capital city from all quarters; +especially were Mr. and Mrs. White congratulated upon this good +result of their earnest and persistent labors. The following is +from the _Woman's Journal_: + + At the first election at the State capital of New Hampshire under + the new law allowing women to vote on school questions, the + result was a wonderfully full vote, not less than 2,160 ballots + being cast, of which over half were deposited by women. The + Boston _Investigator_, from which we gather these facts, says: + + The balloting extended over three meetings and the number of + women who participated was almost exactly doubled on the + second and third evenings--150, 299, 662. Another + interesting feature of this election was the fact that the + sexes did not rally to the support of opposing tickets, but + men and women divided their votes very evenly. A ticket + bearing the names of two men was elected by a narrow + majority over another which bore the names of a man and + woman. + + Of the first evening's election the telegraphic dispatch to the + _Boston Globe_ was headed, "Crowds of Women Voting in New + Hampshire": + + CONCORD, N. H., March 22.--The occasion of the annual + meeting of the Union-school district of this city, which + comprises all of the city proper, this evening, was one of + unprecedented interest. For months school matters have been + sharply agitated and the election has been looked forward to + as an opportunity by all parties. To the uncommon interest + centered in the matter the right of women to vote at school + meetings, delegated by the last session of the legislature, + greatly added. The new condition of affairs had been fully + canvassed and the women had determined on making the best of + their first opportunity and winning a decisive victory if + possible. The night of the meeting proved inauspicious, but + notwithstanding the severe storm of snow and sleet that was + falling the newly constituted citizens were out in force. At + the hour of opening the meeting the City Hall was packed to + suffocation, 500 of the audience, at least, being ladies. + The first business was the choice of a moderator, and in + this the ladies may claim a victory, as the candidate a + majority of them supported was elected in the person of + ex-mayor John Kimball. After this came the reading of the + report of the board of education, which was strenuously + objected to by the male supporters of the ladies. In this + they were beaten by a large majority. The reading completed, + the meeting commenced to ballot for three members of the + board. The scene then became one beyond the power of the + reportorial pen to describe. It was an old-fashioned New + Hampshire town-meeting, with the concomitant boisterousness + and profanity subdued by the presence of the ladies. A line + was formed to the polls and a struggling mass of humanity in + which male and female citizens were incongruously and + indecorously mixed, surged towards the ballot-box. The + crowding, squeezing and pushing were severe enough for the + taste of the masculine voter, and were harsh enough to make + it extremely unpleasant for the dear creatures who were + undergoing so much to cast their maiden vote. To add to the + delay the Hon. Nathaniel White had planted his somewhat + corpulent form directly in front of the ballot-box and + stayed the surging tide to shake hands with every woman that + voted. Having voted, the men were only too glad to leave the + crowded hall and let the anxious crowd rush in. The vote was + at last all in, and the work of counting completed shortly + before 11 o'clock. It was found that there were some ten + different tickets in the field, and forty-two candidates + voted for; but from this mass of votes there was no choice, + though the regular candidates, the outgoing members of the + board, who would have been elected had it not been for the + new element in the election, were ahead, having a plurality. + The meeting was then adjourned till next Saturday evening, + when the scenes of to-night will be intensified by a larger + attendance and still greater interest. The meeting to-night + obtains importance in New Hampshire, as this is the center + of female suffrage sentiment in this State, and the women + are determined to win here if possible. + +In the opening convention of November 5, 1879, Mrs. White, the +president, made the following address: + + _Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends of the N. H. Woman Suffrage + Association_: We hold the seventh meeting of this association + under circumstances that mark an epoch in the progress of equal + rights, irrespective of sex, in this State. After more than a + decade of agitation, and petitioning of our legislature, women + hold in their hand the ballot on one important matter. Let us + exchange congratulations on this occasion, that so much has been + gained toward the final triumph of our cause. + + You will remember when this association was last in session, + July, 1878, that the bill giving the women of New Hampshire the + right to vote on the public-school questions, was pending in our + legislature. At our first hearing before that body, we hardly + dared anticipate the passage of the bill during that session. But + agitation, vigilance and perseverance ever bring their sure + reward in the end, therefore we continued to press our claim, and + soon learned to our great satisfaction that our allies in behalf + of this bill, were the very _cream_ of our legislature. We at + once took courage, and as day after day we went up to the + state-house, with friends who plead for it before the committee, + who kindly gave us several hearings; we saw the gradual growth of + interest in behalf of this bill soon ripen into a final decision + causing it to pass; thereby enacting a law, to which our worthy + governor, B. F. Prescott, immediately gave his willing signature, + securing to the women of this State the high privilege many of + them gladly exercised last spring. Many feared this law would be + repealed; but to show with what favor it has been received, we + have only to refer to the legislature of the present year, which + passed an additional law, giving to women not only the right to + vote for and serve on school boards, but also the power to serve + as moderator or clerk in school meetings, for which the former + law did not provide. This, it would seem must remove all fears of + a repeal. + + Petitions asking municipal suffrage for women, were sent to our + last legislature, and a bill to that effect, introduced in the + House, was referred to a special committee, who reported in its + favor: and after more or less discussion, although the bill did + not pass, about one hundred members voted for it, and their names + are registered, and with the committee, will be kindly remembered + by those women whose cause they did not desert. From past + experience we see the importance of continued labor and proper + measures for the accomplishment of our work. The present degree + of progress indicates the fact that we are not to obtain the full + recognition of our rights at one bound, but that they are coming + step by step. To note the growth of our principles in the various + reform movements, let us look at the temperance organizations + throughout the length and breadth of this country; we find nearly + all of them now discussing the ballot for women. Why, no sooner + had Massachusetts, following the example of New Hampshire, + obtained the school ballot for women, than the Woman's Christian + Temperance Unions all over the State were a unit for the + temperance ballot, and the past year have had their agents + canvassing the State in the interest of school suffrage and "home + protection." + + All who read the reports last winter of Frances E. Willard's + labors in Illinois in behalf of her Home Protection bill (for it + originated with her), of the list of petitioners of both sexes + she secured and took to Springfield, of the delegation of women + who accompanied her there to advocate her bill, must acknowledge + the educating force of all such untiring devotion for the right + to vote. Although she was not victorious, she was successful + beyond all expectation, for it is said, "Success is not always a + victory, nor is victory always a success in the end." Let me say + here, Miss Willard believes in the entire enfranchisement of her + sex, but in her earnest and faithful labors makes a specialty of + the temperance ballot. + + At the annual meeting of the New Hampshire Woman's Christian + Temperance Union, held here one year ago, a resolution was + offered by a most worthy lady, indorsing suffrage for women on + all temperance questions. It was at once vigorously opposed by + some, while others, although believing in it, feared it would + divide their ranks if it passed, and felt too timid to give it + their support. The lady offering it, seeing it would be defeated, + withdrew it, at the same time giving notice that she should + present the same, or one similar, to that body every year as long + as she lived, or until it passed. Last month the same + organization held its annual meeting in Portsmouth, and that + lady, as good as her word, was there with her resolution on + temperance suffrage, and it passed unanimously, about 100 + delegates being present and voting, many of whom acknowledged the + timidity they felt last year, but now earnestly gave it their + support. Such experiences give us some idea of the different + instrumentalities by which our cause is forced upon conservative + minds for consideration, ending in honest conviction. + + In closing, I know you will all unite with me in tributes to Mr. + Garrison. Now that he has gone to join that innumerable host of + philanthropists in the higher life, let us rejoice that he was + one of the leaders of that reform which brings us here to-day. + And now, friends, in view of the present status of our cause, + have we not much to encourage us in our work? May we go forward + in that spirit of good-will that shall bring us a speedy victory. + +Resolutions of respect to the memory of Mrs. Abby P. Ela, William +Lloyd Garrison and Angelina Grimke Weld were adopted by a rising +vote. + +In the _National Citizen_ of December 14, 1879, we find the +following: + + Marilla M. Ricker of New Hampshire had an executive hearing + before the governor and council of that State, November 18, in + regard to the management of the State prison. Mrs. Ricker, who in + winter practices law in Washington, and is known as "the + prisoner's friend," referred to the cruel treatment of convicts + in various States, notably in New Hampshire, where prisoners are + not permitted to read the magazines or the weekly newspapers + which contain no record of crime, nor to receive words from their + friends, as in other States they are allowed at stated times to + do. When Mrs. Ricker desired to see a certain prisoner and let + him know he had friends who were yet mindful of his comfort, the + warden replied that he did not wish that man "to think he had a + friend in the world." Mrs. Ricker warmly protested against such + brutality. The attorney-general agreed with Mrs. Ricker, + remarking that the line between crimes punished and those not + punished, and the lines between those in prison and those + outside who ought to be there, were so dim and shadowy that great + care should be exercised in order to secure just and humane + treatment for prisoners. Mrs. Ricker's remarks were earnest and + dignified, and were listened to with the closest attention by the + governor and his official advisers. At the close of the hearing + the governor referred the subject to the special prison committee + of the council, directing its members to procure all possible + information as to the management of penitentiaries in other + States, and report at the next meeting. Through Mrs. Ricker's + influence the last legislature passed an act providing that any + convict may send sealed letters to the governor or council + without their being read by the warden. + +In 1882 a judicial decision in New Hampshire recognized the advance +legislation of that State in regard to the position of married +women. This decision shows that they are no longer under the shadow +of the old common law, but now hold equal dignity and power as +individuals and joint heads in family life. The "divinely ordained +head," with absolute control in the home, to rule according to his +will and pleasure, is at last ruled out of the courts altogether, +as the following case illustrates: + + Mrs. Harris and her husband sued Mrs. Webster and her husband for + slanders uttered by Mrs. Webster against Mrs. Harris. The suit + was brought on the old theory that the legal personality of the + wife is merged in that of her husband; that she is under his + control, his chattel, his ox, and therefore he is responsible for + her trespasses as for those of his other domestic cattle. The + Court held that the wife is no longer an "ox" or "chattel," but a + person responsible for her acts, and that her innocent husband + could not be held responsible for her wrong. In rendering the + decision in this case, Judge Foster further said: "It is no + longer possible to say that in New Hampshire a married woman is a + household slave or a chattel, or that in New Hampshire the + conjugal unity is represented solely by the husband. By custom + and by statute the wife is now joint master of the household, and + not a slave or a servant. The rule now is that her legal + existence is not suspended. So practically has the ancient unity + become dissevered and dissolved that the wife may not only have + her separate property, contracts, debts, wages, and causes of + separate action growing out of a violation of her personal + rights, but she may enter into legal contract with her husband + and enforce it by suit against him." + +The writer of the following letter is a successful farmer, +remarkable for her executive ability in all the practical affairs +of life, as well as for her broad philanthropy. One year she sent, +as a contribution to our Washington convention, a tub of butter +holding about sixty pounds, which was sold on the platform and the +proceeds put into the treasury of the National Association: + + _Dear Friends assembled in the Washington Convention:_ + + Last week our new town-house was dedicated. The women accompanied + their husbands. One man spoke in favor of woman suffrage--said it + was "surely coming." In this town, at the Corners, for several + years they tried to get a graded school, but the men voted it + down. After the women had the school-suffrage, one lady, who had + a large family and did not wish to send her children away from + home, rallied all the women of the Corners, carried the vote, and + they now have a good graded school. Our village is moving down, + that the boys and girls may have the benefit of the good school + there. I think the women who have been indifferent and not + availed themselves of their small voting privilege, by which we + might have established the same class of school in our village, + will now regret their negligence, at least every time they have + to send three miles for a doctor. Thus, stupid people, blind to + their own interest, punish themselves. I regret not being able to + send a fuller report of the good that woman's use of the ballot, + in a limited form, has done for us in this State. The voting in + the town-hall is the "infant school" for women in the use of the + ballot. Thanking the ladies all for meeting at the capital of the + nation, and regretting not to be counted among the number, I am, + + Yours sincerely, MARY A. P. FILLEY. + + _North Haverill, January 5, 1884._ + +In closing this chapter some mention should be made of the +invaluable services of Senator Blair,[193] who, in his place, has +always nobly defended the rights of women. He was a member of the +first special committee ever appointed to look after the interests +of women in the United States Senate. The leaders of the movement +in that State claim that they helped to place Senator Blair in his +present position by defeating his predecessor, Mr. Wadleigh, who +was hostile to the enfranchisement of women. + + UNITED STATES SENATE, WASHINGTON, D. C., March 5, 1884. + + MY DEAR MISS ANTHONY: I had the honor duly to receive your + invitation to address the National Association during its + sessions in this city, for which I heartily thank you; but the + pressure of duties in the Senate, service upon committees being + just now specially exacting, makes it impossible for me to + accept. + + I trust that I need not assure you of my full belief that woman + has the right and ought to have the privilege to vote. Whenever a + fundamental right exists both public and individual welfare are + promoted by its exercise and injured by its suppression. The + exercise of rights is only another name for the discharge of + duties, and the denial of the suffrage to an adult human being, + not deprived of it for mental or penal disability, is an + intolerable wrong. Such denial is not only a deprivation of right + to the individual, but it is an injury to the State, which is + only well governed when controlled by the conflicting opinions, + sentiments and interests of the whole, harmonized in the + ballot-box, and, by its fiat, elevated to the functions of law. + But you have no occasion for expression of theoretical views from + me. + + If I may be pardoned a suggestion, it would be the specification + to the public mind of the practical uses and benefits which would + result from the exercise of the suffrage by women. Men are not + conscious that women lack the practical protection of the laws or + the comforts and conveniences of material and social relations + more than themselves. The possession of the ballot as a practical + means of securing happiness does not appear to the masses to be + necessary to women in our country. Men say: "We do the best we + can for our wives and children and relatives. They are as well + off as we." In a certain sense this appears to be true. The other + and higher truth is that woman suffrage is necessary in order + that society may advance. The natural conservatism of an existing + order of things will not give way to a new factor in the control + of affairs, until it has been shown in what way enlightened + selfishness may hope for good to society if the change be made. + Here it seems to me that the convention may now strike a blow + more powerful than for many years. Society has not so labored + with the great problems which concern its own salvation for + generations. + + What would woman do with the ballot if she had it? What for + education? What for sobriety? What for social purity? What for + equalizing the conditions and the rewards of labor--the labor of + her own sex first--and towards a just division of production + among all members of the community? What for the removal, or for + the amelioration when removal is impossible, of hunger, cold, + disease and degradation, from the daily lives of human beings? + What could and what _would_ woman do with the ballot which is not + now as well done by man alone, to improve the conditions which + envelope individual existence as with bands of iron? What good + things--state them _seriatim_, as the lawyers say--could woman do + in New Hampshire and in New York city, and ultimately among the + savage tribes of the earth, which she cannot do as well without + as with the suffrage? Would woman by her suffrage even _help_ to + remove illiteracy from Louisiana, intemperance from New England, + and stop society from committing murder by the tenement-house + abuses of New York? Let the convention specify what practical + good woman will try to achieve with her God-given rights, + provided that men will permit her to enjoy them. Show us wherein + you will do _us_ good if we will rob you no longer. It might + influence us greatly. Why should we do right for nothing? In + fact, unless you show that the exercise of your alleged right + will be useful, can you logically conclude that you have any? We + must have proof that the experiment will not fail before we will + even try it. You must connect the ballot with progress and reform + and convince men that they, as well as women, will be better off + for its possession by the whole of the adult community rather + than only by a part. Theories may be true, but they are seldom + reduced to practice by society unless it can be clearly seen that + their adoption will heal some hurt or introduce some broad and + general good. + + The increasing discussion of industrial, educational, sanitary, + and social questions generally, indicates the domain of argument + and effort where victories for the advocates of enlarged suffrage + are most likely, and I think are sure to be won. Woman should + study specially what is called, for the want of a better term, + the labor problem--a problem which includes in its scope almost + everything important to everybody. I know this is an unnecessary + suggestion, for it is just what you are doing. I only write it + because repetition of the important is better than to recite + platitudes or even to quote the declaration. I believe in your + success because I believe in justice and in the advancement of + mankind. + + Very respectfully, your obedient servant, HENRY W. BLAIR. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[188] _Concord_, Nathaniel P. White, Mrs. Sarah Pillsbury, Rev. J. +F. Lovering, P. B. Cogswell, Mrs. Eliza Morrill, Mrs. Louisa W. +Wood, Col. James E. Larkin, Mrs. J. F. Lovering, Charles S. Piper, +Mrs. Armenia S. White, Mrs. M. M. Smith, Mrs. F. E. Kittredge, Mrs. +Sarah Piper, Mrs. Ira Abbott, Mrs. L. M. Bust, Dr. A. Morrill, Mrs. +P. Ladd, Mrs. R. A. Smith, George W. Brown, Mr. and Mrs. J. V. +Aldrich, Mr. and Mrs. M. B. Smith, Mrs. T. H. Brown, Mrs. R. Hatch, +Mrs. J. L. Crawford, Mrs. Anna Dumas, Miss Harriet C. Edmunds, Miss +Salina Stevens, Miss Mary A. Denning, Miss N. E. Fessender, Miss M. +L. Noyes, Miss Clara Noyes, James H. Chase, Peter Sanborn; +_Lancaster_, Rev. J. M. L. Babcock; _Rochester_, Mrs. Abby P. Ela; +_Bradford_, Mrs. L. A. T. Lane, Miss M. J. Tappan; _Laconia_, Rev. +J. L. Gorman, William M. Blair; _Manchester_, Dr. M. O. A. Hunt; +_Plymouth_, Hon. D. R. Burnham; _Portsmouth_, Hon. A. W. Haven; +_Canterbury_, Mr. and Mrs. D. M. Clough; _Lebanon_, A. M. Shaw; +_Keene_, Col. and Mrs. Wilson; _Grafton_, Mr. and Mrs. Peter +Kimball; _Northfield_, Mrs. D. E. Hill; _Franklin_, Rev. Wm. T. +Savage; _Canaan_, William W. George; _Littleton_, R. D. Runneville. + +[189] They had their influence in the church as well as the State, +as the following item in _The Revolution_, July 16, 1868, shows: +"The New Hampshire convention of Universalists, at their late +anniversary, adopted unanimously a resolution in favor of woman's +elevation to entire equality with man in every civil, political and +religious right." + +[190] _President_, Mrs. Armenia S. White. _Vice-Presidents_, Rev. +J.F. Lovering, Concord; Mrs. A.L. Thomas, Laconia; Ossian Ray, +Lancaster; Mrs. S. Pillsbury, Concord; J.V. Aldrich, West Concord; +Mrs. Mary Worcester, Nashua; Mrs. Mary Barker, Alton; Peter +Kimball, Grafton; E.J. Durant, Lebanon; Mrs. Fannie V. Roberts, +Dover; Miss A.C. Payson, Peterboro; Mrs. E.A. Bartlett, Kingston; +Mr. Springfield, South Wolfboro; Galen Foster, Canterbury; Mrs. +R.M. Miller, Manchester; Mrs. Nancy Gilman, Tilton; C. Ballou, +North Weare; D. Burnham, Plymouth. _Executive Committee_, Nathaniel +White, Mrs. E.C. Lovering, Col. J.E. Larkin, Concord; Mrs. J. Abby +Ela, Rochester; Rev. Wm. T. Savage, Franklin; Mrs. Eliza Morrill, +Mrs. Daniel Holden, West Concord; Miss Caroline Foster, Canterbury; +P.B. Cogswell, Mrs. Louisa Wood, Mrs. M.M. Smith, Concord; Dr. +M.V.A. Hunt, Manchester. _Recording Secretary_, Mrs. E.C. Lovering, +Concord. _Corresponding Secretary_, Dr. J. Gallinger. _Treasurer_, +Jas. H. Chase. + +[191] Wendell Phillips, William Lloyd Garrison, Thomas Wentworth +Higginson, Frederick Hinckley, Lucy Stone, Frances Ellen Harper, +Dr. Sarah H. Hathaway, Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, Rev. Mr. Connor, +Rev. Ada C. Bowles, Emma Coe Still, Rev. Lorenza Haynes, Mary Grew, +Mary A. Livermore, Elizabeth K. Churchill, Margaret W. Campbell, +Anna Dickinson, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Matilda Joslyn Gage, Rev. +Olympia Brown, Lillie Devereux Blake, Elizabeth A. Meriwether, +Elizabeth Lisle Saxon, Susan B. Anthony. + +[192] The speakers at this hearing were Mr. Galen Foster of +Canterbury, Senators Gallinger and Shaw, Mrs. Abby Goold Woolson, +H. P. Rolfe, S. B. Page, Rev. E. L. Conger and Mrs. Armenia S. +White. + +[193] Reelected to the Senate, June, 1885. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + +VERMONT. + + Clarina Howard Nichols--Council of Censors--Amending the + Constitution--St. Andrew's Letter--Mr. Reed's Report--Convention + Called--H. B. Blackwell on the _Vermont Watchman_--Mary A. + Livermore in the _Woman's Journal_--Sarah A. Gibbs' Reply to Rev. + Mr. Holmes--School Suffrage. + + +After the miseries growing out of the civil war were in a measure +mitigated, there was a general awakening in the New England States +on the question of suffrage for women, and in 1868 one after +another organized for action. What Nathaniel P. Rogers was to New +Hampshire in the anti-slavery struggle that was Clarina Howard +Nichols[194] to Vermont in early calling attention to the unjust +laws for woman. From 1843 to 1853 she edited the _Windham County +Democrat_, in which she wrote a series of editorials on the +property rights of women, and from year to year made her appeals in +person to successive legislatures. Her patient labors for many +years prepared the way for the organized action of 1868. The women +of that State can never too highly appreciate all that it cost that +noble woman to stand alone, as she did, through such bitter +persecutions, vindicating for them the great principles of +republican government. + +And now, after a quarter of a century, instead of that one solitary +voice in the district school-house and the State capitol, are heard +in all Vermont's towns and cities, echoing through her valleys and +mountains, the clarion voices of a whole band of distinguished men +and women from all the Eastern States. The revival of the woman +question in Vermont began with propositions to amend the +constitution. We are indebted to a series of letters, written by a +citizen of Burlington, signed "St. Andrew," for many of the +interesting incidents and substantial facts as to the initiative +steps taken in this campaign. He said: + + The only way of amending the constitution is for the people + (meaning the male voters) to elect, every seventh year, a board + called the Council of Censors, consisting of thirteen persons. + This council can, within a certain time, propose amendments to + the constitution, and call a convention of one delegate from each + town, elected by the freemen, to adopt or reject the articles of + amendment proposed by the council. The Council of Censors, + elected in March, 1869, proposed six amendments: (1) In relation + to the creation of corporations; (2) in relation to biennial + sessions and elections; (3) in relation to filling vacancies in + the office of senators and town representatives; (4) in relation + to the appointment, terms, etc., of judges of the Supreme Court; + (5) providing that women shall be entitled to vote, and with no + other restrictions than the law shall impose on men; (6) in + relation to the manner of amending the constitution. + + The election of delegates occurs on Tuesday, May 10, and the + convention meets on the first Wednesday in June. There is no + general excitement in the State in relation to any of the + proposed changes; and now, upon the eve of the election, it is + impossible for the most sagacious political observer to predict + the fate of any of the amendments. The fifth is the only one in + support of which public meetings have been held, and those took + place the early part of the spring at the larger places in the + State. The friends have never expected to obtain a majority, nor + even a considerable vote in the convention, and the meetings that + have been held were not expected to settle the question, but to + awaken the public mind upon the subject. These meetings have been + a decided success, attended by hundreds of intelligent citizens, + many of whom for the first time listened to an address upon the + subject. It is true that ladies were advised to remain away, but + such advice generally resulted in a larger attendance; and to-day + the measure has a firmer support than ever before, and its + advocates are more confident of final success. We may not have + more than "_ten righteous_" men elected to the convention, but + that number was enough to save the cities of the _plain_, and we + have full faith that as small a number can save the cities of the + _mountains_. + + The press of the State is divided on the subject. We have two + dailies--one, the _Rutland Herald_, the oldest paper in the + State, in favor of the movement, and the _Free Press_ of + Burlington, opposed to it. After the coming convention, no change + can be made in our constitution for seven years, at least, and if + the sixth amendment be adopted, not for ten years. But, in the + meantime, the question will assume more importance by a constant + agitation as to the equality of the sexes, the admission of women + to the State University, the professions, and other rights to + which men are entitled. Vermont can never emulate in wealth and + population the manufacturing States of the seaboard, or the + prairie States of the West; but she can win a nobler preeminence + in the quality of her institutions. She may be the first State, + as Wyoming already is the first territory, to give political + equality to woman, and to show the world the model of a true + republic. + + ST. ANDREW. + + _Burlington, Vt., May 1, 1870._ + +Mr. Reed of Washington county submitted the report in favor of the +woman suffrage amendment, from which we give the following: + + One-half of the people of our State are denied the right of + suffrage. Yet woman has all the qualifications--the capacity, the + desire for the public welfare, that man has. She is among the + governed. She pays taxes. Even-handed justice, a fair application + of the principles of the Declaration of Independence and of our + State constitution, give woman the ballot. There is no reason why + woman should not be allowed to do what she is so eminently fit to + do. We know no good reason why the most ignorant man should vote + and the intelligent woman be refused. Our present political + institutions were formed and shaped when men had their chief + interests and pursuits out of doors, and women remained the + humble slaves at home. The social change has been immense. Now + woman sits by the side of man, is his companion and associate in + his amusements, and in his labors, save the one of governing the + country. And it is time that she should be in this. + + The position of woman in regard to the common schools of the + State is the most unjust. She must always be the chief instructor + of the young in point of time and influence. She is their best + teacher at home and in the school. And her share in this + ever-expanding work is becoming vaster every day. Woman as + mother, sister, teacher, has an intelligence, a comprehension of + the educational needs of our youth, and an interest in their + development, far in advance of the other sex. She can organize, + control and teach the most difficult school in the State; yet she + has no vote in the selection of teachers, the building, + arrangements and equipments of school-houses, nor in the method + and extent of instruction. She can pay her share of the expenses + of schools, but can have no legal voice in their management. She + can teach, but she can have no vote in determining what shall be + taught. She is the very corner-stone of institutions which she + has no power in shaping. Let us have her open, avowed and public + cooeperation--always safer than indirect influence. + +The submission of an amendment to the constitution necessarily +aroused a general agitation on the proposed changes. The fifth +amendment decided on by the board of censors seemed to create a +more general interest than either of the others, and accordingly a +meeting was called for its full consideration, that efficient steps +might be taken for a thorough canvass of the State, preparatory to +the May election, and issued the following call: + + The friends of woman suffrage in Vermont are requested to meet in + mass convention at Montpelier on Wednesday, February 2, at 10 + o'clock, for the purpose of considering and advancing the best + interests of the cause in this State, in view of the + constitutional amendment proposed by the council of censors. The + convention will be addressed by several ladies and prominent + gentlemen of this State, and by William Lloyd Garrison, Julia + Ward Howe and Rev. Ada C. Bowles of Massachusetts; Lucy Stone and + Henry B. Blackwell of New Jersey, and Mary A. Livermore of + Illinois. A public meeting will also be held the evening before + the convention, which will be addressed by some of the eminent + speakers above named. The Hutchinson family will be present and + sing their woman suffrage songs. The Vermont Central, Passumpsic, + Rutland and Burlington and Bennington and Rutland lines of + railroad will extend the courtesy of free return checks, provided + they shall be applied for by twenty-five or more persons paying + full fare one way over an average distance of each of their + respective roads, which will be determined by the secretary. + + C. W. WILLARD, JAMES HUTCHINSON, JR., + GEORGE H. BIGELOW, CHARLES REED, + NEWMAN WEEKS, JONATHAN ROSS, + JAMES S. PECK. + _Ex. Com. Vermont Woman Suffrage Association_.[195] + + _Montpelier_, January 10, 1870. + +It is a noticeable fact that the movement for the enfranchisement +of woman in Vermont was inaugurated wholly by men. Not a woman was +on its official board, nor was there one to speak in the State. Men +called the first woman's rights convention, and chose Hon. Charles +Reed of Montpelier as its presiding officer, as well as president +of the State association. + +However, these gentlemen invited ladies from other States, and a +series of meetings[196] was inaugurated through the chief towns and +cities of Vermont. The speakers[197] were heartily welcomed at some +points and rudely received at others. The usual "free-love" cry was +started by some of the opposition papers--a cry that like "infidel" +in the anti-slavery days, oft' times frightened even the faithful +from their propriety. Henry B. Blackwell came to the rescue, and +ably answered the _Vermont Watchman_: + + The _Vermont Watchman_ evades the discussion of the question + whether women shall be entitled to vote, by raising false issues. + The editor asserts that "many of the advocates of suffrage have + thrown scorn upon marriage and upon the Divine Word." That + assertion we denounced as an unfounded and wicked calumny. We + also objected to it as an evasion of the main question. Thereupon + the _Watchman_, instead of correcting its mistake and discussing + the question of suffrage, repeats the charge, and seeks to + sustain it by garbled quotations and groundless assertions, which + we stigmatized accordingly. The _Watchman_ now calls upon us to + retract the stigma. We prefer to prove that our censure is + deserved, and proceed to do so. + + The first quotation of the _Watchman_ is from an editorial in the + _Woman's Journal_, entitled "Political Organization." The object + of which was to show the propriety of doing what the _Watchman_ + refuses to do--viz.: of discussing woman suffrage upon its own + merits. It showed the unfairness of complicating the question + with other topics upon which friends of woman suffrage honestly + differ. It regretted that "many well-meaning people insist on + dragging in their peculiar views on theology, temperance, + marriage, race, dress, finance, labor, capital--it matters not + what." It condemned "a confusion of ideas which have no logical + connection," and protested "against loading the good ship, Woman + Suffrage, with a cargo of irrelevant opinions." The _Watchman_ + cites this article as an admission that some of the friends of + suffrage advocate free-love. Not at all. The editor of the + _Watchman_ is himself one of the well-meaning people alluded to. + He insists on dragging in irrelevant theological and social + questions. He refuses to confine himself to the issue of + suffrage. The _Watchman_ quotes a single sentence of the + following statement: + + The advocates of woman's equality differ utterly upon every + other topic. Some are abolitionists, others hostile to the + equality of races. Some are evangelical Christians; others + Catholics, Unitarians, Spiritualists, or Quakers. Some hold + the most rigid theories with regard to marriage and divorce; + others are latitudinarian on these questions. In short, + people of the most opposite views agree in desiring to + establish woman suffrage, while they anticipate very + different results from the reform, when effected. + + The above is cited as evidence against us. How so? A man may hold + "latitudinarian theories in regard to marriage and divorce" + without "throwing scorn upon the marriage relation," or having + the slightest sympathy with free-love. For instance: The present + law of Vermont is latitudinarian is these very particulars. It + grants divorce for many other causes than adultery. Measured by + the more conservative standard of Henry Ward Beecher and Mary A. + Livermore, it allows divorce upon insufficient grounds. This law + represents the public sentiment of a majority of the people of + Vermont. Will the _Watchman_ assert that the people of Vermont + "throw scorn on the marriage relation"? Or that he is in "low + company" because he is surrounded by the citizens of a State who + entertain views upon the marriage relation less rigid than his + own? Our indignant protest against the injustice of the common + law, which subjects the person, property, earnings and children + of married women to the irresponsible control of their husbands, + is not a protest against marriage. It is a vindication of + marriage, against the barbarism of the law which degrades a + noble and life-long partnership of equals into a mercenary and + servile relation between superior and dependant. + + The _Watchman_ assails prominent supporters of woman suffrage, + and misquotes and misrepresents them. Because Theodore Tilton is + unwilling "that men or women shall be compelled to live together + as husband and wife against the inward protest of their own + souls," therefore he is charged with advocating free-love. Is it + possible that the editor regards such a relation of protest and + disgust as consistent with the unity of Christian marriage? Is it + right that a pure and noble man, the tender husband of a happy + wife, the loving father of affectionate children, should be thus + causelessly traduced for showing that the essential fact of + marriage is in that unity of soul which is recognized and + affirmed by the outward form? When the _Watchman_ undertakes to + brand men and women of irreproachable character for an + intellectual difference, he is engaged in a very unworthy + business. When he charges immorality upon the _New York + Independent_ and infidelity upon John Stuart Mill, he forgets + that his readers have minds of their own. + + But, suppose it were true that newspapers and individuals who + believe in woman suffrage held objectionable views on other + subjects, what has this to do with the merit of the proposed + reform? There are impure and intemperate men in the Republican + party. Is the Republican party therefore "low company"? There are + brutal and ignorant and disloyal men in the Democratic party. + Does this prove that Dr. Lord and every other Democrat in the + State of Vermont is brutal and ignorant and disloyal? The Supreme + Court of the United States has just decided that a divorce + obtained under the laws of Indiana is legal and binding in every + other State. In thus affirming Mrs. McFarland's right to marry + Mr. Richardson, has the Supreme Court of the United States + sanctioned free-love? Will the _Watchman_ call Chief-Justice + Chase and the Supreme Court free-lovers? We have very little hope + that the _Watchman_ will treat this question with fairness or + candor. Our cause is too strong. The argument from reason, from + revelation, from nature, from history, is on our side. The + _Watchman_ is fighting against the Declaration of Independence, + the bill of rights of the State of Vermont, and the principles of + representative government. No wonder that it raises false issues. + No wonder that it evades the question. + + H. B. B. + +The following editorial in the _Woman's Journal_, from the pen of +Mary A. Livermore, does not give a very rose-colored view of the +reception of the Massachusetts missionaries on their first advent +into Vermont: + + The Vermont constitutional convention has rejected a proposition + to give the ballot to woman, by a vote of 231 to 1. It flouted + all discussion of the question, and voted it down with the utmost + alacrity. No one cognizant of the bigotry, narrowness and general + ignorance that prevail there will be surprised at this result. It + is not a progressive State, but the contrary. Great stress has + been laid on the fact that "Vermont never owned a slave"--and + from this it has been argued that the Green Mountain State is + and has been especially liberty-loving. But during the two brief + visits we made last winter, we were told again and again, by + Vermont men, that the only reason for the non-introduction of + slavery was the impracticability of that form of labor among the + Green Mountains--that slavery could never have been made + profitable there, and that this, and not principle and heroic + love of freedom, prevented Vermont from ever being a slave State. + Nowhere, not even in the roughest and remotest West, have we met + with such vulgar rudeness, ill-manners and heroic lying as we + encountered in Vermont. The lecturers who were invited into the + State by the Vermont Woman Suffrage Association, composed wholly + of men, were in many instances left unsupported by them, allowed + to meet the frequently rough audiences as best they could, to pay + their own bills, and to manage the campaign as they might. At the + very first intimation of opposition on the part of the + _Montpelier Argus_, the _Watchman_ and the _Burlington Free + Press_--an unworthy trio of papers that appear to control the + majority--many members of the State association showed the "white + feather," and either apologetically backed out of the canvass, or + ignominiously kept silent in the background. There was, + therefore, nothing like a thorough discussion of the question, no + fair meeting of truth and error, not even an attempt to canvass + the State. For, not ambitious to waste their efforts on such + flinty soil, the men and women who were invited to labor there + shook off the dust (snow) of Vermont from their feet, and turned + to more hopeful fields of labor. + + Let it not be supposed, however, that this vote of the delegates + of the constitutional convention is any indication of the + sentiment of the women on this question. The fact that 231 women + of lawful age, residents of Brattleborough, and 96 of Newfane, + sent a petition for woman suffrage, with their reasons for asking + it, to Charles K. Field, delegate from that town to the + constitutional convention; that petitions from other hundreds of + women have been forwarded to congress, praying for a sixteenth + amendment; that, by letters and personal statements, we know the + most intelligent and thoughtful women everywhere rebel against + the State laws whose heathenism, despotism and absurdity were so + well shown by Mrs. Nichols in 1845--all these facts are proofs + that the sentiment of Vermont women is not represented by the + constitutional convention now in session at Montpelier.--[M. A. + L. + +August 12, 1871, our Burlington correspondent says: + + While conventions, picnics and bazar meetings, in the cause of + woman suffrage, have been held in our sister States, an event has + very quietly occurred with us which we deem an important step in + the right direction, viz.: the admission of women to the + University. By an almost unanimous vote of the corporation, a few + conservatives opposing it, the matter was referred to the + faculty, who are understood to be heartily in favor of the "new + departure." The college that has thus thrown its doors wide open + to all, is the University of Vermont and State Agricultural + College, founded by the munificence of General Ira Allen in 1791. + It commenced operations in 1800; the Federal troops used its + buildings for barracks in the war of 1812; the buildings (and + library) were burned in 1824, and reconstructed in the following + year, when the corner-stone was laid by General Lafayette. It + sent forth nearly all its sons to the great rebellion. Indeed, at + one time its condition served to remind one of the lines of + Holmes-- + + "Lord, how the _Senior_ knocked about + That Freshman class of _one_." + + It has graduated such men as the late Senator Collamer, John G. + Smith, president of the Northern Pacific Railroad; William G. T. + Shedd, the learned theologian; the late Henry J. Raymond of the + New York _Times_; John A. Kasson of Iowa, Frederick Billings, and + a host of others, eminent in all the walks of life. Its late + president, who was an "Angell from Providence," and has just been + elected president of Michigan University, is heartily in favor of + the movement, and the president-elect, Matthew H. Buckham, is no + less so. With its new president and its "new departure" the + future bids fair even to outshine the past. + + It may be well to inquire the reason why a college located in a + State regarded by outsiders "as the most conservative of the + Union on the woman suffrage question," should take a step so far + in advance of what has been deemed the prevailing sentiment. + Editors who have been battling the new reform with a zeal equaled + only by that manifested against abolitionism a few years since, + can see no necessary connection between the new movement and the + general cause of woman's emancipation. Whether necessary or not, + there is a practical connection between them which is being felt + more and more every day. I assert, with no fear of contradiction + by any observing man, that Vermont is no more committed against + woman suffrage than any other State in the East, and the fact + that but one man in our late convention voted to extend the right + of suffrage to all, can well be explained when we consider the + manner of choosing delegates by towns; one town, for instance, + with twelve voters, having the same voice in the representation + that this city has with 1,500. With a popular vote upon that + question the State would give such a majority as would fairly + astonish all those who regarded the late convention as a complete + demolition of the "reformers." + + ST. ANDREW. + +The following criticism of the Rev. Mr. Holmes, from the pen of a +woman, shows the growing self-assertion of a class hitherto held in +a condition of subordination by clerical authority. Such +tergiversation in the pulpit as his has done much to emancipate +woman from the reverence she once felt for the teaching of those +supposed to be divinely ordained of heaven: + + BENSON, Vt., June 20, 1871. + + I have heard it stated from the pulpit within a year that the + woman suffrage question in Vermont is dead. Well, we believe in + the resurrection. Week by week this question of the hour and of + the age confronts those who claim to have given it decent burial. + The same clergyman who pronounced it dead has since spoken of it + as one of the "growing evils of the times," and in this beautiful + summer weather he has felt called upon to preach another sermon, + ostensibly on "marriage," really upon this "dead question," + dragging it out to daylight again, that we might see how easily + he could bury it fifty fathoms deep--with mud. It reminded me of + Robert Laird Collier's sermon, "The Folly of the Woman Movement," + in its logic and its spirit. Mr. Collier and our Mr. Holmes see + but one thing in all this struggle for truth and justice, and + that is "free-love." Here are some specimens of Mr. Holmes' + assertions: + + The advocates of woman's rights want, not the ballot so much + as the dissolution of the marriage tie. They propose to form + a tie for the term of five, six or seven years. Mark the men + or women who are the most strenuous advocates of woman + suffrage. They are irreligious and immoral. + + Who are more strenuous advocates of woman suffrage than Mrs. + Julia Ward Howe, Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mrs. Isabella + Beecher Hooker, Mrs. Lucy Stone, Mrs. Lucretia Mott, Mrs. + Livermore, T. W. Higginson, Henry Ward Beecher, Bishop Simpson, + Governor Claflin, Gilbert Haven, Wendell Phillips, and scores of + others whose lives are as pure and intellects as fine as his who + dares stand in the sacred desk and call these persons + "irreligious and immoral"? His argument seems to be like this: + Some advocates of woman suffrage are in favor of easy divorces. + These men and women advocate woman suffrage; therefore these men + and women are in favor of easy divorces. Or, to make the matter + still plainer, some ministers of the Gospel are immoral. Mr. H. + is a minister of the Gospel; therefore Mr. H. is immoral. The + method of reasoning is the same, but it don't sound quite fair + and honorable, does it? + + "In our land woman is a queen; she is loved and cared for," says + Mr. Holmes. In sight from the window where I write is a sad + commentary upon this. One of these queens, so tenderly cared for, + is hoeing corn, while her five-months-old baby--the youngest of + nine children--lies on the grass while she works. Her husband is + away from home, but has left word for the "old woman" to "take + care of the corn and potatoes, for he has to support the family." + When they are out of meat, she must go out washing and earn some, + for "he has to support the family," and cannot have her idle. Not + long since they were planting corn together, she doing as much as + he. At noon, although she had a pail of milk and another of eggs, + he brought her the two hoes to carry home, as he could not be + troubled with them. Had he ever read: + + "I will be master of what is my own; + She is my goods, my chattels-- + My horse, my ox, my ass, my anything"? + + "No woman reaches such dignity as the New England wife and + mother," says Mr. H. Is wifehood more honorable, or motherhood + more sacred, in New England than in other places? Is to be a wife + and mother, and nothing else, the sole end and aim of woman? Or + is there not other work in God's universe which some woman may + possibly be called upon to do? Is Florence Nightingale or Anna + Dickinson less dignified than Mrs. John Smith, who happens + physically to be the mother of half-a-dozen children, but + mentally and morally is as much of a child as any of them? + + "Woman has just the sphere she wants. She has more privileges + than she could vote herself into," says Mr. H. Has she, indeed? I + know women, who would gladly vote themselves into the privilege + of having the custody of their own children, whose husbands are + notoriously drunken and licentious. They are pure, good women, + who, rather than part with their children, live on with men whose + very breath is pollution. I know others who would like to vote + themselves into the privilege of retaining their own hard + earnings instead of having them sacrificed by a drunken husband. + Widows have been literally turned out of doors after their + husbands' death, and the property they had helped to accumulate + divided among those who never earned it. Do you think such women + would not change the laws of inheritance if they had the power? + + "Husband and wife are one, hence one vote is sufficient," says + Mr. H. Follow out the reasoning, if you please. "Both one," hence + one dinner is sufficient, "both one," hence if a man is a member + of a church his wife is also. In plain English, "the husband and + wife are both one," and the husband is that one. Now in case + _that one_ should die, is it fair, or just, or fitting, that the + widow--"the relict"--or, in the words of Mr. H., "the feminine + spirit that has supplemented this masculine nature," whose hands + have been tied all these years, should be called upon to pay + taxes upon the share of property the law allows her? Taxation + without representation was the immediate cause of the famous + tea-party in Boston harbor, and, in fact, of a good many other + unpleasant things that followed. + + "Woman has just the sphere she wants," says Mr. H., closing the + discussion. No, sir, she has not. Had those young ladies in + Philadelphia who were studying medicine, and were insulted day + after day by the male medical students, the sphere they wanted? + Our American girls have been to Europe for the sake of pursuing + their studies in medicine, and have met with kindness and + courtesy, while in this land, where they are called "queens," + they received only hisses. Last winter Governor Claflin of + Massachusetts--one of those "irreligious and immoral" advocates + of woman suffrage--reminded the gentlemen of that State who claim + to be woman's representatives in the legislature, "that a wife in + that State is deprived of the free control of property that was + her own before marriage, and is denied an equal right in the + property accumulated during the marriage partnership; that a + married mother has no legal right to her child; and that a widow + has not equal rights with a widower." When woman has the sphere + she wants, these things will be changed. + + As a majority of the men in this community are opposed to woman + suffrage, I will relate one circumstance that will do to "point a + moral or adorn a tale." Of course, the voters in this or any + other place always elect their best men to hold office, and the + board of selectmen would naturally be the very wisest and best, + the "_creme de la creme_." Now it so happens that one selectman + being away from home, there was not enough arithmetic left with + the other two to make out the tax-bills for the town, and they + hired a woman, the mother of two children, to do it for them. It + certainly took more of her time than it would for her to have + walked across the street and voted for men who could make out + their own tax-bills. Then arithmetic is not a womanly + accomplishment, like tatting, crocheting, etc. These things sink + into our hearts, and will bear fruit in due season. + + SARAH A. GIBBS. + +In 1877, July 21, Miss Thyrza F. Pangborn, for the last six years +the capable and efficient recorder in the probate office of +Burlington, was appointed and sworn as a notary public. In a letter +of December 7, 1872, our correspondent says: + + In the year 1870, the world was somewhat startled by the fact + that in the constitutional convention, held that year in Vermont, + but one vote was cast for the enfranchisement of woman; and no + one wonders that the friends of that movement exclaimed, "Can any + good come out of--Vermont"? Yesterday the first biennial session + of the legislature closed its session of fifty-seven days. A bill + has been pending in each House, giving female tax-payers a right + to vote at all school-district meetings. It was advocated by Mr. + Butterfield, one of the leading members of the House, in an able + and learned speech, and received 64 votes to 103 against. Is not + that doing well for such a staid old State as Vermont, and one + where the enemies of equal suffrage supposed, two years since, + that the measure was indefinitely postponed? But this is not all. + The measure was introduced in the Senate, composed of thirty + members, who are supposed to be the balance-wheel of the General + Assembly. It was warmly discussed by several Senators, and the + vote taken, when there were three members absent, resulting in, + yeas 13, nays 14. Had the Senate been full, the vote would have + been, yeas 14,[198] nays 16. A change of one of the "no" votes + would have carried the measure, as the lieutenant-governor, who + presides in the Senate, would have given the casting vote in its + favor. + + The supporters of the measure included some of the ablest members + of the Senate, among them the chairmen of the very important + Committees on Finance, Claims, Education, Agriculture, + Manufactures, Railroads and Printing. + + Following the defeat of the above-mentioned bill came up a + measure granting to women the same right to vote as men have in + all elections everywhere in the State. It received the support of + all who voted for the school measure, save two, Mr. Mason and Mr. + Rogers, who prefer to see the first tried as an experiment in the + school meetings. You thus perceive that twelve out of our thirty + grave and reverend Senators are real out-and-out equal suffrage + men. Verily, the world moves! Another year, 1874, we hope will + carry off the measure. Meanwhile, we say, three cheers for old + Vermont, and glory enough for one day! + + ST. ANDREW. + + _Burlington, Vt._ + +In 1880 the School Suffrage bill passed the Vermont House of +Representatives, with only four dissenting votes. When the bill +came to a third reading and only four men stood up for the +negative, there was so marked an expression of derision that the +speaker called for "order," and reminded the House that "no man was +to be scorned for voting alone any more than with a crowd." The +action and the voting came cheerily. More than one man, to the +objection of "an entering wedge," said "he was ready to grant the +whole." The bill passed the Senate triumphantly and was approved by +the governor, December 18, 1880: + + Women shall have the same right to vote as men have, in all + school-district meetings and in the election of school + commissioners in towns and cities, and the same right to + hold office relating to school affairs. + +An item in the _Woman's Journal_, from Vergennes, March 22, 1881, +says: + + At the city election to-day General J. H. Lucia, a staunch friend + of woman suffrage, was elected mayor, and principally through his + management Miss Electa S. Smith has been chosen to the office of + city clerk, which office he has held for the past two years. The + legislature of 1880 authorized the election of women to the + offices of superintendent of schools and town clerk, and some of + the friends of the cause were disposed to try the working of the + law here. They selected a candidate whose ability, qualifications + and thorough fitness all had to concede, and against whom the + only objection that could be raised was her being a woman. It + took the conservatives some time to get over their surprise at + the first suggestion of her name, but they admitted the propriety + of the thing and gallantly lent a hand, so that when the election + came all the candidates who had been talked about were + conspicuous by their absence, and Miss Smith was elected by + acclamation. Surely the world does move. + + SPRINGFIELD, February 7, 1884. + + _Miss Lydia Putnam, Brattleboro', Vt.:_ + + Your letter is at hand. I think but few women have, as yet, + availed themselves of the privilege of voting in school meetings + in this State, and I am not able to say what the effect upon our + schools has been up to the present time. + + Very respectfully, JUSTUS DARTT. + +Notwithstanding the above reply from the state-superintendent of +the public schools of Vermont, the Associated Press reports of +every year[199] since 1881 make mention of women being elected to +school offices in the various towns and counties of the State. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[194] No woman in so many varied fields of action has more steadily +and faithfully labored than Mrs. Nichols, as editor, speaker, +teacher, farmer, in Vermont, New York, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio, +Kansas, and California where she spent the closing years of her +life; and though always in circumstances of hardship and privation, +yet no annual convention was held without a long letter from her +pen, uniformly the most cheerful and able of all that were +received. A great soul that seemed to rise above the depressing +influences of her surroundings! The last letter she ever wrote us +was in January, 1885, a few days before she passed away. See Volume +I., page 171. + +[195] Officers of the Vermont Woman Suffrage Association: +_President_, Hon. Charles Reed, Montpelier. _Vice-presidents_, Hon. +John B. Hollister, Bennington; Hon. Seneca M. Dorr, Rutland; Rev. +Addison Brown, Brattleboro'; Col. Lynus E. Knapp, Middlebury; Hon. +James Hutchinson, jr., West Randolph; Hon. Russell S. Taft, +Burlington; Hon. A. J. Willard, St. Johnsbury; Hon. H. Henry +Powers, Hyde Park; Hon. Jasper Rand, St. Albans. _Recording +Secretary_, Henry Clark, Rutland. _Corresponding Secretary_, Albert +Clarke, St. Albans. _Treasurer_, Albert D. Hager, Proctorsville. +_Executive Committee_, Hon. C. W. Willard, Montpelier; Hon. Charles +Reed, Montpelier; George H Bigelow, Burlington; Newman Weeks, +Rutland; Hon. Jonathan Ross, St. Johnsbury; Rev. Eli Ballou, D. D., +Montpelier. + +[196] Following the convention at Montpelier, meetings were held at +St. Albans, Northfield, Barre, Burlington, St. Johnsbury, +Brattleboro', Rutland, Fairhaven, Castleton, Springfield and +Bellows Falls. + +[197] Among the speakers were Mr. Garrison, Mrs. Howe, Mrs. Stone, +Leo Miller, Mrs. Churchill, Mrs. Livermore, Mrs. Campbell, Dr. +Sarah Hathaway, Mrs. Bowles, Mr. Blackwell, Hon. A. J. Williard. +Mr. Taft, Mr. Clark, Judge Carpenter, Mr. Ivison, the Rev. Messrs. +Brigham, Eastwood, Brown and Emerson. + +[198] The fourteen who favored the bill were: Mr. Bigelow of +Burlington, one of the leading editors in the State; Mr. +Butterfield of Grafton, one of the most experienced legislators in +the State; Mr. Carpenter of Northfield, who is known to be right on +all questions that concern humanity, Mr. Colton of Irasburgh, now +serving his second term in the Senate; Mr. Estey of Brattleboro', +the manufacturer of the celebrated cottage organ; Mr. Houghton of +North Bennington, a leading banker and business man who has just +been elected one of the directors of our state-prison; Mr. King of +North Montpelier, farmer; Mr. Lamb of Royalton, the oldest member +in the Senate, a lawyer; Mr. Mason of Richmond, a man who would be +described by a Yankee as "chock full of honesty and common-sense"; +Mr. Rogers of Wheelock and Mr. Stiles of Montgomery, both farmers, +and as near like Mr. Mason as two peas are alike; Mr. Reynolds of +Alburgh Springs, one of the absentees, but in favor of the bill, a +prominent merchant; Mr. Powers, one of the ablest lawyers in the +State, and, finally, Mr. Sprague of Brandon, a leading banker and +manufacturer, the head and principal owner of the Brandon +Manufacturing Company. + +[199] In 1885 there were thirty-three women elected to the office +of school superintendent in eleven of the fourteen counties of the +State, as follows: _Addison_, Miss A. L. Huntley; _Bennington_, +Mrs. R. R. Wiley; _Caledonia_, Miss Nellie Russell, Mrs. A. F. +Stevens, Mrs. E. Bradley, Miss S. E. Rogers; _Chittenden_, Mrs. S. +M. Benedict, Mrs. L. M. Bates, Mrs. J. C. Draper; _Essex_, Mrs. +Henry Fuller, Hettie W. Matthews, Jennie K. Stanley, Mrs. S. M. +Day; _Franklin_, none; _Grand Isle_, Miss I. Montgomery; _La +Moille_, Carrie P. Carroll, Miss C. A. Parker; _Orange_, Miss F. H. +Graves, Miss A. A. Clement, Miss V. L. Farnham, Miss F. Martin; +_Orleans_, none; _Rutland_, Mrs. I. C. Adams, Miss H. M. +Bromley, Miss M. A. Mills, Lillian Tarbell, Mrs. H. M. Crowley; +_Washington_, none; _Windham_, Mrs. J. M. Powers, Mrs. J. E. +Phelps; _Windsor_, Mrs. E. G. White, Miss C. A. Lamb, Mrs. H. F. +VanCor, Clara E. Perkins, Mrs. E. M. Lovejoy, Mrs. L. M. Hall. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII. + +NEW YORK--1860-1885. + + Saratoga Convention, July 13, 14, 1869--State Society Formed, + Martha C. Wright, President--_The Revolution_ Established, + 1868--Educational Movement--New York City Society, 1870, + Charlotte B. Wilbour, President--Presidential Campaign, + 1872--Hearings at Albany, 1873--Constitutional Commission--An + Effort to Open Columbia College, President Barnard in + Favor--Centennial Celebration, 1876--School Officers--Senator + Emerson of Monroe, 1877--Gov. Robinson's Veto--School Suffrage, + 1880--Gov. Cornell Recommended it in his Message--Stewart's Home + for Working Women--Women as Police--An Act to Prohibit + Disfranchisement--Attorney-General Russell's Adverse Opinion--The + Power of the Legislature to Extend Suffrage--Great Demonstration + in Chickering Hall, March 7, 1884--Hearing at Albany, 1885--Mrs. + Blake, Mrs. Stanton, Mrs. Rogers, Mrs. Howell, Gov. Hoyt of + Wyoming. + + +The New York chapter in Volume I. closes with an account of some +retrogressive legislation on the rights of married women,[200] +showing that until woman herself has a voice in legislation her +rights may be conceded or withheld at the option of the ruling +powers, and that her only safety is in direct representation. The +chapter on "Trials and Decisions" in Volume II., shows the +injustice women have suffered in the courts, where they have never +yet enjoyed the sacred right of trial by a jury of their own peers. + +After many years of persistent effort for the adjustment of special +grievances, many of the leaders, seeing by what an uncertain tenure +their civil rights were maintained by the legislative and judicial +authorities, ceased to look to the State for redress, and turned to +the general government for protection in the right of suffrage, the +fundamental right by which all minor privileges and immunities are +protected. Hence the annual meeting of the National Association, +which had been regularly held in New York as one of the May +anniversaries, was, from 1869, supplemented by a semi-annual +convention in Washington for special influence upon congress. + +Until the war the work in New York was conducted by a central +committee; but in the summer of 1869, the following call was issued +for a convention at Saratoga Springs, to organize a State Society: + + The advocates of woman suffrage will hold a State convention at + Saratoga Springs on the thirteenth and fourteenth of July, 1869. + The specific business of this convention will be to effect a + permanent organization for the State of New York. Our friends in + the several congressional districts should at once elect their + delegates, in order that the whole State may be represented in + the convention. In districts where delegates cannot be elected, + any person can constitute himself or herself a representative. + The convention will be attended by the ablest advocates of + suffrage for woman, and addresses may be expected from Elizabeth + Cady Stanton, president of the National Association, Celia + Burleigh, president of the Brooklyn Equal Rights Association, + Matilda Joslyn Gage, advisory counsel for the State, Susan B. + Anthony, of _The Revolution_, Charlotte B. Wilbour of New York + city, and others. Every woman interested for her personal freedom + should attend this convention, and by her presence, influence and + money, aid the movement for the restoration of the rights of her + sex. + + Mrs. ELIZABETH B. PHELPS, + _Vice-President for the State of New York_. + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, _Advisory Counsel_. + +The opening session of the convention was held in the spacious +parlors of Congress Hall the audience composed chiefly of +fashionable ladies[201] from all parts of the country, who listened +with evident interest and purchased the tracts intended for +distribution. The remaining sessions were held in Hawthorn Hall, +Matilda Joslyn Gage presiding. A series of spirited resolutions was +adopted, also a plan of organization presented by Charlotte B. +Wilbour, for a State association.[202] Many able speakers[203] were +present. The formation of this society was the result of a very +general agitation in different localities on several vital +questions in the preceding year: + +_First_--On taxation. Women being large property holders, had felt +the pressure during the war, especially of the tax on incomes, and +had resolved on resistance: Accordingly, large meetings[204] were +called at various points, in 1868. While women of wealth were +organizing to resist taxation, the working women[205] were uniting +to defend their earnings, and secure better wages. It seemed for a +few months as if they were in a chronic condition of rebellion. But +after many vain struggles for redress in the iron teeth of the law, +and equally vain appeals to have unjust laws amended, the women +learned the hopelessness of all efforts made by disfranchised +classes. + +_Second_--On prostitution. For the first time in the history of the +government, a bill was presented in the New York legislature, in +1868, proposing to license prostitution. This showed the +degradation of woman's position as no other act of legislation +could have done, and although the editors of _The Revolution_ were +the only women who publicly opposed the bill (which they did both +before the committee of the legislature, and in their journal), yet +there was in the minds of many, a deep undercurrent of resistance +to the odious provisions of that bill. Horace Greeley, too, in his +editorials in the New York _Tribune_, denounced the proposition in +such unmeasured terms that, although pressed at three different +legislative sessions, no member of the committee could be found +with sufficient moral hardihood to present the bill. + +In connection with this question, the necessity of "women as +police," was for some time a topic of discussion. They had proved +so efficient in many cases, that it was seriously proposed to have +a standing force in New York and Brooklyn, to look after young +girls,[206] new to the temptations and dangers of city life. In +_The Revolution_ of March 26, 1868, we find the following: + + It is often asked, would you make women police officers? It has + already been done. At least a society of women exists in this + country, for the discovery of crimes, conspiracies and such + things. The chief of this band was Mrs. Kate Warn, a native of + this State, who lately died in Chicago. She was engaged in this + business, fifteen years ago, by Mr. Pinkerton, of the National + Police Agency. She did good service for many years in watching, + waylaying, exploring and detecting; especially on the critical + occasion of President Lincoln's journey to Washington in 1861. In + 1865 she was sent to New Orleans, as head of the Female Police + Department there. + +There was a general movement in these years for the more liberal +education of women in various departments of art and industry, as +well as in letters. First on the list stands Vassar College, +founded in 1861, richly endowed with fine grounds and spacious +buildings. We cannot estimate the civilizing influence of the +thousands of young women graduating at that institution, now, as +cultivated wives and mothers, presiding in households all over this +land. Cornell University[207] was opened to girls in 1872, more +richly endowed than Vassar, and in every way superior in its +environments; beautifully situated on the banks of Cayuga Lake, +with the added advantage and stimulus of the system of coeducation. +To Andrew D. White, its president, all women owe a debt of +gratitude for his able and persevering advocacy of the benefits to +both sexes, of coeducation. The university at Syracuse, in which +Lima College was incorporated, is also open alike to boys and +girls. Rochester University,[208] Brown, Columbia, Union, Hamilton, +and Hobart College at Geneva, still keep their doors barred against +the daughters of the State, and the three last, in the small number +of their students, and their gradual decline, show the need of the +very influence they exclude. Could all the girls desiring an +education in and around Rochester, Geneva,[209] Clinton and +Schenectady, enter these institutions, the added funds and +enthusiasm they would thus receive would soon bring them renewed +life and vigor. + +Peter Cooper and Catharine Beecher's efforts for the working +classes of women were equally praiseworthy. Miss Beecher formed +"The American Woman's Educational Association," for the purpose of +establishing schools all over the country for training girls in the +rudiments of learning and practical work. The Cooper Institute, +founded in 1854, by Peter Cooper, has been invaluable in its +benefits to the poorer classes of girls, in giving them advantages +in the arts and sciences, in evening as well as day classes. Here +both boys and girls have free admission into all departments, +including its valuable reading-room and library. It had long been a +cherished desire of Mr. Cooper to found an institution to be +devoted forever to the union of art and science in their +application to the useful purposes of life. The School of Design is +specially for women. + +The Ladies Art Association of New York was founded in 1867, now +numbering over one hundred members. One of the most important +things accomplished by this society has been the preparation of +thoroughly educated teachers, many of whom are now filling +positions in Southern and Western colleges. + + NEW YORK, June 3, 1869. + + EDITORS OF THE REVOLUTION: Inclosed please find the report of a + meeting of New York ladies to consider the important subject of + woman's education. The within slip will show that this is a + movement quite as earnest and pronounced as the woman suffrage + agitation of the day, and more in consonance with prevailing + public opinion. We trust that you will aid the effort by + inserting the report and resolutions into your columns, and add + at least a brief editorial notice. + + Very respectfully, MRS. MARSHALL O. ROBERTS. + + + IMPORTANT MEETING OF NEW YORK LADIES.--WOMAN'S EDUCATION.--On + Monday, the 31st of May, a large number of influential ladies + gathered at Dr. Taylor's, corner Sixth avenue and Thirty-eighth + street, in response to the call of the secretary of The American + Woman's Educational Association. A meeting was organized, Mrs. + Marshall O. Roberts presiding, and after a long and interesting + discussion the following resolutions were unanimously passed. It + is proper to state that the society has been an organized and + efficient power in woman's education for over twenty years. The + object of its present action is to forward a movement to secure + endowed institutions for the training of women to their special + duties and professions as men are trained for theirs, + particularly the science and duties of home-life: + + _Resolved_, That one cause of the depressed condition of + woman is the fact that the distinctive profession of her + sex, as the nurse of infancy and of the sick, as educator of + childhood, and as the chief minister of the family state, + has not been duly honored, nor such provision been made for + its scientific and practical training as is accorded to the + other sex for their professions; and that it is owing to + this neglect that women are driven to seek honor and + independence in the institutions and the professions of men. + + _Resolved_, That the science of domestic economy, in its + various branches, involves more important interests than any + other human science; and that the evils suffered by women + would be extensively remedied by establishing institutions + for training woman for her profession, which shall be as + generously endowed as are the institutions of men, many of + which have been largely endowed by women. + + _Resolved_, That the science of domestic economy should be + made a study in all institutions for girls; and that certain + practical employments of the family state should be made a + part of common school education, especially the art of + sewing, which is so needful for the poor; and that we will + use our influence to secure these important measures. + + _Resolved_, That every young woman should be trained to some + business by which she can earn an independent livelihood in + case of poverty. + + _Resolved_, That in addition to the various in-door + employments suitable for woman, there are other out-door + employments especially favorable to health and equally + suitable, such as raising fruits and flowers, the culture of + silk and cotton, the raising of bees and the superintendence + of dairy farms and manufactures. All of these offer avenues + to wealth and independence for women as properly as men, and + schools for imparting to women the science and practice of + these employments should be provided and as liberally + endowed as are the agricultural schools for men. + + _Resolved_, That the American Woman's Educational + Association is an organization which aims to secure to women + these advantages, that its managers have our confidence, and + that we will cooeperate in its plans as far as we have + opportunity. + + _Resolved_, That the Protestant clergy would greatly aid in + these efforts by preaching on the honor and duties of the + family state. In order to this, we request their attention + to a work just published by Miss Beecher and Mrs. Stowe, + entitled "The American Woman's Home," which largely + discusses many important topics of this general subject, + while the authors have devoted most of their profits from + this work to promote the plans of the American Woman's + Educational Association. + + _Resolved_, That editors of the religious and secular press + will contribute important aid to an effort they must all + approve by inserting these resolutions in their columns. + +Among the influences that brought new thought to the question of +woman suffrage was the establishment of _The Revolution_ in 1868. +Radical and defiant in tone, it awoke friends and foes alike to +action. Some denounced it, some ridiculed it, but all read it. It +needed just such clarion notes sounded forth long and loud each +week to rouse the friends of the movement from the apathy into +which they had fallen after the war. One cannot read its glowing +pages to-day without appreciating the power it was just at that +crisis.[210] + +Miss Lucy B. Hobbs of New York was the first woman that ever +graduated in the profession of dentistry. She matriculated in the +Cincinnati Dental College in the fall of 1864--passing through a +full course of study, missing but two lectures, and those at the +request of the professor of anatomy. She graduated from that +institution in February, 1866. A letter from the dean of the +college testifies to her worth as follows: + + She was a woman of great energy and perseverance. Studious in her + habits, modest and unassuming, she had the respect and kind + regard of every member of the class and faculty. As an operator + she was not surpassed by her associates. Her opinion was asked + and her assistance sought in difficult cases almost daily by her + fellow-students. And though the class of which she was a member + was one of the largest ever in attendance, it excelled all + previous ones in good order and decorum--a condition largely due + to the presence of a lady. In the final examination she was + second to none. + +Having received her diploma, she opened an office in Iowa; from +thence she removed to Chicago, and practiced successfully. The +following letter from Mrs. Taylor (formerly Miss Hobbs) gives +further interesting details. Writing to Matilda Joslyn Gage, she +says: + + I am grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to place in + history the fact of my study of dentistry. I was born in Franklin + county, New York, in 1833. You ask my reason for entering the + profession. It was to be independent. I first studied medicine, + but did not like the practice. My preceptor, Professor Cleveland, + advised me to try dentistry, and I commenced with Dr. Samuel + Warde of Cincinnati, finishing my studies in March, 1861. At that + time the faculty of the Ohio Dental College would not permit me + to attend, and there was not a college in the United States that + would admit me, and no amount of persuasion could change their + minds. So far as I know, I was the first woman who had ever taken + instruction of a private tutor. + + I went to Iowa to commence practice, and was so successful that + the dentists of the State insisted I should be allowed to attend + the college. Their efforts prevailed, and I graduated from the + Ohio Dental College at Cincinnati in the spring of 1866--the + first woman in the world to take a diploma from a dental college. + I am a New-Yorker by birth, but I love my adopted country--the + West. To it belongs the credit of making it possible for women to + be recognized in the dental profession on equal terms with men. + Should you wish any further proof, write to Dr. Watt, who was + professor of chemistry at the time I graduated, and I know he + will take pleasure in giving you any additional information. + +As early as 1866 a system of safe-deposit companies was inaugurated +in New York, which has proved a boon to women, enabling them to +keep any private papers they may wish to preserve. In 1880, we find +the following in the _National Citizen_: + + A ladies' exchange for railroad and mining stocks has been + started at 71 Broadway, New York. The rooms are provided with an + indicator, desks and such other conveniences as are required for + business. Messenger boys drop in and out, and a telephone + connects with the office of a prominent Wall-street brokerage + firm. Miss Mary E. Gage, daughter of Frances Dana Gage, is the + manager and proprietor of the business. In reply to the inquiries + of a _Graphic_ reporter, Miss Gage said she had found so much + inconvenience and annoyance in transacting her own operations in + stocks that she concluded to establish an office. After Miss Gage + was fairly settled, other women who labored under the same + disadvantages, began to drop in, their number increasing daily. A + ladies' stock exchange also exists at No. 40 Fourth street, under + charge of Mrs. Favor. The banking houses of Henry Clews and the + wealthy Russell Sage are said to be working in union with this + exchange. In January we chronicled the formation of a woman's + mining company and this month of a woman's stock exchange, each + of them an evidence of the wide range of business women are + entering. + +In _The Revolution_ of May 14, 1868, we find the following: + + SOROSIS.--This is the name of a new club of literary women, who + meet once a month and lunch at Delmonico's, to discuss questions + of art, science, literature and government. Alice Carey, who is + president, in her opening speech states the object of the club, + which is summed up in this brief extract: + + We have proposed the inculcation of deeper and broader ideas + among women, proposed to teach them to think for themselves + and get their opinions at first hand, not so much because it + is their right as because it is their duty. We have also + proposed to open new avenues of employment to women--to make + them less dependent and less burdensome--to lift them out of + unwomanly self-distrust and disqualifying diffidence into + womanly self-respect and self-knowledge. To teach them to + make all work honorable, by each doing the share that falls + to her, or that she may work out to herself agreeably to her + own special aptitude, cheerfully and faithfully--not going + down to it, but bringing it up to her. We have proposed to + enter our protest against all idle gossip, against all + demoralizing and wicked waste of time, also, against the + follies and the tyrannies of fashion, against all external + impositions and disabilities; in short, against each and + every thing that opposes the full development and use of the + faculties conferred upon us by our Creator. + + We most heartily welcome all movements for the cultivation of + individual thought and character in woman, and would recommend + the formation of such clubs throughout the country. The editors + of the New York press have made known their dissatisfaction that + no gentlemen were to be admitted into this charmed circle. After + a calm and dispassionate discussion of this question, it was + decided to exclude gentlemen, not because their society was not + most desirable and calculated to add brilliancy to the club, but + from a fear lest the natural reverence of woman for man might + embarrass her in beginning to reason and discuss; lest she should + be awed to silence by their superior presence. It was not because + they love man less, but their own improvement more. For the + comfort of these ostracised ones, we would suggest a hope for the + future. After these ladies become familiar with parliamentary + tactics, and the grave questions that are to come before them for + consideration, it is proposed to admit gentlemen to the + galleries, that they may enjoy the same privileges vouchsafed to + the fair sex in the past, to look down upon the feast, to listen + to the speeches, and to hear "the pale, thoughtful brow," "the + silken moustache," "the flowing locks," "the manly gait and form" + toasted in prose and verse. + +This club has met regularly ever since the day of its inauguration, +and has been remarkable for the harmony maintained by its members. +Mrs. Charlotte Wilbour was president for several years, until she +went to reside in Paris, in 1874. Since that time Mrs. Croly has +been, from year to year, elected to that office. Beginning with 12 +members,[211] this club now numbers 320. + +The most respected live-stock reporter in New York is a woman. Miss +Middie Morgan, pronounced the best judge of horned cattle in this +country. She can tell the weight of a beef on foot at a glance, and +reports the cattle market for the New York _Times_. A correspondent +says: + + Her father was a cattle-dealer, and taught her to handle + fearlessly the animals he delighted in. She learned to tell at a + glance the finest points of live-stock, and to doctor bovine and + equine ailments with the utmost skill. With all this, she became + a proficient in Italian and French, and a terse and rapid writer. + A few years ago, after her father's death, she traveled in Italy + with an invalid sister, having an eye to her pet passion--the + horse. While there she met Prince Poniatowsky, also an ardent + admirer of that animal. He mentioned her zooelogical + accomplishments to Victor Emanuel, and the consequence was Miss + Middie was deputed by His Majesty to purchase a hundred or so of + fine horses. She had charge of the blood-horses of King Victor + Emanuel, who owns the finest stud in Europe, and breeds horses of + a superior shape, vigor and fire. He beats Grant in his + admiration for that noble animal. When she decided to come to + this country, she made known the fact to Hon. George P. Marsh, + our minister to Italy; and he gave her a letter of recommendation + to Mr. Bigelow, of the _Times_, who employed her. She is an + expert among all kinds of animals. Her judgment about the + different breeds is sought after and much quoted. She can discuss + the nice points about cattle as easily as Rosa Bonheur can paint + them.[212] + +From the Woman's Journal, Oct. 1, 1870: + + Miss Barkaloo, the lady just admitted to the St. Louis bar as a + lawyer, and who has received a license to practice as + attorney-at-law from the Supreme Court of that State, is a native + of Brooklyn, N. Y., and is a woman of more than ordinary ability. + Two years ago, after having read Blackstone and other elementary + law-books, she made application for admission as a student at + Columbia College, New York, and was promptly refused. Nothing + daunted, she went to St. Louis, where she was admitted to the Law + School. For eighteen months she assiduously devoted her energies + to the study of the science, and her fellow-students all agreed + in declaring her by far the brightest member of the class. That + there was no question of her ability was clearly shown at her + examination. Judge Knight, although overflowing with gallantry, + gave the lady no quarter. The most abstruse and erudite questions + were propounded to the applicant, but not once did the judge + catch the fair student tripping. Miss Barkaloo was about 22 years + of age, of a fine figure, intelligent face and large, expressive + eyes. The St. Louis papers of last week reported her sudden death + of typhoid fever. According to custom, a meeting of the members + of the St. Louis bar was held to take suitable action and pay + respect to her memory. It was the first meeting of the kind in + the United States, and was largely attended, not only by the + young members of the bar, but by the most distinguished + attorneys. Miss Phoebe Couzins, herself a member of the Law + School, was in attendance, attired in deep mourning for the + recent death of a beloved sister. The following resolutions were + adopted: + + _Resolved_, That in the death of Miss Helena Barkaloo we + deplore the loss of the first of her sex ever admitted to + the bar of Missouri. + + _Resolved_, That in her erudition, industry and enterprise + we have to regret the loss of one who, in the morning of her + career, bade fair to reflect credit on our profession, and a + new honor upon her sex. + + _Resolved_, That our sympathy and condolence be extended to + the relatives of the deceased. + + Major Lucien Eaton, into whose office she had entered to seek + opportunities of perfecting herself in the knowledge of her + profession, said that-- + + He had been requested by an accomplished lady of St. Louis + to afford her that opportunity, and at first had hesitated + to do so; yet he felt that she should have a trial, and + when he took her into his office his conduct met with the + approbation of the legal fraternity generally. That + fraternity cordially sympathized with the efforts she was + making, and both old lawyers and young ones tried to put + business into her hands, the taking of depositions and other + such work as she could perform. He testified to finding her + a true woman; modest and retiring, carefully shunning all + unnecessary publicity, and avoiding all display. She was + earnest in her studies, and being gifted with a fine + intellect and a good judgment, gave promise of great + attainments. He had never known a student more assiduous in + study; she wanted to become mistress of her profession. Her + death is a calamity, not to her friends alone, but to all + who are making an effort for the enlargement of woman's + sphere. + +After the closing of the doors of the Geneva Medical School to +women, the Central Medical College of Syracuse was the first to +admit them. Four were graduated in 1852. Since then the two medical +colleges in New York city have graduated hundreds of women. Among +the many in successful practice are Clemence S. Lozier, Emily +Blackwell, Mary Putnam Jacobi, New York; Eliza P. Mosher, Brooklyn; +Sarah R. A. Dolley, Anna H. Searing, Fannie F. Hamilton, Rochester; +Amanda B. Sanford, Auburn; Eveline P. Ballintine, Le Roy; Rachel E. +Gleason, Elmira. + +In May, 1870, the New York City Society was formed, with efficient +officers,[213] and pleasant rooms, at 16 Union Square, where +meetings were regularly held on Friday afternoon of each week. +These meetings were well attended and sustained with increasing +interest from month to month. This society held its first meeting +November 27, 1871, which was addressed by Mrs. Julia Ward Howe; and +on January 13, 1872, another, addressed by Jennie Collins, the +indefatigable Bostonian who has done so much for the benefit of the +working girls. A series of meetings was held under the auspices of +this association in many of the chief cities around New York and on +the Hudson, the chief speakers being the officers of the +association. An active German society was soon after formed, with +Mrs. Augusta Lillienthal, president, and Mrs. Matilda F. Wendt, +secretary. The latter published a paper, _Die Neue Zeit_, devoted +to woman suffrage. She was also the correspondent of several +leading journals in Germany. The society held its first public +meeting March 21, 1872, in Turner Hall, Mrs. Wendt presiding. Mrs. +Lillienthal, Mrs. Clara Neyman and Dr. Adolphe Doney were the +speakers. Clara Neyman became afterwards a popular speaker in many +suffrage and free-religious associations. + +Petitions were rolled up by both the German and American societies +to the legislature, praying for the right of suffrage, and on +April 3, 1871, the petitioners[214] were granted a hearing, before +the Judiciary Committee of the Assembly, Hon. L. Bradford Prince +presiding. Mrs. Wilbour's able address made a most favorable +impression. The question was referred to the Judiciary Committee. +The majority report was adverse, the minority, signed by Robert A. +Strahan and C. P. Vedder, favorable. + +A grand demonstration was made April 26, 1872, in Cooper Institute, +intended specially to emphasize the claims of wives and mothers to +the ballot, and to show that the City Association had no sympathy +with any theories of free-love. Five thousand cards of invitation +were distributed. + +In 1871 women attempted to vote in different parts of the State, +among whom were Matilda Joslyn Gage at Fayetteville, and Mrs. +Louise Mansfield at Nyack, but were repulsed. In 1872 others did +vote under the fourteenth amendment, conspicuously Susan B. +Anthony, who, as an example for the rest, was arrested, tried, +convicted and fined.[215] Mrs. Gage published a woman's rights +catechism to answer objections made at that time to woman's voting, +which proved a valuable campaign document. We find the names of +Mary R. Pell of Flushing, Helen M. Loder of Poughkeepsie, and +Elizabeth B. Whitney of Harlem, frequently mentioned at this time +for their valuable services. + +The following items show the varied capacity of women for many +employments: + + In March, 1872, Miss Charlotte E. Ray (colored) of New York, was + graduated at the Howard University Law School, and admitted to + practice in the courts of the District of Columbia at + Washington.--The headquarters of the Women's National Relief + Association is in New York; its object is supplying government + stations along the coast with beds, blankets, warm clothing and + other necessaries for shipwrecked persons.----Miss Leggett, for a + long time proprietor of a book and paper store in New York, + established a home, in 1878, for women, on Clinton Square, which + is in all respects antipodal to Stewart's Hotel. It is governed + by no stringent rules or regulations. No woman is liable without + cause, at the mere caprice of the founder, to be suddenly + required to leave, as was the case in Judge Hilton's home. On the + contrary, it is the object of the founder to provide a _real_ + home for women. The house is not only provided with a library, + piano, etc., but its inmates are allowed to bring their + sewing-machines, hang pictures upon the walls, put up private + book-racks, etc. The price, too, but $4 a week, falls more nearly + within the means of laboring women than the $6 to $10 of the + Stewart Hotel.----The first penny lunch-room in New York was + established by a woman, who made it a source of revenue.----The + inventor of the submarine telescope, a woman, has received + $10,000 for her invention.----Deborah Powers, now over ninety + years of age, is the head of a large oil-cloth manufactory in + Troy. Her sons are engaged in business with her, but she, still + bright and active, remains at the head of the firm. This is the + largest oil-cloth factory in the United States. She was left a + widow with three sons, with a heavy mortgage on her estate. She + secured an extension of time, built up the business and educated + her sons to the work. She is also president of a bank.----A + successful nautical school in New York is conducted by two + ladies, Mrs. Thorne and her daughter, Mrs. Brownlow. These ladies + have made several voyages and studied navigation, both + theoretically and practically. During the late war they prepared + for the navy 2,000 mates and captains bringing their knowledge of + navigation up to the standard required by the strict examiners of + the naval board.----Mrs. Wilson, since a New York custom-house + inspector, took charge, in 1872, of her husband's ship, disabled + in a terrific gale off Newfoundland in which his collar-bone was + broken and a portion of the crew badly hurt. The main-mast having + been cut down she rigged a jury-mast, and after twenty-one days + brought ship and crew safe to port. + + Miss Jennie Turner, a short-hand writer of New York, is a notary + public. In a recent law-suit some of the papers were "sworn to" + before her in her official capacity, and one of the attorneys + claimed that it was not verified, inasmuch as a woman "could not + legally hold public office." The judge decided that the paper + must be accepted as properly verified, and said that the only way + to oust her was in a direct action by the attorney-general. The + judge said: + + Whether a female is capable of holding public office has + never been decided by the courts of this State, and is a + question about which legal minds may well differ. The + constitution regulates the right of suffrage and limits it + to "male" citizens. Disabilities are not favored, and are + seldom extended by implication, from which it may be argued + that if it required the insertion of the term "male" to + exclude female citizens of lawful age from the right of + suffrage, a similar limitation would be required to + disqualify them from holding office. Citizenship is a + condition or status and has no relation to age or sex. It + may be contended that it was left to the good sense of the + executive and to the electors to determine whether or not + they would select females to office, and that the power + being lodged in safe hands was beyond the danger of abuse. + If, on the other hand, it be seriously contended that the + constitution, by necessary implication, disqualifies females + from holding office, it must follow as a necessary + consequence that the act of the legislature permitting + females to serve as school officers, and all other + legislative enactments of like import removing such + disqualification, are unconstitutional and void. In this + same connection it may be argued that if the use of the + personal pronoun "he" in the constitution does not exclude + females from public office, its use in the statute can have + no greater effect. The statute, like the constitution, in + prescribing the qualifications for office, omits the word + "male," leaving the question whether female citizens of + lawful age are included or excluded, one of construction. + + Miss Anna Ballard, a reporter on the staff of the New York _Sun_, + was elected a member of the Press Club, in 1877, by a vote of 24 + to 10. Within the last ten years women contributors to the press + have become numerous. The book-reviewer of the _Herald_ is a + woman; one of the book-reviewers of the _Tribune_, one of its + most valued correspondents and several of its regular + contributors are women; the agricultural and market reporter of + the New York _Times_ is a woman; the New York _Sun's_ fashion + writer is a woman, and also one of its most industrious and + sagacious reporters. Female correspondents flood the evening + papers with news from Washington. We instance these not at all as + a complete catalogue; for there are, we doubt not, more than a + hundred women known and recognized in and about Printing-house + Square as regular contributors to the columns of the daily and + weekly press. As a rule they are modest, reputable pains-taking + servants of the press; and it is generally conceded that if they + are willing to put up with the inconveniences attending + journalistic work, it is no part of men's duty to interfere with + their attempt to earn an honest livelihood in a profession which + has so many avenues as yet uncrowded. Miss Ellen A. Martin, + formerly of Jamestown, N. Y., a graduate of the Law School of Ann + Arbor, in 1875, was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of + Illinois, at the January term, and is practicing in Chicago, + occupying an office with Miss Perry, Room 39, No. 143 La Salle + street. Mrs. Martha J. Lamb was the first woman ever admitted to + membership in the New York State Historical Society. Her "History + of New York City" is recognized as a standard authority, and has + already taken rank among the great histories of the world. + +During the summer of 1872 the presidential campaign agitated the +country. As Horace Greeley, who was opposed to woman suffrage, was +running against Grant and Wilson, who were in favor, and as the +Republican platform contained a plank promising some consideration +for the loyal women of the nation, a great demonstration was held +in Cooper Institute, New York, October 7. The large hall was +crowded by an excited throng. Hon. Luther R. Marsh presided. The +speakers[216] were all unusually happy. Mrs. Blake's[217] address +was applauded to a recall, when she went forward and asked the +audience to give three cheers for the woman suffrage candidates, +Grant and Wilson, which they did with hearty good will. + +During the winter of 1873 a commission was sitting at Albany to +revise the constitution of New York. As it seemed fitting that +women should press their claims to the ballot, memorials were +presented and hearings requested by both the State and City +societies. Accordingly Mr. Silliman, the chairman, appointed +February 18, to hear the memorialists. A large delegation of ladies +went from New York.[218] The commission was holding its sessions in +the common-council chamber, and when the time arrived for the +hearing the room was crowded with an attentive audience. The +members of the Committee on Suffrage were all present, Mr. Silliman +presided. Matilda Joslyn Gage represented the State association, +speaking upon the origin of government and the rights pertaining +thereto. Mrs. Wilbour and Mrs. Blake represented the New York City +Society, and each alike made a favorable impression. The Albany +_Evening Journal_ gave a large space to a description of the +occasion. The respectful hearing, however, was the beginning and +the end, as far as could be seen, of all impression made on the +committee, which coolly recommended that suffrage be secured to +colored men by ratifying the fifteenth amendment, while making no +recognition whatever of the women of the State. A memorial was at +once sent to the legislature and another hearing was granted on +February 27. Mrs. Blake[219] was the only speaker on that occasion. +The Hon. Bradford Prince, of Queens, presided. At the close of Mrs. +Blake's remarks James W. Husted of Westchester, in a few earnest +words, avowed himself henceforth a champion of the cause. Shortly +afterwards the Hon. George West presented a constitutional +amendment giving to every woman possessed of $250 the right to +vote, thus placing the women of the State in the same position with +the colored men before the passage of the fifteenth amendment; but +even this was denied. The amendment was referred to the Judiciary +Committee and there entombed. Large meetings[220] were held at +Robinson Hall during the winter, and at Apollo Hall in May, and in +different localities about New York. + +July 2, 1873, an indignation meeting was held by the City Society +to protest against the sentence pronounced by Judge Hunt in the +case of Susan B. Anthony. De Garmo Hall was crowded. The platform +was decorated with the United States flag draped with black +bunting, while on each side were banners, one bearing the +inscription, "Respectful Consideration for a Loyal Woman's Vote! +$100 Fine!" the other, "Shall One Federal Judge Abolish Trial by +Jury?" Dr. Clemence Lozier presided, and Mrs. Devereux Blake made a +stirring speech reviewing Miss Anthony's trial and Judge Hunt's +decision.[221] Mr. Hamilton Wilcox made a manly protest against +Judge Hunt's high-handed act of oppression, and Mrs. Marie Rachel +made another, in behalf of the German association. + +In October, 1873, Mrs. Devereux Blake made an effort to open the +doors of Columbia College to women. A class of four young +ladies[222] united in asking admission. Taking them with her, Mrs. +Blake went before the president and faculty, who gave her a +respectful hearing. She argued that the charter of the college +itself declared that it was founded for "the education of the youth +of the city", and that the word _youth_ was defined in all +dictionaries as "young persons of both sexes," so that by its very +foundation it was intended that girls as well as boys should enjoy +the benefits of the university, and it was no more than just that +they should, seeing that the original endowment was by the "rectors +and inhabitants of the city of New York," one-half of these +inhabitants being women. Mrs. Blake's[223] application was referred +to "the Committee on the Course of Instruction," and after some +weeks of consideration was refused, on the ground that "it was +inexpedient," the Rev. Morgan Dix being especially active in his +opposition. However, soon after this, the lectures of the college +were open to ladies, and a few years later President Barnard warmly +recommended that young women should be admitted as students to all +the privileges of the university. + +A Woman's Congress was organized at New York, October 15, 16, 17, +1873, in the Union League Theater. Representative women[224] were +there from all parts of the country. Its object was similar to the +social science organizations--the discussion of a wider range of +subjects than could be tolerated on the platforms of any specific +reform. Mary A. Livermore presided, and the meeting was considered +a great success. The speeches and proceedings were published in +pamphlet form, and still are from year to year. This had been an +idea long brewing in many minds, and was at last realized through +the organizing talent of Mrs. Charlotte B. Wilbour, the originator +of Sorosis. From year to year they have held regular meetings in +the chief cities of the different States. + +Dr. Clemence Lozier,[225] president of the city society, early +opened her spacious parlors to the monthly meetings, where they +have been held for many years. This association has been active and +vigilant, taking note of and furthering every step of progress in +Church and State. Mrs. Lozier and Mrs. Blake have worked most +effectively together, the former furnishing the sinews of war, and +the latter making the attack all along the line, to the terror of +the faint-hearted. + +The era of centennial celebrations was now approaching, and it was +proposed to hold a suitable commemoration on the one-hundredth +anniversary of the Boston tea-party, December 16, 1873. Union +League Theater was, on the appointed evening, filled to its utmost +capacity. The platform was decorated with flowers and filled with +ladies, Dr. Lozier presiding. Miss Anthony was the speaker of the +evening, and made a most effective address; Helen Potter gave a +recitation; Hannah M'L. Shepherd read letters of sympathy; Mrs. +Blake made a short closing address, and presented a series of +resolutions, couched in precisely the same language as that adopted +by our ancestors in protesting against taxation without +representation: + + _Resolved_, That as an expression of the sentiments of the + tax-paying women of New York, we reiterate, as applied to + ourselves, the declaration contained in the bill of rights put + forth by our ancestors 100 years ago: _First_--That the women of + the country are entitled to equal rights and privileges with the + men; _Second_--That it is inseparably essential to the freedom of + a people, and the undoubted right of all men and women, that no + taxes be imposed on them but by their own consent, given in + person or by their representatives; _Third_--That the only + representatives of these women are persons chosen by themselves, + and that no taxes ever have been or can be constitutionally + imposed upon them but by legislatures composed of persons so + chosen. + +The report of the State assessors[226] of 1883 brought forcibly to +view the injustice done in taxing non-voters. At their meeting with +the supervisors of Onondaga county, Mr. Pope of Fabius said: "Mrs. +Andrews is assessed too much." Mr. Hadley replied: "Well, Mr. +Briggs says that is the way all the women are assessed." Mr. Briggs +responded: "Yes, that is the way we find the assessors treat the +women; they can't vote, you know! I am in favor of letting the +women vote now." + +Two women in the village of Batavia were assessed for more personal +property than the entire assessment of like property, exclusive of +corporations, in the city of Rochester with a population of 70,000! +While declaring they had found very little personal property +assessed, Mr. Fowler said: "We found some cases where town +assessors had taxed the personal property of women, and one case +of a ward who was assessed to full value, while upon the guardian's +property there was no assessment at all." This report not only +proved a good woman suffrage document, but the work done by the +State assessors, Messrs. Hadley, Briggs and Fowler, convinced them +personally of woman's need of the ballot for the protection of her +property. + +Early in the year 1874, memorials from societies in different parts +of the State were sent to the legislature, asking "that all taxes +due from women be remitted until they are allowed to vote." The +most active of these anti-tax societies was the one formed in +Rochester through the efforts of Mrs. Lewia C. Smith, whose +earnestness and fidelity in this, as in many another good word and +work, have been such as to command the admiration even of +opponents--a soul of that sweet charity that makes no account of +self. A hearing was appointed for the memorialists on January 24, +and the journals[227] made honorable mention of the occasion. + +The centennial was approaching and the notes of preparation were +heard on all sides. The women who understood their status as +disfranchised citizens in a republic, regarded the coming event as +one for them of humiliation rather than rejoicing, inasmuch as the +close of the first century of the nation's existence found one half +the people still political slaves. At the February meeting of the +association, Mrs. Blake presented the following resolution: + + _Resolved_, That the members of this society do hereby pledge + themselves not to aid either by their labor, time or money, the + proposed celebration of the independence of the men of the + nation, unless before July 4, 1876, the women of the land shall + be guaranteed their political freedom. + +In their own way, however, the members of the society intended to +observe such centennials as were fitting, and so preparation was +made for a suitable commemoration of the battle of Lexington. They +held a meeting[228] in the Union League Theatre, the evening of +April 19, to protest against their disfranchisement. The journals +contained fair reports, with the exception of _The Tribune_, which +sent no reporter, and closed its account next day of many +observances elsewhere by saying, "there was no celebration in New +York city." Several of the papers published Mrs. Blake's speech: + + Just as the first rays of dawn stole across our city this + morning, the century was complete since the founders of this + nation made their first great stand for liberty. The early April + sunshine a hundred years ago saw a group of men and boys gathered + together, "a few rods north of the meeting-house," in the + Massachusetts village of Lexington. Un-uniformed and + undisciplined, standing in the chilly morning, that handful of + patriots represented the great Republic which on that day was to + spring from their martyrdom. The rebellious colonists had + collected in the hamlets near Boston some military stores; these + the British officers in command at Boston resolved should be + seized and destroyed. Warned of their design Paul Revere made his + famous ride to arouse the country to resistance, and in the dead + of night Adams and Hancock went out to summon their comrades to + arms. As the last stars vanished before the dawn, the drum beat + to summon the patriots to action, and in response a little band + of about eighty men and boys assembled on the village green. Few + as they were in numbers, they presented a brave front as the + British regulars came up the quiet street, 200 strong. What + followed was not a battle, but a butchery. The minute-men refused + to surrender to Major Pitcairn's haughty demand, and a volley of + musketry, close and deadly, was poured on this devoted band. In + response only a few random shots were fired, which did absolutely + no harm, and then, seeing the hopelessness of resistance, the + commander of the minute-men ordered them to disperse. The + British, elated with their easy victory, pushed on toward + Concord, thinking that there another speedy success awaited them. + In this they soon bitterly learned their error. Although they + were reinforced on the way, when they reached that village they + were met by such a resistance as drove them back, broken and + disorganized, on the road they had so proudly followed in the + morning. Concord nobly avenged the slaughter at Lexington. + + So much for what men did on that day, and let us see what share + the women had in its dangers and its sorrows. Jonathan Harris was + shot in front of his own house, while his wife was watching him + from a window, seeing him fall with such anguish as no poor words + of mine can describe. He struggled to his feet, the blood gushing + from a wound in his breast, staggered forward a few paces and + fell again, and then crawled on his hands and knees to his + threshold only to expire just as his wife reached him. Did not + this woman bear her portion of the martyrdom? Isaac Davis, a man + in the prime of life, went forth from his home in the morning, + and before the afternoon sunlight had grown yellow, was brought + back to it dead, and was laid, pale and cold, in his wife's bed, + only three hours after he had left her with a solemn benediction + of farewell. Did not this woman also suffer? She was left a widow + in the very flower of her youth, and for seventy years she + faithfully mourned his taking off! Nor were these the only ones; + for every man who fell that day, some woman's heart was wrung. + There were others who endured actual physical hardship and + suffering. Hannah Adams lay in bed with an infant only a week old + when the British reached her house in their disorderly retreat + to Boston; they forced her to leave her sick room and to crawl + into an adjoining corn shed, while they burned her house to ashes + in her sight. Three companies of British troops went to the house + of Major Barrett and demanded food. Mrs. Barrett served them as + well as she was able, and when she was offered compensation, + refused it, saying gently, "We are commanded if our enemy hunger + to feed him." So, in toil or suffering or anguish the women + endured their share of the sorrows of that day. Do they not + deserve a share of its glories also? The battles of Lexington and + Concord form an era in our country's history. When, driven to + desperation by a long course of oppression, the people first + resolved to revolt against the mother country. Discontent, + resentment and indignation had grown stronger month by month + among the hardy settlers of the land, until they culminated in + the most splendid act of audacity that the world has ever seen. A + few colonies, scattered at long intervals along the Atlantic + seaboard, dared to defy the proudest nation in Europe, and a few + rustics, undisciplined, and almost unarmed, actually ventured to + encounter in battle that army which had boasted its conquests + over the flower of European chivalry. What unheard of oppressions + drove these people to the mad attempt? What unheard of atrocities + had the rulers of these people practiced, what unjust + confiscations of property, what cruel imprisonments and wicked + murders? None of all these; the people of this land were not + starving or dying under the iron heel of an Alva or a + Robespierre, but their civil liberties had been denied, their + political freedom refused, and rather than endure the loss of + these precious things, they were willing to encounter danger and + to brave death. The men and women who suffered at Concord and at + Lexington 100 years ago to-day, were martyrs to the sacred cause + of personal liberty! Looking over the records of the past we + find, again and again repeated, the burden of their complaints. + Not that they were starving or dying, but that they were taxed + without their consent, and that they were denied personal + representation. + + The congress which assembled at Philadelphia in 1774, declared + that "the foundation of liberty and of all free governments is + the right of the people to participate in their legislative + council"; and the House of Burgesses, assembled in Virginia in + the same year, asserted "That a determined system is formed and + pressed for reducing us to slavery, by subjecting us to the + payment of taxes imposed without our consent." Strong language + this, as strong as any we women have ever employed in addressing + the men of this nation. Our ancestors called the imposition of + taxes without their consent, slavery, and the denial of personal + representation, tyranny. Slavery and tyranny! words which they + tell us to-day are too strong for our use. We must find some mild + and lady-like phrases in which to describe these oppressions. We + must employ some safe and gentle terms to indicate the crimes + which our forefathers denounced! My friends, what was truth a + century ago is truth to-day! Other things may have changed, but + justice has not changed in a hundred years! + +In 1876 a presidential election was again approaching, and to meet +the exigencies of the campaign a woman suffrage committee was +formed to ask the legislature to grant presidential suffrage to +women, as it was strictly within their power to do without a +constitutional amendment. To this end Mrs. Gage prepared an appeal +which was widely circulated throughout the State: + + Within a year the election of President and Vice-President of the + United States, will again take place. The right to vote for these + functionaries is a National and not a State right; the United + States has unquestioned control of this branch of suffrage, and + in its constitution has declared to whom it has delegated this + power. Article 2 of the Constitution of the United States, is + devoted to the president; the manner of choosing him, his power, + his duties, etc. In regard to the method of choosing the + president, Par. 2, Sec. 1, Art. 2, reads thus: "Each State shall + appoint in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a + number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and + representatives to which the State may be entitled in the + congress." There is no other authority for the appointment of + presidential electors, either in the Constitution of the United + States, or in the constitution of any State. The constitution of + the State of New York is entirely silent upon the appointment of + presidential electors, for the reason that the constitution of + the United States declares that they _shall_ be appointed in such + manner as the legislature may direct. With the exception of South + Carolina, every State in the Union has adopted the plan of + choosing presidential electors by ballot, and it is in the power + of the legislature of each State to prescribe the qualifications + of those who shall be permitted to vote for such electors. + + The authority to prescribe the qualifications of those persons in + the State of New York who shall be permitted to vote for electors + of President and Vice-President of the United States, therefore + lies alone in the legislature of this State. That body has power + in this respect superior to the State constitution; it rises + above the constitution; it is invested with its powers by the + Constitution of the United States; it is under national + authority, and need in no way be governed by any representative + clause which may exist in the State constitution. In prescribing + the qualifications of those persons who shall vote for electors, + the legislature has power to exclude all persons who cannot read + and write. It has power to say that no person unless possessing a + freehold estate of the value of two hundred and fifty dollars, + shall vote for such electors. It has power to declare that only + tax-payers shall vote for such electors, it is even vested with + authority to say that no one but church members shall be entitled + to vote for electors of President and Vice-President of the + United States. The legislature of this State at its next session + has even power to cut off the right of all white men to vote for + electors at the presidential election next fall. It matters not + what qualifications the State itself may have prescribed for + electors of State officers, the question who shall vote for + president and vice-president is on an entirely different basis, + and prescribing the qualifications for such electors lies in + entirely different hands. It is a question of national import + with which the State (in its constitution) has nothing to do, and + over which even congress has no power. The legislature which is + to assemble in Albany, the first Tuesday in January next, will + have power, by the passage of a simple bill, to secure to the + women of this State the right to vote for electors at the + presidential election in the fall of 1876, and thus to inaugurate + the centennial year by an act of equity and justice that will be + in accordance with that part of the Declaration of Independence + which declares that "governments derive their _just_ powers from + the consent of the governed." Shall it not be done? + + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, + LILLIE DEVEREUX BLAKE, + CLEMENCE S. LOZIER, M. D., + _N. Y. State Woman Suffrage Com._ + + +[Illustration: Lillie Devereux Blake] + + +A memorial embodying this claim was presented to the legislature, +and on, January 18, the committee went to Albany and were heard by +the Judiciary Committee of the Assembly, to whom their paper had +been referred. Hon. Robert H. Strahan of New York presided. On +February 8, the memorialists[229] had another meeting before the +Judiciary Committee of the Senate, in the Senate chamber, Hon. +Bradford L. Prince presiding. The audience was overflowing, and the +corridors so crowded that the meeting adjourned to the Assembly +chamber by order of the chairman. Soon after, Hon. George H. West +of Saratoga presented a bill giving the women of the State the +right to vote for president. It was referred to the Judiciary +Committee and reported adversely, notwithstanding it was twice +called up and debated by its friends, Messrs. Strahan, Husted, +Ogden, Hogeboom and West. No vote was reached on the measure, but +this much of consideration was a gain over previous years, when +nothing had been done beyond the presentation of a bill and its +reference to a committee. + +In 1876 Governor Samuel J. Tilden appointed Mrs. Josephine Shaw +Lowell as commissioner of the State Board of Charities, the first +official position a woman ever held in this State. + +During the winter of 1877 a memorial was sent to the legislature, +asking that women be allowed to serve as school officers. The Hon. +William N. Emerson, senator from Monroe, presented the following +bill: + + AN ACT _to Authorize the Election of Women to School Offices._ + + The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and + Assembly, do enact as follows: + + SECTION 1. Any woman of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, + and possessing the qualifications prescribed for men, shall be + eligible to any office under the general or special school laws + of this State, subject to the same conditions and requirements as + prescribed to men. + + SEC. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. + +Petitions and memorials from all parts of the State were poured +into the legislature, praying for the passage of the bill. Mr. +Emerson made an eloquent speech in its favor, and labored earnestly +for the measure. It passed the Senate by a vote of 19 to 9; the +Assembly by a vote of 84 to 19. This success was hailed with great +rejoicing by the women of the State who understood the progress of +events. But their delight was turned into indignation and +disappointment when the governor, Lucius Robinson, returned the +bill to the Senate with the following veto: + + STATE OF NEW YORK, EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, } + ALBANY, May 8, 1877. } + + _To the Senate:_ + + I return without approval Senate bill No. 61, entitled "An act to + authorize the election of women to school offices." + + This bill goes too far or not far enough. It provides that women + may hold any or all of the offices connected with the department + of education, that is to say, a woman may be elected + superintendent of public instruction, women may be appointed + school commissioners, members of boards of education and trustees + of school districts. In some of these positions it will become + their duty to make contracts, purchase materials, build and + repair school-houses, and to supervise and effect all the + transactions of school business, involving an annual expenditure + of over twelve million dollars in this State. There can be no + greater reason that women should occupy these positions than the + less responsible ones of supervisors, town clerks, justices of + the peace, commissioners of highways, overseers of the poor, and + numerous others. If women are physically and mentally fitted for + one class of these stations, they are equally so for the others. + + But at this period in the history of the world such enactments as + the present hardly comport with the wisdom and dignity of + legislation. The God of nature has appointed different fields of + labor, duty and usefulness for the sexes. His decrees cannot be + changed by human legislation. In the education of our children + the mother stands far above all superintendents, commissioners, + trustees and school teachers. Her influence in the family, in + social intercourse and enterprises, outweighs all the mere + machinery of benevolence and education. To lower her from the + high and holy place given her by nature, is to degrade her power + and to injure rather than benefit the cause of education itself. + In all enlightened and Christian nations the experience and + observations of ages have illustrated and defined the relative + duties of the sexes in promoting the best interests of society. + Few, if any, of the intelligent and right-minded among women + desire or would be willing to accept the change which such a law + would inaugurate. + + The bill is moreover a clear infraction of the spirit if not the + letter of the constitution. Under that instrument women have no + right to vote, and it cannot be supposed that it is the intention + of the constitution that persons not entitled to the right of + suffrage should be eligible to some of the most important offices + in the State. + + L. ROBINSON. + +On May 24, 25, 1877, the National and State conventions were again +held in New York, at Steinway Hall. Both conventions passed +resolutions denouncing Governor Robinson's action in his veto. The +following address was issued by the State association: + + _To the Voters and Legislators of New York:_ + + The women of the State of New York, in convention assembled, do + most earnestly protest against the injustice with which they are + treated by the State, where in point of numbers they are in + excess of the men: + + _First_--They are denied the right of choosing their own + rulers, but are compelled to submit to the choice of a + minority consisting of its male residents, fully one-third + of whom are of foreign birth. _Second_--They are held + amenable to laws they have had no share in making and in + which they are forbidden a voice--laws which touch all their + most vital interests of education, industry, children, + property, life and liberty. _Third_--While compelled to bear + the burdens and suffer the penalties of government, they are + debarred the honors and emoluments of civil service, and the + control of offices in the righteous discharge of whose + duties their interest is equal to that of men. + _Fourth_--They are taxed without their consent to sustain + men in office who enact laws directly opposing their + interests, and inasmuch as the State of New York pays + one-sixth the taxes of the United States, its women feel the + arm of oppression--like Briareus with his hundred + hands--touching and crushing them with its burdens. + _Fifth_--They are under the power of an autocrat whose + salary they must pay, but who, in opposition to the will of + the people--as recently shown in the passage of the School + bill by the legislature--has by his veto denied them all + official authority in the control of the public schools, and + this despite the fact of there being 3,670 more girls of + school age than boys, and 14,819 more women than men + teaching in the State. _Sixth_--Under pretence of regulating + public morals, women of the _femme de pave_ class, many of + whom have been driven to this mode of life as a livelihood, + are subjected to more oppressive laws than their partners in + vice. _Seventh_--The laws treat married women as criminals + by taking from them all legal control of their children, + while those born outside of marriage belong absolutely to + the mothers. _Eighth_--They forbid the mother's inheritance + of property from her children in case the father is living, + thus making her of no consideration in the eyes of those to + whom she has given birth. _Ninth_--They give the husband + control of the common property--allow him to spend the whole + personal estate in riotous living, or even to sell the home + over his wife's head, subject only to her third + life-interest in case she survives him. _Tenth_--They allow + the husband to imprison her at his pleasure within his own + house, the court sustaining him in this coercion until the + wife "submits herself to her husband's will." + _Eleventh_--They allow the husband while the common property + is in his possession, "without even the formality of a legal + complaint, the taking of an oath or the filing of a bond for + the good faith of his action," to advertise his wife through + the public press as a deserter and to forbid her credit. + _Twelfth_--They deny the widow the right of inheritance in + the common property that they give the widower, allow her + but forty days' residence in the family mansion before + paying rent to her husband's heirs, thus treating her as if + she were an alien to her own children--set off to her a few + paltry articles of household use, close the estate through a + process of law, and make the days of her bereavement doubly + days of sorrow. + + The above laws of marriage, placing irresponsible authority in + the hands of the husband, have given him a power of moral + coercion over the wife, making her virtually his slave. Without + entering into fuller details of the injustice and oppression of + the laws upon all women, married and single, we will sum the + whole subject up in the language of the French Woman's Rights + League, which characterizes woman's position thus: + + (1) Woman is held _politically_ to have no existence; (2) + _civilly_, she is a minor; (3) in marriage she is a serf; + (4) in labor she is made inferior and robbed of her + earnings; (5) in public instruction she is sacrificed to + man; (6) out of marriage, answers to the faults committed by + both; (7) as a mother is deprived of her right to her + children; (8) she is only deemed equally responsible, + intelligent and answerable in taxes and crimes. + + By order of the New York State Woman Suffrage Society. + + May, 1877. MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, _Secretary_. + +In the summer of 1877 another effort was made by women of wealth to +be relieved from taxation. Several memorials to that effect were +sent to the legislature, one headed by Susan A. King[230] of New +York, a self-made woman who had accumulated a large fortune and +owned much real estate. Her memorial, signed by a few others, +represented $9,000,000. The committee bearing these waited on many +members of the legislature to secure their influence when such a +bill should be presented, which was done March 11, by Col. Alfred +Wagstaff, with warm recommendations. He was followed by Senator +McCarthy of Onondaga, who also introduced a bill for an amendment +to the constitution to secure to women the right of suffrage. Both +these bills called out the determined opposition of Thomas C. +Ecclesine, senator from the eleventh district, and the ridicule of +others. The delegation of ladies, sitting there as representatives +of half the people of the State, felt insulted to have their +demands thus sneered at; it was for them a moment of bitter +humiliation. In the evening, however, their time for retaliation +came, as they had a hearing in the Senate chamber, before the +Judiciary Committee, where an immense crowd assembled at an early +hour. The chairman of the committee Hon. William H. Robertson, +presided. Each of the ladies, in the course of her speech, referred +to the insulting remarks of Mr. Hughes of Washington county. That +gentleman, being present, looked as if he regretted his unfortunate +jokes, and winced under the sarcasm of the ladies. + +Soon after this, great excitement was created by the close of +Stewart's Home for Working Women. This fine building, on the corner +of Thirty-second street and Fourth avenue, had been erected by the +merchant prince for the use of working women, who could there find +a home at a moderate expense. The millionaire dead, his large +fortune passed into other hands. The building was completed and +furnished in a style of elegance far beyond what was appropriated +to that purpose. On April 2, with a great flourish, the immense +building was thrown open for public inspection. A large number of +women applied at once for admission, but encountered a set of rules +that drove most of them away. This gave Judge Hilton an excuse for +violating his obligation to carry out the plan of his dead +benefactor, and in a few weeks he closed the house to working women +and opened it as the Park Hotel, for which it was so admirably +furnished and fitted that it was the general opinion that it was +intended for this from the beginning. Great indignation was felt in +the community, the women calling a meeting to express their +disappointment and dissatisfaction. This was held in Cooper +Institute, under the auspices of the Woman Suffrage +Association.[231] Had Mr. Stewart provided a permanent home for +working women it would have been but a meager return for the +underpaid toil of the thousands who had labored for half a century +to build up his princely fortune. But even the idea of such an act +of justice died with him. + +In 1879 that eminent philanthropist Dr. Hervey Backus Wilbur, +superintendent of the State Idiot Asylum at Syracuse, urged the +passage of a law requiring the employment of competent women as +physicians in the female wards of the State insane asylums. +Petitions prepared by him were circulated by the officers of the +Women's Medical College, of the New York Infirmary, by Mrs. +Josephine Shaw Lowell of the State Board of Charities, and by Drs. +Willard Parker, Mary Putnam Jacobi, and other eminent physicians of +New York. The bill prepared by Dr. Wilbur was introduced in the +Assembly by Hon. Erastus Brooks, and required the trustees of each +of the four State asylums for the insane, "to employ one or more +competent, well-educated female physicians to have the charge of +the female patients of said asylum, under the direction of the +medical superintendents of the several asylums, as in the case of +the other or male assistant physicians, and to take the place of +such male assistant physician or physicians in the wards of the +female patients." Although Dr. Wilbur stood at the head of his +profession, his authority upon everything connected with the +feeble-minded being not only recognized in this country but in +Europe also as absolute, yet this bill, which did not contemplate +placing a woman in charge of such an institution, and which was so +purely moral in its character, met with ridicule and opposition +from the press of the State, to which Dr. Wilbur made an exhaustive +reply, showing the need of women as physicians in all institutions +in which unfortunate women are incarcerated. + +When the fall elections of 1879 approached, a circular letter was +sent to every candidate for office in the city, asking his views on +the question of woman suffrage, and delegations waited on the +nominees for mayor. Mr. Edward Cooper, the Republican candidate, +declared he had no sympathy with the movement, while Hon. Augustus +Schell, the Democratic candidate, received the ladies with great +courtesy, and avowed himself friendly at least to the demand for +equal wages and better opportunities for education, and in the +trades and professions. From the answers received, a list of +candidates was prepared. On the evening of October 30, a crowded +mass-meeting was held in Steinway Hall to advocate the election of +those men who were favorable to the enfranchisement of woman. Mr. +Schell was chosen Mayor. The re-nomination in 1879, of Lucius +Robinson for governor by the Democratic convention, aroused the +opposition of the women who understood the politics of the State. +He had declared that "the God of Nature did not intend women for +public life"; they resolved that the same power should retire Mr. +Robinson from public life, and held mass-meetings to that end.[232] +These meetings were all alike crowded and enthusiastic, and the +speakers[233] felt richly paid for their efforts. A thorough +canvass of the State was also made, and a protest[234] extensively +circulated, condemning the governor for his veto of the +school-bill. + +Mr. F. B. Thurber, and Miss Susan A. King contributed liberally to +this campaign. Handbills containing the protest and a call for a +series of mass-meetings, were distributed by the thousands all over +the State. The last meeting was held at the seventh ward Republican +wigwam, an immense structure, in Brooklyn: its use was given by the +unanimous vote of the club.[235] At every one of these meetings +resolutions were passed condemning Mr. Robinson, and electors were +urged to cast their votes against him. No doubt the enthusiasm the +women aroused for his opponent helped in a measure to defeat him. + +In the meantime, women in the eleventh senatorial district were +concentrating their efforts for the defeat of Thomas H. Eccelsine. +His Republican opponent, Hon. Chas. E. Foster, was a pronounced +advocate of woman suffrage. Miss King,[236] who resided in this +district, exerted all her influence for his election, giving time, +money and thought to the canvass. On the morning of November 5, the +day after election, the papers announced that Mr. Cornell was +chosen governor, and that Mr. Ecclesine, who two years before had +been elected by 7,000 majority, was defeated by 600, and Mr. Foster +chosen senator in his stead. + +This campaign attracted much attention. The journals throughout the +country commented upon the action of the women. It was conceded +that their efforts had counted for something in influencing the +election, and from this moment the leaders of the woman suffrage +movement in New York regarded themselves as possessing some +political influence. + +In January, 1880, Governor Alonzo B. Cornell, in his first message +to the legislature, among other recommendations, embodied the +following: + + The policy of making women eligible as school officers has been + adopted in several States with beneficial results, and the + question is exciting much discussion in this State. Women are + equally competent with men for this duty, and it cannot be + doubted that their admission to representation would largely + increase the efficacy of our school management. The favorable + attention of the legislature is earnestly directed to this + subject. + +With such words from the chief executive it was an easy matter to +find friends for a measure making women eligible as school +officers. Early in the session the following bill was introduced by +Hon. Lorraine B. Sessions of Cattaraugus: + + No person shall be deemed ineligible to serve as any school + officer, or to vote at any school meeting, by reason of sex, who + has the voter's qualifications required by law. + +Senator Edwin G. Halbert of Broome rendered efficient aid and the +bill passed at once in the Senate by a nearly unanimous vote. Hon. +G. W. Husted of Westchester introduced it at once in the assembly +and earnestly championed the measure. It passed by a vote of 87 to +3. The bill was laid before the governor, who promptly affixed his +signature to it, and thus, at last, secured to the women of the +Empire State the right to vote on all school matters, and to hold +any school offices to which they might be chosen. The bill was +signed on February 12, and the next day being Friday, was the last +day of registration in the city of Syracuse, the election there +taking place on the following Tuesday. The news did not reach there +until late in the day, the evening papers being the first to +contain it. But, although so little was known of the measure, +thirteen women registered their names as voters, and cast their +ballots at the election. This was the first time the women of New +York ever voted, and Tuesday, February 18, 1880, is a day to be +remembered.[237] The voting for officers, like all other-school +matters, was provided for, not under the general laws, but by the +school statutes. There are two general elections in chartered +cities and universal suffrage for school as well as all other +officers; no preparation being required of voters but registration. +In the rural districts school meetings are held for elections, and +there are, by the statutes, three classes of voters described by +law. + + 1. Every person (male or female) who is a resident of the + district, of the age of twenty-one years, entitled to hold lands + in this State, who either owns or hires real estate in the + district liable to taxation for school purposes. + + 2. Every citizen of the United States (male or female) above the + age of twenty-one years, who is a resident of the district, and + who owns any personal property assessed on the last preceding + assessment roll of the town exceeding $50 in value, exclusive of + such as is exempt from execution. + + 3. Every citizen of the United States (male or female) above the + age of twenty-one years, who is a resident of the district and + who has permanently residing with him, or her, a child or + children of school age, some one or more of whom shall have + attended the school of the district for a period of at least + eight weeks within the year preceding the time at which the vote + is offered. + +Several of the large cities hold their elections on the first +Tuesday in March, while the majority of the rural districts hold +their school meetings on the second Tuesday in October. +Preparations were at once made to call out a large vote of women in +the cities holding spring elections, but all such efforts were +checked by official action. The mayor of Rochester wrote to the +governor, asking him if the new law applied to cities. Mr. Cornell +laid the question before Attorney-General Ward, who promptly gave +an opinion that inasmuch as the words "school meeting" were used in +the law, women could only vote where such meetings were held, but +were not entitled to vote at the elections in large cities. +Meantime the New York City Association called a meeting of +congratulation on the passage of the bill on February 25, when +Robinson Hall was crowded to overflowing with the friends of woman +suffrage, some of whom addressed the vast audience.[238] + +A mass-meeting of women was held at Albany, in Geological Hall, +Mrs. Blake presiding. It was especially announced that the meeting +was only for ladies, but several men who strayed in were permitted +to remain, to take that part in the proceedings usually allowed to +women in masculine assemblies, that is, to be silent spectators. +Resolutions were passed, urging the women to vote at the coming +election, and the names of several ladies were suggested as +trustees. March 19, 1880, the Albany County Woman Suffrage +Association[239] was formed, whose first active duty was to rouse +the women to vote in the coming school election, which they did, in +spite of the attorney-general's opinion. + +Mr. Edwin G. Halbert of Broome also introduced a bill in the +Senate, for a constitutional amendment, to secure to women the +right of suffrage, which was passed by that conservative body just +before its adjournment. Meantime Mr. Wilcox urged the passage of +the bill to prohibit disfranchisement, which was brought to a third +reading in the Assembly. He prepared and circulated among the +members of the legislature a brief,[240] showing their power to +extend the suffrage. The argument is unanswerable, establishing the +fact that women had voted through the early days of the Colonies, +and proving, by unanswerable authorities, their right to do so; +thus establishing the right of women to vote in 1885. Mr. +Wilcox' researches on this point will prove invaluable in the +enfranchisement of woman, as his facts are irresistible. Following +is the proposed bill: + + AN ACT _to Prohibit Disfranchisement_. + + Introduced in the Assembly by Hon. Alex. F. Andrews, March 31, + 1880. Reported by the Judiciary Committee for consideration, May + 24. Ordered to third reading, May 27. Again so reported, + unanimously, March 16, 1881. Again ordered to third reading, May + 3, 1881; ayes 60, noes 40. Vote on passage, May 11, 1881; ayes + 59, noes 55, majority 4. (65 necessary to pass). + + _Whereas_, the common law entitles women to vote under the same + qualifications as men; and + + _Whereas_, said common law has never been abrogated in this + State; and + + _Whereas_, a practice nevertheless obtains of treating as + disfranchised all persons to whom suffrage is not secured by + express words of the constitution; and + + _Whereas_, the constitution makes no provision for this practice, + but on the contrary declares that its own object is to secure the + blessings of freedom to the people, and provides that no member + of this State shall be disfranchised or deprived of any of the + privileges secured to any citizen unless by constitutional + provision and judicial decision thereunder; and + + _Whereas_, this practice, despite the want of authority therefor, + has by continuance acquired the force of law; and + + _Whereas_, many citizens object to this practice as a violation + of the spirit and purpose of the constitution, as well as against + justice and public policy; and + + _Whereas_, the legislature has corrected this practice in + repeated instances, its power to do so being in such instances + fully recognized and exercised; therefore + + The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and + Assembly, do enact as follows: + + SECTION 1. Every woman shall be free to vote, under the + qualifications required of men, or to refrain from voting, as she + may choose; and no person shall be debarred, by reason of sex, + from voting at any election, or at any town meeting, school + meeting, or other choice of government functionaries whatsoever. + + SEC. 2. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act, + are hereby repealed. + + SEC. 3. This act shall take effect immediately. + +Various memorials were sent to the legislature in behalf of this +bill, and a hearing was granted to its advocates.[241] The +Assembly chamber in the beautiful new capitol was crowded as it +had never been before. A large proportion of the senators and +assemblymen were present, many of the judges from the various +courts, while the governor and lieutenant-governor occupied +prominent places, and large crowds of fashionable ladies and +leading gentlemen filled the seats and galleries. The chairman of +the committee, Hon. George L. Ferry, presided. The ladies were +graciously received by the governor, who, at their request, gave +them the pen with which he signed the bill providing "school +suffrage for women," and in return they presented him a handsome +gold-mounted pen, a gift from the City Society. + +The first voting by women after the passage of the new law, was at +Syracuse, February 17, only five days after the bill received the +governor's signature, but the great body of women had not the +opportunity until October. At that time in Fayetteville, the home +of Matilda Joslyn Gage, women voted in large numbers; the three who +had been placed upon the ticket, trustee, clerk and librarian were +all elected. It was an hour of triumph for Mrs. Gage who was +heartily congratulated upon the result. It was remarked that so +quiet an election had seldom been known. At Middletown, Orange +county, Dr. Lydia Sayre Hasbrook urged the women to take advantage +of their new privilege, and when the day of election came, although +it was cold and stormy, over 200 voted, and elected the entire +ticket of women for trustees, Mrs. Hasbrook herself being chosen as +one. + +There were many places, however, where no women voted, for the +reform had all the antagonisms and prejudices of custom to +overcome. Many obstacles were thrown in the way to prevent them +from exercising this right. The men of their families objecting, +and misconstruing the law, kept them in doubt both as to their +rights and duties. The clergy from their pulpits warned the women +of their congregations not to vote, fathers forbade their +daughters, husbands their wives. The wonder is that against such a +pressure so many women did vote after all. + +October 12, 1880, the elections took place in a large proportion of +the eleven thousand school districts of the State, and the daily +journals were full of items as to the result. We copy a few of +these: + + LOWVILLE, Lewis County, Oct. 16, 1880.--The business meeting was + held on the evening of the 12th, and was attended by twenty + ladies. On the following day at 1 P.M., the election was held. + The ladies had an independent ticket opposing the incumbent clerk + and trustee. Seven voted. Four were challenged. They swore their + votes in. Boys just turned twenty-one years of age voted + unchallenged. The clerk, who is a young sprig of a lawyer, made + himself conspicuous by challenging our votes. He first read the + opinion of the State superintendent of public instruction, and + said that the penalty for illegal voting was not less than six + months' imprisonment. My vote was challenged, and although my + husband is an owner of much real estate and cannot sell one foot + of it without my consent, I could not vote. + + From Penn Yan a woman writes:--About seventy ladies voted here, + but none who did not either own or lease real estate. The + argument so often used against woman suffrage--viz: that the + first to avail themselves of the privilege would be those least + qualified to do so, is directly refuted, in this town at least, + since the ladies who voted are without doubt those who by natural + ability and by culture are abundantly competent to vote + intelligently as well as conscientiously. + + A woman in Nunda writes:--Only six women attended the school + meeting in the first district on the 12th, but over forty went to + the polls on the 13th. Two women were on one of the tickets; the + opposition ticket was made up entirely of males. We were + supported by the best men in the village. The ticket bearing the + names of Mrs. Fidelia J. M. Whitcomb, M. D., and Mrs. S. Augusta + Herrick, was elected. + + From Poland a woman writes:--Our school meeting was attended by + about thirty men and two women. The population of the village is + between three and four hundred. My neighbor and I were proud of + the privilege of casting our first vote. There was nothing of + special interest to call out voters, as our trustees are + satisfactory to all. If circumstances required, there would be + many women voters here. + + David Hopkins and Gustave Dettloff were candidates for school + trustee in district No. 1 of New Lots, Long Island, at the last + election. Mr. Hopkins is a farmer and was seeking reelection. Mr. + Dettloff is connected with an insurance company in this city, and + is a well-known resident of the town. The friends of Mr. Hopkins + about an hour before the closing of the polls, perceived that + there was danger of their candidate's defeat. A consultation was + held, and it was decided to utilize the new law giving women the + privilege of voting. Accordingly, several farm wagons were + procured and sent through the district to gather in the farmers' + wives and daughters. The wagons returned to the polls with 107 + women, all of whom voted for Mr. Hopkins, thus saving him from + defeat. It was too late to use a counter poison. The total number + of votes cast was 329, Mr. Hopkins receiving eighty majority. + + PORT JERVIS. Oct. 13.--The annual election of school trustees + occurred to-day and was attended with unusual excitement. Eight + hundred and thirty votes were polled, 150, for the women's + ticket, the remainder being divided. Only fifty ladies voted, a + great many being kept from the polls by the crowd of loafers + standing around. The Protestant ticket, composed of three men, + was elected. The election was held in a small room, and this was + crowded with men who amused themselves by passing remarks about + the ladies until the police were called in. Every lady who + offered her vote was challenged and a great many left the polls + in disgust. In Carpenter's Point and Sparrowbush, two suburbs of + the village, the ladies voted and were not molested. + + Only a few women voted on Tuesday evening at the election for + school trustees in the first district of Southfield, Staten + Island. When the poll was opened Judge John G. Vaughan, the + retiring trustee, presided. A motion was made to reelect him by + acclamation. Amid great confusion Judge Vaughan put the motion + and declared it carried. Then Officers Fitzgerald and Leary had + to take charge of the meeting to preserve order, and Judge + Vaughan's opponents withdrew, threatening proceedings to have the + election declared invalid. Abram C. Wood was elected school + trustee in the West New Brighton (S. I.) district by 69 majority, + which included the votes of eight of eleven women present. Other + women promised to vote if Mr. Wood needed their support. Mr. + Robert B. Minturn presided. + + SING SING, Oct. 13.--Five women voted at the school meeting last + night. + + MOUNT MORRIS, Oct. 13.--One hundred and twenty women voted at the + school election here last evening. + + GLEN'S FALLS, Oct. 13.--I am informed that women did vote here + and in the neighborhood last evening. + + PERRY, Oct. 13.--A large woman vote was cast here. Two women were + elected members of the school-board. + + PEEKSKILL, Oct. 13.--Five women voted in one district. + + SHELTER ISLAND, Oct. 13.--Women voted at our school meeting. + + COFFIN SUMMIT, Oct. 15.--Six women voted at the school meeting + here. A lady was nominated for trustee and received many votes, + but was defeated. + + STAMFORD, Oct. 15.--Four ladies voted at the school meeting. + + PORT RICHMOND, Oct. 15.--Six ladies attended the school meeting. + The chairman, Mr. Sidney P. Ronason, made a speech, welcoming + them, stating that an unsuccessful effort had been made by + citizens to induce a leading lady to become a candidate for + trustee; also, that Lester A. Scofield, the retiring trustee, + would cheerfully give way if any competent lady would take his + place. This Mr. Scofield confirmed, but, no lady being nominated, + he was reelected without opposition. + + BALDWINVILLE, Oct. 15.--Thirty-three ladies voted at the school + election. + + LOCKPORT, Oct. 15.--Two Quaker ladies voted at the school meeting + of the first district of this township. One of them, Dr. Sarah + Lamb Cushing, was chosen tax-collector by 23 votes out of 26. On + the entrance of the ladies, smoking and all disorder ceased, and + the meeting was uncommonly well-conducted. + + LAWTON STATION, Oct. 15.--Of the 16 votes cast at the school + meeting here, 15 were given by women. A woman received the + highest vote for school trustee, but withdrew in favor of one of + the male candidates. The proceedings were enlivened with singing + by the pupils under the direction of the teacher. Several + improvements in the building were ordered at the instance of the + ladies. + + KNOWLESVILLE, Oct. 15.--Many women meant to vote at the school + meeting, but a person went from house to house and threatened + them with legal penalties if they did. Mrs. James Kernholtz was + nominated for tax-collector at the meeting, but declined, saying + the pay was too small. Miss Adelina Lockwood, being nominated for + librarian, declined, but was elected by acclamation, amid great + applause. The meeting was very large, but unusually orderly. + + FLUSHING, Oct. 15.--Forty women voted at the school meeting here, + and in the adjoining district. + + SYRACUSE, Oct. 14, 1881.--At the Fayetteville, Onondaga county, + school district election yesterday, a direct issue was made on + the question of woman's rights. The candidate of the women was + chosen. This is the women's second victory in that place, giving + them control of the school-board. + +A correspondent describing what the voters had to encounter, said: + + Is the question asked, why have not more women voted? I answer, + hundreds of women in this State were debarred by falsehood and + intimidation. No sooner had the school suffrage law passed than + the wildest statements about it were made. It was given out that + the Governor had recalled the bill from the Secretary of State + after signing it (which he could not do), and vetoed it; that the + law was unconstitutional; that it was defective and inoperative; + that it did not apply to cities and villages; that it had been + repealed; and like untruths. Pains was taken to hide its + existence by corrupt officials, who told the women that the law + did not apply to the places where they lived, or who withheld the + fact of its passage. The State was flooded just before the + elections with an incorrect statement that only the rich women + could vote; that the children's mothers could not unless they + held real estate. The story was also set afloat that the + attorney-general had indorsed this statement; which that + gentleman promptly repudiated. All this we corrected as fast and + as far as we could; but it unavoidably did much harm. + + Wholesale hindrance and terrorism too, were used. A few samples + are these: In Albany, many women were threatened by their own + husbands with expulsion from house and home, imprisonment, bodily + violence or death if they dared vote; while many others were + deterred by insults and threats of social persecution. Many + persons ridiculed and abused those who sought to vote. In some + districts the inspectors refused to register qualified women, + while in others votes were refused. Statements were widely + published that the law did not apply to Albany. In Knowersville, + the village teacher went to every house, and threatened the women + with state-prison if they dared to vote. In Mount Morris, the + president of the Board of Education denounced the ladies who + induced others to vote. In Fayetteville, Saratoga and elsewhere, + the ladies' request for some share in making the tickets was + scornfully ignored. In Port Jervis, the Board of Education + declined a hall that was offered, and had the election in a low, + dirty little room. Smoke was puffed in the ladies' faces, + challenges were frequent, and all sorts of impudent questions + were asked of the voters. In Long Island City many ladies were + challenged, and stones were thrown in the street at Mrs. Emma + Gates Conkling, the lady who was most active in bringing out the + new voters. In New Brighton, the village paper threatened the + women with jail if they voted; and when a motion was made in one + district that the ladies be invited to attend, a large negative + vote was given, one man shouting, "We have enough of women at + home; we don't want'em here!" At West New Brighton it was openly + announced that the meeting should be too turbulent for ladies, + insomuch that many who intended to go staid away, and the few who + went were obliged to wait till all the men had voted. In Newham a + gang of low fellows took possession of the polling place early, + filled it with smoke of the worst tobacco, and covered the floor + with tobacco juice; and through all this the few ladies who + ventured to vote had to pass. In New York a man who claims to be + a gentleman said: "If my wife undertook to vote I would trample + her under my feet." In New Rochelle the school trustee told the + women they were not entitled to vote, and tried to prevent a + meeting being held to inform them. Clergymen from the pulpit + urged women not to vote, and a mob gathered at the polls and + blocked the way. These are but samples of the difficulties under + which the new law went into operation; and it is the truth that + there was as much bulldozing of voters in New York as ever in the + South, though sometimes by other means. + +In 1880 Mrs. Blake was sent by the New York society to the +Republican and Democratic presidential conventions at Chicago and +Cincinnati, and on her return a meeting was called in Republican +Hall, July 9, to hear her report as to the comparative treatment +received by the delegates in the two conventions. Soon afterwards a +delegation of ladies[242] waited on Winfield S. Hancock, the +Democratic nominee, who received them with much courtesy, saying he +was quite willing to interpret, in its broadest sense, that clause +of his letter of acceptance wherein he said: "It is only by a full +vote and a fair count that the people can rule in fact, as required +by the theory of our government." "I am willing, ladies," said the +general, "to have you say that I believe in a free ballot for all +the people of the United States, women as well as men." + +Mrs. Blake, Mrs. Slocum and Mr. Wilcox made quite an extensive +canvass through many counties of the State, to rouse the women to +use their right to vote on all school matters. + +The bill to prohibit disfranchisement was again introduced in the +legislature of 1881, by Joseph M. Congdon, and ordered to a third +reading May 3, by a vote of 60 to 40, and on May 11 came up for +final action, when the ladies, by special courtesy, were admitted +to the floor of the Assembly chamber to listen to the discussion. +General Francis B. Spinola and General James W. Husted made earnest +speeches in favor of the bill, and Hon. Erastus Brooks and General +George A. Sharpe in opposition. The roll-call gave 57 ayes to 55 +noes--a majority of those present, but not the majority (65) of all +the members of the Assembly, which the constitution of New York +requires for the final passage of a bill. The vote astonished the +opponents, and placed the measure among the grave questions of the +day. This substantial success inspired the friends to renewed +efforts.[243] + +The necessity of properly qualified women in the police stations +again came up for consideration. The condition of unfortunate women +nightly consigned to these places had long been set forth by the +leaders of the suffrage movement. In New York there were thirty-two +station-houses in which, from night to night, from five to forty +women were lodged, some on criminal charges, some from extreme +poverty. All there, young and old, were entirely in the hands of +men, in sickness or distress. If search was to be made on charge of +theft, it was always a male official who performed the duty. If the +most delicate and refined lady were taken ill on the street, or +injured in any way, she was liable to be taken to the nearest +station, where the needful examinations to ascertain if life yet +lingered must be made by men. In view of these facts, a resolution +was again passed at the State convention, and request made to the +police commissioners, to permit a delegation of ladies to meet with +them in conference. The commissioners deigned no reply, but gave +the letter to the press, whereupon ensued a storm of comment and +ridicule. + +On consultation with Mrs. Josephine Shaw Lowell, commissioner of +the State Board of Charities, a bill was drawn up and sent to +Albany, providing for the appointment of one or more police-matrons +at every station-house in cities of 50,000 inhabitants and upwards, +the salaries to be $600 each. Hon. J. C. Boyd presented the bill in +the Senate, where it passed April 18. In the Assembly its passage +was urged by Hon. Michael C. Murphy, chairman of the Committee on +Cities. Meantime Mayor Grace and Comptroller Campbell entered their +protest against the bill, declaring the measure ought to originate +in the city departments, where there was full power to appoint +police-matrons; also, that the proposed salaries would be a heavy +drain upon the city treasury. The comptroller was at once informed +of the previous application to the police commissioners, from whom +no reply had been received, which virtually compelled appeal to the +legislature. And as to salaries, it was suggested that there were +now on the pay-roll of the police of New York 2,500 men whose +salaries amounted to over $2,500,000, whereas the bill before the +legislature asked for only sixty matrons, whose salaries would +amount to but $36,000. This was certainly a most reasonable demand +for the protection of one-half the people of the city, who paid +fully half the indirect taxes as well as a fair proportion of the +direct taxes. Finally, it was proposed to the comptroller that the +bill should be withdrawn if he would recommend the appointment of +police-matrons in the city departments. This was not accepted. The +Committee on Cities gave a hearing to Mrs. Blake, and reported +unanimously in favor of the bill. Public sentiment supported the +measure, the press generally advocated it, and the Assembly passed +the bill by a vote of 96 to 7; but it failed to receive the +signature of the governor,--a most striking proof of the need of +the ballot for women; since, friendly as he was to woman's +enfranchisement, when he found the police department, with its +thousands of attaches, _all with votes_ in their hands, opposed, +Governor Cornell was found wanting in courage and conscience to +sign this bill for women who had no votes.[244] The next year +application was again made to the city authorities for the +appointment of matrons, but they refused to act. The bill was +reintroduced in the legislature, passed by a large majority in the +Assembly, but defeated in the Senate by the adverse report of the +Committee on Cities. A mass-meeting to discuss this question of +police-matrons was held in Steinway Hall, March 1, at which the +speakers[B] all urged such appointments. + +During the winter of 1882 an effort was made in New York city to +secure the enforcement of the law enacted by the previous +legislature, which provided that seats should be furnished for the +"shop-girls." Mrs. Emma Gates Conkling caused the arrest of certain +prominent shop-keepers on the charge of not complying with the law, +but on coming to trial the suits were withdrawn on the promise of +the delinquents to give seats to their employes. + +During the winter of 1882 agitation for the higher education of +women was renewed, and a society organized by some of the most +influential ladies in the city. They rolled up a petition of 1,200, +asking that Columbia College be opened to women. President Barnard +had recommended this in his reports for three years. The agitation +culminated in a grand meeting[245] in the new Union League Theater. +Parke Godwin of the _Evening Post_ presided. The audience was +chiefly composed of fashionable ladies, whose equipages filled +Thirty-eighth street blocks away, yet not a woman sat on the +platform; not a woman's voice was heard; even the report of the +society was read by a man, and every inspiration of the occasion +was filtered through the brain of some man. Among other things, Mr. +Godwin, son-in-law of the poet Bryant, said: + + We speak of the higher education of women. Why not also of men? + Because they already have the opportunity for obtaining it. The + idea upon which our government is built is the idea of equal + rights for all; and that means equal opportunities. Every society + needs all the best intellect that it can get. We have many evil + influences acting upon our society here, and we need the + all-controlling influence of woman. We cannot fix a standard for + her. History shows what she has done, in a Vespasia, Vittoria + Colonna, De Stael, Bremer, Evans, Somerville and Maria Mitchell. + She does not go out of her sphere when she is so highly educated. + She can darn her stockings just as well if she does know the word + in half-a-dozen languages. There is no longer novelty in this + movement; it has been tried successfully here and abroad in the + universities, and always with success. + +Addresses were also made by Rev. Dr. Stowe, Dr. William Draper, +Joseph Choate, and others eminent in one way or another. The +meeting closed by circulating a petition for presentation to the +trustees of Columbia College, asking that properly qualified women +be admitted to lectures and examinations. + +The bill to prohibit disfranchisement on account of sex was again +introduced in the Assembly by Hon. J. Hampden Robb, and referred to +the Committee on Grievances, of which Major James Haggerty was +chairman, who gave to it his hearty approval and granted two +hearings to the officers of the State society, on behalf of the +large number of memorialists who had sent in their petitions from +all parts of the State. The women of Albany were indefatigable in +their personal appeals to the different members of the Assembly, +urging them to vote for the bill, while Major Haggerty was untiring +in his advocacy of the measure. On May 3 there was an animated +discussion:[246] the bill passed to its third reading by an +overwhelming vote, which alarmed the opponents into making a +thorough canvass, that proved to them the necessity of some +decisive action for the defeat of the bill. The Hon. Erastas Brooks +presented a resolution, calling on the attorney-general for his +opinion on the constitutionality of the proposed law, which was +passed in a moment of confusion, and when many of our friends were +absent. Following is the opinion elicited: + + + STATE OF NEW YORK. OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL,} + ALBANY, May 10, 1882.} + + _To the Assembly:_ + + I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the resolution of + the Assembly requesting the attorney-general to report his + opinion as to the constitutionality of Assembly bill No. 637, + which provides that "every woman shall be free to vote under the + qualifications required of men, or to refrain from voting, as she + may choose; and no person shall be debarred by reason of sex from + voting at any election, or at any town meeting, school meeting, + or other choice of government functionaries whatsoever," and + whether, without an amendment to the constitution, suffrage can + be granted to any class of persons not named in the constitution. + I reply: + + _First_--It has been decided so often by the judicial tribunals + of the various States of the Union, and by the Supreme Court of + the United States, that suffrage is not a natural inherent right, + but one governed by the law-making power and regulated by + questions of availability and expediency, instead of absolute, + inalienable right (1, 3), that the question is no longer open for + discussion, either by the judicial forum or legislative + assemblies (_Burnham vs. Laning, 1 Legal Gazette Rep., 411, + Supreme Court Penn.; Minor vs. Happersett, 21 Wallace, 162; Day + vs. Jones, 31 California, 261; Anderson vs. Baker, 23 Maryland, + 531; Abbott vs. Bayley, 6 Pickering, 92; 2 Dallas, 471-2; In re + Susan B. Anthony, 11 Blatchford, 200_). At the common law women + had no right to vote and no political status (2, 4) (_Maine's + Ancient Law, 140; Cooley's Const. Lim., 599; Blackstone's Comm., + 171_). + + _Second_--Therefore the constitution of the State of New York, + providing that every male citizen of the age of 21 years who + shall have certain other qualifications, may vote, the + determination of the organic law specifying who shall have the + privilege of voting, excludes all other classes (5), such as + women, persons under 21 years of age and aliens. The argument + that, because women are not expressly prohibited, they may vote, + fails to give the slightest force to the term "male" in the + constitution; and by the same force of reasoning, the expression + of the term "citizen" and the statement of the age of 21 years + would not necessarily exclude aliens and those under 21 years of + age from voting (6). Therefore, assuming that our organic law was + properly adopted without the participation of women either in + making or adopting it (7), that organic law controls. + + _Third_--It follows, therefore, as a logical consequence that the + proposed reform cannot be accomplished except by an amendment of + the constitution ratified by two successive legislatures and the + people, or by a constitutional convention, whose work shall be + sanctioned by a vote of the people. + + LESLIE W. RUSSELL, _Attorney-General_.[247] + +Weak as was this document, and untenable as were its assertions, it +had great weight with many of the members of the legislature coming +as the opinion did from the attorney-general of the State. The +friends of the bill resolved to call for the vote when the bill +should be reached, and on May 16, the women were present in large +numbers, listening with intense interest to the brief speeches of +the members for and against, and watching and counting the vote as +the roll-call proceeded, which resulted in 54 ayes and 59 noes, +lacking three votes of a majority of those present and only eleven +of the requisite number, sixty-five. In view of the official +opinion against its constitutionality amounting to a legal +decision, this was a most gratifying vote.[248] + +The presence of Leslie W. Russell in Albany, as attorney-general, +rendered it useless to reintroduce the bill to prohibit +disfranchisement on account of sex in the legislature of 1883, but +in its stead, Dr. John G. Boyd of New York introduced a proposition +to strike "male" from the suffrage clause of the constitution, +which, however, received only fifteen votes. + +To pass from the State to the Church, the winter of 1883 was +notable for the delivery of a series of Lenten lectures on woman by +the Rev. Morgan Dix, D. D., rector of Trinity Church, New York, +afterwards published in book form under the title, "The Calling of +a Christian Woman and her Training to Fulfill it." The lectures +were delivered each Friday evening during Lent, in Trinity Chapel, +and at once attracted attention from their conservative, +reaectionary, almost monastic views of woman's position and duties. + +After reading a report of one of these remarkable essays in which +women were gravely told their highest happiness should be found in +singing hymns, Mrs. Blake decided to reply to them. She secured a +hall on Fourteenth street, and on successive Sunday evenings gave +addresses in reply. Both courses of lectures were well attended. +The moderate audiences of Trinity Chapel soon became a throng that +more than filled the large building, while the hall in which Mrs. +Blake spoke was packed to suffocation, hundreds going away unable +to gain admittance. The press everywhere favored the broad and +liberal views presented by Mrs. Blake, and denounced the old-time +narrow theories of Dr. Dix. Mrs. Blake's lectures were also +published in book form with the title of "Woman's Place To-day" and +had a large circulation. + +The Republicans again nominating Mr. Russell for attorney-general, +an active campaign was organized against him and in favor of the +Democratic nominee, Mr. Dennis O'Brien. Protests[249] against +Russell were circulated throughout the State; Republican tickets +were printed with the name of Denis O'Brien for attorney-general, +and on election day women distributed these tickets, and made every +possible effort to ensure the defeat of Russell; and he was +defeated by 13,000 votes. + +The legislature of 1884 showed a marked gain; Hon. Erastus Brooks, +General George A. Sharpe, and other prominent opponents had been +retired, and their seats filled by active friends. Our bill was +introduced by Mr. William Howland of Cayuga, and referred to the +Committee on the Judiciary. Mr. Howland also secured the passage of +a special act, granting women the right to vote at the charter +elections of Union Springs, Cayuga county. Under similar enactments +women have the right to vote for municipal officers in Dansville, +Newport and other villages and towns in the State. + +On March 11, 12, the annual meeting of the State society was held +in the City Hall, Albany, with a good representation[250] from the +National Convention at Washington, added to our own State +speakers.[251] On the last evening there was an overflow meeting +held in Geological Hall, presided over by Mrs. Matilda Joslyn Gage. + +Governor Cleveland accorded the delegates a most courteous +reception in his room in the capitol. A hearing was had before the +Judiciary Committee March 13. The assembly-chamber was crowded. +General Husted, chairman of the committee, presided, and Mrs. +Blake, the president of the society, introduced the speakers.[252] +A few days later the same committee gave a special hearing to Mrs. +Gougar, who made the journey from Indiana to present the case. The +committee reported adversely, but by the able tactics of General +Husted, after an animated debate the bill was placed on the +calendar by a vote of 66 to 62, and shortly after ordered to a +third reading by a vote of 74 to 39. On May 8 the bill was reached +for final action. Frederick B. Howe of New York was the principal +opponent, trying to obstruct legislation by one and another +pretext. General Husted took the floor in an able speech on the +constitutionality of the bill, and the vote stood 57 ayes to 61 +noes, lacking eight votes of the requisite 65. + +While the right of suffrage is still denied, gains in personal and +property rights have been granted: + + In 1880, the law requiring the private acknowledgment by a + married woman of her execution of deeds, or other written + instruments, without the "fear or compulsion" of her husband, was + abolished, leaving the wife to make, take and certify in the same + manner as if she were a _feme sole_. + + March 21, 1884, the penal code of the State was amended, raising + the age of consent from ten to sixteen years, and also providing + penalties[253] for inveigling or enticing any unmarried woman, + under the age of twenty-five years, into a house of ill-fame or + assignation. + + Under the act of May 28, 1884, a married woman may contract to + the same extent, with like effect and in the same form as if + unmarried, and she and her separate estate shall be liable + thereon, whether such contract relates to her separate business + or estate, or otherwise, and in no case shall a charge upon her + separate estate be necessary. + +It is by court decisions that we most readily learn the legal +status of married women, under the favorable legislation of the +period covered by this History. While referring the reader to +Abbott's Digest of New York Laws for full knowledge upon this +point, we give a few of the more recent decisions as illustrating +general legal opinion: + + TROY, March 23, 1882.--The Court of Appeals decided that married + women are the rightful owners of articles of personal adornment + or convenience coming from husbands, and can bequeath them to + their heirs. The court held that separate and personal possession + by a wife of articles specially fitted for and adapted to her + personal use, and differing in that respect from household goods + kept for the common use of husband and wife, would draw after it + a presumption of the executed gift if the property came from the + husband, and of the wife's ownership, but for disabilities of the + marital relations. Now that these disabilities are removed the + separate existence and separate property of the wife are + recognized, and her capacity to take and hold as her own the gift + in good faith and fairly made to her by her husband established, + it seemed to the court time to clothe her right with natural and + proper attributes, and apply to the gift to her, although made by + her husband, the general rules of law unmodified and unimpaired + by the old disabilities of the marriage relations. + +This decision was important as further destroying the old +common-law theory of the husband's absolute ownership of his wife's +person, property, services and earnings. The same year (1882) the +Supreme Court, at its general term, rendered a decision that a +married woman could sue her husband for damages for assault and +battery; that by the act of 1860 the legislature intended to, and +did, change the common-law rule, that a wife could not sue her +husband. Judge Brady rendered the opinion, Judge Daniels +concurring; Presiding Judge Noah Davis dissenting. Judge Brady +said: + + To allow the right (to sue) in an action of this character, in + accordance with the language of the statute, would be to promote + greater harmony by enlarging the rights of married women and + increasing the obligations of husbands, by affording greater + protection to the former, and by enforcing greater restraint upon + the latter in the indulgence of their evil passions. The + declaration of such a rule is not against the policy of the law. + It is in harmony with it, and calculated to preserve peace and, + in a great measure, prevent barbarous acts, acts of cruelty, + regarded by mankind as inexcusable, contemptible, detestable. It + is neither too early nor too late to promulgate the doctrine that + if a husband commits an assault and battery upon his wife he may + be held responsible civilly and criminally for the act, which is + not only committed in violation of the laws of God and man, but + in direct antagonism to the contract of marriage, its + obligations, duties, responsibilities, and the very basis on + which it rests. The rules of the common law on this subject have + been dispelled, routed, and justly so, by the acts of 1860 and + 1862. They are things of the past which have succumbed to more + liberal and just views, like many other doctrines of the common + law which could not stand the scrutiny and analysis of modern + civilization. + +The utter insecurity of woman without the ballot is shown in the +reversal of this decision within a few months, by the Court of +Appeals, on the ground that it would be "contrary to the policy of +the law, and destructive to the conjugal union and tranquility +which it had always been the object of the law to guard and +protect." Could satire go farther? We record with satisfaction the +fact that Judge Danforth uttered a strong dissenting opinion. + +The friends of woman suffrage in the legislature of 1884 secured +the passage of a bill empowering women to vote on all questions of +taxation submitted to a popular vote in the village of Union +Springs. Governor Cleveland was urged to veto it; but after hearing +all the objections he signed the bill and it became a law. + +At Clinton, Oneida county, twenty-two women voted on June 21, 1884, +at an election on the question of establishing water-works. Eight +voted for the tax, fourteen against it. Fifteen other women +appeared at the polls, but were excluded from voting because, +though they were real-estate tax-payers, the assessor had left +their names off the tax-roll. Judge Theodore W. Dwight, president +of the Columbia Law School, pronounced women tax-payers entitled to +vote under the general water-works act, and therefore that the +election-officials violated the law in refusing to accept the votes +of the women whose names were omitted from the assessors' tax-list. + +In 1879, there was a report of the committee to allow widows an +active voice in the settlement of the family estate and to have the +sole guardianship of minor children. A petition in favor of the +bill had upon it the names of such well-known men as Peter Cooper, +George William Curtis, Henry Bergh and J. W. Simonton. + +September 13, 1879, Mrs. MacDonald of Boston argued her own case +before the United States Circuit Court in New York city, in a +patent suit. It was a marked event in court circles, she being the +first lady pleader that ever appeared in that court, and the second +woman who ever argued a case in this State. Anne Bradstreet was for +years a marked character in Albany courts, but her claims for +justice were regarded as an amusing lunacy. + +In 1880, Governor Cornell appointed Miss Carpenter on the State +Board of Charities. + +In the suit of Mr. Edward Jones to recover $860 which he alleged he +had loaned to the Rev. Anna Oliver for the Willoughby Avenue +Methodist Episcopal Church, Brooklyn, of which she was pastor, a +verdict for the defendant was rendered. Miss Oliver addressed the +following letter to the court: + + _To his Honor, the Judge, the Intelligent Jury, the Lawyers and + all who are engaged in the case of Jones vs. Oliver_: + + GENTLEMEN:--Thanking you for the politeness, the courtesy, the + chivalry even, that has been shown me to-day, allow me to make of + you the following request: Please sit down at your earliest + leisure, and endeavor to realize in imagination how you would + feel if you were sued by a woman, and the case was brought before + a court composed entirely of women; the judge a woman; every + member of the jury a woman; women to read the oath to you, and + hold the Bible, and every lawyer a woman. Further, your case to + be tried under laws framed entirely by women, in which neither + you nor any man had ever been allowed a voice. Somewhat as you + would feel under such circumstances, you may be assured, on + reading this, I have felt during the trial to-day. Perhaps the + women would be lenient to you (the sexes do favor each other), + but would you be satisfied? Would you feel that such an + arrangement was exactly the just and fair thing? If you would + not, I ask you on the principle of the Golden Rule, to use your + influence for the enfranchisement of women. + + _New York, 1881._ + +Mrs. Roebling, wife of the engineer in charge of the construction +of the marvelous Brooklyn bridge, made the patterns for various +necessary shapes of iron and steel such as no mills were making, +after her husband and other engineers had for weeks puzzled their +brains over the difficulties. + +When Frank Leslie died, his printing-house was involved, and Mrs. +Leslie undertook to redeem it, which she did, and in a very short +time. Speaking of it she says: + + "I had the property in reach, and the assignees were ready to + turn it over to me, but to get it, it was necessary for me to + raise $50,000, I borrowed it from a woman. How happy I was when + she signed the check, and how beautiful it seemed to me to see + one woman helping another. I borrowed the money in June, and was + to make the first payment of $5,000, on the 1st of November. On + the 29th of October I paid the $50,000 with interest. From June + to the 29th of October, I made $50,000 clear. I had also to pay + $30,000 to the creditors who did not come under the contract. + While I was paying this $80,000 of my husband's debts, I spent + but $30 for myself, except for my board. I lived in a little + attic room, without a carpet, and the window was so high that I + could not get a glimpse of the sky unless I stood on a chair and + looked out. When I had paid the debts and raised a monument to my + husband, then I said to myself, 'now for a great big pair of + diamond earrings,' and away I went to Europe, and here are the + diamonds." The diamonds are perfect matches, twenty-seven carats + in weight, and are nearly as large as nickles. + +In Lansingburgh the women tax-payers offered their ballots and were +repulsed, as follows: + + September 2, 1885, the special election of the taxable + inhabitants of the village of Lansingburgh took place, to vote + upon a proposition to raise by tax the sum of $15,000 for + water-works purposes. The measure was voted by 102 for it to 46 + against. But a small amount of interest was manifested in the + election. Several women tax-payers offered their votes, but the + inspectors would not receive them, and the matter will be + contested in the courts. The call for the election asked for an + expression from "the taxable inhabitants," and women tax-payers + in the 'burgh claim under the law their rights must be + recognized. Lansingburgh inspectors have on numerous occasions + refused to receive the ballots thus tendered, and the women have + lost patience. They are to employ the best of counsel and settle + the question at as early a day as possible. Women pay tax upon + $367,394 of the property within the village boundaries, and they + believe that they, to the number of 317 at least, are entitled to + votes on all questions involving a monetary expenditure. In + Saratoga, Clinton, and a number of other places in this State, + where elections in relation to water-works have taken place, it + has been held by legal authority that women property owners have + a right to vote, and they have voted accordingly the same as + other tax-payers. + +In regard to recent efforts to secure legislation favorable to +women, Mr. Wilcox writes: + + The impression that the School Act, passed in 1880, did not apply + to cities, led to the introduction by the Hon. Charles S. Baker + of Rochester, of a bill covering cities. A test vote showed the + Assembly practically unanimous for it, but it was referred to the + Judiciary Committee to examine its constitutionality. The + chairman, Hon. Geo. L. Ferry, and other members, asked me to + look up the point and inform the committee, supposing a + constitutional amendment needful. When the point was made on this + bill, I for the first time closely examined the constitution, and + finding there was nought to prevent the legislature enfranchising + anyone, promptly apprised the committee of the discovery. The + acting-chairman, Major Wm. D. Brennan, requested me to furnish + the committee a legal brief on the matter. This (Feb. 19, 1880) I + did, and arranged a public hearing before them in the + assembly-chamber, which was attended by Governor Cornell, + Lieutenant-Governor Hoskins, many senators, assemblymen, and + State officers; at which Mrs. Blake, the sainted Helen M. Slocum + and Mrs. Elizabeth L. Saxon were the speakers. From that year to + the present there has been a "Bill to Prohibit Disfranchisement" + before each legislature. In 1881, it was carried to a majority + vote in the Assembly. In 1883, two-thirds of the Assembly were + ready to pass the bill when the attorney-general declared it + unconstitutional. In 1884, Governor Cleveland had approved two + suffrage acts, and promised to sign all the friends could carry. + In 1885, growing tired of the senseless clamor of + "unconstitutionality," I resolved to show how little law the + clamorers knew. To the knowledge gained by five years' + discussion, I added that obtained by several months' research in + the State Library at Albany, that of the New York Bar + Association, those of the New York Law Institute and Columbia + College, and elsewhere. The result was the publication of "Cases + of the Legislature's Power over Suffrage," wherein it was shown, + condensed from a great number of authorities, that all classes + have received suffrage, not from the constitution but from the + legislature, and that the latter has exercised the power of + extending suffrage in hundreds of cases. This document received + high praise from General James W. Husted and Major James + Haggerty, who have manfully championed our bills in the Assembly, + General Husted reading from it in his speech and it was signally + sanctioned by the Assembly which, after being supplied with + copies, voted down by more than three to one a motion to + substitute a constitutional amendment. + + But while working at this document, I was fortunate enough to + make a still greater discovery--that portions of statute law + which formerly prevented women's voting were repealed long since; + that the constitution and statutes in their present shape secure + women the legal right to vote. + +February 19, 1885, a hearing was granted to Mrs. Stanton, Mrs. +Rogers and Mrs. Blake in the assembly-chamber before the Committee +on Grievances, on the "Bill to Prohibit Disfranchisement." The +splendid auditorium was crowded for two hours, and members of the +committee lingered a long time after the audience had dispersed to +discuss the whole question still further with the speakers. On the +next day Mrs. Mary Seymour Howell and Governor John W. Hoyt of +Wyoming Territory had a second hearing. The committee reported for +consideration. When the bill came up for a third reading, General +Martin L. Curtis of St. Lawrence moved that it be sent to +the Judiciary Committee with instructions to substitute a +constitutional amendment; lost, ayes 25, noes 75; carried to a +third reading by _viva voce_ vote. The vote on the final passage +was, ayes 57, noes 56; the constitutional majority in this State +being 65 of the 128 members, it was lost by eight votes. Of the 73 +Republicans, 29 voted for the bill; of the 55 Democrats, 28 voted +for the bill, showing that more than half the Democratic vote was +in favor, and only two-fifths of the Republican; thus our defeat +was due to the Republican party. + +Thus stands the question of woman suffrage in the Empire State +to-day, where women are in the majority.[254] After long years of +unremitting efforts who can read this chapter of woman's faith and +patience, under such oft-repeated disappointments, but with pity +for her humiliations and admiration for her courage and +persistence. For nearly half a century the petitions, the appeals, +the arguments of the women of New York have been before the +legislature for consideration, and the trivial concessions of +justice thus far wrung from our rulers bear no proportion to the +prolonged labors we have gone through to achieve them. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[200] It has recently been ascertained that the first woman's +rights petition sent to the New York State legislature was by Miss +Mary Ayers, in 1834, for a change in the property laws. It was ten +or fifteen feet long when unrolled, and is still buried in the +vaults of the capitol at Albany. + +[201] Many years afterwards, lecturing in Texas, I met a party of +ladies from Georgia, thoroughly awake on all questions relating to +women. Finding ourselves quite in accord, I said, "how did you get +those ideas in Georgia?" "Why," said one, "some of our friends +attended a woman's convention at Saratoga, and told us what was +said there, and gave us several tracts on all phases of the +question, which were the chief topics of discussion among us long +after." Southern women have suffered so many evils growing out of +the system of slavery that they readily learn the lessons of +freedom.--[E. C. S. + +[202] The following were elected officers of the association. +_President_, Martha C. Wright, Auburn. _Vice-Presidents_, Celia +Burleigh, Brooklyn; Rachel S. Martin, Albany; Lydia A. Strowbridge, +Cortland; Jennie White, Syracuse; Eliza W. Osborn, Auburn; Sarah G. +Love, Ithaca; W. S. V. Rosa, Watertown; Mary M. R. Parks, Utica; +Amy Post, Rochester; Candace S. Brockett, Brockett's Bridge; Ida +Greeley, Chappaqua; Mary Hunt, Waterloo. _Secretary_, Matilda +Joslyn Gage, Fayetteville. _Executive Committee_, Lucy A. Brand, +Emeline A. Morgan, Mrs. H. Stewart, Samuel J. May, Rhoda Price, all +of Syracuse. _Advisory Counsel_, for First Judicial District, Susan +B. Anthony, New York; Second, Sarah Schram, Newburgh; Third, Sarah +H. Hallock, Milton; Fourth, Caroline Mowry Holmes, Greenwich; +Fifth, Ann T. Randall, Oswego; Sixth, Mrs. Professor Sprague, +Ithaca, Seventh, Harriet N. Austin, Dansville; Eighth, Helen P. +Jenkins, Buffalo. + +[203] The speakers were Celia Burleigh, Susan B. Anthony, Charlotte +B. Wilbour, Matilda Joslyn Gage, Mrs. Bedortha, of Saratoga, Mrs. +Strowbridge, of Cortland, Mrs. Norton, J. N. Holmes, esq., Judge +McKean, Rev. Mr. Angier, Hon. Wm. Hay. See Vol. II., page 402, for +Mrs. Burleigh's letter on this Saratoga convention. + +[204] The Board of Trustees of Mt. Vernon, Westchester county, +called a meeting of taxpayers of that village on July 19, 1868, to +vote upon the question of levying a tax of $6,000 for the purpose +of making and repairing highways and sidewalks, and for sundry +other public improvements. Over sixty per cent. of the real-estate +owners being women, they resolved upon asserting their right to a +voice in the matter, and issued a call for a meeting, signed by the +following influential ladies: Mrs. M. J. Law, Mrs. H. H. Leaver, +Mrs. Olive Leaver, Mrs. J. Haggerty, Mary H. Macdonald, Mrs. +Dorothy Ferguson, Mrs. M. J. Farrand, Mrs. Jeanette Oron, Mrs. +Thirza Clark, Mrs. S. J. Clark, Mrs. Nettie Morgan, Mrs. D. Downs, +Miss L. M. Hale, Miss Susie Law, Mrs. Celia Pratt, Mrs. Sabra +Talcott, Mrs. Mary Wilkie, Mrs. Elizabeth Latham, Mrs. Mary C. +Brown, Mrs. J. M. Lockwood, Mrs. May Howe, Mrs. Adaline Baylis, +Mrs. J. Harper, Miss Elizabeth Eaton, Miss C. Frederiska Scharft, +Mrs. S. A. Hathaway, Mrs. Margaret Hick, Mrs. Rebecca Dimmic, Mrs. +Catharine Alphonse, Miss Julia Cheney, Mrs. E. Watkins, Mrs. L. M. +Pease, Mrs. Margaret Coles, Mrs. Ruth Smith, Mrs. Mary A. Douglas, +Mrs. Sarah Valentine, Mrs. H. C. Jones, Mrs. J. Tomlinson, Mrs. +Amanda Carr, Mrs. Margaret Wooley, Mrs. S. Seeber, Mrs. B. Powers, +Mrs. S. A. Waterhouse, Mrs. H. M. Smith. But notwithstanding the +numbers, wealth, and social influence of the women, their demand +was rejected, while hundreds of men, who had never paid a dollar's +tax into the village treasury, were permitted to deposit their +votes, though challenged by friends, and well known to the officers +as not possessors of a foot of real estate. + +[205] The Working Women's Association was organized in New York, +September 17, 1868, with Mrs. Anna Tobitt, _President_; +Miss Augusta Lewis, Miss Susan Johns, Miss Mary Peers. +_Vice-Presidents_; Miss Elizabeth C. Browne, _Secretary_, and Miss +Julia Browne, _Treasurer_. The three vice-presidents were young +ladies of about twenty. Miss Lewis worked upon a newly invented +type-setting machine. + +[206] "Sergeant Robinson, of the Twenty-sixth Precinct, made a raid +on the abandoned women patroling the park last evening. At 11 p. m. +six unfortunates were caged." Thus runs the record. Will some one +now be kind enough to tell us whether Sergeant Robinson, or any +other sergeant, made a raid upon the abandoned men who were +patrolling Broadway at the same hour? Did any one on that night, +or, indeed, upon any other night, within the memory of the oldest +Knickerbocker, make a raid upon the gamblers, thieves, drunkards +and panders that infest Houston street? By what authority do the +police call women "abandoned" and arrest them because they are +patrolling any public park or square? If these women belonged to +the class euphemistically called "unfortunate," they were doubtless +there because men were already there before them. And if it was +illegal in women and deserving of punishment, why should men +escape? _Prima facie_, if crime were committed, the latter are the +greater criminals of the two. We humbly suggest to all who are +endeavoring to reform this class of women, that they turn their +attention to reforming the opposite sex. If you can make men so +pure that they will not seek the society of prostitutes, you will +soon have no prostitutes for them to seek; in other words, +prostitution will cease when men become sufficiently pure to make +no demand for prostitutes. In any event, the police should treat +both sexes alike. Making a raid, as it is called, upon abandoned +women, and shutting them up in prison, never can procure good +results. The most repulsive and bestial features of "the social +evil" have their origin in the treatment that women receive at the +hands of the police; and society itself would be much better if the +police would keep their hands off such women.--[P. P. in _The +Revolution_. + +[207] An important decision relating to the eligibility of +candidates for the Cornell free scholarship has been rendered by +Judge Martin of the Supreme Court. Mary E. Wright, who stood third +in the recent examination here for the scholarship, contested the +appointment on the ground that the candidates who were first and +second in the examination were not pupils of a school in the +county. The judge decided that candidates for the position must be +residents of the county and pupils of a school therein, to be +eligible, and he awarded the scholarship to Miss Wright. This is +the first contested scholarship since the establishment of the +University.--_Ithaca dispatch to New York Times._ + +[208] Dr. Lewis H. Morgan, who died in 1882, famed in both +hemispheres as an ethnologist, left a considerable estate to be +devoted at the death of his wife (which has since occurred) and of +his son without issue, to the establishment, in connection with the +University of Rochester, of a collegiate institution for women. +This makes it very probable that Rochester will ultimately offer +equal opportunities to both sexes. + +[209] At one time it was said that Hobart College had more +professors than students, and one year had arrived at such a point +of exhaustion as to graduate but one young man. When the +proposition to incorporate Geneva Medical College with the Syracuse +University was made, Hon. George F. Comstock, a trustee of the +latter institution, vigorously opposed it unless equal advantages +were pledged to women. + +[210] See Volume II., page 264. + +[211] The twelve were:. Mrs. H. M. Field, Mrs. Anna Lynch Botta, +Miss Kate Field, Mrs. Anna B. Allen, Miss Josephine Pollard, Mrs. +Celia Burleigh, Mrs. Fanny Barrow, Mrs. C. B. Wilbour, Mrs. J. C. +Croly, Miss Ella Dietz, Alice and Phebe Cary. + +[212] She now reports the cattle-market for four New York papers +including the _Tribune_ and _Times_. + +[213] _President_, Charlotte B. Wilbour; _Vice-Presidents_, Dr. +Clemence S. Lozier, Mrs. Devereux Blake; _Secretary_, Frances V. +Hallock; _Treasurer_, Miss Jeannie McAdam. + +[214] The petitioners were represented by Mrs. Wilbour, Mrs. Hester +M. Poole, Elizabeth B. Phelps, Elizabeth Langdon, Mrs. I. D. Hull, +Mrs. Charlotte L. Coleman, Mrs. M. E. Leclover, Matilda Joslyn +Gage. + +[215] See Vol. II., page 628. + +[216] Isabella Beecher Hooker, Susan B. Anthony, Rev. Olympia +Brown, Matilda Joslyn Gage, Dr. Clemence Lozier, Helen M. Slocum, +Lillie Devereux Blake. + +[217] Lillie Devereux Blake was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, in +August, 1833. Her father, George Devereux, was a wealthy Southern +gentleman of Irish descent. Her mother's maiden name was Sarah +Elizabeth Johnson of Stratford, Connecticut, a descendant of +William Samuel Johnson who was one of the first two senators from +that State. Both her parents were descended from Jonathan Edwards. +Her father died in 1837, and the widow subsequently removed to New +Haven, Conn., where she was well known for her large and generous +hospitality. Her daughter, the future favorite writer and lecturer, +was a much admired belle, and in 1855 was married to Frank Umsted, +a lawyer of Philadelphia, with whom she lived two years in St. +Louis, Mo. Mr. Umsted died in 1859, and his widow, who had written +sketches for _Harper's Magazine_ and published a novel called +"Southwold," from that date contributed largely to leading +newspapers and magazines. She was Washington correspondent of the +_Evening Post_ in the winter of 1861, published "Rockford" in 1862, +and wrote many stories for _Frank Leslie's Weekly_, the +_Philadelphia Press_ and other publications. In 1866 she married +Greenfill Blake of New York. In 1872 Mrs. Blake published "Fettered +for Life," a novel designed to show the legal disadvantages of +women. Ever since she became interested in the suffrage movement +Mrs. Blake has been one of the most ardent advocates. She has taken +several lecturing tours in different States of the Union. Mrs. +Blake is an easy speaker and writer, and of late has contributed to +many of our popular magazines. Much of the recent work in the New +York legislature is due to her untiring zeal. + +[218] Mrs. Jennie McAdam, Mrs. Hester Poole, Charlotte Coleman, +Mrs. Hull, Mrs. Morse and others. A month before, January 23, Miss +Anthony was invited to address the commission, giving her +constitutional argument, showing woman's right to vote under the +fourteenth amendment. Hon. Henry R. Selden was in the audience, +being in the city on Miss Anthony's case. At the close of her +argument he said: "If I had heard that speech before, I could have +made a stronger plea before Judge Hall this morning." + +[219] She was escorted to the capitol by Phoebe H. Jones and the +venerable Lydia Mott, who for a quarter of a century had +entertained at their respective homes the various speakers that had +come to Albany to plead for new liberties, and had accompanied +them, one after another, to the halls of legislation. + +[220] Addressed by Mrs. Wilbour, Mrs. Blake, Mrs. Lozier, Mrs. +Hallock, Hamilton Wilcox and Dr. Hallock. + +[221] For Judge Hunt's decision, see Volume II., page 677. + +[222] Miss Charlotte C. Jackson, the valedictorian of the Normal +College of New York; Miss Mary Hussey of Orange, New Jersey; Miss +Mosher of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Miss Emma Wendt, daughter of +Mathilde Wendt. In 1867, Mrs. Stanton had made a similar +application to Theodore D. Dwight, that the law school might be +opened to young women. In the course of their conversation +Professor Dwight said; "Do you think girls know enough to study +law?" Mrs. Stanton replied: "All the liberal laws for women that +have been passed in the last twenty years are the results of the +protests of women; surely, if they know enough to protest against +bad laws, they know enough to study our whole system of +jurisprudence." + +[223] It was peculiarly fitting that this application should be +made by Mrs. Blake, as two of her ancestors had been presidents of +the college. The first it ever had, when founded as King's +College in 1700, was the Rev. Samuel Johnson, D. D., her +great-great-grandfather. His son, the Hon. Samuel William Johnson, +was the first president after the Revolution, when the name was +changed to Columbia College. + +[224] Julia Ward Howe, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Antoinette Brown +Blackwell, Mary F. Eastman, Helen Potter, Sarah Andrews Spencer, +Augusta Cooper Bristol, Alice Fletcher, Maria Mitchell, professor +at Vassar College, Isabella Beecher Hooker, Frances Ellen Burr, +Abby Smith, Rossella E. Buckingham, and others. + +[225] Dr. Clemence Lozier was born of a good family in New Jersey. +She was married at the early age of 16, and widowed at 27, left +with a young family without means of support. But being an +excellent teacher, she soon found employment. For eleven years she +was principal of a young ladies' seminary. By natural instinct a +physician and a healer, she determined to fit herself for that +profession. A physician of the old school assisted her in her +medical studies, and in 1853 she received a diploma from the +Eclectic College of Syracuse, and shortly after established herself +in New York, where her practice steadily increased, until her +professional income was one of the largest in the city. In 1860 she +began a course of free medical lectures to women, which continued +for three years, culminating in "The New York Medical College for +Women," which was chartered in 1863. The foundation and +establishment of this institution was the crowning work of her +life, to which she has devoted time and money. From the first she +has been dean of the faculty, and after years of struggle at last +has the satisfaction of seeing it a complete success, owning a fine +building up town, with hospital and dispensary attached. + +[226] Several ladies appeared last week before the New York +Supervisors' Committee to protest against excessive taxation. The +New York _World_ informs us that Mrs. Harriet Ramsen complained +that the appraisement of lot 5 West One Hundred and Twenty-second +street, was increased from $7,000 to $9,000. Mrs. P. P. Dickinson, +house 48 West Fifty-sixth street, increased from $15,000 to +$20,000; Mrs. Cynthia Bunce, house 37 West Fifty-fourth street, +last year's valuation $10,000; this year's, $15,000. Mrs. Daly, who +owns a house in Seventy-second street, informed the committee that +the assessment on the house (a small dwelling) was put at $2,000, +an increase of $700 over last year's valuation. This house stands +in an unopened street. Supervisor McCafferty said that the +committee would do all in its power to have the assessment reduced, +and also remarked that it was a positive outrage to assess such a +small house at so high a figure. Mrs. Louisa St. John, who is +reputed to be worth $2,000,000, complained because three lots on +Fifth avenue, near Eighty-sixth street, and five lots on the +last-named street, have been assessed at much higher figures than +other lots in the neighborhood. Mrs. St. John addressed the +committee with much eloquence and force. Said she: "I do not +complain of the assessments that have been laid on my property. I +complain of the inequalities practiced by the assessors, and I +should like to see them set right." Supervisor McCafferty assured +Mrs. St. John that everything in the power of the committee would +be done to equalize assessments in future. Mrs. St. John is a heavy +speculator in real estate. She attends sales and has property +"knocked down" to her. She makes all her own searches in the +register's office, and is known, in fact, among property-owners as +a very thorough real-estate lawyer. Many years ago she was the +proprietor of the Globe Hotel, now Frankfort House, corner of +Frankfort and William streets. + +[227] The Albany _Evening Journal_ of January 22 said: A hearing +was granted by the Judiciary Committee to-night, on the petition of +the Woman's Tax-payers Association of the City of Rochester, for +either representation or relief from taxation. The petitioners were +heard in the assembly chamber, and in addition to members of the +committee, a large audience of ladies and gentlemen were drawn +together, including the president of the Senate, speaker of the +House, and nearly all the leading members of both branches of the +legislature. The first speaker was Mrs. Blake, the youngest of the +trio, who occupied about twenty minutes and was well received. She +was followed by Miss Anthony, who made a telling speech, frequently +eliciting applause. She recounted her long service in the woman's +rights cause, and gave a brief history of the different enactments +and repeals on the question for the last thirty years. She related +her experience in voting, and said she was fined $100 and costs, +one cent of which she had never paid and never meant to. She +claimed Judge Waite was in favor of woman suffrage, and believed +the present speaker of the Assembly of New York was also in favor +of the movement. Calls being made for General Husted, that +gentleman replied that Miss Anthony was perfectly correct in her +statement. She summed up by asking the committee to report in favor +of legislation exempting women from taxation unless represented by +the ballot, remarking that she would not ask for the right to vote, +as that was guaranteed her by the Constitution of the United +States. Miss Anthony then introduced Mrs. Joslyn Gage, who said if +any member of the committee had objections to offer or questions to +ask she would like the privilege of answering; but as none of the +committee availed themselves, she proceeded for fifteen minutes in +about the same strain as her predecessors. Calls being made for Mr. +Spencer and eliciting no reply from that gentleman, Mrs. Blake said +they should consider him a convert. + +[228] The speakers were Dr. Clemence Lozier, Helen M. Slocum, +Henrietta Westbrook, Mrs. Devereux Blake. Mrs. J. E. Frobisher +recited Paul Revere's ride, and Helen M. Cooke read the +resolutions. + +[229] Helen M. Slocum, Dr. Clemence Lozier, Mrs. Devereux Blake. + +[230] Miss King, the head of a New York tea-dealing firm composed +of women, who control a capital of $1,000,000, has recently gone to +China to make purchases. Her previous business experience, as +narrated by a correspondent of the Chicago _Tribune_, explains her +fitness for her mission, while it incidentally throws some light on +the secrets of the tea-company business: + +"Previous to the outbreak of our civil war Miss King was +extensively engaged in utilizing the leaves of the great blackberry +and raspberry crops running to waste in the rich lowlands of +Georgia and Alabama, and kept in that fertile region a large levy +of Northern women--smart, like herself--to superintend the +gathering of the leaves and their preparation for shipment to +headquarters in New York. These leaves were prepared for the market +at their manipulating halls in one of the narrow streets on the +Hudson side of New York city. Over this stage of the tea +preparations Miss King had special supervision, and, by a generous +use of the genuine imported teas, worked up our American +productions into all the accredited varieties of the black and +green teas of commerce. Here the female supervision apparently +ended. In their extensive tea ware-rooms in Walker street the +business was conducted by the shrewdest representatives of +Gothamite trade, with all the appliances of the great Chinese +tea-importing houses. Here were huge piles of tea-chests, assorted +and unassorted, and the high-salaried tea-taster with his row of +tiny cups of hot-drawn tea, delicately sampling and classifying the +varieties and grades for market. The breaking out of the war +stopped the Southern supplies and sent Miss King's female agents to +their Northern homes. But the business was made to conform to the +new order of things. Large cargoes of imported black teas were +bought as they arrived and were skillfully manipulated into those +high-cost varieties of green teas so extensively purchased by the +government for its commissary and medical departments." + +[231] Mrs. Lozier presided. Addresses were made by Matilda Fletcher +of Iowa, Mrs. Helen Slocum and Mrs. Devereux Blake. + +[232] In Poughkeepsie, Yonkers, Harlem, Williamsburgh, Brighton, +and in several districts in the city of New York. + +[233] Matilda Joslyn Gage, Helen M. Loder, Mrs. Clara Neyman, Mrs. +Slocum, Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Blake. + +[234] _To the Women of the State of New York:_ + +The undersigned, citizens of the State of New York, who if free to +do so, would express themselves at the ballot box, but who by +unjust enactments are debarred the exercise of that political +freedom whereto "the God of nature" entitles them, earnestly +protest against the proposed reelection of Lucius Robinson as +governor. They say naught against his honor as a man, but they +protest because when the legislature of the Empire State had passed +a bill making women eligible to school-boards. Lucius Robinson, by +his veto, kept this bill from becoming law. They therefore call on +all men and women who respect themselves and dare maintain their +rights, to do all in their power to defeat the reelection of one +who has set himself against the advance made by Iowa, Kansas, +Oregon, Illinois, Michigan, Colorado, California, Minnesota, +Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, in many of which +States woman's right to vote on school questions is also +recognized. + +[Signed:] Matilda Joslyn Gage, _President N. Y. State Woman +Suffrage Association_. Jennie M. Lozier, M. D., _Secretary_. Lillie +Devereux Blake, _Vice-President National Association_. Clemence S. +Lozier, M. D., _President N. Y. City Association_. Susan A. King, +Cordelia S. Knapp, Helen M. Slocum, Susan B. Anthony, Amanda Deyo, +Helen M. Cooke, Elizabeth B. Phelps, Charlotte Fowler Wells, Emma +S. Allen. + +[235] Chester A. Arthur, chairman of the Republican campaign +committee, presented the motion. + +[236] She threw her spacious apartments open, and gave some of the +voters a free lunch, that she might have the opportunity of adding +her personal persuasions to the public protests. Miss King and Miss +Helen Potter, the distinguished reader, then residing with Miss +King, assisted in raising a banner for Cornell and Foster, +applauded by the multitude of by-standers. + +[237] Mrs. Lucy A. Brand, principal of the Genesee school of this +city, a woman with abilities as good as those of any male +principal, but who, because she is a woman, receives $550 less +salary a year than a male principal, was the first woman in the +State of New York to cast a vote under the new school law. On +Saturday afternoon she was at a friend's house, when the _Journal_ +was thrown in, containing the first editorial notice of the passage +of the law. Mrs. Brand saw the welcome announcement. "Let us go and +register," she at once said, her heart swelling with joy and +thankfulness that even this small quantity of justice had been done +woman. "Where is my shawl? I feel as if I should die if I don't get +there," for the hour was late, and the time for closing the +registry lists was near at hand. To have lost this opportunity +would have placed her in the position of a second Tantalus, the cup +withdrawn just as it touched her lips. But she was in time, and the +important act of registering accomplished, she had but to possess +her soul in patience until the following Tuesday. Who shall say how +long the two intervening days were to her; but Tuesday morning at +last arrived, when, for the first time, Mrs. Brand was to exercise +the freeman's right of self-government. A gentleman, the owner of +the block in which she resided, offered to accompany her to the +polls, although he was a Democrat and knew Mrs. Brand would vote +the Republican ticket. Although not hesitating to go alone, Mrs. +Brand accepted this courtesy. As she entered the polling place the +men present fell back in a semi-circle. Not a sound was heard, not +a whisper, not a breath. In silence and with a joyous solemnity +well befitting the occasion, Mrs. Brand cast her first vote, at +five minutes past eight in the morning. The post-master of the +city, Mr. Chase, offered his congratulations. A few ordinary +remarks were exchanged, and then Mrs. Brand left the place. And +that was all; neither more nor less. No opposition, no rudeness, no +jostling crowd of men, but such behavior as is seen when Christians +come together at the sacrament. I have long known Mrs. Brand as a +noble woman, but talking with her a few days since I could but +notice the added sense of self-respecting dignity that freedom +gives. "I feel a constant gratitude that even some portion of my +rights have been recognized," said she, and I left her, more than +ever impressed, if that is possible, with the beauty and sacredness +of freedom.--[M. J. G. + +[238] Rev. Robert Collyer, Elizabeth L. Saxon, Clara Neyman, +Augusta Cooper Bristol, Helen M. Slocum, Hamilton Wilcox, Mrs. +Devereux Blake, and Dr. Clemence Lozier who presided. + +[239] Mary Seymour Howell, _President_; Miss Kate Stoneman, +_Secretary_. Miss Stoneman cast the first vote at the school +election in Albany. + +[240] See appendix. + +[241] Mrs. Blake, Mrs. Slocum, Mrs. Saxon, of Louisiana. + +[242] Miss Helen Potter, Miss Susan A. King, Miss Helen M. Slocum, +Miss Harriet K. Dolson and Mrs. Devereux Blake. + +[243] Mrs. Rogers organized a society in Lansingburg, Mrs. Loder in +Poughkeepsie, Miss Stoneman held meetings in Chautauqua county, +Mrs. Howell in Livingston county, Mrs. Blake in ten other counties, +and held several parlor meetings in New York city. The annual +convention of the State society was held in Chickering Hall, +February 1, 2, 1882. + +[244] The press generally commented unfavorably. The _Herald_ said: +"The legislature passed a bill in the interest of decency and +humanity, authorizing the appointment of matrons in the several +police stations in the city of New York to look after female +prisoners who might be placed in the station-houses. This bill was +recommended by our best charitable and religious societies, but +failed to receive the sanction of the governor, although he very +promptly signed a bill to increase the number of the detective +force." + +[245] Mrs. Emma Gates Conkling, Mrs. Clara Neyman, Dr. Clemence +Lozier and Mrs. Blake. + +[246] Major Haggerty, ex-Governor Thomas G. Alvord and Hon. James +D. McMellan in its favor; Hon. Erastus Brooks and General Sharpe +against. + +[247] Mr. Hamilton Wilcox at once prepared an able paper, refuting +the attorney-general's assertion. It was widely circulated +throughout the State. + +[248] When the vote was announced, the ladies sent the pages with +bouquets to the leading speakers in behalf of the bill, and +button-hole sprigs to the fifty-four who voted aye. + +[249] _To the Women of the State of New York_: + +The undersigned urge you to exert yourselves to turn every +vote possible against Leslie W. Russell's reelection as +attorney-general. His official acts prove him the unscrupulous foe +of your liberties. By informing the legislature that you have no +right to vote at common law, he has denied your sacred rights and +misrepresented the law to your hurt. By stating that you have no +natural right to vote, he has denied your title to freedom and +sought to keep your rights at the mercy of those in power. By +informing the legislature that the bill to repeal the statutes +which keep you from voting was unconstitutional he misled the +legislature and kept you disfranchised. By thus continuing your +disfranchisement, he has subjected you to many misfortunes and +wrongs which the repeal of your disfranchisement would cure, and is +personally responsible for these sufferings. He has also sought to +rob the mothers of this State of their votes at school elections, +and thus to deprive them of the power to control their children's +education. + +[Signed:] Clemence S. Lozier, M. D., New York; Mary R. Pell, +Queens; Lillie Devereux Blake, New York; Caroline A. Bassett, Erie; +Susan A. King, New York; Lucy Shawler, Chenango; Mary E. Tallman, +Oneida; Hannah M. Angel, Allegany; Ida Louise Dildine, Broome; +Zerivah L. Watkeys, Onondaga; Asenath C. Coolidge, Jefferson; Sarah +H. Hallock, Ulster; N. W. Cooper, Jefferson, and others. + +_To the Republican and Independent Voters of the State of New +York_: + +The undersigned earnestly ask you to cast your votes against Leslie +W. Russell, the present attorney-general. When the legislature last +year was about to repeal the election laws which prevent women from +exercising the right of suffrage, Leslie W. Russell stated to that +body that women had no right at common law to vote, and that this +bill was unconstitutional. By these misstatements he misled the +legislature, defeated this most righteous bill and prolonged the +disfranchisement of women. Thus he inflicted on a majority of our +adult citizens, who had committed no offense, the penalty of +disfranchisement and the great mischiefs which flow thence, and, +like Judge Taney in the Dred-Scott decision, perverted law and +constitution to justify injustice and continue wrong. A vote for +Leslie W. Russell is a vote to keep these women disfranchised and +to prolong these mischiefs. He who thus blocks the way of freedom +should be removed from the place which enables him to do this. You +can vote at this election for fifteen or more officers. It is but a +small thing to ask, that each of you cast one-fifteenth part of his +vote to represent women's interest at the polls. + +[Signed:] Clemence S. Lozier, M. D., Bronson Murray, Susan A. King, +Hamilton Wilcox, Lillie Devereux Blake, Albert O. Wilcox. + +[250] Abigail Scott Duniway, editor _New Northwest_, Oregon; +Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, editor "Woman's Kingdom," Chicago +_Inter-Ocean_; Helen M. Gougar, editor _Our Herald_, Indiana. + +[251] On the evening of March 8 the New York city society gave a +reception in honor of the delegates to the National Convention, +recently held at Washington, in the elegant parlors of the Hoffman +House. + +[252] Mrs. Gage, Mrs. Howell, Mrs. Rogers, Mrs. Duniway and Mrs. +Gougar. + +[253] Imprisonment for not more than five years, or a fine of not +more than $1,000, or both. + +[254] The last census shows there are 72,224 more women than men in +New York; that there are 360,381 women and girls over ten years of +age who support themselves by work outside their own homes, not +including the house-keepers who, from the raw material brought into +the family, manufacture food and clothing three times its original +value. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. + +PENNSYLVANIA. + + Carrie Burnham--The Canon and Civil Law the Source of Woman's + Degradation--Women Sold with Cattle in 1768--Women Arrested in + Pittsburgh--Mrs. McManus--Opposition to Women in the Colleges and + Hospitals; John W. Forney Vindicates their Rights--Ann + Preston--Women in Dentistry--James Truman's Letter--Swarthmore + College--Suffrage Association Formed in 1866, in + Philadelphia--John K. Wildman's Letter--Judge William S. + Pierce--The Citizens' Suffrage Association, 333 Walnut Street, + Edward M. Davis, President--Petitions to the + Legislature--Constitutional Convention, 1873--Bishop Simpson, + Mary Grew, Sarah C. Hallowell, Matilda Hindman, Mrs. Stanton, + Address the Convention--Messrs. Broomall and Campbell Debate With + the Opposition--Amendment Making Women Eligible to School + Offices--Two Women Elected to Philadelphia School Board, + 1874--The Wages of Married Women Protected--J. Edgar Thomson's + Will--Literary Women as Editors--The Rev. Knox Little--Anne E. + McDowell--Women as Physicians in Insane Asylums--The Fourteenth + Amendment Resolution, 1881--Ex-Governor Hoyt's Lecture on + Wyoming. + + +In the demand for the right of suffrage, women are constantly asked +by the opposition if they cannot trust their own fathers, husbands +and brothers to legislate for them. The answer to this question may +be found in an able digest of the old common laws and the Revised +Statutes of Pennsylvania,[255] prepared by Carrie S. Burnham[256] +of Pennsylvania. A careful perusal of this paper will show the +relative position of man and woman to be that of sovereign and +subject. + +To get at the real sentiments of a people in regard to the true +status of woman we must read the canon and civil laws that form the +basic principles of their religion and government. We must not +trust to the feelings and actions of the best men towards the +individual women whom they may chance to love and respect. The +chivalry and courtesy that the few command through their beauty, +wealth and position, are one thing; but justice, equality, liberty +for the multitude, are quite another. And when the few, through +misfortune, are made to feel the iron teeth of the law, they regret +that they had not used their power to secure permanent protection +under just laws, rather than to have trusted the transient favors +of individuals to shield them in life's emergencies. + +The law securing to married women the right to property,[257] +inherited by will or bequest, passed the legislature of +Pennsylvania, and was approved by the governor April 11, 1848, just +five days after a similar law had been passed in New York. Judge +Bovier was the mover for the Pennsylvania Married Women's Property +Law. His feelings had been so often outraged with the misery caused +by men marrying women for their property, that he was bound the law +should be repealed. He prevailed on several young Quakers who had +rich sisters, to run for the legislature. They were elected and did +their duty. Judge Bovier was a descendent of the Waldenses, a +society of French Quakers who fled to the mountains from +persecution. Their descendants are still living in France.[258] + +The disabilities and degradation that women suffer to-day grow out +of the spirit of laws that date from a time when women were viewed +in the light of beasts of burden. Scarce a century has passed since +women were sold in this country with cattle. In the _Pennsylvania +Gazette_ for January 7, 1768, is the following advertisement: + + TO BE SEEN.--At the Crooked Billet, near the Court-house, + Philadelphia (Price Three Pence), A Two Year Old Hogg, 12 Hands + high, and in length 16 Feet; thought to be the largest of its + Kind ever seen in America. + +In the same paper of the following week occurs this yet more +extraordinary announcement: + + TO BE SOLD.--A Healthy Young Dutch Woman, fit for town or country + business; about 18 years old; can spin well; she speaks good + English, and has about five years to serve. Inquire at James Der + Kinderen's, Strawberry alley. + +In one century of growth a woman's sewing machine was better +protected than the woman herself under the old common law: + + AN ACT _to exempt Sewing Machines belonging to Seamstresses in + this Commonwealth from levy and sale on execution or distress for + rent_: + + SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of + Representatives of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania in general + assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the + same, That hereafter all sewing machines belonging to + seamstresses in this commonwealth shall be exempt from levy and + sale on execution or distress for rent, in addition to any + article or money now exempt by law. Approved, April 17, 1869. + +While the following order reflects the spirit of the seventeenth +century, the comments show the dawning of the right idea, and are +worthy the time in which the great State of Pennsylvania could +boast such women as Lucretia Mott, Anna E. Dickinson, Jane G. +Swisshelm and Sarah J. Hale: + + A WOMAN ORDER IN PITTSBURGH.--The mayor of Pittsburgh has ordered + the arrest of every woman found on the streets alone after 9 + o'clock in the evening; the consequence of which has been that + some respectable ladies have recently seen the inside of the + lock-up.--_Exchange, June, 1869._ + + Now let the mothers, wives and daughters of Pittsburgh obtain the + passage, by the city council, of an ordinance causing the arrest + of every _man_ found in the streets after 9 o'clock in the + evening, and the law will then be equal in its operation. This + legislating upon the behavior of one sex by the other + exclusively, is one-sided and despotic. Give both sexes a chance + at reforming each other. + +Another step in progress was indicated by the assumption of some +women to influence civil administration, not only for their own +protection, but for that of their sires and sons: + + An exchange says that women are becoming perfect nuisances, and + to substantiate the assertion adds that 1,500 women in Chester + county, Pennsylvania, have petitioned the court to grant no more + liquor licenses. + +Suppose wives should come reeling home, night after night, with +curses on their lips, to destroy the food, the dishes, the +furniture for which husbands toiled; to abuse trembling children, +making the home, from year to year, a pandemonium on earth--would +the good men properly be called "nuisances," who should rise up and +say this must end; we must protect our firesides, our children, +ourselves, society at large? To have women even suggest such +beneficent laws for the men of their families is called "a +nuisance," while the whole barbarous code for women was declared by +Lord Coke to be the "perfection of reason." + +The prejudice against sex has been as bitter and unreasonable as +against color, and far more reprehensible, because in too many +cases it has been a contest between the inferior, with law on his +side, and the superior, with law and custom against her, as the +following facts in the _Sunday Dispatch_, by Anne E. McDowell, +fully show: + + The decision of the Court of Common Pleas in the case of Mrs. + McManus, elected principal of the Mount Vernon Boys' Grammar + School, is to the effect that, no rule being in existence + prohibiting the exercise of the duties of such office by a woman, + the resolution of the controllers against the exercise of the + duties of that office by the lady was unjustifiable and illegal. + Since the decision was pronounced the controllers have come up to + the boundary of the principle held by the court, and a rule has + been proposed that in future women shall be ineligible to be + principals of boys' grammar schools--the case of Mrs. McManus + being specially excepted. That lady, therefore, will be + undisturbed. But she may be, like the celebrated "Lady + Freemason." an exception to her sex. The controllers have not + favored the public with their reasons for opposition to the + employment of females in the higher positions of teaching. Women + are good enough for inferior service about a boys' + grammar-school, it seems, but they are not capable of + superintending it. They may be, and are, teachers in all the + classes in such schools, even to the highest; but when the + question arises whether a woman, perfectly competent, shall be + superintendent of all the classes--for a principal is little + more--the controllers say _no_. If this action is influenced by a + belief that women cannot control a school of boys, we hope that + the experience in the case of Mrs. McManus will dispel the + illusion, and the public can afford to await the result of the + trial. But if it is caused by a regard to tradition or precedent, + or because there never has yet been an instance of a woman being + a principal of a boys' grammar-school before this case of Mrs. + McManus, we hope that the controllers will soon see the error of + their course. The complaints from the sections are to the effect + that it is very difficult to get a competent male teacher to + remain principal of a boys' grammar-school for any length of + time. The salary attached to that position is inadequate, + according to the increased cost of living of the times. Gentlemen + who are competent to act as principals of the public schools find + that they can make more money by establishing private schools; + and hence they are uneasy and dissatisfied while in the public + service. A woman able to take charge of a boys' grammar-school + will be paid a more liberal salary (such is the injustice of our + social system in relation to female labor) in that position than + in any other connected with education that she can command, and + she will therefore be likely to be better satisfied with the + duties and to perform them more properly. That such advantage + ought to be held out to ladies competent to be teachers of the + highest grade, we firmly believe. The field of female avocations + should be extended in every legitimate direction; and it seems to + us, unless some reason can be given for the exception, which has + not yet been presented in the case of Mrs. McManus, that the + principalships of the boys' grammar-schools ought to be + accessible to ladies of the proper character and qualification, + without the imputation that by reason of their sex they must + necessarily be unfitted for such duties. + +In preparing themselves for the medical profession, for which the +most conservative people now admit that women are peculiarly +adapted, students have encountered years of opposition, ridicule +and persecution. After a college for women was established in +Philadelphia,[259] there was another long struggle before their +right to attend the clinics in the hospitals was accorded. The +faculty and students alike protested against the admission of women +into mixed classes; but as there was no provision to give them the +clinics alone, a protest against mixed classes was a protest +against such advantages to women altogether. One would have +supposed the men might have left the delicacy of the question to +the decision of the women themselves. But in this struggle for +education men have always been more concerned about the loss of +modesty than the acquirement of knowledge and wisdom. From the +opinions usually expressed by these self-constituted guardians of +the feminine character, we might be led to infer that the virtues +of women were not a part of the essential elements of their +organization, but a sort of temporary scaffolding, erected by +society to shield a naturally weak structure that any wind could +readily demolish. + +At a meeting convened November 15 at the University of +Pennsylvania, to consider the subject of clinical instruction to +mixed classes the following remonstrance was unanimously adopted: + + The undersigned, professors in the University of Pennsylvania, + professors in Jefferson Medical College, members of the medical + staff of various hospitals of Philadelphia, and members of the + medical profession in Philadelphia at large, out of respect for + their profession, and for the interests of the public, do feel it + to be their duty, at the present time, to express their + convictions upon the subject of "clinical instruction to _mixed + classes_ of male and female students of medicine." They are + induced to present their views on this question, which is of so + grave importance to medical education, from the fact that it is + misunderstood by the public, and because an attempt is now being + made to force it before the community in a shape which they + conceive to be injurious to the progress of medical science, and + to the efficiency of clinical teaching. They have no hesitation + in declaring that their deliberate conviction is adverse to + conducting clinical instruction in the presence of students of + _both sexes_. The judgment that has been arrived at is based upon + the following considerations: + + I. Clinical instruction in practical medicine demands an + examination of all the organs and parts of the body, as far as + practicable; hence, personal exposure becomes for this purpose + often a matter of absolute necessity. It cannot be assumed, by + any right-minded person, that male patients should be subjected + to inspection before a class of females, although this inspection + may, without impropriety, be submitted to before those of their + own sex. A thorough investigation, as well as demonstration, in + these cases--so necessary to render instruction complete and + effective--is, by a mixed audience, precluded; while the clinical + lecturer is restrained and embarrassed in his inquiries, and must + therefore fall short in the conclusions which he may draw, and in + the instruction which he communicates. + + II. In many operations upon male patients exposure of the body is + inevitable, and demonstrations must be made which are unfitted + for the observation of students of the opposite sex. These + expositions, when made under the eye of such a conjoined + assemblage, are shocking to the sense of decency, and entail the + risk of unmanning the surgeon--of distracting his mind, and + endangering the life of his patient. Besides this, a large class + of surgical diseases of the male is of so delicate a nature as + altogether to forbid inspection by female students. Yet a + complete understanding of this particular class of diseases is of + preeminent importance to the community. Moreover, such affections + can be thoroughly studied only in the clinics of the large + cities, and the opportunity for studying them, so far from being + curtailed, should be extended to the utmost possible degree. To + those who are familiar with such cases as are here alluded to, it + is inconceivable that females should ever be called to their + treatment. + + III. By the joint participation, on the part of male and female + students, in the instruction and in the demonstrations which + properly belong to the clinical lecture-room, the barrier of + respect is broken down, and that high estimation of womanly + qualities, which should always be sustained and cherished, and + which has its origin in domestic and social associations, is + lost, by an inevitable and positive demoralization of the + individuals concerned, thereby entailing most serious detriment + to the morals of society. In view of the above considerations, + the undersigned[260] do earnestly and solemnly protest against + the admixture of the sexes at clinical instruction in medicine + and surgery, and do respectfully lay these their views before the + board of managers of the hospitals in Philadelphia. + + _November 15, 1869._ + +At meetings held at the University and Jefferson Medical Colleges, +by the students, on Wednesday evening, the following preambles and +resolutions were adopted: + + WHEREAS, The managers of the Pennsylvania Hospital have seen fit + to admit female students to the clinics of that establishment, + thereby excluding from the lectures many cases, medical and + surgical; and + + WHEREAS, We consider that in our purchase of tickets of admission + there was a tacit agreement that we should have the benefit of + all cases which the medical and surgical staff of that hospital + should deem fit for our instruction: + + _Resolved_, That a respectful request be made to the managers of + the Pennsylvania Hospital that we be informed as to whether the + usual character of the clinics will be changed. + + _Resolved_, That pending the action of the managers on this + question, we as a class and individually absent ourselves from + the clinical lectures. And + + WHEREAS, The levity of a few thoughtless young men in the + presence of the females at the hospital has caused the journals + of this city to assume that the whole class of medical students + are utterly devoid of all the attributes of gentlemen, + + _Resolved_, That while we do not by any means concede that the + published accounts of the affair are correct, we deplore the fact + that _any_ demonstration should have taken place; for although + the female students may be considered by their presence at the + hospital where male students are present, to have cast aside that + delicacy and modesty which constitutes the aegis of their sex, + they are women, and as such demand our forbearance, if not our + respect. + + _Resolved_, That these preambles and resolutions be published in + some respectable journal of this city.[261] + +On these remonstrances of the faculty and students, _The Press_, +John W. Forney, editor, had many able editorials condemning the +action of the medical fraternity. The leading journals throughout +the country advocated the right of the women to enjoy the +advantages of the hospital clinics. _The Press_, November 22, 1869, +said: + + The proceedings of the meeting held by the faculties of our two + leading medical schools evince the disposition which lurks at the + bottom of the movement against women as physicians. The hospital + managers are to be browbeaten into the stand taken by the + students, and now sanctioned by the professors. If the women are + to be denied the privilege of clinical lectures, why do not + learned professors, or students, or both, have the manliness to + suggest and advocate some means of solving the difficulty so that + the rights of neither sex shall be impaired? Would any professor + agree to lecture to the women separately? Would any professor + favor the admission of women into the female wards of the + hospitals? Would any professor agree to propose anything, or do + anything that would weaken the firm stand taken against the + admission of women to professional privileges? If so, why not do + it at once? Nothing else will make protestations of fairness + appear at all genuine. Nothing else will remove the stigma of + attempting to drag the hospitals into a support of this crusade + against women. * * * How absurd the solemn declaration, "it + cannot be assumed by any right-minded person that male patients + should be subjected to inspection before a class of females, + although this inspection may, without impropriety, be submitted + to before those of their own sex." This cuts both ways. If it be + improper for female students to be present when patients of the + other sex are treated, is it proper for male students to witness + the treatment of female patients? + +The practical good sense shown in the following report of a +committee of the Faculty of the Woman's Medical College of +Pennsylvania, makes a very favorable contrast with the unreasonable +remonstrances of the so-called superior sex: + + PHILADELPHIA, NOV. 15, 1869. + + As the relation of students of medicine to public clinics, and + the views entertained by those entitled to speak for their + medical education, are now extensively discussed in the public + journals, it seems necessary for us to state our position. + Considering it decided that, as practitioners of medicine, the + guardianship of life and health is to be placed in the keeping of + women, it becomes the interest of society and the duty of those + entrusted with their professional training to endeavor to provide + for them all suitable means for that practical instruction which + is gained at hospital clinics. + + The taunt has heretofore been frequently thrown out that ladies + have not attended the great clinical schools of the country, nor + listened to its celebrated teachers, and that, consequently, they + cannot be as well prepared as men for medical practice. We + believe, as we have always done, that in all special diseases of + men and women, and in all operations necessarily involving + embarrassing exposure of person, it is not fitting or expedient + that students of different sexes should attend promiscuously; + that all special diseases of men should be treated by men in the + presence of men only, and those of women, where it is + practicable, by women in the presence of women only. It was this + feeling, founded on the respect due to the delicacy of women as + patients, perhaps more than any other consideration, which led to + the founding of the Women's Hospital in Philadelphia. There the + clinical demonstration of special diseases is made by and before + women alone. As we would not permit men to enter these clinics, + neither would we be willing--out of regard to the feelings of men + as patients, if for no other considerations--that our students + should attend clinics where men are specially treated, and there + has been no time in the history of our college when our students + could intentionally do so, save in direct contravention of our + known views. In nearly all the great public hospitals, however, + by far the larger proportion of cases suited for clinical + illustration--whether medical or surgical--is of those which + involve no necessary exposure, and are the results of diseases + and accidents to which man and woman are subject alike, and which + women are constantly called upon to treat. Into these clinics, + women also--often sensitive and shrinking, albeit poor--are + brought as patients to illustrate the lectures, and we maintain + that wherever it is proper to introduce women as patients, there + also is it but just and in accordance with the instincts of the + truest womanhood for women to appear as physicians and students. + + We had arranged when our class was admitted to the Pennsylvania + hospital to attend on alternate clinic days only, so as to allow + ample opportunity for the unembarrassed exhibition of special + cases to the other students by themselves. We encouraged our + students to visit the hospital upon this view, sustained by our + confidence in the sound judgment and high-minded courtesy of the + medical gentlemen in charge of the wards. All the objections that + have been made to our students' admission to these clinics seem + to be based upon the mistaken assumption that they had designed + to attend them indiscriminately. As we state distinctly and + unequivocally that this was not the fact, that they had no idea + or intention of being present except on one day of the week, and + when no cases which it would not be proper to illustrate before + both classes of students would necessarily be brought in--it + seems to us that all these objections are destroyed, and we + cannot but feel that those fair-minded professional gentlemen, + who, under this false impression as to facts, have objected to + our course, will, upon a candid reconsideration, acknowledge that + our position is just and intrinsically right. The general + testimony of those who attended the Saturday clinics last winter + at the Philadelphia Hospital at Blockley, when about forty ladies + made regular visits, was that the tone and bearing of the + students were greatly improved, while the usual cases were + brought forward and the full measure of instruction given without + any violation of refined propriety. + + We maintain, in common with all medical men, that science is + impersonal, and that the high aim of relief to suffering humanity + sanctifies all duties: and we repel, as derogatory to the science + of medicine, the assertion that the physician who has risen to + the level of his high calling need be embarrassed, in treating + general diseases, by the presence of earnest women. The movement + for woman's medical education has been sustained from the + beginning by the most refined, intelligent, and religious women, + and by the noblest and best men in the community. It has ever + been regarded by these as the cause of humanity, calculated in + its very nature to enlarge professional experience, bless women, + and refine society. It has in our own city caused a college and a + hospital not only to be founded, but to be sustained and endowed + by those who have known intimately the character and objects of + this work, and the aims and efforts of those connected with it. + It has this year brought to this city some fifty educated and + earnest women to study medicine, women who have come to this + labor enthusiastically but reverently, as to a great + life-interest and a holy calling. These ladies purchased tickets, + and entered the clinic of the Pennsylvania Hospital, with no + obtrusive spirit, and with no intention of interfering with the + legitimate advantages of other students. If they have been forced + into an unwelcome notoriety, it has not been of their own + seeking. + + ANN PRESTON, M. D., _Dean_. + + EMELINE H. CLEVELAND, M. D., _Secretary_. + +We are indebted to James Truman, D. D. S., of the Pennsylvania +College of Dental Surgery, for the following account of the +admission of women into that branch of the medical profession: + + The general agitation of the question: What are women best + qualified for in the struggle for existence? naturally led + liberal minds to the opening of new avenues for the employment of + their talents, shared equally with men. Her right to practice in + medicine had been conceded after a long and severe conflict. Even + the domain of the theologian had been invaded, but law and + dentistry were as yet closed, and in the case of the latter, + unthought of as an appropriate avocation for women. The subject, + however, seemed so important, presenting a field of labor + peculiarly suited to her, that one gentleman, then professor in + the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, felt it his duty to + call public attention to this promising work. In a valedictory + delivered by him to the class of 1866, at Musical Fund Hall of + Philadelphia, he included in his theme the peculiar fitness of + dentistry for women. The question was briefly stated, but it + rather startled the large audience by its novelty, and the effect + was no less surprising on the faculty, board of trustees and + professional gentlemen on the platform. + + In the fall of 1868 the dean of the Pennsylvania College of + Dental Surgery was waited upon by a German gentleman, who desired + to introduce a lady who had come to this country with the + expectation that all colleges were open to women. Although + informed that this was not the case, he still entertained the + hope that she might be admitted as a student of dentistry. She + gave her name as Henrietti Hirschfeld, of Berlin. The matter came + up before the faculty, and after a free discussion of the whole + subject, she was rejected by a majority vote, but two voting in + her favor. + + In a subsequent interview with Professor Truman, he learned that + she had left her native land with the full assurance that she + would have no difficulty in "free America" in securing a dental + education. She had also the positive sanction of her government, + through the then minister of instruction, Dr. Falk, that on + condition of receiving an American diploma she would be permitted + to practice on her return. Her distress, therefore, at this + initial failure was, naturally, very great. The excitement that + this application made was intensified when it was rumored among + the students that a woman desired to be matriculated. The + opposition became very bitter, and manifested itself in many + petty annoyances. In the course of a day or two one gentleman of + the faculty, and he the dean, concluded to change his vote, and + as this decided the question, she was admitted. The opposition of + the professor of anatomy, who belonged to the old school of + medical teachers, was so manifest that it was deemed advisable to + have her take anatomy in the Woman's Medical College for that + winter. The first year of this was in every way satisfactory. + Although the students received her and Mrs. Truman, who + accompanied her on the first visit, with a storm of hisses, they + gradually learned not only to treat her with respect, but she + became a favorite with all, and while not convinced as to the + propriety of women in dentistry, they all agreed that Mrs. + Hirschfeld might do as an exception. The last year she was + permitted by the irate professor of anatomy, Dr. Forbes, to take + that subject under him. + + She graduated with honor, and returned to Berlin to practice her + profession. This was regarded as an exceptional case, and by no + means settled the status of the college in regard to women. The + conservative element was exceedingly bitter, and it was very + evident that a long time must elapse before another woman could + be admitted. The great stir made by Mrs. Hirschfeld's graduation + brought several other applications from ladies of Germany, but + these were without hesitation denied. Failing to convince his + colleagues of the injustice of their action, Dr. Truman tried to + secure more favorable results from other colleges, and applied + personally to Dr. Gorgas of the Baltimore College of Dental + Surgery. The answer was favorable, and he accompanied the + applicant and entered her in that institution. This furnished + accommodation for the few applicants. The loss in money began to + tell on the pockets, if not the consciences, of the faculty of + the Philadelphia school. They saw the stream had flown in another + direction, swelling the coffers of another institution, when, + without an effort, they could have retained the whole. They + concluded to try the experiment again, and accepted three ladies + in 1872 and 1873--Miss Annie D. Ramborger of Philadelphia, + Fraulein Veleske Wilcke and Dr. Jacoby of Germany. Their first + year was very satisfactory, but at its close it was very evident + that there was a determination on the part of the minority of the + class to spare no effort to effect their removal from the school. + A petition was forwarded to the faculty to this effect, and + although one was presented by the majority of the students in + their favor, the faculty chose to accept the former as + representing public sentiment, and it was decided not to allow + them to take another year at this college. This outrage was not + accomplished without forcible protest from the gentleman + previously named, and he appealed from this decision to the + governing power, the board of trustees.[262] To hear this appeal + a special meeting was called for March 27, 1873, at which the + communication of Professor Truman was read and ordered filed. A + similar communication, in opposition, was received, signed by + Professors T. L. Buckingham, E. Wildman, George T. Barker, James + Tyson and J. Ewing Mears. The matter was referred to a committee + consisting of Hon. Henry C. Carey, W. S. Pierce and G. R. + Morehouse, M. D. At a special meeting convened for this purpose, + March 31, 1873, this committee made their report. They say: + + Three ladies entered as students of this college at the + commencement of the session, 1872-73, paid their + matriculation fees, attended the course of lectures, and + were informed, by a resolution adopted by a majority of the + faculty at the close of the session, that they would not be + permitted to attend the second course of lectures. No other + cause was assigned for the action of the faculty than that + they deemed it against the interest of the college to permit + them to do so, on account of the dissatisfaction which it + gave to certain male students, etc. * * * The goal to which + all medical and dental students look, is graduation and the + diploma, which is to be the evidence of their qualification + to practice their art. To qualify themselves for this they + bestow their time, their money and their labor. To deprive + them of this without just cause is to disappoint their + hopes, and to receive from them money and bestowal of time + and labor without the full equivalent which they had a right + to expect. + + After discussing at length the legal aspects of the case, the + summing up is as follows: + + We, therefore, respectfully report that in our opinion it is + the legal right of these ladies to attend, and it is the + legal duty of this college to give them, as students, a + second course of lectures on the terms of the announcement + which forms the basis of the contract with them. + + This report was signed by all the committee, and read by W. S. + Pierce, one of the number, and judge of the Court of Common Pleas + of Philadelphia. It carried with it, therefore, all the force of + a judicial decision, and was so accepted by the board, and + adopted at once. This left the majority of the faculty no choice + but to accept the decision as final as far as these ladies were + concerned. This they did, and the three were invited to resume + their studies. Two, Misses Ramborger and Wilcke, accepted, Miss + Jacoby refused and went to Baltimore. + + The most interesting feature of this matter, and that which + clearly demonstrated a marked advance in public opinion, was the + stir it made in the press. The daily and Sunday papers bristled + with strong leaders, the faculty being denounced in no measured + terms for their action. To such an extent was this carried, and + so overwhelming was the indignation, that it practically settled + the question for Philadelphia, although several years elapsed + after these ladies were graduated before others were accepted. + When that time did arrive, under the present dean, Dr. C. N. + Pierce, they were accorded everything, without any reservation, + and the school has continued ever since to accept them. At the + meeting of the National Association of Dentists, held at + Saratoga, 1869, Dr. Truman introduced a resolution looking to the + recognition of women in the profession. The resolution and the + remarks were kindly received, but were, of course, laid on the + table. This was expected, the object being to make the thought + familiar in every section of the country. + + These efforts have borne rich fruit, and now women are being + educated at a majority of the prominent dental colleges, and no + complaints are heard of coeducation in this department of work. + The college that first accepted and then rejected--the + Pennsylvania of Philadelphia--has a yearly average of seven to + eight women, nearly equally divided between America and Germany. + Of the three dental schools in Philadelphia, two accept women, + and the third--the Dental Department of the University of + Pennsylvania--would, if the faculty were not overruled by the + governing powers. + + The learned theories that were promulgated in regard to the + injury the practice of dentistry would be to women, have all + fallen to the ground. The advocates of women in dentistry were + met at the outstart with the health question, and as it had never + been tested, the most favorably inclined looked forward with some + anxiety to the result. Fifteen years have elapsed since then, and + almost every town in Germany is supplied with a woman in this + profession. Many are also established in America. These have all + the usual requisites of bodily strength, and the writer has yet + to learn of a single failure from physical deterioration. + + The first lady, Miss Lucy B. Hobbs, to graduate in dentistry, was + sent out from the Cincinnati College, and she, I believe, is + still in active practice in Kansas. She graduated in 1866. Mrs. + Hirschfeld, before spoken of, returned to Germany and became at + once a subject for the fun of the comic papers, and for the more + serious work of the _Bajan_ and _Uberlana und Meer_, both of them + containing elaborate and illustrated notices of her. She had some + friends in the higher walks of life; notable amongst these was + President Lette of the _Trauen-Verein_, whose aid and powerful + influence had assisted her materially in the early stages of her + effort. The result of these combined forces soon placed her in + possession of a large practice. She was patronized by ladies in + the highest circles, including the crown princess. She + subsequently married, had two boys to rear and educate, and a + large household to supervise. She has assisted several of her + relatives into professions, two in medicine and two in dentistry, + besides aiding many worthy persons. She has established a clinic + for women in Berlin, something very badly needed there. This is + in charge of two physicians, one being her husband's sister, Dr. + Fanny Tiburtius. She has also started a hospital for women. + These are mainly supported by her individual exertions. + Notwithstanding all these multifarious and trying duties, she + practices daily, and is as well physically and mentally as when + she commenced. Fraulein Valeske Wilcke of Koenigsberg has been + over twelve years in a very large practice with no evil results; + Miss Annie D. Ramborger, an equal time, with an equally large + practice, and enjoys apparently far better health than most + ladies of thirty. + + Dentistry is, probably, one of the most trying professions, very + few men being equal to the severe strain, and many are obliged to + succumb. No woman has as yet failed, though it would not be at + all remarkable if such were the case. The probabilities are that + comparatively few will choose it as a profession, but that + another door has been opened for employment is a cause for + congratulation with all right-thinking minds. + +For opening this profession to women a debt of gratitude is due to +Dr. Truman from all his countrywomen, as well as to those noble +German students, who have so ably filled the positions he secured +for them. Similar struggles, both in medicine and dentistry, were +encountered in other States, but the result was as it must be in +every case, the final triumph of justice for women. Already they +are in most of the colleges and hospitals, and members of many of +the State and National associations. + +In 1870, the Society of Friends founded Swarthmore College[263] for +the education of both sexes, erecting a fine building in a +beautiful locality. At the dedication of this institution, Lucretia +Mott was elected to honorary membership and invited to the +platform. With her own hands she planted the first tree, which now +adorns those spacious grounds. + +The persecutions that women encountered in every onward step soon +taught them the necessity of remodeling the laws and customs for +themselves. They began to see the fallacy of the old ideas, that +men looked after the interests of women, "that they were their +natural protectors," that they could safely trust them to legislate +on their personal and property rights; for they found in almost +every case that whatever right and privilege man claimed for +himself, he proposed exactly the opposite for women. Hence the +necessity for them to have a voice as to the laws and the rulers +under which they lived. Whatever reform they attempted they soon +found their labors valueless, because they had no power to remedy +any evils protected by law. After laboring in temperance, +prison-reform, coeducation, and women's rights in the trades and +professions, their hopes all alike centered at last in the suffrage +movement. + +In 1866, a suffrage association was formed in Philadelphia at a +meeting of the American Equal Rights Society,[264] held in Franklin +Institute. This convention was marked by a heated debate on the +duty of the abolitionists now that the black man was emancipated, +to make the demand for the enfranchisement of women, as well as the +freedmen. + +We are indebted to John K. Wildman of Philadelphia for the +following: + + The Pennsylvania association was organized December 22, 1869, in + Mercantile Library Hall, Philadelphia. The meeting was called to + order by John K. Wildman, who said: "The time has arrived when it + is necessary for us to take some action towards promoting the + cause of woman suffrage. We desire to do our part as far as + practicable, in the work of enlightening the people of our State + upon this important subject. With this end in view we propose to + organize, hoping that all friends of the movement will cordially + give us their influence." Edward M. Davis then proposed the + appointment of Judge William S. Pierce as chairman of the + meeting. This was agreed to, and Judge Pierce announced that the + meeting was ready for business, reserving for another stage of + the proceedings any remarks he might wish to make. Annie Heacock + was chosen to act as secretary. In accordance with a motion that + was adopted, the chairman appointed a committee of five + persons[265] to prepare a constitution, and present the same for + the action of the meeting. Mary Grew spoke at length in her + earnest and impressive manner, presenting forcibly those familiar + yet solid arguments in favor of woman suffrage which form the + basis of the discussion, and which should irrevocably settle the + question. Dr. Henry T. Child followed with a brief address, + showing his zealous interest in the object of the meeting, and + trusting that at no distant period the ballot would be placed in + the hands of the women of the land. Judge Pierce said: + + I am in favor of giving woman a chance in the world. I feel + very much in regard to woman as Diogenes did when Alexander + the Great went to see him. When the monarch arrived at the + city in which Diogenes lived, he sent a request for him to + come to see him. Diogenes declined to go. The monarch then + went to the place of his residence, and found him lying in + his court-yard sunning himself. He did not even rise when + Alexander approached. Standing over him, the warrior asked, + "Diogenes, what can I do for you?" And the philosopher + answered, "Nothing, except to stand out of my sunshine." + Now, I am disposed to stand out of woman's sunshine. If she + wants the light of the sun upon her, and the breath of + heaven upon her, and freedom of action necessary to develop + herself, heaven forbid that I should stand in her way. I + believe that everything goes to its own place in God's + world, and woman will go to her place if you do not impede + her. We should not be afraid to trust her, or to apply the + same principles to her in regard to suffrage that we apply + to ourselves. There should be no distinction. Her claims to + the ballot rest upon a just and logical foundation. + + The venerable Sojourner Truth spoke a few words of encouragement, + showing in her humble and fervid way a reverent faith in the + final triumph of justice. After the adoption of the constitution, + the organization was completed by the election of officers[266] + to serve for the ensuing year. + + The first thing that claimed the attention of the officers of the + new society was the representation of the different counties on + the executive committee; and for this purpose the chairman wrote + to nearly all of the sixty-three counties, chiefly to the + postmasters of the principal towns. The replies that were + received presented a curious medley of sentiment and opinion + touching the object in view, disclosing every shade of tone and + temper between the two extremes of cold indifference and warm + enthusiasm. It was evident that, in a large number of cases, the + inquiries promptly found their resting-place in the waste-basket. + Before the close of the year twenty-two counties were + represented. Thus reinforced, the committee took immediate steps + towards distributing documents and circulating petitions + throughout the State. Many of the county members cooeperated + earnestly in this work. Some of them, not satisfied to limit + their action to this particular form of service, aided the + movement by collecting funds and holding public meetings in their + respective localities. Matilda Hindman, representing Alleghany + county, evinced both energy and enterprise in forwarding the + movement through the agency of public meetings. She did good + service from the beginning, relying almost solely upon her own + determined purpose. Her deep interest in the work and its object, + and the courage that animated her at the first impulse of duty, + have continued without abatement to the present time. Her + usefulness and activity have not confined themselves within the + limits of Pennsylvania, but have extended to other States, both + in the East and West. + + Miss Matilda Hindman, of Philadelphia, pays the following tribute + to her parents: + + In 1837, my father being a member of the school committee of + the Union township, Washington county, secured equal + salaries for women; and in spite of steady opposition, there + was no difference made for four years. The women who taught + the schools in the summer were paid the same as the men who + taught in the winter. At the death of my father the board + returned to the old system of half pay for women; the result + was "incompetent teachers," furnishing the opposition with + just the plea they desired--that women were not fit for + school teachers. My mother remonstrated, but in vain. They + replied, "women never received as much as men for any work"; + "it did not cost as much to keep a woman as a man," and + moreover, these school matters belonged to men, and women + had no right to interfere. In 1842, my mother offered to + board the teacher in her district, gratis, if the board + would raise her salary proportionally. They received her + proposition with scorn. She then refused to pay her taxes. + Such was the respect for her in the community, and the sense + of justice in regard to the teachers, that the authorities + suffered the tax to go unpaid, and at the end of the year + accepted the proposition, and for many years after, she + boarded the teacher in her district, making the woman's net + salary equal to that of the man. + + My mother lived to see her daughters employed in her + township on equal salaries with men. But in process of time, + another board, for the express purpose of humiliating mother + and daughters alike, passed a resolution to take two dollars + a month from each of their salaries, when all three + resigned. They all honored her, by carrying into their + life-work the noble principles for which she suffered so + much. + + She was the grand-daughter of a Scotch-Irish Presbyterian + minister, who, with his young family, was among the earliest + settlers in the wilderness of what is now known as the + prosperous and beautiful county of Washington, Pennsylvania. + Her name was Sarah Campbell. She was born in 1798. From her + earliest girlhood she rebelled against the injustice done + women by the law. She felt acutely the wrong done her and + her sisters by being denied an education equal to their + brothers, and denied also an equal share of their + inheritance. While the father possessed a large estate, and + provided liberally for his sons, he left his daughters a + mere pittance. + + In view of such facts, it is folly to say that women were ever + satisfied with the humiliating discriminations of sex they have + endured in all periods, and in all ranks in society. + + The first annual report of the association was prepared by Eliza + Sproat Turner. She said: + + We do not complain that man is slow to realize the injustice + of his present attitude towards woman--an attitude once, + from necessity, endurable; now, from too long continuance, + grown intolerable. It would not be natural for him to feel + it with equal keenness. It takes a great-minded fox to find + out, what every goose knows, that foxes' teeth are cruel. + And while we do not complain of this incapacity on his part, + the advocates of this cause feel the necessity for woman to + take upon herself whatever share in the management of their + mutual affairs shall be needed to right the balance; + concluding that the defects in legislation which she is, by + reason of her position, more competent to understand, she + should be more competent to remedy. Not these innovations + alone, but others involving matters beyond individual + interests, she expects to achieve by the power she shall + gain through the exercise of her right of suffrage. We + discern, in the consideration of nearly all questions of + national welfare, a disposition to press unduly the + interests of trade and commerce rather than the interests of + the fireside. + + Mary Grew presided, and has been elected president of the + association every year from the beginning, performing the duties + of the position with ability, earnestness and satisfaction. In + the winter of 1870-71 the executive committee recommended the + passage of a law that should give married women the control of + their own earnings. The appeal to the legislature in behalf of + such a law was renewed the following winter, and its passage + finally secured. Among the resolutions adopted at the annual + meeting was the following: + + _Resolved_, That the vote of the legislature of this State + for a convention to amend the constitution, makes it our + duty to work for the exclusion of the word "male" from the + provision defining the qualifications for the elective + franchise, and that we call upon all friends of justice to + give their best energies to the sustaining of this object. + + Subsequently the executive committee prepared a petition with + reference to the formation of the constitutional convention, + asking the legislature, in making the needful regulations, to + frame them in such a way as to secure the representation of the + women of the State. This petition was unavailing. At the next + annual meeting, which was held at the time the constitutional + convention was in session, a resolution was adopted containing an + appeal to that body, earnestly requesting it to present to the + people of the State a constitution that should secure the right + of suffrage to its citizens without distinction of sex, + accompanied by a request for a hearing at such time and place as + the convention should decide. The request was willingly granted, + and an evening assigned for that purpose. An evening was also + given to the Citizens' Suffrage Society of Philadelphia for a + like object. These meetings were held in the hall of the + convention, and were largely attended by the members and by the + people generally. Addresses were delivered by various friends of + woman suffrage, as representatives of the two societies.[267] + Still another evening was granted the Pennsylvania association + for a meeting to be addressed by Bishop Matthew Simpson of the + Methodist Episcopal Church. The earnest and forcible words of the + eloquent speaker, and his solid array of arguments, made a deep + impression on the attentive audience. + + In the convention the question was discussed during five + successive days. Hon. John M. Broomall introduced a provision in + favor of making the ballot free to men and women alike, proposing + that it be incorporated in the new constitution. This provision + was ably advocated by Mr. Broomall and many other members of the + convention. Their firm convictions in behalf of equal and exact + justice, however well sustained by sound reasoning and earnest + appeal, was an unequal match for the rooted conservatism which + recoiled from such a new departure. Although the measure was + defeated, its discussion had an influence. It was animated, + intelligent and exhaustive, and drew public attention more + directly to the subject than anything that had occurred since the + beginning of its agitation in the State. + + The only act of the convention that gave hope to the friends of + impartial suffrage was the adoption of the third section of + Article X.: "Women twenty-one years of age and upwards shall be + eligible to any office of control or management under the school + laws of this State." It was a very faint gleam of comfort, too + small to stir more than a breath of praise. It had the merit of + being a step in the right direction, though timid and feeble, and + as it has never disturbed the equilibrium of society, it may + ultimately be followed by others of more importance. + + The annual meetings of the association have been held in + Philadelphia, Westchester, Bristol, Kennett Square and Media, + respectively. An interesting feature of the Westchester meeting + was the reading of an essay, entitled "Four quite New Reasons why + you should wish your Wife to Vote." It was written for the + occasion by Eliza Sproat Turner, and was subsequently printed and + re-printed in tract form by order of the executive committee, and + freely circulated among the people. It was likewise published in + the _Woman's Journal_. Other documents relative to the question + have been printed from time to time by authority of the + committee, and large numbers of suffrage tracts have been + purchased for distribution year after year, embodying the best + thoughts, the soundest arguments, and the most forcible reasoning + that the question has elicited. Frequent petitions have been sent + to the legislature and to congress, all having in view the one + paramount object, and showing by their repeated and persistent + appearance the indefatigable nature of a living, breathing + reform. The executive committee at one time employed Matilda + Hindman as State agent. Meetings were held by her chiefly in the + western part of the State. In 1874 her services extended to the + State of Michigan, where the question of woman suffrage was + specially before the people. Lelia E. Patridge also represented + the association in Michigan at that time, where she performed + excellent service in addressing numerous meetings in different + parts of the State. In 1877 Miss Patridge was appointed to + represent the society in Colorado. There she labored with others + to secure the adoption of a constitutional amendment providing + for suffrage without regard to sex. On several occasions the + executive committee has contributed to woman suffrage purposes in + other States. Massachusetts, Michigan, Colorado and Oregon have + been recipients of the limited resources of the association. The + executive committee has felt the cramping influence of an + unfriended treasury. Its provision has been the fruit of + unwearied soliciting, and should the especial object of the + association ever be accomplished, the honors of success may be + fitly contested by the fine art of begging. + +The following report was sent us by Mrs. Mary Byrnes: + + March 22, 1872, the Citizens' Suffrage Association of + Philadelphia was formed, William Morris Davis, president, with + fifty members. The name of the society was chosen to denote the + view of its members as to the basis of the elective franchise. + The amendments to the United States constitution had clearly + defined who were citizens, and shown citizenship to be without + sex. Woman was as indisputably a citizen as man. Whatever rights + he possessed as a citizen she possessed also. The supreme law of + the land placed her on the same plane of political rights with + him. If man held the right of suffrage as a citizen of the United + States, either by birthright within the respective States, or by + naturalization under the United States, then the right of the + female citizen to vote was as absolute as that of the male + citizen; and woman's disfranchisement became a wrong inflicted + upon her by usurped power. Men became voters by reason of their + citizenship, having first complied with certain police + regulations imposed within and by the respective States. The + Citizens' Suffrage Association demanded the same political rights + for all citizens, nothing more, nothing less. It repudiated the + idea that one class of citizens should ask of another class + rights which that other class never possessed, and which those + who were denied them never had lost. This society held that the + right to give implied the right to take away; and further, that + the right to give implied a right lodged somewhere in society, + which society had never acquired by any direct concession from + the people. + + This society held also, that the theory of the right to the + franchise, as a gift, bore with it the power somewhere to + restrict the male citizen's suffrage, and to strike at the + principle of self-government. They had seen this doctrine + earnestly advanced. They knew that there was a growing class in + the country who were inimical to universal suffrage. In view of + this they chose the name of citizen suffrage, as the highest and + broadest term by which to designate their devotion to the + political rights of all citizens. They held that the political + condition of the white women of the United States was totally + unlike that of the slave population in this: that while the + slaves were not considered citizens until the adoption of the + fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, white women had always been + citizens, and always entitled to all the political rights of + citizenship. The colored male citizen became a voter--subject to + the police regulations of the different States--upon acquiring + citizenship. No constitutional enactment denied equal political + rights to women as citizens. No constitutional enactment was + therefore required to enable them to exercise the right to vote, + which became the right of male slaves upon their securing + citizenship under the law. The first legal argument on the + subject of woman's right to the ballot as a citizen of the United + States, was made by Jacob F. Byrnes before the Pennsylvania + Society. Had it been published as soon as written, instead of + being circulated privately, surprising person after person with + the position taken, it would have antedated the report of General + Benjamin F. Butler in the House of Representatives in the winter + of 1871. + +Edward M. Davis, president for many years, was one of the most +active and untiring officers of this association, giving generously +of his time and money not only to its support but to the general +agitation of the suffrage question in every part of the country. +The meetings were held regularly at his office, 333 Walnut street, +as were also those of the Radical Club. This was composed largely +of the same members as the suffrage society, but in this +organization they had a greater latitude in discussion, covering +all questions of political, religious and social interest. As the +division in the National Society produced division everywhere, +some of the friends in Philadelphia made themselves auxiliary to +the American Association, and the sympathy of others was with the +National, thus forming two rival societies, which together kept the +suffrage question before the people and roused their attention, +particularly to the fact of a pending constitutional convention. +Hence the necessity of holding meetings throughout the State, and +rolling up petitions asking that the constitution be so amended as +to secure to women the right to vote. The following appeal was +issued by this association: + + _To the Editor of the Post:_ + + SIR: There is no political question now before the people of this + commonwealth more important than the consideration of the changes + to be made in our constitution. The citizens of the State, by an + enormous majority of votes, have re-claimed the sovereign powers + of government, and evinced a determination to re-form the + fundamental law, the constitution of this State, in the interest + of a government "of the people, by the people, and for the + people." In this new adaptation of old rules of government to the + advanced ideas of the age, it seems to us fitting and opportune + that woman in her new status as a citizen of the United States + (under the fourteenth amendment of the constitution), should be + allowed the exercise of rights which have been withheld under old + rules of action. Therefore we respectfully ask you to give this, + with our appeal, an insertion in your paper, and to continue the + appeal until further notice. And we ask all the friends of woman + suffrage to aid our association in placing this appeal in each + paper of our city, as well as of the neighboring towns. + + "There is no distinction in citizenship as has been determined by + the fourteenth amendment to the constitution of the United + States. The citizens of Pennsylvania have decided on a revision + of the constitution of the commonwealth. The power of revision is + to be delegated by the citizens of the commonwealth to a + convention. The foundation of free government is based on the + consent of the governed. Therefore, the Citizens' Suffrage + Association of Pennsylvania appeals to the sense of right and + justice in the hearts of the citizens of this State, to aid in + securing to every citizen, irrespective of sex, an equal voice in + the selection of delegates, and an equal right, if elected + thereto, to a seat in said constitutional convention." + + WM. MORRIS DAVIS, _Controller_. + +Mr. Robert Purvis, at the request of the Citizens' Suffrage +Association of Philadelphia, waited upon Mrs. President Hayes and +presented to her an address adopted by that society. Mr. Purvis +wrote: + + I have just returned from a very satisfactory and delightful + interview with Mrs. Hayes. She received me most cordially. I read + to her the eloquent address from the Citizens' Suffrage + Association. She listened with marked attention, was grateful for + the high favor conferred upon her, and sent her best wishes for + the success of the cause. I made reference to the fact that the + address bore the honored name of Lucretia Mott, which she + received with a ready acknowledgment of her great worth and + usefulness, and her distinguished place as a reformer and + philanthropist. + +Through the liberality of Edward M. Davis, this society was able to +publish and circulate an immense number of tracts covering all +phases of the question. He has been one of the few abolitionists +who have thrown into this movement all the old-time fervor +manifested in the slavery conflict. A worthy son of the sainted +Lucretia Mott, her mantle seems to have fallen on his shoulders. + +The Hon. John M. Broomall was ever ready to champion the cause of +equality of rights for women, not only in the legislature and in +the constitutional conventions of his own State, but on the floor +of congress as well. In a letter giving us valuable information on +several points, he says: + + You ask when I made my first declaration for woman suffrage. I + cannot tell. I was born in 1816, and one of the earliest settled + convictions I formed as a man was that no person should be + discriminated against on account of sect, sex, race or color, but + that all should have an equal chance in the race which the Divine + Ruler has set before all; and I never missed an opportunity to + give utterance to this conviction in conversation, on the stump, + on the platform and in legislative bodies. My views were set out + concisely in my remarks in congress, on January 30, 1869, and I + cite the commencement and conclusion, as I find them in _The + Globe_ of that date: + + Every person owing allegiance to the government and not + under the legal control of another, should have an equal + voice in making and administering the laws, unless debarred + for violating those laws; and in this I make no distinction + of wealth, intelligence, race, family or sex. If just + government is founded upon the consent of the governed, and + if the established mode of consent is through the + ballot-box, then those who are denied the right of suffrage + can in no sense be held as consenting, and the government + which withholds that right is as to those from whom it is + withheld no just government. * * * * The measure now before + the House is necessary to the complete fulfillment of what + has gone before it. To hesitate now is to put in peril all + we have gained. Let this, too, pass into history as an + accomplished fact. Let it be followed, in due course of + time, by the last crowning act of the series--an amendment + to the constitution securing to all citizens of full age, + without regard to sex, an equal voice in making and amending + the laws under which they live, to be forfeited only for + crime. Then the great mission of the party in power will be + fulfilled; then will have been demonstrated the capacity of + man for self-government; then a just nation, founded upon + the full and free consent of its citizens will be no longer + a dream of the optimist. + +Mrs. Virginia Barnhurst writes: + + I think you should make mention of the few men who, against the + greatest opposition, stood boldly up and avowed themselves in + favor of woman's cause. When I think of some of the speeches that + I heard from the opposite side--expressions which sent the hot + blood to my face, and which showed the low estimate law-makers + put upon woman, those few men who dared to defend mothers and + sisters, stand out in my mind as worthy of having their names go + down in history--and especially in a history written by women. I + had a good talk with Lawyer Campbell. He is one of the most + ardent in the cause; he believes the ballot to be a necessity to + woman, as a means of self-protection, this necessity being seen + in the unequal operation of many laws relating to the + guardianship of children and the ownership of property. Caleb + White's words have in them the just consciousness of their own + immortality: "I want my vote to be recorded; not to be judged of + here, but to be judged of by coming generations, who, at least, + will give to woman the rights which God intended she should + have." + + +[Illustration: Rachel G. Foster] + + +The constitutional convention to which reference has been so +frequently made in this chapter, assembled November 12, 1872, and +as early as the 22d, resolutions relative to women holding +school-offices and to the property-rights of women were presented. +Numberless petitions for these and full suffrage for women were +sent in during the entire sitting of the convention. February 3, +1873, John H. Campbell presented the minority report of the +Committee on Suffrage and Elections: + + The undersigned, members of the Committee on Suffrage, Election + and Representation, dissent from that part of the majority report + of said committee, which limits the right of suffrage to male + electors. We recommend that the question, "Shall woman exercise + the right of suffrage," be submitted by the convention to the + qualified electors of this commonwealth, and also upon the same + day therewith, to those women of the commonwealth who upon the + day of voting shall be of the age of twenty-one years and + upwards, and have been residents of the State one year, and in + the district where they offered to vote at least sixty days prior + thereto; and that if the majority of all the votes cast at said + election should be in the affirmative, then the word "male" as a + qualification for an elector, contained in section ----, article + ---- on suffrage and election shall be stricken out, and women in + this State shall thereafter exercise the right of suffrage, + subject only to the restrictions placed upon the male voters. + + JOHN H. CAMPBELL, + LEWIS C. CASSIDY, + LEVI ROOKE. + +The amendment for full suffrage was lost by a vote of 75 to 25, +with 33 absent, while the amendment making women eligible for +school offices was carried by a vote of 60 to 32.[268] The debate +by those in favor of the amendment was so ably and eloquently +conducted that we would gladly reproduce it, had not all the +salient points been so often and so exhaustively presented on the +floor of congress, and by some of the members from Pennsylvania. + +After the passage of the school law of 1873, it was immediately +tested all over the State, rousing opposition and conflict +everywhere, but the struggle resulted favorably to women, who now +hold many offices to which they were once ineligible. At the first +election of school directors in Philadelphia the nomination of two +women was hotly contested. The _Evening Telegraph_ of February 6, +1874, gives the following: + + There is progressing in the Thirteenth ward a contest which + involves so peculiar and important an issue as to merit the + widest publicity. It illustrates how the rights guaranteed to + women under the new constitution are to be denied them, if + cunning and bold chicanery are to be tolerated, by a few ward + politicians. At the Republican primary election, held January 20, + Mrs. Harriet W. Paist and Mrs. George W. Woelpper were duly + nominated as candidates for members of the board of school + directors of the ward. Both of these ladies received their + certificates, that given to Mrs. Paist reading as follows: + + This is to certify that at a meeting of the judges of the + different divisions of the Thirteenth ward, held in accordance + with the rules of the Republican party, on the evening of January + 20, 1874, Mrs. Harriet W. Paist was found to be elected as + candidate upon the Republican ticket from the Thirteenth ward, + for school director. + + CHARLES M. CARPENTER, _President_. + + JAMES M. STEWART, } _Clerks_. + DAVID J. SMITH, } + + + No sooner was it ascertained that the ladies had actually become + candidates on the Republican ticket than a movement was + inaugurated to oust them, the old war tocsin of "Anything to beat + Grant" being for this purpose amended thus: "Anything to beat the + women." This antagonism to the fair candidates was based entirely + upon the supposition that their names would so materially weaken + the ticket as to place the election of the Republican common + councilman, Henry C. Dunlap, in the greatest jeopardy. To save + him, therefore, the managers of the movement must sacrifice + Mesdames Woelpper and Paist. How was this to be accomplished? + Each was fortified in her position by a genuine certificate of + election, and had, furthermore, expressed her determination to + run. What could not be done fairly must be accomplished by + strategy. Mr. Ezra Lukens called upon Mrs. Paist, stating that if + she did not withdraw the Republicans who were opposed to the lady + candidates would unite with the "other party" and defeat the + Republican ward ticket. Mrs. Paist inquired if she had not been + regularly nominated, and his reply was that she had been, but + that her opponents in the party would unite with the "other + party" and defeat her. Mrs. Paist was firm, and Mr. Lukens + retired foiled. A day or two after, the chairman of the + Thirteenth ward Republican executive committee received somehow + this letter: + + + PHILADELPHIA, February 2, 1874. + + DEAR SIR: Please accept this as my declination as school director + on the Thirteenth ward Republican ticket. Hoping it will please + those opposed to a lady director. + + Respectfully yours, HARRIET W. PAIST. + + + A week previous to this the husband of Mrs. Woelpper was called + upon by Mr. William B. Elliott, a member of this executive + committee, and was informed by him that Mrs. Paist had withdrawn, + and that it would be unpleasant, if not inexpedient, for Mrs. + Woelpper to run alone. Mr. Woelpper expressed his belief that if + such were the case his wife would withdraw. At a meeting of the + executive committee a short time after, it was announced that + both the ladies had withdrawn, and everything looked serene for + victory, when the next day the members were individually informed + that the letter of declination written above was a base forgery, + and that neither of the ladies intended to withdraw from the + contest. Another meeting of the executive committee was held on + the 2d inst., at which Mr. Woelpper, jr., was present. He + declared that the statement made to his father was false, and + that he was present to say for his mother that she was still a + candidate. This announcement fell like a bomb in a peaceful camp, + causing great confusion. After order was restored, William B. + Elliott, the collector, offered a resolution declaring it + inexpedient to have any ladies on the ticket at this time. This + resolution was opposed by F. Theodore Walton and a number of the + members, who denied the power of the committee to change the + ticket regularly chosen at the primary election. They favored the + fair candidates, for whose election as school directors the + constitution had made special provisions, and whose presence in + the school-boards had been very favorably commented upon by all + the papers of the city. Besides, the ladies were as legitimately + entitled to their candidacy as Mr. Dunlap, and it would be a + gross and unparalelled outrage to sacrifice them from mere + prejudice, or in the belief that their presence would injure the + chances of Mr. Dunlap. Then arose Collector Elliott, his face + fairly glowing with honest indignation, and his voice sharp and + stinging in his tirade against the newspapers. What did he care + what the newspapers said? What are the newspapers but sheets sold + out to the highest bidder? The newspapers, he cried, are all in + the market, to be bought and sold the same as coal! That was + their business, and they didn't want stability so long as there + was cash to be got. Then he came down upon them in a perfect + whirlwind of wrath for daring to favor the women candidates for + school directors of the Thirteenth ward, and sat down as though + he had accomplished a noble purpose. + + The question on the resolution was pressed, and resulted in its + adoption by a vote of 20 to 12.[269] A resolution was offered by + David T. Smith that Mrs. Paist and Mrs. Woelpper be thrown off + the ticket, and this resolution was carried by the same vote as + the preceding one. The meeting then adjourned. In consequence of + this action Mrs. Paist addressed to the citizens of the + Thirteenth ward the following card, in which she declares that + she does not intend to resign: + + _To the Citizens of the Thirteenth Ward.:_ + + Unpleasant though it may be to thus appear before the public, I + feel that I must, in justice to myself, expose the fraud and + deception that have been practiced to defeat my election on the + 17th of February next. I received the nomination and certificate + of election signed by James M. Stewart, David T. Smith, clerks, + and Charles M. Carpenter, president. Certainly they would not be + guilty of deceiving, for are they not "all honorable men"? John + B. Green, George M. Taylor and A. W. Lyman then (Ezra Lukens + having been on a similar fruitless mission) called on the eve of + January 30, 1874, wishing me to withdraw; stating that Mrs. + Woelpper had done so (which was false), and they thought it would + not be pleasant for me to serve. They also placed it on the + ground of expediency, fearing that their candidate for council + (Mr. Dunlap) was so weak that a woman on the ticket might + jeopardize the election. I knew not before that woman held the + balance of power. After sending their emissaries under the false + garb of friendship to induce me to decline, without success, they + were reduced to the desperate means of producing a letter, which + was read by the secretary of the executive meeting, February 2, + purporting to come from me, and withdrawing my name. I pronounce + it publicly to be a forgery. I have not withdrawn, neither do I + intend to withdraw. Would that I had the power of Brutus or a + Patrick Henry, that I might put these designing, intriguing + politicians in their true light! They deserve to be held up to + the contumely and scorn of the community. + + _February 3, 1874._ HARRIET W. PAIST. + + Despite the action of the committee, these talented ladies will + be run as the regular candidates for school directors. A + committee of citizens of the Republican party will prepare the + tickets and see that they are properly distributed, and take all + precautions against fraud at the election and against any effort + that may be made to count out the fair candidates at the meeting + of the ward return judges. It is of the greatest importance that + all good citizens of the ward shall do all in their power to + secure not only the fullest possible number of votes for the lady + candidates, but a fair count when they have been received. It + remains to be seen whether the Republican citizens of the ward + will endorse the action of a committee which from mere prejudice + can throw off regularly-elected candidates from a ticket. + +The ladies were elected, and Mrs. Paist served her term. Mrs. +Woelpper died immediately after the election. + +Anna McDowell, in the _Sunday Republic_ of April 8, 1877, in a long +article shows the necessity of some legal knowledge for women, +enough at least to look after their own interests, and not be +compelled through their ignorance to trust absolutely to the +protection of others. They should be trained to understand that all +pecuniary affairs should be placed on a business basis as strictly +between themselves and their fathers and brothers as men require in +their contracts with each other. After giving many instances in +which women have been grossly defrauded by their relatives, she +points to the will of the great railroad king of Pennsylvania: + + Let us glance for a moment at the will of the late J. Edgar + Thomson, than which no more unjust testament was ever offered for + probate. This gentleman, the sole object of affection of two most + worthy and self-sacrificing sisters, married late in life without + making any adequate settlement upon the relatives to whom, in a + great measure, he owed his success. He always promised to provide + for them amply, saying, repeatedly, in effect, in letters which + we have seen, "As my fortune advances so also shall yours; my + prosperity will be your prosperity," etc. Oblivious to the ties + of nature and affection, however, when he came to make his will + he, out of a fortune of two millions, bequeathed to these + sisters, during life, an annuity of $1,200 per annum only, + leaving the rest of the income of his estate to his wife and her + niece, the latter a young lady whom he had previously made + independent by his skilful investment of a few thousand dollars + left her by her father. Not content with the will which gave her + also a large income for life out of Mr. Thomson's estate, this + niece of his wife brought suit against the executors to recover + bonds found after the death of the testator in an envelope on + which her name was written, and through the ruling of Judge + Thayer, a relation by marriage to the husband of the lady, the + case was decided in her favor, and $100,000 was thus absolutely + and permanently taken from the fund designed for the asylum which + it was Mr. Thomson's long-cherished desire to found for the + benefit and education of orphan girls whose fathers had been or + might be killed by accident on the Pennsylvania and other + railroads. The injustice of this decision is made manifest when + we reflect that the Misses Anna and Adeline Thomson, who worked + side by side with their brother as civil engineers in their + father's office, and labored, without pay, therein, that he might + be educated and sent abroad further to perfect himself in his + profession, were cut off with a comparatively paltry stipend for + life, this being still further reduced by the + collateral-inheritance tax. As high an authority as Dr. William + A. Hammond says that, "for a man to cut off his natural heirs in + his will is _prima facie_ evidence of abberation of mind," and we + believe this to be true. + +Had these sisters[270] been brothers they would have been +recognized as partners and had their legal proportion of the +accumulations of the business in which they labored in early years +with equal faithfulness, side by side. This is but another instance +of women's blind faith in the men of their families and of the +danger in allowing business matters to adjust themselves on the +basis of honor, courtesy and protection. + +Among the literary women of the State are Sarah C. Hallowell, on +the editorial staff of the _Public Ledger_; the daughters of John +W. Forney, for many years in charge of the woman's department of +_Forney's Progress_; Anne McDowell, editor of the woman's +department in _The Sunday Republic_; Mrs. E. A. Wade; "Bessie +Bramble" of Pittsburg has for many years ably edited a woman's +department in the _Sunday Leader_; Matilda Hindman, an excellent +column in the _Pittsburg Commercial Gazette_. In science Grace Anna +Lewis stands foremost. Her paper read before the Woman's Congress +in Philadelphia in 1876, attracted much attention. These ladies +with others organized "The Century Club"[271] in 1876, for +preeminently practical and benevolent work. Its objects are +various: looking after working girls, sending children into the +country for fresh air during summer, and improving the houses of +the poor and needy. The Club has a large house to which is attached +a cooking-school and lodgings for unfortunates in great +emergencies. + +Woman's ambition was not confined at this period to literature and +the learned professions; she found herself capable of practical +work on a large scale in the department of agriculture. The +_Philadelphia Press_ has the following: + + The beautiful farm of Abel C. Thomas, at Tacony, near + Philadelphia, is remarkable chiefly because it is managed by a + woman, Mrs. Louise H. Thomas. Her husband, the intimate friend of + Horace Greeley, and well known as an author and theologian, in + time past, has long been too feeble to take any part in managing + the property. That duty has devolved upon Mrs. Thomas. The house, + two hundred yards from the Pennsylvania railroad, is hidden from + view by the trees which surround it. The grounds are tastefully + laid out, and the lawn mowed with a regularity that indicates + constant feminine attention. The plot is 20 acres in extent. Six + acres comprise the orchard and garden. In addition to apple, + apricot, pear, peach, plum and cherry, there are specimens of all + kinds of trees, from pine to poplar. + + A _Press_ reporter recently walked over the premises, and Mrs. + Thomas explained her manner of doing business. "I look after + everything about the farm; take my little sample bags of wheat to + the mills, and sell the crop by it; and twice I got ten cents + more a bushel than any of my neighbors. But the things I take + most interest in are my cows, chickens and bees. My cattle are + from Jersey island, and pure Alderney. They are very gentle and + good milkers. From four of them I get about 800 pounds of butter + a year. The price of this butter varies from 50 cents to $1.00 + per pound. There's my dog. When it's milking time, the hired man + says to the dog, 'Shep, go after the cows,' and away he goes, and + in a little while the herd come tinkling up. Why send a man to do + a boy's work, or a boy to do that which a shepherd dog can do + just as well? The cows understand him, and readily come when they + are sent after. Well, so much for the milk department. Now, as to + the garden; I don't sell much from that. Still, if the vegetables + were not grown, they would have to be bought, and I take all that + into consideration in closing accounts. And that's one thing most + farmers don't do; they don't put on the cash side of the ledger + the cost of their living, for which they have been to no expense. + Now, as to the bees. The first cost is about the only expense + attached to these little workers. I have twenty-five colonies, + and can, and do handle them with as much safety as if they were + so much dry wheat. I sell about $100 worth of honey yearly, and + consume half as much at home. The bees are not troublesome when + you know how to handle them, but they require to be delicately + handled at swarming time. + + "Now, as to chickens. My stock consists exclusively of the light + Brahma breed. They come early, grow fast, sell readily, are + tender, and have no disposition to forage; they are not all the + time wandering round and flying over the garden fence, and + scratching up flower and vegetable seeds. In fact, if you'll + notice, there is a docility about my live-stock that is very + attractive. The cows and chickens only need articulation to carry + on conversation. You didn't see the hatching department of my + chicken-house? I modeled the building after one used by a Madame + de Linas, a French lady living near Paris, and am much pleased + with it. I sometimes raise 1,000 chickens a season. I sell them + at prices all the way up from $1 to $3 apiece. You must remember + that they are full-blooded, and I always have my stock + replenished. I keep the best and sell for the highest prices. + They are generally sold to private families, who wish to get the + stock, and I always sell them alive. They are not much trouble to + raise, provided you know how, and have the accommodations for + doing it. I feed them corn, milk, meal and water, and pay + particular attention to their being properly housed. The eggs of + this breed are very rich, and I charge one dollar and a half for + a setting--that is, thirteen eggs. + + "I have some three or four acres of wheat growing and it is + heading out finely. Oh!" said Mrs. Thomas, becoming more + enthusiastic, as she reviewed the incomes from the cereals, cows, + and chickens, "I am making money, and money is a standard of + success, although there is to me a greater pleasure than the mere + financial part of the business, which comes from the passion I + have for the life. I wish, indeed, that young ladies would turn + their attention to this matter. To me, it seems to open to them + an avenue for acquiring a competency in an independent way; and + to one who would pursue it earnestly, I know of no avocation + scarcely worth being classed with it." + + "And you are not lonesome out here?" + + "Oh! no. I never was lonesome an hour in my life--don't have + time; I have a great deal of work to do, and am always ready to + do it. Indeed, the only people I pity are those who do not work, + or find no interest in it. No, no; I have plenty of visitors, and + last week Jennie June, Lucretia Mott, and Anna Dickinson paid me + a visit and were very much pleased while here. I have two + grown-up boys, one in New York and the other in California; and + have reared thirteen children besides my own family--colored, + French, Italian, and I know not what nationalities." + + Mrs. Thomas, who is certainly a remarkable woman, is a thoroughly + educated one; has traveled extensively both in Europe and this + country. Herself and husband have been intimate acquaintances of + many eminent men, among whom were President Lincoln and Secretary + Stanton. The activity displayed in managing the estate indicates + the possession of marked executive ability, and the exercise she + thus receives has doubtless had its share in keeping her young, + well-preserved, and good-natured. + +When the Rev. Knox Little visited this country in 1880, thinking +the women of America specially needed his ministrations, he +preached a sermon that called out the general ridicule of our +literary women. In the Sunday _Republic_ of December 12, Anne E. +M'Dowell said: + + The reverend gentlemen of St. Clement's Church, of this city, + with their frequent English visiting clergymen, are not only + trying their best to carry Christianity back into the dark ages, + by reinvesting it with all old-time traditions and mummeries, but + they are striving anew to forge chains for the minds, + consciences, and bodies of women whom the spirit of Christian + progress has, in a measure, made free in this country. The sermon + of the Rev. Knox Little, rector of St. Alban's Church, + Manchester, England, recently delivered at St. Clement's in this + city, and reported in the daily _Times_, is just such an one as + might be looked for from the class of thinkers whom he on that + occasion represented. These ritualistic brethren are bitterly + opposed to divorce, and hold the belief that so many Britons + adhere to on their native soil, viz., that "woman is an inferior + animal, created only for man's use and pleasure, and designed by + Providence to be in absolute submission to her lord and master." + The feeling engendered by this belief breeds contempt for and + indifference to the nobler aspirations of women amongst men of + the higher ranks, while it crops out in tyranny in the middle, + and brutality in the lower classes of society. Even the gentry + and nobility of Great Britain are not all exempt from brutal + manifestations of power toward their wives. We once sheltered in + our own house for weeks the wife of an English Earl who had been + forced to leave her home and family through the brutality of her + high-born husband--brutality from which the law could not or + would not protect her. She died at our house, and when she was + robed for her last rest much care had to be taken to arrange the + dress and hair so that the scars of wounds inflicted on the + throat, neck and cheek by her cruel husband might not be too + apparent. + + The reports of English police courts are full of disclosures of + ill-treatment of women by their husbands, and year by year our + own courts are more densely thronged by women asking safety from + the brutality of men who at the altar have vowed to "love, honor + and protect" them. In nearly all these cases, the men who are + brought into our courts on the charge of maltreating women are of + foreign birth who have been born and brought up under the + spiritual guidance of such clergymen as the Rev. Knox-Little, who + tell them, as he told the audience of women to whom he preached + in this city: "To her husband a wife owes the duty of unqualified + obedience. There is _no crime that a man can commit which + justifies his wife in leaving him_ or applying for that monstrous + thing, a divorce. It is her duty to submit herself to him + _always_, and no crime he can commit justifies her lack of + obedience. If he is a bad or wicked man she may gently + remonstrate with him, but disobey him, never." Again, addressing + his audience at St. Clement's, he says: "You may marry a bad man, + but what of that? You had no right to marry a bad man. If you + knew it, you deserved it. If you did not know it, you must endure + it all the same. You can pray for him, and perhaps he will + reform; but leave him--never. Never think of that accursed + thing--divorce. Divorce breaks up families--families build up the + church. The Christian woman lives to build up the church." This + is the sort of sermonizing, reiterated from year to year, that + makes brutes of Englishmen, of all classes, and sinks the average + English woman to the condition of a child-bearing slave, + valuable, mostly, for the number of children she brings her + husband. She is permitted to hold no opinion unaccepted by her + master, denied all reason and forced to frequent churches where + she is forbidden the exercise of her common-sense, and where she + is told: "Men are logical; women lack this quality, but have an + intricacy of thought. There are those who think that women can be + taught logic; this is a mistake. They can never, by any process + of education, arrive at the same mental status as that enjoyed by + man; but they have a quickness of apprehension--what is usually + called leaping at conclusions--that is astonishing." + +Divorce is a question over which woman now disputes man's absolute +control. His canon and civil laws alike have made marriage for +her a condition of slavery, from which she is now seeking +emancipation; and just in proportion as women become independent and +self-supporting, they will sunder the ties that bind them in +degrading relations. + +In September, 1880, Governor Hoyt was petitioned to appoint a woman +as member of the State Board of Commissioners of Public Charities. +The special business of this commission is to examine into the +condition of all charitable, reformatory and correctional +institutions within the State, to have a general oversight of the +methods of instruction, the well-being and comfort of the inmates, +with a supervision of all those in authority in such institutions. +Dr. Susan Smith of West Philadelphia, from the year of the cruel +imprisonment of the unfortunate Hester Vaughan, regularly for +twelve years poured petitions into both houses of the legislature, +numerously signed by prominent philanthropists, setting forth the +necessity of women as inspectors in the female wards of the jails +of the State, and backing them by an array of appalling facts, and +yet the legislature, from year to year, turned a deaf ear to her +appeals. Happily for the unfortunate wards of the State, the law +passed in 1881. + + STATE HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE, NORRISTOWN, Pa., Sept. 28, 1885. + + MY DEAR MISS ANTHONY: I have referred your letter to my old + friend, Dr. Hiram Corson, of Plymouth, Pa., who can, if he will, + give a much better history of the movement in this State, than + any one else, being one of the pioneers. I hope that you will + hear from him. If, however, he returns your letter to me, I will + give you the few facts that I know. I should be glad to have you + visit our hospital and see our work. + + Very respectfully yours, ALICE BENNETT. + + + PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., Oct. 2, 1885. + + MISS SUSAN B. ANTHONY: _Esteemed Friend_:--Dr. Alice Bennett has + referred your letter with questions to me. Alice Bennett, M. D., + Ph. D., is chief physician of the female department of the + eastern hospital of Pennsylvania, for the insane. She is also + member of the Montgomery County Medical Society, and member of + the Medical Society of the State of Pennsylvania. She is the only + woman in the civilized world, of whom I have ever heard, who has + entire charge of the female patients in an institution for the + care and treatment of the insane. We have in the Harrisburg + hospital, Dr. Jane Garver, as physician for the female insane, + but she is subordinate to the male physician. She has a female + physician to assist her. Dr. Bennett was appointed and took + charge in July, 1880, with Dr. Anna Kingler as her assistant. Dr. + Kingler resigned, and went to India as medical missionary; was + succeeded by Dr. Rebecca S. Hunt, who, after more than a year's + service, also resigned to go to India as medical missionary. Dr. + Bennett has now two women physicians to assist her in the care of + more than six hundred patients, nearly as many as, if not more + than, are in the female departments of the Harrisburg, Danville, + and Warren hospitals all combined. + + Dr. Bennett's hospital is a model one. There is a total absence + of physical restraint, as used formerly under male + superintendents, and, I may say, as still used in other hospitals + than that of Norristown. Her skill in providing amusement, + instruction and employment of various kinds, for the comfort and + restoration of her patients to sanity and physical health, I feel + sure has never been equaled in any hospital for the treatment of + insane women. It is exceedingly interesting to see the school + which she has established, and in which a large number of the + insane are daily instructed, amused and interested. It is well + known, now, that when the mind of the insane can be drawn away + from their delusions by employment, or whatever else may interest + them and absorb their attention, they are on the road to health. + The public are not yet fully awake to the great reform effected + in having women physicians for the women insane. Insane women + have been treated as though there were no diseases peculiar to + the sex. Never, so far as I have been able to learn, have they + been treated by the means used for the relief of women in their + homes. An eminent surgeon of Philadelphia informed me a few days + since, that thirty years ago he was an assistant to Dr. + Kirkbride, and desired to treat a patient for uterine troubles, + but was rebuked by Dr. K., and told never to attempt to use the + appliances relied on in private practice. My informant added that + he believed not a single insane woman had ever received special + treatment for affections in any of the hospitals under the care + of male physicians. While we realize that great advantages would + have come to these poor unfortunates by proper treatment, we feel + that no male physician having due regard for his own reputation, + should attempt to treat an insane woman for uterine diseases by + means used in private practice, or even in hospitals with sane + women. And this shows the importance of women physicians for + women insane. One of the most intellectual and prominent women of + this State was, 30 years ago, on account of domestic application, + an inmate of our then champion hospital for the insane, for + several months, during all of which time her sufferings were, to + use her own words, indescribable, and yet she was not once asked + in relation to her physical condition. Let us turn aside from + this, and glance at the last annual report of Dr. Alice Bennett. + She reports 180 patients examined for uterine diseases; 125 were + placed under treatment; 67 treated for a length of time; 60 + benefited by treatment. While Dr. Bennett does not say that their + insanity was caused by the uterine disease, or that they were + cured by curing that affection, she observes that in some cases + the relief of the mind kept pace with the progress of cure of + the uterine affections. I have, perhaps, written more than was + needed on this subject, but I am so anxious that we shall have + women doctors in every hospital for the treatment of insane + women, and know, too, what influence yourself and good Mrs. + Stanton can exert by turning your attention to it, which I am + sure you will as you become informed in relation to the facts, + that I could not stop short of what I have said. I have prepared + a full account of our struggles with the State Society during six + years to obtain for women doctors their proper recognition by the + profession, and also the obstacles and opposition we encountered + in our attempt to procure the law empowering boards of trustees + to appoint women to hospitals for the insane of their sex. It + will give me pleasure to send them to you if they would be of any + use to you. + + Respectfully, HIRAM CORSON. + + As I am within a week of my 82d birthday, and am writing while my + heart is beating one hundred and sixty times per minute, you must + not criticise me too sharply. + + H. C. + +January 24, 1882, Miss Rachel Foster made all the arrangements for +a national convention, to be held in St. George's Hall, +Philadelphia.[272] She also inaugurated a course of lectures, of +which she took the entire financial responsibility, in the popular +hall of the Young Men's Christian Association. Ex-Governor Hoyt of +Wyoming, in his lecture, gave the good results of thirteen years' +experience of woman's voting in that Territory. Miss Foster +employed a stenographer to report the address, had 20,000 copies +printed, and circulated them in the Nebraska campaign during the +following summer. + +At its next session (1883) the legislature passed a resolution +recommending congress to submit a sixteenth amendment, securing to +women the right to vote: + + HARRISBURG, Pa., March 21, 1883.--In the House, Mr. Morrison of + Alleghany offered a resolution urging congress to amend the + national constitution so that the right of suffrage should not be + denied to citizens of any State on account of sex. It was adopted + by 78 ayes[273] to 76 noes, the result being greeted with both + applause and hisses. + +The Philadelphia _Evening Bulletin_ of November 8, 1882, mentions +an attempt to open the University of Pennsylvania to women: + + The trustees held several meetings to consider the applications. + Beside Miss Craddock's, there were two others which the faculty + referred to the trustees, and which appear not to have been + reached in the regular course of business. Miss Florence Kelley, + a post-graduate from Cornell University, daughter of Judge + Kelley, who applied for admission as a special student in Greek, + and Miss Frances Henrietta Mitchell, a junior student from + Cornell, who asked to be admitted in the junior class. Our + information comes from these ladies, who were notified that their + cases would be presented. The question of coeducation, which has + been seriously occupying the minds of the trustees of the + University of Pennsylvania, was settled last evening, at least + for the present, by the passage of a resolution refusing the + admission of girls to the department of arts, but proposing to + establish a separate collegiate department for them, whenever the + requisite cost, about $300,000, is provided. There has been an + intelligent and honest difference among both trustees and + professors on this interesting question, and the diversity has + been complicated by the various grounds upon which the _pros_ and + _cons_ are maintained. There are those who advocate the admission + of girls to the University as a proper thing _per se_. Others + consent to it, because the University cannot give the desired + education separately. Others hold that girls should be admitted + because of their equal rights to a university education, although + their admission is very undesirable. Others oppose coeducation in + the abstract, conceding that girls should be as well educated as + boys, but insisting that they must be differently and therefore + separately educated. These draw a clear line between "equal" and + "similar" education, and hold that no university course of + studies can be laid out that will not present much of classical + literature and much of the mental, moral and natural sciences, + that cannot be studied and recited by boys and girls together, + without serious risk of lasting injury to both. + +Would it not be better, all things considered, to abjure this kind +of classical literature, and instead of subjecting our sons to its +baneful influence, give them the refining, elevating companionship +of their sisters? If we would preserve the real modesty and purity +of our daughters, it is quite as important that we should pay some +attention to the delicacy and morality of the men with whom they +are to associate. + +If a girl cannot read the classics with a young man without +contamination, how can she live with him in all the intimacies of +family life without a constant shock to her refined sensibilities? +So long as society considers that any man of known wealth is a fit +husband for our daughters, all this talk of the faculties and +trustees of our colleges about protecting woman's modesty is the +sheerest nonsense and hypocrisy. It is well to remember that these +professors and students have mothers, wives and sisters, and if man +is coarse and brutal, he invariably feels free to show his worst +passions at his own fireside. To warn women against coeducation is +to warn them against association with men in any relation +whatsoever. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[255] See Appendix. + +[256] Carrie S. Burnham after long years of preparation and +persistent effort for admission to the bar of Philadelphia, was +admitted in 1884. She was thoroughly qualified to enter that +profession and to practice in the courts of that State, and the +only reason ever offered for her rejection from time to time was, +"that she was a woman." + +[257] By an oversight this law was not mentioned in Vol. I. in its +proper place. + +[258] George W. Childs married Judge Bovier's grand-daughter. + +[259] Transcriber's Note: Footnote text is missing in original. + +[260] _University of Pennsylvania_--Joseph Carson, Robert E. +Rogers, Joseph Leidy, Henry H. Smith, Francis G. Smith, R. A. T. +Penrose, Alfred Stille, George B. Wood, Samuel Jackson, Hugh L. +Hodge, R. La Roche, George W. Norris. _Jefferson Medical +College_--Joseph Pancoast, S. D. Gross, Samuel Henry Dickson, +Ellerslie Wallace, B. Howard Rand, John B. Biddle, James Aitken +Meigs. _Pennsylvania Hospital_--J. Forsyth Meigs, James H. +Hutchinson, J. M. Da Costa, Addinell Hewson, William Hunt, D. Hayes +Agnew. _Philadelphia Hospital_--R. J. Levis, William H. Pancoast, +F. F. Maury, Alfred Stille, J. L. Ludlow, Edward Rhodes, D. D. +Richardson, E. L. Duer, E. Scholfield, R. M. Girvin, John S. Parry, +William Pepper, James Tyson. _Medical Staff of Episcopal +Hospital_--John H. Packard., John Ashhurst, jr., Samuel Ashhurst, +Alfred M. Slocum, Edward A. Smith, William Thomson, William S. +Forbes. _Wills Hospital for the Blind and Lame_--Thomas George +Morton, A. D. Hall, Harrison Allen, George C. Harlan, R. J. Levis. +_St. Joseph's Hospital_--William V. Keating, Alfred Stille, John J. +Reese, George R. Morehouse, A. C. Bournonville, Edward A. Page, +John H. Brinton, Walter F. Atlee, C. S. Boker. _St. Mary's +Hospital_--C. Percy La Roche, J. Cummiskey, A. H. Fish, J. +H. Grove, W. W. Keen, W. L. Wells, L. S. Bolles. _German +Hospital_--Albert Fricke, Emil Fischer, Joseph F. Koerper, Julius +Schrotz, Julius Kamerer, Karl Beeken, Theodore A. Demme, +_Children's Hospital_--Thomas Hewson Bache, D. Murray Cheston, H. +Lenox Hodge, F. W. Lewis, Hilborn West. _Charity Hospital_--A. H. +Fish. L. K. Baldwin, Horace Y. Evans, John M. McGrath, H. St. Clair +Ash, J. M. Boisnot, N. Hatfield, W. M. Welch, H. Lycurgus Law, H. +Leaman, J. A. McArthur. _Howard Hospital_--Thomas S. Harper, +Laurence Turnbull, T. H. Andrews, Horace Williams, Joseph Klapp, +William B. Atkinson, S. C. Brincklee. _Physicians-at-Large of the +City of Philadelphia_--E. Ward, George H. Beaumont, William W. +Lamb, Thomas B. Reed, Charles Schaffer, J. Heritage, W. Stump +Forwood, W. J. Phelps, Richard Maris, Frank Muhlenberg, George M. +Ward, James Collins, William F. Norris, Samuel Lewis, Isaac Hays, +G. Emerson, W. W. Gerhard, Caspar Morris, B. H. Coates, George +Strawbridge, S. Weir Mitchell, I. Minis Hays, Edward B. Van Dyke, +J. Sylvester Ramsey, G. W. Bowman, W. H. H. Githens, T. W. Lewis, +T. M. Finley, S. W. Butler, Robert P. Harris, C. Moehring, George +L. Bomberger, Philip Leidy, D. F. Willard, James V. Ingham, Edward +Hartshorne, W. S. W. Ruschenberger, Thomas Stewardson, James +Darrach, S. L. Hollingworth, William Mayburry, Lewis Rodman, Casper +Wister, A. Nebinger, Horace Binney Hare, Edward Shippen, S. +Littell, F. W. Lewis, Robert Bridges, William H. Gloninger, James +Markoe, Charles Hunter, D. F. Woods, Herbert Norris, Harrison +Allen, Charles B. Nancrede, W. J. Grier, Edward J. Nolan, Richard +Thomas, Lewis H. Adler, G. B. Dunmire, John Neill, Wharton Sinkler, +George Pepper, J. J. Sowerby, Henry C. Eckstein, Eugene P. +Bernardy, Charles K. Miles, J. Solis Cohen. + +[261] C. L. Schlatter, J. Wm. White, Daniel Bray, C. E. Cassady, +Robert B. Burns, Albert Trenchard, John G. Scott, J. J. Bowen, P. +Collings, E. Cullen Brayton, joint committee of the University and +Jefferson Medical Colleges. + +[262] As through the influence of Dr. Truman Miss Hirschfeld had +first been admitted to the college, he felt in a measure +responsible for the fair treatment of her countrywomen who came to +the United States to enjoy the same educational advantages. When +the discussion in regard to expelling the young women was pending, +Dr. Truman promptly and decidedly told the faculty that if such an +act of injustice was permitted he should leave the college also. +Much of Dr. Truman's clearsightedness and determination may be +traced to the influence of his noble wife and no less noble +mother-in-law, Mary Ann McClintock, who helped to inaugurate the +movement in 1848 in Central New York. She lamented in her declining +years that she was able to do so little. But by way of consolation +I often suggested that her influence in many directions could never +be measured; and here is one: Her influence on Dr. Truman opened +the Dental College to women, and kept it open while Miss Hirschfeld +acquired her profession. With her success in Germany, in the royal +family, every child in the palace for generations that escapes a +toothache will have reason to bless a noble friend, Mary Ann +McClintock, that she helped to plant the seeds of justice to woman +in the heart of young James Truman. We must also recognize in Dr. +Truman's case that he was born and trained in a liberal Quaker +family, his own father and mother having been disciples of Elias +Hicks. + +[263] PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 10, 1870.--The formal opening of +Swarthmore College took place this afternoon, when a large number +of its friends were conveyed thither in a special train on the +Westchester railroad. The audience assembled in the lecture room, +where addresses were delivered by Samuel Willets and John D. Hyoks, +of New York, Edward Parrish, president of the college, Wm. Dorsey, +and Lucretia Mott. It was stated that the amount spent in land and +buildings amounted to $205,000 and contributions were solicited for +$100,000 additional to fully furnish the building, and supply a +library, philosophical and astronomical apparatus. The building is +a massive one of five stories, constructed of Pennsylvania +granite, and appointed throughout, from dormitory, bathroom, +recitation-hall, to parlor, kitchen and laundry, in the most +refined and substantial taste. It is 400 feet in length, by 100 +deep, presenting two wings for the dormitories of the male and +female students respectively, and a central part devoted to parlor, +library, public hall, etc. Especially interesting in this division +of the college is a room devoted to Quaker antiquities, comprising +portraits and writings of the founders of the sect. Among them we +notice the treaty of William Penn, a picture of the treaty +assembly, a letter of George Fox, etc. The college opens with 180 +pupils, about equally divided between the sexes, the system of +instruction being a joint education of boys and girls, though each +occupy separate wings of the building. The institution was built by +the Hicksite branch of the Society of Friends, but the pupils are +not confined to members of that persuasion. + +[264] The speakers at this convention were Lucretia Mott, Frances +Dana Gage, Wendell Phillips, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. +Anthony, Edward M. Davis, Robert Purvis, Aaron M. Powell. The +officers of the society were: _President_, Robert Purvis; +_Vice-presidents_, Lucretia Mott, William Whipper, Dinah +Mendenhall; _Recording Secretary_, Mary B. Lightfoot; +_Corresponding Secretary_, Frances B. Jackson; _Treasurer_, John K. +Wildman; _Executive Committee_, William Still, Ellen M. Child, +Harriet Purvis, Elisha Meaner, Octavius Catts, Sarah S. Hawkins, +Sarah Pugh, Clementina Johns, Alfred H. Love, Louisa J. Roberts, +Jay Chapel. + +[265] J. K. Wildman, Miss A. Ramborger, Clementina L. John, Ellen +M. Child, and Passmore Williamson. + +[266] _President_, Mary Grew; _Vice-Presidents_, Edward M. Davis, +Mrs. C. A. Farrington, Mary K. Williamson; _Recording Secretary_, +Annie Heacock; _Corresponding Secretary_, Eliza Sproat Turner; +_Treasurer_, Gulielma M. S. P. Jones; _Executive Committee_, John +K. Wildman, Ellen M. Child, Annie Shoemaker, Charlotte L. Pierce, +and Dr. Henry T. Child. + +[267] Among those who addressed the members of the convention were +Bishop Matthew Simpson, Rev. Charles G. Ames, Fanny B. Ames, Mary +Grew, Sarah C. Hallowell, Matilda Hindman, Elizabeth S. Bladen and +Elizabeth Cady Stanton. + +[268] Among the men who spoke for woman's enfranchisement were John +M. Broomall, John M. Campbell, Lewis C. Cassidy, Benjamin L. +Temple, Levi Rooke, George F. Horton, H. W. Palmer, William +Darlington, Harry White, Frank Mantor, Thomas MacConnell, Henry +Carter, Thomas E. Cochran. In addition to those who spoke, those +who voted _yes_ are John E. Addicks, William H. Ainey, William D. +Baker, Charles O. Bowman, Charles Brodhead, George N. Corson, David +Craig, Matthew Edwards, J. Gillingham Tell, Thomas Howard, Edward +C. Knight, George Lear, John S. Mann, H. W. Patterson, T. H. B. +Patton, Thomas Struthers, John W. F. White. + +[269] _Ayes_--William Styles, William McLain, clerks in the water +department; A. W. Lyman, clerk in the custom-house; M. C. Coppeck, +clerk in the highway department, who was defeated by one of the +ladies for school directorship; John B. Green, a member of the +board of education; John Buckley, clerk in the post-office; +Theodore Canfield, sergeant of police; John Murray, contractor of +the highway department; George W. Schrack, an ex-clerk, lately +resigned from the tax receiver's office; Daniel T. Smith, +ex-detective; Asher W. Dewees, Oliver Bowler, Mr. Agnew, Ezra +Lukens, clerk in the United States assistant treasurer's office, +president of the Republican Invincibles, candidate last year +against Mr. Jonathan Pugh for commissioner of city property, and a +candidate for the same office next year; William B. Elliott, +collector of internal revenue; Charles M. Carpenter, alderman, who +signed Mrs. Paist's certificate; Jackson Keyser, an employe in the +navy yard; Alfred Ruhl, clerk in the custom-house; Mr. Jones, and +Henry C. Dunlap, who is Republican candidate for common +council--20. _Nays_--James W. Sayre, Joseph B. Ridge, Samuel +Caldwell, Dr. Charles Hooker, John E. Lane, Lewis Bogy, John +Mansfield. Daniel Rieff, William Githens, Thomas Evans, George +Schimpf and F. Theodore Walton--12. So the resolution was carried +by 20 yeas to 12 nays. + +[270] Their modest home at 114 North Eleventh street has long been +a hospitable retreat for reformers, where many of us identified +with the suffrage movement have been most courteously entertained. +Anna and Adeline Thomson after long lives of industry have been, +too, the steadfast representatives of great principles in religious +and political freedom, always giving freely of their means to the +unpopular reforms of their day and generation.--[E. C. S. + +[271] The Executive Board of the New Century Club for 1879-1880, +was: _President_, Mrs. Eliza S. Turner; _Vice-Presidents_, Mrs. +Emily W. Taylor, Mrs. S. C. F. Hallowell; Mrs. Henry C. Townsend, +Mrs. Aubrey H. Smith; _Corresponding Secretary_, Miss Louise +Stockton; _Recording Secretary_, Miss Anna C. Bliss; _Treasurer_, +Mrs. Charlotte L. Pierce; _Directors_, Mrs. Susan I. Lesley, Mrs. +Henry Cohen, Mrs. Huldah Justice, Miss Emily Sartain, Miss Mary +Grew, Mrs. S. B. F. Greble, Mrs. M. W. Coggins, Miss Mary A. +Burnham, Mrs. Ellison L. Perot, Mrs. Thomas Roberts. Others names +found in its annual report as contributing to the efficiency of the +club are: Mrs. Fannie B. Ames, Miss Grace Anna Lewis, Mrs. Emma J. +Bartol, Mrs. E. L. Head, Miss Mary C. Coxe, Mrs. Charlotte L. +Pierce, Madam Emma Seiler, Miss Amanda L. Dods, Miss Lelia +Patridge, Miss Lily Ray, Miss Ella Cole, Mrs. Susan I. Lesley, Mrs. +E. C. Mayer, Miss Bennett, Mlle. Frasson. The work of the club has +its divisions of science, literature, art, music, entertainment, +cooking, hospitalities, charities, employment for women, legal +protection for working women, prisons and reformatory institutions. + +[272] See Chapter 30 for an account of this Philadelphia +convention. + +[273] The _yeas_ were as follows: Messrs. Ayers, Barnes, Blackford, +Boyer, Boyle, Brooks, W. C. Brown, I. B. Brown, J. L. Brown, +Brosius, Burnite, Burchfield, Chadwick, Coburn, E. L. Davis, +Deveney, Duggan, Eckels, Ellsworth, Emery, Fetters, Gahan, Gardner, +Gavitt, Gentner, Glenn, Grier, G. W. Hall, F. Hall, A. W. Hayes, +Hines, Higgins, Hoofnagle, Hulings, Hughes, Jenkins, Klein, +Kavanaugh, Landis, Lafferty, Merry, B. B. Mitchell, S. N. Mitchell, +Millor, Molineaux, A. H. Morgan, W. D. Morgan, J. W. Morrison, E. +Morrison, Myton, McCabe, McClaran, Neill, Neeley, Nelson, Nesbit, +Nicholson, Parkinson, Powell, Romig, Schwartz, Short, Sinex, +Slocum, J. Smith, Sneeringer, Snodgrass, Stees, Sterett, Stewart, +Stubbs, Sweeney, Trant, Vanderslice, Vaughn, Vogdes, Wayne and +Ziegler--78. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX. + +NEW JERSEY. + + Women Voted in the Early Days--Deprived of the Right by + Legislative Enactment in 1807--Women Demand the Restoration of + Their Rights in 1868--At the Polls in Vineland and Roseville + Park--Lucy Stone Agitates the Question--State Suffrage Society + Organized in 1867--Conventions--A Memorial to the + Legislature--Mary F. Davis--Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford--Political + Science Club--Mrs. Cornelia C. Hussey--Orange Club, 1870--July 4, + 1874, Mrs. Devereux Blake Gives the Oration--Dr. Elizabeth + Blackwell's Letter--The Laws of New Jersey in Regard to Property + and Divorce--Constitutional Commission, 1873--Trial of Rev. Isaac + M. See--Women Preaching in His Pulpit--The Case Appealed--Mrs. + Jones, Jailoress--Legislative Hearings. + + +New Jersey was the only State that, in adopting her first +constitution, recognized woman's right to suffrage which she had +exercised during the colonial days, and from time immemorial in the +mother country. The fact that she was deprived of this right from +1807 to 1840 by a legislative enactment, while the constitution +secured it,[274] proves that the power of the legislature, composed +of representatives from the people, was considered at that early +day to be above the State constitution. If, then, the legislature +could abridge the suffrage, it must have the power to extend it, +and all the women of this State should demand is an act of the +legislature. They need not wait for the slow process of a +constitutional amendment submitted to the popular vote. In 1868, in +harmony with a general movement in many other States, the women of +New Jersey began to demand the restoration of their ancient rights. +The following is from _The Revolution_ of November 19, 1868, +written by Elizabeth A. Kingsbury: + + VINELAND, N. J., Nov. 5, 1868. + + At a meeting of women, held the week before election, a unanimous + vote was taken that we would go to the polls. John Gage, chairman + of the Woman Suffrage Association of Vineland, called a meeting, + and though the day was an inclement one, there was a good + attendance. A number of earnest men as well as women addressed + the audience. Among them were Colonel Moss of Missouri, and James + M. Scovel of Camden, State senator, who strengthened us by their + words of earnest eloquence. At 7:30 A. M., November 3, John and + Portia Gage and myself entered Union Hall, where the judges of + election had already established themselves for the day. Instead + of occupying the center of the platform, they had taken one side + of it, apparently for the purpose of leaving us room on the + other. We seated ourselves in chairs brought for the occasion, + when one gentleman placed a small table for our use. Another + inquired if we were comfortable and the room sufficiently warm. + "Truly," we thought, "this does not look like a very terrible + opposition." As time passed, there came more men and women into + the hall. Quite a number of the latter presented their votes + first at the table where those of men were received, where they + were rejected with politeness, and then taken to the other side + of the platform and deposited in our box. Shall I describe this + box, twelve inches long and six wide, and originally a grape-box? + Very significant of Vineland. Soon there came to the aid of Mrs. + Gage and myself a blooming and beautiful young lady, Estelle + Thomson, who, with much grace and dignity, sat there throughout + the day, recording the names of the voters. It would have done + you good to have witnessed the scene. Margaret Pryor,[275] who is + better known to you perhaps than to many of your readers, as one + whose life has been active in the cause of freedom for the negro + and for woman; a charming old lady of eighty-four years, yet with + the spirit, elasticity and strength of one of thirty-five, sat + there in her nice Quaker bonnet by the side of Miss Thomson a + great part of the day. Sarah Pearson, also advanced in years and + eminent for her labors of love for the suffering and oppressed + everywhere; with her peculiarly delicate organization and placid + countenance, remained with us till the last moment. There was no + lack of friends and supporters. The platform was crowded with + earnest, refined, intellectual women, who felt that it was good + for them to be there. One beautiful girl said in my hearing, "I + feel so much stronger for having voted." It was pleasant to see + husbands and wives enter the hall together, only they had to + separate, one turning to the right hand and the other to the + left, when no separation should have taken place. + + Some women spent the day in going after their friends and + bringing them to the hall. Young ladies, after voting, went to + the homes of their acquaintances, and took care of the babies + while the mothers came out to vote. Will this fact lessen the + alarm of some men for the safety of the babies of enfranchised + women on election day? One lady of refinement and aristocratic + birth brought her little girl of ten years with her, and I assure + you it did the men good as well as us. They said they never had + so quiet and pleasant a time at the polls before, though it is + always more quiet here than in many other towns, because the sale + of ardent spirits is forbidden. John Gage--bless his dear + soul--identifies himself completely with this glorious cause, and + labors with an earnestness and uniformity of purpose that is + truly charming. His team was out all day, bringing women to vote, + half-a-dozen at a time, while his personal efforts were + unremitting and eminently successful. He and his noble wife, + Portia, seem to be, indeed, one in thought and action. Some time + ago he sent a pledge to the candidates for office in this State. + By signing it, they promise to sustain the cause of woman + suffrage by every means in their power. Nixon, candidate for the + Senate, signed it last year. House, candidate for the Assembly, + signed the pledge at the eleventh hour, and though he lost two of + our votes by the delay, yet he, too, is elected. Thus we have, at + least, three public men in New Jersey pledged to sustain the + woman suffrage cause. We think it is time to say to candidates + for office: "You tell us we have a good deal of influence, and + ask us to exert it for your election. We will do so, if you will + promise to advocate our cause. If you do not, we will oppose your + election." The result of the ballots cast by the women of + Vineland is this: For president--Grant, 164; Seymour, 4; E. Cady + Stanton, 2; Fremont, 1; and Mrs. Governor Harvey of Wisconsin, 1. + The president of the Historical Society of Vineland, S. C. + Campbell, has petitioned for the ballot-box and list of voters, + to put into its archives. He will probably get them. + + A gentleman said to me last week: "What is the use of your doing + this? Your votes will count nothing in the election." "It will do + good in two ways," I replied. "You say there will not be five + women there. We will show you that you are mistaken; that women + do want to vote, and it will strengthen them for action in the + future." Both these ends have been accomplished; and on November + 12 we are to meet again, to consider and decide what to do about + the taxation that is soon coming upon us. + +While the Vineland women expressed their opinion by voting, other +true friends of woman's enfranchisement were moved to do the same. +_The Revolution_ of November 12, 1868, gave the following: + + The Newark _Daily Advertiser_ says that Mrs. Hannah Blackwell, a + highly esteemed elderly lady, long resident in Roseville, and + Mrs. Lucy Stone, her daughter-in-law, both of them + property-holders and tax-payers in the county, appeared at the + polls in Roseville Park, accompanied by Messrs. Bathgate and + Blackwell as witnesses, and offered their votes. The judges of + election were divided as to the propriety of receiving the votes + of the ladies, one of them stating that he was in favor of doing + so, the two others objecting on the ground of their illegality. + The ladies stated that they had taken advice of eminent lawyers, + and were satisfied that in New Jersey, women were legally + entitled to vote, from the fact that the old constitution of the + State conferred suffrage upon "all inhabitants" worth $250. Under + that constitution women did in fact vote until, in 1807, by an + arbitrary act of the legislature, women were excluded from the + polls. The new constitution, adopted in 1844, was framed by a + convention and adopted by a constituency, from both of which + women were unconstitutionally excluded, so that they have never + been allowed to vote upon the question of their own + disfranchisement. The article in the present constitution on the + right of suffrage confers it upon white male citizens, but does + not expressly limit it to such. It is claimed that from the + absence of any express limitation in the present constitution, + and from the compulsory exclusion of the parties interested from + its adoption, the political rights of women under the old + constitution still remain. Mrs. Stone stated these points to the + judges of election with clearness and precision. After + consultation, the votes of the ladies were refused. The crowd + surrounding the polls gathered about the ballot-box and listened + to the discussion with respectful attention; but every one + behaved with the politeness which gentlemen always manifest in + the presence of ladies. + +The women of New Jersey may have been roused to assert their right +to vote by an earnest appeal of that veteran of equal rights, +Parker Pillsbury, in _The Revolution_ of March 25, 1868, suggested +by the following: + + At the recent election in Vineland, New Jersey, a unanimous vote + in favor of "no rum" was polled. The Vineland _Weekly_ says: + "Among the incidents of the late election was the appearance of a + woman at the polls. Having provided herself with a ballot, she + marched up to the rostrum and tendered it to the chairman of the + board of registry. The veteran politician, John Kandle, covered + with blushes, was obliged to inform the lady that no one could + vote unless his name was registered. She acquiesced in the + decision very readily, saying she only wished to test a + principle, and retired very quietly from the hall." + +While thus mentioning the women with uncounted votes, it may be +well to embalm here a historical fact, published in April, 1868: + + In the year 1824 widows were allowed to vote in New Jersey on + their husbands' tax receipts. The election officers paid great + deference to the widows on these occasions, and took particular + care to send carriages after them, so as to get their votes early + and make sure of them. The writer of this has often heard his + grandmother state that she voted for John Quincy Adams for + president of the United States when he was elected to that + office. Her name was Sarah Sparks, and she voted at Barnsboro', + her husband having died the year previous. + + N. M. WALLINGTON, Washington, D. C. + +Miss Anthony held a spirited meeting in Rahway on Christmas eve, +December 24, 1867. The following October, 1868, Mrs. Stanton and +Miss Anthony attended a two days' convention in Vineland, and +helped to rouse the enthusiasm of the people. A friend, writing +from there, gives us the following: + + The Unitarian church in this town is highly favored in having for + its pastor a young man of progressive and thoroughly liberal + ideas. Rev. Oscar Clute is well known as an earnest advocate in + the cause of woman. Last Sunday the communion or Lord's Supper + was administered in his church. One of the laymen who usually + assists in the distribution of the bread and wine, was absent, + and Mr. Clute invited one of the women to officiate in his stead. + She did so in such a sweet and hospitable manner that it gave new + interest to the occasion. Even those who do not like innovations + could not find fault. And why should any one be displeased? The + Christ of the sacrament was the emancipator of women. In olden + time they had deaconesses, and in most of our churches women + constitute a majority of the communicants, so it seems + particularly appropriate that they should be served by women. + Women vote on all matters connected with this church, they are on + all "standing committees," and sometimes are chosen and act as + trustees. + +Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford sends us the following reports of the +progress of the movement in this State: + + + While Lucy Stone resided in New Jersey, she held several series + of meetings in the chief towns and cities before the formation of + the State Society.[276] The agitation that began in 1867 was + probably due to her, more than to any other one person in that + State. The State society was organized in the autumn of 1867, and + from year to year its annual meetings have been held in Vineland, + Newark, Trenton, and other cities. On its list of officers[277] + are some of the best men and women in the State. Several + distinguished names from other States are among the speakers[278] + who have taken part in their conventions. County and local + societies too have been extensively organized. These associations + have circulated tracts and appeals, memorialized the legislature, + and had various hearings before that body. At the annual meeting + held in Newark February 15, 1871, the following memorial to the + legislature, prepared by Mary F. Davis, was unanimously adopted: + + _To the Honorable the Senate and General Assembly of the + State of New Jersey:_ + + Section 2, Article 1, of the constitution of the State of + New Jersey, expressly declares that "All political power is + inherent in the people. Government is instituted for the + protection, security, and benefit of the people, and they + have the right at all times to alter or reform the same, + whenever the public good may require it." Throughout the + entire article the words "people" and "person" are used, as + if to apply to all the inhabitants of the State. In direct + contradiction to this broad and just affirmation, section 1, + article 2, begins with the restrictive and unjust sentence: + "Every white male citizen of the United States, at the age + of twenty-one years * * * shall be entitled to vote," etc., + and the section ends with the specification that "no pauper, + idiot, insane person, or person convicted of a crime * * * + shall enjoy the right of an elector." + + Of the word "white" in this article your memorialists need + not speak, as it is made a dead letter by the limitations of + the fifteenth amendment to the United States constitution. + To the second restriction, indicated by the word "male" we + beg leave to call the attention of the legislature, as we + deem it unjust and arbitrary, as well as contradictory to + the spirit of the constitution, as expressed in the first + article. It is also contrary to the precedent established by + the founders of political liberty in New Jersey. On the + second of July, 1776, the provincial congress of New Jersey, + at Burlington, adopted a constitution which remained in + force until 1844; in which section 4 specified as voters, + "all the inhabitants of this Colony, of full age," etc. In + 1790, a committee of the legislature reported a bill + regulating elections, in which the words "he and she" are + applied to voters, thus giving legislative endorsement to + the alleged meaning of the constitution. + + The legislature of 1807 departed from this wise and just + precedent, and passed an arbitrary act, in direct violation + of the constitutional provision, restricting the suffrage to + white male adult citizens, and this despotic ordinance was + deliberately endorsed by the framers of the State + constitution which was adopted in 1844. This was plainly an + act of usurpation and injustice, as thereby a large + proportion of the law-abiding citizens of the State were + disfranchised, without so much as the privilege of + signifying their acceptance or rejection of the barbarous + fiat which was to rob them of the sacred right of + self-protection by means of a voice in the government, and + to reduce them to the political level of the "pauper, idiot, + insane person, or person convicted of crime." + + If this flagrant wrong, which was inflicted by one-half the + citizens of a free commonwealth on the other half, had been + aimed at any other than a non-aggressive and + self-sacrificing class, there would have been fierce + resistance, as in the case of the United Colonies under the + British yoke. It has long been borne in silence. "The right + of voting for representatives," says Paine, "is the primary + right, by which other rights are protected. To take away + this right is to reduce man to a state of slavery, for + slavery consists in being subject to the will of another, + and he that has not a vote in the electing of + representatives is in this condition." Benjamin Franklin + wrote: "They who have no voice nor vote in the electing of + representatives do not enjoy liberty, but are absolutely + enslaved to those who have votes and to their + representatives; for to be enslaved is to have governors + whom other men have set over us, and be subject to laws made + by the representatives of others, without having had + representatives of our own to give consent in our behalf." + This is the condition of the women of New Jersey. It is + evident to every reasonable mind that these unjustly + disfranchised citizens should be reinstated in the right of + suffrage. Therefore, we, your memorialists, ask the + legislature at its present session to submit to the people + of New Jersey an amendment to the constitution, striking out + the word "male" from article 2, section 1, in order that the + political liberty which our forefathers so nobly bestowed on + men and women alike, may be restored to "all inhabitants" of + the populous and prosperous State into which their brave + young colony has grown. + + +[Illustration: Cornelia Collins Hussey] + + + With but a slight change of officers and arguments, these + conventions were similar from year to year. There were on all + occasions a certain number of the clergy in opposition. At one of + these meetings the Rev. Mr. McMurdy condemned the ordination of + women for the ministry. But woman's fitness[279] for that + profession was successfully vindicated by Lucretia Mott and Phebe + A. Hanaford. Mrs. Portia Gage writes, December 12, 1873: + + There was an election held by the order of the township + committee of Landis, to vote on the subject of bonding the + town to build shoe and other factories. The call issued was + for all legal voters. I went with some ten or twelve other + women, all taxpayers. We offered our votes, claiming that we + were citizens of the United States, and of the State of New + Jersey, also property-holders in and residents of Landis + township, and wished to express our opinion on the subject + of having our property bonded. Of course our votes were not + accepted, whilst every _tatterdemalion_ in town, either + black or white, who owned no property, stepped up and very + pompously said what he would like to have done with his + property. For the first time our claim to vote seemed to + most of the voters to be a just one. They gathered together + in groups and got quite excited over the injustice of + refusing our vote and accepting those of men who paid no + taxes. + + In 1879, the Woman's Political Science Club[280] was formed in + Vineland, which held its meetings semi-monthly, and discussed a + wide range of subjects. Among the noble women in New Jersey who + have stood for many years steadfast representatives of the + suffrage movement, Cornelia Collins Hussey of Orange is worthy of + mention. A long line of radical and brave ancestors[281] made it + comparatively easy for her to advocate an unpopular cause. Her + father, Stacy B. Collins, identified with the anti-slavery + movement, was also an advocate of woman's right to do whatever + she could even to the exercise of the suffrage. He maintained + that the tax-payer should vote regardless of sex, and as years + passed on he saw clearly that not alone the tax-payer, but every + citizen of the United States governed and punished by its laws, + had a just and natural right to the ballot in a country claiming + to be republican. The following beautiful tribute to his memory, + by Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, is found in a letter to his daughter: + + + LONDON, July 27, 1873. + + My last letter from America brought me the sad intelligence + of your dear father's departure from amongst you; and I + cannot refrain from at once writing and begging you to + accept the sincere sympathy and inevitable regret which I + feel for your loss. The disappearance of an old friend + brings up the long past times vividly to my remembrance--the + time when, impelled by irresistible spiritual necessity, I + strove to lead a useful but unusual life, and was able to + face, with the energy of youth, both social prejudice and + the hindrance of poverty. I have to recall those early days + to show how precious your father's sympathy and support were + to me in that difficult time; and how highly I respected his + moral courage in steadily, for so many years, encouraging + the singular woman doctor, at whom everybody looked askance, + and in passing whom so many women held their clothes aside, + lest they should touch her. I know in how many good and + noble things your father took part; but, to me, this brave + advocacy of woman as physician, in that early time, seems + the noblest of his actions. + + Speaking of the general activity of the women of Orange, Mrs. + Hussey says: + + The Women's Club of Orange was started in 1871. It is a + social and literary club, and at present (1885) numbers + about eighty members. Meetings are held in the rooms of the + New England Society once in two weeks, and a reception, with + refreshments, given at the house of some member once a year. + Some matter of interest is discussed at each regular + meeting. This is not an equal suffrage club, yet a steady + growth in that direction is very evident. Very good work has + been done by this club. An evening school for girls was + started by it, and taught by the members for awhile, until + adopted by the board of education, a boys' evening school + being already in operation. Under the arrangements of the + club, a course of lectures on physiology, by women, was + recently given in Orange, and well attended. At the house of + one of the members a discussion was held on this subject: + "Does the Private Character of the Actor Concern the + Public?" Although the subject was a general one, the + discussion was really upon the proper course in regard to + M'lle Sarah Bernhardt, who had recently arrived in the + country. Reporters from the New York _Sun_ attended the + meeting, so that the views of the club of Orange gained + quite a wide celebrity. + + Of Mrs. Hussey's remarks, the Newark _Journal_ said: + + The sentiments of the first speaker, Mrs. Cornelia C. + Hussey, were generally approved, and therefore are herewith + given in full: "I have so often maintained in argument that + one has no right to honor those whose lives are a dishonor + to virtue or principle, that I cannot see any other side to + our question than the affirmative. That the stage wields a + potent influence cannot be doubted. Let the plays be + immoral, and its influence must be disastrous to virtue. Let + the known character of the actor be what we cannot respect, + the glamour which his genius or talent throws around that + bad character will tend to diminish our discrimination + between virtue and vice, and our distaste for the latter. + Some one says: 'Let me write the songs of a nation, and I + care not who makes the laws.' The poetry that Byron wrote, + together with his well-known contempt for a virtuous life, + is said to have had a very pernicious influence on the young + men of his time, and probably, too, blinded the eyes of the + young women. I recall being quite startled by reading the + essay of Whittier on Byron, which showed him as he was, and + not with the halo of his great genius thrown around his + vices. It seemed to me that our national government + dethroned virtue when it sent a homicide, if not a murderer, + to represent us at a foreign court; and again when it sent + as minister to another court on the continent a man whose + private character was well known to be thoroughly immoral. + Even to trifle with virtue, or to be a coward in the cause + of principle, is a fearful thing; but when, a person comes + before the public, saying by his life that he prefers the + pleasures of sin to the paths of virtue, it seems to me that + the way is plain--to withhold our patronage as a matter of + public policy." + + On the Fourth of July, 1874, Mrs. Lillie Devereux Blake was + invited to make the usual address in East Orange, which she + did before a large audience in the public hall. Says the + _Journal_: "Mrs. Blake's speech was characterized by + simplicity of style and appropriateness of sentiment." She + made mention of Molly Pitcher, Mrs. Borden and Mrs. Hall of + New Jersey, and of noted women of other States, who did good + service in Revolutionary times, when the country needed the + help of her daughters as well as her sons. + + In the summer of 1876 a noteworthy meeting was held in + Orange in the interest of women. A number of ladies and + gentlemen met in my parlor to listen to statements in + relation to what is called the "social evil," to be made by + the Rev. J. P. Gledstone and Mr. Henry J. Wilson, delegates + from the "British, Continental and General Federation for + the Abolition of Government Regulation of Prostitution." It + is due to the English gentlemen to say that they gave some + very strong reasons for bringing the disagreeable subject + before the meeting, and that they handled it with becoming + delicacy, though with great plainness. + + "Ann A. Horton, who died in June, 1875, at the Old Ladies' + Home, Newark, bequeathed $2,000 to Princeton College, to + found a scholarship to be called by her name." Would not the + endowment of a "free bed" in Mrs. Horton's true alma-mater, + the Old Ladies' Home, have been a far wiser bequest than the + foundation of a scholarship in Princeton--a college which, + while fattening on enormous dole received from women, offers + them nothing in return? + + In relation to the law giving the mothers of New Jersey some + legal claim to their children, Mrs. Hussey writes: + + I have often heard it said that Kansas is the only State + where the married mother has any legal ownership in her + children; but the women of New Jersey have enjoyed this + _privilege_ since 1871, when it was gained for them by the + efforts of Mrs. Ann H. Connelly of Rahway. She was an + American woman, the mother of one daughter, and unhappily + married. She desired to be divorced from her husband, but + she knew that in such case he might legally take her child + from her. Such a risk could not be thought of for a moment; + so she applied to the legislature for a change of the law. + She was assisted by many influential citizens, both men and + women; petitions largely signed were presented, and the + result was the amendment of the law making the mother and + father equal in the ownership of their children. When a copy + of the new law appeared in our papers I wrote to Mrs. + Connelly, inclosing a resolution of thanks from the Essex + County Woman Suffrage Society, of which I was then + secretary. In her reply she said: "This unexpected and + distinguishing recognition of my imperfect, but earnest, + efforts for justice is inexpressibly gratifying." Several + years after, I went with my daughter to Rahway to see Mrs. + Connelly. She seemed to be well known and much respected. + She was teaching in one of the public schools, but seemed + quite feeble in health. In 1881 I saw the notice of her + death. She was a woman of much intelligence, and strongly + interested in suffrage, and should certainly be held in + grateful remembrance by the mothers of New Jersey, to whom + she restored the right which nature gave them, but which + men had taken away by mistaken legislation. + + This law of February 21, 1871, composed of several acts + purporting to give fathers and mothers equal rights in cases of + separation and divorce, is not so liberal as it seems in + considering this provision: + + Upon a decree of divorce the court may make such further + decree as may be deemed expedient concerning the custody and + maintenance of minor children, and determine with which of + the parents the children shall remain. + + This act, though declaring that the mother and father are equal, + soon shows by its specifications that the courts can dispose of + all woman's interests and affections as they may see fit. What + avails a decree of divorce or separation for woman, if the court + can give the children to the father at its pleasure? Here is the + strong cord by which woman is held in bondage, and the courts, + all composed of men, know this, and act on it in their decisions. + + A petition was addressed to the constitutional commission of + 1873, requesting an amendment restoring to the women of New + Jersey their original right to vote, which that body decided + would be "inexpedient." A bill introduced in the legislature by + Senator Cutler, of Morris county, making women eligible to the + office of school-trustee, became a law March 25, 1873: + + Be it enacted, That hereafter no person shall be eligible to + the office of school-trustee, unless he or she can read and + write; and women who are residents in the district and over + twenty years of age, shall also be eligible to the office of + school-trustee, and may hold such office and perform the + duties of the same, when duly elected by ten votes of the + district.--[Chap. 386. + + February 26, 1874, a law for the better protection of the + property of married women was passed: + + 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the + State of New Jersey, That any married woman who now is, or + may hereafter become, entitled, by gift, devise or bequest, + to any contingent estate, or any interest in any real or + personal property or estate, may, with the concurrence of + her husband, compound and receipt for, assign and convey the + same, in all cases where she lawfully might, if a _feme + sole_; and every release, receipt, assignment, discharge, + agreement, covenant, or contract, thereupon entered into by + her in regard to the same and to the said property, shall be + as valid and binding in every respect, upon her, her heirs, + executors, administrators, and assigns, and any and all + persons claiming under her, them or either of them, as if + she were at the time of entering into the same, a _feme + sole_, and when duly executed and acknowledged in the manner + provided by law for conveyance of real estate, may be + recorded in the surrogate's office, and whenever it relates + to real estate in the clerk's or recorder's office, of the + proper county or counties, in the same manner and with like + effect as other receipts and discharges may now be recorded + therein. 2. And be it enacted. That this act shall take + effect immediately. + + A most remarkable trial, lately held in Newark, New Jersey, which + involved the question whether it was contrary to Scripture, and a + violation of the rules of the Presbyterian Church, to admit women + to the pulpit, is well reported by the New York _World_, January + 1, 1877: + + Since the time that the Rev. Theodore Cuyler was obliged by + the Presbytery of Long Island to apologize for inviting Miss + Sarah Smiley, the Quaker preacher, to occupy the pulpit of + the Lafayette Avenue Church in Brooklyn, the question of the + right of women to preach in Presbyterian churches, has come + up in various parts of the country, but has never been + brought judicially before any ecclesiastical body until + yesterday, when it occupied the attention of the Newark + Presbytery, under the following circumstances. October 29, + 1876, Mrs. L. S. Robinson and Mrs. C. S. Whiting, two ladies + who were much interested in the temperance movement, asked + and received permission of the Rev. Isaac M. See, of the + Wickliffe Presbyterian Church at Newark, to occupy his + pulpit, morning and evening of that day. They accordingly + addressed the congregation on the subject of temperance. To + this the Rev. E. R. Craven, of the Third Presbyterian + Church, of Newark, objected, and brought before the Newark + Presbytery the following charge: + + "The undersigned charges the Rev. Isaac M. See, pastor of + the Wickliffe Church, of Newark, N. J., a member of your + body, with disobedience to the divinely enacted ordinance in + reference to the public speaking and teaching of women in + churches, as recorded in I. Corinthians, xiv., 33 to 37, and + I. Timothy, ii., 13, in that: First specification--On + Sunday, October 29, 1876, in the Wickliffe Church of the + city of Newark, N. J., he did, in the pulpit of the said + church, and before the congregation there assembled for + public worship at the usual hour of the morning service, + viz., 10:30 A.M., introduce a woman, whom he permitted and + encouraged then and there publicly to preach and teach." The + second specification is couched in similar language, except + that it charges Mr. See with introducing another woman at + the evening service upon the same day. The charge was + presented at the regular meeting of the Presbytery, a short + time ago, and the hearing of the case was adjourned until + yesterday. The meeting was held in the lecture room of the + Second Presbyterian Church in Washington street. Rev. John + L. Wells, pastor of the Bethany Mission Chapel, presided, + and there was a fair attendance of the members of the body. + Of the audience at least nine-tenths were women.[282] Dr. + Craven, the prosecutor, sat on the front row of seats, near + to the clerk's table, while Dr. See, who is very stout, with + a double chin, and the picture of good-nature, sat in the + rear of the members of the Presbytery, and among the front + rows of spectators. Dr. McIllvaine introduced the following + resolution: + + _Resolved_, That this charge, by common consent of the + parties, be dismissed at this stage of the proceedings, with + affectionate council to the Rev. Dr. See not to go contrary + to the usages of the Presbyterian Church for the future. + + This brought Brother See to his feet. He could not, he said, + assent to Brother McIllvaine's resolution. He had not + consented that the charge should be dismissed, as in the + resolution. Brother McIllvaine expressed himself as sure + that Brother See had consented, but Brother See was again + equally sure that he had not. Some member here suggested + that Dr. Craven should first have been asked if he consented + to dismiss the charge, and this brought that gentleman to + his feet. A more complete antithesis to Dr. See cannot be + imagined. He is tall, gaunt, with full beard and mustache, + short, bristling hair, that stands upright in a row from the + centre of his forehead to the crown of his head. He said + that at the request of Dr. McIllvaine and another respected + member of the Presbytery he had said that if the party + charged would give full and free consent to the resolution, + he would also assent; "and," he added, "such is now my + position." Dr. McIllvaine then gave at length his reasons + for desiring to arrest the case where it was. No good could + come of its discussion, and the result could not but be + productive of discord. The Moderator reminded Dr. See that + they waited for an answer from him. + + Dr. See--May we have a season of prayer, sir? The Moderator + said there was no objection. Dr. See explained that the + matter at issue was not a personal one; it was a question as + to the meaning of the Scriptures upon a certain point, and + he was there simply to know what the Presbytery would do. + Rev. Drs. Brinsmayd and Fewsmith then prayed, but Dr. See's + frame of mind was not in the least changed. He still + insisted that his was the passive part, to sit and see what + they would do with his case. Rev. Dr. Wilson thought that if + Brother See did not desire to do anything contrary to the + usages of the church, he might say so. Brother See said it + was a question of whether God Almighty had said certain + things or not, and that he could not answer. In his formal + answer to the charge the accused then said: "I believe + myself to be not guilty of the charge, but I admit the + specifications." Dr. Craven, in his speech, said it was in + no spirit of animosity that he had brought the charge. He + believed that the law of God had been broken in this case; + not designedly, perhaps, but really. A custom had found + lodgment in a Presbyterian church that would impair its + efficiency and would also injure woman in the sphere which + she was called upon by God to fill. No judicial decision had + been arrived at upon this question. The case of Dr. Cuyler + was the first that had come before a Presbytery, and that + was hardly a trial of the question. "Why should I," he + continued, "bring this charge? Because I have felt it to be + wrong, and feeling thus, resolved to take the duty upon + myself, painful and agonizing as the task may be. I deem it + my duty to God to do so." Dr. See (_sotto voce_)--"And the + Lord will bless you for it." + + Dr. Craven, continuing, read the passages of Scripture + referred to in this charge. He did not, he said, affirm that + woman had no work in the church. She had a great and + glorious sphere; she had no right to teach and speak in + public meetings, but she could teach children and ignorant + men in private. He would not affirm that some women could + not preach as well as, or better than some men, and he did + not know but that in the future she might occupy the + platform on an equality with men; but at present she could + not, and it was expressly forbidden in the passages which he + had read. "You may run to hear another man's wife preach, or + another man's daughter," said he, "but who would have his + own wife stand upon the platform, or his own daughter face + the mob? Woman is the heart of man, but man is the head. Let + woman go upon the platform, and she loses that shrinking + modesty that gives her such power over children. What child + would wish to have a public-speaking mother? I trust this + evil will not creep in upon the church. I felt bound to + resist it at the outset, and unless I am convinced of my + error shall withstand it to the death." * * * * + + January 2, 1877, Rev. Dr. See continued his defense of + himself for letting a woman into his pulpit. Then the roll + was called for the views of the Presbytery. Dr. McIllvaine + said that the two sources of light, as he understood it, + were the teachings of the Lord and his disciples. The Lord + didn't select women for his twelve, and vacancies were not + filled by women. It wasn't a woman who was chosen to do + Paul's work. He was the chosen teacher of the church in that + and all succeeding ages, and he had said, "I suffer not + women to teach, or to usurp authority in the church." Dr. + Brinsmade, who was the pastor of the Wickliffe Church before + Dr. See was called there, admitted that women could preach + well, but thought the Presbytery had better stick by the + divine command. Dr. Canfield also agreed with Paul. He loved + women and loved their work, but it seemed from the + experience of the world that God intended that the pulpit + should be the place for men. Such, at any rate, had been the + principle and the practice of the Presbyterian Church; and + if Brother See could not conform to its rules, he would say + to him, "Go, brother; there are other churches in which you + can find a place." Dr. Canfield was called to order for that + addendum. Dr. Hutchings, of Orange, referred to the ancient + justification of slavery from the Bible, and in view of + honest differences of construction accepted by the church, + thought the question should be left to the discretion of + pastors and church-sessions. Rev. Jonathan F. Stearns, + pastor of the First Church, demurred to this and stood by + the Scripture text. Nine-tenths of the ladies of the church, + he said, would vote against preaching by women. + + Rev. James E. Wilson, pastor of the South Park Church, said + that in churches where women had been permitted to preach, + they had lost ground. "I have never heard a Quaker woman," + said he, "preach a sermon worth three cents (laughter), and + yet I have heard the spirit move them to get up and speak at + most improper times and on most inopportune occasions, and + have heard them say most improper and impertinent things." + In the Methodist Church he did not believe that there were + over twenty-five women preachers, so the women were losing + ground, and not gaining. Even the woman suffragists, who + made so much noise a few years ago, had subsided, and he did + not believe there were a hundred agitators in the whole + country now. "See," he said, "where Brother See's argument + would carry him. Any woman that has the spirit upon her may + speak, and so, by and by, two or three women may walk up + into Brother See's pulpit and say,'Come down; it's our turn + now, we are moved by the spirit.' (Laughter). A woman's + voice was against her preaching; a man's voice came out with + a 'thud,' but a woman spoke soft and pleasing; however, here + were the plain words of the text, and any man that could + throw it overboard could throw over the doctrine of the + atonement. If a mother should teach her son from the pulpit + by preaching to him, thus disobeying the plain words of the + apostle, she must not be surprised if her son went contrary + to some other teaching of the apostle. But the fact was, the + women did not desire to preach; otherwise they would have + preached long ago. He rejoiced when that convention of + temperance women assembled in Newark, but he could not help + pitying their husbands and families away out in Chicago and + elsewhere. (Laughter). + + Rev. Ferd. Smith, the pastor of the Second Church, said the + president of the Woman's Temperance Union had asked him if + they could have the use of the church, and he had said + "yes"; "and," said Dr. Smith, "I am glad that I did it, and + I am sorry that I was not there to hear the address; and + now, brethren, I am going to confess that I have sinned a + little in this matter of women preaching. Two or three years + ago I went and heard Miss Smiley preach. I had heard in the + morning--I won't mention his name--one of the most + distinguished men of the country preach a very able + sermon--a very long one, too. [Laughter.] I had heard in the + afternoon a doctor of divinity; I don't see him here now, + but I have seen him, and I won't mention his name; and I + heard Miss Smiley in the evening. It may be heresy to say + it, but I do think I was more fed that evening than I had + been by both the others; but I do not on that account say + that it is good for women to go, as a regular thing, into + the pulpit. If I had heard her a dozen times, I should not + have been so much moved. Woman-preaching may do for a little + time, but it won't do for a permanency. I heard at Old + Orchard, at a temperance convention, the most beautiful + argument I ever listened to, delivered with grace and + modesty and power. The words fell like dew upon the heart, + enriching it, and the speaker was Miss Willard; but for all + this, brethren, I do not approve of women preaching. [Great + laughter.] We must not, for the sake of a little good, + sacrifice a great principle." Dr. Pollock of Lyons Farms + wanted to shelter women, to prevent them from being talked + about as ministers are and criticised as ministers are; it + was for this that he would keep them out of the pulpit. Rev. + Drs. Findley and Prentiss de Neuve were in favor of + sustaining the charge. Rev. Dr. Haley contended that Brother + See ought not to be condemned, because he had not offended + against any law of the church. Drs. Seibert, Ballantine and + Hopwood spoke in favor of sustaining the charge. A vote of + 16 to 12 found Rev. Dr. See guilty of violating the + Scriptures by allowing women to preach, and the case was + appealed to the General Assembly. + + The General Assembly adopted the following report on this case: + + The Rev. Isaac W. See, pastor of the Wickliffe Church, + Newark, N. J., was charged by Rev. Elijah R. Craven, D. D., + with disobedience to the divinely enacted ordinance in + reference to the public speaking and teaching of women in + the churches as recorded in I Corinthians, xiv., 33-37, and + in I Timothy, ii., 11-13, in that twice on a specified + Sabbath, in the pulpit of his said church, at the usual time + of public service, he did introduce a woman, whom he + permitted and encouraged then and there publicly to preach + and teach. + + The Presbytery of Newark sustained the charge, and from its + decision Mr. See appealed to the synod of New Jersey, which + refused by a decided vote to sustain the appeal, expressing + its judgment in a minute of which the following is a part: + + In sustaining the Presbytery of Newark as against the appeal + of the Rev. I. M. See, the synod holds that the passages of + scripture referred to in the action of the Presbytery, do + prohibit the fulfilling by women of the offices of public + preachers in the regular assemblies of the church. + + From this decision Mr. See has further appealed to the + General Assembly, which, having thereupon proceeded to issue + the appeal, and having fully heard the original parties and + members of the inferior judicatory, decided that the said + appeal from the synod of New Jersey be not sustained by the + following vote: To sustain, 85. To sustain in part, 71. Not + to sustain, 201. + + From the following description by Mrs. Devereux Blake, we have + conclusive evidence of woman's capacity to govern under most + trying circumstances: + + A certain little woman living in Jersey City has, from time + to time, occupied a portion of public consideration; this is + Mrs. Ericka C. Jones, for four years and a half warden of + the Hudson county jail, probably the only woman in the world + who holds such a position. Her history is briefly this: Some + seven years ago her husband obtained the appointment of + jailor at this institution, and moved to it with his bride. + From the time of their incoming a marked improvement in the + administration of the jail became apparent, which continued, + when, after two years, Mr. Jones was stricken down with + softening of the brain, which reduced him to a condition of + idiocy for six months before his death. When at last this + occurred, by unanimous vote of the board of freeholders the + woman who had really performed the duties of jailor was + appointed warden of Hudson county jail. All this has been a + matter of report in the papers, as well as the attempt to + oust her from the position, which was made last fall, when + certain male politicians wanted the place for some friend + and voter, and appealed to Attorney-General Vanetta, who + gave an opinion adverse to the lady's claims. Resolutions on + the subject were passed by various woman suffrage societies, + and anxious to see the subject of so much dispute, and hear + her story from her own lips, a party of ladies was made up + to call upon her. + + Hudson-county jail stands in the same inclosure with the + court-house, a small, neatly-kept park, well shaded by fine + trees, and being on very high ground commands a view over + the North River and New York Bay. The building is a + substantial one of stone, with nothing of the repulsive + aspect of a jail about it. Asking for Mrs. Jones, we were at + once shown into the office. We had expected to see a woman + of middle age and somewhat stern aspect. Instead, we beheld + a pretty, young person, apparently not more than twenty-five + years old, with bright, black eyes, waving brown hair, good + features and plump figure. She was very neatly dressed and + pleasant in manner, making us cordially welcome. We were + conducted into the parlor and at once begged her to tell us + all about her case, which she did very clearly and + concisely. When she was left a widow with two little + children she had no idea that this place would be given her, + but it was tendered to her by unanimous vote of the board of + freeholders. At that time there were in jail three desperate + criminals, Proctor, Demsing and Foley, bank robbers, and + some persons feared that a woman could not hold them, but + they were safely transferred at the proper time from the + jail to the state-prison. "And," she added, with a bright + smile, "I never have lost a prisoner, which is more than + many men-jailors can say. Some of them tried to escape last + fall, but I had warning in time, sent for the police, and + the attempt was prevented." + + "And do you think there is any danger of your being turned + out?" "I don't know. I intend to remain in the place until + the end of my term, if possible, since as long as the effort + to dismiss me is based solely on the ground of my sex and + not of my incompetency, it ought justly to be resisted." + "But Attorney-General Vanetta gave an adverse opinion as to + the legality of your appointment?" "Yes, but + ex-Attorney-General Robert Gilchrist, a very able lawyer, + has given an opinion in my favor, while Mr. Lippincott, + counsel of the board when I was appointed, also held that I + was eligible for the place." + + She then went on to tell us some of the petty persecutions + and indirect measures Which have been resorted to in order + to induce her to resign, as her term of office will not + expire for two years. When her husband was given the + position, the allowance consisted of 40 cents a day for each + prisoner, 50 cents for each sick person, 25 cents for every + committal, and 12-1/2 cents for every discharge. The daily + allowance has been cut down from 40 to 25 cents, and all the + other allowances have been entirely done away with. She is, + therefore, at this moment running that jail on 25 cents a + day for each prisoner. Out of this sum she must pay for all + food, all salaries of assistant jailors, etc., all wages of + servants, and even the furniture of the place. She is + supplied with fuel and gas, but no stores of any + description. She has also had other annoyances. The payment + of money justly due has been opposed or delayed; and whereas + her husband was required to give bond for only $5,000, she + has been forced to give one for $10,000. She has also been + troubled by the visits of persons representing themselves to + be reporters of papers, who have wished to borrow money of + her, and failing in this, have printed disagreeable articles + about her. She has, of course, no salary whatever. "However, + I do as well as I can with the money I receive," she said, + with that pleasant smile. "And now would you like to see the + jail?" * * * * + + Ex-Attorney Gilchrist's opinion on her case is an able + indorsement of her position. He says, in the first place, + that as Attorney-General Vanetta's adverse view was not + given officially, it is not binding on the Board of + Freeholders, and then goes on to cite precedents. "Alice + Stubbs, in 1787, was appointed overseer of the poor in the + county of Stafford, England, and the Court of King's Bench + sustained her in the office. A woman was appointed governor + of the work-house at Chelmsford, England, and the court held + it to be a good appointment. Lady Brangleton was appointed + keeper of the Gate-House jail in London. Lady Russell was + appointed keeper of the Castle of Dunnington. All these + cases are reported in _Stranges R._, as clearly establishing + the right and duty of woman to hold office. The case of Ann, + Countess of Pembroke, Dorsett and Montgomery, who was + sheriff of Westmoreland, is very well known." The opinion + winds up by saying: "The argument that a woman is + incompetent to perform the duties of such an office is + doubly answered--first, by the array of cases in which it is + held that she is competent; second, by the resolution of the + board when Mrs. Jones was appointed, that she had for a long + time prior thereto actually kept the jail while her husband + was jailor." How this whole matter would be simplified if + women could vote and hold office, so that merit and not sex + should be the only qualification for any place.--_New York + Record, 1876._ + + The following incident shows not only what physical training will + do in giving a girl self-reliance in emergencies, but it shows + the nice sense of humor that grows out of conscious power with + which a girl can always take a presuming youth at disadvantage. + No doubt Miss McCosh, as a student in Princeton, could as easily + distance her compeers in science, philosophy and the languages, + as she did the dude on the highway. Why not open the doors of + that institution and let her make the experiment? + + The distinguished president of Princeton College, Dr. + McCosh, has two daughters who are great walkers. They are in + the habit of going to Trenton and back, a distance of about + twenty miles, where they do their shopping. One day a dude + accosted Miss Bridget on the road, and said, in the usual + manner: "Beg pardon, but may I walk with you?" She replied, + "Certainly," and quickened her pace a little. After the + first half-mile the masher began to gasp, and then, as she + passed on with a smile, he sat down panting on a mile-stone, + and mopped the perspiration from his brow. + + At the sixteenth national convention, held in Washington, March, + 1884, the State was well represented;[283] Mrs. Hanaford gave an + address on "New Jersey as a Leader." In her letter to the + convention, Mrs. Hussey wrote: + + An old gentleman, Aaron Burr Harrison, a resident of East + Orange, has just passed on to his long home, full of + years--eighty-eight--and with a good record. He told me + about his sister's voting in New jersey, when he was a + child--probably about 1807. The last time I took a petition + for woman suffrage to him, he signed it willingly, and his + daughter also. + + February 12, 1884, a special committee of the New Jersey Assembly + granted a hearing[284] on the petition of Mrs. Celia B. + Whitehead, and 220 other citizens of Bloomfield, asking the + restoration of woman's right to vote; fully one-half of the + members of the Assembly were present. Mrs. Seagrove handed the + committee an ancient printed copy of the original constitution of + New Jersey, dated July 2, 1776. The name of James Seagrove, her + husband's grandfather, is endorsed upon it in his own + hand-writing. In the suffrage clause of this document the words + "all inhabitants" were substituted for those of "male + freeholders" in the provincial charter. Hence the constitution of + 1776 gave suffrage to women and men of color. Mrs. Seagrove made + an appeal on behalf of the women of the State. Mr. Blackwell gave + a resume of the unconstitutional action of the legislature in its + depriving women of their right to vote. Mrs. Hanaford, in answer + to a question of the committee, claimed the right for women not + only to vote but to hold office; and instanced from her own + observation the need of women as police officers, and especially + as matrons in the police stations. The result of these appeals + may be seen in a paragraph from the Boston _Commonwealth_, a + paper in hearty sympathy: + + In the lower House of the New Jersey legislature a + Democratic member recently moved that the word "male" be + stricken from the constitution of the State. After some + positive discussion a non-partisan vote of 27 to 24 defeated + the motion. This occurrence, it is to be observed, is + chronicled of one of the most conservative States in the + Union. The arguments used on both sides were not new or + remarkable. But the vote was very close. If such a measure + could in so conservative a State be nearly carried, we can + have reasonable hope of its favorable reception, in more + radical sections. In New Jersey we did not expect success + for the resolution proposed. The favorable votes really + surprised us. We do not mistake the omen. Gradually the + point of woman's responsibility is being conceded. The + arbitrary lines now drawn politically and socially are + without reason. Indeed, one of the members of the New Jersey + Assembly called attention to the fact that to grant suffrage + now would not be the conferring of a new gift on women, but + only a restoration of rights exercised in colonial times. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[274] See Vol. I., page 447. + +[275] Mrs. Pryor lived formerly in Waterloo, New York. She was +present at the first convention at Seneca Falls, and sustained the +demand for woman suffrage with earnest sympathy. I have been +indebted to her for a splendid housekeeper, trained by her in all +domestic accomplishments, who lived in my family for thirty years, +a faithful, devoted friend to me and my children. Much that I have +enjoyed and accomplished in life is due to her untiring and +unselfish services. My cares were the lighter for all the heavy +burdens she willingly took on her shoulders. The name of Amelia +Willard should always be mentioned with loving praise by me and +mine. Her sympathies have ever been in our reform. When Abby Kelly +was a young girl, speaking through New York in the height of the +anti-slavery mobs, Margaret Pryor traveled with her for company and +protection. Abby used to say she always felt safe when she could +see Margaret Pryor's Quaker bonnet.--[E. C. S. + +[276] In a letter to Mary F. Davis, February 13, 1882, asking her +for some facts in regard to that period, Lucy Stone says: "I have +never kept any diary or record of my work. I have been too busy +with the work itself. I could not answer your questions without a +search among old letters and papers, which have been packed away +for years, and I have not time to make the search, and cannot be +accurate without. I know we had many meetings in New Jersey in all +the large towns, beginning in Newark and Orange, and following the +line of the railroad to Trenton, Camden, and Vineland, and then +another series that included towns reached by stage, Salem being +one, but I cannot tell whether these meetings were before or after +the formation of the State Society." The records show that they +were before, says Mrs. Davis; newspaper reports of them are in the +archives of the Historical Society. + +[277] _President_, Lucy Stone, Roseville; _Vice-Presidents_, +Antoinette Brown Blackwell, Thomas B. Peddie, Portia Gage, Rev. +Robert McMurdy, Cornelia Collins Hussey, George T. Cobb, Sarah E. +Webb, Dr. James Brotherton, Isaac Stevens, Rev. H. A. Butler, A. J. +Davis, James H. Nixon, Dr. G. H. Haskell, I. M. Peebles, Rev. C. H. +Dezanne, William Baldwin; _Corresponding Secretaries_, Phebe A. +Pierson, Miss P. Fowler; _Recording Secretary_, C. A. Paul; +_Treasurer_, S. G. Silvester; _Executive Committee_, Mary F. Davis, +Mrs. E. L. Bush, H. B. Blackwell, Rev. Oscar Clute, Miss Charlotte +Bathgate, Rowland Johnson, Mrs. Robert McMurdy, Dr. D. N. Allen, +Sarah Pierson, Lizzie Prentice, W. D. Conan, John Whitehead. + +[278] Among those who addressed the conventions and the legislature +we find the names of Lucretia Mott, Ernestine L. Rose, Lucy Stone, +Antoinette Brown Blackwell, Mary F. Davis, Charlotte B. Wilbour, +Elizabeth R. Churchill, Elizabeth A. Kingsbury, Deborah Butler, +Olive F. Stevens, Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, Mrs. Devereux Blake, Rev. +Oscar Clute, Rev. Olympia Brown, Rev. Mr. McMurdy, Mr. Taylor, John +Whitehead, Mrs. Seagrove, Henry B. Blackwell, Hon. James Scovell. + +[279] This has been well illustrated by Mrs. Hanaford in her own +case, she having preached for nearly twenty years with but three +changes of place, and ten of these passed successively in the +Universalist churches in Jersey City.--[E. C. S. + +[280] VINELAND, July 15, 1879.--Club met at the residence of Mrs. +Bristol. The meeting was opened with music by Mrs. Parkhurst, +followed by a recitation by Miss Etta Taylor. Mrs. Andrew read an +excellent essay, opposing the national bank system. Mrs. Bristol +gave an instructive lesson in political economy on "Appropriation." +The next lesson will be upon "Changes of Matter in Place." +Appropriate remarks were made by Mrs. Neyman of New York, Mr. +Broom, Mrs. Duffey and Mr. Bristol. Several new names were added to +the list of membership. Miss Etta Taylor gave another recitation, +which closed the exercises of the afternoon. In the evening a +pleasant reception was held, and many invited guests were present. +The exercises consisted of vocal and instrumental music, social +converse and dancing. The club will meet again in two weeks.--[C. +L. LADD, _Secretary_. + +[281] Isaac Collins, her grandfather, died at Burlington, March 21, +1817, a man remarkable alike for his uprightness, industry, +intelligence and enterprise. He was a Quaker by birth and +conviction, and a printer, appointed by King George III. for the +province of New Jersey. He printed many valuable books, almanacs, +Bibles, revised laws, government money, and a weekly paper, _The +New Jersey Gazette_. In making his will he so divided his property +that each of his six daughters received twice the sum that he gave +to each of the seven sons. This he explained by saying that the +latter could go into business and support themselves, but his +daughters must have enough to live upon, if they chose to remain +single; he did not wish them to be forced to marry for a support. + +[282] In the audience were several advocates of woman suffrage, +probably there to take observations of the manner in which +Christian clergymen conduct their meetings. This class of men had +been so severe in their criticisms of woman suffrage conventions +that we hoped to learn lessons of wisdom from the dignity, +refinement and parliamentary order of their proceedings. Among +these ladies were Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, Miss Arathusia Forbes, +Mrs. Devereux Blake and Miss Susan King of New York, a wealthy +tea-merchant and extensive traveler, and myself. That day the Rev. +Dr. Craven was the principal speaker. The whole tenor of his +remarks were so insulting to women that Miss King proposed to send +an artist the following Sunday to photograph the women possessing +so little self-respect as to sit under his ministrations. He +punctuated his four-hours' vulgar diatribe by a series of +resounding whacks with the Bible on the table before him.--[M. J. +G. + +[283] Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, Miss Ellen Miles and Mrs. Jackson of +Jersey City. + +[284] Mrs. Theresa Walling Seagrove of Keyport, Rev. Phebe A. +Hanaford of Jersey City and Henry B. Blackwell of Boston were the +speakers. + + + + +CHAPTER XL. + +OHIO. + + The First Soldiers' Aid Society--Mrs. Mendenhall--Cincinnati + Equal Rights Association, 1868--Homeopathic Medical College and + Hospital--Hon. J. M. Ashley--State Society, 1869--Murat + Halstead's Letter--Dayton Convention, 1870--Women Protest against + Enfranchisement--Sarah Knowles Bolton--Statistics on + Coeducation--Thomas Wentworth Higginson--Woman's Crusade, + 1874--Miriam M. Cole--Ladies' Health Association--Professor + Curtis--Hospital for Women and Children, 1879--Letter from J. D. + Buck, M. D.--March, 1881, Degrees Conferred on Women--Toledo + Association, 1869--Sarah Langdon Williams--_The Sunday + Journal_--_The Ballot-Box_--Constitutional Convention--Judge + Waite--Amendment Making Women Eligible to Office--Mr. Voris, + Chairman Special Committee on Woman Suffrage--State Convention, + 1873--Rev. Robert McCune--Centennial Celebration--Women Decline + to Take Part--Correspondence--Newbury Association--Women Voting, + 1871--Sophia Ober Allen--Annual Meeting, Painesville, 1885--State + Society, Mrs. Frances M. Casement, President--Adelbert College. + + +Early in the year 1862, Cincinnati became a hospital for the army +operations under General Grant and was soon filled with wounded +heroes from Fort Donelson and Pittsburg Landing, and the women +here, as in all other cities, were absorbed in hospital and +sanitary work. To the women of Cleveland is justly due the honor of +organizing the first soldiers' aid society, a meeting being called +for this purpose five days after the fall of Fort Sumter. Through +the influence of Mrs. Mendenhall were inaugurated the great +sanitary fairs[285] there, and by her untiring energy and that of +the ladies who labored with her, many of our brave soldiers were +restored to health. Mrs. Annie L. Quinby writes: + + In the autumn of 1867 Mrs. Stanton and Miss Anthony made a + lecturing tour through Ohio and roused popular thought on the + question of suffrage. March 28, 1868, the Cincinnati Equal Rights + Association[286] was formed, auxiliary to the National Society, + of which Lucretia Mott was president. April 7, 1869, Mrs. Ryder + called the attention of the meeting to a resolution offered by + Mr. Gordon in the State legislature, to amend the constitution so + as to strike out the word male, proposing that at the October + election, "in all precincts in the State, there shall be a + separate poll, at which all white women over 21 years of age + shall be permitted to vote, and if the votes cast be a majority + of all the white women, the constitution shall be amended." Mrs. + Ryder seemed to think the proposition a very fair one, or + intended by the mover to give the women, if they wanted to vote, + the opportunity of saying so on this amendment to the + constitution. Mrs. Blangy also concurred in this view of the + subject. Mrs. Quinby expressed her indignation at the + proposition, saying she believed its passage by the legislature + would be detrimental to the cause, both on account of its + provisions and the mode of accomplishing the object of the + resolution. As it stood, it could but fail, as women were not + prepared for it at the present time, and the proposition was not + that the majority of votes cast should settle the question, but + that the number cast in favor of it should be a majority of all + the women in the State 21 years of age. She therefore thought we + should express our decided disapproval of this amendment. Mrs. + Leavitt also declared her opposition to this resolution, + believing it to have been offered for the sole purpose of + stalling the woman suffrage movement for years to come. She + thought this association should express its decided opposition to + this resolution. Mrs. Butterwood and others followed in the same + strain, and it was finally agreed unanimously that the + corresponding secretary be instructed to write to the mover of + the resolution, expressing disapprobation of some of the terms of + the amendment, with the hope that it will not pass in the form + offered, and politely requesting Mr. Gordon to define his + position as the resolution is susceptible of being construed both + for and against equal rights. + + At a meeting held April 21, 1869, delegates[287] were elected to + attend the May anniversary of the American Equal Rights + Association in New York. Mrs. Margaret V. Longley was placed on + the executive committee of the National Association to represent + Ohio. On her return from New York she joined with the Cincinnati + Equal Rights Society in a call for a convention in Pike's Hall, + September 15, 16, 1869, for the organization of an Ohio State + Society.[288] Mrs. Longley presided; the audiences were large and + enthusiastic;[289] the press of the city gave extended reports. + Murat Halstead, editor of the Cincinnati _Commercial_, sent the + following reply to his invitation: + + CINCINNATI, July 28, 1869. + + Mrs. M. V. LONGLEY: _Dear Madam_--I cannot sign your call + for a woman suffrage convention, for I do not feel a serious + interest in the subject. That there are woman's wrongs that + the law-makers should right, I believe. For instance, I + think married women should hold property independently; that + they should be able to save and enjoy the fruits of their + own industry; and that they should not be absolutely in the + power of lazy, dissipated or worthless husbands. But I + cannot see clearly how the possession of the ballot would + help women in the reform indicated. If, however, a majority + of the women of Ohio should signify by means proving their + active interest in the subject that they wanted to acquire + the right of suffrage, I don't think I would offer + opposition. + + M. HALSTEAD. + + Mrs. Livermore and Miss Anthony made some amusing strictures on + Mr. Halstead's letter, which called out laughter and cheers from + the audience. April 27 and 28, 1870, a mass-meeting was held in + Dayton. Describing the occasion, Miss Sallie Joy, in a letter to + a Boston paper, says: + + The west is evidently wide awake on the suffrage question. + The people are working with zeal almost unknown in the East, + except to the more immediately interested, who are making a + life-labor of the cause. The two days' convention at Dayton + was freighted with interest. Earnest women were there from + all parts of the State. They of the west do not think much + of distances, and consequently nearly every town of note was + represented. Cleveland sent her women from the borders of + the lake; Cincinnati sent hers from the banks of the Ohio; + Columbus, Springfield, Toledo and Sydney were represented. + Not merely the leaders were there, but those who were + comparatively new to the cause; all in earnest,--young girls + in the first flush of youth, a new light dawning on their + lives and shining through their eyes, waiting, reaching + longing hands for this new gift to womanhood,--mothers on + the down-hill side of life, quietly but gladly expectant of + the good that was coming so surely to crown all these human + lives. Most of the speakers were western women--Mrs. Cutler, + Mrs. Cole, Mrs. Stewart, of Ohio, and Miss Boynton, of + Indiana. The East sent our own Susan B. Anthony, and Mrs. + Livermore of Boston. Like every other convention, it grew + more interesting the longer it continued, and just when the + speakers were so tired that they were glad the work for the + time was done, the listeners, like a whole army of Oliver + Twists, were crying for more. They are likely to have + more--a great deal more--before the work is done completely, + for it is evident the leaders don't intend to let the thing + rest where it is, but to push it forward to final success. + From the list of resolutions considered and adopted, I send + the following: + + _Resolved_, That as the Democratic party has long since + abolished the political aristocracy of wealth; and the + Republican party has now abolished the aristocracy of race; + so the true spirit of Republican Democracy of the present, + demands the abolition of the political aristocracy of sex. + + _Resolved_, That as the government of the United States has, + by the adoption of the fifteenth amendment, admitted the + theory that one man cannot define the rights and duties of + another man, so we demand the adoption of a sixteenth + amendment on the same principle, that one sex cannot define + the rights and duties of another sex. + + _Resolved_, That we rejoice in the noble action of the men + of Wyoming, by which the right of suffrage has been granted + to the women of that territory. + + _Resolved_, That we feel justly proud of the action of those + representatives of the General Assembly of Ohio, who have + endeavored to secure an amendment to the State constitution, + striking out the word "male" from that instrument. + +It is rather remarkable that in a State which so early established +two colleges admitting women--Oberlin in 1834, and Antioch in +1853--any intelligent women should have been found at so late a +date as April 15, 1870, to protest against the right of +self-government for themselves, yet such is the case, as the +following protest shows: + + We acknowledge no inferiority to men. We claim to have no less + ability to perform the duties which God has imposed upon us than + they have to perform those imposed upon them. We believe that God + has wisely and well adapted each sex to the proper performance of + the duties of each. We believe our trusts to be as important and + as sacred as any that exist on earth. We feel that our present + duties fill up the whole measure of our time and abilities; and + that they are such as none but ourselves can perform. Their + importance requires us to protest against all efforts to compel + us to assume those obligations which cannot be separated from + suffrage; but which cannot be performed by us without the + sacrifice of the highest interests of our families and of + society. It is our fathers, brothers, husbands and sons, who + represent us at the ballot-box. Our fathers and brothers love us. + Our husbands are our choice, and one with us. Our sons are what + _we_ make them. We are content that they represent us in the + corn-field, the battle-field, at the ballot-box and the jury-box, + and we them, in the church, the school-room, at the fireside and + at the cradle; believing our representation, even at the + ballot-box, to be thus more full and impartial than it could + possibly be, were all women allowed to vote. We do, therefore + respectively protest against legislation to establish woman + suffrage in Ohio. + +The above paper, signed by more than one hundred ladies of Lorain +county, was presented, March 14, 1870, to the legislature assembled +at Columbus. Mrs. Sarah Knowles Bolton, criticising the Oberlin +protestants, said: + + That so many signed is not strange, because the non-suffrage side + is the popular one at present. Years hence, when it shall be + customary for women to vote, it is questionable whether the lady + who drew up that document would have many supporters. + + If "we are not inferior to men," we must have as clear opinions + and as good judgment as they. To say, then, that we are not + capable of judging of political questions, is untrue. To say that + we are not interested in such things is absurd, for who can be + more anxious for good laws and good law-makers than women, who, + for the most part, have sons and daughters in this whirlpool of + temptation, called social and business life. If we are too + ignorant to have an opinion, the fault lies at our own door. + + These ladies reason upon the premises that the duties imposed + upon us as we find them in this nineteenth century, are the + duties, conditions, and relations established of God. Two things + we do certainly find in the Bible with regard to this matter; + that women are to bear children, and men to earn bread. The first + duty we believe has been confined entirely to the female sex, but + the male sex have not kept the other in all cases. If anybody has + belonged for any considerable time to a benevolent institution, + he has ascertained that women sometimes are obliged to earn bread + and bear children also. A century or two ago, when women seldom + thought of writing books, or being physicians or lawyers, + professors or teachers, or doing anything but housework, probably + they thought, as the ladies of Lorain county do to-day, they were + in the blessed noonday of woman's enlightenment and happiness. + Their husbands, very likely, needed something of the same + companionship as the men of the present, but it was unpopular for + girls to attend school. If these ladies, after careful study and + thought, believe that woman suffrage will work evil in the land, + they ought to say that, rather than base it upon lack of time. + The enfranchisement of 15,000,000 women will be a balance of + power for good or evil that will need looking after. As for our + representing men at the fireside, I think it a great deal + pleasanter that they be there in person. Nothing is more blessed + than the home circle, and here I think if husbands were not so + often represented by their wives, while they are absent evening + after evening on "important business," the condition of things + would be improved. If the ladies aforesaid cannot vote without + the highest interests of their families being sacrificed, they + ought to be allowed to remain in peace. I am glad they made this + protest, not only because this is a country where honest views + ought to be expressed, but because agitation pushes forward + reform. I am glad that nearly half of our representatives were in + favor of submitting this question to the women of the State, and + that our interests were so ably defended by a talented + representative from our own district. I do not think, however, by + submitting it to the women, they would get a correct expression + upon the subject. A good many would vote for suffrage, a few + against it, and thousands would be afraid to vote. If it is + granted, I do not suppose all women will vote immediately. Many + prejudices will first have to give way. If women vote what they + wish to vote, and there is no disorderly conduct at the polls in + consequence, and no general disorder in the body politic, I do + not see any objection to the voting being continued from year to + year. + + When women like Miss Jones of our city, now in California, take a + few more professorships in a university over half-a-hundred + competitors, write a few more libraries, show themselves capable + of solving great questions, become ornaments to their + professions, it will seem more absurd for them not to be + enfranchised than it does now for them to be so. + +Hon. J. M. Ashley, of Toledo, in a speech on the floor of congress, +June 1, 1868, said: + + I want citizenship and suffrage to be synonymous. To put the + question beyond the power of States to withhold it, I propose the + amendment to article fourteen, now submitted. A large number of + Republicans who concede that the qualifications of an elector + ought to be the same in every State, and that it is more properly + a national than a State question, do not believe congress has the + power under our present constitution to enact a law conferring + suffrage in the States, nevertheless they are ready and willing + to vote for such an amendment to the constitution as shall make + citizenship and suffrage uniform throughout the nation. For this + purpose I have added to the proposed amendment for the election + of president a section on suffrage, to which I invite special + attention. + + This is the third or fourth time I have brought forward a + proposition on suffrage substantially like the one just presented + to the House. I do so again because I believe the question of + citizenship suffrage one which ought to be met and settled now. + Important and all-absorbing as many questions are which now press + themselves upon our consideration, to me no one is so vitally + important as this. Tariffs, taxation, and finance ought not to be + permitted to supersede a question affecting the peace and + personal security of every citizen, and, I may add, the peace and + security of the nation. No party can be justified in withholding + the ballot from any citizen of mature years, native or foreign + born, except such as are _non compos_ or are guilty of infamous + crimes; nor can they justly confer this great privilege upon one + class of citizens to the exclusion of another class. + +The _Revolution_ of March 19, 1868, said: + + Notwithstanding the most determined hostility to the demands of + the age for female physicians, institutions for their educational + preparation for professional responsibilities are rapidly + increasing. The ball first began to move in the United + States,[290] and now a female medical college is in successful + operation in London, where the favored monopolizers of physic and + surgery were resolved to keep out all new ideas in their line by + acts of parliament. But the ice-walls of opposition have melted + away, and even in Russia a woman has graduated with high medical + honors. + +The following statistics from Thomas Wentworth Higginson settle +many popular objections to a collegiate education for women: + + GRADUATES OF ANTIOCH COLLEGE.--In a paper read before the Social + Science Association in the spring of 1874 I pointed out the + presumption to be, that if a desire for knowledge was implanted + in the minds of women, they had also as a class the physical + capacity to gratify it; and that therefore the burden of proof + lay on those who opposed such education, on physiological + grounds, to collect facts in support of their position. In + criticising Dr. Clarke's book, "Sex in Education," I called + attention to the fact that he has made no attempt to do this, but + has merely given a few detached cases, whose scientific value is + impaired by the absence of all proof whether they stand for few + or many. We need many facts and a cautious induction; not merely + a few facts and a sweeping induction. I am now glad to put on + record a tabular view[291] of the graduates of Antioch, with + special reference to their physical health and condition; the + facts being collected and mainly arranged by Professor J. B. + Weston of Antioch--who has been connected with that institution + from its foundation--with the aid of Mrs. Weston and Rev. Olympia + Brown, both graduates of the college. For the present form of the + table, however, I alone am responsible. + + It appears that of the 41 graduates, ranging from the year 1857 + to 1873, no fewer than 36 are now living. Of these the health of + 11 is reported as "very good"; 19 "good"; making 30 in all; 1 is + reported as "fair"; 1 "uncertain"; 1 "not good," and 3 "unknown." + Of the 41 graduates, 30 are reported as married and 11 are + single, five of these last having graduated within three years. + Of the 30 married, 24 have children, numbering 48 or 49 in all. + Of the 6 childless, 3 are reported as very recently married; one + died a few months after marriage, and the facts in the other + cases are not given. Thirty-four of the forty-one have taught + since graduated, and I agree with Professor Weston that teaching + is as severe a draft on the constitution as study. Taking these + facts as a whole, I do not see how the most earnest advocate of + higher education could ask for a more encouraging exhibit; and I + submit the case without argument, so far as this pioneer + experiment at coeducation is concerned. If any man seriously + believes that his non-collegiate relatives are in better physical + condition than this table shows, I advise him to question + forty-one of them and tabulate the statistics obtained. + +In the following editorial in the _Woman's Journal_ Mr. Higginson +pursues the opposition still more closely, and answers their +frivolous objections: + + I am surprised to find that Professor W.S. Tyler of Amherst + College, in his paper on "The Higher Education of Woman," in + _Scribner's Monthly_ for February, repeats the unfair statements + of President Eliot of Harvard, in regard to Oberlin College. The + fallacy and incorrectness of those statements were pointed out on + the spot by several, and were afterwards thoroughly shown by + President Fairchild of Oberlin; yet Professor Tyler repeats them + all. He asserts that there has been a great falling off in the + number of students in that college; he entirely ignores the + important fact of the great multiplication of colleges which + admit women; and he implies, if he does not assert, that the + separate ladies' course at Oberlin has risen as a substitute for + the regular college course. His words are these, the italics + being my own: + + In Oberlin, where the experiment has been tried under the + most favorable circumstances, it has proved a failure so far + as the regular college course is concerned. The number of + young women in that course, instead of increasing with the + prosperity of the institution, _has diminished, so that it + now averages only two or three to a class_. The rest pursue + a different curriculum, live in a separate dormitory, and + study by themselves in a course of their own, reciting, + indeed, with the young men, and by way of reciprocity and in + true womanly compassion, allowing some of them to sit at + their table in the dining-hall, but yet constituting + substantially a female seminary, or, if you please, a + woman's college in the university.--_Scribner, February, + page 457._ + + Now, it was distinctly stated by President Fairchild last summer, + that this "different curriculum" was the course originally marked + out for women, and that the regular college course was an + after-thought. This disposes of the latter part of Professor + Tyler's statement. I revert, therefore, to his main statement, + that "the number of young women in the collegiate course has + diminished, so that it now averages only two or three to a + class." Any reader would suppose his meaning to be that taking + one year with another, and comparing later years with the early + years of Oberlin, there has been a diminution of women. What is + the fact? The Oberlin College triennial catalogue of 1872 lies + before me, and I have taken the pains to count and tabulate the + women graduated in different years, during the thirty-two years + after 1841, when they began to be graduated there. Dividing them + into decennial periods, I find the numbers to be as follows: + 1841-1850, thirty-two women were graduated; 1851-1860, seventeen + women were graduated; 1861-1870, forty women were graduated. From + this it appears that during the third decennial period there was + not only no diminution, but actually a higher average than + before. During the first period the classes averaged 3.2 women; + during the second period 1.7 women, and during the third period 4 + women. Or if, to complete the exhibit, we take in the two odd + classes at the end, and make the third period consist of twelve + classes, the average will still be 3.8, and will be larger than + either of the previous periods. Or if, disregarding the even + distribution of periods, we take simply the last ten years, the + average will be 3.1. Moreover, during the first period there was + one class (1842) which contained no women at all; and during the + second period there were three such classes (1852-3, 7); while + during the third period every class has had at least one woman. + + It certainly would not have been at all strange if there had been + a great falling off in the number of graduates of Oberlin. At the + outset it had the field to itself. Now the census gives + fifty-five "colleges" for women, besides seventy-seven which + admit both sexes. Many of these are inferior to Oberlin, no + doubt, but some rose rapidly to a prestige far beyond this + pioneer institution. With Cornell University on the one side, and + the University of Michigan on the other--to say nothing of minor + institutions--the wonder is that Oberlin could have held its own + at all. Yet the largest class of women it ever graduated + (thirteen) was so late as 1865, and if the classes since then + "average but two or three," so did the classes for several years + before that date. Professor Tyler knows very well that classes + fluctuate in every college, and that a decennial period is the + least by which the working of any system can be tested. Tried by + this test, the alleged diminution assumes a very different + aspect. If, however, there were a great decline at Oberlin, it + would simply show a transfer of students to other colleges, since + neither Professor Tyler nor President Eliot will deny that the + total statistics of colleges show a rapid increase in the number + of women. + + Moreover, I confess that my confidence in Professor Tyler's sense + of accuracy is greatly impaired by these assertions about + Oberlin, and also by his statement, which I must call reckless, + at least, in regard to the inferiority in truth, purity and + virtue of those women who seek the suffrage. He asserts (page + 456) that "women--women generally--the truest, purest and best of + the sex--do not wish for the right of suffrage." Now, if the + women who oppose suffrage are truest, purest and best, the women + who advocate it must plainly be inferior at all these points; and + that is an assertion which not only these women themselves, but + their brothers, husbands and sons are certainly entitled to + resent. Mr. Tyler has a perfect right to argue for his own views, + for or against suffrage, but he has no right to copy the Oriental + imprecation, and say to his opponents, "May the grave of your + mother be defiled!." He claims that he holds official relations + to one "woman's college," one "female seminary" and one "young + ladies' institute." Will it conduce to the moral training of + those who enter those institutions that their officers set them + the example of impugning the purity and virtue of those who + differ in opinion from themselves? + + But supposing Professor Tyler not to be bound by the usual bonds + of courtesy or of justice, he is at least bound by the + consistency of his own position. Thus, he goes out of his way to + compliment Mrs. Somerville and Miss Mitchell. Both these ladies + are identified with the claim for suffrage. He lauds "Uncle Tom's + Cabin," but Mrs. Stowe has written almost as ably for the + enfranchisement of woman as for the freedom of the blacks. He + praises the "sacramental host of authoresses," who, he says, + "will move on with ever-growing power, overthrowing oppression, + restraining vice and crime, reforming morals and manners, + purifying public sentiment, revolutionizing business, society and + government, till every yoke is broken and all nations are won to + the truth." But it has been again and again shown that the + authoresses of America are, with but two or three exceptions, in + favor of woman suffrage, and, therefore, instead of being + "sacramental," do not even belong to Professor Tyler's class of + "wisest, truest and best." He thus selects for compliment on one + page the very women whom he has traduced on another. His own + witnesses testify against him. It is a pity that such phrases of + discourtesy and unfairness should disfigure an essay which in + many respects says good words for women, recommends that they + should study Greek, and says, in closing, that their elevation + "is at once the measure and the means of the elevation of + mankind." + +In the autumn of 1884 an effort was made to exclude women from +Adelbert College. We give an account thereof from the pen of Mrs. +Sarah Knowles Bolton, published in the _English Woman's Review_ of +January, 1885: + + DEAR EDITOR: The city of Cleveland has been stirred for weeks on + this question of woman's higher education. Western Reserve + College, founded in 1826, at Hudson, was moved to Cleveland in + 1874, because of a gift of $100,000 from Mr. Amasa Stone, with + the change of name to Adelbert College, in memory of an only son. + A few young women had been students since 1873. In Cleveland, + about twenty young ladies availed themselves of such admirable + home privileges. Their scholarship was excellent--higher than + that of the young men. They were absent from exercises only half + as much as the men. Their conduct was above reproach. A short + time since the faculty, except the president, Dr. Carroll Cutler, + petitioned the board of trustees to discontinue coeducation at + the college, for the assumed reasons that girls require different + training from boys, never "identical" education; that it is + trying to their health to recite before young men; "the strain + upon the nervous system from mortifying mistakes and serious + corrections is to many young ladies a cruel additional burden + laid upon them in the course of study"; "that the provision we + offer to girls is not the best, and is even dangerous"; that + "where women are admitted, the college becomes second or + third-rate, and that, worst of all, young men will be deterred + from coming to this college by the presence of ladies." An + "annex" was recommended, not with college degrees, but a + subordinate arrangement with "diploma examinations, so far and so + fast as the resources of the college shall allow." + + As soon as the subject became known, the newspapers of the city + took up the question. As the public furnishes the means and the + students for every college, the public were vitally interested. + Ministers preached about it, and they, with doctors and lawyers, + wrote strong articles, showing that no "annex" was desired; that + parents wished thorough, high, self-reliant education for their + daughters as for their sons; that health was not injured by the + embarrassment (?) of reciting before young men; that young men + had not been deterred from going to Ann Arbor, Oberlin, Cornell, + and other institutions where there are young women; that it was + unjust to make girls go hundreds of miles away to Vassar or Smith + or Wellesley, when boys were provided with the best education at + their very doors; that, with over half the colleges of this + country admitting women, with the colleges of Italy, Switzerland, + Sweden, Holland and France throwing open their doors to women, + for Adelbert College to shut them out, would be a step backward + in civilization. + + The women of the city took up the matter, and several thousands + of our best names were obtained to a petition, asking that girls + be retained members of the college; judges and leading persons + gladly signed. The trustees met November 7, 1884. The whole city + eagerly waited the result. The chairman of the committee, Hon. I. + W. Chamberlain of Columbus, who had been opposed to coeducation + at first, from the favorable reports received by him from + colleges all over the country, had become a thorough convert, and + the report was able and convincing. + + President Angell of Michigan University, where there are 1,500 + students, wrote: "Women were admitted here under the pressure of + public sentiment against the wishes of most of the professors. + But I think no professor now regrets it, or would favor the + exclusion of women. We made no solitary modification of our rules + or requirements. The women did not become hoydenish; they did not + fail in their studies; they did not break down in health; they + have been graduated in all departments; they have not been + inferior in scholarship to the men. We count the experiment here + successful." + + Galusha Anderson, president of Chicago University, wrote: "Our + only law here is that the students shall act as gentlemen and + ladies. They mingle freely together, just as they do in society, + as I think God intended that they should, and the effect in all + respects is good. I have never had the slightest trouble from the + association of the sexes." + + Chancellor Manatt of Nebraska University, for four years engaged + in university work at Yale, in answer to the questions as to + whether boys would be driven away from the institution, replied: + "This question sounds like a joke in this longitude. As well say + a girl's being born into a family turns the boys out of doors. It + rather strengthens the home attraction. So in the university. I + believe there is not a professor or student here who would not, + for good and solid reasons, fight for the system." + + President Warren of Boston University, lately the recipient of, + L200,000, wrote: "The only opponents of coeducation I have ever + known are persons who know nothing about it practically, and + whose difficulties are all speculative and imaginary. Men are + more manly and women more womanly when concerted in a wholly + human society than when educated in a half-human one." + + President White of Cornell wrote: "I regard the 'annex' for women + in our colleges as a mere make-shift and step in the progress + toward the full admission of women to all college classes, and I + think that this is a very general view among men who have given + unprejudiced thought to the subject. Having now gone through one + more year, making twelve in all since women were admitted, I do + not hesitate to say that I believe their presence here is good + for us in every respect." + + Professor Moses Coit Tyler of Cornell said: "My observation has + been that under the joint system the tone of college life has + grown more earnest, more courteous and refined, less flippant and + cynical. The women are usually among the very best scholars, and + lead instead of drag, and their lapses from good health are + rather, yes, decidedly, less numerous than those alleged by the + men. There is a sort of young man who thinks it not quite the + thing, you know, to be in a college where women are; and he goes + away, if he can, and I am glad to have him do so. The vacuum he + causes is not a large one, and his departure is more than made up + by the arrival in his stead of a more robust and manlier sort." + + The only objectors to coeducation were from those colleges which + had never tried it; President Porter of Yale thought it a + suitable method for post-graduate classes, and President Seeley + for a course of "lower grade" than Amherst. + + President Cutler of Adelbert College made an able report, showing + that the progress of the age is towards coeducation. Only + fifty-three Protestant colleges, founded since 1830, exclude + women; while 156 coeducational institutions have been established + since that date. + + Some of the trustees thought it desirable to imitate Yale,[292] + and others felt that _they_ knew what studies are desirable for + woman better than she knew herself! When the vote was taken, to + their honor be it said, it was twelve to six, or two to one, in + favor of coeducation. The girls celebrated this just and manly + decision by a banquet. + +The inauguration of the women's crusade at this time (1874) in Ohio +created immense excitement, not only throughout that State, but it +was the topic for the pulpit and the press all over the nation. +Those identified with the woman suffrage movement, while deeply +interested in the question of temperance, had no sympathy with what +they felt to be a desecration of womanhood and of the religious +element in woman. They felt that the fitting place for petitions +and appeals was in the halls of legislation, to senators and +congressmen, rather than rumsellers and drunkards in the dens of +vice and the public thoroughfares. It was pitiful to see the faith +of women in God's power to effect impossibilities. Like produces +like in the universe of matter and mind, and so long as women +consent to make licentious, drunken men the fathers of their +children, no power in earth or heaven can save the race from these +twin vices. The following letter from Miriam M. Cole makes some +good points on this question: + + If the "woman's war against whisky" had been inaugurated by the + woman suffrage party, its aspect, in the eyes of newspapers, + would be different from what it now is. If Lucy Stone had set the + movement on foot, it would have been so characteristic of her! + What more could one expect from such a disturber of public peace? + She, who has no instinctive scruples against miscellaneous crowds + at the polls, might be expected to visit saloons and piously + serenade their owners, until patience ceases to be a virtue. But + for women who are so pressed with domestic cares that they have + no time to vote; for women who shun notoriety so much that they + are unwilling to ask permission to vote; for women who believe + that men are quite capable of managing State and municipal + affairs without their interference; for them to have set on foot + the present crusade, how queer! Their singing, though charged + with a moral purpose, and their prayers, though directed to a + specific end, do not make their warfare a whit more feminine, nor + their situation more attractive. A woman knocking out the head of + a whisky barrel with an ax, to the tune of Old Hundred, is not + the ideal woman sitting on a sofa, dining on strawberries and + cream, and sweetly warbling, "The Rose that All are Praising." + She is as far from it as Susan B. Anthony was when pushing her + ballot into the box. And all the difference between the musical + saint spilling the precious liquid and the unmusical saint + offering her vote is, that the latter tried to kill several birds + with one stone, and the former aims at only one. + + Intemperance, great a curse as it is, is not the only evil whose + effects bear most heavily on women. Wrong is hydra-headed, and to + work so hard to cut off one head, when there is a way by which + all may be dissevered, is not a far-sighted movement; and when + you add to this the fact that the head is not really cut off, but + only dazed by unexpected melodies and supplications, there is + little satisfaction in the effort. We learn that, outside of town + corporations that have been lately "rectified," the liquor + traffic still goes on, and the war is to be carried into the + suburbs. What then? Where next? Which party can play this game + the longer? Tears, prayers and songs will soon lose their + novelty--this spasmodic effort will be likely soon to spend + itself; is there any permanent good being wrought? Liquor traffic + opposes woman suffrage, and with good reasons. It knows that + votes change laws, and it also knows that the votes of women + would change the present temperance laws and make them worth the + paper on which they are printed. While this uprising of women is + a hopeful sign, yet it cannot make one law black or white. It + may, for a time, mold public opinion, but depraved passions and + appetites need wholesome laws to restrain them. If women would + only see this and demand the exercise of their right of suffrage + with half the zeal and unanimity with which they storm a man's + castle, it would be granted. This is the only ax to lay at the + root of the tree. + + Springfield, Ohio, has just had a case in a Justice Court which + attracted much attention and awakened much interest. A woman + whose husband had reduced his family to utter want by + drunkenness, entered a suit against the rumseller. An appeal from + the drunkard's wife to the ladies of Springfield had been + circulated in the daily papers, which so aroused them that a + large delegation of the most respectable and pious women of the + city came into the court. But the case was adjourned for a week. + During this time the excitement had become so great that when the + trial came on the court-room was full of spectators, and the + number of ladies within the rail was increased three-fold. Mrs. + E. D. Stewart made the plea to the jury. A verdict was rendered + against the rumseller. An appeal will be taken; but the citizens + of Springfield will never forget the influence which the presence + of women, in sympathy with another wronged woman, had upon the + court. And what added power those women would have had as + judges, jurors and advocates; citizens crowned with all the + rights, privileges and immunities justly theirs by law and + constitution. + +Of the work in Geauga county, Mrs. Sophia Ober Allen, of South +Newbury writes: + + In the winter of 1851-2, Anson Read circulated a petition praying + the legislature to protect married women in their property + rights; and from that time the subject of women's rights was + frequently discussed in social and literary gatherings. In 1871, + Mrs. Lima Ober proposed to be one of six women to go to the + township election and offer her vote. Nine[293] joined her, but + all their votes were rejected, the judges saying they feared + trouble would be the result if they received them. From that year + to 1876 these heroic women of South Newbury persisted in offering + their votes at the town, state and presidential elections; and + though always refused, they would repair to another room with the + few noble men who sustained them, and there duly cast their + ballots for justice and equality. On one occasion they polled + fifty votes--thirty-one women and nineteen men. In 1876 they + adopted a series of stirring resolutions with a patriotic + declaration of principles. + + In 1873, large meetings were held, and a memorial sent to the + constitutional convention, asking for an amendment, that "the + right to vote shall not be denied or abridged to any adult + citizen except for crime, idiocy or lunacy." On January 12, 1874, + a political club was organized,[294] which has been active in + holding meetings and picnics, circulating petitions and tracts. + On July 4, 1874, a basket picnic was held in Ober and Allen's + grove, at which Gen. A. C. Voris was among the speakers.[295] + Hon. A. G. Riddle, whose early life was spent mostly in Newbury, + encouraged and assisted the work, both by voice and pen. During + the winter of 1878, Susan B. Anthony, in company with my husband + and myself, lectured in several towns under the auspices of the + club. Miss Eva L. Pinney, a native of Newbury, was employed by + the club to canvass the county. Her success was marked. In 1879 + the treasury received a bequest of $50, from Reuben H. Ober, who, + though spending much of his time in the East, ever sustained a + live interest in the home society.[296] + +Mrs. Sarah Langdon Williams sends us the following report from the +Toledo society: + + In the winter of 1869, Mrs. Stanton and Miss Anthony returning + from an extended trip through the West, spent a few days in + Toledo. In addition to public meetings, their coming was the + occasion for many pleasant and hospitable gatherings. A large + circle of intelligent and earnest women were longing and waiting + to do something to speed the movement for woman suffrage, when + the coming of these pioneers of reform roused them to action. It + was like the match to the fire all ready for kindling, and an + organization was speedily effected.[297] From that time forward, + the air seemed magnetized with reform ideas, and to the loyal + band who stood true to their flag, new members were added from + time to time, and from this little band went forth an influence, + a steady force which has operated silently though continuously + through both visible and invisible channels, moulding the thought + and action of the community. The meetings of this association + were regularly reported by the daily press, with more or less + justice, according as the reporter present, or the newspaper + which reported the proceedings, was more or less friendly. + + A letter published in _The Revolution_ of June 10, 1869, + indicates the practical work of our association: + + The first skirmish along the line of the suffrage army in + Ohio has been fought, and the friends of reformation may + well rejoice at the result. In this city there has existed + for a long time a library association to which women were + admitted as members, but in the control or management of + which they had no voice. Under the pressure of influences + set in motion by your visit, it was resolved that this relic + of the past should be swept away, that women should be + represented in the management as well as in the membership + of the association. At the late election six directors were + to be chosen among other officers, and Miss Anna C. + Mott,[298] Mrs. M. W. Bond and Mrs. M. J. Barker were + candidates upon a ticket called the Equal Rights Ticket, + headed by Mr. A. W. Gleason, for president. The dangerous + proposition, not only of allowing women to vote, but of + giving them offices, was a bombshell in the camp of + conservatism, and every influence that could be, was brought + to bear against this ticket. After an exciting contest, the + result showed that notwithstanding a powerful and + influential opposition, the ticket was elected by a vote of + from 186 to 220 out of 327 votes. This result has been all + the more grateful, because in the opposition were to be + found many of the most wealthy and respected citizens of + Toledo. + + As an index of the interest the women manifested in that + election, three-fourths of them voted. It was interesting to + notice the firmness with which the women walked up to the + ballot-box. No trembling was perceptible. They carried the + ballot with ease, deposited it with coolness, watched to see + that no fraud was perpetrated, and then departed as + noiselessly as they came. The deed was done. Woman's honor, + woman's purity, woman's domestic felicity, woman's conjugal + love, woman's fidelity to her home duties, all these and a + thousand other of the finer qualities were destroyed. No + more peace in families; no more quiet home evenings; no more + refined domestic women; but wrangling and discords instead. + Soldiers and sailors, policemen and gravel-shovelers had + taken the place of wives and mothers. Sick at heart I went + to my home and wept for American womanhood. But the sun rose + as usual, and the world still revolved. I went to the + police-court--all was quiet. I passed to the county-court, + and looked over the docket--no new divorce cases met my + gaze. With unsteady hand I have opened the morning papers + for the past few days, but nothing there betrayed the + terrible results of that false step. Oh, women! women! In + the days of Indian warfare, the skilled hunter would tell + you that after an attack, when all was quiet, and you + thought the enemy had departed, the greatest danger awaited, + and the most careful vigilance was required. So I still keep + watching, for I know the vengeance of the gods must fall + upon this worse than Sodom, for since women have voted, + surely there be not five righteous within the city. Real + estate is not falling, however, but then!-- + + The evening after the election, the friends of the + association and of the successful tickets, gathered to + witness the incoming of the new administration. Hearty words + of cheer for the future were spoken. The president, Mr. + Gleason, delivered a beautiful inaugural address, of which I + send you a few sentences, and the meeting adjourned. + + The president said: While thanking you most heartily, ladies + and gentlemen, for the distinguished honor conferred upon me + in the election, I do not forget that it is due to the great + principles of equal rights and universal suffrage--not to + any merits of my own. We live in an age of progress. In my + humble opinion we have taken a great step forward in + admitting ladies to the management of this association--not + only from the fact that in this particular institution they + hold an equal footing with ourselves, and of right are + entitled to all its privileges, but from the more important + fact that it is a recognition here of those principles which + are now claiming recognition in the political institutions + of our country. It is in the natural order of events that + this "equal rights" movement should meet with opposition. + All movements of a novel and radical character at their + commencement meet with opposition. This is the ordeal + through which they must pass, but their success or failure + depends upon their intrinsic merit. Nothing is to be feared + from opposition to any movement that possesses these + elements. Whatsoever idea has its origin in the recesses of + human nature, will, sooner or later, become embodied in + living action, and so we have this assurance--that as here, + so also in the political institutions of our country--this + principle of equal rights, both to man and woman, will at + last prevail. + + In 1871 the _Sunday Journal_ offered the association half a + column, which was gratefully accepted, and Mrs. Sarah Langdon + Williams appointed editor. The department increased to a full + page, and the circulation of the paper became as large as that of + either of the city dailies. When there was danger of its being + sold to opponents of the cause, Mrs. Williams purchased one-half + interest, and by so doing kept the other half in the hands of the + friendly proprietor. In the _Sunday Journal_ the association had + a medium through which it could promptly answer all unjust + attacks, and thus kept up a constant agitation. In November, + 1875, the sale of the paper closed for a while direct + communication between the association and the public. But soon + becoming restive without any medium through which to express + itself, the society started _The Ballot-Box_ in April, 1876, + raising money among the citizens in aid of the enterprise. With + this first assistance the paper became at once self-supporting, + and continued thus until April, 1878,[299] when it was + transferred to Matilda Joslyn Gage, and published at Syracuse, N. + Y. + + The convention for the remodeling of the constitution of the + State, in 1873-74, afforded an opportunity for unflagging efforts + of the members of the association in the circulation of + petitions; and so successful were they that when their delegates + presented themselves with 1,500 signatures, asking for an + amendment securing the right of suffrage to women, a member of + the convention, on scanning the roll, exclaimed: "Why, you have + here all the solid men of Lucas county." Mr. M. R. Waite, since + chief-justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, was + president of the convention, and in presenting the petition said + the names on that paper represented fifteen millions of dollars. + Mr. Waite's courtesy indicated stronger convictions regarding the + rights of women than he really possessed. In an interview with + our committee, appointed to secure a hearing from the + members-elect--Mr. Waite and Mr. Scribner--Mr. Waite declared + himself in favor of according equal wages to women, and believed + them entitled to all other rights, except the right to vote. He + thought women were entitled to a hearing in the convention, and + would aid them all he could to secure the privilege. Mr. Waite, + with great kindness of nature, possesses an inborn conservatism + which curbs his more generous impulses. He adhered to this + position in his decision in the case of _Minor vs. Happersett_, + declaring that "the constitution of the United States has no + voters." Many of the most sanguine friends were greatly + disappointed. They had fully believed his love of justice would + lead him to the broad interpretation of the constitution, so + clearly the true one, set forth in the first article of the + fourteenth amendment. It did prevail, however, when, after saying + the constitution does not confer the right of suffrage with + citizenship, he said: "If the law is wrong, it ought to be + changed; but the power is not with the Supreme Court." + + When, in February, 1873, an irascible judge of the Court of + Common Pleas refused to ratify the appointment of a woman--Miss + Mary Sibley--to the office of deputy clerk, which she had filled + for eight years with unusual acceptance, on the ground that not + being an elector she was legally disqualified, the association + determined to dispute the decision in her behalf, and on applying + through their president to Mr. Waite to act as counsel, he gave + his unhesitating acceptance, and declared that if the appointment + was illegal, the law ought to be changed at once. True to his + promise, he defended her most ably, and engaged other counsel to + act with him. His services were given gratuitously. + + Subsequently, in the constitutional convention, an amendment was + adopted making women eligible to appointive offices, and also to + any office under the school control, with the exception of State + commissioner. But when voted upon, the new constitution was lost, + and with it these amendments. The cause had able advocates in the + convention, leading whom was General A. C. Voris of Akron, who + was made chairman of the Special Committee on Woman Suffrage. The + Standing Committee on Elective Franchise was extremely + unfriendly, conspicuously so the chairman, Mr. Sample. A Special + Committee on Woman Suffrage was appointed, which performed its + duty faithfully, and reported unanimously in favor. Mr. Voris + worked for the measure with an enthusiasm equaled only by his + ability. When the report came up for discussion he made a + masterly speech of two hours, during which the attention was so + close that a pin could be heard to drop. Other able speeches were + also made in favor of the measure by some of the most talented + members of the convention. It came within two votes of being + carried. The defeat was largely due to the liquor influence in + the convention. The cause, however, received a new impetus + through the exertions of General Voris, to whom, second to no + other person in Ohio, should the thanks of the women be rendered. + During the contest the Toledo society was constantly on the + alert. On three occasions it sent its delegates to the + convention; but it has not limited its work to Ohio alone; it has + given freely of its means whenever it could to aid the struggle + in other States, and has rolled up large petitions to congress + asking for a sixteenth amendment. + + When the State convention met in Toledo, February, 1873, the + members of the city society exerted themselves to the utmost to + have all arrangements for their reception and entertainment of + the most satisfactory character, and the delegates unanimously + agreed they had never before had so delightful and successful a + meeting. Many lasting friendships were formed. The opera-house + was well filled at every session of the three days' convention. + At the opening session a cordial address of welcome was given by + Rev. Robert McCune, one of Toledo's most eloquent Republicans. + The mayor of the city, Dr. W. W. Jones, a staunch Democrat, also + made a courteous speech. + + The Toledo Society has always held itself an independent + organization, though its members, individually, have identified + themselves as they chose with other associations. Its attitude + has been of the most uncompromising character. It has never been + cajoled into accepting a crumb in any way in the place of the + whole loaf. Sometimes this has brought upon it the condemnation + of friends, but in the long run it has won respect, even from + bitter opponents. An illustration of this was given in its action + with regard to the centennial celebration. The Fourth of July, + 1876, was to be observed in Toledo as a great gala day. Long + before its arrival preparations were in progress through which + patriotic citizens were to express their gratitude over the + nation's prosperity on the one-hundredth anniversary of freedom. + All trades, professions and organizations were to join in one + vast triumphal procession. A call was issued for a meeting, to + which all organizations were requested to send representatives. + The Woman Suffrage Association was not neglected, and a circular + of invitation was mailed to its president. This raised a delicate + question, for how could women take part in celebrating the + triumphs of their country whose laws disfranchised them? But, + having received a courteous recognition, they must respond with + equal courtesy. The letter was laid before the society, and the + president instructed to politely decline the honor. _The + Ballot-Box_ of May, 1876, contains the correspondence: + + TOLEDO, Ohio, April 8, 1876. + + At a meeting of citizens, held at White's Hall, on the + evening of the 6th inst., the undersigned were instructed to + invite your organization, with others, to send a + representative to a meeting to be held at White's Hall, on + the evening of Monday, April 17, which will elect an + executive committee, and make other arrangements for a + celebration by Toledo of the one-hundredth anniversary of + American independence in a manner befitting the occasion and + the character of our city. It is earnestly desired that + every organization, of whatever nature, in Toledo, be + represented at this meeting. We would, therefore, ask of you + that you lay the matter before your organization at its next + regular meeting, or in case it shall hold no meeting before + the 17th, that you appear as a representative yourself. + + GUIDO MARX, _Chairman_. + + D. R. LOCKE, JAMES H. EMORY, _Secretaries_. + + This was laid before the association at a meeting which occurred + the same afternoon, and by the order of the society the + invitation therein conveyed was replied to in season to be read + at the meeting at White's Hall, April 17: + + + TOLEDO, Ohio, April 15, 1876. + + _Hon. Guido Marx, Messrs. D. R. Locke and James H. Emory_: + + GENTLEMEN: The printed circular, with your names attached, + inclosed to my address as president of the Toledo Woman + Suffrage Association, inviting that body to send a + representative to a meeting to be held at White's Hall, + Monday evening, April 17, to elect an executive committee + and make other arrangements for a celebration by Toledo of + the one-hundredth anniversary of American independence, was + received just in time to lay before the meeting held April + 10. It was there decided that while the members of the + association fully appreciate the generosity of the men of + Toledo, and feel grateful for the implied recognition of + their citizenship, yet they manifestly have no centennial to + celebrate, as the government still holds them in a condition + of political serfdom, denying them the greatest right of + citizenship--representation. + + Conscious, however, of the great results which the nation's + hundred years have achieved in building up a great people, + we are aware that you, as American men, have cause for + rejoicing, and we bid you God-speed in all efforts which you + may make in the approaching celebration. In an equal degree + we feel it inconsistent, as a disfranchised class, to unite + with you in the celebration of that liberty which is the + heritage of but one-half the people. It is the will, + therefore, of the association that I respond to the above + effect, thanking you for your courteous invitation, and + recognizing with pleasure among your names those who have + heretofore extended to us their sympathy and aid. I remain, + with sincere respect, yours, + + SARAH R. L. WILLIAMS, _President T. W. S. A._ + + The letter was intended to be in all respects courteous, as the + writer and the society which she represented had naught but the + kindest of feelings toward those who, in so friendly a manner, + recognized their citizenship by inviting them to take part in the + meeting, and also toward the Toledo public, who, as a general + thing, had treated their organization with friendly + consideration. It appears, however, that their attitude was + misconstrued, according to articles subsequently published in the + _Blade_ and _Commercial_, which we reproduce below: + + The women say they "manifestly have no centennial to + celebrate." If we are not mistaken, the women of this + country have enjoyed greater progress than the men under our + free government, and it illy becomes them now to steadily + and persistently pout because they have not yet attained the + full measure of their earthly desires--the ballot-box. + Better by far give a hearty show of appreciation of benefits + received, and thereby materially aid in further progress. + Nothing can be gained by their refusing to celebrate the + one-hundredth anniversary of civil and religious liberty. + The rights of all are necessarily restricted wherever there + is a government, and time and experience can alone + demonstrate just what extension or contraction of rights and + liberties may be essential to the general good. In our + judgment the women, by refusing to participate in the coming + Fourth of July celebration, have committed an error, the + influence of which cannot but prove prejudicial to the + interests of their association. The opposite course would + undoubtedly have won friends.--_Blade._ + + A singularly uncourteous letter was the one sent by the + Woman Suffrage Association to the meeting at White's Hall. + Ninety-nine-hundredths of the women of the country will be + surprised to learn that they "have no centennial to + celebrate," and will be still more surprised when they + discover that it is "inconsistent" for them to unite with + their brothers, fathers, sons and husbands "in the + celebration of the liberty which is the heritage" of _all_ + the people. We cannot but feel that the claims set forth by + the association would command more respectful consideration + with the display of a different spirit. The maids and + matrons of 1776 were of a different mold.--_Commercial._ + + The _Blade_ has been a good friend to woman suffrage for many + years, but we feel that the present article was written in a + spirit of needless irritability, such as we should think might + ensue from a fit of indigestion. The _Commercial_, since its + change of management, has certainly not been unfriendly, and we + have thought fair. Its present comments are unjust. The following + editorial appeared in _The Ballot-Box_ of the same date: + + WHY WE CANNOT CELEBRATE THE CENTENNIAL.--The city dailies + criticise the suffrage association somewhat severely for + declining to unite in the centennial celebration. Perhaps + from the outlook of masculine satisfaction it may seem + astonishing that patriotism should not inspire us with + gratitude for the crumbs from the national table; that we + should not rejoice at the great banquet being prepared. But + it is as impossible for us to look from their standpoint, as + for them to see from ours. While appreciating the kindnesses + measured out to us in this city by our friends and the + press, yet laboring without visible results for the + recognition of our rights as citizens of the United States, + we cannot, even through the potent incentive of sympathizing + with our "husbands, fathers, brothers and sons," lay aside + our grievances and rejoice in a triumph which more clearly + marks our own humiliation. + + Can our friends inform us what is our crime, that we are + denied the right of representation? Can they point to any + mental or moral deficiency, to render justifiable our being + denied political rights? If not--if there is no just cause + for our disfranchisement, it surely should not excite + surprise that we cannot rejoice with those who + systematically persist in perpetrating this great wrong. + With no discredit to any of the sovereign voters of this + nation, we cannot forget that the most ignorant negro, the + most degraded foreigner, even refugees from justice, are + accorded the rights which we have been demanding in vain; + and we are conscious every day and hour these privileges are + denied us, that we are not only wronged by the American + government, but insulted. Every year that our appeals for + political rights to congress and the legislature are denied, + insult is heaped upon injury. Women are told by those who + are in the full enjoyment of all the privileges which this + government can confer, to rejoice in what little they have, + and wait patiently until more is bestowed. Wait we must, + because they have the reins of power, but to wait patiently, + with the light we have to perceive our relative condition, + would be doing that for which we should despise ourselves. + + We are not laboring for to-day alone, but for the fruition + which must come from the establishment of justice. If we + fail in this memorial year, a brighter day must surely come. + Our failure now will be the failure of the country to + improve its opportunities. All the successes which may be + rejoiced over, all the triumphs of trade, commerce and + invention are secondary to the rights of citizens, to those + principles which lie at the foundation of national liberty. + When women are recognized as citizens of this republic, + there will be some occasion for their thankfulness and + rejoicing; then they can join in the jubilee which + celebrates the birthday of a mighty nation. + + At the June meeting of the association, a declaration of rights, + and a series of radical resolutions were adopted. The president + urged the society to stand firm in the determination to take no + part in the centennial celebration, and the members of the + suffrage association passed the Fourth of July quietly at their + own homes, but they caused a banner, bearing the inscription, + "Woman Suffrage and Equal Rights," to be hung across one of the + principal streets, under which the whole procession passed. Of + the original members of the society,[300] some who during its + earlier years took an active part have removed elsewhere, and a + few have passed to the beyond. But the majority still remain, and + are earnest in their labors with the hope for a better day, + undampened by the delays and disappointments which attend every + step in progress. + +There is a flourishing association at Cleveland called the Western +Reserve Club;[301] Mrs. Sarah M. Perkins and her highly educated +daughters, graduates of Vassar College, are among the leading +members. They hold regular meetings, have a course of lectures +every winter and are exerting a wide influence. The club consists +of thirty members, paying five dollars annually into the treasury. + + The Painesville Equal Rights Society,[302] formed November 20, + 1883, is one of the most flourishing county associations in the + State. It numbers 150 members, and it has organized many local + societies in the vicinity. The annual meeting of the State + society,[303] held at Painesville, May 11, 12, 13, 1885, with a + large representation of the most active friends present, by a + unanimous vote declared itself no longer auxiliary to the + American, and thereby secured the cooeperation of the Toledo, + South Newbury, and other independent local organizations of the + State. + +We are indebted to Annie Laurie Quinby for the following account of +the founding of a hospital for women and children, and of some of +the difficulties women encountered in gaining admittance into the +medical colleges: + + Mrs. Quinby says: In 1867, some Cincinnati ladies met at the + residence of Mrs. J. L. Roberts and organized a health + association, the object of which was to obtain and disseminate + knowledge in regard to the science of life and health. Mrs. + Leavett addressed the ladies on the importance of instituting a + medical school for women, stating a recent conversation she had + with Prof. Curtis, and suggesting that he be invited to lay his + views before them. A vote to that effect was passed, and in his + address Professor Curtis touched the following points: + + Women have greater need than men of the knowledge of the + science of life, and can make more profitable use of it. + _First_: They need this knowledge. In a practice of + thirty-six years, full seven-tenths of my services have been + devoted to women who, had they been properly instructed in + the science of life, and careful to obey those instructions, + would not have needed one-seventh of those services, while + they would have prevented six-sevenths of their sickness, + suffering and loss of time, and a like proportion of the + expenses of doctoring, nursing, medicines, etc., etc. + _Second_: They can make a far better and more profitable use + of this knowledge than men can, because they can better + appreciate the liabilities, sufferings and wants of their + sex, which are far more numerous and imperative than ours; + and they are always with us, from infancy to boyhood and + womanhood, to watch us and protect us from injury, and to + relieve us promptly from the sufferings that may afflict us, + as well as to teach us how to avoid them. _Third_: Their + intellectual power to learn principles is as great as ours, + their perceptions are quicker than ours, their sympathies + are more tender and persistent, and their watchfulness and + patient perseverance with the sick are untiring. I regard + the teaching and practice of the science of life as woman's + peculiarly appropriate sphere. Its value to the family of + the wife and the mother, is beyond estimation in dollars and + cents, by the husband and father. No money that he can + properly spend to secure it to his daughters, should be + otherwise appropriated; for, should they never enter the + family relation, it will be a means of escape from sickness + mortification and expense to themselves, and of useful and + honorable subsistence, not only priceless in its possession, + but totally inalienable by any reverses of fortune. The + possession of this knowledge from their infancy up, would do + more to prevent their becoming poor and "friendless," than + do all the alms houses for the former, and "homes" for the + latter that society can build, while it would cost less to + each individual than does an elegant modern piano. Forty + years ago your speaker obtained from the legislature of Ohio + a liberal university charter under the title of "The + Literary and Botanical Medical College of Ohio," which was + afterwards changed to "The Cincinnati Literary and + Scientific Institute and Physio-Medical College." By the aid + of able assistants he conducted this institution for the + benefit of men only, till, in 1851, the students of the + class were between eighty and ninety. From that time to the + present, he has received women into the classes and + demonstrated that they are not only as competent as men to + learn all parts of the science of life, but, in very many + particulars, far better qualified for the practice of the + art of curing disease. The last session of the college was + suspended that he might travel in the country and learn the + disposition of the friends of progress to establish the + institution on a permanent foundation, and is happy to say + that all that seems necessary to that glorious consummation + is the prompt and concentrated effort of a few judicious and + influential ladies and their friends to secure pecuniary + aid. + + June 11, 1879, a dispensary for women and children was opened in + Cincinnati, by Drs. Ellen M. Kirk, and M. May Howells, graduates + of the New York College and Hospital for Women. Their undertaking + proving successful, with other ladies of wealth and ability they + soon after established a hospital. November 1, 1881, the + certificate of incorporation[304] was filed in the office of the + secretary of state. The ladies labored unweariedly for the + support of these institutions. At two public entertainments they + realized nearly a thousand dollars. For the establishment of a + homeopathic college they manifested equal earnestness and + enthusiasm. Many of them interested in this mode of practice, + seeing the trials of Dr. Pulte in introducing this new theory of + medicine, determined to help him in building up a college and + hospital for that practice. By one fair they raised $13,500, net + profits, and the Pulte Medical College was established. But the + remarkable fact about these institutions is that after being + started through the labors of women, women appealed in vain for + admission for scholarships for a long time. For a clear + understanding of the matter, and a knowledge of the defense made + in behalf of the right of women to enter the college, I send you + the following from Dr. J. D. Buck: + + Pulte Medical College, of Cincinnati, was organized under + the common law, and opened in 1872, for the admission of + students, with no provision, either for or against the + admission of women. From time to time, during the first + seven years, the subject of the admission of women was + broached, but generally bullied out of court amid sneers and + ridicule. The faculty stood five against and four for. The + opposition was the most pronounced and bitter imaginable, + the staple argument being that the mingling of the sexes in + medical colleges led always and necessarily to + licentiousness. + + Finally, in the fall of 1877, seven of the nine members of + the faculty voted to admit women. One professor voted no, + and the leader of the opposition, Prof. S. R. Beckwith--a + life-long opponent of the broader culture of women--left the + meeting with the purpose of arresting all action. In this, + however, he failed; the vote was confirmed. + + On the following day another meeting was held, when the vote + was re-considered and again confirmed, each of the seven + members agreeing to stand by it. Still again, another + meeting was called, at the instance of the leader of the + opposition, and in the absence of two of the staunch + friends, a bare majority of the whole faculty voted to + exclude women, as heretofore, and notified the applicants + for admission, who had been officially informed of the + previous resolution to admit them, that they would not be + admitted. + + Forbearance on the part of the friends of justice was no + more to be thought of, and notice was given that the wrong + should be righted, at all hazards. For the next two years + war raged persistent and unflinching on the part of the + friends of the rights of women, bitter and slanderous on the + part of the opposition. All the tricks of the politician + were resorted to to defeat the cause of right, and more than + once by misrepresentation they obtained the announcement in + the public press that the case was decided, and women + forever excluded. Still the cause moved on to complete + triumph, and to the disgrace and final exclusion from the + college of two of the most bitter leaders of the opposition. + + In the fall of 1879 it was announced in the annual + catalogue, "that students will be admitted to the lectures + of Pulte college without distinction of sex," a very simple + result indeed, as the outcome of two years' warfare. At the + opening of lectures the first of October, four female + students presented themselves, and were admitted to + matriculation. Every prophecy of disaster had failed. The + class was an increase in numbers over that of any preceding + year, and showed a marked improvement in deportment and + moral tone from the presence of ladies, who from their high + character and bearing exerted a restraining influence, as + they always do, on those disposed to be gentlemen. At the + commencement exercises in March, 1881, three women, viz: + Miss S. C. O'Keefe, Mrs. Mary N. Street, and Mrs. M. J. + Taylor, received the degree of the college, after having + attended the same lectures and been submitted to the same + examination as the male graduates. The prize for the best + examination (in writing) in physiology, was awarded to Miss + Stella Hunt, of Cincinnati. The right of women to admittance + to this college cannot again be raised except by a + two-thirds vote of both faculty and trustees--a majority + which will be difficult to obtain after the record which the + women have already made as students in the institution. + + Yours truly, J. D. BUCK. + +After all this educational work and this seeming triumph for the +recognition of an equal status in the colleges for women, we find +this item going the rounds of the daily journals, under date of +Cleveland, March 29, 1885: + + Considerable excitement prevails among the homeopathists of + Cleveland. Commencement exercises of the college are to be held + next Tuesday evening, and Miss Madge Dickson, of Chambers, Pa., + was to have delivered the salutatory address. Dr. H. H. Baxter, a + prominent professor of the college, objected, saying a woman + salutatorian would disgrace the college. Miss Dickson resigned + the honor, and no address will be delivered. + +In April, 1873, Miss Nettie Cronise of Tiffin, was admitted to the +bar. In the following September, her sister Florence was admitted, +and they practiced as N. & F. Cronise, until Miss Nettie's marriage +with N. B. Lutes, with whom she has since been associated under the +firm name of Lutes & Lutes. Miss Florence Cronise has her office in +Tiffin. Soon after commencing practice Mrs. Lutes was appointed to +examine applicants for admission to the bar, the first instance of +a woman serving in this capacity in the United States, although +Florence Cronise and one or two other women have since done like +duty. These ladies and Miss Hulett were the first women to open law +offices and begin an active, energetic practice of the profession. + +In 1885, Miss Mary P. Spargo of Cleveland, was admitted to the bar. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[285] Among those associated with Mrs. Mendenhall were Mrs. Calvin +W. Starbuck, Mrs. W. Woods, Miss Elizabeth Morris, Miss Ellen +Thomas, Mrs. Kendrick, sister to General Anderson, Mrs. Caldwell, +Mrs. Annie Ryder, Mrs. Mary Graham, Mrs. Louisa Hill, Mrs. Hoadly. + +[286] The officers of Cincinnati Equal Rights Society were: +_President_, Mrs. H. A. Leavitt; _Vice-President_, Mr. J. +B. Quinby; _Corresponding-Secretary_, Mrs. A. L. Ryder; +_Recording-Secretary_, Mrs. L. H. Blangy; _Treasurer_, Mrs. Mary +Moulton; _Executive Committee_, Mrs. J. B. Quinby, Mr. ---- Hill, +Mrs. A. L. Ryder. Mrs. Dr. Mortell, Mrs. Mary Moulton, Mrs. Mary +Graham, Mrs. Annie Laurie Quinby, Mrs. L. H. Blangy and Mrs. Dr. +Gibson. + +[287] The delegates appointed were, Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Quinby, Mrs. +Mary Graham, Mrs. Charles Graham, Mrs. Mary Moulton, Mrs. Dr. +Morrel, Mrs. Blangy, Mrs. M. V. Longley, Mr. and Mrs. A. G. W. +Carter, and Mrs. Soula and daughter. + +[288] The officers of the State Society were: _President_, Mrs. H. +Tracy Cutler, M. D., Cleveland; _Vice-President_, Mrs. M. V. +Longley; _Recording Secretary_, Mrs. H. M. Downey, Xenia; +_Corresponding Secretary_, Mrs. Miriam M. Cole, Sidney; +_Treasurer_, Mrs. L. H. Crall, Cincinnati; _Warden_, Mr. J. B. +Quinby, Cincinnati; _Business Committee_, A. J. Boyer, esq., +Dayton; Elias Longley, esq., Cincinnati; Mrs. R. L. Segur, Toledo; +Mrs. Morgan K. Warwick, Cleveland; Dr. M. T. Organ, Urbana; Mrs. E. +D. Stewart, Springfield; Miss Rebecca S. Rice, Yellow Springs. + +[289] The speakers at Pike's Hall were Susan B. Anthony, Mary A. +Livermore, Lucy Stone, Henry B. Blackwell, Mrs. Dr. Chase, Miriam +M. Cole, Mr. A. J. Boyer, Dr. Mary Walker, J. J. Bellville, Mary B. +Hall, Mrs. Dr. Keckeler, Mrs. Longley, Mrs. Graham, Mrs. Griffin, +and Elizabeth Boynton. + +[290] At a meeting of the corporators of the Cleveland Homeopathic +Medical College and Hospital for Women, the following board of +trustees was appointed: Stillman Witt, T. S. Beckwith, Bolivar +Butts, N. Schneider, M. D., T. S. Lindsey, Mrs. D.R. Tilden, Mrs. +S. F. Lester, Mrs. Peter Thatcher, Mrs. C. A. Seaman, M. D., Mrs. +M. K. Merrick, M. D., Mrs. S. D. McMillan, Mrs. M. B. Ambler, Mrs. +Lemuel Crawford, Mrs. Henry Chisholm, Mrs. G. B. Bowers. At a +subsequent meeting of the board of trustees, the following +officers were chosen: _President_, Mrs. C. A. Seaman, M. D.; +_Vice-president_, Mrs. S. F. Lester; _Secretary_, Mrs. M. B. +Ambler; _Treasurer_, Mrs. S. D. McMillan. + +[291] + + A = Individual. + B = Year of Graduation. + C = Married or Single. + D = Number of Children. + E = Health. + + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + | A| B | C | D | E |Remarks | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + | 1|1857|Married| 3 |Not living|Died, 1874. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + | 2| " | " | 1 | Good |Taught eleven years; now in Indiana.| + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + | 3| " | " | 2 | " |Has taught ever since graduating; | + | | | | | |now in Ohio. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + | 4|1858| " | 2 |Very good |Taught five years; now in Ohio. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + | 5| " | " | 6 | Good |Has taught school; slight bronchial | + | | | | | |trouble. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + | 6|1859| " | 3 | " | | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + | 7| " | " | 3 |Uncertain |Has taught school. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + | 8| " | " | | Good |Taught thirteen years, till married,| + | | | | | |in 1872. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + | 9| " | " |2 or 3 | |No recent intelligence; health good | + | | | | | |so far as known. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |10|1860|Single | | " |Taught some years; now in England. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |11| " |Married| 2 | |Taught three years. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |12| " |Single | | " |Has taught school. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |13| " | " | |Very good |Physician in Missouri. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |14| " |Married| 1 | " " |Has taught school. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |15| " |Single | | " " |Constantly a teacher, except two | + | | | | | |years in Europe. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |16| " |Married| | " " |Minister in Connecticut; lately | + | | | | | |married. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |17|1861| " | | Good |Taught three years; journalist in | + | | | | | |Ohio. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |18| " | " | 1 | |Has taught school. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |19|1862| " | 1 |Not living|Died of hereditary consumption. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |20| " | " | 1 | " " | | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |21| " | " | 1 | Good | | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |22| " | " | 2 |Very good |Resides in Ohio. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |23| " | " | 2 | " " |Resides in Vermont. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |24| " | " | 2 | " " |Resides in New York. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |25| " | " | | Good |Lately married. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |26| " | " | 3 | " |Has taught school. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |27|1863| " | 2 |Very good |Taught four years, till married. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |28|1864| " | 3 | " " |Taught one year. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |29|1866| " | | Not good |Troubled with scrofula, dating back | + | | | | | |earlier than her school days; | + | | | | | |practices medicine in Missouri. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |30|1868|Single | | Good |Very good & Has just returned from | + | | | | | |three years in Europe, where she | + | | | | | |took long pedestrian journeys. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |31| " |Married| 1 | " |Has taught school and is teaching | + | | | | | |now. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |32| " | " | 2 | " |Taught three years. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |33|1869|Single | | |Taught constantly and is teaching | + | | | | | |now. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |34|1870|Married| |Not living|Died, 1871. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |35| " | " | 1 | Good |Has taught school in Missouri. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |36| " | " | 1 | " |Taught one year. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |37|1871|Single | | Unknown |Came to college in delicate health, | + | | | | | |which improved while there; the | + | | | | | |youngest woman ever graduated at | + | | | | | |Antioch. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |38|1872| " | |Not living|Died, 1873, of hereditary | + | | | | | |consumption. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |39| " | " | | Fair |Teaching in Massachusetts. | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |40|1873| " | | Good | | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + |41| " | " | | " | | + +--+----+-------+-------+----------+------------------------------------+ + + +[292] But even old Yale has to succumb to the on-sweeping tide of +equal chances to women, as will be seen by the following Associated +Press item in the New York _Sun_ of October 2, 1885: "NEW HAVEN, +Conn., Oct. 1.--Miss Alice B. Jordin, of Coldwater, Mich., a +graduate of the academic and law departments of the University of +Michigan, entered the Yale law school to-day. She is the first +woman ever entered in any department of Yale outside of the art +school. + +[293] Mesdames Lima H. Ober, Lovina Greene, Hophni Smith, Ruth F. +Munn, Perleyette M. Burnett, Sophia L. O. Allen, Mary Hodges, Lydia +Smith, Sarah A. Knox. The men who sustained and voted with these +women were Deacon Amplias Greene, Darius M. Allen, Ransom Knox, +Apollos D. Greene, Wesley Brown. Their tickets were different each +year; their first read, "Our Motto--Equal Rights for all--Taxation +without Representation is Tyranny. Our Foes--Tradition and +Superstition." Among the speakers invited to address the people at +the polls were Mrs. Organ, of Yellow Springs, and Mrs. Hope +Whipple, of Clyde. + +[294] _President_, Ruth F. Munn; _Vice-Presidents_, Joel Walker, D. +M. Allen; _Recording Secretary_, Ellen Munn; _Corresponding +Secretary_, Julia P. Greene; _Treasurer_, Mary Hodges; _Executive +Committee_, William Munn, Sophia L. O. Allen, Amanda M. Greene, +Apollos D. Greene, Ransom Knox. + +[295] At other picnics the speakers were, Mrs. S. B. Chase, M. D., +Colonel S. D. Harris, J. W. Tyler Jane O. DeForrest, T. W. Porter. + +[296] The Society of South Newbury, like that of Toledo, refrained +from auxiliaryship with the State Association from the time of its +organization to June, 1885, when such relationship was made +possible by the State Society voting itself an independent +organization, free to cooeperate with all national or local +associations that have for their object the enfranchisement of +women; and to Mrs. Allen may be ascribed a large share of the +credit for the good work and broad platform of the South Newbury +club. + +[297] The presidents of the Toledo Society have been, Emma J. +Ashley, Elizabeth R. Collins, Sarah R. L. Williams, Rosa L. Segur, +Julia P. Cole, Sarah S. Bissell, Ellen S. Fray, Mary J. Cravens. +The vice-presidents, Martha Stebbins, Julia Harris, S. R. L. +Williams, Sarah S. Bissell, Ellen Sully Fray, Mary J. Barker. Miss +Charlotte Langdon Williams rendered valuable service in the +business department of _The Ballot-Box_, and served for three years +as secretary and treasurer of the association. + +[298] Miss Anna C. Mott, and her father, Richard Mott, were two +strong pillars of the woman suffrage movement in Ohio; their +beautiful home has for many years been a harbor of rest alike to +the advocates of anti-slavery, temperance and woman's rights. + +[299] Mrs. Williams further adds that _The Ballot-Box_ became also +a foster child of the National Association, Miss Anthony canvassing +for it after each of her lectures during the winters of 1877 and +1878, thus largely increasing the circulation. It, on the other +hand, gave full and faithful account of the work of the National +Association, so that in reality it was the organ of the National as +well as of the Toledo society. + +[300] The officers of the Toledo Society are, 1885, _President_, +Mrs. Mary J. Cravens; _Vice-president_, Sarah R. L. Williams; +_Recording Secretary_ Mrs. E. R. Collins; _Corresponding +Secretary_, Mrs. Sarah S. Bissell; _Treasurer_, Mrs. Mary J. +Barker; _Executive Committee_, Mrs. Rosa L. Segur, Mrs. Julia P. +Cole, Mrs. Caroline T. Morgan, Miss Anna C. Mott, Mrs. E. M. +Hawley. + +[301] _President_, Mrs. Judge Caldwell; _Secretary_, Mrs. Bushnell; +_Treasurer_, Mrs. Ammon. + +[302] The officers of the Painesville Society, 1885, are, +_President_, Mrs. Frances Jennings Casement; _Vice-Presidents_, +Mrs. Eliza P. Chesney, Mrs. Lydia Wilcox, Mrs. Cornelia Swezey; +_Recording Secretary_, Mrs. Martha Paine; _Corresponding +Secretary_, Mrs. Lou J. Bates; _Treasurer_, Mrs. Adelia J. Bates; +_Trustees_, Mrs. J. B. Burrows, Mrs. A. G. Smith, Mrs. C. C. +Beardslee. + +[303] The officers of the Ohio State Association for 1885 +are, _President_, Mrs. Frances M. Casement, Painesville; +_Vice-Presidents_, Mrs. N. Coe Stewart, Cleveland; Mrs. C. C. +Swezey, Painesville; Hon. Richard Mott, Toledo; Mrs. U. R. Walker, +Cincinnati; Mrs. Dr. Warren, Elyria; _Recording Secretary_, Miss +Mary P. Spargo, Cleveland; _Corresponding Secretary_, Mrs. Rosa L. +Segur, Toledo; _Treasurer_, Mrs. Elizabeth Coit, Columbus; +_Executive Committee_, Dr. N. S. Townshend, Columbus; Mrs. M. B. +Haven, Cleveland; Mrs. M. Cole, Painesville; Mrs. W. J. Sheppard, +Cleveland; Mrs. Elizabeth Coit, Columbus; Mrs. Ports Wilson, +Warren; Mrs. Sarah M. Perkins, Cleveland. + +[304] The incorporators were, Mrs. Davies Wilson, Mrs. John +Goddard, Mrs. Jane Wendte, Mrs. William N. Hobart, Dr. Ellen M. +Kirk, Dr. M. May Howells, Miss Jennie S. Smith, and Miss Harriet M. +Hinsdale; _Resident Physician_, Dr. Sarah J. Bebout; _Visiting +Physicians_, Drs. Ellen M. Kirk, M. May Howells. + + + + +CHAPTER XLI. + +MICHIGAN. + + Women's Literary Clubs and Libraries--Mrs. Lucinda H. + Stone--Classes of Girls in Europe--Ernestine L. Rose--Legislative + Action, _1849-1885_--State Woman Suffrage Society, 1870--Annual + Conventions--Northwestern Association--Wendell Phillips' + Letter--Nannette Gardner Votes--Catharine A. F. Stebbins + Refused--Legislative Action--Amendments Submitted--An Active + Canvass of the State by Women--Election Day--The Amendment Lost, + 40,000 Men Voted in Favor--University at Ann Arbor Opened to + Girls, 1869--Kalamazoo Institute--J. A. B. Stone, Miss Madeline + Stockwell and Miss Sarah Burger Applied for Admission to the + University in 1857--Episcopal Church Bill--Local + Societies--Quincy--Lansing--St. Johns--Manistee--Grand + Rapids--Sojourner Truth--Laura C. Haviland--Sybil Lawrence. + + +Traveling through the State of Michigan, sufficiently at leisure to +make acquaintances, one would readily remark the unusual +intelligence and cultivation of the women. Every large town can +boast a woman's literary club, a reading-room, nicely furnished, +with a library containing, in many cases, one and two thousand +volumes, a choice collection of scientific, historical and +classical works. This may be attributed in part to the fact that +the population is largely from New York and New England, partly to +the many institutions of learning early opened to girls, and partly +to the extensive social influence of Mrs. Lucinda H. Stone,[305] +whose rare culture, foreign travels and liberal views have fitted +her, both as a woman and as a teacher, to inspire the girls of +Michigan with a desire for thorough education. Mrs. Stone has +traveled through many countries in the old world with large classes +of young ladies under her charge, superintending their reading and +studies, and giving them lectures on history and art on classic +ground, where some of the greatest tragedies of the past were +enacted; in ancient palaces, temples and grand cathedrals; upon the +very spots still rich with the memories of kings and popes, great +generals, statesmen, poets and philosophers. We cannot estimate the +advantages to these young travelers of having one always at hand, +able to point out the beauties in painting and statuary, to +interpret the symbols and mysteries of architecture, the language +of music, the facts of history, and the philosophy of the rise and +fall of mighty nations. Mrs. Stone has also given courses of parlor +lectures to large classes of ladies in every city of the State, +thus, with her rare experiences and extensive observations, +enriching every circle of society in which she moved. + +To Catharine A. F. Stebbins we are indebted for compiling many of +the facts contained in this chapter. Reviewing the last forty +years, she says: + + The agitation on the question of woman suffrage began in this + State in 1846, with the advent of Ernestine L. Rose,[306] who + spoke twice in the legislative hall in Detroit--once on the + "Science of Government," and once on the "Antagonisms in + Society." A resolution was passed by the House of + Representatives, expressing a high sense of her ability, + eloquence and grace of delivery. Her work in Detroit, Ann Arbor + and other places was three or four years prior to the first + report by the Special Committee of the Senate in the general + revision of the constitution, nine years before the House + Committee's report on elections in response to women's petitions, + and a dozen years before the favorable "report of the Senate upon + the memorial of ladies praying for the privilege of the elective + franchise," signed by Thomas W. Ferry. + + _The Revolution_ of April 30, 1868, gives an account of the + manner the women of Sturgis voted on the question of prohibition: + + "A few weeks ago, at a large meeting of the citizens of + Sturgis, Michigan, the ladies were asked to help in the + coming election the cause of prohibition. They replied that + they would if they were allowed to vote. At a subsequent + meeting the gentlemen could do no less than to invite them. + A committee of twelve was appointed. They canvassed the + village and invited all the ladies to come out and join in + the demonstration. At 2 o'clock on election day they + assembled at Union School Hall and marched to the room where + the election was held, and one hundred and fourteen + deposited their votes in favor of prohibition, and six + against it. Whilst they were marching through the room the + utmost order prevailed, and when they were retiring three + hearty cheers were given for the ladies of Sturgis. Great + credit is due to Mrs. William Kyte, chairman of the + committee, as well as to all the other members, for their + management of the whole affair. The utmost good feeling + prevailed, and not a sneer or a jeer was heard from the + lords of creation, but a large majority seemed to hail this + as a precursor of what they expect in the future, when the + people shall be educated to respect the rights of all." + + We find the above in the Sturgis _Journal_, by the way, one + of the best in tone and talent of all our western + exchanges. Its editor, Mr. Wait, is a prominent leader in + the State, a member of the legislature, and a believer in + the equal civil and political rights of women. We have more + than once suggested in _The Revolution_ that the women + should appear at the polls on election days and demand their + rights as citizens. The effect could not but be beneficial + wherever tried. Any considerable number of intelligent women + in almost any locality would in this way soon inaugurate a + movement to result in a speedy triumph. Let these noble + Sturgis women persevere. Methodist Bishop Simpson was right + when he declared the vote of woman at the polls would soon + extinguish the perdition fires of intemperance. The Sturgis + women have begun the good work, a hundred and fourteen to + six! Surely, blessed are the husbands and children of such + wives and mothers. + + P. P. + + In _The Revolution_ of September 3, 1868, we find the following + from the Sturgis _Star_: + + Last spring the ladies of Sturgis went to the polls one + hundred and twenty in number, and demonstrated the propriety + of the movement. Their votes did not count, for they could + only be cast in a separate box, and the movement was only + good in its moral effect. But at the school meeting the + ladies have an equal right to vote with the men. Whatever + qualifications a man must possess to exercise privileges in + that meeting, any woman possessing like qualifications can + exercise like privileges there. To substantiate this, it is + only necessary to read the school law. Section 145 of the + Primary School law: "The words 'qualified voter' shall be + taken and construed to mean and include _all taxable + persons_ residing in the district of the age of twenty-one + years, and who have resided therein three months next + preceding the time of voting." + + Ex-State Superintendent John M. Gregory's opinion of that + is, that "under this section (145) all persons liable to be + taxed in the district, and twenty-one years of age, and + having resided three months in the district, without + distinction of sex, color, or nationality, may vote in the + district meetings." In districts where they elect only a + director, assessor and moderator, the women can vote on all + questions except the election of officers. In graded + districts they can vote on all questions, election of + trustees included. Men having no taxable property, but who + vote at town meetings and general elections, can only vote + for trustees at a school meeting. Any woman, then, having a + watch, cow, buggy, or personal property of any kind, subject + to tax, or who has real estate in her own name, or jointly + with her husband, can vote. Here, then, is a lawful right + for women to vote at school meetings, and as there can be no + impropriety in it, we advocate it. We believe that it will + work good. Our Union school is something that all should + feel an active interest in. We hope, then, that those ladies + entitled to vote will exercise the rights that the law + grants them. To give these suggestions a practical effect, + we cheerfully publish the following notice: + + The undersigned respectfully request those ladies residing + in District No. 3, of the township of Sturgis, who are + entitled to vote at the annual meeting, to assemble in Mrs. + Pendleton's parlor, at the Exchange Hotel, on Friday evening + next, August 28, at 7:30 o'clock, to consider the matter of + exercising the privilege which the law gives them. + + This call is signed by about twenty of the best women of the + borough. Last week we called attention in _The Revolution_ + to the earnestness of the English women in urging their + claim to the right of suffrage, and appealed to American + women from their example. We hear from different sources + that American women will attempt, to some extent, to be + registered this year as voters, and we hope so brave an + example will become a contagion. A boastful warrior once + demanded of his foe, "Deliver up your arms." The answer was, + "Come, if you dare, and take them!" Let women become brave + enough to take their rights, and there will not be much + resistance. According to their faith and their courage, so + shall it be. + + P. P. + + The Michigan State Suffrage Society--always an independent + association--was organized at the close of the first convention + held in Hamblin's Opera-house, Battle Creek,[307] January 20, + 1870, and has done the usual work of aiding in the formation of + local societies, circulating tracts and petitions, securing + hearings before the legislature, and holding its annual meetings + from year to year in the different cities of the State. + + The Northwestern Association held its first annual convention in + the Young Men's Hall, Detroit, November 28, 29, 1870, with large + and appreciative audiences.[308] Legislative action on the + question of woman suffrage began in Michigan in 1849, when: + + The special report favorable to Senate document No. 10, for + universal suffrage, was signed by Dwight Webb, Edward H. + Thompson and Rix Robinson.--House document No. 31, + legislature of 1855: "The Committee on Elections, to whom + was referred the petition of Betsy P. Parker, Lucinda Knapp, + Nancy Fleming, Electa Myers, and several other + 'strong-minded' ladies of Lenawee county, asking such + amendments to the constitution of the State as will secure + to women an equal right to the elective franchise with men," + reported adversely, ridiculed the petitioners, and was + signed by A. P. Moorman.--Senate document No. 27, in the + session of 1857: On a memorial of ladies praying the + legislature to grant them the elective franchise, the report + was signed by Thomas W. Ferry, and was favorable and + respectful.--House document No. 25, legislature of 1859: On + constitutional amendments in favor of universal suffrage, + the report was favorable for extending suffrage to colored + men, but doubtful as to the wisdom of extending it to women. + This was signed by Fabius Miles, chairman.--Senate document + No. 12: Upon the same constitutional amendments, in the + legislature of 1859, the report signed by R. E. Trowbridge, + chairman of the committee, was adverse to extending suffrage + to women. + + On February 13, 1873, Mr. Lamb introduced "a joint + resolution granting the privilege of the elective franchise + to the women of the State." Mr. Bartholomew introduced "a + joint resolution proposing an amendment to section 1, + article 1., of the constitution, in relation to the + qualifications of electors." Both were referred to the + Committee on Elections, which made the following report: + + The Committee on Elections, to whom was referred the joint + resolution granting the privilege of the elective franchise + to women of this State, respectfully report that they have + had the same under consideration, and have directed me to + report the same back to the House without recommendation. We + think the time has not arrived for us to decide on so + important a matter. We await further developments, and are + under the impression that there is no popular demand for the + change--at least not sufficient to warrant us in + recommending so important a change in our form of government + at the present session of the legislature--and ask to be + discharged from the further consideration of the subject. + + [Signed:] A. HEWITT, _Acting Chairman._ + + Motion carried to lay the joint resolution on the table. + March 4, it was taken from the table and referred to the + Committee of the Whole, who recommended its passage, and + April 10 it was lost by a vote of 50 to 24: + + The committee have considered the matters embraced in the + several resolutions referred to them relative to providing + for woman's suffrage, and have instructed me to report + against adding any such provision to the constitution at + present. The committee ask to be discharged from the further + consideration of the subject. + + [Signed:] E. W. MEDDAUGH, _Chairman._ + + October 14.--A bill for separate submission to a vote of the + people of an amendment to the constitution relating to + woman's suffrage, was lost by a tie vote--7 for and 7 + against. + + At the extra session of the legislature, 1874, in the House, + March 10, Mr. Hoyt introduced a joint resolution for + separate submission to a vote of the people of an amendment + to the constitution relating to woman suffrage. Referred to + the Committee on Elections and State Affairs, jointly. On + March 12 the following memorial from the State Woman + Suffrage Association[309] was presented in the House: + + + _To the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of + Michigan, in Special Session Convened: _ + + The Executive Committee of the Michigan State Woman Suffrage + Association, at their meeting held in Kalamazoo, February + 10, 1874, voted to memorialize your honorable body, at your + special session now being held. + + We beg leave to represent to you that the object of this + association is to secure, in a legal way, the + enfranchisement of the women of the State. They are, as you + well know, already recognized as citizens of the State + according to the laws of the United States. They are now + taxed for all purposes of public interest as well as the + men. But they are not represented in the legislature, nor in + any branch of the State government, thus affording a great + example, and an unjust one for women, of taxation without + representation, which our fathers declared to be tyranny; + and which is contrary to the genius of our republican + institutions, and to the general polity of this + commonwealth. Women are also governed, while they have no + direct voice in the government, and made subject to laws + affecting their property, their personal rights and liberty, + in whose enactment they have no voice. + + We therefore petition your honorable body, that in preparing + a new constitution, to be submitted for adoption or + rejection by the people of this State, you will strike out + the word "male" from the article defining the qualifications + of electors; or if deemed best by you, will provide for the + separate submission of an article for the enfranchisement of + the women of Michigan, giving them equal rights and + privileges with the men. By thus taking the lead of the + States of the Union, to more fully secure the personal + rights of all the citizens, you will show yourselves in + harmony with the spirit of the age and worthy to be called + pioneers in this cause, as you are already most honorably + accounted pioneers in your educational system, which affords + equal and impartial advantages to the population of our + State, irrespective of sex or condition in life--thus aiming + to elevate the entire people to the highest practicable + plane of intelligence and true civilization. + + By order, and in the name of the Michigan Woman Suffrage + Association. + + LUCINDA H. STONE, _Corresponding Secretary._ + + Mrs. A. H. WALKER, _President._ + + On March 14, the joint committee made the following report: + + The committees on State affairs and elections, to whom was + referred the joint resolution proposing an amendment to + section I, article VII., of the constitution, in relation to + the qualifications of electors, respectfully report that + they have had the same under consideration, and have + directed us to report the same back to the House without + amendment, and recommend that it do pass and ask to be + discharged from the further consideration of the subject. + + The reasons which have influenced the committee in + recommending an amendment so radical and sweeping in the + changes which it will create if finally adopted by the + people, are briefly these: The question of granting the + right of suffrage to women equally with men, is one that has + been seriously and widely agitated for years, and while, + like other political reforms which change in any + considerable degree the old and established order of things, + it has met with strong opposition, on the other hand it has + been ably advocated by men and women distinguished alike for + their intellectual ability and their excellent judgment. + Although we believe that there should be certain necessary + and proper restrictions to the exercise of the elective + franchise, we are of the opinion that there are reasonable + grounds to doubt whether the distinction of sex in the + matter of voting, is not, in a large measure, a fictitious + one. The interests of women in all matters pertaining to + good government are certainly identical with those of men. + In the matter of property their rights conceded by law are + equal, and in some respects superior to those of men; and if + the principle of no taxation without representation is a + just one as applied among men, it would seem that it might + in justice be extended to women. As the reasons given above + are strongly urged by the advocates of woman suffrage, and + as several petitions, numerously signed by citizens of the + State, asking for some action on the part of the House in + this matter, are in the hands of the committee, we have + deemed it advisable, although not equally agreed as to the + main question involved, to recommend the passage of the + resolution by the House, in order that the people of the + State may have an opportunity of expressing their will at + the ballot-box as to the expediency of extending the right + of suffrage to women. + + SAMUEL H. BLACKMAN, _Chairman of Committee on State Affairs._ + JAMES BURNES, _Chairman of Committee on Elections._ + + Report accepted, and joint resolution placed on the general + order. + + On March 18 the following joint resolution passed the House + by a vote of 67 to 27, and passed the Senate by a vote of 26 + to 4,[310] proposing an amendment to section I of article + VII. of the constitution, in relation to the qualification + of electors: + + _Resolved, By the Senate and House of Representatives of the + State of Michigan_, That at the election when the amended + constitution shall be submitted to the electors of this + State for adoption or rejection, there shall be submitted to + such electors the following propositions, to be substituted + in case of adoption, for so much of section I, of article + VII., as precedes the proviso therein, in the present + constitution of this State as it now stands, and substituted + for section I, article VII., in said amended constitution, + if the latter is adopted, to wit: + + SECTION 1. In all elections, every person of the age of + twenty-one years who shall have resided in this State three + months, and in the township or ward in which he or she + offers to vote ten days next preceding an election, + belonging to either of the following classes, shall be an + elector and entitled to vote: + + _First_--Every citizen of the United States; _Second_--Every + inhabitant of this State, who shall have resided in the + United States two years and six months, and declared his or + her intention to become a citizen of the United States + pursuant to the laws thereof, six months preceding an + election; _Third_--Every inhabitant residing in this State + on the twenty-fourth day of June, one thousand eight hundred + and seventy-five. + + Said proposition shall be separately submitted to the + electors of this State for their adoption or rejection, in + form following, to wit: A separate ballot may be given by + every person having the right to vote, to be deposited in a + separate box. Upon the ballot given for said proposition + shall be written, or printed, or partly written and partly + printed, the words, "Woman Suffrage,--Yes"; and upon ballots + given against the adoption thereof, in like manner, the + words, "Woman Suffrage,--No." If at said election a majority + of the votes given upon said proposition shall contain the + words, "Woman Suffrage,--Yes," then said proposition shall + be substituted for so much of section I, of article VII., as + includes the proviso therein in the present constitution of + the State as it now stands, or substituted for section I, of + article VII., in said amended constitution, if the latter is + adopted. + + This bill was promptly signed by Governor Bagley, and from that + hour the attention of the advocates of suffrage for women was + centered on Michigan. + + The submission of this amendment to a vote of the people, gave an + unusual interest and importance to the annual meeting held at + Lansing, May 6, 1874,[311] at which plans were to be made, and + money raised for a vigorous campaign throughout the State. The + large number of women ready to do the speaking, and the equally + large number of men ready to make generous contributions, were + most encouraging in starting. Women who could not aid the cause + in any other way cast their gold watches into the treasury. From + the large number of letters received at this convention we may + judge how thoroughly aroused the friends were all over the + country. Lydia Maria Child wrote: + + It is urged, that if women participated in public affairs, + puddings would be spoiled, and stockings neglected. + Doubtless some such cases might occur; for we have the same + human nature as men, and men are sometimes so taken up with + elections as to neglect their business for a while. But I + apprehend that puddings and stockings, to say nothing of + nurseries, suffer much greater detriment from the present + expenditure of time and thought upon the heartless + ostentation of parties, and the flounces and fripperies of + fashion, than can possibly accrue from the intellectual + cultivation of women, or their participation in public + affairs. Voting is a mere incident in the lives of men. It + does not prevent the blacksmith from shoeing horses, or the + farmer from planting fields, or the lawyer from attending + courts; so I see no reason why it need to prevent women from + attending to their domestic duties. On certain subjects, + such as intemperance, licentiousness and war, women would be + almost universally sure to exert their influence in the + right directions, for the simple reason that they peculiarly + suffer from the continuance of these evils. In the discharge + of this new function, they would doubtless make some + mistakes, and yield to some temptations, just as men do. But + the consciousness of being an acknowledged portion of the + government of the country would excite a deeper interest in + its welfare, and produce a serious sense of responsibility, + which would gradually invigorate and ennoble their + characters. + + THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON wrote: I believe that we fail to + establish a truly republican government, or to test the + principle of universal suffrage, so long as we enfranchise + one sex only. + + A. BRONSON ALCOTT wrote: * * * Where women lead--the best + women--is it unsafe for men to follow? Woman's influence + cannot be confined to her household; woman is, and will be, + womanly wherever placed. No condition can unsex the sexes. + The ten commandments will not suffer in her keeping. Her + vote will tell for the virtues, against the vices all. Plato + said: "Either sex alone is but half itself." Socially, we + admit his assertion, and are just beginning to suspect that + our republican institutions need to be complemented and + rounded with woman's counsels, and administrations also. + Good republicans are asking if our legislation is not + unsettled, demoralized by the debauchery of hasty politics, + by private vices, and the want of manly integrity, woman's + honor. Let our courtesy to women be sincere--paid to her + modesty as to her person; her intelligence as to her + housekeeping; her refining influence in political as in + social circles. Where a husband would blush to take his wife + and daughters, let him blush to be seen by his sons. "Revere + no god," says Euripides, "whom men adore by night." And + Sophocles: "Seek not thy fellow-citizens to guide till thou + canst order well thine own fireside." Mrs. Alcott and Louisa + join in hearty hopes for your success. + + EDNA D. CHENEY wrote: * * * How I long for the time when + this question being settled, we can all go forward, working + together, to discuss and settle the really great questions + of political and social economy, of labor, of education, and + the full development of human life in State and society. + + JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER wrote: * * * I hope and trust the + electors will be wise and generous enough to decide it in + your favor. Were I a citizen of the State I should esteem it + alike a duty and a privilege to vote in the affirmative. + + ASA MAHAN, president of Oberlin College, wrote: The cause + which has called you together is a very plain one. It is + simply this, whether "taxation without representation" is + tyranny to all but one-half of the human race, and the + principle that rulers derive their authority to make and + administer law from the consent of the governed, holds true + of the white man and the black man, of man native or foreign + born, and even of the "heathen Chinee," if he belong to the + male sex, and is a lie in its application to woman.[312] + + Dr. Stone, of Kalamazoo, read an able report of what had been + done, and all it was necessary to do if the friends desired to + carry the pending amendment. The following extract will give some + idea of the momentous undertaking in canvassing a State: + + When the governor decided to call an extra session of the + legislature, so as to submit the new constitution to a + popular vote next November, the committee had but little + time for the circulation of petitions; but enough was done + to secure the vote in favor of submission. This was the more + easily accomplished because we have in the present + legislature so many warm and active friends, who gave that + body no rest until their point was carried. And here we find + ourselves suddenly brought into a campaign almost as novel + as momentous, with scarce a precedent to guide us. We ask + the electors of Michigan to share their civil and political + power with those who have always been denied all electoral + rights--to vest the popular sovereignty not merely in + themselves, in a quarter of a million of men, as hitherto, + but in half a million of men and women, and so make our + State what it is not now, a truly republican commonwealth. + We have a great work before us, and no time should be lost + in organizing a general canvass of the entire State. + Competent lecturers should be employed wherever hearers can + be found, and money raised to defray the expenses. Printed + documents too, must be circulated; arguments and conclusions + framed by those who have thought on these subjects for men, + and sometimes for women, who are too indolent to think for + themselves. And there are many other things which we must do + before the November election; ballots must be furnished for + every township and polling place, especially affirmative + ballots, and placed in the hands of all the voters. The + Executive Committee cannot be ubiquitous enough to + discharge all these multifarious duties. We therefore + suggest that there be appointed during this meeting, + _First_, a Committee on Finance. _Second_, a Committee on + Printed Documents. _Third_, a Committee on Lecturers. + _Fourth_, a County Committee of perhaps three persons in + each county, who shall have power also to appoint a + sub-committee in each township. Whether so many distinct + committees will be needed, or more than one class of duties + can be entrusted to the same committee, the association can + determine. We do not want too much, nor too complicated + machinery, but just enough to accomplish the work. We must + fall into line; woman expects every man to do his duty; + surely she will not fail to be true to herself. + + Representatives from the different counties gave their names[313] + as ready to begin the work arranged by the several committees. + With this large and enthusiastic convention the campaign may be + said fairly to have opened at Lansing early in May, a political + organization being formed of Republicans and Democrats alike, + representing nearly every district in the State. Governor Bagley + having promptly signed the bill, and his wife being an earnest + advocate of the measure, the social influence of the family was + all in the right direction. The influence of the church, too, was + in a measure favorable. The Methodist denomination, in its + general conference, passed a resolution indorsing woman suffrage. + Mrs. Stanton, in a letter to the _Golden Age_, said: + + During the time I spent in Michigan, speaking every night + and twice on Sunday to crowded houses, I had abundant + opportunities of feeling the pulse of the people, both in + public and private, and it seemed to me that the tide of + popular thought and feeling was running in the right + direction. The people are beginning to regard the idea of + woman's equality with man as not only a political, but a + religious truth, Methodist, Congregational, Presbyterian, + Baptist and Unitarian churches being all alike thrown open + to its consideration. Sitting Sunday after Sunday in the + different pulpits with reverend gentlemen, my discourses + given in the place of the sermon, in the regular services, I + could not help thinking of the distance we had come since + that period in civilization when Paul's word was law, "Let + your women keep silence in the churches." Able men and women + are speaking in every part of the State, and if our triumph + should not be complete at the next election, at all events a + great educational work will have been accomplished in the + distribution of tracts, in the public debates, and in + reviewing the fundamental principles of our government and + religion. Being frequently told that women did not wish to + vote, I adopted the plan of calling for a rising vote at the + close of my lectures, and on all occasions a majority of the + women would promptly rise. Knowing that the men had the + responsibility of voting before their eyes, and might be + diffident about rising, I reversed the manner of expression + in their case, requesting all those in favor of woman + suffrage to keep their seats, and those opposed to rise up, + thus throwing the onerous duty of changing their attitudes + on the opposition. So few arose under such circumstances + that it was somewhat embarrassing for those who did. + + Those who were engaged in the canvass[314] had enthusiastic + meetings everywhere. They not only filled all their regular + appointments, but spoke in the prisons, asylums; even the deaf + and dumb were refreshed with the gospel of woman suffrage. The + press, too, was generally favorable, though the opposition + magnified the occasional adverse criticisms out of all proportion + to their severity and number. Towards the last of September Miss + Anthony, by invitation of Mrs. Briggs and Mrs. Bliss of Grand + Rapids, came into the State and remained until election day. She + often brought down the house with her witty comments on the + criticisms of the press.[315] + + Everything that could be done was done by the friends of the + amendment throughout the State; meetings held and tracts on every + phase of the question scattered in all the most obscure + settlements; inspiring songs sung, earnest prayers offered, the + press vigilant in its appeals, and on election day women + everywhere at the polls, persuading voters to cast their ballots + for temperance, moral purity and good order, to be secured only + by giving the right of suffrage to their mothers, wives and + daughters. But the sun went down, the polls were closed, and in + the early dawn of the next morning the women of Michigan learned + that their status as citizens of the United States had not been + advanced one iota by the liberal action of their governor, their + legislature, the appeals of the women nor the votes of 40,000 of + the best men of the State. + + When the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the national + constitution were passed, many advocates of suffrage believed + that the right was conferred on women. In a letter to a State + convention held at that time, Wendell Phillips said: + + The new phase of the woman movement--that claiming the right + to vote under the fourteenth amendment--is attracting great + attention in Washington. Whether it ever obtains judicial + sanction or not, it certainly gives a new and most effective + means of agitation. The argument of the minority report, + understood to be written by General Butler, is most able. * + * * The statement of the argument, and the array of cases + and authorities, are very striking. Nothing more cogent can + be imagined or desired. When two years ago a Western + advocate of woman's rights started this theory, we never + expected to see it assume such importance. + + In accordance with this opinion, certain women resolved to apply + for registration, and offer their votes. On March 25, 1871, + Catherine A. F. Stebbins and Mrs. Nannette B. Gardner of Detroit + made the attempt to have their names regularly enrolled as + legally qualified voters. Mrs. Stebbins, accompanied by her + husband, made application in the fifth ward to have her name + registered, but was refused. She then proposed to her friend, + Mrs. Gardner, to make the trial in her ward, to which she + assented. Accordingly, they went to the first district of the + ninth ward, where Peter Hill was the enrolling officer. Mrs. + Gardner gave her name, saying she was a "person" within the + meaning of the fourteenth amendment, and that she was a widow, + and a tax-payer without representation. Mr. Hill, seeing the + justice of her demand, entered her name upon the register. + + This action took some of the board of registration by surprise, + and a motion was made to erase her name, but was decided in the + negative.[316] The board was now asked for a decision in regard + to Mrs. Stebbins' name, as the question very naturally suggested + itself to the inspectors, if one woman can vote why not another. + Mrs. Stebbins was notified that her case would have a hearing. + When asked to submit her reasons for demanding the right to vote, + Mrs. S. stated that she asked it simply as the right of a human + being under the constitution of the United States. She had paid + taxes on personal and real estate, and had conformed to the laws + of the land in every respect. Since the fourteenth amendment had + enfranchised woman as well as the black man, she had the + necessary qualifications of an elector. + + A long debate followed. Inspectors Bagg, Hill and Folsom argued + in favor of the petitioner; Allison, Brooks, Henderson and Hughes + against. The opposition confessed that the negro had voted before + the word "white" had been expunged from the State constitution; + but that was done from a "political necessity." The question of + acceptance being put to vote, was negatived--13 to 10. This was + counted a victory, and stimulated the opposition to make another + effort to strike Mrs. Gardner's name from the register; but + failing in that, the board adjourned. There was now much + curiosity to know if Alderman Hill would have the nerve to stand + by his initiative; but with him the Rubicon was passed, and on + April 3, Messrs. Hill and Durfee accepted Mrs. Gardner's vote, + Mr. Bond protesting. The Detroit _Post_ gave the following + account: + + Mrs. Gardner arrived at the polls of the first precinct of + the ninth ward at about half-past ten o'clock in a carriage, + accompanied by her son, a lad of ten years, Mrs. Starring + and Mrs. Giles B. Stebbins. Barely a dozen by-standers were + present, and the larger part of these were laboring men. No + demonstration followed the appearance of the ladies, the men + remaining quiet, and contenting themselves with comments + _sotto voce_ on this last political development, and with + speculations as to how the newly enfranchised would vote. + Mrs. Gardner presented herself at the polls with a vase of + flowers and also a prepared ballot, which she had decorated + with various appropriate devices. The inspectors asked the + questions usually put to all applicants, and her name being + found duly registered, her ballot was received and deposited + in the box. There was no argument, no challenge, no + variation from the routine traversed by each masculine + exerciser of the elective franchise. Mrs. Gardner voted, as + we understand; for the Republican candidates generally, with + one Democrat and one lady. + + At Battle Creek, Mrs. Mary Wilson voted at the election of 1871. + When she registered, she was accompanied by her lawyer. + + In the fall of 1872, Peter Hill again registered Mrs. Gardner, + and received her vote. Mr. Hill had been exposed to many + animadversions for his persistence, and as an acknowledgment of + her appreciation of his course, Mrs. Gardner presented him a silk + banner suitably inscribed. A city paper gives this account of it: + + Mrs. Gardner, who has for years been a recognized voter in + the ninth ward of Detroit, again voted on Tuesday. She came + on foot, with Mrs. Stebbins, in a drenching rain, as no + carriage could be obtained. After voting, she presented a + beautiful banner of white satin, trimmed with gold fringe, + on which was inscribed, "A Woman's Voting Hymn." The reverse + side, of blue silk, contained the dedication: "To Peter + Hill, Alderman of the Ninth Ward, Detroit. First to Register + a Woman's Vote. By recognizing civil liberty and equality + for woman, he has placed the last and brightest jewel on the + brow of Michigan." + + The city board now felt called upon to pass a vote of censure + upon Mr. Hill's action. The record runs thus: + + Canvasser BAXTER: _Resolved_, That the act of the inspectors + of election of the first district of the ninth ward, in + receiving the vote of Mrs. Nannette B. Gardner at the + election just passed, is emphatically disapproved by this + board, on the ground that said act is a plain violation of + the election laws and constitution of the State of Michigan, + and is liable to lead to the grossest abuses and + complications. + + Canvasser FULDA moved to lay the resolution on the + table--lost. Adopted as follows: _Yeas_--Langley, Flower, + House, Lichtenberg, Phelps, Parsons, Christian, Allison, + Buehle, Dullea, Daly, Barbier, Baxter--13. _Nays_--Wooley + and Fulda--2. + + CHAS A. BORGMAN, _Secretary_. + PHILO PARSONS, _Chairman_. + + Mrs. Stebbins attempted to register at this election with the + same result as before. Upon the fourth of November she provided + herself with a sworn statement that she had been "wrongfully + prevented" the record of her name, and offered her vote at the + polls, calling attention to the "enforcing act," provided for + such cases. It had no terror, however, for the valiant inspectors + of the fifth ward. In the fall of 1873, there was the following + correspondence between the board and the city counselor: + + _Hon. D. C. Holbrook, City Counselor_: DEAR SIR:--Mrs. Giles + B. Stebbins has applied to this board and demands the right + to register. This board has declined to grant the request on + the ground that it does not believe her to be a legal + elector. Mrs. Stebbins would have all the required + qualifications of an elector, but for the fact of her being + a woman, and we therefore respectfully request that you + instruct us as to our duty in the premises. Very + respectfully, + + S. B. WOOLLEY, + ALBERT BOTSFORD, + _Inspectors of First Ward_. + + Woman cannot be enrolled or registered. Let her try it + on.[317] + + _Oct. 24, 1873._ D. C. HOLBROOK, _City Counselor_. + + In company with Mrs. H. J. Boutelle, Mrs. Stebbins offered her + vote in the fifth ward. Mr. Farwell was in favor of receiving it, + and wished to leave the question to a dozen responsible citizens + whom he called in as referees, but Col. Phelps would not be + influenced by the judgment of outsiders, and would not agree to + the proposal.[318] + + Mrs. Gardner's name was retained on the ward voting list, and she + voted every year until she left the city for the education of her + children. + + Before the University at Ann Arbor was opened to girls in 1869, + there had been several attempts to establish seminaries for girls + alone.[319] But they were not successful for several reasons. As + the State would not endow these private institutions, it made the + education of daughters very expensive, and fathers with + daughters, seeing their neighbors' sons in the State University + educated at the public expense, from financial considerations + were readily converted to the theory of coeducation. Again the + general drift of thought was in favor of coeducation throughout + the young western States. Then institutions of learning were too + expensive to build separate establishments for girls and boys, + and the number of boys able to attend through a collegiate course + could not fill the colleges ready for their reception. Hence from + all considerations it was a double advantage both to the State + and the girls, to admit them to the universities. + + James A. B. Stone and Mrs. Lucinda H. Stone went to Kalamazoo in + 1843, immediately after his election to take charge of the + Literary Institute. The name was afterwards changed to Kalamazoo + College. It is the oldest collegiate institute in the State, + having been chartered in 1833, and was designed from the outset + for both sexes. In the beginning it did not confer degrees, but + was the first, after Oberlin, to give diplomas to women. + Kalamazoo was an object of derision with some of the professors + of the University, because it was, they averred, of doubtful + gender. But a liberal-minded public grew more and more in favor + of epicene colleges. Literary seminaries had been established for + coeducation at Albion, Olivet, Adrian and Hillsdale, but some of + their charters were not exactly of a collegiate grade, and it was + doubtful whether under the new constitution, new college charters + would be granted, so that Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor had the field. + In January, 1845, a bill was introduced in the legislature to + organize literary institutions under a general law, no collegiate + degrees being allowed, unless on the completion of a curriculum + equal to that of the State University. The championship of this + bill fell to Dr. Stone, for while it would have no special effect + on Kalamazoo, it concerned the cause of coeducation in the State, + and the friends of the University made it a kind of test of what + the State policy should be in reference to the higher learning + for women. Dr. Tappan, then the able president of the University, + appeared at Lansing, supported by Rev. Dr. Duffield and a force + of able lawyers, to oppose it, and the far-seeing friends of + education in the legislature and in the lobby, rallied with Dr. + Stone for its support. For several weeks the contest was carried + on with earnestness, almost with bitterness, before the + legislative committees, before public meetings called in the + capitol for discussion, and on the floor of both houses. Dr. + Tappan made frantic appeals to Michigan statesmen not to disgrace + the State by such a law, which he prophesied would result in + "preparatory schools for matrimony," and, shocking to + contemplate, young men would marry their classmates. Among the + friends of the measure present, were President Fairfield, + Professor Hosford, and Hon. Mr. Edsell, of Otsego, all graduates + of Oberlin, who had married their classmates, and "been glad ever + since." They replied, "What of it? Are not those who have met + daily in the recitation-room for four years, as well prepared to + judge of each other's fitness for life-companionship, as if they + had only met a few times at a ball, a dress party, or in private + interview?" The legislature was an intelligent one, and the bill + passed amid great excitement, crowds of interested spectators + listening to the final discussions in the lower House. Governor + Bingham was friendly to the bill from the first. After its + passage, he sent a handsome copy signed by himself and other + officers, to Dr. and Mrs. Stone, at Kalamazoo, to be preserved as + a record of the Thermopylae fight for coeducation in Michigan. + + Rev. E. O. Havens succeeded Dr. Tappan in the presidency, and was + supposed to be less strong in his prejudices, but when efforts + were made to open the doors to both sexes, he reported it + difficult and inexpedient, if not impossible. But he counted + without the broad-minded people of Michigan. A growing conviction + that the legislature would stop the appropriations to the + University unless justice was done to the daughters of the State, + finally brought about, at Ann Arbor, a change of policy. Under + the light that broke in upon their minds, the professors found + there was really no law against the admission of women to that + very liberal seat of learning. "To be sure, they never had + admitted women, but none had formally applied." This, though + somewhat disingenuous, was received in good faith, and soon + tested by Miss Madeline Stockwell, who had completed half her + course at Kalamazoo, and was persuaded by Mrs. Stone to make + application at Ann Arbor. Mrs. Stone knew her to be a thorough + scholar, as far as she had gone, especially in Greek, which some + had supposed that women could not master. When she presented + herself for examination some members of the faculty were far from + cordial, but they were just, and she entered in the grade for + which she applied. She sustained herself ably in all her studies, + and when examined for her degree--the first woman graduate from + the literary department--she was commended as the peer of any of + her class-mates, and took an honorable part in the commencement + exercises. Moreover, she fulfilled the doleful prophecy of Dr. + Tappan, as women in other schools had done before her, and + married her class-mate, Mr. Turner, an able lawyer. + + The statement by the faculty, or regents, that "no woman had + formally applied," was untrue, as we shall see. The University + was opened to them in 1869; eleven years before, Miss Sarah + Burger, now Mrs. Stearns, made the resolve, the preparation, and + the application to enter the University of Michigan; and young as + she was, her clear-sightedness and courage called forth our + admiration. As a child, in Ann Arbor, from 1845, to 1852, she had + often attended the commencement exercises of the University, and + on those occasions had felt very unhappy, because all the culture + given to mind and heart and soul by this institution was given to + young men alone. It seemed a cruel injustice to young women that + they could not be there with their brothers, enjoying the same. + In connection with her efforts and those of her friends to enter + those enchanted portals, she bears grateful testimony to the + discussions on the question of woman's rights, as follows: + + When it was my blessed privilege to attend a women's rights + convention at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1853,--and it was a grand + meeting--where dear Lucretia Mott, Ernestine L. Rose, + Frances D. Gage, Antoinette Brown, Lucy Stone, and others, + dwelt upon the manifold wrongs suffered by women, and called + upon them to awake and use their powers to secure justice to + all, I felt their words to mean that the Michigan University + as well as all others, should be opened to girls, and that + women themselves should first move in the matter. + + Thus aroused, though but sixteen years old, she resolved at once + to make application for admission to the State University. Early + in the autumn of 1856, she entered the high school at Ann Arbor, + and studied Greek and Latin two years, preparatory to taking the + classical course. Four young ladies besides herself, recited with + the boys who were preparing for college, and they were all + declared by a university professor who had attended frequent + examinations, to stand head and shoulders in scholarship above + many of the young men. Miss Burger wishing as large a class as + possible to appeal for admission, wrote to a number of classical + schools for young women, asking cooeperation, and secured the + names of eleven[320] who would gladly apply with her. In the + spring of 1858, she sent a note to the regents, saying a class of + twelve young ladies would apply in June, for admission to the + University in September. A reporter said "a certain Miss B. had + sent the regents warning of the momentous event." At the board + meeting in June, the young ladies presented their promised letter + of application, and received as reply, that the board should have + _more time to consider_. In September their reply was, that it + seemed inexpedient for the University to admit ladies at present. + In the meantime, a great deal had been said and done on the + subject; some members of the faculty had spoken in favor, some + against. University students, and citizens of Ann Arbor also + joined in the general discussion. The subject was widely + discussed in the press and on the platform; members of the + faculty and board of regents applied to the presidents of + universities east and west, for their opinions. The people of + Michigan, thus brought to consider the injustice of the exclusion + of their daughters from this State institution, there was offered + for signature during the winter of 1859, the following petition: + + _To the Regents of the University of Michigan:_ + + The undersigned, inhabitants of ----, in the county of ----, + and State of Michigan, respectfully request that young women + may be admitted as students in the University, for the + following among other reasons: _First_--It is incumbent on + the State to give equal educational advantages to both + sexes. _Second_--All can be educated in the State University + with but little more expense than is necessary to educate + young men alone. _Third_--It will save the State from the + expenditure of half a million of dollars, necessary to + furnish young ladies in a separate institution with the + advantages now enjoyed by young men. _Fourth_--It will admit + young ladies at once to the benefits of the highest + educational privileges of the State. + + Among the most active in lectures, debates, circulation of + petitions and general advocacy were James B. Gott, Judge Edwin + Lawrence, Giles B. Stebbins and O. P. Stearns, the last at that + time a student, since a lawyer, and the husband of Mrs. Sarah + Burger Stearns of Minnesota. + + In the spring of 1859 formal application was again made to the + regents by a class of young ladies, only to receive the same + answer. But the discussion was not dropped; indeed, that was + impossible. Some of the most intelligent on this question believe + that the final admission of women to the University was due to a + resolve on the part of the people of the State to place upon the + board of regents, as the terms of old members expired, men well + known to be favorable. On the election of Professor Estabrook of + the State Normal School there was one more noble man "for us," + who, with other new members, made a majority in favor of justice. + In the autumn of that year (1869) young women were admitted to + full privileges in Michigan University, and, like political + freedom in Wyoming, it has for years been confessed to have + yielded only beneficent results. As long ago, however, as the + first application was made (1858) women were permitted to attend + certain lectures. They could not join a class or read a book, but + it was the custom for them to go and listen to the beautiful and + highly instructive lectures by Professor Andrew D. White on + history, sculpture, and mediaeval architecture, and they highly + appreciated the privilege. + + In March, 1869, President Havens said in the House of + Representatives at Lansing, "he believed the University should be + opened to those who desired to obtain the benefit of the branches + of education which they could not obtain elsewhere." The Rev. + Gilbert Haven wrote to the American Society's meeting held in + Detroit, in 1874: "I have been identified with your cause through + its evil report, and, I was going to add, good report, but that + part has not yet very largely set in. I also had the honor to + preside over the first ecclesiastical body that has, just now, + pronounced in your favor." This church assembly was the Methodist + State Association, which adopted the following in October, 1874, + without a negative vote, though several of the delegates refused + to vote: + + WHEREAS, The legislature of Michigan, at its recent session, + has submitted to the electors of the State a proposition to + change the State constitution so as to admit the women of + Michigan to the elective franchise; therefore, + + _Resolved_, That this convention recognizes the action of + the legislature as a step toward a higher and purer + administration of the government of our country, and we hope + the provision will be adopted. + + But the above was not the strongest utterance of Bishop Gilbert + Haven. Once at an equal rights society convention in the Academy + of Music, Brooklyn, where from floor to ceiling was gathered an + admirable and immense audience, with profound respect I heard + these memorable words: + + "I shall never be satisfied until a _black woman_ is seated in + the presidential chair of the United States," than which no more + advanced claim for the complete legal recognition of woman has + been made in our country. + + In February, 1879, a spirited debate took place in the + legislature upon an amendment to the Episcopal Church bill, which + struck out the word "male" from the qualification of voters. The + Detroit _Post and Tribune_ says a vigorous effort was made to + defeat the measure, but without success. The justice of allowing + women to take part in church government was recognized, and the + amendment carried. + + We have written persistently to leading women all over the State + for facts in regard to their local societies, and such responses + as have been received are embodied in this chapter. We give + interesting reports of a few of the county societies in which + much has been accomplished. + + Of the work in Quincy Mrs. Sarah Turner says: + + We never organized a woman suffrage society, although our + literary club has done much for the cause in a general way. + We had crowded houses on the occasions of a very able speech + from Elizabeth Cady Stanton and a most spirited one from + Miss Phoebe Couzins. For the past eight years a dozen + tax-paying women of this town have availed themselves of the + privilege granted them years ago, and voted at the school + meetings; and two years ago a woman was elected member of + the school-board. + + Lansing reports for January, 1871, Mrs. Livermore's lecture + on "The Reasons Why" [women should be enfranchised]; the + organization of a city society with sixty members at the + close of the annual meeting of the State Association held in + that city in March; a lecture from Mrs. Stanton before the + Young Men's Association; the adoption of a declaration of + rights by the Ingham County Society, March, 1872, signed by + 169 of the best people of the county. In 1874, of the many + meetings held those of Mrs. Stanton and Miss Couzins are + specially mentioned. + + The St. Johns society, formed in 1872 with six members, + reported sixty at the State annual meeting of 1874, and also + $171.71, raised by fees and sociables, mainly expended in + the circulation of tracts and documents throughout the + county. + + From Manistee Mrs. Fannie Holden Fowler writes: + + In the campaign of 1874 Hon. S. W. Fowler, one of the + committee for Northern Michigan appointed by the State + Society, canvassed Manistee county and advocated the cause + through his paper, the _Times and Standard_. The election + showed the good of educational work, as a large vote was + polled in the towns canvassed by Mr. Fowler, two of them + giving a majority for the amendment. In an editorial, after + the election, Mr. Fowler said: "The combined forces of + ignorance, vice and prejudice have blocked the wheels of + advancing civilization, and Michigan, once the proudest of + the sisterhood of States, has lost the opportunity of + inaugurating a reform; now let the women organize for a + final onset." However, no active suffrage work was done + until December 3, 1879, when Susan B. Anthony was induced to + stop over on her way from Frankfort to Ludington and give + her lecture, "Woman Wants Bread; Not the Ballot." She was + our guest, and urged the formation of a society, and through + her influence a "Woman's Department" was added to the _Times + and Standard_, which is still a feature of the paper. In the + following spring (April, 1880), Elizabeth Cady Stanton gave + her lecture, "Our Girls," with two "conversations," before + the temperance women and others, which revived the courage + of the few who had been considering the question of + organization. A call was issued, to which twenty-three + responded, and the society was formed June 8, 1880,[321] + adopting the constitution of the National and electing + delegates to attend a convention to be held under the + auspices of that association the following week at Grand + Rapids. The society at once made a thorough canvass of the + city, which resulted in the attendance of seventy tax-paying + women at the school election in September, when the first + woman's vote was cast in Manistee county. Each succeeding + year has witnessed more women at the school election, until, + in 1883, they outnumbered the men, and would have elected + their ticket but for a fraud perpetrated by the old + school-board, which made the election void. + + In August 1881, Mrs. May Wright Sewall delivered two + lectures in Manistee. In February 1882, a social, + celebrating Miss Anthony's birthday, was given by the + association at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Fowler, and was + voted a success. Through the untiring efforts of Mrs. Lucy + T. Stansell, who was also a member of the Ladies' Lever + League, Mrs. Elizabeth Boynton Harbert gave a Manistee + audience a rich treat in her "Homes of Representative + Women," and her conversation on suffrage elicited much + interest. + + During the autumn of 1882, petitions asking for municipal + suffrage were circulated. The venerable Josiah R. Holden of + Grand Rapids, father of Mrs. Fowler, then in his 88th year, + obtained the largest number of signatures to his petition of + any one in the State. A bill granting municipal suffrage to + women was drawn by Mrs. Fowler, introduced in the + legislature by Hon. George J. Robinson, and afterwards + tabled. At the session of 1885 a similar bill came within a + few votes of being carried. + + In Grand Rapids there was no revival of systematic work + until 1880, when the National Association held a very + successful two days' convention in the city. In response to + a petition from the society, the legislature in the winter + of 1885 passed a law, giving to the tax-paying women of the + city the right to vote on school questions at the charter + elections. At the first meeting a hundred women were + present, and hundreds availed themselves of their new power + and voted at the first election. + + The State Society held its annual meeting at Grand Rapids, + October 7, 8, 9, 1885, at which the address of welcome was given + by Mrs. Loraine Immen, president of the City Society,[322] and + responded to by Mrs. Stebbins of Detroit.[323] + + The only religious sect in the world, unless we except the + Quakers, that has recognized the equality of woman, is the + Spiritualists. They have always assumed that woman may be a + medium of communication from heaven to earth, that the spirits of + the universe may breathe through her lips messages of loving + kindness and mercy to the children of earth. The Spiritualists in + our country are not an organized body, but they are more or less + numerous in every State and Territory from ocean to ocean. Their + opinions on woman suffrage and equal rights in all respects must + be learned from the utterances of their leading speakers and + writers of books, from their weekly journals, from resolutions + passed at large meetings, and from their usage and methods. A + reliable person widely familiar with Spiritualism since its + beginning in 1848, says that he has known but very few + Spiritualists who were not in favor of woman suffrage; that all + their representative men and women, and all their journals + advocate it, and have always done so; that expressions in its + favor in public meetings meet with hearty approval, and that men + and women have spoken on their platforms, and held official + places as co-workers in their societies through all of these + thirty-seven years. All this has taken place with very little + argument or discussion, but from an intuitive sense of the + justice and consequent benefits of such a course. A single + testimony, of many that might be given from their writings, must + suffice. In the _Religio-Philosophical Journal_, Chicago, Ill., + November 22, 1884, its editor, J. C. Bundy, says: "Although not + especially published in the interest of woman, this journal is a + stalwart advocate of woman's rights, and has for years given + weekly space to 'Woman and the Household,' a department under the + care of Mrs. Hester M. Poole, who has done much to encourage + women to renewed and persistent effort for their own + advancement." + + It has been the custom of some of our journals to ask for letters + of greeting from distinguished people for New Year's day. We find + the following in the _Inter-Ocean_: "Sojourner Truth, the Miriam + of the later Exodus, sends us this remarkable letter. She is the + most wonderful woman the colored race has ever produced, and thus + conveys her New Year's greeting to our readers: + + "DEAR FRIENDS: More than a hundred New Years have I seen + before this one, and I send a New Year's greeting to one and + all. We talk of a beginning, but there is no beginning but + the beginning of a wrong. All else is from God, and is from + everlasting to everlasting. All that has a beginning will + have an ending. God is without end, and all that is good is + without end. We shall never see God, only as we see him in + one another. He is a great ocean of love, and we live and + move in Him as the fishes in the sea, filled with His love + and spirit, and His throne is in the hearts of His people. + Jesus, the Son of God, will be as we are, if we are pure, + and we will be like him. There will be no distinction. He + will be like the sun and shine upon us, and we will be like + the sun and shine upon him; all filled with glory. We are + the children of one Father, and he is God; and Jesus will be + one among us. God is no respecter of persons, and we will be + as one. If it were not so, there would be jealousy. These + ideas have come to me since I was a hundred years old, and + if you, my friends, live to be a hundred years old, too, you + may have greater ideas than these. This has become a new + world. These thoughts I speak of because they come to me, + and for you to consider and look at. We should grow in + wisdom as we grow older, and new ideas will come to us about + God and ourselves, and we will get more and more the wisdom + of God. I am glad to be remembered by you, and to be able to + send my thoughts; hoping they may multiply and bear fruit. + If I should live to see another New Year's Day I hope to be + able to send more new thoughts. + + SOJOURNER TRUTH. + + "_Grand Rapids, Mich._, Dec. 26, 1880." + + This was accompanied by a note from her most faithful friend, + Mrs. Frances W. Titus, relating matters of interest as to her + present circumstances. She also said: "We have recently another + proof that she is over one hundred years old. Mention of the + 'dark day' May 19, 1780, was made in her presence, when she said, + 'I remember the dark day'; and gave a description of that + wonderful phenomenon. As the narrative of Sojourner's life has + long been before the public, we prefer to anything this latest + thought of hers, standing then on the verge of the life of the + spirit." + + Sojourner was long a resident and laborer in reform in Michigan, + from which State she went out to the District of Columbia to + befriend her people, as well as to other distant fields. She went + to help feed and clothe the refugees in Kansas in 1879-80, and in + reaching one locality she rode nearly a hundred miles in a lumber + wagon. She closed her eventful life in Battle Creek, where she + passed her last days, having reached the great age of one hundred + and ten years. + + Mrs. Laura C. Haviland is another noble woman worthy of + mention. She has given a busy life to mitigating the + miseries of the unfortunate. She helped many a fugitive to + elude the kidnappers; she nursed the suffering soldiers, fed + the starving freedmen, following them into Kansas,[324] and + traveled thousands of miles with orphan children to find + them places in western homes. She and her husband at an + early day opened a manual-labor school, beginning by taking + nine children from the county-house, to educate them with + their own on a farm near Adrian. Out of her repeated + experiments, and petitions to the legislature for State aid, + grew at last the State school for homeless children at + Coldwater, where for years she gave her services to train + girls in various industries. + + Mrs. Sybil Lawrence, a woman of strong character, and + charming social qualities, exerted a powerful influence for + many years in Ann Arbor. Being in sympathy with the suffrage + movement, and in favor of coeducation, she did all in her + power to make the experiment a success, by her aid and + counsels to the girls who first entered the University. Her + mother, sister, and nieces made a charming household of + earnest women ready for every good work. Their services in + the war were indispensable, and their sympathies during the + trying period of reconstruction were all on the side of + liberty and justice. + + There are many other noble women in Michigan worthy of mention + did space permit, such as Miss Emily Ward, a woman of remarkable + force of character and great benevolence; Mrs. Lucy L. Stout, who + has written many beautiful sentiments in prose and verse: Eliza + Legget and Florence Mayhew, identified with all reform movements; + Mrs. Tenney, the State librarian; and Mrs. Euphemia Cochrane, a + Scotch woman by birth, who loved justice and liberty, a staunch + friend alike of the slave and the unfortunate of her own sex. + Under her roof the advocates of abolition and woman suffrage + always found a haven of rest. Henry C. Wright, Wendell Phillips, + William Lloyd Garrison, Sojourner Truth, Theodore Tilton, + Frederick Douglass, Abbey Kelley and Stephen Foster could all + bear testimony to her generous and graceful hospitality. She was + president of the Detroit Woman Suffrage Association at the time + she passed from earth to a higher life. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[305] Having made many lyceum trips through Michigan, I have had +several opportunities of meeting Mrs. Stone in her own quiet home, +and I can readily understand the wide influence she exerted on the +women of that State, and what a benediction her presence must have +been in all the reform associations in which she took an active +part. I always felt that Michigan would be a grand State in which +to make the experiment of woman suffrage, especially as in +Mrs. Stone we had an enthusiastic coaedjutor. In paying this +well-deserved tribute to Mrs. Stone, I must not forget to mention +that Mrs. Janney of Flint, a woman of great executive ability, +started the first woman's reading-room and library many years +ago.--[E. C. S. + +[306] A sketch of this brilliant Polish woman, who has taken such +an active part in the woman suffrage movement, both in this country +and England, will be found in Volume I., page 95. + +[307] The speakers at the Battle Creek convention were Miriam M. +Cole, editor of _The Woman's Advocate_, Dayton, Ohio; Mary A. +Livermore, editor _Woman's Journal_, Boston; Hannah Tracy Cutler, +Illinois; Rev. J. M. McCarthy, Saginaw; Mrs. J. C. Dexter, Ionia; +Mrs. D. C. Blakeman, Lucinda H. Stone, Kalamazoo; Adelle Hazlett, +Hillsdale; Rev. J. S. Loveland, D. M. Fox, Battle Creek; Mary T. +Lathrop, Jackson. Letters of sympathy were received from B. F. +Cocker and Moses Coit Tyler, professors of the Michigan State +University. The officers of the State association were: +_President_, Professor Moses Coit Tyler, Ann Arbor; +_Vice-President_, Lucinda H. Stone; _Recording Secretary_, Mary T. +Lathrop; _Corresponding Secretary_, Euphemia Cochran, Detroit; +_Treasurer_, Colin Campbell, Detroit; _Executive Committee_, Dr. S. +B. Thayer, Frances W. Titus, Battle Creek; Eliza Burt Gamble, East +Saginaw; Catharine A. F. Stebbins, Detroit; Hon. J. G. Wait, +Sturgis; Mrs. D. C. Blakeman, Kalamazoo; Mrs. L. H. T. Dexter, +Ionia. + +[308] The speakers at the Northwestern convention were Mrs. +Hazlett, the president; Hon. C. B. Waite, Professor D. C. Brooks, +Chicago; Susan B. Anthony, Celia Burleigh, New York; Lillie +Peckham, Wisconsin; Mrs. Lathrop, Jackson; Giles B. Stebbins, Adam +Elder, J. B. Bloss, Detroit. Letters were reported from Henry Ward +Beecher, Wendell Phillips, Rev. E. O. Haven, Professor B. F. +Cocker, Moses Coit Tyler, Mrs. Livermore, Lucy Stone, H. B. +Blackwell, Mrs. Josephine Griffing, T. W. Higginson, Theodore +Tilton, Phoebe Couzins, Anna E. Dickinson, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, +Miriam M. Cole and Rev. Robert Collyer. The officers elected were: +_President_, Mrs. A. M. Hazlett, Michigan; _Recording Secretary_, +Mrs. Rebecca W. Mott, Chicago; _Corresponding Secretary_, Mrs. +Harriet S. Brooks, Chicago; _Treasurer_, Hon. Fernandol Jones, +Chicago; _Vice-Presidents_, J. B. Bloss, Michigan; Mrs. Myra +Bradwell, Illinois; Mrs. E. R. Collins, Ohio; Mrs. Dr. Ferguson, +Indiana; Miss Phoebe Couzins, Missouri; _Executive Committee_, C. +B. Waite, Chicago; Colin Campbell, Detroit; Mrs. Francis Minor, +Missouri; Madame Anneke, Wisconsin; Mrs. Charles Leonard and Mrs. +E. J. Loomis, Chicago. + +[309] _President_, Mrs. A. H. Walker; _Corresponding Secretary_, +Lucinda H. Stone; _Recording Secretary_, Mrs. S. E. Emory; +_Treasurer_, Mrs. E. Metcalf; _Executive Committee_, Dr. J. A.B. +Stone, Mrs. Frances Titus, Mrs. O. A. Jennison, Mrs. C. A. F. +Stebbins, Mrs. D. C. Blakeman, Mrs. L. B. Curtiss, Dr. J. H. +Bartholomew. + +[310] The following named representatives voted _yea_: Messrs, +Armstrong, Bailey, Bartholomew, Blackman, Briggs, Brown, Brunson, +Buell, Burns, Cady, Carter, Chamberlain, Collins, Dintruff, Drake, +Drew, Edwards, Fancher, Ferguson, Garfield, Gravelink, Gilmore, +Goodrich, Gordon, Green, Haire, Harden, Hewitt, Hosner, Howard, +Hoyt, Kellogg, Knapp, Lamb, Luce, E. R. Miller, R. C. Miller, +Mitchell, Morse, O'Dell, Parker, Parsons, Pierce, Priest, Remer, +Rich, Robinson, Sanderson, Scott, Sessions, Shaw, Smith, Taylor, +Thomas, Thompson, VanAken, VanScoy, A. Walker, F. Walker, Walton, +Warren, Welch, Welker, Wheeler, Withington, Wixon, Speaker--67. The +following named Senators voted _yea_: Messrs. Anderson, Beattie, +Brewer, Butterfield, Childs, Clubb, Cook, Crosby, Curry, DeLand, +Ely, Goodell, Gray, Hewitt, Isham, Lewis, Mickley, Mitchell, +McGowan, Neasmith, Prutzman, Richardson, Sparks, Sumner, Sutton, +Wells--26. + +[311] Officers of the Michigan State Woman Suffrage Association: +_President_, Hon. Jonas H. McGowan, Coldwater; _Vice-Presidents_, +Rev. Richmond Fiske Jr., Grand Haven, Mrs. John J. Bagley, Detroit; +_Recording Secretary_, Mrs. N. Geddes, Lenawee; _Secretary and +Treasurer_, George H. Stickney, Grand Haven; _Executive Committee_, +Chairman, Hon. William M. Ferry, Grand Haven; First District--Giles +B. Stebbins, Z. R. Brockway, Wayne; Second District--Hon. Charles +E. Mickley, Lenawee, Mrs. M. A. Hazlett, Hillsdale; Third +District--Hon. W. H. Withington, Jackson, Morgan Bates, Calhoun; +Fourth District--James H. Stone, Kalamazoo, Miss Sarah Clute, St. +Joseph; Fifth District--Hon. B. A. Harlan, Mrs. M. C. Bliss, Kent; +Sixth District--Hon. I. H, Bartholomew, Ingham, Mrs. A. Jenney, +Genesee; Seventh District--Hon. J. C. Lamb, Lapeer, J. P. Hoyt, +Tuscola; Eighth District--Hon. C. V. DeLand, Saginaw, Hon. J. D. +Lewis, Bay; Ninth District--Hon. E. L. Gray, Newaygo, Mrs. J. G. +Ramsdell, Grand Traverse; _Vice-Presidents by Congressional +Districts_, First District--Mrs. Eliza Leggett, Hon. W. N. Hudson, +Wayne; Second District--Hon. W. S. Wilcox, Lenawee, Hon. Talcott E. +Wing, Monroe; Third District--Mrs. Ann E. Graves, Calhoun, Mrs. +Mary Lathrop, Jackson; Fourth District--Hon. Levi Sparks, Berrien, +Rev. H. C. Peck, Kalamazoo; Fifth District--Hon. S. L. Withey, Hon. +James Miller, Kent; Sixth District--Hon. Randolph Strickland, +Clinton, C. F. Kimball, Oakland; Seventh District--Hon. Ira +Butterfield, Lapeer, John M. Potter, Macomb; Eighth District--Hon. +Ralph Ely, Gratiot, Mrs. S. M. Green, Bay; Ninth District--Elvin L. +Sprague, Grand Traverse, S. W. Fowler, Manistee. + +[312] Among many others were letters from Amos Dresser, Parker +Pillsbury, Henry B. Blackwell, Rev. S. Reed, of Ann Arbor, William +Lloyd Garrison, Lucy Stone, Isabella Beecher Hooker, Lucretia Mott, +Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, Dr. Henry B. Baker, Miriam M. Cole, +Margaret V. Longley, Abby and Julia Smith, of Glastonbury, Conn., +A. C. Voris, from the Ohio constitutional convention, Hon. J. Logan +Chipman. + +[313] The following persons were announced and requested to +communicate at once with the Executive Committee, George H. +Stickney, Secretary, Grand Haven, Mich.: _Allegan_, Mrs. E. S. +Nichols; _Barry_, Mrs. Goodyear; _Bay_, Mrs. S. M. Green, Mrs. +Judge Holmes; _Berrien_, Hon. Levi Sparks, O. E. Mead; _Branch_, +Mrs. Celia Woolley, Mrs. H. J. Boutelle; _Calhoun_, W. F. Neil, +Mrs. Judge Graves, Morgan Bates, Dr. G. P. Jocelyn; _Cass_, Mr. +Rice, William L. Jaques; _Chippewa_, Mrs. Charles G. Shepherd; +_Clinton_, Mrs. Lee, Mrs. Gole; _Eaton_, J. Chance, Hon. A. K. +Warren, Mrs. J. Musgrave, Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Foote; _Genesee_, Mrs. +D. Stewart; _Grand Traverse_, Hon. W. H. C. Mitchell, Hon. J. G. +Ramsdell; _Gratiot_, Hon. Ralph Ely; _Hillsdale_, Mrs. M. A. +Pendill, Mrs. Dr. Swift, Mrs. E. Samm; _Ingham_, Dr. I. H. +Bartholomew, Mrs. O. A. Jenison, A. R. Burr; _Ionia_, Mrs. A. +Williams, Mrs. Chaddock, Mr. J. B. Smith; _Isabella_, Mrs. Douglas +Nelson; _Jackson_, Mrs. Mary Lathrop, Fidus Livermore; _Kalamazoo_, +J. H. Stone, Col. F. W. Curtenius, Merritt Moore. Dr. N. Thomas; +_Kent_, Mrs. E. L. Briggs, E. G. D. Holden, E. P. Churchill; +_Lapeer_, Hon. J. C. Lamb, Mrs. J. B. Wilson; _Lenawee_, Mrs. Dr. +Fox, Mrs. F. A. Rowley, Hon. Charles E. Mickley; _Livingston_, E. +P. Gregory; _Macomb_, Mrs. Ambrose Campbell, Daniel B. Briggs; +_Manistee_, S. W. Fowler, Hon. B. M. Cutcheon, T. J. Ramsdell; +_Marquette_, Sidney Adams, Hiram A. Burt; _Mason_, Mr. Foster; +_Midland_, Dr. E. Jennings, Mrs. Sumner; _Missaukee_, S. W. Davis; +_Monroe_, Hon. J. J. Sumner; _Montcalm_, Mr. J. M. Fuller; +_Muskegon_, Lieutenant-Governor H. H. Holt, Mrs. O. B. Ingersoll, +Mrs. Barney; _Newaygo_, Hon. E. L. Gray, Mrs. Lucy Utley; +_Oakland_, Mrs. D. B. Fox, J. Holman, jr., Mrs. Alexander; +_Oceana_, John Halsted; _Osceola_, B. F. Gooch; _Ottawa_, Dwight +Cutler, Mrs. W. C. Sheldon; _Roscommon_, Messrs. Davis & Hall; +_Saginaw_, Mrs. Whiting, Mrs. Gamble, J. F. Driggs, W. P. Burdick; +_Shiawassee_, Mrs. Dr. Parkill, J. H. Hartwell, Hon. J. M. Goodell, +Dr. King; _St. Clair_, Hon. B. W. Jenks; _St. Joseph_, W. S. Moore, +Mrs. Mary Peck; _Tuscola_, Mrs. J. P. Hoyt; _Van Buren_, Mr. and +Mrs. C. D. Van Vechten, A. S. Dyckman, Hon. S. H. Blackman; +_Washtenaw_, Mrs. Israel Hall, Mrs. Seth Reed, D. Cramer, Mary E. +Foster; _Wayne_, Mrs. C. A. F. Stebbins, Colin Campbell, G. W. +Bates, Lucy L. Stout. + +[314] Miss Eastman, Miss Hindman, Phoebe Couzins, Margaret W. +Campbell, Elizabeth K. Churchill, Lelia Partridge, Mrs. Hazlett, +Mrs. Samms, Miss Matilda Victor; George W. Julian of Indiana, Giles +B. Stebbins and Clinton R. Fisk, representing the Michigan +Association, and the following among volunteer workers: B. A. +Harlan of Grand Rapids, Mrs. Hathaway of Cass county, Mrs. Judge +Fuller, the Hon. J. H. McGowan and Mrs. Boutelle of Branch county; +Mrs. L. A. Pearsall of Macomb, Mrs. F. W. Gillette of Oakland, Miss +Strickland of Clinton, J. B. Stone of Kalamazoo, Mrs. Lucy L. Stout +of Wayne, and the Rev. T. H. Stewart of Indiana. + +[315] It was in this campaign that an editor in a Kalamazoo journal +said: "That ancient daughter of Methuselah, Susan B. Anthony, +passed through our city yesterday, on her way to the Plainwell +meeting, with a bonnet on her head looking as if she had recently +descended from Noah's ark." Miss Anthony often referred to this +description of herself, and said, "Had I represented 20,000 votes +in Michigan, that political editor would not have known nor cared +whether I was the oldest or the youngest daughter of Methuselah, or +whether my bonnet came from the ark or from Worth's.--[E. C. S. + +[316] The inspectors voting were: _Yeas_--Adams, Baxter, Brooks, +Dullea, Henderson, Smith. _Nays_--Bragg, Balch, Barclay, Barry, +Bond, Christian, Hill, Hughes, Langley, Mahoney, O'Keefe, +Sutherland. + +[317] We can easily see how little the opponents who talk so much +of chivalry, respect women or themselves, by the language they use +when they are opposed on this very question. + +[318] Mrs. Boutelle and Mrs. Stebbins were in the polling place two +or three hours, while Mr. Farwell made efforts to gain favorable +opinions enough to convert Colonel Phelps; many excellent men were +in favor of her vote. The ladies lunched from a daintily filled +basket, prepared by the wife of inspector Farwell. + +[319] Miss Abby Rogers, Miss Delia Rogers, Miss Emily Ward, and +Miss Clapp, were all deeply interested in establishing a seminary +where girls could have equal advantages with students in the +university. This seminary was in existence ten years, but without +State aid the struggle was too great, and Miss Abby Rogers, the +founder, abandoned the undertaking. + +[320] The names of the eleven young women Mrs. Stearns is unable to +recall. + +[321] The officers of the Manistee Society are (1885): _President_, +Mrs. Lucy T. Stansell; _Corresponding Secretary_, Fannie Holden +Fowler; _Recording Secretary_, Miss Nellie Walker; _Treasurer_, +Mrs. Susan Seymour. + +[322] The officers of the Grand Rapids Society are: _President_, +Mrs. Cordelia F. Briggs; _Vice-Presidents_, Loraine Immen, Emma +Wheeler; _Treasurer_, Mrs. Henry Spring; _Secretary_, Mrs. J. W. +Adams. + +[323] Following is a complete list of all officers elected in 1885: +_President_, Mrs. Mary L. Doe of Carrollton; _Vice-President_, Mrs. +Loraine Immen of Grand Rapids; _Recording Secretary_, Mrs. H. S. +Spring of Grand Rapids; _Corresponding Secretary_, Mrs. Fannie H. +Fowler of Manistee; _Treasurer_, Mrs. C. A. F. Stebbins of Detroit; +_Advisory Committee_, Mrs. E. L. Briggs of Grand Rapids, and Mrs. +S. E. V. Emery of Lansing; _Executive Committee_--First District, +Mrs. Harriet J. Boutell of Detroit; Second District, Mrs. Annette +B. Gardner Smith of Ann Arbor; Fifth District, Mrs. Emily H. +Ketchum of Grand Rapids; Sixth District, Francis M. Stuart of +Flint; Eighth District, Mrs. Frances C. Stafford of Milwaukee; +Ninth District, Col. S. W. Fowler of Manistee; Eleventh and Twelfth +Districts, Mrs. R. A. Campbell, Traverse City. + +[324] Spending the summer of 1865 at Leavenworth, I frequently +visited Mrs. Haviland, then busily occupied in ministering to the +necessities of the 10,000 refugees just then from the Southern +States. On May 29, I aided her in collecting provisions for the +steamer, which was to transport over a hundred men, women and +children, for whom she was to provide places in Michigan. I shall +never forget that day nor the admiration and reverence I felt for +the magnanimity and self-sacrifice of that wonderful woman.--[S. B. +A. + + + + +CHAPTER XLII. + +INDIANA. + + The First Woman Suffrage Convention After the War, 1869--Amanda + M. Way--Annual Meetings, 1870-85, in the Larger + Cities--Indianapolis Equal Suffrage Society, 1878--A Course of + Lectures--In May, 1880, National Convention in + Indianapolis--Zerelda G. Wallace--Social Entertainment--Governor + Albert G. Porter--Susan B. Anthony's Birthday--Schuyler + Colfax--Legislative Hearings--Temperance Women of Indiana--Helen + M. Gougar--General Assembly--Delegates to Political + Conventions--Women Address Political Meetings--Important Changes + in the Laws for Women, from 1860 to 1884--Colleges Open to + Women--Demia + Butler--Professors--Lawyers--Doctors--Ministers--Miss Catherine + Merrill--Miss Elizabeth Eaglesfield--Rev. Prudence Le Clerc--Dr. + Mary F. Thomas--Prominent Men and Women--George W. Julian--The + Journals--Gertrude Garrison. + + +This was one of the first States to form a Woman Suffrage +Society[325] for thoroughly organized action, with a president, +secretary, treasurer, and constitution and by-laws. From October, +1851, this association held annual meetings, sent petitions and +appeals to the legislature, and had frequent hearings at the +capitol, diligently pressing the question of political equality for +woman for ten consecutive years. Then, although the society did not +disband, we find no record of meetings or aggressive action until +1869, for here, as elsewhere, all other interests were forgotten in +the intense excitement of a civil war. But no sooner were the +battles fought, victory achieved, and the army disbanded, than +woman's protests against her wrongs were heard throughout the +Northern States; and in Indiana the same Amanda M. Way who took the +initiative step in 1851 for the first woman's convention, summoned +her coaedjutors once more to action in 1869[326], and with the same +platform and officers renewed the work with added determination for +a final victory. + +For this interesting chapter we are indebted to Mrs. May Wright +Sewall, who has patiently gathered and arranged this material, and +laid it, as a free gift, at our feet. Those who have ever attempted +to unearth the most trivial incidents of history, will appreciate +the difficulties she must have encountered in this work, as well as +in condensing all she desired to say within the very limited space +allowed to this chapter. Mrs. Sewall writes: + + The first convention after the war, June 8, 9, 1869, was held in + Masonic Hall, and continued two days. The Indianapolis _Journal_ + devoted several columns daily to the proceedings, closing with + the following complimentary editorial: + + As a deliberative assembly it compared favorably with the + best that have ever been conducted by our own sex. To say + that there was as much order, propriety and dignity as + usually characterizes male conventions of a political + character is but to put the matter in a very mild shape. + Whatever was said, was said with earnestness and for a + purpose, and while several times the debate was considerably + spiced, the ladies never fell below their brothers in sound + sense. We have yet to see any sensible man who attended the + convention whose esteem for woman has been lowered, while + very many have been converted by the captivating speeches of + Mrs. Cole, Mrs. Swank and Mrs. Livermore. + + In the _Sentinel_ of June 11, 1869, an editorial appeared whose + evident object was to reaessure the public mind and to restore to + peace and confidence any souls that might have been agitated + during the convention by so unusual and novel an exercise as + thought. The nature of the sedative potion thus editorially + administered to an alarmed public may be inferred from this + sample: + + No amount of human ingenuity can change the arrangement of + nature. The history of the race furnishes the evidence that + the species of man and woman are opposite. The distinctions + that now exist have existed from the time that the "Lord God + caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam," and said: "Thy + desire shall be to thy husband; he shall rule over thee." + This brief story comprises the history of man and woman, and + defines the relations which shall ever exist between them. + When woman ceases to be womanly, woman's rights associations + become her fitting province. + + The editor of the _Journal_ at that time was Colonel W. R. + Holloway, the present very liberal manager of the _Times_. The + editor of the _Sentinel_ was Joseph J. Bingham. The State was + then Republican, and as the organ of that party the _Journal_ + probably had the larger number of readers. + + The State Woman Suffrage Association convened in Indianapolis, + June 8, 1870, and held a two days' meeting. The _Journal_ + contains, as usual, a full report. The _Sentinel's_ tone is quite + different from that which distinguished its utterances the + preceding year. Its reports are full and perfectly respectful. + This convention is memorable as that at which the Indiana Society + became auxiliary to the American Association. The records show + that this union was accomplished by a majority of _one_, the + ballot on the proposition standing 15 for and 14 against. As soon + as the union was thus effected the following was adopted: + + _Resolved_, That this association is in favor of the union + of the National and American Associations as soon as + practicable. + + On the same day Judge Bradwell of Chicago submitted a resolution + favoring the union of the two national societies, which was laid + on the table. Of the annual meetings from 1871 to 1878 the + Indianapolis papers contain no reports, save the briefest mention + of those of 1873-4. From 1878 to 1885 short but fair reports may + be found. Since 1870, the conventions of this society[327] have + been held in different towns throughout the State.[328] The + minutes show that the propriety of withdrawing from the American + Association and remaining independent was brought before the + convention of 1871, under the head of _special business_; that it + was decided to postpone action until the next annual meeting, and + to make the matter of withdrawal a special order of business, but + it does not appear that from that time the subject has ever been + broached. At the annual meeting of 1875, held at a time when + preparations for celebrating our national centennial were in + progress, the following resolution was passed: + + _Resolved_, That we congratulate the voters of the United + States on their enjoyment of the right of suffrage, and + commend them for the great centenary celebration of the + establishment of that right, which they are about to have. + But we do earnestly protest against the action of the + Indiana legislature by which it made appropriations for that + purpose of moneys collected by taxing women's property. + + In November, 1878, the ninth annual meeting of the American + Association was held in Indianapolis, by invitation from the + State Society.[329] + + In the month of March, 1878, some very mysterious whisperings + advertised the fact that there was to be a meeting of the ladies + of Indianapolis known to have "advanced ideas" concerning their + sex. In response to a secretly circulated summons, there met at + No. 18 Circle Hall nine women and one man, who, though not + mutually acquainted, were the most courageous of those to whom + the call had come. Probably each of the ten often thinks with + amusement of the suspicious glances with which they regarded one + another. As a participant, I may say that the company had the air + of a band of conspirators. Had we convened consciously to plot + the ruin of our domestic life, which opponents predict as the + result of woman's enfranchisement, we could not have looked more + guilty or have moved about with more unnatural stealth. That + demeanor I explain as an unconscious tribute to what "Madam + Grundy" would have thought had she known of our conclave. + + At that meeting one point only was definitely settled; which was, + whether the new society should take a name which would conceal + from the public its primary object, or one which would clearly + advertise it. The honesty of the incipient organization was + vindicated by its deciding upon the latter. I do not record in + detail the initiative steps of this flourishing society in order + to awaken in its members any humiliating memories, but because + the fact that ten conscientious, upright persons could thus + secretly convene in an obscure room, and that such a question + could agitate them for more than two hours, is the best + indication that could be given of the conservative atmosphere + which enveloped Indianapolis, even as late as 1878. The next + meeting was appointed for April 2, at the residence of Mrs. + Zerelda G. Wallace. Notices were inserted in the papers, and in + the meantime some pains was taken to secure not only the presence + of persons who had not previously been identified with any reform + movement, but also that of some well-known friends. It was + attended by twenty-six men and women, representing various + religious and political parties, most of whom enjoyed the + advantages of education and social position, and resulted in a + permanent organization under a constitution whose first article + is as follows: + + This organization shall be known as the Indianapolis Equal + Suffrage Society, and shall consist of such men and women as + are willing to labor for the attainment of equal rights at + the ballot-box for all citizens on the same conditions. + + On the principle that that which has some restrictions is most + desired, membership was at first hedged about with certain + formalities. While most reform organizations welcome as members + all who will pay their annual fee and subscribe to the + constitution, this society requires that the names of candidates + be presented at one meeting and formally balloted on at the next, + thus providing a month for consideration. Since 1878 this + society[330] has held forty-three public meetings, and + distributed throughout the city several thousand tracts. At + intervals the society has engaged speakers from abroad. Miss + Anthony gave her "Bread and Ballot" to a large audience in + Masonic Hall, and many date their conversion from that evening. + Mrs. Stanton has appeared twice under the auspices of the + society. On the first occasion it secured for her the court-room + in which the upper house of the general assembly was then + sitting. Tickets of admission were sent to all the members of + both houses. Her lecture on "The Education of Girls," made a + profound impression. On her second appearance she spoke in the + First Christian Church, on "Boys." For Miss Frances E. Willard, + Robert's Park Church was obtained, and thus suffrage principles + were presented to a new class of minds. Mrs. J. Ellen Foster + spoke on "Women before the Law," in the Criminal-court room. The + society made every effort to secure the general attendance of + members of the bar. Before one of its regular meetings in the + Christian chapel, Mrs. Louise V. Boyd read a very bright paper on + "A Cheerful Outlook for Women." At its present parlors, Mrs. + Harbert delivered an address for the benefit of the suffrage + campaign in Oregon. + + In May, 1880, this society invited the National Association to + hold its annual convention in Indianapolis. Entertainment was + provided for eighty-seven delegates, besides the friends who came + from different parts of the State. In Park Theatre, the largest + auditorium of the city, eloquent voices for two days pleaded the + cause of freedom. The reports in the city press were full and + fair, and the editorials commendatory. The fact that the + _Sentinel_ contained a long editorial advocating the doctrines of + equal suffrage, shows the progress since 1869. The evening after + the convention a reception was given to the members and friends + of the National Association in the spacious parlors of Mrs. John + C. New. + + From its origin the Indianapolis society has held aloof from all + formal alliances. Thus it has been free to work with individuals + and organizations that have woman suffrage for their aim. It + habitually sends delegates to the State annual conventions, and + in those of the American and National it is usually represented. + + In December, 1880, the society issued a letter, secured its + publication in the leading papers of the State, and addressed a + copy to each member of the General Assembly, in order to advise + that body that there were women ready to watch their official + careers and to demand from them the consideration of just claims: + + INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 22, 1880. + + DEAR SIR: The Equal Suffrage Society of Indianapolis, in + behalf of citizens of Indiana who believe that liberty to + exercise the right of suffrage should neither be granted nor + denied on the ground of sex, would respectfully notify you + that during the next session of the State legislature it + will invite the attention of that body to the consideration + of what is popularly called "The Suffrage Question." The + society will petition the legislature to devote a day to + hearing, from representative advocates of woman suffrage, + appeals and arguments for such legislation as may be + necessary to abolish the present unjust restriction of the + elective franchise to one sex, and to secure to women the + free exercise of the ballot, under the same conditions and + such only, as are imposed upon men. To this matter we ask + your unprejudiced attention, that when our cause shall be + brought before the legislature its advocates may have your + cooeperation. + + Very respectfully yours, ZERELDA G. WALLACE, _President_. + + MAY WRIGHT SEWALL, _Secretary_, + + By order of the Equal Suffrage Society of Indianapolis. + + The society has lately taken a new departure, giving lunches, + parties and literary entertainments, to which invitations[331] + are issued, by the officers, thus becoming a factor in the social + life of the city. The invitation, programme, and press comments + of its last entertainment indicate the character of these + reuenions, and the esteem in which they are held. These occasions + have been the means of securing for the society greater popular + favor than it has hitherto enjoyed. At the conclusion of the + formal toasts, the president called upon Gov. Albert G. Porter, + who had come in a few minutes before. He thanked the meeting for + its reference to what he had done for the cause of equal + suffrage, and announced that while he remained governor of + Indiana he would do all he could for the rights of women.[332] He + referred to the progress made, and to the refining influence that + women would have on political matters. Of all the social + entertainments given, none has secured more converts than the + celebration of Susan B. Anthony's sixty-second birthday. The + arrangements for this event were placed in the hands of Mrs. Mary + E.N. Carey and Mrs. May Wright Sewall. The following account, + prepared by the author of this chapter for the Indianapolis + _Times_ of February 18, 1882, will sufficiently indicate the + spirit of the occasion: + + The anniversary was a unique event. A number of invitations + were issued to citizens interested in suffrage who were not + formally connected with the association. As a result, on the + evening of February 15, there were gathered in the spacious + parlors of Dr. Carey's hospitable home, one hundred and + fifty persons representing the best circles of Indianapolis + society. A portrait of Miss Anthony rested upon an easel, + conspicuously placed, that all might see the serene face of + the woman who for thirty years has preached the gospel of + political freedom, and expounded the constitution of the + United States in favor of justice to all. The programme was + somewhat informal, all but two of the speeches[333] being + spontaneous expressions of admiration for Miss Anthony and + her fidelity to principle. There were two regrets connected + with the programme. These were caused by the absence of Gov. + Porter and Hon. Schuyler Colfax; but the gracious presence + of Mrs. Colfax was a reminder of her husband's fidelity to + our cause, and Mrs. Porter's sympathetic face was a scarcely + less potent support than would have been a speech from the + governor. Just before the close of the meeting the following + telegram was sent to Miss Anthony: + + _Susan B. Anthony, Tenafly, New Jersey_. + + The Indianapolis Equal Suffrage Society, in meeting + assembled with many friends sends you greeting on this + anniversary occasion, in recognition of your devotion to the + cause of women. + + MAY WRIGHT SEWALL, _Secretary_. + + To report the details of this social gathering would be + wearisome, but some reflections to which the occasion gave rise + may be permitted. One lady upon seeing the invitation to the + meeting exclaimed: "This little bit of paper is an indication of + a higher civilization than I supposed we had yet entered upon. + Until recently it has been like the betrayal of a secret for a + woman, particularly for an unmarried woman, to have a birthday." + This exclamation but expresses a historical fact and a prophetic + truth. So long as woman's only value depended upon physical + charms, the years which destroyed them were deemed enemies. The + fact that an unmarried woman's sixty-second birthday can be + celebrated, shows the dawning of the idea that the loss of youth + and its fresh beauty may be more than compensated by the higher + charms of intellectual attainments. The time will never come when + women, or men either, will delight in the possession of + crows-feet, gray hairs and wrinkles; but the time will come, aye, + and now is, when they will view these blemishes as but a petty + price to pay for the joy of new knowledge, for the deeper joy of + closer contact with humanity, and for the deepest joy of worthy + work well done. + + The first legislative hearing since 1860, was that granted + January, 1871, to Miss Amanda Way and Mrs. Emma B. Swank. The two + houses received them in joint session, the lieutenant-governor and + speaker of the house occupying the speaker's desk. Mr. William + Cumback introduced Miss Way, who read the following memorial: + + _Mr. President and Gentlemen_--We come before you as a + committee appointed by the Woman Suffrage Association to + memorialize your honorable body in behalf of the women of + Indiana. We ask you to take the necessary steps to so amend + the State constitution as to secure to women the right of + suffrage. We believe the extension of the full rights of + citizenship to all the people of the State, is in accordance + with the fundamental principles of a just government. We + believe that as woman has an equal interest with man in all + public questions, she should therefore have an equal voice + in their decision. We believe that as woman's life, + prosperity and happiness are equally dependent upon the + order and morality of society, she should have an equal + voice in the laws regulating her surroundings. We believe + that as woman is human, she has human needs and rights, and + as she is held responsible to law, she should have an equal + voice in electing her law-makers. + + We believe that the interests of man and woman are equally + improved in securing to both equal education, a place in the + trades and professions, equal honor and dignity everywhere; + and as the first step to this end is equality before the + law, we, your petitioners, ask that you extend to the women + of Indiana the right of suffrage, and thus enable one-half + the citizens of the State to protect themselves in their + most sacred rights. + + Miss Way spoke briefly to the points in the memorial, urging the + legislators to give to women the same chances for improvement, + the same means for defense, and the same weapons for protection + that they have secured to themselves. Mrs. Swank also made a + logical and eloquent speech. No action was taken by the + legislature. + + On January 22, 1875, the two houses of the General Assembly + convened in joint session, to receive petitions from the + "Temperance Women of Indiana," who were on this occasion + represented by Mrs. Zerelda G. Wallace, Mrs. Avaline and Mrs. + Robinson, who had been appointed by the State Temperance + Association. Mrs. Wallace read a memorial and stated that it was + signed by 10,000 women, and then argued its various points and + pleaded for the action of the "Honorable Body." Mrs. Avaline and + Mrs. Robinson followed in briefer, but not less earnest appeals. + The only answer elicited by these ladies was the assurance made + by Dr. Thompson, a member of the Senate, that he and his + colleagues were there, "not to represent their _consciences_, but + to represent their _constituents_," whose will was directly + opposed to the petition offered. + + On January 3, 1877, a resolution to the effect that the + fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution of the + United States give the ballot to women, came to its third reading + in the lower House. On that occasion, Mrs. Wallace and Dr. Mary + F. Thomas represented the women of Indiana, and Mrs. Mary A. + Livermore was present to lend the assistance of her oratory. The + speeches created a profound impression, but neither native nor + foreign eloquence was able to secure the requisite vote. When the + ayes and nays were called, the resolution was lost--51 to 22. + + On February 24, 1879, once again in joint session, the General + Assembly received a committee appointed by the State Association + and the Equal Suffrage Society of Indianapolis, to support + woman's claim to the ballot. Mrs. Wallace, Dr. Mary F. Thomas, + Mary E. Haggart and Amy E. Dunn, each spoke at length on the + points clearly set forth in the memorial. Whatever arguments + could reach the intellect, whatever could touch the + sensibilities, were urged by these ladies on that occasion, and + the gentlemen did not fail to compliment their abilities, + although the exercise of them had no palpable effect upon + legislation. + + Before the General Assembly of 1880-81, had convened, it was + known by its members-elect that the women of the State would be a + constant factor in their deliberations. They had been notified of + this intention by the circular letter from the City Society, and + by the published fact that the State Association had already + appointed representatives, whose duty it should be to secure a + hearing for such an amendment to the constitution of the State as + should enable women to vote. As soon as the legislature + assembled, committees on women's claims were appointed in both + branches; Simeon P. Yancey being the chairman of the Senate, and + J. M. Furnas of the House, committee. Two points had been + determined upon. These were to try to secure the passage of a + bill which should immediately authorize women to vote for + presidential electors, and such an amendment to the constitution + of the State as should enable women to exercise the right of + suffrage on all questions. + + In connection with the first of these points the name of Helen M. + Gougar deserves especial mention. At the Washington convention of + the American Association, Mr. Blackwell suggested that the States + try to secure the electoral ballot for women, and as soon as Mrs. + Gougar returned she urged the members of the legislature to take + the matter up. At her suggestion, Dr. Mary F. Thomas addressed a + letter to W. D. Wallace, esq., a prominent lawyer of Lafayette, + asking him if, in his opinion, the extension of the electoral + ballot to women would be incompatible with the present + constitution of the State; in reply to this Mr. Wallace set forth + an exhaustive argument,[334] proving the entire constitutionality + of such an act. Five thousand were printed and gratuitously + distributed throughout the State. + + The Committee on Women's Claims in both Houses met at sundry + times with members of the Suffrage Association to discuss the + merits of these bills and to become familiar with the arguments. + During the regular session Mrs. Wallace and Mrs. Gougar spent two + consecutive weeks in attendance at the legislature, watching the + attitude of the different members and lobbying, in the good sense + of that word. The immediate object was to secure the passage of + the electoral bill, for that once gained, and women by act of the + legislature made voters upon the most important question, it was + reasonably thought that the passage of the amendment would be + thereby facilitated. A hearing was granted on February 16, 1881, + and the House took a recess to listen to the speeches of the + women appointed by the State Association, Mrs. Haggart and Mrs. + Gougar. The next day, February 17, the Senate afforded a similar + opportunity, and the same ladies addressed that body. + + In addition to the faithful exertions of Mrs. Wallace and Mrs. + Gougar, and the public hearing granted by both houses, much quiet + but most effective work was done with individual members. To no + one is more due than to Paulina T. Merritt, whose reputation for + intelligent charity is widely known. Mrs. Merritt was a frequent + attendant upon the sessions of the legislature and her untiring + efforts in private conversations with members were invaluable. In + spite of all these influences, when the electoral bill was + brought to a vote upon its third reading, it was lost on the + ground that it was unconstitutional. + + At the special session all efforts centered upon the bill for + amending section 2, of article II., of the State constitution, so + as to give women the right to vote in all elections. Mrs. Wallace + and Mrs. Gougar gave another week to the work, and on April 7 the + bill was brought to a vote in the House, and passed--ayes 62, + nays 24; in the Senate, on April 8, it also passed--ayes 25, nays + 18; and so the first entrenchment was won. + + No one believed that the bill to amend the constitution would + have passed had it not been preceded by the battle over the + electoral bill and the consequent education of the General + Assembly in regard to this great question of political rights. + Immediately a conference was held as to the proper manner of + expressing our gratitude to the committees on women's political + claims. It was at first thought the recognition should come from + the Equal Suffrage Society, but it was finally considered wiser + to have a reception given the honorable body by a voluntary + committee of women who should act quite independently of any + society.[335] + + The passage of the amendment by the legislature of 1881 gave the + advocates of our cause a common objective point, and the efforts + of all during the two years immediately succeeding were directed + toward securing the election of such a legislature as might be + relied upon to repass the bill in 1883. The State society at its + annual meeting enlarged its central committee and instructed it + to arrange meetings in various parts of the State, to send out + speakers, and to organize local societies.[336] This committee + prepared a letter, for general distribution, indicating to the + women of the State their duty in the premises, and suggesting + various lines of work. Blanks for a special petition to the + General Assembly were sent to every township, which were + industriously circulated and numerously signed. + + In the spring of 1882 the officers of the State society issued a + call for a mass-meeting, to which "all women within the + boundaries of the State who believed in equal suffrage, or were + interested in the fate of the pending amendment," were invited. + The meeting was held on May 19, at the Grand Opera House, and + the attendance exceeded the most extravagant hopes of those who + had called it. If any came to scoff, they remained to participate + with pride in this remarkable convention, which is yet frequently + referred to as the largest and most impressive meeting ever held + in the Hoosier capital. The call had invited those who could not + attend the meeting to manifest their sympathy by sending + postal-cards to the corresponding secretary. These were received + in such numbers for several days that Mrs. Adkinson and the + half-dozen clerks appointed to assist her in counting them, + unable to bring in a full report, announced at the close of the + evening session, that having reached 5,000, they desisted from + further enumeration. + + No effort was spared to make the demonstration truly + representative of the suffrage interest throughout the State. All + the sessions were presided over by Mrs. Sewall, who called the + roll by congressional districts, some one of whose + representatives responded. The ease and dignity with which women, + many of whom had never spoken before any audience save their own + neighbors gathered in Sunday-school or prayer-meeting, reported + the status of their respective communities on the suffrage + question, was matter of astonishment as well as of + admiration.[337] So exceptional in all regards was the conduct of + the meeting that the papers united in expressing surprise at the + strength of the suffrage sentiment in the State as indicated by + the mass-convention. + + This meeting of May 19, 1882, struck the key on which the friends + in the State spoke during the summer and fall of that year. Large + numbers of societies were organized and numerous meetings held; + the immediate object being to secure the election of a + legislature that should vote to submit the amendment passed by + the General Assembly of 1881 to the decision of what is mis-named + "a popular vote." The degree to which this action influenced the + politicians of the State cannot be accurately known, but we are + compelled to believe that it was one of the causes which induced + the Republicans in convention assembled to declare for the + "submission of the pending amendments." The Republican State + convention was held August 8, 1882, and the first plank in the + platform reads thus: + + _Resolved, First_--That reposing trust in the people as the + fountain of power, we demand that the pending amendments to + the constitution shall be agreed to and submitted by the + next legislature to the voters of the State for their + decision thereon. These amendments were not partisan in + their origin, and are not so in character, and should not be + made so in voting upon them. Recognizing the fact that the + people are divided in sentiment in regard to the propriety + of their adoption or rejection, and cherishing the right of + private judgment, we favor the submission of these + amendments at a special election, so that there may be an + intelligent decision thereon, uninfluenced by partisan + issues. + + At the mass-meeting of May 19, Mrs. P. T. Merritt of + Indianapolis, Mrs. M. E. M. Price of Kokomo, and Mrs. J. C. + Ridpath of Greencastle were appointed as delegates to the + different political State conventions. As a Republican, Mrs. + Merritt was received with great courtesy and accorded time to + speak. Her address was characterized by sound logic and dignity + of expression, and was reported in full with the rest of the + proceedings of the Republican convention. As a prohibition + amendment had also been passed by the legislature of 1881, the + interests of suffrage and prohibition in the campaign of 1882 + were identical. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Indiana + sent Mrs. Helen M. Gougar to the Republican State convention, by + which she was respectfully received and which she ably addressed. + + The advocates of suffrage did not content themselves during the + summer of 1882 by merely holding suffrage meetings proper, and + addressing political bodies, but they sought every opportunity to + reach the ears of the people for whatever purpose convened. The + Equal Suffrage Society received from the managers of the Acton + camp-meeting a place on their programme; accordingly Mrs. Haggart + and Mrs. Gougar, as delegates, addressed immense audiences. Both + of these ladies labored indefatigably, discussing the question of + submission of the amendments before Sunday-school conventions, + teachers' associations, agricultural fairs, picnics and + assemblies of every name. Others rendered less conspicuous, but + not less earnest or constant service; and when the political + campaign proper opened, it was evident that every candidate would + firmly and unreservedly answer the challenge: "Submission, or + non-submission?" + + For the first time in the history of Indiana, women were employed + by party managers to address political meetings and advocate the + election of candidates. Mrs. Gougar addressed Republican rallies + at various points; she and Mrs. Haggart together made a canvass + of Tippecanoe county on behalf of the Republican candidate for + representative in the General Assembly, Captain W. De Witt + Wallace, who was committed not only to the submission of the + amendments, but also to the advocacy of both woman suffrage and + prohibition. The animosity of the liquor league was aroused, and + this powerful association threw itself against submission. The + result was the election of a legislature containing so large a + Democratic majority that there was no ground for hoping that the + amendments would be re-passed and sent to the voters of the State + for final adoption or rejection. + + Though the submission of the amendments was one of the chief + issues in the campaign, many candidates who pledged themselves on + the ground that they involved questions which it was the + privilege of the voters to decide, reserved their own opinions + upon their merits. There were, however, candidates who openly + espoused woman suffrage _per se_.[338] Knowing that a majority of + the members of the General Assembly were pledged to vote down the + pending amendments, the friends tacitly agreed to maintain a + dignified silence toward that body concerning them. The Suffrage + Society at the capital, however, appointed a committee[339] to + watch the interests of woman in the legislature; and through its + influence, special committees on women's claims were obtained in + both Houses. Disappointed by the result in the legislature of + 1883, but not discouraged, the society continued to labor with + undiminished zeal, and sought every legitimate opportunity to + prove woman a factor in State politics. + + Several weeks prior to the Republican nominating convention at + Chicago, June 3, 1884, this society appointed committees to + correspond with each of the gentlemen prominently named as + candidates for nomination to the office of president, and also + appointed committees[340] to press upon the attention of the + different parties the political claims of women. The society + instructed each committee to carry on its work according to the + united judgment of its members and continue it until the close of + the legislative session of 1885. The committee appointed to + communicate with the Republicans addressed a letter to each of + the thirty delegates sent by Indiana to the nominating convention + at Chicago. They also addressed letters to the Republican State + central committee, and through the courtesy of Mr. John + Overmeyer, chairman, they were given an opportunity to appear + before the committee on resolutions. Mrs. Sewall presented a + resolution, and in a brief speech urged its adoption and + incorporation into the platform of the Republican party. Mrs. + Merritt and Mrs. Sewall were offered an opportunity to speak + before the convention, which they declined in the belief that it + was a greater gain to the cause to appear before the resolution + and platform committee than before the convention itself. + + To what an appalling degree women were discriminated against by + the law prior to 1860, may be inferred from subsequent + legislative enactments. At almost every sitting of the biennial + legislature, since 1860, some important change will be observed. + In 1861 was passed the following: + + AN ACT _to enlarge the Legal Capacity of Married Women whose + Husbands are Insane, and to enable them to Contract as if + they were Unmarried._ + + SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the + State of Indiana: That all married women, or those who may + hereafter be married, whose husbands are or may be insane, + are, during the continuance of such insanity, hereby enabled + and authorized to make and to execute all such contracts, + and to be contracted with in relation to their separate + property, as they could if they were unmarried, and they may + sue and be sued as if they were _sole_. + + The legislature of 1863 was undisturbed by any question + concerning women. In 1865 the legislature discriminated against + women by the passage of a very long act, prescribing the manner + in which enumerations of _white male citizens_ shall be made; + thus implying that a _white male citizen_ is an honorable and + important person, whose existence is to be noted with due care; + with a care that distinguishes him equally above the _white + female_ and the _black male_ citizen, and in effect places these + two unenumerated divisions of human beings into one class. + + Another act of 1865 reaeffirmed an act of 1852 which prescribed + the classes of persons capable of making a will, from which + married women were excluded. + + +[Illustration: May Wright Sewall] + + + The legislature of 1867 passed an act in regard to conveyance of + lands by wives of persons of unsound mind, which read as follows: + + SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Indiana: + That in cases where the guardian of any person of unsound + mind, under the direction of any court of competent + jurisdiction has made, or may hereafter make, sale of any + lands of such person of unsound mind, the wife of such + person of unsound mind may by her separate deed release and + convey all her interest in and title to such land, and her + deed so made shall thereafter debar her from all claim to + such land, and shall have the same effect on her rights as + if her husband had been of sound mind and she had joined + with such husband in the execution of such conveyance. + + In 1869, an act passed by the legislature of 1852, providing for + the settlement of a decedent's estate, was so amended as to + provide that the widow might select articles to the value of + $500, or receive the first $500 derived from the sale, or in case + it was worth no more than $500, might hold it. In 1871 the + amendment of 1869 was further amended so that in case the + personal property was less than $500 the deficit could be a lien + on the real estate, to be settled with other judgments and + mortgages. + + In 1873 the possible ability of women to serve the State + officially was recognized by the passage of the following bill: + + SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Indiana: + That women are hereby declared to be eligible to any office, + the election to which is or shall be vested in the General + Assembly of this State; or the appointment to which is or + shall be vested in the governor thereof. + + SEC. 2. The foregoing shall not include women who shall + labor under any disability which may prevent them from + binding themselves by an official bond. + + The legislature of 1873 also passed an act regulating the liquor + traffic, in which it is formally provided that a wife shall have + the same right to sue, to control the suit, and to control the + sum recovered by the suit, as a _feme sole_. + + In 1875 an act passed the General Assembly making it impossible + to sell real property in which a woman has, by virtue of her + marriage; an inchoate right, for less than four-ninths of its + appraised value: and also providing that upon the sale of any + piece or aggregate of pieces of real property not exceeding + $2,000, the wife has her absolute right; and moreover providing + that in case of a judicial sale, the wife's inchoate interests + become absolute, and she may demand a partition. + + In 1877 the General Assembly passed an act enabling married women + whose husbands are insane to sell and to convey real-estate + belonging to such married women, in the same way as if _femes + soles_. + + When the act for establishing a female prison passed the + legislature of 1860, it provided that the board managing its + affairs should consist of three men, who should be assisted by an + advisory board composed of one man and two women. By the + legislature of 1877 this section was so amended as to make the + managing board consist of women exclusively, and the advisory + board was abolished.[341] + + Of all the changes effected in the statutory law of Indiana since + 1860, the following is the most important and may be regarded, so + far as women are concerned, the measure of the highest + legislative justice thus far attained in any State. This bill was + prepared by Addison C. Harris, then representing Indianapolis in + the State Senate, and was approved March 25, 1879: + + AN ACT _concerning Married Women--Approved March 25, 1879:_ + + SEC. 1.--Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State + of Indiana: A married woman may bargain, sell, assign and + transfer her separate personal property the same as if she + were _sole_. + + SEC. 2.--A married woman may carry on any trade or business, + and perform any labor or service on her sole and separate + account. The earnings and profits of any married woman + accruing from her trade, business, services or labor, other + than labor for her husband or family, shall be her sole and + separate property. + + SEC. 3.--A married woman may enter into any contract in + reference to her personal estate, trade, business, labor or + service, and the management and improvement of her separate + real property, the same as if she were _sole_; and her + separate estate, real and personal, shall be liable therefor + on execution or other judicial process. + + SEC. 4.--No conveyance or contract made by a married woman + for the sale of her lands or any interest therein, other + than leases for a term not exceeding three years, and + mortgages on lands to secure the purchase money of such + lands, shall be valid, unless her husband shall join + therein. Provided, however, that if she shall have attempted + to convey her real estate or shall have agreed to convey the + same, and shall have received the whole or any part of the + consideration therefor, the person paying such + consideration, or the person for whose benefit the same was + paid, shall have the right to sue and recover judgment + therefor, and the same may be enforced against the property + of such married woman. + + SEC. 5.--A married woman shall be bound by the covenants of + the title in a deed of conveyance of her real property. + + SEC. 6.--A married woman may bring and maintain an action in + her own name against any person or body corporate for + damages for any injury to her person or character, the same + as if she were _sole_; and the money recovered shall be her + separate property, and her husband in such case shall not be + liable for costs. + + SEC. 7.--Whenever the husband causes repairs or improvements + to be made on the real property of the wife, with her + knowledge and consent thereto in writing, delivered to the + contractor or person performing the labor or furnishing the + material, she shall alone be liable for material furnished + or labor done. + + SEC. 8.--A husband shall not be liable for any debts + contracted by the wife in carrying on any trade, labor or + business on her sole and separate account, nor for + improvements made by her authority on her separate real + property. + + SEC. 9.--Whenever a judgment is recovered against a married + woman, her separate property may be sold on execution to + satisfy the same, as in other cases. Provided, however, that + her wearing apparel and articles of personal adornment + purchased by her, not exceeding two hundred dollars in + value, and all such jewelry, ornaments, books, works of art + and _virtu_, and other such effects for personal or + household use as may have been given to her as presents, + gifts and keep-sakes, shall not be subject to execution. And + provided further, that she shall hold as exempt, except for + the purchase money therefor, other property to the amount of + three hundred dollars to be set apart and appraised in the + manner provided by law for exemption of property. + + SEC. 10.--A married woman shall not mortgage or in any + manner encumber her separate property acquired by descent, + devise or gift, as a security for the debt or liability of + her husband or any other person. + + The legislature of 1881 enacted the following, which is really a + sequence of the property-rights statute of 1879: + + A married woman may sue alone when: _First_--The action + concerns her own property. _Second_--When the action is + between herself and her husband. But in no case shall she + be required to sue or defend by guardian or next friend, + unless she be under twenty-one years. + + It further enacted, making it section 28, to act 38, that: + When a husband or father has deserted his family, or is + imprisoned, the wife or mother may prosecute or defend in + his name any action which he might have prosecuted or + defended, and shall have the same powers and rights therein + as he might have had. + + The legislature of 1881 also passed the following: + + AN ACT _to Authorize the Election of Women to School + Offices_: + + SEC. 1.--Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Indiana, + that any woman, married or single, of the age of twenty-one + years and upwards, and possessing the qualifications + prescribed for men, shall be eligible to any office under + the general or special school laws of the State. + + SEC. 2.--That any woman elected or appointed to any office + under the provisions of this act, before she enters upon the + discharge of the duties of her office, shall qualify and + give bond as required by law; and such bond shall be binding + upon her and her securities. + + The following, enacted by this same legislature of 1881, would + indicate that fidelity to his domestic obligations is not even + yet esteemed in man as a virtue of high order; the value attached + to the fidelity can be measured by the penalty incurred by + infidelity, which is thus stated: + + Whoever without cause deserts his wife or children, and + leaves wife and child or children as a charge upon any + county of this State, shall be fined not more than $100 nor + less than $10. + + As has been indicated in another connection, it was the + legislature of 1881 which distinguished itself by passing a bill + for amending section 2 of article II. of the State constitution + so as to give women the right to vote in all elections. The + legislature of 1883 did nothing to further ameliorate the legal + condition of women; and the highest legal rights enjoyed by women + of Indiana are indicated in the foregoing recital of legislative + action upon the subject from 1860 to 1884 inclusive. + + For some years after public schools were established in Indiana, + women had no recognition. I am told by a reliable gentleman, Dr. + R. T. Brown, who served from 1833 to 1840 as examiner in one of + the most advanced counties of the commonwealth, that during that + period no woman ever applied to him for a license to teach, and + that up to 1850 very few were employed in the public schools. At + that time it was permitted women to teach "subscription" schools + during the vacations, for which purpose the use of the district + school-house was frequently granted. It was by demonstrating + their capacity in this unobtrusive use of holidays, that women + obtained employment in the regular schools. The tables show that + in 1861 there were 6,421 men and 1,905 women employed in the + primary schools, and 128 men and 72 women in the high schools. + From that time up to 1866, owing to the war, the number of men + decreased while that of women rapidly increased. The tables for + that year show 5,330 men and 4,163 women in the schools. The + number of men employed in 1880 was 7,802, of women, 5,776. While + the very best places are held by men, the majority of the + second-rate places are filled by women, and men fill a majority + of the lowest places. The average daily wages received by men + engaged in the public schools in 1880 was $1.86, while the + average daily wages of women was $1.76. + + Of the twenty-six academies, colleges and universities, all are, + with two notable exceptions--Hanover and Wabash--open to women. + Of these, Butler, at Irvington, formerly known as the + Northwestern Christian University, was the first to admit women + to a "female course," which its managers arranged to meet the + needs of the female mind. In its laudable endeavor to adapt its + requirements to this intermediate class of beings, the university + substituted music for mathematics, and French for Greek. Few, + however, availed themselves of this course, and it was utterly + rejected by Demia Butler, a daughter of the founder of the + institution, who entered it in 1860, and graduated from what was + then known as the male course, in 1864, thus winning the right to + be remembered as the first woman in Indiana to demonstrate the + capacity of her sex to cope with the classics and higher + mathematics. From that time the "female course" became gradually + less popular, until it was discarded. One after another, private + and denominational schools have fallen into line, until nearly + all of them are open to women without humiliating conditions. + + Up to 1867 the Indiana University exhibited the anomaly of a + great institution of learning supported by the State, and + regarding itself as the crown of the public-school system, free + to but one-half of the children of the commonwealth. Since that + date it has been open equally to both sexes in all three of its + departments--the State Normal School, located at Terre Haute, the + Agricultural College, located at Lafayette and commonly known as + Purdue University, and the State University proper, including + literary and scientific departments located at Bloomington. Of + this last branch, 30 per cent. are women. That there is no longer + any discrimination in these higher institutions of learning is + not true. Girls must always feel that they are regarded as + belonging to a subordinate class, wherever women are not found in + the faculty and board of managers. The depressing influence of + their absence in superior positions cannot be measured. + + Very few women are found in college faculties in Indiana, and + none on boards of trustees. Those most conspicuous in ability are + Mrs. Sarah A. Oren,[342] who, having served two successive terms + as State librarian, was called from that position to fill a chair + at Purdue University, where she remained several years; Miss + Catharine Merrill, professor of English literature in Butler + University, who throughout her term of service from 1869 to 1883 + enjoyed the deserved reputation of being one of the strongest + members of the faculty;[343] and Miss Rebecca I. Thompson, who is + professor of mathematics at Franklin College, the leading Baptist + school in the State. The women occupying these conspicuous + positions are all identified with the suffrage movement; + Professor Thompson, of Franklin, is the president of the Johnson + County Suffrage Association. Miss N. Cropsey has served the cause + of public education in Indianapolis in some capacity for twenty + years, and has for several years been superintendent of the + primary schools, a place which she fills with acknowledged + ability. Miss Cropsey is another living denial of the common + assertion, that only half-cultured and ill-paid women want the + ballot. + + Of the four medical colleges in Indianapolis, two admit women and + two exclude them. No theological school in the State receives + women, nor does the only law school, which is located at + Indianapolis; but its former president, Hon. James B. Black, told + me that it was ready to receive them upon application. + + Formerly, many questions now decided by the board of trustees of + each school district, were directly settled by the people + themselves at the annual school meeting. For instance, the + teacher for the coming term was elected from among the candidates + for that place; the salary to be paid, the length of term, the + location of the school-house, were all questions to be decided by + ballot. I have reliable authority for the assertion that in some + parts of the State, as early as 1860, widows, and wives whose + husbands were necessarily absent from the school meetings, voted + upon these questions. During the years of the war this practice + became very common, but fell into disuse upon the return of + peace. + + There are many physicians in Indiana enjoying the merited esteem + of their respective communities and having a lucrative practice. + The most notable example of success in this profession is Dr. + Mary F. Thomas of Richmond.[344] Another living testimony to + woman's right in the medical profession is Dr. Rachel Swain of + Indianapolis, whose patrons are among the first families of the + city. By zealous devotion to her profession she has secured the + respect and social recognition of the community in which she + moves. As an avowed friend of suffrage, whose word in season is + never lacking, Dr. Swain carries a knowledge of our principles + into circles where it would otherwise slowly penetrate. Dr. Mary + Wilhite of Crawfordsville ranks with the best physicians of that + city. In her practice she has gained a competence for herself and + disseminated among her patients a knowledge of hygienic laws that + has improved the health and the morals of the community to which + she has ministered. She, too, advocates political equality for + woman. Dr. Sarah Stockton of Lafayette settled in Indianapolis in + the autumn of 1883, and was soon, on the petition of leading + citizens, including both men and women, appointed as physician to + the Woman's Department of the Hospital for the Insane. Her + professional labors at the hospital and in general practice + indicate both learning and skill. In November, Dr. Marie Haslep + was elected attendant physician at the Woman's Reformatory, a + State institution having some four hundred inmates, where her + services have been characterized by faithfulness and caution. + + Elizabeth Eaglesfield, a graduate of the law department of + Michigan University, was admitted to the bar of Marion county in + the spring of 1885, and is the first woman to open an independent + law-office in this State. + + Very few women have served in the ministry. The only one who ever + secured any prominence in this profession was Miss Prudence + LeClerc, who was pastor of the Universalist church in Madison in + 1870-71, and served parishes at different points in + south-eastern Indiana until her death in 1878. Miss LeClerc + frequently spoke at suffrage conventions, and called meetings + wherever she preached, instructing the people in the philosophy + of this reform. + + To obtain accurate statistics as to the professions and + industries is extremely difficult, as the year 1881 was the first + in which the State considered women at all. That year the head of + the bureau of statistics sent to each town and county + commissioner certain sets of questions relative to women's + occupations. The grace with which they were received, the + seriousness with which they were considered, the consequent + accuracy with which they were answered, may be inferred from the + fact that one trustee replied, "The women in our county are + mostly engaged in baby-tending," and that his response was + generally copied by the press as a manifestation of brilliant + wit. Although some commissioners felt their time too valuable to + spend in gathering information relative to the work of women, + from the reports of those who seriously undertook to canvass this + matter, a table has been arranged and published, which, though + incomplete, must be regarded, both in variety of occupations and + in the numbers of women registered, as a most favorable showing + for this Western State. The total number of women engaged outside + of home, in non-domestic and money-making industries, is 15,122; + the number of industries represented by them is 51. Add to these + the number of teachers, and we have over 20,000 women in the + trades and professions denied the ballot, that sole weapon + pledged by a republic to every citizen for the protection of + person and property. + + Of the men and women prominent in this movement since 1860, whose + names are not mentioned in the first volume, the one meriting the + first place is beyond doubt Dr. R. T. Brown of Indianapolis. He + has the longest record as an advocate of suffrage to be found in + the State. As a speaker in the first Harrison campaign (1836) he + advocated suffrage without regard to sex. Engaged as a teacher or + inspector in the public schools in the early years, Dr. Brown + argued the adaptation of women to the teacher's profession, and + insisted that salaries should be independent of sex; and in many + individual cases where he had authority, women secured this + recognition before it was generally admitted even in theory to be + just. + + When, in 1855, the Northwestern Christian (now Butler) University + was founded, Dr. Brown, as one of the trustees, advocated + coeducation; in 1858 he took the chair of natural science, and in + that branch taught classes of both sexes until 1871. In 1868 he + was active in organizing the Indiana Medical College on the basis + of equal rights to women, and filled the chair of chemistry until + 1872; in 1873 he was appointed to the chair of physiology, which + he held until 1877, and then resigned because the board of + trustees determined to exclude women. This proves that Dr. + Brown's devotion to the doctrine of equal rights is of that rare + degree which will bear the crucial test of official and pecuniary + sacrifice. He has been an active member of the State and city + suffrage associations from the beginning. + + The name of Mary E. Haggart first appears as a member of the + State Association at the convention held in Indianapolis in 1869. + In 1870, Mr. Hadley made a speech in the State Senate against + woman suffrage, to which Mrs. Haggart wrote an able reply which + was published and widely commented on by the press of the State. + Her next notable effort was in a discussion through several + numbers of the _Ladies' Own Magazine_, published by Mrs. Cora + Bland, where she completely refuted the objections urged by her + opponent, a literary gentleman of some note. Mrs. Haggart has + addressed the legislatures of her own State, of Massachusetts, + Rhode Island and Kentucky, as well as the Judiciary Committee of + the House of Representatives at the hearing granted the National + Association. She seldom speaks without the most careful + preparation, and never without manifesting abilities of the + highest order. Perhaps no woman in the State, as a speaker, has + won higher encomiums from the press or has better deserved them. + + The first active step taken in suffrage by Mrs. Florence M. + Adkinson (then Miss Burlingame) was to call a convention in + Lawrenceburg. In 1871, 1872, she gave several lectures on + suffrage and temperance in Ohio, and held a series of meetings in + southeastern Indiana. Though an acceptable speaker, it is as a + writer that Mrs. Adkinson is best known; she is an officer in + both the State and the city organizations, and in every capacity + serves the cause with rare fidelity. + + The name of Lizzie Boynton of Crawfordsville frequently occurs in + suffrage reports between 1865 and 1870. She was a member of the + State Association and a frequent speaker at its conventions. + Besides working in that body, she assisted in the organization of + the local society at Crawfordsville, wrote poems, stories, + essays, and won high rank in the State in literature and reform. + From mature womanhood her record as Mrs. Harbert belongs to + Illinois rather than Indiana. + + The first time I met Mrs. Zerelda G. Wallace she was circulating + a temperance petition to present to the legislature. One day + while busy on the third floor of the high-school building a + fellow-teacher sent up word that a lady wished to see me. + Descending, I was introduced to Mrs. Wallace, who, in a bland + way, requested me to sign the paper which she extended. Never + doubting that I might do so, I had taken my pen when my eye + caught the words: "While we do not clamor for any additional + civil or political rights." "But I do clamor," I exclaimed, and + threw down the paper and pen and went back to my work, vexed in + soul that I should have been dragged down three flights of stairs + to see one more proof of the degree to which honorable women love + to humiliate themselves before men for sweet favor's sake. Mrs. + Wallace went forward with her work of solicitation, thinking me, + no doubt, to be a very impetuous, if not impertinent, young + woman. + + When, however, upon the presentation of her petition, whose + framers had taken such care to disclaim any desire "for + additional civil and political rights," Mrs. Wallace was startled + by Dr. Thompson's avowal (having known the doctor, as she naively + says, "as a Christian gentleman"), that he was not there "to + represent his conscience, but to obey his constituents," in her + aroused soul there was that instant born the determination to + become a "constituent." As soon as the hearing was at an end, + Mrs. Wallace confessed this determination to Dr. Thompson, + thanking him for unintentionally awakening her to a sense of + woman's proper position in the republic. This change in Mrs. + Wallace's attitude was not generally known until the following + May, when the annual State Temperance convention was held in + Indianapolis; then, in her address before that body, she avowed + her conviction that it was woman's duty to seek the ballot as a + means of exerting her will upon legislation. From that time Mrs. + Wallace has neglected no opportunity to propagate suffrage + doctrines, and has been most potent in influencing her temperance + coaedjutors to embrace these principles. Earnestness and logic are + Mrs. Wallace's abiding forces. Her literary work is chiefly + confined to correspondence, in which she is so faithful that it + is doubtful if any man in public life in Indiana can plead + ignorance of the arguments in favor of suffrage. Mrs. Wallace has + been an officer in the National, the American and the State + suffrage societies, and has served the Equal Suffrage Society of + Indianapolis as president most of the time since its formation. + Having lived in this city more than half a century, related to + many men who have held high official positions, she has had an + opportunity to exert a wide influence, and it may be safe to say + that, by virtue of her own consecrated life, she exerts more + moral power in this community than any other woman in Indiana. + + Mrs. Helen M. Gougar has addressed the legislatures of New York, + Kansas and Wisconsin, besides that of her own State. As an + extempore speaker she has no peer among her co-workers; her first + suffrage speech was made at Delphi, May, 1877. In July, 1881, + Mrs. Gougar became the editor of _Our Herald_, a weekly which she + conducted with great ability and success in the interest of the + two constitutional amendments then pending. In 1884, in an + extensive lecturing tour, she addressed large audiences in + Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Albany. In the year 1883, + Mrs. Josephine R. Nichols of Illinois, and Mrs. L. May Wheeler of + Massachusetts, came to reside in Indianapolis. Both these ladies + have lectured frequently and with marked effect in various parts + of the State. + + I cannot close without a mention of those public men who have + honored this State by their adherence to the principle of woman + suffrage and thereby earned a title to the fame which will belong + to the advocates of this cause in the hour of its triumph. Among + these Hon. George W. Julian is most conspicuous. Referring to his + services in congress, Mr. Julian once wrote: + + My opinions about woman suffrage, however, date much further + back. The subject was first brought to my attention in a + brief chapter on the "Political Non-existence of Women," in + Miss Martineau's book on "Society in America," which I read + in 1847. She there pithily stated the substance of all that + has since been said respecting the logic of woman's right to + the ballot; and finding myself unable to answer, I accepted + it. On recently referring to this chapter I find myself more + impressed by its force than when I first read it. * * * My + interest in anti-slavery was awakened about the same time, + and I regarded it as the _previous_ question, and as less + abstract and far more important and absorbing than that of + suffrage for women. For the sake of the negro I accepted + Mr. Lincoln's philosophy of "one war at a time," though + always ready to own and defend my position as to woman's + right to the ballot. + + The sincerity of Mr. Julian's belief in woman suffrage is proved + by his repeated efforts to further the cause in the United States + congress. On December 8, 1868, he submitted an amendment to the + constitution, guaranteeing suffrage to all United States + citizens, which, as the negro had not then been enfranchised, he + numbered article fifteen. On March 15, 1869, he submitted the + same amendment, with the exception that the words "race" and + "color" were omitted; on the same day Mr. Julian offered a bill + providing for the immediate enfranchisement of women in all the + territories of the United States, thus doubling on one day his + claim to the gratitude of American women. On April 4, 1870, he + offered another amendment, numbered article sixteen, which + followed the exact form and phraseology of the fifteenth. On + January 20, 1871, he offered an amendment to the bill, providing + a government for the District of Columbia, striking out the word + "male" in the section defining the right of suffrage. It is + interesting to note that even so long ago that amendment received + 55 yeas against 117 nays.[345] The bills which Mr. Julian thus + submitted to congress when he was a member of that body prove his + constancy to a cause early espoused, his conversion to which was + due to that remarkable English woman whose claims to the + gratitude of her American sisters are thus enhanced. Mr. Julian + has not worked much with the suffrage societies of his own State, + but he has never failed in his repeated canvasses to utter the + seasonable word. His conviction that it is the duty of the + national government to take the initiative in defining the + political rights of its citizens has naturally led him to present + this question to the nation as represented in its congress, + rather than to agitate it in the State. + + Oliver P. Morton and Joseph E. McDonald are two other names + conspicuous in Indiana history which occur frequently in + connection with "aye" in the records which have preserved the + action of every member of congress on the various amendments + brought before it involving woman's political equality. + + Albert G. Porter, ex-governor of Indiana, has on more than one + public occasion avowed his belief in woman's equality as a + citizen, and has assented to the proposition that under a + republic the only sign of such equality is the ballot. Ardent + advocates have often thought him inexcusably reticent in + expressing his convictions upon this subject, but such have + learned that it is given to but few mortals to "remember those in + bonds as bound with them," and no other governor of Indiana has + ever taken occasion to remind the General Assembly of its duties + to women, as Governor Porter habitually did. In his address of + 1881 he called the attention of the legislature to the improved + condition of women under the laws, pointed out disabilities still + continuing, and bespoke the respectful attention of the General + Assembly to the women who proposed to come before it with their + claims. In his biennial message, 1883, the governor recommended + the enactment of a statute which should require that at least + one of the physicians appointed to attend in the department for + women in the hospital for the insane should be a woman. The whole + tone of Governor Porter's administration was liberal toward + women; he invariably implied his belief in their equality, and on + one or two occasions has evinced his respect for their ability by + conferring on them responsible offices. Many of the leading men + in the Republican party, and a few in the Democratic, are + favorable, and while they do not labor for the enfranchisement of + their sisters with the same enthusiasm which personal bondage + excites, their constant influence is on the side of woman's + emancipation. + + As to the charities conducted by Indiana women, for a condensed + narrative of the efficient service of Mrs. L. B. Wishard and Miss + Susan Fussell, I must refer readers to the account kindly + prepared for me by Mrs. Paulina T. Merritt.[346] + + Whether or not justified by the facts, the feeling is current + that those whom the masses favor hold themselves aloof from those + whom personal experience, or a sense of justice, compels to walk + the stony path of reform. The _litterateurs_ often form a sort of + pseudo-intellectual aristocracy, and do not willingly affiliate + with reformers, whom they are ready to assume to be less + cultivated than themselves. Of this weakness our literary women + have not been guilty. Most of them are members of the suffrage + society.[347] + + A system is now developing which will not only stimulate women to + engage in competitive industries and secure justice in rewarding + such labor, but will greatly facilitate the work of ascertaining + what part women do take in the general industries of the State. + Indiana, being mainly agricultural, is divided into sixteen + districts, each of which has organized an agricultural society. + Besides these there are also county societies. These + organizations are composed of men and women, the latter having + nominally the same powers and privileges as the former. Annually + the State Agricultural Association holds a meeting at + Indianapolis. This is a delegate body, consisting of + representatives from the district and county societies. There is + no constitutional check against sending women as delegates, + though it has not hitherto been done. One chief duty of the + primary convention is to elect a State board of agriculture. This + board consists of sixteen members, one for each agricultural + district. The managers of the Woman's State Fair Association have + called an industrial convention, whose sessions will be held at + the same time that the Agricultural Association holds its annual + meeting.[348] + + If the press reflects the public, it also moulds it; and its + conservative attitude is doubtless to a very considerable degree + responsible for the tone of opinion which prevailed here up to + recent years. Papers throughout the State naturally take their + cue from the party organs published at the capital, while the few + papers identified with no party are wont to adapt themselves even + more carefully to popular opinion upon general subjects. + + The citations made in the earlier part of this chapter from the + _Sentinel_ and the _Journal_ clearly show the spirit of their + management in 1869. But it must not be inferred that the + _Journal_ has through all these years maintained the position + occupied by it at that time. Had it done so, one may reasonably + believe that the women of Indiana would before to-day have been + enfranchised. On the contrary, that sheet has been very + vacillating, speaking for or against the cause according to the + principles of its managers, the paper having frequently changed + hands; and until recently the principles of the same managers + upon this question have been shifting; but for the last five or + six years the _Journal_ has been a consistent, though somewhat + mild, supporter of woman suffrage. + + On the contrary, the _Sentinel_ had been constant in its + opposition, until, about eight years since, Mr. Shoemaker + becoming the manager, it announced a Sunday issue devoted to the + interests of women. The pledge then made has been nobly kept, and + although for a few months the _Sentinel_ seemed to edit its + week-day issues with a view to counteracting the possible good + effect of its Sunday utterances, the better spirit gradually + triumphed, until at last, so far as the woman question is + concerned, the paper is from Sunday to Saturday in harmony with + itself. For some time it gave one column in each Sunday issue to + the control of the State Central Suffrage Committee, and printed + two hundred copies of the column for special distribution among + the country papers. + + The _Saturday Herald_, established in 1873, under the editorial + management of George C. Harding, deserves mention. From the + outset, this paper was the advocate of woman's right to be paid + for work done according to its market value, and to protect + herself and her property by the ballot. Perhaps the best service + rendered to women by Mr. Harding, was that of securing in 1874 + Gertrude Garrison as assistant editor of the _Herald_. Mrs. + Garrison is, beyond question, one of the ablest journalists + Indiana can boast, and the influence of her pen in modifying the + popular estimate of woman's capabilities has been incalculable. + From 1874 she did half the work, editorial articles, locals, + sketches, and all the varieties of writing required upon a weekly + paper, but at her own request her name was not announced as + associate editor until 1876. In this capacity she remained upon + the _Herald_ until January 1, 1880, when the paper passed from + Mr. Harding's into other hands. During her connection with the + _Herald_, if there was anything particularly strong in the paper, + her associate received the credit. The public will not permit + itself to believe a woman capable of humor, though I think Mrs. + Garrison did as much to sustain the paper's reputation for wit as + even Mr. Harding. A. H. Dooley succeeded Mr. Harding as editor of + the _Saturday Herald_, and it remained under his management a + sturdy advocate of woman's enfranchisement. The _Saturday + Review_ was established by Mr. Harding in October, 1880, with + Mrs. Garrison associate editor. Upon the death of Mr. Harding, + May 8, 1881, Mr. Charles Dennis became chief editor, Mrs. + Garrison[349] remaining on the staff as his assistant. + + The _Times_ was founded in June, 1881. From the first it devoted + a column to notes on women's work. From September of that year + there appeared in each Saturday issue a department devoted to the + interests of women, particularly to woman suffrage, under the + editorial management of May Wright Sewall. This department + reaeppeared in the weekly and was thus widely circulated among + country readers. The _Times_ is under the management of Colonel + W. R. Holloway. Although from the first fair in its discussions + of all reform questions, it did not avow itself to be an advocate + of woman suffrage until the week after the public entertainment + of the Equal Suffrage Society, 1881, when there appeared an + editorial nearly one column in length, setting forth its views + upon the whole subject. This editorial contained the following + paragraph: + + As the question is likely to become a prominent theme of + discussion during the next few years, the _Times_ will now + say that it is decidedly and unequivocally in favor of woman + suffrage. We believe that women have the same right to vote + that men have, that it is impolitic and unjust to deprive + them of the right, and that its free and full bestowal would + conserve the welfare of society and the good of government. + + In the daily _Evening News_, Mr. J. H. Holliday, with his + editorial aids, has set himself to stem the tide of progress + which he evidently thinks will, unless a manful endeavor on his + part shall prevent it, bear all things down to ruin. The + character of his efforts may be inferred from the following + extracts which appeared in January and December of 1881: + + We wish our legislators would go home and ponder this thing. + Read the Bible and understand the scheme of creation. Read + the New Testament, and appreciate the creation of the + Christian home, and the headship of things. Reflect upon + what rests the future of this government we have reared, and + ask what would become of it if the Christian homes in which + it is founded were broken up; then reflect upon what would + become of the Christian homes if men and women were to + attend to the same duties in life. To get a realistic + notion, let every man who has a wife ask himself how he + would relish being told by her, "I have an engagement with + John Smith to-night to see about fixing up a slate to get + Mrs. Jones nominated for sheriff," and being left to go his + own way while she goes with Smith. If that wouldn't make + hell in the household in one act we don't know what would, + yet this is merely one little trivial episode of what this + anti-christian woman suffrage scheme means. + + To what straits must the advocates of suffrage for women be + driven when they needs must seek to show that the ballot is + not degrading. What becomes of all our fine talk of the + ballot as an educator if they who seek to secure it for + women must advocate as a reason why it should not be + withheld that it is not degrading! But what better can one + expect from those who, when it is suggested that there are + duties attaching to the ballot as well as rights, solemnly + say that the few moments necessary to deposit a ballot will + not interfere with women's duties of sweeping and dusting + and baby-tending. When one hears talk of this sort, there is + indeed a grave doubt as to whether the ballot really is an + educator after all. + + The first of the above citations is from what might be called an + article of instruction addressed to the legislature then in + session, and considering the question of woman suffrage. The + occasion which inspired the second paragraph may be readily + inferred. It seems "profitable for the instruction" of the future + to preserve a few extracts like the above, that it may be seen + how weak and wild, strength itself becomes, when the ally of + prejudice and precedent. + + The _Indiana Farmer_, exceptionally well edited, having a wide + circulation in the agricultural sections of the State, and + enjoying there a powerful influence, is an outspoken advocate of + equal suffrage. From statistics regarding papers published + outside of Indianapolis, it may be safe to say that two hundred + of them favor, with varying degrees of constancy, giving the + ballot to women. On the staff of nearly all the papers whose + status is above given, are women, who in their respective + departments faithfully serve the common cause. During the last + few years, efforts have been directed to the capture of the local + press, and many of the county papers now have a department edited + by women. In most instances this work is done gratuitously, and + their success in this new line, entering upon it as they have + without previous training, illustrates the versatility of woman's + powers. Mrs. M. E. Price of Kokomo, Mrs. Sarah P. Franklin of + Anderson, Mrs. Laura Sandafur of Franklin, and Mrs. Ida M. Harper + of Terre Haute, deserve especial mention for their admirable work + in the papers of their respective towns. Mrs. Laura C. Arnold is + the chief editor of the Columbus _Democrat_, and is the only + woman in the State having editorial charge of a political party + paper, _Our Herald_, under the able editorial management of Mrs. + Helen M. Gougar, was a weekly published at Lafayette. It was + devoted to securing the re-passage and adoption of the woman + suffrage and prohibition amendments. It was a strong, aggressive + sheet, and deserved its almost unparalleled success.[350] + +In closing this able report for Indiana a few facts in regard to +the author may interest the general reader as well as the student +of history. + +Mrs. May Wright Sewall has been well known for many years in +Indianapolis in the higher departments of education, and has +recently crowned her efforts as a teacher by establishing a model +classical school for girls, in which she is not only training their +minds to vigorous thought, but taking the initiative steps to +secure for them an equally vigorous physical development. Her +pupils are required to wear a comfortable gymnastic costume, all +their garments loosely resting on their shoulders; corsets, tight +waists and high-heeled boots forbidden, for deep thinking requires +deep breathing. The whole upper floor of her new building is a +spacious gymnasium, where her pupils exercise every day under the +instruction of a skillful German; and on every Saturday morning +they take lessons from the best dancing master in the city. The +result is, she has no dull scholars complaining of headaches. All +are alike happy in their studies and amusements. + +Mrs. Sewall is a preeminently common-sense woman, believing that +sound theories can be put into practice. Although her tastes are +decidedly literary and aesthetic, she is a radical reformer. Hence +her services in the literary club and suffrage society are alike +invaluable. And as chairman of the executive committee of the +National Association, she is without her peer in planning and +executing the work. + +As her husband, Mr. Theodore L. Sewall, is also at the head of a +classical school, and equally successful in training boys, it may +be said that both institutions have the advantage of the united +thought of man and woman. As educators, Mr. and Mrs. Sewall have +reaped much practical wisdom from their mutual consultations and +suggestions, the results of which have been of incalculable benefit +to their pupils. + +Peering into the homes of the young women in the suffrage movement, +one cannot but remark the deference and respect with which these +intelligent, self-reliant wives are uniformly treated by their +husbands, and the unbounded confidence and affection they give in +return. For happiness in domestic life, men and women must meet as +equals. A position of inferiority and dependence for even the best +organized women, will either wither all their powers and reduce +them to apathetic machines, going the round of life's duties with a +kind of hopeless dissatisfaction, or it will rouse a bitter +antagonism, an active resistance, an offensive self-assertion, +poisoning the very sources of domestic happiness. The true ideal of +family life can never be realized until woman is restored to her +rightful throne. Tennyson, in his "Princess," gives us the +prophetic vision when he says: + + "Everywhere + Two heads in council, two beside the hearth, + Two in the tangled business of the world, + Two in the liberal offices of life, + Two plummets dropped for one, to sound the abyss + Of science, and the secrets of the mind." + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[325] See Vol. I., page 306. + +[326] The call for this convention was signed by Amanda M. Way, +Mrs. M. C. Bland, Mrs. M. M. B. Goodwin, Mrs. Henry Blanchard, Mrs. +Emma B. Swank, Indianapolis; Mrs. Isaac Kinley, Richmond; Dr. Mary +F. Thomas, Camden; Dr. Mary H. Wilhite, Miss Lizzie Boynton, Miss +Mollie Krout, Dr. E. E. Barrett, Crawfordsville; Mrs. Abula Pucket +Nind, Fort Wayne; Mrs. L. S. Bidell, Crown Point; Rev. E. P. +Ingersoll, J. V. R. Miller, Rev. Henry Blanchard, Rev. William +Hannaman, Professor A. C. Shortridge, Professor R. T. Brown, +Professor Thomas Rhodes, Dr. T. A. Bland, Indianapolis; Hon. Isaac +Kinley, Isaac H. Julian, Richmond; Hon. L. M. Nind, Fort Wayne; +Hon. S. T. Montgomery, Kokomo; D. R. Pershing and Rev. T. Sells, +Warsaw. + +[327] The officers of the State Association in 1883 were: +_President_, Dr. Mary F. Thomas: _Vice-Presidents_, Mrs. Helen V. +Austin, Mrs. S. S. McCain, Mrs. M. V. Berg, Mrs. G. Gifford, Mrs. +M. P. Lindsey, Mrs. C. A. P. Smith and Mrs. F. G. Scofield; +_Secretary_, Mrs. M. E. M. Price; _Corresponding Secretary_, Mrs. +F. M. Adkinson; _Treasurer_, Miss Mary D. Naylor; _State Central +Committee_, Mrs. Mary E. Haggart, Mrs. Z. G. Wallace and May Wright +Sewall. + +[328] Annual--1871, June 21, 22, Bloomington; 1872, June 5, 6, +Dublin; 1873, June 11, 12, Terre Haute; Semi-Annual, November 19, +Richmond. Annual--1874, May 28, 29, Fort Wayne; 1875, May 25, 26, +Liberty; Semi-Annual, November 23, 24, Winchester. Annual--1876, +May 30, 31, Anderson; 1877, September 4, 5, Knightstown; 1878, June +11, 12, Richmond: 1879, May 14, 15, Kokomo; 1880, April 27, 28, +Crawfordsville; 1881, June 15, 16, Kokomo; Semi-Annual, October 29, +Dublin. Annual--1882, May, Columbus; 1883, June, Logansport; 1884, +Kokomo; 1885, November 22, 23, Warsaw. + +[329] See Vol. II., page 851. + +[330] The Equal Suffrage Society has now, 1885, a membership of +175, including many representatives of whatever in Indianapolis is +best in character, culture and social place. The society has lately +districted the city for local work, assuming the boundaries of the +school districts as its own for this purpose; its present plan is +to place each of these twenty-six districts under the especial care +of a committee whose business shall be to hold meetings, distribute +literature and circulate petitions. The society thus hopes to +create a stimulating suffrage atmosphere at the capital which shall +inspire the legislators with courage to do good work for women at +their next session. + +[331] INVITATION.--The Indianapolis Equal Suffrage Society requests +the pleasure of your company at a literary and social entertainment +to be given in the Bates House parlors, Friday evening, November 4, +1881. _Committee_--May Wright Sewall, Mary C. Raridan, Mrs. H.G. +Carey, Mrs. Charles Kregelo, and Miss Lydia Halley. Please present +invitation at the door. + +PROGRAMME.--1. Music, piano solo, Miss Dietrich; 2. Toast, +Yorktown, Henry D. Pierce; 3. Toast, The True Republic, Mrs. Z.G. +Wallace; 4. Music, solo (vocal), Mrs. J.J. Cole; 5. Toast, Women in +Indiana, Gen. John Coburn; 6. Toast, Women in the "Revised +Version," Arthur W. Tyler; 7. Music, solo (vocal), Arthur Miller: +8. Toast. The Literary Women of Indiana. 9. Toast, Women in the +U.S. School System, Horace S. Tarbell; 10. Recitation, Lida Hood +Talbott; 11. Toast, Our Forefathers, Rev. Myron W. Reed; 12. A +Reply, Mary C. Raridan; 13. Music, solo (vocal), Mrs. J.C. New. +Music In charge of Mrs. John C. New. W.B. Stone, accompanist. + +[332] The speakers were Helen M. Gouger, Florence M. Adkinson, Mary +A. Haggart, Ex-Gov. Baker, Judge Martindale, Mrs. Wallace, Messrs. +Walker and Dooley, editors of the _Times_ and _Herald_, Mr. +Tarbell, superintendent of the city schools, and May Wright Sewall. + +[333] See Indiana Appendix, note A. + +[334] See Appendix to Indiana, note B. + +[335] The following invitation was sent to every member of the +legislature who had voted for the amendment, and also to all the +leading people of the city: The pleasure of your company is +requested at the parlors of the New-Denison, Friday evening, April +15, from 8 to 12, where a social entertainment will be given in +honor of the passage of the suffrage amendment by our State +legislature. [Signed:] Mrs. Zerelda G. Wallace, Miss Catherine +Merrill, Mrs. Harvey G. Carey, Mrs. Charles Kregelo, Mrs. Henry D. +Pierce, Mrs. Thomas A. Hendricks, May Wright Sewall, Mrs. George +Merritt, Mrs. John C. New and Mrs. John M. Judah. The programme was +as follows: 1. Music, Solo (vocal), Zelda Seguin Wallace. 2. Toast, +Our Legislature, Senator Spann. 3. Toast, Our Opponents, Colonel +DeWitt Wallace. 4. Toast, The Press and Progress, Laura Ream. 5. +Toast, The Indiana Woman under the Law, William Wallace. 6. Music, +Solo (vocal), Mrs. John C. New. 7. Toast, The Ideal Man, Mrs. J. M. +Judah. 8. Toast, The Ideal Woman, Mr. A. S. Caldwell. 9. Toast, The +Home of the Future, May Wright Sewall. 10. Music, German Song, +Professor John Fiske. 11. Toast, The Woman who "Don't want to +Vote," Gertrude Garrison. 12. Recitation, Lida Hood Talbot. 13. +Toast, The Attitude of the Pulpit toward Reform, Rev. Myron W. +Reed. 14. Music, Solo (vocal), Zelda Seguin Wallace. + +[336] The persons thus authorized by the central committee to hold +meetings and organize societies were Dr. Mary F. Thomas, Mary E. +Haggart, Zerelda G. Wallace, Helen M. Gougar, May Wright Sewall and +L. May Wheeler. + +[337] Besides these five-minute reports, addresses were delivered +by Rev. Myron W. Reed, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of +Indianapolis; Captain DeWitt Wallace of Lafayette, Dr. Ridpath of +DePaun University, Colonel Maynard, chief editorial writer on the +_Sentinel_; Mrs. Haggart, Mrs. Gougar, Mrs. Josephine R. Nichols, +and other men and women of less prominence, but on that occasion of +hardly less interest. + +[338] Among these the names of William Dudley Foulke of Richmond, +W. DeWitt Wallace of Lafayette, G. H. Thomas of Huntington, and S. +P. Yancey, merit honorable mention. + +[339] Mrs. Sewall, Mrs. Merritt and Mrs. Mary E. Newman Carey. + +[340] Republican, May Wright Sewall and Paulina T. Merritt; +Democratic, Mary E. Haggart and Florence M. Adkinson. + +[341] For an account of this prison, see Appendix to Indiana +chapter, note C. + +[342] See Appendix to Indiana chapter, note G. + +[343] Miss Merrill resigned in the autumn of 1883, and was +immediately succeeded by Miss Harriet Noble of Vincennes, a +graduate of Vassar, and a lady of most admirable qualities, whose +success is assured by the record of her first year in this +responsible position. + +[344] See sketch of Dr. Thomas, Vol. I., page 324. + +[345] For these bills and amendments, see Vol. II., pages 325, 333. + +[346] See Appendix, Indiana chapter, notes E and F. + +[347] Mrs. Sarah T. Bolton, Laura Ream, Mrs. Lew Wallace, Mary H. +Korut, Mary Dean, Margaret Holmes (Mrs. M. V. Bates), Mrs. M. E. +Banta, Mrs. Louise V. Boyd, Mrs. Helen V. Austin, Mrs. Hettie A. +Morrison, Mrs. E. S. L. Thompson, Mrs. Amy E. Dunn, Mrs. A. D. +Hawkins, Miss Rena L. Miner, Miss Edna C. Jackson and Mrs. D. M. +Jordan are all literary women who sympathize with and aid this +reform. + +[348] The woman's department has constantly grown in extent and +value, until it has become one of the most important features of +the State fair, and this year, 1885, the managers have allowed to +it twice the space hitherto occupied. It is worthy of note that +suffrage papers, tracts and books are always to be found among the +exhibits. + +[349] Mrs. Garrison left Indianapolis for New York in May of 1882. +Success followed her to the metropolis and she now has, 1885, the +entire editorial management of the literary department of the +American Press Association, and her work goes into more than fifty +of the best weekly papers in the country. + +[350] _Our Herald_ did royal service in the campaign of 1882; it +subsequently became a monthly and in addition to other admirable +efforts, undertook to introduce leading western women to the larger +world by publishing a series of biographical sketches of the most +prominent. In the winter of 1885 Mrs. Gougar sold _Our Herald_ to +Mrs. Harbert, who published it in Chicago as the _The New Era_. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIII. + +ILLINOIS. + + Chicago a Great Commercial Center--First Woman Suffrage + Agitation, 1855--A. J. Grover--Society at Earlville--Prudence + Crandall--Sanitary Movement--Woman in Journalism--Myra + Bradwell--Excitement in Elmwood Church, 1868--Mrs. Huldah + Joy--Pulpit Utterances--Convention, 1869, Library Hall, + Chicago--Anna Dickinson--Robert Laird Collier Debate--Manhood + Suffrage Denounced by Mrs. Stanton and Miss Anthony--Judge + Charles B. Waite on the Constitutional Convention--Hearing Before + the Legislature--Western Suffrage Convention, Mrs. Livermore, + President--Annual Meeting at Bloomington--Women Eligible to + School Offices--Evanston College--Miss Alta Hulett--Medical + Association--Dr. Sarah Hackett Stephenson--"Woman's Kingdom," in + the _Inter-Ocean_--Mrs. Harbert--Centennial Celebration at + Evanston--Temperance Petition, 180,000--Frances E. + Willard--Social Science Association--Art Union--International + Congress at Paris--Jane Graham Jones--Moline Association. + + +Illinois, one of the Central States in our vast country, stretching +over five and a half degrees of latitude, was admitted to the Union +in 1818. Its chief city, Chicago, extending for miles round the +southern shores of Lake Michigan, is the great commercial center of +the boundless West. We may get some idea of the magnitude of her +commerce from the fact that the receipts and shipment of flour, +grain and cattle from that port alone in 1872 were valued at +$370,000,000. + +When the battles with the Indians were finally ended, the +population of the State rapidly increased, and in 1880 the census +gave 1,586,523 males and 1,491,348 females. In the school +statistics we find about the same proportionate number of women and +girls as teachers and scholars in the public schools and in all the +honest walks of life; while men and boys in the criminal ranks are +out of all proportion. For example, in the state-prison at Joliet +there were, in 1873, 1,321 criminals; fifteen only were women. And +yet the more virtuous, educated, self-governed part of the +population, that shared equally the hardships of the early days, +and by industry and self-sacrifice helped to build up that great +State, is still denied the civil and political rights declared by +the constitution to belong to every citizen of the commonwealth. +The trials and triumphs of the women of Illinois are vividly +portrayed in the following records sent us by Elizabeth Boynton +Harbert, Ph. D.: + + His biographer asserts that Bernini, the celebrated Florentine + artist, architect, painter and poet, once gave a public opera in + Rome, for which he painted the scenes, composed the music, wrote + the poem, carved the statues, invented the engines, and built the + theater. Because of his versatile talents the man Bernini has + passed into history. Of almost equal versatility were the women + of the equal-rights movement, since in many instances their names + appear and reaeppear in the records we have consulted as authors, + editors, journalists, lecturers, teachers, physicians, lawyers, + ordained ministers and home-makers; and in many localities a + woman, to be eligible for the lyceum, was expected to be + statesmanlike as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, executive as Susan B. + Anthony, spiritual as Lucretia Mott, eloquent as Anna Dickinson, + graceful as Celia Burleigh, fascinating as Paulina Wright Davis; + a social queen, very domestic, a skillful musician, an excellent + cook, very young, and the mother of at least six children; even + then she was not entitled to the rights, privileges and + immunities of an American citizen. So "the divine rights of the + people" became the watchword of thoughtful men and women of the + Prairie State, and at the dawn of the second half of the present + century many caught the echoes of that historic convention at + Seneca Falls and insisted that the fundamental principles of our + government should be applied to all the citizens of the United + States. + + In view of the fearless heroism and steady adherence to principle + of many comparatively unknown lives, the historian is painfully + conscious of the meagerness of the record, as compared with the + amount of labor that must necessarily have been performed. In + almost every city, village and school district some earnest man + or woman has been quietly waging the great moral battle that will + eventually make us free; and while it would be a labor of love to + recognize every one who has wrought for freedom, doubtless many + names worthy of mention may unintentionally be omitted. + + The earliest account of specific work that we have been able to + trace is an address delivered in Earlville by A. J. Grover, esq., + in 1855, who from that time until the present has been an able + champion of the constitutional rights of women. As a result of + his efforts, and the discussion that followed, a society was + formed, of which Mrs. Susan Hoxie Richardson (a cousin of Susan + B. Anthony) was elected president, and Mrs. Octavia Grover + secretary. This, we believe, was the first suffrage society in + Illinois. Its influence was increased by the fact that, during + two years of Mr. Grover's editorial control, the Earlville + _Transcript_ was a fearless champion of equal rights. While that + band of pioneers was actively at work, Prudence Crandall, who was + mobbed and imprisoned in Connecticut for teaching a school for + colored girls, was actively engaged in Mendota, in the same + county. A few years later, lectures were delivered[351] on the + subject of equal rights for women in different parts of the + State. + + Copies of two of the early appeals have been secured. One by A. + J. Grover, published in pamphlet form, was extensively + circulated; the other by Mrs. Catharine V. Waite, appeared in the + Earlville _Transcript_. Both of these documents are yellowed with + age, but the arguments presented are as logical as the more + recent utterances of our most radical champions. There is a + tradition of a convention at Galesburg some years later, but we + have failed to find any accurate data. During the interim between + these dates and that never-to-be-forgotten April day in 1861, but + little agitation of this great subject can be traced, and during + the six years subsequent to that time we witness all previously + defined boundaries of spheres brushed away like cobwebs, when + women, north and south, were obliged to fill the places made + vacant by our civil war. An adequate record of the work + accomplished during those eventful years by Illinois women, + notably among them being Mary A. Livermore and Jane C. Hoge, lies + before us in a bound volume of the paper published under the + auspices of the Northwestern Sanitary Fair, edited by the Hon. + Andrew Shuman. This little journal was called the _Voice of the + Fair_, a prophetic name, as really through the medium of these + sanitary fairs were the voices of the _fair_ all potent, and + through their patriotic services to our soldiery did the women of + the United States first discover their talent for managing and + administering great enterprises. In his first editorial + Lieutenant-Governor Shuman says: + + On motion of Mrs. Elizabeth A. Loomis, it was decided to + open the fair on February 22, 1865, Washington's birthday, + and to continue it till March 4, the presidential + inauguration day. A committee, consisting of Mrs. H. H. + Hoge, Mrs. D. P. Livermore and Mrs. E. W. Blatchford for the + commission, and Mrs. O. E. Hosmer, Mrs. C. P. Dickinson and + Mr. L. B. Bryan for the Home, was appointed as executive. + This was the little cloud, scarcely larger than a man's + hand, which grew till it almost encircled the heavens, + spreading into every corner of our broad land, and including + every department of industry in its ample details. + + The undertaking was herculean, and on the grand occasion of the + opening of the fair, although we do not find any account of women + sharing in the honors of the day, yet they were vouchsafed + honorable mention in the following terms by the governor of the + State: "I do not know how to praise women, but I can say nothing + so good as our late president once said on a similar occasion, + 'God bless the women of America.' They have been our faithful + allies during this fearful war. They have toiled steadily by our + side, with the most enduring constancy through the frightful + contest." Amid the first impulses of genuine gratitude men + recognized what at present they seem to forget, that by + inheritance and patriotic service woman has an equal right with + man to a share in the rights and privileges of this government. + + In the winter of 1860 Hannah Tracy Cutler, M. D., and Mrs. + Frances D. Gage made a canvass of the interior and western parts + of the State, procuring signatures to petitions asking for + equality before the law, and especially for the right of married + women to earn and hold and dispose of property the same as a + _feme-sole_. Also, that property acquired before marriage, or + that may afterward accrue to a married woman by gift, devise, + descent or deed, may be held, controlled and disposed of by + herself where it had not been intentionally converted to common + property by her consent. In response to a request for data on + this point, Mrs. Cutler writes: + + At the close of our campaign we were summoned to Ohio to + assist in the canvass in that State. Returning to Illinois, + I learned that no action had been taken on our petitions. + The member to whom we had consigned them, and who had + promised to act in our behalf, had found no convenient + opportunity. I at once repaired to Springfield, and, on + inquiry, was told that it was now too late in the + session--that members were so busy that no one could be + induced to draft a bill for an act granting such laws as we + desired. I found one member ready to assist to the full + measure of his ability--Mr. Pickett of Rock Island. By his + encouragement I went to the State library and there drew up + a bill giving women, during coverture, certain personal and + property rights. Mr. Pickett presented our petitions, got a + special committee, took my bill before it, got a favorable + report, and a law was passed to that effect. Some decisions + occurred under this law. I think, however, that in a + codification a year or two after, this law was left out, I + know not by what authority, and some years later Mrs. + Livermore, Mrs. Bradwell and others presented the matter + afresh, and succeeded in procuring again a similar + enactment. The winter following I presented petitions for + the right of guardianship; also, I asked that for estates + not exceeding $5,000 the widow should not be required to + take out letters of administration, but should be permitted + to continue in possession, the same as the husband on the + decease of the wife, the property subject to the same + liabilities for the payment of debts and the maintenance of + children as before the decease of the husband. I made this + small claim for the relief of many wives whose husbands had + gone into the army, leaving them with all the + responsibility; and there seemed no sufficient reason for + disturbing and distributing either the family or the estate, + when the husband exchanged the battle-field for the "sleep + that knows no waking." This petition, asking for these + reasonable and righteous laws, was, by motion of Colonel + Mack, in a spirit of burlesque, referred to the Committee on + Internal Navigation, and a burlesque report was made in open + Senate, too indecent to be entered on the records. The grave + and reverend seigniors, on this, indulged in a hearty + guffaw, hugely enjoyed by his honor Lieutenant-Governor + Hoffman, and, to this day, no further action has been taken + to give the wife and mother this small modicum of justice, + though many of the senators at that time promised the + question an early consideration. + + On Saturday, October 3, 1868, a genuine sensation was produced by + the appearance of the Chicago _Legal News_, edited by Mrs. Myra + Bradwell. At this day it is impossible to realize with what + supreme astonishment this journal was received. Neither can we + estimate its influence upon the subsequent legislation of the + State. Looking through its files we find that no opportunity was + lost for exposing all laws unjust to woman, or for noting each + indication of progress throughout the world. Under date of + October 31, 1868, a short article in regard to the "Citizenship + of Women" reads thus: + + The act of congress provides that any alien, being a free + white person, may become a citizen of the United States. + While congress was very careful to limit this great + privilege of citizenship to the free white person, it made + no distinction or limitation whatever on account of sex. + Under this statute it has been held that a married woman + may be naturalized and become a citizen of the United + States, and that, too, without the consent of her husband. A + woman may be a citizen of the United States, be subject to + the laws, own property, and be compelled to pay taxes to + support a government she has no voice in administering or + vote in electing its officers. + + In the same issue of the _News_ we meet with an earnest appeal + for the prompt passage of a law conferring upon woman a right to + her earnings. When we realize that one of the Supreme Judges soon + after this assured Mrs. Bradwell that she was editing a paper + that no lawyer could afford to do without, we shall understand + how important a part this journal has played in the courts. In + the sixth number of the _News_ we find the attention of the legal + fraternity called to the fact that in the reign of James I. it + was held in the cases of _Coats vs. Lyall_ and _Holt vs. Lyall_, + tried in Westminster Hall, that a single woman, if a freeholder, + had the right to vote for a parliament man; and in the reign of + Queen Elizabeth, Lady Packington, in right of property held by + her, did actually vote for a return of two burgesses to + parliament for the borough of Aylesburg; and in the time of + Charles I., Mrs. Copley voted, in right of her property, for the + return of a burgess for Gratton. The subject of their return was + brought before parliament, and amended by joining other persons + with Mrs. Copley in the right of returning burgesses for Gratton. + Women have actually sat and voted in the English parliament. + + In 1868, Sorosis, a woman's club, was organized in Chicago, with + Mrs. Delia Waterman president, and soon after several periodicals + were established; _The Chicago Sorosis_, with Mrs. Mary L. + Walker, Cynthia Leonard and Agnes L. Knowlton, editors; _The + Inland Monthly_, Mrs. Charlotte Clark, editor and publisher; and + _The Agitator_, with Mary A. Livermore and Mary L. Walker + editors. Though all were short-lived, they serve to show woman's + ambition in the direction of journalism. + + In 1868 there was a decided "awakening" on the question of woman + suffrage in central Illinois. In the town of Elmwood, Peoria + county, the question drew large audiences to lyceum discussions, + and was argued in school, church and caucus. The conservatives + became alarmed, and announced their determination to "nip the + innovation in the bud." A spirited editorial in the New York + _Independent_ was based upon the following facts, given by + request of some of the disfranchised women: + + Rev. W. G. Pierce was the pastor of the Elmwood + Congregational Church. A large majority of the members were + women, and there was no discrimination against them in the + church manual. The pastor and two or three members decided + that a change of rules was needed. A church meeting was held + in March, 1868, at which the number in attendance was very + small, owing to some irregularities in issuing the call. The + suffrage question was brought up by the pastor, and the talk + soon became so insulting that the women present felt + compelled to leave the house. The manual was then amended so + as to exclude women from voting "in matters pertaining to + the welfare of the church," and making a two-thirds vote of + adult males necessary to any change thereafter. This was + carried by five yeas to one nay--only six votes out of a + membership of 210! The church was taken by surprise, and + there was no little excitement when the fact became known + next day. A vigorous protest and a call for reconsideration + was quickly signed by nearly a hundred members and sent to + the pastor. The meeting was not called for weeks, and when + at last it was secured, he, as moderator, ruled + reconsideration out, on the ground that there was an error + in the announcement of the business (by himself!) from the + pulpit. At a later meeting a vote on reconsideration was + reached, and enough of the male adult minority were in + attendance to make the vote stand 19 to 17, not two-thirds + of the male adult element voting for reconsideration. + + The contention now became bitter, and twenty-eight of the + more intelligent and earnest members withdrew and asked for + letters to other churches. Such of the "adult males" as + "tarried by the altar," refused to give the outgoing members + the usual letters, to join in a mutual council on an equal + footing, or to discipline the seceders. The latter called an + ex-parte council, composed of such men as Dr. Bascom, of + Princeton; Dr. Edward Beecher, of Galesburg; Dr. Haven, of + Evanston; Dr. C. D. Helmer, of Chicago, and others. This + council gave the desired letters, but advised + reconciliation. Among the seceders, Mrs. Huldah Joy, an + educated and intensely religious woman, was one of the most + active and earnest, her husband, F. R. Joy, and her + daughters, also doing good service. Mrs. H. E. + Sunderland,[352] another woman of culture, and Mrs. Mary Ann + Cone and Mrs. S. R. Murray were faithful, brave and earnest. + The church, which previous to the secession, was strong and + flourishing, became an inharmonious organization, and has + never rallied from the effects of that unjust action. + + At a meeting held in Chicago, in the autumn of 1868, a resolution + was offered to the effect that "a State association be formed, + having for its object the advocacy of universal suffrage." Among + the many interesting facts connected with the "rise and progress" + of the equal-rights movement is the large number of + representative men and women who have from the first been + identified with it.[353] January 25, 1860 we find among the most + progressive utterances from the pulpit, a sermon by the Rev. + Sumner Ellis of Chicago, while Rev. Charles Fowler and Dr. H. W. + Thomas were ever fearless and earnest in their advocacy of this + measure. In February, 1869, the _Legal News_ said: + + A call has been issued, inviting all persons in favor of + woman suffrage to meet in convention in Library Hall, + Chicago. There are many hundred names appended, including + the judges of all the courts of Cook county, leading members + of the bar throughout the State, representatives of the + press, ministers of the gospel, from all denominations, and + representatives from every profession and business. + Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and the Rev. + Olympia Brown have been invited and are expected to attend. + + Pursuant to the foregoing "call," a notable convention was + held.[354] The _Tribune_ devoted nine columns to an account of + the proceedings, respectful in tone and fair in statement. During + its two days' session, Library Hall was packed to its utmost + capacity with the beauty and fashion of the city. Able lawyers, + eloquent and distinguished divines and gallant generals occupied + seats upon the platform and took part in the deliberations. The + special importance of this convention at this time, was the + consideration of the immediate duty of securing a recognition of + the rights of women in the new constitution, for the framing of + which a convention had been called. + + All the speakers had strong convictions and showed broad + differences, continually making sharp points against each other. + Several clergymen were present, some in favor of woman suffrage, + some opposed, some in doubt. Among these were the two + Collyers--one, the Rev. Robert, the English blacksmith of former + days, liberal, progressive, of large physical proportions; the + other, the Rev. Robert Laird, a much smaller man, and of + conservative tendencies. + + The Rev. Robert Collyer dissented so entirely from what the + preceding speaker, Dr. Hammond, had said, that he was + determined to run the risk of attempting to reply. He + thought that a majority of men who began by being reformers, + ended by being old fogies, and he thought that might be the + case with Mr. Hammond. He felt no doubt that the whole + movement of women's rights was to be established in America. + He had seen the effects of woman's presence in associations + upon men, and he was sure that this same agency would have + the effect of bringing politics to such a condition as that + decent people of either sex might take part in it. As to the + Bible declaring that man shall rule over woman, he found a + similar case where it used to be quoted in support of the + institution of slavery, but when the grander and more + beautiful principles of the Bible came to be applied the + contrary was clearly established. So it was with the + question of woman's rights. To him the Bible seemed like an + immense pasture wherein any and every species of animal + might find its own peculiar food. In regard to what Mr. + Hammond said as to the rights of infants, he wished he had + conferred with his wife and got her approval before he said + it. The speaker was sure his own wife would not have advised + him to say it. He believed that when maternal and home + duties conflicted, the children and the home relations would + take the preference invariably, and the remarks of Mr. + Hammond seemed to imply a terrible want of confidence in + woman. He believed that woman would always do her duty to + her children and her home. Then, too, he had been surprised, + that Mr. Hammond, in speaking of preventing children from + coming into the world, had failed to speak of the + complicity of man, in reality the greatest criminal, in that + matter. As to the excitement attendant upon political + issues, was it worse, viewed as mere excitement, than that + which is so earnestly sought to be aroused at religious + meetings? Elizabeth, Anne, and Victoria were, with the + exception, perhaps, of Cromwell, the best rulers England + ever had, and, when the administration of Andrew Johnson was + remembered, he thought we might do worse than to have a + woman for president, after Grant's term shall have expired. + [Applause.] In conclusion, Mr. Collyer said that, even if + the fearful picture drawn by Mr. Hammond, of 70,000 immoral + women marching to the polls in New York, were realized, he + could draw another picture--that of 75,000 good and pure + women marching to the polls to vote the others down. + [Applause.] + + Rev. Edward Beecher, of Galesburg, said: Exclusive class + legislation was not safe; it was oppressive and degrading. + Female influence has procured the repeal of some obnoxious + laws, and that proved it was a powerful element. He thought + the Bible, as regards man being the head, had been + misinterpreted. When man took the attitude in relation to + women which Christ sustains to the church, that of love, of + service, of helpfulness and sacrifice, he would be an + example of true headship. He read an extract from an + editorial in the _Tribune_, of February 11, in regard to the + giving way of moral integrity in the affairs of the nation, + and commended the question to the consideration of all. The + country was never in greater danger than now of having the + whole political system destroyed. Some great moral influence + ought to be brought to eradicate the corruption so prevalent + among public men. There were two great vices in + existence--drunkenness and licentiousness--and in both, + woman was the victim of man in the majority of cases. The + legislation which pressed down women was wrong, and should + be remedied. He admitted it was an experiment to introduce + the female element into legislation, but the success of the + male element had thus far been such that, according to his + judgment, things could not be much worse than they are. + Women were always deeply interested in all public questions. + If responsibilities were put upon them they would become + greater intellectually, morally and socially. + + Several able lawyers also took part in the convention, who + brought their legal learning to bear on the question. Mrs. + Stanton and Miss Anthony, hostile to the action of the Republican + party as manifested in the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, + were present with their stern criticisms and scathing resolutions + on "manhood suffrage," submitting the following to the + convention: + + _Resolved_, That a man's government is worse than a white + man's government, because in proportion as you increase the + rulers you make the condition of the ostracised more + hopeless and degraded. + + _Resolved_, That as the Democratic cry of "a white man's + government" created an antagonism between the Irish and the + negro, culminating in the New York riots of '63, so the + Republican cry of "manhood suffrage" creates an antagonism + between the black man and all women, and will culminate in + fearful outrages on womanhood, especially in the Southern + States. + + _Resolved_, That by the establishment of an aristocracy of + sex in the District of Columbia, by the introduction of the + word "male" into the federal constitution in article XIV., + section 2, and by the proposition to enforce manhood + suffrage in all the States of the Union, the Republican + party has been guilty of three successive arbitrary acts, + three retrogressive steps in legislation, alike invidious + and insulting to women and suicidal to the nation. + + After a long and earnest discussion, the resolutions were voted + down. Mrs. Stanton's speech setting forth six reasons against a + "male aristocracy"[355] was pronounced able and eloquent, though + directly in opposition to the general sentiment of the + convention, which was mainly Republican. Miss Anna Dickinson, + having a lyceum engagement in Chicago, was present at one of the + sessions, and had quite a spirited encounter with Robert Laird + Collier. As she appeared on the platform at the close of some + remarks by that gentleman, loud calls were made for her, when she + came forward and spoke as follows: + + MRS. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: It is impossible for + me to continue in my seat after so kind and cordial a call + from this house, and I thank you for the pleasant and + friendly feeling you have shown. I have but a word to say. I + had gone out of the room, not because of the discussion, but + because it was too warm and the atmosphere so stifling, when + I was recalled by hearing something to this effect: "That + there had not been a single logical argument used on this + platform in behalf of woman suffrage; that woman is + abundantly represented by some man of her family; that when + a woman lifts herself up in opposition against her husband, + she lifts herself up, if I properly and rightly understood + the declaration, against God; that the inspired assertion is + that the husband is the head of the wife." Oh! but Mr. + Collier forgot to say the husband is the head of the wife as + Christ is the head of the church. In my observation, and it + has not been a limited one, though I confess I am not an + unprejudiced observer, I have never yet discovered a man who + is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. + Furthermore, he announces that these women, being + represented by men, if they lift themselves up in opposition + to their husbands, lose that womanly and feminine element + which is so admirable and pure and beautiful, and nothing + can preserve them from the contamination of politics. Woman + is to lift herself against God if she lifts herself against + her husband, and woman is abundantly represented by this + same husband, or by some man in her own family. There are a + multitude of women who have no husbands [laughter]. There + are a multitude of women who never will have any husbands + [renewed laughter]. There are a great many women who have no + men in their own households to represent them, either for + their wrongs or their rights. Mr. Collier, I suppose, + however, is talking about women who have husbands. + + He says the woman loses her purity, her delicacy, her + feminine attributes when she lifts her voice and sentiments + against the man whose name she bears. We will say, then, + look across these western prairies to Utah. If the women + there dare to say to the congress of the United States, + "Amend this constitution that we women of Utah can have one + husband, and that the husband can take but one wife"; if + these women demand decency in the marriage relation, demand + justice for themselves, demand purity, they are lifting + themselves against the laws of womanhood and the laws of + God. Every woman represented by her husband is to lose her + purity, her delicacy, her refinement, if she dares to lift + her hand against him and his will. You have here, within the + limits of your State of Illinois, 100,000 drunkards. Every + woman who dares to lift her hand, cry out with her voice, + "Give me the ballot that may offset the votes of these + drunkards at the polls and save my children from starvation + and myself from being put into the workhouse"--this woman is + lifting herself against the laws of God and womanhood. That + is not all! Last summer this question of prohibition was + being tested in Massachusetts by votes. I went from town to + town--my engagements taking me all over the State at that + time--and said my say upon this question of woman suffrage. + In whatever city or town I went, women, bowed down with + grief, who desired to preserve their womanhood, their + persons from blows and abuse, their sons from going to + gambling hells and rum shops, their girls from being sent to + houses of abomination, came to me and said: "Anna Dickinson, + if you are a woman, speak and use your influence for our + cause." Women who have drunken husbands, whether they lived + in Beacon street or at the North End, whether they lived in + luxury or poverty, said: "For the sake of womanhood, for the + sake of motherhood, for the sake of all things good and true + in the world, lift up our hands and voices, through + yourself, to protest against these men whose names we bear." + Ah! that Mr. Collier could have seen these drunkards' wives, + standing with tears streaming down their cheeks, and + begging for power, begging for the ballot to save their + homes, and themselves, and their children. Do you tell this + audience--do you tell any mother or daughter here this + afternoon, that she protests against the purity of + womanhood, and lifts her powers against the laws of God? + Pardon me for taking this much of your time. I will simply + add a thought. This is the cause of purity. This is the + cause which is to strengthen young girls, which is to give + them self-reliance and self-respect. This is the thing that + is to put these girls on their feet; say to them "you are an + independent being; you are to earn the clothes that cover + you," and this will allow them to walk with steady feet + through rough places. This thing which is to give these + women such power, certainly will be strengthening to them by + making them independent and self-reliant. The ballot is to + save womanhood and save purity, which he says is in + danger--the feminine element of dependence and weakness and + tenderness, of clinging helplessness, which he so much + adores. Let justice be done. Give us the ballot. Here is the + power to defend yourself when your rights are assailed; when + your home is entered. Here is the authority to tell the + spoiler to stand back; when our sons are being brought up to + wickedness and our daughters to lives of shame, here is the + power in the mother's hand which says these children shall + be taken from the wrong place and put in the right one. For + the rights of mothers I plead. Let us allow, from one end of + this country to the other, every man and woman, black and + white, to go to the polls to defend their own rights and the + rights of their homes. + + The Rev. R. L. COLLIER said he would to God that every woman + in America had such a heart and such a voice for woman's + rights. But sympathy was one thing and logic was another. If + he thought the ballot in the hand of woman would cure the + wrongs she speaks of, he would favor female suffrage, but he + was firmly convinced that it would only aggravate their + wrongs. He could not fight Anna Dickinson. + + ANNA DICKINSON: I certainly do not intend to fight Mr. + Collier. I believe I have the name of not being a + belligerent woman. Mr. Collier says sympathy is one thing + and logic is another. Very true! I did not speak of the + 40,000 women in the State of Massachusetts who are wives of + drunkards, as a matter which shall appeal to your + sympathies, or move your tears. Mr. Collier says that these + women are to find their rights by influence at home. + + Mr. COLLIER: That is what I mean. + + Miss DICKINSON: That they are to do it by womanly and + feminine love, and I tell him that is the duty of this same + feminine element which is so admirable and adorable. I have + seen men on your street corners, as I have seen men on the + street corners of every city of America, with bloated faces, + with mangled forms, and eyes blackened by the horrible vice + and orgies carried on in their dens of iniquity and + drunkenness and sin. I have seen men with not a semblance of + humanity in their form or in their face, and not a sentiment + of manhood in their souls. I have seen these men made + absolute masters of wives and children; men who reel to + their homes night after night to beat some helpless child; + to beat some helpless woman. A woman was beaten here in + Chicago the other day until there was scarcely a trace of + the woman's face left, and scarcely a trace of the woman's + form remaining. Mr. Collier tells me, then, that these women + whose husbands reel home at 12, 1, 2, 3 o'clock at night, to + demolish the furniture, beat the children, and destroy their + wives' peace and lives--that these women are to find their + rights by influence, by argument, by tenderness. These + brutes who deserve the gallows if any human being can + deserve anything so atrocious in these days--are these + women, their wives, to find their safety, their security for + themselves and their children, by influence, through + argument and tenderness, or love, when nothing can influence + save drink? The law gives man the power to say, "I will have + drink; I will put this into my mouth." If the ballot were + given to women they would vote against drunkenness. It is + not sentiment, it is logic, if there be any logic in votes + and in a home saved. + + The Rev. R. L. COLLIER, in reply to Miss Dickinson, quoted a + story from an English author of a drunkard who was reclaimed + by a daughter's love and devotion. He never wanted to hear a + woman say that law could accomplish what love could not. + + Miss DICKINSON: I only want to ask Mr. Collier a question, + and it is this: Whether he does not think that man would + have been a great deal better off if this woman's vote could + have offset his vote, and the rum thereby prevented from + being sold at the outset? + + Mr. COLLIER: I wish to say that law never yet cured crime; + that men are not our only drunkards. Women are drunkards as + well as men. + + Miss DICKINSON (excitedly): It is not so, in anything like + the same proportion; a drunken woman is a rare sight. + + Mr. COLLIER: I wish to say that intemperance can never be + cured by law. + + Miss DICKINSON: Very well. You tell me that there are woman + in the land who are drunkards. Doubtless there are. Then I + stand here as a woman to entreat, to beseech, to pray + against this sin. For the sake of these drunken woman, I ask + the ballot to drag them back from the rum-shops and shut + their doors [applause]. God forbid that I should underrate + the power of love; that I should discard tenderness. Let us + have entreaty, let us have prayers, and let us have the + ballot, to eradicate this evil. Mr. Collier says he is full + of sympathy, and intimates that women should stand here and + elevate love above law. So long as a man can be influenced + by love, well and good. When a man has sunk to the point + where he beats his wife and children, and burns the house + over them, reduces his family to starvation to get this + accursed drink; when a man has sunk to such a level, is + woman to stand still and entreat? Is this all woman is to + do? No! She is to have the power added that will drag the + firebrand out of his hand, and when sense and reason return, + when the fire is extinguished, then, I say, let us have the + power of love to interfere. I think keeping a man out of sin + is better than trying to drag him out afterward by love. + + Mr. COLLIER said he was placed in a false position of + prominence because, unfortunately, he was the only gentleman + on the platform who entertained serious convictions on the + negative side of the subject. The only question was, would + the ballot cure these wrongs? If so, he would like to hear + the reasons, philosophical and logical, set forth. The + appeals that had been made to the convention were illogical + and sympathetic. He believed the persecutors of women were + women. Fashion and the prejudice in the minds of women had + been the barriers to their own elevation. That the ballot in + the hands of women would cure these evils he denied. + + Miss DICKINSON: Mr. Collier says, "The worst enemies of + women are women"; that the worst opponents of this measure + are fashion, dress and idleness. I confess there are no + bitterer opponents or enemies of this measure than women. On + that very ground I assert that the ballot will prove woman's + best friend. If woman has something else to think about than + simply to please men, something else than the splendor of + her diamonds, or the magnificence of her carriage, you may + be sure, with broader fields to survey, it would be a good + thing for her. If women could earn their bread and buy the + houses over their heads, in honorable and lucrative + avocations; if they stood in the eye of the law men's + equals, there would be better work, more hopeful hearts, + more Christian magnanimity, and less petty selfishness and + meanness than, I confess with sorrow and tears, are found + among women to-day. + + One of the ablest speeches of the convention was made by Judge + Chas. B. Waite, on woman's position before the law. Immediately + after this enthusiastic convention[356] the Illinois State + Suffrage Association was formed, a committee[357] appointed to + visit Springfield and request the legislature to so "change the + laws that the earnings of a married woman may be secured to her + own use; that married women may have the same right to their own + property that married men have; and that the mother may have an + equal right with the father to the custody of the children." The + need of such a committee existed in that year of 1869, and they + seemed to have wrought effective service, since on March 24 the + married woman's earnings act was approved. + + AN ACT _in Relation to the Earnings of Married Women._ + + SEC. 1.--Be it enacted by the people of the State of + Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That a + married woman shall be entitled to receive, use and possess + her own earnings, and sue for the same in her own name, free + from the interference of her husband or his creditors: + _Provided_, This act shall not be construed to give to the + wife any compensation for any labor performed for her minor + children or husband. + + Mrs. Livermore, Mrs. Stanton, Judge Waite, Judge and Mrs. + Bradwell, had an enthusiastic meeting in the Opera House, + Springfield, most of the members of the legislature being + present. + + September 9, 10, 1869, the Western Convention was held in Library + Hall, Chicago; Mrs. Livermore presided. This influential + gathering was largely attended by leading friends from other + States.[358] Mrs. Kate Doggett and Dr. Mary Safford were + appointed to attend the Woman's Industrial Congress at Berlin. + Letters were read from Wm. Lloyd Garrison and others.[359] + + February 8, 9, 1870, the first annual meeting of the State + Association was held at Springfield in the Opera House, Hon. + James B. Bradwell in the chair. Many members of the legislature + were present during the various sessions and a hearing[360] + before the House was granted next day. Resolutions were discussed + and adopted, declaring that women were enfranchised under the + fourteenth amendment. As a constitutional convention was in + session, and there was an effort being made to have an amendment + for woman suffrage submitted to a vote of the people, greater + interest was felt in all that was said at this convention. + + The strange inconsistency of the opponents of woman suffrage was + perhaps never more fully illustrated than by the following + occurrence: While the patriotic and earnest women of Illinois + were quietly acting upon the advice of their representatives, and + relying upon their "quiet, moral influence" to secure a just + recognition of their rights in the constitutional convention, a + conservative woman of Michigan, who, afraid that the women of + Illinois were about to lose their womanliness by asking for the + right to have their opinions counted, deserted her home in the + Peninsular State, went to Springfield, secured the hall of the + convention, and gave two lectures against woman suffrage. A + meeting was called at the close of the second lecture, and in a + resolution moved by a member of the convention, as Mrs. Bradwell + pertinently says, "the people of the State were told that _one + woman_ had proved herself competent and well qualified to + enlighten the constitutional convention upon the evils of woman + suffrage."[361] Such was the effect of this self-appointed + obtruder from another State that the members of the convention, + without giving a woman of their own State opportunity for reply, + not only struck out the clause submitting the question to the + people in a separate article, but actually incorporated in the + body of the constitution a clause which would not allow a woman + to hold any office, public position, place of trust or emolument + in the State. Through the efforts of such staunch friends as + Judge Bradwell, Judge Waite and others, this latter clause was + stricken out, and one inserted which, under a fair construction, + will allow a woman to hold almost any office, provided she + receives a sufficient number of votes. + + By the accidental insertion of another clause in the constitution + under consideration, Section 1, of Article VII., any foreign born + woman, naturalized previous to January, 1870, was given the right + to vote. So that Illinois was the first State in the Union, since + the time when the women of New Jersey were disfranchised, to give + to foreign-born women the elective franchise. This mistake of the + wise Solons was guarded as a State secret. + + Previous to the great fire of 1871, the most popular and + influential woman's club in Chicago was the organization known as + Sorosis. This club, by the generous aid of many prominent + gentlemen of the city, established pleasant headquarters, where, + in addition to bright carpets and artistic decorations, were + books, flowers, birds, and other refined accessories. Mrs. + Elizabeth Loomis says of the meetings held in those delightful + parlors: "At every successive session we could see that we were + gaining ground and receiving influential members. I well remember + how it encouraged us to number the Rev. Dr. Thomas among our + friends; and how gladly I made the motion to have him appointed + temporary chairman in the absence of the president--a position + which he cheerfully accepted." One of the most brilliant reunions + ever enjoyed by the club, was a reception given to Mrs. Stanton + and Miss Anthony, as they were _en route_ to California, early in + June, 1871. Of this reception, Miss Anthony, in a letter from Des + Moines, Iowa, to _The Revolution_, said: "Mrs. Stanton and I were + in Chicago the evening the Illinois State and Cook County + Association held their opening reception at their new central + bureau, a suite of fine rooms handsomely carpeted and furnished + by prominent merchants of the city, where, with music, + conversation, speeches, etc., the hours passed delightfully + away," forming, as Miss Anthony might have added, a delightful + oasis amid the many discomforts of a continuous appeal to the + people to deal justly. + + In November, 1871, Mrs. Catharine V. Waite, of Hyde Park, made a + written application to the board of registration, asking them to + place her name upon the register as a voter, which they refused + to do on the ground that she was a woman, whereupon Mrs. Waite + filed a petition in the Supreme Court of Cook county, stating the + facts, and praying that the board be compelled by mandamus to + place her name upon the register. Chief-Justice Jameson granted + an alternative writ, returnable on the following Monday, + commanding the board to show cause, if any they have, why Mrs. + Waite's name should not be placed upon the register. Judge + Charles B. Waite, the husband of the plaintiff, made an + exhaustive and unanswerable argument before Judge Jameson, but to + no purpose as far as the result of that case was concerned, as + the opinion of the court delivered January 12, 1872, which was + very lengthy,[362] denied the relator with costs. + + In 1872, Norman T. Gassette, esq., clerk of the Circuit Court of + Cook county, and recorder of deeds, remembering the limited + number of industrial occupations open to women, and seeing no + reason why they could not perform the work of that office, + resolved to try the experiment. A room was fitted up for the + special use of women, a number of whom gladly accepted the + proffered positions and received the same pay per folio as that + earned by men. The experiment proved entirely satisfactory, Major + Brockway having officially testified in regard to woman's + especial fitness for the work. + + There was an attempt this year to get a law licensing houses of + ill-fame in Chicago, and an immense petition was rolled up and + presented to the legislature by ladies who desired to defeat the + proposed enactment. They carried their point by as neat a flank + movement as Sherman ever executed. A quiet move to Springfield + with a petition signed by thousands of the best men and women of + the city, and our enemies found themselves checkmated before the + game had fairly begun. + + February 13, 14, 1872, the State Association held its annual + meeting at Bloomington, with large and interested audiences.[363] + March 28 Mrs. Jane Graham Jones secured a hearing before the + legislature for Miss Anthony, who made one of her most convincing + arguments, and had in her audience nearly every member of that + body who voted for what was termed the Alta Hulett bill. + + To Myra Bradwell and Alta C. Hulett belongs the credit of a long + and persevering struggle to open the legal profession to women. + The latter succeeded at last in slipping the bolt which had + barred woman from her right to practice law. We take the + following statement in regard to Miss Hulett's experience from + the "Women of the Century": + + At the age of seventeen, Miss Alta Hulett entered the law + office of Mr. Lathrop, of Rockford, as a student, and after + a few months' study passed the required examination, and + sent her credentials to the Supreme Court, which, instead of + granting or refusing her plea for admission, ignored it + altogether. Myra Bradwell, the successful editor of the + _Legal News_, had just been denied admission. Her case, + stated in brief, is this: Mrs. Bradwell made application + for a license to practice law. The court refused it on the + ground of her being a married woman. She immediately brought + a suit to test the legality of this decision. This + interesting case was carried to the Supreme Court of the + United States, which sustained the decision of the lower + courts.[364] Miss Hulett had reason to expect that since she + was unmarried, this decision would not prejudice her case. + Just on the threshold of her chosen profession, the rewards + of youthful aspirations and earnest study apparently within + her grasp, her dismay may be imagined when no response + whatever was vouchsafed her petition. A fainter heart would + have accepted the situation. To battle successfully with old + prejudices, entrenched in the strongholds of the law, + required not only marked ability, but also a courage which + could not surrender. Miss Hulett took a country school for + four months, and bravely went to work again. While teaching + and "boarding round," she prepared a lecture, "Justice vs. + The Supreme Court," in which she vigorously and eloquently + stated her case. This lecture was delivered in Rockford, + Freeport, and many other towns, enlisting everywhere + sympathy and admiration in her behalf. After taking counsel + with Lieutenant-Governor Early and other prominent members + of the legislature, she drafted a bill, the provisions of + which are: + + _Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois + represented in the General Assembly_, That no person shall + be precluded or debarred from any occupation, profession, or + employment (except military), on account of sex. Provided + this act shall not be construed to affect the eligibility of + any person to an elective office. + + Nothing in this act shall be construed as requiring any + female to work on streets or roads, or serve on juries. All + laws inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed. + + Friends obtained for this bill a very favorable introduction + into the legislature, where it passed and received the + Governor's signature. Passing up the steps to her home one + rainy day, the telegram announcing that the bill had become + a law was placed in her hands, and in referring to the + incident, Miss Hulett said: "I shall never again know a + moment of such supreme happiness." We can only add in this + connection that after a most vigorous examination she stood + at the head of a class of twenty-eight, all the other + members being gentlemen. This time the Supreme Court made + the amende honorable, courteously and cordially welcoming + her into the ranks of the profession on her birthday, June + 4, 1873, and at the age of nineteen Miss Hulett commenced + the practice of law. + + But Miss Hulett's career, so full of promise, was soon ended. The + announcement of her untimely death, which occurred at San Diego, + Cal., March 26, 1877, sent a pang to the hearts of those who knew + her personally, and of thousands who regarded her with pride as a + representative woman. A Chicago correspondent says: + + The daily press of the city have already borne ample + testimony to her professional talents and success and to the + esteem and admiration accorded her by the bar of Chicago and + by the general public; for her somewhat exceptional position + as well as her ability had made her one of the marked + characters of the city. Her short life, so successful and + brilliant to the public eye, was not without its dark and + thorny places. Unusual responsibilities of a domestic + nature, opposition of various kinds and keen disappointments + only nerved her to greater persistency, and her courage was + upheld by the generous and abundant recognition which she + received on every hand from leading members of the bar--a + recognition for which she never failed, when opportunity + offered, to express her sense of profound obligation--and + she was accustomed to say that the law was the most liberal + of the professions. Much as Miss Hulett had accomplished + hitherto, it was felt that she had only crossed the + threshold of a career of surpassing usefulness; all things + seemed possible to one so richly endowed; her mental vigor + seemed matched by a _physique_, the apparent type of + blooming health; but the seeds of disease were inherited and + only awaited a combination of circumstances to assert their + fatal power. Absorbing enthusiasm for her profession, and + the cares of a rapidly increasing practice, made her + overlook the insidious danger lurking in a cold, and not + until her alarmed physician ordered her to the soft climate + of Southern California did she comprehend her danger. This + peremptory order was a terrible shock, and the forced exile + from the field of her hopes and ambitions, more bitter than + death. She never rallied, but continued rapidly to fail + until the end came. At a meeting of the bar of Chicago, held + to take action in commemoration of the death of Miss Alta M. + Hulett, attorney-at-law, the following was one of the + resolutions adopted: + + _Resolved_, That although the legal profession has hitherto + been almost, if not altogether, considered as exclusively + for men to practice, yet we freely recognize Miss Hulett's + right to adopt it as her pursuit in life, and cheerfully + bear testimony to the fact that in her practice she never + demeaned herself in any way unbecoming a woman. She was + always true to her clients and their interests, but she was + equally true to her sex and her duty; and if women who now + are, or hereafter shall become, members of our profession + shall be equally true, its honor will never be tarnished, + nor the respect, good-will and esteem which it is the duty + and pride of man to accord to woman be in the least + diminished by their membership. + + Which, translated, means that men are not only ready to + welcome into one of their own professions women having the + requisite intellectual qualifications, but that the welcome + will be the warmer if the women entering shall not leave + behind the more feminine attributes of the sex. Portia did + deliver judgment, but the counselor's cap became the pretty + locks it could not hide, and the jurist's cloak lent + additional grace to the symmetry and litheness of female + youth. + + M. Fredrica Perry began the study of law in the office of Shipman + & Loveridge, Coldwater, Michigan, in the winter of 1870-71. She + spent two years in the law-office and then two years in the + law-school of Michigan University. On graduating from the + law-school in March, 1875, she was admitted to the Michigan bar. + She located in Chicago in August, and in September was admitted + to the Illinois bar and began practice. A few weeks later she + was, on motion of Miss Hulett, admitted to the U.S. Circuit and + District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois. She was in + partnership with Ellen A. Martin under the name of Perry & + Martin. Her death occured June 3, 1883, and was the result of + pneumonia. Miss Perry was a successful lawyer and combined in an + eminent degree the qualities which distinguish able barristers + and jurists; her mind was broad and catholic, clear, quick, + logical and profound; her information on legal and general + matters was extensive. She was an excellent advocate, a skillful + examiner of witnesses, and understood as few do, save + practitioners who have grown old in experience, the nice + discriminations of common-law pleading and the rules of evidence. + She was engrossed in the study and practice of law, and gained + steadily in efficiency and power year by year. She had the genius + and ability for the highest attainment in all branches of civil + practice, and joined with these the power of close application + and hard work. She belonged to the Strong family which has + furnished a good deal of the legal talent of the United States. + Judge Tuley, a chancery judge of Chicago before whom she often + appeared, said of her at the bar meeting called to take action + upon her death: "I was surprised at the extent of her legal + knowledge and the great legal acumen she displayed." And of her + manner and method of conducting a certain bitterly-contested case + in his court: "I became satisfied that the influence of woman + would be highly beneficial in preserving and sustaining that + high standard of professional courtesy which should always exist + among the members of our profession."----Ellen A. Martin, of + Perry & Martin, Chicago, spent two years in a law-office and two + years in Michigan University law-school, and was graduated and + admitted to practice in Michigan at the same time with Miss + Perry. She was admitted in Illinois in January, 1876, and since + then to the U. S. Circuit Court.----In the summer of 1879, Mrs. + M. B. R. Shay, Streator, graduating from the Bloomington + law-school, was admitted to the bar. She has published a book + entitled, "Students Guide to Common-Law Pleading."----In 1880, + Cora A. Benneson, Quincy, was graduated from the Michigan + University law-school and admitted to the Michigan and Illinois + bar.----Ada H. Kepley, in practice with her husband at Effingham, + was graduated from the Chicago law-school in June, 1870, but was + refused admission to the bar. In November of that year, a motion + was made in the Court at Effingham that she should be allowed to + act as attorney in a case at that bar, and Judge Decius said that + though the Supreme Court had refused to license a woman, he yet + thought the motion was proper and in accord with the spirit of + the age and granted the motion. Mrs. Kepley was finally admitted, + January, 1881.----Miss Bessie Bradwell, graduated from the Union + College of Law of Chicago and admitted to the bar in 1882, is + associated with her parents, Judge and Mrs. Bradwell, on the + _Legal News_ and in the preparation of Bradwell's Appellate Court + Reports. + + July 1, 1873, the bill making women eligible as school officers + became a law, and in the fall elections of the same year the + people gave unmistakable indorsement of the champions of the + bill, by electing women as superintendent of schools in ten + counties, while in sixteen others women were nominated. Many of + these earnest women have been in the service ever since. As the + practical results of woman's controlling influence as + superintendents of schools seems to epitomize her work in all + official positions, we submit a report compiled by Miss Mary + Allen West, made at the request of the Illinois Social Science + Association, regretting that we have not space for one of the + model reports of Miss Sarah Raymond, also for ten years + superintendent of the schools of Bloomington: + + During the session of 1872-3, Judge Bradwell introduced into + the legislature the following bill, which became a law April + 3, 1873: "Be it enacted by the people of Illinois, + represented in General Assembly, that any woman, married or + single, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, and + possessing the qualifications prescribed for men, shall be + eligible to any office under the general school laws of this + State." A second section provides for her giving bonds. + + At the next election, November, 1873, ten ladies were + elected to the office of county superintendent of schools + for a term of four years. As this term has now expired, it + is a favorable time to inquire how women have succeeded in + this new line of labor. That the work that devolves upon + county superintendents may be understood, I give a part of + the synopsis of the duties pertaining to the office, as + enumerated by Dr. Newton Bateman: + + _First_--She must carefully inspect and pass upon the bonds + of all township treasurers, and upon the securities given in + each case, and is personally liable as well upon her + official bond for any loss to the school funds sustained + through her neglect or careless performance of duty. + + _Second_--She must keep herself fully and carefully informed + as to what townships have and what have not complied with + the provisions of the law in respect to maintenance of + schools; so that no funds may in ignorance be paid to + townships having no legal claim to them. + + _Third_--She must collect, transcribe, classify, verify, + tabulate, and transmit annually to the State superintendent + the school statistics of her county, together with a + detailed written report of the condition of the common + schools therein. + + _Fourth_--She must arrange, classify, file and preserve all + books, papers, bonds, official correspondence and other + documents belonging to her office. + + _Fifth_--She must impart instruction and give directions to + inexperienced teachers in the science, art and method of + teaching, and must be ready, at all times, to counsel, + advise and assist the school officers of her county. + + _Sixth_--She must take an active part in the management of + County Teachers' Institutes, and labor in every way to + improve the quality of teaching in her county. + + _Seventh_--She must hear, examine, and determine all + questions and controversies under school law, which may be + referred to her, and must carefully prepare, to the best of + her knowledge and ability, such replies to all letters from + school officers and teachers as each case demands. + + _Eighth_--She must examine all candidates desiring to teach + in her county, and grant certificates to such, and such + only, as she honestly thinks are of good moral character and + sufficient scholastic attainments. As no one can teach in a + public school without such certificate, this gives her the + veto power over all teachers. Dr. Bateman, commenting on + fourteen specifications, of which the foregoing constitute + but eight, says these are _some_ of the _many_ duties made + obligatory upon the county superintendent by law. Besides + all these, is the visitation of schools, which every true + superintendent considers a very important part of the work. + + For convenience we will group these duties in three classes: + 1. Those concerning finance. 2. Legal duties. 3. Duties to + teachers and schools. + + I. To give an idea of the financial interests intrusted to + the hands of these women, we find by reference to the State + superintendent's report for last year that the total + receipts for school purposes in these ten counties which + they superintend was $1,009,441. So far as can be learned + from the records, not one cent of the large sums over which + they had supervision has been lost through their dishonesty, + or, what was more to be feared, their ignorance of business. + Unlike those of Dora Copperfield, their accounts _will_ "add + up." In the county (Knox) where the receipts are greatest, + aggregating $182,423.22, the greatest difference between + receipts and expenditures, as shown by the superintendent's + books, is ten cents. In many of these counties the financial + affairs were in the greatest confusion when the ladies came + into office. In one, perhaps more, the preceding + superintendent was a defaulter, in another he was engaged in + a law-suit with the county board, and in still others + strange irregularities were discovered. In every instance, + so far as we can ascertain, these crookednesses have been + straightened out, the finances put upon a surer basis, + hundreds, we believe thousands, of dollars of bad debts have + been collected, treasurers and directors have been induced + to keep their books with greater care and in better shape, + reckless expenditure of school funds has been discouraged, + and directors encouraged to expend the money for things + which will permanently benefit the schools. So much for + finance. + + II. _Legal Duties._--Rightly to discharge the duties imposed + by specification 7, the county superintendent needs to be a + very good lawyer, for school law in its ramifications + reaches many other departments of law. Especially is it + inextricably mixed up with election laws, and all know that + cases arising under election laws are among the most complex + and difficult to handle. Probably a school election never + occurrs in which some such cases are not referred to the + county superintendent. In the settlement of these and other + cases arising under school law, these women have been + peculiarly successful, and some of them have earned the + blessing bestowed upon the peacemakers. We know of one + county where, after last spring's election, five contested + cases were referred to the superintendent for settlement; + these were all satisfactorily adjusted by her. During her + four years' administration, scores of controversies were + referred to her, and there has never been a single appeal + from her decisions. Another most complicated case involving + a defaulting treasurer, was conducted entirely by the county + superintendent until it became necessary to employ a lawyer + to argue the case in court. What she had done was then + submitted to one of the leading lawyers of the State, and he + sanctioned and approved each step. Numerous other instances + might be cited to show that woman has not failed in the + legal part of her work as superintendent of schools. + + III. _Her Work with Teachers and Schools._--Here our + superintendents were perfectly at home. Each of the ten had + taught successfully for years, and so knew the wants of the + school-room. This knowledge was invaluable, both in the + examination of teachers and in the supervision of schools. + Fears were expressed lest in the examination of candidates, + womanly sympathy would lead them to grant certificates to + needy applicants who were not altogether qualified. But the + motherliness which is in every true woman's heart, warded + off this danger. As one remarked, "I have a great deal of + the milk of human kindness in my nature, but its streams + flow toward the roomful of children to be injured by an + incompetent teacher, rather than toward that teacher, + however needy he may be. If his claims rest on his needs + rather than his merits, let the poormaster attend to his + wants, not the superintendent. School money is not a pauper + fund." This motherliness comes in good play in school + visitation. It draws the children to the superintendent; + keeps them from being afraid of her, and hence leads them to + work naturally during her visit; thus she can obtain a true + idea of the status of the school, and know just how to + advise and direct the teacher. The same thing holds true in + regard to teachers; the majority of them are ladies, and + they will come to a lady for the solution of their doubts + and difficulties much more freely than to a gentleman. This + gives her better opportunity to "impart instruction and give + directions to inexperienced teachers." Woman's power to lift + up the teachers under her control to a higher plane, both + intellectually and morally, has been signally demonstrated + by the experience of the past four years. + + In looking after the details of official work, those + tiresome minutiae so often left at "loose ends," producing + endless confusion, woman has shown great aptitude. You say, + "this is but the clean sweeping of a new broom." May be so, + in part; but in part it comes from the womanly instinct to + "look well to the ways of her household," whether that + household be the occupants of a cottage or the schools of a + county. In the work of the State Association of County + Superintendents, the ladies have well sustained their part. + When placed on the programme, they have come prepared with + carefully written papers, showing their desire to give the + Association the benefit of their best thoughts, and not put + off upon it such crudely digested ideas as may spring up at + the moment. At the last meeting at Springfield, four out of + the nine superintendents now in office were present, 44 per + cent.; out of the 93 gentlemen in the same office, 18 were + present, 19 per cent. The ratio of attendance has been about + the same for the four years. + + How has woman's work as county superintendent impressed + other educators? State-Superintendent Etter, who confesses + that he was not in favor of the plan, said at the State + Teachers' Association, above referred to: "The ladies + compare very favorably with their gentlemen co-laborers." + Mr. E.L. Wells, for twelve years county superintendent of + Ogle county, and thoroughly conversant with the work + throughout the State, concurs in this opinion. President + Newton Bateman, than whom no man in the State is better + fitted to speak on this subject, in his political-economy + class in Knox college, took occasion to commend the + efficiency of women as county superintendents of our State. + A gentleman who travels extensively, and looks into school + affairs closely, says he is convinced that in every county + where a woman was elected four years ago, the efficiency of + the office had been doubled and in some cases increased four + or even ten fold. If this be not an exaggeration, an + explanation may be found in the fact that in most of these + counties the best ladies were put in the place of gentlemen + most poorly fitted for the place. The office had become a + political foot-ball, kicked about as party exigencies + demanded, and often came into possession of political hacks + who "must be provided for," and for whom no other place + could be found. They had no qualifications for the office, + and, of course, could not perform its duties. The people, + disgusted, turned to the women for relief, and took good + care to elect the ones best fitted to do the work. Had equal + care been used in the selection of their predecessors, they + might have done equally good work. In quoting opinions, I + have purposely confined myself to those given by gentlemen. + + The limits of this paper have restricted this discussion to + the work of woman as a county superintendent; but in other + school offices she is doing efficient work. All over the + State we have examples of her efficiency as school director. + Miss Sarah E. Raymond, in Bloomington, and Miss Ludlow, in + Davenport (by the way, the Iowa State Teachers' Association + last year honored itself by electing her president), + abundantly proves woman's ability to superintend the schools + of large cities. M.A.W. + + In _Zion's Herald_ 1873, on the origin of the Woman's College in + Evanston, Miss Frances E. Willard writes: + + In 1866, when we were all tugging away to build Heck Hall + for ministers, I heard several thoughtful women say, "We + ought to be doing this for our own sex. Men have help from + every side, while no one thinks of women." In the summer of + 1868 Mrs. Mary F. Haskins, who had been treasurer of the + American Methodist Ladies' Centenary Association, which + built Heck Hall, raising for the purpose $50,000, invited + the ladies of Evanston to her home to talk over the subject + of founding a Woman's College, which should secure to young + women the highest educational advantages. Mrs. Haskin + originated the thought--with her own hands assisted in + laying the corner-stone, and in her first address as + president she said: "I have often thought that to the + successful teacher the words must be full of hope and + promise, which a great writer uses of education: 'It is a + companion which no misfortune can distress, no crime + destroy, no enemy alienate, no despot enslave; at home a + friend, abroad an introduction; in solitude a solace, in + society an ornament. It chastens vice, it guides virtue, it + adds a grace to genius. Without it what is man?'--and I + would add with emphasis, Without an education, what is + woman?" + + This Woman's College at Evanston is the first on record to which + a charter, granting full collegiate powers, was ever given by + legislative act, including only names of women in its board of + trustees. This board, elected Miss Frances E. Willard president, + who presided over the institution for two years, during which + term a class of young women was graduated, the first in history + to whom diplomas were voted and conferred by women. The degree of + A. M. was given Mrs. Jennie Fowler Willing, of Chicago, who + preached the baccalaureate sermon at the unique commencement + exercises. Mrs. Mary F. Haskin, and Mrs. Elizabeth Greenleaf were + respectively presidents of the board of trustees. + + Later on, as a higher evolution of the central thought, an + arrangement was made between the Woman's College and the + Northwestern University, by which the former became the woman's + department of the latter, on condition that in its board of + trustees, faculty of instruction, and all its departments of + culture, women should be admitted on an equality with men, as to + opportunities, positions and salaries. Miss Willard was then + chosen dean of the Woman's College, and professor of aesthetics in + the University. Mrs. Emily Huntington Miller was placed on the + executive committee of the board, and Mrs. R. F. Queal, Mrs. + Jennie Fowler Willing, Mrs. Mary Bannister Willard, and Mrs. L. + L. Greenleaf were elected trustees. One year later, Miss Willard + entered the temperance work since which time Miss Ellen M. Soule + and Miss Jane Bancroft have successively served in the position + of dean. + + The young women have led in scholarship, taken prizes in + composition and oratory, while upon one occasion the delighted + students dragged forth the only artillery in the village to voice + their enthusiasm over the fact that to Miss Lizzie R. Hunt had + been awarded at the great international contest the first prize + for the best English essay. + + In 1873, while filling the duties of professor in Wesleyan + University, Mrs. Jennie Fowler Willing was licensed as a local + preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the first woman + engaged as evangelist in Illinois. + + The Monticello Ladies' Seminary at Godfrey is worthy of mention. + Miss Harriet N. Haskell, its president, has done a noble work + there in making possible for many girls, by labor under her roof + to pay in part for a liberal education. She has been at the head + of this institution for thirty years. Mrs. F.A. Shiner at Mt. + Carroll, is another grand woman worthy of mention. She, too, + gives poor girls an opportunity in her household to pay in part + for their education. In this way many are being trained in + domestic accomplishments as well as the higher branches of + education. There is no distinction made between those who work a + certain number of hours each day and those who pay in full for + their advantages; and in many cases the best scholars have been + found from year to year among those who had the stimulus of + labor. As Miss Haskell and Mrs. Shiner have uniformly entertained + all the lyceum lecturers[365] at their beautiful homes, many have + had the pleasure of seeing and talking with these bright girls, + and the worthy presidents of the institutions. + + We believe to Illinois belongs the distinction of being the + birthplace of the first woman admitted to the American Medical + Association--Dr. Sarah Hackett Stevenson, born at Buffalo Grove, + Ogle county. Dr. Stevenson was admitted to this time-honored + association June, 1876. The Philadelphia _Evening Bulletin_ thus + refers to the innovation: + + The doctors have combined millennial with centennial + glories. The largest assemblage of the medical profession + ever held in America yesterday honored itself by bursting + the bonds of ancient prejudice, and admitting a woman to its + membership by a vote that proved the battle won, and that + henceforth professional qualification, and not sex, is to be + the test of standing in the medical world. Looking over the + past fierce resistance by which every advance of woman into + the field of medical life was met, yesterday's action seems + like the opening of a scientific millennium. It was a most + appropriate time and place for the beginning of this new era + of medical righteousness and peace. Here, in the centennial + year, in the "City of Brotherly Love," where the first + organized effort for the medical education of women was + made, where the oldest medical college for women in the + world is located, and where the fight against woman's entry + into the medical profession was most hotly waged, was the + place to take the manly new departure, which, so far as the + National Association is concerned, began yesterday in the + election of Dr. Sarah Hackett Stevenson as a member in full + standing from the State of Illinois. + + Dr. Mary H. Thompson, who was graduated at Boston in 1863, and + who, removing to Chicago, succeeded in establishing a woman's + hospital, is included in a short list of notable alumnae of the + Boston Medical School. Dr. Lelia G. Bedell, Dr. E. G. Cook, Dr. + Julia Holmes Smith, Dr. Alice B. Stockham, and many others have + won honorable distinction in this profession. + + One of the marked crises in the history of the reform we trace + was the centennial Fourth of July. The daughters of the Pilgrims + realized as never before the cruel injustice by which they were + deprived of their birthright, and from the Western prairies and + Eastern hills their earnest protest was given to the nation. As + early as May 2, 1876, at a special convention of the Illinois + Woman Suffrage Association, two vigorous protests were read as + the official utterances of State and National Associations. The + convention was called to order by Mrs. Alma Van Winkle, who + stated that Mrs. Jane Graham Jones,[366] the beloved and + efficient president of the association, having determined upon a + European sojourn, had sent her resignation to the executive + committee, and that Mrs. Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, recently + removed to the State, had been elected to fill her place. This + action being ratified, Susan B. Anthony was introduced, and + although she had just concluded an intensely vigorous lyceum + tour, extending through many months, she spoke with unusual + power. Just here I wish to emphasize the great loss to women in + the fact that as Miss Anthony's speeches were never written, but + came with thrilling effect from her patriotic soul, scarce any + record of them remains, other than the intangible memories of her + grateful countrywomen. At this convention the following address + was read and adopted: + + _To the Women of the United States of America, greeting:_ + + While the centennial clock is striking the hour of + opportunity for the Pilgrims' daughters to prove themselves + regenerate children of a worthy ancestry, while the air + reverberates to the watchwords of the statesmen of the + Revolution, let the daughters of the nation, in clear, + steady and womanly voices, chorus through the States: + "Taxation without representation is tyranny," and "all + governments derive their just powers from the consent of the + governed." + + Womanly hands, firm, capable and loving, have been steadily, + persistently and unceasingly knocking, knocking at the doors + of judicial, ecclesiastical and legislative halls, until at + last the rusty bars are yielding and the persistent knocking + is beginning to tell upon iron nerves and all kinds of + masculine constitutions. Just now, in the centennial year, + another door has opened, preparing the way for the Pilgrims' + daughters to present their claim before the assembled nation + on the "Fourth of July, 1876." + + A joint resolution of congress, signed by the president of + the United States, and made the subject of proclamation by + the governor of the State, reads as follows: + + _Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives + of the United States of America_, That it be, and is hereby, + recommended by the Senate and the House of Representatives + to the people of the several States, that they assemble in + the several counties and towns on the approaching centennial + anniversary of our national independence, and that they + cause to have delivered on such day an historical sketch of + said county or town from its foundation, and that a copy of + said sketch may be filed, in print or manuscript, in the + clerk's office of said county, and an additional copy be + filed in the office of the librarian of congress at the city + of Washington, to the intent that a complete record may thus + be obtained of the progress of our institutions during the + first centennial of their existence. + + The governor of this State earnestly recommends that prompt + measures be taken in each county and town for the selection + of one or more persons who shall prepare complete, thorough + and accurate historical sketches of each county, city, town + or village, from the date of the settlement to the present + time. + + In view of the fact that since our civil war thousands of + charitable, scientific, philanthropic, religious and + political associations have been organized among women, of + which but few accurate records are now accessible to the + general public, and in view of the fact that the Supreme + Court and many of our legislators construe "persons" to + indicate only men (except when persons are to be taxed, + fined or executed), we respectfully suggest that in all + cases one member of the committee shall be a woman, to the + end that there may be submitted to future historians + accurate data of the extent and scope of the work of + American women; that this historian of woman shall carefully + and impartially record the literary, educational, + journalistic, industrial, charitable and political work of + woman as expressed in temperance, missionary and woman + suffrage organization. + + Let a meeting of every woman suffrage organization + throughout the State, or, where none exists, let any friend + of the cause call a meeting, at which a committee shall be + appointed to present this suggestion to the people as they + may meet in the different cities, villages and towns, to + perfect arrangements for their local celebration. + + As American citizens we salute the tri-color, emblem of the + rights obtained and liberties won by husbands, fathers and + sons, meanwhile pledging, if need be, another century of + toil and effort to the sacred cause of human rights, and the + establishment of a genuine republic. + + ELIZABETH BOYNTON HARBERT, + _Pres. Ill. Woman Suffrage Society._ + + It was decided at this convention to celebrate the Fourth of July + in some appropriate manner. Under the auspices of Mrs. Harbert + this was done at Evanston. The occasion was heralded as "The + Woman's Fourth," and programmes[367] were scattered through the + village. + + The auditorium of the large Methodist Church was tastefully + decorated with exquisite flowers; flags were gracefully festooned + about the pulpit, and all the appointments were pronounced + artistic by the most critical, and Mrs. Harbert's oration, of + which we give a few extracts, aimed to be in keeping with her + surroundings: + + If possessed of artistic genius, I would seize the pencil + and imprison in rich and gorgeous coloring two pictures for + the woman's pavilion of our centennial; for the first I + would reproduce that prophetically symbolic scene at the + dawn of our history, when with a faith and generosity worthy + of honorable mention, Isabella of Castile placed her jewels + in the almost discouraged mariner's hands, and bade Columbus + give to the world Columbia. The second scene would be the + antithesis of the first, as to-day, the women of the United + States make haste to lay at the feet of our statesmen and + prophets their jewels of thought and influence, bidding + them, in the name of woman, give to the world a perfected + government, a genuine republic, a purer civilization. Now, + as then, there are many ready with mocking jeers; but, + turning not to the right nor the left, the faith of woman + and the courage of man move on apace to sure success. That + historic "first gun" not only jarred loose every rivet in + the manacles of 4,000,000 slaves, but when the smoke of the + cannonading had lifted, the entire horizon of woman was + broadened, illuminated, glorified. On that April day when a + nation of citizens were suddenly transformed into an army of + warriors, American women, with a patriotism as intense as + theirs, a consecration as true, quietly assumed their + vacated places and became citizens. Out from market-place + and forum, counting-house and farm--keeping time to the + chime of the music of the Union--marched father, husband and + son; into office, store and farm, called there by no + ambitious desire to wander out of their sphere, but by the + same dire military necessity that called our men to the + front stepped orphaned daughter and widowed wife. Anna + Dickinson captured the lyceum and platform. The almost + classic scene of "Corinne at the Capitol" is not more + remarkable than that historic scene of the Quaker girl at + Washington, called there to receive the plaudits of the + highest officials of our nation, for services rendered in + the then vital political campaigns of New Hampshire, + Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New York. + + The cruel, scarlet days of war dragged wearily on. Up from + the Southern battle-fields, borne northward in the lull of + the war tempest, came a wailing appeal from "the boys," who + hitherto had never appealed to "mother" in vain: "We are + wounded, sick and starving." Instantly the mother-heart + responded--waiting not for "orders," snapping official + red-tape, as though it had been woven of cob-webs, two women + started southward with the needed supplies, and this great, + anxious, agonized North gave a sob of relief when the + message thrilled through the land that Jane C. Hoge and Mary + A. Livermore had arrived at the front with the needed + supplies. Idle, helpless, dependent queens were not then in + demand, but women fitted to be wives of heroes. Because our + lake-bordered, tree-fringed village was once her home, I + lovingly trace first on Evanston's scroll of honor the name + of Jane C. Hoge, while just underneath it I write that of + our venerable philanthropist, who was the first woman in + these United States to receive the badge of the Christian + commission, Mrs. Arza Brown. + + And now, standing here upon the border-land of two + centuries, over-shadowed by the dear old flag, re-baptized + with the blood of my beloved as of yours--standing here, a + native-born citizen, as a woman to whom the honor, purity, + peace and freedom of native land is dear as life; as a wife + vitally interested in the interests of manhood; as a mother + responsible for the best development of her children; as a + human being, responsible to her Creator for the highest + possible usefulness, I claim equality before the law. + + Mrs. Mary Bannister Willard gave some surprising facts in regard + to woman's work in connection with the North Western University, + and reminded us that foremost among the women of the dawning + century was Eliza Garret of Chicago, who secured to the Garret + Biblical Institute its endowment of a quarter of a million of + dollars, with the proviso that a certain increase of income from + the same after the wants of the young theologues had been met, + should be applied to the erection and endowment of a seminary for + young ladies. But alas! the theological appetite has been + insatiate, even unto this last, and deliverance has come to our + girls from another quarter. And this was the throwing down of + university gates and bars, and a free extension of all + educational privileges to women. Upon the roll of honor + connected with this work we gratefully place the names of many + brave, self-sacrificing women.[368] + + The Rev. Mr. Chappell, pastor of the Baptist church, then gave a + most eloquent, liberal oration. In closing, he said: "But what + think you, sisters, of the dangers that threaten the republic? Do + they lie on your hearts? Are they in your prayers? Do they enter + into your plans? All compliments and gallantries aside, it makes + a vast difference in the destiny of the republic whether you + understand and feel its dangers. The scale has turned. No longer + need we dread oppression, disability, power; but on the other + hand, license, luxury, listlessness, forgetfulness of God and the + wholesome truth. This watch-night of the republic augurs well. + This gathering of the sisterhood has its meaning. You are the + power behind the throne; with you and with God lies the destiny + of the republic." After the benediction the audience dispersed, + all expressing of the entire programme the most enthusiastic + approval. + + About the close of the year 1876, a noticeable change in the + direction of thought and effort was very apparent in the State of + Illinois. As a result of the ravages of the fire and the severe + mental strain to which business men were subjected, women sprang + to the rescue, and actively engaged in business. These additional + burdens assumed by the many, the few were left to bear the weight + of religious, philanthropic and social duties. Women had tested + their powers sufficiently to realize their strength, and were + impatient for immediate results, hence many of the active friends + of woman suffrage, believing that the temperance ballot could be + more speedily secured than entire political equality, joined the + home-protection movement, while through the broadening and + helpful influence of the Grange in the farm-homes of the + northwest, requests for aids to organization came from all + quarters. In order that the earnest thoughts of the one class and + the practical methods of the other, might be rendered mutually + beneficial, I one day entered the sanctum of the progressive + editor of the _Inter-Ocean_, and asked for a ten-minute audience. + The request was granted, and Wm. Penn Nixon, esq., courteously + listened to the following questions: "As a progressive + journalist, and one who must recognize the philanthropic activity + of the women of the Northwest, has it ever occurred to you that + there is nowhere in journalism a special recognition of their + interests? We have special fashion departments, special cooking + departments, but no niche or corner devoted to the moral, + industrial, educational, philanthropic and political interests of + women; and does not your judgment assure you that such a + department could be rendered popular?" As a result of this + conversation a special corner of the _Inter-Ocean_ was yielded to + woman's interests, designated by the editors, "Woman's Kingdom," + and on January 6, 1877, the following announcement appeared: + + Congratulations to women that we have at last found a home + in journalism; that amid the clashing of sabers of our + modern press tournament, the knights of the quill recognize + that women have some rights that journalists are bound to + respect. These columns are in the interest of no class, + clique, sect, or section, and we earnestly request accurate + data of woman's work. All missionary, literary, temperance + and woman suffrage organizations, will be accorded space for + announcing their aims. With an occasional review of new + books, we will confer in regard to what woman has written; + wandering through studios and sanctums, we will record what + she is painting and preaching. Pleading an intense and + loving interest in the splendid opportunities now opening to + American women, we shall hope that some truth may be evolved + that may enrich their lives. + + Notwithstanding this was the first special department of the + kind, much of the best journalistic work of the State was being + done by women,[369] who seemed to have received a new baptism to + serve the higher interests of humanity. From the desire for + cooeperation expressed by many contributors to "Woman's Kingdom," + the following little item was set afloat in May, 1877: + + Many facts recently arresting attention, in connection with + the industrial, political, and moral interests of women, + seem to render a conference of their representatives in + regard to business aims, expedient. There is need of a + bureau through which the industrial interests of women can + be promoted and some practical answer given to the question + everywhere heard, "How can we earn a living?" There is a + demand for an educational bureau of correspondence and also + a lyceum bureau through whose agency good lectures upon + practical subjects can be secured in every city and village. + All interested in such a conference are requested to send + their names to Mrs. Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, Evanston, + Ill., or Mrs. Louise Rockwood Wardner, Cairo, Ill. + + Hon. Frank Sanborn, in his annual report to the American Social + Science Association, mentioned the formation of a branch + society[370] in this State. He said: + + Like the State Charities Aid Association of New York, which + was organized and is directed by women, the Illinois + Association devotes itself chiefly to practical applications + of social science, though in a somewhat different direction. + It was formed in October, 1877, with a membership of some + two hundred women; it publishes a monthly newspaper, _The + Illinois Social Science Journal_, full of interesting + communications, and it has organized in its first seven + months' existence eight smaller associations in other + States. + + The enthusiasm in this society branching out in so many practical + directions, absorbed for a time the energies of the Illinois + women. Our membership reached 400. This may account for the + apparent lethargy of the Suffrage Association during the years of + 1877-78. Caroline F. Corbin dealt an effective blow in her + novel, entitled "Rebecca; or, A Woman's Secret." Jane Grey + Swisshelm, with trenchant pen, wrote earnest strictures against + the shams of society. Elizabeth Holt Babbitt wrote earnestly for + all reform movements. Myra Bradwell persistently held up to the + view of the legislators of the State the injustice of the laws + for woman. Mrs. Julia Mills Dunn and Mrs. Hannah J. Coffee were + doing quiet but most effective work in Henry county. Miss Eliza + Bowman was consecrating her young womanhood to the care of the + Foundlings' Home. Mrs. Wardner, Mrs. Candee, Mrs. George, and + other women in the southern part of the State, were founding the + library at Cairo, while in every village and hamlet clubs for + study or philanthropic work were being organized. Mrs. Kate N. + Doggett, as president of the Association for the advancement of + Women, was lending her influence to the formation of art clubs. + And all this in addition to the vast army of faithful teachers, + represented by Sarah B. Raymond, Professor Louisa Allen Gregory + and Mary C. Larned. Mrs. Louise Rockwood Wardner, president of + the Illinois Industrial School for Girls, and the noble band of + women associated with her, were earnestly at work in the endeavor + to secure to the vagrant girls of the State an industrial + education. Miss Frances E. Willard and the dauntless army of + temperance workers were petitioning for the right to vote on all + questions pertaining to the liquor traffic. + + Meanwhile many of the members of the Illinois Social Science + Association were beginning to realize that every measure proposed + for progressive action was thwarted because of woman's inability + to crystallize her opinions into law. This has been the uniform + experience in every department of reform, and sooner or later all + thinking women see plainly that the direct influence secured by + political power gives weight and dignity to their words and + wishes. Mrs. Jane Graham Jones, ex-president of the State + Association, continued her effective work in Europe, and, as a + delegate from the National Association, prepared the following + address of welcome to the International Congress, convened in + Paris, July 5, 1878: + + Friends, compatriots, and confreres of the International + Congress assembled to discuss the rights of women: Allow me + to extend to you the congratulations of the National Woman + Suffrage Association of America, which I have the honor to + represent. I congratulate you upon this important, this + sublime moment, this auspicious place for the meeting of a + woman's congress. Paris, gorgeous under the grand monarch + who surrounded his royal person with a splendid galaxy of + beauty, genius, and chivalry; attractive and influential + under the great emperor whose meteoric genius held + spell-bound the wondering gaze of a world; to-day, with + neither king nor court, nor man of destiny, is grander, more + gorgeous, more beautiful and more influential than ever + before. To-day this is the shrine toward which the pilgrims + from every land turn their impatient steps. + + Each balmy breeze comes to us heavily laden with the + dialects of all nations. Not only are the different parts + represented in their economic and industrial products, but + each thought, idea, motive and need is brought before the + world in the various congresses assembled during this great + union festival of liberty, peace and labor. Literature, + science, religion, education, philosophy, and labor, each + has had its eloquent advocates. At this time, when the great + ones of the earth are met together in earnest thought and + honest discussion, when each mind and conscience is attuned + to the highest motive, how appropriate that woman, whose + labor, wealth and brain have cemented the stones in every + monument that man has reared to himself; that woman, the + oppressed, woman, the hater of wars, the faithful, quiet + drudge of the centuries, watching while others slept, + working while others plundered and murdered; woman, who has + died in prison and on the scaffold for liberty, should here + and now have her audience and her advocates. + + As a child of America I love and venerate France. We cannot + forget LaFayette, although a hundred years have passed since + generous France sent him to our aid in our great struggle + for freedom. But as a woman I glory in her. [Great and + deafening applause.] All true women love and honor France. + [At this point the reader was interrupted with wild cries of + "Bravo! bravo!" "Live America!" "True, true."] France, in + whose prolific soil great and progressive ideas generate and + take root, in spite of king, emperor, priest or tyrant; + France, the protectress of science, art, and philosophy; + France, the home of the scholar and thinker; France, the + asylum which generously received the women who came hither + seeking those intellectual advantages and privileges cruelly + denied them at home; France, that compelled republican + America and civilized England to open their educational + institutions to women; France, the birth-place of a host of + women whose splendid genius, devoted lives, and heroic + deaths have encouraged and inspired women of other lands in + their struggles to strike off the ignominious shackles which + the ages have riveted upon them! [Loud applause.] How + apropos it is, then, that the women from all nations meet on + the free soil of France to give to the world their + declaration of rights. To-day we clasp hands and pledge + hearts to the sacred cause of woman's emancipation. To-day + we meet to thank France for the grand women whose lofty + utterances come echoing and reechoing to us through the + corridors of time, and to thank her for her great men who + have been the beacon lights to guide the world to higher + civilization and greater hatred of oppression. In the name + of my great countrywomen, inaugurators and leaders of the + woman's rights movement in America, the eloquent and ardent + advocates of liberty for men and women alike, both black and + white; in the name of the officers of the National Woman + Suffrage Association; in the name of those grand women, + Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony, + I salute the women of France and of the world assembled in + this congress, and bid them god-speed. When we call to mind + what has been accomplished by noble women everywhere, we are + encouraged to renewed effort. + + In America we have accomplished wonders, and yet we demand + more; and shall continue to demand until we are equal in the + state, in the church, and in the home. Twenty years ago + woman entered our courts of law only as a criminal to be + tried; now she enters as an advocate to plead the cause of + justice, and invoke the spirit of mercy. Twenty years ago + woman entered the sick room only as the poorly-paid nurse; + now she is the trusted medical adviser, friend and + counsellor. To-day she is in many respects the peer of man, + to-morrow she will be in all respects his acknowledged + equal. [Great and continued applause.] + + Who can measure the influence this congress may have on + woman's advancement toward that perfect equality which + justice and humanity demand. Women of France and of the + world, be of good cheer, and continue to agitate for the + right, for in the elevation of woman lies the progress of + the world. [Deafening applause, and cries of hear, hear.] + + A letter to the Chicago _Times_ commenting upon the above address + says: + + Mrs. Jones being indisposed, was replaced momentarily by her + daughter, a beautiful young lady of about sixteen summers, + who read the opening address of her mother; her rich voice + pronouncing with such distinctness and beauty, the earnest + words, translated into French, won all hearts, and gave to + the opening of the congress such a prestige as it would + otherwise never have had. After its close, Miss Jones + regained her seat amidst the hearty congratulations of the + throng assembled in that great hall, and I was proud of our + little American. Her beauty and courage, coupled with her + extreme youth, were the principal topics discussed during + the day by outsiders. I was thankful that our nation was so + well represented at the very first meeting, and the Parisian + journals were all loud in their praise of Mrs. Jones' + welcoming address, as well as the charming apparition of her + young and accomplished daughter. + + As indicating the numerous lines along which woman's aroused + energies have found expression, we would call attention to the + Art Union of central Illinois. It is composed of nine societies, + "The Historical," and "The Palladium," of Bloomington; the art + class at Decatur; "Art Society," of Lincoln; "Art Association," + of Jacksonville; "Art Society," of Peoria; "Art Society," of + Springfield, and "Art Club," of Champagne. Mrs. Lavilla Wyatt + Latham, wife of Col. Robert G. Latham, of Lincoln, was the + originator of the Art Union. Their spacious home, built with + large piazzas in true southern style, is a museum of curiosities. + Its library, cabinet, pictures, and statuary, make it a most + attractive harbor of rest to the wandering band of lecturers, + especially as the cultivated host and hostess are in warm + sympathy with all reform movements. Mr. Latham was a warm friend + of Abraham Lincoln, and entertained him many times under his + roof. + + The _Woman's Journal_ of March 24, 1877, said: + + Seventy women of Illinois, appointed by the Woman's State + Temperance Union, went to the legislature, bearing a + petition signed by 7,000 persons, asking that no licenses to + sell liquor be granted, which are not asked for by a + majority of the citizens of the place. + + Mr. SHERMAN moved a suspension of the rules to admit of the + presentation of the petition. + + Mr. MERRITT objected, but, by a decided vote, the rules were + suspended, and the petition was received and read. + + Mr. SHERMAN moved that Mrs. Prof. S. M. D. Fry of Wesleyan + University of Bloomington, be invited to address the House + upon the subject of the petition. + + Mr. HERRINGTON objected to the obtrusion of such trifling + matter upon the House, which had business to do. It was well + enough to let the petition be received, but he wanted nobody + to be allowed to interfere with the business of the House. + Referring to some forty or fifty ladies of the Union who had + been admitted to the floor of the House, he wanted to know + by what authority persons not entitled to the privilege of + the floor had been admitted. He insisted on his prerogative + as a member, and asked that the floor and lobbies be cleared + of all persons not entitled to the privilege of the House. + + According to the Chicago _Tribune_, this speech of + Herrington created a slight sensation, among the ladies + especially, but Mr. Herrington's demand was ignored, and a + recess of thirty minutes was taken to allow Mrs. Fry to + address the House in support of the petition, which she did + in a speech put in very telling phrases. At its conclusion, + some of the members opposed to temperance legislation, + signalized their ill-breeding, to say the least, by derisive + yells for Mr. Herrington and others to answer Mrs. Fry. + Presently the hall was resonant with yells and cheers, + converting it into a a very babel, and the hubbub was kept + up until, at the expiration of the half-hour recess, Speaker + Shaw called "order" and the House immediately adjourned. + + If any body of men bearing a petition of 7,000 voting men, + had gone to the same legislature, and by courtesy been + admitted to speak for their petition, no member would have + dared to insult them. It is because they had no recognized + political rights that these women were insulted. Claim your + right, ladies, to be equal members of the legislature, then + you can enact temperance laws, and have an unquestioned + right "to the privilege of the floor." + + In 1879, under the lead of their president, Frances E. Willard, + the women of Illinois rolled up a mammoth petition of 180,000, + asking the right to vote on the question of license. This + prayer, like that of the 7,000, met the fate of all attempts of + disfranchised classes to influence legislation. Following this + repulse, in some ten or fifteen of the smaller cities of the + State, boards of common council were prevailed upon to pass + ordinances giving the women the right to vote on the question. + Without an exception, the result was overwhelming majorities for + "No License." In the cities where officers were elected at the + same time, almost without exception, the majority of them were in + favor of license, while in those in which the old board of + officers held over, no licenses were granted, until the new board + elected only by the votes of the men of the city, was installed. + Dr. Alice B. Stockham, in her report at the Washington convention + of 1885, said: + + After the city ordinance of Keithsburg allowed women to + vote, the hardest work was to convert the women themselves. + Committees were appointed who visited from house to house to + persuade women to go to the polls for the suppression of the + rule of liquor. On the morning of election they met in a + church for conference and prayer. At 10 o'clock forty brave + women marched to the polls and cast their first ballot for + home protection. Carriages were running to and fro all day + to bring the invalid and the aged. For once they were + induced to leave the making of ruffles and crazy quilts, to + give their silent voice for the suppression of vice. Three + weeks later not a woman could be found in the town opposed + to suffrage, and for one year not a glass of liquor could be + bought in Keithsburg. + + Under the act of 1872, the women of Illinois thought their right + to pursue every avocation, except the military, secure. But in + 1880, a judicial decision proved the contrary. We quote from the + _National Citizen_: + + In June, 1879, the Circuit Court of Union County, Judge John + Dougherty presiding, appointed Helen A. Schuchardt, resident + of the county, to the office of Master in Chancery. Mrs. + Schuchardt gave bond with security approved by the court, + taking and subscribing the required oath of office. Since + that day, she has been the acting Master of Chancery of that + county, taking proofs, making judicial rules, and performing + the other various duties incident to such office. At the + last term of the court the State attorney, at the instance + of Mr. Frank Hall, relator, filed an information in the + nature of a _quo warranto_ charging that Mrs. Schuchardt had + usurped and was unlawfully holding and exercising the + office. Mrs. Schuchardt filed pleas setting forth the order + of the court appointing her, her bonds with the order of + approval, and the oath of office filed by her. To these + pleas a general demurrer was interposed and argued. + + The questions presented by the demurrer were: _First_--Is + the defendant eligible to this office, she being neither a + practicing nor a learned lawyer? _Second_--Is the defendant + eligible to this office, she being a female? The court + dismissed the first question on the ground that the statute + does not require admission to the bar as a qualification. Of + the eleven Masters in Chancery in that Judicial Circuit, it + was shown that only five had been admitted to the bar. As to + the second objection, _i. e._, that Mrs. Schuchardt was a + female (!) it was decided that the common law never + contemplated the admittance of a woman to the office of + Master in Chancery, and that doubtless it was the first + instance in which a woman had been admitted to the office. + It was also decided that the act of March 22, 1872, did not + make women eligible to this office; Master in Chancery--for + woman--did not mean "occupation, profession, or employment," + and that "persons do not select an office, but are selected + for the office." + + Judge Harker, in delivering this opinion, said: "It is due + to Mrs. Schuchardt to say in conclusion, that while I am + constrained to sustain this demurrer and hold that under the + law she cannot retain this office, there is not one of the + Masters in Chancery in the four counties where I preside, + who has been more faithful or attentive in the discharge of + his duties, and none who has exhibited higher qualifications + to discharge well those duties. And it is my sincere hope + that at its next session the legislature will make this + office accessible to females." + + One of the most influential local associations has been that of + Chicago, or Cook county.[371] From 1870 to 1876 Mrs. Jane Graham + Jones was its president, as well as the leading spirit in the + State Society.[372] She was the one to plan and execute the + attacks upon the board of education, the common council, and the + legislature, holding many meetings in Chicago, and at + Springfield, the seat of government. Another flourishing + association is that of Moline. We give the following from its + secretary: + + In May, 1877, Mrs. Eunice G. Sayles, and Mrs. Julia Mills + Dunn, secured Mrs. Stanton to give a lecture on woman + suffrage in Moline, and at a reception given to her by Mrs. + Sayles, a society with 22 members was organized, which has + held meetings regularly since that time, with the reading of + papers on topics previously arranged by the president. It is + a matter of pride that not a failure has ever occurred, each + member always cheerfully performing the duty assigned her. + An evening reception is held annually to celebrate the + organization of the society, to which two hundred or more + guests are invited, each member being entitled to bring + several outside of her own family. The meetings have been + valuable, not only in promoting friendly relations between + the members, but also in the mental stimulus they have + afforded. Much of the success of this society is due to the + literary culture and earnestness of Mrs. Anne M. J. Dow, who + was our president for three years. We have sustained a great + loss in the death of Mrs. Sarah D. Nourse, who for + thirty-five years was an earnest friend of all reforms. + + Soon after its organization, our society became auxiliary to + the National Association. We have circulated petitions and + forwarded them to Springfield and Washington, where they + have met the fate common to all prayers of the + disfranchised; we have circulated tracts, placed on file in + the public reading room all the suffrage journals, and + secured the best lecturers on the question. We are + organizing an afternoon reading society, to have read aloud + "The History of Woman Suffrage," and shall soon place it on + the shelves of the public library of the village. While we + cannot point to any wonderful revolution in public sentiment + because of our work, we are nevertheless full of courage, + and under the leadership of our State president, Elizabeth + Boynton Harbert, we shall go forward in faith and good + works, hoping for the end of woman's political slavery.[373] + + In concluding this meager record of the methods of earnest men + and women of Illinois in their brave work for liberty, we are + painfully conscious of a vast aggregate of personal toil and + self sacrifice which can never be reported. We write of petitions + presented to State and National legislative assemblies, but it is + impossible to record the personal sacrifice and moral heroism of + the women who went from house to house in the cities and + villages, or traveled long distances across the broad prairies to + secure the signatures. Only those who have carried a petition + from door to door can know the fatigue and humiliation of spirit + it involves. Though these earnest women ask only the influence of + the names of persons to help on our reform, they are often + treated with less courtesy than the dreaded book-agent and + peddler. + + WATSEKA, Ill. + + I send you petitions, the one circulated by me has 270 + names--the other by Clara L. Peters, 139.[374] We are + interested heart and soul in the movement, and our efforts + here have made many friends for the cause. Have been an + ardent worker since I was a child, and well remember that + grand hero of moral reforms, Samuel J. May of Syracuse, N. + Y., at a Woman's Temperance Convention held in Rochester in + 1852, when I was eight years old. + + VIOLA HAWKS ARCHIBALD.[375] + + The following letter from Mary L. Davis, gives some idea of the + toils of circulating petitions: + + DAVIS, Stephenson Co., Ill., May 28, 1877. + + EDITOR _Ballot-Box_:--The question of suffrage for woman has + been thoroughly discussed in our society, and last week I + started out with my petition. I could work but a short time + each day, but I systematically canvassed our beautiful + little village, taking it by streets, and although I have + been over but a small portion, I have ninety signatures. I + met with but little opposition, and with kind wishes in + abundance; with some amusing, some provoking, some pathetic, + and some disgusting phases of human nature--with very + agreeable disappointments, and very disagreeable ones. Very + often some person would say to me, there is no use in + calling at such a house; the man will not, and the woman + dare not, sign. I went to such a place last week, was met + with all the courtesy one could ask. The man looked over the + petition thoughtfully, affixed his own name, and asked his + wife if she did not wish to do so, and called in a beautiful + sister who was out playing ball with the children, telling + her as it was for the especial benefit of women, she ought + to sign it too. I write these things to encourage our young + girls, who will take up the work. Take every house, ask + every person; "No," will not hurt or kill you. Be prepared + to meet every argument that can possibly be advanced. The + one which I meet oftenest, is that woman cannot fight, and + therefore she shall not vote; and strange to relate, it is + almost always advanced by a person who was never a soldier, + through physical disability, cowardice, or over or under + age. + + The shortest "No," without the slightest shadow of courtesy, + was shot from the lips of a man who is doing business on + capital furnished by his wife, and who lives in a house + purchased with his wife's money. Graceful return for her + devotion, wasn't it? I suppose he prefers to keep her in her + present state of serfdom, as, if she should ever find out + that she was of any importance in the world, except as his + housekeeper, cook, washerwoman, and waiter-in-general, she + might possibly inquire into the stewardship of her lord and + master. And it seemed to me if that ever came to pass, a man + who could say "no" so cavalierly, without even a "thank you, + ma'am," or, "you're quite welcome," both could and would + manage to make surroundings rather disagreeable to the party + of the second part. So far no person who has thought much, + read much, or suffered much, has refused to sign, and in the + few hours which I have devoted to the work, three + grandmothers nearly ninety years of age, wished to have + their names recorded on the right side of the question, and + in two of those instances the grandmother, daughter, and + grandfather affixed their signatures, one after + another.[376] + + We have been permitted to copy the following private letter from + A.J. Grover to Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who is now at her + home in Tenafly, N. J., busily at work with Miss Anthony and Mrs. + Gage on the second volume of the "History of Woman Suffrage." The + first volume should be on the center-table of every family in the + land as a complete text-book on the woman suffrage question, + which is to be one of the great issues, social and political, in + the coming years. These three women have grown old and won their + crowns of white hair in the cause of not only their sex, but of + mankind: + + + CHICAGO, November 29, 1881. + + MY DEAR FRIEND: You represent a movement of more importance + to mankind than any that ever before claimed attention in + the whole history of the race, viz.: the freedom of one-half + of it. You have enforced this claim by half a century of + heroic discussion--of persistent, unanswerable logic and + appeal against the theory and practice of all nations, + against all governments, codes and creeds. You proclaimed + fifty years ago the novel doctrine that woman by nature is, + and by law and usage should be, the absolute equal of man. A + claim so self-evident should only have to be stated to be + recognized by all civilized nations; and yet to this hour + the highest civilization, equally with the lowest, is built + on the slavery of woman. In the darkest corners of the earth + and on the sunlit heights of civilization, the mothers of + the race are by law, religion and custom doomed to + degradation. And if the seal of their bondage is never to be + broken, they themselves as well as the lords and masters + they serve, are equally unconscious of the servitude. No + religion, no civil government, has ever taught or recognized + any other condition for woman than that of subjection. + Against the accumulated precedents of all the ages, you and + your noble coaedjutors have rebelled in the face of derision + for fifty long, weary years. Was ever such sublime womanly + heroism and self-sacrifice before known? Was ever such worth + of culture, such wealth of womanhood, laid on the altar of + country and humanity? And all this comparatively + unrecognized and unrewarded. Where is the boasted chivalry + of the English-speaking nations? It is a virtue we boast of, + but do not possess. It never, in fact, had any real + existence based on genuine respect for woman. It is a bitter + sarcasm in the mouth of an American male citizen. A few men + like Theodore Parker, Joshua R. Giddings, William Lloyd + Garrison, Wendell Phillips, Gerrit Smith, Samuel J. May and + Parker Pillsbury have measurably redeemed this nation, + recognizing your claim for woman as self-evidently just and + righteous, and cooeperating with you in maintaining it. There + are only a score or two of such men in a generation with + sufficient chivalry or perception of justice to publicly + claim for women the rights they themselves possess. + + Science has demonstrated that men to be manly must be well + born, must have noble mothers. How can a mother give birth + to a noble soul while herself a slave? How can she impart a + free spirit when her own is servile? A stream cannot rise + higher than its fountain. + + We have thought to bring about a high order of civilization + by freeing our sons, while chaining our daughters, by + sending sons to college and daughters to menial service for + a mere pittance as wages, or selling them in marriage to the + highest bidder--by robbing them on the very threshold of + life of all noble ambition. By the degradation of our women + we take from the inherited qualities of the race as much as + is added by culture. We take from the metal before casting + as much as we restore by polish afterwards, and thus we + curse and stultify both sexes. + + The law and religion of man can be no better than man + himself. If religion, law, justice and social order are to + improve, man must first be improved. Religion and law are + effects, not causes. They are fruits, not the tree--the + products of the human mind. If these are to be improved, + mankind must first be improved. This will be impossible + until freedom and culture shall become the inalienable + rights of woman. It would be a thousand times better, if + either must be a slave to the other, that man should be a + slave to woman. The History of Woman Suffrage, on which you + are engaged, if the second volume shall prove equal to the + first, will be the richest legacy this age will bequeath to + the future. It is a revelation from God, in which, if men + believe, they shall be saved. Religion itself, without this + great salvation, will continue to remain little else than "a + wretched record of inspired crime" against woman. Woman must + be free! Protection as an underling from man, savage or + civilized, she in reality never had and never will have. + Protection she does not want. What she needs is equal + rights, when she can protect herself--rights of person, + rights of labor, rights of property, rights of culture, + rights of leisure, rights to participate in the making and + administering of the laws. Give her equality in exchange for + protection; give her her earnings in exchange for support; + give her justice in exchange for charity. Let man trust + woman as woman trusts man, with entire liberty of action, + and she will show the world that liberty is her highest + good. + + In conclusion, let me confess that I read your first volume + with a feeling of inexpressible shame and mortification for + my sex. + + Yours faithfully, + A.J. GROVER. + + +[Illustration: Elizabeth Boynton Harbert] + + +Mrs. Boynton Harbert, to whom we are indebted for this chapter, has +from girlhood been an enthusiastic advocate of the rights of women. +Growing up in Crawfordsville, Indiana, under the very shadow of a +collegiate institution into which girls were not permitted to +enter, she early learned the humiliation of sex. After vain +attempts to slip the bolts riveted with precedent and prejudice +that barred the daughters of the State outside, she tried with pen +and voice to rouse those whose stronger hands could open wide the +doors to the justice of her appeals. Her youthful peaens to liberty +in prose and verse early found their way into our Eastern journals, +and later in arguments before conventions and legislative +assemblies in Illinois, Iowa and other Western States. As editor +for seven years of the "Woman's Kingdom" in the Chicago +_Inter-Ocean_--one of the most popular journals in the nation--she +has exerted a widespread influence over the lives of women, +bringing new hope and ambition into many prairie homes. As +editor-in-chief of the _New Era_, in which she is free to utter her +deepest convictions; as wife and mother, with life's multiplied +experiences, a wider outlook now opens before her, with added +wisdom for the responsibilities involved in public life. In all her +endeavors she has been nobly sustained by her husband, Mr. William +Harbert, a successful lawyer, many years in practice in Chicago, +whose clear judgment and generous sympathies have made his services +invaluable in the reform movements of the day. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[351] Judge and Mrs. Catharine V. Waite, Mrs. Hannah M. Tracy +Cutler, Amelia Bloomer, Dr. Ellen B. Ferguson, Mrs. E. O. G. +Willard, the Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Harrison of Earlville; Professor and +Mrs. D. L. Brooks, Mrs. M. E. De Geer, Mrs. Frances D. Gage. + +[352] Mrs. Sunderland was one of the many New England girls who in +the early days went West to teach. Speaking of the large number of +women elected to the office of county superintendent (one of them +her own daughter), she told me that thirty years ago when she +arrived at the settlement where she had been engaged as teacher, +the trustees being unable to make the "examination" deputed one of +their number to take her to an adjoining county, where another New +England girl was teaching. The excursion was made in a lumber wagon +with an ox-team. All the ordinary questions asked and promptly +answered, the trustee rather hesitatingly said, "Now, while you're +about it, wouldn't you just as lief write out the certificate?" +This was readily done, and the man affixing his cross thereto, +triumphantly carried the applicant back to his district, announcing +her duly qualified to teach; and that trio of unlettered +men installed the cultivated New England girl in their log +school-house, probably without the thought entering the heads of +trustees or teacher, that woman, when better educated, should hold +the superior position.--[S. B. A. + +[353] Dr. Mary Safford, Mrs. A. M. Freeman, Hon. and Mrs. Sharon +Tyndale, Hon. E. Haines, Fernando Jones, Jane Graham Jones, +Professor Bailey, Mr. and Mrs. Ezra Prince, Mr. and Mrs. R. M. +Fell, Mrs. Belle S. Candee, General J. M. Thompson, Mrs. Professor +Noyes of Evanston, Charles B. Waite, Catharine V. Waite, Susan +Bronson, E. S. Williams, Kate N. Doggett, C. B. Farwell, L. Z. +Leiter, J. L. Pickard, Henry M. Smith, Frank Gilbert, Ann Telford, +Mrs. L. C. Levanway, Myra Bradwell, Mary E. Haven, Mrs. A. L. +Taylor, Elizabeth Eggleston, P. D. Livermore, James B. Bradwell, +Joseph Haven, J. H. Bayliss, D. Blakely, R. E. Hoyt, C. D. Helmer, +Alfred L. Sewell, George D. Willigton, H. Allen, R. N. Foster, W. +W. Smith, M. B. Smith, Amos G. Throop, Robert Collyer, L. I. +Colburn, G. Percy English, Arthur Edwards, A. Reed and Sons, S. M. +Booth, Sumner Ellis, George B. Marsh, Sarah Marsh, Ruth Graham, +John Nutt, J. W. Butler, Mrs. J. Butler, Mrs. S. A. Richards, Mrs. +S. W. Roe, F. W. Hall, Mrs. Fanny Blake, Mary S. Waite, J. F. +Temple, A. W. Kellogg, W. H. Thomson, J. W. Loomis, James E. +Curtis, Elizabeth Johnston, E. F. Hurlbut, E. E. Pratt, Mrs. E. M. +Warren, William Doggett, Edward Beecher, James P. Weston, E. R. +Allen, J. E. Forrester, Mrs. J. F. Temple, Mrs. F. W. Adams, L. +Walker, Mary A. Whitaker, Elvira W. Ruggles, W. W. Corbett, H. B. +Norton, W. H. Davis, I. S. Dennis, G. T. Flanders, Mrs. H. B. +Manford, Edward Eggleston, Sarah G. Cleveland, G. G. Lyon, E. +Manford, William D. Babbitt, Elizabeth Holt Babbitt, I. S. Page, W. +O. Carpenter, Mrs. W. O. Carpenter, Mrs. H. W. Cobb, T. D. Fitch, +Harriet Fitch, Mary A. Livermore, T. W. Eddy, A. G. Brackett, +Andrew Shuman, John A. Jameson, John V. Farwell, B. W. Raymond, E. +G. Taylor, Mems Root and lady, Rev. John McLean, Mrs. Owen Lovejoy, +Mrs. Noyes Kendall. + +[354] The officers were: _President_, Mrs. M. Livermore; +_Vice-Presidents_, the Rev. Dr. Goodspeed, Mrs. Helen M. Beveridge, +Judge Bradwell, the Rev. Edward Beecher, the Rev. D. Eggleston, +Miss Eliza Bowman, the Rev. Dr. Fowler, Mrs. Elizabeth Loomis, Mrs. +M. Hawley, Mrs. M. Wheeler, Mrs. Myra Bradwell; _Secretaries_, Mrs. +Jeanne Fowler Willing, of Rockford, Mrs. Elizabeth Babbitt, and +George Graham, Esq.; _Committee on Finance_, Judge Bradwell, +General Beveridge and the Hon. S. M. Booth. The speakers were Anna +Dickinson, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Rev. Robert +Collyer, Rev. Mr. Hammond, Rev. Robert Laird Collier, Kate N. +Doggett, and many of the officers of the convention. + +[355] For this speech see Vol. II., page 348. + +[356] The officers of the convention were: _President_, Mary A. +Livermore; _Vice-Presidents_, the Rev. Robert Collyer, Professor +Haven; _Recording Secretary_, Jeanne Willing, of Rockford; +_Corresponding Secretary_, Myra Bradwell; _Executive Committee_, +Professor Haven, chairman; the Rev. Dr. Edward Beecher, Elizabeth +J. Loomis, Hannah B. Manford, the Rev. E. Eggleston, the Rev. C. H. +Fowler the Rev. E. J. Goodspeed, Rebecca Mott, Charlotte L. +Levanway. + +[357] The committee to visit Springfield were Hon. James B. +Bradwell, Mrs. Myra Bradwell, Mrs. Kate N. Doggett, the Rev. E. +Goodspeed, the Hon. C. B. Waite, and Mrs. Rebecca Mott. + +[358] _Indiana_--Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, Dr. Mary Wilhite, Emma +Mallory, and Amanda Way; _Missouri_--Rebecca N. Hazzard; +_Wisconsin_--Lelia Peckham; _Iowa_--Mary Newbury Adams, Matilda +Fletcher; _Minnesota_--Mrs. Bishop; _Kansas_--Mrs. Henry; +_Ohio_--Margaret V. Longley; _Michigan_--Professor Stone; +_Massachusetts_--Henry B. Blackwell, and Lucy Stone; _New +York_--Susan B. Anthony, most of whom took part in the discussions. + +[359] Letters were also received from Paulina Wright Davis, +Frederick Douglass, Hon. Sharon Tyndale, Rev. D. H. N. Powers, Mrs. +Arabella Mansfield, Rev. Willis Lord. + +[360] The speakers were Mrs. Livermore, Mrs. Stone, Hon. Sharon +Tyndale, Hon. E. Haines, and Judge Bradwell. + +[361] One thousand three hundred and eighty women of Peoria also +prayed that the constitution might not be so amended as to +enfranchise women; another evidence of the demoralizing influence +of any form of slavery upon the human mind. Had not these women +been lacking in a proper self-respect they would not have protested +against the right to govern themselves.--[E. C. S. + +[362] Our limited space prevents the publication of Judge Waite's +argument and Judge Jameson's decision. + +[363] Jane Graham Jones and Elizabeth Loomis represented the Cook +County Association. Delegates from several other districts were +present. The speakers were A. J. Grover, Mrs. Jane Graham Jones, +Miss Anthony, Mrs. Adelle Hazlett of Michigan, Dr. Ellen B. +Furguson of Indiana, Mr. and Mrs. Fell, Mr. and Mrs. Prince. + +[364] For Mrs. Bradwell's case see Vol. II., page 601. + +[365] Those who have traveled and lectured through the West and +spent many rainy Sundays in dreary hotels, know how to appreciate a +few days rest in the delightful homes scattered over the country as +well as in the towns and cities. How many of these memory recalls +in the State of Illinois! What a hospitable reception we had in the +cozy farm-house of Mrs. Owen Lovejoy at Princeton, and in the +stately residence of Mrs. Noyes Kendall at La Moile, in the home of +Judge Lawrence at Galesburg, Mrs. Judge Joslyn at Woodstock, Mrs. +R.M. Patrick, Marengo; Mrs. A.W. Brayton, Mt. Morris; Mrs. Eldridge +Norwood, Olney; Rev. Dr. Moffatt, Monticello; Col. E.B. Loop, +Belvidere; Mrs. Judge Greer, Decatur; Mr. and Mrs. Prince, +Bloomington; Col. and Mrs. Latham, Lincoln, and others too numerous +to mention in all the Western States.--[S.B.A. + +[366] At her beautiful home, 910 Prairie avenue, her social +influence was even more than her public work. An unfriendly report +in any journal was uniformly followed by an invitation to dinner to +the editor or some one of his staff, to meet the lady criticised, +or discuss the point of attack. Miss Emily Faithful, Mrs. Stanton, +Miss Anthony and Miss Couzins have all in turn shared these dinners +and discussions. If the Methodist Episcopal conference sent an +opponent to preach in their church, and a little social attention +did not convert him, two persons left the church. Neither Mrs. +Jones nor her husband would listen to the Rev. Dr. Hatfield, for +Fernando Jones was always as staunch an advocate of the suffrage +for women as his wife, and had no faith in a religion that did not +teach human equality.--[S. B. A. + +[367] "_Ducit Amor Patriae_"; "1876."--Centennial Commemoration, +Evanston, Ill. Music, prayer, music; recitation, Miss M. E. Brown; +music, "Battle Hymn"; salutatory, "Woman and Philanthropy," Mrs. +Elizabeth Boynton Harbert; "Historical Record of the Educational +Work of Our Women," Mrs. Mary Bannister Willard; music, "Whittier's +Hymn; recitation, Miss M. E. Brown; Missionary Roll of Honor, Miss +Jessie Brown; oration, Rev. F. L. Chapell; benediction. + +[368] Mary F. Haskin, Melinda Hamline, Caroline Bishop, Elizabeth +M. Greenleaf, Harriet S. Kidder, Mary T. Willard, Mary I. K. Huse, +Cornelia Lunt, Harriet N. Noyes, Maria Cook, Margaret P. Evans, +Sarah I. Hurd, Annie H. Thornton, Abby L. Brown, and Virginia S. +Kent. + +[369] Prominent among these journalists were Margaret Buchanan +Sullivan and Mrs. Annie Kerr of the Chicago _Times_, Mrs. Hubbard +of the _Tribune_, Miss Farrand of the _Advance_, Virginia +Fitzgerald and Alice Hobbins of the _Inter-Ocean_, Mrs. Myra +Bradwell, editor of the _Legal News_, Mrs. Catharine V. Waite and +Mrs. DeGeer of the _Crusader_, Mrs. Louisa White of the Moline +_Dispatch_, Mrs. C. B. Bostwick of the Mattoon _Gazette_, Mrs. J. +Oberly of the Cairo _Bulletin_, Miss Mary West of the Galesburg +_Republican_, Mrs. Celia Wooley, Miss Eliza Bowman, Mrs. Clara Lyon +Peters of the Watseka _Times_, Jane Grey Swisshelm, Elizabeth Holt +Babbitt, and many others. + +[370] The officers of the Illinois Social Science Association were: +_President_, Mrs. Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, Evanston; _Recording +Secretary_, Miss Sarah A. Richards, Chicago; _Corresponding +Secretary_, Mrs. W. E. Clifford, Evanston; _Treasurer_, Mrs. H. H. +Candee, Cairo; _Directors_, Mrs. Helen M. Beveredge, Evanston; Mrs. +Frank Denman, Quincy; Mrs. C. A. Beck, Centralia; Mrs. R. +McLoughrey, Joliet; Mrs. W. O. Carpenter, Chicago; Miss M. +Fredricka Perry, Chicago; _Vice-Presidents_, First Congressional +District, Mrs. Eliza R. Sunderland, Chicago; Second, Mrs. W. D. +Babbitt, Chicago; Third, Mrs. Chas. E. Brown. Evanston; Fourth, +Mrs. Carrie A. Potter, Rockford; Fifth, Mrs. F. A. W. Shimer, Mt. +Carroll; Sixth, Mrs. Sarah C. McIntosh, Joliet; Thirteenth, Mrs. B. +M. Prince, Bloomington; Fourteenth, Mrs. C. B. Bostwick, Mattoon; +Sixteenth, Mrs. J. W. Seymour, Centralia; Nineteenth, Mrs. J. H. +Oberly, Cairo. + +[371] _President_, Mrs. Fernando Jones; _Vice-Presidents_, Mrs. +Robert Collyer, Mrs. Richard Somers, Rev. C. D. Helmer; +_Corresponding-Secretary_, Mrs. C. B. Waite; _Recording-Secretary_, +Mrs. S. H. Pierce; _Treasurer_, Mrs. J. W. Loomis; _Executive +Committee_, Mrs. Rebecca Mott, Mrs. H. W. Fuller, Mrs. Dr. C. D. R. +Levanway, Fernando Jones, Miss Thayer, Rev. J. M. Reid, Mrs. Jno. +Jones, Mrs. Wm. Coker, Dr. S. C. Blake. + +[372] The officers of the Illinois State Association are now, +1885; _President_, Mrs. Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, Evanston; +_Vice-President-at-large_, Mrs. M. E. Holmes, Galva; _Secretary_, +Rev. Florence Kollock, Englewood; _Treasurer_, Dr. L. C. Bedell, +354 N. La Salle street, Chicago; _Executive Committee_, Hon. M. B. +Castle, Sandwich: Mrs. E. J. Loomis, 2,939 Wabash avenue, Chicago; +Mrs. Clara L. Peters, Watseka; Mrs. L. R. Wardner, Anna; Mrs. Julia +Mills Dunn, Moline; Mrs. Helen E. Starrett, Lake Side Building, +Chicago; Capt. W. S. Harbert, Evanston; Rev. C. C. Harrah, Galva. + +[373] From time to time we have had for president, Mrs. Eunice G. +Sayles, Mrs. Anna M. J. Dow, Mrs. Flora N. Candee, Mrs. Julia Mills +Dunn, Mrs. Nettie H. Wheelock; for secretaries, Mrs. C. W. Heald, +Mrs. Lucy Anderson, Mrs. Kate Anderson; among those who have been +active members of the society from its formation are, Harriet B. G. +Lester, Ida Peyton, L. F. M'Clennan, Catharine H. Calkins, Dr. Jane +H. Miller, Margaret Osborne, Harriet M. Gillette, Laoti Gates, Mary +F. Barnes, Mary Wright, M. M. Hubbard, Emma Jones, Mary A. Stewart, +Kate S. Holt, Mary A. Stephens, Abbie A. Gould, Mrs. M'Cord, Lydia +Wheelock, Mrs. E. P. Reynolds, J. A. Tallman, Ann Eliza Reator, Dr. +S. E. Bailey, Dr. E. A. Taylor, Lucy Ainsworth, Jerome B. Wheelock, +M. A. Young, Mary Knowles, M. E. Abbot, Lois Forward, Mrs. Young. + +[374] Mrs. Clara Lyon Peters of Watseka, furnished the largest +petition ever sent from Illinois; W. B. Wright of Greenview, Mrs. +S. Eliza Lyon of Toulon, Mrs. Hannah J. Coffee of Orion, Mrs. Eva +Edwards of Plymouth, Mrs. C. E. Larned of Champaign, Mrs. Barbara +M. Prince of Bloomington, Mrs. F. B. Rowe of Freedom, Mrs. Jane +Barnett, Mrs. E. H. Blacfan, and Mrs. E. T. Lippincott of Orion, +Mrs. Julia Dunn of Moline, Mrs. Clara P. Bourland of Peoria, +Sybilla Leek Browne of Odell, Mrs. Jacob Martin, Cairo, Mary E. +Higbee, Kirkland Grove, Mary Thompson, LaSalle, Emily Z. Hall of +Savoy, Elizabeth J. Loomis of Chicago, have all done worthy work in +circulating petitions, both to congress and the State legislature. + +[375] Mrs. Archibald is the daughter of Betsey Hawks, of Genesee +county, N. Y. I well remember the brave-hearted mother in the early +days of the movement, when in 1852 I made my first stammering +speech in the town-hall at Batavia. She arranged the meeting, and +entertained the speakers, and was indeed "the cause" in that +conservative village.--[S. B. A. + +[376] When at Durand, near Davis, in 1877, Mrs. Davis and her +husband drove over, and at the close of my lecture, she gave me her +maiden name and said, "Do you not remember me? I sat by your side +and fairly pushed you up in that teachers' convention at Rochester, +in 1853, when you made that first speech you told about; and I have +been most earnestly hoping and working for the enfranchisement of +women ever since."--[S.B.A. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIV. + +MISSOURI. + + Missouri the First State to Open Colleges of Law and Medicine to + Woman--Liberal Legislation--Eight Causes for Divorce--Harriet + Hosmer--Wayman Crow--Works of Art--Women in the War--Adeline + Couzins--Virginia L. Minor--Petitions--Woman Suffrage + Association, May 8, 1867--First Woman Suffrage Convention, Oct. + 6, 1869--Able Resolutions by Francis Minor--Action Asked for in + the Methodist Church--Constitutional Convention--Mrs. Hazard's + Report--National Suffrage Association, 1879--Virginia L. Minor + Before the Committee on Constitutional Amendments--Mrs. Minor + Tries to Vote--Her Case in the Supreme Court--Miss Phoebe Couzins + Graduated from the Law School, 1871--Reception by Members of the + Bar--Speeches--Dr. Walker--Judge Krum--Hon. Albert + Todd--Ex-Governor E. O. Stanard--Ex-Senator Henderson--Judge + Reber--George M. Stewart--Mrs. Minor--Miss Couzins--Mrs. Annie R. + Irvine--"Oregon Woman's Union." + + +It has often been a subject for speculation why it was that a slave +State like Missouri should have been the first to open her medical +and law schools to women, and why the suffrage movement from the +beginning should there have enlisted so large a number of men[377] +and women of wealth and position, who promptly took an active +interest in the inauguration of the work. A little research into +history shows that there must have been some liberal statesmen, +some men endowed with wisdom and a sense of justice, who influenced +the early legislation in Missouri. + +By the constitution, imprisonment for debt is forbidden, except for +fines and penalties imposed for violation of law. A homestead not +exceeding $3,000 in value in cities of 40,000 inhabitants or more, +and not exceeding $1,500 in smaller cities and in the country, is +exempt from levy on execution. The real estate of a married woman +is not liable for the debts of her husband. There are eight causes +for divorce, so many doors of escape for unfortunate wives from the +bondage of a joyless union. + +The memory of the unjust treatment of Miss Hosmer will always be a +reproach to Massachusetts. That she enjoyed the privileges of +education in Missouri denied her in Massachusetts was due in no +small measure to the generosity and public spirit of Wayman Crow. +Speaking of the gifted sculptor, a correspondent says: + + Harriet Hosmer was born in 1830. She studied sculpture in the + studio of Mr. Stephenson, in Boston, and also with her father. In + 1830, after being denied admission to anatomical lectures in + Harvard and many other colleges at the East, she went to St. + Louis, where, through the spirited determination of Wayman Crow, + a most liberal benefactor of Washington University, she was + admitted to the Missouri Medical College through the kindness and + courtesy of Dr. Joseph N. McDowell, its founder and head. Here + for a whole winter she pursued her studies under the instruction + of Dr. McDowell and Dr. Louis T. Pim, the able demonstrator of + anatomy of the college, who gave her the benefit of their + constant and unremitting aid; also Dr. B. Gratz Moses and Dr. J. + B. Johnson were particularly kind in inviting her to be present + when important cases were before them. The names of these men are + gratefully mentioned, now that the doors of hundreds of colleges + have opened to women. While in St. Louis Miss Hosmer had a + constant companion and friend in Miss Jane Peck, a lady well + known in society circles, and together they daily attended at the + college; indeed, Miss Peck informed the writer, that on no + occasion did Miss Hosmer go to the college without her. So + quietly was this done, it was not until the month of February + that the students became aware of their attending, and when + informed of it the entire class, numbering about one hundred and + thirty, gave them a most cordial and hearty endorsement, and from + that time on until the day of graduation they were treated by the + young gentlemen with marked attention. The students were not + aware of their attending in the earlier part of the course, + because it had been the custom for the ladies to attend in the + amphitheater after the class had left to go to the various + hospitals. On one occasion while on their way to the college, a + number of the students being behind them, they heard the + gentlemen say to some men they met, "These ladies are under our + charge, and if you offer them an insult we will shoot you down." + They did not hear the language of the men, only the reply of the + students. At the close of the session the students gave a ball + and not only were Miss Hosmer and Miss Peck invited, but a + carriage was specially sent to take them to it. + +In March, 1869, Mrs. Stanton and Miss Anthony again visited St. +Louis. In a letter to _The Revolution_ the former said: + + We went to the Mercantile Library to see Miss Hosmer's works of + art, and there read the following letter to Wayman Crow, who had + been a generous friend to her through all those early days of + trial and disappointment. One of the best of her productions is + an admirable bust of her noble benefactor: + + BOSTON, October 18, 1857. + + DEAR MR. CROW: Will you allow me to convey through you to + the Mercantile Library Association "The Beatrice Cenci." + This statue is in execution of a commission I received three + years ago from a friend who requested me not only to make a + piece of statuary for that institution, but to present it in + my own name. I have finished the work, but cannot offer it + as my own gift--but of one who, with a most liberal hand, + has largely ministered to the growth of the arts and + sciences in your beautiful city. For your sake, and for + mine, I would have made a better statue if I could. The will + was not wanting, but the power--but such as it is, I rejoice + sincerely that it is destined for St. Louis, a city I love, + not only because it was there I first began my studies, but + because of the many generous and indulgent friends who dwell + therein--of whom I number you most generous and indulgent of + all, whose increasing kindness I can only repay by striving + to become more and more worthy of all your friendship and + confidence, and so I am ever affectionately and gratefully + yours, + + _Wayman Crow, Esq._ H.G. HOSMER. + +The very active part that the women of Missouri had taken in the +civil war, in the hospitals and sanitary department, had aroused +their enthusiasm in the preservation of the Union and their sense +of responsibility in national affairs. The great mass-meetings of +the Loyal Women's Leagues, too, did an immense educational work in +broadening their sympathies and the horizon of their sphere of +action. So wholly absorbed had they been in the intense excitement +of that period, that when peace came their hands and hearts, +unoccupied, naturally turned to new fields of achievement. While in +some States it was the temperance question, in St. Louis it was +specifically woman suffrage. + +We are indebted for the main facts of this chapter to Mr. Francis +Minor, Mrs. Rebecca N. Hazard, Miss Couzins and Miss Arathusa +Forbes, who have kindly sent us what information they had or could +hastily glean from the journals of the time or the imperfect +records of the association. + + The labors of Mrs. Minor and Mrs. Couzins were exceptionally + protracted and severe. The latter offered her services as nurse + at the very opening of the war. The letters received from men in + authority show how highly their services were appreciated. Dr. + Pope who writes the following, was the leading surgeon in St. + Louis: + + ST. LOUIS, April 26, 1861. + + Mrs. J. E. D. COUZINS--_Dear Madam_: Your note in which, in + case of collision here, you generously offer your services + in the capacity of nurse, is just received. Should so dire a + calamity befall us (which God forbid), I shall, in case of + need, most assuredly remember your noble offer. With high + regard and sincere thanks, I am, + + Yours very truly, CHAS. A. POPE. + + + HEADQUARTERS 2D BRIG., MO. VOL., ST. LOUIS, MO., + Aug. 23, 1861. + + Mrs. J. E. D. COUZINS, _present--Madam_: I received your + kind letter, dated Aug. 17. Accept my heartfelt thanks for + your generous offer. I regard the nursing of our wounded + soldiers by the tender hands of patriotic ladies as a most + effectual means of easing their condition and encouraging + them to new efforts in defense of our glorious cause. You + will please confer with Mrs. von Wackerbarth, corner Seventh + and Elm streets, in regard to the steps to be taken in this + matter. + + Your obedient servant, F. SIGEL, _Brig.-Gen. Com._ + + + HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSOURI, February 18th, 1862. + + The commanding officers at Cairo, Paducah, or vicinity, are + hereby requested to grant any facilities consistent with the + public interests that may be desired by the bearers of this + note. They are Mrs. Couzins and Crawshaw, of the Ladies' + Union Aid Society, who wish to administer relief to our sick + and wounded. By order of + + J. T. PRICE, _A. D. C._ Maj.-Gen'l HALLECK. + + + ROOMS WESTERN SANITARY COMMISSION, ST. LOUIS, Oct, 6th, 1862. + + MY DEAR MRS. COUZINS: The surgeon-general has notified me + that he may want me to send nurses and surgeons to Columbus + and Corinth. I look to you, my dear madam, as one ever ready + to volunteer when you can be of real service. In case it + should become necessary, may I rely on your valuable + services? Such other names as you may suggest I would be + pleased to have. + + Very respectfully, + JAS. E. YEATMAN. + + + OFFICE OF WESTERN SANITARY COMMISSION, } + SAINT LOUIS, MO., Oct. 8th, 1862. } + + Mrs. Couzins has been detailed to service in the hospital + steamer T.L. McGill, as volunteer nurse. + + N.B.--If the place of service is changed, a new certificate + will be issued. + + JAMES E. YEATMAN, President of Sanitary Commission. + + + CORINTH, Oct. 13, 1862. + + Pass Mrs. Couzins from Corinth to Columbus. + + W. S. ROSECRANZ, _Maj.-Gen'l U. S. A._ + + + HEADQUARTERS DEP'T OF THE TENNESSEE, } + BEFORE VICKSBURG, Feb'y 21st, 1863. } + + The quartermaster in charge of transportation at Memphis, + Tenn., will furnish transportation on any chartered steamer + plying between Memphis, Tenn., and St. Louis, to Mrs. + Couzins and five other ladies, members of the Western + Sanitary Commission, and who have been with this fleet + distributing sanitary goods for the benefit of sick + soldiers. + + U.S. GRANT, _Maj.-Gen. Com_. + + Capt. J. B. LEWIS, + _A. Q. M. and Master of Transportation_, Memphis, Tenn. + + While Mrs. Couzins thus gave herself to mitigating the sufferings + of the "boys in blue," in camp and hospital, Mrs. Minor was no + less active and energetic in the equally important department of + preserving supplies for the sanitary commission. Although Mrs. + Minor resided too far from the city to attend the evening + meetings, and her name does not appear in the accounts of such + gatherings, she was one of the first members of the Ladies' Union + Aid Society of St. Louis, and took part in the meeting of loyal + women called and presided over by Gen. Curtis. Having an orchard + and dairy on her place, she furnished the hospital with milk and + fruit, and for more than two years, sent a supply every day to + the soldiers in camp at Benton barracks. When the news came that + the army around Vicksburg was suffering with scurvy, she took her + carriage and drove through the country soliciting fruit, and in + one week she canned with her own hands, a wagon-load of cherries, + the sanitary commission finding the cans and sugar, and from time + to time she continued the work until the end of the war. When the + great fair was held under the auspices of the Western Sanitary + Commission, she was a member of the floral department, and + worked with her accustomed energy. The sanitary commission, + feeling that she had done so much, wrote her a letter of thanks, + and enclosed her a check for a liberal amount; but she returned + the check, saying that hers was a work of love, and not for + money. Although the official letter of the commission thanking + Mrs. Minor for her most valuable services, is lost, the following + to Mr. Minor may fairly be considered as including her also: + + + ROOMS WESTERN SANITARY COMMISSION, St. Louis, Oct. 7, 1863. + + FRANCIS MINOR, Esq.--_My Dear Sir_: I am directed by our + board to return you their thanks in behalf of the soldiers + in the hospitals, for your long-continued remembrance of + them, and for the daily supply of fresh fruits, vegetables + and milk, which you have furnished for the sick, now more + than two years. Your garner and sympathy have been like the + widow's cruse, and may they ever continue to be so. What you + have done has been in the most quiet and unobtrusive way. + The sick soldier has had no more constant, uniform and + untiring friend, and it is with pleasure that I convey the + thanks of the board, both to yourself and wife, who have + been as indefatigable at home in preparing canned fruits and + other delicacies for the sick soldiers in the field, as you + have been in providing for those in the hospitals. With + grateful feelings and many thanks and best wishes, I remain, + + Very respectfully yours, + + JAMES E. YEATMAN, + _President Western Sanitary Commission_. + + The submission of a constitutional amendment in Kansas, and the + preparations for a thorough canvass of that State, had its + influence in heightening the enthusiasm and increasing the + agitation in Missouri, as most of the speakers going to Kansas + held meetings at various points. Mrs. Stanton and Miss Anthony + stopped at St. Louis both going and returning, held large + meetings in Library Hall, and had a pleasant reception in the + parlors of the Southern Hotel, where many warm friendships that + have lasted ever since, were formed. + + The subject of woman's enfranchisement had doubtless often + occurred to the thoughtful men and women of Missouri, long before + the movement in its behalf assumed anything like a practical + shape. The manifest absurdity and injustice of declaring, as the + constitution of the State did, "that all political power is + vested in, and derived from the people; that all government of + right originates from the people, is founded upon their will + only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole," and at + the same time, denying to one-half of the people any voice + whatever in framing their government or making their laws, could + not fail to strike the attention of any one who gave the subject + the slightest consideration. But no attempt was made towards an + organization in behalf of woman suffrage until the winter of + 1866-7; and the movement then had its origin from the following + circumstance: During the debate in the Senate of the United + States, on the district suffrage bill, December 12, 1866, Senator + Brown, of Missouri, in the course of his remarks said: + + I have to say then, sir, here on the floor of the American + Senate, I stand for universal suffrage, and as a matter of + fundamental principle do not recognize the right of society + to limit it on any ground of race, color, or sex. I will go + further, and say that I recognize the right of franchise as + being intrinsically a natural right; and I do not believe + that society is authorized to impose any limitation upon it + that does not spring out of the necessities of the social + state itself. + + When Mrs. Francis Minor, of St. Louis, who had given the subject + much thought, read the report of Senator Brown's speech, she + considered that it was due to him from the women of the State + that he should receive a letter of thanks for his bold and + out-spoken utterances in their behalf. She accordingly wrote him + such a letter, obtaining to it all the signatures she could, and + it was presented to Senator Brown on his return home. But + although first an advocate of the measure, he soon recanted, and + gave his influence against it. + + It was next determined to petition the legislature of the State + then in session, January, 1867, to propose an amendment to the + constitution, striking out the word "male," in the article on + suffrage. Such a petition was presented, and attracted much + attention, as it was the first instance of the kind in the + history of the State. This move was followed by a formal + organization of the friends of the cause, and on May 8, 1867, the + "Missouri Woman Suffrage Association" was organized, and officers + elected.[378] + + We find the following letter from Mr. Minor in _The Revolution_ + of January 22, 1868: + + _Editors of The Revolution_: In order to show the steady + progress that the grand idea of equal rights is slowly but + surely making among the people of these United States, I + think it would be well, in the beginning, at least, to make + a record in _The Revolution_ of the fact of each successive + State organization; and for that purpose I send you the list + of officers for the association in Missouri not yet a year + old; as also their petition to the legislature for a change + in the organic law, and a brief address to the voters of the + State, in support of the movement: + + _To the Voters of Missouri:_ + + The women of this State, having organized for the purpose of + agitating their claims to the ballot, it becomes every + intelligent and reflecting mind to consider the question + fairly and dispassionately. If it has merits, it will + eventually succeed; if not, it will fail. I am of the number + of those who believe that claim to be just and right, for + the following, among other reasons: + + Taxation and Representation should go hand in hand. This is + the very corner-stone of our government. Its founders + declared, and the declaration cannot be too often repeated, + "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are + created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with + certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, + liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure those + rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their + just powers from the consent of the governed." The man who + believes in that declaration, cannot justly deny to women + the right of suffrage. They are citizens, they are + tax-payers; they bear the burdens of government--why should + they be denied the rights of citizens? We boast about + liberty and equality before the law, when the truth is, our + government is controlled by one-half only of the population. + The others have no more voice in the making of their laws, + or the selection of their rulers, than the criminals who are + in our penitentiaries; nay, in one respect, their condition + is not as good as that of the felon, for he may be pardoned + and restored to a right which woman can never obtain. And + this, not because she has committed any crime, or violated + any law, but simply because she is, what God made her--a + woman! Possessed of the same intelligence--formed in the + same mold--having the same attributes, parts and + passions--held by her Maker to the same measure of + responsibility here and hereafter, her actual position in + society to-day is that of an inferior. No matter what her + qualifications may be, every avenue of success is virtually + closed against her. Even when she succeeds in obtaining + employment, she gets only half the pay that a man does for + the same work. But, it is said, woman's sphere is at home. + Would giving her the right to vote interfere with her home + duties any more than it does with a man's business? Again it + is said, that for her to vote would be unfeminine. Is it at + all more indelicate for a woman to go to the polls, than it + is for her to go to the court-house and pay her taxes? The + truth is, woman occupies just the position that man has + placed her in, and it ill becomes him to urge such + objections. Give her a chance--give her the opportunity of + proving whether these objections are well founded or not. + Her influence for good is great, notwithstanding all the + disadvantages under which she at present labors; and my firm + belief is, that that influence would be greatly enhanced and + extended by the exercise of this new right. It would be felt + at the ballot-box and in the halls of legislation. Better + men, as a general rule, would be elected to office, and + society in all its ramifications, would feel and rejoice at + the change. + + A VOTER. + + + _To the General Assembly of the State of Missouri: _ + + GENTLEMEN: The undersigned women of Missouri, believing that + all citizens who are taxed for the support of the government + and subject to its laws, should have a voice in the making + of those laws, and the selection of their rulers; that, as + the possession of the ballot ennobles and elevates the + character of man, so, in like manner, it would ennoble and + elevate that of woman by giving her a direct and personal + interest in the affairs of government; and further, + believing that the spirit of the age, as well as every + consideration of justice and equity, requires that the + ballot should be extended to our sex, do unite in praying + that an amendment to the constitution may be proposed, + striking out the word "male" and extending to women the + right of suffrage. + + And, as in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray. + + On behalf of the Missouri Woman Suffrage Association. + + [Signed:] _President_, Mrs. Francis Minor; _Vice-President_, + Mrs. Beverly Allen; _Corresponding Secretary_, Mrs. Wm. T. + Hazard; _Recording Secretary_, Mrs. Geo. D. Hall; + _Treasurer_, Mrs. N. Stevens, St. Louis, Missouri. + + Copies of the petition, and information furnished upon + addressing either of above named officers. Formation of + auxiliary associations in every county requested. Petitions + when completely signed, to be returned to the head office. + + These papers will serve to show that the idea has taken root + in other States beyond the Mississippi besides Kansas; and + may also be somewhat of a guide to others, who may desire to + accomplish the same purpose elsewhere. A work of such + magnitude requires, of course, time for development; but the + leaven is working. The fountains of the great deep of public + thought have been broken up. The errors and prejudices of + six thousand years are yielding to the sunlight of truth. In + spite of pulpits and politicians, the great idea is making + its way to the hearts of the people; and woman may rejoice + in believing that the dawn of her deliverance, so long hoped + for and prayed for, is at last approaching. + + F. M. + + _St. Louis_, January, 1868. + +The following from _The Revolution_ shows that the women of St. +Louis were awake on the question of taxation: + + The women here have endeavored to find out to what extent + taxation without representation, because of sex, obtains in this + city, and as the result of their inquiries they are enabled to + place on their records the following very suggestive document. + + ASSESSOR'S OFFICE, ST. LOUIS, January 30, 1869. + + _To Mrs. Couzins and Emma Finkelnburg, Committee of the + Ladies' Suffrage Association:_ + + In reply to your request to report to your association the + amount of property listed in the city of St. Louis in the + name of ladies, permit me to state that the property in + question is represented by over 2,000 tax-paying ladies, and + assessed at the value of $14,490,199. + + Yours very respectfully, + + ROBT. J. ROMBAUER, _Assessor_. + + This exhibit has opened the eyes of a good many people. "Two + thousand on 'em," exclaimed a male friend of mine, "and over + fourteen millions of property! Whew! What business have these + women with so much money?" Well, they have it, and now they ask + us, "Shall 2,000 men, not worth a dollar, just because they wear + pantaloons go to the polls and vote taxes on us, while we are + excluded from the ballot-box for no other reason than sex?" What + _shall_ we say to them? They ask us if the American Revolution + did not turn on this hinge, _No taxation without representation_. + Who can answer? + + The advocates of suffrage in St. Louis made their attacks at once + in both Church[379] and State, and left no means of agitation + untried. There has never been an association in any State that + comprised so many able men and women who gave their best thoughts + to every phase of this question, and who did so grand a work, + until the unfortunate division in 1871, which seemed to chill the + enthusiasm of many friends of the movement. + + In the winter of 1869 the association sent a large delegation of + ladies to the legislature with a petition containing about 2,000 + signatures. A correspondent in _The Revolution_, February 6, + 1869, said: + + It will not be feminine to say, yet I fear I must say, the + women of Missouri have stormed their capitol, and if it is + not yet taken, the outworks are in our hands, and I believe + with a few more well-directed blows the victory will be + ours. On February 3 a large delegation of ladies, + representing the Suffrage Association of Missouri, visited + Jefferson City for the purpose of laying before the + legislature a large and influentially signed petition, + asking the ballot for women; and we were gratified to see + the great respect and deference shown to the women of + Missouri by the wisest and best of her legislators in their + respectful and cordial reception of the delegates. Both + Houses adjourned, and gave the use of the house for the + afternoon, when eloquent addresses were made by Mrs. J.G. + Phelps of Springfield, Dr. Ada Greunan of St. Louis, and the + future orator of Missouri, Miss Phoebe Couzins, whose able + and effective address the press has given in full. Of the + brave men who stood up for us, it is more difficult to + speak. To give a list would be impossible; for every name + would require a eulogy too lengthy for the pages of _The + Revolution_. We will, therefore, record them on the tablets + of our memory with a hand so firm that they shall stand out + brightly till time shall be no more. Of the small majority + who oppose us we will say nothing, but throw over them the + pall of merciful oblivion. + + The first woman suffrage convention ever held in the city of St. + Louis, or the State of Missouri, assembled in Mercantile Library, + October 6, 7, 1869. Many distinguished people were on the + platform.[380] At this convention Mr. Francis Minor introduced a + very able series of resolutions, on which Mrs. Minor made a + remarkably logical address.[381] The following letter from Mr. + Minor shows the careful research he gave to the consideration of + this question: + + ST. LOUIS, December 30, 1869. + + DEAR REVOLUTION: So thoroughly am I satisfied that the + surest and most direct course to pursue to obtain a + recognition of woman's claim to the ballot, lies through the + courts of the country, that I am induced to ask you to + republish the resolutions that I drafted, and which were + unanimously adopted by the St. Louis convention. And I will + here add, that to accomplish this end, and to carry these + resolutions into practical effect, it is intended by Mrs. + Minor, the president of the State Association, to make a + test case in her instance at our next election; take it + through the courts of Missouri, and thence to the Supreme + Court of the United States at Washington. I think it will be + admitted that these resolutions place the cause of woman + upon higher ground than ever before asserted, in the fact + that for the first time suffrage is claimed as a privilege + based upon citizenship, and secured by the Constitution of + the United States. It will be seen that the position taken + is, that the States have the right to regulate, but not to + prohibit, the elective franchise to citizens of the United + States. Thus the States may determine the qualifications of + electors. They may require the elector to be of a certain + age, to have had a fixed residence, to be of a sane mind, + and unconvicted of crime, etc., because these are + qualifications or conditions that all citizens, sooner or + later, may attain; but to go beyond this, and say to + one-half the citizens of the State, notwithstanding you + possess all these qualifications you shall never vote, is of + the very essence of despotism. It is a bill of attainder of + the most odious character. + + A further investigation of the subject will show that the + language of the constitutions of all the States, with the + exception of those of Massachusetts and Virginia, on the + subject of suffrage is peculiar. They almost all read + substantially alike: "White male citizens, etc., shall be + entitled to vote," and this is supposed to exclude all other + citizens. There is no direct exclusion, except in the two + States above named. Now the error lies in supposing that an + enabling clause is necessary at all. The right of the people + of a State to participate in a government of their own + creation requires no enabling clause; neither can it be + taken from them by implication. To hold otherwise would be + to interpolate in the constitution a prohibition that does + not exist. In framing a constitution the people are + assembled in their sovereign capacity; and being possessed + of all rights and all powers, what is not surrendered is + retained. Nothing short of a direct prohibition can work a + disseizin of rights that are fundamental. In the language of + John Jay to the people of New York, urging the adoption of + the Constitution of the United States, "silence and blank + paper neither give nor take away anything," and Alexander + Hamilton says (_Federalist_, No. 83), "Every man of + discernment must at once perceive the wide difference + between silence and abolition." + + The mode and manner in which the people shall take part in + the government of their creation may be prescribed by the + constitution, but the right itself is antecedent to all + constitutions. It is inalienable, and can neither be bought, + nor sold, nor given away. But even if it should be held that + this view is untenable, and that women are disfranchised by + the several State constitutions directly, or by implication, + then I say that such prohibitions are clearly in conflict + with the Constitution of the United States, and yield + thereto. The language of that instrument is clear and + emphatic: "All persons born or naturalized in the United + States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are + citizens of the United States, and of the State wherein they + reside." "No State shall make, or enforce any law that shall + abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the + United States." It would be impossible to add to the force + or effect of such language, and equally impossible to + attempt to explain it away. + + Very respectfully, FRANCIS MINOR. + + The St. Louis _Democrat_ spoke of the convention as follows: + + Readers of our report have doubtless been interested to + observe the fair spirit and dignified manner of the woman + suffrage convention, and the ability displayed in some of + the addresses. It is but due to the managers to say that + they extended most courteous invitations to gentlemen not + identified with the movement to address the convention, and + state freely their objections to the extension of the + franchise. Of those invited some were prevented by duties + elsewhere from attending. Others, it may be, felt that it + would scarcely be a gracious thing, in spite of the + liberality of the invitation, to occupy the time of a + convention in favor of the extension of the franchise with + arguments against it. But the objections which, after all, + probably have most weight with candid men are those which it + is not easy to discuss in public, namely: "Will not + extension of suffrage to women have an injurious effect upon + the family and sexual relations?" "Will not the ballot be + used rather by that class who would not use it wisely than + by those who are most competent?" We do not argue these + questions, but are sure that some frank discussion of them, + however delicate the subject may be, is necessary to + convince the great majority of those who are still doubting + or opposed. Meanwhile the reports are of interest, and + reflect no little credit upon the women of this city who + have taken so prominent a part in the movement. + + The officers of the Missouri Society were annually reelected for + several years, and the work proceeded harmoniously until the + division in the National Association. The members of the Missouri + Society took sides in this division as preference dictated. Mr. + and Mrs. Minor, Miss Forbes, Miss Couzins and others were already + members of the National Association, and sympathized with its + views and modes of pushing the question. + + In order that there might be no division in the Missouri + Association, a resolution was introduced by Mr. Minor and + unanimously adopted, declaring that each member of the society + should be free to join the National body of his or her choice, + and that the Missouri Association, as a society, should not + become auxiliary to either the "National" or the "American." The + good faith of the association was thus pledged to respect the + feelings and wishes of each member, and as long as this course + was observed all went well. But, at the annual meeting in 1871, + just after Mrs. Minor had for the fifth time been unanimously + reelected president, in violation of the previous action of the + association a resolution was introduced and passed, declaring + that the association should henceforth become auxiliary to the + American. This gross disregard of the wishes and feelings of + those who were members of the National Association left them no + alternative, with any feeling of self-respect, but to withdraw; + and accordingly Mrs. Minor at once tendered her resignation as + president and her withdrawal as a member of the association. She + was followed in this course by Mr. Minor, Miss Couzins, Miss + Forbes and others.[382] However, the work went steadily on. + Meetings were held regularly from week to week, with occasional + grand conventions, tracts and petitions were circulated, and + constant agitation in some way kept up. + +In answer to an earnest solicitation for facts and incidents of the +suffrage movement in Missouri, Mrs. Rebecca N. Hazard, one of the +earliest and most active friends in that State, sends us the +following: + + I think the cruel war had much to do in educating the women of + Missouri into a sense of their responsibilities and duties as + citizens; at least all who first took part in the suffrage + movement had been active on the Union side during the war, and + that having ended in the preservation of the government, they + naturally began to inquire as to their own rights and privileges + in the restored Union. My own feelings were first fully awakened + by the hanging of Mrs. Surrat; for, although a Unionist and an + abolitionist, I could but regard her execution by the government, + considering her helpless position, as judicial murder. I wrote on + the subject to the editor of the New York _Independent_. The + letter was handed to Miss Anthony, and resulted in an invitation + to the next meeting of the Equal Rights Society. This almost + frightened me, for I had hitherto looked askance at the woman's + rights movement. + + Meeting an old friend and neighbor not long after, the talk + turned upon negro suffrage. I expressed myself in favor of that + measure, and timidly added, "And go farther--I think women also + should vote." She grasped my hand cordially, saying, "And so do + I!" This was Mrs. Virginia L. Minor. We had each cherished this + opinion, supposing that no other woman in the community held it; + and this we afterwards found to have been the experience of many + others. This was in 1866; and in the following autumn Mrs. Minor + prepared and circulated for signatures a card of thanks to Hon. + B. Gratz Brown for the recognition of woman's political rights he + had given in the United States Senate in a speech upon extending + the suffrage to the women of the District of Columbia.[383] This + card received enough names to justify another step--that of a + petition to the Missouri General Assembly. This was headed by + Mrs. Minor, and circulated with untiring energy by her, receiving + several hundred signatures, and was sent to the legislature + during the winter, where it received some degree of favor. + + But as yet no effort had been made toward an organization. The + first step in that direction was in May, 1867, by Mrs. Lucretia + P. Hall and her sister, Miss Penelope Allen, daughters of Mrs. + Beverly Allen, and nieces of General Pope, in the parlors of Mrs. + Anna L. Clapp, the president of the Union Aid Society during the + war. Mrs. Hall, Mrs. Clapp and myself called a public meeting on + May 8, when the Woman Suffrage Society of Missouri was organized, + with Mrs. Minor president. + + In the winter of 1868 the association sent a large delegation of + ladies to Jefferson with a petition containing about 2,000 names, + to present to the legislature. The Republicans were then in the + ascendency, and the ladies having many professed friends among + the members, were received with every demonstration of respect. + Addresses were made by Miss Phoebe Couzins and Dr. Ada Greunan. + The petition was respectfully considered and a fair vote given + for the submission of an amendment. + + Subsequent sessions of the legislature have been besieged, as was + also the constitutional convention in 1875; but beyond the + passage of several laws improving the general status of women, we + have not made much impression upon the law-making power of our + State; not so much since the State passed into the hands of the + Democrats, as while the Republicans were in the majority. + + But the public meetings and social influence of our association + have done much for the cause of woman suffrage. Strangers are + surprised to find so little prejudice existing against a movement + so decidedly unpopular in many places. The convention held in St. + Louis in October, 1869, was one of the very best I have ever + known, and its influence was long felt for good. In the spring of + 1871 our association became auxiliary to the American, and in + consequence several of our active members seceded, viz.: Mr. and + Mrs. Minor, Miss Couzins, Dr. Greunan and others. In the autumn + of 1872 the American Association held its annual meeting in St. + Louis. + + The law school of Washington University has always been open to + women. Miss Couzins was the first to avail herself of its + advantages in 1869, though Miss Barkaloo of Brooklyn, denied + admission to Columbia Law School, soon joined her, and was + admitted to the bar in 1870. While Miss Barkaloo was not the + first woman admitted to the bar in the United States, she + doubtless was the first to try a case in court. She died after a + few months of most promising practice.[384] Miss Couzins was + admitted to the bar in May, 1871. + + The St. Louis School of Design, which has done much for woman, + was originated by members of our association; principally by Mrs. + Mary F. Henderson, who has given untiring effort in that + direction. Our members were also instrumental in opening to women + the St. Louis Homeopathic Medical College, and active in opposing + what was known as the St. Louis "Social Evil Law." They aided Dr. + Eliot in his valiant struggle against that iniquity. Mrs. E. + Patrick and myself called the first public meeting to protest + against the law. It was repealed March 27, 1874. + + You are probably familiar with Mrs. Minor's suit to obtain + suffrage under the fourteenth amendment. We all admired her + courageous efforts for that object. Previous to that attempt our + society had earnestly advocated a sixteenth amendment for the + protection of woman's right to vote, but held the matter in + abeyance pending the suit. After its failure, we again renewed + our efforts for a sixteenth amendment, circulating and sending to + Washington our petitions. Our association holds monthly meetings + and proposes to continue the agitation.[385] I ought to say, + perhaps, that our society lends all the help possible to other + States. It gave $520 to Michigan in 1874, and $200 to Colorado in + 1877. + + R. N. H. + + To bring the question of woman's right as a citizen of the United + States to vote for United States officers before the judiciary, + Mrs. Minor attempted to register in order to vote at the national + election in November, 1872, and being refused on account of her + sex, brought the matter before the courts in the shape of a suit + against the registering officer.[386] The point was decided + adversely to her in all the courts, being finally reported in + Vol. 21 of Wallace's U. S. Supreme Court Reports. The importance + of this decision cannot be over-estimated. It affects every + citizen of the United States, male as well as female, if, as + there pronounced, the United States has no voters of its own + creation. The Dred-Scott decision is insignificant in comparison. + Mrs. Minor made the following points in her petition: + + 1. As a _citizen_ of the United States, the plaintiff is + entitled to any and all the "privileges and immunities" that + belong to such position however defined; and as are held, + exercised and enjoyed by other citizens of the United + States. + + 2. The elective franchise is a "privilege" of citizenship, + in the highest sense of the word. It is the privilege + preservative of all rights and privileges; and especially of + the right of the citizen to participate in his or her + government. + + 3. The denial or abridgment of this privilege, if it exist + at all, must be sought only in the fundamental charter of + government--the Constitution of the United States. If not + found there, no inferior power or jurisdiction can legally + claim the right to exercise it. + + 4. But the Constitution of the United States, so far from + recognizing or permitting any denial or abridgment of the + privileges of citizens, expressly declares that "no State + shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the + privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." + + 5. It follows that the provisions of the Missouri + constitution and registry law before recited are in conflict + with, and must yield to the paramount authority of, the + Constitution of the United States. + + At a mass meeting held in St. Louis January 25, 1875, a + committee[387] was appointed to prepare an address to the people + of the State, setting forth the necessity of such action by the + constitutional convention, soon to assemble, as would insure to + all citizens the right of choice in their lawmakers and in the + officers whose duty it should be to execute the laws. The address + was prepared and widely circulated over the State. In June, the + convention being in session at Jefferson, Mrs. Minor, Miss + Couzins, and Mrs. Dickinson went to the capitol and were granted + a gracious hearing, but no action was conceded. + + In May, 1879, the National Woman Suffrage Association held its + annual meeting at St. Louis, holding its session through the day, + morning, afternoon and evening, and so much interest was aroused + that on May 13 a local society was organized under the head of + the National Woman Suffrage Association for St. Louis,[388] with + Mrs. Minor president, which has continued to do most efficient + service to the present. During the summer of 1879, Mrs. Minor + refused to pay the tax assessed against her: + + ST. LOUIS, MO., August 26, 1879. + + Hon. DAVID POWERS, _President Board of Assessors_: I + honestly believe and conscientiously make oath that I have + not one dollars' worth of property subject to taxation. The + principle upon which this government rests is representation + before taxation. My property is denied representation, and + therefore can not be taxable. The law which you quote as + applicable to me in your notice to make my tax return is in + direct conflict with section 30 of the bill of rights of the + constitution of the State which declares, "No person shall + be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due + process of law," And that surely cannot be due process of + law wherein one of the parties only is law-maker, judge, + jury and executioner, and the other stands silenced, denied + the power either of assent or dissent, a condition of + "involuntary slavery" so clearly prohibited in section 31 of + the same article, as well as in the Constitution of the + United States, that no legislation or judicial prejudice can + ignore it. I trust you will believe it is from no disrespect + to you that I continue to refuse to become a party to this + injustice by making a return of property to your honorable + body, as clearly the duties of a citizen can only be exacted + where rights and privileges are equally accorded. + + Respectfully, VIRGINIA L. MINOR. + + Again, in February, 1881, Mrs. Minor made an able argument before + the legislative committee on constitutional amendments in support + of the petition for the enfranchisement of the women of the + State. Her pivotal point was, "By whatever tenure you, as + one-half of the people, hold it, we, the other half, claim it by + the same." And again in December of the same year at a meeting of + the Knights and Ladies of the Father Matthew Debating Club, at + which the subject was, "Is the woman's rights movement to be + encouraged?" Patrick Long, Daniel O'Connel Tracy, Richard D. + Kerwen, spoke in the affirmative; several gentlemen and two + ladies in opposition, when Mrs. Minor, who was in the audience, + was called out amid great applause, to which she responded in an + able speech, showing that the best temperance weapon in the hands + of woman is the ballot. + +Of the initial steps taken for the elevation of women in the little +village of Oregon, Mrs. Annie R. Irvine writes: + + The Woman's Union, an independent literary club, designed to + improve the mental, moral, and physical condition of women, held + its first meeting in Oregon, Holt county, on the evening of + January 6, 1872, at the residence of Dr. Asher Goslin. Temporary + officers were elected, and a committee appointed to prepare + by-laws for the government of the club. Six ladies[389] were + present. The succeeding meetings grew in interest, and took + strong hold upon the minds of all classes, from the fact that + hitherto no outlet had been found for the energies of our women + outside the circle of home and church. During the first two years + of its existence, the Woman's Union had to bear in a small way, + many of the sneers and taunts attending more pretentious + organizations, but luckily, when the novelty wore off, we were + allowed to pursue the quiet tenor of our way, with an occasional + slur at the "strong-minded" tendency of the organization. During + nearly fourteen years we have held regular meetings in a hall + rented for the purpose, and paid for by earnings of the society. + An excellent organ is owned by the club; they have a library of + several hundred volumes, book-cases, carpet, curtains, pictures, + tables, chairs, stove, etc., and the members take great pride in + their cosy headquarters. At this writing, interesting meetings + are held on each Wednesday evening at the homes of the different + members of the society.[390] In the course of so long a time, + this organization has had many changes. Members have removed to + all parts of the United States, and many similar clubs elsewhere + trace their origin to our society. + + Several years ago an open letter from here to "Woman's Kingdom," + in the Chicago _Inter-Ocean_ called attention to our plan of work + for small towns; as a result fifteen similar Unions were + organized, some of them still flourishing. In northwest Missouri + the same kind of clubs were formed in Maryville, Nodaway county, + and Savannah, Andrew county, but neither of them became + permanent. In the course of twelve years many of the best + speakers on the American platform have addressed Oregon + audiences, brought here by the determined efforts of a few women. + To-day, public opinion in this part of Missouri is in advance of + other sections on all questions relating to the great interests + of humanity. In March, 1879, a call signed by prominent + citizens[391] brought together a large assembly of men and women + in the court-house. An address in favor of woman suffrage was + delivered by Rev. John Wayman of the M. E. Church of St. Joseph. + Mr. James L. Allen acted as chairman of the meeting, and a + society was then organized, to bear the name of the Holt County + Woman Suffrage Society. At the National Woman Suffrage Convention + held at St. Louis later in the same year, Jas. L. Allen acted as + delegate from this association and reported our progress. The + best organized woman's society in the State is probably the + Women's Christian Temperance Union. In its different departments, + although hampered by too much theological red tape, it is + reaching thousands of ignorant, prejudiced, good sectarian women + who would expect the "heavens to fall" if they accidentally got + into a meeting where "woman's rights" was mentioned even in a + whisper. Mrs. Clara Hoffman, of Kansas City, is State president, + and a woman of great force. She, as well as other leading lights + in the Women's Christian Temperance Union, is strongly advocating + woman suffrage as a _sine qua non_ in the temperance work. The + women of this part of the State have been given quite a prominent + place among organizations mentioned in a late "History of + Missouri, by Counties." The Woman's Union has taken the place of + honor.[392] From the very outset we have had the most bitter and + persistent opposition from the churches, more particularly the + Presbyterian, although some of our most capable members were of + that faith. Exceptions should be made in favor of the Christian, + or Campbellite, and as a general thing, the M. E. churches. The + greatest shock we have had to resist, however, came a few months + since in the shape of a division among our own members, and has + really discouraged the more independent among us more than + anything else. The W. C. T. U. sent their Mascatine organizer + here, to wake up the women in the interests of the State society. + Although ignorant and prejudiced, he created a fanatical + stampede, and in the goodness of their hearts and the weakness of + their heads, our church women in the Woman's Union proposed to + give to the three temperance clubs, numbering perhaps 150, the + free use of our rooms and property, and suspend our own club, + claiming that our mission was ended, and that a field of greater + usefulness was opened in the W. C. T. U. line of work. The + liberal element refused to abandon the old organization, although + many joined in the W. C. T. U. work and attended both clubs. + + However, in a small community, where the consciences of many good + women are not free, we have met with serious drawbacks. We have + had to submit to a sort of boycotting process, for some time, the + orthodox, goody-goody people evidently trying to freeze us out; + although I must claim that nearly every member of the Woman's + Union is strongly interested in the temperance cause, and as the + different departments in the W. C. T. U. fail to cover the ground + we occupy, quite a respectable number seem determined to hold on + in their own way, trying little by little to better the condition + of all, and particularly to increase and strengthen the feeble + germ of independent thought in women, so often smothered and + destroyed by too much theology. What we need for women is not + more spirituality but more hard common-sense, applied to reform + as well as religion. One thing connected with our organization is + a matter of pride to all women, namely, that no pecuniary + obligation has ever been repudiated by the Woman's Union. Besides + paying our debts we have given hundreds of dollars to works of + charity and education, and keep a standing fund of $100, to be + used in case of emergency, when, as often happens, we fail to + make expenses on lectures, entertainments, etc. It would not be + claiming too much if the Woman's Union of Oregon was to go upon + the historic page as the only free, independent woman's club ever + successfully carried on for any length of time, in the great + State of Missouri.[393] + +Missouri has always felt a becoming pride in the gifted daughter, +Miss Phoebe Couzins, who was the first woman to enter the law +school, go through the entire course, and graduate with honor to +herself and her native State. Hence, a reception to her, to mark +such an event, was preeminently fitting. This compliment was paid +to her by Dr. and Mrs. G. A. Walker, and a large gathering of the +elite of St. Louis honored her with their presence.[394] The +drawing-rooms were festooned with garlands of evergreens and +brilliant forest leaves and hanging-baskets of roses; the bountiful +tables were elaborately decorated with fruits and flowers and +statuettes, while pictures of distinguished women looked down from +the wall on every side. After the feast came letters, toasts and +speeches, a brilliant address of welcome was given by Dr. Walker, +and an equally brilliant reply by Miss Couzins. Witty and +complimentary speeches were made by Judge Krum, Hon. Albert Todd, +Mrs. Francis Minor, ex-Governor Stanard, Judge Reber, Professor +Riley, I. E. Meeker, Mrs. Henrietta Noa. Congratulatory letters +were received from several ladies and gentlemen of national +reputation, and the following regrets: + + Rev. W. G. Eliot, chancellor of the University, with "compliments + and thanks to Dr. and Mrs. Walker. I regret that engagements this + evening prevent me from enjoying the pleasure of meeting Miss + Couzins and welcoming her to her new and well-deserved honors, as + I had expected to do until an hour ago." + + James E. Yeatman sent regrets accompanied with "his warmest + congratulations to Miss Couzins, with best wishes for her success + in the noble profession of the law." + + George Partridge regrets, "hoping every encouragement will be + given to those who aspire to high honors by their intellectual + and moral attainments." + + General J. H. Hammond, Kansas City, Mo.: "I would feel honored in + being allowed the privilege of congratulating this lady who so + practically honors her sex." + +In addition to the many congratulations showered upon Miss Couzins, +she was the recipient of testimonials of a more enduring and +equally flattering character. Among many valuable presents were +twelve volumes of Edmund Burke from Miss A. L. Forbes, who wished +to testify her appreciation of the event by deeds rather than +words. Mrs. E. O. Stanard presented a handsomely-bound set of +"Erskine's Speeches," in five volumes. + +There were other gifts of great intrinsic worth. These tokens of +regard were sent from admiring friends scattered all over the +country, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. + +Although Miss Couzins has never practiced in her chosen profession, +yet the knowledge and discipline acquired in the study of our +American system of jurisprudence and constitutional law have been +of essential service to her in the prolonged arguments on the +enfranchisement of woman, in which she has so ably and eloquently +advocated the case of the great plaintiff of the nineteenth +century, in that famous law-suit begun by Margaret Fuller in 1840, +"Woman versus Man." Our junior advocate has taken the case into the +highest courts and made her appeals to a jury of the sovereign +people and "the judgment of a candid world." On all principles of +precedent and importance our case now stands first on the calendar. +When will the verdict be rendered and what will it be? + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[377] Among them were Isaac H. Sturgeon, Francis Minor, James E. +Yeatman, Judge John M. Krum, Judge Arnold Krekel, Hon. Thomas Noel, +Ernest Decker, Dr. G. A. Walker, John E. Orrick, J. B. Roberts, +Rev. G. W. Eliot, Bishop Bowman, Albert Todd, Rev. John Snyder, +John Datro, J. B. Case, H. E. Merille, Mrs. Virginia L. Minor, Mrs. +Rebecca N. Hazard, Mrs. Adeline Couzins, Miss Phoebe Couzins, Mrs. +Beverly Allen, Miss Mary Beedy, Miss Arathusa Forbes, Mrs. Isaac +Sturgeon, Mrs. Hall, and many others. + +[378] _President_, Mrs. Virginia L. Minor; _Vice-President_, Mrs. +Beverly Allen; _Secretaries_, Mrs. Rebecca N. Hazard, and Mrs. +George D. Hall; _Treasurer_, Mrs. George W. Banker. There were +present, besides the officers, Mrs. Anna L. Clapp, Miss Penelope +Allen, Mrs. Frank Fletcher, Miss Arathusia L. Forbes, Mrs. Nannie +C. Sturgeon, Mrs. Harriet B. Roberts, Mrs. N. Stevens, Mrs. Joseph +Hodgman, Miss A. Greenman, etc. Among the men who aided the +movement were Francis Minor, Isaac W. Sturgeon, James E. Yeatman, +Judge John M. Krum, Judge Arnold Krekel, Hon. Thomas Noel, who gave +the society its first twenty-five dollars, Ernest Decker, Dr. G.A. +Walker, John C. O'Neill, J.B. Roberts, Wayman Crow, Rev. Dr. Wm. G. +Eliot, Bishop Bowman, Albert Todd, Rev. John Snyder, John Datro, +J.B. Case, H.C. Leville. + +[379] The following we find in the St. Louis papers. It is +significant of the sentiment of the Methodist women of the West: +"We, the undersigned, join in a call for a mass-meeting of the M.E. +Church in St. Louis, to meet at Union Church on the 15th inst., at +3 o'clock P.M., to consider a plan for memorializing the General +Conference to permit the ordination of women as ministers. All +women of the M.E. Church are requested to attend. Mrs. Henry +Kennedy, Mrs. T.C. Fletcher, Mrs. E.O. Stanard, Mrs. A.C. George, +Mrs. Lucy Prescott, Mrs. U.B. Wilson, Mrs. L. Jones, Mrs. E.L. +Case, Mrs. W.F. Brink, Mrs. S.C. Cummins, Mrs. R.N. Hazard, Mrs. +Dutro, Mrs. M.H. Himebaugh." The result of this meeting of the +ladies of the Methodist churches to discuss a plan for admitting +women into the pulpit as preachers was the appointment of a +committee to draft a memorial to the General Conference to meet at +Brooklyn, N.Y., asking that body to sanction and provide for the +ordination of women as ministers of the Methodist Church. + +[380] On the platform were Julia Ward Howe, Massachusetts; Lillie +Peckham, Wisconsin; Miriam M. Cole, Ohio; Mary A. Livermore, Hon. +Sharon Tyndale, Judge Waite and Rev. Mr. Harrison, Illinois; Susan +B. Anthony, New York. The officers of the Woman Suffrage +Association of Missouri: _President_, Mrs. Francis Minor: +_Vice-President_, Mrs. Beverly Allen: _Secretary_, Mrs. William T. +Hazard: _Treasurer_, Mrs. George B. Hall; Miss Mary Beady, Miss +Phoebe Couzins, Mrs. E. Tittman, Mrs. Alfred Clapp, Miss A. L. +Forbes, Isaac H. Sturgeon, Mrs. J. C. Orrick, Mrs. R. J. Lackland, +Francis Minor, and many others. + +[381] For speech and resolutions, see Vol. II., page 408. + +[382] Dissension and division were the effect in every State, +except where the associations wisely remained independent and all +continued to work together, and the forces otherwise expended in +rivalry were directed against the common enemy. + +[383] For this speech of B. Gratz Brown see Vol. II., page 136. + +[384] For full account of Miss Barkaloo see New York chapter, page +404. + +[385] Besides those already named, there are many other women +worthy of mention--Mrs. Hannah Stagg, Mrs. George H. Rha, Mrs. S. +F. Gruff, Miss N. M. Lavelle, Mrs. Helen E. Starrett, Mrs. A. E. +Dickinson, Mrs. E. R. Case, Miss S. Sharman, Mrs. Mary S. Phelps, +Miss Mary E. Beedy, Mrs. Fanny O'Haly, Mrs. J. C. Orrick, Miss +Henrietta Moore, Mrs. Stephen Ridgeley, Mrs. M. E. Bedford, Mrs. M. +Jackson; and among our German friends are Mrs. Rosa Tittman, Mrs. +Dr. Fiala, Mrs. Lena Hildebrand, Mrs. G. G. Fenkelnberg, Mrs. +Rombauer, Miss Lidergerber. + +[386] For a full report of Mrs. Minor's trial, see History of Woman +Suffrage, Vol. II., page 715. + +[387] The committee were: J. B. Merwin, Virginia L. Minor, John +Snyder, Lydia F. Dickinson, Maria E. F. Jackson. + +[388] The officers were: _President_, Mrs. Virginia L. Minor; +_Vice-Presidents_, Mrs. Eliza J. Patrick, Mrs. Caroline J. Todd, +Miss Phoebe W. Couzins; _Executive Committee_, Mrs. E. P. Johnson, +Mrs. W. W. Polk; _Secretary_, Miss Eliza B. Buckley; _Treasurer_, +Miss Maggie Baumgartner. + +[389] They were, Mrs. S. L. Goslin, Mis. A. E. Goslin, Mrs. M. M. +Soper, Annie E. Batcheller, Mary Curry, Annie R. Irvine. + +[390] _President_, Emma G. Dobyns; _Vice-President_, Kate Evans +Thatcher; _Secretary_, Matilda C. Shutts; _Treasurer_, Lucy S. +Rancher; _Corresponding Secretary_, Annie R. Irvine. + +[391] Believing that the best interests of society, as well as +government, would be best served by admitting all citizens to the +full rights of citizenship, we, the undersigned, hereby give notice +that a meeting will be held at the court-house, Oregon, on +Saturday, March 1, 1879, at 2 p. m., for the purpose of organizing +a Woman Suffrage Association. Those interested are urged to attend. +Clarke Irvine, C. W. Lukens, James L. Allen, S. B. Lukens, Samuel +Stuckey, Sudia Johnson, D. J. Lukens, Elvira Broedbeck, Mary Curry, +Jas. B. Curry, Annie R. Irvine. + +[392] In 1875 I made my first visit to Oregon, and remember my +surprise at meeting so large a circle of bright, intelligent women. +After taking an old stage at Travesty city, and lumbering along two +miles or more over bad roads on a dull day in March into a very +unpropitious looking town, my heart sank at the prospect of the +small audience I should inevitably have in such a spot. Wondering +as to the character of the people I should find, we jolted round +the town to the home of the editor and his charming wife, Mrs. Lucy +S. Rancher. Their cordial welcome and generous hospitalities soon +made the old stage, the rough roads, and the dull town but dim +memories of the past. One after another the members of the Union +club came to greet me, and I saw in that organization of strong, +noble women, wisdom enough to redeem the whole State of Missouri +from its apathy on the question of woman's rights. One of the +promising features of the efforts of the immortal six women who +took the initiative, was the full sympathy shown by their husbands +in their attempts to improve themselves and the community. Miss +Couzins and Miss Anthony soon followed me, and were alike surprised +and delighted with the Literary Club of Oregon. I was there again +in '77, and was entertained by Mrs. R. A. Norman, now living in St. +Joseph, and in '79, I stayed in a large, old-fashioned brick house +near the public square with Mrs. Montgomery, then "fat, fair and +forty," and all three visits, with the teas and dinners at the +homes of different members of the club, I thoroughly enjoyed.--[E. +C. S. + +[393] Among progressive women in this part of Missouri, Mrs. Adela +M. Kelly, of Savannah, wife of Circuit Judge Henry S. Kelly, is +prominent; in Mound City, Mrs. Emma K. Hershberger, Mrs. Mary L. +Mamcher, Mrs. Mary C. Tracy, Mrs. Fanny Smith, and others, are +leading women, and were once residents here, and members of the +Woman's Union. Among those actively interested here now, I shall +only mention a few, Mrs. Nancy Hershberger, Mary Curry, Elvira +Broedbeck, Lucy A. Christian, Ella O. Fallon, Mary Stirrell, and +many others. + +[394] Among those present were the following ladies and gentlemen: +Dr. and Mrs. Walker, Phoebe Couzins, esq., Hon. and Mrs. John B. +Henderson, Gov. and Mrs. E. O. Stanard, Mr. and Mrs. Chester H. +Krum, Mr. and Mrs. Francis Minor, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Patrick, Major +and Mrs. J. E. D. Couzins, Major and Mrs. J. R. Meeker, Major and +Mrs. W. S. Pope, Mr. and Mrs. Lippmann, Mr. and Mrs. Leopold Noa, +Miss Noa, Miss A. L. Forbes, Judge Krum, Judge Reber, Judge Todd, +Geo. M. Stuart (dean), Prof. Riley, State Entomologist; Prof. +Hager, State Geologist; J. R. Stuart, artist, and others. + + + + +CHAPTER XLV. + +IOWA. + + Beautiful Scenery--Liberal in Politics and Reforms--Legislation + for Women--No Right yet to Joint Earnings--Early + Agitation--Frances Dana Gage, 1854--Mrs. Bloomer Before the + Territorial Legislature, 1856--Mrs. Martha H. Brinkerhoff--Mrs. + Annie Savery, 1868--County Associations Formed in 1869--State + Society Organized at Mt. Pleasant, 1870, Henry O'Connor, + President--Mrs. Cutler Answers Judge Palmer--First Annual + Meeting, Des Moines--Letter from Bishop Simpson--The State + Register Complimentary--Mass-Meeting at the Capitol--Mrs. Savery + and Mrs. Harbert--Legislative Action--Methodist and Universalist + Churches Indorse Woman Suffrage--Republican Plank, 1874--Governor + Carpenter's Message, 1876--Annual Meeting, 1882, Many Clergymen + Present--Five Hundred Editors Interviewed--Miss Hindman and Mrs. + Campbell--Mrs. Callanan Interviews Governor Sherman, + 1884--Lawyers--Governor Kirkwood Appoints Women to Office--County + Superintendents--Elizabeth S. Cook--Journalism--Literature-- + Medicine--Ministry--Inventions--President of a National Bank-- + The Heroic Kate Shelly--Temperance--Improvement in the Laws. + + +The euphonious Indian name, Iowa, signifying "the beautiful land," +is peculiarly appropriate to those gently undulating prairies, +decorated in the season of flowers with a brilliant garniture of +honey-suckles, jassamines, wild roses and violets, watered with a +chain of picturesque lakes and rivers, chasing each other into the +bosom of the boundless Mississippi. The motto on the great seal of +the State, "Our liberties we prize and our rights we will +maintain," is the key-note to the successive struggles made there +to build up a community of moral, virtuous, intelligent people, +securing justice, liberty and equality to all. Iowa has been the +State to give large Republican majorities; to prohibit the +manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors by a constitutional +amendment; and to present propositions before her legislature for +eight successive sessions to give the right of suffrage to woman. +In the article on Iowa, in the American Cyclopaedia, the writer +says: "No distinction is made in law between the husband and the +wife in regard to property. One-third in value of all the real +estate of either, upon the death of the other, goes to the survivor +in fee simple. Neither is liable for the separate debts of the +other. The wife may make contracts and incur liabilities which may +be enforced by or against her in the same manner as if she was +unmarried; and so a married woman may sue and be sued without the +husband being joined in the action." Many women living in Iowa +often quote these laws with pride, showing the liberality of their +rulers as far as they go. But in new countries the number of women +that inherit property is very small compared to the number that +work all their days to help pay for their humble homes. It is in +the right to these joint earnings where the wife is most cruelly +defrauded, because the mother of a large family, who washes, irons, +cooks, bakes, patches and darns, takes care of the children, labors +from early dawn to midnight in her own home, is not supposed to +earn anything, hence owns nothing, and all the labors of a long +life, the results of her thrift and economy, belong absolutely to +the husband, so that when he dies they call it liberality for the +husband to make his partner an heir, and give her one-third of +their joint earnings. + +For this chapter we are indebted to Mrs. Amelia Bloomer, who moved +into this State from New York in the spring of 1855 with her +husband, who commenced the practice of law in Council Bluffs, where +they have resided ever since. Mrs. Bloomer had been the editor for +several years of a weekly paper called the _Lily_, which advocated +both temperance and woman's rights, and for the six years of its +publication was of inestimable value alike to both reforms. She was +one of the earliest champions of the woman's rights movement, and +as writer, editor and lecturer, did much to forward the cause in +its infancy.[395] + + The first agitation of the question of woman suffrage in Iowa was + in the summer of 1854, when Frances Dana Gage of Ohio gave a + series of lectures in the southeastern section of the State on + temperance and woman's rights. Letters written to _Lily_ at the + time show that large audiences congregated to see and hear a + woman publicly proclaiming the wrongs of her sex, and demanding + equal rights before the law. During the year 1855 the writer gave + several lectures at Council Bluffs, and in January, 1856, by + invitation, addressed the second territorial legislature of + Nebraska, in Representative Hall, Omaha; and in the year + following lectured in Council Bluffs, Omaha, Nebraska City, + Glenwood and other towns. + + In 1868 Mrs. Martha H. Brinkerhoff made a very successful + lecture-tour through the northern counties of Iowa. She roused + great interest and organized many societies, canvassing meanwhile + for subscribers to _The Revolution_. In the same year Mrs. Annie + C. Savery gave a lecture for the benefit of a blind editor at Des + Moines. In February, 1870, by invitation, she responded to a + toast at a Masonic festival in that city; and during that and the + year following she lectured in several places on woman suffrage, + and wrote many able articles for the press. + + On April 17, 1869, the "Northern Woman Suffrage Association" was + organized at Dubuque.[396] This was the first society in Iowa, + though about the same time others were being organized in + different localities. J. L. McCreery, in his editorial position, + advocated the enfranchisement of woman, and wrote an able paper + in favor of the object of the organization. Mrs. Mary N. Adams + opened a correspondence with friends of the movement in other + parts of the State; Henry O'Connor, Mary A. Livermore and others + lectured before the society, thus educating the people into a + better understanding of woman's rights and needs. Mrs. Adams not + only addressed the home society, but gave lectures before lyceums + and educational institutions. + + Des Moines has always maintained the most successful organization + having a band of earnest women enlisted in the work, and being + the capital of the State, where every opportunity was afforded to + facilitate their efforts. The liberality of the press, too, aided + vastly in moulding public sentiment in favor of the cause. About + the earliest work done in that city was in June, 1870, when + Hannah Tracy Cutler and Amelia Bloomer (immediately on returning + from the formation of the State Society at Mt. Pleasant) held two + meetings there--one in the open air on the grounds where the new + capitol now stands, on the question of temperance, Sunday + afternoon, presided over by Governor Merrill; the other in the + Baptist Church, on woman suffrage, the following evening, Mrs. + Annie C. Savery presiding. + + The Polk County Woman Suffrage Society was formed October 25, and + has never failed to hold its meetings regularly each month since + that time. Every congress and every legislature have been + appealed to by petitions signed by thousands of the best + citizens, and it is on record that the senators and + representatives of Polk county, with one exception,[397] have + always voted in favor of submitting the question of woman's + enfranchisement to the electors of the State. When men are talked + of for legislative honors they are interviewed by a committee + from the society, and pledges secured that they will vote "aye" + on any woman suffrage bill that may come before them. + + This society has from time to time engaged the services of + prominent lecturers,[398] and nearly all of the ministers and + lawyers of the city have given addresses in favor of the cause. + Only one minister has openly and bitterly opposed the measure, + and his sermon on the "Subordination of Woman," published in the + _Register_, called out spirited replies from Mrs. Savery and Mrs. + Bloomer in the same journal, which completely demolished the + flimsy fancies of the gentleman. + + About 1874 Mrs. Maria Orwig edited a column in the _Record_, and + Mary A. Work a column in the _Republican_. Since 1880, Mesdames + Hunter, Orwig, Woods and Work have filled two columns in _The + Prohibitionist_, of which Laura A. Berry is one of the editors. + Mrs. M. J. Coggeshall has for several years served the society as + reporter for the _Register_, proving herself a very ready and + interesting writer. All of these ladies are efficient and + untiring in whatever pertains to woman's interest.[399] The + _Register_ says: + + The field of labor in Des Moines is pretty well occupied by + the ladies. You will find them at the desks in the county + and United States court-houses, in the pension office, in + the insurance office, in the State offices, behind the + counters in stores, in attorneys' offices--and there is one + woman who assists her husband at the blacksmith's trade, and + she can strike as hard a blow with a sledge as the brawniest + workman in the shop. + + In the autumn of 1870 a society was organized at Burlington, with + fifty members. One of the earliest advocates of the cause in this + place was Mary A. P. Darwin, president of the association, who + lectured through the southern tier of counties during the summer + of 1870. She was an earnest and forcible speaker. + + At Oskaloosa the opening work was done in 1854 by Frances D. + Gage, who gave four lectures there, and roused the people to + thought and discussion. Mattie Griffith Davenport has long filled + a prominent place in the woman suffrage movement in that city. + She commenced lecturing in 1868, and during that and the two + succeeding years traveled over much of the State, speaking upon + temperance and woman's rights. During 1879 she edited a column of + the Davenport _News_ in the interest of suffrage. In the summer + of 1870 Mrs. Cutler and Mrs. Bloomer held two meetings in + Oskaloosa, in one of which a gentleman engaged in the + discussions, and as is usual in such encounters, the women having + right and justice on their side, came out the victors; at least + so said the listeners. Following this a Woman's Suffrage Society + was organized.[400] Many prominent speakers lectured here in + turn, and helped to keep up the interest. + + Council Bluffs also organized a society[401] in 1870, holding + frequent meetings and sociables. There is here a large element in + favor of the ballot for woman; and though we are unfortunate in + not having an advocate in the press, still Council Bluffs will + give a good report of itself when the question of woman's + enfranchisement shall come before the electors for action. The + trustees of the public library of this city are women; the + librarian is a woman: the post-office is in the hands of a woman; + the teachers in the public schools, with one or two exceptions, + are women; the principal of the high school is a woman; and a + large number of the clerks in the dry goods stores are women. + Miss Ingelletta Smith received the nomination of the Republican + party for school superintendent in the fall of 1881, but was + defeated by her Democratic competitor. + + Marshalltown had a suffrage organization as early as July, + 1870.[402] Nettie Sanford lectured in several of the central + counties of the State during that and the previous year. + Josephine Guthrie, professor of Belles-Lettres at Le Grand + College, in a series of able articles in the Marshalltown _Times_ + in 1869, claimed for women equality of rights before the law. In + 1873, Aubie Gifford, a woman of high culture and an experienced + teacher, was elected to the office of county superintendent of + the public schools of Marshall county, by a handsome majority; + she was reelected, serving, in all, four years. + + At Algona a society[403] was formed in 1871. At the annual + meeting of the State Society at Des Moines, in 1873, Lizzie B. + Read delivered an address entitled, "Coming Up Out of the + Wilderness," and in July, 1875, at a mass-meeting at Clear Lake, + one on "The Bible in Favor of Woman Suffrage." Mrs. Read, + formerly as Miss Bunnel, published a paper called the + _Mayflower_, at Peru, Indiana, and in 1865 a county paper in this + State called the _Upper Des Moines_. + + Since 1875 Jackson county has had an efficient Equal Rights + Society.[404] On July 4, 1876, Nancy R. Allen, at the general + celebration at Maquoketa, the county-seat, read the "Protest and + Declaration of Rights," issued by the National Association from + its Centennial Parlors in Philadelphia. It was well received by + the majority of the people assembled; but, as usual, there were + some objectors. The Presbyterian minister published a series of + articles in the _Sentinel_, to each of which Mrs. Allen replied + ably defending the principles of the Woman Suffrage party. The + Maquoketa Equal Rights Society celebrated the thirtieth + anniversary of the woman's rights movement July 19, 1878, by + holding a public meeting in Dr. Allen's grounds, in the shade of + the grand old trees. It was a large gathering, and many prominent + gentlemen of the city, by their presence and words of cheer, gave + dignity to the occasion. Jackson county has long honored women + with positions of trust. The deputy recorder is a woman; Mrs. + Allen was notary public; Mrs. Patton was nominated for auditor by + the Greenback party in 1880, but was defeated with the rest of + the ticket. Women are book-keepers, merchants, clerks, teachers; + and, in fact, almost every avenue is open to them. + + Of Fort Dodge, Mrs. Haviland writes: "The subject has never been + much agitated here. I have stood almost alone these long years, + watching the work done by my sisters in other parts of the State, + and hoping the time would soon come when some move could be made + in this place. Last spring the annual meeting of our State + Society was held here, but it was with difficulty that I found + places where the few who came could be entertained, people were + so afraid of woman's rights. After the refusal of the other + churches, the Baptists opened theirs; the crowd of curious ones + looked on and seemed surprised when they failed to discover the + 'horns.'" Mrs. A.M. Swain also writes: "Miss Anthony came here + first in June, 1871, and has been here twice since. Mrs. + Swisshelm was here in 1874. Both were my guests when no other + doors were open to the advocates of woman suffrage. The late + convention of the State Society held here was a decided success; + the best class of ladies attended; the dignity and ability shown + in the management, and the many interesting and logical papers + read disarmed all criticism and awakened genuine interest. I have + handed in my ballot for several years, but it has never been + received or counted." + + Societies were organized in 1869 and 1870, in Independence and + Monticello. Humboldt, Nevada, West Union, Corning, Osceola, + Muscatine, Sigourney, Garden Grove, Decorah, Hamburg, and scores + of other towns have their local societies. At West Liberty Mrs. + Mary V. Cowgill and her good husband are liberal contributors to + the work, both State and National. + + At a convention held at Mt. Pleasant, June 17, 18, 1870, + different sections of the State being well represented, the Iowa + Woman Suffrage Society[405] was formed. Belle Mansfield, + president, Frank Hatton,[406] editor of the Mt. Pleasant + _Journal_, secretary. W.R. Cole opened the convention with + prayer. After many able addresses from various speakers,[407] in + response to an invitation from the president, Judge Palmer in a + somewhat excited manner stated his objections to woman's voting. + He wanted some guarantee that good would result from giving her + the ballot. He thought "she did not understand driving, and would + upset the sleigh. Men had always rowed the boat, and therefore + always should. Men had more force and muscle than women, and + therefore should have all the power in their hands." He spoke of + himself as the guardian of his wife, and said she did not want to + vote. After talking an hour in this style, he took his seat, + greatly to the relief of his hearers. Mrs. Cutler, in her calm, + dignified, deliberate manner, answered his arguments. She proved + conclusively that muscular force was not the power most needed in + our government. If it were, all the little, weak men and women, + no matter how intellectual must stand aside, and let only the + strong, muscular do the voting and governing. In clearness of + perception, and readiness of debate, she distanced her opponent + altogether in the opinion of the convention. + + The first annual meeting of the State Society was held at Des + Moines, October 19, 1871. Mrs. Bloomer presided[408] in the + absence of the president, Gen. O'Connor. Speakers had been + engaged for this convention, a good representation secured, and + every arrangement made for a successful meeting. And such it was, + barring a difference of opinion among the friends of the movement + as to what questions should properly come before a society whose + only object, as declared in its constitution, was to secure + suffrage for women. The following letters were received: + + IOWA CITY, October 11, 1871. + + Mrs. ANNIE SAVERY--_Dear Madam_: Your kind and very + flattering invitation to address the Woman's State Suffrage + Convention, in Des Moines, reached me just prior to my + departure for this city, and I avail myself of my first + leisure to respond. It would not only give me great + pleasure, but I should esteem it among my higher duties to + accept your invitation, and give my emphatic endorsement to + the great reform movement represented by the woman suffrage + convention, were it at all practicable. But I have just + reached my new charge, and can not dispose of immediate + pressing claims upon my time and effort here. Please accept + my apology for declining, and believe me, ever yours for + woman's enfranchisement. + + C. R. POMEROY. + + + INDIANOLA, Sept. 30, 1871. + + Mrs. ANNIE SAVERY--_Madam_: I am in receipt of your letter, + asking me to take part in your annual convention. I thank + you for the honor, as I expect from such a convention + results the most salutary, not only to the condition of + woman, but also to the progress of our young and vigorous + commonwealth. I have read carefully the circular enclosed in + your letter, and consider the logic irrefutable, and its + suggestions well worthy the attention of all who desire the + complete enfranchisement of woman. I fear that I shall not + be able to attend, but if I am, I shall be with you, should + I do no more than say "Amen" to the words of my eloquent + countryman, O'Connor, whom I learn you have honored with the + presidency of your association. Wishing for your cause the + fullest success, I subscribe myself--one for the + enfranchisement of woman. + + ALEXANDER BURNS. + + A letter was also received from Bishop Matthew Simpson, of the + Methodist church, who was always ready to declare his adherence + to this great reform: + + OWATOMA, Oct. 2, 1871. + + Hon. J. HARLAN--_Dear Senator_: Yours, inclosing Mrs. + Savery's kind invitation, was received before I left + Mankota. I would be pleased to comply with her invitation, + joined as it is with your earnest solicitation. But I am + under bonds--if not to keep the peace, at least to keep + silence--so far as either sermons or public addresses are + concerned, until the full restoration of my health. I am + glad to say my health is improving. I have presided at five + conferences this fall--two still await me. But I have not + ventured any extra labor, nor dare I for some time to come. + Please convey to Mrs. Savery my thanks for her kind + invitation, and say to her that I sympathize fully with the + suffrage association in its desire to attain for women the + ballot. + + A series of resolutions was discussed, other letters read, and a + large number of new converts joined the association. The _State + Register_ spoke in a very complimentary manner of the + deliberations of this convention: + + It is but just, perhaps, that we should say, in general + terms, of the State woman suffrage convention, in session in + Des Moines the past week, that its proceedings were + characterized with good sense, dignity, and the best of + order. The world has had an impression for five or six + thousand years that women cannot talk without wrangling, + counsel without confusion. Again, many are so unjust as to + imagine that a convention composed of ladies, assembled to + discuss serious subjects, can be nothing more than a + quilting party or tattlers' club enlarged and let loose. + + We have never seen a convention conducted with more decorum, + or a greater degree of intelligent accord exhibited in the + routine of proceedings, than was noticeable in this first + annual gathering of the friends of suffrage in Iowa. A + majority of the members were women. They opened the + convention and conducted the discussions with a spirit and + in a manner after which men might well pattern. In some + respects, the ladies who took the lead, showed themselves + better posted in general information, in all matters of + deliberation, than men. + + We would not endorse all that was done at the convention, + but we would be fair enough to give to it the meed of having + been, in all respects, well conducted. The convention + strengthened those in whose name it met, not only among + themselves, but with the public. All who attended it were + impressed with the conviction that its members were earnest + and honest, and could see that they were intelligent and + well armed. Whatever it may have done directly, and that we + know was much, it accomplished more good for its cause by + impressing the public mind that its adherents in Iowa are + banded together in union, and bound to make every honorable + effort for success. + + In January, 1872, I received a letter from a very prominent + member of the legislature, from which the following is an + extract: + + After consultation I believe the House would resolve itself + into committee of the whole (when senators would be likely + also to come in), and hear you on the question of woman + suffrage. Should you desire to press it to vote this + session, I should advise that course. As to the time of your + hearing, it should be in the day, and appointed soon after + the recess. We meet again on February 13. I think it could + be arranged for Friday, the 16th, if agreeable to you. With + kind regards, + + JOHN A. KASSON. + + Notwithstanding this kind proposal of Mr. Kasson, I did not act + upon his suggestion. But Mrs. Harbert and Mrs. Savery, feeling + that something must be done, had the courage and the conscience, + on their individual responsibility, to call a mass-meeting at the + capitol on the evening previous to the day appointed for the vote + on the amendment in the House. Mrs. Harbert presided and opened + the meeting with an earnest appeal; Mrs. Savery, Mr. C.P. Holmes, + Senator Converse, and Governor Carpenter, made eloquent speeches. + The governor, in opening his address said he voted to strike + "black" from the constitution sixteen years ago, and would then, + as now, had the opportunity been presented, have voted to strike + out "male." + + On the following day when the amendment came up in the House for + the final vote, it was carried by 58 to 39. In the Senate there + was a spirited discussion, Hon. Charles Beardsley making an + earnest speech in favor of the resolution. The vote on engrossing + the bill for the third reading stood 26 ayes to 20 nays. Hope + ran high with the friends; but alas! on a final vote, taken but a + few minutes later, the bill was lost by 24 nays to 22 ayes.[409] + The general sentiment was well stated by the Iowa _State + Register_: + + The Senate disposed of the woman suffrage question yesterday + by voting it down. We think it made a mistake. Certainly + there was, at the lowest count, thirty out of every hundred + voters in the State who desired to have this legislature + ratify the action of the last Assembly, and submit the + question at the polls this fall. The Republican party has + its own record to meet here. The first time the negro + suffrage question was submitted to the people of Iowa, it + was submitted by a Republican legislature, and the + submission was made when not over one voter in a hundred + desired it done. This latter thing was a plain proposition, + a most justly preferred petition. The people who were + anxious to have the question submitted, are, it is + confidently claimed, in majority. We think their wishes + might well and fitly have been granted. Even those who were + opposed to them must see that the advocates of the reform + will now have a chance to claim that the opponents of it are + afraid to go with them to the people. This is not merely a + defeat for the present year, but practically for four years. + Our State constitution can be amended only after two + legislatures have acted upon the amendment, and the people + have voted upon it. The legislature of two years ago passed + the resolution voted down yesterday. Now, we presume, it + will have to take another start. Four years of waiting and + working before the friends of the reform can be given a + chance to get a verdict from the people, is a long and + painful ordeal. It will not be endured with patience. It + would be asking too much of human nature to expect that. + + At the annual convention of 1874, at Des Moines, Bishop Gilbert + Haven of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a clear and liberal + thinker, made a very impressive speech on the power woman could + wield with the ballot in her own hand in making our towns and + cities safe for our sons and daughters to live in. This year, the + Des Moines annual conference of the M. E. Church passed + resolutions advocating woman suffrage as a great moral reform; + while the State convention of the Universalist Association in its + resolution said: "This convention recognizes that women are + entitled to all the social, religious, and political rights which + men enjoy." + + At the Diocesan Convention held at Davenport May 1881, the + Episcopal Church took a step forward by striking the word male + out of a canon, thus enabling women to vote for vestrymen, a + right hitherto withheld. It is but a straw in the right + direction, but "straws show which way the wind blows," and we may + hope for more good things to follow. + + The Republican party, in convention assembled, at Des Moines, + July 1, 1874, inserted the following, as the tenth plank of its + platform: + + _Resolved_, That since the people may be entrusted with all + questions of governmental reform, we favor the final + submission to them of the question of amending the + constitution so as to extend the right of suffrage to women, + pursuant to the action of the fifteenth General Assembly. + + The reading of the resolution called forth cheers of approval, + and was adopted without a dissenting vote, Mrs. Elizabeth Boynton + Harbert is entitled to great credit for this "woman's plank," she + having gone before the committee on resolutions and made an + earnest appeal for woman's recognition by the Republican party. + The _State Record_ said: + + When the Republicans, in national convention, recognized + woman, and gave her a plank in the platform of the party, it + reflected back a spirit of justice and progress which is + looked for in vain in the party opposing, of whatever name. + But when the Republicans of Iowa gave to a woman the + privilege of bringing in a plank of her own production, and + that plank was added to the State platform without a + dissenting voice, it placed Iowa, men and women alike, in + the vanguard of the world's onward march to a more rational + life, more even justice, and purer government. + + In the Republican State platform of Iowa is the first real + and purely woman's plank that ever entered into any + political platform--because it originated in the brain of + woman. It was by a woman carried to the committee, and in + response to an able, dignified, and true womanly appeal, it + was accepted, and by the convention incorporated into the + platform of the party. It may seem to be a small plank, but + it has strength and durability. It is the live oak of a + living principle, that will remain sound while other planks + of greater bulk around it will have served their purpose and + wasted away. + + It argues thus: if woman is competent to present a political + issue, clothed in her own language, with a dignity and + modesty that silence opposition, is she not competent to + exercise with prudence and intelligence the elective + franchise? and would she not, if entrusted with it, exercise + it for the elevation of a common humanity? The _Record_ + tenders hearty congratulations not only to Mrs. Harbert, who + we know will bear the honors modestly, but also to those who + by their presence in the convention gave encouragement to + greater respect for woman's wishes, and by whose work is + demonstrated woman's fitness to be in truth a helpmeet for + man. We had a mother, and have sisters, wife, and daughter, + and that is why we would have woman enjoy every privilege + and opportunity to be useful to herself and her country that + we claim for ourself. + + At the annual meeting of 1875, held at Oskaloosa, the following + letter from the governor of the State was received: + + EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Des Moines, Iowa. + + Mrs. R. G. ORWIG, _Cor. Sec. I. W. S. S.--Dear Madam_: I + have your letter inviting me to be present at your annual + meeting. Thanking you and the association for the + consideration implied, I have to express my regrets that + business of an official character will prevent me from + coming. I hope your proceedings may be characterized by such + wisdom, moderation, and sincerity as to advance the cause to + which your efforts are given. I have never been able to + discover any argument to sustain my own right to vote that + does not equally apply to woman. Whether my right is founded + upon the interest I have, in common with my fellows, in the + preservation of the free institutions of my country; or upon + the protection of my personal interests as a citizen; or + upon my right to a voice in the creation of laws to which I + am held amenable; or upon my right to influence by a vote + the direction given to revenues which I am taxed to help + supply; or upon any other right, personal, political or + moral, I have never been able to see why the reasons which + make the vote valuable to me do not apply with equal force + to woman. You doubtless think your efforts are comparatively + fruitless; but I need not tell you that while your agitation + has failed, so far, to bring you the ballot, it has + ameliorated the condition of woman in very many particulars. + Her property rights are better protected; her sphere of + activity has been enlarged, and her influence for good is + more widely recognized. So I wish you well. Yours truly, + + C. C. CARPENTER. + + This year women were members of a lay delegation in the Methodist + conference, and also lay delegates to the Presbyterian synod. And + in two or three instances women have been invited to address + these bodies, and have received a vote of thanks. Many of the + orthodox clergy are openly advocating our cause, and in some + instances women have been invited by them to occupy their desks + on Sunday to preach the Gospel to the people. This is a wonderful + advance in sentiment since 1852, when in New York the clergy + would not permit women to speak, even on temperance in a public + hall. + + In 1876 the society secured the services of Matilda Hindman, of + Pittsburg, Pa., who traveled over the greater part of the State, + lecturing and organizing societies, and was everywhere spoken of + as an eloquent and logical speaker. She was followed by Margaret + W. Campbell, and those who know her feel that the State gained in + her a valuable friend in everything pertaining to the interests + of woman. What is said of Miss Hindman as a speaker may also be + said of Mrs. Campbell. + + The first governor of Iowa to officially recognize woman's right + to the ballot was the Hon. C. C. Carpenter, who in his message to + the General Assembly of 1876, said: + + The proposed amendment to the constitution, adopted by your + predecessors, and which requires your sanction before being + submitted to the voters of the State, will come before you. + I venture to suggest, that the uniform expression in Wyoming + Territory, where woman suffrage is a fact, is favorable to + its continuance, and that wherever in Europe and America + women have voted for school or minor officers the influence + of their suffrage has been beneficent; and in view of the + peculiar appropriateness of submitting this question in this + year, 1876, when all America is celebrating achievements + which were inspired by the doctrine that taxation and + representation are of right inseparable, it is recommended + that you give the people of Iowa an opportunity to express + their judgment upon the proposed amendment at the + ballot-box. + + At the request of the State Association, Miss Matilda Hindman was + granted a hearing before the legislature, and most respectful + attention was accorded to her able address. Miss Anthony was also + invited, and, at the suggestion of Mrs. Savery, she engaged the + opera-house. The seats reserved for the members were all filled, + and every part of the house occupied. The day following, the vote + in the House was taken, and carried by 54 to 40. After a careful + canvass of the Senate, it was found that there were ten votes to + spare; but alas! when the day for final action came the amendment + was lost by one vote.[410] + + In 1880 Senator Gaylord of Floyd county made a speech, giving + twenty-one reasons why he voted against the submission of the + proposition for the enfranchisement of women, which was published + in full in the Des Moines _Register_, and thus sent broadcast + over the State. Mrs. Bloomer replied to Mr. Floyd through the + same paper, meeting and refuting every objection, thus in a + measure antidoting the poisonous influence of the senator's + pronunciamento. + + In the spring of this year Dr. Harriette Bottsford and Mrs. Jane + C. McKinney were appointed by a caucus of Republican women, to + the Powesheik county convention, to choose delegates to the State + convention. They presented their credentials to the committee, + and the chairman reported them as delegates. On motion, they were + accepted--but some men soon bethought them that this was + establishing a bad precedent, and began maneuvering to get rid of + them. This was finally done by declaring the delegation full + without them--two men having been quietly appointed to fill + vacancies after the ladies had presented their credentials. Mrs. + McKinney made a spicy speech, saying they did not expect to be + received as delegates, but wished to remind the men that women + were citizens, tax-payers and Republicans, but unrepresented. + + At the Greenback State convention of 1881, Mrs. Mary E. Nash was + nominated as the candidate of that party for State superintendent + of schools. Mrs. Nash declined the honor intended, and said that + her political flag, if it were to float at all, would be found in + another camp. She would not desert her colors for office. In 1884 + Mrs. H. J. Bellangee and Mrs. A. M. Swain were regularly + accredited delegates to the National Greenback convention, held + at Indianapolis, Ind., to nominate a candidate for the + presidency, where they were received with the greatest courtesy. + + The annual meeting of 1882, at Des Moines, was remarkable for the + number of clergymen, representing nearly all the different + denominations, who took part in its proceedings, each of the nine + seeming to vie with the others in expressing his belief that the + ballot for woman, as for man, was a right, not a privilege. + Bishop Hurst of the M. E. Church, made an able speech. The + executive committee sent a memorial to the Republican convention, + held in June for the nomination of State officers, asking a plank + in their platform favoring the submission of the woman suffrage + amendment. The request was not granted. Leading politicians who + professed to believe in equality of rights for women feared that + to do so would make too heavy a weight for the party to carry, it + having already incorporated a prohibition plank in its platform. + The committee also interviewed 500 editors, asking them to open + the columns of their papers to the advocacy of woman suffrage. + One hundred and twenty replied favorably, while many were + courteous and others brusque in their refusals. + + A committee on legislation (Mrs. Narcissa T. Bemis, chairman) did + good work during this session of the legislature, and also + published a tract composed of contributions from twelve leading + ministers of the State, called "The Clergymen's Tract." This was + sent broadcast. Nine hundred of the clergy were favored with a + copy. The Ministerial Association, held in Des Moines, passed the + following: + + _Resolved_, That we are heartily in favor of woman suffrage + as advocated by your association, and regard the same as a + proper subject for pulpit-teaching, and, as opportunity + offers of furthering said cause in our pulpit ministry, we + will avail ourselves of the same. + + During this year the State Society contributed liberally to the + Nebraska campaign. Mrs. Nancy R. Allen and Mrs. Mary B. Lee each + left a small legacy to the association. + + Of the annual meeting of 1883,[411] held at Ottumwa, the local + papers gave full and fair reports; while 200 papers of the State + published a condensed statement prepared by the secretary. Miss + Hindman and Mrs. Campbell were again invited to the State. No + grander work than theirs was ever done in Iowa. There is scarcely + a county which they have not canvassed; holding meetings, forming + associations, circulating petitions, distributing tracts, + preaching on Sundays in the churches, traveling, often for months + at a time, without a pledge of pecuniary aid, depending for their + expenses wholly on funds contributed at their meetings. + + The State convention of 1884 met at the Christian Church at Des + Moines; Mrs. Nacissa T. Bemis presided. Mrs. Helen M. Gougar of + Indiana was one of the speakers. A committee, of which Mrs. + Martha C. Callanan was chairman, interviewed the governor, asking + a recognition of woman's right of suffrage, and were told it + should receive consideration. Accordingly, in his message to the + legislature, Governor Sherman said: + + Your attention is respectfully directed to the question of + impartial suffrage, in respect to which the nineteenth + General Assembly proposed an amendment to the constitution. + Should this meet your approval, as preliminary to taking the + judgment of the voters, I recommend that it be submitted at + a special election, in order that it may be freed from the + influence of partisan politics, and thus receive an + unprejudiced vote of our citizens. Not caring to here + express an opinion upon the question itself, it is + sufficient to say that now, as heretofore, I am in favor of + the submission of any question which is of importance and + general interest. + + Governor Sherman also gave it as his opinion that a good woman + should be placed on the board of trustees of every public + institution. This was the second time that an Iowa governor had + referred to this great political question in his message to the + General Assembly, Governor Carpenter having heartily indorsed the + measure in 1876. It is said, however, that Governor Newbold had + written a clause on the subject in his message in 1878, but that + it was suppressed by the careful counsel of some guardian angel + of his party. + + Previous to the assembling of this legislature, petitions had + been widely circulated,[412] praying for the submission of the + amendment. Over 6,000 signatures were obtained. Each petition was + placed in the hands of a senator or member from the county in + which the names were gathered, for presentation in the respective + Houses. + + For fifteen consecutive years the State Society has met annually, + made reports, passed resolutions, elected officers, listened to + speeches and transacted what other business has come before it. + Though its anniversaries have usually been held at Des Moines, + its influence through the press has pervaded the whole State. + Since 1875, the annual meetings have been held in different + cities[413] outside the capital, thus giving the people of all + sections of the State an opportunity to participate in the + deliberations. Petitions to the legislature and to congress have + been circulated by the society, delegates sent to the conventions + of the National and American Suffrage Associations,[414] and + letters addressed to the delegates of the State and National + nominating conventions of the political parties, asking for a + recognition of woman's right to the ballot in their platforms. + + A brief recital of the proceedings of the Iowa legislature will + show that a large majority of the Representatives have been in + favor of submitting the question of woman suffrage to a direct + vote of the men of the State. The proposition was first presented + in the House by Hon. John P. Irish, in 1870. The resolution + passed both Houses with very little debate, was approved by the + governor, and submitted to the next General Assembly. In the + session of 1872 it was discussed in both Houses at considerable + length, and again passed in the Lower House by the strong vote of + 58 ayes to 39 nays; while in the Senate it was lost by only two + majority. The House has never failed at any session since that + time, until 1884, to give a majority in its favor; but the Senate + has not made for itself so good a record. In 1872 the vote in the + Senate stood: ayes, 22; nays, 24. In 1876 it was lost by one + vote; and in 1880 lost on engrossment. In 1884 the tables were + turned; when the amendment came up in the twentieth General + Assembly for ratification, the Senate passed the bill, while the + House, for the first time, defeated it by a small majority. + + By the constitution of Iowa an amendment must be approved by two + consecutive legislatures, convened in regular session. When so + approved it is then submitted to the popular vote of the + electors. As in this State the legislature meets but once in two + years, the reader can see how easily a bill passed at one session + may, two years later, be defeated by the election of new members + who are opposed to it. And thus through all these years those who + claim the ballot for woman in this State have been elated or + depressed by the action of each succeeding legislature. + + The thirteenth General Assembly not only earned a good name for + enlightened statesmanship by passing the constitutional amendment + in favor of woman suffrage, but it also, by chapter 21, approved + March 8, 1870, passed an act admitting women to the practice of + law. It was under this that Judith Ellen Foster--so widely known + as an eloquent lecturer and able lawyer--Annie C. Savery, Mrs. + Emma Haddock, Louisa H. Albert, Jessie M. Johnson, and several + others have passed the necessary examination and been admitted to + practice as attorneys and counselors in all the courts of the + State. Mrs. Arabella Mansfield was admitted to the bar in 1869, + just a year previous to the enactment of the law. + + Miss Linda M. Ramsey, now Mrs. Hartzell, was employed as a clerk + by Adjutant-General Baker in 1864, and held the office for some + time after the war closed. The _Record_ says she was the first + woman regularly employed and paid by the State for clerical + services. Miss Augusta Matthews served as military secretary for + Governor Stone during the war under pay of the State. + + It was the thirteenth General Assembly, 1870, that first elected + a woman, Miss Mary E. Spencer, to the office of engrossing clerk; + and upon her it devolved to convey the message from the House to + the Senate, announcing the passage of the woman suffrage + amendment. In 1872 each House elected one woman among its + officers; and each succeeding General Assembly since that time + has elected from three to six women. The office of postmaster has + been filled by women for the last ten years, and is now held by + the venerable widow of General N. A. Baker, for many years the + popular adjutant-general of the State. The office of State + librarian was filled by Mrs. Ada North for seven years, and is + now held by Mrs. S. B. Maxwell. Mrs. North is (1885) librarian of + the State University at Iowa City. + + The State insane hospitals are inspected by a visiting + commission, one of whom is a woman. Several of the city hospitals + are managed by women of the Catholic orders. The reform schools + have a woman on their board of trustees, of whom Governor Sherman + was graciously pleased to say that "she discovered more of the + true inwardness of the institution in three days than her + honorable colleague had done in three years." + + In 1876 Governor Kirkwood appointed Mrs. Nancy R. Allen notary + public. He also appointed Mrs. Merrill as teacher and chaplain at + the State penitentiary, Miss McCowen as physician of the State + insane asylum, and Dr. Sara A. Pangborn, one of the staff of + physicians of the insane hospital at Independence. + + In 1874 Governor Carpenter appointed Mrs. Deborah Cattell a + commissioner to investigate the alleged cruelty in the State + Reform School at Eldora; and for this service she was paid the + same as men who served on the same commission. Governor Gear + appointed Dr. Abbie M. Cleaves delegate from Iowa to the National + Conference of Charities and Correction, and to the National + Association for the Protection of the Insane and the Prevention + of Insanity, which was held in Cleveland, Ohio, July, 1880. Mrs. + Mary Wright and Dr. Abbie Cleaves were commissioned to the + conference of the same associations at Louisville, Ky., in 1883. + The legislature of 1880 appointed Jane C. McKinney one of the + trustees of the Hospital for the Insane, at Independence. + + The eighteenth General Assembly, 1880, passed an act to extend to + women the right to hold the office of county recorder. A bill + giving them the right to hold the office of county auditor passed + the House, but was lost in the Senate. Under the above law Miss + Addie Hayden was elected recorder of Warren county by a majority + of 397 votes. She ran on an independent ticket. Mrs. C. J. Hill + was chosen recorder of Osceola county at the same election. + + The instruction of the youth of Iowa has fallen largely into the + hands of women. During the year 1879 the number of women employed + as teachers was 13,579, while the number of men was 7,573. In the + larger towns and cities women are almost exclusively engaged as + teachers. Miss Phebe Ludlow, after having for several years + acceptably discharged the duties of city superintendent of + schools at Davenport, was elected professor of English language + and literature in the State University at Iowa City. The chair is + still occupied by a woman, as is that of instructor of + mathematics and several other branches in that institution, + which, to the honor of Iowa be it said, always opened its doors + to both sexes alike. + + The question of the eligibility of women to the office of county + superintendent of public schools having arisen by the election of + Miss Julia C. Addington in the autumn of 1869, the matter was + referred to the attorney-general by the State superintendent of + public instruction, and the following was his reply: + + _Hon. A. S. Kissell, Superintendent of Public Instruction:_ + + DEAR SIR: Rights and privileges of persons (citizens) are + frequently extended but never abridged by implication. The + soundness and wisdom of this rule of construction is, I + believe, universally conceded. Two clauses of the + constitution, only, contain express provisions excluding + women from the rights and privileges in said provisions. + Section 1, of Article I., as to the right of suffrage, and + Section 4, of Article III., which provides that members of + the legislature must be free white male citizens. "Free" and + "white" have lost their meaning (if the words in that use + ever had any suitable or good meaning), but the word "male" + still retains its full force and effect. If this express + restriction exists in the constitution as to any other + office, it has escaped my notice. It is true that the words + "person" and "citizen" frequently occur in other parts of + the constitution in connection with eligibility and + qualification for office, and I fully admit that by + usage--"time-honored usage," if you will--these phrases have + in common acceptation been taken to mean man in the + masculine gender only, and to exclude woman. But a recent + decision in the Court Exchequer, England, holding that the + generic term "man" includes woman also, indicates our + progress from a crude barbarism to a better civilization. + + The office of county superintendent was created by chapter + 52 of the acts of the seventh General Assembly, laws of + 1868, pages 52-72. Neither in that act, nor in any + subsequent legislation on the subject, have I been able to + find any express provisions making male citizenship a test + of eligibility for the place, or excluding women; and when I + look over the duties to be performed by that officer--as I + have with some care, and, I trust, not without interest--I + deem it exceedingly fortunate for the cause of education in + Iowa that there is no provision in the law preventing women + from holding the office of county superintendent of common + schools. I know that the pronoun "he" is frequently used in + different sections of the act, and referring to the officer; + but, as stated above, this privilege of the citizen cannot + be taken away or denied by intendment or implication; and + women are citizens as well and as much as men. + + I need scarcely add that, in my opinion, Miss Addington is + eligible to the office to which she has been elected; that + she will be entitled to her pay when she qualifies and + discharges the duties of the office, and that her decisions + on appeal, as well as all her official acts, will be legal + and binding. It is perhaps proper to state that an opinion + on this question, substantially in agreement with the + present one, was sent from this office to a gentleman + writing from Osage, in Mitchell county, several weeks ago, + which for some reason unknown to me, seems not to have been + made public in the county. I have the honor to be, etc., + + HENRY O'CONNOR, _Attorney-General_. + + Miss Addington, in her short letter of inquiry to the + superintendent, has the following modest conclusion: "The + position is not one I should have chosen for myself, but since my + friends have shown so much confidence in me, and many of them are + desirous that I should accept the office, I feel inclined to + gratify them, if it be found there is nothing incompatible in my + doing so." + + The question of the eligibility of women to hold school offices + was again raised at the October election of 1875. Miss Elizabeth + S. Cooke was elected to the office of superintendent of common + schools in Warren county. The question of her right to hold the + office was carried by her opponent, Mr. Huff, to the District + Court of that county, by appeal; and that court decided that the + defendant, Miss Cooke, "being a woman, was ineligible to the + office." It was then carried to the Supreme Court of the State, + which held that "there is no constitutional inhibition upon the + rights of women to hold the office of county superintendent." In + the meantime, however, and immediately following the decision of + the Warren county judge, the General Assembly, March 2, 1876, + promptly came to the rescue and passed the following act, almost + unanimously: + + SECTION 1. No person shall be deemed ineligible, by reason + of sex, to any school office in the State of Iowa. + + SEC. 2. No person who may have been, or shall be, elected or + appointed to the office of county superintendent of common + schools, or director, in the State of Iowa, shall be + deprived of office by reason of sex. + + Under the provisions of this law, and the above-cited decision of + the Supreme Court, Miss Cooke was allowed to serve out her term + of office without hindrance. Since that time women have been + elected, and discharged the duties of county superintendent with + great credit to themselves and advantage to the public. Women + have also been elected to other school offices in different parts + of the State. Mrs. Mary A. Work was unanimously elected + sub-director in district No. 6, Delaware township, Polk county, + in the spring of 1880; and soon after was made president of the + board--the first woman, so far as known, to fill the position of + president of a school board. + + In 1877, in Frederica, Bremer county, Mrs. Mary Fisher attended + the school meeting, and was elected as one of the three + directors. The two others were men, one of whom immediately + resigned, saying he would not hold office with a woman. His + resignation was at once accepted. He further remarked that + "woman's place was _to hum_; she was out of her _spear_ to school + _meetin's_, _holdin'_ office," etc. Mrs. Fisher had been a + teacher for six years. Mrs. Shirley, another successful teacher, + accompanied Mrs. Fisher to the next school meeting, and both + ladies voted on all questions that came up for action, and + nothing was said against their doing so. + + This year (1885) the school board of Des Moines elected Mrs. Lou. + M. Wilson to the office of city superintendent of public schools, + with a salary of $1,800 a year. She has in charge eighty + teachers, among whom are two men in the position of principals. + At the woman's congress, held at Des Moines in October, 1885, Dr. + Jennie McCowen, in her report for this State, said: + + An increasing number of women have been elected on + school-boards, and are serving as officers and county + superintendents of schools. Last year six women served as + presidents, thirty-five as secretaries, and fifty as + treasurers of school-boards. Of the superintendents and + principals of graded schools about one in five is a woman; + of county superintendents, one in nine; of teachers in + normal institutes, one in three; of principals of secondary + institutions of learning, one in three; of tutors and + instructors in colleges, one in two; and in the twenty-three + higher institutions of learning, thirteen young women are + officiating as professors, and in three of these colleges + the secretary of the faculty is a woman. The State board of + examiners has one woman--Miss Ella A. Hamilton of Des + Moines--and the State superintendent of public instruction + has for a number of years availed himself of the valued + services of a woman for private secretary. The _Northwestern + Educational Journal_ is edited by a woman. At the last + meeting of the State Teachers' Association a committee was + appointed to prepare a regular course of reading for + teachers. This course is mainly professional and literary, + with a leaning toward the latter. A large number of these + reading circles have already been organized, and much + interest, and even enthusiasm, is being manifested by + teachers in all parts of the State. The school of Domestic + Economy, in connection with the Agricultural College, is in + charge of a woman as dean, and, although but a year old, has + made an auspicious beginning. A number of young ladies, + graduates of the State University and other literary + schools, have gone to the School of Domestic Economy to + finish their education. + + Iowa has many women engaged as journalists. Prominent among these + is Miss Maggie VanPelt, city editor of the Dubuque _Times_. She + conducts her department very ably, and acceptably to her readers. + Whether an advocate for suffrage or not, she is certainly a + practical woman's rights woman. Independent and fearless, she + goes about day and night where she pleases, and wherever her + business calls her. A revolver, which she is known to carry, + makes it safe for her to walk the street at all hours. Mrs. Will + Hollingsworth, of the Sigourney _Review_, does a large part of + the writing for that paper, and assists in the management of the + establishment. _Woman's Hour_, edited by Mary J. Coggeshall, was + published by women at Des Moines two seasons, during the + exposition. Ten thousand copies were printed for free + distribution, and a handsomely decorated department granted the + society in the exposition for their work. Mrs. E. H. Hunter and + Mrs. Woods represented the society. Mrs. Pauline Swaim is noted + for her journalistic ability. Besides working on her husband's + paper, the Oskaloosa _Herald_, she has done much for the _State + Register_, reporting for it the proceedings of the Senate. In + October, 1875, Nettie Sanford started a paper at Marshalltown, + called _The Woman's Bureau_, which she published for two years. + During 1878 she published the _San Gabriel Valley News_, in + California. Mrs. L. M. Latham for many years conducted a suffrage + column in the Cedar Rapids _Times_; since 1884 she has been + associated with Mrs. J. L. Wilson on the _Transcript_, an eight + column paper devoted to general news, temperance and woman + suffrage. The paper is owned by Mrs. Wilson. Mrs. Nettie P. Fox + edits the _Spiritual Offering_ at Ottumwa; Mrs. Hattie Campbell, + a suffrage department in _The Advance_, at Des Moines; Mary + Osborne edits the _Osceola Sentinel_, and is superintendent of + the public schools of Clark county; Mrs. Lafayette Young is + engaged on the _Atlantic Telegraph_. Very many papers in the + State have women in charge of one or more columns. + + In the humbler walks of literature Iowa can boast quite a number + of women who have made successful attempts at authorship.[415] In + sculpture Mrs. Harriet A. Ketcham, of Mt. Pleasant, deserves + mention. She has the exclusive contract to model the prominent + men of Iowa for the new capitol. Mrs. Estelle E. Vore, Mrs. Cora + R. Fracker, and Miss Emma G. Holt, are known as musical + composers. + + Among the lecturers of Iowa, Mrs. Matilda Fletcher is worthy of + mention. Though she has never made woman suffrage a specialty, + she is sound on that question, and frequently introduces it + incidentally in her lectures. In 1869 she was living in obscurity + in Council Bluffs, her husband being employed as a teacher in one + of the suburban schools. Young, girlish-looking, no one seeing + her would have dreamed of her possessing the capabilities she has + since displayed. She started out under many discouragements, but + has shown a perseverance, a self-reliance, and an indomitable + will that few women manifest in the same direction. Mrs. Fletcher + has been employed by the Republican party during some of the most + important and exciting campaigns, speaking throughout the State, + in halls, tents, and in the open air. Every such effort on the + part of woman is an advantage to the cause we advocate, bringing + it nearer to final success. But it is to Mrs. Stanton, Miss + Anthony, Anna Dickinson, Mrs. Livermore, and other lyceum + lecturers[416] that our State is especially indebted for a + knowledge of the true principles upon which woman founds her + claim to equal civil and political rights with man. In all + sections of our land their voices have been heard by interested + and delighted audiences. + + There are about one hundred and fifty women in the medical + profession in the different cities of the State. Mrs. Yeomans, of + Clinton, is a successful practitioner. Mrs. King, allopathist, + and Mrs. Hortz, homeopathist, are regular graduates in good + practice at Des Moines. Dr. Harding, electrician, and Dr. Hilton, + allopathist, also graduates, have all the practice they can + attend to in Council Bluffs. In 1883, Dr. Jennie McCowen was + elected president of the Scott County Medical Society. This was + the first time a woman was ever elected to that office in this + State, if not in the United States. + + It is quite sure that Iowa may justly claim the first woman in + the profession of dentistry--Mrs. Lucy B. Hobbs, as early as + 1863.[417] At Cresco there is the firm of Dr. L. F. & Mrs. M. E. + Abbott, dental surgeons. At Mt. Pleasant, Mrs. M. E. Hildreth is + a licensed dentist in successful practice. + + Rev. Augusta Chapin was, I think, the first woman to enter the + sacred office in this State. Miss Safford, Algona; Mrs. Gillette, + Knoxville; Mrs. M. A. Folsom, Marshalltown; Florence E. Kollock, + Waverly; Mrs. M. J. Janes, Spencer; Mrs. Hartsough, Ft. Dodge, + are regularly ordained preachers of the Universalist and + Unitarian faiths. There are several licensed preachers of the M. + E. Church, but none have received regular ordination. + + Iowa furnished the following women who went to the front as + nurses during the war: Mrs. Harlan, wife of Senator Harlan; Mrs. + Almira Fales, Mrs. Anne Wittenmeyer, Miss Phebe Allen, Mrs. + Jerusha R. Small, Miss Melcena Elliott, Mrs. Arabella Tannehill. + These all did good service in hospital and on the field, and some + of them laid down their lives as a sacrifice. We copy the + following as one of the many facts of the war: + + Some years ago Adjutant-General Baker of Des Moines received + a letter of inquiry asking about a certain soldier in the + Twenty-fourth Iowa infantry. The tone of the letter was so + peculiar as to attract considerable attention and create + much comment in the office. In reply the general stated that + the records of the regiment and the record of the soldier + (whom, for the sake of convenience, we will call Smith, + although that is far from the real name) were in his office. + A few days afterwards a gentleman from Northern Iowa + appeared, inquired for General Baker, and was closeted with + him long enough to divulge the following singular tale: + + When the war broke out Miss Mary Smith, daughter of the + general's visitor, was residing in Ohio, working for a + farmer. Her father's family had moved to Iowa the fall + preceding the attack on Sumter, leaving Mary behind to + follow in the spring. Various causes conspired to delay her + departure for her Iowa home until autumn, and it was + September before she landed at Muscatine, from which place + she expected to travel by land to her father's house. She + was a large-sized, hearty-looking girl, eighteen years of + age. Arriving at Muscatine, some strange freak induced her + to assume man's apparel and enlist in the Twenty-fourth + infantry, then in rendezvous at that city. She did this + without exciting any suspicion, burned all her feminine + garments and papers, neglected to inform her friends of her + arrival, and became a soldier. Some comment was elicited by + her beardless face and girlish appearance, but as she did + her duty promptly and was particularly handy in cooking and + taking care of the sick, the young warrior speedily became a + general favorite alike with officers and men. + + She passed through all the campaigns in which the regiment + was engaged without a scratch, except a close call from a + minie ball at Sabine's Cross Roads, which took the skin off + the back of her left hand, voted with the other members of + the regiment for president in 1864, and was finally mustered + out with her comrades at the close of the war. When she was + discharged she procured female apparel--although in doing so + she was obliged to make a confidant of one of her own + sex--and procured work in Illinois, not far from Rock + Island. Six months elapsed before the tan of five summers + wore off, and when she had again become "white," and had + re-learned the almost forgotten customs of womanhood, she + presented herself at her father's house, where she was + received with open arms. + + To all the questions which were asked by the various members + of the family she replied that she had been honestly + employed, and had never forsaken the right way. She had been + economical in the army, and invested several hundred dollars + in land in Northern Iowa, which rapidly appreciated in + value, and to-day she is well off. With the remainder of her + money she attended school. Last January a worthy man, who + had been in the same regiment, but in a different company, + made her an offer of marriage. Like a true woman she was + unwilling to bestow her hand when any part of her former + life was unknown, and before accepting the offer she made to + him a full revelation of her soldier-days. At first he could + not believe it, but when she proceeded to narrate events and + incidents which could be known only to active participants + in them, told of marches, camps, skirmishes, battles, and + the thousand and one things which never appear in print, but + which ever remain living pictures with "old soldiers," he + was obliged to accept the strange tale as true. The story, + however, did not lessen his regard for her, and about the + first of February they were married. + + The lady's father, after hearing the tale of her life, was + still incredulous, and only satisfied himself of its truth + by a visit to the adjutant-general's office and an + inspection of the records. By comparing dates furnished him + by his daughter with the original rolls there on file he + became fully convinced that it was all true. + + A few of the inventions patented by women of Iowa are the + following: + + Fly-screen door-attachment, by Phoebe R. Lamborne, West + Liberty; photograph-album, Viola J. Angie, Spencer; + step-ladder, Mrs. Mary J. Gartrell, Des Moines; + baking-powder can with measure combined, Mrs. Lillie + Raymond, Osceola; egg-stand, Mrs. M. E. Tisdale, Cedar + Rapids; egg-beater, and self-feeding griddle-greaser, Mrs. + Eugenia Kilborn, Cedar Rapids; tooth-pick holder, Mrs. + Ayers, Clinton; thermometer to regulate oven heat, Mrs. F. + Grace, Perry; the excelsior ironing-table, Mrs. S. L. Avery, + Marion; neck-yoke and pole-attachment, by which horses can + be instantly detached from the vehicle, Maria Dunham, + Dunlap; invalid bed, Mrs. Anna P. Forbes, Dubuque. + + In the various business avocations I find the following: + + Mrs. T. Nodles is the largest fancy grocer in the State, + doing a yearly business of $80,000. Mrs. C. F. Barron, Cedar + Rapids, designs and manufactures perforated embroidery + patterns. Statistics show there are nine hundred and + fifty-five Iowa women who own and direct farms; eighteen + manage farms; six own and direct stock-farms; twenty manage + dairy-farms; five own green-houses; nine manage + market-gardens; thirty-seven manage high institutions of + learning; one hundred and twenty-five are physicians; five + attorneys-at-law; ten ministers; three dentists; one hundred + and ten professional nurses, and one civil engineer. + + In the summer of 1884, the Fort Dodge _Messenger_ had this + paragraph about a Des Moines family: + + Miss Kate Tupper, of Des Moines, has been in town, visiting + at Mr. Bassett's for a few days. Kate comes of a family + which is remarkable for intelligent womanly effort and + success. Her mother is Mrs. Ellen S. Tupper, the Bee-queen + of Iowa, whose work on bee-culture is a recognized + authority everywhere; her eldest sister is a very eloquent + preacher at Colorado Springs; Miss Kate is studying + medicine, having taken herself through a full course at the + Agricultural College by her own work; and Miss Madge, who is + only sixteen, is a famous poultry raiser, and an officer of + the State Poultry Association, who has made money enough in + this business to defray her entire expenses through a full + collegiate course. Mrs. Tupper's family is a sufficient + answer to the question of woman's work, if there were no + other. Let any mother in Iowa show three boys who can beat + this. + + In this year Mrs. Louisa B. Stevens was elected president of the + First National Bank at Marion, Linn county. The important + position women are taking in the business world is illustrated by + the presence of two delegates at the meeting of the American + Street Railway Association held in St. Louis in the autumn of + 1885--Mrs. L. V. Gredenburg, proprietor and treasurer of the New + Albany Street Railway of New Albany, Ind., and Mrs. M. A. Turner, + secretary and treasurer of the Des Moines Railway, Des Moines, + Ia. One of the gentlemen expressed the belief that fully + $25,000,000 of street-railway stock in this country is owned by + women. + + As to the distribution of the cardinal virtues between men and + women it is generally claimed that the former possess courage, + the latter fortitude. Although the pages of history are gilded + with innumerable instances of the remarkable courage of women of + all ages and conditions, and oftimes dimmed with the records of + cowardice in men of all classes, yet what has been said for + generations will probably be repeated, even in the face of so + remarkable a fact as the following: + + On March 1, 1882, the Iowa House of Representatives, on + motion of Hon. A. J. Holmes, suspended the rules and passed + a bill introduced by that gentleman providing for the + presentation of a gold medal and the thanks of the General + Assembly of the State of Iowa to Miss Kate Shelly, to which + was added a money appropriation of two hundred dollars, + which passed both Houses and became a law. + + In support of the bill, Mr. Holmes spoke as follows: + + Mr. Speaker: No apology is required for the introduction of + this bill, and I shall make no explanation in regard to it, + save a brief _resume_ of the facts upon which the bill is + based. Miss Kate Shelly, with her widowed mother and little + sisters and brother, lives in a humble home on the + hill-side, in a rugged country skirting the Des Moines + River. Her father had died years ago in the service of the + great railway company whose line for some distance is + overlooked by her home, while her mother, by economy, severe + toil, and the assistance of Kate, was able to support her + little family. + + On the night of July 6, 1881, about 8 o'clock, there + commenced one of the most memorable storms that ever visited + Central Iowa; nothing like it had ever been witnessed by the + oldest inhabitants. The Des Moines river rose over six feet + in one hour--little rills that were dry almost the year + round, suddenly developed into miniature rivers--massive + railway bridges and lines of track were swept away as if + they had been cobwebs. It was while looking out of her + window toward the high railroad bridge over Honey Creek, + that Kate Shelley saw the advancing head-light of a + locomotive descend into an abyss and become extinguished, + carrying with it the light of two lives. It was then she + realized in all its force that a terrible catastrophe had + occurred, and another more terrible, if not averted, would + soon follow to the east-bound express train, heavily laden + with passengers from the Pacific. She announced to her + mother, sisters and brother, that she must go to the scene + of the accident, and render assistance if possible, and also + warn the oncoming passenger train. + + It was in vain they tried to dissuade her. Although she was + obliged to almost improvise a lantern in many of its parts, + it was but a few minutes before she was ready to set out. + Realizing then that her mission was one of peril, and that + she might not again look upon those dear faces, she kissed + each of them affectionately, and amid their sobs, hurried + out into the gloom, into the descending floods, toward the + rushing torrents--drenched to the skin, on she passed toward + the railroad to the well remembered foot-log, only to find + the waters rushing along high above and beyond the place + where it had been. Then she thought of the great bluff + rising to the west of her home and extending southward + toward the railroad track, and she determined to ascend it + and reach the bridge over this barrier to the waters. Need I + recount how she struggled on and up through the thick oak + undergrowth, that, being storm-laden drooped and made more + difficult her passage; how with clothing torn, and hands and + face bleeding she arrived at the end of the bridge, and + standing out upon the last tie she peered down into the + abyss of waters with her dim light, and called to know if + any one was there alive. In answer to her repeated calls + came the answer of the engineer, who had caught hold of and + made a lodgment in a tree-top, and around whom the waters + were still rapidly rising, sending floating logs, trees, and + driftwood against his frail support, and threatening + momentarily to dislodge and engulf him. + + It took but a moment to be assured that he was the survivor + of four men who went down with the engine, and after a + moment's hurried consultation, she started for Moingona, a + mile distant, to secure assistance and to warn the + eastward-bound passenger train then nearly due. As she + passed along the high grade it seemed as if she must be + blown over the embankment, and still the heavens seemed to + give not rain but a deluge. As she approached the railway + bridge over the Des Moines river the light in her lantern, + her only guide and protection, went out. It was then that + the heroic soul of this child of only sixteen years became + most fully apparent; facing the storm which almost took away + her breath, and enveloped in darkness that rendered every + object in nature invisible, she felt her way to the railroad + bridge. Here she must pass for a distance of four or five + hundred feet over the rushing river beneath on the naked + ties. As the wind swept the bridge she felt how unsafe it + would be to attempt walking over it, and getting down upon + her hands and knees, clutching the timbers with an almost + despairing energy, she painfully and at length successfully + made the passage. She reached the station, and having told + of the catastrophe at the bridge, and requested the stoppage + of the passenger train then about due, she fainted and fell + upon the platform. This very briefly, wanting in much that + is meritorious in it, is the story of Kate Shelly and the + 6th of July. Her parents were countrymen of Sarsfield, of + Emmett, and O'Connell--of the land that has given heroes to + every other and dishonored none. It was an act well worthy + to rank her with that other heroine, who, launching her + frail craft from the long stone pier, braved the terrible + seas on that Northumberland coast to save the lives of + others at the risk of her own. + + Mr. Holmes then produced a copy of the _State Register_, and + requested the clerk to read the article therein contained, + giving the details of the heroic girl's action, written at + the time of its occurrence, and after the clerk had read the + article, concluded by saying: "I hope, Mr. Speaker, that + this bill may pass, believing that it is right, and further + believing that the State of Iowa will do itself as much + honor as the young lady named in the bill, in thus + recognizing the greatest debt in our power to pay--that to + humanity." Mr. Pickler moved to amend by instructing the + gentleman from Boone (Mr. Holmes) to make the presentation. + Carried, and the bill was amended accordingly, as above. On + motion of Mr. Holmes, the rules were suspended, and the bill + passed by a vote of 90 to 1. The governor of the State, Hon. + A. J. Holmes, and Hon. J. D. Gillett were authorized to + procure a medal of design and inscription to be approved by + them, and present the same to the donee with the thanks of + the General Assembly of the State of Iowa. + + The medal, which is of elegant design and workmanship, was + executed by Messrs Tiffany & Co., of New York, and was + presented to Miss Shelly during the holidays of 1883. It is + round in form, about three inches in diameter and weighs + four ounces five and a half pennyweights. On both sides it + is sunken below the circular edges and the figures and + decorations are then displayed in bold relief. On the face + is a figure emblematic of Kate Shelly's daring exploit. It + represents a young girl with a lantern in her left hand and + her right thrown far out in warning, her hair streaming in + the wind and her wet drapery clinging to her form, making + her way over the ties of a high railroad bridge, in storm + and tempest, with the lightning playing about her. In a + semi-circle over the figure are the words: "Heroism, Youth, + Humanity." On the reverse is the following inscription: + + "Presented by the State of Iowa to Kate Shelly, with the + thanks of the General Assembly, in recognition of the + courage and devotion of a child of fifteen years, whom + neither the terror of the elements nor the fear of death + could appal in her efforts to save human life during the + terrible storm and flood in the Des Moines valley on the + night of July 6, 1881." + + Surrounding the inscription is a wreath of leaves and + beneath it the great seal of Iowa. + + The presentation was made at Ogden in the presence of 3,000 + people. It was given in the name of the State of Iowa by Mr. + Welker Given, secretary to Governor Sherman, July 4, 1884, + who represented the governor in his necessary absence. Hon. + J. A. T. Hull, Secretary of State, introduced Miss Shelly + and recounted her heroic deed of that fearful night, after + which Mr. Given made the presentation speech. The response + on behalf of Miss Shelly was made by Professor J. D. Curran, + an old friend and teacher. + + All very well, but how much better to have placed Kate Shelly + (bearing the name of one of England's great poets) in the + University at Des Moines, and given her a thorough education, + from the primary through the whole collegiate course, and the + school for law, medicine, or theology. A girl capable of such + heroism and self-sacrifice must possess capacities and powers + worthy the highest opportunities for development. Kate Shelly, + with the scientific training of a civil engineer, might shed far + more honor on her native State than sitting in ignorance and + poverty on the banks of the Des Moines river with a gold medal + round her neck. + + The Patrons of Husbandry, having at one time as many as 1,998 + Granges in the State, admit women to equal membership and equal + rights. They have the same privileges in debate as men, and an + equal vote in all matters concerning the Grange. The Grangers do + not seem to fear that the children will suffer, or home interests + be neglected, on account of this liberty given to women. Miss + Garretson is State agent and lecturer for this order, and has + accomplished much good by her labors among the people of the + rural districts. She claims equal rights for woman even to the + ballot. The Independent Order of Good Templars passed resolutions + unqualifiedly committing the grand lodge of the State in favor of + granting suffrage to woman, and pledging themselves to labor for + the furtherance of that object. Temperance women who have + heretofore opposed the enfranchisement of their sex, and objected + to mixing the two questions, are coming to see that a powerless, + disfranchised class can do little toward removing the great evil + that is filling the land with pauperism and crime, and sending + sixty thousand victims annually to a drunkard's grave. They have + prayed and plead with the liquor-seller; they have petitioned + electors and law-makers, but all in vain; and now they begin to + see that work must accompany prayer, and that if they would save + their sons from destruction they must strike a blow in their + defense that will be felt by the enemy. Hence the Christian + Temperance Union, which at the outset declared itself opposed to + woman suffrage, has now resolved in favor of that measure as a + necessity for the furtherance of their cause. + + On March 31, 1880, Judith Ellen Foster, of Clinton, made an able + and eloquent argument before the Senate Committee on Education + and Labor, at Washington, on Senator Logan's proposition to + constitute the revenue on alcoholic liquors a national + educational fund. At a meeting of the State Union held in 1883, + resolutions were passed, declaring woman's efforts in temperance + of no avail, until with ballots in their own hands, they could + coin their ideas and sympathies into law, and that henceforward + they would labor to secure that power, that would speedily make + their prayers and tears of some avail. This action gave a new + impetus to the suffrage movement. At the State convention, Mrs. + Jane Amy M'Kinney was appointed Superintendent of Franchise. + Circulars were issued advising the Unions to make suffrage a part + of their local work, and the advice was promptly followed in many + sections of the State. At the election on the prohibitory + amendment, June 29, 1882, women rallied at the polls, and + furnished tickets to all whom they could persuade to take them, + and this helped to roll up a large vote in favor of the + amendment. + + The laws of Iowa have been comparatively liberal to woman, and + with each successive codification have been somewhat improved. By + the code of 1857, the old right of dower, or life interest in + one-third of the real estate of a deceased husband, was made an + absolute interest; and this is the law at the present time. Of + the personal property, the wife takes one-third if there are + children, and one-half if there are no children to inherit. The + same rule applies to the husband of a deceased wife. The codes of + 1857 and 1860 each provided that the husband could not remove the + wife, nor their children, from their homestead without the + consent of the wife; and the code of 1875, now in force, changed + this only so as to provide that neither shall the wife remove the + husband without his consent. Deeds of real estate must be signed + by both husband and wife, but no private examination of either + has ever been required in Iowa. A husband and wife may deed + property directly to each other. + + By the code of 1851 the personal property of the wife did not + vest at once in the husband, but if left within his control it + became liable for his debts, unless she filed a notice with the + recorder of deeds, setting forth her claim to the property, with + an exact description. And the same rule applied to specific + articles of personal property. Married women abandoned by their + husbands could be authorized, on proper application to the + District Court, to transact business in their own name. The same + provisions were substantially reenacted in the code of 1860. + Under both codes the husband was entitled to the wages and + earnings of his wife, and could sue for them in the courts. + + But the code of 1873 made a great advance in recognizing the + rights of married women; and it is said the revisers sought, as + far as possible, to place the husband and wife on an entire + equality as to property rights. By its provisions, a married + woman may own, in her own right, real and personal property + acquired by descent, gift or purchase; and she may manage, sell, + convey, and devise the same by will to the same extent, and in + the same manner, that the husband can property belonging to him. + And this provision is followed by others which fully confer on + the married woman the control of her own property. Among other + things it is enacted, that a wife may receive the wages of her + personal labor, and maintain an action therefor in her own name, + and hold the same in her own right; and she may prosecute and + defend all actions at law, or in equity, for the preservation and + protection of her rights and property. Contracts may be made by a + wife, and liabilities incurred, and the same may be enforced by, + or against her, to the same extent as though she were unmarried. + The property of both husband and wife is equally liable for the + expenses of the family and the education of their children, and + neither is liable for the debts of the other contracted before + marriage. By the code of 1873, now in force, it is declared that + the parents are the natural guardians of their children, and are + equally entitled to their care and custody; and either parent + dying before the other, the survivor becomes the guardian. + + But notwithstanding the seemingly equal provisions of our code, + there is still a great disparity in the laws relating to the + joint property of husband and wife--or property accumulated + during marriage by their joint earnings and savings. Such + property, whether real or personal, is generally held in the name + of the husband--no matter how much his wife may have helped to + accumulate it. If the wife dies, the husband still holds it all, + and neither law nor lawyers can molest him, or question his right + to it. But if the husband dies, the case is very different. + Instead of being left in quiet possession of what is rightfully + her own, to use and guard with all a mother's care and + watchfulness for the benefit of her children, the law comes in + and claims the right to appoint administrators and guardians--to + require bonds and a strict accountability from her, and to set + off to her a certain share of what should be as wholly hers as it + is the husband's when the wife dies. + + This is the old common law, that has come down to us from + barbarous times, and the light of the nineteenth century has not + yet been sufficient to so illumine the minds of Iowa legislators + as to enable them to render exact justice to woman. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[395] In 1849 her husband was, appointed post-master, she became +his deputy, was duly sworn in, and during the administration of +Taylor and Fillmore served in that capacity. When she assumed her +duties the improvement in the appearance and conduct of the office +was generally acknowledged. A neat little room adjoining became a +kind of ladies' exchange where those coming from different parts of +the town could meet to talk over the contents of the last _Lily_ +and the progress of the woman suffrage movement in general. Those +who enjoyed the brief interregnum of a woman in the post-office, +can readily testify to the loss to the ladies of the village and +the void felt by all when Mrs. Bloomer and the _Lily_ left for the +West and men again reigned supreme. + +Mr. and Mrs. Bloomer removed to Mt. Vernon, Ohio, in 1853, and the +publication of the _Lily_ was continued; she was also the associate +editor of the _Western Home Visitor_. Mrs. Bloomer lectured in the +principal cities of Ohio and throughout the north-west, and was one +of a committee of five appointed to memorialize the legislature of +Ohio for a prohibitory law, and assisted in the formation of +several lodges of Good Templars. + +[396] The officers were: _President_, Mrs. D. S. Wilson; +_Vice-President_, Mrs. W. P. Sage; _Secretary_, Mrs. J. S. +McCreery; _Corresponding Secretary_, Mrs. Mary N. Adams. + +[397] Frank Allen. + +[398] Lucy Stone, Mrs. Stanton, Miss Anthony, Mrs. Cutler, Mrs. +Livermore, Anna Dickinson, Phoebe Couzins, Mrs. Swisshelm, Miss +Hindman and Mrs. Campbell, from abroad; Mesdames Savery, Callanan, +Gray, Pittman, Boynton, Harbert, Brown, and Messrs. Fuller, +Pomeroy, Rutkay, Cole, and Maxwell, of the city, have each in turn +come to the aid and encouragement of the society's work. + +[399] For information regarding Des Moines I am indebted to Mary A. +Work, one of the most able advocates of woman suffrage in the +State. + +[400] _President_, Porte Welch; _Secretary_, Mattie Griffith +Davenport. + +[401] _President_, Amelia Bloomer; _Vice-Presidents_, C. Munger +and Mary McPherson; _Recording Secretary_, Ada McPherson; +_Corresponding Secretary_, Will Shoemaker; _Treasurer_, E. S. +Barnett. + +[402] Its officers were: _President_, Nettie Sanford; _Secretary_, +Mrs. Fred. Baum; _Treasurer_, Mrs. Dr. Whealen. + +[403] _President_, M. W. Stough; _Secretary_, Lizzie B. Read. Mrs. +Read was president of the State society in 1873, and Mrs. C. A. +Ingham in 1881. + +[404] _President_, Hon. John E. Goodenow; _Vice-Presidents_, Nancy +R. Allen, Mrs. M. J. Stephens, Mrs. A. B. Wilbur; _Secretary_, Mrs. +E. D. Stewart; _Corresponding Secretary_, Mrs. Julia Dunham; +_Treasurer_, Mrs. T. P. Connell; _Executive Committee_, Mrs. S. +Stephens, Mrs. Julia Doe, Mrs. Polly Hamley, Dr. J. H. Allen, W. S. +Belden. + +[405] _President_, Henry O'Connor; _Vice-Presidents_, Amelia +Bloomer, Nettie Sanford, Mrs. Frank Palmer, Joseph Dugdale, John P. +Irish; _Secretary_, Belle Mansfield; _Corresponding Secretary_, +Annie C. Savery; _Executive Committee_, Mary A. P. Darwin, Mattie +Griffith Davenport, Mrs. J.L. McCreery, Rev. Augusta Chapin, Hon. +Charles Beardsley. + +[406] Assistant postmaster-general under President Arthur. + +[407] Mary A.P. Darwin, professor of the college, and Hon. Charles +Beardsley, editor of the _Hawkeye_, Burlington; Hon. Henry +O'Connor, Muscatine; Mary N. Adams, Dubuque; Annie C. Savery, Des +Moines; Amelia Bloomer, Council Bluffs; A.P. Lowrie, Marshalltown; +Mrs. Beavers, Valisca. Hannah Tracy Cutler of Illinois, was the +leading speaker; Edwin A. Studwell of New York representing _The +Revolution_, Col. George Corkhill, Joseph Dugdale, Rev. Mr. Cooper, +Mt. Pleasant, were also in attendance. + +[408] The speakers were Mr. Rutkay, Mrs. Sanford, Mrs. Bloomer, +Mrs. Spaulding, Mrs. Savery. Encouraging letters were read from +Joseph A. Dugdale, and Hon. Henry O'Connor, president of the +association. The officers for 1871 were: _President_, Mrs. +Amelia Bloomer; _Recording Secretary_, Mrs. Belle Mansfield; +_Corresponding Secretary_, Mrs. Annie Savery; _Treasurer_, Mrs. M. +Callanan. + +[409] _Yeas_, Senators Beardsley, Bemis, Burke, Campbell, Chambers, +Converse, Dague, Dashiell, Dysart, Howland, Hurley, Kephart, +Maxwell, McCold, McKean, McNutt, Read, Shane, Smith, Vale, West, +Young--22. _Nays_, Senators Allen, Boomer, Claussen, Crary, +Fairall, Fitch, Gault, Havens, Ireland, Ketcham, Kinne, Larrabee, +Leavitt, Lowry, McCollough, Merrill, Miles, Murray, Russell, Stone, +Stewart, Taylor, Willett, Wonn--24. Senator Murray had voted in the +affirmative in the first instance, but changed his vote in order to +be able to move a reconsideration of the vote, by which the +resolution was lost. + +[410] The names of the representatives voting on the Woman Suffrage +amendment are as follows (Republicans in Roman, Democrats in +Italics): YEAS--Allen, _Baker_, _Bolter_, Brooks, Brush, Calvin, +Campbell, Case, Chapman, Clark of Johnson, Cleveland, Colvin, +Craver, Deweese, Giltner, Given, Glendenning, Glover, Hall, Hoag, +Homer, Horton, _Hotchkiss_, _Hunt_, Irwin of Warren, Jaqua, Jordan, +Johnson of Benton, Kauffman, Lane, Lathrop, _Lynch_, McCartney, +McHugh, McNeill, Madden of Polk, _Madison_, Maris, Mills, Moffit, +Morse of Wright, Norris, Palmer, Proudfoot, Rae, Reed of Howard, +Robinson, Said, Scott, Smith, Tice, Underwood, Ure, Wilson--54. +NAYS--Auld, Benton, _Birchard_, _Brown_, Bush, _Christy_, _Clark_ +of Marion, _Crawford_ of Dubuque, Danforth, _Dixon_, _Elliot_, +Evans, Fuller, _Gibbons_, Gilliland, _Gray_, _Harned_, Hemenway, +_Hobbs_, _Horstman_, _Johnston_ of Dubuque, Johnson of Winneshiek, +McCune, _Madden_ of Taylor, Manning, _Mentzel_, Morse of Adams, +_Mueller_, Reed of Jackson, Rees, Shaw, Simmons, Stone, Stuart, +_Stuckey_, _Thayer_, _White_, Williams, _Young_, Mr. Speaker (John +W. Gear)--40. Absent--Shepardson, Graves, Irwin of Lee, Seevers, +McElderry, _Crawford_ of Scott. + +The vote in the Senate was: YEAS--Arnold, Bailey, Campbell, +Conaway, Dashiell, Dwelle, Gallup, Gilmore, Graham, Harmon, Hersey, +Jessup, McCoid, Miller of Appanoose, Miller of Blackhawk, Mitchell, +Newton, Nichols, Perkins, Thornburg, Wood, Woolson--22. +NAYS--Bestow, Carr, Clark, Cooley, Dows, Hartshorn, Hebard, +_Kinne_, Larrabee, Lovell, _McCormack_, _Maginnis_, _Merrell_ of +Clinton, Merrill of Wapello, _Pease_, Rothert, Rumple, Teale, +Willett, Williams, _Wilson_, _Wonn_, Wright--23. ABSENT--Hitchcock +(who was sick and died in a few days), yea; _Murphy_, nay; Shane +(resigned on account of being appointed district judge), yea; +_Stoneham_, nay; Young, nay. + +[411] Narcissa T. Bemis of Independence was reelected president, +and Mary A. Work chairman of the executive committee, with +headquarters at Des Moines; Mrs. Margaret W. Campbell was made +State lecturer and organizer, and Mariana T. Folsom financial +secretary of the association. + +[412] Mrs. M. A. Darwin, Mrs. Martha Callanan, Mrs. Judith Ellen +Foster, superintendents of the franchise department of the W. C. T. +U. of the State, rolled up petitions in their respective districts; +and Mrs. Campbell and Miss Hindman aided largely in gathering the +signatures. + +[413] In August, 1875, at Oskaloosa; October, 1880, Fort Dodge; +1881, Marshalltown; 1883, Ottumwa; 1885, Cedar Rapids; all of the +intervening anniversaries have been held at Des Moines. The +presidents of the State society since its organization have been +Attorney-General Henry O'Connor, Amelia Bloomer, Lizzie B. Read, +Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, Mrs. Dr. Porter, James Callanan, Martha +C. Callanan, Mrs. Caroline A. Ingham, Narcissa T. Bemis, Margaret +W. Campbell. When the society was organized, in 1870, it declared +itself independent and remained thus until 1879, when, by a small +vote, it was made auxiliary to the American Association. The +officers for 1885 are: _President_, Mrs. M. W. Campbell, Des +Moines; _Treasurer_, Mrs. Eliza H. Hunter, Des Moines; _Recording +Secretary_, Mrs. Jennie Wilson, Cedar Rapids; _Corresponding +Secretary_, Mrs. Martha C. Callanan, Des Moines; _Executive +Committee_, Mary J. Coggeshall, _Chairman_; R. Amanda Stewart, +Harriet G. Bellanger, Des Moines; Orilla M. James, Knoxville; +Florence English, Grinnell; Ellen Armstrong, Ottumwa; Narcissa T. +Bemis, Independence; Angeline Allison, Cedar Rapids; Elizabeth P. +Gue, Des Moines. + +[414] At the State Fair held September, 1885, at Des Moines, the +women had a very handsomely decorated booth where they received +many hundred calls, distributed an immense amount of suffrage +literature, obtained a thousand signatures to a petition to the +legislature and wrote notes of the fair for various newspapers, in +all of which woman suffrage was freely discussed. + +[415] In literature there is "Europe through a Woman's Eye," by +Mrs. Cutler of Burlington; "The Waverly Dictionary," by Miss May +Rogers, Dubuque; "Common-School Compendium," by Mrs. Lamphere, Des +Moines; "Hospital Life," by Mrs. Sarah Young, Des Moines; "Wee +Folks of No Man's Land," by Mrs. Wetmore, Dubuque; "Two of Us," by +Calista Patchin, Des Moines; "For Girls," by Mrs. E. R. Shepherd, +Marshalltown; "Autumn Leaves," by Mrs. Scott, Greencastle; +"Phonetic Pronunciation," by Mrs. Henderson, Salem; "Her Lovers," +by Miss Claggett, Keokuk; "Practical Ethics," by Matilda Fletcher. +There are several writers of cook-books, of medical and sanitary +papers, of poems, of legal papers and of musical compositions. Miss +Adeline M. Payne of Nevada has compiled catalogues of stock. + +[416] Miss Anthony has given her lecture, entitled "Woman Wants +Bread, not the Ballot," in over one hundred of the cities and +villages of the State; and Mrs. Stanton and the others have +doubtless lectured in fully as many places. + +[417] See New York chapter, page 401. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVI. + +WISCONSIN. + + Progressive Legislation--The Rights of Married Women--The + Constitution Shows Four Classes Having the Right to Vote--Woman + Suffrage Agitation--C. L. Sholes' Minority Report, 1856--Judge + David Noggle and J. T. Mills' Minority Report, 1859--State + Association Formed, 1869--Milwaukee Convention--Dr. Laura + Ross--Hearing Before the Legislature--Convention in Janesville, + 1870--State University--Elizabeth R. Wentworth--Suffrage + Amendment, 1880, '81, '82--Rev. Olympia Brown, Racine, + 1877--Madame Anneke--Judge Ryan--Three Days' Convention at + Racine, 1883--Eveleen L. Mason--Dr. Sarah Munro--Rev. Dr. + Corwin--Lavinia Goodell, Lawyer--Angie King--Kate Kane. + + +For this digest of facts in regard to the progress of woman in +Wisconsin we are indebted to Dr. Laura Ross Wolcott,[418] who was +probably the first woman to practice medicine in a Western State. +She was in Philadelphia during all the contest about the admission +of women to hospitals and mixed classes, maintained her dignity and +self-respect in the midst of most aggravating persecutions, and was +graduated with high honors in 1856 from the Woman's Medical College +of Pennsylvania, of which Ann Preston,[419] M. D., was professor +for nineteen years, six years dean of the faculty, and four years +member of the board of incorporators. After graduation Laura Ross +spent two years in study abroad, and, returning, commenced practice +in Milwaukee, where she has been ever since. + + By an act of Congress approved May 29, 1848, Wisconsin was + admitted to the Union. Its diversity of soil and timber, the + healthfulness of its climate and the purity of its waters, + attracted people from the New England and Middle States, who + brought with them fixed notions as to moral conduct and political + action, and no little repugnance to many of the features of the + old common law. Hence in Wisconsin's territorial conventions and + legislative assemblies many of the progressive ideas of the East + were incorporated into her statutes. Failing to lift married + women into any solid position of independence, the laws yet gave + them certain protective rights concerning the redemption of lands + sold for taxes, and the right to dispose of any estate less than + a fee without the husband's consent. In case of divorce the wife + was entitled to her personal estate, dower and alimony, and with + the consent of her husband she could devise her real estate. She + was entitled to dower in any lands of which the husband was + seized during marriage. Gen. A. W. Randall was active in making + the first digest and compilation of the laws of Wisconsin. + + The legislature of 1850 was composed of notably intelligent men. + Nelson Dewey was governor, Moses M. Strong, a leading lawyer, + speaker of the Assembly, and the late Col. Samuel W. Beal, + lieutenant-governor. Early in the session a bill was introduced, + entitled "An act to provide for the protection of married women + in the enjoyment of their own property," which provoked a stormy + debate. Some saw the dissolution of marriage ties in the + destruction of the old common-law doctrine that "husband and wife + are one, and that one the husband"; while arguments were made in + its favor by Hon. David Noggle, George Crasey, and others. + Conservative judges held that the right to own property did not + entitle married women to convey it; therefore in 1858 the law was + amended, giving further security to the wife to transact business + in her own name, if her husband was profligate and failed to + support her; but not until 1872 did the law protect a married + woman in her right to transact business, make contracts, possess + her separate earnings, and sue and be sued in her own name. The + legislature of 1878 reenacted all the former laws; and married + women may now hold, convey and devise real estate; make contracts + and transact business in their own names; and join with their + husbands in a deed, without being personally liable in the + covenants. In the matter of homesteads, the husband cannot convey + or encumber without the signature of the wife, and thus a liberal + provision is always secure for her and the children. + + By the law of 1878, if the husband dies leaving no children and + no will, his entire estate descends to his widow.[420] If the + owner of a homestead dies intestate and without children, the + homestead descends, free of judgments and claims--except + mortgages and mechanics' liens--to his widow; if he leaves + children, the widow retains a life interest in the homestead, + continuing until her marriage or death. + + Thus from the organization of the State, Wisconsin has steadily + advanced in relieving married women from the disabilities of the + old common law. The same liberal spirit which has animated her + legislators has admitted women to equality of opportunities in + the State University at Madison; elected them as county + superintendents of public schools; appointed them on the State + board of charities, and as State commissioners to a foreign + exposition;[421] and welcomed them to the professions of + medicine, law and the ministry. + + By the constitution of Wisconsin the right of suffrage was + awarded to four classes of citizens, twenty-one years and over, + who have resided in the State for one year next preceding an + election. + + _First_--Citizens of the United States. + + _Second_--Persons of foreign birth who have declared their + intention to become citizens of the United States. + + _Third_--Persons of Indian blood who have already been declared + by act of congress citizens of the United States. + + _Fourth_--Civilized persons of Indian descent who are not members + of any tribe. + + While thus careful to provide for all males, savage and + civilized, down to one thousand Indians outside their tribe, the + constitution in no way recognizes the women of the State, + one-half its civilized citizens. However, the question of woman + suffrage was early agitated in this State, and its advocates were + able men. In 1856 there was an able minority report published, + from C. L. Sholes, of the Committee on Expiration and Reenactment + of Laws, to whom were referred sundry petitions praying that + steps might be taken to confer upon women the right of suffrage. + In 1857, there was another favorable minority report by Judge + David Noggle, and J. T. Mills. It has been twice considered by + the legislatures of 1868-69, and 1880-81, failing each time by a + small majority. A constitutional amendment is supposed by some to + be necessary to effect this needed reform, but the legislature is + competent to pass a bill declaring women possessed of the right + to vote, without any constitutional amendment. The legislature of + New York all through the century has extended the right of + suffrage to certain classes and deprived others of its exercise, + without changing the constitution. The power of the legislature + which represents the people is anterior to the constitution, as + the people through their representatives make the constitution. + + The women, both German and American, awoke to action and + organized a local suffrage society at Janesville in 1868. _The + Revolution_ said: + + From the report of a recent convention held in Janesville, + we find the leading men and women of that city have formed + an Impartial Suffrage organization, and are resolved to make + all their citizens equal before the law. Able addresses were + made by the Rev. S. Farrington, Rev. Sumner Ellis, and a + stirring appeal issued to the people of the State, signed by + Hon. J. T. Dow, G. B. Hickox, Mrs. J. H. Stillman, Joseph + Baker and Mrs. F. Harris Reed. Mrs. Paulina J. Roberts of + Racine, a practical farmer in a very large sense, delivered + an address which was justly complimented. + + The first popular convention held in Wisconsin, with national + speakers, convened in Milwaukee February 15, 16, 1869.[422] The + bill then pending in the legislature to submit the question of + woman suffrage to the electors of the State added interest to + this occasion. Parker Pillsbury, in _The Revolution_, said: + + The Wisconsin convention seems to have been quite equal in + all respects to its predecessors at Chicago and other + places. Mrs. Stanton and Miss Anthony were accompanied to + Milwaukee by Mrs. Livermore, a new Western star of "bright + particular effulgence," and the proceedings throughout were + characterized by argument, eloquence and interest beyond + anything of the kind ever witnessed there before. The + Milwaukee papers teem with accounts of it, most of them of + very friendly tone and spirit, even if opposed to the + objects under consideration. The _Evening Wisconsin_ said, + if any one supposed for an instant that the call for a + Woman's Suffrage convention would draw out only that class + known as strong-minded, such a one was never more deceived + in his or her life. At the opening of the convention[423] + yesterday, the City Hall was crowded with as highly + intelligent an audience of ladies and gentlemen as ever + gathered there before. + + Mrs. Stanton spoke at the evening session to an immense audience + on the following resolutions: + + _Resolved_, That a man's government is worse than a white + man's government, because in proportion as you increase the + rulers you make the condition of the ostracised more + hopeless and degraded. + + _Resolved_, That, as the cry of a "white man's government" + created an antagonism between the Irish and the negro, + culminating in the New York riots of '63, so the Republican + cry of "Manhood Suffrage" creates an antagonism between the + black man and all women, and will culminate in fearful + outrages on womanhood, especially in the Southern States. + + _Resolved_, That by the establishment of an aristocracy of + sex in the District of Columbia, by the introduction of the + word "male" into the Federal Constitution in Article 14, + Section 2, and by the proposition now pending to enforce + manhood suffrage in all the States of the Union, the + Republican party has been guilty of three excessively + arbitrary acts, three retrogressive steps in legislation, + alike invidious and insulting to woman, and suicidal to the + nation. + + Miss Anthony followed showing that every advance step in manhood + suffrage added to woman's degradation. Quite a number of ladies + and gentlemen[424] of Wisconsin spoke well of the various + sessions of the convention. Altogether it was a most enthusiastic + meeting, and the press and the pulpit did their part to keep up + the discussion for many weeks after. + + These resolutions, readily passed in the Milwaukee convention, + had been rejected at all others held in the West during this + campaign, although Mrs. Stanton and Miss Anthony had earnestly + advocated them everywhere. They early foresaw exactly what has + come to pass, and did their uttermost to rouse women to the + danger of having their enfranchisement indefinitely postponed. + They warned them that the debate once closed on negro suffrage, + and the amendments passed, the question would not be opened again + for a generation. But their warnings were unheeded. The fair + promises of Republicans and Abolitionists that, the negro + question settled, they would devote themselves to woman's + enfranchisement, deceived and silenced the majority. How well + they have kept their promises is fully shown in the fact that + although twenty years have passed, the political status of woman + remains unchanged. The Abolitionists have drifted into other + reforms, and the Republicans devote themselves to more + conservative measures. The Milwaukee convention was adjourned to + Madison, where Mrs. Livermore, Mrs. Stanton and Miss Anthony + addressed the legislature, Gov. Fairchild presiding. + + In 1870, March 16, 17, a large and enthusiastic convention was + held at Janesville, in Lappin's Hall. Rev. Dr. Maxon, Lilia + Peckham and Mrs. Stanton were among the speakers. After this, the + latter being on a lyceum trip, spoke in many of the chief cities + of the State and drew general attention to the question. + + The following clear statement of the petty ways in which girls + can be defrauded of their rights to a thorough education by + narrow, bigoted men entrusted with a little brief authority, is + from the pen of Lilia Peckham, a young girl of great promise, who + devoted her rare talents to the suffrage movement. Her early + death was an irreparable loss to the women of Wisconsin:[425] + + ED. NEWS:--We find proofs at every step that one class + cannot legislate for another, the rich for the poor, nor men + for women. + + The State University, supported by the taxes of the people + and for the benefit of the people, should offer equal + advantages to men and women. By amendment of the + Constitution in 1867, it was declared that the University + shall be open to female as well as male students, under such + regulations and restrictions as the board of regents may + deem proper. At first the students recited together, but Mr. + Chadbourne made it a condition of accepting the presidency + that they should be separated. I do not speak of the + separation of the sexes to find fault. I conceive that if + equal advantages be given women by the State, whether in + connection with or apart from men, they have no ground for + complaint. My object is to compare the advantages given to + the sexes and see the practical effect of legislation by men + alone in this department. From all the facts that are now + pressed upon us, confused, contradictory and obscure, we + begin to obtain a glimpse of the general law that informs + them. The University has a college of arts (including the + department of agriculture, of engraving and military + tactics), a college of letters, preparatory department, law + department, post-graduate course, last and certainly least, + a female college. The faculty and board of instructors + number twenty-one. The college of arts has nine professors, + one of natural philosophy, one each of mental philosophy, + modern languages, rhetoric, chemistry, mathematics, + agriculture, and comparative anatomy, and a tutor. In the + department of engineering is an officer of the United States + Army. In the college of letters is the same faculty, with + the addition of William F. Allen, professor of ancient + languages and history, one coming from a family of scholarly + teachers and thoroughly fitted for his post. In the law + department are such names as L. S. Dixon and Byron Paine. + + Read now the names composing the faculty of the female + college, Paul A. Chadbourne, M. D., president; T. N. + Haskell, professor of rhetoric and English literature; Miss + Elizabeth Earle, preceptress; Miss Brown, teacher of music; + Miss Eliza Brewster, teacher of drawing and painting. + Compare these faculties and note what provision is made here + for the sciences and languages. Look at the course of + instruction in the college of arts. During the first year + the men study higher algebra, conic sections, plane + trigonometry, German (Otto's) botany, Gibbon's Rome. In the + college of letters the course is similar, but more attention + is given to classical studies; to Livy, Xenophon and Horace. + During the same years in the female college, they are + studying higher arithmetic, elementary algebra, United + States history, grammar, geography and map drawing. Truly a + high standard! The studies in the first term of the + preparatory department (to which none can be admitted under + twelve years of age) are identical with those in the female + college at the same time, except the Latin. Indeed, I cannot + see why it would not be an advantage to the students of the + female college to go into the preparatory department during + their first college year, since they can get their own + course with geometry added, and if they stay three years a + proportional amount of Latin and Greek. I could compare the + whole course in the same way, but my time and the reader's + patience would fail. There is no hint either of any thorough + prescribed course in any of the languages. In the first and + fourth year no foreign language is put down. In each term of + the second year French and Latin are written as elective, + the same for Latin or German in the third. This is a + wretched course at the best. I have no faith in a course set + down so loosely as "Latin" instead of being defined as to + what course of Latin, and what authors are read. In that + case we know exactly how much is required and expected, and + what the standard of scholarship. In the college of letters + we know that they go from Livy to Cicero on Old Age, then to + Horace and Tacitus. Similar definiteness would be + encouraging in the female catalogue. Its absence gives us + every reason to believe that the course does not amount to + enough to add any reputation to the college by being known. + Under the head of special information we are told that in + addition to this prescribed course of "thorough education + young ladies will be instructed in any optional study taught + in the college of letters or arts, for which they are + prepared." By optional I understand any of the studies + marked elective, since they are the only optional studies. + In the college of letters there is but one, and that is the + calculus. In the college of arts the optional studies are + generally, not always, those that they could not be prepared + for in the course prescribed by their own college. Under the + head of degrees we find a long account of the A. B., A. M., + P. B., S. B., S. M., L. B., Ph. D., to which the fortunate + gentlemen are entitled after so much study. Lastly, the + students of the female college may receive "such appropriate + degrees as the regents may determine." I wonder how often + that solemn body deliberates as to whether a girl shall be + A. B., P. B., or A. M., or whether they ever give them any + degree at all. It makes little difference. With such a + college course a degree means nothing, and only serves to + cheapen what may be well earned by the young men of the + college. + + In 1870, the stockholders of the Milwaukee Female College elected + three women on their board of trustees: Mrs. Wm. P. Lynde, Mrs. + Wm. Delos Love and Mrs. John Nazro. This is the first time in the + history of the institution that women have been represented in + the board of trustees. + + Elizabeth R. Wentworth was an earnest and excellent writer and + kept up a healthy agitation through the columns of her husband's + paper at Racine. + + RACINE, August 4, 1875. + + MY DEAR MISS ANTHONY: Would it not be well for us women to + accept the hint afforded by these Englishmen, and bind + ourselves together by a constitution and by-laws. By so + doing we might sooner be enabled to secure the rights which + men seem so persistently determined to withhold from us. + Very respectfully yours, + + E. R. WENTWORTH. + + The growing strength of woman suffrage in England has caused + considerable commotion in that country, among officials and + others. Its growth has led the men to form a club in opposition + to it, composed of such men as Mr. Bouverie, a noted member of + Parliament; Sir Henry James, late attorney-general; Mr. Childers, + late first lord of the admiralty. + + The formation of this club calls out a few words from Mrs. + Stanton, who sarcastically says: + + Is not this the first organized resistance in the history of + the race, against the encroachment of women; the first manly + confession by those high in authority--by lords, + attorney-generals, sirs, and gentlemen--of fear at the + progressive steps of the daughters of men? These + conservative gentlemen had no doubt found Lady Amberly, + Lydia Becker, and Mrs. Fawcett too much for them in debate; + they had probably winced under the satire of Frances Power + Cobbe, and trembled before the annually swelling lists of + suffrage petitions. Single-handed they saw they were + helpless against this incoming tide of feminine + persuasiveness, and so it seems they called a meeting of + faint-hearted men, and bound themselves together by a + constitution and by-laws to protect the franchise from the + encroachment of women. + + In the legislature of 1880, the proposition to submit an + amendment for woman suffrage to a vote of the people, passed both + Houses. In 1881 it passed one branch and was lost in the other. + Senator Simpson introduced another bill in 1882[426] which was + lost. These successive defeats discouraged the women and they + instructed their friends in the legislature to make no further + attempts for a constitutional amendment, because they had not the + slightest hope of its passage. + + The growing interest in the temperance question at this time + produced some divisions in the suffrage ranks. Some thought it + had been one of the greatest obstacles to the success of the + suffrage cause, rousing the opposition of a very large and + influential class. Millions of dollars are invested in this State + in breweries and distilleries, and members are elected to the + legislature to watch these interests. Knowing the terrible + sufferings of women and children through intemperance, they + naturally infer that the ballot in the hands of women would be + inimical to their interests, hence the opposition of this wealthy + and powerful class to the suffrage movement. Others thought the + agitation was an advantage, especially in bringing the women in + the temperance movement to a sense of their helplessness to + effect any reform without a voice in the laws. They thought, too, + that the power behind the liquor interests was readily outweighed + by the moral influence of the best men and women in the State, + especially as the church began to feel some responsibility in the + question. The Milwaukee _Wisconsin_ of June 4, 1883, gives this + interesting item: + + The Rev. Father Mahoney, of St. John's Cathedral, preached a + temperance sermon to a large concourse of people yesterday + morning, in which he heartily indorsed the action of Mayor + Stowell in his war against the ordinary saloon, and declared + that he should be reelected. He also said that the men who + opposed him were covering themselves with infamy, and that + he could not conscientiously administer the sacraments to + any saloon-keeper who refused to obey the commands of the + Church or the laws of the State concerning the good order + and welfare of the city. The sermon caused quite a stir, and + was much discussed in secular as well as religious circles. + + The State Association[427] has maintained an unswerving course, + between fanatacism and ultra-conservatism. Since 1869 it has + stood as on the watch-tower, quick to see opportunities, and ever + ready to cooeperate with the legislative bodies in the State, and + well may we be proud of our achievements when we remember that by + the census of 1870 Wisconsin is the first foreign and the second + Roman Catholic State in the Union, and that at our centennial + exposition in 1876 our public schools stood number one. + + Rev. Olympia Brown Willis moved into the State of Wisconsin in + 1877, and became pastor of the church of the Good Shepherd, in + Racine, and exerted a wide influence, not only as a liberal + theologian, but as an earnest advocate of suffrage for woman. As + a result of her efforts a most successful Woman's Council was + held in Racine, March 26, 1883, alternating in the church of the + Good Shepherd and Blake's Opera House. One of the chief + speakers[428] was Dr. Corwin, pastor of the First Presbyterian + Church, who was also on the managing committee. The cordiality of + many of the western clergy, in strong contrast with those in the + east, makes their favorable action worthy of comment, though the + liberality of the few is of little avail until in their + ecclesiastical assemblies, as organizations, they declare the + equality of woman not only before the law, but in all the offices + of the church. Mrs. Katharine R. Doud was chosen president of the + convention; Mrs. Olin gave the address of welcome, to which Mrs. + Sewall responded. Mrs. Doud, in the _Advocate_, thus sums up the + three days' meetings: + + During the past week a woman's council has been held in + Racine, the success of which has been most noticeable. The + different sessions have been attended by large audiences of + intelligent men and women, who have very thoughtfully and + carefully weighed and discussed the various questions under + consideration. + + From the beginning to the end there has never been a hitch + or jar; the myriad wheels of the machinery required to make + smooth the workings of such large assemblies have moved so + quietly, and have been so well oiled and in such perfect + order as to be absolutely unnoticed; really, one might have + been tempted to feel that the machine had no master, no + controlling hand. + + But now that the council is over; now that we can pause and + begin to estimate the good that has been done; now that the + seed is sown, from which, please God, a grand harvest shall + be reaped--now we can look back and see how one brain has + planned it all. One clear-eyed, far-seeing will gathered + together these women of genius, who have been with us; one + practical, mathematical brain made all estimates of expense, + and accepted all risks of failure; one hospitable heart + received a house full of guests, and induced others to be + hospitable likewise; and one earnest, prayerful soul--and + this the best of all--besought and entreated God's blessing + upon the work. Need we tell you where to find this + master-hand which has planned so wisely? the strong will, + the clear brain, the warm heart, the pure soul? We all know + her; she is indeed a noble woman, and her name--let us + whisper lest she hear--is Olympia Brown Willis. + + The following sketch of the leading events of her life, shows how + active and useful she has been in all her public and private + relations: + + Olympia Brown was born in Kalamazoo county, Michigan, + January 5, 1835. At the age of fifteen she began to teach + school during the winter months, attending school herself in + the summer. At eighteen she entered Holyoke seminary, but + finding the advantages there inadequate for a thorough + education, her parents removed, for her benefit, to Yellow + Springs, Ohio, where she entered Antioch college, Horace + Mann, one of the best educators of his day, being president. + There her ambition was thoroughly satisfied, and she was + graduated with honor in 1860. She then entered Canton + Theological school, was graduated in 1863, and, duly + ordained as a Universalist minister, commenced preaching in + Marshfield and Montpelier, Vermont, often walking fifteen + miles to fill her appointments. In 1864 she was regularly + installed over her first parish at Weymouth, Massachusetts. + Her energy and fidelity soon raised that feeble society into + one of numbers and influence. + + In 1869, she accepted a call to Bridgeport, Connecticut, + where she remained seven years. In 1878, with her husband, + John Henry Willis, and two children she removed to Racine, + Wisconsin, where she became pastor of the church of the Good + Shepherd, without the promise of a dollar. The church had + been given up as hopeless by several men in succession, + because of the influence of the Orthodox theological + seminary. But she soon gathered large audiences and earnest + members about her; established a Sunday school, had courses + of lectures in her church during the winter, which she made + quite profitable financially for the church, beside + educating the people. Outside her profession she has also + done a grand work, in temperance and woman suffrage.[429] + She is rarely out of her own pulpit; has generally been + superintendent of her own Sunday school, and head of the + young ladies' club, doing at all times more varied duties + than any man would deem possible, and with all this she is a + pattern wife, mother and housekeeper, and her noble husband, + while carrying on a successful business of his own, stands + ever ready to second her endeavors with generous aid and + wise counsel, another instance of the happy homes among the + "strong minded." + + Among the estimable women who have been identified with the cause + of woman suffrage in this country, Mathilde Franziska Anneke, a + German lady, is worthy of mention: + + She was born in Westphalia, April 3, 1817. Her childhood was + passed in happy conditions in a home of luxury, where she + received a liberal education, yet her married life was + encompassed with trials and disappointments. From her own + experiences she learned the injustice of the laws for + married women and early devoted her pen to the redress of + their wrongs. Her articles appeared in leading journals of + Germany and awoke many minds to the consideration of the + social and civil condition of woman. + + She was identified with the liberal movement of '48, her + home being the resort for many of the leaders of the + revolution. She published a liberal paper which freely + discussed all the abuses of the government, a whole edition + of which was destroyed. At length denounced by the + government, she secretly made here escape from Cologne, and + joined her husband at the head of his command in active + preparation for a struggle against the Prussians. + + She immediately declared her determination to share the + toils of the expedition. Accordingly Col. Anneke appointed + her _Tolpfofsort_, the duties of which she continued to + discharge to the end of the campaign. In one of her works + published in 1853, she has given a graphic description of + the disastrous termination of the revolution, of their + flight into France, of their expulsion from France and + Switzerland, and of their final determination to come to the + United States. + + They reached New York in the fall of 1849. Madame Anneke + lectured in most of the Eastern cities on the social and + civil condition of women, claiming for them the right of + suffrage and more liberal education. She also published a + woman's journal in New York, and was soon recognized as one + of the earnest representative women in America. For many + years she made her home in Milwaukee, where she taught a + successful school for young ladies. Madame Anneke, a widow + with one son and two daughters, lived quietly the closing + years of her life, and in death found the peace and rest she + had never known in her busy life on earth. + + Prof. G. S. Albee, president of the State Normal School at + Oshkosh, is a firm friend and outspoken advocate of equal right + of the sexes to all the privileges of education, not excepting + the education of the ballot-box. John Bascom, president of the + Wisconsin University, has been an advocate of suffrage for women + many years. While connected with Williams College he worked to + secure the admission of women thereto. As one of a committee of + five to whom the matter was referred, he, together with David + Dudley Field, presented a minority report favoring their + admission. Since he has been at the head of our State University + he has been in perfect sympathy with its liberal coeducational + policy, and has insured to the young women equal advantages in + every respect with the young men. To his wise management may be + attributed the success of higher coeducation in Wisconsin. He + gave an able and scholarly address before our convention at + Madison in '82, and is always found ready to speak for woman + suffrage, both in public and private. His influence has done much + for the advancement of the cause in our State. A cordial letter + was received from Mrs. Bascom at the last Washington convention, + which was listened to with interest and prized by the officers of + the National Association: + + MADISON, Wis., January 16, 1885. + + MY DEAR MISS ANTHONY: I am sorry I cannot be present and + meet the many wise and great women who will respond to your + call for the Seventeenth Annual Convention. + + What a glorious record these words reveal of unwavering + faith in the right, and heroic persistency in its pursuit on + one side, and what blindness of prejudice and selfishness of + power on the other. The struggle has indeed been a long one, + and yet no other moral movement involving so many and so + great social changes ever made more rapid progress. You and + your fellow-laborers are truly to be congratulated on the + full and abundant harvest your faithful seed-sowing has + brought to humanity. The irrational sentiment, based upon + the methods and customs of barbarous times, is rapidly + yielding to reason. The world is learning--women are + learning--that character, even womanly character, does not + suffer from too much breadth of thought, or from too active + a sympathy in human interests and human affairs, but is ever + enriched by a larger circle of ideas, larger experience, and + more extended activities. + + The advance of women in position and influence has been + especially great during the past year, and in directions + especially cheering and hopeful to the heart of every woman. + In national political conventions, as your call so justly + says, she has "actively participated in the discussion of + candidates, platforms and principles." The last mile-stone + before the goal has been reached and passed! + + Your convention will offer the final opportunity to the + Republican party. Will it be wise enough to seize it for + self preservation, if not from principle? Will there be + found in this party enough of spiritual life to lay hold of + the help now proffered it, and once more renew its strength + thereby? Or will it, as so repeatedly in the past, turn a + deaf ear to reason, and still continue to deny the rights of + half the human family? If so, if it continue deaf, dumb and + blind, then the Republican party has no longer any function, + and the power of government will pass forever from its + hands. The sixteenth amendment to the national constitution + is coming, but it will be the crown of blessing and of fame + of another party that will inaugurate this era in social + life! I take the liberty to send loving greetings to you and + the convention in the name of our Wisconsin Equal Suffrage + society. I hope our bright, eloquent Rev. Olympia Brown will + be with you. Of Wisconsin's eleven representatives in + congress, I am happy to make honorable mention, as + broad-minded advocates of our cause, of three, Cameron, + Price and Stephenson. In earnest sympathy with the object + and method of the convention, and with high regard for + yourself, I remain yours truly, + + EMMA C. BASCOM. + + In this, as in many other States there was a prolonged struggle + over the equal rights of women in the courts. The first woman to + practice law in Wisconsin was Lavinia Goodell. She was admitted + in the First Judicial Circuit Court, June 17, 1874, Judge H. S. + Conger, presiding. She commenced practicing in Janesville. The + following year she had a case which was appealed to the Supreme + Court. When the appeal was made, Miss Goodell applied to the + Supreme Court for the right to go with her case. She argued her + own case and based her claim upon a statute which provides, "That + words of the masculine gender may be applied to females; unless + such construction would be inconsistent with the manifest + intention of the legislature." After she had shown clearly that + she had an equal right in the courts in an able and unanswerable + argument, Judge Ryan considered her application for two months + and rendered an adverse decision. As a result of the agitation + induced by this case, the legislature of 1877 passed a law that + "no person shall be refused admission to the bar of this State on + account of sex," thus showing the power of the legislative branch + of the government to over-ride all judicial decisions. Miss + Goodell immediately commenced practice in the Supreme Court. She + reviewed the judicial decision with keen satire,[430] and ably + illustrated the comparative capacity of an educated man and woman + to reason logically on American jurisprudence and constitutional + law. + + In the early part of 1879 Kate Kane and Angie J. King were + admitted to the bar. Miss Kane studied in a law office and in the + law school of Michigan University. She practiced in Milwaukee + until 1883, when she located in Chicago. Miss King practices in + Janesville and was at first associated with Miss Goodell, under + the name of Goodell & King. Cora Hurtz, Oshkosh, was admitted and + began practice in 1882. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[418] Mrs. Wolcott is a remarkable woman, of rare intelligence, +keen moral perceptions and most imposing presence. Much of her +success in life is due no doubt to her gracious manners. Her +graceful figure, classic face, rich voice and choice language make +her attractive in the best social circles, as well as in the +laboratory and lecture-room. She is a perfect housekeeper and a +most hospitable hostess. Having enjoyed many visits at her +beautiful home I can speak alike of her public and domestic +virtues.--[E. C. S. + +[419] See Vol. I., page 389. + +[420] During a visit with my school-friend, Mrs. Elizabeth Ford +Proudfit, at Madison, in 1879, I heard a great deal said of the +injustice of this law as illustrated in two notable cases of widows +in the enjoyment of their husbands' entire estates, while the dead +men's relatives, many of them, were living in poverty. This was +most shocking! though widowers, from time immemorial, have +possessed the life-earnings and inheritance of their wives, while +the dead women's mothers and sisters were starving and freezing +within sight of the luxurious homes that rightfully belonged to +them! It makes a mighty odds whose ox is gored--the widower's or +the widow's!--[S. B. A. + +[421] In 1867 the governor, General Lucius Fairchild, appointed +Laura J. Ross, M. D., as commissioner to the World's Exposition in +Paris. In 1871 Mrs. Mary E. Lynde was appointed on the State Board +of Charities and Corrections by Governor Fairchild. + +[422] The committee on resolutions were: Dr. Laura J. Ross, N. S. +Murphey, Mrs. Livermore, Madame Annecke, Geo. W Peckham and Rev. +Mr. Gannett. The officers of the convention were: _President_, Rev. +Miss Augusta J. Chapin; _Vice-Presidents_, O. P. Wolcott, M. D., +Laura J. Ross, M. D., and Madame Matilde F. Annecke; _Secretary_, +Miss Lilia Peckham. + +[423] For a further description of this convention see Mrs. +Stanton's letters from _The Revolution_, Vol. I., page 873. + +[424] Miss Lilia Peckham, G. W. Peckham, esq., Mrs. Mary A. +Livermore, Madam Matilde Annecke, Rev. Augusta J. Chapin, Rev. Mr. +Eddy, Rev. Mr. English, Rev. Mr. Fallows. + +[425] Miss Lilia Peckham died in Milwaukee, the city of her +residence. She had been ill but a few weeks, her physicians +considering her recovery certain up to within an hour of her death; +but a sudden and unlooked-for change took place. One of the truest, +purest and best spirits we have ever met has thus passed from earth +to heaven. All who met her soon came to appreciate her gifted +nature, her rare talent and spiritual insight. But only those who +knew her well can bear witness to her wonderful unselfishness, her +remorseless honesty of speech and deed, the loftiness of her ideal +and the beauty of her womanly soul. The Milwaukee _Sentinel_ closes +a brief obituary notice of our friend and co-worker as follows: + +"This talented young woman is well known throughout the country as +an earnest advocate of the woman's rights movement. Only a few +weeks since she made a successful tour through the West, speaking +in various city pulpits. Fearlessly she spoke all that she had come +to feel was truth, though it shook the very foundations of old +creeds and ideas. Many efforts from her scholarly pen attest to her +devotion to every onward movement of the hour. She was to have +entered the Cambridge Divinity School early in the present autumn, +having chosen the ministry for her life-work. That a life so full +of promise of usefulness should be so suddenly stopped is +irreconcilable with our finite judgment. It is hard to say, 'it is +well,' though God's fact may be that this young life, with its +beauty of character, its sisterly affection, its still larger +sisterly sympathy with a suffering humanity, its longings and +aspirations, its zealous strivings after the true and good, is full +and complete _now_; still we shall mourn her loss, her brief though +beautiful career." + +[426] The members of the Wisconsin Senate who voted against the +woman suffrage amendment were: Ackley, Adams, Burrows, Chase, +Coleman, Delaney, Flinkelberg, Flint, Kusel, Palmetier, Pingel, +Rankin, Ryland, Smith and Van Schaick--15. No better work can be +done by Wisconsin suffragists than to try to defeat every one of +them at the next election. The following voted for the measure: +Bennett, Crosby, Ellis, Hamilton, Hill, Hudd, Kingston, Meffert, +Phillipps, Scott, Simpson, Wiley, Randall--13. Senators Wing and +McKeeby were paired, and Senators Erwin and Richardson were absent. + +[427] The officers of the Wisconsin State society for 1885 were: +_President_, Harriet T. Griswold, Columbus; _Vice-Presidents_, +Laura Ross Wolcott, Milwaukee; Rev. Olympia Brown, Racine; +Emma C. Bascom, Madison; F. A. Delagise, Antigo; Laura James, +Richland Center; _Recording Secretary_, Helen R. Olin, Madison; +_Corresponding Secretary_, M. W. Bentley, Schofield; _Treasurer_, +Dr. Sarah R. Munro, Milwaukee; _Chairman Executive Committee_, +Amelia B. Gray, Schofield. Among others active in the movement are +Eliza T. Wilson, Menominee; Alura Collins, Muckwonago; Mrs. S. C. +Burnham, Bear Valley; Sarah H. Richards, Milwaukee; Mrs. W. Trippe, +Whitewater. + +[428] Eveleen Mason, May Wright Sewall, Mary A. Livermore, Dr. +Sarah Munro, Mrs. Haggart, Mrs. K. R. Doud, Miss Comstock, the +Grand Worthy Vice-Templar from Milwaukee, Mrs. Le Page, and Mrs. +Amy Talbot Dunn, as Zekel's wife, made a deep impression. + +[429] See vol. II. page 259. + +[430] For her argument see _Woman's Journal_, April, 1876. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVII. + +MINNESOTA. + + Girls in State University--Sarah Burger Stearns--Harriet E. + Bishop the First Teacher in St. Paul--Mary J. Colburn Won the + Prize--Mrs. Jane Grey Swisshelm, St. Cloud--Fourth of July + Oration, 1866--First Legislative Hearing, 1867--Governor Austin's + Veto--First Society at Rochester--Kasson--Almira W. Anthony--Mary + P. Wheeler--Harriet M. White--The W. C. T. U.--Harriet A. + Hobart--Literary and Art Clubs--School Suffrage, 1876--Charlotte + O. Van Cleve and Mrs. C. S. Winchell Elected to School + Board--Mrs. Governor Pillsbury--Temperance Vote, 1877--Property + Rights of Married Women--Women as Officers, Teachers, Editors, + Ministers, Doctors, Lawyers. + + +Minnesota was formally admitted to the Union May 11, 1858. Owing to +its high situation and dry atmosphere the State is a great resort +for invalids, and nowhere in the world is the sun so bright, the +sky so blue, or the moon and stars so clearly defined. Its early +settlers were from New England; hence, the church and the +school-house--monuments of civilization--were the first objects in +the landscape to adorn those boundless prairies, as the red man was +pushed still westward, and the white man seized his hunting-ground. + +This State is also remarkable for its admirable system of free +schools, in which it is said there is a larger proportion of pupils +to the population than in any other of the Western States. All +institutions of learning have from the beginning been open alike to +boys and girls. + +Mrs. Sarah Burger Stearns, to whom we are indebted for this +chapter, was one of the first young women to apply for admission to +the Michigan University.[431] Being denied, she finished her +studies at the State Normal School, and in 1863 married Mr. O. P. +Stearns, a graduate of the institution that barred its doors to +her. Mr. Stearns, at the call of his country, went to the front, +while his no less patriotic bride remained at home, teaching in +the Young Ladies' Seminary at Monroe and lecturing for the benefit +of the Soldiers' Aid Societies. + +The war over, they removed to Minnesota in 1866, where by lectures, +newspaper articles, petitions and appeals to the legislature, Mrs. +Stearns has done very much to stir the women of the State to +thought and action upon the question of woman's enfranchisement. +She has been the leading spirit of the State Suffrage Association, +as well as of the local societies of Rochester and Duluth, the two +cities in which she has resided, and also vice-president of the +National Association since 1876. As a member of the school-board, +she has wrought beneficent changes in the schools of Duluth. She is +now at the head of a movement for the establishment of a home for +women needing a place of rest and training for self-help and +self-protection. Mrs. Stearns has the full sympathy of her husband +and family, as she had that of her mother, Mrs. Susan C. Burger, +whose last years were passed in the home of her daughter at Duluth. +Mrs. Stearns writes: + + The advocates of suffrage in Minnesota were so few in the early + days,[432] and their homes so remote from each other, that there + was little chance for cooeperation, hence the history of the + movement in this State consists more of personal efforts than of + conventions, legislative hearings and judicial decisions. The + first name worthy of note is that of Harriet E. Bishop. She was + invited by Rev. Thomas Williamson, M. D., a missionary among the + Dakotas, to come to his mission home and share in his labors in + 1847, where she was introduced to the leading citizens of St. + Paul. She was the first teacher of a public school in that + settlement. She lectured on temperance, wrote for the daily + papers, and preached as a regular pastor in a Baptist pulpit. She + published several books, was one of the organizers of the State + Suffrage Association in 1881, and in 1883 rested from her labors + on earth. + + The first lecture in the State on the "Rights and Wrongs of + Woman," was by Mrs. Mary J. Colburn, in the village of Champlin, + in 1858, the same year that Minnesota was admitted to the Union. + In 1864, the State officers promised two prizes for the first and + second best essays on "Minnesota as a Home for Emigrants," + reserving to the examining committee the right to reject all + manuscripts offered if found unworthy. The first prize was + accorded to Mrs. Colburn. Most of the other competitors were men, + some of them members of the learned professions. Mrs. Colburn + says, in writing to a friend, "I am doing but little now on the + suffrage question, for I will not stoop longer to ask of any + congress or legislature for that which I know to be mine by the + divine law of nature." + + In 1857, Mrs. Jane Grey Swisshelm settled at St. Cloud, where she + lived until 1863, editing the St. Cloud _Democrat_, the organ of + the Republican party, and making a heroic fight for freedom and + equality. In 1860 she spoke in the Hall of Representatives, on + Anti-slavery; in 1862 she was invited to speak before the Senate + on woman's rights, and was listened to with great respect.[433] + + In 1866, at a Fourth of July celebration, Mrs. Stearns accepted + an invitation to respond to the sentiment, "Our young and growing + State; may she ever be an honor to her citizens." This offered + her an opportunity for an off-hand woman suffrage speech, which + elicited hearty cheers, and gave, as an old gentleman present + said, "something fresh to think of and act upon." About this time + the friends of equality began petitioning the legislature for an + amendment to the constitution, striking out the word "male." + Through the efforts of Mr. A. G. Spaulding--the editor of the + _Anoka Star_--and others, these petitions were referred to a + special committee which granted a hearing to Mrs. Colburn and + Mrs. Stearns in 1867. Mrs. Colburn read a carefully prepared + argument, and Mrs. Stearns sent a letter, both of which were + ordered to be printed. In 1868 a bill was introduced proposing to + submit the desired amendment, but when brought to a vote it was + defeated by a majority of one. + + In March, 1869, _The Revolution_ copied from the Martin County + _Atlas_ the following: + + Show us the man who from the bottom of his heart, laying + aside his prejudices and speaking the unbiased truth, will + not say that women should have the same rights that he + himself enjoys, and we will show you a narrow-minded + sycophant, a cruel, selfish tyrant, or one that has not the + moral courage to battle for a principle he knows to be just. + Equal rights before the law is justice to all, and the more + education we give our children and ourselves, as a people, + the sooner shall we have equal rights. May the glorious + cause speed on. + + In 1869, a suffrage society was organized in the city of + Rochester, with fifty members, and another at Champlin; the homes + of Mrs. Stearns and Mrs. Colburn. Petitions were again circulated + and presented to the legislature early in the session of 1870. It + had not then been demonstrated by Kansas, Michigan, Colorado, + Nebraska and Oregon, that the votes of the ignorant classes on + this question would greatly outnumber those of the intelligent. + The legislature granted the prayer of the petitioners and passed + a bill for the submission of an amendment, providing that the + women of the State, possessing the requisite qualifications, + should also be allowed to vote upon the proposition, and that + their votes should be counted as legal. The governor, Hon. Horace + Austin, vetoed the bill, saying it was not passed in good faith, + and that the submission of the question at that time would be + premature. In a private letter to Mrs. Stearns, the governor + said: "Had the bill provided for the voting of the women, simply + to get an expression of their wishes upon the question, without + requiring their votes to be counted as legal in the adoption or + rejection of it, the act would not have been vetoed, + notwithstanding my second objection that it was premature." + + In 1871, petitions to congress were circulated in Minnesota, + asking a declaratory act to protect the women of the nation in + the exercise of "the citizen's right to vote" under the new + guarantees of the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments. During + that year the National Woman Suffrage Association appointed Mrs. + Addie Ballou its vice-president for Minnesota. + + In 1872 a suffrage club was formed at Kasson. Its three + originators[434] entered into a solemn compact with each other + that while they lived in that city there should always be an + active suffrage society until the ballot for women should be + obtained. Their secretary, Mrs. H. M. White, writes: + + Although our club was at first called a ladies' literary + society, the suspicion that its members wished to vote was + soon whispered about. Our working members were for some + years few in number, and our meetings far between. But our + zeal never abating, we tried in later years many plans for + making a weekly meeting interesting. The most successful + was, that every one should bring something that had come to + her notice during the week, which she should read aloud, + thus furnishing topics of conversation in which all could + join. This never failed to make an interesting and + profitable meeting. And still later we invited speakers from + other States. In our various courses of lectures, Kasson + audiences have enjoyed the brave utterances of Anna + Dickinson, Julia Ward Howe, Susan B. Anthony, and others. + The pulpit of Kasson we have found about evenly balanced for + and against us; but those claiming to be friendly generally + maintained a "masterly inactivity." Our editors have always + shown us much kindness by gratuitously advertising our + meetings and publishing our articles. Our members were all + at the first meeting after school suffrage was granted to + women, and one lady was elected director for a term of three + years. The next year another lady was elected. While they + were members of the board, a new and beautiful school house + was erected, though some men said, "nothing in the line of + building could be safely done until after the women's term + of office had expired." Our co-workers have always treated + us with great courtesy. In this respect our labors were as + pleasant as in any church work. + + At a temperance convention in 1874, a woman suffrage resolution + was ably defended by Mrs. Julia Ballard Nelson and Mrs. Harriet + A. Hobart; Mrs. Asa Hutchinson, of beloved memory, also spoke at + this meeting. + + As the women in several of the States voted on educational + matters, the legislature of 1875 wished to confer the same + privilege upon the women of Minnesota. But instead of doing so by + direct legislation, as the other States had done, they passed a + resolution submitting a proposition for an amendment to the + constitution to the electors of the State, as follows: + + An amendment to the State constitution giving the + legislature power to provide by law that any woman of the + age of twenty-one years and upwards, may vote at any + election held for the purpose of choosing any officers of + schools; or upon any measure relating to schools; and also + that any such woman shall be eligible to hold any office + pertaining solely to the management of schools. + + No effort was made to agitate the question, lest more should be + effected in rousing the opposition than in educating the masses + in the few months intervening between the passage of the bill and + the election in November. Mrs. Stearns, however, as the day for + the decision of the question approached, wishing to make sure of + the votes of the intelligent men of the State, wrote to the + editor of the _Pioneer Press_, the leading paper of Minnesota, + begging him to urge his readers to do all in their power to + secure the adoption of the amendment. The request was complied + with, and the editor in a private letter, thanking Mrs. Stearns, + said he "had quite forgotten such an amendment had been + proposed." + + At this last moment the question was, what could be done to + secure the largest favorable vote. Finding that it would be + legal, the friends throughout the State appealed to the + committees of both political parties to have "For the amendment + of Article VII. relating to electors--Yes," printed upon all + their tickets. This was very generally done, and thereby the most + ignorant men were led to vote as they should, with the + intelligent, in favor of giving women a voice in the education of + the children of the State, while all who were really opposed + could scratch the "yes," and substitute a "no." When election day + came, November 5, 1875, the amendment was carried by a vote of + 24,340 for, to 19,468 against. The following legislature passed + the necessary law, and at the spring election of 1876, the women + of Minnesota voted for school officers, and in several cases + women were elected as directors. + + I have given these details because the great wonder has been how + the combined forces of ignorance and vice failed to vote down + this amendment, as they always have done every other proposition + for the extension of suffrage to women in this and every other + State where the question has been submitted to a popular vote. I + believe our success was largely, if not wholly, attributable to + our studied failure to agitate the question, and the affirmative + wording of all the tickets of both parties, by which our + bitterest opponents forgot the question was to be voted upon, and + the ignorant classes who could not, or did not read their + ballots, voted unthinkingly for the measure. + + In the cities the school officers are elected at the regular + municipal elections usually held in the spring, while in the + rural districts and smaller villages they are chosen at school + meetings in the autumn. In East Minneapolis, Hon. Richard Chute, + chairman of the Republican nominating convention, having, without + their knowledge, secured the nomination of Mrs. Charlotte O. + VanCleve[435] and Mrs. Charlotte S. Winchell[436] as school + directors, called a meeting of the women of the city to aid in + their election. It was a large and enthusiastic gathering. Mrs. + Mary C. Peckham presided, Mrs. Stearns of Duluth, and Mrs. + Pillsbury, wife of the governor, made stirring speeches, after + which the candidates were called upon, and responded most + acceptably. When election day came, the names of Mrs. VanCleve + and Mrs. Winchell received a handsome majority of the votes of + their districts. A correspondent in the _Ballot-Box_ said: + + The women of Minnesota are rejoicing in the measure of + justice vouchsafed them,--the right to vote and hold office + in school matters. Two hundred and seventy women voted in + Minneapolis, the governor's wife among others. Although it + rained all day they went to the polls in great numbers. + + Including both East and West Minneapolis, fully 1,000 women + voted; and while the numbers in other cities and villages were + not so great, they were composed of the more intelligent. In St. + Charles, where Dr. Adaline Williams was elected to the + school-board, some of the gentlemen requested her to resign, on + the ground that she had not been properly elected. Her reply was, + "If I have not been elected, I have no need to resign; and if I + have been elected, I do not choose to resign." But to satisfy + those who doubted, she proposed that another election should be + held, which resulted in an overwhelming majority for the Doctor. + + As the law says women are "eligible to any office pertaining + solely to the management of schools," one might be elected as + State superintendent of public instruction. There have been many + women elected to the office of county superintendent, and in + several counties they have been twice reelected,[437] and + wherever women have held school offices, they have been reported + as doing efficient service. Although the law provided that women + might "vote at any election for the purpose of choosing any + officers of schools," the attorney-general gave an opinion that + it did not entitle them to vote for county superintendent; hence + "an act to entitle women to vote for county superintendent of + schools," was passed by the legislature of 1885. + + The ladies' city school committee. Miss A. M. Henderson, + chairman, secured the appointment of a committee of seven women + in Minneapolis, to meet with a like number of men from each of + the political parties, to select such members of the school-board + as all could agree upon. Having thus aided in the nominations, + women were interested in their election. In 1881 Mrs. Merrill and + Miss Henderson stood at the polls all day and electioneered for + their candidates. It was said that their efforts not only decided + the choice of school officers, but elected a temperance alderman. + In many cities of the State the temperance women exert a great + influence at the polls in persuading men to vote for the best + town-officers. At the special election held in Duluth for + choosing school officers, one of the judges of election, and the + clerks at each of the polling places have for the last two years + been women who were teachers in our public schools. + + The early homestead law of Minnesota illustrates how easily men + forget to bestow the same rights upon women that they carefully + secure to themselves. In 1869, the "protectors of women" enacted + a law which exempted a homestead from being sold for the payment + of debts so long as the man who held it might live, while it + allowed his widow and children to be turned out penniless and + homeless. It was not until 1875 that this law was so amended that + the exemption extended to the widow and fatherless children. + + In 1877, a law was passed which gave the widow an absolute + title--or the same title her husband had--to one-third of all the + real estate, exclusive of the homestead, and of that, it gave her + the use, during her lifetime. So that now the widow has the + absolute ownership, instead of the life use of one-third of + whatever she and her husband may have together earned and saved. + That is, should there be any real estate left, over and above the + homestead, after paying all the husband's debts, she now has, not + merely the difference, as heretofore, between the amount of the + tax and the income on one-third, but she may avoid the tax and + other costs of keeping it, by selling her third, if she prefers, + and putting the money at interest. The law still puts whatever + may be left of the other two-thirds, after payment of debts, into + the hands of the probate judge and others, and the interest + thereof, or even the principal, may go to reward them for their + services, or, if falling into honest hands, it may be left for + the support and education of the children. + + The legislature of 1877 submitted a constitutional amendment + giving women a vote on the temperance question. This seemed + likely to be carried by default of agitation, as was that of + school suffrage, until within a few weeks of the election, when + the liquor interest combined all its forces of men and money and + defeated it by a large majority. The next year the temperance + people made a strong effort to get the proposition re-submitted, + but to no purpose. + + In 1879, acting upon the plan proposed to all the States by the + National Association, we petitioned for the adoption of a joint + resolution asking congress to submit to the several State + legislatures an amendment to the National constitution, + prohibiting the disfranchisement of woman. Mrs. Stearns and + others followed up the petitions with letters to the most + influential members, in which they argued that the legislatures + of the States, not the rank and file of the electors, ought to + decide this question; and further, that the same congress that + had granted woman the privilege of pleading a case before the + Supreme Court of the United States would doubtless pass a + resolution submitting to the legislatures the decision of the + question of her right to have her opinion on all questions + counted at the ballot-box. The result was a majority of six in + the Senate in favor of the resolution, while in the House there + was a majority of five against it. + + Since 1879, our legislature has met biennially. In 1881 the + temperance women of the State again petitioned for the right to + vote on the question of licensing the sale of liquor. Failing to + get that, or a prohibitory law, they became more than ever + convinced of the necessity of full suffrage. The annual meetings + of the State Union[438] have ever since been spoken of by the + press as "suffrage conventions," because they always pass + resolutions making the demand. + + Mr. L. Bixby, editor of the _State Temperance Review_, gives + several columns to the temperance and suffrage societies. Mrs. + Helen E. Gallinger, the editor of these departments, is a lady of + great ability and earnestness. Mr. Charles H. Dubois, editor of + _The Spectator_, gives ample space in his columns to notes of + women. Miss Mary C. Le Duc is connected with _The Spectator_. + Other journals have aided our cause, though not in so pronounced + a way. Mrs. C. F. Bancroft, editor of the _Mantorville Express_, + and Mrs. Bella French, of a county paper at Spring Valley, Mrs. + Annie Mitchell, the wife of one editor and the mother of another, + for many years their business associate, have all given valuable + services to our cause, while pecuniarily benefiting themselves. + The necessity of finding a voice when something needed to be + said, and of using a pen when something needed to be written, has + developed considerable talent for public speaking and writing + among the women of this State.[439] + + All our State institutions are favorable to coeducation, and give + equal privileges to all. The Minnesota University has been open + to women since its foundation, and from 1875 to 1885 fifty-six + young women were graduated with high honor to themselves and + their sex.[440] Miss Maria L. Sanford has been professor of + rhetoric and elocution for many years. The faculties of the State + Normal Schools are largely composed of women. Hamline University + and Carlton College are conducted on principles of true equality. + At Carlton Miss Margaret Evans is preceptress and teacher of + modern languages. Of the Rochester High School, Miss Josephine + Hegeman is principal; of Wasioga, Miss C. T. Atwood; of Eyota + Union School, Miss Adell M'Kinley.[441] + + For many years Mrs. M. R. Smith was employed as State Librarian. + Mrs. H. J. M'Caine for the past ten years has been librarian at + St. Paul, with Miss Grace A. Spaulding as assistant. Among the + engrossing and enrolling clerks of our legislature, Miss Alice + Weber is the only lady's name we find, though the men holding + those offices usually employ a half dozen women to assist them in + copying, allowing each two-thirds of the price paid by the State, + or ten cents per folio. + + +[Illustration: Sarah Burger Stearns] + + + In this State the suffrage cause has had the sympathy of not a + few noble women in the successful practice of the healing art; + thus lending their influence for the political emancipation of + their sex, while blessing the community with their medical skill. + To Doctors Hood and Whetstone is due the credit of establishing + the Northwestern Hospital for Women and Children, and training + school for nurses, of which they are now the attending + physicians; and Dr. Hood also attends the Bethany Home, founded + by the sisterhood of Bethany, for the benefit of friendless girls + and women. In the town of Detroit may be seen a drug store neatly + fitted up, with "Ogden's Pharmacy" over the door, and upon it, in + gilt letters, "Emma K. Ogden, M. D." While the doctor practices + her profession, she employs a young woman as prescription clerk. + The Minnesota State Medical Society has admitted nine women to + membership.[442] + + Conspicuous among evangelists in this State are Mrs. Mary C. + Nind, Minneapolis, Mrs. Mary A. Shepardson, Wasioga, Mrs. Ruth + Cogswell Rowell, Winona, and Rev. Eliza Tupper Wilkes, Rochester. + + Thus far this chapter has been given mainly to individuals in the + State, and to the home influences that have aided in creating + sentiment in favor of full suffrage for woman. United with these + have been other influences coming like the rays of the morning + sun directly from the East where so many noble women are at work + for the freedom of their sex. Among them are some of the most + popular lecturers in the country.[443] + + In September, 1881, representative women from various localities + met at Hastings and organized a State Woman Suffrage + Association[444] auxiliary to the National. During the first year + one hundred and twenty-four members were enrolled. During the + second the membership more than doubled. In October, 1882, the + association held its first annual meeting. The audiences were + large, and the speakers[445] most heartily applauded. Mrs. Nelson + presided. In her letter of greeting to this meeting, from which + ill-health obliged her to be absent, the president urged the + association to firmly adhere to the principles of the National + Association. Let us not ask for an amendment to the State + constitution, and thus put it in the power of ignorance and + prejudice to deny the boon we seek; while we are auxiliary to the + National let us work according to its plans. Mrs. Stearns was + unanimously reelected president, and her views heartily endorsed. + + In the spring of '83, at the request of the State society, and + with the generous consent of Mr. Bixby, the editor of the _State + Temperance Review_, Mrs. Helen E. Gallinger commenced editing a + woman suffrage column in that paper. This has been a very + convenient medium of communication between the State society and + the local auxiliaries which have since been organized by Mrs. L. + May Wheeler, who was employed as lecturer and organizer,[446] in + the summer and fall of 1883. Auxiliary societies had previously + been organized by Mrs. Stearns, in St. Paul and Minneapolis. The + Kasson society, formed in 1872, also became auxiliary to the + State. + + During the Northwestern Industrial Exhibition, held in + Minneapolis August, 1883, a woman suffrage headquarters was + fitted up on the fair-grounds, in a fine large tent, made + attractive by flags, banners and mottoes. The State and local + societies were represented, officers and members being there to + receive all who were in sympathy, to talk suffrage to opposers, + to pass out good leaflets, and to exhibit copies of the Woman + Suffrage History. At the annual convention this year we were + honored by the presence of Julia Ward Howe and Mrs. Marianna + Folsom of Iowa, and many of the clergymen[447] of Minneapolis. + Rev. E. S. Williams gave the address of welcome, and paid a + beautiful tribute to the self-sacrificing leaders in this holy + crusade. Mrs. Howe not only encouraged us with her able words of + cheer, but she presided at the piano while her Battle Hymn of the + Republic was sung, and seemed to give it new inspiration. In the + course of her remarks the president said: + + Should congress finally adopt that long-pending amendment in + the winter of 1883-4 enfranchising women, we should still + have work to do in 1885 to secure the ratification of this + amendment by our State legislature. But should congress + still refuse, let us be thankful that the way is opening for + women to secure their freedom by the power of the + legislature independent of all constitutional amendments, as + there is nothing in ordinary State constitutions to prevent + legislators from extending suffrage to women by legislative + enactment. The constitution of the State of Minnesota simply + enfranchises men, and does not even mention women; we have + clearly nothing to do but to convince our legislators that + they are free to give educated women full suffrage. + + With this view the society adopted the following resolution: + + _Resolved_, That we accept with joy the argument that comes + to us from the east and from the west declaring suffrage + amendments to State constitutions unnecessary, because the + word "male," occurring as it does in most State + constitutions, in no wise restrains legislatures from + extending full suffrage to women, should they feel inclined + to do so. Be it also + + _Resolved_, That it therefore becomes our duty to talk with + all men and women who are friendly to our cause, and ask + them to examine the argument, and if it commends itself to + their judgment, to give us the benefit of their convictions. + + Though passing the above resolutions at that time, the State + Association of course waits to see what may be done, in view of + this new idea, by older and stronger States whose constitutions + are similar to ours. Although failing health induced Mrs. + Stearns, in the fall of 1883, to resign her suffrage work into + other hands, and ask to be excused from any office whatever, she + has, with improving health lately accepted the presidency of an + Equal Rights League in Duluth. Dr. Ripley was not present + herself at the convention[448] which chose her for president for + the ensuing year, being then at the East, but immediately after + returning, she entered upon her new duties with enthusiasm. As + there was to be no legislature in 1884, there could be no + petitioning, except to continue the work commenced as long ago as + 1871, of petitioning congress for a sixteenth amendment. The work + was carried on with vigor, and many hundreds of names obtained in + a short time. Early in 1884 Mrs. L. May Wheeler continued to + lecture in the interests of the suffrage cause. While so engaged + she issued her "Collection of Temperance and Suffrage Melodies." + + In 1884 a woman suffrage headquarters was again fitted up in + Newspaper Row, on the grounds of the Northwestern Industrial + Exhibition. The large tent was shared by the State W. C. T. U., + and appropriately decked within and without to represent both of + the State organizations and their auxiliaries. A large amount of + suffrage and temperance literature was distributed among the many + who were attracted by the novelty of the sight and sentiments + displayed on banners and flags. + + As Minneapolis had already become headquarters for the suffrage + work of the State, it was thought best to again hold the annual + meeting in that city. This was in October, continuing two days, + and was both interesting and encouraging. Dr. Martha G. Ripley + presided. Many interesting letters were read, and cheering + telegrams received.[449] Miss Marion Lowell recited "The Legend," + by Mary Agnes Ticknor, and "Was he Henpecked?" by Phebe Cary, + Mrs. A. M. Tyng of Austin, made a good speech, also recited a + poem entitled "Jane Conquest." Mr. Lars Oure of Norway, spoke + well upon the "Claims of Woman." Dr. L. W. Denton of Minneapolis, + gave a very good address. Dr. Martha G. Ripley spoke on suffrage + as a natural right, and in support of this view read extracts + from a pamphlet entitled, "Woman Suffrage a Right, and not a + Privilege," by Wm. I. Bowditch; Eliza Burt Gamble of St. Paul, + read a very able paper on "Woman and the Church"; Mrs. Stearns + spoke upon the new era to be inaugurated when women have the + ballot. Miss Emma Harriman read a bright and entertaining paper. + The fine address of the occasion was given by Rev. W. W. + Satterlee, showing the nation's need of woman's vote. Judge and + Mrs. Hemiup, of Minneapolis, just returned from a visit to + Wyoming Territory, were present. The judge made several speeches, + and was enthusiastic in his praise of the workings of woman + suffrage there. He and his wife are now active members of the + State and city (Minneapolis) suffrage societies. The judge is + also a member of the State executive committee. + + Wishing to give honor to whom honor is due, we would mention the + brave young women who have formed the Christian Temperance + Unions, the leading spirits[450] in this grand movement in + Minneapolis, St. Paul, Winona and St. Cloud. Their names will be + usually found as delegates to the annual meetings of all the + State Unions. The small army of noble girls who have helped to + make the Good Templars' lodges attractive and worthy resorts for + their brothers and friends, have done an inestimable work in + elevating the moral tone of the community all over the State. + They have also done their full share in petitioning congress for + a sixteenth amendment, in which they have received most untiring + help from the young men of the lodges. In 1884 Miss Frances + Willard again visited the State, advocating the ballot as well as + the Bible as an aid to temperance work. Her eloquent voice here + as elsewhere woke many to serious thought on the danger of this + national vice to the safety and stability of our republican + institutions. It was through Miss Willard's influence, no doubt, + that the friends of temperance established a department of + franchise for the State, and made Mrs. E. L. Crockett its + superintendent. + + The women of Minnesota seem thus far to have no special calling + to the legal profession. Mrs. Martha Angle Dorsett is the only + woman as yet admitted to the bar. She was graduated from the law + school at Des Moines, and admitted to practice before the Supreme + Court of Iowa in June, 1876. She was refused admission at first + in Minnesota, whereupon she appealed to the legislature, which in + 1877 enacted a law securing the right to women by a vote of 63 to + 30 in the House, and 26 to 6 in the Senate. + + In some of the larger cities and towns the literary, musical and + dramatic taste of our women[451] is evidenced by societies and + clubs for mutual improvement. Many are attending classes for the + study of natural history, classic literature, social science, + etc. There is an art club in Minneapolis, composed wholly of + artists, both ladies and gentlemen, which meets every week, the + members making sketches from life. Miss Julie C. Gauthier had on + exhibition at the New Orleans Exposition, a full-length portrait, + true to life, of a colored man, "Pony," a veteran wood-sawer of + St. Paul, which received very complimentary notices from art + critics of that city, as well as from the press generally. + + In the Business Colleges of Mr. Curtis at St. Paul and + Minneapolis, many women are teachers, and many more are educated + as shorthand reporters, telegraphers, and book-keepers. These + have no difficulty in finding places after completing their + college course. Nearly fifty young women are employed in the + principal towns of the State as telegraphers alone. Miss Mary M. + Cary has been employed for seven years as operator and station + agent at Wayzata, for the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba R. R. + Her services are highly valued, as well they may be, for during + her absence from the station two men are required to do her work. + By her talents and industry she has acquired a thorough education + for herself, besides educating her two younger sisters. Mrs. Anna + B. Underwood of Lake City, has for many years been secretary of a + firm conducting a large nursery of fruit trees, plants and + flowers. Her husband being one of the partners, she has taken a + large share of the general management. The orchard yields a + profit of over $1,000 a year. + + From the list of names to be found in the Appendix, we see that + Minnesota is remarkable for its galaxy of superior women actively + engaged as speakers and writers[452] in many reforms, as well as + in the trades and professions, and in varied employments. One of + the great advantages of pioneer life is the necessity to man of + woman's help in all the emergencies of these new conditions in + which their forces and capacities are called into requisition. + She thus acquires a degree of self-reliance, courage and + independence, that would never be called out in older + civilizations, and commands a degree of respect from the men at + her side that can only be learned in their mutual dependence. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[431] The names of the young women who applied for admission to the +classical course of the Michigan State University, in 1858, were +Sarah Burger, Clara Norton, Ellen F. Thompson, Ada A. Alvord, Rose +Anderson, Helen White, Amanda Kieff, Lizzie Baker, Nellie Baker, +Anna Lathrop, Carrie Felch, Mary Becker, Adeline Ladd and Harriet +Patton. + +[432] See Appendix, Chapter XLVII., note A. + +[433] For further account of Mrs. Swisshelm's patriotic work in +Minnesota see her "Reminiscences of Half a Century": Janson, +McClurg & Co., Chicago, Ill. + +[434] The three women were, Mrs. Almira W. Anthony (whose husband +was a cousin of Susan B. Anthony), Mrs. Mary Powell Wheeler and +Mrs. Hattie M. White. + +[435] In a volume of Minnesota biography, Mrs. VanCleve is reported +as a woman of great force of character, strong in her convictions +of what is right, and fearless in following the dictates of her +conscience. She was one of the original founders of the Sisterhood +of Bethany, a society for the reformation of unfortunate women, and +has held the position of president since its formation. Through the +medium of lectures and social influence, she has enlisted the +sympathy of a large number of the community. She has served +faithfully as a member of the East Minneapolis board of education, +and has always improved every opportunity to advocate the right of +suffrage for women. She is a member of the State Suffrage Society, +and has been for many years honorary vice-president for this State, +of the National Suffrage Association. The following interesting +fact is told of her, on the authority of Major-General R. W. +Johnson. It was given in an address delivered by that gentleman +before the old settlers' association of Hennepin county, at a +reunion in the city of Minneapolis: Many years ago a soldier at +Fort Snelling received an injury to his feet, and mortification +ensued. Amputation became necessary and the case could not be +postponed until a surgeon could be sent for, because there was none +nearer than the post-surgeon at Prairie du Chien. No gentleman in +the garrison was willing to undertake so difficult an operation. +Equal to any emergency, Mrs. VanCleve, on hearing of the case, +resolved to make the attempt. She performed the operation +skillfully, and saved the soldier's life. + +[436] Mrs. Charlotte S. Winchell was a graduate of Albion College, +Michigan, and came to this State in 1873, with her husband, Prof. +Newton H. Winchell, widely known as Minnesota's State geologist. +Mrs. Winchell has always been an advocate of suffrage for woman, +and cheerfully accepted the position on the school board, serving +as clerk. She took an active part in the nominations and elections +of school officers. She was chairman of the committee for +introducing temperance text books into the schools, secretary of +the Woman's Board of Foreign Missions, a member of the State and +City Suffrage Societies, and of the Association for the Advancement +of Women. + +[437] For names of women elected as school directors and county +superintendents, see Appendix to Minnesota, Chapter XLVII., Note B. + +[438] The officers of the Minnesota State W. C. T. U. are: +_President_, Mrs. H. A. Hobart; _Vice-Presidents_, Mrs. Mary A. +Shepardson, Mrs. E. J. Holley, Mrs. R. C. C. Gale, Mrs. H. C. May, +Mrs. L. M. Wylie; _Recording Secretary_, Mrs. D. S. Haywood; +_Corresponding Secretaries_, Mrs. E. S. Wright, Miss M. E. +Mclntyre; _Treasurer_, Miss A. M. Henderson. Editor W. C. T. U. +department of _Temperance Review_, Mrs. Helen E. Gallinger. + +[439] See Appendix, Chapter XLVII., Note C. + +[440] During the same decade 138 young men were graduated from the +different departments of the University. + +[441] For names of graduates and professors, see Appendix, Chapter +XLVII., Note D. + +[442] See Appendix, Chapter XLVII., Note F. + +[443] Miss Anna Dickinson, Mrs. Livermore, Mrs. Howe, Miss Alice +Fletcher, Miss Frances Willard, Mrs. Wittenmeyer, Mrs. Sarah B. +Chase, M. D. In the years 1875-6, Mrs. Stanton favored our State +with a series of lectures that awakened much interest. In 1878-9, +Miss Anthony came, and spoke in the principal cities. From Iowa +came Mrs. J. Ellen Foster, Matilda Fletcher, and Marianna Folsom, +and from Missouri, Miss Phoebe Couzins. + +[444] _President_, Sarah Burger Stearns; _Vice-President_, Julia +Bullard Nelson; _Recording Secretary_, Mrs. C. Smith; _Treasurer_, +Mrs. H. J. Moffit; _Executive Committee_, Mrs. Minnie Reed, Mrs. L. +H. Clark, Mrs. R. Coons; _Corresponding Sec'y_, Mrs. Laura Howe +Carpenter. The following were the charter members: Mrs. Harriet E. +Bishop, Mrs. Martha Luly, St. Paul; Mrs. A. T. Anderson, Mrs. H. J. +Moffit, Mrs. C. Smith, Minneapolis; Mrs. Harriet A. Hobart, Julia +Bullard Nelson, Mrs. R. Coons, Red Wing; Sarah Burger Stearns, +Duluth; Mrs. L. C. Clarke, Worthington; Mrs. L. G. Finen, Albert +Lea; Mrs. K. E. Webster, Mrs. Minnie Reed, Mrs. M. A. VanHoesen, +Hastings. + +[445] Mrs. Nelson, Mrs. Hobart, Mr. Satterlee, Mrs. Charlotte O. +Van Cleve, Mrs. Laura Howe Carpenter, Mrs. Viola Fuller Miner. + +[446] The societies organized were at Wayzata, Farmington, Red +Wing, Mantorille, Excelsior, Rochford, Lake City, Shakopee, and +Jordan: committees for suffrage work were also formed in the +following places: Anoka, Armstrong, Blakely, Brooklyn Center, +Champlin, Frontenac, Long Prairie, Long Lake, and Wabashaw. + +[447] Rev. W. W. Satterlee, Rev. H. M. Simmons, Rev. F. J. Wagner, +whose church we occupied, and others. The speakers at this +convention were Mr. and Mrs. Dubois, Mrs. Wheeler, Mrs. Elliott, +Mrs. Hobart, Mrs. Carpenter, Miss Harriman. Letters were received +from Mrs. Devereux Blake, Dr. Clemence Lozier, Rev. J. B. Tuttle, +H. B. Blackwell, Lucy Stone and Col. T. W. Higginson. + +[448] The officers elected at this convention were: _President_, +Martha G. Ripley, M. D., Minneapolis; _Vice-President_, Mrs. Lizzie +Manson, Shakopee; _Recording Secretary_, Mary T. Emery, M. D., St. +Paul; _Corresponding Secretary_, Emma Harriman, Minneapolis; +_Treasurer_, Mrs. Helen E. Gallinger, Minneapolis; _Executive +Committee_, Mrs. S. K. Crawford, Anoka; Mrs. M. A. Warner, Hamline; +Mrs. F. G. Gould, Excelsior; Rev. E. S. Williams, Prof. W. A. +Carpenter, Mrs. A. T. Anderson and Mrs. Laura Howe Carpenter, +Minneapolis. + +[449] From John G. Whittier, Mrs. Julia B. Nelson (teaching school +in Tennessee) and Henry B. Blackwell. + +[450] Miss Carrie Holbrook, Miss Eva McIntyre, Miss Harriman. + +[451] See Appendix, Chapter XLVII., Note F. + +[452] See Appendix, Chapter XLVII., Note G. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVIII. + +DAKOTA. + + Influences of Climate and Scenery--Legislative Action, 1872--Mrs. + Marietta Bones--In February, 1879, School Suffrage Granted + Women--Constitutional Convention, 1883--Matilda Joslyn Gage + Addressed a Letter to the Convention and an Appeal to the Women + of the State--Mrs. Bones Addressed the Convention in Person--The + Effort to Get the Word "Male" Out of the Constitution + Failed--Legislature of 1885--Major Pickler Presents the + Bill--Carried Through Both Houses--Governor Pierce's Veto--Major + Pickler's Letter. + + +Philosophers have had much to say of the effect of climate and +scenery upon the human family--the inspiring influence of the grand +and the boundless in broadening the thought of the people and +stimulating them to generous action. Hence, one might naturally +look for liberal ideas among a people surrounded with such vast +possessions as are in the territory of Dakota. But alas! there +seems to be no correspondence in this republic between areas and +constitutions. Although Dakota comprises 96,595,840 acres, yet +one-half her citizens are defrauded of their rights precisely as +they are in the little States of Delaware and Rhode Island. The +inhabitants denied the right of suffrage by their territorial +constitution are, the Indians not taxed (a hint that those who pay +taxes vote), idiots, convicts and women. But from records sent us +by Mrs. Marietta Bones, to whom we are indebted for this chapter, +there seem to have been some spasmodic climatic influences at work, +though not sufficiently strong as yet to get that odious word +"male" out of the constitution. Our Dakota historian says: + + The territorial legislature, in the year 1872, came within one + vote of enfranchising women. That vote was cast by Hon. W. W. + Moody, who, let it be said to his credit, most earnestly espoused + the cause in our constitutional convention in 1883, and said in + the course of his remarks: "Are not my wife and daughter as + competent to vote as I am to hold office?" which question caused + prolonged laughter among the most ignorant of the delegates, and + cries of, "You're right, Judge!" Although it is deeply to be + regretted that through one vote twelve years ago our women were + deprived of freedom, yet we must forgive Judge Moody on the + ground that "it is never too late to mend." + + In February, 1879, the legislature revised the school law, and + provided that women should vote at school meetings. That law was + repealed in March, 1883, by the school township law, which + requires regular polls and a private ballot, so, of course, + excluding women from the small privilege given them in 1879. That + act, however, excepted fifteen counties[453]--the oldest and most + populous--which had districts fully established, and therein + women still vote at school meetings. + + In townships which are large and have many schools under one + board and no districts, the people select which school they + desire their children to attend. The persons who may so select + are parents: first, the father; next, the mother, if there be no + father living; guardians (women or men), and "persons having in + charge children of school age." These persons hold a meeting + annually of their "school," and such women vote there, and one of + them may be chosen moderator for the school, to hold one year. + This office is a sort of responsible agency for the school, and + between it and the township board. + + Since the legislation upon the subject of school suffrage there + has not been much work done for the promotion of the cause. The + wide distances between towns and the sparsely settled country + make our people comparative strangers to each other. We lack + organization; the country is too new; in fact, the most and only + work for woman suffrage has been done by Matilda Joslyn Gage and + myself, and, owing to disadvantages mentioned, that has been but + little. Mrs. Gage reached Dakota just at the close of the Huron + convention, held in June, 1883, to discuss the question of + territorial division. The resolutions of the convention declared + that just governments derived their powers from the consent of + the governed; that Dakota possessed a population of 200,000, + women included; that the people of a territory have the right, in + their sovereign capacity, to adopt a constitution and form a + State government. Accordingly, a convention was called for the + purpose of enabling those residing in that part of Dakota south + of the forty-sixth parallel to organize a State. Mrs. Gage at + once addressed a letter to the women of the territory and to the + constitutional convention assembled at Sioux Falls: + + _To the Women of Dakota:_ + + A convention of men will assemble at Sioux Falls, September + 4, for the purpose of framing a constitution and pressing + upon congress the formation of a State of the southern half + of the territory. This is the moment for women to act; it is + the decisive moment. There can never again come to the women + of Dakota an hour like the present. A constitution is the + fundamental law of the State; upon it all statute laws are + based, and upon the fact whether woman is inside or outside + the pale of the constitution, her rights in the State + depend. + + The code of Dakota, under the head of "Personal Relations," + says: "The husband is the head of the family. He may choose + any reasonable place, or mode of living, and the wife must + conform thereto." Under this class legislation, which was + framed by man entirely in his own interests, the husband + may, and in many cases does, file a preemption claim, build + a shanty, and place his wife upon the ground as "a + reasonable place and mode of living," while he remains in + town in pursuit of business or pleasure. + + Let us examine this condition of affairs a little closer. If + the wife is not pleased with this "place and mode of + living," but should leave it, she is, under this law of + class legislation, liable to be advertised as having left + the husband's bed and board, wherefore he will pay no debts + of her contracting. And how is it if she remains on this + until her continued residence upon it has enabled her + husband to prove up? Does she then share in its benefits? Is + she then half owner of the land? By no means. Chapter 3, + section 83, article V. of the Code, says: "No estate is + allowed the husband or tenant by courtesy upon the death of + his wife, nor is any estate in dower allowed to the wife + upon the death of the husband." + + This article carries a specious fairness on its face, but it + is a bundle of wrongs to woman. By the United States law, + only "the head of the family" is allowed to enter + lands--either a preemption, homestead or tree claim. In + unison with the United States, the law of Dakota (see + chapter 3, section 76) recognizes the husband as the head of + the family, and then declares that no estate in dower is + allowed to the wife upon the death of her husband. Neither + has she any claim upon any portion of this land the husband, + as head of the family, may take, except the homestead, in + which she is recognized as joint owner. The preemption claim + upon which, in a comfortless claim-shanty, she may have + lived for six months, or longer, if upon unsurveyed land, as + "the reasonable place and mode of living" her husband has + selected for her, does not belong to her at all. She has no + part nor share in it. Upon proving, her husband may at once + sell, or deed it away as a gift, and she has no redress. It + was not hers. The law so declares; but she is her husband's, + to the extent that she can be thus used to secure 160 acres + of land for him, over which she has no right, title, claim + or interest. I have not space to pursue this subject + farther, but will assure the women of Dakota that reading + the code, and the session laws of the territory will be more + interesting to them than any novel. If they wish to still + farther know their wrongs, let them look in the code under + the heads of "Parent and Child," "Crimes Defined," "Probate + Court," etc., etc. + + Every woman in Dakota should be immediately at work. + Inasmuch as the constitution is the fundamental law of the + State, it should be the effort of the women of Dakota to + prevent the introduction of the restrictive word "male." The + delegates to the Sioux Falls convention have now largely + been elected. Address letters of protest to them against + making the constitution an organ of class legislation. In as + far as possible have personal interviews with these + delegates, and by speech make known your wishes on this + point. These are your only methods of representation. You + have in no way signified your desire for a constitution. You + have not been permitted to help make these laws which rob + you of property, and many other things more valuable. Many + women are settling in Dakota. Unmarried women and widows in + large numbers are taking up claims here, and their property + is taxed to help support the government and the men who make + these iniquitous laws. + + I have not mentioned a thousandth part of the wrongs done + woman by her being deprived of the right of self-government. + Every injustice under which she suffers, as wife, mother, + woman, child, in property and person, is due to the fact + that she is not recognized as man's political equal--and her + only power is that of protest. Lose not a moment, then, + women of Dakota, in objecting to the introduction of the + word "male" into the proposed new constitution. Besides + seeing and writing to delegates, make effort to be present + at Sioux Falls during the time of the convention, to labor + with delegates from distant points, and to go before + committees, and the convention itself, with your protests. + Above all, remember that _now_ is the decisive hour. + + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, _Vice-President-at-Large_, + _National Woman Suffrage Association_. + + Mrs. Gage also addressed the following to the constitutional + convention: + + _Gentlemen of the Convention_: The work upon which you are + now engaged is an important one in the interests of liberty, + that of framing a constitution for a proposed new State. As + a constitution is the fundamental law, its provisions should + be general in their character, equally recognizing the + rights of all its citizens by its protective powers. Our + National principle, that governments derive their just + powers from the consent of the governed, is becoming more + and more widely recognized. + + At an early day suffrage was restricted by qualifications of + property and education in many of the States, and the + removal of such restrictions has been left entirely to the + States, except in the one instance of color. Within the last + two decades, by amendments to the national constitution, all + States are forbidden to exclude citizens from the ballot + upon that account. + + As "sex" is now the only remaining disqualification, on + behalf of the National Woman Suffrage Association I ask you + to omit the word "male" from your proposed constitution, and + leave the women of Dakota free to exercise the right of + suffrage. We simply ask you to make your State a true + republic, in which all your citizens may stand equal before + the law. While foreign men of every nation are welcomed to + your magnificent prairies as equals, it is humiliating to + the women of the territory, who are helping you to develop + its resources, who have endured with you all the hardships + of pioneer life, to be treated as inferiors, outside the + pale of political consideration. It should be the pride of + Dakota to take the initiative step in the legislation of the + period, now steadily growing more liberal, and by one + generous and graceful act accord to the women of this + territory all the rights, privileges and immunities that men + claim for themselves. + + MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, + _Vice-President-at-Large, N. W. S. A._ + + _Aberdeen, Dakota, Sept. 3, 1883._ + + It is to be regretted that the argument presented by Mrs. Gage + could not convince that honorable body of the injustice of laws + towards woman. To me was given the privilege of addressing the + convention. I said: + + _Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention_: The honor + conferred on me, of being allowed to address you on this + important occasion is fully appreciated. I am here in behalf + of the women of our territory, who are opposed to being left + in the State organization with no more authority in the + government than paupers, lunatics and idiots. We are willing + to do one-half of the manual labor in this country, and will + promptly pay our portion of the taxes. As sober and peaceful + citizens, we compare favorably with the other sex. I have + the honor to present to you a petition signed by hundreds of + Day county voters, praying your honorable body not to allow + the word "male" to be incorporated within our State + constitution. There is no doubt that this petition speaks + the honest sentiment of the people throughout the territory. + In but a single instance was I refused a name, and in a + second case a man hesitated, saying, "Well, now, if it's as + many rights you're wantin' es I hev got fur meself, you'll + be after signin' my name fur me--fur I niver do any writin' + at all fur meself." And yet that man whose name I had to + write has more rights in this, his adopted country, than I + and all other women have in this our native land. The right + of franchise, which has heretofore been regarded as a + privilege, should more properly be considered a right--a + right to be exercised by every citizen for the public good. + If there is not another woman in Dakota who wants to vote, I + do! There is no doubt that many women are indifferent upon + this subject, but when once given the ballot you will see + that their progress will equal, if not exceed, that of the + emancipated slaves in the South. Look at Wyoming Territory, + where woman suffrage has a fair test; no one will deny it + has proved a marked success. Elections there now are quiet + and more orderly than they are elsewhere. Before the + enfranchisement of the women of Wyoming, election days were + a terror generally, being both boisterous and riotous. It is + really true that Dakota men are the most energetic and + enterprising anywhere to be found, and in number they + largely exceed our women. Gentlemen, make this the most + advantageous State for women, and they will soon be wending + their way hither. Women have been granted select committees + in both Houses of congress, and better still, each of those + committees has given us a majority report in favor of a + sixteenth amendment to the constitution of the United + States, prohibiting the disfranchisement of citizens on + account of sex. Gentlemen, delegates of this State + constitutional convention, I now appeal to your highest + sense of honor and justice to give us the right to + vote--give it to us, not because we possess any particular + merit, but give it to us because it is our right! Then + Dakota will in fact be "a home of the free"--honored by all + nations, and the Banner State of the Union [applause]. + + But, after all our work and pleading, they turned a deaf + ear--infinitely worse, they were dishonest; at least this was + true of the committee on elections. I was present at every + meeting of that committee. At their last, I was with them three + hours (the entire session) to answer objections. One member made + the motion, "that the word 'male' be not incorporated within our + State constitution." The vote on the motion was a tie, when the + chairman cast his vote in the affirmative. After weeks of hard + work I had reached the goal! and with eyes brim full of tears, + thanked that committee. They then adjourned, to report in open + convention the next morning to my utter surprise, that "Women may + vote at school elections and for school officers." No words of + mine can express the disappointment and humiliation this defeat + of justice caused me. + + Among the hundreds of questions asked me by that committee were + these: "Do you want a prohibitory plank in our State + constitution?" Answer: "No; prohibition should be settled by the + people; it cannot be with one-half our citizens disfranchised, + and that half its most earnest advocates." "Do you think + prohibition prohibits?" "No; man's prohibitory laws are good + enough, but he does not enforce them; women have not the + authority to do so; but if you will give us the power, we will + soon have prohibition that _will_ prohibit." A voice: "I believe + it!" "Do you think the majority of women want to vote?" "I do + not; but is that any reason why you should deprive the one who + does? You do not force men to vote; women, as a rule, have not + given this subject the attention they should; many of them are as + ignorant of the advantages the ballot would secure as were the + negroes when John Brown raised the insurrection at Harper's + Ferry." + + There is a trite saying: "The darkest hour is just before the + dawn." The day cannot be far distant when Dakota's women will be + free; for the most intelligent men, and those occupying the most + prominent positions in our territory, are avowed friends of + suffrage. Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court for Dakota, Hon. A. + J. Edgerton, said in his Fourth of July oration here: "How + necessary it is for us to elect only good and honest men to + office! To do this, woman likewise must act her part in the labor + of arresting the advance of crime and corruption, although + through timidity the politician is slow to invest her with the + higher duties and obligations of American citizenship." + + This same just judge has appointed a woman (Mrs. Washburn of + Chamberlain) stenographer of his judicial district--the best + salaried office in his gift.[454] With the assistance of this + grand man (occupying the highest position in our territory), and + many others equally efficient, it is not to be supposed that our + most intelligent women will be obliged to wait for the education + of the most ignorant men to consent to their enfranchisement. + + In the last legislature (1885) Major John A. Pickler introduced a + bill enfranchising the women of the territory, which, after full + discussion, passed the House by 29 to 18,[455] and the Council by + 14 to 10. The hopes of the friends were soon disappointed by the + governor's veto: + + EXECUTIVE OFFICE, BISMARK, D. T., March 13, 1885. + + _To the Speaker of the House of Representatives:_ + + I herewith return House file No. 71, with my objections to + its becoming a law. A measure of this kind demands careful + and candid consideration, both because of its importance and + because of the acknowledged sincerity and high character of + those who favor it. There are certain reasons, however, why + I cannot approve such a measure at this time, and other + reasons why I cannot approve this particular bill. It is + desirable, in my judgment, that we act, so far as possible, + as if we were governed, restrained and guided by a + constitution adopted by ourselves. If we had a constitution + modeled after those of the States, an extraordinary + proposition like this would be submitted to the people. If + congress thinks woman suffrage wise, it has the power to + establish it. It is unfair to shift the responsibility on + the territory and then hold it responsible for alleged + imprudent legislation. I am assured the enactment of this + law will delay our claims to statehood, and in so critical a + period it is better that no pretext whatever be given for + such postponement. It is doubted by many if a majority of + the women of Dakota want the franchise. The point is made, + and a very good one, that the fact that one woman does not + want a right is not a justifiable reason for refusing it to + another who does, yet it must not be forgotten that the + enfranchisement of women confers not only a privilege but a + grave burden and responsibility. We condemn the man who + neglects to vote as recreant to his duty. If women are + enfranchised, the right conferred becomes an obligation as + imperious to them as to men; on those opposed as on those + who favor the act. I think the women of Dakota should have a + voice in determining whether they should assume this burden + or not. So much for the general proposition. There are two + other features of this bill which I can scarcely think + satisfactory to the advocates of woman suffrage themselves. + I am satisfied that they should appear in a measure claiming + to advance the rights of women. If the vote of a woman is + needed anywhere, it is in our cities. In many existing city + charters a distinct clause appears, providing that males + alone shall possess the qualifications of electors. In this + bill the word "male" is only stricken out of one chapter of + the code, leaving the disability still standing against + hundreds of women equally entitled to recognition. The women + of Sioux Falls, the women of Mitchell, the women of + Brookings, the women of Chamberlain, of Watertown and a + great many of the more important cities in southern Dakota, + would be disqualified from voting under these special + enactments, even though this bill became a law at this very + session. Charters have been created with that provision + retained, and they would make this bill abortive and largely + inoperative. A still more objectionable feature, and one + deliberately inserted, is the clause debarring women from + the right to hold office. If the word "male" had been + stricken out of the code, and no other action taken, they + would have been eligible, and I believe there is a wide + feeling that many offices, particularly those connected with + penal and benevolent institutions, could be most + appropriately filled with women, but this clause practically + forbids their appointment. If women are good enough to vote + they are good enough to be voted for. If they are qualified + to choose officials, they are qualified to be chosen. I + don't say that I would approve this measure were it + otherwise worded, but I certainly would not indorse a bill + which thus keeps the word of promise to the ear and breaks + it to the hope, which deliberately and avowedly debars and + disqualifies women while assuming to exalt and honor them. + These objections are apart from the abstract right of women + to the ballot, but they show how necessary it is to approach + such a subject with deliberation. If women are to be + enfranchised, let it be done, not as a thirty days' wonder, + but as a merited reform resulting from mature reflection, + approved by the public conscience and sanctioned by the + enlightened judgment of the people. + + [Signed:] GILBERT A. PIERCE, _Governor_. + + An effort was promptly made to carry the measure over the + governor's veto, which failed by a vote of 18 to 26. + + During the last session of the legislature a large public meeting + was held in Bismarck, at which many of the members spoke strongly + in favor of the woman suffrage amendment, the chief-justice and a + majority of his associates advocating the measure. Mrs. Gage, in + a letter from Dakota, said: + + An acquaintance of mine, the owner of a green-house, sent + each of the members voting "aye" a buttonhole bouquet, a + badge of honor which marked our friends for a few hours at + least. It is a pertinent fact that, while the opposition + insist that women do not want to vote, in a single county of + this sparsely settled territory 222 women did vote in the + midst of a severe storm. In a series of articles signed + "Justice," published in the Bismarck _Tribune_, we find the + following: + + The women of Dakota do desire the power to vote. One year + ago a majority of the commissioners of Kingsbury county + signed a request that at an election to be held March 4, + 1884, the women should, with the men, express their wishes + by vote upon a specified question of local policy. The women + immediately responded, prepared their separate ballot-boxes, + placed them in charge of the election officers by the side + of the men's boxes upon the same table at De Smet and other + towns, and voted all day side by side with the men, casting + throughout the county 222 votes. A more orderly election was + never known. No self-respect was lost and no woman was + lowered in public esteem. Clergymen, lawyers, merchants, + farmers, all voted with their wives, the ballots going into + different boxes. One thousand men voted in the county. The + day was stormy and snow deep on the ground. If 222 women in + one county would without previous experience spring forward + to vote on a week's notice, is it to be supposed they do not + appreciate the right? + + JUSTICE. + + Mr. Pickler, who had taken an active part in the discussion on + the amendment, received many letters of thanks from the friends + of woman suffrage throughout the nation, and made his + acknowledgments in the following cordial letter to Mrs. Matilda + Joslyn Gage: + + FAULKTON, D. T., April 20, 1885. + + _Matilda Joslyn Gage, Syracuse, N. Y._: + + DEAR MADAM: Your kind letter addressed to me on the Woman + Suffrage bill, at Bismarck, would have been earlier + acknowledged had it not been that I suffered quite a severe + illness upon my return from the legislature. I beg to assure + you that words of encouragement from such able and + distinguished personages as yourself have been highly + appreciated in my effort to secure suffrage for women in + Dakota. I am half inclined to think that your indication as + to a coming political party, with woman suffrage as one + plank in its platform, may not be without foundation. + + I introduced the bill in the Dakota legislature, having + previously supported a like measure in the Iowa legislature, + really without consultation with any one, or without + knowledge as to the sentiment of the members upon the + question. I have had my convictions since my college days + that simple justice demands that woman should have the + ballot, and in this opinion I am warmly seconded by my wife, + who desires to vote, as I think all sensible women should. I + was pleased with the favor the bill received, and after a + week or two believed it possible to have it pass the House, + with constant exertion and watchfulness. Those who at first + laughed at the idea, learning I was very much in earnest, + stopped to consider and to discuss, and finally came to vote + for it. + + It passed the House, and after considerable difficulty in + getting it out of the hands of an adverse committee in the + Council, who insisted on having it referred to them, it + passed with an amendment "to submit to a vote of the + people." I managed to have the House refuse to concur in + this amendment, which resulted in a conference committee, + five out of six of whom reported in favor of the Council + receding from their amendment, which they did, and yet, + after all, and when we thought it safe, it was vetoed. Few, + if any, supposed that Governor Pierce, a governor only + appointed over us less than six months, would place himself + a barrier in the way of the will of the people, and opposed + to the advancement of human rights. I deeply regret that he + did not rise to the grandest opportunity of his life, but he + failed to do so. + + Your words were particularly encouraging, being personally + interested in Dakota as you are, and I dare say you will + bear witness that we have an intelligent people, and a great + many good women, land-owners and property-holders, who + should have a voice in the taxation of their property, real + and personal. We shall not give it up; we shall continue in + the work, not doubting that success will finally crown our + efforts. Our constitution is not yet formed, and if ever the + political parties cease to exercise their tyranny over us, + by allowing us to be admitted as a State, we shall endeavor + at least to secure it so the legislature may grant or + prescribe the qualifications of voters without requiring a + change in the constitution. + + Will you visit Dakota again? In another contest we would be + much aided by your presence and assistance, confidently + believing that "Heaven will one day free us from this + slavery." If your children[456] reside in this section of + the territory, I should be pleased to form their + acquaintance. Again thanking you for your kind words, I am, + + Yours truly, J. A. PICKLER. + +As Dakota has thus deliberately trampled upon the rights of +one-half her people, it is to be hoped that congress will not admit +her into the Union until that odious word "male" is stricken from +her constitution. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[453] These counties are Union, Lincoln, Clay, Minnehaha, Moody, +Deuel, Codington, Cass, Walsh, Grand Forks, Pembina, Barnes, +Lawrence and Hutchinson. + +[454] Since 1882 Mrs. Bones has held the office of deputy-clerk of +the District Court of Day county; Mrs. Washburn was appointed to +her office in 1884; Miss Elizabeth M. Cochrane, appointed by Judge +Seward Smith, is clerk of the District Court of Falk county; Mrs. +Virginia A. Wilkins is deputy-clerk of the District Court of Hand +county; Mrs. Dutton, deputy county-clerk, and Mrs. Hanson +deputy-sheriff of Day county; and Mrs. Pease is deputy-receiver of +the Watertown Land-office. + +[455] _Yeas_--Barnes, Blackmore, Coe, Bayard, Clark, Dermody, +Gregg, Hutson, Johnson, Miller, McCall, Parshall, Pierce, Roach, +Southwick, Smith, Stebbins, J. P. Ward, Huntington, Hutchinson, +Langan, Martin, Morgan, Pickler, Riddell, Steele, Stevens, Sprague, +Stewart--29. _Nays_--Davison, Hobart, Larson, McCumber, Oliver, +Pugh, Ruger, Strong, Eldridge, Helvig, Myron, McHugh, Runkle, +Swanton, Van Osdell, Williams, Mark Ward, Mr. Speaker--18. + +[456] Mrs. Gage has a son and daughter residing in Dakota, both +well educated, superior young people, whose influence will, no +doubt, be felt in every progressive movement in that State. Mrs. +Gage's children sympathize with their mother in her broad, liberal +views on all questions.--[E. C. S. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIX. + +NEBRASKA. + + Clara Bewick Colby--Nebraska Came into the Possession of the + United States, 1803--The Home of the Dakotas--Organized as a + Territory, 1854--Territorial Legislature--Mrs. Amelia Bloomer + Addresses the House--Gen. Wm. Larimer, 1856--A Bill to Confer + Suffrage on Woman--Passed the House--Lost in the + Senate--Constitution Harmonized with the Fourteenth + Amendment--Admitted as a State March 1, 1867--Mrs. Stanton, Miss + Anthony Lecture in the State, 1867--Mrs. Tracy Cutler, 1870--Mrs. + Esther L. Warner's Letter--Constitutional Convention, 1871--Woman + Suffrage Amendment Submitted--Lost by 12,676 against, 3,502 + for--Prolonged Discussion--Constitutional Convention, + 1875--Grasshoppers Devastate the Country--_Inter-Ocean_, Mrs. + Harbert--Omaha _Republican_, 1876--Woman's Column Edited by Mrs. + Harriet S. Brooks--"Woman's Kingdom"--State Society formed, + January 19, 1881, Mrs. Brooks President--Mrs. Dinsmoore, Mrs. + Colby, Mrs. Brooks, before the Legislature--Amendment again + Submitted--Active Canvass of the State, 1882--First Convention of + the State Association--Charles F. Manderson--Unreliable + Petitions--An Unfair Count of Votes for Woman Suffrage--Amendment + Defeated--Conventions in Omaha--Notable Women in the + State--Conventions--_Woman's Tribune_ Established in 1883. + + +Clara Bewick Colby, the historian for Nebraska, is of English +parentage, and came to Wisconsin when eight years of age. In her +country home, as one of a large family, she had but scant +opportunities for attending the district school, but her father +encouraged and assisted his children to study in the winter +evenings, and in this way she fitted herself to teach in country +schools. After a few terms she entered, the State University at +Madison, and while there made a constant effort to secure equal +privileges and opportunities for the students of her sex. She was +graduated with honors in 1869, and at once became a teacher of +history and Latin in the institution. She was married to Leonard W. +Colby, a graduate of the same university, and moved to Beatrice, +Nebraska, in 1872. Amidst the hardships of pioneer life in a new +country, the young wife for a season found her family cares +all-absorbing, but her taste for study, her love of literature and +her natural desire to improve the conditions about her, soon led +her to work up an interest in the establishment of a library and +course of lectures. She afterwards edited a department in the +Beatrice _Express_ called "Woman's Work," and in 1883 she started +_The Woman's Tribune_, a paper whose columns show that Mrs. Colby +has the true editorial instinct. For several years she has been +deeply interested in the movement for woman's enfranchisement, +devoting her journal to the advocacy of this great reform. In +addition to her cares as housekeeper[457] and editor, Mrs. Colby +has also lectured extensively in many States, east and west, not +only to popular audiences, but before legislative and congressional +committees. + +In her description of Nebraska and the steps of progress in woman's +civil and political rights, Mrs. Colby says: + + Nebraska makes its first appearance in history as part of + Louisiana and belonging to Spain. Seized by France in 1683, ceded + to Spain in 1762; again the property of France in 1800, and sold + to the United States in 1803; the shifting ownership yet left no + trace on that interior and inaccessible portion of Louisiana now + known as Nebraska. It was the home of the Dakotas, who had come + down from the north pushing the earlier Indian races before them. + Every autumn when _Heyokah_, the Spirit of the North, puffed from + his huge pipe the purpling smoke "enwrapping all the land in + mellow haze," the Dakotas gathered at the Great Red Pipestone + Quarry for their annual feast and council. These yearly + excursions brought them in contact with the fur traders, who in + turn roamed the wild and beautiful country of the Niobrara, + returning thence to Quebec laden with pelts. With the exception + of a few military posts, the first established in 1820 where the + town of Fort Calhoun now stands, Nebraska was uninhabited by + white people until the gold hunters of 1849 passed through what + seemed to them an arid desert, as they sought their Eldorado in + the mountains beyond. Disappointed and homesick, many of the + emigrants retraced their steps, and found their former trail + through Nebraska marked by sunflowers, the luxuriance of which + evidenced the fertility of the soil, and encouraged the travelers + to settle within its borders. + + Nebraska became an organized territory by the Kansas-Nebraska + bill in 1854, including at first Dakota, Idaho and Colorado, from + which it was separated in 1863. The early settlers were + courageous, keeping heart amid attacks of savages, and + devastations of the fire-demon and the locust. Published history + is silent concerning the part that women took in this frontier + life, but the tales told by the fireside are full of the + endurance and heroism of wives whose very isolation kept them + hand to hand, shoulder to shoulder, and thought to thought with + their husbands. It is not strange then that the men of those + early days inclined readily to the idea of sharing the rights of + self-government with women who had with them left home and + kindred and the comforts of the older States. But it is + remarkable, and proof that the thought belongs to the age, that, + thirty years ago, when the discussion of woman's status was still + new in Massachusetts and New York, and only seven years after the + first woman-suffrage convention ever held, here--half way across + a continent, in a country almost unheard of, and with but scant + communication with the older parts of the Republic--this + instinctive justice should have crystalized into legislative + action. + + In December, 1855, an invitation was extended by the territorial + legislature to Mrs. Amelia Bloomer of Council Bluffs, to deliver + an address on woman's rights, in the Hall of the House of + Representatives. This invitation was signed by twenty-five + members of the legislature and was accepted by Mrs. Bloomer for + January 8. The following pleasing account of this address and its + reception was written by an Omaha correspondent of the Council + Bluffs _Chronotype_ of that date: + + Mrs. Amelia Bloomer, who had been formally invited by + members of the legislature and others, arrived at the door + of the state-house at 7 o'clock, P. M., and by the gallantry + of Gen. Larimer, a passage was made for her to the platform. + The house had been crowded for some time with eager + expectants to see the lady and listen to the arguments which + were to be adduced as the fruitage of female thought and + research. When all had been packed into the house who could + possibly find a place for the sole of the foot, Mrs. Bloomer + arose, amid cheers. We watched her closely, and saw that she + was perfectly self-possessed--not a nerve seemed to be moved + by excitement, and the voice did not tremble. She arose in + the dignity of a true woman, as if the importance of her + mission so absorbed her thoughts that timidity or + bashfulness were too mean to entangle the mental powers. She + delivered her lecture in a pleasing, able, and I may say, + eloquent manner that enchained the attention of her audience + for an hour and a half. A _man_ could not have beaten it. + + In mingling with the people next day, we found that her + argument had met with much favor. As far as property rights + are concerned, all seemed to agree with the lady that the + laws of our country are wrong, and that woman should receive + the same protection as man. All we have time to say now is, + that Mrs. Bloomer's arguments on woman's rights are + unanswerable. We may doubt it is policy for women to vote, + but who can draw the line and say that naturally she has not + a right to do so? Mrs. Bloomer, though a little body, is + among the great women of the United States; and her keen, + intellectual eye seems to flash fire from a fountain that + will consume the stubble of old theories until woman is + placed in her true position in the enjoyment of equal rights + and privileges. Her only danger is in asking too much. + + ONEIDA. + + Eight days after Mrs. Bloomer's address, Hon. Jerome Hoover, + member for the counties of Nemaha and Richardson, introduced in + the House a bill to confer suffrage equally upon women. The bill + was put upon its third reading, January 25, and was earnestly + championed by General William Larimer of Douglas county, formerly + of Pittsburgh, Pa. It passed by a vote of 14 to 11.[458] The + result of the passage of the bill by the House was graphically + described by the _Chronotype_ of January 30: + + On Friday afternoon and evening quite an excitement took + place, which resulted in offering an insult to one of the + ablest members of the legislature, but which, while it + reflected no dishonor upon the person against whom it was + aimed, should cover the perpetrators with lasting shame. We + will state briefly the facts as we have heard them. + + The bill giving woman the right to vote came up at 11 + o'clock, by a special order of the House. A number of ladies + entered the hall to listen to the proceedings. General + Larimer spoke eloquently and ably in favor of the bill, + making, perhaps, the best speech that could be made on that + side of the question. On the vote being taken, it + stood--ayes 14, nays 11. The bill was then sent to the + Council, where it was referred to the Committee on + Elections. Its passage by the House of Representatives + created a great deal of talk, and several members threatened + to resign. At the evening session J. S. Morton, W. E. Moore, + A. F. Salisbury and L. L. Bowen came into the House and + proposed to present General Larimer with a petticoat, which + did not tend much to allay the excitement. The General, of + course, was justly indignant at such treatment, as were also + the other members. The proposal was characteristic of the + prime mover in it, and we are astonished that the other + gentlemen named should have been willing to associate + themselves with him in offering this indignity to the oldest + and most respected member of the body--a man who was elected + to the station he has so ably filled by the unanimous vote + of the people of Douglas county. General Larimer had a + perfect right to advocate or oppose the bill according to + his own sense of duty, and any man, or set of men, who would + attempt to cast insult or ridicule upon him for so doing, is + worthy only of the contempt of decent people. In saying this + we, of course, express no opinion on the merits of the bill + itself. + + The bill was taken up in the Council, read twice, and referred to + the Committee on Elections, whose chairman, Mr. Cowles, reported + it back without amendment, and recommended its passage. This + being the last day of the session, the bill could not come up + again. The _Chronotype_, after the adjournment, commented as + follows: + + The bill granting women the right to vote, which had passed + the House, was read the first and second time in the Council + and referred to the Committee on Elections, where it now + remains for want of time to bring it up again. A gentleman + who was opposed to the passage of a bill to locate the seat + of justice of Washington county, obtained the floor, and + delivered a speech of many hours on some unimportant bill + then under consideration, in order to "kill time" and + prevent the Washington county bill from coming up. The hour + for adjournment _sine die_ arrived before he concluded, and + the Woman Suffrage bill, and many others of great + importance, remained upon the clerk's table without being + acted upon. It is admitted by every one that want of time + only defeated the passage of the bill through the Council. + The citizens of Nebraska are ready to make a trial of its + provisions, which speaks volumes for the intelligence of the + free and independent squatters of this beautiful territory. + + Mrs. Bloomer says that assurance was given by members of the + Council that the bill would have passed that body triumphantly + had more time been allowed, or had it been introduced earlier in + the session. The general sentiment was in favor of it, and the + gentlemen who talked the last hours away to kill other bills were + alone responsible for its defeat. Mrs. Bloomer followed up her + work by lectures in Omaha and Nebraska City two years later. + + The exigencies attending the settlement of the territory and the + absorbing interests of the civil war occupied the next decade. + The character of the settlers may be inferred from the fact that, + with only about 5,000 voters, Nebraska gave over 3,000 soldiers + for the defense of the Union and of their home borders, where the + Indians had seized the occasion to break out into active + hostilities. The war over, Nebraska sought to be admitted as a + State, and a constitution was prepared on the old basis of white + male suffrage. Congress admitted Nebraska, but provided that the + act should not take effect until the constitution should be + changed to harmonize with the fourteenth amendment. After some + discussion the condition was accepted, and Nebraska was thus the + first State to recognize in its constitution the sovereignty of + all male persons. Some of the debates of this time indicate that + the appreciation of human rights was growing, nor were allusions + wanting making a direct application of the principle to women. + The debates and resolutions connected with the ratification of + the fourteenth amendment are historically and logically connected + with the growth of the idea of woman's political equality. The + man who, from regard for justice and civil liberties, advocates + the right of franchise for additional classes of men, easily + extends the thought until it embraces woman. On the other hand + the man who sees men enfranchised whom he deems unworthy to use + the ballot, thinks it a disgrace to withhold it from intelligent + women. Gov. Alvin Saunders,[459] in his message urging the + ratification of the fourteenth amendment said: + + The day, in my opinion, is not far distant when property + qualifications, educational qualifications, and color + qualifications, as precedent to the privilege of voting, + will be known no more by the American people, but that + intelligence and manhood will be the only qualifications + necessary to entitle an American citizen to the privilege of + an elector. + + Later, Acting-governor A. S. Paddock[459] in his message said: + + I should hail with joy a radical change in the rule of + suffrage which would give the franchise to intelligence and + patriotism wherever found, regardless of the color of the + possessor. + + The majority report of the committee to whom was referred that + portion of the governor's message which related to rights of + suffrage, was as follows: + + We hold that the dogma of partial suffrage is a dangerous + doctrine, and contrary to the laws of nature and the letter + and spirit of the Declaration of Independence. + + [Signed:] ISAAC WILES, WILLIAM DAILEY, GEORGE CROW. + + A minority report was brought in by S. M. Curran and Aug. F. + Harvey. On its rejection Mr. Harvey introduced this + resolution: + + _Resolved_, That we, the members of the House of + Representatives, of the legislature of Nebraska, are in + favor of impartial and universal suffrage, and believe fully + in the equality of all races, colors and sexes at the + ballot-box. + + This was not intended to advance the rights of women, but simply + to slay the advocates of the enlargement of the franchise with + their own weapons. A. B. Fuller moved to amend by striking out + the word "universal," and all after the word "suffrage," which + was carried by a vote of 22 to 9. The Committee on Federal + Relations reported: + + The constitution recognizes all persons born within the + United States, or naturalized in pursuance of the law, to be + citizens, and entitled to the rights of citizenship; and a + recent act of congress amends the organization acts of the + several territories so as to confer the rights of suffrage + upon all citizens except such as are disqualified by reason + of crime. Consequently, when congress decrees that we shall + not, as a State, deprive citizens of rights already + guaranteed to them, it does not transcend its powers, or + impose upon us conditions from which we are now exempt. + + With these discussions of fundamental principles which, although + couched in the most comprehensive terms, strangely enough + conserved the rights of only half the citizens, the fourteenth + amendment was ratified, and Nebraska became a State on March 1, + 1867. + + The early legislation of Nebraska was favorable to woman, and + much ahead of that passed in the same period by most of the older + States, The records show that a few legislators treated any + matter that referred to the rights of woman as a jest, but the + majority were liberal or respectful, and the honored names of + Dailey, Reavis, Majors, Porter, Kelley, and others, constantly + recur in the records of the earlier sessions as pushing favorable + legislation for women. At almost every session, too, the actual + question of the ballot for woman was broached. The legislature of + 1869 bestowed school suffrage on women;[460] and a joint + resolution and a memorial to congress relative to female suffrage + were introduced. The journals show that: + + Hon. Isham Reavis of Falls City, introduced in the Senate + January 30, a memorial and joint resolution to congress, on + the subject of female suffrage. After the second reading, on + motion of Mr. Majors, it was referred to a select committee + of bachelors, consisting of Senators Gere, Majors, Porter, + and Goodwill, who reported it back without recommendation. + It was afterwards considered in committee of the whole, then + taken up by the Senate. Reavis moved it be taken up for + third reading on the following day. The yeas and nays being + demanded the motion was lost by a vote of 6 to 7. On motion + of Mr. Stevenson the matter was referred to the Judiciary + Committee, with the usual result of neglect and oblivion. + + In the autumn of 1867 Mrs. Stanton and Miss Anthony lectured in + Omaha and sowed seed which bore fruit in the large number of + petitions sent later from that city. In December 1870, Mrs. Tracy + Cutler gave several addresses in Lincoln. Miss Anthony lectured + January 28, 1871, on "The False Theory," and before leaving the + city looked in on the legislature, which promptly extended to her + the privilege of the floor. A number of ladies met Miss Anthony + for consultation, and took the initiatory steps for forming a + State association. A meeting was appointed for the following + Friday, when it was decided to memorialize the legislature. The + memorial was headed by Mrs. Lydia Butler, wife of the governor of + the State, who spent some days in securing signatures. A lively + pen-picture of those times is furnished by private correspondence + of Mrs. Esther L. Warner of Roca: + + The first work done for woman suffrage in Lincoln was in + December, 1870. Mrs. Tracy Cutler stopped when on her way to + California, and gave several addresses in Lincoln. Her + womanliness and logic won and convinced her hearers, and had + a marked effect upon public sentiment. There are men and + women to-day in Nebraska who date their conversion to the + cause of equal rights from those lectures. Some steps were + taken towards organization, but the matter was dropped in + its incipient stages. During the same winter Miss Susan B. + Anthony lectured in Lincoln, and presented a petition to be + signed by women, asking to be allowed to vote under the + fourteenth amendment. She also called a meeting of ladies in + a hotel parlor and aided in organizing a State suffrage + society. Her rare executive ability accomplished what other + hands would have failed to do, for the difficulties in the + way of such a movement at that early day were great. Lydia + Butler, wife of Governor Butler, was elected president, and + other representative women filled the various offices, but + after a short time it was deemed wise to disband, as + circumstances made it impossible to keep up an efficient + organization. Time and money were not plentiful with western + women, but we did what we could, and sent a petition to the + legislature that winter asking a resolution recommending to + the coming State convention to omit the word "male" from the + constitution. The petition was signed by about 1,000 women, + and received respectful attention from the legislature, and + speeches were made in its favor by several members. Among + others the speaker of the House, F. M. McDougal, favored the + resolution. Governor Butler sent a special message with the + petition, recommending the passage of the resolution, for + which Nebraska women will always honor him. + + Next it was thought best to call a convention in the + interest of woman suffrage, to be held while the + constitutional convention should be in session the coming + summer. Two women were commissioned to prepare the call and + present it for the signatures of members of the legislature + who favored the measure. It was thought this course would + give dignity and importance to the call which would secure + attention throughout the State. The session of the + legislature was very exciting. Intrigue accomplished the + impeachment of a high State official, and others were being + dragged down. As it neared its close the political cauldron + boiled and bubbled with redoubled violence. It was more than + any woman dared do to approach it. Were not the political + fortunes and the sacred honor (?) of men in jeopardy? + Woman's rights sunk into insignificance. We subsided. Our + hour had not yet come. + + Mrs. Butler says of the part she took at this time: "I + entertained the speakers because requested to, and found them so + pleasant and persuasive that I soon became a convert to their + views. The active and intelligent leaders at that time were + Mesdames Cropsey, Galey, Warner, Monell, Coda, and many others + whose names I cannot recall." As the result of the effort thus + made the legislature of 1871 memorialized the constitutional + convention relative to submitting the question to the electors. + The proceedings given in the journals are as follows: + + February 4, 1871, Mr. J. C. Myers announced that ladies were + in the gallery, and desired to present a petition. A + committee was appointed to wait on them. D. J. Quimby + introduced a resolution asking an opinion of the + attorney-general as to whether in accepting the fourteenth + and fifteenth amendments we grant the right of suffrage to + women. It was carried, and the memorial, the opinion, and + the governor's message were referred to the judiciary + committee, which reported through Mr. Galey as follows: + + _Whereas_, The constitution of the State of Nebraska + prohibits the women of said State from exercising the right + of the elective franchise; and + + _Whereas_, Taxation without representation is repugnant to a + republican form of government, and applies to women as well + as all other citizens of this State; and + + _Whereas_, All laws which make any distinction between the + political rights and privileges of males and females are + unbecoming to the people of this State in the year 1871 of + the world's progress, and tend only to deprive the latter of + the means necessary for their own protection in the various + pursuits and callings of life. Therefore be it + + _Resolved_, By the House of Representatives of the State of + Nebraska, that the constitutional convention to be begun and + holden on the--day of May, 1871, for the purpose of + revising and amending the constitution of said State, is + hereby most respectfully and earnestly requested to draft + such amendment to the constitution of this State as will + allow the women thereof to exercise the right of the + elective franchise and afford to them such other and further + relief as to that honorable body may be deemed wise, + expedient and proper; and be it further + + _Resolved_, That said convention is hereby most respectfully + and earnestly requested to make such provision (when said + amendment shall be submitted to a vote of the people of said + State) as will enable the women of Nebraska to vote at said + election for the adoption or rejection of the same. + + _Resolved_, Further, that the Secretary of State is hereby + instructed to present a copy of this resolution to said + convention as soon as the same shall be convened. + + Mr. Porter moved the adoption of the report, which was + carried by a vote of 19 to 16.[461] In the Senate, March 22, + E. C. Cunningham offered the following amendment to the bill + providing for calling a constitutional convention: + + That the electors of the State be and are hereby authorized + and recommended to vote for and against female suffrage at + the election for members of the constitutional convention. + Provided, That at such election all women above the age of + 21 years, possessing the qualifications required of male + electors are hereby authorized and requested to vote upon + said proposition, and for the purpose of receiving their + votes a separate polling place shall be provided. + + The amendment was lost by a vote of 6 to 6.[462] + + In accordance with the memorial of the legislature, the + constitutional convention that met in the following summer by a + vote of 30 to 13[463] submitted a clause relative to the right of + suffrage. The constitution itself was rejected by the voters; and + on this clause the ballot stood, for, 3,502; against, 12,676. Had + it been carried at the polls, it would only have conferred upon + the legislature the right to submit amendments, and it was + therefore no special object to the adherents of impartial + suffrage to make efforts for its adoption, while the fact that it + was the outgrowth of the discussion of that principle brought + upon it all the opposition that a clause actually conferring the + ballot would have insured. The right of woman to the elective + franchise was championed by the ablest men in the convention. + Night after night the question was argued _pro_ and _con_. + Petitions from Lincoln and Omaha were numerously presented. The + galleries were filled with women eagerly watching the result. The + proposition finally adopted did not touch the point at issue, but + was accepted as all that could be obtained on that occasion. As + the constitution was not adopted, the succeeding legislature felt + no interest in the proceedings of the convention, and the + journals were not printed; and the records of this battle for + justice and civil liberty were hidden in the dusty archives of + the state-house until brought out to tell their story for these + pages. As this is the only discussion of the question by Nebraska + statesmen which has been officially preserved, and as the + debaters were among the most prominent men of the State, and + many of them retain that position to-day, a few extracts will be + of interest: + + The discussion began with the motion of Mr. I. S. Hascall to + strike out "men" and insert "persons" in the clause "All men + are by nature free and independent." The motion was lost. + General E. Estabrook moved to add "Every human being of full + age, and resident for a proper length of time on the soil of + the Nation and State, who is required to obey the law, is + entitled to a voice in its enactment; and every such person + whose property is taxed for the support of the government is + entitled to a direct representation in such government." Mr. + Hascall moved that "man" be inserted in place of "human + being." Mr. E. S. Towle desired to put "male" in the place + of "man." General Estabrook, on being asked if his amendment + was intended to cover "woman's rights," replied: + + I take pleasure in making the amendment because it is a step + in the right direction. Justice to woman is the keystone in + the arch of the temple of liberty we are now building. That + no citizen should be taxed without representation is an + underlying principle of a republic and no free government + can exist without it. + + General Estabrook seems to have stood alone in considering + that the principle of impartial suffrage properly belonged + to the Bill of Rights. The amendments were lost. When the + article on extension of suffrage was under discussion, + General Estabrook opened the subject in a comprehensive + speech, lasting all one evening and part of the next. He + proved that women were citizens, citing the petitions to + congress relative to woman's right to vote under the + fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, and the reports of the + committee thereupon--one in favor and one opposed, but both + agreeing that women are citizens. Then he showed what rights + they were entitled to as citizens, quoting the Federal + Constitution, Bouvier's Institutes and Law Dictionary, James + Madison, Paine's Dissertation on the Principles of + Government, Otis' Rights of the Colonies, Thomas Jefferson, + Benjamin Franklin, and others. Commenting upon these, he set + forth that women vote in corporations, administer estates, + manage hospitals and rule empires without harm to themselves + and with benefit to everybody else. He made a special + argument to the Democrats, reviewing the position of some of + their leading men, and closed with saying, "This is the most + important measure yet considered, because it contains a + fundamental principle." + + General Strickland then introduced a resolution that an + article for woman suffrage should be submitted to the + people, that the women should vote separately, and that if a + majority of both men and women should be in favor, it should + become a law. The member did not move this because he + favored the principle, but because he felt sure the women + would not vote for it. He could not understand what a woman + could possibly want more than she had, having the privileges + while man has the drudgery. He closed with the prophecy that + in two years not a woman would vote in Wyoming. + + General Charles F. Manderson followed. Taking the ground + that the members were not in convention to look after the + rights of the males only, he said: "Did we recognize the + right of all the people to be represented, we should have + to-day on this floor some persons sent here to represent the + women of our State. Men do not represent women because they + are not and cannot be held responsible by them. We have no + more right to represent the women here than a man in Iowa + has to go to congress and presume to represent Nebraska + there." To illustrate the principle General Manderson + instanced that in the New York Constitutional Conventions of + 1801 and 1821, persons voted for delegates who had not the + property qualifications to vote at ordinary elections. Even + the black man was represented by delegates for whom he had + voted. In presenting a petition from Lincoln with seventy + names of women who desired to vote, General Manderson said + he had made inquiries, and these were the names of the + respectable, influential ladies of Lincoln, sixty-three of + whom were married. He then reviewed the history and workings + of woman suffrage in Wyoming, furnishing the highest + testimony in its favor, and closed as follows: + + Mr. Chairman, I envy not the heart or the head of the man, + let him occupy what place he may, let him sit in a + legislative body or wield the editorial pen, who is so base + as to denounce the advocates of this measure as demagogues, + and to say that if the right is extended to woman, the low, + the miserable, will outnumber at the polls the thousands of + virtuous wives throughout this land who advocate this + measure; the lie is thrown in his teeth by that noble woman, + Mrs. Livermore, who did more service in time of war as a + soldier battling for the right than did even my gallant + friend, and did far more than myself. She inaugurated and + carried in her mighty hand and guided by her mighty brain + that Western Ladies' Aid Society, and helped by some means + the Western Sanitary Association that did more than 10,000 + armed men to suppress the late rebellion. The lie is hurled + in the teeth of the vile slanderer by this petition from the + honest, virtuous ladies of the city of Lincoln. If we have + planted one seed, that will bring forth good fruit, God be + thanked for that result. + + Mr. Kenaston spoke in favor of the measure, and Judge Moore + opposed it in a very witty speech, of which the principal + points were that the members were to decide according to + expediency, not right; that women had always consented to + the government--never trampled the flag in the dust, but + always rallied to its support. Judge O. P. Mason followed in + opposition, also J. C. Myers, the latter claiming that for + twenty years the advocates of woman suffrage have made + little, if any, impression on the public mind. E. F. Gray + had begun speaking in favor when Victor Vifquain moved the + previous question. A lively debate followed this, but it did + not prevail. Mr. Mason said: "If we hold the right on this + question let us challenge discussion and meet the + opposition. It is not a wasted time that sows the seed of + truth in the brain." Mr. Manderson urged the number of + petitions that had been sent in as a reason for full + discussion. R. F. Stevenson said he was opposed to it in + every form. A. L. Sprague was against submitting this + question at any time, that neither by the laws of God nor of + man were women entitled to vote. Seth Robinson would like to + hear the social aspects of the question discussed. He said: + "I would like, gentlemen, to show whether it would not have + a tendency to regenerate our social system and make women as + a class more efficient than they are." The motion for the + previous question being lost a motion was made to strike out + this section. While this was pending General Estabrook + insisted that it should be re-committed, saying: "It is the + only political question that has essential principle in it. + There are not brains enough in this convention to show the + justice of taxation without representation. Judge George B. + Lake warmly seconded Mr. Estabrook's motion. O. P. Mason + wanted the proposition to be submitted to both sexes + separately. J. E. Philpott advocated woman suffrage in a + comprehensive argument. In closing, he said: + + I demand that suffrage shall be extended to females for the + reason that they have not adequate representation in the + electoral department. As evidence of this I cite the + undeniable facts that in this State woman has not fair wages + for her work--has not a fair field to work in. The law, with + all its freedom, does not place her on the same footing as + to property that it does males. She has no voice as an + elector in the making of the laws which regulate her marital + union, no voice in the laws which sever those ties. The + motto of the State is "Equality Before the Law." This can no + more be among us with women disfranchised than in our nation + all men could be free and equal while there were more than + 3,000,000 slaves. + + A. J. Weaver spoke in opposition and was followed by Hon. I. + S. Hascall, who based his advocacy of the principle on the + rights that woman has as an individual: + + Because we have started upon the wrong track, because women + in the dark ages were in bondage, is no reason, when we have + advanced to a higher civilization, that we should continue + this barbarous practice. There is a higher point to reach + and I want to see the people reach that point. I think that + the American people are old enough in experience to bring + order out of disorder, and that when the question arises + they will meet it in such a way as will be satisfactory to + all. + + Mr. Stevenson spoke in opposition basing his argument on + man's superiority to woman and closed with this remarkable + prediction which has probably never been surpassed as a + specimen of "spread eagle": + + Finally, Mr. President, I really think that if the ballot + were placed in the hands of woman the old American eagle + that stands with one foot upon the Alleghanies and the other + upon the Rockies, whetting his beak upon the ice-capped + mountains of Alaska, and covering half the Southern gulf + with his tail, will cease to scream and sink into the pits + of blackness of darkness amidst the shrieks of lost spirits + that will forever echo and reecho through cavernous depths + unknown. + + S. P. Majors advocated the measure, and in the course of the + discussion, B. I. Hinman offered a burlesque resolution, + proposing to change the duties and functions of the sexes by + law, and John D. Neligh said: + + The gentleman from Otoe (Mr. Mason) will get the commission + of the Christian mothers, not _against_ the right of female + suffrage, but _for_ universal suffrage. That will be a happy + day--a day when we shall shine out as a nation more brightly + than any other nation under the sun.[464] + + The constitution of 1871 not having been adopted, it became + necessary to present another to the people. Accordingly in the + summer of 1875 delegates of the male citizens met in the capital + city. No outside pressure was brought to bear upon them to + influence their consideration of this subject. The grasshoppers + had ravaged the State the previous year, cutting off entirely the + principal crop of the country. Again in the spring of 1875, in + some of the river counties, the young had hatched in myriads, and + devoured the growing crops ere winging their way to their + mountain home. Gloom overspread the people at the prospect of + renewed disaster, and the dismal forebodings were realized even + as the delegates sat in council, for at this time occurred the + final appearance of the locust. As the people gazed into the sky + and watched the silver cloud floating in the sunshine resolve + itself into a miniature army clad in burnished steel, women + forgot to be concerned for their rights, and the delegates + thought only of completing their work with the utmost economy and + speed. + + The new constitution, however, was formed on a more liberal + basis. Hon. R. B. Harrington, of Beatrice, in the Committee on + Bill of Rights, substituted the word "people" for "men," and it + passed without comment. An article on amendments was embodied in + the constitution, the same in substance as the one defeated in + 1871, under which, as was actually done in 1881, the legislature + could present amendments relating to suffrage. + + The question of adopting the article relating to qualifications + of electors being before the convention. Judge Clinton Briggs of + Omaha sat during the reading of the first clause, "every male," + etc., meditating, as he related to a friend, on how many lives + had been sacrificed and how many millions of money had been spent + in getting rid of the word "white," which had made such an unjust + restriction, and how easy it would be, by one dash of the pen, + to blot out the word "male," and thus abolish this other unjust + restriction. On the inspiration of the moment, he moved to strike + out the word "male," R. B. Harrington relates that the motion of + Judge Briggs, who had not before expressed his sentiments, and + who had not consulted with the known advocates of the measure, so + astonished the convention that it was some time before they could + realize that he was in earnest. The friends rallied to Judge + Briggs' support. Gen. Chas. F. Manderson--a member of this, as of + the preceding convention--seconded the motion, and sustained it + with a forcible speech. Mr. Harrington made a speech in its + favor, and after a short and vigorous discussion it came to a + vote, which showed fifteen for the motion and fifty-two + against.[465] + + About this time Nebraska was again visited by lecturers on woman + suffrage, who found an intelligent class of people, who, with + growing material prosperity, were kindly disposed toward + progressive ideas. Mrs. Margaret Campbell lectured in Nebraska in + 1875, at about fifteen places between Kearney and the Missouri. + In 1877-8 and 9, Mrs. Stanton and Miss Anthony lectured at many + points. These, with some local lectures aroused an intelligent + interest in equal rights for women. It was attempted to give this + expression in the legislature of 1879. Resolutions were + introduced, favorable reports made and the subject treated with + kindly consideration, but for lack of time, or some one deeply + interested, nothing was accomplished. + + The legislation of 1879 on the subject of equal suffrage + originated with Senator McMeans and C. B. Slocumb of + Fairbury. The former offered a petition from Thos. Harbine + and 160 others, asking a constitutional amendment + prohibiting the disfranchising of citizens on account of + sex. Referred to a committee of whom a majority recommended + that its consideration be indefinitely postponed. A minority + report was brought in by Orlando Tefft and Chas. H. Brown + recommending that the prayers of petitioners be granted. In + the House, at the same session, C. B. Slocumb presented the + petition of Calvin F. Steele and others, with a resolution + asking that the committee on constitutional amendments be + instructed to provide for the submission of an amendment + conferring the franchise upon woman. The resolution was + adopted, referred, and reported back with draft of an + amendment. The committee were Messrs. True, Windham, Batty, + Simonton, Mitchell, Sparks and Gaylord. On motion of Mr. + True the joint resolution was ordered to first reading; no + further mention appears of it. + + The first suffrage society of the State was formed at Fairbury by + Mrs. H. Tyler Wilcox, and although this organization lived but a + short time, it secured petitions and drew the attention of + legislators elect--Senator McMeans and C. B. Slocumb--to the + general interest felt in Jefferson county. The second society was + formed in Thayer county. The sisters, Mrs. Davis and Mrs. + Cornell, of Alexandria, called a meeting, which resulted in + organizing the Alexandria Free Suffrage Association, Sept. 27, + 1878. Prof. W. D. Vermilion and E. M. Correll of Hebron, lectured + before this society, but, most of the members living in the + country, the meetings were given up when the cold weather set + in. + + The first working society was that of Hebron, which was organized + by Mrs. Stanton, April 15, 1879. The citizens were prepared for + the undertaking. E. M. Correll, editor of the Hebron _Journal_, + in editorials, in lectures by himself and others, had urged on + women the dignity and importance of interesting themselves in + their own behalf. The society had been encouraged by lectures + from Miss Couzins and Mrs. H. T. Wilcox, the latter taking the + ground then comparatively new, that woman's ballot is necessary + for successful temperance effort. Meetings were kept up regularly + and with increasing membership, and the Thayer County Woman + Suffrage Association won a deserved triumph in being primarily + connected with the origin and successful passage of the joint + resolution of 1881. The legislators elected in 1880 were Senator + C. B. Coon, and Representative E. M. Correll. Both these + gentlemen were active members of the Thayer County Association, + and after their election a committee waited on them, pledging + them to special effort during the coming session. + + Meanwhile a general favorable sentiment was growing. In noting + this it would not be right to omit mention of Mrs. Harbert's + "Woman's Kingdom," in the Chicago _Inter-Ocean_, which circulated + largely among country readers. The Omaha _Republican_ passed, in + 1876, under the editorial management of D. C. Brooks, who, with + his wife, had been prominent in the suffrage work of Michigan and + Illinois. The favorable attitude of this paper, and the articles + which Mrs. Brooks from time to time contributed to it, exerted a + wide influence. In the winter of 1881, Mrs. Brooks established a + woman's department in the _Republican_ which crystallized the + growing interest around the leadership of its editor. Letters + were addressed to her from various sections of the State, urging + immediate action. The following from Mrs. Lucinda Russell will + show the interest felt: + + TECUMSEH, Neb., December 4, 1880. + + MRS. HARRIET S. BROOKS--_Dear Madam_: I have been shown a + form of petition for the suffrage which you enclosed to Rev. + Mary J. DeLong, of this place. Will you please inform me if + this is to be the form of petition to be presented during + the present session of the legislature? We wish the exact + words in order that we may have it published in our local + paper. + + We think it best to call a meeting, even now at this + somewhat late day, and send women to Lincoln who will attend + personally to this matter. We have left these things + neglected too long. Will you call on all women of the State + who can do so to assemble at Lincoln during the session of + the legislature, appointing the day, etc.? I think we would + be surprised at the result. This town contains scarcely a + woman who is opposed to woman suffrage. We know we are a + power here; and we do not know but the same hearty support + which Tecumseh would afford may exist in many towns + throughout the State. All we need for good earnest work and + mighty results is organization. + + L. R. + + In accordance with these requests a meeting for conference was + called at Lincoln, January 19, 1881, Mrs. Brooks presiding. A + second meeting was held at the M. E. Church, January 22, and a + Lincoln Woman Suffrage Association was formed. A mass convention + was held January 26, and a State Association was formed next + day:[466] + + The meeting of January 26 was held in the opera-house and + was presided over by Mrs. Franc E. Finch. The speakers were + John B. Finch, Rev. Mary J. DeLong, Judge O. P. Mason and + Mrs. Esther L. Warner. Reading and music filled the + programme. Mrs. DeLong's address was in behalf of the + prohibitory and suffrage amendments. Judge Mason's address + was afterwards printed for distribution. It showed how + forcible and eloquent the Judge could be when on the right + side. It will be remembered that Judge Mason opposed woman + suffrage in the constitutional convention of 1871. His + closing sentences were: + + The more intelligent and exalted the character of the + electors in a government whose foundation rests upon the + franchise, the more safe and secure are the liberties of the + people and the property of that government. The higher the + social and moral standard of the electors, the better will + be the type of manhood that is chosen to make laws and + administer the government. As you elevate the standard of + intelligence, and increase the ability and intensify the + power to recognize the right and a sense of obligation to + follow it, you make sure the foundations of civil and + religious liberty. You do more, you elevate the character of + the laws, and better the administration in every department + of government. It has been wisely said that government is + best which is best administered. + + Do as we will, however, forget the rights of others, treat + them with contempt, summon to our aid the united efforts of + great political parties, invoke statutory and constitutional + law to aid us in the mad career, yet, let no one forget that + God's balances, watched by his angels, are hung across the + sky to weigh the conduct of individuals and nations, and + that in the end divine wisdom will pronounce the inexorable + judgment of compensatory justice. + + Previous to all of these meetings Hon. E. M. Correll had + introduced on January 13, H. R. 59, a bill for an amendment to + the constitution striking the word "male" from qualifications of + electors. This had given impetus to the friends of the measure + and inspiration to the meetings. A vote of thanks was tendered + Mr. Correll by both the State and Thayer County Associations. The + bill not being technically correct, Mr. Correll introduced on + February 3, a joint resolution of the same purport, H. R. 162. + The committees of Senate and House on constitutional amendments + gave a hearing that evening to the advocates of the measure: + + Of the fourteen members of the committees, ten were present; + the full number from the House and three from the Senate. + Mr. Correll pressed the claims of the resolution in the + first speech, and then introduced the different speakers + representing the State association. Mrs. Harriet S. Brooks + reviewed the progress of sentiment elsewhere and said that + her acquaintance and correspondence in this State led her to + think the time ripe for action of this kind. Mrs. Orpha + Clement Dinsmoor argued the abstract right of it, saying: + + It has now come to the question of absolute right--whether + one class of people shall say to another: "You can come only + thus far in the direction of liberty." We realize that woman + must be educated to this new privilege, just as man has been + educated to it, and just as this nation is now educating + millions of the newly enfranchised to it. Feeling that in + intellectual and moral capacity woman is the peer of man, I + think that her actual steps forward in needful preparation + have given her the right to say who shall rule over her. + + Mrs. Jennie F. Holmes based her remarks on the added + influence it would give women in securing wise legislation + in matters of welfare to the home. Clara B. Colby answered + questions of the committee. It was a most encouraging fact + that every member of the committee, after the speakers had + finished presenting the case, spoke in favor of the + amendment, except one, a Bohemian, who was suffering from + hoarseness and induced his colleague to express favorable + sentiments for him. These gentlemen all remained friendly to + the bill until its passage. + + Headquarters were established in Lincoln. Mrs. Brooks remained + during the session, and Mesdames Holmes, Russell, Dinsmoor and + Colby all, or most of the time, until the act was passed, + interviewing the members and securing the promise of their votes + for the measure: + + The joint resolution went through all the preliminary stages + in the House without opposition on account of the discretion + of its advocates, the watchfulness of its zealous friends + among the members, and the carefulness of Mr. Correll with + regard to all pending measures. The bill was made a special + order for February 18, 10:45 A. M., and Mrs. Brooks, Mrs. + Dinsmoor and Mrs. Colby addressed the House by invitation. + At the close of their remarks Mr. Roberts offered the + following: + + _Resolved_, That, as the sense of this House, we extend our + thanks to the ladies who have so ably addressed us in behalf + of female suffrage, and we wish them God-speed in their good + work. + + On motion of Mr. Howe the resolution was unanimously + adopted. Mr. Correll moved that H. R. 162 be ordered + engrossed for third reading. The motion prevailed. The final + vote in the House, February 21, stood 51 for the amendment; + 22 against.[467] + + The passage of the bill had its dramatic features. Intense + interest was felt by the crowds which daily gathered in the + capitol to watch its progress, while the officers of the State + association were extended the courtesies of the floor, and came + and went, watching every opportunity and giving counsel and + assistance at every step. On this eventful Monday afternoon but + one of these was present, and she watched with anxiety the rapid + passage of the bills preceding, which made it evident that H. R. + 162 would soon be reached. Six more than the needed number of + votes had been promised, but three of these were absent from the + city. There were barely enough members present to do business, as + important bills claimed attention in committee-rooms and lobbies. + The last bill ahead of this was reached, and the friends hurried + out in every direction to inform the members, who responded + quickly to the call. One man pledged to the amendment went out + and did not return, the only one to betray the measure. + + The roll was called amid breathless interest and every one kept + the tally. Church Howe, in voting, said: "I thank God that my + life has been spared to this moment, when I can vote to extend + the right of suffrage to the women of my adopted State." And C. + B. Slocumb responded to his name, "Believing that my wife is + entitled to all the rights that I enjoy, I vote aye." The last + name had been called, and all knew that only fifty votes had been + cast for the amendment, lacking one of the required three-fifths + of all members elect. The chief clerk of the House, B. D. + Slaughter, usually so glib, slowly repeated the names of those + who had voted and more slowly footed up the result. Two + favorable members were outside; if only one could be reached! The + speaker, who had just voted against the amendment, but was kindly + disposed towards those interested in it, held the announcement + back for a moment which gave Church Howe time to move the + recommitment of the resolution. His motion was seconded all over + the House, but just at this juncture one of the absent friends, + P. O. Heacock, a German member from Richardson county, came in, + and, being told what was going on, called out, "I desire to vote + on this bill." He walked quickly to his place and, in answer to + his name, voted "aye." The speaker asked Mr. Howe if he wished to + withdraw his motion, which he did, and the vote was announced. + The galleries cheered, and the House was in a hubbub, unrebuked + by the speaker, who looked as happy as if he had voted for the + bill. The members gathered around the woman who sat in their + midst, shook hands and extended congratulations, many even who + had voted against the amendment expressing their personal + sympathy with its advocates. + + The joint resolution was immediately sent to the Senate, where, + after its second reading, it was referred to the Committee on + Constitutional Amendments, who returned it with two reports: + + That of the majority, recommended its passage, while the + minority opposed it on the ground that it would be + inadvisable to introduce opposing measures into the House + and thus create new divisions in politics and a new cause of + excitement; but principally upon the claim that in the + territory where female suffrage had obtained "for a period + of two years" the experiment had been disastrous, the + "interests of the territory damaged in emigration," and the + administration of justice hindered in the courts. This + report was signed by Senators J. C. Myers and S. B. Taylor, + who had persistently refused to listen to argument or + information on the subject. As soon as the report was made, + the senators were informed of their glaring mistake as to + the length of time the women of Wyoming had voted, and + information was laid before them proving that the results in + that territory had been in every way beneficial,[468] but + they refused to withdraw or change their report. + + The parliamentary tactics and watchfulness of Senators + Doane, Coon, Smith, White, Dinsmore, Harrington and Tefft + carried the bill through the bluster of the minority to its + final vote; by twenty-two for to eight against.[469] When + Senator Howe's name was called he offered the following + explanation: + + The question of submitting this proposition to a vote of the + people is not to be regarded as a pleasantry, as some + members seem to think. However mischievously the experiment + of giving the suffrage to women may operate, the power once + given cannot be recalled. I have endeavored to look at the + question conscientiously. I desire to keep abreast of all + legitimate reforms of the day. I would like to see the moral + influence of women at the polls, but I would not like to see + the immoral influence of politics in the home circle. The + Almighty has imposed upon woman the highest office to which + human nature is subject, that of bearing children. Her life + is almost necessarily a home life; it should be largely + occupied in rearing and training her children to be good men + and pure electors. Therein her influence is all-powerful. + Again, I incline to the belief that to strike out the word + 'male' in the constitution would not change its meaning so + as to confer the suffrage upon women. I am not acquainted + with half a dozen ladies who would accept the suffrage if it + were offered to them. They are not prepared for so radical a + change. For these reasons, briefly stated, and others, I + vote _No_. + + Mr. Turner explained his vote as follows: + + Our wives, mothers and sisters having an equal interest with + us in the welfare of our commonwealth, and being equal to + ourselves in intelligence, there appears no good reason why + the right to vote should be withheld from them. The genius + of our institutions is opposed to taxation without + representation; opposed to government without the consent of + the governed, and therefore I vote _Aye_. + + The act was then signed by the president of the Senate and + speaker of the House, and sent to Gov. Nance. The latter, + who, although not personally an advocate of the measure, had + given all courtesy and assistance to its supporters, signed + it promptly. To take a bill like this, which even a minority + are anxious to defeat, through the intricate course of + legislation requires work, watchfulness and the utmost tact + and discretion on the part of its friends in both Houses. + + The suffrage association immediately arranged to begin a canvass + of the State. The vice-president was appointed State organizer + and entered upon the duties of the office by forming a society at + Beatrice, March 5. The next step was to secure ample and + unimpeachable testimonials from Wyoming, which were printed in + _Woman's Work_, and then spread broadcast in leaflet form. + Lectures were given, and societies and working committees formed + as rapidly as possible. The _Western Woman's Journal_, a neat + monthly magazine, was established in May, by Hon. E. M. Correll, + and a host of women suddenly found themselves gifted with the + power to speak and write, which they consecrated to the cause of + their civil liberties. + + The Thayer County Association, as the elder sister of the + numerous family now springing up, maintained its prominence as a + centre of activity and intelligence. Barbara J. Thompson, + secretary from its organization, wrote at this time of the + enthusiasm felt, and of the willingness of the women to work, but + added, "nearly all our women are young mothers with from one to + five children, and these cannot do anything more than attend the + meetings occasionally when they can leave the children." This + might have been said of any society in the State, and this fact + must be considered in judging from their achievements of the zeal + of the Nebraska women. Few, comparatively, could take a public + part, and all others were constantly reckoned by opponents as + unwilling or indifferent. Thayer County Association celebrated + the Fourth of July in a novel manner, making every feature an + object lesson. _Woman's Work_ gave an account of it at the time, + which is quoted to give a pleasant glance backward at the + enthusiasm and interest that marked the work of this society: + + We found to our surprise that the women of Thayer county had + in charge the whole celebration. The Fourth dawned cool and + clear, and with news of the improvement of Garfield, + everybody felt happy. The procession, marshaled by ladies on + their handsome horses, and assisted by Senator C. B. Coon, + was formed in due time, and presented a very imposing + appearance. The band wagon was followed by nearly a hundred + others, and among the novelties of the occasion was the + boys' brigade, consisting of a score of little fellows, + some with drums and some with cornets, who played in quite + tolerable time. The States were represented to indicate + their progress with regard to equal rights. Young men + represented those wherein no advance had been made; young + women those where school suffrage had been granted to women; + and Wyoming Territory was represented by two, a man and a + woman. The little girls were all dressed in the appropriate + colors, the wagons were gaily decorated, and the procession + well managed. After singing and prayer, the president, Mrs. + Ferguson, gave a short address. Mrs. Vermilion, who is a + direct descendant of one of the signers of the Declaration + of Independence, read the Woman's Declaration of + Independence and Bill of Rights, a document couched in such + forcible terms as Hancock, Adams & Co., would use if they + were women in this year of our Lord 1881. Then followed the + oration of the day, delivered by Mrs. Colby, and for the + audience it had at least two points of interest: First, that + the woman suffrage society had acted in defiance of + precedent, and had engaged a woman as their orator; and + secondly, that it was given from the standpoint of a citizen + and not of a woman. There being nothing in the address on + the matter of woman suffrage, the society desired the + speaker to address them in the evening on that subject. + Accordingly a meeting was held, and despite the fatigue of + the day, there was a good attendance and considerable + interest. A good dinner was provided on the grounds, and + afterwards they had singing and speaking. Mr. Hendershot + addressed the children. It will be an item of interest to + the readers of the _Express_ that the W. S. A. of Thayer + county have had some songs printed appropriate for their + use. Among them is "Hold the Polls," a song by the editor of + the _Express_, and this was sung with considerable + enthusiasm. It may be said that the whole affair was a + success, and reflected great credit on the executive ability + of the ladies in charge. One item of interest must not be + forgotten--among the various banners indicative of the + virtues which are worthy of cultivation, was one whose motto + read, "In Mother we Trust." A lady being asked the peculiar + significance of this, said, "It has always been God and + father, now we want the children to learn to trust their + mothers, and to think they are of some account." + + A successful State convention was held at Omaha July 6, 7, Mrs. + Brooks presiding and making the opening address. The address of + Mrs. Ada M. Bittenbender on "The Legal Disabilities of Married + Women" created quite a discussion among a number of noted lawyers + present. Of this the _Republican_ said: + + This lady is the well-known recent editor of the Osceola + _Record_, which she has now relinquished for the study and + practice of law, in partnership with her husband. Her + address, although learned, elaborate, comprehensive, and + dealing with principles and technicalities, was delivered + extemporaneously, with great animation and effect, and in a + manner at once womanly, captivating and strong. + + Miss Ida Edson read a paper on "Might and Right." Mrs. Bloomer, + whose presence was an interesting feature of the convention, gave + reminiscences of her own work for woman's ballot in Nebraska. The + convention was enlivened by the dramatic readings of Mrs. H. P. + Mathewson, and the inspiring ballads of the poet-singer, James G. + Clark, who had come from Colorado to attend the meeting. A + glimpse at the convention through the friendly eyes of the editor + of the _Republican_ will indicate the interest and ability shown + by the women of the State: + + The first general convention of the Woman's State Suffrage + Association commenced its session last evening at Masonic + hall, the president, Mrs. Harriet S. Brooks, in the chair, + assisted by the first vice-president, Mrs. Clara B. Colby of + Beatrice; the secretary, Mrs. A. M. Bittenbender of Osceola; + and the treasurer, Mrs. Russell of Tecumseh. A majority of + the members of the executive committee and of the + vice-presidents were also present, with several friends of + the cause from abroad, including Hon. E. M. Correll, editor + of the _Western Woman's Journal_, who was the "leader of the + House" on the bill for submitting the suffrage amendment to + the people. The evening was sultry and threatening, and + Masonic hall was not so full as it would otherwise have + been, considering both "promise and performance." The local + attendance was representative, including quite a number of + our leading citizens, with their wives, and the editors of + our contemporaries the _Herald_ and the _Bee_. The meeting + was a very interesting one, more especially the + "conversational" portion, in which free discussion was + solicited. This was opened by Hon. E. Rosewater, who spoke + in response to a very general call. His address of half an + hour in length was marked by apparent sincerity, and was a + calm and argumentative presentation of objections, + theoretical and practical, which occurred to him against the + extension of the franchise to women. It was replied to by + Mrs. Colby, in a running comment, which abounded in womanly + wisdom and wit, and incessantly brought down the house. Our + restricted space will compel us to forego a report of the + discussion at present. On the conclusion of Mrs. Colby's + very bright and convincing remarks, Dr. McNamara addressed + the convention in a brief speech of great earnestness, depth + and power. + + The last session was most interesting. The hall was nearly + filled, and among the audience were representatives of many + of our leading families. There was rather too much crowded + into this session, but the convention "cleaned up" its work + thoroughly, and the audience displayed a patient interest to + the very end. Besides the address of Professor Clark, there + was a masterly constitutional argument by Mrs. Clara B. + Colby, which demonstrated that woman can argue logically, + and can support her postulates with the requisite legal + learning, embracing a knowledge of the common and statute + law authorities from Blackstone down. The address abounded + in historical and literary allusions which show its author + to be a person of broad culture as well as an adept in "book + learning." Following came another address from Mrs. Bloomer, + in which she disposed--as he expressed, to Dr. McNamara's + entire satisfaction--of the stock biblical argument down + from Moses to Paul against "woman's rights" to act in the + same spheres, and speak from the same platform with men. + This address was given at the special request of several + leading ladies of this city, and though the hour was late, + it was received with unbroken interest, and was complimented + with a special vote of thanks, moved by Mrs. Colby. Most + interesting reports of district and local work were made by + Mrs. Holmes, of Tecumseh, Mrs. Chapin of Riverton, and Mrs. + Slaughter of Osceola. Dr. McNamara closed the convention + with a few stirring words of exhortation to the ladies to go + right to work from now on to November, 1882. He excused + himself from a set speech with the promise that, if "let + off" now, he would, at some future time, present a full + expression of his views on the reform to which he has so + earnestly pledged himself. The closing word in which the + _Republican_ would sum up the varied proceedings of the + first State suffrage convention is the magic word success. + + A second very successful convention was held at Kearney, October + 19, 20. A score or more societies were represented by delegates + and their reports were very encouraging. + + The principal features of the programme were: Address of + president, Harriet S. Brooks; welcome, Mrs. H. S. Sydenham; + response, Mrs. A. P. Nicholas; addresses by Mrs. Esther L. + Warner, Gen. S. H. Connor (whose name appeared among the + votes of the opponents in 1875); Mrs. Orpha C. Dinsmoor, on + "Inherent Rights"; L. B. Fifield, regent of the State + University, on "Woman's Influence for Women"; and Rev. + Crissman, resident Presbyterian minister, on "Expediency." + Among the letters received was the following, addressed to + Mrs. Dinsmoor, by Gen. Manderson, whose name has been + mentioned as voting for woman's ballot in the constitutional + conventions of 1871 and 1875: + + OMAHA, October, 17. + + Your esteemed favor inviting me to speak before the + convention at Kearney, October 18, 19, upon the subject of + the extension of suffrage to women, was duly received. I + have delayed replying to it until to day in the hope that my + professional engagements would permit me to meet with you at + Kearney. The continuing session of our District Court + prevents my absence at this time. I would like very much to + be with you at the meeting of your association. My desire, + however, would be to hear rather than to speak. Ten years + have passed since, with other members of the constitutional + convention of 1871, I met in argument those who opposed + striking the word "male" from the constitution of Nebraska. + In those days "the truth was mighty and prevailed," almost + to the extent of full success, for, as the result of our + effort, we saw the little band of thirteen increase to + thirty. I feel that there must be much of new thought and + rich argument growing from the agitation of the last ten + years, and to listen to those who, like yourself and many + other members of your association, have been in the + forefront of the battle for the right, would be most + interesting. But I must, for the present, forego the + pleasure of hearing you. I write merely to keep myself "on + the record" in the good fight. Now, as ever, I favor the + enfranchisement of women, the disfranchisement of ignorance. + I would both extend and contract the right to vote in our + republic; extend it so that intelligence without regard to + color or sex should rule, and contract it so that ignorance + should be ruled. If this be not the cure for the political + ills that threaten the permanency of American institutions, + then there is no cure. May Nebraska be the first of the + States to apply the remedy. + + Very respectfully yours, CHARLES F. MANDERSON. + + +[Illustration: Clara Bewick Colby] + + + The association sent out its scouts, and as a result a convention + was held in quite the northern part of the State, at Norfolk, + November 30 and December 1. This was much appreciated by the + citizens, whose locality was at that time not much frequented by + speakers on any topic.[470] The first annual meeting, held at + Lincoln in February, 1882, found a large number of delegates, + each with reports of kindred local work, ready to receive the + record of this year of preparation. Everything indicated a + favorable termination to the effort, as it became evident that + all sections of the State were being aroused to active interest. + + The address of the president, Mrs. Harriet S. Brooks, was + entitled, "Work, Wages and the Ballot." It was a review of a + lecture given earlier in the season by Chancellor Fairchild + of the University, in which he had taken the ground that the + work of women should not receive the same wages as that of + men. Rev. Dr. McNamara and others spoke briefly and + earnestly. Miss Lydia Bell, at the closing evening session, + gave an address which, to use the words of the reporter, + "for felicity of composition, strength of argument, and + beauty of delivery, fully merited the special resolution of + thanks unanimously given by the society."[471] + + The work of organizing and lecturing was continued with as much + zeal and efficiency as the busy days and limited resources of the + women would permit. Many of the counties held conventions, took + count of their friends, and prepared for a vigorous campaign. As + the summer advanced, at picnics, old settlers' gatherings, + soldiers' reuenions, fairs, and political conventions,--wherever + a company of people had assembled, there interested women claimed + an opportunity to present the subject to audiences it would + otherwise have been impossible to reach. With but few exceptions, + officials extended the courtesies asked. + + During the summer of 1882, the work was greatly aided by the + lectures of Margaret Campbell and Matilda Hindman; and during the + month of September by Helen M. Gougar. The American Suffrage + Association, at its annual meeting in 1881, elected Hon. E. M. + Correll president, as a recognition of his services to the cause + in Nebraska, and in 1882, it held its annual meeting in Omaha, + September 12 and 13. Lucy Stone, H. B. Blackwell, and Hannah + Tracy Cutler remained for some weeks, lecturing in the State, and + were warmly received by the local committees. Ex-Governor John W. + Hoyt, and Judge Kingman, of Wyoming, gave a few addresses. The + National Association also held its annual meeting at Omaha, Sept. + 26, 27, 28. A reception was given at the Paxton Hotel on the + close of the last session. Following this, a two days' convention + was held at Lincoln, from which point the speakers diverged to + take part in the campaign.[472] + + While those friendly to the amendment were laboring thus + earnestly, the politicians held themselves aloof and attended + strictly to "mending their own fences." After the act had passed + the legislature, it was found that almost every prominent man in + the State was friendly to the amendment. The bench and bar were + especially favorable, while three-fourths of the press and a + large majority of the clergy warmly espoused the cause. Leading + politicians told the women to go ahead and organize, and they + would assist in the latter part of the canvass. Thayer and Clay + county Republicans endorsed woman suffrage in their platform, + while Franklin county delegates were instructed to vote for no + one who was not in favor of the amendment. + + Previous to the session of the Republican State Convention, great + hopes were entertained that this body would put an endorsement of + the amendment in its platform, as a majority of the delegates + were personally pledged to vote for such a measure. But the + committee on resolutions was managed by a man who feared that + such endorsement would hurt the party, and the suffrage + resolution which was handed in, was not reported with the rest. + On the plea of time being precious, the convention was maneuvered + to pass a resolution that the report of the committee should not + be discussed. The report was brought in at the last moment of the + convention, and adopted as previously arranged, and the + convention was adjourned, everybody wondering why a resolution + relative to the amendment had not been presented. The Republican + leaders feared that their party was endangered by the passage of + the bill by the legislature, for it was very largely carried by + Republican votes, and while individually friendly, they almost to + a man avoided the subject. + + As the canvass progressed, it was comical to note how shy the + politicians fought of the women to whom they had promised + assistance. Judge O. P. Mason, who had agreed to give ten + lectures for the amendment, and whose advocacy would have had + immense weight, engaged to speak for the Republican party, and at + every place but one, the managers stipulated that he should be + silent on the amendment. Of the vast array of Republican + speakers, had even those who had expressed themselves in favor of + the amendment advocated it intelligently and earnestly, the + result would have been different. + + Due credit must be given to ex-United States Senator Tipton, + Judge W. H. Morris, and a few others who lectured outside of + their own counties, as well as at home, while David Butler, + candidate for senator from Pawnee county, E. M. Correll of + Hebron, C. C. Chapin of Riverton, Judge A. P. Yocum of Hastings, + and doubtless a few others, regardless of their political + prospects, advocated the cause of woman along with their own. The + women of Nebraska will always cherish the memory of the + enthusiastic young student from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who spent + some months of the campaign in Nebraska, giving lavishly of his + means and talents to aid the cause. Wilder M. Wooster was a + bright, logical speaker, and his death, which occurred in 1885, + cost the world a promising and conscientious journalist. + + Towards the close of the campaign it became evident that the + saloon element was determined to defeat the amendment. The organ + of the Brewers' Association sent out its orders to every saloon, + bills posted in conspicuous places by friends of the amendment + mysteriously disappeared, or were covered by others of an + opposite character, and the greatest pains was taken to excite + the antagonism of foreigners by representing to them that woman + suffrage meant prohibition. On the other hand, the temperance + advocates were by no means a unit for its support. + + The morning dawned bright and clear on November 5, 1882. The most + casual observer would have seen that some unusual interest was + commanding attention. Everything wore a holiday appearance. + Polling places were gaily decorated; banners floated to the + breeze, bearing suggestive mottoes: "Are Women Citizens?" + "Taxation Without Representation is Tyranny!" "Governments Derive + their Just Powers from the Consent of the Governed." "Equality + before the Law," etc., etc. Under pavilions, or in adjoining + rooms, or in the very shadow of the ballot-box, women presided at + well-filled tables, serving refreshments to the voters, and + handing to those who would take them, tickets bearing the words: + "For Constitutional Amendment Relating to Right of Suffrage," + while the national colors floated alike over governing and + governed; alike over women working and pleading for their rights + as citizens, and men who were selling woman's birth-right for a + glass of beer or a vote. It looked like a holiday picnic--the + well-dressed people, the flowers, the badges, and the flags; but + the tragic events of that day would fill a volume. + + The conservative joined hands with the vicious, the egotist with + the ignorant, the demagogue with the venial, and when the sun + set, Nebraska's opportunity to do the act of simple justice was + gone--lost by a vote of 50,693 to 25,756--so the record gives + it. But it must not be forgotten that many tickets were + fraudulently printed, and that tickets which contained no mention + of the amendment were counted against it, as also were tickets + having any technical defect or omission; for instance, tickets + having the abbreviated form, "For the Amendment," were counted + against it. It will always remain an open question whether the + amendment did not, after all, receive an actual majority of all + votes cast upon that question. In this new State, burdened with + the duties incident to the development of a new country, the + women had done what women might do to secure their rights, but + their hour had not yet struck. + + On the following evening, the speakers of the National + Association, who still remained in the State held a meeting[473] + at the opera-house in Omaha, at which the addresses were in the + main congratulatory for the large vote, making proportionally the + largest ever cast for woman's ballot. + + While history must perforce be silent concerning the efforts and + sacrifices of the many, a word will be expected in regard to some + of the principal actors. Looking back on these two eventful + years, not a woman who took part in that struggle would wish to + have been inactive in that heroic hour. It is an inspiration and + an ennobling of all the faculties that they have once been lifted + above all personal aims and transient interests; and for all who + caught the true meaning of the moment, life can never again touch + the low level of indifference. The officers of the State + Association who were most active in the canvass are here + mentioned with a word as to their subsequent efforts: + + Mrs. Harriet S. Brooks, whose services have so often been + referred to, after working in three States for the + privileges of citizenship, is devoting herself to the + congenial study of sociology, and her able pen still does + service. + + Ada M. Bittenbender was admitted to the bar May 17, 1882, + and from that time until the election gave undivided + attention to the duties of her office as president of the + State Association. The campaign song-book, the supplement + folded in the county papers, the columns of notes and news + prepared for many journals in the State, the headquarters in + Lincoln from which, with the assistance of E. M. Correll and + Mrs. Russell, she sent forth documents, posters, blanks and + other campaign accessories, sufficiently attest her energy + and ability. She is now a practicing lawyer of Lincoln, and + was successful during the session of the legislature of 1885 + in securing the passage of a law making mothers joint and + equal guardians of their children. + + Mrs. Belle G. Bigelow of Geneva was an active and reliable + officer during the canvass of 1882, and is now prominent in + the temperance work of Nebraska. + + Mrs. Lucinda Russell of Tecumseh, for two years the + treasurer of the State Association, edited a department in + the local paper in the interest of the amendment, was one of + the campaign committee, and spared no effort to push the + work in her own county. Her sister, Mrs. Jennie F. Holmes, + was one of the most efficient members of the executive + committee. She drove all over her own county, holding + meetings in the school-houses. The efforts of these two + women would have carried Johnson county for the amendment + had not the election officials taken advantage of a + technical defect in the tickets used in some of the + precincts. Mrs. Holmes sustained the suffrage work in + Nebraska through the two following years as chairman of the + executive committee, was elected in 1884 to the office of + president of the State Woman's Christian Temperance Union, + and reelected in 1885 to the same position. + + Mrs. Orpha C. Dinsmoor of Omaha, as chairman of the + executive committee during the first year (Mrs. De Long + having resigned), contributed largely to the most successful + conventions of the campaign. One of the most notable + lectures given in the State was hers in reply to Chancellor + Fairfield of the Nebraska University, on "Work and Wages." + As it was known that the chancellor held the ground that + woman should not be paid equally with man, even for the same + work and the same skill, the Lincoln Woman Suffrage + Association invited him to give his lecture on that subject, + and Mrs. Dinsmoor to answer him on the following evening. + Mrs. Dinsmoor is well known for her interest in education + and scientific charity, and has, by appointment of the + governor of the State, represented Nebraska at the National + Conference of Charities and Corrections at its last two + annual meetings. She is now the president of the Nebraska + Woman's Board of Associated Charities. + + Mrs. Barbara J. Thompson, of English birth, was one of the + leading spirits of the Thayer County Society, and was active + in holding meetings and organizing committees. Her principal + service was by her ready pen, which furnished articles for a + large number of papers. It is pleasant to reflect that one + woman who worked so earnestly for the rights of citizenship + in Nebraska has obtained them in her new home at Tacoma, + Washington Territory. + + Mrs. Gertrude McDowell of Fairbury lent her wit and wisdom + to many conventions, was ready with her pen, and secured a + thorough canvass in Jefferson county. She was the third + president of the State Association. + + Mrs. Mollie K. Maule of Fairmont laid by her law studies to + serve on the executive board of the State Association. In + company with Mrs. Susie Fifield and others, she held + meetings in all the precincts of Fillmore county, securing a + good vote. Mrs. Maule was elected president of the State + Association in 1885. + + Mrs. Jennie G. Ford of Kearney, for some time member of the + executive committee, was one of the leading advocates in + Buffalo county. Always aiding and inspiring others to + effort, she was an incessant worker in the causes dear to + her heart. She was president of the Nebraska Woman's + Christian Temperance Union from 1882 to 1884. She died June + 18, 1885, leaving in the hearts of all who had known her, + tender memories of her beautiful life. + + Miss Lydia Bell, a talented elocutionist of Lincoln, devoted + some months to lecturing. Her great intellectual and + rhetorical gifts made her a very effective speaker. + + Dr. Hetty K. Painter was a graduate of the Pennsylvania + Medical College in 1860. She was a physician in the army + during the civil war, and her proudest possession is the + badge which proves her membership in the Fifth Army Corps. + Her practice and her infirmary at Lincoln did not prevent + her helping largely the cause in which she felt so great an + interest. + + Mrs. Esther L. Warner of Roca was the only person actively + engaged in the last canvass who had been connected with the + effort of 1871. As vice-president of her judicial district, + she spoke at many places, organizing wherever practicable. + Her motherly face, and persuasive but humorous argument, + made her a favorite at conventions. Coming to Nebraska in + its early days, a widow with a large family, she purchased a + large farm and devoted herself to its management, to the + care and education of her children, and to the direction of + the village school, being a member of the board of trustees + for many years. She had not used tongue or pen for public + service since her girlhood until this occasion enlisted her + interest and proved her gifts. + + Clara C. Chapin, _La Petite_, as she was called at + conventions, or as a friend styles her, "the dear little + English bud that blossomed on American soil," was one of the + most zealous of our women, organizing, lecturing and + arranging campaigns. She is at present very active in the + temperance work, and is one of the editors of a State + temperance paper, the _Republican Valley Echo_. An extract + from a letter received from her in answer to inquiry will + show the spirit that actuates this representative advocate + of woman's political enfranchisement: + + I never thought much about "woman's rights" until within the + last five years--that is, _political_ rights. I always had a + strong sense of my responsibilities as a woman and a mother + (have three children), and realize that we need something + more than moral suasion to make our influence practical and + effective. My husband, though not what is called a + "politician," has been sufficiently in politics for me to + know just what power the ballot has, and to see the + necessity of woman's work in that direction. I am happy to + say that Mr. Chapin is heart and soul with me in this, and + it is a wonder to us how any wife or mother, how any + Christian woman can say, "I have all the rights I want." + + Hoping to hold the vantage ground already gained, a State + convention was held at Kearney, December 6, 7, the place being + selected because Buffalo county had carried the amendment by a + good majority. + + The association held three formal sessions, which were well + attended and very interesting. Speeches of encouragement and + congratulation were made, plans for work discussed, and + campaign reminiscences recounted. One of the most + interesting that was given was that of Mrs. Beedy of Gardner + precinct, who said that the women actively interested in the + suffrage work talked socially on the subject with every man + in the precinct. There were seventy-two votes, and only four + against the amendment. Of these four persons, two could + neither read nor write, a third could not write his own + name, and the fourth could not write his name in English. + All the delegates present reported that the social work had + been a prime cause of such success as they had found. Mrs. + Bigelow said that Geneva precinct stood ninety-eight for the + amendment and ninety-eight against. At Fairmont sixty ladies + went to the polls. They wore white ribbon badges on which + was printed, "Are we citizens?" The general impression among + those attending the convention was that the Association + should petition congress for a sixteenth amendment, petition + the Nebraska legislature for municipal suffrage, and make + use of school suffrage to its fullest extent. The executive + committee held four sessions, appointed a number of working + committees, and attended to settling up the campaign + business of the Association. The convention was considered a + decided success in every way. + + The annual meeting was held in January, 1883. Mrs. Gertrude + McDowell was elected president. The usual business was + transacted, and a special committee appointed to secure favorable + legislation. In view of the fact that so much of the opposition + had been based on the allegation that "women do not want to + vote," a resolution was prepared for the immediate re-submission + of a constitutional amendment with a provision making it legal + for women to vote on its final ratification. The joint resolution + was introduced by Senator Charles H. Brown of Omaha, and ably + advocated by him and others, especially by Senator David Butler. + It was lost by nearly a two-thirds vote. The Committee on + Amendments gave a hearing to Lydia Bell, Clara C. Chapin and + Clara B. Colby. The joint resolution was taken up in the Senate + for discussion February 15. _Woman's Work_ gives the record of + the proceedings: + + Senator McShane of Douglas moved indefinite postponement. + Senator Brown of Douglas, who introduced the resolution, + spoke against the motion and made a forcible historical + argument for the bill. Senator McShane then spoke at length + against the bill, basing his opposition to the + enfranchisement of woman on the ground that it would be + detrimental to the interests of the foreigner. Senator + Schoenheit of Richardson opposed the bill on the plea that it + would mar the loveliness of woman in her domestic relations. + Senator Reynolds of Butler favored the bill. He had voted + against the amendment last fall, but he did it because he + feared the women did not want the ballot, and he was willing + to let them decide for themselves. Senator Dech of Saunders + favored the bill in remarks showing a broad and + comprehensive philosophy. Senator Butler of Pawnee made a + magnificent arraignment of the Republican and Democratic + parties, and an appeal to the anti-monopolists to oppose the + monopoly of sex. His speech was the longest and most + earnest of the session. Several persons expressing a desire + to continue the discussion, McShane withdrew his motion to + postpone. The Senate adjourned, and on Friday morning it was + moved and carried that this bill be made the special order + for that evening. Accordingly, the chamber and gallery were + filled. On motion, Mrs. Colby was unanimously requested to + address the Senate in behalf of the bill. Senator Butler + escorted her to the clerk's desk, and she delivered an + extemporaneous address, of which a fair synopsis was given + by the _Journal_ reporter. Foreseeing the defeat of the + bill, she said, in closing, "You may kill this bill, + gentlemen, but you cannot kill the principle of individual + liberty that is at issue. It is immortal, and rises + Phoenix-like from every death to a new life of surpassing + beauty and vigor. The votes you cast against the bill will, + like the dragons' teeth in the myth of old, spring up into + armed warriors that shall obstruct your path, demanding of + you the recognition of woman's right to 'equality before the + law.'" The grave and reverend senators joined in the + applause of the gallery, and carried Senator Reynolds' + motion "that the thanks of this Senate be returned to Mrs. + Colby for the able, eloquent and instructive address to + which we have listened"; but with no apparent reluctance, on + Senator McShane's motion being renewed, they postponed the + bill by a vote of 18 to 6.[474] Of the absent ones, Senator + Dech was known to be sick, some of the others were in their + seats a moment previous, and it is fairly to be presumed + that they did not dare to vote upon the question. Of those + voting aye, Senators Brown of Clay, and Walker of Lancaster + had favored the bill in the committee, and the friends were + counting on their vote, as also some others who had + expressed themselves favorable. It is due to Senators Brown + of Douglas and Butler to say that they championed the bill + heartily, and furthered its interests in every possible way. + + Conventions were held at Grand Island in May, at Hastings in + August of 1883, and at Fremont August, 1884. The annual meeting + of 1884 was held at York, and that of 1885 in Lincoln. At all of + these enthusiasm and interest were manifested, which indicate + that the idea has not lost its foothold. The _Woman's Tribune_, + established in 1883, circulates largely in the State, and + maintains an intelligent if not an active interest. When a new + occasion comes the women will be able to meet it. Their present + attitude of hopeful waiting has the courage and faith expressed + in the words of Lowell: + + "Endurance is the crowning quality, + And patience all the passion of great hearts; + These are their stay, and when the hard world + With brute strength, like scornful conqueror, + Clangs his huge mace down in the other scale, + The inspired soul but flings his patience in, + And slowly that out-weighs the ponderous globe; + One faith against a whole world's unbelief, + One soul against the flesh of all mankind." + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[457] Having visited Beatrice twice to speak in different courses +of lectures arranged by Mrs. Colby, I can testify to her executive +ability alike in her domestic and public work. She can get up a +meeting, arrange the platform, with desk and lights, and introduce +a speaker with as much skill and grace as she can spread a table +with dainty china and appetizing food, and enliven a dinner with +witty and earnest conversation.--[E. C. S. + +[458] _Yeas_--Messrs. Boulwere, Buck, Campbell, Chambers, Clancy, +Davis, Decker, Hail, Haygood, Hoover, Kirk, Larimer, Rose, +Sullivan--14. + +_Nays_--Messrs. Beck, Bowen, Gibson, Harsh, Laird, Miller, Moore, +Morton, McDonald, Riden, Salisbury--11. + +[459] It is a pleasure to record that both these gentlemen have +reached the logical result of their former views, and now advocate +giving the franchise to intelligence and patriotism regardless of +the sex of the possessor. Governor Saunders, in the capacity of +United States Senator, cast a favorable ballot on measures in any +manner referring to woman's civil rights, and in 1882 spoke on the +platform of the National Association, at its Washington convention. + +[460] The legislature of 1875 repealed this law except so far as it +referred to unmarried adult women and widows. In the legislature of +1881, Senator C. H. Gere introduced a bill revising the laws +relating to schools. One of the provisions of the bill conferred +the school ballot on women on the same terms as on men--viz: Any +person having children of school age, or having paid taxes on +personal property, or being assessed on real estate, within such a +period, is entitled to vote at all elections pertaining to schools. +This, however, does not include the power to vote for State or +county superintendents. The women of the State now vote so largely +that it is no longer a matter of comment or record. + +[461] The following named representatives voted "yea": Messrs. +Ahmanson, Cannon, Doone, Galey, Goodin, Hall, Jenkins, Kipp, +Majors, Myers, Nims, Patterson, Porter, Quimby, Rhodes, Ryan, +Wickham, Riordan, Roberts--19. Voting "nay": Messrs. Briggs, Beall, +E. Clark, J. Clark, Dillon, Duby, Grenell, Hudson, Munn, Overton, +Reed, Rosewater, Rouse, Schock, Shook, Sommerlad--16. + +[462] Voting in the affirmative: Messrs. Gerrard, Hascall, Kennedy, +Tucker, Tennant, and Mr. President--6. Voting in the negative: +Messrs. Brown, Hawke, Hillon, Metz, Sheldon, and Thomas--6. + +[463] Voting "yea": Messrs. Ballard, Boyd, Campbell, Cassell, +Estabrook, Gibbs, Gray, Hascall, Kenaston, Kilburn, Kirkpatrick, +Lake, Lyon, Majors, Mason, Manderson, Maxwell, Neligh, Newsome, +Philpott, Price, Robinson, Stewart, Spiece, Shaff, Thomas, Tisdel, +Towle, Wakeley, President Strickland--30. Voting "nay": Messrs. +Abbott, Eaton, Granger, Griggs, Moore, Myers, Parchin, Reynolds, +Sprague, Stevenson, Hummel, Vifquain, Weaver--13. + +[464] The gentlemen who advocated the measure most warmly, were +among the ablest judges and jurists of the State. Of the +opposition, Judge O. P. Mason experienced a change of heart, and +ten years later appeared as a foremost advocate. General E. +Estabrook of Omaha lent all his influence to the amendment in the +late canvass, and Col. Philpott of Lincoln was also a warm +advocate, often accompanying his zealous wife and other members of +the effective and untiring Lincoln association to the school-house +meetings held in all parts of Lancaster county. D. T. Moore was +called out at a meeting in York in 1881, and came forward without +hesitation, saying that he was in favor of woman suffrage. He +related this incident: that on his return home from the convention +of 1871, he found that his wife had been looking after his stock +farm and attending to his business so that everything was in good +order. He praised her highly, when she replied, "Yes, and while I +was caring for your interests, you were voting against my rights." +The reply set him to thinking, and he thought himself over on the +other side. A. J. Weaver opposed the clause in a very bitter +speech. The friends of the amendment in 1881 were given to +understand that Mr. Weaver was friendly, but to prevent the +foreigners having that opinion, Mr. Weaver translated the record of +his opposition into German, and distributed the papers among the +German voters. Having been elected to congress, he was one of only +three Republican members who voted against the standing committee +on woman's claims. These facts cost him a great many votes at the +time of his reelection in 1884, and are not yet forgotten. + +[465] The debates of this convention were not reported for the +economical reasons mentioned. The names of the honored fifteen are, +Clinton Briggs, W. L. Dunlap, R. C. Eldridge, J. G. Ewan, C. H. +Frady, C. H. Gere, R. B. Harrington, D. P. Henry, C. F. Manderson, +J. McPherson, M. B. Reese, S. M. Kirkpatrick, L. B. Thorne, A. M. +Walling, J. F. Zediker. Many of these were active friends of the +amendment of 1881. + +[466] The officers elected were: _President_, Harriet S. Brooks, +Omaha; _Vice-President-at-Large_, Clara Bewick Colby, Beatrice; +_Vice-Presidents_--First Judicial District, Mrs. B. J. Thomson, +Hebron; Second, Mrs. E. L. Warner, Roca; Third, Mrs. A. P. +Nicholas, Omaha; Fourth, Mrs. J. S. Burns, Scribner; Fifth, Mrs. C. +C. Chapin, Riverton; Sixth, Mrs. D. B. Slaughter, Fullerton; +_Recording Secretary_, Mrs. Ada M. Bittenbender, Osceola; +_Corresponding Secretary_, Mrs. Gertrude McDowell, Fairbury; +_Treasurer_, Mrs. L. Russell, Tecumseh; _Executive Committee_, Rev. +M. J. DeLong, Tecumseh; Mrs. Orpha C. Dinsmoor, Omaha; Mrs. J. C. +Roberts, David City; Mrs. C. B. Parker, Mrs. J. B. Finch, Lincoln; +Mrs. E. M. Correll, Hebron; Mrs. J. H. Bowen, Hastings. + +[467] Members voting in the affirmative were: Messrs. Abbott, +Babcock; Bailey, Baldwin, Bartlett, Broatch, Brown, Cantlin, +Carman, Cook, Cole, Correll, Dailey, Dew, Dowty, Filley, Fried, +Graham, Gray, Hall, Heacock, Herman, Hostetter, Howe, Jackson of +Pawnee, Jensen, Johnson, Jones, Kaley, Kempton, Kyner, Linn, +McClun, McDougall, McKinnon, Mickey, Moore of York, Montgomery, +Palmer, Paxton, Ransom, Reed, Roberts, Root, Schick, Scott, Sill, +Slocumb, Watts, Wilsey and Windham--51. Voting in the negative: +Messrs. Bick, Bolln, Case, Franse, Frederick, Gates, Hollman, +Jackson of Douglas, King, Lamb, Laughlin, McShane, Moore of Otoe, +Mullen, Overton, Peterson, Putney, Sears, Wells, Whedon, Ziegler +and Mr. Speaker--22. + +[468] At this time the valuable information from Wyoming with which +Nebraska was afterwards flooded; letters from Gov. Hoyt, editorials +from leading papers of the territory, and testimony from every +reputable source, had not been gathered; but two members of the +House, J. H. Helm and Church Howe, had been residents of Wyoming, +and these cheerfully gave their assurance that only good had +resulted from the enfranchisement of the women of Wyoming. + +[469] Those voting in the affirmative were: Messrs. Baker, Burns +(of Dodge), Burns (of York), Coon, Daily, Dinsmore, Doane, Evans, +Gere, Graham, Harrington, Morse, Perkins, Pierce, Powers, Smith, +Tefft, Turner, Van Wyck, Wells, Wherry and White--22. Those voting +in the negative were: Messrs. Ballentine, Cady, Ervin, Howe, Myers, +Taylor, Turk and Zehrung--8. Two of these names cannot stand in the +roll of honor without an explanation; for twenty votes indicate the +full strength of the bill. The irrelevance of opponents was +illustrated by Senators Morse and Pierce. The former in voting +said, he had opposed the measure every step of the way, and now to +be consistent he voted aye. Senator Pierce said he had been +watching the other side of the capitol and nothing there seemed +popular but whiskey and women, therefore, he voted aye! + +[470] The speakers of this convention were Clara Bewick Colby, +acting president; Mr. Sattler, who gave the welcome; Ada M. +Bittenbender, Esther L. Warner, Judge I. N. Taylor, Mrs. M. E. +Vandermark, Rev. Haywood and Professor Wood of Nebraska City +College. The latter spoke in English in the afternoon, and in +German, his native tongue, in the evening. The announcement that he +would do so drew a large number of his countrymen. One of these was +allowed the floor by request, when he soundly berated (in German) +the women as opposed to foreigners, while at the same time he tried +to weaken Professor Wood's argument by saying it was to be +attributed to an American wife. It was reported that the marked +contrast between the speakers was commented on by resident Germans +greatly to the disadvantage of their fellow-townsman. + +[471] The officers elected were: _President_, Ada M. Bittenbender; +_Vice-President_, Clara Bewick Colby; _Secretary_, Belle G. +Bigelow; _Corresponding Secretary_, Gertrude M. McDowell; +_Treasurer_, Lucinda Russell; _Executive Committee_, Harriet S. +Brooks, E. M. Correll, Susie Noble Fifield, George B. Skinner, Rev. +John McNamara, Jennie F. Holmes; _Vice-Presidents of Judicial +Districts_--First, Barbara J. Thompson; second, Dr. Ruth M. Wood; +third, Orpha Clement Dinsmoor; fourth, Ada Van Pelt; fifth, Mrs. H. +S. Sydenham. + +[472] Most of the speakers spent several weeks in the State. Mrs. +Helen M. Gougar, Mrs. May Wright Sewall, Mrs. Saxon, Mrs. Blake, +Mrs. Harbert, Mrs. Shattuck, Mrs. Neyman, Miss Anthony, Miss +Couzins and Miss Hindman were the principal National speakers, and +their ability and zeal aroused the whole State. Mrs. Colby was +indefatigable in her exertions from the moment the amendment was +submitted to the end of the canvass. Mrs. Colby and Miss Rachel +Foster organized the whole campaign throughout the State, and kept +all the speakers in motion.--[S. B. A. + +[473] For further details of the closing scenes, see Vol. III. page +241. + +[474] _Yeas_--Brown (Clay), Brown (Colfax), Butler, Canfield, +Conklin, Dolan, Dunphy, Harrison, Heist, McShane, Norris, +Patterson, Rogers, Sang, Schoenheit, Sowers, Thatch and Walker--18. +Senator Butler voted with these for the purpose of being able to +move a reconsideration. _Nays_--Bomgardner, Brown (Douglas), +Conner, Dye, Filley and Reynolds--6. _Absent_--Barker, Brown +(Lancaster), Case, Dech, Fisher, Harris, Kinkaid and Rich. + + + + +CHAPTER L. + +KANSAS. + + Effect of the Popular Vote on Woman Suffrage--Anna C. + Wait--Hannah Wilson--Miss Kate Stephens, Professor of Greek in + State University--Lincoln Centre Society, 1879--The Press--The + Lincoln _Beacon_--Election, 1880--Sarah A. Brown, Democratic + Candidate--Fourth of July Celebration--Women Voting on the School + Question--State Society, 1884--Helen M. Gougar--Clara Bewick + Colby--Bertha H. Ellsworth--Radical Reform Association--Mrs. A. + G. Lord--Prudence Crandall--Clarina Howard Nichols--Laws--Women + in the Professions--Schools--Political Parties--Petitions to the + Legislature--Col. F. G. Adams' Letter. + + +We closed the chapter on Kansas in Vol. II. with the submission and +defeat of the woman suffrage amendment, leaving the advocates of +the measure so depressed with the result that several years elapsed +before any further attempts were made to reorganize their forces +for the agitation of the question. This has been the experience of +the friends in every State where the proposition has been +submitted to a vote of the electors--alike in Michigan, Colorado, +Nebraska and Oregon--offering so many arguments in favor of the +enfranchisement of woman by a simple act of the legislature, where +the real power of the people is primarily represented. We have so +many instances on record of the exercise of this power by the +legislatures of the several States in the regulation of the +suffrage, that there can be no doubt that the sole responsibility +in securing this right to the women of a State rests with the +legislature, or with congress in passing a sixteenth amendment that +should override all State action in protecting the rights of United +States citizens. + +We are indebted to Anna C. Wait for most of the interesting facts +of this chapter. She writes: + + I watched with intense interest from my home in Ohio, the + progress of the woman suffrage idea in Kansas in the campaign of + 1867, and although temporary defeat was the result, yet the moral + grandeur displayed by the people in seeking to make their + constitution an embodiment of the principle of American liberty, + decided me to become a citizen of that young and beautiful State. + Gov. Harvey's message was at that time attracting much attention + and varied comments by the press. For the benefit of those who + have not studied the whole history of the cause, we give the + following extracts from his message, published February 9, 1871: + + The tendency of this age is towards a civil policy wherein + political rights will not be affected by social or + ethnological distinctions; and from the moral nature of + mankind and the experience of States, we may infer that + restrictions merely arbitrary and conventional, like those + based upon color and sex, cannot last much longer than they + are desired, and cannot be removed much sooner than they + should be. This consideration should give patience to the + reformer, and resignation to the conservative. + + Let us have a true republic--a "government of the people, by + the people, for the people," and we shall hear no more the + oligarchical cry of croaking conservatism calling for a + "white man's government"--appealing by this, and like + slogans of class and caste to the lowest and meanest + principles of human nature, dangerous alike to real + republicanism and true democracy. Expediency, that great + pretext for the infringement of human rights, no longer + justifies us in the retention of a monopoly of political + power in our own favored class of "white male citizens." + + In the summer of 1871, Mr. Wait and myself removed to Salina, + where Mrs. Hannah Wilson resided. She was the only person in this + section of Kansas I ever heard of doing any suffrage work between + the years of 1867 and 1877. She was a woman of great force of + character, and a strong advocate of suffrage. She was born in + Hamilton county, Ohio, and came to Salina in 1870. After Miss + Anthony lectured in that city in 1877, Mrs. Wilson circulated + petitions to the legislature and to congress. She was also active + and aggressive in the temperance cause. When she learned of the + Lincoln _Beacon_, and its advocacy of woman suffrage, she wrote + an article for the paper, and accompanied it with a kind letter + and the price of a year's subscription. Mrs. Wilson was a Quaker, + and in her dress and address strictly adhered to the peculiarites + of that sect. + + Miss Kate Stephens, professor of Greek in the Kansas State + University, writes that she has made diligent search during the + past summer among the libraries of Topeka and Lawrence for record + of suffrage work since the campaign of 1867, and finds absolutely + nothing, so that I am reduced to the necessity of writing, + principally, of our little efforts here in central Kansas. In the + intensely interesting letters of Mesdames Helen Ekin Starrett, + Susan E. Wattles, Dr. R. S. Tenney and Hon. J. P. Root, in Vol. + II., all written since 1880, I find no mention of any woman + suffrage organizations. Mrs. Wattles, of Mound City, says: "My + work has been very limited. I have only been able to circulate + tracts and papers"; and she enumerates all the woman suffrage + papers ever published in America, which she had taken and given + away. A quiet, unobtrusive method of work, but one of the most + effective; and doubtless to the sentiment created and fostered by + this sowing of suffrage literature by Mrs. Wattles, is largely + due the wonderful revival which has swept like one of our own + prairie fires over south-eastern Kansas during the past year; a + sentiment so strong as to need but "a live coal from off the + altar" to kindle into a blaze of enthusiasm. This it received in + the earnest eloquence of Mrs. Helen M. Gougar, who has twice + visited that portion of the State. All these writers express + their faith in a growing interest in the suffrage cause, and, + some of them, the belief that if the question were again + submitted to a vote of the people, it would carry. + + In our State suffrage convention, June, 1884, among the demands + which we resolved to make of our incoming legislature, was the + submission of an amendment striking out the word "male" from the + State constitution. For myself, I entertained no hope that it + would succeed further than as a means of agitation and education. + On reflection, I hope it will not be done. The women of Kansas + have once been subjected to the humiliation of having their + political disabilities perpetuated by the vote of the "rank and + file" of our populace. While I believe the growth of popular + opinion in favor of equality of rights for women has nowhere been + more rapid than in Kansas, yet I do not lose sight of the fact + that thousands of foreigners are each year added to the voting + population, whose ballots in the aggregate defeat the will of our + enlightened, American-born citizens. Besides, it is a too + convenient way for a legislature to shirk its own responsibility. + If the demand is made, I hope it may be done in connection with + that for municipal and presidential suffrage. + + The history of the woman suffrage organizations in Kansas since + 1867, may be briefly told. The first owes its existence to one + copy of the _National Citizen and Ballot-Box_ subscribed for by + my husband, W. S. Wait, who by the merest chance heard Miss + Anthony deliver her famous lecture, "Woman wants Bread, not the + Ballot," in Salina, in November, 1877. The paper was religiously + read by Mrs. Emily J. Biggs and myself; although we did not need + conversion, both being radical in our ideas on this question, we + had long felt the need of something being done which would fix + public attention and provoke discussion. This was all we felt + ourselves competent to do, and the knowledge that nobody else in + our section of the country would do it, coupled with the + inspiration of the _National Citizen_, culminated, in November + 1879, in sending to the _Saline Valley Register_, George W. + Anderson, editor and proprietor, a notice for a meeting of women + for the purpose of organizing a suffrage society. In response to + the call, Mrs. Emily J. Biggs, Mrs. Sarah E. Lutes, and Mrs. + Wait, met November 11, 1879, at the house of A. T. Biggs, and + organized the Lincoln Auxiliary of the National Association. We + elected a full corps of officers from among ladies whom we + believed to be favorable, interviewed them for their approval, + and sent a full report of the meeting to be published as a matter + of news in the _Register_, which had given our call without + comment. The editor had a few weeks previously bought the paper, + and we were totally ignorant in regard to his position upon the + question. We were not long left in doubt, for the fact that we + had actually organized in a way which showed that we understood + ourselves, and meant business, had the effect to elicit from his + pen a scurrilous article, in which he called us "the three + noble-hearted women," classed us with "free-lovers," called us + "monstrosities, neither men nor women," and more of the same + sort. Of course, the effect of this upon the community was to + array all true friends of the cause on our side, to bring the + opposition, made bold by the championship of such a gallant + leader, to the front, and cause the faint-hearted to take to the + fence. And here we had the discussion opened up in a manner + which, had we foreseen, I fear our courage would have been + inadequate to the demand. But not for one moment did we entertain + a thought of retreating. Knowing that if we maintained silence, + the enemy would consider us vanquished, I wrote an article for + his paper, quoting largely from Walker's American Law, which he + published; and Mrs. Biggs also furnished him an article in which + she showed him up in a manner so ludicrous and sarcastic that he + got rid of printing it by setting it up full of mistakes which he + manufactured himself, and sending her the proof with the + information that if he published it at all, it would be in that + form. It appeared the following week, however, in the first + number of _The Argus_, a Democratic paper, Ira C. Lutes, editor + and proprietor, in which we at once secured a column for the use + of our society. About a dozen ladies attended our second meeting, + at which the following resolutions were unanimously adopted, all + the ladies present being allowed to vote: + + WHEREAS, The local newspaper is adjudged, by common consent, + to be the exponent of the intelligence, refinement, and + culture of a community, and, in a large degree, the educator + of the rising generation; and + + WHEREAS, In one issue of the Lincoln _Register_ there + appears no fewer than forty-seven misspelled words, with + numerous errors in grammatical construction and punctuation; + also a scurrilous article headed "Woman vs. Man," in which + the editor not only grossly misrepresents us, but assails + the characters of all advocates of suffrage everywhere in a + manner which shocks the moral sense of every true lady and + gentleman in this community; therefore + + _Resolved_, That this association present the editor of the + _Register_ with a copy of some standard English + spelling-book, and English Language Lessons, for his + especial use. + + _Resolved_, That as he has been so kind as to offer his + advice to us, unsolicited, we reciprocate the favor by + admonishing him to confine himself to facts in future, and + to remember that the people of Lincoln are capable of + appreciating truth and common decency. + + _Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be furnished + the editor of the Lincoln _Register_, with the books above + named. + + This was promptly done, and so enraged him that the following + week he published a tirade of abuse consisting of brazen + falsehoods, whereupon a gentleman called a halt, by faithfully + promising to chastise him if he did not desist, which had the + desired effect so far as his paper was concerned. + + W. S. Wait bought the _Argus_ at the end of four months, changed + its politics to Republican, and its name to the Lincoln _Beacon_, + in which I established a woman suffrage department, under the + head of "Woman as a Citizen," with one of Lucretia Mott's + favorite mottoes, "Truth for Authority, and not Authority for + Truth"; and weekly, for six years, it has gone to a constantly + increasing circle of readers, and contributed its share to + whatever strength and influence the cause has gained in this + portion of the State. In the summer of 1880, G. W. Anderson + announced himself a candidate for the legislature. He had just + before made himself especially obnoxious by shockingly indecent + remarks about the ladies who had participated in the exercises of + the Fourth of July celebration. At a meeting of the suffrage + society, held August 6, the following resolution, suggested by + Mrs. S. E. Lutes, were unanimously adopted: + + WHEREAS, We, as responsible members of society, and + guardians of the purity of our families and community, are + actuated by a sense of duty and our accountability to God + for the faithful performance of it; and + + WHEREAS, George W. Anderson, editor and proprietor of the + Lincoln _Register_, during his few months' residence in our + county has, by constant calumny and scurrility, both verbal + and through the columns of his paper, sought to injure the + reputation of the honorable women who compose the Lincoln + suffrage and temperance associations, and of all women + everywhere who sympathize with the aims and purposes which + these societies represent; and + + WHEREAS, His utterances through the columns of the Lincoln + _Register_ are often unfit to be read by any child, or aloud + in any family, because of their indecency, we are + unanimously of the opinion that his course is calculated to + defeat the aims and purposes of Christianity, temperance and + morality; therefore + + _Resolved_, That whenever George W. Anderson aspires to any + position of honor, trust or emolument in the gift of the + voters of Lincoln county, we will use all honorable means in + our power to defeat him; and we further urge upon every + woman who has the welfare of our county at heart, the duty + and necessity of cooeperating with us to accomplish this end. + + The above preamble and resolution appeared in the woman's column + of the Lincoln _Beacon_ the following week, and 250 copies were + printed in the form of hand-bills and distributed to the + twenty-three post-offices in Lincoln county. It did not prevent + his election, and we did not expect it would, but we believed it + our duty to enter our protest against the perpetration of this + outrage upon the moral sense of those who knew him best. We + ignored him in the legislature, sending our petitions asking that + body to recommend to congress the adoption of the sixteenth + amendment, to Hon. S. C. Millington of Crawford, who had come to + our notice that winter by offering a woman suffrage resolution in + the House. In 1882 Anderson sought a second indorsement as a + candidate for the legislature, but that portion of the community + which he really represented had become disgusted with him; he + struggled against fate with constantly waning patronage for + another year, when he succumbed to the inevitable and sought a + new field, a wiser if a sadder man. His mantle has fallen upon E. + S. Bower, whose capacity and style were graphically portrayed in + caustic rhyme by Mrs. Ellsworth, making him the target for the + wit of the women long after. + + I have given more space and prominence to these two editors than + they merit, but the influence of a local newspaper is not to be + despised, however despicable the editor and his paper may be; and + it takes no small degree of courage to face such an influence as + that exerted in this county by the one in question, which, I am + happy to say, has gradually dwindled, until to-day it is too + trifling, both in extent and character, to deserve recognition. + + Six years ago I do not believe there was a paper in the State of + Kansas which contained a woman suffrage department, and we rarely + saw any reference whatever to the subject; now, within a radius + of fifty miles of Lincoln Centre, fully two-thirds of all + newspapers published have a column devoted to suffrage or + temperance, or both, edited by women. The reason this is not true + of the press of the entire State is because our indefatigable + corresponding secretary, Mrs. Bertha H. Ellsworth, has not yet + had sufficient time to personally present the matter; but there + has been such a growth on the subject that by the press generally + it seems to be accepted as one of the living issues of the day. A + very efficient agency in bringing about this desirable result was + the printed column, entitled "Concerning Women," sent out gratis + every week during the year 1882, by Mrs. Lucy Stone, from the + office of _The Woman's Journal_, to all newspapers that would + publish it. Many Kansas editors availed themselves of this + generous offer, greatly to the advantage of their patrons and + themselves. + + But to return to the Lincoln Woman Suffrage Association. The + first year our membership increased to twenty-seven; the second, + to forty, including six gentlemen. We did not invite gentlemen to + join the first year; owing to the character and attitude of the + opposition, we preferred to demonstrate our ability to conduct + the affairs of the society without masculine assistance. During + our six years' existence we have enrolled eighty members, + eighteen of whom are gentlemen. Of this number, forty-five women + and fourteen men still reside in Lincoln county. We have held, on + an average, one parlor meeting a month and ten public meetings. + + In 1880, Mesdames Emily J. Biggs, Mary Crawford, Bertha H. + Ellsworth and myself were assigned places on the programme for + the Fourth of July celebration, after solicitation by a committee + from our society. To me was assigned the reading of the + Declaration of Independence, and I embraced the opportunity of + interspersing a few remarks not found in that honored document, + to the delight of our friends and the disgust of our foes. The + other ladies all made original, excellent and well-timed + addresses. In 1881 we got up the Fourth of July celebration[475] + ourselves, and gave the men half the programme without their + asking for it. In 1883 we had a "Foremothers' Day" celebration, + and confined the programme to our own society. In September, + 1882, the society sent the writer as delegate to the annual + meeting of the National Woman Suffrage Association, held at + Omaha, Nebraska; and in March, 1884, we sent Bertha H. Ellsworth + to the Washington convention in the same capacity. Our society + has taken an active part in the annual school district elections + in Lincoln Centre. In the last five elections we have been twice + defeated and three times successful. Our defeats we claimed as + victories, inasmuch as we forced our opponents to bring out all + their friends to outvote us. Fifty per cent. of all the votes + cast at the last three elections were by women. Only twelve women + in the town failed to vote in 1884. This increase is general all + over the State; and, although we have only once tried in Lincoln + Centre to elect a woman, and then failed, yet very many of the + country districts have one, some two women on the school-board, + and at one time all three members in one district were women. + That they are honest, capable and efficient is the verdict in + every case. + + In the spring of 1881, Mrs. Emily J. Biggs organized the Stanton + Suffrage Society, eight miles from Lincoln Centre, with a + membership of over twenty, more than half of whom were gentlemen. + Mesdames Mary Baldwin, N. Good, T. Faulkner, M. Biggs, Mrs. Swank + and others were the leading spirits. All their meetings are + public, and are held in the school-house. Through this society + that portion of the county has become well leavened with suffrage + sentiment. Failing health alone has prevented Mrs. Biggs from + carrying this school district organization to all parts of the + county and beyond its limits, as she has been urgently invited to + do. "Instant in season and out of season" with a word for the + cause, she has, individually, reached more people with the + subject than any other half-dozen women in the society. Her pen, + too, has done good service. Over the _nom de plume_ of "Nancy," + in the _Beacon_, she has dealt telling blows to our ancient + adversary, the _Register_. In October, 1882, the writer went by + invitation to Ellsworth and organized a society[476] auxiliary to + the National, composed of excellent material, but too timid to do + more than hold its own until the summer of 1884, when Mrs. + Gougar, and later, Mrs. Colby, lectured there, soon after which + Mrs. Ellsworth canvassed the town with literature and a petition + for municipal suffrage, which was signed by eighty of the + eighty-five women to whom it was presented, showing that there + was either a great deal of original suffrage sentiment there, or + that the society had exerted a large amount of "silent + influence." In October, 1883, Mrs. Helen M. Gougar came to fill + some lecture engagements in the southeastern part of the State. + During this visit she organized several clubs.[477] + + In June, 1884, Mrs. Gougar again visited Kansas, lecturing for a + month in different parts of the State. She drew large audiences + and made many converts. A suffrage society was organized at + Emporia, Miss M. J. Watson, president. The active friends availed + themselves of her assistance to call a State Suffrage Convention, + which met in the Senate chamber in Topeka, June 25, 26, and + organized a State Association.[478] Mrs. Gougar, by the unanimous + vote of the convention, presided, and dispatched business with + her characteristic ability. In view of all the circumstances, + this convention and its results were highly satisfactory. The + attendance was not large, but the fact that the call was issued + from Topeka to the press of the State but eight days before the + convention met, and probably did not reach half the papers in + time for one insertion, accounts for the absence of a crowd. Some + even in Topeka learned that the convention was in progress barely + in time to reach its last session. Reporters for the Topeka + _Capital_, the Topeka _Commonwealth_ and Kansas City _Journal_ + attended all the day sessions of the convention, and gave full + and fair reports of the proceedings. After the adjournment of the + State convention, the women of Topeka formed a city society. The + corresponding secretary, Mrs. Ellsworth, with Mrs. Clara B. + Colby, made an extensive circuit, lecturing and organizing + societies. They were everywhere cordially welcomed.[479] + + Kansas has a flourishing Women's Christian Temperance Union which + at its last annual meeting adopted a strong woman suffrage + resolution; Miss O. P. Bray of Topeka is its superintendent of + franchise. Mrs. Emma Molloy of Washington, both upon the rostrum + and through her paper, the official organ of the State Union, + ably and fearlessly advocates woman suffrage as well as + prohibition, and makes as many converts to the former as to the + latter. + + Mrs. A. G. Lord did a work worthy of mention in the formation of + the Radical Reform Christian Association, for young men and boys, + taking their pledge to neither swear, use tobacco nor drink + intoxicating liquors. A friend says of Mrs. Lord: + + Like all true reformers she has met even more than the usual + share of opposition and persecution, and mostly because she + is a woman and a licensed preacher of the Methodist church + in Kansas. She was a preacher for three years, but refuses + to be any longer because, she says, under the discipline as + it now is, the church has no right to license a woman to + preach. Trying to do her work inside the church in which she + was born and reared, she has had to combat not only the + powers of darkness outside the church, but also the most + contemptible opposition, amounting in several instances to + bitter persecutions, from the ministers of her own + denomination with whom she has been associated in her work + as a preacher; and through it all she has toiled on, + manifesting only the most patient, forgiving spirit, and the + broadest, most Christ-like charity. + + The R. R. C. A. has been in existence two and a half years, and + has already many hundreds of members in this and adjoining + counties, through the indefatigable zeal of its founder. Mitchell + county has the honor of numbering among its many enterprising + women the only woman who is a mail contractor in the United + States, Mrs. Myra Peterson, a native of New Hampshire. The + _Woman's Tribune_ of November, 1884, contains the following brief + sketch of a grand historic character: + + Marianna T. Folsom is lecturing in Kansas on woman suffrage. + She gives an interesting account of a visit to Mrs. Prudence + Crandall Philleo. Miss Crandall over fifty years ago + allowed a girl with colored blood in her veins to attend her + young ladies' school in Connecticut. On account of the + social disturbance because of this, she dismissed the white + girls and made her school one for colored pupils. Protests + were followed by indictments, and these by mobbings, until + she was obliged to give up her school. For her fortitude, + the Anti-Slavery Society had her portrait painted. It became + the property of Rev. Samuel J. May, who donated it to + Cornell University when opened to women. Miss Crandall + married, but has now been a widow many years. She is in her + eighty-third year, and is vigorous in mind and body, having + been able to deliver the last Fourth of July oration at Elk + Falls, Kan., where she now lives and advocates woman + suffrage and temperance. + + In the introduction to Chapter VII., Vol. I., of this history, + appears this sentence: "To Clarina Howard Nichols[480] the women + of Kansas are indebted for many civil rights which they have as + yet been too apathetic to exercise." Uncomplimentary as this + statement is, I must admit its truthfulness as applied to a large + majority of our women of culture and leisure, those who should + have availed themselves of the privileges already theirs and + labored for what the devotion of Mrs. Nichols made attainable. + They have neither done this, nor tried to enlighten their less + favored sisters throughout the State, the great mass of whom are + obliged to exert every energy of body and mind to furnish food, + clothes and shelter for themselves and children. Probably fully + four-fifths of the women of Kansas never have heard of Clarina + Howard Nichols; while a much larger number do know that our laws + favor women more than those of other States, and largely avail + themselves of the school ballot. The readiness with which the + rank and file of our women assent to the truth when it is + presented to them, indicates that their inaction results not so + much from apathy and indifference as from a lack of means and + opportunity. Among all the members of all the woman suffrage + societies in Central Kansas, I know of but just one woman of + leisure--one who is not obliged to make a personal sacrifice of + some kind each time she attends a meeting or pays a dollar into + the treasury. Section 6, Article XV., of the constitution of + Kansas reads: + + The legislature shall provide for the protection of the + rights of women, in acquiring and possessing property, real, + personal, and mixed, separate and apart from her husband; + and shall also provide for their equal rights in the + possession of their children. In accordance with the true + spirit of this section, our statute provides that the law of + descents and distributions as regards the property of either + husband or wife is the same; and the interests of one in the + property of the other are the same with each; and that the + common-law principles of estates of dower, and by courtesy + are abolished.[481] + + +[Illustration: "The world needs women who do their own thinking. +Cordially yours, Helen M. Gougar"] + + + The rights of husband and wife in the control of their respective + properties, both real and personal, are identical, as provided + for in sections 1, 2, 3, and 4. Chapter 62, page 539, compiled + laws of Kansas, 1878: + + SECTION 1. The property, real and personal, which any woman + in this State may own at the time of her marriage, and the + rents, issues, profits, and proceeds thereof, and any real, + personal, or mixed property which shall come to her by + descent, devise, or bequest, or the gift of any person + except her husband, shall remain her sole and separate + property, notwithstanding her marriage, and not be subject + to the disposal of her husband, or liable for his debts. + + SEC. 2. A married woman, while the marriage relation + subsists, may bargain, sell and convey her real and personal + property, and enter into any contract with reference to the + same, in the same manner, to the same extent, and with like + effect as a married man may in relation to his real and + personal property. + + SEC. 3. A woman may, while married, sue and be sued, in the + same manner as if unmarried. + + SEC. 4. Any married woman may carry on any trade or + business, and perform any labor or services, on her sole and + separate account, and the earnings of any married woman from + her trade, business, labor or services, shall be her sole + and separate property, and may be used and invested by her + in her own name. + + It is a fact worthy of note that the above legislation, also the + passage of the law of descents and distributions, immediately + followed the woman suffrage campaign of 1867. + + In 1880, the Democrats of Kansas, in their State convention at + Topeka, nominated Miss Sarah A. Brown of Douglas county, for + superintendent of public instruction, the first instance on + record of a woman receiving a nomination from one of the leading + political parties for a State office. The following is Miss + Brown's letter of acceptance: + + OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, Douglas } + Co., Kansas,} + LAWRENCE, Kansas, Sept. 30, 1880. } + + _To Hon. John Martin, Topeka, Kansas, Chairman of the State + Democratic Central Committee:_ + + SIR:--I am in receipt of your communication of August 30, + advising me of the action of the Democratic convention of + August 26, in nominating me as their candidate for State + superintendent of public instruction. + + In making this nomination the Democratic party of Kansas + has, with a liberal and enlightened spirit, and with a + generous purpose, yielded to the tendency of the times, + which demand equal rights and equal opportunities for all + the people, and it has thus shown itself to be a party of + progress. It has placed itself squarely and unequivocally + before the people upon this great and vital question of + giving to woman the right to work in any field for which she + may be fitted, thus placing our young and glorious State in + the foremost rank on this, as on the other questions of + reform. + + Furthermore, in nominating one who has no vote, and for this + reason cannot be considered in politics, and in doing this + of its own free will, without any solicitation on my part, + the Democratic party of this State has shown that it is in + full accord with the Jeffersonian doctrine that the office + should seek the man and not the man the office; and also + that it fully appreciates the fact which is conceded by all + persons who have thought much on educational matters, that + the best interests of our schools demand that the office of + superintendent, both of the State and county, should be as + far as possible disconnected from politics, and it has done + what it could to rescue the office from the vortex of mere + partisan strife. For this reason I accept the nomination, + thanking the party for the honor it has conferred upon me. + + Respectfully, SARAH A. BROWN. + + Miss Brown was defeated. The vote of the State showed the average + Democrat unable to overcome his time-rusted prejudices + sufficiently to vote for a woman to fill the highest educational + office in the gift of the people, so that Miss Brown's minority + was smaller even than that of the regular Democratic ticket. + + January 21, 1881, Hon. S. C. Millington of Crawford county + introduced in the House a joint resolution providing for the + submission to the legal voters of the State of Kansas of a + proposition to amend the constitution so as to admit of female + suffrage. The vote on the adoption of the resolution stood 51 + ayes and 31 noes in the House, and a tie in the Senate. Later in + the same session, Hon. A. C. Pierce of Davis county introduced in + the House a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the + constitution which should confer the right of suffrage on any one + over 21 years of age who had resided in the State six months. Mr. + Hackney of Cowley county, introduced a like resolution in the + Senate. + + In December, 1881, Governor St. John appointed Mrs. Cora M. Downs + one of the regents of the State University at Lawrence. In 1873, + Mrs. Rice was elected to the office of county clerk of Harper + county, and Miss Alice Junken to the office of recorder of deeds, + in Davis county. In 1885 Miss Junken was reelected by a majority + of 500 over her competitor, Mrs. Fleming, while Trego county gave + a unanimous vote for Miss Ada Clift as register of deeds. + + In proportion to her population Kansas has as many women in the + professions as any of the older States. We have lawyers, + physicians, preachers and editors, and the number is constantly + increasing. In Topeka there are eight practicing physicians, + holding diplomas from medical colleges, and two or three who are + not graduates. In the Woman's Medical College of Chicago, Kansas + now has four representatives--Mrs. Sallie A. Goff of Lincoln, + Miss Thomas of Olathe, Miss Cunningham of Garnett, and Miss + Gilman of Pittsburg. + + All female persons over the age of twenty-one years are entitled + to vote at any school-district meeting on the same terms as men. + + The right of a woman to hold any office, State (except member of + the legislature), county, township or school-district, in the + State of Kansas, is the same as that of a man. In 1882, six + counties, viz., Chase, Cherokee, Greenwood, Labette, Pawnee, and + Woodson, elected women as superintendents of public instruction. + + Section 23, Article II., Constitution of Kansas, reads: "The + legislature, in providing for the formation and regulation + of schools, shall make no distinction between males and + females." + + Under the legislation based upon this clause of our constitution, + males and females have equal privileges in all schools controlled + by the State. The latest report of the State superintendent of + public instruction shows that over one-half of the pupils of the + Normal school, about two-fifths in the University, and nearly + one-third in the Agricultural College, are females. + + In the private institutions of learning, including both + denominational and unsectarian, over one-half of the students are + females who study in the same classes as the males, except in + Washburn college which has a separate course for ladies. + + Most of these institutions have one woman, or more, in their + faculties. One-half of the faculty of the State University is + composed of women. In the last report of the State superintendent + is the following: + + The ratio of female teachers is greater than ever before, + some 69 per cent. of the entire number employed. It is, + indeed, a matter of congratulation that the work of the + schools, especially the primary teaching, is falling more + and more to the care of women. + + The Republican State convention of 1882, by an overwhelming + majority endorsed woman suffrage, which action the Lincoln W. S. + A. promptly recognized as follows: + + WHEREAS, The Republican party of the State of Kansas, by and + through its chosen representatives in the Republican State + convention at Topeka, August 9, 1882, did, by an + overwhelming majority, pledge itself to the support of the + principle of woman suffrage by the following: + + _Resolved_, That we request the next legislature to submit + such an amendment to the constitution of the State as will + secure to woman the right of suffrage. And, + + WHEREAS, By this action the Republican party of Kansas has + placed itself in line with the advanced thought of the times + in a manner worthy a great political party of the last + quarter of the nineteenth century, thereby proving itself + worthy the respect and confidence of the women of the State; + therefore, + + _Resolved_, That the Lincoln Woman Suffrage Association, in + behalf of the women of Kansas, does hereby express thanks to + the Republican party for this recognition of the political + rights of the women of the State, and especially to the Hon. + J. C. Root of Wyandotte, Hon. Hackney of Winfield, Col. + Graves of Montgomery, and Gen. Kelly, for their able and + fearless support of the measure, and to each and every + member of the convention who voted for it. + + In 1883, Senator Hackney introduced a bill of which we find the + following in the _Topeka Capital_ of that date: + + Senate bill No. 46, being Senator Hackney's, an act to + provide for the submission of the question of female + suffrage to the women of Kansas, was taken up, the reading + thereof being greeted with applause. It provides that at the + general election in 1883 the women of the State shall + decide, by ballot, whether they want suffrage or not. + Senator Hackney made an address to the Senate upon the bill, + saying he believed in giving women the same rights as men + had. The last Republican platform declared in favor of woman + suffrage, and those Republicans who opposed the platform + said they believed the women of the State should have their + say about it; the Democratic platform said the same as the + dissenters from the Republican. Several humorous amendments + were made to the bill. Senator Kelley favored the bill + because there were a great many women in the State who + wanted to vote. He hoped the Senate would not be so + ungallant as to vote the bill down. Senator Sluss moved the + recommendation be made that the bill be rejected. Carried. + + The Republican State convention of 1884 ignored the woman + suffrage question. The Anti-monopoly (Greenback) party State + convention, of August 1884, placed in its platform the following: + + That we believe the advancing civilization of the past + quarter of the nineteenth century demands that woman should + have equal pay for equal work, and equal laws with man to + secure her equal rights, and that she is justly entitled to + the ballot. + + Miss Fanny Randolph of Emporia, was nominated by acclamation for + State superintendent of public instruction, by this convention. + The Prohibition State convention, in session in Lawrence, + September 2, 1884, placed the following plank in its platform: + + We believe that women have the same right to vote as men, + and in the language of the Republican State platform of two + years ago, we request the next legislature to submit such an + amendment to the constitution of the State as will secure to + woman the right of suffrage. + + This year we sent from Lincoln a petition with 175 names asking + for a resolution recommending to congress the adoption of the + sixteenth amendment. The results of the election of 1884, showed + quite a gain for women in county offices. There are now eleven + superintendents of public instruction, several registers of + deeds, and county clerks. The number of lawyers,[482] physicians, + notaries public, principals of schools, members of school-boards + in cities and school districts, is rapidly increasing, as is also + the number of women who vote in school-district elections. Miss + Jessie Patterson, who ran as an independent candidate for + register of deeds in Davis county, beat the regular Republican + nominee 286 votes, and the Democratic candidate 299 votes. + + The work of organizing suffrage societies has also progressed, + though not as rapidly as it should, for want of speakers and + means to carry it on. Through the efforts of Mrs. Laura M. Johns + of Salina, vice-president of the State society, several new and + flourishing clubs have been formed this summer in Saline county, + so that it is probably now the banner county in Kansas. The + Lincoln society is preparing to hold a fair in September, for the + benefit of the State association, which will hold its next annual + convention in October. Suffrage columns in newspapers are + multiplying and much stress is placed upon this branch of work. + On July 18, a convention was held to organize the Prohibition + party in Lincoln county. A cordial invitation was extended to + women to attend. Eight were present, and many more would have + been had they known of it. I was chosen secretary of the + convention, and Mesdames Ellsworth and Goff were appointed upon + the platform committee, and several of the central committee are + women. The position of the new party upon the question may be + inferred from the following clauses in its platform: + + _Resolved_, By the Prohibition party of Lincoln county, + Kansas, in convention assembled, that the three vital issues + before the people to-day are prohibition, anti-monopoly, and + woman suffrage. + + _Resolved_, That we believe in the political equality of the + sexes, and we call on the legislature to submit such an + amendment to the people for adoption or rejection, to the + constitution of the State as will secure to women equal + political rights. + + Later the convention nominated me for register of deeds, and Dr. + Sallie A. Goff for coroner. I immediately engaged Miss Jennie + Newby of Tonganoxie, member of the executive committee and State + organizer of the Prohibition party of Kansas, to make a canvass + of the county with me in the interest of the party and the county + ticket. We held ten meetings and at all points visited made + converts to both prohibition and woman suffrage, though nothing + was said about the latter. There were two men on the ticket; one + of them received more votes than Dr. Goff and I did, and the + other fewer. Emma Faris ran independently for register of deeds + in Ellsworth county and received a handsome vote. It is no longer + a matter of much comment for a woman to run for an office in + Kansas. + + Mrs. Gougar came again to Kansas in June to attend the third + annual meeting of the Radical Reform Christian Association, and + spent a month lecturing on woman suffrage and temperance. + + January 15, 16, 1885, the annual meeting of the State society was + held at Topeka. Large and enthusiastic audiences greeted Mrs. + Gougar on this, her third visit to Kansas. She remained at the + capital for several days, and largely through her efforts with + members of the legislature special committees were voted for in + both Houses to consider the interests of women. The measure was + carried in the House by a vote of 75 to 45.[483] In the Senate it + was a tie, 19 to 19. The new committee[484] through its chairman, + George Morgan of Clay, reported in favor of a bill for municipal + suffrage. It was so low on the calendar that there was no hope of + its being reached, but a motion was made to take it out of its + regular course, which was lost by 65 to 52. + + The second annual meeting of the State society was held at + Salina, October 28, 29, 1885. Mrs. Laura M. Johns gave the + address of welcome, to which Mrs. Anna C. Wait, the president, + responded. "Mother Bickerdyke,"[485] who followed Sherman's army + in its march to the sea, was present and cheered all with her + stirring words of the work of women in the war.[486] Her + introduction was followed with applause and the earnest attention + to her remarks showed in what high esteem she is held. She said + that half the work of the war was done by women, but she made no + complaint, indeed no mention, of the fact that these women had + never been pensioned. + + As it may add force to some facts already stated to have them + repeated by one in authority, we give the following letter from + the secretary of the Kansas Historical Society: + + KANSAS HISTORICAL SOCIETY Topeka, Nov. 26, 1885 + + MISS SUSAN B. ANTHONY, Rochester, N. Y.: + + _My Dear Friend_:--In answer to your request for information + upon certain points bearing upon the subject of woman + suffrage in Kansas, I give the following: + + The women avail themselves quite generally of their + privilege of voting at the annual and special school + district meetings, at which district officers are elected, + and all questions of taxes and expenditures are voted on and + settled. Women are, in many instances, elected members of + the board of school directors, and thus are charged with the + duty of employing teachers, with the supervision of the + schools, and with the general management of the affairs of + the district. Women vote on the question of the issue of + school district bonds, and thus they take part in deciding + whether new school houses shall be built and the property of + the districts be pledged for the future payment of the cost + of the same. + + In the chartered cities women do not generally vote for + school officers although, under the constitution, it is + believed they have the right to do so, and in one or more + instances I am informed they have done so, without the right + being contested. In cities, school officers are elected at + general elections for other city officers, for which women + are not permitted to vote, and as they cannot vote for all + they generally do not choose to vote for any. Women do not + vote for either city, county, or State superintendents, and + it is not considered that under our constitution they have + the right to do so. + + In 1884, there were 4,915 women teaching in the State, and + 1,936 men. The average monthly wages of women was $32.85, + and of men, $40.70. There are at present twelve women + holding the office of county superintendent of public + schools in the State. In 72 counties the office is filled by + men. Thus, of the 84 organized counties of the State, + one-seventh of the school superintendents are women, who + generally prove to be competent and efficient, and the + number elected is increasing. + + In one county, Harper, a woman holds the office of county + clerk. A young woman was recently elected to the office of + register of deeds, in Davis county. It is conceded that + these two offices can very appropriately be filled by women; + and now that the movement has begun, no doubt the number of + those elected will increase at recurring elections. Already, + in numerous instances, women are employed as deputies and + assistants in these and other public offices. + + The participation of women in school elections and their + election to membership of school district boards, are + resulting in a steady growth of sentiment in favor of woman + suffrage, generally. It is seen that in the decision of + questions involving the proper maintenance of schools, and + the supplying of school apparatus, women usually vote for + liberal and judicious expenditures, and make faithful school + officers. Their failures are not those of omission, as is so + frequently the case with men holding these offices. If they + err in judgment, it is from a lack of that business + information and experience which women as non-voters have + had little opportunity to acquire, but which, under our + Kansas system is now rapidly being supplied. + + Among the influences tending to increase the suffrage + sentiment in Kansas, may be mentioned those growing out of + the active part women are taking in the discussion of + political, economical, moral and social questions, through + their participation in the proceedings of the Woman's + Christian Temperance Union, the State Temperance Union, the + Woman's Social Science Association, the Kansas Academy of + Science, the Grange, the State and local Teachers' + Associations, and many other organizations in which women + have come to perform so prominent a part. In these + organizations, and in the part they take in discussions, + they show their capacity to grapple with the political, + social, and scientific problems of the day, in such a manner + as to demonstrate their ability to perform the highest + duties of citizenship. Still the chief influence which is + bringing about a growth of opinion in favor of woman + suffrage in Kansas, comes from what has now become the + actual, and I may say, the popular and salutary practice of + woman suffrage at school district meetings. It is seen that + the reasons which make it right and expedient for women to + vote on questions pertaining to the education of their + children, bear with little, if any, less force upon the + propriety of their voting upon all questions affecting the + public welfare. + + I think I may truly say to you that the tendencies in Kansas + are to the steady growth of sentiment in favor of woman + suffrage. This is so apparent that few of those even who do + not believe in its propriety or expediency now doubt that it + will eventually be adopted, and the political consequences + fully brought to the test of experience. + + Yours sincerely, F. G. ADAMS. + + The greatest obstacle to our speedy success in this State, as + elsewhere, is the ignorance and indifference of the women + themselves. But the earnestness and enthusiasm of the few, in + their efforts from year to year, cannot be wholly lost--the fires + kindled by that memorable campaign of 1867 are not dead, only + slumbering, to burst forth with renewed brilliancy in the dawn of + the day that brings liberty, justice, and equality for woman. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[475] In the centennial year, when protests were in order, the +following was sent to the National Association at Philadelphia, +describing the manner in which a lady eighty-four years old +celebrated her birthday: + + "NEUTRAL STATION, Kansas, July 17, 1876. + + "DEAR SISTERS: Two days ago, on Saturday, the 15th, as has been + usual for three or four years, a company of our friends and + neighbors met at our house to celebrate my eighty-fourth + birthday. We had a pleasant time. Some pieces, composed for the + occasion, were read, and a clergyman made some appropriate + remarks. I improved the opportunity to obtain the names of the + ladies present, and succeeded with all, old and young, except one + who was afraid it would get her into a trap; but with _the rest + it needed but little electioneering beside reading your + advertisement to secure their names_. We, as a neighborhood, are + ignorant on the subject. I solicited assistance pecuniarily, and + send you what I can, with a word of encouragement still to work + and wait, and my earnest prayer for your final success. + + ELSIE STEWART." + +The other signatures were: Henrietta L. Miller, Mrs. Julia A. +Ingraham, Mrs. Hollet, Mrs. Lottie Griffin, Selinda Miller, Celina +Lake, Mollie Yeates, Betsey J. Corse, Mary G. Hapeman, Mrs. Maggie +Clark, Miss Elsie Miller, Louie Ingraham, Malura Hickox, C. A. +Eddy, Anna Lowe, Charlotte H. Butler. + +[476] _President_, Mrs. Mary Maberly; _Secretary_, Miss Lillie M. +Hull; _Treasurer_, Mrs. Emma H. Johns; and an able executive +committee, of which Mrs. E. M. Alden, Mrs. Emma Faris, Mrs. Mattie +McDowell and Bertha H. Ellsworth, who was then teaching there, were +members. + +[477] Arkansas City Suffrage Club, with Mrs. M. B. Houghton, +_President_; Mrs. E. T. Ayers, _Vice-President_; Miss Gertrude +Fowler, _Secretary_, and Mrs. F. Daniels, _Treasurer_; also one at +Winfield, county-seat of Cowley county, with Mrs. J. Cairns, +_President_; Mrs. M. R. Hall, _Secretary_, and Mrs. E. D. Garlick, +_Treasurer_; and vice-presidents from each of the churches, as +follows: Mesdames P. P. Powell, G. Miller, M. Burkey and J. C. +Fuller. + +[478] _President_, Mrs. Hetta P. Mansfield, Winfield; +_Vice-President-at-Large_, Mrs. Anna C. Wait, Lincoln; +_Corresponding Secretary_, Mrs. Bertha H. Ellsworth, Lincoln; +_Recording Secretary_, Miss Georgiana Daniels, Eureka; _Treasurer_, +Mrs. D. A. Millington, Winfield; _Chaplain_, Rev. S. S. Cairns, +Winfield; _Vice-Presidents_ and _Executive Committee_, Mrs. Judge +Griswold, Leavenworth; Miss Sarah Hurtsel, Columbus; Mrs. Anna +Taylor, Wichita; Miss Myra Willets, Independence; Mrs. W. P. +Roland, Cherryvale; Judge Lorenzo Westover, Clyde; Mr. V. P. +Wilson, Abilene; Hon. Albert Griffin, Manhattan; Mrs. A. O. +Carpenter, Emporia; Mrs. Noble Prentis, Atchison; Mrs. S. S. Moore, +Burden; Mrs. Emma Faris, Carnerio; Mrs. Houghton and Mrs. Farrer, +Arkansas City; Mrs. Finley, Topeka. + +[479] The towns visited were: Beloit, Lincoln Center, Wilson, +Ellsworth, Salina, Solomon City, Minneapolis, Cawker City and +Clyde. The officers of the Topeka society were: _President_, Mrs. +Priscilla Finley; _Secretary_, Mrs. E. G. Hammon; _Treasurer_, Mrs. +Sarah Smith. The officers of Beloit were: _President_, Mrs. H. +Still; _Vice-Presidents_, Mrs. J. M. Patten, Mrs. M. Vaughan; +_Corresponding Secretary_, Mrs. F. J. Knight; _Recording +Secretary_, Mary Charlesworth; _Treasurer_, Mrs. M. Bailey. At +Salina, Mrs. Johns and Mrs. Christina Day are the officers. + +[480] The women of Kansas should never forget that to the influence +of Mrs. Nichols in the Constitutional convention at Wyandotte, they +owe the modicum of justice secured by that document. With her +knitting in hand, she sat there alone through all the sessions, the +only woman present, watching every step of the proceedings, and +laboring with members to so frame the constitution as to make all +citizens equal before the law. Though she did not accomplish what +she desired, yet by her conversations with the young men of the +State, she may be said to have made the idea of woman suffrage seem +practicable to those who formed the constitution and statute laws +of that State.--[E. C. S. + +[481] See compiled laws of Kansas, 79, page 378, chapter XXXIII. + +[482] Miss Flora M. Wagstaff of Paoli was among the first to +practice law in Kansas. In 1881, Ida M. Tillotson of Mill Brook, +and in 1884, Maria E. DeGeer were admitted. + +[483] The names of representatives voting for the committee stand +as follows: _Yeas_--Barnes, Beattie, Bollinger, Bond, Bonebrake, +Brewster, Buck, Butterfield, Caldwell, Campbell, Carter, Clogston, +J. B. Cook of Chetopa, H. C. Cook of Oswego, Collins, Cox, Currier, +Davenport, Dickson, Edwards, Faulkner, Gillespie, Glasgow, Gray, +Grier, Hargrave, Hatfield, Hogue, Hollenshead, Holman, Hopkins, +Hostetler, Johnson of Ness City, Johnson of Marshall, Johnson of +Topeka, Johnson (Speaker of the House), Kelley of Cawker City, +King, Kreger, Lawrence, Lewis, Loofburrow, Lower, McBride, McNall, +McNeal, Matlock, Maurer, Miller, Moore, Morgan of Clay, Morgan of +Osborne, Mosher, Osborn, Patton, Pratt, Reeves, Rhodes, Roach, +Roberts, Slavens, Spiers, Simpson, Smith of McPherson, Smith of +Neosho, Stewart, Stine, Sweezy, Talbot, Vance, Veach, Wallace, +Wentworth, Wiggins, Willhelm--75. The names of senators were: +_Yeas_--Bowden, Congdon, Donnell, Edmunds, Granger, Hicks, +Humphrey, Jennings, M. B. Kelley, Kellogg, Kimball, Kohler, +Pickler, Ritter, Rush, Shean, Sheldon, White, Young--19. + +[484] The Committee on the Political Rights of Women, granted by +the House, were: George Morgan of Clay, George Seitz of Ellsworth, +David Kelso of Labette, F. W. Rash of Butler, W. C. Edwards of +Pawnee, F. J. Kelley of Mitchell, W. H. Deckard of Doniphan. + +[485] The speakers were: Rev. Amanda May (formerly of Indiana), +Mrs. Martha L. Berry, Mrs. Ada Sill, Mrs. Colby, Dr. Addie Kester, +Mrs. M. D. Vale, Rev. C. H. Rogers, Mrs. De Geer, Miss Jennie +Newby. Officers: _President_, Mrs. Anna C. Wait of Lincoln; +_Vice-President_, Mrs. Laura M. Johns of Salina; _Treasurer_, Mrs. +Martia L. Berry of Cawker City; _Corresponding Secretary_, Mrs. B. +H. Ellsworth of Lincoln; _Recording Secretary_, Mrs. Alice G. Bond +of Salina. + +[486] When Miss Anthony and I went through Kansas in 1867 we held +an afternoon and evening meeting in Salina. Our accommodations at +the hotel were wretched beyond description. Mother Bickerdyke was +just preparing to open her hotel but was still in great confusion. +Hearing of our dismal quarters she came and took us to her home, +where her exquisitely cooked food and clean beds redeemed in a +measure our dolorous impressions of Salina. Our meetings were held +in an unfinished church without a floor, the audience sitting on +the beams, our opponents (two young lawyers) and ourselves on a few +planks laid across, where a small stand was placed and one tallow +candle to lighten the discussion that continued until a late hour. +Being delayed the next day at the depot a long time waiting for the +train we held another prolonged discussion with these same sprigs +of the legal profession. We had intended to go on to Ellsworth, but +hearing of trouble there with the Indians we turned our faces +eastward. Mother Bickerdyke and her thrilling stories of the war +are the pleasant memories that still linger with us of Salina.--[E. +C. S. + + + + +CHAPTER LI. + +COLORADO. + + Great American Desert--Organized as a Territory, February 28, + 1860--Gov. McCook's Message Recommending Woman Suffrage, + 1870--Adverse Legislation--Hon. Amos Steck--Admitted to the + Union, 1876--Constitutional Convention--Efforts to Strike Out the + Word "Male"--Convention to Discuss Woman Suffrage--School + Suffrage Accorded--State Association Formed, Alida C. Avery, + President--Proposition for Full Suffrage Submitted to the Popular + Vote--A Vigorous Campaign--Mrs. Campbell and Mrs. Patterson of + Denver--Opposition by the Clergy--Their Arguments Ably + Answered--D. M. Richards--The Amendment Lost--_The Rocky Mountain + News_. + + +That our English readers may appreciate the Herculean labors that +the advocates of suffrage undertake in this country in canvassing a +State, they must consider the vast territory to be traveled over, +in stages and open wagons where railroads are scarce. Colorado, for +example, covers an area of 104,500 square miles. It is divided by +the Rocky Mountains running north and south, with two hundred lofty +peaks rising thirteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, and +some still higher. To reach the voters in the little mining towns a +hundred miles apart, over mountains such as these, involves +hardships that only those who have made the journeys can +understand. But there is some compensation in the variety, beauty +and grandeur of the scenery, with its richly wooded valleys, vast +parks and snow-capped mountains. It is the region for those awake +to the sublime in nature to reverently worship some of her grandest +works that no poet can describe nor artist paint. Here, too, the +eternal struggle for liberty goes on, for the human soul can never +be attuned to harmony with its surroundings, especially the grand +and glorious, until the birthright of justice and equality is +secured to all. + +For a history of the early efforts made in the Centennial State to +secure equal rights for women, we are indebted to Mrs. Mary G. +Campbell and Mrs. Katharine G. Patterson, two sisters who have been +actively interested in the suffrage movement in Colorado, as +follows: + + In 1848, while those immortal women whose names will be found on + many another page of the volume in which this chapter is + included, were asking in the convention at Seneca Falls, N. Y., + that their equal membership in the human family might be admitted + by their husbands, fathers and sons, Colorado, unnamed and + unthought of, was still asleep with her head above the clouds. + Only two mountain-tops in all the-world were nearer heaven than + hers, and they, in far Thibet, had seen the very beginnings of + the race which, after six thousand years, had not yet penetrated + Colorado. Islanded in a cruel brown ocean of sand, she hid her + treasures of gold and silver in her virgin bosom and dreamed, + unstirred by any echoes of civilization. When she woke at last it + was to the sound of an anvil chorus--to the ring of the mallet + and drill, and the hoarse voices of men greedy only for gold. + + In 1858, when the Ninth National Convention of women to demand + their legal rights was in session in New York, there were only + three white women in the now rich and beautiful city of Denver. + Still another ten years of wild border life, of fierce + vicissitudes, of unwritten tragedies enacted in forest and mine, + and Colorado was organized into a territory with a population of + 5,000 women and 25,000 men. + + The first effort for suffrage was made in 1870, during the fifth + session of the legislative assembly, soon after General Edward + McCook was sent out by President Grant to fill the gubernatorial + chair. In his message to the legislature, he promptly recommended + to the attention of its members the question of suffrage for + woman: + + Before dismissing the subject of franchise, I desire to call + your attention to one question connected with it, which you + may deem of sufficient importance to demand some + consideration at your hands before the close of the session. + Our higher civilization has recognized woman's equality with + man in all respects save one--suffrage. It has been said + that no great reform was ever made without passing through + three stages--ridicule, argument, and adoption. It rests + with you to say whether Colorado will accept this reform in + its first stage, as our sister territory of Wyoming has + done, or in the last; whether she will be a leader or a + follower; for the logic of a progressive civilization leads + to the inevitable result of a universal suffrage. + + This was the first gun of the campaign, and summoned to the field + various contending forces, armed with ridicule, argument, or an + optimistic diplomacy, urging an immediate surrender of the ground + claimed. Bills favoring the enfranchisement of women were + discussed both in the Territorial Council Chamber and in the + lower House of the legislature. The subject was taken up by the + press and the people, and not escaping its meed of ridicule, was + seriously dealt with by both friend and enemy. Perhaps the + western champions of woman's recognition as an intelligent part + of the body politic were brought to understand the full meaning + of her disabilities by their own experiences as territorial + minors. Certain it is that the high spirit of the citizens of + Colorado chafed intolerably under the temporary limitations of + accustomed rights of sovereign manhood. The federal government, + in the capacity of regent, sent to these territorial wards their + officers and governors and fixed the rate of their taxation + without full representation. These wards were indeed empowered, + as were the people of their sister territories, to elect a + delegate to the national congress, whose opinions upon + territorial matters were allowed expression in that body, but who + could no more enforce there his convictions upon important + measures, by a vote, than could the most intelligent woman of + this territory upon the question of his election to represent her + interests. + + In the Colorado papers of those days of territorial tutelage, + there appeared repeatedly most impatient protests against these + humiliating conditions of citizenship. With the attainment of + statehood in 1876 there came to the men of Colorado a restoration + of their full rights as citizens of the Republic. According to + the proscriptive usage, the humiliating conditions of citizenship + without the ballot, remained to the women of the Centennial + State; and those of their reenfranchised brothers who had felt + most keenly their own unaccustomed restrictions, were without + doubt the foremost advocates of the movement to secure the full + recognition of women's rights. + + The majority of the territorial legislative assembly of 1870 was + unexpectedly Democratic, and almost as unexpected was the favor + promptly shown by the Democratic members to the passage of the + bill proposing woman suffrage. The measure was indeed + characterized by the opposing Republicans, as "the great + Democratic reform," and for weeks seemed destined to triumph + through Democratic votes, in spite of the frivolous and serious + opposition of the Republican minority, and the few Democratic + members who deserted what then seemed the party policy upon this + question. The pleas urged in advocacy of the new movement, as + well as the protests urged against it, were substantially the + same as were used in the East at that stage of the question. + Accompanying them were the extravagancies of hope and fear + incident to the early consideration of every suggested change in + a long-accepted social order. An impossible Utopia was promised + on the one hand no less confidently than was predicted upon the + other a dire iconoclasm of the sacred shrine of long-adored + ideals, as a consequence of simply granting to intelligent women + a privilege justly their due. Both the derision and the adverse + reasoning of the alarmists were well met by fearless friends, in + Council and House. Bills looking to the removal of woman's + disabilities were referred in each to a select committee for + consideration, on January 19. The majority report to the House + through the chairman of its special committee, M. DeFrance, was + an able advocacy of the measure under consideration, while the + adverse recommendation of the Council committee was accompanied + by an excellent report by Hon. Amos Steck, setting forth clearly + the reasons of the minority for their favorable views. After + hearing the reports, both Houses went into committee of the whole + for a free discussion upon the question. + + "The criterion of civilization, physical force," "Strength as the + measure of right,"--as recent writers have defined the divine + right of might--seemed the basis of reasoning with those who + claimed that woman should not be given the ballot because she + might not carry the sword. Dark pictures were drawn of possible + women as electors plunging their country into wars, from whose + consequences they would themselves suffer nothing. By the more + hopeful it was urged that the mighty heart, the moral force of + humanity, as represented in womanhood, and united with clear + womanly intelligence, would prove a greater power in all State + interests than sword or bayonet. + + The strongest speaker in the legislature upon the subject of + suffrage--President Hinsdale of the Council--was, unfortunately, + a bitter enemy of the proposed reform. Yet some of his most + forcible utterances made in committee of the whole, were + excellent arguments in favor of, rather than against the measure. + Excellent arguments in favor of the bill in question were made by + leading members of the House--Messrs. Lea, Shepard and DeFrance. + By invitation of the legislature, that body was addressed by a + prominent member of the Denver bar, Mr. Willard Teller, the + brother of one of our U. S. senators. The hall was filled by an + interested audience to hear Mr. Teller's address, which was a + strong presentation of the principles upon which rest the claims + of American citizens to universal suffrage. + + Outside the assembly halls, Governor McCook and his beautiful, + accomplished, and gracefully aggressive wife, strongly favored + the affirmative of the question at issue, while Willard Teller, + D. M. Richards and other distinguished men and women of the + territory were active friends during the contest. In the press, + the measure had a most influential support in the _Daily Colorado + Tribune_, a well-conducted Denver journal, edited by Mr. R. W. + Woodbury. Space in its columns was given to well-written articles + by contributors interested in the success of the cause, and many + able editorials appeared, embodying strong arguments in favor of + the reform, or answering the opposing bitterness and frivolity of + its contemporary the _Rocky Mountain News_. The interest in the + proposed innovation was indeed quite general throughout the + territory, but wherever the subject was discussed, in the + legislative halls, in private conversation, editorial column, or + correspondence of the press, the grounds argumentatively + traversed were the same highways and byways of reason and + absurdity which have been so often since gone over. + + There was perhaps one lion in the way of establishing universal + suffrage in the West, which the eastern advocates did not fear. + It was said that our intelligent women could not be allowed to + vote, whatever the principles upon which the right might be + claimed, because in that case, the poor, degraded Chinese women + who might reach our shores, would also be admitted to the voting + list, and what then would become of our proud, Caucasian + civilization? Whether it was the thought of the poor Mongolian + slave at the polls, or some other equally terrifying vision of a + yearly visit of American women to the centre of some voting + precinct, the majority of the Colorado legislative assembly of + 1870, in spite of all the free discussion of the campaign of that + year, decided adversely. In the latter days of the session, the + bill having taken the form of a proposition to submit the + question at issue to the already qualified voters of the + territory, was lost in the council chamber by a majority of one, + and in the House by a two-thirds majority, leaving to the + defeated friends of the reform as their only reward, a + consciousness of strength gained in the contest. + + A few years more made Denver a city beautiful for habitation, + made Colorado a garden, filled that goodly land with capable men, + and intelligent, spirited women. Statehood had been talked of, + but lost, and then men began to say: "The one hundredth birthday + of our American independence is so near, let us make this a + centennial State; let the entrance into the Union be announced by + the same bells that shall ring in our national anniversary." And + so it was decreed. Mindful of 1776--mindful too, of the second + declaration made by the women at the first equal rights + convention in 1848, the friends of equality in Colorado + determined to gird themselves for a supreme effort in + anticipation of the constitution that was to be framed for the + new State to be. + + A notice was published asking all persons favorable to suffrage + for women, to convene in Denver, January 10, to take measures to + secure the recognition of woman's equality under the pending + constitution. In pursuance to this call, a large and eager + audience filled Unity Church long before the hour appointed for + the meeting. A number of the orthodox clergy were present. The + Rev. Mrs. Wilkes of Colorado Springs, opened the exercises with + prayer. Mrs. Margaret W. Campbell of Massachusetts was then + introduced, and said: "This convention was called to present + woman's claims to the ballot, from her own stand-point, and to + take such measures to secure the recognition of her equality in + the constitution of Colorado, as the friends gathered from + different parts of the territory may think proper. We do not ask + that women shall take the places of men, or usurp authority over + them; we only ask that the principles upon which our government + is founded shall be applied to women. + + Rev. Mrs. Wilkes made an especial point of the fact that in + Colorado Springs women owned one-third of the taxable property, + and yet were obliged (at the recent spring election) to see the + bonds for furnishing a supply of pure water, voted down because + women had no voice in the matter. This had been a serious + mistake, as the physicians of the place had pronounced the + present supply impure and unwholesome. She referred to the fears + of many that the constitution, freighted with woman suffrage, + might sink, when it would else be buoyant, and begged her hearers + not to fear such a burden would endanger it. The convention + continued through two days with enthusiastic speeches from Mr. D. + M. Richards and Rev. Mr. Wright, who preferred to be introduced + as the nephew of Dr. Harriot K. Hunt of Boston. Letters were read + from Lucy Stone and Judge Kingman, and an extract from the + message of Governor Thayer of Wyoming, in which he declared the + results of woman suffrage in that territory to have been + beneficial and its influence favorable to the best interests of + the community. A territorial society was formed with an efficient + board of officers;[487] resolutions, duly discussed, were + adopted, and the meeting closed with a carefully-prepared + address by Dr. Avery, the newly-elected president of the + territorial association. + + The committee[488] appointed to wait upon the constitutional + convention were received courteously by that body, and listened + to with respectful attention. One would have thought the + gentlemen to whom the arguments and appeals of such women were + addressed would have found it in their hearts to make some reply, + even while disclaiming the official character of their act; but + they preserved a decorous and non-committal, if not incurious + silence, and the ladies withdrew. The press said, the morning + after their visit: "The gentlemen were all interested and amused + by the errand of the ladies." The morning following, the + constitutional convention was memorialized by the Suffrage + Association of Missouri, and was also presented with a petition + signed by a thousand citizens of Colorado, asking that in the new + constitution no distinction be made on account of sex. This was + only the beginning. Petitions came in afterwards, numerously + signed, and were intended to have the force of a sort of + ante-election vote. + + Denver presented an interesting social aspect at this time. It + was as if the precursive tremor of a moral earthquake had been + felt, and people, only half awake, did not know whether to seek + safety in the house, or outside of it. Women especially were + perplexed and inquiring, and it was observed that those in favor + of asking a recognition of their rights in the new State, were + the intelligent and leading ladies of the city. The wives of + ministers, of congressmen, of judges, the prominent members of + Shakespeare clubs, reading circles, the directors of charitable + institutions,--these were the ones who first ranged themselves on + the side of equal rights, clearly proving that the man was right + who pointed out the danger of allowing women to learn the + alphabet. + + When February 15 came, it was a momentous day for Colorado. The + report of the Committee on Suffrage and Elections was to come up + for final action. As a matter of fact there were two reports; + that of the minority was signed by two members of the committee, + Judge Bromwell, whose breadth and scholarship were apparent in + his able report, and a Mexican named Agapita Vigil, a legislator + from Southern Colorado where Spanish is the dominant tongue. Mr. + Vigil spoke no English, and was one of those representatives for + whose sake an interpreter was maintained during the session of + the convention. + + Ladies were present in large numbers. Some of the gentlemen + celebrated the occasion by an unusual spruceness of attire, and + others by being sober enough to attend to business. The report + with three-fifths of the signatures, after setting forth that the + subject had had careful consideration, went on to state the + qualifications of voters, namely, that all should be male + citizens, with one exception, and that was, that women might vote + for school district officers. + + Mr. A. K. Yount of Boulder, spoke in favor of the motion to + strike out the word "male" in section 1: "That every male person + over the age of 21 years, possessing the necessary + qualifications, shall be entitled to vote," etc. He called + attention to the large number of petitions which had been sent + in, asking for this, and to the fact that not a single + remonstrance had been received. He believed the essential + principles of human freedom were involved in this demand, and he + insisted that justice required that women should help to make the + laws by which they are governed. The amendment was lost by a vote + of 24 to 8. + + Mr. Storm offered an amendment that women be permitted to vote + for, and hold the office of, county superintendent of schools. + This also was lost. The only other section of the report which + had any present interest to women, was the one reading: + + SECTION 2. The General Assembly may at any time extend by + law the right of suffrage to persons not herein enumerated, + but no such law shall take effect or be in force until the + same shall have been submitted to a vote of the people, at a + general election, and approved by a majority of all the + votes cast for and against such law. + + After much discussion it was voted that the first General + Assembly should provide a law whereby the subject should be + submitted to a vote of the electors. + + After this the curtain fell, the lights were put out, and all the + atmosphere and _mise en scene_ of the drama vanished. It was well + known, however, that another season would come, the actors would + reaeppear, and an "opus" would be given; whether it should turn + out a tragedy, or a Miriam's song of deliverance, no one was able + to predict. Meantime, the women of Colorado--to change the + figure--bivouacked on the battle-field, and sent for + reinforcements against the fall campaign. They held themselves + well together, and used their best endeavors to educate public + sentiment. + + A column in the Denver _Rocky Mountain News_, a pioneer paper + then edited by W. N. Byers, was offered the woman suffrage + association, through which to urge our claims. The column was put + into the hands of Mrs. Campbell, the wife of E. L. Campbell, of + the law firm of Patterson & Campbell of Denver, for editorship. + This lady, from whose editorials quotations will be given, was + too timid (she herself begs us to say cowardly) to use her name + in print, and so translated it into its German equivalent of + _Schlachtfeld_, thus nullifying whatever of weight her own name + would have carried in the way of personal and social endorsement + of an unpopular cause. Her sister, Mrs. T. M. Patterson, an early + and earnest member of the Colorado Suffrage Association, "bore + testimony" as courageously and constantly as her environment + permitted. + + Mrs. Gov. McCook, as previously stated, had been the first woman + in Colorado to set the example of a spirited claim to simple + political justice for her sex, but she, alas! at the date now + reached in our sketch, was dead--in her beautiful youth, in the + first flower of her sweet, bright womanhood. Her loss to the + cause can best be measured by those who know what an immense + uplifting power is present when an intelligent man in an + influential position joins his personal and political force to + his wife's personal and social force in the endeavor to + accomplish an object dear to both. + + It is a pity not to register here, however inadequately, some + outline of many figures that rise to form a part of the picture + of Colorado in 1876-7. When liberty shall have been achieved, and + all citizens shall be comfortably enjoying its direct and + indirect blessings, this book should be found to have preserved + in the amber of its pages the names of those who bravely wrought + for freedom in that earlier time. Would that one might indeed + summon them all by a roll-call! But they will not answer--they + say only: "Let our work stand for us, be its out-come small or + great." + + To Dr. Alida C. Avery, however, whatever the outcome, a weighty + obligation is due from all past, present and future laborers in + this cause in Colorado. She it was who set at work and kept at + work the interplay of ideas and efforts which accomplished what + was done. Through her personal acquaintance with the immortals at + the East, Lucy Stone, Susan B. Anthony, Henry B. Blackwell, she + drew them to Colorado during the campaign about to be described, + and with them came others. Mrs. M. W. Campbell and her husband + reaeppeared to do faithful service, and then came also Miss Lelia + Patridge of Philadelphia, a young, graceful, and effective + speaker,--so the local papers constantly describe her, and then + came, in the person of Miss Matilda Hindman of Pittsburg Pa., one + of the ablest women of the whole campaign. Gentle, persuasive, + womanly, she was at the same time armed at all points with fact, + argument, and illustration, and her zeal was only equaled by her + power of sustained labor. + + Many of these same qualities belong to Mrs. M. F. Shields, of + Colorado Springs, one of the committee on constitutional work in + the campaign of 1876, and an ardent, unceasing, unselfish laborer + in the church, in suffrage and temperance, for more than ten + years. She did not lecture, but "talked"; talked to five hundred + men at a time as if they were her own sons, and only needed to be + shown they were conniving at injustice, in order to turn about + and do the right thing. This same element of "motherliness" it + was, which gained her the respectful attention of an audience of + the roughest and most ignorant Cornish miners up in Caribou, who + would listen to no other woman speaking upon the subject. When + the members of the famous constitutional committee were + considering the suffrage petition, prior to making their report, + Judge Stone of Pueblo, tried to persuade the Spanish-speaking + member that to grant the franchise to women would be to be false + to his party, as those women were all Democrats. But Senor Vigil + replied that he had been talking through his interpreter to the + "nice old lady, who smiled so much" (meaning Mrs. Shields), and + he knew what they asked was all right, and he should vote for it. + + Of the men who were willing to obey Paul's entreaty to "help + those women," must be named in the front rank David M. Richards + of Denver, a pioneer of '59, and as brave and generous and true a + heart as ever beat in time to the pulse of progress, Rev. B. F. + Crary, a true apostolic helper, Mr. Henry C. Dillon, a young + western Raleigh for knightly chivalry, Hon. J. B. Belford, member + of congress then and now, Judge H. P. H. Bromwell, who needs no + commendation from the historian, as his eloquent minority report + speaks adequately for him; these, and very many more, both men + and women, have, as the French say, "deserved well of the State + and of their generation." + + And it was once more to the aid of these men and women that the + East sent reinforcements as soon as the winter of 1877 was well + ushered in. An annual convention was announced for January 15, in + Denver. When the bitter cold evening came it seemed doubtful if + any great number of persons would be present, but the large + Lawrence street Methodist Church was, on the contrary, packed to + its utmost capacity. Rev. Mr. Eads, pastor of the church, opened + the meeting with prayer, and Dr. Avery, as president of the + association, gave a brief _resume_ of the work during its one + year of existence. Colonel Henry Logan of Boulder (formerly of + Illinois), made a manly and telling speech in favor of a measure + which he called one of axiomatic justice. Mrs. Wright of New + York, after a piquant address, announced the meeting of the + convention for the next day. On the following morning a business + session was held, and officers elected for the year.[489] In the + afternoon speeches were made by Dr. Crary, Mrs. Shields, and Mr. + David Boyd of Greeley, and in the evening by Mr. Henry C. Dillon + and Rev. J. R. Eads, the closing and crowning speech of the + convention being given by Miss Laura Hanna of Denver, a _petite_, + pretty young girl, whose remarks made a _bonne bouche_ with which + to close the feast. Interest in the subject rose to fever heat + before October. Pulpit, press and fireside were occupied with its + discussion. The most effective, and at the same time, + exasperating opposition, came from the pulpit, but there was also + vigorous help from the same quarter. The Catholic Bishop preached + a series of sermons and lectures, in which he fulminated all the + thunders of apostolic and papal revelation against women who + wanted to vote: + + Though strong-minded women who are not satisfied with the + disposition of Providence and who wish to go beyond the + condition of their sex, profess no doubt to be Christians, + do they consult the Bible?--do they follow the Bible? I fear + not. Had God intended to create a companion for man, capable + of following the same pursuits, able to undertake the same + labors, he would have created another man; but he created a + woman, and she fell. * * * The class of women wanting + suffrage are battalions of old maids disappointed in + love--women separated from their husbands or divorced by men + from their sacred obligations--women who, though married, + wish to hold the reins of the family government, for there + never was a woman happy in her home who wished for female + suffrage. * * * Who will take charge of those young children + (if they consent to have any) while mothers as surgeons are + operating indiscriminately upon the victims of a terrible + railway disaster? * * * No kind husband will refuse to + nurse the baby on Sunday (when every kind of business is + stopped) in order to let his wife attend church; but even + then, as it is not his natural duty, he will soon be tired + of it and perhaps get impatient waiting for the mother, + chiefly when the baby is crying. + + These, with the omnipresent quotations from St. Paul to the + effect that women shall keep silence in the church, etc., formed + the argument of the Bishop in two or three lengthy sermons. + Indignant men, disgusted with the caliber of the opposition and + yet obliged to notice it on account of the position of the + divine, made ample rejoinders. Rev. Dr. Crary of Golden, in an + exhaustive review of the Bishop's discourse, deprecated the + making permanent and of universal application the commands which + with Paul were evidently temporary and local, and said half the + churches in Christendom would be closed if these were literally + obeyed: + + "Women should not usurp authority, therefore men should + usurp all authority." This is the sort of logic we have + always heard from men who are trotting along in the wake of + progress and howling because the centuries do not stop + rolling onward. In barbarous regions Paul is paraded against + educating girls at all. In half-civilized nations Paul is + doing service against educating girls except in the + rudiments. Among people who are just beginning to see the + hill-tops of a higher, nobler world, Paul is still on duty + crowding off women from high-schools and colleges. Proud + universities to-day have Paul standing guard over medical + meanness and pushing down aspiring female souls from the + founts of knowledge. Within our memory Paul has been the + standing demonstration in favor of slavery, intemperance and + the oppression of women. + + Another sermon in which the Bishop lays solemn stress on the one + sacred, inevitable duty of women to become wives and mothers, was + answered by Mr. David Boyd of Greeley, who, among other things, + asks the Bishop: + + How, in view of the injunction to increase and multiply, he + can justify the large celibate class created by positive + command of the Catholic church, not only by the ordination + of priests, but by the constant urging of the church that + women should become the barren brides of Christ by taking on + them the vows of nuns. + + The Bishop published his lectures in pamphlet form, that their + influence might be far-reaching, and curiously enough, the very + same lectures were printed and scattered by the friends of + suffrage as the best sort of document for the campaign now fairly + inaugurated. D. M. Richards, the able chairman of the executive + committee, and Dr. Avery, president of the association, showed + themselves capable of both conceiving and executing a plan of + operations which had the merit of at least deserving victory. + + There was no lack of pens to defend women's claim to equal + chances in the struggle for existence. In Denver, the _Rocky + Mountain News_ and the _Times_ planted themselves fairly and + squarely in an affirmative attitude, and gave generous aid to the + effort. The _Tribune's_ columns were in a state of chronic + congestion from a plethora of protests, both feminine and + masculine. One young lawyer said: "If suffrage is to come, let it + come by man's call, and not by woman's clamor"; and, "When all + the women of the land can show the ability to rear a family, and + at the same time become eminent in some profession or art, then + men will gladly welcome them." Whereupon the women naturally + rushed into print to protest against the qualifications required + of them, compared with those required of men. + + It is safe to say, that from the middle of January, 1877, until + the following October, the most prominent theme of public + discussion was this question of suffrage for women. Miners + discussed it around their camp-fires, and "freighters" on their + long slow journeys over the mountain trails argued _pro_ and + _con_, whether they should "let" women have the ballot. Women + themselves argued and studied and worked earnestly. One lawyer's + wife, who declared that no refined woman would contend for such a + right, and that no woman with self-respect would be found + electioneering, herself urged every man of her acquaintance to + vote against the measure, and even triumphantly reported that she + had spoken to seventy-five men who were strangers to her, and + secured their promise to vote against the pending amendment. + This, however, must not be mistaken for electioneering. + + On Wednesday, August 15, an equal rights mass-meeting was held in + Denver, for the purpose of organizing a county central committee, + and for an informal discussion of plans for the campaign. Judge + H. P. H. Bromwell and H. C. Dillon spoke, with earnest repetition + of former pledges of devotion to the cause, and Gov. Evans said: + + Equal suffrage is necessary to equal rights. It is fortunate + that we have in Colorado an opportunity of bringing to bear + the restraining, purifying and ennobling influence of women + upon politics. It is a reform that will require all the + benign influences of the country to sustain and carry out, + and, as I hope for the perpetuation of our free + institutions, I dare not neglect the most promising and + potent means of purifying politics, and I regard the + influence of women as this means. + + Major Bright of Wyoming, was introduced as the man who framed and + brought in the first bill for the enfranchisement of women. Judge + W. B. Mills said: "It is an anomalous condition of affairs which + made it necessary for a woman to ask a man whether she should + vote," and referring to all the reforms and changes of the last + half century, predicted that the extension of the franchise to + woman would be the next in order. + + The meeting was a full and fervid one, and great confidence of + success was felt and expressed. A committee of seventeen was + appointed[490] and this committee did its full duty in + districting the territory and sending out speakers. Mr. Henry B. + Blackwell, Lucy Stone and Miss Anthony arrived almost immediately + after this, and henceforth the advocates of suffrage swarmed + through the rocky highways and byways of Colorado as eagerly, if + not as multitudinously, as its gold seekers. Mrs. Campbell wrote + to the _Woman's Journal_: + + We have now been at work two weeks. Some of our meetings are + very encouraging, some not so much so. But the meetings are + only one feature of the work. We stop along the way and + search out all the leading men in each voting precinct, and + secure the names of those who will work on election day. We + do more talking out of meeting than in. We rode thirty-five + miles yesterday, and arrived here after six o'clock in the + evening. While Mr. Campbell was taking care of the horse, I + filled out bills before taking off my hat and duster; in + fifteen minutes they were being distributed, and at eight + o'clock I was speaking to a good-sized audience. + + On October 1, a monster meeting was held in the Lawrence street + Methodist Church, and was addressed by Lucy Stone, Miss Matilda + Hindman, Mrs. Campbell, and Dr. Avery. The most intense interest + was manifested, and the excellent speeches heartily applauded. + + The next day (Sunday) the Rev. Dr. Bliss of the Presbyterian + Church, preached a sermon in his own pulpit, on "Woman Suffrage + and the Model Wife and Mother," in which he alluded to "certain + brawling, ranting women, bristling for their rights," and said + God had intended woman to be a wife and mother, and the eternal + fitness of things forbade her to be anything else. If women could + vote, those who were wives now would live in endless bickerings + with their husbands over politics, and those who were not wives + would not marry." + + These utterences brought out many replies. One was in the column + edited by "Mrs. Schlachtfeld," and may perhaps be quoted as a + specimen of her editorial work, such being, as we have intimated, + her one service to suffrage, and that incognito: + + One of the daily, dismal forecasts of the male Cassandras of + our time is, that in the event of women becoming emancipated + from the legal thralldom that disables them, they will + acquire a sudden distaste for matrimony, the direful + consequences of which will be a gradual extermination of + homes, and the extinction of the human species. This is an + artless and extremely suggestive lament. In the first + place--accepting that prophecy as true--why will women not + marry? Because, they will then be independent of men; + because in a fair field for competition where ability and + not sex shall determine employment and remuneration, women + will have an equal chance with men for distinction and + reward, for triumphs commercial and professional as well as + social, and hence, needing men less, either to make them + homes, or to gratify indirectly their ambitions, their + affections will become atrophied, the springs of domestic + life will disappear in the arid sands of an unfeminine + publicity, and marriage, with all the wearying cares and + burdens and anxieties that it inevitably brings to every + earnest woman, will be regarded more and more as a state to + be shunned. The few who enter it will be compassionated much + as a minister is who undertakes a dangerous foreign mission. + Men will stand mateless, and the ruins of the hymeneal + altars everywhere crumble mournfully away, and be known to + tradition only by their vanishing inscriptions: "To the + unknown god." But it is ill jesting over that which tugs at + every woman's heartstrings and which impinges upon the very + life-centres of society. If women, on being made really free + to choose, will not marry, then we must arraign men on the + charge of having made the married state so irksome and + distasteful to women that they prefer celibacy when they + dare enjoy it. Observe, however, the inconsistency of + another line of reasoning running parallel with this in the + floating literature of the day: "Motherhood," these writers + say, "is the natural vocation of women; is, indeed, an + instinct so mighty, even if unconscious, that it draws women + toward matrimony with a yearning as irresistible as that + which pulls the great sea upon the land in blind response to + the moon." If this be true, society is safe, and women will + still be wives, no matter how much they may exult in + political freedom, no matter how alluringly individual + careers may open before them, nor how accessible the + tempting prizes of human ambition may become. + + Well, the day came,--the _dies irae_ for one side or the other, + and it proved to be for the "one." The measure was defeated. Ten + thousand votes were for it, twenty thousand against it. Women + remained at the polls all day, distributing ballots, and + answering objections. They had flowers on all the little tables + where the tickets were heaped, on which were printed the three + words, "Woman Suffrage Approved," words for many pregnant with + hope for a new impetus to civilization, for others with a + misfortune only to be compared to that which happened in Greece + when Ino boiled the seed corn of a whole kingdom, and thus not + only lost the crop of that year, but, by the subtle interplay of + the laws by which evolution proceeds, set back humanity for a + period not to be reckoned in years. Mrs. H. S. Mendenhall of + Georgetown wrote to Dr. Avery on the evening of election day: + + Before this reaches you the telegraph will have given you + the result of the day's work all over the State, but I + thought I would jot down a line while the experiences of the + last ten hours were fresh in my mind. Last evening our + committee appointed ladies to represent the interests of + woman suffrage at the polls. To my surprise, many evaded the + work who were, nevertheless, strongly in favor of the + measure. Mrs. Dr. Collins and I were the only ones at the + lowest and most important precinct until one o'clock, when + we were joined by the wife of the Presbyterian minister. Our + course was somewhat as follows: On the approach of a voter, + we would ask him, "have you voted?" If he had, we usually + troubled him no further; if he had not, we asked, "Can you + vote for woman suffrage?" If he approved, we supplied him + with his ticket; if he disapproved, we asked him for his + objections, and we have listened to some comical ones + to-day. One man asked me, though not rudely, "Who is cooking + your husband's dinner?" I promptly invited him to dine with + us. Another spoke of neglected household duties, and when I + mentioned a loaf of bread I had just baked, and should be + glad to have him see, he said, "I expect you can bake + bread," but he voted against us. The Methodist men were for + us; the Presbyterians and Episcopalians very fairly so, and + the Roman Catholics were not all against us, some of the + prominent members of that church working and voting for + woman suffrage. The liquor interest went entirely against + us, as far as I know. + + The observations of the day have led me to several general + conclusions, to which, of course, exceptions exist: (1) + Married men will vote for suffrage if their wives appreciate + its importance. (2) Men without family ties, and especially + if they have associated with a bad class of women, will vote + against it. (3) Boys who have just reached their majority + will vote against it more uniformly than any other class of + men. We were treated with the utmost respect by all except + the last class. Destitute of experience, and big with their + own importance, these young sovereigns will speak to a woman + twice their years with a flippancy which the most ignorant + foreigner of mature age would not use, and I have to-day + been tempted to believe that no one is fitted to exercise + the American franchise under twenty-five years of age. + + The main objection which I heard repeatedly urged was, women + do not want to vote. This seems to be the great + stumbling-block to our brethren. Men were continually saying + that their wives told them not to vote for woman suffrage. + If we are defeated this time I know we can succeed in the + next campaign, or just as soon as we can educate enough + prominent women up to the point of coming out plainly on the + subject. Then all men, or all but the vicious men who always + vote against every good thing, will give in right away. + + Lucy Stone, in a letter to the _Woman's Journal_ describes + similar scenes enacted that day in Denver; speaks of the order + and quiet prevailing at the polls, of the flowers on all the + tables, and, in spite of the strangeness of the occasion, of the + presence of women as evidently a new and beneficent element + there. Rev. Dr. Ellis of the Baptist Church, who, on the Sunday + before had preached from the text, "Help those Women," was using + his influence to convert those doubtful or opposed. Rev. Mr. + Bliss, who had declared in his pulpit that "the only two women + the Bible mentioned as having meddled in politics were Jezebel + and Herodias," was there also, to warn men not to vote for equal + rights for women. At other polls I saw colored men, once slaves, + electioneering and voting against the rights of women. When + remonstrated with, one said: "We want the women at home cooking + our dinners." A shrewd colored woman asked whether they had + provided any dinner to cook, and added that most of the colored + women there had to earn their dinner as well as cook it. + + * * * * * + + Hear the conclusion of the whole matter. In the words of the last + editorial of the woman's column in the _Rocky Mountain News_: + + Woman's hour has not yet struck! The chimes that were + waiting to ring out the tidings of her liberty--the candles + furtively stored against an illumination which should typify + a new influx of light, the achievement of a victory whose + meaning and promise at least seemed to those who both prayed + and worked for it, neither trivial nor selfish--all these + are relegated to the guardianship of Patience and Hope. + Colorado has refused to enfranchise its women. * * * * * * + The Germans, the Catholics, and the negroes were said to be + against us. Naturally, those who themselves most keenly + feel, or most recently have felt, the galling yoke of + arbitrary rule, are most disposed to derive a certain + enjoyment from the daily contemplation of a noble class + still in bondage. * * * * * * But _all_ opposition, in + whatever guise, comes back at last to be written under one + rubric--the immaturity of woman. We make this dispassionate + statement of a fact. We feel neither scorn nor anger, and we + trust that we shall excite none. It is a fault which time + will cure, but meantime it is the grand factor in our + account. Every other argument has been met--every other + stronghold of opposition taken. Woman's claim to the ballot + has been shown to rest in justice on the very foundation + stone of democratic government--has been, from the Christian + standpoint, as completely exonerated from the charge of + impiety as ever anti-slavery and anti-polygamy were, and the + fact which was the slogan of the anti-suffragists still + remains: the mass of the women do not want it. We do not + quarrel with the fact, but state it to give the real reason + for our failures--the real objective point for our future + work. + + The complacency with which we are able to state without fear + of contradiction that the body of intelligent and thoughtful + women _do_ want suffrage must not obscure our perception of + the equal truth of what we have just stated above. To accept + this verity and turn our energies toward the emancipation of + our own sex--toward their emancipation from frivolous aims, + petty prejudices, and that attitude toward the other sex + which is really the sycophancy born of vanity and weakness; + to make them recognize the State as a multiplication of + their own families, and patriotism as the broadening of + their love of home; to make them see that that mother will + be most respected whose son does not, when a downy beard is + grown, suddenly tower above her in the supercilious + enjoyment of an artificial superiority--a superiority which + consists simply, as Figaro says, in his having taken the + trouble to be born; to make them see, finally, that in the + highest exercise of all the powers with which God has + endowed her, woman can no more refuse the duties of + citizenship, than she can refuse the duties of wifehood and + motherhood, once having accepted those sacred relations. + This is our first duty, and this the scope of our work, if + we would attain suffrage in 1879, or even in 1900. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[487] _President_, Alida C. Avery, M. D., Denver. +_Vice-Presidents_, Rev. Mr. Harford, Denver; Mr. J. E. Washburn, +Big Thompson; Mrs. H. M. Lee, Longmont; Mrs. M. M. Sheetz, Canon +City; Mrs. L. S. Ruhn, Del Norte; Mr. N. C. Meeker, Greeley; Hon. +Willard Teller, Central; Mr. D. M. Richards, Denver; Mr. J. B. +Harrington, Littleton; Mr. A. E. Lee, Boulder; Rev. Wm. Shephard, +Canon City. _Recording Secretary_, Miss Eunice D. Sewall, Denver. +_Corresponding Secretary_, Mrs. A. L. Washburn, Big Thompson. +_Treasurer_, Mrs. I. T. Hanna, Denver. _Executive Committee_, Mrs. +M. F. Shields, Colorado Springs; Mr. A. L. Ellis, Boulder; Mrs. M. +E. Hale, Denver; Mr. W. A. Wilkes, Colorado Springs; Mr. J. R. +Hanna, Denver; Mrs. S. C. Wilber, Greeley; Rev. Dr. Crary, Pueblo. + +[488] Of the membership of this committee a grateful word is to be +said: Mrs. Campbell is a woman of agreeable and stately presence, +and adds to thorough information on all points connected with +the claims made in this campaign, an unusual facility and +persuasiveness of language. Mrs. Shields is one of the most lovable +women to be seen in the suffrage panorama; a tower of strength in +her own family, where she is at once the comrade and commander of +her children--the help-meet and friend of her husband. She inspires +immediate confidence whenever she confronts an audience. Mrs. +Washburn is also an attractive and large-hearted woman--a +"Granger," and thus experienced in united, organized action of men +and women for furthering the interests of both. Mrs. Hanna, a tall, +graceful blonde, more reserved in speech but entirely intelligent +in faith and in labor, represented to many men of the convention +the very qualities they liked in their own wives. + +[489] _President_, Dr. Alida C. Avery of Denver; _Vice-Presidents_, +D. Howe, Mrs. M. B. Hart, J. E. Washburn, Mrs. Emma Moody, Willard +Teller, J. B. Harrington, A. E. Lee, and N. C. Meeker; _Recording +Secretary_, Birks Carnforth of Denver; _Corresponding Secretary_, +Mrs. T. M. Patterson of Denver; _Treasurer_, Mrs. H. C. Lawson of +Denver; _Executive Committee_, D. M. Richards, Mrs. M. F. Shields, +Mrs. M. E. Hale, H. McAllister, Mrs. Birks Carnforth, J. A. +Dresser, A. J. Wilber, B. F. Crary, Miss Annie Figg, H. Logan, J. +R. Eads, F. M. Ellis, C. Roby, Judge Jones, General Cameron, B. H. +Eaton, Agapita Vigil, W. B. Felton, S. C. Charles and J. B. +Campbell. + +[490] Consisting of Dr. R. G. Buckingham, chairman, Hon. John +Evans, Judge G. W. Miller, Benjamin D. Spencer, A. J. Williams, +Captain Richard Sopris, E. B. Sluth, John Armor, Hon. E. L. +Campbell, John Walker, J. U. Marlow, Col. W. H. Bright, John G. +Lilly, John S. McCool, J. W. Nesmyth, Henry O. Wagoner, and Dr. +Martimore. + + + + +CHAPTER LII. + +WYOMING. + + The Dawn of the New Day, December, 1869--The Goal Reached in + England and America--Territory Organized, May, 1869--Legislative + Action--Bill for Woman Suffrage--William H. Bright--Gov. Campbell + Signs the Bill--Appoints Esther Morris, Justice of the Peace, + March, 1870--Women on the Jury, Chief-Justice Howe, Presiding--J. + W. Kingman, Associate-Justice, Addresses the Jury--Women Promptly + take their Places--Sunday Laws Enforced--Comments of the + Press--Judge Howe's Letter--Laramie _Sentinel_--J. H. + Heyford--Women Voting, 1870--Grandma Swain the First to Cast her + Ballot--Effort to Repeal the Law, 1871--Gov. Campbell's Veto--Mr. + Corlett--Rapid Growth of Public Opinion in Favor of Woman + Suffrage. + + +After recording such a long succession of disappointments and +humiliations for women in all the States in their worthy endeavors +for higher education, for profitable employment in the trades and +professions and for equal social, civil and political rights, it is +with renewed self-respect and a stronger hope of better days to +come that we turn to the magnificent territory of Wyoming, where +the foundations of the first true republic were laid deep and +strong in equal rights to all, and where for the first time in the +history of the race woman has been recognized as a sovereign in her +own right--an independent, responsible being--endowed with the +capacity for self-government. This great event in the history of +human progress transpired in 1869. + +Neither the point nor the period for this experiment could have +been more fitly chosen. Midway across this vast western continent, +on the highest plane of land, rising from three to eight thousand +feet above the level of the sea, where gigantic mountain-peaks +shooting still higher seem to touch the clouds, while at their feet +flow the great rivers that traverse the State in all directions, +emptying themselves after weary wanderings into the Pacific ocean +at last; such was the grand point where woman was first crowned +with the rights of citizenship. And the period was equally marked. +To reach the goal of self-government the women of England and +America seemed to be vieing with each other in the race, now one +holding the advance position, now the other. And in many respects +their struggles and failures were similar. When seeking the +advantages of collegiate education, the women of England were +compelled to go to France, Austria and Switzerland for the +opportunities they could not enjoy in their own country. The women +of our Eastern States followed their example, or went to Western +institutions for such privileges, granted by Oberlin and Antioch in +Ohio, Ann Arbor in Michigan, Washington University in Missouri, and +refused in all the colleges of the East. For long years, alike they +endured ridicule and bitter persecution to secure a foothold in +their universities at home. + +Our battles in Parliament and in the Congress of the United States +were simultaneous. While nine senators,[491] staunch and true, +voted in favor of woman suffrage in 1866, and women were rolling up +their petitions for a constitutional amendment in '68 and '69, with +Samuel C. Pomeroy in the Senate and George W. Julian in the House, +the women of England, keeping step and time, found their champions +in the House of Commons in John Stuart Mill and Jacob Bright in +1867-69, and no sooner were their mammoth petitions presented in +parliament than ours were rolled into the halls of congress. At +last we reached the goal, the women of England in 1869 and those of +Wyoming in 1870. But what the former gained in time the latter far +surpassed in privilege. While to the English woman only a limited +suffrage was accorded, in the vast territory of Wyoming, larger +than all Great Britain, all the rights of citizenship were fully +and freely conferred by one act of the legislature--the right to +vote at all elections on all questions and to hold any office in +the gift of the people. + +The successive steps by which this was accomplished are given us by +Hon. J. W. Kingman, associate-justice in the territory for several +years: + + It is now sixteen years since the act was passed giving women the + right to vote at all elections in this territory, including all + the rights of an elector, with the right to hold office. The + language of the statute is broad, and beyond the reach of + evasion. It is as follows: + + That every woman of the age of twenty-one years, residing in + the territory, may, at every election to be holden under the + laws thereof, cast her vote; and her rights to the elective + franchise, and to hold office, shall be the same, under the + election laws of the territory, as those of the electors. + + There was no half-way work about it, no quibbling, no grudgingly + parting with political power, no fear of consequences, but a + manly acknowledgment of equal rights and equal privileges, among + all the citizens of the new territory. Nor was this the only act + of that first legislature on the subject of equal rights. They + passed the following: + + AN ACT _to protect married women in their separate property, + and the enjoyment of their labor._ + + SECTION 1. That all the property, both real and personal, + belonging to any married woman as her sole and separate + property, or which any woman hereafter married, owns at the + time of her marriage, or which any married woman during + coverture acquires in good faith from any person other than + her husband, by descent or otherwise, together with all the + rents, issues, increase and profits thereof, shall, + notwithstanding her marriage, be and remain during + coverture, her sole and separate property, under her sole + control, and be held, owned, possessed and enjoyed by her, + the same as though she were sole and unmarried, and shall + not be subject to the disposal, control or interference of + her husband, and shall be exempt from execution or + attachment for the debts of her husband. + + SEC. 2. Any married woman may bargain, sell, and convey, her + personal property, and enter into any contract in reference + to the same, as if she were _sole_. + + SEC. 3. Any woman may, while married, sue and be sued in all + matters having relation to her property, person or + reputation, in the same manner as if she were _sole_. + + SEC. 4. Any married woman may, while married, make a will + the same as though she were _sole_. + + SEC. 5. Any married woman may carry on any trade or + business, and perform any labor or service on her sole and + separate account, and the earnings of any married woman from + her trade, business, labor or services, shall be her sole + and separate property, and may be used and invested by her + in her own name; and she may sue and be sued, as if _sole_, + in regard to her trade, business, labor, services, and + earnings. * * * + + SEC. 9. The separate deed of the husband shall convey no + interest in the wife's lands. + + Under the statute for distributions, the wife is treated exactly + as the husband is; each having the same right in the estate of + the other. The provisions are so unusual and peculiar, that I + venture to copy some of them: + + * * * * If such intestate leave a husband or wife, _and_ + children, him or her surviving, one-half of such estate + shall descend to such surviving husband or wife, and the + residue thereof * * * * to the children; if such intestate + leave a husband or wife and _no_ child, * * * * then the + property shall descend as follows, to wit: three-fourths + thereof to such remaining husband or wife, and one-fourth + thereof to the father and mother of the intestate, or the + survivor of them; provided that if the estate of such + intestate, real and personal, does not exceed in volume the + sum of ten thousand dollars, then the whole thereof shall + descend to and rest in the surviving husband or wife as his + or her absolute estate. Dower and the tenancy by the curtesy + are abolished. + + The school law also provides: + + SEC. 9. In the employment of teachers no discrimination + shall be made, in the question of pay, on account of sex, + when the persons are equally qualified. + + Such are some of the radical enactments of the first legislature + of Wyoming territory in reference to woman's rights; and to a + person who has grown up under the common law and the usages of + English-speaking people, they undoubtedly appear extravagant if + not revolutionary, and well calculated to disturb or overthrow + the very foundations of social order. Experience has not, + however, justified any such apprehensions. The people of Wyoming + have prospered under these laws, and are growing to like them + better and better, and adapt themselves more and more to their + provisions. The object of this sketch is to trace the progress + and development of this new legislation, and gather up some of + its consequences as they have been observed in our social and + political relations. + + The territory of Wyoming was first organized in May, 1869. The + Union Pacific railroad was completed on the 9th of the month, and + the transcontinental route opened to the public. There were but + few people in the territory at that time, except such as had been + brought hither in connection with the building of that road, and + while some of them were good people, well-educated, and came to + stay, many were reckless, wicked and wandering. The first + election was held in September, 1869, for the election of a + delegate in congress, and members of the Council and House of + Representatives for the first territorial legislature. There was + a good deal of party feeling developed, and election day + witnessed a sharp and vigorous struggle. The candidates and their + friends spent money freely, and every liquor shop was thrown open + to all who would drink. I was about to say that any one could + imagine the consequences; but in fact I do not believe that any + one could picture to himself the mad follies, and frightful + scenes of that drunken election. Peaceful people did not dare to + walk the streets, in some of the towns, during the latter part of + the day and evening. At South Pass City, some drunken fellows + with large knives and loaded revolvers swaggered around the + polls, and swore that no negro should vote. One man remarked + quietly that he thought the negroes had as good a right to vote + as any of them had. He was immediately knocked down, jumped on, + kicked and pounded without mercy, and would have been killed, had + not his friends rushed into the brutal crowd and dragged him out, + bloody and insensible. It was a long time before the poor fellow + recovered from his injuries. There were quite a number of colored + men who wanted to vote, but did not dare approach the polls until + the United States Marshal placed himself at their head and with + revolver in hand escorted them through the crowd, saying he would + shoot the first man that interfered with them. There was much + quarreling and tumult, but the negroes voted. This was only a + sample of the day's doings, and characteristic of the election + all over the territory. The result was that every Republican was + defeated, and every Democratic candidate elected; and the whisky + shops had shown themselves to be the ruling power in Wyoming. + From such an inspiration one could hardly expect a revelation of + much value! Yet there were some fair men among those elected. + + The legislature met October 12, 1869. Wm. H. Bright was elected + president of the Council. As he was the author of the woman + suffrage bill, and did more than all others to secure its + passage, some account of him may be of interest. He was a man of + much energy and of good natural endowments, but entirely without + school education. He said frankly, "I have never been to school a + day in my life, and where I learned to read and write I do not + know." His character was not above reproach, but he had an + excellent, well-informed wife, and he was a kind, indulgent + husband. In fact, he venerated his wife, and submitted to her + judgment and influence more willingly than one could have + supposed; and she was in favor of woman suffrage.[492] There were + a few other men in that legislature, whose wives exercised a + similar influence; but Mr. Bright found it up-hill work to get a + majority for his bill, and it dragged along until near the close + of the session. The character of the arguments he used, and the + means he employed to win success are perhaps worthy of notice, as + showing the men he had to deal with. I ought to say distinctly, + that Mr. Bright was himself fully and firmly convinced of the + justice and policy of his bill, and gave his whole energy and + influence to secure its passage; he secured some members by + arguing to support their pet schemes in return, and some he won + over by even less creditable means. He got some votes by + admitting that the governor would veto the bill (and it was + generally understood that he would), insisting at the same time, + that it would give the Democrats an advantage in future elections + by showing that they were in favor of liberal measures while the + Republican governor and the Republican party were opposed to + them. The favorite argument, however, and by far the most + effective, was this: it would prove a great advertisement, would + make a great deal of talk, and attract attention to the + legislature, and the territory, more effectually than anything + else. The bill was finally passed and sent to the governor. I + must add, however, that many letters were written from different + parts of the territory, and particularly by the women, to members + of the legislature, urging its passage and approving its object. + + On receipt of the bill, the governor was in great doubt what + course to take. He was inclined to veto it, and had so expressed + himself; but he did not like to take the responsibility of + offending the women in the territory, or of placing the + Republican party in open hostility to a measure which he saw + might become of political force and importance. I remember well + an interview that Chief-Justice Howe and myself had with him at + that time, in which we discussed the policy of the bill, and both + of us urged him to sign it with all the arguments we could + command. After a protracted consultation we left him still + doubtful what he would do.[493] But in the end he signed it, and + drew upon himself the bitter curses of those Democrats who had + voted for the bill with the expectation that he would veto it. + From this time onward, the measure became rather a Republican + than a Democratic principle, and found more of its friends in the + former party, and more of its enemies in the latter. + + Soon after the passage of the bill, a vacancy occurred in the + office of justice of the peace, at South Pass City, the county + seat of Sweetwater county, and the home of Mr. Bright and of Mrs. + Esther Morris. At the request of the county attorney--who favored + woman suffrage--the commissioners, two of whom also approved of + it, appointed Mrs. Morris to fill the vacancy. The legislature + had vested the appointment of officers, in case of a vacancy, in + the county commissioners, but the organic act of congress, + creating the territory, provided that the governor "shall + commission all officers who shall be appointed under the laws of + said territory." Governor Campbell being absent from the + territory at the time, the secretary, acting as governor, sent + Mrs. Morris her commission. It is due to Secretary Lee to say + that he was an earnest advocate of woman's enfranchisement, and + labored for the passage of the bill, and gladly embraced the + opportunity to confirm a woman in office. The important fact is, + however, that Mrs. Morris' neighbors first suggested the + appointment that secured her the office, and manfully sustained + her during her whole term. She tried between thirty and forty + cases, and decided them so acceptably that not one of them was + appealed to a higher court; and I know of no one who has held the + office of justice of the peace in this territory, who has left a + more acceptable record, in all respects, than has Mrs. Esther + Morris. Some other appointments of women to office were made, but + I do not find that any of them entered upon its duties. + + The first term of the District Court, under the statutes passed + by the first legislature, was to be held at Laramie City, on the + first Monday of March, 1870. When the jurors were drawn, a large + number of women were selected, for both grand and petit jurors. + As this was not done by the friends of woman suffrage, there was + evidently an intention of making the whole subject odious and + ridiculous, and giving it a death-blow at the outset. A great + deal of feeling was excited among the people, and some effort + made to prejudice the women against acting as jurors, and even + threats, ridicule and abuse, in some cases, were indulged in. + Their husbands were more pestered and badgered than the women, + and some of them were so much inflamed that they declared they + would never live with their wives again if they served on the + jury. The fact that women were drawn as jurors was telegraphed + all over the country, and the newspapers came loaded with hostile + and uncomplimentary criticisms. At this stage of the case Col. + Downey, the prosecuting attorney for the county, wrote to Judge + Howe for advice and direction as to the eligibility of the women + as jurors, and what course should be taken in the premises. At + first Judge Howe was much inclined to order the women discharged, + and new juries drawn; and it certainly required no small amount + of moral courage to face the storm of ridicule and abuse that was + blowing from all quarters. We had a long consultation, and came + to the conclusion that since the law had clearly given all the + rights of electors to the women of the territory, they must be + protected in the exercise of these rights if they chose to assume + them; that under no circumstances could the judges permit popular + clamor to deprive the women of their legal rights in the very + presence of the courts themselves. The result was that Judge Howe + wrote the county attorney the following letter: + + CHEYENNE, March 3, 1870. + + S. W. DOWNEY--_My Dear Sir_: I have your favor of yesterday, + and have carefully considered the question of the + eligibility of women who are "citizens," to serve on juries. + Mr. Justice Kingman has also considered the question, and we + concur in the opinion that such women are eligible. My + reason for this opinion will be given at length, if occasion + requires. I will thank you to make it known to those ladies + who have been summoned on the juries, that they will be + received, protected, and treated with all the respect and + courtesy due, and ever paid, by true American gentlemen to + true American ladies, and that the Court, in all the power + of government, will secure to them all that deference, + security from insult, or anything which ought to offend the + most refined woman, which is accorded in any walks of life + in which the good and true women of our country have + heretofore been accustomed to move. Thus, whatever may have + been, or may now be thought of the policy of admitting women + to the right of suffrage and to hold office, they will have + a fair opportunity, at least in my Court, to demonstrate + their ability in this new field, and prove the policy or + impolicy of occupying it. Of their right to try it I have no + doubt. I hope they will succeed, and the Court will + certainly aid them in all lawful and proper ways. Very + respectfully, + + J. H. HOWE, _Chief-Justice_. + + When the time came to hold the court, Judge Howe, whose duty it + was to preside, requested me to go with him to Laramie City, and + sit with him during the term. I gladly availed myself of the + opportunity. As soon as we arrived there, Judge Howe was waited + on by a number of gentlemen who endeavored to induce him to order + the discharge of the female jurors without calling them into + court. Some spoke of the impolicy of the proceeding, and said the + women all objected to it and wished to be excused; while some + were cross, and demanded the discharge of their wives, saying + that it was an intentional insult and they would not submit to + it. But Judge Howe told them all firmly, that the women must come + into court, and if, after the whole question was fairly explained + to them, they chose to decline, they should be excused. At the + opening of the court next morning, the house was crowded, and the + female jurors were all there. After the usual preliminaries, an + attorney arose and moved that all the women summoned as jurors be + excused, saying he made the motion at the request of the women + themselves; and that he was assured they did not wish to serve. + Judge Howe then requested me to express my opinion and make some + remarks to the women on the duties devolving on them. I said: + + It was a real pleasure to me to see ladies in the + court-room, with the right to take a responsible part in the + proceedings, as grand and petit jurors; that no one knew so + well as they did, the evils our community suffered from + lawless and wicked people; and no one better understood the + difficulties the court labored under in its efforts to + administer justice and punish crime; that the time had come + when the good women of the territory could give us + substantial aid, and we looked to them especially, as the + power which should make the court efficient in the discharge + of its duties; that the new law had conferred on them + important rights, and corresponding duties necessarily + devolved upon them; that I hoped and believed they would not + shrink when so many influences were calling on them for + noble and worthy action; that if they failed us now, the + cause of equal rights would suffer at their hands, not only + in our territory, but in every land where its advocates were + struggling for its recognition; that if they would remain, + their presence would secure a degree of decorum in the + court-room and add a dignity to the proceedings, which the + judges had been unable to command; that we required the + assistance of good women all over the territory, and I + begged them to help us. + + Judge Howe then spoke as follows: + + It is an innovation and a great novelty to see, as we do + to-day, ladies summoned to serve as jurors. The extension of + political rights and franchise to women is a subject that is + agitating the whole country. I have never taken an active + part in these discussions, but I have long seen that woman + is a victim to the vices, crimes and immoralities of man, + with no power to protect and defend herself from these + evils. I have long felt that such powers of protection + should be conferred upon woman, and it has fallen to our lot + here to act as the pioneers in the movement and to test the + question. The eyes of the whole world are to-day fixed upon + this jury of Albany county. There is not the slightest + impropriety in any lady occupying this position, and I wish + to assure you that the fullest protection of the court shall + be accorded to you. It would be a most shameful scandal that + in our temple of justice and in our courts of law, anything + should be permitted which the most sensitive lady might not + hear with propriety and witness. And here let me add that it + will be a sorry day for any man who shall so far forget the + courtesy due and paid by every American gentleman to every + American lady as to ever by word or act endeavor to deter + you from the exercise of those rights with which the law has + invested you. I conclude with the remark that this is a + question for you to decide for yourselves. No man has any + right to interfere. It seems to me to be eminently proper + for women to sit upon grand juries, which will give them the + best possible opportunities to aid in suppressing the dens + of infamy which curse the country. I shall be glad of your + assistance in the accomplishment of this object. I do not + make these remarks from distrust of any of the gentlemen. On + the contrary, I am exceedingly pleased and gratified with + the indication of intelligence, love of law and good order, + and the gentlemanly deportment which I see manifested here. + + The ladies were then told that those who could not conveniently + serve, and those who insisted on being excused, might rise and + they should be discharged. Only one rose and she was excused. But + a victory had been won of no small moment. Seeing the earnestness + of the judges and the dignified character they had given to the + affair, the women were encouraged and pleased, and the enemies of + equal rights, who had planned, as they thought, a stunning blow + to further progress, were silenced and defeated. The current set + rapidly in the other direction and applause, as usual, followed + success. The business of the court proceeded with marked + improvement. The court-room, always crowded, was quiet and + decorous in the extreme. The bar in particular was always on its + good behavior, and wrangling, abuse and buncome speeches were + not heard. When men moved about they walked quietly, on tip-toe, + so as to make no noise, and forbore to whisper or make any + demonstrations in or around the court-room. The women when called + took their chairs in the jury-box with the men, as they do their + seats in church,[494] and no annoyance or reluctance was visible + from the bench. They gave close and intelligent attention to the + details of every case, and the men who sat with them evidently + acted with more conscientious care than usual. The verdicts were + generally satisfactory, except to convicted criminals. They did + not convict every one they tried, but "no guilty man escaped," if + there was sufficient evidence to hold him. The lawyers soon found + out that the usual tricks and subterfuges in criminal cases would + not procure acquittal, and they began to challenge off all the + women called. The court checkmated this move by directing the + sheriff to summon other women in their places, instead of men, + and then came motions for continuances. The result was a great + success and was so acknowledged by all disinterested persons. On + the grand jury were six women and nine men, and they became such + a terror to evil-doers that a stampede began among them and very + many left the town forever. Certainly there was never more + fearless or efficient work performed by a grand jury. + + The legislature copied most of the statutes which it enacted from + the laws of Nebraska, and among others the following clauses in + the crimes act, to wit.: + + If any person shall keep open any tippling or gaming-house + on the Sabbath day or night, * * * he shall be fined not + exceeding one hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the county + jail not exceeding six months. + + Any person who shall hereafter knowingly disturb the peace + and good order of society by labor on the first day of the + week, commonly called Sunday (works of necessity and charity + excepted), shall be fined, on conviction thereof, in any sum + not exceeding fifty dollars. + + No attention whatever had been paid to these statutes, and Sunday + was generally the great drinking day of the whole week; the + saloons sold more whiskey and made more money that day than any + other. The women on that grand jury determined to put a stop to + it and enforce these laws. They therefore indicted every liquor + saloon in town. This made a great outcry, not only among the + liquor-sellers but among their customers also. They were all + arrested, brought into court and gave bail; but Judge Howe told + them as this was a new law recently passed, and as it was quite + probable that most of them were ignorant of its provisions, he + would continue the cases with this express understanding, that if + they would strictly obey the law in future these cases should be + dismissed; but if any of them violated it, these cases would be + tried and the full penalty inflicted. They all agreed to this, + and the "Sunday Law," as it was called, was carefully observed + afterwards in Laramie City; and so great has been the change in + that town in the habits of the people and the quiet appearance of + the streets on Sunday, as compared with other towns in the + territory, that it has been nick-named the "Puritan town" of + Wyoming, and, I may add, rejoices in its singularity. + + And how was this most successful experiment in equal rights + received and treated by the press and the people out of the + territory? The New York illustrated papers made themselves funny + with caricatures of female juries, and cheap scribblers invented + all sorts of scandals and misrepresentations about them. The + newspapers were overflowing with abuse and adverse criticism, and + only here and there was a manly voice heard in apology or + defense. I copy these extracts as a sample of the rest. + + "LADY JURORS."--Under this head the New Orleans _Times_, the + ablest and largest paper in the South, said: + + Confusion is becoming worse confounded by the hurried march + of events. Mad theorizings take the form of every-day + realities, and in the confusion of rights and the confusion + of dress, all distinctions of sex are threatened with swift + obliteration. When Anna Dickinson holds forth as the teacher + of strange doctrines in which the masculinity of woman is + preposterously asserted as a true warrant for equality with + man in all his political and industrial relations; when + Susan B. Anthony flashes defiance from lips and eyes which + refuse the blandishment and soft dalliance that in the past + have been so potent with "the sex"; when, in fine, the women + of Wyoming are called from their domestic firesides to serve + as jurors in a court of justice, a question of the day, and + one, too, of the strangest kind, is forced on our attention. + From a careful review of all the surroundings, we think the + Wyoming experiment will lead to beneficial results. By + proving that lady jurors are altogether impracticable--that + they cannot sit as the peers of men without setting at + defiance all the laws of delicacy and propriety--the + conclusion may be reached that it will be far better to let + nature alone in regulating the relations of the sexes. + + The Philadelphia _Press_ had the following: + + WOMEN AS JURORS.--Now one of the adjuncts of female + citizenship is about to be tested in Wyoming. Eleven women + have been drawn as jurors to serve at the March term of the + Albany County Court. It is stated that immense excitement + has been created thereby, but the nature of the aforesaid + excitement does not transpire. Will women revolutionize + justice? What is female justice, or what is it likely to be? + Would twelve women return the same verdict as twelve men, + supposing that each twelve had heard the same case? Is it + possible for a jury of women, carrying with them all their + sensitiveness, sympathies, predilections, jealousies, + prejudices, hatreds, to reach an impartial verdict? Would + not every criminal be a monster, provided not a female? Can + the sex, ordinarily so quick to pronounce pre-judgments, + divest itself of them sufficiently to enter the jury-box + with unbiased minds? Perhaps it were best to trust the + answer to events. Women may learn to be jurymen, but in so + doing they have a great deal to learn. + + So persistent were the attacks and so malignant were the + perversions of truth that Judge Howe, at the request of the + editor, wrote the following letter for publication anonymously in + the Chicago _Legal News_, every statement in which I can confirm + from my own observation. The Judge, after writing the letter, + consented to its publication over his own signature: + + CHEYENNE, Wyoming, April 4, 1870. + + _Mrs. Myra Bradwell, Chicago, Ill.:_ + + DEAR MADAM: I am in receipt of your favor of March 26, in + which you request me to "give you a truthful statement, over + my own signature, for publication in your paper, of the + history of, and my observations in regard to, women as grand + and petit jurors in Wyoming." I will comply with your + request, with this qualification, that it be not published + over my own signature, as I do not covet newspaper + publicity, and have already, without any agency or fault of + my own, been subjected to an amount of it which I never + anticipated nor conceived of, and which has been far from + agreeable to me. + + I had no agency in the enactment of the law in Wyoming + conferring legal equality upon women. I found it upon the + statute-book of that territory, and in accordance with its + provisions several women were legally drawn by the proper + officers on the grand and petit juries of Albany county, and + were duly summoned by the sheriff without any agency of + mine. On being apprised of these facts, I conceived it to be + my plain duty to fairly enforce this law, as I would any + other; and more than this, I resolved at once that, as it + had fallen to my lot to have the experiment tried under my + administration, it should have a fair trial, and I therefore + assured these women that they could serve or not, as they + chose; that if they chose to serve, the Court would secure + to them the most respectful consideration and deference, and + protect them from insult in word or gesture, and from + everything which might offend a modest and virtuous woman in + any of the walks of life in which the good and true women of + our country have been accustomed to move. + + While I had never been an advocate for the law, I felt that + thousands of good men and women had been, and that they had + a right to see it fairly administered; and I was resolved + that it should not be sneered down if I had to employ the + whole power of the court to prevent it. I felt that even + those who were opposed to the policy of admitting women to + the right of suffrage and to hold office would condemn me if + I did not do this. It was also sufficient for me that my own + judgment approved this course. + + With such assurances these women chose to serve and were + duly impanelled as jurors. They were educated, cultivated + eastern ladies, who are an honor to their sex. They have, + with true womanly devotion, left their homes of comfort in + the States to share the fortunes of their husbands and + brothers in the far West and to aid them in founding a new + State beyond the Missouri. + + And now as to the results. With all my prejudices against + the policy, I am under conscientious obligations to say that + these women acquitted themselves with such dignity, decorum, + propriety of conduct and intelligence as to win the + admiration of every fair-minded citizen of Wyoming. They + were careful, pains-taking, intelligent and conscientious. + They were firm and resolute for the right as established by + the law and the testimony. Their verdicts were right, and, + after three or four criminal trials, the lawyers engaged in + defending persons accused of crime began to avail themselves + of the right of peremptory challenge to get rid of the + female jurors, who were too much in favor of enforcing the + laws and punishing crime to suit the interests of their + clients. After the grand jury had been in session two days, + the dance-house keepers, gamblers and _demi-monde_ fled out + of the city in dismay, to escape the indictment of women + grand jurors! In short I have never, in twenty-five years of + constant experience in the courts of the country, seen more + faithful, intelligent and resolutely honest grand and petit + juries than these. + + A contemptibly lying and silly dispatch went over the wires + to the effect that during the trial of A. W. Howie for + homicide (in which the jury consisted of six women and six + men) the men and women were kept locked up together all + night for four nights. Only two nights intervened during the + trial, and on these nights, by my order, the jury was taken + to the parlor of the large, commodious and well-furnished + hotel of the Union Pacific Railroad, in charge of the + sheriff and a woman bailiff, where they were supplied with + meals and every comfort, and at 10 o'clock the women were + conducted by the bailiff to a large and suitable apartment + where beds were prepared for them, and the men to another + adjoining, where beds were prepared for them, and where they + remained in charge of sworn officers until morning, when + they were again all conducted to the parlor and from thence + in a body to breakfast, and thence to the jury-room, which + was a clean and comfortable one, carpeted and heated, and + furnished with all proper conveniences. + + The cause was submitted to the jury for their decision about + 11 o'clock in the forenoon, and they agreed upon their + verdict, which was received by the court between 11 and 12 + o'clock at night of the same day, when they were discharged. + + Everybody commended the conduct of this jury and was + satisfied with the verdict, except the individual who was + convicted of murder in the second degree. The presence of + these ladies in court secured the most perfect decorum and + propriety of conduct, and the gentlemen of the bar and + others vied with each other in their courteous and + respectful demeanor toward the ladies and the court. Nothing + occurred to offend the most refined lady (if she was a + sensible lady) and the universal judgment of every + intelligent and fair-minded man present was and is, that the + experiment was a success. + + I dislike the notoriety this matter has given me, but I do + not shrink from it. I never sought it nor expected it, and + have only performed what I regarded as a plain duty, neither + seeking nor desiring any praise, and quite indifferent to + any censure or criticism which my conduct may have invoked. + + Thanking you for your friendly and complimentary + expressions, I am very respectfully yours, + + J. H. HOWE. + + As showing how the matter was received at home, in Laramie City, + I copy the following from the _Laramie Sentinel_ of April 7, + 1870: + + If we should neglect to give some idea of the results of our + jury experiment, the world would say we were afraid or + ashamed of it. For our own part we are inclined to admit + that it succeeded beyond all our expectations. We naturally + wished it to succeed; still we scarcely wished it to + demonstrate a theory that women were better qualified for + these duties than men. Hence, when Chief-Justice Howe said, + "In eighteen years' experience I have never had as fair, + candid, impartial and able a jury in court, as in this term + in Albany county," and when Associate-Justice Kingman said, + "For twenty-five years it has been an anxious study with me, + both on the bench and at the bar, how we are to prevent jury + trials from degenerating into a perfect burlesque, and it + has remained for Albany county to point out the remedy and + demonstrate the cure for this threatened evil," we confess + to having been _more_ than satisfied with the result. It may + be safely stated as the unanimous verdict of bench, bar and + public opinion, that the jurors of Albany county did well + and faithfully discharge their duties, with honor and credit + to themselves and to the satisfaction of the public. + + Among the few exceptions to the general abuse of the press, the + following from the Cincinnati _Gazette_ of April 14, 1870, is + well worth preserving: + + Now, in the name of the inalienable right of every person to + the pursuit of happiness, we have to ask: Are not these + women competent to decide for themselves whether their + households, their children or their husbands are of more + importance than their public duties? And having the best + means for deciding this question, have they not the right to + decide? Who has the right to pick out the females of a jury + and challenge them with the question whether they are not + neglecting their households or their husbands? Who + challenges a male juror and demands whether he left his + family well provided, and his wife well cherished? or if, + through his detention in court, the cupboard will be bare, + the wife neglected, or the children with holes in their + trousers? This is simply the crack of the familiar whip of + man's absolute domination over women. It means nothing short + of their complete subjection. Not to use rights is to + abandon them. There are inconveniences and cares in all + possessions; but who argues that therefore they should be + abandoned? It would much promote the convenience of man if + he would let his political rights and duties be performed by + a few willing persons; but he would soon find that he had no + rights left. + + And what is this family impediment which is thus set up as a + female disability? The family obligation is just as strong + in man as in woman. It is much stronger, for the manners + which compel woman to be the passive waiter on the male + providence leave to him the real responsibility. Yet many + men forego marriage and homes and children, and nobody + imagines that it disqualifies them for public duties. Nobody + challenges them as jurors, and demands if they have + discharged the family obligation. Rather it is held wise in + them to give themselves wholly to their pursuits, without + the distraction of conjugal joys, until they have achieved + success. Why should the family requirement, which man throws + off so easily, be made a yoke for woman? There is something + more fundamental than nursing babies or coddling the + appetites of husbands. The sentiment, "Give me liberty, or + give me death," is the American instinct. Breathes there a + woman with soul so dead that she would bring forth slaves? + Babes had better not be born if they are not to have their + rights. It is the duty of women to first provide the state + of freedom for their progeny. Then they may consent to + become wives and mothers. Liberty and the exercise of all + political rights are so bound together, that to neglect one + is to abandon all. Trial by a jury of one's peers is the + essential principle of the administration of justice. To be + a peer on a jury involves the whole principle of equal + rights. To abandon this to man, is to accept subjection to + man. + + For women to neglect jury duty is to give men the exclusive + privilege to _judge women_, and to abandon the right to be + tried by a jury of their peers. How can men justly judge a + woman? They cannot have that knowledge of her peculiar + physical and mental organization which is requisite to the + judgment of motives and temptations. They cannot comprehend + the variable moods and emotions, nor the power of her + impulses. It is monstrous injustice to judge women by the + same rules as men. And men lack that intuitive charity and + tender sympathy which women always feel for an exposed, + erring sister. Furthermore, many of the crimes of men are + against women. How can men appreciate their injury? That + which is her ruin, they call, as Anna Dickinson says, sowing + their wild oats. How can justice be expected from those who + instinctively combine to preserve their privilege to abuse + women? For the administration of justice to women who are + accused, and to men who have wronged women, judges and + jurors of their own sex are indispensable. + + As long as Judge Howe remained on the bench he had women on his + juries.[495] His first term at Cheyenne, after the law was + passed, several women were among the jurors, and they did fully + as well, and exerted quite as good an influence there, as the + women had recently at Laramie City. + + The first election under the woman suffrage law was held in + September 1870, for the election of a delegate in congress, and + county officers. There was an exciting canvass, and both parties + applied to the whisky shops, as before, supposing they would + wield the political power of the territory, and that not enough + women would vote to influence the result. The morning of election + came, but did not bring the usual scenes around the polls. A few + women came out early to vote, and the crowd kept entirely out of + sight. There was plenty of drinking and noise at the saloons, but + the men would not remain, after voting, around the polls. It + seemed more like Sunday than election day. Even the negro men and + women voted without objection or disturbance. Quite a number of + women voted during the day, at least in all the larger towns, but + apprehension of a repetition of the scenes of the former + election, and doubt as to the proper course for them to pursue, + kept very many from voting. The result was a great disappointment + all around. The election had passed off with unexpected quiet, + and order had everywhere prevailed. The whisky shops had been + beaten, and their favorite candidate for congress, although he + had spent several thousand dollars to secure an election, was + left out in the cold. I cannot deny myself the pleasure of + quoting at length the following letter of the Rev. D. J. Pierce, + at that time a resident of Laramie City, and a very wealthy man, + to show the powerful influence that was exerted on the mind of a + New England clergyman by that first exhibition of women at the + polls, and as evidence of the singular and beneficial change in + the character of the election, and the conduct of the men: + + _Editor Laramie Sentinel:_ I am pleased to notice your + action in printing testimonials of different classes to the + influence of woman suffrage in Wyoming. With the apathy of + conservatism and prejudice of party spirit arrayed against + the idea in America, it is the duty of the residents in + Wyoming to note the simple facts of their noted experiment, + and lay them before the world for its consideration. I came + from the vicinity of Boston, arriving in Laramie two weeks + before the first regular election of 1870. I had never + sympathized with the extreme theories of the woman's rights + platform, to the advocates of which I had often listened in + Boston. But I had never been able to learn just why a woman + is naturally excluded from the privilege of franchise, and I + sometimes argued in favor in lyceum debates. Still the + question of her degradation stared me in the face, and I + came to Wyoming unsettled in the matter, determined to be an + impartial judge. I was early at the polls, but too late to + witness the polling of the first female vote--by "Grandma" + Swain, a much-esteemed Quaker lady of 75 summers, who + determined by her words and influence to rally her sex to + defend the cause of morality and justice. + + I saw the rough mountaineers maintaining the most respectful + decorum whenever the women approached the polls, and heard + the timely warning of one of the leading canvassers as he + silenced an incipient quarrel with uplifted finger, saying, + "Hist! Be quiet! A woman is coming!" + + And I was compelled to allow that in this new country, + supposed at that time to be infested by hordes of + cut-throats, gamblers and abandoned characters, I had + witnessed a more quiet election than it had been my fortune + to see in the quiet towns of Vermont. I saw ladies attended + by their husbands, brothers, or sweethearts, ride to the + places of voting, and alight in the midst of a silent crowd, + and pass through an open space to the polls, depositing + their votes with no more exposure to insult or injury than + they would expect on visiting a grocery store or + meat-market. Indeed, they were much safer here, every man of + their party was pledged to shield them, while every member + of the other party feared the influence of any signs of + disrespect. + + And the next day I sent my impressions to an eastern paper, + declaring myself convinced that woman's presence at the + polls would elevate the tone of public sentiment there as it + does in churches, the social hall, or any other place, while + her own robes are unspotted by the transient association + with evil characters which she is daily obliged to meet in + the street or dry-goods store. My observation at subsequent + annual elections has only confirmed my opinion in this + respect. + + Without reference to party issues, I noticed that a majority + of women voted for men of the most temperate habits, thus + insuring success to the party of law and order. + + After three years' absence from my old home, I could not + fail to notice in the elections of 1877 and 1878 that both + parties had been led to nominate men of better standing in + moral character, in order to secure the female vote. + + I confess that I believe in the idea of aristocracy--_i. e._ + "the rule of the best ones"--not by blood or position, but + the aristocracy of character, to which our laws point when + they declare that prison characters shall not vote. + + The ballot of any community cannot rise above its character. + A town full of abandoned women would be cursed by the + application of woman suffrage. + + We need to intrust our State interests to the class most + noted for true character. As a class, women are more moral + and upright in their character than men. Hence America would + profit by their voting. + + D. J. PIERCE, _Pastor Baptist Church_. + + The next general election occurred in September, 1871, for + members of the second territorial legislature. The usual tactics + were employed and considerable sums of money were given to the + drinking saloons to secure their influence and furnish free + drinks and cigars for the voters. But no one thought of trying to + buy up the women, nor was it ever supposed that a woman's vote + could be secured with whiskey and cigars! Election day passed off + with entire quiet and good order around the polling-places; the + noise and bustle were confined to the bar-rooms. The streets + presented no change from an ordinary business day, except that a + large number of wagons and carriages were driven about with the + watch-words and banners of different parties, or different + candidates, conspicuously posted on them. A much larger number of + women voted at this election than at the former one, but quite a + number failed or refused to take part in it. The result was again + a surprise, and to many a disappointment. Some candidates were + unexpectedly elected, and some who had spent large amounts of + money and worked hard around the drinking saloons, and were ready + to bet largely on being elected, were defeated. The Republicans + had shown an unexpected strength and had returned several members + to each House, although it was quite certain that some of the + Democrats were indebted to the women for their success. It was + admitted, however, that their votes had generally gone against + the favorites of the whiskey shops and that the power of the + saloons had been largely neutralized and in some cases entirely + overthrown. Some remarkable instances of woman's independence and + moral character occurred at this election which I cannot help + recording, but must not mention names. + + As above stated in reference to the grand jury in Laramie City, + the "Sunday law" had there been put into vigorous operation. The + evening before the election, and after both the political parties + had nominated their candidates for the legislature, the + saloon-keepers got together very secretly and nominated a ticket + of their own number, pledged to repeal the "Sunday law." This + move was not discovered until they began to vote that ticket at + the polls next day. Then it was found that the saloons were + pushing it with all their influence and giving free drinks to all + who would vote it. This aroused the women and they came out in + force; many who had declined to vote before not only voted, but + went round and induced others to do the same. At noon the + rum-sellers' ticket was far ahead and it looked as though it + would be elected by a large majority; at the close of the polls + at night it was overwhelmingly defeated. In one case the wife of + a saloon-keeper who was a candidate on that ticket, told her + husband that she would defeat him if she could. He was beaten, + and he was man enough to say he was glad of it--glad he had a + wife so much better than he was, and who had so much more + influence in town than he had. + + Another candidate on that ticket was a saloon-keeper who had + grown rich in the traffic, but whose private character was much + above the morals of his business. He had recently married a very + nice young lady in the East, and she was much excited when she + learned how matters were progressing. She told her husband she + was ashamed of him and would vote against him, and would enlist + all the members of her church against him if she could; and she + went to work in earnest and was a most efficient cause of the + defeat of the ticket. Her husband also was proud of her, and said + it served him right and he was glad of it. I have never heard + that the domestic harmony of either of these families was in + anyway disturbed by these events, but I know that they have + prospered and are still successful and happy. + + Still the legislature was strongly Democratic. There were four + Republicans and five Democrats in the Council, and four + Republicans and nine Democrats in the House. When they met in + November, 1871, many Democrats were found to be bitterly opposed + to woman suffrage and determined to repeal the act; they said it + was evident they were losing ground and the Republicans gaining + by reason of the women voting, and that it must be stopped. The + Republicans were all inclined to sustain the law. Several + caucuses were held by the Democrats to determine on their course + of action and overcome the opposition in their own ranks. These + caucuses were held in one of the largest drinking saloons in + Cheyenne and all the power of whiskey was brought to bear on the + members to secure a repeal of the woman suffrage act. It required + considerable time and a large amount of whiskey, but at last the + opposition was stifled and the Democratic party was brought up + solid for repeal. A bill was introduced in the House for the + purpose, but was warmly resisted by the Republicans and a long + discussion followed. It was finally carried by a strict party + vote and sent to the Council, where it met with the same + opposition and the same result followed. It then went to the + governor for his approval. There was no doubt in his mind as to + the course he ought to take. He had seen the effects produced by + the act of enfranchisement, and unhesitatingly approved all of + them. He promptly returned the bill with his veto; and the + accompanying message is such an able paper and so fully sets + forth the reasons in favor of the original act, and the good + results of its operation, that at least a few extracts well + deserve a prominent place in this record: + + I return herewith to the House of Representatives, in which + it originated, a bill for "An Act to repeal Chapter XXXI. of + the Laws of the First Legislative Assembly of the Territory + of Wyoming." + + I regret that a sense of duty compels me to dissent from + your honorable body with regard to any contemplated measure + of public policy. It would certainly be more in accordance + with the desire I have to secure and preserve the most + harmonious relations among all the branches of our + territorial government, to approve the bill. A regard, + however, for the rights of those whose interests are to be + affected by it, and for what I believe to be the best + interests of the territory, will not allow me to do so. The + consideration, besides, that the passage of this bill would + be, on the part of those instrumental in bringing it about, + a declaration that the principles upon which the + enfranchisement of women is urged are false and untenable, + and that our experience demonstrates this, influences me not + a little in my present action. + + While I fully appreciate the great danger of too much + attention to abstract speculation or metaphysical reasoning + in political affairs, I cannot but perceive that there are + times and circumstances when it is not only proper but + absolutely necessary to appeal to principles somewhat + general and abstract, when they alone can point out the way + and they alone can guide our conduct. So it was when, two + years ago, the act which this bill is designed to repeal was + presented for my approval. There was at that time no + experience to which I might refer and test by its results + the conclusions to which the application of certain + universally admitted principles led me. In the absence of + all such experience I was driven to the application of + principles which through the whole course of our national + history have been powerfully and beneficially operative in + making our institutions more and more popular, in framing + laws more and more just and in securing amendments to our + federal constitution. If the ballot be an expression of the + wish, or a declaration of the will, of the tax-payer as to + the manner in which taxes should be levied and collected and + revenues disbursed, why should those who hold in their own + right a large proportion of the wealth of the country be + excluded from a voice in making the laws which regulate this + whole subject? If, again, the ballot be for the physically + weak a guarantee of protection against the aggression and + violence of the strong, upon what ground can the delicate + bodily organism of woman be forbidden this shelter for her + protection? If, once more, each ballot be the declaration of + the individual will of the person casting it, as to the + relative merit of opposed measures or men, surely the + ability to judge and determine--the power of choice--does + not depend upon sex, nor does womanhood deprive of + personality. If these principles are too general to be free + from criticism, and if this reasoning be too abstract to be + always practically applicable, neither the principles nor + the reasoning can fail of approbation when contrasted with + the gloomy misgivings for the future and the dark + forebodings of evils, imaginary, vague and undefined, by + dwelling upon which the opponents of this reform endeavor to + stay its progress. Aggressive reasoning and positive + principles like these must be met with something more than + mere doubtful conjectures, must be resisted by something + more than popular prejudices, and overthrown--if overthrown + at all--by something stronger than the force of inert + conservatism; yet what is there but conjecture, prejudice + and conservatism opposing this reform? * * * * * * * * + + The law granting to women the right to vote and to hold + office in this territory was a natural and logical sequence + to the other laws upon our statute-book. Our laws give to + the widow the guardianship of her minor children. Will you + take from her all voice in relation to the public schools + established for the education of those children? Our laws + permit women to acquire and possess property. Will you + forbid them having any voice in relation to the taxation of + that property? This bill says too little or too much. Too + little, if you legislate upon the assumption that woman is + an inferior who should be kept in a subordinate position, + for in that case the other laws affecting her should be + repealed or amended; and too much, if she is, as no one will + deny, the equal of man in heart and mind, for in that case + we cannot afford to dispense with her counsel and assistance + in the government of the territory. + + I need only instance section 9 of the school act, which + declares that, "In the employment of teachers no + discrimination shall be made in the question of pay on + account of sex when the persons are equally qualified." What + is more natural than that the men who thought that women + were competent to instruct the future voters and legislators + of our land, should take the one step in advance of the + public sentiment of yesterday and give to her equal wages + for equal work? And when this step had been taken, what more + natural than that they should again move forward--this time + perhaps a little in advance of the public sentiment of + to-day--and give to those whom they consider competent to + instruct voters, the right to vote. + + To the statement, so often made, that the law which this + bill is intended to repeal was passed thoughtlessly and + without proper consideration, I oppose the fact to which I + have adverted, that the law perfectly conforms to all the + other laws in relation to women upon our statute-book. + Studied in connection with the other laws it would seem to + have grown naturally from them. It harmonizes entirely with + them, and forms a fitting apex to the grand pyramid which is + being built up as broadly and as surely throughout all the + States of the Union as it has been built up and capped in + Wyoming. + + The world does not stand still. The dawn of Christianity was + the dawn of light for woman. For eighteen centuries she has + been gradually but slowly rising from the condition of + drudge and servant for man, to become his helpmeet, + counselor and companion. As she has been advanced in the + social scale, our laws have kept pace with that advancement + and conferred upon her rights and privileges with + accompanying duties and responsibilities. She has not abused + those privileges, and has been found equal to the duties and + responsibilities. And the day is not far distant when the + refining and elevating influence of women will be as clearly + manifested in the political as it now is in the social + world. + + Urged by all these considerations of right, and justice, and + expediency, and the strong conviction of duty, I approved + that act of which this bill contemplates the repeal, and it + became a law. To warrant my reconsidering that action, there + ought to be in the experience of the last two years + something to show that the reasons upon which it was founded + were unsound, or that the law itself was wrong or at least + unwise and inexpedient. My view of the teachings of this + experience is the very reverse of this. Women have voted, + and have the officers chosen been less faithful and zealous + and the legislature less able and upright? They have sat as + jurors, and have the laws been less faithfully and justly + administered, and criminals less promptly and adequately + punished? Indeed the lessons of this two years' experience + fully confirm all that has been claimed by the most ardent + advocate of this innovation. + + In this territory women have manifested for its highest + interests a devotion strong, ardent, and intelligent. They + have brought to public affairs a clearness of understanding + and a soundness of judgment, which, considering their + exclusion hitherto from practical participation in political + agitations and movements, are worthy of the greatest + admiration and above all praise. The conscience of women is + in all things more discriminating and sensitive than that of + men; their sense of justice, not compromising or + time-serving, but pure and exacting; their love of order, + not spasmodic or sentimental merely, but springing from the + heart; all these,--the better conscience, the exalted sense + of justice, and the abiding love of order, have been made by + the enfranchisement of women to contribute to the good + government and well-being of our territory. To the plain + teachings of these two years' experience I cannot close my + eyes. I cannot forget the benefits that have already + resulted to our territory from woman suffrage, nor can I + permit myself even to seem to do so by approving this bill. + + There is another, and in my judgment, a serious objection to + this bill, which I submit for the consideration and action + of your honorable body. It involves a reference to that most + difficult of questions, the limitations of legislative + power. High and transcendent as that power undoubtedly and + wisely is, there are limits which not even it can pass. Two + years ago the legislature of this territory conferred upon + certain of its citizens valuable rights and franchises. Can + a future legislature, by the passage of a law not liable to + the objection, that it violates the obligation of contracts, + take away those rights? It is not claimed, so far as I have + been informed, that the persons upon whom these franchises + were conferred have forfeited or failed to take advantage of + them. But even if such were the case it would be rather a + matter for judicial determination than for legislative + action. What that determination would be is clearly + indicated in the opinion of Associate-justice Story in the + celebrated case of Trustees of Dartmouth College _vs._ + Woodward: "The right to be a freeman of a corporation is a + valuable temporal right. * * It is founded on the same basis + as the right of voting in public elections; it is as sacred + a right; and whatever might have been the prevalence of + former doubts, since the time of Lord Holt, such a right has + always been deemed a valuable franchise or privilege." + + But even if we concede that these rights once acquired may + be taken away, the passage of this bill would be, in my + judgment, a most dangerous precedent. Once admit the right + of a representative body to disfranchise its own + constituents, and who can establish the limits to which that + right may not be carried? If this legislature takes from + women their franchises or privileges, what is to prevent a + future legislature from depriving certain men, or classes of + men, that, from any consideration they desire to + disfranchise, of the same rights? We should be careful how + we inaugurate precedents which may "return to plague the + inventors," and be used as a pretext for taking away our + liberties. + + It will be remembered that in my message to the legislature + at the commencement of the present session I said: "There is + upon our statue book an act granting to the women of Wyoming + territory the right of suffrage and to hold office which has + now been in force two years. Under its liberal provisions + women have voted in the territory, served on juries, and + held office. It is simple justice to say that the women, + entering for the first time in the history of the country + upon these new and untried duties, have conducted themselves + with as much tact, sound judgment, and good sense as the + men. While it would be claiming more than the facts justify, + to say that this experiment, in a limited field, has + demonstrated beyond a doubt the perfect fitness of woman, at + all times and under all circumstances, for taking a part in + the government, it furnishes at least reasonable presumptive + evidence in her favor, and she has a right to claim that, so + long as none but good results are made manifest, the law + should remain unrepealed." + + These were no hastily formed conclusions, but the result of + deliberation and conviction, and my judgment to-day approves + the language I then used. For the first time in the history + of our country we have a government to which the noble words + of our _Magna Charta_ of freedom may be applied,--not as a + mere figure of speech, but as expressing a simple grand + truth,--for it is a government which "derives all its just + powers from the consent of the governed." We should pause + long and weigh carefully the probable results of our action + before consenting to change this government. A regard for + the genius of our institutions, for the fundamental + principles of American autonomy, and for the immutable + principles of right and justice, will not permit me to + sanction this change. + + These reasons for declining to give my consent to the bill, + I submit with all deference for the consideration and + judgment of your honorable body. + + J. A. CAMPBELL. + + The Republicans in the House made an ineffectual effort to + sustain the veto, but the party whip and the power of the saloons + were too strong for them, and the bill was passed over the veto + by a vote of 9 to 4. It met a different and better fate, however, + in the Council, where it was sustained by a vote of 4 to 5, a + strict party vote in each case. Mr. Corlett, a rising young + lawyer, at that time in the Council and since then a delegate in + congress, made an able defense of the suffrage act and resisted + its repeal, sustaining the veto with much skill and final + success. And there was much need, for the Democrats had made + overtures to one of the Republican members of the Council (they + lacked one vote) and had obtained a promise from him to vote + against the veto; but Mr. Corlett, finding out the fraud in + season, reclaimed the fallen Republican and saved the law. It is + due to Mr. Corlett to say that he has always been an able and + consistent supporter of woman's rights and universal suffrage. He + is now the leading lawyer of the territory. + + Since that time the suffrage act has grown rapidly in popular + favor, and has never been made a party question. The leading men + of both parties, seeing its beneficial action, have given it an + unqualified approval; and most, if not all, of its former + enemies have become its friends and advocates. Most of the new + settlers in the territory, though coming here with impressions or + prejudices against it, soon learn to respect its operation, and + admire its beneficial results. There is nowhere in the territory + a voice raised against it, and it would be impossible to get up a + party for its repeal. + + The women uniformly vote at all our elections, and are exerting + every year a more potent influence over the character of the + candidates selected by each party for office, by quietly + defeating those most objectionable in point of morals. It is true + they are not now summoned to serve on juries, nor are they + elected to office; and there are some obvious reasons for this. + In the first place, they never push themselves forward for such + positions, as the men invariably do; and in the second place, the + judges who have been sent to the territory, since the first ones, + have not insisted on respecting the women's rights as jurors, and + in some cases have objected to their being summoned as such. But + these matters will find a remedy by and by. It used to be an + important question in the nominating caucuses, "Will this + candidate put up money enough to buy the saloons, and catch the + loafers and drinkers that they control?" Now the question is, + "Will the women vote for this man, if we nominate him?" There + have been some very remarkable instances where men, knowing + themselves to be justly obnoxious to the women, have forced a + nomination in caucus, relying on their money and the drinking + shops and party strength to secure an election, who have been + taught most valuable lessons by signal defeat at the polls. It + would be invidious to call names or describe individual cases, + and could answer no necessary purpose. But I would ask particular + attention to the following articles, taken from recent + newspapers, as full and satisfactory evidence of the truth of + these statements, and of the wisdom of granting universal + suffrage and equal rights to the citizens of Wyoming territory. + + The Laramie City _Daily Sentinel_ of December 16, 1878, J. H. + Hayford, editor, has the following leading editorial: + + For about eight years now, the women of Wyoming territory + have enjoyed the same political rights and privileges as the + men, and all the novelties of this new departure, all the + shock it carried to the sensibilities of the old + conservatives, have long since passed away. For a long + time--even for years past--we have frequently received + letters asking for information as to its practical results + here, and still more frequently have received copies of + eastern papers with marked articles which purported to be + written by persons who resided here, or had visited the + territory and witnessed the awful results or the total + failure of the experiment. We have usually paid no attention + to these false and anonymous scribblers, who took this + method to display their shallow wit at the sacrifice of + truth and decency. But recently we have received more than + the usual number of such missives, and more letters, and + from a more respectable source than before, and we take this + occasion and method to answer them all at once, and once for + always, and do it through the columns of the _Sentinel_, one + of the oldest and most widely circulated papers in the + territory, because it will be readily conceded that we would + not publish here at home, false statements and + misrepresentations upon a matter with which all our readers + are familiar, and which, if false, could be easily refuted. + + We assert here, then, that woman suffrage in Wyoming has + been in every particular a complete success. + + That the women of Wyoming value as highly the political + franchise, and as generally exercise it, as do the men of + the territory. + + That being more helpless, more dependent and more in need of + the protection of good laws and good government than are + men, they naturally use the power put into their hands to + secure these results. + + That they are controlled more by principle and less by party + ties than men, and generally cast their votes for the best + candidates and the best measures. + + That while women in this territory frequently vote contrary + to their husbands, we have never heard of a case where the + family ties or domestic relations were disturbed thereby, + and we believe that among the pioneers of the West there is + more honor and manhood than to abuse a wife because she does + not think with her husband about politics or religion. + + We have never seen any of the evil results growing out of + woman suffrage which we have heard predicted for it by its + opponents. On the contrary, its results have been only good, + and that continually. Our elections have come to be + conducted as quietly, orderly and civilly as our religious + meetings, or any of our social gatherings, and the best men + are generally selected to make and enforce our laws. We have + long ago generally come to the conclusion that woman's + influence is as wholesome and as much needed in the + government of the State as in the government of the family. + We do not know of a respectable woman in the territory who + objects to or neglects to use her political power, and we do + not know of a decent man in the territory who wishes it + abolished, or who is not even glad to have woman's help in + our government. + + Our laws were never respected or enforced, and crime was + never punished, or life or property protected until we had + woman's help in the jury box and at the polls, and we + unhesitatingly say here at home that we do not believe a man + can be found who wishes to see her deprived of voice and + power, unless it is the one "who fears not God nor regards + man," who wants to pursue a life of vice or crime, and + consequently fears woman's influence and power in the + government. We assert further that the anonymous scribblers + who write slanders on our women and our territory to the + eastern press, are either fools, who know nothing about what + they write, or else belong to that class of whom the poet + says: + + "No rogue e'er felt the halter draw + With good opinion of the law." + + We took some pains to track up and find out the author of + one of the articles against woman suffrage to which our + attention was called, and found him working on the streets + of Cheyenne, with a ball and chain to his leg. We think he + was probably an average specimen of these writers. And, + finally, we challenge residents in Wyoming who disagree with + the foregoing sentiments, and who endorse the vile slanders + to which we refer, to come out over their own signature and + in their own local papers and take issue with us, and our + columns shall be freely opened to them. + + There are some obvious inferences to be drawn and some rather + remarkable lessons to be learned, from the foregoing narrative. + In the first place, the responsibilities of self government, with + the necessity of making their own laws, was delegated to a + people, strangers to each other, with very little experience or + knowledge in such matters, and composed of various nationalities, + with a very large percentage of the criminal classes. It is a + matter of surprise that they should have so soon settled + themselves into an orderly community, where all the rights of + person and property are well protected, and as carefully guarded + and fully respected as in any of our old eastern commonwealths. + It is a still greater surprise that a legislature selected by + such a constituency, under such circumstances as characterized + our first election, and composed of such men as were in fact + elected, should have been able to enact a body of laws + containing so much that was good and practicable, and so little + that was injudicious, unwise or vicious. + + In the next place, it is evident that there was no public + sentiment demanding the passage of the woman suffrage law, and + but few advocates of it at that time in the territory; that its + adoption, under such circumstances, was not calculated to give it + a fair chance to exert a favorable influence in the community, or + even maintain itself among the permanent customs and laws of the + territory. The prospect was, that it would either remain a dead + letter, or be swept away under the ridicule and abuse of the + press, and the open attacks of its enemies. But it has withstood + all these adverse forces, and from small beginnings has grown to + be a permanent power in our politics, a vital institution, + satisfactory to all our people. The far-reaching benefits it will + yet accomplish can be easily foreseen. To make either individuals + or classes respected and induce them to respect themselves, you + must give them power and influence, a fair field and full + enjoyment of the results of their labors. We have made a very + creditable beginning in this direction, so far as woman is + concerned, and we have no doubts about the outcome of it. Wyoming + treats all her citizens alike, and offers full protection, equal + rewards, and equal power, to both men and women. + + Again it is very evident that while our women take no active part + in the primary nomination of candidates for office, they exercise + a most potent influence by the independent manner in which they + vote, and the signal defeat they inflict on many unworthy + candidates. Their successful opposition to the power of the + bar-rooms is a notable and praiseworthy instance of the wise use + of newly-acquired rights. The saloon-keepers used to sell + themselves to that party, or that man, who would pay the most, + and while robbing the candidates, degraded the elections and + debauched the electors. So long as it was understood that in + order to secure an election it was necessary to secure the + rum-shops, good men were left out of the field, and unscrupulous + ones were sought after as candidates. The women have already + greatly modified this state of affairs and are likely to change + it entirely in the end. + + Another wonderful consequence which has attended the presence of + women at the polls, is the uniform quiet and good order on + election day. All the police that could be mustered, could not + insure half the decorum that their simple presence has everywhere + secured. No man, not even a drunken one, is willing to act like a + rowdy when he knows the women will see him. Nor is he at all + anxious to expose himself in their presence when he knows he has + drank too much. Such men quit the polls, and slink out of the + streets, to hide themselves from the eyes of the women in the + obscurity of the drinking shops. + + Another fact of great importance is the uniform testimony as to + woman's success as a juror. It is true that there has been but a + limited opportunity, thus far, to establish this as a fact beyond + all doubt. But a good beginning has been made, a favorable + impression produced, and no bad results have accompanied or + followed the experiment. If our jury system of trying cases is to + be preserved, as a tolerable method of settling disputes and + administering justice in our courts, every one will admit that a + great improvement in the character of the jurors must be speedily + found. At present, a jury trial is generally regarded as a farce, + or something worse. The proof of this is seen in the fact that in + most of our courts the judges are required to try all cases + without a jury, where the parties to the action consent, and that + in a great portion of the cases the parties do consent. + + Another notable observation is the rapid growth of opinion in + favor of woman suffrage among our people, after its first + adoption; but more particularly the change effected in the minds + of the new settlers, who come to the territory with old + prejudices and fixed notions against it. Neither early education, + nor personal bias, nor party rancor, has been able to withstand + the overwhelming evidence of its good effects, and of its + elevating and purifying influence in our political and social + organization. + + I must add, in conclusion, that the seventh legislature of our + territory has just closed its session of sixty days. It was + composed of more members than the earlier legislatures were, + there being thirteen in the Council and twenty-six in the House. + Many important questions came up for consideration, and a wide + field of discussion was traveled over, but not one word was at + any time spoken by any member against woman suffrage. + +Hon. M. C. Brown, district-attorney for the territory, confirms the +testimony given by the judges and Governor Campbell, in a letter to +the National Suffrage Convention held in Washington in 1884, which +will be found in the pamphlet report of that year. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[491] Messrs. Wade, Anthony, Gratz Brown, Buckalew, Cowan, Foster, +Nesmith, Patterson, Riddle. See Vol. II., Chapter XVII. + +[492] Ex-Governor Hoyt in his public speeches frequently gives this +bird's-eye view of Bright's domestic and political discussions: +"Betty, it's a shame that I should be a member of the legislature +and make laws for such a woman as you. You are a great deal better +than I am; you know a great deal more, and you would make a better +member of the Assembly than I, and you know it. I have been +thinking about it and have made up my mind that I will go to work +and do everything in my power to give you the ballot. Then you may +work out the rest in your own way." So he went over and talked with +other members of the legislature. They smiled. But he got one of +the lawyers to help him draw up a short bill, which he introduced. +It was considered and discussed. People smiled generally. There was +not much expectation that anything of that sort would be done; but +this was a shrewd fellow, who managed the party card in such a way +as to get, as he believed, enough votes to carry the measure before +it was brought to the test. I will show you a little behind the +curtain, so far as I can draw it. Thus he said to the Democrats: +"We have a Republican governor and a Democratic Assembly. Now, +then, if we can carry this bill through the Assembly and the +governor vetoes it, we shall have made a point, you know; we shall +have shown our liberality and lost nothing. But keep still; don't +say anything about it." They promised. He then went to the +Republicans and told them that the Democrats were going to support +his measure, and that if _they_ did not want to lose capital they +had better vote for it too. He didn't think there would be enough +of them to carry it, but the vote would be on record and thus +defeat the game of the other party. And they likewise agreed to +vote for it. So when the bill came to a vote it went right through! +The members looked at, each other in astonishment, for they hadn't +intended to do it, _quite_. Then they laughed and said it was a +good joke, but they had "got the governor in a fix." So the bill +went, in the course of time, to John A. Campbell, who was then +governor--the first governor of the territory of Wyoming--and he +promptly signed it! His heart was right. He saw that it was +long-deferred justice, and so signed it as gladly as Abraham +Lincoln wrote _his_ name to the Proclamation of Emancipation of the +slaves. Of course the women were astounded! If a whole troop of +angels had come down with flaming swords for their vindication, +they would not have been much more astonished than they were when +that bill became a law and the women of Wyoming were thus clothed +with the habiliments of citizenship. + +[493] No sooner had these gentlemen left than Mrs. Post and Mrs. +Arnold had a long interview with the governor, urging him to sign +the bill on the highest moral grounds; not only to protect the +personal rights of the women of the territory but to compel the men +to observe the decencies of life and to elevate the social and +political status of the people.--[E. C. S. + +[494] In the summer of 1871 Mrs. Stanton and myself, _en route_ for +California, visited Wyoming and met the women who were most active +in the exercise of their rights of citizenship. At Cheyenne we were +the guests of Mrs. M. B. Arnold and Mrs. Amalia B. Post. Mrs. +Arnold had a large cattle-ranch and Mrs. Post an equally large +sheep-ranch a few miles out of the city, which they superintended, +and from which each received an independent income. They had not +only served as jurors, but acted as foremen. At Laramie we were the +guests of Mr. J. H. Hayford, editor of the _Laramie Sentinel_, and +met Grandma Swain, who was the first woman to cast her ballot in +that city. We also met Judges Howe and Kingman and Governor +Campbell, and heard from them of the wonderful changes wrought in +the court-room and at the polls by the presence of enfranchised +women. We spoke in the very court-room in which women had sat as +jurors and felt an added inspiration from that fact.--[S. B. A. + +[495] The following is the list of the first grand jury at Laramie +City, composed of nine men and six women, as impanneled and sworn: +C. H. Bussard, foreman; Mrs. Jane E. Hilton, T. W. DeKay, Jeremiah +Boies, Mrs. H. C. Swain. Joseph DeMars, M. N. Merrill, Mrs. M. A. +Pierce, Mrs. C. Blake, Richard Turpin, G. W. Cardwell, Mrs. S. L. +Larimer, N. C. Worth, Mrs. Jane Mackle, W. H. Mitchell. + + + + +CHAPTER LIII. + +CALIFORNIA. + + Liberal Provisions in the Constitution--Elizabeth T. + Schenck--Eliza W. Farnham--Mrs. Mills' Seminary, now a State + Institution--Jeannie Carr, State Superintendent of Schools--First + Awakening--_The Revolution_--Anna Dickinson--Mrs. Gordon + Addresses the Legislature, 1868--Mrs. Pitts Stevens Edits _The + Pioneer_--First Suffrage Society on the Pacific Coast, + 1869--State Convention, January 26, 1870, Mrs. Wallis, + President--State Association Formed, Mrs. Haskell of Petaluma, + President--Mrs. Gordon Nominated for Senator--In 1871, Mrs. + Stanton and Miss Anthony Visit California--Hon. A. A. Sargent + Speaks in Favor of Suffrage for Woman--Ellen Clarke Sargent + Active in the Movement--Legislation Making Women Eligible to Hold + School Offices, 1873--July 10, 1873, State Society Incorporated, + Sarah Wallis, President--Mrs. Clara Foltz--A Bill Giving Women + the Right to Practice Law--The Bill Passed and Signed by the + Governor--Contest Over Admitting Women into the Law Department of + the University--Supreme Court Decision Favorable--Hon. A. A. + Sargent on the Constitution and Laws--Journalists and + Printers--Silk Culture--Legislative Appropriation--Mrs. Knox + Goodrich Celebrates July 4, 1876--Imposing Demonstration--Ladies + in the Procession. + + +The central figure in the seal of California is the presiding +goddess of that State, her spear in one hand, the other resting on +her shield, the cabalistic word "Eureka" over her head and a bear +crouching quietly at her feet. She seems to be calmly contemplating +the magnificent harbor within the Golden Gate. The shadows on the +distant mountains, the richly-laden vessels and the floating clouds +indicate the peaceful sunset hour, and the goddess, in harmony with +the scene is seated at her ease, as if after many weary wanderings +in search of an earthly Paradise she had found at last the land of +perennial summers, fruits and flowers--a land of wonders, with its +mammoth trees, majestic mountain-ranges and that miracle of +grandeur and beauty, the Yosemite Valley. Verily it seems as if +bounteous Nature in finishing the Pacific Slope did her best to +inspire the citizens of that young civilization with love and +reverence for the beautiful and grand. + +California, admitted to the Union in 1850, owing to the erratic +character of her early population, has passed through more +vicissitudes than any other State, but she secured at last social +order, justice in her courts and a somewhat liberal constitution, +as far as the personal and property rights of the "white male +citizen" were concerned. By its provisions-- + + All legal distinctions between individuals on religious grounds + are prohibited; the utmost freedom of assembling, of speech and + of the press is allowed, subject only to restraint for abuse; + there is no imprisonment for debt, except where fraud can be + proved; slavery and involuntary servitude, except for crime, are + prohibited; wives are secured in their separate rights of + property; the exemption of a part of the homestead and other + property of heads of families from forced sale is recognized. + +So far so good; but while the constitution limits the franchise to +every "white male citizen" over twenty-one, who has been a resident +of the State six months, and thus makes outlaws and pariahs of all +the noble women who endured the hardships of the journey by land or +by sea to that country in the early days, who helped to make it all +that it is, that instrument cannot be said to secure justice, +equality and liberty to all its citizens. The position in the +constitution and laws of that vast territory, of the real woman who +shares the every-day trials and hardships of her sires and sons +inspires no corresponding admiration and respect, with the ideal +one who gilds and glorifies the great seal of the State. + +For the main facts of this chapter we are indebted to Elizabeth T. +Schenck.[496] She says: + + Out of the stirring scenes and tragical events characterizing the + early days of California one can well understand that there came + of necessity many brave and adventurous argonauts and many women + of superior mental force, from among whom in after years the + woman suffrage cause might receive most devoted adherents. For + nearly a score of years after the great incursion of gold-seekers + into this newly-acquired State no word was uttered by tongue or + pen demanding political equality for women--none at least which + reached the public ear. There were no preceding causes, as in the + older States, to stimulate the discussion of the question, and + even that mental amazon, Eliza W. Farnham who was one of the + distinguished pioneers of California, gathered her inspiration + from afar, and thought and wrote for the whole world of women + without once sounding the tocsin for woman's political + emancipation. Many of the women who braved the perils of the + treacherous deep, or still more terrible dangers of the weary + march over broad deserts, inhospitable mountains, and through the + fastnesses of hostile and merciless Indians, to reach California + in the early times, entertained broad views upon the intellectual + capacity and political rights of women, but their efforts were + confined to fields of literature. While this advanced guard of + progressive women was moulding into form a social system out of + the turbulent and disorganized masses thrown together by the + rapidly-increasing population from all parts of the globe, the + elements were aggregating which in after years produced powerful, + outspoken thought and earnest action in behalf of disfranchised + women. + + Here as elsewhere women took the lead in school matters and were + the most capable and efficient educators from the days of "'49." + One of our permanent State institutions, Mills' Seminary, was + founded by a woman whose name it bears, and who, assisted by her + husband, Rev. Mr. Mills, conducted the school for nearly a + quarter of a century, until by an act of the legislature, she + conveyed it to the State. Several principals of the public + schools in San Francisco have held their positions for over + twenty consecutive years. Mrs. Jeanne Carr, deputy state + superintendent of public instruction from 1871 to 1875, was + succeeded by Mrs. Kate M. Campbell, who served most efficiently + for the full term. During Mrs. Carr's public service she visited + nearly every county in the State, attending teachers' institutes, + and lecturing upon educational topics with great ability. For + many years women have been eligible to school offices in + California and there is not a county in the State where women + have not filled positions as trustees or been elected to the + office of county superintendent.[497] Mrs. Coleman has been + reelected to that office in Shasta county, and Mrs. E. W. + Sullivan in Mono county has served for several terms. + + The first attempt to awaken the public mind to the question of + suffrage for woman was a lecture given by Laura De Force Gordon + in Platt's Hall, San Francisco, February 19, 1868. Although the + attendance was small, a few earnest women were there[498] who + formed the nucleus of what followed. Soon after Mrs. Gordon + addressed the legislature in the senate-chamber at Sacramento, + and made an eloquent appeal for the political rights of women. + Among the audience were many members of the legislature who + became very deeply impressed with the justice of her demand, + including the subsequent governor of the State, George C. + Perkins, then senator from Butte county. Soon afterwards Mrs. + Gordon removed to Nevada, and no more lectures on woman suffrage + were given until the visit of Anna Dickinson in the summer of + 1869. + + The way was being prepared however, for further agitation by the + appearance of _The Revolution_ in 1868 in New York, which was + hailed by the women of California (as elsewhere) as the harbinger + of a brighter and better era. Its well filled pages were eagerly + read and passed from hand to hand, and the effect of its + startling assertions was soon apparent. Mrs. Pitts Stevens had + about that time secured a proprietary interest in the _San + Francisco Mercury_, and was gradually educating her readers up to + a degree of liberality to endorse suffrage. Early in 1869 she + became sole proprietor, changing the name to _Pioneer_, and threw + the woman suffrage banner to the breeze in an editorial of marked + ability. + + The organization of the National Woman Suffrage Association in + New York, May, 1869, gave fresh impetus to the movement, and the + appointment of Mrs. Elizabeth T. Schenck as vice-president for + California by that association, met with the approval of all + those interested in the movement. Soon after this Mrs. Schenck + with her gifted ally, Mrs. Stevens, decided to organize a + suffrage society, and at an impromptu meeting of some of the + friends at the residence of Mrs. Nellie Hutchinson, July 27, + 1869, the first association for this purpose on the Pacific coast + was formed. There were just a sufficient number of members[499] + to fill the offices. This society grew rapidly and within a month + the parlors were found inadequate to the constantly increasing + numbers. Through the courtesy of the Mercantile Library + Association their commodious apartments were secured. + + The advent of Anna Dickinson afforded the ladies an opportunity + to attest their admiration for her as a representative woman, + which they did, giving her a public breakfast, September 14. + Their honored guest appreciated the compliment; and in an earnest + and eloquent speech referred to it, saying that although she had + received many demonstrations of the kind, this was the first ever + given her exclusively by her own sex.[500] + + Soon after Miss Dickinson's departure, Mrs. Schenck, much to the + regret of the society, resigned the chair, and Mrs. J. W. Stow + was appointed to fill the vacancy. The ladies having for some + time considered the organizing of a State Society of great + importance, it was decided to hold a grand mass convention for + that purpose. There was need of funds to carry forward the work, + and a course of three lectures was suggested as a means to raise + money. This carried, on motion of Mrs. Stow, and her offer to + deliver the first lecture of the course was accepted. All the + members of the society devoted their energies to secure the + success of the undertaking. Many of them engaged in selling + tickets for the two weeks intervening, and on November 2, Mrs. + Stow gave her lecture to a large and interested audience, taking + for her theme, "Woman's Work." The Rev. Mr. Hamilton followed, + November 9, with "The Parlor and the Harem," and the Rev. C. G. + Ames concluded the course, November 18, with "What Does it Mean?" + The lectures were well received, and though not particularly + directed to the right of suffrage for women, succeeded in + attracting attention to the society under whose auspices they + were given, and helped it financially. About this time Mrs. + Gordon returned from the East and took an active part in + canvassing the State, lecturing and forming county societies + preparatory to securing as large a representation as possible at + the coming convention. The following report of the proceedings is + taken from the San Francisco dailies: + + +[Illustration: Laura deForce Gordon] + + + The convention to form a State Woman Suffrage Society, held + its first meeting in Dashaway Hall, Wednesday afternoon, + January 26, 1870. The hall was well filled. Mrs. E. T. + Schenck, vice-president of the National Association, was + chosen president, _pro. tem._, and Miss Kate Atkinson, + Secretary. A committee on credentials was appointed by the + chair, consisting of one member from each organization.[501] + During the absence of the committee quite an animated + discussion arose as to the admission of delegates. Mrs. + Gordon said the greatest possible liberality should be + exercised in admitting persons to the right to speak and + vote; that all who signed the roll, paid the fee, and + expressed themselves in sympathy with the movement, should + be admitted. After some discussion, Mrs. Gordon's views + prevailed, and the names of those who chose to qualify + themselves were enrolled. About 120 delegates were thus + chosen from nine suffrage societies in different parts of + the State. Many counties were represented in which no + organizations had yet been formed. Some rather humorous + discussion was had as to whether the president should be + called Mrs. Chairman or Mrs. Chairwoman. The venerable Mr. + Spear arose and suggested the title be Mrs. President, which + was adopted. Mrs. Gordon said she had noticed that when + questions were put to the meeting not more than a dozen + timid voices could be heard saying "aye," or "no." The + ladies must not sit like mummies, but open their mouths and + vote audibly. This disinclination to do business in a + business-like way, is discreditable. (Cheers). Mrs. Gordon's + hint was taken, and unequivocal demonstration of voices was + made thereafter upon the taking of each vote. Long before + the time arrived for the evening session, the hall in every + part, platform, floor and gallery, was crowded, and large + numbers were unable to gain entrance. + + The Committee on Permanent Organization presented the + following names for officers of the convention: President, + Mrs. Wallis of Mayfield; Vice-Presidents, J. A. Collins, C. + G. Ames, Mrs. Mary W. Coggins; Secretaries, Mrs. McKee, Mrs. + Rider, Mrs. Perry; Treasurer, Mrs. Collins. On motion, Mrs. + Haskell and Mrs. Ames escorted the president to the rostrum, + and introduced her to the convention. Mrs. Wallis is a lady + of imposing presence, and very earnest in the movement. Upon + being introduced she said: + + LADIES AND GENTLEMEN--I thank you for this expression of + your high esteem and confidence in electing me to preside + over your deliberations. I regard this as a severe ordeal, + but, having already been tested in this respect, I do not + fear the trials to come. I shall persevere until the + emancipation of women is effected, and in order to fulfill + my duties successfully upon this occasion, I ask the hearty + cooeperation of all. [Applause]. + + Mrs. Stow gave the opening address, after which + delegates[502] from various localities made interesting + reports. An able series of resolutions was presented and + discussed at length by various members of the convention, + and letters of sympathy were read from friends throughout + the country.[503] + + From the first session, some anxiety was felt regarding the + action of the State Society in affiliating with one of the two + rival associations in the East. The Rev. C. G. Ames of San + Francisco, whose wife had been in attendance upon the Cleveland + convention of the American Association, was appointed + vice-president for California, while Mrs. E. T. Schenck had been + appointed vice-president by the National Association. In addition + to the names of officers of county societies appended to the call + for this convention, both Mrs. Schenck and Mrs. Ames signed in + their official capacity, as vice-president of their respective + Associations. Under these circumstances it was not strange that a + spirit of rivalry should manifest itself, but it was unfortunate + that it was carried so far as to breed disturbance in this infant + organization. The leading women looked upon Mrs. E. Cady Stanton + and Miss Susan B. Anthony as among the first who organized the + suffrage movement in the United States, and therefore felt that + it was due to them that our California Society which owed its + existence mainly to the efforts of Mrs. Schenck whom they had + appointed vice-president for California, should show its loyalty, + devotion and gratitude to them, by becoming auxiliary to the + National Association. On the other hand, Rev. C. G. Ames, being + an enthusiastic admirer of some of the leading spirits in the + American Association, desired it to be auxiliary to that. This + conflict having been foreshadowed, a letter was written to Miss + Anthony in relation to it. Her reply was received by Mrs. Schenck + on the first day of the convention, breathing a noble spirit of + unselfishness, advising us not to allow any personal feelings + towards Mrs. Stanton or herself to influence us in the matter, + but rather to keep our association entirely independent, free to + cooeperate with all societies having for their object the + enfranchisement of woman. Accordingly, the following resolution + was almost unanimously adopted: + + _Resolved_, That the California Woman Suffrage Society + remain independent of all other associations for one year. + + The result was satisfactory to Mrs. Schenck and her sympathizers, + but Mr. Ames seemed loth to relinquish his preference for the + American, and the course taken had the effect of lessening his + zeal and that of his followers, until they gradually dropped from + the ranks. But the convention, despite the unfortunate schism, + was a grand success. The sessions were crowded, and so great was + the interest awakened in the public mind that a final adjournment + was not had until Saturday night, after four days of earnest, + profitable work. The press of the city gave full and fair reports + of the proceedings, though very far from endorsing woman's claim + to suffrage, and men and women of all classes and professions + took an active part in the deliberations. But of the multitude + who met in that first woman suffrage convention on the Pacific + coast but few were prominent in after years. + + The newly organized society immediately arranged to send a + delegation to Sacramento, to present to the legislature then in + session a petition for woman suffrage. The delegation consisted + of Laura DeForce Gordon, Caroline H. Spear and Laura Cuppy Smith, + who were accorded a hearing before a special committee of the + Senate, of which the venerable Judge Tweed, an able advocate of + woman suffrage, was chairman. The proceeding was without a + parallel in the history of the State. The novelty of women + addressing the legislature attracted universal attention, and the + newspapers were filled with reports of that important meeting. + + During the year 1870 a general agitation was kept up. A number of + speakers[504] held meetings in various parts of the State. The + newspapers were constrained to notice this all-absorbing topic, + though most of them were opposed to the innovation, and + maintained a bitter war against its advocates. Prominent among + them was the sensational San Francisco _Chronicle_ followed by + the _Bulletin_, the _Call_, and in its usual negative style, the + _Alta_, while the _Examiner_ mildly ridiculed the subject, and a + score of lesser journalistic lights throughout the State + exhibited open hostility to woman suffrage, or simply mentioned + the fact of its agitation as a matter of news. But the brave + pioneers in this unpopular movement received kindly sympathy and + encouragement from some journals of influence, first among which + was the San Francisco _Post_, then under the management of that + popular journalist, Harry George, afterwards distinguished as the + author of "Progress and Poverty." The San Jose _Mercury_ was our + friend from the first, and its fearless and able editor, J. J. + Owen, accepted the office of president of the State woman + suffrage society to which he was elected in 1878. The Sacramento + _Bee_ also did valiant service in defending and advocating + woman's political equality, its veteran editor, James McClatchy, + being a man of liberal views and great breadth of thought, whose + powerful pen was wielded in advocacy of justice to all until his + death, which occurred in October, 1883. There were several county + journals that spoke kind words in our behalf, and occasionally + one under the editorial management of a woman would fearlessly + advocate political equality. + + During the year of 1870, Mrs. Gordon traveled extensively over + the State, delivering more than one hundred lectures, beside + making an extended tour, in company with Mrs. Pitts Stevens, + through Nevada, where on the Fourth of July, at a convention held + at Battle Mountain, the first suffrage organization for that + State was effected. In February, 1871, Mrs. Gordon again lectured + in Nevada, remaining several weeks in Carson while the + legislature was in session. She was invited by that body to + address them upon the proposed amendment to the State + constitution to allow women to vote, which amendment was lost by + a majority of only two votes, obtained by a political trick, the + question being voted upon without a call of the House, when + several members friendly to the measure were absent. The author + of the proposed amendment was the Hon. C. J. Hillier, a prominent + lawyer of Virginia City, who, in bringing the bill before the + legislature in 1869, delivered one of the ablest arguments ever + given in favor of woman suffrage. + + In 1871 Mrs. Gordon again made an extended tour through + California, Oregon, and Washington Territory, traveling mostly by + stage, enduring hardships, braving dangers and everywhere + overcoming prejudice and antagonism to strong-minded women, by + the persuasiveness of her arguments. In September, while + lecturing in Seaettle, a telegram informed her of her nomination + by the Independent party of San Joaquin county for the office of + State senator, requesting her immediate return to California. + This necessitated a journey of nearly a thousand miles, one-half + by stage-coach. Six days of continuous travel brought her to + Stockton, where she entered at once upon the senatorial campaign. + Mrs. Gordon spoke every night until election, and succeeded in + awakening a lively interest in her own candidacy and in the + subject of woman suffrage. Her eligibility to the office was + vehemently denied, particularly by Republicans, who were badly + frightened at the appearance of this unlooked-for rival. The + pulpit, press, and stump speakers alternated in ridiculing the + idea of a woman being allowed to take a seat in the Senate, even + if elected. The Democratic party, being in the minority, offered + but little opposition, and watched with great amusement this + unequal contest between the great dominant party on the one side, + and the little Spartan band on the other. The contest was as + exciting as it was brief, and despite the great odds of money, + official power, political superiority, and the perfect machinery + of party organization in favor of her opponents, Mrs. Gordon + received about 200 votes, besides as many more which were + rejected owing to some technical irregularity. Among those who + took part in that novel campaign and deserving special mention, + was the venerable pioneer familiarly called Uncle Jarvis, who had + voted a straight Whig or Republican ticket for fifty years, and + who for the first time in his life scratched his ticket and voted + for Mrs. Gordon. + + In July, 1871, California was favored by a visit from Mrs. + Stanton and Miss Anthony, who awakened new interest wherever + their logical and eloquent appeals were heard. Their advent was + hailed with joy, and they received marked attention from all + classes, the clergy not excepted. Every lecture given by them + drew out large assemblies of the most influential of the + citizens. Indeed, they received a continual ovation during their + stay in San Francisco. After Mrs. Stanton returned to New York, + Miss Anthony remained and traveled in California, Nevada, Oregon + and Washington Territory several months, speaking at conventions + held in San Francisco and Sacramento, besides lecturing in all + the principal towns, winning for herself great praise, and a + deeper respect for the cause she so ably represented. A + complimentary banquet was tendered her in San Francisco on the + eve of her departure eastward, at which eighty guests, + distinguished in art, literature and social life, sat down to a + sumptuous collation spread in the Grand Hotel. + + In the early part of that year, 1871, Hon. A. A. Sargent and wife + returned to California from Washington, his term as + representative having expired, and both took an active part in + the work of woman's political enfranchisement. Mr. Sargent, with + commendable bravery, which under the circumstances was indeed a + test of courage, delivered an address in favor of woman suffrage + at a convention held in San Francisco, just on the eve of an + important political campaign, in which he was a candidate for + reelection to congress, and also to the United States Senate. Of + course, those opposed to woman suffrage tried to make capital out + of it against him, but without avail, for that able and + distinguished statesman was elected to both offices, his term as + representative expiring before he would be called upon to take + his seat in the United States Senate. His noble wife, Ellen Clark + Sargent, took an active interest in all the woman suffrage + meetings, and in November, 1871, was appointed, as was also Mrs. + Gordon, to represent California in the National convention to be + held in Washington in January, 1872. + + During the session of the California legislature in 1871-2 a + delegation from the State Society visited Sacramento and was + accorded a hearing in the Assembly-chamber before the Judiciary + Committee of that body. Addresses were made by Mrs. Pitts + Stevens, Mrs. A. A. Haskell, Mrs. E. A. H. DeWolf and Hon. John + A. Collins. + + During the session of 1873-4 a bill was passed by the legislature + making women eligible to school offices, and also one which + provided that all women employed in the public schools should + receive the same compensation as men holding the same grade + certificates. + + Mrs. Laura Morton has filled and ably discharged the office of + assistant State librarian for the past ten years. Mrs. Mandeville + was deputy-controller during the Democratic administration of + Governor Irwin, and proved herself fully capable of discharging + the duties of that responsible office; while for several years + women have been elected to various positions in the legislature + and employed as clerks. + + July 10, 1873, the Woman Suffrage Society was incorporated under + the laws of the State, with Mrs. Sarah Wallis, president. Mrs. + Clara S. Foltz, a brilliant young woman who had begun the study + of law in San Jose, knew the statutes permitted no woman to be + admitted to the bar, and early in the session of 1877 drafted a + bill amending the code in favor of women, and sent it to Senator + Murphy of Santa Clara to be presented. Five years before this, + however, Mrs. Nettie Tator had applied for admission to the bar + at Santa Cruz. A committee of prominent attorneys appointed by + the court examined her qualifications as a lawyer. She passed + creditably and was unanimously recommended by the committee, when + it was discovered that the law would not admit women to that + learned profession. + + Following the presentation of Mrs. Foltz' bill, Mrs. Knox + Goodrich, Laura Watkins, Mrs. Wallis and Laura De Force Gordon + were appointed by the State Society a committee to visit + Sacramento during the session and use their influence to secure + the passage of the "Woman's Lawyer Bill," as it was termed, and + to petition for suffrage. Mrs. Gordon, who was also reading law, + was in Sacramento as editorial correspondent for her paper, the + _Daily Democrat_ of Oakland, and had ample opportunity to render + valuable service to the cause she had so much at heart. The bill + passed the Senate by a vote of 22 to 9, being ably advocated by + Senators N. Green Curtis, Judge Niles Searles of Nevada county, + Creed Haymond of Sacramento, and Joseph Craig of Yolo. In the + Assembly, after weeks of tedious delay and almost endless debate, + the bill was indefinitely postponed by a majority of one. By the + persistent efforts of Assemblymen Grove L. Johnson of Sacramento, + R. W. Murphy, Charles Gildea and Dr. May of San Francisco, the + bill was brought up on reconsideration and passed by two + majority. The session was within three days of its close, and so + bitter was the opposition to the bill that an effort was made to + prevent its engrossment in time to be presented for the + governor's signature. The women and their allies, who were on the + watch for tricks, defeated the scheme of their enemies and had + the bill duly presented to Governor Irwin, but not till the last + day of the session. Then the suspense became painful to those + most interested lest it might not receive his approval. Mrs. + Gordon, as editor of a Democratic journal, asserted her claims to + some recognition from that party and strongly urged that a + Democratic governor should sign the bill. Aided by a personal + appeal from Senator Niles Searles to his excellency, her efforts + were crowned with success; the governor's message sent to the + Senate, when the hands of the clock pointed to fifteen minutes of + twelve, midnight (at which hour the president's gavel would + descend with the words adjourning the Senate _sine die_), + announced that Senate bill number 66, which permitted the + admission of women to all the courts of the State, had received + his approval. There was great rejoicing over this victory among + the friends everywhere, though the battle was not yet ended. + + The same legislature had passed a bill accepting the munificent + donation to the State of $100,000 from Judge Hastings to found + the Hastings College of Law, on condition that it be the law + department of the State University, and the college was duly + opened for the admission of students. At the beginning of the + December term Mrs. Foltz, who had been admitted to the District + Court in San Jose (being the first woman ever admitted to any + court in the State), came to San Francisco, and with Mrs. Gordon + applied for admission to the law college. The dean, Judge + Hastings, himself opposed to women being received as students, + told them it was a matter that must be laid before the board of + directors, but that they could attend the lectures _ad interim_. + Three days later they were informed that their application had + been denied. Satisfied that the law was in their favor, they + immediately appealed to the courts. To save time Mrs. Gordon + applied to the Supreme Court and Mrs. Foltz to the District + Court, simultaneously, for a writ of mandamus to compel the + directors to act in obedience to the law which, the petitioners + claimed, did not discriminate against women in founding the State + University or its departments. The Supreme Court, wishing perhaps + to shirk the responsibility of acting in the first instance, sent + their petitioner, Mrs. Gordon, to the lower court, which had in + the meantime ordered the writ to issue for Mrs. Foltz; so it was + decided to make hers the test-case, and by the courtesy of Judge + Morrison, now chief-justice of the Supreme Court, Mrs. Gordon was + joined with Mrs. Foltz in the prosecution of the cause. The board + of directors of the college consisted of the chief-justice of the + Supreme Bench and seven other lawyers, among the most + distinguished and able in the State. The case attracted great + attention and deep interest was taken in the proceedings. Judges + Lake and Cope, who were ex-justices of the Supreme Court, + assisted by T. B. Bishop, another learned practitioner at the + bar, were arrayed as counsel for the defense against these + comparatively young students in the law, who appeared unaided in + their own behalf. After one of the most interesting legal + contests in the history of the State these women came off + victors, and the good-natured public, through the press, offered + them congratulations. But the defendants would not yield without + a stubborn resistance and carried their cause on appeal to the + Supreme Court; hence many months elapsed before the final + struggle came, but victory again rewarded the petitioners, the + Supreme Court deciding that women _should_ be admitted to the law + department of the State University. Although excluded from the + benefit of the lectures in the college, Mesdames Gordon and Foltz + had improved their time in study, and in December, 1879, both + were admitted to the Supreme Court of the State, after a thorough + examination. + + Prior to this legal contest, in the summer of 1878, when + delegates to the constitutional convention were to be elected, + Mrs. Gordon, urged by her friends in San Joaquin county, became + an independent candidate only a week or two before the election. + With Mrs. Foltz she made a very brief though brilliant canvass, + attracting larger and more enthusiastic audiences than any other + speaker. Mrs. Gordon received several hundred votes for the + office, and felt compensated for the time and money spent by the + great interest awakened in the subject of woman suffrage. + + As soon as the constitutional convention assembled in September, + Mrs. Gordon, although still pursuing her legal studies, was able + as a newspaper correspondent to closely watch the deliberations + of that body and urge the insertion of a woman suffrage clause in + the new organic law. The State Society delegated Mrs. Knox + Goodrich, Mrs. Sarah Wallis and Mrs. Watkins to join Mrs. Gordon + in pressing the claims of woman, but the opposition was too + strong and the suffrage clause remained declaring male citizens + entitled to vote, though a section in the bill of rights, + together with other provisions in the new constitution, renders + it quite probable that the legislature has the right to + enfranchise women without having to amend the organic law. At all + events the new instrument is far more favorable to women than the + old, as will now be shown. The agitation of the question of the + admission of women to the Law College, which began during the + session of the convention, led that body to incorporate the + following provision in the constitution: + + ARTICLE II., SEC. 18. No person shall be debarred admission + to any of the collegiate departments of the State University + on account of sex. + + Remembering the hard struggle by which the right to practice law + had been secured to women, and the danger of leaving it to the + caprice of future legislatures, Mrs. Gordon drafted a clause + which protects women in all lawful vocations, and by persistent + effort succeeded in getting it inserted in the new constitution, + as follows: + + ARTICLE XX., SEC. 18. No person shall, on account of sex, be + disqualified from entering upon or pursuing any lawful + business, vocation or profession. + + The adoption of this clause, so valuable to women, was mainly + accomplished by the skillful diplomacy of Hon. Charles S. + Ringgold, delegate from San Francisco, who introduced it in the + convention and worked faithfully for its adoption. Thus + California stands to-day one of the first States in the Union, as + regards the educational, industrial and property rights of women, + and the probability of equal political rights being secured to + them at an early day, is conceded by the most conservative. + + About the time Mrs. Foltz and Mrs. Gordon were admitted to the + bar, they, as chief officers of the State W. S. S. + (incorporated), called a convention in San Francisco. It convened + in February, 1880, and was well attended. Mrs. Sargent took an + active part in the meetings, occupied the chair as president _pro + tem._, and subsequently spoke of the work done by the National + Association in Washington. Several prominent officials, unable to + be present, sent letters heartily endorsing our claims; among + these were Governor Perkins, State Senator Chace, and A. M. + Crane, judge of the Superior Court. Addresses were delivered by + Judge Swift, Marian Todd and Mrs. Thorndyke of Los Angeles, Judge + Palmer of Nevada city, and others. The newspapers of the city, + though still hostile to the object of the convention, gave very + fair reports. In September following, the annual meeting of the + society was held, and made particularly interesting by the fact + that the proposed new city charter, which contained a clause + proscriptive of women, was denounced, and a plan of action agreed + upon whereby its defeat should be secured, if possible, at the + coming election. The women worked assiduously against the + adoption of the city charter, and rejoiced to see it rejected by + a large majority. + + The following facts in regard to the constitution and statute + laws of California were sent us by the Hon. A. A. Sargent: + + In 1879, California adopted a new constitution, by means of + a constitutional convention. It was an unfortunate time for + such organic legislation, for the reason that the State was + rife at the time with the agitation of "sand-lotters," as + they were called, a violent faction which assailed property + rights and demanded extreme concessions to labor. The + balance of power in the constitutional convention was held + by persons elected by this element, and resulted in a + constitution extraordinary in some of its features, but + which was adopted by the people after a fierce contest. + + Women fared badly at the hands of these constitution-makers, + so far as suffrage is concerned. Section 1, article 2, + confirms the right of voting to "every native male citizen," + and "every male naturalized citizen," although a heroic + effort was made by the friends of woman suffrage to keep out + the word "male." But section 18, article XX., provides that + "no person shall, on account of sex, be disqualified from + entering upon or pursuing any lawful business, vocation or + profession." + + Some years before, the State had adopted a "civil code," + which was abreast of the world in liberality to women. This + code discarded the idea of any servility in the relation of + the wife to the husband. This code is still the law, and + provides, in effect, that husband and wife contract toward + each other obligations of mutual respect, fidelity and + support. The husband is the head of the family, and may + choose any reasonable place and mode of life, and the wife + must conform thereto. Neither has any interest in the + property of the other, and neither can be excluded from the + other's dwelling. Either may enter into any engagement or + transaction with the other, or with any other person, + respecting property, which either might if unmarried. They + may hold property as tenants in common or otherwise, with + each other, and with others. All property of the wife owned + by her before marriage, and acquired afterwards by gift, + devise, bequest or descent, with the rents, issues and + profit thereof, is her separate property, and she may convey + the same without his consent. All property acquired after + marriage is community property. The earnings of the wife are + not liable for the debts of the husband. Her earnings, and + those of minor children in her custody, are her separate + property. A married woman may dispose of her separate + property by will, without the consent of her husband, as if + she were single. One-half of the community property goes + absolutely to the wife, on the death of the husband, and + cannot be diverted by his testamentary disposition. A + married woman can carry on business in her own name, on + complying with certain formalities, and her stock, capital + and earnings are not liable to her husband's creditors, or + his intermeddling. The husband and father, as such, has no + rights superior to those of the wife and mother, in regard + to the care, custody, education and control of the children + of their marriage, while such husband and wife live separate + and apart from each other. + + The foregoing exhibits the spirit of the California law. It + is believed by friends of woman suffrage that had the + convention been held under normal conditions, the word + "male" might have been eliminated from that instrument. + + Several creditable attempts were early made in journalism. In + 1855 Mrs. S. M. Clark published the weekly _Contra Costa_ in + Oakland. In 1858, _The Hesperian_, a semi-monthly magazine, was + issued in San Francisco, Mrs. Hermione Day and Mrs. A. M. Shultz, + editors. It was quite an able periodical,[505] and finally passed + into the hands of Elizabeth T. Schenck. + + As journalists and printers, women have met with encouraging + success. The most prominent among them is Laura DeForce Gordon, + who began the publication of the _Daily Leader_ at Stockton in + 1873, continued afterward at Oakland as the _Daily Democrat_, + until 1878. In Geo. P. Rowell's _Newspaper Reporter_ for 1874, + the _Stockton Leader_ is announced as "the only daily newspaper + in the world edited and published by a woman." Mrs. Boyer, known + as "Dora Darmoor," published different magazines and journals in + San Francisco during a period of several years, the most + successful being the _Golden Dawn_. Mrs. Theresa Corlett has been + connected with various leading journals of San Francisco, and is + well known as a brilliant and interesting writer. Miss Madge + Morris has not only made a place for herself in light literature, + but has been acting-clerk in the legislature for several + sessions. Mrs. Sarah M. Clark published a volume entitled + "Teachings of the Ages"; Mrs. Josephine Wolcott, a volume of + poems, called "The World of Song." + + Mrs. Amanda Slocum Reed, one of our most efficient advocates of + suffrage, has proved her executive ability, and capacity for + business, by the management of a large printing and publishing + establishment for several years. The liberal magazine called + _Common Sense_, was published by her and her husband--most of its + original contents the product of her pen; and when the + radicalism of her husband caused the suspension of that journal + in 1878, Mrs. Slocum began the publication of _Roll Call_, a + temperance magazine which was mainly edited by her gifted little + daughter Clara, only fifteen years old, who also set all the + type. Among the earliest printers of California was Lyle Lester. + She established a printing office in San Francisco in 1860, in + which she employed a large number of girls and women as + compositors. Miss Delia Murphy--now Mrs. Dearing--ranks with the + best printers in San Francisco, and several women in various + portions of the State have taken like standing. "Mrs. Richmond & + Son," is the novel sign which decorates the front of a large + printing establishment on Montgomery street, San Francisco, known + for many years as the "Woman's Cooeperative Printing Company," but + which, in fact, was always an individual enterprise. Mrs. Augusta + DeForce Cluff has entered upon her seventh year in practical + journalism as publisher of a sprightly weekly, the _Valley + Review_, at Lodi, in which enterprise she has met with remarkable + success, being a superior business manager as well as a facile + and talented writer. Some of her little poems have great merit. + Mrs. Cluff and Mrs. Gordon have both filled official positions in + the Pacific Coast Press Association. Miss Mary Bogardus, the + gifted young daughter of that pioneer journalist, H. B. Bogardus, + editor of _Figaro_, is her father's main assistant in all the + business of his office. Mrs. Wittingham has been elected + postmaster of the State Senate several terms, and is at present + employed in the U. S. branch mint in San Francisco. + + One of the most meritorious and successful enterprises occupying + the attention of the women of California, is the silk culture, + which promises to develop into one of the dominant industries of + the nation. Mrs. G. H. Hittel first brought the subject into + public notice by able articles on the cultivation of the mulberry + tree, published in various journals. In 1880 she formed the + Ladies' Silk Culture Society of California. This association like + its predecessor, the first Woman Suffrage Society, was organized + and held its meetings in private parlors for a time, but it soon + required more room. Men have been taken into membership since the + object for which the society was formed seemed to be feasible, + and, as a natural result, whatever of financial and honorary + reward may be accorded the self-sacrificing women who performed + the arduous and thankless labor of founding the institution, will + be shared with the men who now come into the work. + + During the session of the legislature of 1883, a committee was + appointed to ask an appropriation from the State for the purpose + of establishing a Filature or free silk-reeling school. After + considerable delay the committee called to their aid Mrs. Gordon, + and asked her to visit the State capital and see what could be + done. The session was rapidly drawing to a close, and even the + warmest friends of the measure feared that it was too late to + accomplish anything. But happily the bill was got through both + branches of the legislature and sent to the governor the last + hour of the session. By its provisions a State Board of Silk + Culture was created consisting of nine members, five of whom were + to be women, and the sum of $7,500 was appropriated. Thus women + have begun and are now fostering a great industrial enterprise + which in the near future will give to millions of hitherto + unemployed or ill-paid women and children an occupation + peculiarly suited to them, and which will add millions of dollars + annually to the revenue of the country. Mrs. Florence Kimball of + San Diego county was appointed a member of the State Board of + Silk Commissioners by Governor Stoneman in 1883. + + Since the expiration of their term as superintendents of the + public schools of the State, Dr. and Mrs. James Carr have made + their home in that loveliest spot of southern + California--Passadena, where, overlooking rich orange groves and + luxurious vineyards, they enjoy the blessings of prosperity, and + where Mrs. Carr, with her ambitious, active nature, finds + congenial employment in demonstrating what woman can accomplish + in silk-culture, raisin-making, and the crystalizing of fruit. + + Miss Austen, formerly a teacher in the public schools of San + Francisco, has a vineyard at Fresno, where she employs women and + girls to prepare all her considerable crop of raisins for market, + conceded to be of the best quality produced in the State. Mrs. + Ellen McConnell Wilson of Sacramento county, from the small + beginning, twenty years ago, of 320 acres of land, and less than + 1,000 sheep, has now over 5,000 acres of rich farming land and + 6,000 sheep. Mrs. H. P. Gregory of Sacramento, left a widow with + a large family of little children, succeeded her husband in the + shipping and commission business in which he was engaged on a + small scale. From such a beginning, Mrs. Gregory has built up one + of the largest trades in that city, and has by judicious + investments in real estate acquired property of a value exceeding + $100,000, besides having reared and educated her numerous family. + + Mrs. Elizabeth Hill was one of the early settlers in Calaveras + county, where her husband located land on the Mokelumne river + near Camanche in 1855. Six years after she was left a widow with + four little children. The support of the family devolved upon the + mother, and she engaged in cultivating the land, adding thereto + several hundred acres. In 1877 Mrs. Hill began the cultivation of + the Persian-insect-powder plant, known to commerce as Buhach. So + successful has this venture proved that she has now over 200 + acres planted to that shrub, and manufactures each year about + fifteen tons of the Buhach powder, for which she finds a ready + sale. The number of women who have supported their families + (often including the husband), and acquired a competency in + boarding and lodging-house keeping, dressmaking, millinery, + type-setting, painting, fancy work, stock-dealing, and even in + manufacturing and mercantile pursuits, is legion. + + In regard to the position of women in medicine, Miss Elizabeth + Sargent, M. D., writes: + + Women are admitted on equal terms with men to the medical + and dental departments of the State University, and to the + Cooper Medical College of San Francisco. Women are also + eligible to membership in the State and various county + medical associations, as well as in the dental association. + There are in the State 73 women who have been recognized by + the authorities as qualified to practice. They may be + classified as follows: Practitioners of regular medicine, + 30, 16 of whom are established in San Francisco; eclectics, + 22, 9 in San Francisco; homoeopathists, 21, 2 in San + Francisco. Among these physicians two make a specialty of + the eye and ear, one in San Francisco and one in San Jose. + Two women have been graduated from the State Dental College, + located in San Francisco. In April, 1875, the Pacific + Dispensary Hospital for women and children was founded by + women. In 1881 a training-school for nurses was added. The + hospital department, although admitting women, is intended + especially for children, and is the only children's hospital + on the coast. The dispensary is for out-patients, both women + and children. The board of ten directors, the resident and + attending physicians of the hospital, and five out of the + seven connected with the dispensary are women. From a small + beginning the institution has increased to importance, and + bids fair to continue in its present prosperity and capacity + for good work. I have written thus lengthily that you may + see how energetic our women have been in originating and + carrying on such an institution. + + The most prominent literary woman of the coast is undoubtedly + Miss M. W. Shinn. She is a graduate of our State University and + was the medal scholar of her class. At present she is the editor + of the _Overland Monthly_, and the excellent prospects of the + magazine are largely the result of her own courage and the hard + work she has done. + + The higher education in the State is being put upon a secure + basis. Hon. Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane Lathrop Stanford, + have recently given a great part of their vast fortune for the + establishment of a university which bids fair to be the foremost + educational institution on the continent. In a letter specifying + his views in regard to the management of the university, Governor + Stanford says: + + We deem it of the first importance that the education of + both sexes shall be equally full and complete, varied only + as nature dictates. The rights of one sex, political and + other, are the same as those of the other sex, and this + equality of rights ought to be fully recognized. + + There are many men and women throughout the State who have + faithfully advocated political equality for all citizens.[506] + + Mendocino county has the honor of claiming as a citizen, one of + the earliest and ablest women in this reform, Clarina Howard + Nichols, who may be said to have sown the seeds of liberty in + three States in which she has resided, Vermont, Kansas and + California. Since 1870, her home has been with a son in Pomo, + where she finished her heroic life January 11, 1885. Though + always in rather straitened circumstances, Mrs. Nichols was + uniformly calm and cheerful, living in an atmosphere above the + petty annoyances of every-day life with the great souls of our + day and generation, keeping time in the march of progress. She + was too much absorbed in the vital questions of the hour even to + take note of her personal discomforts. Many of her able articles + published in magazines and the journals of the day, and letters + from year to year to our conventions, were written in such + conditions of weakness and suffering, as only a hero could have + overcome. She was a good writer, an effective speaker, and a + preeminently brave woman, gifted with that rarest of all virtues, + common sense. + + The advocacy of woman's rights began in Santa Cruz county, with + the advent of that grand champion of her sex, the immortal Eliza + Farnham, who braved public scorn and contumely because of her + advanced views, for many years before the suffrage movement + assumed organized form. Mrs. Farnham's work rendered it possible + for those advocating woman suffrage years later, to do so with + comparative immunity from public ridicule. A society was + organized there in 1869, and Rev. D. G. Ingraham, E. B. Heacock, + H. M. Blackburn, Mrs. Georgiana Bruce Kirby, Mrs. Van + Valkenburgh, W. W. Broughton and wife, and Mrs. Jewell were + active members. + + Prominent in Santa Clara county is Mrs. Sarah Wallis of Mayfield. + From the first agitation of the subject in 1868, when she entered + heartily into the work of getting subscribers to _The + Revolution_, she has been untiring in her efforts to advance the + interests of women. A lady of fine presence, great energy and + perseverance, Mrs. Wallis has been able to accomplish great good + for her sex. With a large separate estate, when the statutes + prevented her as a married woman from managing it, she determined + that the laws should be changed, and never ceased her efforts + until she succeeded in getting an amendment to the civil code + which enables married women to make contracts. The most + successful suffrage meetings ever held in Santa Clara county have + been at Mayfield. There Mrs. Wallis and her husband, Judge Joseph + S. Wallace, make their spacious and luxurious home the rendezvous + of lecturers and writers in the great work of woman's + emancipation. + + Mrs. Sarah Knox Goodrich of San Jose, was among the first to see + the significance of the movement for woman's rights in 1868. Her + husband, William J. Knox, who shortly before his death had been + State senator, secured the passage of a bill, drafted by himself, + giving to married women the right to dispose of their own + separate property by will. Having been from her youth the + cherished companion of a man who believed in the equality of the + sexes, and being herself a thoughtful, clear-headed person, she + naturally took her place with those whose aim was the social and + political emancipation of woman, and has stood from the first a + tower of strength in this cause, giving largely of her wealth for + the propagation of its doctrines. Mrs. Knox Goodrich has for many + years paid her taxes, sometimes exorbitant, under protest, and at + important elections has also offered her vote, to have it + refused. The county suffrage society has had an untiring leader + in Mrs. Goodrich, and on all occasions she has nerved the weak + and encouraged the timid by her example of unflinching devotion. + The following extracts from a letter written by the lady will + show how effective her work has been: + + In 1872, our society was invited to take part in the Fourth + of July celebration, which we did, and had the handsomest + carriages and more of them than any other society in the + procession. We paid our own expenses, although the city had + made an appropriation for the celebration. In 1876 we were + not invited to take part in the festivities, but some of us + felt that on such a day, our centennial anniversary, we + should not be ignored. Accordingly I started out to see what + could be done, but finding some of our most active friends + ill and others absent from home, I decided to do what I + could alone. I had mottoes from the grand declarations of + the Fathers painted and put on my house, which the + procession would pass on two sides. + + Some of our most prominent ladies seeing that I was + determined to make a manifestation, drove with me in the + procession, our carriage and horses decorated with flags, + the ladies wearing sashes of red, white and blue, and + bearing banners with mottoes and evergreens. A little + daughter of Mrs. Clara Foltz, the lawyer, dressed in red, + white and blue, was seated in the center of the carriage, + carrying a white banner with silver fringe, a small flag at + the top with a silver star above that, with streamers of + red, white and blue floating from it, and in the center, in + letters large enough to be seen some distance, the one word + "Hope." On my flag the motto was: "We are Taxed without + being Represented"; Mrs. Maria H. Weldon's, "We are the + disfranchised Class"; Mrs. Marion Hooker's, "The Class + entitled to respectful Consideration"; and Miss Hannah + Millard's, "We are governed without our Consent." On the + front of my house in large letters was the motto: "Taxation + without Representation is Tyranny as much in 1876, as it was + in 1776"; on the other side was, "We are Denied the Ballot, + but Compelled to Pay Taxes"; fronting the other side was, + "Governments Derive their Just Powers from the Consent of + the Governed." Mrs. McKee also had the last motto on her + house. On the evening of July 3, after we had all our + preparations completed, we sent to one of the marshals and + asked him to give us a place in the procession _next to the + negroes_, as we wished to let our legal protectors have a + practical illustration of the position occupied by their + mothers, wives, sisters and daughters in this boasted + republic. We _did_ want to go in, however, _ahead of the + Chinamen_, as we considered our position at present to be + between the two. The marshal willingly assigned us a place, + but not the one we desired. "We cannot allow you," said he, + "to occupy such a position. You must go in front, next to + the Pioneer Association"; and being in part members of that + society we accepted the decision. Our carriage was the + center of attraction. Many, after reading our mottoes, said: + "Well, ladies, we will help you to get your rights"; "It is + a shame for you to be taxed and not have the right to vote." + Hundreds of people stood and read the mottoes on the house, + making their comments, both grave and gay: "Good for Mrs. + Knox"; "She is right"; "If I were in her place I would never + pay a tax"; "I guess one of the strong-minded lives here." + + Mrs. Knox was married to Mr. Goodrich, the well-known architect, + in 1878, in whom she has found a grand, noble-souled companion, + fully in sympathy with all her progressive views, and with whom + she is passing the advancing years of her well-spent life in + luxury and unalloyed happiness. + + Mrs. Van Valkenburg tried to vote under the claim that the + fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States + entitled her to registration, and being refused, brought suit + against the registrars. The case was decided against her after + being carried to the Supreme Court of California. These cases + argued in the Supreme Court have been of inestimable value in the + progress of the movement, lifting the question of woman's rights + as a citizen above the mists of ridicule and prejudice, into the + region of reason and constitutional law. We cannot too highly + appreciate the bravery and persistence of the few women who have + furnished these test cases and compelled the highest courts to + record their decisions. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[496] Having spent several days with Mrs. Schenck, in her cozy, +artistic home surrounded with a hedge of brilliant geraniums, I can +readily testify to the many virtues and attractions her large +circle of friends has always accorded her. From all I had heard I +was prepared to find Mrs. Schenck a woman of remarkable cultivation +and research, and I was not disappointed. Refined, honorable in her +feeling, clear in her judgments of men and measures, just and +upright In all her words and actions, she was indeed the fitting +leader for the uprising of women on the Pacific Slope. The +preparation of this chapter occupied the last year of her life, her +one wish to live was to complete the task, but when her failing +powers made that impossible she charged her friend Mrs. Manning, +with whom she resided, to take up the work that had fallen from her +hands and make a fair record of all that had been done and said, by +her noble coaedjutors, who had labored so faithfully to inaugurate +the greatest reform of the century.--[E. C. S. + +[497] Among them are Laura Fowler, Kate Kennedy, Mary N. Wadleigh, +Trinity County; Anna L. Spencer, Alpine; Mrs. D. M. Coleman, +Shasta; Miss A. L. Irish, Mono; Los Angeles City Board of Education +has three women out of its five members, to-wit., Mrs. C. B. Jones +(chairman), Mrs. M. A. Hodgkins (secretary), Mrs. M. Graham. +Oakland Board, Miss A. Aldrich; Sacramento, Charlotte Slater; San +Jose, Mrs. B. L. Hollenbeck. Sister Mary Frances of the order of +"Sisters of Charity" came to California in 1849, and devoted her +great energies, and rare accomplishments, to the cause of education +up to the time of her demise in April, 1881. Annie Haven, Miss +Prince, Miss Austin, and a host of others have been successful in +the same field of labor, including Miss Merweidel, founder of the +kindergarten system in San Francisco. + +[498] Among them were Mrs. Sarah Wallis of Mayfield, Mrs. E. T. +Schenck, Mrs. L. M. Clarke, Emily Pitts (afterwards Mrs. Stevens of +San Francisco). + +[499] _President_, Elizabeth T. Schenck; _Vice-President_, +Emily Pitts Stevens; _Recording Secretary_, Mrs. Hutchinson; +_Corresponding Secretary_, Mrs. Celia Curtis; _Treasurer_, Mrs. S. +J. Corbett. + +[500] The following persons were present: Mrs. E. T. Schenck, +president of Woman Suffrage Associasion of San Francisco; Mrs. E. +Pitts Stevens, Mrs. Celia Curtis, Mrs. Walton, Mrs. Watson, Mrs. S. +J. Corbett, M. D.; Mary Collins, Mrs. E. P. Meade, M. D.; Mrs. +Alpheus Bull, Mrs. James S. Bush, Mrs. S. M. Clarke, Mrs. Judge +Shafter, Mrs. Judge Burke, Mrs. Thomas Varney, Mrs. R. B. Swain, +Mrs. Carlton Curtis, Mrs. T. Richardson, Mrs. I. W. Hobson, Mrs. +Smythe, Mrs. J. W. Stow, Mrs. C. G. Ames, Mrs. Barry and 30 others. + +[501] Rev. C. G. Ames, San Francisco; Mrs. S. S. Allyn, Oakland; +Mrs. Sarah Wallis, Mayfield; Mrs. Bowman, Sacramento; Mrs. +Georgiana Bruce Kirby, Santa Cruz; Mrs. Fannie Kingsbury, San +Diego; Mrs. Elmira Eddy, Nevada; Mrs. A. A. Haskell, Petaluma; +Minnie H. McKee, Santa Clara. + +[502] See Appendix to California chapter. + +[503] At the close of the convention a State society was organized, +with the following officers: _President_, Mrs. A. A. Haskell of +Petaluma; _Vice-Presidents_, Mrs. J. W. McComb of San Francisco, +Mrs. Denio of Solano, Mrs. Kingsbury of San Diego, Mrs. E. J. Hall +of Los Angeles, Mrs. Eddy of Nevada, Mrs. Lewis of Sacramento, Mrs. +Kirby of Santa Cruz, Mrs. Agnes Eager of Alameda, Mrs. Watkins of +Santa Clara, Mrs. L. D. Latimer of Sonoma; _Secretary_, Mrs. Minnie +McKee of Santa Clara. _Board of Control_, Mrs. C. H. Spear, Mrs. C. +G. Ames, Mrs. Minnie Edwards, Mrs. Celia Curtis, Miss Laura Fowler, +Mr. John A. Collins, Miss Kate Atkinson, Mrs. Pitts Stevens. + +[504] Mrs. Kingsbury of San Diego, Mrs. H. F. M. Brown, Addie L. +Ballou, Paulina Roberts, Mrs. C. H. Spear, Laura Cuppy Smith, Mrs. +F. A. Logan, M. D., Mrs. C. M. Churchill, John A. Collins, and a +large number of local speakers, who aided in organizing societies, +or in keeping up the interest in those already formed. + +[505] Chief among its contributors were Eliza W. Farnham, Sarah M. +Clark, Amanda Simonton Page, Mrs. M. D. Strong, Fanny Green, Annie +K. Fader, Eliza A. Pittsinger, Mrs. James Neal, Mrs. Elizabeth +Williams. + +[506] Among the many who have been active and faithful in the +movement for the political rights of women, whose names should be +mentioned, are: Mrs. Eliza Taylor, Mrs. O. Fuller, Elizabeth +McComb, Dr. Laura P. Williams, Mrs. Dr. White, Sallie Hart, Dr. R. +H. McDonald, Hon. Frank Pixley, and many others in _San Francisco_; +Fanny Green McDougal, _Oakland_; Mrs. Phebe Benedict, _Antioch_; +Mrs. Isabella Irwin, _San Rafael_; Mrs. Cynthia Palmer, Mrs. Emily +Rolfe, _Nevada City_; Mrs. Elizabeth Condy, _Stockton_; Miss E. S. +Sleeper, _Mountain View_; Mrs. Laura J. Watkins, Mrs. Damon, _Santa +Clara_; Mrs. Dr. Kilpatrick, _San Mateo_; Mrs. S. G. Waterhouse, +Drs. Kellogg and Bearby, Mrs. M. J. Young, Mrs. E. B. Crocker, and +others, _Sacramento_; Mrs. Mary Jewett, Mr. and Mrs. Howell, +_Healdsburgh_; Mrs. Lattimer, _Windsor_; Mr. and Mrs. Denio, Mrs. +E. L. Hale, _Vallejo_; Mrs. J. Lewellyn, Mrs. Potter, _St. Helena_; +Mr. and Mrs. J. Egglesson, _Napa_; Henry and Abigail Bush, +_Martinez_; Rowena Granice Steele, _Merced_; Mrs. Jennie Phelps +Purvis, Mrs. Lapham and daughter, _Modesto_. + + + + +CHAPTER LIV. + +THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. + + The Long Marches Westward--Abigail Scott Duniway--Mary Olney + Brown--The First Steps in Oregon--Col. C. A. Reed--Judge G. W. + Lawson--1870--The New Northwest, 1871--Campaign, Mrs. Duniway and + Miss Anthony--They Address the Legislature in Washington + Territory--Hon. Elwood Evans--Suffrage Society Organized at + Olympia and at Portland--Before the Oregon Legislature--Donation + Land Act--Hon. Samuel Corwin's Suffrage Bill--Married Woman's + _Sole_ Traders' Bill--Temperance Alliance--Women Rejected--Major + Williams Fights their Battles and Triumphs--Mrs. H. A. + Loughary--Progressive Legislation, 1874--Mob-Law in Jacksonville, + 1879--Dr. Mary A. Thompson--Constitutional Convention, + 1878--Woman Suffrage Bill, 1880--Hon. W. C. Fulton--Women + Enfranchised in Washington Territory, Nov. 15, 1883--Great + Rejoicing, Bonfires, Ratification Meetings--Constitutional + Amendment Submitted in Oregon and Lost, June, 1884--Suffrage by + Legislative Enactment Lost--Fourth of July Celebrated at + Vancouvers--Benjamin and Mary Olney Brown--Washington + Territory--Legislation in 1867-68 Favorable to Women--Mrs. Brown + Attempts to Vote and is Refused--Charlotte Olney French--Women + Vote at Grand Mound and Black River Precincts, + 1870--Retrogressive Legislation, 1871--Abby H. Stuart in + Land-Office--Hon. William H. White--Idaho and Montana. + + +In the spring of 1852, when the great _furor_ for going West was at +its height, in the long trails of miners, merchants and farmers +wending their way in ox-carts and canvas-covered wagons over the +vast plains, mountains and rivers, two remarkable women, then in +the flush of youth, might have been seen; one, Abigail Scott +Duniway, destined to leave an indelible mark on the civilization of +Oregon, and the other, Mary Olney Brown, on that of Washington +territory. What ideas were revolving in these young minds in that +long journey of 3,000 miles, six months in duration, it would be +difficult to imagine, but the love of liberty had been infused in +their dreams somewhere, either in their eastern homes from the +tragic scenes of the anti-slavery conflict, or on that perilous +march amidst those eternal solitudes by day and the solemn +stillness of the far-off stars in the gathering darkness. That this +long communion with great nature left its impress on their young +hearts and sanctified their lives to the best interests of humanity +at large, is clearly seen in the deeply interesting accounts they +give of their endeavors to mould the governments of their +respective territories on republican principles. Writing of herself +and her labors, Mrs. Duniway says: + + I was born in Pleasant Grove, Tazewell county, Illinois, October + 22, 1834, of the traditional "poor but respectable parentage" + which has honored the advent of many a more illustrious worker + than myself. Brought up on a farm and familiar from my earliest + years with the avocations of rural life, spending the early + spring-times in the maple-sugar camp, the later weeks in + gardening and gathering stove-wood, the summers in picking and + spinning wool, and the autumns in drying apples, I found little + opportunity, and that only in winter, for books or play. My + father was a generous-hearted, impulsive, talented, but + uneducated man; my mother was a conscientious, self-sacrificing, + intelligent, but uneducated woman. Both were devotedly religious, + and both believed implicitly that self-abnegation was the crowing + glory of womanhood. Before I was seventeen I was employed as a + district school teacher, received a first-class certificate and + taught with success, though how I became possessed of the + necessary qualifications I to this day know not. I never did, + could, or would study when at school. + + In the spring of 1852 my father decided to emigrate to Oregon. My + invalid mother expostulated in vain; she and nine of us children + were stowed away in ox-wagons, where for six months we made our + home, cooking food and washing dishes around camp-fires, sleeping + at night in the wagons, and crossing many streams upon + wagon-beds, rigged as ferryboats. When our weary line of march + had reached the Black Hills of Wyoming my mother became a victim + to the dreadful epidemic, cholera, that devastated the emigrant + trains in that never-to-be-forgotten year, and after a few hours' + illness her weary spirit was called to the skies. We made her a + grave in the solitudes of the eternal hills, and again took up + our line of march, "too sad to talk, too dumb to pray." But ten + weeks after, our Willie, the baby, was buried in the sands of the + Burnt River mountains. Reaching Oregon in the fall with our + broken household, consisting of my father and eight motherless + children, I engaged in school-teaching till the following August, + when I allowed the name of "Scott" to become "Duniway." Then for + twenty years I devoted myself, soul and body, to the cares, + toils, loves and hopes of a conscientious wife and mother. Five + sons and one daughter have been born to us, all of whom are + living and at home, engaged with their parents in harmonious + efforts for the enfranchisement of women. + + The first woman suffrage society ever formed in Oregon, was + organized in Salem, the capital of the State, in the autumn of + 1870, and consisted of about a dozen members. Col. C. A. Reed was + chosen president and G. W. Lawson, secretary. This little society + which maintained a quiescent existence for a year or more and + then disbanded without ceremony, was, in part, the basis of all + subsequent work of its character in Oregon. In the winter of 1871 + this society honored me with credentials to a seat in the woman + suffrage convention which was to meet in San Francisco the + following May. My business called me to the Golden City before + the time for the convention, and a telegraphic summons compelled + me to return to Oregon without meeting with the California + Association in an official way, as I had hoped. But my + credentials introduced me to the San Francisco leaders, among + whom Emily Pitts Stevens occupied a prominent position as editor + and publisher of the _The Pioneer_, the first woman suffrage + paper that appeared on the Pacific coast. Before returning to + Oregon I resolved to purchase an outfit and begin the publication + of a newspaper myself, as I felt that the time had come for + vigorous work in my own State, and we had no journal in which the + demands of women for added rights were treated with respectful + consideration. + + +[Illustration: "Yours for Liberty, Abigail Scott Duniway"] + + + Soon after reaching my home in Albany I sold my millinery store + and removed to Portland, where, on May 5, 1871, the _New + Northwest_ made its appearance, and a siege of the citadels of a + one-sexed government began, which at this writing is going on + with unabated persistency. The first issue of this journal was + greeted by storms of ridicule. Everybody prophesied its early + death, and my personal friends regarded the enterprise with + sincere pity, believing it would speedily end in financial + disaster. But the paper, in spite of opposition and burlesque, + has grown and prospered. + + In August, 1871, Susan B. Anthony favored Oregon and Washington + territory with a visit. The fame of this veteran leader had + preceded her, and she commanded a wide hearing. We traveled + together over the country, visiting inland villages as well as + larger towns, holding woman suffrage meetings and getting many + subscribers for the _New Northwest_. During these journeyings I + became quite thoroughly initiated into the movement and made my + first efforts at public speaking. After a six weeks' campaign in + Oregon, we went to Olympia, the capital of Washington territory, + where the legislature was in session, and where, through a motion + of Hon. Elwood Evans, we were invited to address the Assembly in + advocacy of equal rights for all the people. From Olympia we + proceeded to Victoria, a border city belonging to a woman's + government, where we found that the idea of the ballot for woman + was even more unpopular than in the United States, though all, by + strange inconsistency, were intensely loyal to their queen. After + an interesting and profitable experience in the British + possessions we returned to Puget Sound, stopping over on our + route at the different milling towns that teem with busy life + upon the evergreen shores of this Mediterranean of the Pacific. + At Seaettle we organized an association[507] in which many of the + leading ladies and gentlemen took a prominent part; after which + we returned to Olympia, where a territorial organization was + effected.[508] + + Returning to Portland, we called a convention, and organized the + Oregon State Woman Suffrage Association, with Harriet W. + Williams, a venerated octogenarian, president. This estimable + woman had been one of the earliest leaders of the woman suffrage + movement in the State of New York, and her presence at the head + of our meetings in Oregon was a source of genuine satisfaction to + the friends of the cause in the new State of her adoption. + Subsequently, Mrs. Williams was compelled to resign on account of + increasing infirmities, but her wise counsels are still cherished + by her successors, whom she regards with motherly solicitude as + she serenely awaits the final summons of the unseen messenger. + Many of those who early distinguished themselves in this + connection deserve special mention because of their + long-continued zeal in the work.[509] If others failed us, these + were always ready to work the hardest when the fight was hottest. + And whatever might be our differences of opinion personally, we + have always presented an unbroken phalanx to the foe. The + original society at Salem having disbanded, its members joined + the new State Association organized at Portland, which has ever + since been regarded as the nucleus of all our activities. + + In September of 1872, I visited the Oregon legislature, where I + went clothed by our association with discretionary power to do + what I could to secure special legislation for the women of the + State, who, with few exceptions, were at that time entirely under + the dominion of the old common law. The exceptions were those + fortunate women who, having come to Oregon as early as 1850 and + '52, had, by virtue of a United States law, known as the Oregon + Donation Land Act, become possessed of "claims," as they were + called, on equal shares with their husbands, their half, or + halves, of the original ground being set apart as their separate + property in realty and _fee simple_. This Donation Land Act + deserves especial mention, it being the first law enacted in the + United States which recognized the individual personality of a + married woman. It became a temporary law of congress in 1850, + mainly through the efforts of Hon. Samuel R. Thurston, delegate + from Oregon territory (which at that time included the whole of + Washington territory), aided by the eminent Dr. Linn of Missouri, + from whom one of the principal counties of the State of Oregon + derives its name. + + My first experience in the capitol was particularly trying. I + spent two days among my acquaintances in Salem in a vain attempt + to find a woman who was ready or willing to accompany me to the + state-house. All were anxious that I should go, but each was + afraid to offend her husband, or make herself conspicuous, by + going herself. Finally, when I had despaired of securing company, + and had nerved myself to go alone, Mary P. Sawtelle, who + afterwards became a physician, and now resides in San Francisco + where she has a lucrative practice, volunteered to stand by me, + and together we entered the dominion hitherto considered sacred + to the aristocracy of sex, and took seats in the lobby, our + hearts beating audibly. Hon. Joseph Engle, perceiving the + innovation and knowing me personally, at once arose, and, after a + complimentary speech in which he was pleased to recognize my + position as a journalist, moved that I be invited to a seat + within the bar and provided with table and stationery as were + other members of the profession. The motion carried, with only + two or three dissenting votes; and the way was open from that + time forward for women to compete with men on equal terms for all + minor positions in both branches of the legislature--a privilege + they have not been slow to avail themselves of, scores of them + thronging the capitol in these later years, and holding valuable + clerkships, many of them sneering the while at the efforts of + those who opened the way for them to be there at all. + + Hon. Samuel Corwin introduced a woman suffrage bill in the House + of Representatives early in the session; and while it was + pending, I was invited to make an appeal in its behalf, of which + I remember very little, so frightened and astonished was I, + except that once I inadvertently alluded to a gentleman by his + name instead of his county, whereupon, being called to order, I + blushed and begged pardon, but put myself at ease by informing + the gentlemen that in all the bygone years while they had been + studying parliamentary rules, I had been rocking the cradle. + + One member who had made a vehement speech against the bill, in + which he had declared that no respectable woman in his county + desired the elective franchise, became particularly incensed, as + was natural, upon my exhibiting a woman suffrage petition signed + by the women he had misrepresented, and headed, _mirabile dictu_, + by the name of his own wife! The so-called representative of + women lost his temper, and gave vent to some inelegant + expletives, for which he was promptly reprimanded by the chair. + This offender has since been many times a candidate for office, + but the ladies of his district have always secured his defeat. + The woman suffrage bill received an unexpectedly large vote at + this session, and was favored in 1874 by a still larger one, when + it was ably championed by Hon. C. A. Reed, the before named + ex-president of the first woman suffrage society in the State. + + In 1872 the Senate, the House concurring, passed a Married + Woman's Sole Trader bill, under the able leadership of Hon. J. N. + Dolph, who has since distinguished himself as our champion in the + Senate of the United States. This bill has ever since enabled any + woman engaged in business on her own account to register the fact + in the office of the county clerk, and thereby secure her tools, + furniture, or stock in trade against the liability of seizure by + her husband's creditors. + + Perhaps I cannot better illustrate the general feeling of + opposition to women having a place in public affairs at that + time, than by describing the scenes in the State Temperance + Alliance in February of that year, when somebody placed my name + in nomination as chairman of an important committee. The + presiding officer was seized with a sudden deafness when the + nomination was made, and the Alliance was convulsed with + merriment. Ladies on all sides buzzed about me, and urged me to + resent the insult in the name of womanhood. And, as none of them + were at that time public speakers, I felt obliged to rise and + speak for myself. + + "Mr. President," I exclaimed, "by what right do you refuse to + recognize women when their names are called? Are men the only + lawful members of this Alliance? And if so, is it not better for + the women delegates to go home?" + + "Mr. President: The committees are now full!" shouted an excited + voter. Somebody, doubtless in ridicule, then nominated me as + vice-president-at-large, which was carried amid uproarious + merriment. I took my seat, half frightened and wholly indignant; + and the deliberations of the sovereign voters were undisturbed + for several hours thereafter by word or sign from women. At last + they got to discussing a bill for a prohibitory liquor law, and + the heat of debate ran high. During the excitement somebody + carried a note to the presiding officer, who read it, smiled, + colored, and rising, said: "We are hearing nothing from the + ladies, and yet they constitute a large majority of this + Alliance. Mrs. Duniway, will you not favor us with a speech?" + + I was taken wholly by surprise, but sprang to my feet and said: + "Mr. President: I have always wondered what it was that consumed + so much time in men's conventions. I hope gentlemen will pardon + the criticism, but you talk too much, and too many of you try to + talk at once. My head is aching from the roar and din of your + noisy orators. Gentlemen, what does it all amount to? You are + talking about prohibition, but you overestimate your political + strength. Disastrous failures attend upon all your endeavors to + conquer existing evils by the votes of men alone. Give women the + legal power to combat intemperance, and they will soon be able to + prove that they do not like drunken husbands any better than men + like drunken wives. Make women _free_. Give them the power the + ballot gives to you, and the control of their own earnings which + rightfully belong to them, and every woman will be able to settle + this prohibition business in her own home and on her own account. + Men will not tolerate drunkenness in their wives; and women will + not tolerate it in husbands unless compelled to." + + A prominent clergyman arose, and said: "Mr. President: I charge + the sins of the world upon the mothers of men. There are twenty + thousand fallen women in New York--two millions of them in + America. We cannot afford to let this element vote." Before I was + aware of what I was doing I was on my feet again. Shaking my + finger at the clergymen, I exclaimed: "How _dare_ you make such + charges against the mothers of men? You tell us of two millions + of fallen women who, you say, would vote for drunkenness; but + what say you, sir, to the twenty millions of fallen men--all + voters--whose patronage alone enables fallen women to live? Would + you disfranchise them, sir? I pronounce your charge a libel upon + womanhood, and I know that if we were voters you would not _dare_ + to utter it." + + A gentleman from Michigan--Mr. Curtis--called me to order, saying + my remarks were personal. "You, sir, sat still and didn't call + this man to order while he stood up and insulted all womanhood!" + I exclaimed, vehemently. "Prohibition is the question before the + house," said the gentleman, "and the lady should confine herself + to the resolution." "That is what I am doing, sir. I am talking + about prohibition, and the only way possible to make it succeed." + + The chair sustained me amid cries of "good!" "good!" but I had + become too thoroughly self-conscious by this time to be able to + say anything further, and, with a bow to the chairman whom I had + before forgotten to address, I tremblingly took my seat. + + A resolution was passed, after a long and stormy debate, + declaring it the duty of the legislature to empower women to vote + on all questions connected with the liquor traffic; and I, as its + author, was chosen a committee to present the same for + consideration at the coming legislative session. Woman suffrage + gained a new impetus all over the Northwest through this victory. + Everybody congratulated its advocates, and the good minister who + had unwittingly caused the commotion seized the first opportunity + to explain that he had always been an advocate of the cause. I + was by this time so thoroughly advertised by the abuse of the + press that I had no difficulty in securing large audiences in all + parts of the Pacific Northwest. + + I was chosen in April, 1872, as delegate to the annual meeting of + the National Association, held in New York the following month. + Horace Greeley received the nomination for the presidency at the + Cincinnati Liberal Republican Convention while I was on the way; + and when I reached New York I at first threw what influence I had + in the Association in favor of the great editor. But Miss + Anthony, who knew Mr. Greeley better than I did, caused me to be + appointed chairman of a committee to interview the reputed + statesman and officially report the result at the evening + session. Miss Anthony and Mrs. Jane Graham Jones of Chicago were + the other members of this committee. We obtained the desired + interview, of which it only needs to be said that it became my + humiliating duty to ask pardon in the evening for the speech in + advocacy of the illustrious candidate which in my ignorance I had + made in the morning. That Mr. Greeley owed his defeat in part to + the opposition of women in that memorable campaign, I have never + doubted. But he builded better than he knew in earlier years, for + he planted many a tree of liberty that shall live through the + ages to come, overshadowing in a measure his failure to recognize + the divine right of political equality for woman in his later + days. + + The first annual convention of the Oregon State Association met + in Portland, February 9, 1873. Many ladies and several + gentlemen[510] of more or less local prominence assisted at this + convention, but we were able to prevail upon but one gentleman, + Col. C. A. Reed of Salem, to occupy the platform with us. This + convention received favorable notice from the respectable press + of the State, and was largely attended by the best elements of + the city and country. Delegates were chosen to attend the + forthcoming State Temperance Alliance which held its second + annual meeting February 20, and to which a dozen of us went + bearing credentials. It was evident from the first that trouble + was brewing. The enemy had had a whole year to prepare an + ambuscade of which our party had no suspicion. A Committee on + Credentials was appointed with instructions to rule the woman + suffrage delegation out of the Alliance as a "disturbing + element." Hon J. Quinn Thornton was chairman of that committee. + In his report he declared all delegations to be satisfactory + (including those from the penitentiary) except the women whom he + styled "setting hens," "belligerent females," etc., after which + he subsided with pompous gravity. All eyes were turned upon me, + and I felt as I fancy a general must when the success or failure + of an army in battle depends upon his word. "Mr. President," I + exclaimed, as soon as I could get the floor, "I move to so amend + the report of the committee as to admit the suffrage delegation." + The motion was seconded by a half-dozen voices. Then followed a + scene which beggars description. It was pandemonium broken loose. + When I arose again to address the chair that worthy ordered my + arrest by the sergeant-at-arms, saying: "Take that crazy woman + out of the house and take care of her." The officer came forward + in discharge of his duty, but he quailed before my uplifted + pencil, and several gentlemen stepped into the aisle and began + drawing off their coats to defend me, among them a veteran + minister of the gospel. I smiled and bowed my thanks, and as + nobody could hear a word amid the uproar I complacently took my + seat while the officer skulked away, crestfallen. All that day + and evening, and until one o'clock the next afternoon, a noisy + rabble of self-styled temperance men sought to prevent bringing + the question to a square and honorable vote. Major George + Williams, a brave man who had lost a limb in fighting for his + country, at last succeeded in wearying the chairman into a + semblance of duty. The result was a triumph for the advocates of + suffrage. A recess was then taken, during which my hand was so + often and enthusiastically shaken that my shoulder was severely + lamed. The first thing in order after resuming business was my + report as Legislative Committee. I advanced to the platform amid + deafening cheers and, as soon as I could make myself heard, said, + in substance, that the legislature had decided that it was an + insult to womanhood to grant women the right to vote on + intemperance and debar them from voting on all honorable + questions. I then offered a fair and unequivocal woman suffrage + resolution, which was triumphantly carried. The disappointed + minority seceded from the Alliance and set up a "Union" for + themselves; but their confederacy did not live long, and its few + followers finally returned to their _alma mater_ and gave us no + further trouble. + + Woman suffrage associations were formed in several counties + during the year 1874. Our strength was now much increased by the + able assistance of Mrs. H. A. Loughary, who suddenly took her + place in the front rank as a platform speaker. The editorial work + of the _New Northwest_ received a valuable auxiliary in June of + this year in the person of Catharine A. Coburn, a lady of rare + journalistic ability, who held her position five years, when my + sons, W. S., H. R. and W. C. Duniway, having completed their + school duties and attained their majority, were admitted to + partnership in the business. Mrs. Coburn now holds a situation on + the editorial staff of the _Daily Oregonian_. + + In the autumn of 1876 I was absent at the Centennial Exposition, + whither I had gone in the summer in response to an invitation + from the National Woman Suffrage Association to "Come over into + Macedonia and help." The work for equal rights made favorable + headway in the legislature of Oregon that year through the + influence of a convention held at Salem under the able leadership + of Mrs. H. A. Loughary and Dr. Mary A. Thompson. + + In June, 1878, a convention met in Walla Walla, Washington + territory, for the purpose of forming a constitution for the + proposed new State of Washington, and in compliance with the + invitation of many prominent women of the territory I visited the + convention and was permitted to present a memorial in person, + praying that the word "male" be omitted from the fundamental law + of the incubating State. But my plea (like that of Abigail Adams + a century before) failed of success, through a close vote + however--it stood 8 to 7--and men went on as before, saying, as + they did in the beginning: "Women do not wish to vote. If they + desire the ballot let them ask for it." In September of that year + I was again at my post in the Oregon legislature circulating the + _New Northwest_ among the law-makers, and doing what else I could + to keep the cause before them in a manner to enlist their + confidence and command their respect. An opportunity was given me + at this session to make an extended argument upon constitutional + liberty before a joint convention of the two Houses, which + occupied an hour in delivery and was accorded profound attention. + I was much opposed to the growing desire of the legislature to + shirk its responsibility upon the voters at large by submitting a + proposed constitutional amendment to them when the constitution + nowhere prohibits women from voting, and I labored to show that + all we need is a declaratory act extending to us the franchise + under the existing fundamental law. Dr. Mary A. Thompson followed + in a brief speech and was courteously received. The Married + Woman's Property bill, passed in 1874, received some necessary + amendments at this session, and an act entitling women to vote + upon school questions and making them eligible to school offices, + was passed by a triumphant majority. + + I went to Southern Oregon in 1879, and while sojourning in + Jacksonville was assailed with a shower of eggs (since known in + that section as "Jacksonville arguments") and was also burned in + effigy on a principal street after the sun went down. + Jacksonville is an old mining town, beautifully situated in the + heart of the Southern Oregon mountains, and has no connection + with the outside world except through the daily stagecoaches. Its + would-be leading men are old miners or refugees from the + bushwhacking district whence they were driven by the civil war. + The taint of slavery is yet upon them and the methods of + border-ruffians are their hearts' delight. It is true that there + are many good people among them, but they are often over-awed by + the lawless crowd whose very instincts lead them to oppose a + republican form of government. But that raid of the outlaws + proved a good thing for the woman suffrage movement. It aroused + the better classes, and finally shamed the border ruffians by its + own reaection. When I returned to Portland a perfect ovation + awaited me. Hundreds of men and women who had not before allied + themselves with the movement made haste to do so. The newspapers + were filled with severe denunciations of the mob, and + "Jackson-villains," as the perpetrators of the outrage were + styled, grew heartily disgusted over their questionable glory. + + When the legislature met in the autumn of 1880 it was decided by + the Woman Suffrage Association that we could "raise the blockade" + and encourage agitation in the work by consenting to an attempt + to amend the State constitution. Pursuant to this decision a + resolution was offered in the Senate by Hon. W. C. Fulton of + Clatsop, and in the House by Hon. Lee Laughlin, which, after + considerable discussion _pro_ and _con_ in which I was graciously + invited to participate on the floor of both Houses, was passed by + the requisite two-thirds majority. The result was considered a + triumph for the cause. A grand ratification jubilee was held in + the opera-house in honor of the event, and resolutions of thanks + to the lawmakers were passed, accompanied by many expressions of + faith in the legislation of the future. + + In the meantime the work was going steadily on in Washington + territory, my own labors being distributed about equally between + the two sections of the Pacific Northwest that had formerly been + united under one territorial government. In the autumn of 1881 + the legislature of Washington met one afternoon in joint + convention to listen to arguments from Hon. William H. White and + myself, on which occasion I held the floor for nearly three + hours, in the midst of an auditory that was itself an + inspiration. Mr. White, a Democrat of the old school, and now + (1885) holding the office of United States marshal in the + territory, under commission from President Cleveland, based his + plea for woman suffrage upon the enfranchisement of the colored + men, urging it strongly as a means of Democratic retaliation. The + suffrage bill passed in the House on the following day by a + majority of two, but was defeated in the Council by a majority of + two, showing that the vote would have been a tie if taken under + the joint-ballot rule. + + Returning to Oregon I renewed the contest, and in the autumn of + 1882 we were all gratified by the passage of the pending + constitutional amendment by a very nearly unanimous vote of each + House. Then the Oregon campaign began in earnest. The question + had assumed formidable proportions and was no longer an ignored + issue. The work went on with accelerated speed, and as far as + could be ascertained there was little or no opposition to it. The + meetings were largely attended and affirmative speakers were + ready to assist at all times, the help of this kind representing + all grades of the professions, led by the best and most + influential men of the State everywhere. + + Another year went by, and the time for assembling the Washington + territory legislature was again at hand. Immediately upon + arriving at Olympia I learned that a coterie of politicians, + finding open hostility no longer effectual, had combined to crush + the woman suffrage bill, which had passed the House triumphantly, + by lobbying a "substitute" through the Council. In pursuance of + this seemingly plausible idea they talked with the ladies of + Olympia and succeeded in convincing a few of them that all women, + and especially all leaders of the movement, must be kept away + from the capitol or the bill would certainly be defeated. + Several women who ought to have have known better were deceived + by these specious pleaders, and but for some years of experience + in legislative assemblies that had brought me to comprehend the + "ways that are dark and tricks that are vain," for which the + average politician is "peculiar," the ruse would have succeeded. + I remained at headquarters, enduring alike the open attacks of + the venal press and the more covert opposition of the saloons and + brothels, and, as vigilantly as I could, watched all legislative + movements, taking much pains to keep the public mind excited + through the columns of the _Daily Oregonian_ and the weekly + issues of the _New Northwest_. The bill, which had been prepared + by Professor William H. Roberts, passed the House early in the + session; but it tarried long in the Council, and those most + interested were well-nigh worn out with work and watching before + the measure reached a vote. It came up for final passage November + 15, 1883, when only three or four women were present. The Council + had been thoroughly canvassed before-hand and no member offered + to make a speech for or against it. The deathly stillness of the + chamber was broken only by the clerk's call of the names and the + firm responses of the "ayes" and "noes." I kept the tally with a + nervous hand, and my heart fairly stood still as the fateful + moment came that gave us the majority. Then I arose and without + exchanging words with any one left the state-house and rushed + toward the telegraph-office, half a mile distant, my feet seeming + to tread the air. Judge J. W. Range of Cheney, president of a + local woman suffrage society, overtook me on the way, bound on + the same errand. He spoke, and I felt as if called back to earth + with a painful reminder that I was yet mortal. A few minutes more + and my message was on the way to the _New Northwest_. It was + publication-day and the paper had gone to press, but my jubilant + and faithful sons opened the forms and inserted the news, and in + less than half an hour the newsboys were crying the fact through + the streets of Portland, making the _New Northwest_, which had + fought the fight and led the work to the point where legislation + could give a victory, the very first paper in the nation to + herald the news to the world. The rejoicing in Oregon, as well as + in Washington territory, was most inspiriting. A bloodless battle + had been fought and won, and the enemy, asleep in carnal + security, had been surrendered unawares. The women of Oregon + thanked God and took courage. + + After passing the Council the bill passed leisurely, and some of + us feared perilously, through the various stages of clerical + progress till November 22, when it received the signature of + Governor William A. Newell, who used a gold pen presented him for + the purpose by women whom his act made free. And when at a given + signal the church bells rang in glad acclaim, and the loud boom + of minute-guns reverberated from the forest-clothed hills that + border Puget Sound and lost itself at last in the faint echoes of + the far-off hights, the scroll of the dead century unrolled + before my inner vision and I beheld in spirit another scene on + the further verge of the continent, when men in designing to ring + the bell at Independence Hall in professed honor of the triumph + of liberty, although not a woman in the land was free, had sought + in vain to force the loyal metal into glad responses; for the + old bell quivered in every nerve and broke its heart rather than + tell a lie! + + An immense ratification jubilee was held in the evening of the + same day at the city hall in Olympia, with many distinguished + speakers.[511] Similar meetings were subsequently held in all the + principal towns of the Pacific Northwest. The freed women of + Washington thankfully accepted their new prerogatives. They were + appointed as jurors in many localities, and have ever since + performed their duties with eminent satisfaction to judges, + lawyers and all clients who are seeking to obey the laws. But + their jurisdiction soon became decidedly uncomfortable for the + law-breaking elements, which speedily escaped to Oregon, where, + as the sequel proved, they began a secret and effective war upon + the pending constitutional amendment. We all knew we had a + formidable foe to fight at the ballot-box. Our own hands were + tied and our own guns spiked, while our foe was armed to the + teeth with ballots, backed by money and controlled by vice, + bigotry and tyranny. But the leading men of the State had long + been known to favor the amendment; the respectable press had + become mildly, and in a few cases earnestly acquiescent; no + opposition could be raised at any of our public meetings, and we + felt measurably sure of a victory until near election time, when + we discovered to our dismay that most of the leading politicians + upon whom we had relied for aid had suddenly been seized with an + alarming reticence. They ceased to attend the public meetings and + in every possible way ignored the amendment, lest by openly + allying themselves with it they might lose votes; and as all of + them were posing in some way for office, for themselves or + friends, and women had no votes with which to repay their + allegiance, it was not strange that they should thus desert us. + + Our Republican senator in congress, Hon. J. N. Dolph, favored the + Woman Suffrage Association with an able and comprehensive letter, + which was widely circulated, urging the adoption of the amendment + as a measure of justice and right, and appealing to the voters to + make Oregon the banner State of the great reform. Leading + clergymen, especially of Portland, preached in favor of woman + suffrage, prominent among them being Rev. T. L. Eliot, pastor of + the Unitarian church; Chaplain R. S. Stubbs of the Church of Sea + and Land, and Rev. Frederic R. Marvin of the First Congregational + society. Appeals to voters were widely circulated from the pens + and speeches of many able gentlemen.[512] Not one influential man + made audible objection anywhere. + + We had carefully districted and organized the State, sparing + neither labor nor money in providing "Yes" tickets for all + parties and all candidates and putting them everywhere in the + hands of friends for use at the polls. But the polls were no + sooner open than it began to appear that the battle was one of + great odds. Masked batteries were opened in almost every + precinct, and multitudes of legal voters who are rarely seen in + daylight except at a general election, many of whom were refugees + from Washington territory, crowded forth from their hiding-places + to strike the manacled women down. They accused the earnest + ladies who had dared to ask for simple justice of every crime in + the social catalogue. Railroad gangs were driven to the polls + like sheep and voted against us in battalions. But, in spite of + all this, nearly one-third of the vote was thrown in our favor, + requiring a change of only about one-fourth of the opposing vote + to have given us a victory, and proving to the amazement of our + enemies that the strength of our cause was already + formidable.[513] We were repulsed but not conquered. Before the + smoke of the battle had cleared away we had called immense + meetings and passed vigorous resolutions, thanking the lovers of + liberty who had favored us with their suffrages, and pledging + ourselves anew to the conflict. + + We at once decided that we would never again permit the + legislature to remand us to the rabble in a vain appeal for + justice. We had demonstrated the impossibility of receiving a + fair, impartial vote at the hands of the ignorant, lawless and + unthinking multitude whose ballots outweigh all reason and + overpower all sense. In pursuance of this purpose I went to the + legislature of 1885 and found no difficulty in securing the aid + of friendly members of both Houses who kindly championed the + following bill: + + _Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of Oregon:_ + + That the elective franchise shall not hereafter be denied to + any person in this State on account of sex. + + This act to be in force from and after its approval by the + governor. + + After much parliamentary fillibustering the vote of both Houses + was recorded upon this bill and stood conjointly 34 to 54. This + vote, coming so soon after our defeat at the polls, is regarded + as the greatest victory we have yet won. The ablest lawyers of + the State and of Washington territory are preparing elaborate + opinions showing the constitutionality of our present plan, and + these are to be published in the form of a standard work, with + appropriate references for convenient use. The movement exhibits + a healthy, steady and encouraging growth, and is much accelerated + by its success in Washington territory. + + On the Fourth of July of this year a grand celebration was held + at Vancouver, on Washington soil, the women of Oregon having + resolved in large numbers that they would never again unite in + celebrating men's independence-day in a State where they are + denied their liberty. The celebration was a success from first to + last. Boys and girls in equal numbers rode in the liberty-car and + represented the age of the government. The military post at + Vancouver joined heartily in the festivities, headed by the + gallant soldier, General Nelson A. Miles, commander-in-chief of + the department of the Columbia. The fine Fourteenth Infantry Band + furnished the instrumental music, and a local choir rendered + spirited choruses. The New Declaration of Independence was read + by Josie De Vore Johnson, the oration was delivered by Mattie A. + Bridge, and Louise Lester, the famous _prima donna_, electrified + the delighted crowd by her triumphant rendition of the + "Star-Spangled Banner." The exercises closed with the + announcement by the writer, who had officiated as president of + the day, that the Executive Committee of the Oregon Woman + Suffrage Association had, during the noon recess, adopted the + following resolutions: + + _Resolved_, That our thanks are due to General Nelson A. + Miles of the department of the Columbia for his valuable + cooeperation in the exercises and entertainments of this + historic day. + + _Resolved_, That we thank the citizens of Clarke County, and + especially of Vancouver, for their hospitality and kindness, + so graciously bestowed upon their less fortunate Oregon + neighbors, who have not yet achieved their full + independence, and we shall ever cherish their fraternal + recognition in grateful remembrance. + + _Resolved_, That while we deplore the injustice that still + deprives the women of Oregon of the liberty to exercise + their right to the elective franchise, we rejoice in the + record the women of Washington are making as citizens, as + voters and as jurors. We congratulate them upon their + newly-acquired liberties, and especially upon the + intelligent and conscientious manner in which they are + discharging the important public duties that in no wise + interfere with their home affairs. And we are further + + _Resolved_, That if our own fathers, husbands, sons and + brothers do not at the next session of the Oregon + legislature bestow upon us the same electoral privileges + which the women of Washington already enjoy, we will prepare + to cross the Columbia River and take up our permanent abode + in this "land of the free and home of the brave." + + The resolutions evoked cheers that waked the echoes, and the + celebration, reported by the Oregon press, contributed largely to + the growth of the equal-rights sentiment among the people of the + State. Two stanzas of a spirited poem are subjoined, written for + the Woman Suffrage Association just after our defeat at the + polls, by a young man from Southern Oregon who has withheld his + own name but included the names of all the counties in his + glorious prophecy: + + From Clatsop and from Clackamas, from Linn and Tillamook; + From Grant, Multnomah, Lane and Coos, and Benton, Lake and + Crook; + From Josephine, Columbia, and loyal Washington, + And Union, Baker and Yamhill, and proud old Marion; + From where the Cascade mountain-streams their foaming waters + pour, + We're coming, mothers, sisters, dear, "ten times ten thousand + more." + + From Klamath's lakes and Wasco's plains, and Jackson's rolling + hills; + From Douglas with her mines of gold, and Curry with her mills; + From Umatilla's burdened fields, and hills and dales of Polk, + We're coming with our votes and songs to break the tyrant's + yoke, + And in the ears of Liberty this song of joy we'll pour, + We're coming, mothers, sisters, dear, "ten times ten thousand + more." + +Mrs. Mary Olney Brown gives an amusing account of her attempts to +vote in Washington territory. The incidents related occurred +several years before the passage of the act specifically +enfranchising women. She says: + + I do not think there has ever been a session of our legislature + that has not had before it the subject of woman suffrage. It has + been my habit to write out, and send to all parts of the + territory, before the assembling of each legislature, petitions + to be signed, asking for a law guaranteeing to women the + exercise of their right to vote. These petitions were not without + their effect, though no one knew who sent them out, or, when + returned, who selected the member to receive and present them to + the legislature. At the session of 1867, mainly through the + efforts of Edward Eldridge of Whatcom County, an act was passed + giving "all white American citizens above the age of twenty-one + years" the right to vote. This law is still on our statute books; + but, like the fourteenth amendment, is interpreted to mean only + male citizens. During the time between the passage of this law + and the next election, I wrote to some of the prominent women of + the principal towns, telling them of the law, and urging them to + go out and vote at the coming election, and also to induce as + many more to go as they could. But no notice was taken of my + letters. I was looked upon as a fanatic, and the idea of a woman + voting was regarded as an absurdity. The law seemed to be in + advance of the people. It needed lectures and organized societies + among us to educate the women into a just appreciation of their + rights and duties. + + In the autumn of 1868, Dr. Smith wrote several articles on the + right of women to the ballot, as did also Mr. Eldridge. The + latter asserted that it was the intention of the law to give the + women of the territory the right to vote; that being a member of + the legislature he had purposely stated in his remarks, that if + the bill passed in that form, it would give the women the right + to vote; and a member from his seat cried out, "That is what we + want!" Mr. Eldridge urged the women to go out to the polls and + vote. These articles were published in the Olympia _Transcript_, + the Republican paper, J. N. Gale, one of the editors, being an + advocate of suffrage. Still not a woman made a move. Many wished + to vote; they knew it was the only way to secure their rights, + and yet they had not the courage to go to the polls in defiance + of custom. + + Seeing this to be the case, and knowing that if anything was done + some one must take the initiative, I determined to cast aside my + timidity and set the ball rolling. Accordingly, several weeks + before the election of 1869 I gave out word that I was going to + the polls to vote. I had the previous year removed with my family + from Olympia, and was living on White River in King county. The + announcement that I would attend the election caused a great + commotion in White River precinct. A fearful hue and cry was + raised. The news reached Olympia and Seaettle, and some of the + papers deprecated the idea that "a woman should unsex herself by + dabbling in the filthy pool of politics." But I was fully + committed. The law had been on our statute books for nearly three + years. If it was intended for our benefit, it was time we were + availing ourselves of it. So, nothing daunted, I determined to + repair to the polling place, the district school-house, + accompanied by my husband, my daughter (Mrs. Axtell) and her + husband--a little band of four--looked upon with pity and + contempt for what was called our "fanaticism." + + For several days before the election the excitement in the + neighborhood and other settlements along the river was intense. + Many gentlemen called on me and tried to persuade me to stay at + home and save myself from insult. I thanked them for their + kindness, and told them I fully appreciated their good + intentions, but that I had associated with men all my life, and + had always been treated as a lady; that the men I should meet at + the polls were the same that I met in church and social + gatherings, and I knew they would treat me with respect. Then + they begged my husband not to allow me to go; but he told them + his wife had as good a right to vote as he had; and that no + citizen can legally deprive another of the right to vote. + + On the morning of the election, just before we reached the + school-house, a man met us and said, "Mr. Brown, look here now! + If Mrs. Brown goes up to vote she will be insulted! If I was in + your place I wouldn't let her go any farther. She had better go + back." My husband answered, "Mr. Brannan, my wife has as good a + right to vote as I have, and I would not prevent her if I could. + She has a mind of her own and will do as she thinks best, and I + shall stand by her and see that she is well treated! Besides + [speaking with emphasis], she will not be insulted either!" + "Well," said the man, "if she was my wife she shouldn't go! + She'll be sure to be insulted!" I looked him full in the face, + and said with decision, "Mr. Brannan, a gentleman will be a + gentleman under all circumstances, and will always treat a lady + with respect." I said this because I knew the man, and knew that + if anyone offered any annoyance, it would be he, and so it + proved. + + As we drove up to the school-house and alighted, a man in an + angry voice snapped out, "Well! if the women are coming to vote, + I'm going home!" But he did not go; he had too much curiosity; he + wanted to see the fun. He stayed and was converted. After + watching the sovereign "white male citizen" perform the laborious + task of depositing his vote in the ballot-box, I thought if I + braced myself up I might be equal to the task. So, summoning all + my strength, I walked up to the desk behind which sat the august + officers of election, and presented my vote. When behold! I was + pompously met with the assertion, "You are not an American + citizen; hence not entitled to vote." The great unabridged + dictionary of Noah Webster was opened, and the definition of the + word citizen read to me. They all looked to see me vanquished; + they thought I would have to retreat before such an overwhelming + array of sagacity. The countenances of the judges wore a pleased + expression that they had hit on so easy an expedient to put me + _hors du combat_, while the crowd looked astonished that I did + not sink out of sight. Waiting a moment, I said, "The definition + is correct. A citizen of the United States, is a _person_ owing + allegiance to the government; but then all persons are not _men_; + and the definition of "citizeness" is a female citizen. I claim + to be an American citizen, and a native-born citizen at that; and + I wish to show you from the fourteenth amendment to the + constitution of the United States, that women are not only + citizens having the constitutional right to vote, but also that + our territorial election law gives women the privilege of + exercising that right." + + When I commenced speaking, all the men, with the exception of + two--the one who had urged my husband not to let me go to the + school-house, and a low, degraded fellow, who had a squaw for a + wife--came and ranged themselves around me and the judges before + whom I stood, and listened attentively. It was a new subject to + them. They had heard of woman suffrage, but only in ridicule. Now + it was being presented to them in a very different light. As I + proceeded there was a death-like stillness, so intent were they + to catch every word. Even the man who had declared he would go + home if the women were going to vote, was among the most + interested of the listeners. There was but one interruption; the + two men, of whom I have spoken, to make good their assertion that + I would be insulted, got behind a desk in the far corner of the + room, and began talking and laughing very loudly; but they were + promptly called to order. Silence being restored, I went on to + show them that the original constitution recognized women as + citizens, and that the word citizen includes both sexes, as is + proved by the phrases, "male citizen," and "female citizen"; that + women from the beginning had been unjustly deprived of the + exercise of their constitutional rights; that they had for years + been petitioning those in power to restore them to their + political freedom, when the emancipation of the Southern slaves + threw upon the country a class of people, who, like the women of + the nation, owed allegiance to the government, but whose + citizenship was not recognized. To settle this question, the + fourteenth amendment was adopted. Its first section declares + emphatically who are citizens, and guarantees to them the + exercise of all their natural rights under the equal protection + of the law. (Here I read to them the section.) No distinction is + made in regard to sex; the word "person" being used, which + includes both men and women. + + "And now, honorable gentlemen," I said, in conclusion, "I am a + 'person,' declared by the fourteenth amendment to be a citizen, + and still further, I am a native-born citizen of the same race + and color of these gentlemen by whom I am surrounded, and whose + votes you do not hesitate to receive; and, had our territorial + law failed to give me the right to vote, this amendment would + protect me in the exercise of it. I again offer my vote, and hope + you will not refuse it." No hand was extended to receive it; but + one of the judges threw himself back in his seat, and with great + dignity of manner and an immense display of ignorance, exclaimed, + "Women have no right to vote; and the laws of Congress don't + extend over Washington territory." This was too much for even the + strongest opponents. On every side was heard, "Oh, Mr. Alvord! + why, yes, they do!" "Mr. Alvord, you are mistaken, the laws of + congress do extend over our territory"; and some tried to explain + to him that the territory belonged to the United States and was + under the jurisdiction of the national government, and that of + course the laws of congress extended over it. But still more + pompously, he again declared, "It is no such thing, the laws of + congress don't extend over Washington territory." A look of + disgust and shame was depicted on nearly every countenance, and + the cause of woman suffrage had advanced perceptibly in the minds + of the audience. + + Another of the judges arose, and said, he had never thought much + on the subject. He had no doubt but Mrs. Brown was right, woman + were citizens and had the right to vote; but as the courts had + not instructed the election officers to take the votes of women, + and as the precinct was a small one, he was afraid their whole + vote would be thrown out if they received the women's ballots. + So, although he should like to see the women have their rights, + he should have to refuse Mrs. Brown's vote. Here an Irishman + called out, "It would be more sensible to let an intelligent + white woman vote than an ignorant nigger." Cries of "Good for + you, Pat! good for you, Pat!" indicated the impression that had + been made. My daughter now went up and offered her vote, which + was, of course, rejected. + + My going to the polls was noised abroad, and set men as well as + women thinking. They examined the law for themselves, and found + that women had a right to vote, so that before the next election + many were prepared to act. In May, 1870, I published an appeal to + the women of the territory, quoting to them the law, and urging + them to avail themselves of its provisions by going to the polls + and voting. My sister, Charlotte Olney French, living in Grand + Mound precinct, some twenty-five miles from Olympia, began + talking the matter up; and, being a woman of energy and + influence, she soon had the whole neighborhood interested. With + the assistance of an old lady, Mrs. Peck, she planned a regular + campaign. By the programme the women were to get up a picnic + dinner at the school-house where the election was to be held, and + directly after, while the officers of election were in good humor + (wives will understand the philosophy of this), they were to + present their votes. My sister, being a good talker and well + informed on all the constitutional, judicial and social phases of + the question as well as a good judge of human nature, was able to + meet and parry every objection, and give information where + needed, so that by the time dinner was over, the judges, as well + as everybody else, were in the best of spirits. When the voting + was resumed, the women (my sister being the first) handed in + their ballots as if they had always been accustomed to voting, + and everything passed off pleasantly. One lady, Mrs. Sargent, + seventy-two years old, said she thanked the Lord that He had let + her live until she could vote. She had often prayed to see the + day, and now she was proud to cast her first ballot. + + It had been talked of for some days before the election in the + adjoining precinct--Black River--that Mrs. French was organizing + a party of women to attend the election in Grand Mound precinct; + but they were not sure the judges would let them vote. "If they + do," said they, "if the Grand Mound women vote, the Black River + women shall!" So they stationed a man on a fleet horse, at the + Grand Mound polls, with instructions to start as soon as the + women began to vote, and ride with all haste back to their + precinct and let them know. The moment the man rode in sight of + the school-house he swung his hat, and screeched at the top of + his voice, "They're voting! They're voting!" The teams were all + ready in anticipation of the news, and were instantly flying in + every direction, and soon the women were ushered into the + school-house, their choice of tickets furnished them, and all + allowed to vote as "American citizens." + + While the women of these two precincts were enjoying the exercise + of their political rights, the women of Olympia were suffering + the vexation of disappointment. I had been stopping there for + some weeks previous to the election, trying to induce the women + to go to the polls, and also to convince the men that women had a + legal right to vote, and that their right must be respected. The + day before election the judges were interviewed as to whether + they would take the votes of the women. They replied, "Yes; we + shall be obliged to take them. The law gives them the right to + vote, and we can not refuse." This decision was heralded all over + the city, and women felt as if their millennium had come. + To-morrow, for the first time, their voice would be heard in the + government through the ballot. All day long women met each other, + and asked: "Are you going to the election to-morrow?" Groups + gathered in parlors and discussed the matter, and everything + seemed auspicious. + + But how true the saying: "There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and + the lip!" Before nine o'clock the next morning, the word had been + communicated all over town that "the women need not come out to + the polls as the judges would not take their votes." They would + give no reason why, but said "they had decided not to take the + votes of the women." About a dozen of us gathered together to + consult what was best to be done; finding most of them inclined + to back out, I urged the necessity of our making an effort; that + whether the judges took our votes or not, it was not best to give + it up as the rest had done; if we did, it would be harder to make + an effort next time; that I had been to the polls once and had my + vote refused, and could be refused again; at any rate, I had the + right to vote, and I should go and offer it if I had to go alone. + Three of the number said they would go with me--Mrs. Patterson, + Mrs. Wiley and Mrs. Dofflemyer; these, with Mr. Patterson, my + husband and myself made our party. As we reached the court-house + where the election was held, Mr. Dofflemyer met us and took his + wife home, she meekly submitting. + + Just before us a cart rattled up bearing a male citizen, who was + too drunk to know what he was doing, or even to do anything. He + was lying on his back in the cart, with feet and hands up, + hurrahing at the top of his voice. This disgusting, drunken idiot + was picked up out of the cart by two men, who put a ticket into + his hand, carried him to the window (he was too drunk to stand), + shoved him up and raised his arm into the aperture; his vote + received, he was tumbled back into the cart. + + I then stepped up and offered my vote, and was answered with, "We + have decided not to take the votes of the women!" "On what + grounds do you refuse?" I asked. No answer. "Do you refuse it on + legal grounds?" Still no answer. I then said, "Under the election + law of this territory, setting aside my constitutional right as a + citizen of the United States, I have the right to vote at this + election. Have you the election law by you?" "No, we have not got + it here," they said. I knew they had, but did not dispute their + word. "Very well," I said, "I can quote it for you." I did so, + and then said, "Under this territorial law I claim my right, and + again I offer you my vote as an American citizen. If you doubt my + citizenship, I will insist on taking the oath. Will you receive + it?" The answer was, "No; we have decided not to take women's + votes, and we cannot take yours." "Then," said I, "it amounts to + this: the law gives women the right to vote in this territory, + and you three men who have been appointed to receive our votes, + sit here and arbitrarily refuse to take them, giving no reason + why, only that you have decided not to take the women's votes. + There is no law to sustain you in this usurpation of power. We + can claim legal redress. Are you willing to stand a legal + prosecution?" "Yes," was the response of each one separately. It + was now plain to see why the votes of the women were refused; the + judges had been hired to do the dirty work, and money pledged in + case of prosecution. They were men in moderate circumstances and + could not have stood the cost of a suit individually. The ready + assent they gave showed such a contingency had been thought of + and provided against by the opponents of woman suffrage. The + other two women then offered their votes, which were also + refused. + + In the autumn of 1871 Susan B. Anthony came to Olympia and + attended the first woman suffrage convention ever held here. Our + legislature was in session, and a joint hearing before the two + Houses was extended to her. Her statesman-like argument clearly + proved the right of our women to vote under both the national + constitution and the territorial law. After Miss Anthony left, + there arose a rumor that the election law was to be repealed, and + a committee of women attended every session, determined if + possible to prevent it. They were at the capitol the last day, + prepared to stay until the adjournment; they were urged to go + home, but would not unless a solemn promise was made them that + the law should in no way be tampered with. This the members + refused to do, until a bright idea struck one of them, which was + that they need not disturb the law, but could make it inoperative + by enacting another statute. This being whispered among the + members, the promise was given, and the women retired. + Immediately after, the following act was passed by both Houses, + approved and signed by the governor: + + _Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory + of Washington:_ + + SECTION 1. That hereafter no female shall have the right of + ballot, or vote at any poll or election precinct in this + territory until the Congress of the United States of America + shall, by direct legislation, declare the same to be the + supreme law of the land. + + SEC. 2. This act to take effect from and after its passage. + + Approved November 29, 1871. EDWARD S. SOLOMON, _Governor_. + + When the proclamation to hold a convention to form a constitution + preparatory to our admission into the Union as a State, was + issued, I recommended to the Territorial Woman Suffrage + Association that we make every effort to secure to the convention + as many delegates as possible in favor of woman suffrage, and + then that we circulate petitions asking them to leave out the + word "male" from the constitution. Failing to get the society to + take any associated action, I went to work individually, wrote + and sent out petitions into every town and country place where + there was a post-office, asking that the word "male" be left out + of the constitution. With each petition I sent a letter to the + person whose name I had procured from the postmaster of the + place, stating the object, urging a thorough circulation, and + directing its return at a given date to Mary Olney Brown, + President of the Washington Territorial Woman Suffrage + Association; thus giving the credit of the work to the Society. + + I could not get a member of our Association to circulate the + petition in Olympia, so every day that I could get away from home + I took my petition in hand and canvassed for signatures. If I + went shopping or on an errand I took it with me, and in that way + I procured over 300 names. My experience had taught me that the + principal opposition to woman's voting came from ignorance as to + her true position under the government. She had come to be looked + upon almost as a foreign element in our nation, having no lot nor + part with the male citizen, and I felt that it was necessary to + disabuse the minds of the people generally, and the delegates to + the convention particularly, of this notion. I therefore wrote + five articles on the "Equality of Citizenship," which Mrs. + Duniway kindly published in the _New Northwest_. The Olympia + _Courier_ also printed them, and placed the paper on file in the + city reading-room; and when I met a man who had not made up his + mind on the subject I recommended him to the reading-room, and + several after perusing the articles were converted and signed the + petition. + + On the assembling of the legislature Mrs. A. H. H. Stuart and + myself watched a favorable opportunity to present an equal rights + bill. We let them talk up the matter pretty well over a petition + signed by fifty women of one of the upper counties, when one day + Mrs. Stuart came to me and said: "Now, Mrs. Brown, write out your + bill; the speaker of the House sent me word they were ready for + it." I sat down and framed a bill[514] to the best of my ability, + which was duly presented and respectfully debated. Mrs. Duniway + came from Portland to urge its passage, and the day before it + came to a vote both Houses adjourned and invited her to speak in + the hall of representatives. She made one of her best speeches. + The members of both Houses were present, besides a large audience + from the city. The next day the House passed the bill by two + majority, and on the day following it was lost in the Council by + two majority. In the House the vote stood, ayes, 13; nays, 11. In + the Council, ayes, 5; nays, 7. + + Saturday evening Mrs. Duniway made another telling speech in the + city hall, at the close of which Mr. White, a lobby member, made + a few remarks, in which he disclosed the cause of the defeat of + the bill in the Council. He said, after the bill passed the House + the saloon-keepers, alarmed lest their occupation would be gone + if women should vote, button-holed the members of the Council, + and as many of them as could be bought by drinks pledged + themselves to vote against the bill. The members of the Council + were present, and though an urgent invitation was given to all to + speak, not one of them denied the charge made by Mr. White. On + the following Monday an effort was made in the Council to + reconsider the bill, but failed. Thus stands our cause at + present. There will be a greater effort than ever before put + forth during the next two years to secure an affirmative vote in + our legislature. + +As Mrs. Brown wrote the above in 1881, the promise in the closing +sentence was really quite prophetic, since the legislature of 1883 +passed a law enfranchising the women of the territory.[515] Mrs. +Duniway concludes her account with a brief reference to the work in +neighboring territories: + + In addition to all that is being done in Oregon and Washington, + we are actively engaged in pushing the work in Idaho and Montana + territories, where the _New Northwest_ has been thoroughly + circulated in many localities and many spirited public meetings + have been held. The Idaho legislature seriously considered and + came near adopting a woman suffrage bill last winter, and the + women of the territory are confidently awaiting a triumph at the + next biennial session. Remembering Dakota's set-back through the + governor's veto in 1885, they are carefully planning to avoid a + like calamity in their own territory. In Montana the cause has + made less apparent progress, but there is much quiet and + constantly increasing agitation in its favor. Popular feeling is + steadily ripening for the change, and let the rest of the world + wag as it will, there cannot be much longer hindrance to the + complete triumph of liberty in the Pacific Northwest. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[507] Hon. H. L. Yesler, the city's founder and mayor; Mrs. Yesler, +Rev. John F. Damon, Mrs. Mary Olney Brown, Rev. Daniel Bagley and +others. + +[508] Its leaders being Mrs. Abble H. H. Stuart, Mrs. P. C. Hale, +Hon. Marshall Blinn, Hon. Elwood Evans, and Mr. J. M. Murphy, +editor of the _Washington Standard_. + +[509] Mr. D. W. Williams, Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Shanahan, Mr. and Mrs. +A. B. Gibson, Rev. T. L. Eliot, Mr. B. C. Duniway, Dr. Mary A. +Thompson, Rev. Isaac Dillon and Hon. and Mrs. G. W. Brown. + +[510] Addresses were made in advocacy of the cause by Col. Reed, +Mrs. J. Devore Johnson, Miss V. M. Olds, Rev. T. L. Eliot, Mrs. C. +A. Coburn, Mrs. Beatty (colored), and the writer. The celebrated +McGibeney family furnished the music, and the Portland press gave +favorable reports of the proceedings. Valuable aid was also +contributed by Mr. and Mrs. D. H. Hendee, Mr. and Mrs. J. W. +Peters, and Mrs. M. J. Foster. + +[511] Governor Newell, Judge Orange Jacobs, Judge B. F. Dennison, +Mrs. Pamela Hale, Hon. Philip D. Moore, Mr. W. S. Duniway, Captain +William H. Smallwood, the writer, and a large number of the members +of the legislature. + +[512] S. F. Chadwick, United States Representative M. C. George, +ex-United States Senator J. H. Mitchell, United States District +Judge M. P. Deady, Hon. H. W. Scott, editor of the _Oregonian_, +ex-Governor A. C. Gibbs, District-Attorneys J. F. Caples and T. A. +McBride, and various ex-members of the legislature. + +[513] The official vote of the State was 11,223 for the amendment, +and 28,176 against. + +[514] _Be it enacted by the Legislature of the Territory of +Washington:_ + +SECTION 1. All female citizens of the age of twenty-one years shall +be entitled to vote at all elections in the territory, subject only +to such regulations as male citizens. + +SEC. 2. Any officer of election who shall refuse to take the vote +of a woman citizen (otherwise qualified to vote), shall be liable +to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500. + +SEC. 3. All laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. + +SEC. 4. This act to be in force on and after its passage. + +[515] The bill was introduced in the Washington House by +Representative Coply, and was supported in speeches by Messrs. +Coply, Besserer, Miles, Clark and Stitzel, while Messrs. Landrum +and Kincaid spoke against it. The vote was: _Ayes_--Besserer, +Brooks, Clark, Coply, Foster, Goodell, Hungate, Kuhn, Lloyd, +Martin, Miles, Shaw, Stitzel and Speaker Ferguson--14. +_Noes_--Barlow, Brining, Landrum, Ping, Kincaid, Shoudy and +Young--7. _Absent_--Blackwell, Turpin and Warner--3. The bill was +favorably reported in the Council, November 15, by Chairman Burk of +the Judiciary Committee. No one offered to speak on it. The vote +stood: _Ayes_--Burk, Edmiston, Hale, Harper, Kerr, Power and +Smith--7. _Noes_--Caton, Collins, Houghton, Whitehouse and +President Truax--5. Governor W. A. Newell approved the bill +November 22, 1883. + + + + +CHAPTER LV. + +LOUISIANA--TEXAS--ARKANSAS--MISSISSIPPI. + + St. Anna's Asylum, Managed by Women--Constitutional Convention, + 1879--Women Petition--Clara Merrick Guthrie--Petition Referred to + Committee on Suffrage--A Hearing Granted--Mrs. Keating--Mrs. + Saxon--Mrs. Merrick--Col. John M. Sandige--Efforts of the Women + all in Vain--Action in 1885--Gov. McEnery--The _Daily + Picayune_--Women as Members of the School-Board--Physiology in + the Schools--Miss Eliza Rudolph--Mrs. E. J. Nicholson--Judge + Merrick's Digest of Laws--Texas--Arkansas--Mississippi--Sarah A. + Dorsey. + + +I.--LOUISIANA. + +Mrs. Caroline E. Merrick has furnished the following interesting +facts from her native State, for which we feel ourselves deeply +indebted: + + Like the children of one family the States have a common + resemblance, but they are various in character as in geographical + outline. In Louisiana the Anglo-American finds himself + side-by-side with inhabitants of French or Spanish descent, and + in many of the country parishes the African freedmen outnumber + all the rest. + + St. Anna's Asylum in New Orleans is controlled and managed by a + board of directors composed entirely of women. Among the inmates + in 1878 was a German woman who had resided in the institution for + many years. Finding herself in ill-health and fearing the + approach of the end, she confided to the ladies of the board that + she had a thousand dollars in bank which she wished to bequeath + to the home where she had been provided for and sheltered so + long. At her earnest request a will was drawn up in accordance + with her wishes, and signed by members of the board who were + present as witnesses. Shortly after, the woman died and her will + was submitted to the proper authority for admission to probate. + When the ladies were duly informed that the will was null and + void, they naturally asked why, and were told that under + Louisiana law women were not lawful witnesses to a will. Had they + only called in the old darkey wood-sawyer, doing a day's work in + the asylum yard, and had him affix his mark to the paper, the + money would have accrued to the asylum; as it was, it went to the + State. + + Early in 1879, when a convention to make a new State + constitution[516] had been called and was about to assemble in + New Orleans, Mrs. Merrick tried to arouse the ladies of the + board, representing to them that in the controlling power they + exercised over St. Anna's Asylum they were only children + _playing_ they were a part of the people and citizens of the + State, when in reality they were legally powerless to perform any + free and independent act. The ladies were mortified by the + position in which they found themselves but were not willing to + take any step to remedy their pitiful case, not even to sign the + petition which was afterwards drawn up by Mrs. Saxon and Mrs. + Merrick to present to the constitution-makers to have these + disabilities removed. The petition was as follows: + + _To the Honorable President and Members of the Convention of + Louisiana, convened for the purpose of framing a new + Constitution:_ + + The undersigned, citizens of the State of Louisiana, + respectfully represent: + + That up to the present time all women, of whatever age or + capacity, have been debarred from the right of + representation, notwithstanding the burdensome taxes which + they have paid. + + They have been excluded from holding any office save in + cases of special tutorships in limited degree, or of + administration only in specified cases. + + They have been debarred from being witnesses to wills or + notarial acts, even when executed by their own sex. + + They look upon this condition of things as a grievance + proper to be brought before your honorable body for + consideration and relief. + + As a question of civilization, we look upon the + enfranchisement of women as an all-important one. In + Wyoming, where it has been tried for ten years, the + law-makers and clergy unite in declaring that this influx of + women voters has done more to promote morality and order + than thousands of armed men could have accomplished. + + Should the entire franchise seem too extended a privilege, + we most earnestly urge the adoption of a property + qualification, and that women may be allowed a vote on + school and educational matters, involving as they do the + interests of women and children in a great degree. + + So large a proportion of the taxes of Louisiana is paid by + women, many of them without male representatives, that in + granting consideration and relief for grievances herein + complained of, the people will recognize justice and equity. + To woman as well as man "taxation without representation is + tyranny," she being "a person, a citizen, a freeholder, a + tax-payer," the same as man, only government has never held + out the same fostering, protecting hand to all alike, nor + ever will, until women are directly represented. + + Wherefore, we, your petitioners, pray that some suitable + provision remedying these evils be incorporated in the + constitution you are about to frame. + + While this petition was being circulated, favorable articles + appeared from time to time in the public prints. The following, + signed "Fatima," the _nom de plume_ of Clara Merrick Guthrie, + appeared in the _Democrat_: + + A well-known notary signed this petition with a flourish, + remarking that "few women and not over half the men were + aware of the disabilities of wives and daughters." + + If the convention should invest women of property with the + elective franchise it would give to the respectable side of + politics a large body of sensible voters which would go far + toward neutralizing the evil of unlimited male suffrage. The + policy in the Northern States has been to demand + unrestricted suffrage, but the women of Louisiana may with + propriety exhibit certain variations in the nature of their + appeal. This subject in all its phases inspires my + enthusiasm, but I dare not be as eloquent as I might, lest a + messenger should be sent to me with an urgent request to + address the convention next Monday evening. * * * * + + _On dit._--Other ladies beside our brave Mrs. Saxon are + desired to give their views. Now surely the convention would + not ask these quiet house-mothers, who are not even remotely + akin to professional agitators, to do such violence to their + old-time precedents if the prospect of some reward were not + encouraging and immediate. Nothing could induce me to make + personal application save the solemn obligation of the whole + august body to accede to my timid proposal simultaneously + and by acclamation. Fortunately for us there are women in + Louisiana more sacrificing of their naturally shrinking + disposition, who perhaps take the cause more seriously than + your correspondent, who would make a most persuasive + enrolling-officer but not so gallant a general for active + service. + + After securing over 400 influential names[517] the petition was + sent in to the convention and was referred to the Committee on + Suffrage, Mr. Felix P. Poche, chairman, now judge of the Supreme + Court. On May 7, the committee invited the ladies to a conference + at Parlor P, St. Charles Hotel. Mr. and Mrs. Saxon, Colonel and + Mrs. John M. Sandige and Mrs. Mollie Moore Davis were present. + Mrs. Saxon spoke for an hour and replied to questions from the + committee. She made a very favorable impression and was highly + commended for her argument. On June 16 the friends of the + petition were notified that a hearing would be granted them at + the evening session of the convention. Mrs. Harriette C. Keating + and Mrs. Elizabeth L. Saxon had consented to speak if such a + hearing were granted. + + Col. John M. Sandige, who had occupied prominent positions in the + political affairs of the State, gave much encouragement and + assistance. He did not hesitate to urge the importance of this + movement, and the necessity that the women who were most + interested should cheerfully assume their responsibility in + relation to it. While Mrs. Saxon was known already as a fearless + and able reformer, and Dr. Harriette C. Keating as a noble + representative of woman in professional life, he thought it was + desirable to have a voice from the home and from society, and + Mrs. Caroline E. Merrick was solicited to come forward and + endorse what her colleagues would say, in a few words at the + close of the proceedings. Mrs. Merrick finally agreed that she + should see her duty in the light in which it was presented if + Judge Merrick, who constituted her court of last resort, should + leave her entirely free to act in the case. After a consultation, + to her great surprise and consternation the judge said, "You have + always desired to help women--here is an opportunity; go forward + and do your share in this work." + + The surprise could hardly have been greater if a procession of + slaves twenty-five years ago had come up in force to the lordly + mansion of their master with several spokesmen chosen from their + ranks, for the avowed purpose of asking for their freedom. The + ladies were treated with a delicate courtesy and kindness on this + unusual occasion, which they can never forget. Judge Poche, with + the tact of a true gentleman, endeavored to smooth a difficult + way, reassuring the failing courage of the ladies while assisting + them to mount the platform. The _Daily Picayune_ of June 17, + 1879, said: + + The usually prosaic and unimpressive appearance of the + convention hall assumed for the occasion an entire change + last evening. When the convention closed its forenoon's + labors, it took a recess until half-past 7 o'clock for the + purpose of affording the female suffragists an opportunity + to plead their cause before a full meeting. The scene before + the convention was called to order was interesting and + amusing. As the minutes rolled on the crowd of ladies + commenced to pour in, and by 8 o'clock the hall contained + some fifty representatives of the gentler sex of the + Crescent City. Every age of womanhood and every class of + beauty found a representative upon the floor. About half a + dozen "society girls" occupied a retired corner of the room, + while a number of the notables, including Mrs. Myra Clark + Gaines, took possession of the middle of the hall. + + Promptly at 8 o'clock President Wiltz climbed to his seat + and called the convention to order in a tone slightly husky + from nervous excitement. Secretary Harris, having summoned + up his spare courage, called the roll in a determined voice. + Of the 134 members 106 responded to their names. After the + usual preliminaries Mr. Poche announced that a committee of + ladies were in attendance, prepared to address the + convention upon the question of woman suffrage. He then + introduced Mrs. Dr. Keating. The fair speaker had scarcely + begun before it was seen that she possessed a clear, slow + enunciation and perfect confidence in her ability to enforce + the doctrines of the cause she was to advocate. She read + from manuscript and showed no little knowledge of the rules + of oratory. + + Mrs. Saxon was greeted with a burst of applause, which was + gracefully acknowledged by the recipient; her address was + earnest and made a deep impression. + + Mr. Robertson of St. Landry then offered the following + resolution, which lies over under the rules: + + _Resolved_, That the committee on elective franchises be + directed to embody in the article upon suffrage reported in + this convention, a provision giving the right of suffrage to + women upon the same terms as to men. + + After some talk the resolution was laid aside to allow + another speech to be made. Mrs. E. T. Merrick was introduced + by Mr. Poche, as the wife of ex-Chief-Justice Merrick, and a + shower of applause followed the appearance of the lady. She + said: + + _Mr. President and Delegates of the Convention:_--We have + met with such unexpected kindness in the reception which you + have accorded us to-night, that we find it hard to give + expression to anything but thanks. When we remember the + persistent and aggressive efforts which our energetic + sisters of the North put forth before they could obtain a + hearing before any legislative assembly, we find ourselves + lost in a pleasing astonishment at the graciousness which + beams upon us here from all quarters. Should we even now be + remanded to our places and have our petitions met with an + utter refusal, we should be grieved to the heart, we should + be sorely disappointed, but we never could cherish the least + feeling of rebellious spite toward this convention of men, + who have shown themselves so respectful and considerate + toward the women of Louisiana. + + Perhaps some of the gentlemen thought we did not possess the + moral courage to venture even thus far from the retirement + in which we prefer to dwell; perhaps they thought we would + not dare to appear in person before this formidable body and + speak for our own cause. Be assured that a resolute and + conscientious woman can put aside her individual preferences + at the call of duty, and act unselfishly for the good of + others. You are our witnesses that we have not wearied you + by our importunities, nor have we sought in any disingenuous + manner to influence you in our favor. We are simply here in + response to your own courteous invitation to explain our + ideas and opinions on the great question of woman's + enfranchisement. The ladies who have already addressed you + have given you our arguments, and in eloquent language have + made their appeal, to which you could not have been + insensible. It only remains for me to give you some of my + own individual views in the few words which are to conclude + this interview. + + We assure you we are not cherishing any ambitious ideas of + political honors and emoluments for women. We do not wish to + become governors or legislators, nor have we any inordinate + desire to obtain seats in congress. I have seen but one + woman who ever expressed even a wish to be president of + these United States. But we do ask with most serious + earnestness that you should give us the ballot, which has + been truly called the expression of allegiance and + responsibility to the government. All over the world this + same movement is advancing. In many countries earnest, + thoughtful, large-hearted women are working day and night to + elevate their sex; to secure higher education; to open new + avenues for their industrious hands; trying to make women + helpers to man, instead of being millstones round his neck + to sink him in his life struggle. Ah, if we could only + infuse into your souls the courage which we, + constitutionally timid as we are, now feel on this subject, + you would hasten to perform this act of justice, and + inaugurate the beginning of the end which all but the blind + can see is surely and steadily approaching. We are willing + to accept anything. We have always been in the position of + beggars, as now, and cannot be choosers if we wished. We + will gladly accept the franchise on any terms, provided they + be wholly and entirely honorable. If you should see proper + to subject us to an educational test, even of a high order, + we should try to attain it; if you require a considerable + property qualification, we would not complain. We would be + only too grateful for any amelioration of our legal + disabilities. Allow me to ask, are we less prepared for the + intelligent exercise of the right of suffrage than were the + freedmen when it was suddenly conferred upon them? Has not + this right been to them a beneficial stimulant, inducing + them to use exertions to promote their improvement, and has + it not raised them to a superior place, above the + disfranchised classes, such as the Chinese, Indians and + women? + + Perhaps you think only a few of us desire the ballot. If + that were so, we think it would not be any sufficient reason + for withholding it. In old times most of our slaves were + happy and contented. Under the rule of good and humane + masters, they gave themselves no trouble to grasp after a + freedom which was beyond their reach. So it is with us + to-day. We are happy and kindly treated (as witness our + reception here to-night), and in the enjoyment of the + numerous privileges which our chivalrous gentlemen are so + ready to accord; many of us who feel a wish for freedom, do + not venture even to whisper a single word about our rights. + For the last twenty-five years I have occasionally expressed + a desire to vote, and it was always received as a matter of + surprise, but the sort of effect produced was as different + as the characters of the individuals with whom I conversed. + * * * * + + Gentlemen of the convention, we now leave our cause in your + hands, and commend it to your favorable consideration. We + have pointed out to you the signs of the dawning of a + better day for woman, which are so plain before our eyes, + and implore you to reach out your hand and help us up, that + we may catch the first glimpse of its glory before it floods + the world with noon-day light.[518] + + Col. John M. Sandidge read a letter from Mrs. Sarah A. + Dorsey: + + JUNE 11, 1879. + + _Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention:_--Too weak + from recent illness and suffering to appear personally + before you by the side of the women of Louisiana who are + asking for the privilege and responsibility of political + suffrage, I am forced to use this mode of indorsing their + movement. + + Being left by the fiat of God entirely alone in the world, + with no man to represent me, having large interests in the + State and no voice either in representation or taxation + while hundreds of my negro lessees vote and control my life + and property, I feel that I ought to say one word that may + perhaps aid many other women whom fate has left equally + destitute. It is doubtful whether I shall rise from my couch + of pain to profit by the gift should the men of Louisiana + decide to give the women of the State the right which is the + heritage of the Anglo-Saxon race--representation for + taxation. But still I ask it for my sisters and for the + future of the race. We women of Louisiana have always been + treated before the law as civil partners of our husbands. In + every respect our rights have been protected. + + It needs but one more step to make us civilly free, and this + we ask you to embody in your new constitution. Many men are + not opposed to the fact of female suffrage, but to its mode + at present; that could be corrected, and women need not be + exposed to the coarseness and strife of the polls as they + are now conducted. There is no man among you who does not + believe his wife or his daughter intelligently capable of + taking a voice in the government. If my lessees are capable + of being citizens of Louisiana, it is because for thirty + years of my life and for five generations of my ancestors we + have interested ourselves in their civilization and in their + instruction. Gentlemen, we ask nothing that would unsex + ourselves. We do not expect to do man's work; we can never + pass the limits which nature herself has set. But we ask for + justice; we ask for removal of unnatural restrictions that + are contrary to the elemental spirit of the civil law; we do + not ask for rights, but for permission to assume our natural + responsibilities. + + Praying that the hearts and minds of the men of Louisiana + may be moved toward this act of justice, I am, with profound + respect, your obedient servant, + + SARAH A. DORSEY. + + The Webster _Tribune_, Mr. Scanland, editor, of June 25, 1879, + shows the sensation created in the remotest parishes of Louisiana + by this hearing before the convention: + + The ladies, it seems, are about walking up and demanding + enlarged liberties. We were under the impression that women + generally had about as much latitude as they wanted, but if + they desire more, the _Tribune_ says, in the name of + gallantry if not justice, let them have all they wish. There + is an element throughout the Union agitating the proposition + that they are entitled to vote because they are taxed. The + Constitution of the United States provides that no one shall + be taxed without representation. Representation is based on + population, and, of course, the ladies are enumerated; and + the "horrid men" claim that the ladies are represented + through them. This a great many repudiate, and their heads + are about level. When a man assumes to represent a woman, he + undertakes a larger contract than he imagines--something we + would not dream of attempting in a political or any other + sense. + + The ladies who advocate female suffrage claim that as they + are governed by the laws they have a right to a voice in + making them. Many of the ablest women of this country hold + that belief, and of all our noble statesmen, not one has + advanced an answer to this demand--reasonable, if it does + come from women. A French essayist held that as women are a + part of society, they have a right to be judges of its + members, assist in making its laws, and condemn and punish + transgressors. They have their influence, but that is not so + effective as power. * * * * Some of the brightest intellects + that adorn the social circles throughout this country and + State hold these views and ably advance them. Among them in + this State are Mrs. E. L. Saxon, Mrs. Merrick, wife of + ex-Chief-Justice Merrick, and Mrs. Dr. Harriette Keating. + When our convention was discussing the suffrage question, + these ladies petitioned to be heard. Of course the request + was allowed. Last Tuesday evening the above-mentioned ladies + addressed the congress at length. Their speeches were able, + and the ideas they advanced were sound logic; but if carried + into effect may prove beneficial, and may not. Woman + suffrage is an experiment. Like everything else, we will + never know its effects until after it is tried. We only wish + that there were a few more men in that convention who could + make as able speeches as did these ladies--notwithstanding + the Utopian ideas advanced. + + When the new constitution finally went forth, it contained, as + the result of all our arguments and appeals, but one little + concession: + + ARTICLE 232. Women twenty-one years of age and upwards, + shall be eligible to any office of control or management + under the school laws of the State. + + Judge I. F. Marshall of Catahoula parish, an accomplished + gentleman and able lawyer, suggested this article, and it was + presented and championed by Hon. F. L. Claiborne[519] of Pointe + Coupee. The women of Louisiana have never realized any advantage + from this law. All school offices are filled by appointment of + the governor, and there was no serious agitation for the + enforcement of this clause in the new constitution until the + autumn of 1885, when, in response to the demand that women should + be appointed on the school-board of New Orleans, Gov. McEnery, + through a correspondent of the _Times-Democrat_, gave his opinion + as follows: + + If a married woman occupied an office under the school laws, + in which it was necessary to bring a suit to enforce some + right connected with it, she would have to get the consent + of her husband to bring the suit and join him with her. + There are only a few exceptional cases where the married + woman can legally act independently of her husband. Our code + so recognizes the paramount control of the husband that when + a widow, who is the tutor of her minor children, wishes to + marry, and gets the consent of a family meeting to be + retained in the tutorship, the code, article 255, says: Her + second husband becomes of necessity the co-tutor, and, for + the administration of the property subsequently to his + marriage, becomes bound _in solido_ with his wife. And so it + would be in the appointment of a married woman to a public + office. Her husband, of necessity, would share it with her; + would, in fact, be the officer. And as to unmarried women, + Article 232 does not repeal any of their disabilities. It + does not repeal the laws creating the essential differences + between men and women. It, as I stated, simply asserts a + right, and is inoperative until there is legislation to + enforce it. + + The _Daily Picayune_ of November 16, under the head lines of + "Women as Members of School Boards," "The Law and the Facts in + the Case Presented by Mrs. Merrick," gives the following: + + Last Thursday evening, November 12, a special meeting or + reception was held by the women's club at their rooms on + Baronne street. On this occasion the club was addressed by + Mrs. Caroline E. Merrick, a good and practical-minded friend + of the cause of woman. The 12th was the seventieth birthday + of Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and a decorated picture of + the famous woman hung in the rooms. Mrs. Merrick read a + sketch of the life of Mrs. Stanton, but devoted the first + part of the evening to reading the following paper, the + matter of which is, of the keenest interest to all thinking + men and women in the State: + + More than eighty thousand children attend the public schools + in Louisiana, and of this number one-half are girls, and of + the 389 teachers employed in the public schools of New + Orleans, 368 are women. It cannot be denied that these are + of equal concern and importance to the State with any like + number of boys and men, nor does it require any argument to + prove that mothers are best qualified to superintend and + look after the welfare of their own children. In view of + this fact the convention of 1879 embodied the following + article in the constitution of the State: + + ARTICLE 232. Women 21 years of age and upward shall be + eligible to any office of control or management under the + school laws of this State. + + Notwithstanding the absolute right conferred by this article + on women over twenty-one years of age, the chief executive + of the State, with his present views, is apparently + unwilling to make any appointment of women to such + management without further legislation. The views of the + Governor on all questions are always entitled to great + respect. The question is one of interpretation, and many of + the best lawyers in Louisiana do not hesitate to hold and + declare a different view. + + I am told that there are in the various constitutions of the + States and general government two classes of provisions, the + one self-executing and absolute, and the other requiring + legislative action before they can be exercised. For example + of the first class, article 59 of the constitution declares + that "the supreme executive power of the State shall be + vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the + Governor of Louisiana." Nobody would ever undertake to say + that the governor was dependent on any more legislation to + carry this into effect so as to enable him to fill his + office. If he were, it would then become necessary to + legislate about every other article, and so the constitution + would be worthless, everything being required to be done + over by the legislature before the constitution could have + any effect. + + Article 232 of the constitution is imperative. It declares + that women over twenty-one years of age shall be eligible to + any office of control or management under the school laws of + the State. Can the legislature repeal or modify this + mandate? Of course not. Could the absoluteness of this right + be expressed in plainer or more energetic terms? No, indeed. + We are told and have been made to understand that it is a + right conferred by the constitution of the State, which + cannot be defeated or enlarged, or even abridged in any way + by the legislature; neither by modification, repeal, or + inaction. That this article being paramount law, itself + repeals all legislation inconsistent with it. The + constitution, I am told, prescribes the legal and other + qualifications for our judges of the courts. Nobody ever + thought legislative action was needed when their + qualifications are according to that instrument, to enable + them to take their places on the bench. + + Article 185 of the constitution prescribes the + qualifications of voters or electors, and we are instructed + that all conflicting laws on that point are annulled by the + sovereign will of the people in convention assembled. In + fact, good lawyers have given us innumerable examples, + illustrations and decisions to this effect; and even women, + who are for the most part ignorant of the laws of their + State, begin to understand that they have a right to a place + on the school-board for some one of their own sex here in + Louisiana. True, it has been said that there are other + articles which are in conflict with article 232, but we are + told the other provisions of the constitution relate to + other and more general subjects, and on this very subject + the framers of the constitution have in very positive and + unmistakable terms declared its precise will, and it is + wasting time to try to explain it away. These wise jurists + do not fear to tell us further, that special laws or + provisions in a constitution or statute abrogate or limit + the general provisions in the same instrument. + + We are sorry that our governor apprehends any difficulty + would arise in regard to married women being school + directors. He says the husband might change his domicile and + the wife would be obliged to follow him, and if bond were + required she could not sign it without his consent, and + finally the fact was she could not do _anything_ without the + husband's consent. Then "the husband would share the office + with her." I have heard that it was difficult to prevent + outside influences from operating upon the minds of men in + office. We have certainly heard some complaints of this + sort, but it seems that there would be no great danger + encountered from this source. The duties which this article + of the constitution permits women to perform are not + generally remunerative, and would be probably more a labor + of love than of reward. As to the other objections, perhaps + the husband _would_ sign his wife's bond, and perhaps he + would _not_ move away while she held the office. I have + heard that sheriffs sometimes run away after giving bond, + and people are sometimes elected to office and unable to + qualify, and others disappoint the public by resigning. + Moreover we have ascertained the fact that a tutrix may + subsequently marry, and that act does not prevent her from + filling the office of tutrix, neither does the fact of being + already married prevent her from discharging the duties of + tutrix. But I see no harm done if the husband should become + the assistant of his wife in this office. Is it not manifest + that the two together would have a superior official + knowledge of the needs and exigencies of the girls sent to + the public schools and the women who teach them daily, than + the husband could possibly attain by himself? But the whole + difficulty, it seems to us, might be obviated. Let the + governor appoint unmarried women. A woman who has been so + unfortunate as to be a widow would not be objectionable. + + The article says: "Women over twenty-one years shall be + eligible" to these offices. It does not say the legislature + may make them "eligible." By its own inherent force it + declares them eligible. If they are really eligible, then + why not have them selected and appointed? They have every + requisite for the office, and as the dictionary says, are + "proper to be chosen." They are "qualified to be elected." + They are "legally qualified." They are eligible. It is not + at all likely that the legislature will ever do the vain + thing of affirming a constitutional right so explicitly + given. + + The opposition of the executive, therefore, seems to be a + bar not only to this provision being carried out, but also + to the raising of any question under it for the + consideration of the judiciary. It is confidently hoped and + expected that he will consent to reconsider the whole + question. We feel sure the governor will not intentionally + be guilty of any injustice to the women of Louisiana, and + will not desire to withhold any benefit from them which has + already been conferred by the State constitution. Women all + over the Union rejoiced when this generous concession was + granted here in Louisiana. In many other States they enjoy + the same, and greater privileges, and letters and inquiries + have come from distant States, asking why this law has not + gone into effect. We are aware that any reform changing + existing conditions must move slowly, and is apt to be + unpopular with men in authority; then it also antagonizes + the inertia of women, who are too modest to thrust + themselves forward, saying, "I am ready to serve the State"; + yet they know all the time they can do good service in + relation to the schools. Only give them a kindly helping + hand, and we feel sure that a valuable cooeperating influence + will be felt, of which no one has ever dreamed in the past. + We leave this matter to the governor, to the citizens of + Louisiana, and to the fathers who take a deep interest in + the welfare of their daughters as well as of their sons. + + Our legislature passed a law requiring physiology to be taught in + the public schools, while the vast majority of the teachers of + the State are women, and no college in which that science is + taught is open to them. In 1885, Dr. Chaille gave a course of + free lectures on physiology and anatomy for the benefit of the + New Orleans teachers, who, while they are doing the most + important-public work in training the rising generation in the + rudiments of learning, are denied the advantages of the higher + education that would fit them for the duties of their profession. + A fitting precedent for the action of our rulers may be found in + Shakespeare's, "Titus Andronicus," in which rude men seize the + king's daughter, cut out her tongue and cut off her hands, and + then bid her go call for water and wash her hands. + + The State Pharmaceutical Association, formed in 1882 with 110 + members, unanimously elected Miss Eliza Rudolph a member. Miss + Rudolph was then the only woman in the drug business. Having been + refused admission to the medical college of the State University, + she perfected herself in pharmacy by a course of private + lectures. In 1884 she was elected corresponding secretary of the + association. + + The _Daily Picayune_, in closing its half-century, gives the + following of Mrs. E. J. Nicholson, its chief owner and manager + since January, 1876: + + "Pearl Rivers," the lady's _nom de plume_, was already well + known in the republic of letters before she became, as she + now is, the most eminent female journalist in the world, + largely owning and successfully directing for years a great + daily political journal. The fact is unique. The fame of + Mrs. Nicholson belongs to the world of letters and her + biography may be found in any dictionary of Southern + authors, nevertheless a history of the _Picayune_ would not + be complete without some notice of one who has had so much + to do with its destiny. Miss Eliza J. Poltevent is a native + of Hancock county, Mississippi. She was born on the banks of + one of the most beautiful streams in the South, Pearl river. + She wrote over the name of "Pearl Rivers," and her poems + made her a conspicuous niche in the temple of Southern + letters. She wrote much for the _Picayune_ and wrote herself + into love as well as fame. She was married to Col. Holbrook, + the proprietor of the paper, and after his death in 1876, + she succeeded to the ownership. This was a trying position + for a woman. The South had not recovered from the + devastation of the war, and the _Picayune_ was involved in + embarrassments. Friends even advised her to dispose of the + property and not to undertake so formidable a task as the + conduct of a daily paper under existing complications. Brave + and true-hearted, with a profound and abiding conviction of + her duty in the matter, she assumed the control of the + paper. She wisely surrounded herself with able and devoted + assistants, and with their help has gallantly and + successfully surmounted many formidable obstacles, until she + has seen the _Picayune_ reestablished on a sound and + prosperous basis. Mr. George Nicholson had acquired a + proprietorship in it, and when Mrs. Holbrook assumed control + the firm name was E. J. Holbrook & Co. On June 28, 1878, the + interests of the two copartners were further consolidated by + marriage. Since then the _Picayune_ has been published under + the firm name of Nicholson & Co., and the columns daily + attest the energy, enterprise and ability with which it is + conducted, while its advertising patronage speaks for + itself. + + Mrs. Martha R. Field is a member of the editorial staff of the + _Picayune_. She has charge of the Sunday woman's column, besides + her regular column over the _nom de plume_ of Catherine Cole. + + The _Times-Democrat_ is owned by Mrs. Burke, who however leaves + its management to her husband, Col. Burke. Miss Bessie Bisland, + under the name of B. L. R. Dane, contributes to the Sunday paper, + and edits the "_Bric-a-Brac_ column" which consists of criticisms + and reviews of the leading magazines. This paper boasts the most + clever "Society column" in the country; it is edited by Mrs. + Jennie Coldwell Nixon who is now, 1886, superintendent of the + Woman's Department of the Exposition. + + Mrs. J. Pinkney Smith edits the "Social Melange" of the _States_. + Among the regular Sunday contributors are Miss Corrinne + Castillanos, who buzzes as the Society Bee, and Mrs. Mollie Moore + Davis, known as the "Texas Song Bird." Mrs. Ada Hilderbrand, + editor of the _Courier_ at Gretna, did the printing for the + Woman's Exposition. + + New Orleans has a Woman's National Press Association of which + Mrs. E. J. Nicholson is president; a Christian Woman's Exchange, + Mrs. R. M. Wamsley, president, doing a business of $45,000 a + year,[520] a Southern Art Union and Woman's Industrial + Association, with Mrs. J. H. Stauffer and others on the auxiliary + executive committee, and a Woman's Club,[521] originated by Miss + Bessie Bisland who was the president of the club for the first + year, 1885. + + The laws of Louisiana relating to women have been given by Judge + E. T. Merrick, a well-known legal authority and for ten years the + chief-justice of the Supreme Court of the State: + + The rights of married women to their estates are probably + better secured in Louisiana than in any other of these + United States. The laws on this subject are derived from + Spain. Certain provinces of that kingdom were conquered and + for centuries held by the Visigoths, among whom, as among + the Franks at Paris, the institution called the community of + aquets and gains between husband and wife, prevailed. In + Spain, as in France, there were certain provinces in which + the ancient Roman law continued in force, and they were + called the provinces of the written law. In these (called + also the countries of the _dotal regime_) there was no + community between the spouses of their acquisitions. Both of + these systems are recognized by the Louisiana civil code, + but if the parties marry without any marriage settlement the + law implies that they have married under the _regime_ of the + community. To prevent error it is proper to observe that + there have been three civil codes adopted in Louisiana, + viz., in 1808, 1825 and 1870. The marriage laws are + substantially the same in all, but bear different numbers in + each code. The following references are to the code of 1870. + Except in a very limited number of cases the husband and + wife are incapable of making binding contracts with each + other during the marriage. Hence all settlements of + property, to be binding, must be executed before marriage + and in solemn form, that is, before a notary and two male + witnesses having the proper qualifications. The betrothed + are granted considerable liberty over the provisions of + their marriage contract, as the following quotations show: + + ART. 2,325. In relation to property, the law only regulates + the conjugal association in default of particular + agreements, which the parties are at liberty to stipulate as + they please, provided they be not contrary to good morals + and under the modifications hereafter prescribed. + + ART. 2,326. Husband and wife can in no case enter into any + agreement or make any renunciation the object of which would + be to alter the legal order of descents, either with respect + to themselves, in what concerns the inheritance of their + children, posterity, or with respect to their children + between themselves, without prejudice to the donations + _inter vivas_ or _mortis causa_, which may take place + according to the formalities and in the cases determined by + this code. + + The parties are also "prohibited from derogating from the + power of the husband over the person of his wife and + children which belongs to the husband as the head of the + family, or from the rights guaranteed to the surviving + husband or wife" (C. C., Art. 2,327). + + If the parties adopt the _dotal regime_ in their marriage + contract the dotal effects are (except under some + circumstances) inalienable during marriage; and at the + dissolution of the marriage, they are to be replaced or + returned to the wife, or her heirs, and to secure this, the + wife has a mortgage on her husband's lands, and a privilege + on his movables, including those of the community (C. C., + Art. 2376; Art. 2347). "The dower is given to the husband, + for him to enjoy the same as long as the marriage shall + last." Strong as is this language, the dowry is given by the + wife or her father or mother or other relations or friends, + simply to support the marriage. + + Under the _regime_ of the community, the individual property + of the husband or wife, and all property either may acquire + afterwards by inheritance or donations re-remain separate + property. The conjugal partnership is defined by C. C., Art. + 2402. "This partnership, or community, consists of the + profits of all the effects of which the husband has the + administration and enjoyment, either of right or in fact, of + the produce of the reciprocal industry and labor of both + husband and wife, and the estates which they may acquire + during marriage, either by donations made jointly to them + both, or by purchase, or in any other similar way, even + should the purchase be in the name of one of the two, and + not of both, because in that case the period of time when + the purchase is made is alone attended to, and not the + person who made the purchase." + + During the marriage the husband has the management of the + community, and he can sell or exchange the same, but he + cannot give away the real estate without binding his estate + to recompense the wife or her heirs, for the one-half so + given away. All the income of his estate must enter into the + community. On the other hand the wife may at her pleasure + take her own estate from the management of the husband into + her own control and discretion (C. C. 2384). But in this + contingency she must contribute to the family expenses (C. + C. 2389 and 2435). + + If the affairs of the husband become embarrassed, the wife + can sue the husband for a separation of property, and get a + judgment against him for all indebtedness, on account of + money or property used or disposed of by him, and sell him + out under execution, and buy in the property herself if she + sees fit. Thus she stands in a more favorable position + toward the community than the husband, who is bound for all + its debts, for she can stand by and choose. If the community + becomes prosperous, she has the absolute right, as owner, to + one-half of it after payment of debts, and a right to the + income of the other half until she dies, or marries a second + time. + + By causing her claims on account of her separate or + paraphernal estate to be recorded, she secures a mortgage + against her husband's lands and the lands of the community. + If a husband or wife dies affluent, leaving the survivor in + necessitous circumstances, the latter can claim one-fourth + of the estate of the deceased. This is called "the marital + fourth." The wife, also, if she or the children do not + possess one thousand dollars in their own right, can claim + as a privilege and against the creditors, one thousand + dollars, or a sum which, with her own estate, shall equal + that amount. + + The wife cannot appear in court, or dispose of, or mortgage, + or acquire real estate, without the consent of the husband, + but the judge of the court of the domicil may authorize the + wife to sue, or be sued. If the husband refuses to empower + the wife to contract, she may cite him into court and have + the property of the proposed contract settled by an order of + the judge. The wife has full power to make a will without + any authorization from her husband or the court. + + ART. 2,398. The wife, whether separated in property, by + contract, or by judgment, or not separated, cannot bind + herself for her husband, nor conjointly with him, for debts + contracted by him before or during the marriage. + + ART. 119. The husband and wife owe to each other mutual + fidelity, support and assistance. + + ART. 120. The wife is bound to live with her husband, and + follow him wherever he chooses to reside; the husband is + obliged to receive her, and furnish her with whatever is + required for the convenience of life in proportion to his + means and condition. + + It is provided that the domicil for granting divorces of + such marriages as have been solemnized in Louisiana, shall + be in that State so that the courts of Louisiana may grant + divorces for causes and faults committed in foreign + countries. For abandonment and other causes, a final divorce + cannot be granted until one year after a decree of + separation from bed and board has elapsed without a + reconciliation. In other particulars the law is similar to + that of the other States. + + +[Illustration: Caroline E. Merrick] + + +One day in 1842, the New Orleans _Delta_ had this item: "Myra Clark +Gaines argued her own case in court in this city; the only instance +of a lady appearing as counsel in the courts." Mrs. Gaines was a +remarkable woman. She carried on a suit for many years against the +city of New Orleans to recover property that belonged to her, and, +through untold difficulties and delays, triumphed at last. She +preserved her youth, beauty and vivacity until late in life. All +who knew her can readily recall her bright, sparkling face, and +wonderful powers of conversation. In her long experience in +litigation, she became well versed in the laws regarding real +estate and the right of descent. Mrs. Gaines was a generous woman +and did not desire to rob the poor; to many such she gave a +quit-claim title to the property which she had secured under her +suits. + +In 1869, the New Orleans _Republican_ had an excellent editorial +fully endorsing the demand for woman's enfranchisement. In 1870 the +_Livingston Herald_, published in Ponchatoula parish, by J. O. and +J. E. Spencer, advocated suffrage for women. + +In 1874, the secretary of the treasury rendered a decision that +when a woman owns a steamboat she may be named in the papers as the +master of the same. This decision, despite the opposition of +Solicitor Raynor, received confirmation in case of Mrs. Miller, in +1883, from Secretary Charles J. Folger. + + +II.--TEXAS. + +In the adoption of the first constitution of Texas, woman had some +representatives in the convention to remind the legislators of that +State of her existence, and to demand that the constitution be so +framed as to secure the right of suffrage alike to both sexes. On +the resolution of Mr. Mundine, to extend suffrage to women, in the +constitutional convention of Texas, January, 1869, Hon. L. D. Evans +said: + + I do not favor the adoption of this measure at the present time, + because the country is not yet prepared, yet it is entitled to + our respectful consideration--therefore I thank the convention + for allowing me the opportunity to state the ground on which the + friends of woman suffrage place their advocacy, so far as I may + be able under the five-minute rule. It does not comport with the + dignity of a representative body engaged in forming a + constitution of government to thrust aside the claim of woman to + the right of suffrage,--a claim that is advocated by some of the + ablest statesmen and political philosophers of Europe and + America, and is destined to a sure and speedy triumph. + + Aristotle, the profoundest thinker of antiquity, in his treatise + on politics, defines a citizen to be "one who enjoys a due share + in the government of that country of which he is a member." If he + does not enjoy this right, then he is no citizen, but a subject. + Every citizen, therefore, is entitled to a voice--a vote--a due + share in the government of his country. I am aware that the + courts and politicians in democratic America have not so defined + citizenship. The reason is that politics is not yet a positive + science, and they have failed to analyze this question. Had they + a clear conception of the constituent elements--the anatomy, so + to speak, of the body politic, they would perceive that + suffrage--a voice in the government--is an essential condition of + citizenship. Aristotle, in his treatise, which is perhaps the + ablest yet given to the world, pointed out that families, not + individuals, are the constituent units of a State. + + A family--a household--exists and is held together by natural + laws, independent of the State, and an aggregation of these + constitute the State. The head of the family, whoever that may + be, according to its structure, is the representative in the + State. All the constituent members of the family, consisting, in + its most perfect form, of husband, wife, children and domestics, + are subject to the authority of the head, and have no voice, no + vote, no share in the government, except through their head or + representative. In societies where the common law obtains, which + in this respect is a transcript of the Bible, the wife, like the + child, is subordinated to the authority of the husband, and on + principle, has no voice, no vote. On the decease of the husband, + the widow becomes the head of the family, and on principle is + entitled to a voice, a vote. But in countries where the civil law + governs, the wife is the partner, and not the subject of her + husband, and on principle ought to have her due share in the + government. + + When the children in a family, whether male or female, attain the + age fixed by law for the control of their own affairs, and do + control them, they are free, independent, and on every principle + are entitled to a due share in the government--to a vote. Every + member of society who is free and independent--capable of + managing his own affairs, or making his own living, and does make + it, should have the same right of choice in the selection of his + political agents that he has to select his legal or business + agents. But all persons, no matter from what cause, who are + unable to maintain themselves, and are dependent for their + support upon others, are incapable of any share in the + government, and should have no voice--no vote. As soon as the + principle of citizenship comes to be thoroughly understood, woman + suffrage must be adopted throughout the United States, in + England, and in every country where representative government + exists. + +_The Revolution_ of August 20, 1868, said: + + We have received from Loring P. Haskins, esq., a delegate to the + convention, the following excellent report and declaration made + and signed by a majority of the committee to whom the subject of + woman suffrage was referred. We need scarcely bespeak attentive + reading: + + _Report of the Committee on State Affairs upon Female + Suffrage, with accompanying Declaration:_ + + July 30, 1868--Introduced and ordered to be printed. + + COMMITTEE ROOM, AUSTIN, Texas, July 10, 1868. + + _To the Hon. E. J. Davis, President of the Convention:_ + + A majority of your Committee on State Affairs, to whom was + referred the declaration introduced by the Hon. T. H. + Mundine of the county of Burleson, to extend the right of + suffrage to all citizens of the State over the age of + twenty-one years, possessing the requisite qualifications + for electors, have examined with much care said declaration + and considered the object sought to be accomplished, and + have arrived at the conclusion that said declaration ought + to be a part of the organic law. + + It was said by George Washington that the safety of + republican government depends upon the virtue and + intelligence of the people. This declaration is not a new + theory of government for the first time proposed to be made + a part of our republican institutions. The idea of extending + the elective franchise to females has been discussed both in + Great Britain and in the United States. Your committee are + of the opinion that the true base of republican government + must ever be the wisdom and virtue of the people. + + In this State our system of jurisprudence is a combination + of civil and Spanish law, intermixed with the common law of + England; and this peculiar system, just in all its parts for + the preservation of the rights of married and unmarried + women, is likely to be continued. The time was when woman + was regarded as the mere slave of man. It was believed, in + order to perpetuate the pretended divine right of kings to + rule, that the mass of the people should be kept in profound + ignorance and that woman was not entitled to the benefits of + learning at all. It is not remarkable that as the benign + principles of Christianity have been promulgated, free + government has steadily progressed and the divine rights of + woman have been recognized. + + The old constitution of the republic of Texas, the + constitution of the State of Texas of 1845, the laws enacted + for the protection of married women, the many learned + decisions of the Supreme Courts of Texas and Louisiana, and + other courts, clearly indicate that the march of + intelligence is onward and that our advanced civilization + has approximated to the period when other and more sacred + rights are to be conceded. Is it just that woman, who bears + her reasonable portion of the burdens of government, should + be denied the right of aiding in the enactment of its laws? + + The question of extending the freedom of the ballot to woman + may well claim the attention of the law-maker, and in view + of the importance of the subject a majority of your + committee earnestly recommend the passage of the + declaration. + + H. C. HUNT, _Chairman_, + + T. H. MUNDINE, BENJ. WATROUS, + WM. H. FLEMING, L. P. HARRIS. + + + A DECLARATION. + + Be it declared by the people of Texas in convention + assembled, that the following shall be a section of the + constitution of the State of Texas, known as section ---- of + article ----: Every person, without distinction of sex, who + shall have arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and who + shall be a citizen of the United States, or is at the time + of the adoption of this constitution by the congress of the + United States a citizen of the State of Texas, and shall + have resided in this State one year next preceding an + election, and the last six months within the district, + county, city or town in which he or she offers to vote, + shall be an elector. + +The _Woman's Journal_ of December 4, 1875, contains a letter from +Mrs. Sarah W. Hiatt, who presented a memorial to the constitutional +convention. The memorial was referred to the Committee on Suffrage. +In regard to the effect, she says: + + Since the presentation of the memorial I have had some very + interesting letters on the subject from a few of our leading men; + some for, others against woman suffrage, but all treating the + subject respectfully. I copy below a portion of one just + received. I should like to give it entire with the writer's name, + but have not his permission to do so: + + As you apprehended, the question of suffrage had been + definitely settled in the convention before the reception of + your letter. It remains as heretofore, unrestricted manhood + suffrage. That all the rabble, the very _debris_ of society, + should be allowed a voice in government, and yet + intelligent, highly-cultivated women who are amenable to the + laws of the State and who own and pay taxes on property, + should be debarred from a voice in making the laws which are + to affect their persons and property equally with that of + the men, is to my mind simply an outrage on reason and + justice. * * * The fear of ignoring the right of petition, + and gallantry towards your sex on the part of a few, + prevented the memorial from being summarily rejected. + Outside of ---- and ---- I know of no member of the + convention who openly favors woman suffrage in any form. It + is true there are a number of gentlemen who, in private + conversation, will admit the justice of your plea, but avoid + it by saying that ladies generally neither demand nor desire + the right to vote. The truth is, these men (and society is + full of them) have not the moral courage to do simple + justice. + + Thus you see that, so far as the action of this convention is + concerned, our cause is defeated. Yet I do not feel discouraged. + I think there is hardly a State in the Union that has such just + and excellent laws concerning the property rights of women as + Texas. There is also great liberality of sentiment here + concerning the avocations of women. But the right of women to the + ballot seems to be almost a new idea to our people. I have never + lived in a community where the women are more nearly abreast of + the men in all the activities of life than here in this frontier + settlement. In our State a woman's property, real or personal, is + her own, to keep, to convey, or to bequeath. The unusual number + of widows here, due to the incursions of the Indians during and + since the war, has made the management as well as the ownership + of property by women so common a thing as to attract no notice. I + might give interesting instances, but that would take time, and + my point is this, that the laws which have enabled, and the + circumstances which have driven women to rely upon and to exert + themselves, have been educational, not only to them, but also to + the community. The importance of this education to the + future--who can measure it? It is true that many of them can + neither read nor write, but in this the men are not in advance of + them. It as often happens that the woman can read while the man + cannot, as the reverse. And they are almost universally resolved + that their children shall not grow up in the ignorance that has + been their portion. If the women could vote, our convention would + not think of submitting a constitution that did not secure to the + State a liberal free school system. + +The legislature of 1885, after a hard struggle, enacted a law +making it compulsory on the heads of all departments to give at +least one-half of the clerical positions in their respective +offices to women. The action has extraordinary interest, and is +regarded as a victory for the woman's rights party. Mrs. Jenny +Bland Beauchamp of Dennison writes: + + Texas claims to be a woman's State, in that her laws are + unusually just and lenient to women. A woman who has property at + marriage can keep it. She can even claim any property that she + can prove was bought with that money. The wife is entitled to + half the community whether she owned any of the original stock or + not. She has a life interest in the homestead; no deed of trust + can be put upon it, nor can it be mortgaged. It can only be + conveyed from her by actual sale with her written consent. Under + our latest revised statutes women have the right of suffrage, but + have never exercised it; nor is the subject agitated to any great + extent. + + Three years ago, when the State University was built, it was + decided that it should be coeducational, and young women are now + being educated there side by side with young men. Texas has many + liberal men and women. It is generally remarked that the women of + the State are better educated than the men. + + Miss Julia Pease, a Vassar graduate and daughter of the late + ex-Governor Pease, has charge of 6,000 acres of land. She + lives in the family mansion at Austin with her mother, and + in addition to her other duties superintends the education + of the three children of her deceased sisters. + + Mrs. Rogers, the "cattle queen" of Texas, inherited from her + first husband a herd of 40,000 cattle. The widow managed the + business, and in due time married a preacher twenty years + younger than herself, who had seven children. She attends to + her estate herself, rides among her cowboys on horseback, + and can tell just what a steer or cow is worth at any size + or age. + + The largest individual sheep-owner is a woman, known all + over the State as the "Widow Cullahan." Her sheep, more than + 50,000 in number, wander over the ranges of Uvalda and + Bandern counties, in the southwestern part of the State. + Their grade is a cross between the hardy Mexican sheep and + the Vermont merino. They are divided into flocks of 2,000 + head each, with a "bossero" and two "pastoras" in charge of + each flock. At the spring and fall shearings long trains of + wagons transport the "widow's" wool to the market at San + Antonio. + + Texas has two female dentists. Mrs. Stocking is one of the + most successful dental surgeons in the State. The other, + Miss Emma Tibler, went from Kentucky to Texas for the + purpose of teaching. Finding this profession full, she + studied dentistry and is now a successful practitioner of + Cleburne. + + The youngest telegrapher in the world is probably Hattie + Hutchinson, in charge of an office in Texas. She is only ten + years old. + + +III.--ARKANSAS. + +Under date of March, 1868, Miles L. Langley writes from +Arkadelphia, Arkansas, in regard to the efforts for equality in the +constitutional convention: + + ARKADELPHIA, Ark., March 5, 1868. + + SUSAN B. ANTHONY--_Dear Friend_: With a sad heart but an + approving conscience, I will give you some information relative + to the action of our constitutional convention on the franchise + question. + + The new constitution--a copy of which I send you--makes no + difference between men, on account of race or color and contains + other excellences; but alas! it fails to guarantee to woman her + God-given and well-earned rights of civil and political equality. + + I made a motion to insert in the constitution a section to read + thus: "All citizens twenty-one years of age, who can read and + write the English language, shall be eligible to the elective + franchise, and be entitled to equal political and legal rights + and privileges." The motion was seconded and I had the floor, + but the House became so clamorous that the president could not + restore order, and the meeting adjourned with the understanding + that I was to occupy the floor next morning. But next morning, + just as I was about to commence my speech, some of the members + tried to "bully" me out of the right to speak on that question. I + replied that I had been robbed, shot, and imprisoned for + advocating the rights of the slaves, and that I would then and + there speak in favor of the rights of women if I had to fight for + the right! I then proceeded to present arguments of which I am + not ashamed. I was met with ridicule, sarcasm and insult. My + ablest opponent, a lawyer, acknowledged in his reply that he + could not meet my argument. The motion was laid on the table. + + The Democrats are my enemies because I assisted in emancipating + the slaves. The Republicans have now become my opponents, because + I have made an effort to confer on the women their rights. And + even the women themselves fail to sympathize with me. + + Very respectfully, MILES L. LANGLEY. + + The Arkansas _Ladies' Journal_ says: + + They tell us that women are not fit for politics. This may + be true; and as it is next to impossible to change the + nature of a woman, why wouldn't it be a good idea to so + change politics that it shall be fit for women? + + In 1885, Arkansas formed its first woman suffrage society at + Eureka Springs through the efforts of Miss Phoebe Couzins, Mrs. + Lizzie D. Fyler, president. The association numbers some fine + speakers. The press is not in opposition, one or two papers favor + the cause. + + Misses Pettigrew and Sims have been elected clerks of the + legislature. Several other ladies were candidates for the + positions, and the contest was quite exciting. Mrs. Simonson and + Miss Emily Thomas are members of the board of directors of a + lumber company at Batesville, and Miss Thomas is also bookkeeper + of the firm. + +A very able report[522] of what has been done in Arkansas for the +elevation of woman was presented by Mrs. Lizzie D. Fyler at the +annual Washington convention in March, 1884. + + +IV.--MISSISSIPPI. + +Mississippi secures to a married woman her own separate estate, and +enables her to contract with her husband, or others, and carry on +business in her own name. She may sue her husband, or others, and +be sued, and has practically most of her civil rights; but her +political rights are denied as in all other States. + + In 1877 a law was passed by which henceforth no one can legally + sell liquor in Mississippi unless he can obtain the written + consent of a majority of the adult citizens of both sexes + resident in the township. + + The Mississippi Industrial College for Women held its formal + opening October 22, 1885, at Columbus. Students had come from all + parts of the State. More than 300 had already entered. The + occasion was a brilliant one. Speeches were made by Senator E. + T. Sykes, Senator J. McMcartin of Claiborne county, Col. J. L. + Power of Jackson, Hon. James T. Harrison, Governor Lowry, and Dr. + Jones. Mrs. E. G. Peyton of Hazelhurst, to whose efforts the + founding of the Industrial College is largely due, was called + upon, and in a few well-chosen remarks expressed the pride she + felt in the State and in the college, feeling sure, she said, + that Mississippi's daughters were now in safe hands. + + Miss Lilian Light, the eight-year-old daughter of Mr. Jere Light + of Hayneville, when only five or six years old began to make + figures in clay, and now (1885) has a large collection of mud + cats, hogs, dogs, cows, horses, and men. The figures are declared + to be not childish imitations, but remarkably acute likenesses. + Her best piece represents a negro praying, and is said to be very + clever. + + Miss C. F. Boardman of Elmore's Point, two miles from Biloxi, on + the Bock Bay, has received the chief premiums awarded for oranges + grown on the Gulf coast outside of Florida. This lady has 1,000 + bearing orange trees of the choicest varieties, and has devoted + her attention to the production of these and other tropical + fruits, with great success. She came to the South for health a + few years ago, and has not only found that, but has established + for herself a pleasing and profitable industry in fruit culture. + Her oranges were exhibited among numerous fine competing + specimens, and were chosen for high excellence. + + Miss Eliza A. Dupuy for many years contributed copiously to Mr. + Bonner's _Ledger_. Miss Dupuy, who was descended from prominent + Virginia families, was in her youth a teacher. The first story + written by her was produced when she was only fourteen years old. + More fortunate than the majority of authors, she leaves behind + her a considerable sum earned by her ever-busy pen. + +Mrs. Sarah A. Dorsey was perhaps the most remarkable woman that +Mississippi can boast. She was the niece of Mrs. Warfield, the +author of the "Household of Bouverie," who had great influence in +forming her literary tastes. The New Orleans Monthly _Review_ +contains many able articles on abstruse questions from her pen. +One, in the February number for 1876, on the "Origin of the +Species," is exceptionally able and interesting. It was read in +October, 1875, before the New Orleans Academy of Sciences by Mrs. +Dorsey herself. This article shows extensive reading in scientific +questions. She was made corresponding member of the Academy, an +honor she appreciated more highly for her sex than for herself. She +was a large-souled, noble woman, devoted to what she considered +Southern interests. She bequeathed to Jefferson Davis the estate, +called Beauvoir, on which he now resides. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[516] Emily P. Collins of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, wrote Miss +Anthony: "Our State is to form a new constitution this spring. I +feel that now if ever is the time to strike for woman's +emancipation. 'We, the people' includes women as well as men, and +regardless of former legislative enactments we should be allowed to +vote and be voted for as delegates to the constitutional +convention. If I only had some one to aid me, or had your moral +courage, I would proclaim myself a candidate for the constitutional +convention. The colored people ought to sustain me for I have ever +been their steadfast friend, and they themselves owe their +emancipation chiefly to women. They cannot elect a colored man +here, but could I have their support I have personal friends enough +to secure my election. The parish ought to be stumped in support of +some candidate whose efforts should be pledged to the insertion of +a clause in the new constitution to prohibit future legislatures +making sex a qualification for voting." + +[517] The following letter from Mrs. Saxon to Mrs. Minor gives the +reason why she could not be present at the National Convention held +in St. Louis: + +"Almost entirely unaided I have gained 300 names in five weeks. +Among them two Presbyterian ministers, wives of three others, seven +of the most prominent physicians, all of the city administrators, +two distinguished judges, several lawyers and many leading business +men. I have begged Mrs. Emily P. Collins to urge upon the +Association to meet here next year. I feel that now and before this +convention is our most important work, so I must stay and try and +influence the members all in my power. I was unaware of the action +I was to take here, and if I get before the convention it will not +be before the morning of the 7th, or I would come anyway as I have +been offered a free passage by both rail and river. Mrs. Collins +was with me for a few days and will assure you of my untiring +efforts in the cause here. God knows I would be willing to buy +fifteen minutes before the whole convention, the day they vote on +that bill, by the sacrifice of my life; for remembering the grand +women I have seen sacrificed along life's path, I think from their +memory a power and eloquence would spring that might win hearts of +steel and force justice to women from them. I will write again in a +few days and report progress. + + "Very sincerely your friend, E. L. SAXON." + +"_May 5, 1879._" + +[518] Of her speech Mrs. Merrick writes: "Fearing that I could not +be heard, I proposed to my son-in law, Mr. Guthrie, that he should +read it for me, but Mrs. Saxon objected, saying, 'No matter if they +do not hear a word you say! You do not wish a man to represent you +at the polls; represent yourself now, if you only stand up and move +your lips.' 'I will,' said I, 'you are right.'--[EDITORS. + +[519] The Claibornes are a distinguished Virginia family, but +belong to the history of Mississippi and Louisiana since +territorial times. Mr. Claiborne now regrets that he did not go +farther, for he is satisfied that women may be trusted with powers +that have long been withheld. He says he was led to reflect +seriously on the subject by the able addresses of Mrs. Keating, +Mrs. Saxon and Mrs. Merrick, who made a profound impression on the +convention. + +[520] The officers of the Christian Woman's Exchange for 1885, +were: _President_, Mrs. R. M. Walmsley; _Vice-Presidents_, Mesdames +T. G. Richardson, M. W. Bartlett, Albert Baldwin, John R. Juden, J. +H. Allen; _Recording Secretary_, Mrs. Theo. Auze; _Corresponding +Secretary_, Mrs. E. J. Wharton; _Treasurer_, Mrs. S. H. Davis; +_Acting Treasurer_, Mrs. F. N. Griswold; _Board of Managers_, +Mesdames S. Landrum, M. C. Jennings, B. D. Wood, A. Brittin, Percy +Roberts, S. Delgado, F. N. Griswold, E. L. Wood, Wm. Muller, E. +Ranlett, G. W. Pritchard, L. P. Wayne, T. H. Holmes, J. B. Wallace, +Albert Baldwin, P. N. Strong, K. Fuhri, S. H. Kennedy, H. J. Leovy, +John Parker, R. M. Walmsley, T. G. Richardson, Theo. Auze, E. J. +Wharton, S. H. Davis. M. W. Bartlett, D. A. Given, John R. Juden, +J. H. Allen, Fred. Wing. + +[521] The original members of the Woman's Club were: Miss Bessie +Bisland, Mrs. Elizabeth W. Baker, Miss C. Farrar, Mrs. J. M. +Ferguson, Miss M. E. Hagan, Miss J. E. Linsler, Miss H. D. Pickens, +Miss M. Siebold, Mrs. M. J. C. Swayze, Miss E. Schrieves, Miss M. +Manning, Miss P. Teiltebaum. + +[522] See Report Washington Convention, 1884. + + + + +CHAPTER LV. (CONTINUED). + +DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA--MARYLAND--DELAWARE--KENTUCKY--TENNESSEE-- +VIRGINIA--WEST VIRGINIA--NORTH CAROLINA--SOUTH CAROLINA--FLORIDA-- +ALABAMA--GEORGIA. + + Secretary Chase--Women in the Government Departments--Myrtilla + Miner--Mrs. O'Connor's Tribute--District of Columbia Suffrage + Bill--The Universal Franchise Association, 1867--Bill for a + Prohibitory Law Presented by Hon. S. C. Pomeroy, 1869--A Bill for + Equal Wages for the Women in the Departments, Introduced by Hon. + S. M. Arnell, 1870--In 1871 Congress Passed the Organic Act for + the District Confining the Right of Suffrage to Males--In 1875 it + Withdrew all Legislative Power from the People--Women in Law, + Medicine, Journalism and the Charities--Dental College Opened to + Women--Mary A. Stuart--The Clay Sisters--The School of + Pharmacy--Elizabeth Avery Meriwether--Judge Underwood--Mary + Bayard Clarke--Dr. Susan Dimock--Governor + Chamberlain--Coffee-Growing--Priscilla Holmes Drake--Alexander H. + Stephens. + + +I.--DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. + +The District covers an area of 64 square miles, and contains a +population of 200,000. It was originally a portion of Maryland, and +was ceded to congress by that State for the exclusive use of the +Federal government. Hon. Salmon P. Chase, secretary of the treasury +under Abraham Lincoln, seeing that most of the gifted young men had +been drafted or had enlisted in the army, introduced young women as +clerks in the government departments. The experiment proved +successful, and now there are about six thousand women in the +various departments. Mr. Chase often alluded to this afterwards as +one of the most important acts of his life. The war brought many +bright, earnest women to Washington, led thither by patriotism, +ambition, or the necessity of finding some new employment. This new +vital force, this purer element, infused into the society at the +capitol, has been slowly introducing more liberal ideas into that +community. + +The first specific work for woman in the District of Columbia of +which we find any record was that of Myrtilla Miner of New York, +who opened a Normal School for colored girls, December 3, 1851. She +began with six pupils in a small room in a private house, but soon +had more offered than could be accommodated. Through much ridicule +and untold difficulties she struggled alone, but successfully, for +ten years, when Miss Emily Howland came to her aid. The heroism of +this noble woman has been told by Mrs. Ellen O. Connor in a little +volume[523] which is a beautiful tribute to the memory of Miss +Miner. The Miner Normal School of Washington is now a thorough and +popular school for colored girls. + +For a brief report of what has been accomplished in the District of +Columbia, we are indebted to Belva A. Lockwood: + + In 1866, the women of Washington were first aroused to the + consideration of the suffrage question, by the discussion of "The + District of Columbia suffrage bill" proposing to strike out the + word "white" in order to extend the franchise to colored men. Mr. + Cowan, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, offered an amendment to + strike out the word "male" also, and thus enfranchise the women + of the District. It was said his proposition was not made in good + faith, but simply to embarrass Republican legislation. However it + served a good purpose for all disfranchised classes, as the + amendment called out a notable debate,[524] lasting three days, + and received the votes of nine influential senators in its favor. + The voting of the newly enfranchised negroes at the May election, + 1867, brought out in strong color the beauties of masculine + legislation, and immediately after there was a movement among the + friends of woman's enfranchisement. A meeting was called by James + and Julia Holmes at their residence, where the "Universal + Franchise Association" was organized.[525] As soon as their + meetings, regularly held, took on a serious air, the combined + power of the press was brought to bear upon them with the + determination to break them up. But the meetings were continued, + notwithstanding the opposition; and although most of the speeches + were good, they were often interrupted with hisses and yells, and + the police, when appealed to, failed to keep order, seeming + rather to join hands with the mob. In order to put a check on the + rabble, contrary to the spirit of the society, a fee was charged + at the door. Strangely enough, so great had the interest become, + the crowd increased instead of lessening, and night after night + Union League Hall was crowded, until the coffers of the + association contained nearly $1,000. The press of the city in the + meantime had kept up a fusilade of ludicrous reports, in which + the women were caricatured and misrepresented, all of which they + bore with fortitude, and without any attempt at reply. The + meetings continued through the year notwithstanding the cry of + the timid that the cause was being injured and fair reputations + blighted. + + June 25, 1868, a deputation from the District Franchise + Association appeared, by appointment, before the House Committee + of the District, to urge the passage of the bill presented in the + House of Representatives by Hon. Henry D. Washburn, accompanied + by a petition signed by eighty women of the District: + + "Be it enacted, etc., That from and after the passage of + this act, no person shall be debarred from voting or holding + office in the District of Columbia by reason of sex." + + Mrs. Josephine S. Griffing began by saying that the friends + of equal freedom for women in the District had thought the + revision of the local government a fit time to present their + claims and submit a memorial, setting forth the justice of + passing the bill before the committee to remove the + restrictions that forbid women to vote in the District. The + movement was not wholly new, and was known by those active + in the work to be approved by a large mass of women who were + not prepared to express themselves openly. The + enfranchisement of woman is needful to a real + reconstruction. + + Mr. Wilcox read a memorial, signed by a committee of + residents of the district, consisting of eleven ladies and + eleven gentlemen, including Mrs. Griffing, Mrs. E. D. E. N. + Southworth, Miss Lydia S. Hall (formerly of Kansas), Mrs. + Annie Denton Cridge, Judge A. B. Olin and Mrs. Olin, + recalling the fact that congress had freed 3,000 slaves, and + enfranchised the 8,000 colored men of the district, both of + which experiments had worked well, notwithstanding + conservative predictions to the contrary; and showing that, + while the former experiments, on a small scale + comparatively, had yielded rich results, so the + enfranchisement of half the adult population would produce + vast good. He incidentally answered the usual arguments + against suffrage, and affirmed that those who possess + neither the power of wealth nor of knowledge wherewith to + protect themselves, most need political power for that + purpose. He remarked that the competition for votes among + politicians was a tremendous educating force, and that laws + would not be certain of enforcement unless those for whose + benefit they were made were clothed with power to compel + such enforcement. + + Mrs. Mary T. Corner presented a number of points as to the + laws of the district relating to women, of some of which + Judge Welker took notes with a view to their speedy + investigation by the committee. As to suffrage, she pointed + out that women do not come under the head of paupers, + minors, felons, rebels, idiots or aliens, and that the + reasons existing for the disfranchisement of such persons do + not apply to native-born, loyal women. She showed that women + are not represented in the government of the district, + though taxed by it, and by law cannot properly protect + themselves, their children, or their property, nor hold + municipal office, however fit. A wife cannot hold property + in the district except by proxy. Women understand their + needs and condition better than men, and should be free to + regulate them. The swarms of foreigners who are freely + admitted to the polls know less of our institutions than the + masses of our women. Women have voted and held the highest + offices in other countries with great success. Are our women + less capable than these? At the conclusion Mrs. Corner + returned thanks to the committee for their attention; and + the latter, without expressing an opinion on the matter, + complimented the speakers on the ability and eloquence with + which their views had been presented. It was also stated + that a large number of petitions would be presented in + support of the bill. The committee expressed themselves as + unable, by reason of the lateness of the session and the + pressure of other business, to promise an early report. The + interview lasted about an hour, and was very cordial and + pleasant on both sides. + + September 25, 1868, the Universal Franchise Association held its + first annual meeting[526] at Union League Hall, Mrs. Josephine S. + Griffing presiding. A letter was read from Senator Pomeroy, + stating that he was willing to act as president of the society. + In closing he said: + + I trust the friends will unite in one association. We have + but one object in view, and should all labor together to + accomplish this end, viz.: the enfranchisement of every + citizen, with no partiality for race or sex. The American + citizen is the only safe depository for the ballot, and the + only safeguard for individual and national liberty. Let us + labor to realize, even in our day and time, this true type + of republican government. The rights and safety of + individuals and of the nation demand it. + + In 1869, the executive committee passed a resolution to expend + the money that had been accumulated at the meetings of the + association in a series of lectures for the purpose of + enlightening the public mind upon the question of equal political + rights for women. Among the speakers engaged were Anna Dickinson, + Mrs. Stanton, Miss Anthony, D. R. Locke (Nasby), Theodore Tilton. + From that time the women of the district were permitted to speak + their minds freely. + + In the House of Representatives, March 21, 1870, Mr. Arnell, on + leave, introduced the following bill: + + _A bill to do justice to the female employees of the + Government, and for other purposes._ + + Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of + the United States of America in Congress assembled, That + hereafter all clerks and other employes in the civil service + of the United States shall be paid, irrespective of sex, + with reference to the character and amount of services + performed by them. + + SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That, in the employment + of labor, clerical or other, in any branch of the civil + service of the United States, no discrimination shall be + made in favor of either sex. + + SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That where examinations + of candidates for positions in the civil service of the + United States are prescribed by law, or by the heads of + departments, bureaus, or offices, said examinations shall be + of the same character for persons of both sexes. + + SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the designations, + chief clerk, chief or head of division, chief or head of + section, clerk of the fourth class, clerk of the third + class, clerk of the second class, clerk of the first class, + copyist, messenger, laborer, and all other designations of + employes, in existing acts of Congress, or in use in any + branch of the civil service of the United States, shall be + held, hereafter to apply to women as well as to men; and + that women shall be regarded equally eligible with men to + perform the duties of the afore-designated clerks and + employes, and shall receive the compensation therefor + prescribed by law. + + SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That this act shall not + be so construed as to require the displacement of any person + now employed, but shall apply to all vacancies hereafter + occurring, for any cause. + + SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That all acts and parts + of acts, in conflict with any of the provisions of this act + be, and the same are hereby, expressly repealed. + + Thousands of petitions for this bill were circulated. Mrs. + Lockwood went to New York, and secured seven hundred signatures, + visiting both of the suffrage conventions then in session in that + city, the National and the American. The bill was shortly + afterward passed in a modified form, and has ever since been in + force in all of the government departments. + + In February, 1871, congress passed the organic act for the + district, making of it a territory and granting suffrage to the + male members of the commonwealth. There was also granted under + this bill a right to a delegate in congress. In the meetings + which followed for the nomination of delegates a number of women + took part. Mrs. Lockwood often broke the monotony with a short + speech, and on one occasion only lacked one vote of an election + to the general convention for the nomination of a delegate to + congress. + + The women of the district were not permitted to vote under the + organic act, but soon after the organization of its legislature, + bills to provide for this were introduced into both Houses. Mrs. + Lockwood prepared an exhaustive address upon these pending bills, + and was granted a hearing before both Houses of the legislature, + but they were finally lost. In 1875 congress withdrew the + legislative power from the people of the District of Columbia. + + It was also in 1871 that the National University Law School, then + principally under the control of Prof. Wm. B. Wedgewood, + organized a law class for women, in which fifteen matriculated. + Mrs. Lockwood had been denied admission the previous year to the + law class of Columbia College for the reason, as given by the + trustees, "that it would distract the attention of the young + men." About this time a young colored woman, Charlotte Ray of New + York, was graduated from the law class of Howard University and + admitted to the bar with the class. Of the fifteen women who + entered the National University only two completed the course, + viz., Lydia S. Hall, and Belva A. Lockwood. The former never + received her diploma. The latter, after an appeal to President + Grant, received her diploma, and was admitted to the district + bar, September 23, 1873. Since that period Emma M. Gillett, + Marilla M. Ricker, and Laura DeForce Gordon have been admitted to + the district bar, and there seems to be no longer any hindrance + to such admissions. The above-named have all appeared in court, + and a number of other ladies have been graduated in the district. + Women have also been appointed notaries public, and examiners in + chancery. + + In the profession of medicine there has been more liberality. Dr. + Susan A. Edson and Dr. Caroline B. Winslow have been in full + practice here since the close of the war. Dr. Mary Parsons and + Dr. Cora M. Bland and others, are practicing with marked success. + Last year there were fourteen women duly registered with the + health department, and they all seem to be in good standing. + Howard University has admitted women to its medical classes for + some years, and both white and colored women have availed + themselves of the privilege. Last year Columbia College opened + its doors in the medical department, with a suggestion that the + classes in law and theology may soon be opened also. + + Many women in the district within the last few years have entered + into business for themselves, as they are now permitted to do + under the law of 1869, and are milliners, merchants, + market-women, hucksters. In the art of nursing, which has been + reduced to a science, they have free course. + + In 1871, a large number of ladies tried to register in the city + of Washington. They marched in solid phalanx some seventy[527] + strong to the registrar's office, but were repulsed. They tried + afterwards to vote, but were refused, whereupon Mrs. Spencer sued + the inspectors, and Mrs. Webster sued the registrars, so testing + their rights in two suits in the Supreme Court of the + District.[528] + + In 1866 Jane G. Swisshelm commenced the publication of a liberal + sheet in the District of Columbia, known as _The Wasp_. This was + the continuation of a paper formerly published by her in + Pittsburg, Pa., and in St. Cloud, Minn., called _The Visitor_. + Many other papers by women have been since published in the + District. Perhaps the most voluminous author in this country is + Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth, who has written a volume for each + year of her life, and is now sixty-five years of age. Her + authorship has been confined to romances, which have been very + popular. A large proportion of the teachers of the public schools + in the District are women, some of them of very marked culture. + Many of the most noted and successful private schools, some with + collegiate courses, are conducted by women. Among these, Mrs. + Margaret Harover who taught in the District during the war, is + worthy of mention, also Mrs. Ellen M. O'Connor, president of the + Miner school. Mrs. Sarah J. Spencer, as associate principal of + the Spencerian business college whence large classes of young + women have been graduated for many years past, is deservedly + popular. She was at one time prominent in the woman suffrage + movement, acting as corresponding secretary of the National + Association. She is now engaged in one of the large charity + organizations of the city. Many colored women who have been + graduated from Howard University, have become quite successful as + teachers, and some have studied medicine. All of the copyists in + the office of registrar of deeds are women. A goodly number are + short-hand reporters for the courts, among whom Miss Camp, + daughter of the assistant clerk, is notably skillful. + + The number of women who hold property in the District is large + and rapidly increasing. A woman may now enter into almost any + honorable profession that she chooses, and maintain her + respectability. All of the professions are open to her, and the + sphere of trades is rapidly widening. The progress made in this + regard in the last quarter of a century amounts almost to a + revolution. The first women ever admitted to the reporter's + gallery of the Senate and House were Abigail Dodge (Gail + Hamilton), and Helen M. Barnard, both political writers of great + power; the former as a reporter for the New York _Times_, and the + latter for the New York _Herald_. Mrs. Barnard, during Grant's + administration, was sent as commissioner of immigration to + Liverpool, visiting England, Ireland and Scotland. Returning in + the steerage of an ocean steamer, she gave one of the finest + reports ever made upon this question. This resulted in the + passage by the legislature of New York of a bill for the better + protection of emigrants on shipboard, and the appointment by the + United States government of an inspector of immigration for every + out-going steamer. + + Women were first appointed as clerks in the government + departments in 1861 by Secretary Chase, at the earnest + solicitation of Treasurer Spinner. They were employed at + temporary work at $50 a month--one-half the lowest price paid to + any male clerk--until they were recognized by an act of congress + in which their salary was fixed at $900 a year, in the general + appropriation bill of July 23, 1866. The men doing the same work + were of four classes, receiving, respectively, $1,000, $1,400, + $1,600, $1,800. Treasurer Spinner, in his report of October, + 1866, said: + + The experiment of employing females as clerks has been, so + far as this office is concerned, a success. For many kinds + of office-work, like the manipulation and counting of + fractional currency, they excel, and in my opinion are to be + preferred to males. There is, however, quite as much + difference in point of ability between female clerks as + there is between the several classes of male clerks, whose + equals some of them are. Some are able to accomplish twice + as much as others, and with greater accuracy. So, too, some + of them incur great risks, being responsible for making + mistakes in count, and for counterfeits overlooked. Such + should, by every consideration of justice and fair dealing, + be paid according to their merits, and the risks and + liabilities they incur. + + And in 1868, Mr. Spinner urged the committee of which Mr. + Fessenden of Maine was the chairman, to so amend the bill + providing for the reorganization of the treasury department as to + increase the salary of the female clerks who have the handling of + money, stating that cases had occurred in which women had lost + more than half their monthly pay by reason of being short in + count, or of allowing counterfeit notes to pass their hands. + + Secretary M'Cullough asserted that women performed their clerical + duties as creditably as men, and stated that he had three ladies + who performed as much labor, and did it as well as any three male + clerks receiving $1,800 a year. It is now a quarter of a century + that women have served the government in these responsible + positions, and still, with but few exceptions, they receive only + the allotted $900. Mrs. Fitzgerald, the expert in the redemption + bureau of the treasury, who has for fifteen years deciphered + defaced currency, in which no man has ever yet proved her equal, + receives $1,400. In 1886 she subjected herself to an examination + for an increase to $1,600, but, failing to answer some questions + foreign to her art, she was compelled to content herself with the + former salary. + + +II.--MARYLAND. + +_The Revolution_ of February 26, 1868, shows an effort in the +direction of progress on this question in Maryland. A correspondent +says: + + Notwithstanding the present ascendancy of conservatism in + Maryland, the progressive element is not wholly annihilated; in + proof of which, we send information of the working of this + leaven, as developed in an association lately organized in the + city of Baltimore, under the name of the "Maryland Equal Rights + Society." For nearly a year past it has been in contemplation to + form a society based upon the principle of equal chance to all + human kind, irrespective of sex or color, through the mediumship + of the elective franchise. The first public meeting of the + friends of the movement was held on the afternoon of November 12, + 1867, at the Douglass Institute, at which twelve persons, white + and colored, were present. Some steps were taken towards + organization in the framing and adopting of a constitution based + upon the principle afore-mentioned; but further business was + deferred in hope of securing a larger attendance at a subsequent + meeting. Two weeks later a second meeting was called, when the + constitution was signed by fourteen persons, ten of whom were + white and four colored. Officers were chosen, consisting of a + president, a vice-president, a secretary and a treasurer, + together with eight other members to act as an executive + committee. The last meeting, held January 29, was attended by + Alfred H. Love and Rachel Love of Philadelphia. To Mr. Love the + society is indebted for many valuable suggestions as to the best + means of becoming an effective co-worker in the cause of human + progress. + + Our colored friends, who have control of the Douglass Institute, + have testified their good will toward the movement in giving the + society the use of an apartment in the building, free of charge. + This is the one instance in which we have met with encouragement + in our own community. We have sought it in high places, among + those we supposed to be friends, and found it not. It appears to + be the nature of fine linen to dread the mud splashes of the + pioneer's spade and pick-ax, and for silk and broadcloth to + shrink from contact with the briers of an uncleared thicket; + hence our sole recourse is to appeal to those only who are + dressed for the service. We are conscious that we have entered + upon no easy task; but, ashamed of having so long left our + Northern sisters to toil and endure alone in a cause which is not + one of section but of humanity, we come forward at last to assume + our share of the hardship, trusting that what we have lost in our + tardiness may be made up in earnestness and activity. + +From various papers we clip the following items: + + At the election in Baltimore, January 20, 1870, there were three + women who applied to be registered as voters at the third-ward + registry office. Their names were Mrs. L. C. Dundore, Mrs. A. M. + Gardner and Miss E. M. Harris. Their cases were held under + advisement by the register.----In 1871, a Maryland young lady, + Miss Middlebrook, raised over 5,000 heads of cabbage. On + Christmas, she sold in the Baltimore market 500 pounds of turkey + at 20 cents per pound.----Mrs. H. B. Conway of Frederick county, + has established a reputation as a contractor for "fills" and + "cuts." She has filled several contracts in Pennsylvania, been + awarded a $100,000 job on the Western Maryland railroad, and now, + 1885, is engaged in the work of excavating a tract in Baltimore + for building-sites. + +Miss R. Muller has for several years been engaged as subscription +and general correspondence clerk for the Baltimore _Daily +American_. She was the first woman to be employed in that city on +newspaper work during the present century. In the chapter on +newspapers it will be seen that Anna R. Green established the first +newspaper in the Maryland colony one hundred and nineteen years +ago, doing the colony printing; and that Mary R. Goddard not only +published a paper, writing able editorials, but was also the first +postmaster after the revolution. And from the following item it +would seem that the first woman to claim her right to vote must be +credited to Maryland: + + At the regular meeting of the Maryland Historical Society in + Baltimore, December, 1885, Hon. J. L. Thomas read a paper on + "Margaret Brent, the first woman in America to claim the right + to vote." She lived at St. Mary's city on the river of the same + name two hundred and forty years ago, and was related to Lord + Baltimore. She was the heir of Leonard Calvert, Lord Baltimore's + brother and agent, and as such she claimed not only control of + all rents, etc., of Lord Baltimore, but also the right to two + votes in the assembly as the representative of both Calvert and + Baltimore. The first claim the courts upheld, but the second was + rejected. + +On March 20, 1872, Hon. Stevenson Archer made an exhaustive speech +on the floor of the House of Representatives, entitled, "Woman +Suffrage not to be tolerated, although advocated by the Republican +candidate for vice-presidency." The speech was against Senator +Wilson's bill to enfranchise the women of the territories. The +honorable representative from Maryland may have been moved to enter +his protest against woman's enfranchisement by the fact that the +women of his State had in convention assembled early in the same +month made a public demand for their political rights: + + The Havre de Grace _Republican_ says that the convention of the + Maryland Equal Rights Association, held in Raine's Hall, + Baltimore, last week, was a grand success. Mrs. Lavina C. + Dundore, president of the association, presided over the + convention with dignity and grace. Many prominent and able + champions of the cause were present and delivered eloquent and + telling addresses in favor of woman's enfranchisement, which were + listened to with marked attention by the large audiences in + attendance. The friends of the cause in Maryland feel much + gratified at this exhibition of the rapidly increasing interest + in the movement. + +Meetings had been held in Baltimore during the years of 1870-71, +and lectures given by Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, Susan B. +Anthony, and others. + +Charlotte Richmond of Baltimore writes the _Woman's Journal_, April +22, 1873: + + The American _Journal of Dental Science_ makes the following + statement: "The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, having had + the honor of conferring the first degree of Doctor of Dental + Surgery in the world, has also graduated the first woman who ever + received a diploma in medicine or dentistry in Baltimore, in the + person of Miss Emilie Foeking of Prussia, who, after attending + two full courses of lectures and demonstrations, passed a very + creditable final examination. Miss Foeking conformed to all the + rules and regulations of the college during the two sessions that + she was a student; no favor whatever as to requirement being + asked for on her part, or extended to her by the faculty, on + account of sex. She has fairly earned her degree by proficiency + and earnest application. After a short time Miss Foeking will + return to Berlin, where she intends to locate. That she will + succeed in establishing a large and lucrative practice, there is + no doubt, as she is well qualified professionally, and is in + manner so perfect a lady as to command the respect of all who + know her." + + You will see by this extract from one of our medical journals, + that a lady has been graduated from our dental college. I hope + she has left the doors open, so that some of our own countrywomen + may enter and acquit themselves as honorably, but without the + difficulties which she has been compelled to encounter. You are + aware of the proceedings of the Philadelphia college in regard to + female students. Our Baltimore dentist, for we feel proud to + claim her as ours, although admitted in the college, still had + all the prejudices to meet in the minds of the people, but they + were too courteous and hospitable to act upon those feelings so + far as to turn her from their doors. She was brave and did not + surrender; not even when her sensitive woman's heart was wounded + and humiliated by the little acts done heedlessly under the + impression that a woman had stepped out of her sphere and was + taking upon herself a vocation belonging exclusively to men. She + is naturally sincere, modest and dignified. With these lady-like + qualifications, together with ability and perseverance, she has + won the honor and esteem of the faculty and the students. + + I wish that Prussia could have witnessed the success of her + daughter on the night of commencement--the wreaths of laurel, and + the incessant applause while she was on the stage. I, for one, + felt quite proud to see my city acknowledge the foreign + lady-student so gracefully. She is already practicing to some + extent, and in every case gives the most entire satisfaction. I + trust there will be no more college doors closed against our sex, + for the reason that the male students do not want us. Let the + professors and trustees be just. We have proved that a true lady + is no disadvantage in a college with male students. I think the + way is now clear for women to enter upon the dental profession. + Miss Foeking has proved that a woman can be successful when she + undertakes an honorable profession. + + +[Illustration: Mary B. Clay] + + +For the facts in regard to the Baltimore Dental College we are +indebted to the dean of the faculty: + + BALTIMORE COLLEGE OF DENTAL SURGERY, Jan. 2, 1886. + + MISS SUSAN B. ANTHONY--_Dear Miss_: Your letter of 27th of last + month came safely to hand. In reply I will say that only two + members of the fair sex have been graduated with us. Miss Emilie + Foeking of Prussia, whose present address I do not know, and Miss + Pauline Boeck of Germany, who has since died. Miss Foeking was + graduated in 1873, and Miss Boeck in 1877. I have learned that + both of these young ladies were attentive and energetic in the + pursuit of their studies, and were graduated with credit to + themselves. We have the "Woman's Medical College," from which + quite a number of young women have been graduated. For + information in regard to this institution I would refer you to + its dean, Prof. Wm. D. Booker, 157 Park avenue. + + Very truly yours, R. B. WINDER. + + +III.--DELAWARE. + +Mary A. Stuart is the active representative of the movement for +woman suffrage in Delaware. From year to year she has written and +contributed to our National conventions in Washington, and has been +among the delegates on several occasions to address congressional +committees. In her report she says: + + My father was the first man in the State Senate to propose the + repeal of some of our oppressive laws, and succeeded in having + the law giving all real estate to the eldest male heir repealed. + The law of 1871 gave a married woman the right to make a will, + provided her husband gave his written consent, with the names of + two respectable witnesses thereunto attached. In 1873 the law was + repealed, and another act passed giving married women the right + to make a will, buy property and hold it exempt from the + husband's debts, but this law does not affect his tenancy by + courtesy. + + Prior to 1868, bonds, mortgages, stocks, etc., were counted + personal property, all of which went into the possession of the + husband the moment the woman answered "I will," in the marriage + ceremony. I worked hard to get the law passed giving the wife the + right to her own separate earnings, and at last was greatly + helped by the fact that a woman petitioned for a divorce, stating + in her application that she was driven from her home, that she + and her two children had worked hard and saved $100 for a rainy + day, and now her husband claimed the money. It was a case in + point, and helped the members of our legislature to pass the + wages bill. + + Delaware College, the only institution of the kind in the State, + was open to girls for thirteen years, but owing to a tragedy + committed by the boys in hazing one another, resulting in death, + the doors were thereafter closed to girls, although they were in + no way directly or indirectly implicated in the outrages. When + Governor Stockley was appealed to, he simply gave some of the old + arguments against coeducation, and did not recommend, as he + should have done, an appropriation at once by the State to build + a similar college, with all the necessary appointments for the + education of girls. We have women who are practicing physicians, + and are also in the State Medical Boards. We have none who + practice law or preach in our pulpits, and all the political + offices of the State are closed to women. No notaries, bank + cashiers, telegraph operators. Women are still in the belief that + work outside the home is a disgrace to the men of their families. + + In February, 1881, Mrs. Stanton, Miss Anthony, Miss Couzins and + Mrs. Lockwood, held various hearings before the legislature. Mrs. + Lockwood read to the gentlemen article 4 of the constitution as + amended in 1834: "Any white male citizen over 22 years of age who + shall be a tax-payer, shall be eligible to vote for electors." + She then showed them how readily, without any marked revolution, + the word "white" had been stricken out, while the word tax-payer + had virtually become a dead letter. Then turning to the first + paragraph of the United States revised code she cited the passage + which states that in determining the meaning of statutes after + February 25, 1877, "words importing the masculine gender may be + applied to females." * * * * At this point the chairman of the + committee placed before Mrs. Lockwood the Delaware code from + which she read a similar application of the law made many years + before. Having laid this foundation she asserted that the women + of Delaware were legally entitled to vote under the laws as they + are, but that to prevent all question on the subject, she would + recommend a special enactment like that prepared in the bill + before them. An amendment to the State constitution giving + suffrage to women was presented in the House of Representatives + in February, 1881, and referred to the committee on privileges + and elections. It was reported adversely. The vote showed that + all the members, with two[529] exceptions, were opposed to the + measure. + +Among the friends in Delaware were several liberal families, active +in all the progressive movements of the day. Preeminent among these +was that of the noble Thomas Garrett, whose good words of +encouragement for woman's enfranchisement may be found in the bound +copies of _The Revolution_ as far back as 1868. His private letters +to those of us interested in his labors of love are among our most +cherished mementoes. He was a man of good judgment, broad +sympathies, and unswerving integrity. + + +IV.--KENTUCKY. + +Mary B. Clay, daughter of Cassius M. Clay, sends us the following +report of what has been done to change the status of women in +Kentucky: + + The earliest agitation of the suffrage question in our State + arose from the advent of Miss Lucy Stone in Louisville, in 1853, + at which time she delivered three lectures in Masonic Hall to + crowded audiences. George D. Prentice gave full and friendly + reports in the _Courier-Journal_. In later years, Anna Dickinson + and others have lectured in our chief cities. But the first note + of associated effort is that given in _The Revolution_ from + Glendale, which says: + + We organized here an association with twenty members the + first of October, 1867, and now have fifty. We hope soon to + have the whole of Hardin county, and by the close of another + year the whole of the State of Kentucky, enlisted on the + side of woman's rights. + + In the winter of 1872 Hannah Tracy Cutler and Margaret V. Longley + were granted a respectful hearing before our legislature at + Frankfort. In May, 1879, self-appointed, I represented Kentucky + at the May anniversary of the National Association at St. Louis. + In the autumn following, Miss Anthony, during an extended lecture + tour through the State, stopped in Richmond several days, and + aided us in organizing a local suffrage society.[530] Letters + were at once written to the leading editors asking them to + publish articles on the subject. Many favorable answers were + received, and we have largely availed ourselves of the columns of + the papers to keep up the agitation. My sister, Sally Clay + Bennett, edits a column in the Richmond _Register_, sister Anne a + column in the Lexington _Gazette_, and Kate Dunning Clarke, a + column in the _Turf, Field and Farm_. Mrs. Clarke is also + associate editor of the Kentucky _State Journal_. The Misses + Moore are making a success of a daily paper at Milledgeville. + + In May, 1880, Mrs. Bennett and myself were delegates at the great + National Mass Convention in Farwell Hall, Chicago. In October, + 1881, the American Association held its annual meeting in + Louisville. It was largely attended and fully and fairly reported + by the press of the city. At its close, a Kentucky State + association was organized, with Laura Clay as president. + + In January, 1882, the Richmond and Louisville clubs secured a + hearing before the judiciary committee of the Senate, Mrs. + Bennett and myself representing the former, and John A. Ward the + latter. With the valuable aid of Mrs. Mary Haggart of + Indianapolis we made a most favorable impression upon our + legislators. The points in which our laws are defective and upon + which our appeals and arguments were based are well indicated by + the pleas of our several petitions: + + That women might have municipal and presidential suffrage by + statute; that in marriage women might own their property as + men own theirs; that women who were married might be the + legal guardians of their children's property and persons as + well as the father; that women should be appointed with + equal responsibility and authority as assistant physicians + in insane asylums, and that the appointment of all the + officers in such asylums should be made by the legislature, + and not by the governor, as now; that women be appointed on + boards of visitors and commissioners to all asylums where + women are inmates or prisoners. + + In 1884, all of the Clay sisters--Mrs. Bennet, Mary, Laura and + Anne--with Mrs. Haggart, again went to Frankfort, and held + meetings in the legislative hall, which were largely attended by + the best classes of the citizens of that city, as well as by + members of the legislature. + + For several years we have had a woman for State Librarian. In + Fayette, one of our most aristocratic counties, Lexington being + its county seat, a woman was elected to the office of county + clerk by a majority of 200 over her male competitor. In two other + counties women are also county clerks. Each of them had served so + efficiently in her husband's office, that at his death she had + been elected in his place. + + That woman has to fight every step of her way to the recognition + of her rights as a citizen equal before the law, is shown by the + following despatch from Frankfort, dated December 18, 1885: + + Mrs. M. C. Lucas was elected by the vote of Daviess county + to the office of jailer, to succeed her husband, who was + killed by a mob while in discharge of his duty. When she + appeared before the county court to give bond for the + office, the Judge refused to allow her to qualify. A writ of + mandamus from the Circuit Court was applied for to compel + the court to allow her to qualify, but the motion was + denied. An appeal was then taken to the Court of Appeals. + Yesterday that court affirmed the decision of the Circuit + Court, that a woman cannot legally hold the office of county + jailer. + + A woman in Madison county acted as census-taker, and performed + her duty well. She was the niece of Mr. Justice Miller of the + Supreme Court of the United States. Gen. W. J. Sanderson, + internal revenue collector for the eighth district, employed two + young ladies as clerks, Miss Brown and Miss Price, the former of + whom is said to be his best clerk. She is the sister of Mrs. + Smith, the circuit clerk of Laurel county. The successor of + General Sanderson, employs his two daughters as clerks, and they + receive the same pay as men who do the same work. + + Many women in our State manage their own farms. My mother, during + my father's absence as minister to Russia, took his farm of 2,500 + acres (he making her his attorney), paid off a large debt on the + property, built an elegant house costing $30,000, stocked the + farm, and largely supported the family of six children, with + money which she made during the war. She fed government mules, + and did it so well that she would return them to camp before the + time expired, in better condition than most feeders got theirs. + She is now, 1885, conducting her own farm of 350 acres, selling + several thousand dollars' worth of wheat, cattle, and sheep + annually, giving her personal attention to everything, at the age + of seventy. During the adventurous and perilous period of my + father's life she shared his dangers, and was ever his mainstay + in upholding his hands against slavery; and in that crowning + point of his life, when he was mobbed in Lexington, my mother sat + at his bed-side, and wrote at his dictation, "Go tell your secret + conclave of dastardly assassins, Cassius M. Clay knows his rights + and how to defend them." + + Two of my sisters, Laura and Anne, and myself are practical + farmers, each having under her immediate superintendence the + workmen, both white and black, on 300 acres. We raise corn, + wheat, oats, cattle and sheep, buying and selling our own stock + and produce. We took possession of the land without stock or + utensils, and by our observation and experience, prudence and + industry, have greatly improved the lands and stock, and annually + realize a handsome income therefrom. + + Miss Laura R. White of Manchester, sister of Hon. John D. White, + who ably advocated our cause in congress as well as in his own + State, was graduated with marked honor from the Michigan State + University in 1874. Since that time she has studied architecture + in the Boston Institute of Technology one year, worked as + draughtsman in the office of the supervisory architect of the + treasury department at Washington, two years, studied in the + special school of architecture in Paris one year, and is now, + 1886, prosecuting her studies with a liberal selection of French + and English architectural works at her mountain home in Kentucky. + Mrs. Bessie White Heagen, the youngest daughter of Mrs. Sarah A. + White, was graduated with honor from the Roxbury High School of + Boston, and from the school of Pharmacy of Michigan University. + Being denied examination and the privileges of college graduates + of the college of pharmacy at Louisville, where she was employed + by a prominent pharmacist, she brought suit and obtained a + verdict in her favor. + + Early in 1882, Dr. J. P. Barnum employed young women in his store + with the expectation of being able to educate them in the college + of pharmacy. But the hostility of the students to the proposed + innovation, and the lack of a systematic laboratory course, + caused the relinquishment of that plan and the formation of the + new school. Prominent gentlemen in the community assisted Dr. + Barnum, and the Louisville School of Pharmacy was duly + incorporated under the general laws of Kentucky.[531] Though + sustained by men of wealth and influence, the school met with + great opposition, the State Board of Pharmacy refusing to + register the women who were graduated from it until compelled to + do so by a mandamus from the Law and Equity Court, Judge Simral + presiding. March 7, 1884, the legislature incorporated the + Louisville School of Pharmacy for Women, and by special enactment + empowered its graduates to practice their profession without + registration or interference from the State board. + + The school confers two degrees; its full course taking three + years and requiring more work than is done in other schools. So + far its graduates have been representative women, and all have + found responsible situations awaiting them. Its faculty remains, + with a few exceptions, as in the first session. Dr. J. P. Barnum, + to whose indefatigable efforts the foundation of the school is + due, is dean and professor of pharmacy and analytical chemistry; + Dr. T. Hunt Stuckey, a graduate of Heidelberg University, who + joined his efforts with Dr. Barnum at an early day, is professor + of _materia medica_, toxicology and microscopy. Mrs. D. N. + Marble, professor of general and pharmaceutical chemistry, and + Mrs. Fountaine Miller, professor of botany, were graduates of the + first class. + + Mrs. Kate Trimble de Roode, in a recent letter says: + + Kentucky has had school suffrage for thirty years, but as + the right is not generally known or understood, few women + have ever availed themselves of the privilege. The State + librarian has for many years been a woman, and there are + several post-mistresses also in this State. The State + University has recently admitted women on equal terms to all + its departments. As a general thing the young women of + Kentucky are better educated than the men, the latter being + early put to business, while most parents desire above all + things to secure to their daughters a liberal education. We + have a number of women practicing medicine in the larger + cities, one architect, but as yet no lawyers, although + several women have taken a full course of study for that + profession. The question of woman suffrage has been but + little agitated in this State, although the last + legislature gave a respectful hearing to several ladies on + the question. The property rights of married women are in a + crude state; the wife's personal property vests in the + husband; the profits and rents that accrue from her real + estate belong to him also. She can make no will without the + assent of her husband, and if given, he can revoke it at any + time before the will is probated. The wife's wages belong to + her husband. She cannot sue or be sued without he joins her + in the suit. The wife's dower is a life interest in a third + of the husband's real estate, whereas the husband's curtesy, + where there is issue of the marriage, born alive, is a life + interest in all the real estate belonging to the wife at the + time of her death. This is the statutory law, but the wife + by obtaining a decree in chancery may possess all the rights + of a _femme sole_. A bill securing more equal rights to + women passed the House of the last legislature, but failed + in the Senate. The courtesy of Kentucky men to women in + general, has kept them from realizing their civil and + political degradation, until, by some sudden turn in the + wheel of fortune, the individual woman has felt the iron + teeth of the law in her own flesh, and warned her slumbering + sisterhood. We are now awaking to the fact that an + aristocracy of sex in a republic is as inconsistent and + odious as an aristocracy of color, and indeed far more so. + + +V.--TENNESSEE. + +We are indebted to Mrs. Elizabeth Lisle Saxon for the following: + + Elizabeth Avery Meriwether is the chief representative of liberal + thought in Tennessee. Her pen is ever ready to champion the + wronged. I first came to know her when engaged in a newspaper + discussion to reestablish in the public schools of Memphis three + young women who had been dismissed because of "holding too many + of Mrs. Meriwether's views"--the reason actually given by the + superintendent and endorsed by the board of directors. A seven + month's war was carried on, ending in a triumphant reinstallment + of the teachers, a new superintendent, and a new board of + directors. Public opinion was educated into more liberal ideas, + and the _Memphis Appeal_, through its chivalrous editor, Mr. + Keating, declared squarely for woman suffrage. + + When Col. Kerr introduced into the Tennessee legislature a bill + making divorce impossible for any cause save adultery, Mrs. + Meriwether wrote the ablest article I ever read, in opposition, + which Mr. Keating published in his paper, and distributed among + the members of the legislature. The result was a clear vote + against the bill. + + With Mrs. Lide Meriwether and Mrs. M. J. Holmes, she publicly + assailed the cross examination of women in criminal trials, + either as culprits or witnesses, until the practice was broken + up, and private hearings accorded. In 1876 she sent a memorial to + the National Democratic convention at St. Louis, asking that + party to declare for woman suffrage in its platform. Though her + appeal was not read, hundreds of copies were circulated among the + members in the hope of stirring thought on the subject in the + South. It provoked much sarcasm because it was signed only by + Mrs. Meriwether and Mrs. Saxon. In 1880-81 Mrs. Meriwether was + one of the speakers in the series of conventions held by the + National association in the Western and New England States. + + +VI.--VIRGINIA. + +In the winter of 1870, immediately after the National Washington +convention, Mrs. Paulina Wright Davis, while spending a few days in +Richmond, formed the acquaintance of Mrs. Anna Whitehead Bodeker, a +most earnest advocate of the ballot for women. Mrs. Davis held a +parlor meeting in the home of Mrs. Bodeker, enlisting the interest +of several prominent citizens of Richmond, who very soon invited +Mrs. Joslyn Gage to their city to give a series of lectures. Of the +result of this visit we give Mrs. Bodeker's report as published in +_The Revolution_ of May, 1870: + + DEAR REVOLUTION:--I glory in announcing a grand achievement in + the great reform of the day in Virginia. Our energetic and heroic + leader, Mrs. M. Joslyn Gage, after giant efforts on her part, and + with the aid of some strong advocates of the reform, on Friday + evening, May 6, 1870, organized in the city of Richmond a + Virginia State Woman Suffrage Association. The whole proceedings + I here append, for immediate publication in your columns. + + Mrs. Gage, advisory counsel for New York, in the National Woman + Suffrage Association of America, delivered a lecture upon + "Opportunity for Woman," at Bosher's Hall, corner of Ninth and + Main streets, on Thursday evening. The lecture was able, earnest + and eloquent, and was listened to with rapt attention by the + friends of the cause present. At its conclusion, Judge John C. + Underwood gave notice that on the following evening a meeting + would be held at the United States Court room (which he freely + proffered for the purpose) to organize a State Association, adopt + a constitution, elect officers, and appoint delegates to the + anniversary of the National Association soon to be held in New + York city. The judge remarked that, upon conversing with Governor + Wise upon the subject, he expressed his warm sympathy with the + objects of the movement save upon the question of giving women + the ballot. With all the other rights claimed, he was heartily in + accord; especially, he thought, should the professions be opened + to women, more particularly the medical, they being the natural + physicians of their sex and of children. + + Pursuant to the above notice, a meeting was held in the United + States court-room. Judge John C. Underwood was called to preside. + Previous to action on the regular business of the meeting, + several articles favorable to the movement were read. Miss Sue L. + F. Smith, daughter of the late Rev. Dr. Wm. A. Smith, read very + charmingly a well-written essay prepared by herself in advocacy + of granting to women the full meed of powers and responsibilities + now enjoyed by men. Mr. William E. Colman read an article + entitled "Clerical Denunciation of Woman Suffrage--A Defense," + being a reply to a violent attack made by the Rev. Dr. Edwards of + this city, upon the adherents of the movement, in a sermon + delivered by him recently. A proposed constitution for the + government of the Virginia State Woman Suffrage Association was + adopted; after which came the election of officers[532] of the + society. On motion of Judge Underwood, Miss Sue L. F. Smith was + appointed delegate to represent Virginia in the National + Association to be held in New York city May 12, 13, the society + having by resolution connected itself as an auxiliary to said + National Association. Mrs. Gage offered resolutions, which were + unanimously adopted, after which she delivered a forcible + address, enumerating many of the wrongs to which women are + subjected in this State, dwelling particularly upon the laws + depriving mothers of the right to their own children, placing the + property of married women at the mercy of their husbands, and + depriving the wives of all voice in the disposition of the + property possessed by them before marriage. + +In the winter of 1871, Miss Anthony was honored by an invitation +from the society, and held several meetings in Judge Underwood's +court-room. About this time appeared the following: + + Judge Underwood, having stated in a letter that after mature + consideration he had come to the conclusion that the fourteenth + and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution of the United + States, together with the enforcement act of May 31, 1870, have + secured the right to vote to female citizens as fully as it is + now exercised and enjoyed by male citizens, a test case is to be + made at once in the Virginia courts. As there are very few + advocates of woman suffrage in Virginia, some of the leaders of + the movement in Washington are about to move to Alexandria to + perfect an organization and be ready with a case when Judge + Underwood opens court there. + +But Mrs. Bodeker, who also memorialized the general assembly, was +first to make the attempt to vote. The Richmond _Dispatch_ +describes the occasion: + + Yesterday morning the judges of the second precinct of Marshall + ward, J. F. Shinberger, esq., presiding, were surprised at the + appearance of a lady at the polls. She wished to deposit a + ballot, but as the judges declined to allow this, in view of her + not having registered, she then asked to be permitted to have a + paper with the following inscription placed in the ballot-box: + "By the Constitution of the United States, I, Anne Whitehead + Bodeker, have a right to give my vote at this election, and in + vindication of it drop this note in the ballot-box, November 7, + 1871." This paper was taken by the judges, and will be deposited + with the ballots in the archives of the Hustings court. + +One remarkable incident in Gen. Grant's administration was Miss +Elizabeth VanLew's appointment as postmaster at Richmond. She held +the office eight years, notwithstanding the persistent opposition +of politicians. The _Ballot-Box_ said: + + Miss VanLew was postmaster in Richmond under Grant, introducing + many reforms in the office, but through the envy of men, who were + voters, she, a non-voter, lost her office, as she had lost wealth + and friends from her devotion to the Union during the war. Now, + since its close, she finds not only her former slave men + permitted to make laws for her, but also those whom she opposed + when they were seeking their country's life. But women of all + ranks, white and colored, are awaking to their need of the ballot + for self-protection. + +The Philadelphia _Press_, edited by J. W. Forney, said: + + Some covert enemies of the president and the new civil-service + reform have been spreading a report, through sensational + specials, that the Richmond post-office is to be given to some + prominent Virginian of local standing as soon as Miss VanLew's + commission expires. If there is any post-office in the United + States in which the whole nation at this time has a special + interest, it is this one of Richmond which the present incumbent + holds, as it were, by a national right, and certainly by popular + acclaim. We have not time in a brief paragraph to tell the + striking story of what Miss VanLew has done and what she has + suffered for the country. Her story will pass into standard + history, however, as sadly illustrative of our times. She herself + is known and loved wherever the horrors of Libby and Belle Isle + are mourned and denounced. + + +VII.--WEST VIRGINIA. + +Hon. Samuel Young, in a letter to _The Revolution_, dated Senate +Chamber, Wheeling, West Virginia, February 22, 1869, writes: + + In 1867, I introduced a bill in the State Senate, looking to the + enfranchisement of all women in West Virginia, who can read the + Declaration of Independence intelligently, and write a legible + hand, and have actually paid tax the year previous to their + proposing to vote. But even this guarded bill had no friends but + myself. * * * I introduced a resolution during the present + session of our legislature, asking congress to extend the right + of suffrage to women. Eight out of the twenty-two members of the + Senate voted for it. This is quite encouraging--advancing from + one to eight in two years. At this rate of progress, we may + succeed by next winter. I give the names of those who are in + favor of and voted for female suffrage in the Senate: Drummond, + Doolittle, Humphreys, Hoke, Wilson, Workman, Young, and + Farnsworth, president. The same senators voted to invite Miss + Anna E. Dickinson to lecture in the state-house during her late + visit to Wheeling. + + +VIII.--NORTH CAROLINA. + +We are indebted to Mrs. Mary Bayard Clarke of New Berne for the +following: + + Since 1868, when the constitution was changed, a married woman + has absolute control of all the real estate she possessed before + marriage or acquired by gift or devise after it, except the power + to sell without the consent of her husband, who in his turn is + not at liberty to sell any real estate possessed by him before + marriage, or acquired after it, without the consent of his wife. + Should he sell any real estate without the wife's consent, in + writing, she can, after his death, claim her dower of one-third + in such real estate. If she owns a farm and her husband manages + it, she can claim full settlements from him, he having no more + rights than any other agent whom she may employ. So her property, + real and personal, is her individual right, with the income + therefrom. But she cannot contract a debt that is binding on her + property without the consent of her husband. With his written + consent, which must be registered in the office of the clerk of + the county in which she resides, she may become a free-trader + with all the rights of a man, her husband having no claim to her + gains and not being responsible for any debt which she may + contract. By giving this written consent her husband virtually + places her in the position of an unmarried woman, as far as her + property is concerned. + + In 1881, finding that a widow had no right to appoint a guardian + for her children by "letters testamentary," I, through my son, + William E. Clarke, who was then senator for this county in our + State legislature, succeeded in getting this law so changed that + she now has the same rights as a man. In cases of divorce or + separation while the children are under age, it is discretionary + with the judge to give the children to either parent; but public + sentiment always gives them to the mother while young. + + As a rule the women of the South are better educated than the + men, the boys being put to work while the girls are at school. + The girls are not trained to work in any way, and very few, as + yet, see the necessity of being regularly trained to do anything + by which they may make a living except as teachers. Our + public-school system requires a course through the normal school + for all teachers. Mixed schools are not popular with us, but we + have been forced into them by the public-graded-school tax, which + has crushed out our private schools. I am now, and have been for + the past two years, making an effort to have women on our + school-boards, and a female as well as a male principal for every + mixed public school, on the ground that mothers have as much + right to a voice in the education of their daughters as fathers + have in that of their sons. We have female teachers in our public + schools but not as principals, and the pay of the women is, + regardless of the quality of their work, always considerably less + than that of men. + + Our Supreme Court granted a license to Miss Tabitha A. Holton to + practice law, and there is no legal impediment in the way of one + doing so. The same is true of the medical profession. Dr. Susan + Dimock was a North Carolinian by birth and on her application + for admission to the State Medical Society was unanimously + elected a member of that body. The African Methodist-Episcopal + Conference, Bishop Turner presiding, ordained Miss Sarah A. + Hughes of Raleigh, a bright mulatto girl, as deacon in the + church. Shortly after the close of the late war, my husband being + then incapacitated for work by wounds received in the Mexican and + the civil war, and my sons under age, I applied to Governor + Jonathan Worth for the position of State librarian. Though + cordially acknowledging my fitness, intellectually, for the + office, and admitting that my sex did not legally disqualify me + to hold it, he positively refused to appoint me or any other + woman to any office in his gift. Public sentiment then sustained + him, but it would not now do so; so many ladies of culture, + refinement and social position have been, since the war, forced + to work or starve, that it is now nothing remarkable to see them + and their daughters doing work which twenty years ago they would + have been ostracised for undertaking. + + In a letter to the Boston _Index_, published August, 1885, the + venerable Mrs. Elizabeth Oakes Smith, who is now a resident of + this State, truthfully says, + + The women of the North can have little conception of the + hindrances which their sisters of the South encounter in + their efforts to accept new and progressive ideas. The other + sex, in a blind sort of way, hold fast to an absolute kind + of chivalry akin to that of the renowned Don Quixote, by + which they try to hold women in the background as a kind of + porcelain liable to crack and breakage unless daintily + handled. Women here see the spirit of the age and the need + of change far more clearly than the men, and act up to this + light, but with a flexible grace that disarms opposition. + They see the necessity of work and are turning their + attention to methods for remunerative labor, far more + difficult to obtain at the South than at the North. + + I cordially endorse this extract. The Southern man does not wish + his "women folks" to be self-supporting, not because he is + jealous of their rivaling him, but because he feels it is his + duty to be the bread-winner. But the much sneered at "chivalry" + of the South, while rendering it harder for a woman to break + through old customs, most cordially and heartily sustains her + when she has successfully done so. There are fewer large centers + in the South than in the North, and much less attrition of mind + against mind; the people are homogeneous and slower to change, + and public opinion is much less fluctuating. But once let the + tide of woman suffrage fairly turn, and I believe it will be + irresistable and advance far more steadily and rapidly in the + South than it has done in the North. Let the Southern women be + won over and the cause will have nothing to fear from the + opposition of the men. But, after twenty years' experience as a + journalist, my honest opinion is that until the Southern women + can be made to feel the pecuniary advantages to them of suffrage, + they will not lift a finger or speak a word to obtain it. + + In 1881, at the March meeting of the Raleigh Typographical Union, + No. 194, my son, being then a member of that Union, introduced + and, after some hard fighting, succeeded in carrying a resolution + placing women compositors on a par in every respect with men. + There was not at that time a single woman compositor in the + State, to my son's knowledge; there is one now in Raleigh and two + apprentices, who claimed and receive all the advantages that men + applying for admission to the Union receive. + + Mrs. C. Harris started the _South Atlantic_ at Wilmington. The + Misses Bernheim and their father started a magazine in the same + city called _At Home and Abroad_, which was afterwards moved to + Charlotte; both were short-lived. We have now the _Southern + Woman_. This is the only journal ever edited and managed by a + woman alone, with no man associated with or responsible for it. I + have been for twenty years connected with the press of this State + in one way and another, and am called the "Grandmother of the + North Carolina Press Association." In 1880 I delivered an + original poem before the association, and another Masonic one + before the board of the orphan asylum; making me, I believe, the + first native North Carolina woman that ever came before the + public as a speaker. I was both denounced and applauded for my + "brass" and "bravery." Public sentiment has changed since then. + + Mrs. Marion A. Williams, president of the State National Bank at + Raleigh for several years, is probably the first woman ever + elected to that responsible position in any State of this Union. + In 1885 Louisa B. Stephens was made president of the First + National Bank of Marion, Iowa; and a national bank in Newbery, + South Carolina, honored itself by placing a woman at the head of + its official board. + + The _North Carolinian_ of January, 1870, contained an able + editorial endorsing woman suffrage, closing with: + + For one we say, tear down the barriers, give woman an + opportunity to show her wisdom and virtue; place the ballot + in her hands that she may protect herself and reform men, + and ere a quarter of a century has elapsed many of the + foulest blots upon the civilization of this age will have + passed away. + +From an interesting article in the _Boston Advertiser_, May 22, +1875, by Rev. James Freeman Clark, concerning Dr. Susan Dimock, one +of North Carolina's promising daughters, whose career was ended in +the wreck of the Schiller near the Scilly islands, we make a few +extracts: + + One of our eminent surgeons, Dr. Samuel Cabot, said to me + yesterday: + + "This community will never know what a loss it has had in + Dr. Dimock. It was not merely her skill, though that was + remarkable, considering her youth and limited experience, + but also her nerve, that qualified her to become a great + surgeon. I have seldom known one at once so determined and + so self-possessed. Skill is a quality much more easily found + than this self-control that nothing can flurry. She had that + in an eminent degree; and, had she lived, she would have + been sure to stand, in time, among those at the head of her + profession. The usual weapons of ridicule would have been + impotent against a woman who had reached that supreme + position which Susan Dimock would certainly have attained." + + During the war of the rebellion, Miss Dimock sought admission + into the medical school of Harvard University, preferring, if + possible, to take a degree in an American college. Twice she + applied, and was twice refused. Hearing that the University of + Zurich was open to women, she went there, and was received with a + hospitality which the institutions of her own country did not + offer. She pursued her medical studies there, and graduated with + honor. A number of the "Revue des Deux Mondes" for August, 1872, + contains an article called "Les Femmes a l'Universitie de + Zurich," which speaks very favorably of the success of the women + in that place. The first to take a degree as doctor of medicine + was a young Russian lady, in 1867. Between 1867 and 1872 five + others had taken this degree, and among them Miss Dimock is + mentioned. From the medical school at Zurich, she went to that at + Vienna; and of her appearance there we have this record: A + distinguished German physician remarked to a friend of mine + residing in Germany that he had always been opposed to women as + physicians--but that he had met a young American lady studying at + Vienna, whose intelligence, modesty and devotion to her work was + such as almost to convince him that he was wrong. A comparison of + dates shows that this American student must have been Dr. Dimock. + + On her return to the United States Dr. Dimock became resident + physician at "The Hospital for Women and Children," on Codman + Avenue, in Boston. Both the students of medicine and the patients + became devotedly attached to her; they were fascinated by this + remarkable union of tenderness, firmness and skill. The secret + was in part told by what she said in one of her lectures in the + training-school for nurses connected with the woman's hospital: + "I wish you, of all my instructions, especially to remember this. + Where you go to nurse a patient, imagine that it is your own + sister before you in that bed; and treat her as you would wish + your own sister to be treated." While at this hospital, she was + also able to carry out a principle in which she firmly believed, + namely--that in a hospital the rights of every patient, poor and + rich, should be sacredly regarded, and never be postponed even to + the supposed interests of medical students. No student was + allowed to be present at any operation, except so far as the + comfort and safety of her patients rendered the student's + presence desirable. Her interest in the woman's hospital was + very great. She was in the habit, at the beginning of each year, + of writing and sealing up her wishes for the coming year. Since + her death, her mother has opened the envelope of January 1, 1875, + and found it to contain a prayer for a blessing on "my dear + hospital." + + And now this young, strong soul so ardent in the pursuit of + knowledge, so filled with a desire to help her suffering sisters, + has been taken by that remorseless deep. + + +IX.--SOUTH CAROLINA. + +The first action we hear of in South Carolina was a Woman's Right's +Convention in Columbia, Dec. 20, 1870, of which the Charleston +_Republican_ said: + + The chairman, Miss Rollin, said: "It had been so universally the + custom to treat the idea of woman suffrage with ridicule and + merriment that it becomes necessary in submitting the subject for + earnest deliberation that we assure the gentlemen present that + our claim is made honestly and seriously. We ask suffrage not as + a favor, not as a privilege, but as a right based on the ground + that we are human beings, and as such, entitled to all human + rights. While we concede that woman's ennobling influence should + be confined chiefly to home and society, we claim that public + opinion has had a tendency to limit woman's sphere to too small a + circle, and until woman has the right of representation this will + last, and other rights will be held by an insecure tenure." + + Mr. T. J. Mackey made a forcible argument in favor of the + movement. He was followed by Miss Hosley, who made a few brief + remarks upon the subject. General Moses thought woman's + introduction upon the political platform would benefit us much in + a moral point of view, and that they had a right to assist in + making the laws that govern them as well as the sterner sex. + Messrs. Cardozo, Pioneer and Rev. Mr. Harris followed in short + speeches, endorsing the movement and wishing it success. + Resolutions were adopted, and officers chosen.[533] The following + letters were read: + + EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Columbia, Jan. 19, 1871. + + _Miss L. M. Rollin_:--I have the honor to acknowledge the + receipt of your invitation to be present at the preliminary + organization of the association for the assertion of woman's + rights in this State, and regret that the pressure of public + duties precludes my indulging myself in that pleasure. Be + assured, however, that the cause has my warmest sympathy, + and I indulge the hope that the time is not far distant when + woman shall be the peer of man in political rights, as she + is peerless in all others, and when she will be able to + reclaim some of those privileges that are now monopolized by + the sterner sex. + + I have the honor to be, very respectfully, etc., + + R. K. SCOTT, _Governor_. + + OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL, Columbia, Feb. 1, 1871. + + I hoped when I received your invitation to the meeting + to-night of the friends of woman suffrage, that I should be + able to attend in person, but at a late hour I find other + duties standing in the way, and I can only say a word of + approval and encouragement with my pen. The woman suffrage + cause is to my mind so just and so expedient as to need + little argument. To say that my mother, my sisters or my + wife have less interest in good government than I have, or + are less fitted by nature to understand and use the ballot + than I am, is to contradict reason and fact. + + Upon the same grounds that I defend my own right to share in + the government which controls and protects me, do I now + assert the right of woman to a voice in public affairs. For + the same reasons that I would regard an attempt to rob me of + my civil rights as tyranny, do I now protest against the + continued civil inequality and thralldom of woman. I take no + merit or pride to myself for such a position. I have felt + and said these things during my whole life. They are to me + self-evident truths; needing no more demonstration by + argument than the first lines of the Declaration of American + Independence. My claim for woman is simply this: Give her a + full and fair chance to act in any sphere for which she can + fit herself. Her sphere is as wide as man's. It has no + limits except her capacity. If woman cannot perform a + soldier's duty, then the army is not her sphere; if she can, + it is her sphere, as much as it is man's. + + I value the ballot for woman chiefly because it opens to her + a wide, free avenue to a complete development of all her + powers. The Chinese lady's shoe is nothing compared to the + clamps and fetters which we Americans have put upon woman's + mind and soul. An impartial observer would scarcely condemn + the one and approve the other. What we need now is to + accustom the public to these radical truths. Demand the + ballot; demand woman's freedom. It is not a conflict of + argument or reason, so much as a crusade against habit and + prejudice. To tell the truth, I don't think there is a + respectable argument in the world against woman suffrage. + People think they are arguing or reasoning against it when + they are in fact only repeating the prejudices in which they + have been trained. With the sincerest wishes for the success + of your meeting and of all your efforts for woman suffrage, + I remain, yours very truly, + + D. H. CHAMBERLAIN. + +The American association memorialized the legislature March 13, +1872. The joint committee recommended an amendment to the +constitution of the State, providing that every person, male or +female, possessed of the necessary qualifications, should be +entitled to vote. B. F. Whittemore, H. J. Maxwell, W. B. Nash, G. +F. McIntyre, were the committee on the part of the Senate; C. D. +Hayne, W. J. Whipper, Benj. Byas, B. G. Yocom, F. H. Frost, +committee on the part of the House. + +In the debate in congress in 1874, Hon. Alonzo J. Ransier of South +Carolina, the civil-rights bill being under discussion, claimed +that equal human rights should be extended to women as follows: + + And may the day be not far distant when American citizenship in + civil and political rights and public privileges shall cover not + only those of our sex, but those of the opposite one also; until + which time the government of the United States cannot be said to + rest upon the "consent of the governed," or to adequately protect + them in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. + +Miss Sallie R. Banks, for some years a teacher of colored schools +in South Carolina, has been appointed collector of internal revenue +for the Sumter district. + + +X.--FLORIDA. + +In 1880, the agricultural department at Washington, paid a premium +of $12 to Madame Atzeroth of Manatee, for the first pound of coffee +ever grown out of doors in the United States. + +The following is from a letter to the Savannah _News_, reporting a +judgment rendered by a Florida county judge, in a case between an +old black man and his wife: + + OCALA, Fla., May 12, 1874. + + Be it known throughout all christendom that the husband is the + head of the wife, and whatever is his is his'n, and whatever is + hers is his'n, and come weal or woe, peace or war, the right of + all property is vested in the husband, and the wife must not take + anything away. The ox belongs to Uncle Ben, and he must keep it, + and the other things, and if the old woman quits she must go + empty-handed. Know all that this is so by order of the Judge of + Probate. + + [Signed] WM. R. HILLYER. + +Though quaintly expressed, yet this decision is in line with the +old common law and the statutes of many of the States in this Union +to-day. + + +XI.--ALABAMA. + +The women of Alabama are evidently awake on the temperance +question, though still apparently unprepared for suffrage. In a +report of a meeting in Birmingham in 1885, the following, from a +prominent editor, was read by the president: + + Tell the admirable lady, Mrs. Bryce, that I would devote + everything to the cause she espouses, but there's no use. Let + women demand the ballot, and with it they can destroy whisky, and + by no other agency. There is no perfect family or state in which + woman is not an active governing force. They should have the + courage to assert themselves and then they can serve the country + and the race. + +If a thunderbolt had fallen it would not have created a greater +sensation. The ladies at first grew indignant and uttered +protestations. When they grew calmer, the corresponding secretary +was ordered to furnish the editor with the following: + + The ladies of the W. C. T. U. return thanks to the editor for his + kindly and progressive suggestions, but, in their opinion, they + are not ready to ask any political favors. Whenever suffrage is + granted to the women of the United States, those of Alabama will + be found on the right side. + +At Huntsville lives Mrs. Priscilla Holmes Drake, whose name has +stood as representative of our National Association in Alabama +since 1868. + + +XII.--GEORGIA. + +We give a letter from Georgia's great statesman, defining his views +of woman's sphere: + + HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, WASHINGTON, D. C., May 29, 1878. + + _Mrs. E. L. Saxon, New Orleans, La._ + + MY DEAR MADAM:--Your letter to Hon. Alexander H. Stephens, of the + 22d inst., came duly to hand. He requests me to thank you for it, + and to say in reply that he has ever sympathized with woman in + her efforts for a higher and broader sphere of intellectual and + moral culture, as well as physical usefulness in life. He does + not go so far as to endow woman with the ballot, or to fit her + for the more masculine duties of the State. Her sphere, by + nature, is circumscribed within certain physical boundaries, but + in all those things to which she is fitted by nature, and can + enter without interference with the laws of God, he would open + the doors wide to her. + + Very respectfully yours, C. P. CULVER, _Secretary_. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[523] Myrtilla Miner; published by Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston +and New York. + +[524] See Vol. II., page 90. + +[525] _President_, Hon. Samuel C. Pomeroy; _Vice-Presidents_, +Josophine S. Griffing, Belva A. Lockwood, Jas. H. Holmes, John H. +Craney; _Advisory Council_, Mary E. O'Connor, Josephine S. +Griffing, Caroline B. Winslow, Dr. Susan A. Edson, Lydia S. Hall, +Mr. and Mrs. Boyle, Caroline B. Colby, and others. + +[526] The officers elected were: _President_, United States Senator +S. C. Pomeroy; _Vice-Presidents_, Mrs. Josephine S. Griffing, Mrs. +Belva McNall Lockwood, Miss Stickney, Thaddeus Hyatt, Caroline B. +Winslow, M. D., S. Yorke At Lee, Mrs. Josephine L. Slade, Prof. +William J. Wilson, Mrs. Mary Olin, Judge A. B. Olin, Mrs. C. M. E. +Y. Christian, Prof. George B. Vashon, J. H. Crossman, Mrs. Angeline +S. Hall, Dr. C. B. Purvis, Mrs. Dr. Hathaway, Bishop Moore, Mrs. C. +A. F. Stebbins, Giles B. Stebbins, Miss Emily Stanton, Dr. John +Mayhew, John R. Elvana, J. C. O. Whaley, Charles Roeser, George T. +Downing; _Recording Secretary_, George F. Needham; _Treasurer_, +Daniel Breed; _Board of Managers_, Josephine S. Griffing, Hamilton +Wilcox, Dr. Daniel Breed, Mrs. Corner, Geo. F. Needham, Mrs. Lydia +S. Hall, J. H. Crane; _Corresponding Secretary_, Mrs. Mary T. +Corner. Letters were reported from Frederick Douglass, George +William Curtis, Mrs. E. Oakes Smith. Addresses were delivered by J. +H. Crossman, G. F. Needham, Mrs. Lockwood, R. J. Hinton, and Mr. +Tibbits of Virginia. Dr. Breed recited an original poem, entitled, +"Woman's Pledge to Freedom." + +[527] The names of the women who attempted to register and vote +were: Jane A. Archibald, Clara M. Archibald, Mary Anderson, S. W. +Aiken, Sallie S. Barrett, Mary B. Baumgras, Florence Riddle +Bartlett, Ann M. Boyle, M. W. Browne, Deborah B. Clarke (Grace +Greenwood's mother, eighty years of age), C. W. Campbell, Elizabeth +T. Cowperthwaite, Mary T. Corner, Mary M. Courtenay, Mary A. +Donaldson, Mary A. Dennison, Ruth Carr Dennison, L. S. Doolittle, +Dr. Susan A. Edson, Sarah P. Edson, B. F. Evans, E. W. Foster, +Olive Freeman, Maggie Finney, Julia H. Grey, Josephine S. Griffing, +A. A. Henning, Susie J. Hickey, Calista Hickey, E. M. Hickey, Mary +Hooper, Ruth G. D. Havens, E. E. Hill, Lydia S. Hall, Julia +Archibald Holmes, N. M. Johnson, Jennie V. Jewell, Carrie Ketchum, +Joanna Kelly, Sara J. Lippincott (Grace Greenwood), Belva A. +Lockwood, Susie S. McClure, A. Jennie Miles, Augusta E. Morris, M. +T. Middleton, Savangie E. Mark, A. E. Newton, M. C. Page, Eliza Ann +Peck, Mary A. Riddle, A. R. Riddle, Caroline Risley, Sarah Andrews +Spencer, E. D. E. N. Southworth, Caroline A. Sherman, Mary S. +Scribner, Belle Smith, Maria T. Stoddard, Ada E. Spurgeon, Rubina +Taylor, Harriet P. Trickham, Eliza M. Tibbetts, Dr. Caroline B. +Winslow, Sarah E. Webster (mother of Dr. Susan A. Edson), Julia A. +Wilbur, Mrs. Westfall, Mary Willard, Amanda Wall, Lucy A. Wheeler. + +[528] For full account see Vol. II., page 587. + +[529] David Eastburn and Henry Swaine of New Castle county. + +[530] The officers were: Sally Clay Bennett, Maggie S. Burnham, +Mrs. Somers, Mary B. Clay. + +[531] The incorporators who formed the Board of Regents were, the +Right Rev. Thomas U. Dudley, D. D., Bishop of Kentucky; Rev. James +P. Boyce, D. D., President of the Baptist Theological Seminary; +Rev. E. F. Perkins, Rector of St. Paul's Church; Hon. I. H. +Edwards, Chancellor of Louisville Chancery Court; Theodore Harris, +President Louisville Banking and Insurance Co.; W. N. Haldeman, +President _Courier Journal_ Co.; Nicholas Finzer, President of +Finzer tobacco works; Samuel L. Avery, President B. F. Avery Co.; +G. H. Cochran, President Louisville School Board; Robert Cochran, +Commissioner of Chancery Court; Hon. Charles Godshaw, Trustee of +Jury Fund; Dr. E. A. Grant and Mr. James K. Lemon. The board was +organized by the election of Mr. Theodore Harris, _President_, Dr. +E. A. Grant, _Secretary_, and James K. Lemon, _Treasurer_. The +school opened with fifteen students, and continued until June, +1883. A lecture and practical course combined, occupy ten months of +the year--lectures being given five afternoons of each week during +the term. + +[532] _President_, Mrs. Anne W. Bodeker, Richmond; +_Vice-Presidents_, Mrs. Maria G. and Judge John C. Underwood, Mr. +and Mrs. Judge Westal Willoughby, Mr. and Mrs. Judge Lysander Hill, +all of Alexandria; Mr. R. M. Manly, Richmond; Mrs. Martha Haines +Bennett, Norfolk; Mr. Andrew Washburne and Mr. William E. Coleman, +Richmond; _Secretary_, Miss Sue L. F. Smith, Richmond; _Executive +Committee_, Rev. W. F. Hemenway, Mrs. Andrew Washburne, Mrs. Dr. E. +H. Smith, Dr. and Mrs. Langstedt, Richmond, and Mrs. Allen +(Florence Percy) of Manchester. + +[533] _President_, Gov. R. K. Scott; _Vice-Presidents_, Hon. B. F. +Whittemore, Hon. G. F. McIntyre, Gen. W. J. Whipper, Mrs. R. C. +DeLarge, Hon. D. H. Chamberlain, Mrs. A. J. Ransier, and Mrs. R. K. +Scott; _Secretary_, Miss K. Rollin; _Treasurer_, Mrs. K. Harris. + + + + +CHAPTER LV. (CONCLUDED). + +CANADA. + + +We are indebted to Miss Phelps of St. Catharines and Mrs. Curzon of +Toronto for the facts we give in regard to women's position in the +Dominion. Miss Phelps says: + + History tells us that when the thirteen American colonies + revolted and their independence was declared there were 25,000 + who adhered to the policy of King George, under the name of the + United Empire Loyalists, some of whom came to Canada, others to + Acadia and others wandered elsewhere. The 10,000 who sought a + home in Canada at once formed a government in harmony with + English laws and usages. Parliament was established in 1803 at + York, now Toronto, and during that session the first law for the + protection of married women was passed. At first, if a married + woman desired to dispose of her property, she was obliged to go + before the courts to testify as to her willingness to do so. In + 1821 a bill was passed enabling her to go before justices of the + peace. This was a great convenience, for the courts were not + always in session when it was imperative for her to sell. In 1849 + a bill was passed to naturalize women who married native-born or + naturalized subjects. In 1859, under the old parliament of + Canada, the Married Woman's Property act was passed, which in + brief provides that every woman who may marry without any + marriage-contract or settlement shall, after May 4, 1859, + notwithstanding her coverture, have, hold and enjoy all her real + estate, whether belonging to her before marriage or in any way + acquired afterward, free from her husband's debts and obligations + contracted after May 4, 1859. A married woman may also hold her + personal property free from the debts and contracts of her + husband, and obtain an order of protection for her own earnings + and those of her minor children. She may become a stockholder of + any bank, insurance company or any incorporated association, as + if she were a _feme sole_, and may vote by proxy or otherwise. A + married woman is liable on contracts respecting her own real + estate. No married woman is liable to arrest either on mesne or + final process. Any superior court of law or equity or any judge + of said court, or a judge of a surrogate court, or deputy, may, + on hearing the petition of a mother, or minor whose father is + dead, appoint her as guardian--notwithstanding the appointment of + another person by the father--of the estate to which the minor is + entitled, and of such sums of money as are necessary from time to + time for the maintenance of the minor. In 1881 a law was passed + enabling a woman to discharge a mortgage on her lands without her + husband being a party to it, while a husband cannot dispose of + his property without her consent. + + More than thirty years ago school suffrage was granted to women + on the same grounds as to male electors, and they are eligible to + all school offices. Women have, however, been slow to avail + themselves of this privilege, owing to their ignorance of the + laws and their lack of interest in regard to all public measures. + When they awake to their political rights they will feel a deeper + responsibility in the discharge of their public duties. But the + steady increase in the number of those who avail themselves of + this privilege is the one encouraging indication of the growth of + the suffrage movement in Canada. + + In 1882 the municipal act was so amended as to give married + women, widows and spinsters, if possessed of the necessary + qualifications, the right to vote on by-laws and some other minor + municipal matters. Again, in 1884, the act was still further + amended, extending the right to vote at municipal elections to + widows and unmarried women on all matters. In Toronto, January 4, + 1886, the women polled a large vote, resulting in the election of + the candidate pledged to reform. But it must be remembered that + this progressive legislation belongs only to the Province of + Ontario. + +Mrs. Curzon writes: + + In the year 1876 Dr. Emily H. Stowe--graduated in New + York--settled in Toronto for the practice of her profession. + Thoroughly imbued with the principles roughly summed up in the + term "woman's rights," and finding that her native Canada was not + awake to the importance of the subject, she lectured in the + principal towns of Ontario on "Woman's Sphere and Woman in + Medicine." By reason of the agitation caused by these lectures a + Woman's Literary Club[534] was organized in Toronto with Dr. + Stowe, president, and Miss Helen Archibald, secretary. The + triumphs scored through the efforts of this club were the + admission of women to the University College and School of + Medicine of Toronto, Queen's University and the Royal Medical + School of Kingston, and the founding of a medical school for + women in each city. When the municipal franchise was granted to + women the club decided to come out boldly as a suffrage + organization. Accordingly by resolution the Toronto Woman's + Literary Club was dissolved and the Canadian Woman Suffrage + Association[535] formed, March 9, 1883. + + McGill University at Montreal has an annex for women founded + through the munificence of one of the merchants of that + city.----Dalhousie College, Halifax, admits women on the same + footing as men. The Toronto _Mail_ says it is only a question of + time when all Canadian colleges will do the same thing.----In + 1883 the provincial legislature of Nova Scotia gave duly + qualified women the right to vote, and they exercised it very + generally the following year.----In New Brunswick the old laws + and prejudices remain, but woman suffrage has its friends and + advocates in Mrs. E. W. Fisher and Mr. and Mrs. W. Frank Hathaway + of St. Johns.----In 1885 the Mount Allison Methodist College at + Sackville, N. B., conferred the degree of M. A. on Miss Harriet + Stewart. This is the first instance of an educational institution + in the Dominion conferring such an honor upon a lady. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[534] _The Ballot-Box_ in 1880 said: "_The Citizen_ of Toronto, +Ont., has established a 'Ladies' Column' under the auspices of the +Toronto Woman's Literary Club, the first ladies' club ever formed +in Canada. This club has been in existence four years. _The +Citizen_ is said to be the first Canadian paper devoted, even in +part, to woman's interest. Heading this change 'Important Notice,' +it says: 'We have great pleasure in announcing that we have made an +arrangement with the Toronto Woman's Literary Club to occupy an +important space in our columns, for the advance of moral, social, +educational and family matters affecting woman generally. Mrs. S. +A. Curzon has charge of this column as associate editor.' The club +in a stirring salutatory defines its work and objects. It is the +intention to give, each week, a _resume_ of the current topics +concerning women, education, the franchises, the legal abilities +and disabilities of women, etc., hoping to arouse a national +sentiment among Canadian women and intelligence upon these +important subjects. This appeal is signed by Mrs. McEwen, the +president, and Emily H. Stowe, Mrs. W. J. MacKenzie, Mrs. W. B. +Hamilton and Mrs. S. A. Curzon, the executive committee." + +[535] The officers were: _President_, Mrs. Donald McEwen; +_Vice-Presidents_, Mrs. Curzon, Mrs. E. H. Stowe, M. D., Captain W. +F. McMaster, John Hallam, esq.; _Treasurer_, Mrs. W. B. Hamilton; +_Secretary_, Miss J. Foulds; _Executive Committee_, Mrs. McKenzie, +Mrs. S. McMaster, Mrs. Riches, Mrs. Miller, Miss Hamilton, Miss +McMaster, Miss Alexander, William Houston, J. L. Foulds, P. +McIntyre, Phillips Thompson, Thomas Bengough. + + +[Illustration: Mentia Taylor] + + + + +CHAPTER LVI. + +GREAT BRITAIN. + +BY CAROLINE ASHURST BIGGS. + + Women Send Members to Parliament--Sidney Smith, Sir Robert Peel, + Richard Cobden--The Ladies of Oldham--Jeremy Bentham--Anne + Knight--Northern Reform Society, 1858--Mrs. Matilda + Biggs--Unmarried Women and Widows Petition + Parliament--Associations formed in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, + 1867--John Stuart Mill in Parliament--Seventy-three Votes for his + Bill--John Bright's Vote--Women Register and + Vote--Lord-Chief-Justice of England Declares their Constitutional + Right--The Courts give Adverse Decisions--Jacob Bright secures + the Municipal Franchise--First Public Meeting--Division on Jacob + Bright's Bill to Remove Political Disabilities--Mr. Gladstone's + Speech--Work of 1871-2--Fourth Vote on the Suffrage Bill--Jacob + Bright fails of Reelection--Efforts of Mr. Forsyth--Memorial of + the National Society--Some Account of the Workers--Vote of the + New Parliament, 1875--Organized Opposition--Diminished Adverse + Vote of 1878--Mr. Courtney's Resolution--Letters--Great + Demonstrations at Manchester--London--Bristol--Nottingham-- + Birmingham--Sheffield--Glasgow--Victory in the Isle of Man--Passage + of Municipal Franchise Bill for Scotland--Mr. Mason's Resolution-- + Reduction of Adverse Majority to 16--Conference at Leeds--Mr. + Woodall's Amendment to Reform Bill of 1884--Meeting at Edinburgh-- + Other Meetings--Estimated Number of Women Householders--Circulars + to Members of Parliament--Debate on the Amendment--Resolutions of + the Society--Further Debate--Defeat of the Amendment--Meeting at + St. James Hall--Conclusion. + + +In writing a history of the woman suffrage movement, it is +difficult to say where one should begin, for although the organized +agitation which arose when John Stuart Mill first brought forward +his proposal in parliament dates back only eighteen years, the +foundations for this demand were laid with the very earliest +parliamentary institutions in England. As a nation we are fond of +working by precedents, and it is a favorite saying among lawyers +that modern English law began with Henry III. In earlier Saxon +times women who were freeholders of lands or burgesses in towns had +the same electoral rights as men. We have records of the reigns of +Mary and Elizabeth, showing that ladies of the manse, in their own +right, sent members to parliament. Down to the time of the civil +wars women were accustomed to share in the election of "parliament +men." In 1640, some women voted in an election for the county of +Suffolk, Sir Simonds d'Ewes being high-sheriff: + + Who, as soon as he had notice thereof, sent to forbid the same, + conceiving it a matter verie unworthy of anie gentleman, and most + dishonourable in such an election to make use of their voices, + although in law they might have been allowed. + +The spirit of the Puritans was not favorable to woman's equality; +but, though disused, the right was never absolutely taken away by +law. In a celebrated trial, Olive _vs._ Ingram (reign of George +II.) the chief-justice gave it as his opinion that "a person paying +scot and lot," and therefore qualified to vote, was a description +which included women; and all the writs of election down to the +time of William IV. were made to "persons" who were freeholders. +However, for all purposes of political life this right was as good +as dead, being absolutely forgotten. But still the local franchises +remained. We have no data to determine whether these were as +completely neglected as the parliamentary franchise. Parishioners +voted for overseers of the poor and for other local boards; and +women were never legally disqualified from voting in these +elections. The lowest period in the condition of women appears to +have been reached at the end of the last century, though they were +not then indifferent to politics. "You cannot," says Miss +Edgeworth's Lady Davenant, "satisfy yourself with the common +namby-pamby phrase, 'Ladies have nothing to do with politics.' * * +* Female influence must exist on political subjects as well as on +all others; but this influence should always be domestic not +public; the customs of society have so ruled it." This sentence +exactly represented ordinary English feeling. It was never +considered derogatory to an English lady to take an active part in +elections, provided she did so for some member of her family; but +of direct responsibility she had none. + +In the ferment of opinion which preceded the great Reform bill, +woman's claim to participate in it was never heard. The new +franchises which were then for the first time created applied +exclusively to _male_ persons, but in the old franchises continuing +in force, the word "person" alone is strictly used. Mr. Sidney +Smith said: + + In reserving and keeping alive the qualifications in existence + before those itself created, this statute falls back exactly to + the accustomed phraseology of the earlier acts. Whenever it + confers a new right it restricts it to every male person. + Whenever it perpetuates existing franchises, it continues them + to every person, leaving the word "male" out on system. + +This may have been little more than an oversight, or it may have +been that respect for precedent which used to be an inherent +quality in English statesmen. But it is curious that the first +petition ever, to our knowledge, presented for women's suffrage to +the House of Commons should date from this same year. It was +presented on August 3, 1832, and is the worthy predecessor of many +thousands in later times. Hansard thus describes it: + + Mr. Hunt said he had a petition to present which might be a + subject of mirth to some honorable gentlemen, but which was one + deserving of consideration. It came from a lady of rank and + fortune, Mary Smith of Stanmore, in the county of York. The + petition stated that she paid taxes, and therefore did not see + why she should not have a share in the election of a + representative; she also stated that women were liable to all the + penalties of the law, even death, and ought to have a voice in + the fixing of them; but so far from this, on their trials both + judges and jurors were of the opposite sex. She could see no good + reason for the exclusion of women from political rights while the + highest office of the State, that of the crown, was open to the + inheritance of females; and, so we understood, the petitioner + expressed her indignation against those vile wretches who would + not marry, and yet would exclude females from a share in the + legislation. The prayer of the petition was that every unmarried + female, possessing the necessary pecuniary qualifications, should + be entitled to vote for members of parliament. + +The following year Sir Robert Peel in opposing vote by ballot said: + + The theoretical arguments in favor of woman suffrage were at + least as strong as those in favor of vote by ballot. There were + arguments in favor of extending the franchise to women to which + it was no easy matter to find a logical answer. Other and more + important duties were entrusted to women. Women were allowed to + hold property, to vote on many occasions in right of that + property; nay, a woman might inherit the throne and perform all + the functions of the first office of the State. Why should they + not vote for a member of parliament? + +But Sir Robert Peel evidently had no idea that a time would come +when women would ask this question in downright seriousness. +Meanwhile the preference for the words "male person" in the new +enactments still continued. It was employed in the Municipal +Corporation Reform act, 1835; and in the Irish poor-law act of +1838, women, as well as clergymen, were expressly excluded from +election as poor-law guardians. The repeal of the corn-laws brought +the political work of women to the front; they formed local +committees, collected funds and attended meetings. In a speech on +free-trade, delivered in Covent Garden Theater January 15, 1845, +Richard Cobden said: + + There are many ladies present, I am happy to say; now, it is a + very anomalous fact that they cannot vote themselves, and yet + that they have a power of conferring votes upon other people. I + wish they had the franchise, for they would often make much + better use of it than their husbands. + +Again in 1848, in supporting a motion of Mr. Joseph Hume in the +House of Commons to the effect that the elective franchise should +be extended to all householders, Mr. Cobden said: + + A gentleman asked me to support universal suffrage on the ground + of principle, and I said to him, if it is a principle that a man + should have a vote because he pays taxes, why should not a widow + who pays taxes and is liable to serve as church-warden and + overseer, have a vote for members of parliament? The gentleman + replied that he agreed with me. + +In 1853, Mr. W. J. Fox, member for Oldham, in acknowledging the +presentation to him by the ladies of Oldham of a signet-ring +bearing the inscription, "Education, the birthright of all," spoke +strongly in favor of women having a definite share in political +life: + + If women have nothing to do with politics, honest men ought to + have nothing to do with politics. They keep us pure, simple, + just, earnest, in our exertions in politics and public life. They + have to do with it, because while the portion of man may be by + the rougher labors of the head and hands to work out many of the + great results of life, the peculiar function of woman is to + spread grace and softness, truth, beauty, benignity over all. Nor + is woman confined to this. In fact I wish that her direct as well + as indirect influence were still larger than it is in the sphere + of politics. Why, we trust a woman with the sceptre of the realm, + consider her adequate to make peers in the State and bishops in + the Church; surely she must be adequate to send her + representatives to the lower House. I know the time may not have + come for mooting a question of this sort; but I know the time + will come, and that woman will be something more than a mere + adjective to man in political matters. She will become a + substantive also. And why not? + +Other speakers and writers brought forward the same point. Jeremy +Bentham declared he could find no reasons for the exclusion of +women, though he laid no stress on the matter; Herbert Spencer in +"Social Statics" (1851), Mr. Thomas Hare in his book on +"Representation," and Mr. Mill in "Representative Government," all +discussed it. In 1843 Mrs. Hugo Reid published an excellent volume, +"A Plea for Woman," in which she maintained that "There is no good +ground for the assumption that the possession and exercise of +political privileges are incompatible with home duties." In 1841 a +strong article appeared in the _Westminster Review_, written by +Mrs. Margaret Mylne, a Scotch lady still living. Mrs. Stuart Mill's +admirably comprehensive article appeared in the same review in +1851.[536] In 1846, also, Col. T. Perronet Thompson, the well-known +anti-corn-law advocate, wrote: + + Whenever the popular party can agree upon and bring forward any + plan which shall include the equal voting of women, they will not + only obtain an alliance of which most men know the importance, + but they will relieve the theory of universal suffrage from the + stigma its enemies never fail to draw upon it, of making its + first step a wholesale disqualification of half the universe + concerned. + +Among other writers and speakers on the subject, we must also +enumerate Anne Knight, an earnest warm-hearted Quaker lady. She +sometimes lectured upon it, and many of her letters written to Mrs. +Elizabeth Pease Nichol of Edinburgh, Lord Brougham, and others, are +still preserved, in which she eagerly advocates the admission of +women to the suffrage. She assisted in founding the Sheffield +Female Political Association. On February 26, 1851, this +association held a meeting at the Democratic Temperance Hotel, +Sheffield, and unanimously adopted an address, which was the first +manifesto dealing with the suffrage ever formulated by a meeting of +women in England: + + ADDRESS OF THE SHEFFIELD POLITICAL ASSOCIATION TO THE WOMEN OF + ENGLAND--_Beloved Sisters_: We, the women of the democracy of + Sheffield, beg the indulgence of addressing you at this important + juncture. We have been observers for a number of years of the + various plans and systems of organization which have been laid + down for the better government and guidance of democracy, and we + are brought to the conclusion that women might with the strictest + propriety be included in the proclamation of the people's + charter; for we are the majority of the nation, and it is our + birth-right, equally with our brother, to vote for the man who is + to sway our political destiny, to impose the taxes which we are + compelled to pay, to make the laws which we with others must + observe; and heartily should we rejoice to see the women of + England uniting for the purpose of demanding this great right of + humanity, feeling assured that were women thus comprehended, they + would be the greatest auxiliaries of right against might. For + what would not the patient, energetic mind of woman accomplish, + when once resolved? The brave and heroic deeds which history + records are our testimony that no danger is too great, no + struggle too arduous for her to encounter; thus confirming our + convictions that woman's cooeperation is greatly needed for the + accomplishment of our political well-being. But there are some + who would say: "Would you have woman enjoy all the political + rights of men?" To this we emphatically answer: Yes! for does she + not toil early and late in the factory, and in every department + of life subject to the despotism of men? and we ask in the name + of justice, must we continue ever the silent and servile victims + of this injustice? perform all the drudgery of his political + societies and never possess a single political right? Is the + oppression to last forever? We, the women of the democracy of + Sheffield, answer, No! We put forth this earnest appeal to our + sisters of England to join hand and heart with us in this noble + and just cause, to the exposing and eradicating of such a state + of things. Let us shake off our apathy and raise our voices for + right and liberty, till justice in all its fulness is conceded to + us. This we say to all who are contending for liberty, for what + is liberty if the claims of women be disregarded? Our special + object will be the entire political enfranchisement of our own + sex; and we conjure you, our sisters of England, to aid us in + accomplishing this holy work. We remain with heartfelt respect, + your friends.[537] + +At the end of 1858 there was established in Newcastle-on-Tyne an +association called the Northern Reform Society, which had universal +suffrage for its object, and it expressly invited the contributions +of women. Letters were written by Matilda Ashurst Biggs, and +afterwards by two or three women in different parts of the country, +offering to become members. In acknowledging these letters, the +secretary stated that the Northern Reform Union only contemplated +the extension of the franchise to men, although he admitted that +many of its leading members were individually in favor of "woman +suffrage" but they believed that by asking for manhood suffrage, +they were advancing a step towards universal franchise. He added. +"The society will be very glad of women's subscriptions, and trusts +that they will use their best efforts to promote its extension." +Undoubtedly, there has never been any reluctance to accept the +subscriptions of women towards promoting the objects of men. In +commenting upon this letter, Mrs. Biggs[538] said in the _Newcastle +Guardian_, February 19, 1859: + + I have never given my rights to be merged in those of any other + person, and I feel it an injustice that I, who am equally taxed + with men, should be denied a voice in making the laws which + affect and dispose of my property, and made to support a State + wherein I am not recognized as a citizen. I consider that a + tyranny which renders me responsible to laws in the making of + which I am not consulted. The Northern Reform Society, which + "takes its stand upon justice," should claim for us at least that + we be exempted from the duties, it we are to be denied the rights + belonging to citizens. + +These books, speeches and letters though scattered and unconnected, +slowly prepared the ground for the organized agitation. Another +Reform bill grew into preparation. Men's thoughts were turned again +towards the question of representation, and every word spoken on +behalf of the enfranchisement of women assumed double force as it +drew near to a political issue. The enfranchisement of women +advanced from a question of philosophical speculation to actual +politics in the election of John Stuart Mill member of parliament +for Westminster in 1865. In his election address, Mr. Mill, as +previously in his work on representative government, openly avowed +this article of political faith. Nevertheless, the first speech of +which we have record in the House of Commons plainly vindicating +the right of women to the vote, was that of a man who differed from +Mr. Mill in every other feature of his political life and +creed--Mr. Disraeli. He used almost the same form of argument as +Sir Robert Peel had done thirty years before, but unlike the former +statesman he backed it up with his vote and personal influence for +many succeeding years. It was in 1866 that he spoke these words, +long and gratefully remembered by the women of the country: + + In a country governed by a woman--where you allow woman to form + part of the estate of the realm--peeresses in their own right for + example--where you allow a woman not only to hold land, but to be + a lady of the manor and hold legal courts--where a woman by law + may be a church-warden and overseer of the poor,--I do not see, + where she has so much to do with the State and Church, on what + reasons, if you come to right, she has not a right to vote. + +These words from Disraeli were the spark that fired the train. In +answer to a request from Miss Jessie Boucherett, Mrs. Bodichon and +Miss Bessie R. Parkes, Mr. Mill replied that if they could find a +hundred women who would sign a petition for the franchise, he would +present it to the House of Commons. A committee was immediately +formed in London, and the petition was circulated. In two or three +weeks it had received 1,499 signatures. Among these were many who +in after years took a prominent part, not only in suffrage, but in +other movements for the elevation of women. The petition was +presented by Mr. Mill in May, 1866, and was received with laughter. +He then gave notice of a motion to introduce into the Reform bill a +provision to the same effect. The committee[539] immediately began +to circulate petitions and pamphlets. Two of these were by Mrs. +Bodichon, "Reasons for, and Objections against the Enfranchisement +of Women," being the substance of a paper she had read at the +Social Science Congress, in October, 1866. We give the text of the +petition, as it differed somewhat from those circulated in after +years: + + _To the Honorable, the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great + Britain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled:_ + + The humble petition of the undersigned,--showeth, That your + petitioners fulfill the conditions of property or rental + prescribed by law as the qualification of the electoral + franchise, and exercise in their own names the rights pertaining + to such conditions; that the principles in which the government + of the United Kingdom is based, imply the representation of all + classes and interests in the State; that the reasons alleged for + withholding the franchise from certain classes of her majesty's + subjects do not apply to your petitioners. Your petitioners + therefore humbly pray your honorable House to grant to such + persons as fulfill all the conditions which entitle to a vote in + the election of members of parliament, excepting only that of + sex, the privilege of taking part in the choice of fit persons to + represent the people in your honorable House. + +This form of petition was only signed by unmarried women and widows +of full age, holding the legal qualification for voting in either +county or borough, but there were other forms for other classes of +persons. On March 28, the Right Hon. H. A. Bruce presented a +petition from 3,559 persons, mostly women. Mr. Mill, in April, +presented one with 3,161 names collected by the Manchester +committee, and the Right Hon. Russell Gurney one signed by 1,605 +qualified women, _i. e._, free-holders and householders who would +have had the vote had they been men. In all 13,497 were counted in +the parliamentary report this session; among these were many +clergymen, barristers, physicians and fellows of colleges. + +While we are on the subject of petitions we may as well briefly +glance at what was done in this branch of work during succeeding +years.[540] No better method could be found of testing public +opinion, or of affording scope for quiet, intelligent agitation. +Many friends could help by circulating petitions, distributing +literature at the same time and arguing away objections. In 1868 +there were presented 78 petitions with nearly 50,000 signatures. +One of them, headed by Mrs. Somerville and Florence Nightingale, +contained 21,000 names, and was a heavy but delightful burden which +Mr. Mill could hardly carry to the table. This petition excited +great attention. During all these years no petitions were presented +against granting the suffrage to women. These numbers were +undoubtedly a surprise to many members of parliament who were +inclined to look upon woman suffrage as an "impracticable fad," +"the fantastic crochet of a few shrieking sisters." But the +collection and arrangement of the signatures took up incalculable +time, and after a few years this method of agitation was discarded +to a great extent in the large political centres. Friends became +wearied out with the toilsome process of year by year collecting +signatures, which when presented were silently and indifferently +dropped into the bag under the table of the House of Commons. But +during the early days of the movement these petitions, signed by +all classes of men and women, were invaluable in arousing interest +in our movement. + +In 1867, for the better prosecution of the work, instead of one +committee embracing the whole of England, separate associations +were formed in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. The London +committee consisted of ladies only, Miss Frances Power Cobbe, Mrs. +Fawcett, Miss Hampson, Miss Hare, Mrs. Lucas, Mrs. Stansfeld, with +Mrs. Taylor as secretary. In the Manchester committee Mr. Jacob +Bright, M. P., at once took up the position of leader and advocate +which he afterwards so long and nobly maintained in the House of +Commons. Miss Becker was appointed secretary. The Edinburgh +committee elected Mrs. McLaren[541] for their president. At a +special general meeting, November 6, 1867, it was resolved that +these three societies should form one national society, thus +securing the advantages of cooeperation while maintaining freedom of +action. The same rule applied to societies in Birmingham, Bristol +and other towns. + +To return to the debate in the House of Commons on May 20, 1867 on +clause 4 of the Representation of the People bill. Mr. Mill moved +to leave out the word "man" and insert the word "person." His +speech has been too long before the public to need quotation; it is +a model of inductive reasoning and masterly eloquence. The debate +which followed was very unequal in character, but the division was +gratifying, for he received 73 votes (including pairs, 81); 194 +voted against him. Mr. Mill wrote afterwards to a friend: + + We are all delighted at the number of our minority, which is far + greater than anybody expected the first time, and would have been + greater still had not many members quitted the House, with or + without pairing, in the expectation that the subject would not + come on. But the greatest triumph of all was John Bright's vote. + +At the election for Manchester, held near the end of 1867 (when Mr. +Jacob Bright was elected), Lily Maxwell, whose name had been +accidentally left on the parliamentary register, recorded her vote. +No objection was taken to it by the returning officer, or by the +agents of either candidate. The _Times_ devoted a leading article +to it. The circumstance was of no legal value, but it was useful to +show that a woman could go through the process of recording a vote +in a parliamentary election even before the Ballot act was passed. +The idea gained ground that by the new Reform act the right to vote +had been secured to women. The Reform act of 1867, sec. 3, declares +that: + + Every man shall in and after the year 1868 be entitled to be + registered as a voter, and when registered, to vote for a member + to serve in parliament. + +In the substitution of the word "man" for that of "male person" +in the Reform act of 1832, a great difference was already +discernable, but this difference was more important when taken into +conjunction with what was popularly known as "Lord Romilly's act," +an act for shortening the language used in acts of parliament (13 +and 14 Vict.). This act provides, "that all words importing +the masculine gender shall be deemed and taken to include +females, unless the contrary is expressly provided"; and in the +Representation of the People act there was no express provision to +the contrary. This had been pointed out by one or two members at +the time. + +Accordingly the several societies united in a systematic endeavor +to procure the insertion of women's names on the registers of +electors under the new Reform act. A circular respectfully +requesting the boards of overseers to insert on the list of voters +the names of all persons who had paid their rates, was sent to +several hundred boards in different parts of the country. Very few +replies were received, but women were placed on the lists in many +counties, in Aberdeen, Salford and many small districts in +Lancaster, Middlesex, Kent, etc. The overseers of Manchester +declined compliance. In that city there were 5,100 women +householders who claimed their votes, and when the revision courts +were opened in September, this claim came on for consideration. The +case was ably argued, but the revising barrister decided against +admitting it, granting, however, a case for trial at the Court of +Common Pleas. Another case was also granted, being that of Mrs. +Kyllman, a free-holder, her claim being under the old free-holding +franchise 8 Henry VI., to wit.: + + Elections of knights of the shire shall be made in each county by + people dwelling and resident therein of whom each has free-hold + to the value of L40 by the year. + +In the majority of districts the revising barristers disallowed the +claims; but in four district-revision courts the women's names were +admitted. In Finsbury, one of the metropolitan boroughs, Mr. +Chisholm Anstey was revising barrister, and he admitted them on +account of ancient English law; in Cockermouth, Winterton and two +townships of Lancashire, the revising barrister admitted them upon +his interpretation of the Reform act taken in conjunction with Lord +Romilly's act. In the suffrage report for this year the number of +women placed on the electoral roll by these decisions is estimated +at about 230, but undoubtedly there were others concerning whom no +information was received. In many cases the women voted: 15 did so +in Finsbury (not only was there no disturbance, but hardly any +remark was made, and they expressed their surprise that it was so +easy a thing to do); 12 in Gordon and 10 in Levenshulme, both +little districts in Lancashire, and smaller numbers in other +places. In Chester the parliament candidate issued his election +placards to "Ladies and Gentlemen." + +On November 7, the case of the 5,000 Manchester women householders +was argued before the Court of Common Pleas. Mr. J. D. Coleridge +(now Lord Coleridge, Lord-chief-justice of England) and Dr. +Pankhurst were the counsel for the appellants. Mr. John Coleridge +in an able argument spoke of the ancient constitutional right of +women to take part in elections. He produced copies from the record +office of several indentures returning members to parliament, the +signatures of which were in the hand-writing of women, or to which +women were parties. He argued that the term "man" in the Reform act +included woman, not only generally but specifically, under the +provisions of Lord Romilly's act. The case was argued before +Lord-chief-justice Boville; the decision was given on November 9, +and decisively pronounced that the new Reform act had never +intended to include women, and that they were incapacitated from +voting. This decision did not affect the women who were already on +the register, and many voted in the general election which took +place afterwards. Thus women have been shut out from electoral +rights, not by any decree of parliament, but by this decision of +the Court of Common Pleas. However there was no appeal from this +Court, except to parliament, and from this time forward the +character of the agitation changed. The year 1868 ended with a +legal decision which seemed crushing in its finality, while the +same year had given the most conclusive proof that women wished to +vote, and would do so whenever the opportunity offered. + +The next year, 1869, gave another convincing proof that women were +eager to vote, and brought us the most substantial triumph yet +obtained, due to the wisdom and skilful tactics of Mr. Jacob +Bright, member of parliament for Manchester. This victory was the +municipal franchise for women. Early in 1869 Mr. Hibbert introduced +a bill to regulate the conditions of the municipal franchise. By +the Municipal Corporation Amendment act, passed in 1835, male +persons only were authorized to vote. The present bill was to amend +that. Mr. Jacob Bright, seconded by Sir Charles Dilke and Mr. +Peter Rylands, proposed the omission of the word "male" from the +bill, and the insertion of a clause securing to women the right of +voting in municipal elections. Mr. Hibbert concurred in the +introduction of these amendments, though he did not anticipate they +would lead to any result beyond a discussion. A circular containing +full information upon the ancient and existing rights of women to +vote in local affairs was sent to each member of parliament by the +Manchester committee. It showed that before the passing of the +Municipal Corporation act of 1835, women rate-payers had rights +similar to those of men in all matters pertaining to local +government and expenditure; and that in non-corporate districts +they still exercised such rights, under the provisions of the +Public Health act, and other statutes guarding the electoral +privileges of the whole body of rate-payers. But when any district +was incorporated into a municipal borough, the women rate-payers +were disfranchised, although those not included within its +boundaries remained possessed of votes. It showed also that women +can vote in parochial matters, and take part in vestry meetings, +called for various purposes, such as the election of church-wardens +and way-wardens, the appointment of overseers, the sale of parish +property, and, formerly, the levying of church-rates; also that +they can vote in the election of poor-law guardians--that in fact, +in none of those ancient voting customs, was the sex of the +ratepayers taken into consideration as either a qualification or +disqualification. We quote from the Manchester society: + + In the House of Commons on June 7, 1869, on consideration of the + Municipal Franchise bill as amended, Mr. Jacob Bright rose to + move that in this act and the said recited act (Municipal + Corporation Reform act, 1835) wherever words occur which import + the masculine gender, the same shall be held to include females + for all purposes connected with and having reference to the + election of or power to elect representatives of any municipal + corporation. He stated that his object was to give the municipal + vote to every rate-payer within the municipal limits; to give to + municipal property the representation which all property enjoyed + elsewhere; that had the proposition been an innovation, a + departure from the customary legislation of the country, he would + not have brought it in as an amendment to a bill; but that his + object was to remove an innovation--to resist one of the most + remarkable invasions of long-established rights which the + legislation of this or any other country could show. The bill + before the house was an amendment of the Municipal Corporation + act of 1835. That act was the only act in regard to local + expenditure and local government which established this + disability. Before and since, all acts of parliament gave every + local vote to every rate-payer. The Health of Towns act of 1848 + had a clause almost identical with the one he was moving. He was + therefore asking the House not only to make the bill in harmony + with the general legislation of the country, but to allow it to + be in harmony with its latest expressed convictions as shown in + the act of 1848. There were in England 78 non-corporate towns + which were not parliamentary boroughs, with populations varying + from 20,000 to 6,000. In these every rate-payer voted. There was + little if any difference between their government and that of + municipal towns. Who could assign a reason why women should vote + in one and not in the other? Every parochial vote was in the + hands of the whole body of rate-payers. Women held the most + important parochial offices. The sister of the member for + Stockport had acted as overseer. Miss Burdett Coutts had been + urged to take the office of guardian. Had she been a large + rate-payer in a municipal town, what an absurdity to shut her out + from the vote! He then showed how the process of disfranchisement + was going on, and quoted Darlington and Southport. The latter + town was incorporated in 1867. In 1866, 2,085 persons were + qualified to vote for commissioners; 588 of these were women. + From the moment of incorporation these votes were extinguished + without a reason being assigned, though they had exercised them + from time immemorial. Such would be the case with any town + incorporated in the future. He appealed to the metropolitan + members, and showed them that unless his clauses were carried, + when they came to establish corporations throughout the + metropolis, as some of them desired, all the female rate-payers + would be struck off the roll; that over a population of 3,000,000 + this exclusion would prevail. He stated that where women had the + vote they exercised it to an equal degree with the men. Mr. + Lings, the comptroller for the city of Manchester, affirms that + according to his experience the number of men and women who vote + in local affairs bears a just proportion to the number of each on + the register. He showed that as the bill was a largely + enfranchising measure, his clause was in strict harmony with it, + but that while the bill sought to increase the representation of + those who were already considerably represented, the clause which + he wished to add would give representation to those who within + municipal towns were totally deprived of it. He concluded by + saying that questions had come to him, since these amendments had + been on the paper, from women in different parts of the country, + and from those who by their social and intellectual positions + might be regarded as representatives of their sex, asking why + there should always be this tender regard for the representation + and therefore the protection of men, and this apparent disregard + for the interest of women; and he appealed to the House, by its + decision, to show that as regards these local franchises it had a + common regard for the whole body of rate-payers. + +Mr. Jacob Bright's motion, which he supported with all the tact, +earnestness and judgment of which he afterwards gave such repeated +proofs in bringing forward his Women's Disabilities bill, was +seconded by Mr. Rylands. Mr. Bruce (the home secretary) said he +had shown conclusively that this proposition was no novelty, and +that women were allowed to vote in every form of local government, +except under the Municipal Corporations act. The clause introduced +no anomaly, and he should give it his cordial support. Mr. Hibbert +also supported the clause, which was agreed to amid cheers, and it +was passed without a dissentient word or the faintest shadow of +opposition, as was also the proposal of Sir Charles Dilke, to leave +out the word "male" in the first clause. + +In the House of Lords an attempt was made by Lord Redesdale to +reverse the decision of the House of Commons, but the proposal +found no seconder, and therefore fell to the ground. The Earl of +Kimberley, on behalf of the government, supported the proposition, +as did also Lord Cairns, from the opposition benches. The Municipal +Franchise bill became law in August, 1869. One well-known statesman +said at the time, "This is a revolution; this vote means still +another, and there never was so great a revolution so speedily +accomplished." In 1869 the Ballot act had not been passed; this was +in the days of open voting. It was therefore possible to ascertain +with accuracy in how large a proportion the women householders +availed themselves of their restored right to vote whenever a +contested election took place. On the following November a letter +of inquiry was sent to the town clerk of every municipal borough in +England and Wales, and by their courtesy in replying it was +ascertained that the women voted in very large numbers. In our +municipal towns the average ratio of women householders to men +householders is about one to seven. This varies greatly in +different localities. In Tewkesbury, for instance, there was only +one woman householder to twenty-three men householders, while in +Bath the proportion had risen as high as one to three. The women +voters were in about the same proportion. In the larger boroughs +the proportion was especially good, while there were cases in which +the polling of the women exceeded that of the men. In Bodmin, +Cornwall, two women voted, one of whom was 92 and the other 94 +years of age. + +The first public meeting in connection with women's suffrage was +held in Manchester, April 14, 1868, in the assembly room of the +Free Trade Hall. The occasion was one of great interest. Mr. Henry +D. Pochin, the mayor of Salford (which adjoins Manchester), took +the chair, and the first resolution was moved by Miss Becker, +seconded by the venerable Arch-deacon Sandford, and supported by +Mr. T. B. Potter, M. P.: + + _Resolved_, That the exclusion of women from the exercise of the + franchise in the election of members, being unjust in principle + and inexpedient in practice, this meeting is of opinion that the + right of voting should be granted to them on the same conditions + as it is or may be granted to men. + +The other resolutions were spoken to by Dr. Pankhurst, Mrs. Pochin +(who had also written a very exhaustive pamphlet on "The Claim of +Woman to the Elective Franchise," signed, _Justitia_), Mr. Chisholm +Anstey, Mr. Jacob Bright, M. P., Miss Annie Robertson of Dublin, +Mr. F. W. Myers, fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Mr. J. +W. Edwards. This meeting, and the one which followed in Birmingham, +May 6, are fair types of those which have followed by thousands. +With few exceptions they have been addressed by men and women +jointly; the resolutions passed have generally been of a directly +practical and political character. They have been presided over, +whenever possible, by the chief magistrate, or some other +well-known man in the locality; in comparatively few cases have +women presided, and very seldom, indeed, strangers. Thus they have +been modeled closely on the ordinary English political meeting; and +this form, quite apart from the principles discussed at the +meetings, has done much to identify women's suffrage with the +practical politics of the day. The first meeting ever held in +London (July, 1869,) excited much attention. Admittance here was by +ticket. Mrs. Peter A. Taylor took the chair; Miss Biggs read the +report, and a noble array of speakers followed.[542] + +The principle of women's suffrage was unhesitatingly conceded by +the passing of the Municipal Amendment act of 1869. The time was +come to demand its application in parliamentary elections. +Moreover, the decision of the Court of Common Pleas had left no +mode of action possible except for parliament to reverse that +decision. Mr. Jacob Bright, therefore, on the first day of the +session gave notice of his intention to introduce a bill to remove +the electoral disabilities of women. Sir Charles Dilke, a Liberal, +and Mr. E. B. Eastwick, a Conservative, also gave their names on +the back of the bill. + + A BILL _to remove the Electoral Disabilities of Women_: + + Be it enacted by the Queen's most excellent Majesty, by and with + the advice and consent of the Lords, spiritual and temporal, and + Commons in this present parliament assembled, and by the + authority of the same, as follows: + + _First_--That in all acts relating to the qualification and + registration of voters or persons entitled or claiming to be + registered and to vote in the election of members of parliament, + wherever words occur which import the masculine gender, the same + shall be held to include females for all purposes connected with, + and having reference to the right to be registered as voters, and + to vote in such elections, any law or usage to the contrary + notwithstanding. + +On February 16, the bill was read for the first time, and on May 4, +it came on for its second reading. Mr. Jacob Bright earnestly +appealed to the House to grant this measure of justice: + + The women who are interested in this subject, he concluded, are + only acting in the spirit of one of the noblest proverbs of our + language, "God helps those who help themselves." Is it a matter + of regret to us that they should have these aspirations? Ought it + not rather to be a subject of satisfaction and of pride? That + this bill will become law, no one who has observed the character + of this agitation and who knows the love of justice in the + British people can doubt. I hope it will become law soon, for I + have a desire which will receive the sympathy of many in this + House. I have a strong desire that when our children come to read + the story of their country's fame, it may be written there that + the British parliament was the first great legislative assembly + in the world, which, in conferring its franchises, knew nothing + of the distinctions of strong and weak, of male and female, of + rich and poor. + +The result of the division surprised and cheered all the supporters +of the measure. The government was neutral, and members of the +cabinet voted on either side according to their own opinions. The +second reading was carried by a vote of 124 to 91, being a majority +in its favor of 33. Those who witnessed that division will never +forget the grateful enthusiasm with which Mr. Jacob Bright was +received when he came up to the ladies' gallery, with his wife +leaning upon his arm. But our triumph was short-lived. Before the +bill went into committee, a week later, it became known that the +government intended to depart from its attitude of neutrality. A +strong pressure was exercised to crush the bill, and the contest of +course became hopeless. On the division for going into committee +220 votes were counted against 94 in its favor. + +It became evident that we were in for a long contest, which would +require not only patience, courage and determination, but a high +degree of political sagacity. Organizations had to be perfected, +and additional societies established; meetings had to be called, +and lectures given to explain the question. In March of this year +the _Women's Suffrage Journal_ was established in Manchester. Miss +Becker has conducted this monthly from the beginning with great +talent and spirit; it is frequently quoted by the ordinary press, +and its pages contain the best record extant of the movement. This +same year of 1870, which witnessed our first parliamentary defeat, +brought compensation also of such magnitude as to outweigh the +temporary overthrow of the franchise bill. This was the Elementary +Education act, by which women were not only admitted to vote for +school-board candidates, but expressly enabled to sit on these +boards, and thus exercise not only elective, but legislative +functions of the most important character. The election clause +reads thus: + + The school-board shall be elected in the manner provided by this + act, in a borough by the persons whose names are on the burgess + roll of such borough for the time being in force, and in a parish + not situated in the metropolis, by the rate-payers. + +In London, with the sole exception of the city, the persons who +elect the vestries, _i. e._ the rate-payers, are the electors--this +includes women as a matter of course. In the city only, +the electors were to be the same persons who elected +common-council-men, and as these included men only, women are thus +excluded from voting in the school-board election, though even here +it may be observed they are eligible to sit on the board. Thus, +within the space of two years, two important measures were extended +unexpectedly. + +In 1871 Mr. Jacob Bright again introduced the Women's Disabilities +Removal bill, and it was also supported by Mr. Eastwick and Dr. +Lyon Playfair. It was thrown out in the division upon the second +reading on May 3, by a majority of 69; 151 (including tellers and +pairs 159) voting for it, and 220 (including tellers and pairs 228) +voting against it. The most remarkable feature of the debate was a +speech made by Mr. Gladstone, which certainly justified the +confidence that women have subsequently entertained that the great +minister was willing to see justice done to them: + + The ancient law recognized the rights of women in the parish; I + apprehend they could both vote and act in the parish. The modern + rule has extended the right to the municipality, so far as the + right of voting is concerned.... With respect to school-boards, I + own I believe that we have done wisely, on the whole, in giving + both the franchise and the right of sitting on the school-board + to women. Then comes a question with regard to parliament, and we + have to ask ourselves whether we shall or shall not go + further.... I admit, at any rate, that as far as I am able to + judge, there is more presumptive ground for change in the law + than some of the opponents of the measure are disposed to + own.... I cannot help thinking that, for some reason or other, + there are various important particulars in which women obtain + much less than justice under social arrangements.... I may be + told that there is no direct connection between this and the + parliamentary franchise, and I admit it, but at the same time I + am by no means sure that these inequalities may not have an + indirect connection with a state of law in which the balance is + generally cast too much against women, and too much in favor of + men. There is one instance which has been quoted, and I am not + sure there is not something in it--I mean the case of farms.... I + believe to some extent in the competition for that particular + employment women suffer in a very definite manner in consequence + of their want of qualification to vote. I go somewhat further + than this, and say that so far as I am able to form an opinion of + the general tone and color of our law in these matters, where the + peculiar relation of men and women is concerned, that law does + less than justice to women [hear, hear], and great mischief, + misery and scandal result from that state of things in many of + the occurrences and events of life. [Cheers.] ... If it should be + found possible to arrange a safe and well-adjusted alteration of + the law as to political power, the man who shall attain that + object, and who shall see his purpose carried onward to its + consequences in a more just arrangement of the provisions of + other laws bearing upon the condition and welfare of women, will, + in my opinion, be a real benefactor to his country. [Cheers.] + +In another portion of his speech Mr. Gladstone said that the +personal attendance of women in election proceedings, until the +principle of secret voting should be adopted, was in his eyes an +objection of the greatest force--thus giving reason to believe that +as soon as vote by ballot was secured, this objection would be +removed. Mr. Gladstone did not on this occasion vote against the +bill, but left the House without voting. + +In 1872, our indefatigable leader again moved the second reading of +the bill on the 4th of May. His speech was calm and masterly, and +he was ably supported, but the division remained much the same; 143 +for the bill and 222 against it. This year the Scotch Education +bill was passed, which extended the voting of women and their +election on school-boards to Scotland; thus the principle of direct +representation on a matter so important as national education was +recognized. The Ballot act also, which at once rendered elections +orderly and safe, henceforth gave increased security and comfort to +women who were voting in municipal elections. + +In this year a new committee was established in London called the +Central committee, to which all other branches of the society had +the right of appointing delegates, and the movement received +thereby a considerable increase of strength and solidity.[543] + +Meantime each branch of the society was working away indefatigably. +During 1871, the _Suffrage Journal_ recorded 135 public meetings, +and during 1872, 104 in England and 63 in Scotland. The work in +Scotland was chiefly carried on in the way of lectures by Miss Jane +Taylour, who during these early years of the movement was an +untiring and spirited pioneer, Miss Agnes McLaren often +accompanying her and helping her to organize the meetings. + +We must not omit to mention Mary Burton (sister of John Hill Burton +the historiographer of Scotland), who was also one of the most +energetic workers of the Edinburgh committee, especially in the +north of Scotland; and Mrs. Dick Lauder who had the courage to free +herself from the opinions in which she had been educated, and with +much sacrifice devoted herself to the work. Space fails us fitly to +record the indomitable efforts of Eliza Wigham, one of the +honorable secretaries of the Edinburgh committee. In England, Mrs. +Ronniger organized and spoke at many meetings, as did Mrs. Fawcett, +Miss Rhoda Garrett, Miss Becker, Miss Craigen and, less frequently, +Mrs. Josephine Butler, Lady Amberley, Miss Annie Young and others. +Mrs. Grote, wife of the historian and herself a well-known author, +took part in one meeting held in Hanover Square rooms, London, on +March 26, 1870. Mrs. Grote was then upwards of seventy years of +age. Rising with great majesty, she spoke with all the weight that +age, ability and experience could give, greatly impressing her +audience. Miss Helen Taylor, step-daughter of John Stuart Mill, +also made her maiden speech at this meeting; it was delivered with +much grace, excellent in thought as in manner. + +Many additional local committees were established, and good work +was done by familiarizing the public mind with the principles of +the association. Ward meetings were held in which the women +burgesses and municipal voters were assembled, and while the +responsibilities of the vote they already possessed were pointed +out to them, attention was called to the prior importance of the +vote which was withheld from them. + +In 1873, for the fourth time, our unwearied champion, Mr. Jacob +Bright, brought forward his bill. This time the second reading was +fixed for April 30. He was supported in the debate by Mr. Eastwick, +Sergeant Sherlock, Lord John Manners, Mr. Fawcett, Mr. Heron, Mr. +Henley, and Sir J. Trelawny. While all these gentlemen deserved our +thanks for the able assistance they rendered the cause, the speech +of Mr. Henley, Conservative member for Oxfordshire, so old a member +that he was styled the "Father of the House," excited special +attention. He said he had once felt considerable doubt and dislike +of the measure, but after careful watching of the way in which +women gave the local votes, he had come to the conclusion that an +extension of the principle would be useful. The votes in favor of +the bill increased at this debate to 155 (with tellers and pairs +172), a larger number than had ever before been obtained, while the +opposition remained stationary. + +Along with the petitions of this year were two memorials signed by +upwards of 11,000 women, and presented to Mr. Gladstone and Mr. +Disraeli. Every English county, with the exception of the smallest, +Rutland, and most large towns sent representative signatures. An +effort was made this session by Mr. William Johnston, the member +for Belfast, to introduce amendments into the Irish Municipal bill, +which would have had the effect of extending the municipal +franchise to Irish women householders. But the bill was withdrawn, +and similar efforts made in subsequent years have met with the like +fate. + +This year the death of Mr. John Stuart Mill saddened the hearts of +all. He will never be forgotten as the first man who carried this +question into the arena of practical politics and gave it the +weight of an honored name. The strength and vitality of the +movement were further tested by a disaster which threatened to do +it a lasting injury. The general election took place early in the +spring of 1874, and to the regret and consternation of the friends +of equal suffrage, their able and devoted leader, Mr. Jacob Bright, +lost his seat for Manchester--a loss in a great degree attributable +to his unshrinking advocacy of an unpopular question. Never did his +clients, for whom he had sacrificed so much, feel so deeply the +need of the power which the franchise would have given them to keep +so good a friend in the House of Commons. Not only was Mr. Bright +defeated, but Mr. Eastwick, the friend who had always seconded the +bill, also lost his seat with about seventy others of our +supporters. We were thus compelled to look around for fresh +leaders. The task of bringing in a bill was accepted by Mr. +Forsyth, the Conservative member for Marylebone, one of the London +boroughs; with him were associated Mr. Stansfeld, Mr. Russell +Gurney and Sir R. Anstruther, men differing widely on matters of +party politics. The bill was introduced early in the session, but +no day was found for it, and in the middle of July it was +withdrawn. Considerable discussion was excited by the unexpected +action of Mr. Forsyth, who on his own responsibility inserted in +the bill an additional clause by which married women were +especially excluded from its operation. Although the insertion of +this clause would probably have made no difference, the bulk of +legal opinion being that under the law of coverture, married women +even when possessed of property are not "qualified persons," yet +the society joined in requesting that this additional clause should +be dropped and the original form of the bill adhered to. + +Memorials, signed by upwards of 18,000 women headed by Florence +Nightingale, Harriet Martineau, Lady Anna Gore Langton (sister of +the Duke of Buckingham), Frances Power Cobbe, Anna Swanwick, were +again this year forwarded to Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Gladstone. An +important memorial was also forwarded from a large conference held +in Birmingham in January, which represents very accurately the +special aspects of the question in England. The president of the +conference was Mrs. William Taylor, sister-in-law of Mr. Peter A. +Taylor, M. P.: + + _To the Right Honorable William Ewart Gladstone, M. P., First + Lord of Her Majesty's Treasury:_ + + The memorial of members and friends of the National Society for + Women's Suffrage, in conference assembled at Birmingham, January + 22, 1874, showeth, that your memorialists earnestly desire to + urge on the attention of her majesty's government the justice and + expediency of abolishing the disability which precludes women, + otherwise legally qualified, from voting in the election of + members of parliament. + + They submit that the disability is anomalous, inasmuch as it + exists only in respect to the parliamentary franchise. The + electoral rights of women have been from time immemorial equal + and similar to those of men in parochial and other ancient + franchises, and in the year 1869 a measure was passed, with the + sanction of the administration of which you are the head, + restoring and confirming the rights of women ratepayers to the + exercise of the municipal franchise. + + The electoral disability is further anomalous, because by the law + and constitution of this realm, women are not disabled from the + exercise of political power. Writs, returning members to serve + in the House of Commons, signed by women as electors or returning + officers, are now in existence, and the validity of such returns + has never been disputed. Women who were heirs to peerages and + other dignities exercised judicial jurisdiction and enjoyed other + privileges appertaining to such offices and lordships without + disability of sex. The highest political function known to the + constitution may be exercised by a woman. The principle that + women may have political power is coeval with the British + constitution. On the other hand the practice of women taking part + in voting at popular elections is equally ancient in date, and + has been restored and extended by the action of the present + parliament. Your memorialists therefore submit that to bring the + existing principle and practice into harmony by removing the + disability which prevents women who vote in local elections from + voting in the election of members of parliament, would be a step + in the natural process of development by which institutions, + while retaining the strength and authority derived from the + traditions of the past, and preserving the continuity of the + national life, continually undergo such modifications as are + needed in order to adapt them to the exigencies of the age and + the changed conditions of modern life. + + They also submit that the old laws regulating the qualifications + of electors do not limit the franchise to male persons; that the + laws under which women exercised the parochial franchise were + couched in the same general terms as those regulating the + parliamentary suffrage, and that while the latter were not + expressly limited to men, the former were not expressly extended + to women. There is, therefore, a strong presumption that the + exclusion of women from the parliamentary suffrage was an + infringement on their ancient constitutional rights, rendered + possible in a barbarous age by the comparative weakness and + smallness of the number of persons affected by it, and continued + until the exclusion had become customary. The franchise of women + in local elections has been from time to time under judicial + consideration, and their right to take part in such elections has + been repeatedly confirmed by the judges. During the arguments in + these cases, the question of their right to vote in the election + of members of parliament was frequently mooted and conflicting + opinions thereon incidently expressed by various judges, but the + matter was never judicially decided, and no authoritative + judgment was ever given against the right until the year 1868, + after the passing of two modern acts of parliament in 1832 and + 1867, the former of which for the first time in English history, + in terms, limited the franchise created by it to every "male + person," and the latter to every "man" qualified under its + provisions. Your memorialists submit that had the question of the + right of women to vote in the election of members of parliament + been raised in the law courts under the old statutes which + contain no reference to sex, and before the passing of the + limiting acts of 1832 and 1867, that the precedents which had + determined the right in their favor in the construction of the + law as to local government must have been held to apply to the + case of qualified freeholders or others who claimed the right as + regards parliamentary government. + + They submit also, that even after these limiting acts, women had + reasonable grounds for claiming the suffrage under the existing + law. There is an act of parliament which declares that "in all + acts, words importing the masculine gender shall be deemed and + taken to include females, ... unless the contrary is _expressly + provided_." The act of 1867 contained clauses imposing personal + liabilities and pecuniary burdens on certain classes of + ratepayers. In these clauses, as in the enfranchising clauses, + and throughout the act, words importing the masculine gender were + alone used. No provision was made that these words should not + include females. Accordingly in enforcing the act the extra + liabilities and burdens were imposed on women ratepayers, to many + of whom they caused grievous hardship. There was, therefore, + reason to expect that the enfranchising clauses would bear the + same interpretation, inasmuch as they were confessedly offered as + an equivalent for the increased liabilities. But when the women + who had been subjected to the liabilities claimed their votes, + they found that words importing the masculine gender were held to + include women in the clauses imposing burdens, and to exclude + them in the clauses conferring privileges, in one and the same + act of parliament. + + This kind of injustice was shown in a marked manner in the case + of certain women ratepayers of Bridgewater, who, in a memorial + addressed to you in 1871, set forth the grievance of most heavy + and unjust taxation which was levied on them, in common with the + other householders of that disfranchised borough, for the payment + of a prolonged commission respecting political bribery. The + memorialists felt it to be unjust and oppressive, inasmuch as, + not exercising the franchise nor being in any way directly or + indirectly concerned in the malpractices which led to the + commission, they were nevertheless required to pay not less than + three shillings in the pound according to their rental. To that + memorial you caused a reply to be sent through Mr. Secretary + Bruce, stating that "it was not in the power of the secretary of + State to exempt women owning or occupying property from the local + and imperial taxation to which that property is liable." While + fully admitting this, your memorialists beg to represent that it + is in the power of the legislature to secure to women the vote + which their property would confer, along with its liability to + local and imperial taxation, were it owned or occupied by men. + + They submit that this concession has recently been granted in + respect to local taxation, and that if justice demands that Women + should have a voice in controlling the municipal expenditure to + which their property contributes, justice yet more urgently + demands that they should have a voice in controlling the imperial + expenditure to which the same property is liable. The local + expenditure of the country amounts to about L30,000,000, the + imperial expenditure to about L70,000,000 annually; if, + therefore, the matter be regarded as one of taxation only, the + latter vote is of more importance than the former. Local + government deals with men and women alike, and knows no + distinction between male and female ratepayers. But imperial + government deals with men and women on different principles, and + in such a manner that whenever there is any distinction made in + the rights, privileges and protection accorded to them + respectively, the difference is always against women and in favor + of men. They believe this state of things is a natural result of + the exclusion of women from representation, and it will be found + impracticable to amend it until women are admitted to a share in + controlling the legislature. + + By the deprivation of the parliamentary vote, women, in the + purchase or renting of property, obtain less for their money than + men. In a bill which passed the House of Commons last session, + provision was made for the amalgamation in one list of the + municipal and parliamentary registers of electors. In that list + it appeared that the same house, the same rent and the same taxes + conferred on a man the double vote in municipal and parliamentary + government, and on a woman the single vote only, and that the + less honorable and important one. When the occupation of a house + is transferred from a man to a woman, say to the widow of the + former owner, that home loses the privilege of representation in + the imperial government, though its relations with the + taxgatherer continue unaltered. There have been various societies + formed with a view to enable persons to acquire portions of + landed or real property, partly for the sake of the vote attached + to such property. Should a woman purchase or inherit such an + estate, the vote, which has been one important consideration in + determining the value, would be lost through her legal disability + to exercise it. + + The deprivation of the vote is a serious disadvantage to women in + the competition for farms. A case is recorded of one estate in + Suffolk from which seven widows have been ejected, who, if they + had possessed votes, would have been continued as tenants. A + sudden ejection often means ruin to a family that has sunk + capital in the land, and it is only too probable that no day + passes without the occurrence of some such calamity to some + unhappy widow, who, but for the electoral disability, might have + retained the home and the occupation by which she could have + brought up her family in comfort and independence. + + Besides this definite manner in which the electoral disability + injures women farmers, it has a more or less directly injurious + influence on all self-dependent women who maintain themselves and + their families by other than domestic labor. A disability, the + basis of which is the presumed mental or moral incapacity of the + subject of it to form a rational judgment on matters within the + ordinary ken of human intelligence, carries with it a stigma of + inferiority calculated to cause impediment to the entrance on or + successful prosecution of any pursuit demanding recognized + ability and energy. This presumed incapacity is probably the + origin of the general neglect of the education of women, which is + only now beginning to be acknowledged, and the absence of + political power in the neglected class renders it difficult if + not impossible to obtain an adequate share for girls in the + application of educational funds and endowments. So long as women + are specifically excluded from control over their parliamentary + representatives, so long will their interests be postponed to + claims of those who have votes to give; and while parliament + shall continue to declare that the voices of women are unfit to + be taken into account in choosing members of the legislature, the + masses of men will continue to act as if their wishes, opinions + and interests were undeserving of serious consideration. + + It is now nearly two years since you, in your place in the House + of Commons, said that the number of absolutely self-dependent + women is increasing from year to year, and that the progressive + increase in the number of such women is a very serious fact, + because those women are assuming the burdens that belong to men; + and you stated your belief that when they are called upon to + assume those burdens, and to undertake the responsibility of + providing for their own subsistence, they approach the task under + greater difficulties than attach to their more powerful + competitors. Your memorialists therefore ask you to aid women in + overcoming these difficulties, by assisting to place them, + politically at least, on a level with those whom you designate as + "their more powerful competitors." + + One of the greatest hindrances in the path of self-dependent + women is the opposition shown by members of many trades and + professions to women who attempt to engage in them. The medical + and academical authorities of the University of Edinburgh have + successfully crushed the attempt of a small band of female + students to qualify themselves for the medical profession, and + the same spirit of "trades unionism" is rife in the industrial + community. A few months ago the printers of Manchester, learning + that a few girls were practicing type-setting, and endeavoring to + earn a little money thereby, instantly passed a rule ordaining a + strike in the shop of any master printer who should allow type + set up by women to be sent to his machines to be worked. At the + present time, in a manufacturing district in Yorkshire where + there are "broad" and "narrow" looms, at the former of which much + more money can be earned, the men refuse to allow women to work + at the broad looms, though they are quite able to manage them, + because the work is considered too remunerative for women. At + Nottingham there is a particular machine at which very high wages + can be earned, at which women now work, and the men, in order to + drive them out of such profitable employment, have insisted on + the masters taking no more women on, but as those at present + employed leave, supplying their places by men. A master + manufacturer reports: "We have machines which women can manage + quite as well or better than men, yet are they not permitted by a + selfish combination of the strong against the weak." These are + only samples of the cases that are constantly occurring of + successful attempts to drive women out of remunerative + occupations. Your memorialists submit that women would be more + able to resist such attempts if they had the protection of the + suffrage; and that men would be less likely to be thus aggressive + and oppressive if they had learned to regard women as their + political equals. + + Besides the restrictions on the industrial liberties of women + effected by combinations of men, there are existing and proposed + legislative restrictions from which men are exempt, and which + exercise a powerful influence on the market for their labor. For + the coming session we have the proposal further to limit their + hours of paid labor in factories, and to place other restrictions + on their labor in shops; also a proposition to place married + women on the footing of half-timers. Without here expressing any + opinion as to the wisdom of these proposals, we urge that members + of the House of Commons would be more capable of dealing with + them in a just and appreciative spirit if they were responsible + for their votes to the persons whose interests are directly + concerned and whose liberties they are asked to curtail; and, + further, that it is a grave question how far it is safe to trust + the industrial interests of women, as a class, to the + irresponsible control of the men who have manifested to + individuals and to sections of working women the spirit indicated + by the examples we have cited. + + In the same speech you spoke of a state of the law in which the + balance is generally cast too much against women and too much in + favor of men. Since you directed your attention to this matter, + you have not been able either to introduce or to assist others + who have introduced measures to ameliorate the state of the law + respecting women, and such proposals have been unable to win + consideration from parliament. Your memorialists cannot believe + that this neglect has arisen from want of a desire on your part + to deal with the grievances under which you have admitted that + your countrywomen suffer; they are therefore led to the + conclusion that you have been unable to take into consideration + the affairs of an unrepresented class, owing to the preoccupation + of parliament with the concerns of those to whom it is directly + responsible. + + You stated that "the question was, to devise a method of enabling + women to exercise a sensible influence, without undertaking + personal functions and exposing themselves to personal + obligations inconsistent with the fundamental particulars of + their condition as women," and that the objection to the personal + attendance of women at elections was in your mind an objection of + the greatest force. They respectfully submit that the exercise of + the municipal franchise involves the personal attendance of women + at the polls, and that since your words were uttered changes have + been effected which render the process of voting absolutely + identical for municipal and parliamentary elections, and the + whole proceeding perfectly decorous and orderly. Experience has + proved that women can vote at municipal elections without + prejudice to the fundamental particulars of their condition as + women, whatever these may be; and this experience shows that they + may vote in parliamentary elections without the smallest personal + prejudice or inconvenience. The school-board elections have also + shown that women can appeal to large constituencies and go + through the ordeal of public meetings, addresses and questions + from electors, to which men must submit who seek the suffrages of + a great community, without any sacrifice of womanly dignity, or + of the respect and consideration accorded to their position and + their sex. They therefore submit that events have obviated the + objections you entertained in 1871 to the proposal to give + representation to women, and that the course taken by the + administration over which you preside in assenting to the + extension of the municipal and school-board franchise to them; in + calling them to the public functions of candidates and members of + school-boards; and lastly, of securing the passing of a law which + renders the process of voting silent and secret, have taken away + all reasonable grounds for objecting on the score of practical + inconvenience to the admission of women to the exercise of a + vote, which they would have to give in precisely the same manner, + but not nearly so often, as those votes which they already + deliver. + + It has been said that there is neither desire nor demand for the + measure, and further, that women do not care for and would not + use the suffrage if they possessed it. But the demand for the + parliamentary franchise is enormously greater than was the demand + for the municipal franchise, and for the school-board franchise + there was no apparent call. Yet these two measures were passed + purely on their own merits, and it was not held to be necessary + to impose on their promoters, over and above the obligation to + make out their case, the condition that a majority of the women + of England or of a particular district should petition for the + proposed boon. Experience proved the wisdom and justice of this + course, for although women throughout the country had taken no + active part in agitating for the municipal franchise, no sooner + was the privilege accorded than they freely availed themselves of + it, and statistics obtained from some of the largest boroughs in + the kingdom show that from the first year that women possessed + the suffrage, they have voted in about equal proportion with men + to the number of each on the register. The parliamentary vote is + more honorable and important than the municipal vote; it is, + therefore, safe to conclude that women who value and use the + latter will appreciate and exercise the former as soon as it + shall be bestowed upon them. Your memorialists submit that great + injustice and injury are done by debarring these women from a + voting power which there is such strong presumptive ground for + believing that they would freely exercise but for the legal + restraint. + + Your memorialists are especially moved to call your attention to + the urgency of the claim at the present time, when a bill + extending the application of the principle of household suffrage + is about to be proposed to parliament, which bill received last + year such expressions of approval from members of her majesty's + government as to lead to the belief that they are willing to take + the proposal into serious consideration. They submit that the + claim and the need for representation of women householders are + even more pressing than that of agricultural laborers. The + grievances under which women suffer are equally great, and the + demand for the franchise has been pressed by a much greater + number of women and for a much longer period of time than in the + case of county householders now excluded. The number of persons + who petitioned last session for the County Franchise bill and for + the Women's Disabilities bill respectively were, for the former, + 1,889, and for the latter, 329,206. The latter bill has received + most influential support from both sides of the House, and more + votes have been recorded in its favor than have been given for + any bill not directly supported as a party measure by one or + other of the great parties in the State. Under these + circumstances your memorialists earnestly request that you will + use your influence as leader of the House of Commons and of the + government to secure the passing of the bill introduced by Mr. + Jacob Bright, either as a substantive enactment, or as an + integral portion of the next measure that shall be passed dealing + with the question of the representation of the people. + + Signed on behalf of the conference, + + CAROLINE M. TAYLOR, _President_. + +The first vote that was given by the new parliament was on April 7, +1875, Mr. Forsyth having moved the second reading in an able +speech. It at once became manifest that the question had made great +progress in the country. In spite of the loss of the seventy +friends at the preceding general election, our strength in the new +parliament had greatly increased. Including tellers and pairs, 170 +voted for the bill, and only 250 against. This result appears to +have alarmed our opponents, who proceeded to form an association of +peers, members of parliament and other influential persons, to +resist the claims of women to the suffrage. They issued a circular +which will be read by future generations with a smile of +amazement.[544] + +It may have been partly owing to the influence of this association +that the next year, when Mr. Forsyth again brought forward his +bill, April 26, 1876, although the numbers of our friends and +supporters remained undiminished, the opponents had considerably +increased. This was due, also, no doubt, in great degree to the +unexpected attitude taken on this question by the Right Hon. John +Bright, the most powerful living advocate for freedom and +representative government. In Mr. Mill's division of 1867, Mr. +Bright had voted in favor of the measure, and while his brother had +charge of the bill, he had never opposed it. His opposition speech +in this debate, therefore, caused extreme disappointment and +discouragement. It had little of the force which had always +characterized his pleas for political justice. The most eloquent +voice in the House of Commons lost its magic power when no longer +inspired by truth. The women in the gallery listened with sorrowful +hearts. Though they knew Mr. Bright's opinion could not block the +wheels of progress, yet they felt intense regret that so honored a +friend to freedom should abandon his most cherished principles when +applied to women. + +The parliamentary history of the next few years may be very briefly +recorded. In 1877 the bill had again passed into the hands of our +beloved leader, Mr. Jacob Bright, who had resumed his place in the +House of Commons, as member of parliament for Manchester. After a +debate of great interest, and while our advocate, Mr. Leonard +Courtney, was speaking, the opponents of the measure burst into a +tumultuous uproar, which effectually drowned his voice. This new +method of setting up shouts and howls in place of arguments, has +since been brought to bear on more than one public question, but it +was then comparatively novel. Mr. Courtney, nothing daunted, would +not give way, and when six o'clock, which is the hour for closing +the debates on Wednesday, struck, it was no longer possible to take +a division. + +The following year, 1878, Mr. Jacob Bright was unable from failing +health to continue in charge of the bill in the House of Commons, +and a deputation of members from each society waited on Mr. +Courtney and placed it in his hands. June 19, was set for the +second reading. In his speech Mr. Courtney dwelt on the benefits +that may accrue to women from representation. He added: + + The political reasons for granting the prayer of the bill appear + to me to be undeniable, but I confess they are not the reasons + why I most strongly support it. I believe it will develop a + fuller, freer and nobler character in women by admitting them + into the sphere of political thought and duty. Some may say, "But + what is to be the end?" I do not know that we are always bound to + see the goal towards which we are moving. If we are moving on + right principles; if we are actuated by a feeling of justice; if + the hand that moves above us and leads us on is a hand in which + we can place implicit confidence,--then I say, trust to that + light, follow that hand, without fear of the future. + +The bill was again lost by 219 votes against 140, thus showing a +smaller adverse majority than on the last division. This year Mr. +Russell Gurney died. His name will always be associated with the +women's suffrage movement, which he had supported ever since Mr. +Mill's division in 1867. The death of Lady Anna Gore Langton about +this time was also a severe loss. + +The last time that the question was brought before that parliament +was the following summer, 1870. Mr. Courtney, after taking counsel +with his parliamentary friends, made an important change in the +conduct of his measure. It had hitherto been brought forward as a +bill, which, if passed, would have made the actual change desired +in the law; as the parliament was now verging towards its close, it +was thought wiser to test the opinion of the House by bringing the +question forward in the form of a resolution. Two purposes were +served by this change: one was that many men who were in favor of +the principle of women's suffrage had objected to it when brought +forward as an isolated measure of reform involving a large addition +to the constituency, and possibly therefore a new election; the +other was, that the time for discussion of a private member's bill +is very limited. On Wednesdays, when such bills come on, the House +only sits in the morning, and the debate must be concluded at a +quarter before six, while the forms of the House afford greater +facilities for discussing and voting upon motions. Mr. Courtney in +a clear and exhaustive speech moved his resolution as follows: + + That in the opinion of this House it is injurious to the best + interests of the country that women who are entitled to vote in + municipal, parochial and school-board elections when possessed of + the statutory qualifications, should be disabled from voting in + parliamentary elections, although possessed of the statutory + qualifications, and that it is expedient that this disability + should be forthwith repealed. + +The debate was animated, but the result on division was much the +same as before: 113 (including tellers and pairs, 144) voting for +it, and 217 (with tellers and pairs, 248) against it. Thus closed +the ninth parliament of Victoria, as far as women's suffrage was +concerned. + +The steady perseverance and unflagging courage of the devoted band +of men and women had achieved victories at many points along the +line of attack.[545] Every suffrage meeting was the means of +gaining converts. The agitation for the suffrage kept the memory of +women's wrongs and grievances fresh before the public mind. These +years saw the medical profession legally thrown open to women, and +facilities given them in school and hospital for obtaining that +education which had been hitherto sought abroad. Pharmacy no longer +excluded them. London University opened its gates. The Irish +Intermediate Education bill, in 1878, which was originally +introduced for boys only, was, after several energetic discussions, +widened, so as to include girls. Women began to be elected as +poor-law guardians. A Scotch Married Women's Property bill was +passed, which was a great improvement on the former law. A +Matrimonial Causes Amendment act was also carried, which enables +magistrates to grant a judicial separation to wives who are +brutally treated, along with a maintenance for their children. Some +of our friends regretted that these side issues should absorb the +time of those who might otherwise have been working exclusively for +suffrage; but this was a short-sighted fear. By broadening the +basis of work, by asking simultaneously for better laws, better +education, better employments and wider fields of usefulness, the +sympathies of more women were engaged; while underlying and +supporting all was the steady agitation for the suffrage with its +compact organization of committees, meetings, publications and +petitions which kept parliament awake to the fact that though still +disfranchised, women had claims which it could not afford to +ignore. + + +[Illustration: Priscilla Bright McLaren] + + +This was a time when the agitation for the suffrage had apparently +reached a stationary condition, neither advancing nor receding, in +which it was destined to remain for some years longer. Other +causes, as the abolition of West Indian slavery and the corn laws, +have had a similar period of apparent torpor succeeding the first +activity. Justin McCarthy in his "History of our own Times," says: + + This is, from whatever cause, a very common phenomenon in our + political history. A movement which began with the promise of + sweeping all before it, seems to lose all its force, and is + supposed by many observers to be now only the care of a few + earnest and fanatical men. Suddenly it is taken up by a minister + of commanding influence, and the bore or the crotchet of one + parliament is the great party controversy of a second, and the + accomplished triumph of a third. + +During the year of 1879, it was thought desirable to ascertain by +some practical test what were the various reasons which caused +thinking women to wish for the suffrage; and letters were addressed +to ladies who were eminent either in literature or art, or who were +following scientific or professional careers, or were engaged in +any form of philanthropic work. The answers that were returned were +collected into a pamphlet of exceeding interest, which was sent to +each member before the debate, and it was amazing to watch from the +gallery how the little green pamphlet was consulted and quoted +from, in the most opposite quarters of the House, by friends who +sought fresh arguments from it or by enemies who were looking for +some sentence on which to base a sarcasm.[546] + +As a specimen of these letters Miss Frances Power Cobbe said: + + So far from the truth is the reiterated statement of certain + honorable members of parliament that women do not desire the + franchise, that in my large experience I have scarcely ever known + a woman possessed of ordinary common sense, and who had lived + some years alone in the world, who did not earnestly wish for it. + The women who gratify these gentlemen by smilingly deprecating + any such responsibilities, are those who have dwelt since they + were born in well-feathered nests, and have never needed to do + anything but open their soft beaks for the choicest little grubs + to be dropped into them. It is utterly absurd (and I am afraid + the members of parliament in question are quite aware they are + talking nonsense) to argue from the contented squawks of a brood + of these callow creatures, that full grown swallows and larks + have no need of wings, and are always happiest when their pinions + are broken. + +The production of this pamphlet marked an era in women's suffrage +literature. It was impossible after this to doubt that a large body +of thinking women, not the queens of society, but the women who +wrote, read, thought, or worked, were in favor of having full +admission to political rights and responsibilities. + +The chief work of the society had now crystallized into five or six +great centres. Edinburgh, under the presidency of Mrs. McLaren, +assisted by Miss Wigham and Miss Kirkland, treasurer and secretary, +was the recognized centre of activity for Scotland. In Ireland +there was a committee in Dublin, of which Mrs. Haslam is the most +active member; and the North of Ireland Committee, led by Miss +Isabella Tod.[547] The three principal associations in England were +those of London,[548] including the east and north-east counties; +Manchester,[549] taking charge of the north of England and Wales, +and Bristol[550] looking after the West. The officers of the +several committees of the three kingdoms form a National Central +Committee which has its headquarters in London and superintends all +of the work bearing specially upon the action of parliament. + +Petitions were still sent in, but no longer in such enormous +numbers. It had become evident that parliament cared little for a +long roll of names from the unrepresented classes; they were now +chiefly collected as a means of discovering how public opinion +stood in any particular district. For instance, in 1879, a petition +was sent from 1,447 women householders of Leicester. The total +number of women householders in this town was 2,610, of whom only +1,991 could be applied to, and there is no reason to suppose that +public opinion was more advanced in Leicester than in the majority +of large manufacturing towns. + +The municipal elections occur in England every November, and our +custom in some towns was to call meetings of the women householders +in every ward in which there was a contest, to explain to them the +responsibilities resting upon the voters, and after an earnest +address from some one of the ladies, to invite the respective +candidates to speak. By these means not only was the interest of +the women awakened in local politics, but the candidates themselves +were reminded of the interests of an important section of their +constituencies. + +With the beginning of 1880, came again the promise of a reform +bill. The majority of the Liberal members of the House of Commons +had pledged themselves to their constituents in its favor. But as +our enemies were still reiterating that women themselves did not +care for the franchise, some further proof of their sympathy was in +order. The first great demonstration in favor of women was held in +Free Trade Hall, Manchester, which seats about 5,000 people, +February 3, where women were admitted free, and seats reserved for +men in the gallery at 2s. 6d. each. This arrangement was adopted to +make it a meeting of women. One hundred gentlemen were present +besides the reporters. + +The purpose of the demonstration had been explained at preliminary +ward meetings to which men and women came in crowds. On the night +in question the scene exceeded the most sanguine expectations. +Those who had witnessed the great free trade gatherings which +assembled to hear Charles Villiers, Richard Cobden and John Bright, +never saw a more enthusiastic audience. Mrs. Duncan McLaren of +Edinburgh, who had been invited to preside, took her seat followed +by an array of distinguished women, such as had never before graced +any platform in the history of the three kingdoms, while the vast +area and galleries were crowded with women of wealth and culture; +factory women, shop-keepers and hard toilers of every station were +also there. Some had walked twenty miles to attend that great +meeting. They sat on the steps of the platform, climbed on every +coigne of vantage, stood in dense masses in every aisle and corner. +A large over-flow meeting was also held in the neighboring Memorial +Hall over which Mrs. Lucas presided, but even this could not +accommodate all who came, and thousands went away disappointed. It +was truly a marvelous meeting, grand in its numbers, grand in the +enthusiasm which had brought so many thousands together unattracted +by the names of any distinguished speakers, to sympathize with +each other in a great national movement, and to proclaim unity of +action until it was gained; and it was grand also in the +impressiveness of the words that were uttered. The president in her +clear grave tones which were heard in the breathless stillness over +that large assembly, said: + + It seems like a dream. But only a grave reality could have + brought so many women together. Need we wonder that the + beneficent designs of Providence have been so imperfectly carried + out when only one-half the intellect and heart of the nation have + hitherto been called into action, and the powers of the other + half have been almost wholly suppressed? Women are learning along + with good men that politics in the true sense has to do with + human interests at large. + +When Mrs. McLaren had concluded, one speaker after another, gave +her special testimony in favor of the necessity of obtaining +representation. The number was so great that no one was allowed +more than ten minutes.[551] + +This demonstration was quickly followed by others that were every +way as successful. In connection with one at St. James' Hall, +London, over which Viscountess Harberton presided, a procession of +working women marched through the streets with a banner on which +was inscribed "We're far too low to vote the tax; we're not too low +to pay." Here also an overflow meeting was held to accommodate the +numbers that could not be admitted into the hall. On November 4, +the same scene was repeated at the Colston Hall, Bristol, and Mrs. +Beddoe, the wife of a popular physician in that city presided, and +on November 11, the last demonstration of that year was convened in +the Albert Hall, Nottingham, where Mrs. Lucas took the chair. The +following year saw no relaxation in these efforts. The Birmingham +demonstration took place on February 22, 1881. It was a most +inclement night and great fears had been entertained that it would +prove a failure, but nothing had power to keep the crowds of women +away or to lessen their enthusiasm. Mrs. Crosskey, the wife of Dr. +Crosskey, one of the most respected of the Birmingham Liberal +leaders, presided. The next was in St. George's Hall, Bradford, on +November 22, and here again Mrs. McLaren took the chair, and said: + + We are here to-night in the spirit of self-sacrifice. We have had + our sorrows in working on this question. We are here because we + know there are on our statute books unjust laws which subject + many women to sorrow and suffering, and the fact that we have + worked our way to such a platform proves that women are capable + of holding a political position, and ought to have a voice in our + national affairs. We cannot rest contented under the + consciousness of injustice because there are women who accept it + as their natural condition. We feel it our duty to arouse our sex + everywhere to a sense of their high destiny. The inspiration for + this work has come from a higher source than ourselves, and we + have had often to feel that God does not leave his children to + fight their battles alone. + +In 1882 there were two more demonstrations. The first was in Albert +Hall, Sheffield, on February 27, Lady Harberton presiding, and it +was crowded to overflowing with women of all ranks and conditions +of society. The demonstration at Glasgow was on November 3, and no +way inferior to the other in brilliancy and interest.[552] + +These demonstrations conclusively proved that the suffrage is +desired, not only by a few educated women, the leaders of the +movement, but by the great masses of the hard-working women. They +proved also woman's political capacity and organizing power. No +body of persons could possibly do more to manifest their desire for +political liberty than the women who have organized and attended +these demonstrations. So far as I am aware no such meetings +have been attempted by the agricultural laborers over whose +enfranchisement the House of Commons has been so deeply exercised, +and though the absence of interest which these classes of men have +as a whole shown in the question of the franchise is no argument +for depriving them of it, the political knowledge and aspirations +that women have shown for more than fifteen years ought to count +for something in establishing their claim. + +The session of 1880 was broken, and the dissolution of parliament +in March, the general election which followed, the change in the +government and the consequent press of public affairs, made it +impossible to bring forward any measure for the suffrage, but the +principle was most splendidly and triumphantly vindicated in the +ancient kingdom of the Isle of Man which has an independent +government dating from the time of its first colonization under the +vikings. It has in modern times its elective house which is called +the House of Keys and is equivalent to the Commons. Its Upper House +consists of the attorney-general, the clerk of the rolls, the +bishop, two judges (or deemsters) and other officials. It enacts +its own laws and imposes its own taxes, but is subject to imperial +control by requiring the sanction of the queen before any law can +come into effect. Some few years ago the franchise was felt to be +too restricted, and a movement was set on foot which culminated in +1880 in a bill to extend the franchise to every male person who was +a householder. Mr. Richard Sherwood, who five years previously had +brought forward a similar motion, moved an amendment to omit the +word "male" for the purpose of extending the franchise to women who +possessed the requisite qualification, which was carried by 16 to +3, a vote of two-thirds of the whole body of the House of Keys. It +then went before the Council which refused the franchise to female +occupiers and lodgers, though agreeing to give it to all female +owners of real estate of L4 annual value. Thus modified the bill +was sent back to the House of Keys which gave up the lodger +franchise but adhered to that for occupiers. The bill thus altered +was again sent back to the Council and again returned with a +message that the Council refused to come to an agreement. The Keys +then proposed a compromise, limiting the qualification to woman +occupiers of L20 a year. This again was refused, and the Council +were prepared to reject the bill altogether. Sooner than lose the +whole, the Keys assented, signing, however, a protest in which they +stated that they had complied simply to secure a part of a just +principle rather than lose the whole. The act was signed by the +governor, the Keys and the Council on December 21, received the +royal assent on January 5, 1881, and was immediately afterwards, +according to ancient custom, proclaimed as law on the Tynwald Hill. + +Fully to estimate this victory, it must be remembered that the vote +thus gained is the complete parliamentary franchise. Though the +total area of the island is so small and though only those women +who were absolutely owners of property were enfranchised, they +numbered about 700. The law came into operation immediately, and +the election began March 21. The women voted in considerable +numbers, and were, as an eye-witness states, without exception +quite intelligent and business like in this procedure. At the +polling stations, the first persons who recorded their votes were +women. We may mention in proof of their political gratitude that in +the district where Mr. Sherwood was one of the candidates, every +woman, whatever her party, voted for his reelection. + +Just before the opening of parliament in 1881, Mr. Courtney +accepted a position in the administration, which rendered it +impossible for him to continue in charge of any independent +measure. By his advice, application was made to Mr. Hugh Mason, +member for Ashton under Lyme. But the state of public business +during the session never permitted the resolution to be discussed. +The same disappointment occurred in the session of 1882--the +difficulties in Ireland and Egypt occupying the attention of the +government and the country to an extent which almost precluded any +measure of domestic reform. Nevertheless, by constant and arduous +efforts, these two years witnessed the passing of the Municipal +Franchise bill for Scotland. + +The Municipal Franchise act of 1869 applied to English women only. +Early in the session of 1881, Dr. Cameron, member for Glasgow, +introduced a bill to assimilate the position of Scottish women to +that which their English sisters had enjoyed for twelve years. The +bill passed the House of Commons before Easter, and was then +brought forward in the House of Lords by the Earl of Camperdown, +passed May 13, and received the royal assent June 3. This law +applied only to women rate-payers of the royal and parliamentary +burghs, and did not extend to the police burghs, the populous +places endowed with powers of local self-government under the +general Police and Improvement act of 1862. A request was sent to +Mr. Cameron to exert himself for a similar extension of the +franchise to the women of the police burghs, and he answered by +introducing in the following year, 1882, another act which gave to +all women rate-payers the right, not merely of voting at elections +of burgh commissioners, but also of voting with the other +inhabitants as to whether a populous place should be constituted a +police burgh. + +The election under these new measures was in November, 1882, and +then Scottish women voted for the first time, excepting of course +in school-board elections. The result was entirely satisfactory, +though the number of women who voted varied greatly--in some places +where no special interest attached to the election none came to +vote, while in others they voted in equal proportion with the men, +and in a few towns nearly every woman whose name was on the +register voted. The passing of these two franchise bills was an +undoubted triumph of the women's suffrage party. As one of the +opponents in the debate of July, 1883, scornfully observed, "Had it +not been for the question of women's suffrage being agitated +throughout the country at the time, we should not have heard a +syllable of the Scottish women's franchise bill," a sneering +admission which we willingly construe into compliment. + +The year 1882 also witnessed the passing of the Married Women's +Property act, whose immense benefits can hardly be estimated, and +we may confidently assert that but for the unceasing agitation of +the friends of women's suffrage, another quarter of a century would +have been suffered to pass without bringing in this tardy measure +of justice.[553] + +We now come to the session of 1883, inoperative as far as actual +legislation was concerned, but rich in its augury for the future. +Already in April the improved temper of the House on questions in +which women were concerned, had been shown by the brilliant +majority that voted with the Rt. Hon. Mr. Stansfeld for the +suppression of the Contagious Diseases acts which have so long +stained the English statute book. Early in May a memorial to Mr. +Gladstone was signed by 110 Liberal members of parliament, +unconnected with the government, in which they stated: + + That in the opinion of your memorialists no measure for the + assimilation of the county and borough franchise will be + satisfactory unless it contain provisions for extending the + suffrage without distinction of sex to all persons who possess + the statutory qualifications for the parliamentary franchise. + +This memorial was a most remarkable manifestation of the support +which members on the Liberal side of the House are pledged to give +to the principle of justice to women. Nor are we wanting in +Conservative support. Sir Stafford Northcote, has always given his +friendly approval to the movement, and has very recently repeated +his assurances of cooeperation in answer to a deputation of ladies +who waited on him. After repeated balloting, Mr. Mason obtained a +day, July 6, on which to bring forward his resolution. It was thus +worded: + + That in the opinion of this House the parliamentary franchise + should be extended to women who possess the qualifications which + entitle men to vote, and who, in all matters of local government + have the right of voting. + +Mr. Edward Leatham, also a Liberal, gave notice to oppose the +resolution affirming with a curious liberalism, that "it is +undesirable to change the immemorial basis of the franchise, which +is that men only shall be qualified to elect members to serve in +this House." Thus after a silence of four years, years of apparent +inertia, but really fraught with progress, the debate once again +revived in parliament. Mr. Jacob Bright said: + + They have told us women can get what they want without the + franchise. That used to be said of working men--but since they + have had a vote, members in every part of the House have had a + generosity and sympathy and courage in all matters affecting + working men which they never had before. Precisely the same + effect would follow if you gave women the franchise. I admit that + women have gained much without the franchise, and I will tell the + House when that gain began: It began with the introduction of the + question of women's suffrage to the House, and the gain has been + mainly due to the awakening intelligence of women on political + questions owing to the wide-spread agitation and the demand for + women's suffrage. They have gained without the franchise, + municipal votes, school-board votes, the right to sit on + school-boards, the magnificent act of last year--an act which + ought to confer lasting fame on the present lord chancellor--the + Married Women's Property act. And owing to the untiring energy of + the right honorable member for Halifax (Mr. Stansfeld), they have + succeeded in inflicting a blow on an act of parliament[554] more + unjust to women than anything which has ever been passed, a blow + from which that act will never recover. These things have been + gained without the franchise. But who will tell me they would not + have gained them sooner, with less heart-breaking labor, if they + had had the political franchise? + +Mr. Courtney also addressed the House in stirring words. The result +was most encouraging. Four years had passed since a division had +been taken, and the enormous majority against us which in so many +divisions had maintained its strength had dwindled to only 16. A +total of 164, including tellers and pairs supported the resolution +against an opposition of only 180. If the Liberal side of the House +had only been canvassed on this occasion it would have been a +victory, as 119 Liberals voted for it and paired, and only 75 +against it. + +With the close of the session the question was transferred to the +country, and the events of the autumn made it amply evident that +the majority of Liberals were in favor of extending the +parliamentary suffrage to women. A great conference was held in +October at Leeds, where delegates from between 500 and 600 Liberal +organizations were present. Fully 2,000 delegates were present at +the first meeting. After a long discussion upon the coming Reform +bill, the Rev. T. Crosskey, of Birmingham, proposed a rider to the +resolution which would include women's suffrage, as follows: + + _Resolved_, That, in order to meet the just expectations of the + country, and to fulfill the pledges given at the last general + election, this conference is of opinion that a measure for the + extension of the franchise should confer on householders in the + counties the same electoral rights as those enjoyed by + householders in parliamentary boroughs; _and that, in the opinion + of this meeting, any measure for the extension of the suffrage + should confer the franchise upon women, who, possessing the + qualifications which entitle men to vote, have now the right of + voting in all matters of local government_. + +Mr. Walter McLaren seconded Dr. Crosskey in an able speech, and +Miss Jane Cobden (daughter of the late Richard Cobden) who was +sitting on the platform, and who had been appointed delegate from +the Liberal association of Midhurst, supported the resolution. She +begged them, representing as they did the Liberal principles of all +England, to give it their hearty support. This was a continuation +of the struggle in which Liberals had taken part during the last +fifty years, and she trusted they would be true to their +principles. + +Mrs. Helen Bright Clark, the daughter of Mr. John Bright, M. P., +who had been appointed delegate from one of the few Liberal +associations which comprise women among their members, said: + + There was in this country a considerable and increasing number of + earnest women of strong liberal convictions, who felt keenly the + total exclusion of their sex from the parliamentary suffrage. + Their hope was, of course, in the Liberal party, though all of + its members were not yet converted to true liberalism. The + Liberal women would not rest satisfied until there was throughout + the United Kingdom a real and honest household suffrage. They + knew that they were weak in the cabinet, and they regretted to + know that some of the most eminent leaders of the Liberal party + were not in this matter wholly their friends. These leaders had + fears which she thought the future would show to have been + unfounded. But she could venture to say on behalf of the Liberal + women of England that they were not unmindful of the past, and + were not ungrateful for the services which these men rendered and + were prepared to render to their country. Women were grateful. + They sympathized with the efforts of Liberal statesmen in the + past, and they knew how faithfully and loyally to follow. But + they felt that they must sometimes originate for themselves, and + they dared not blindly and with absolute faith follow any man, + however great or however justly and deeply beloved. Further, she + could say that, with the result of the high political teaching + they had had in the past, they would endeavor faithfully, + intelligently and with what ability was given to them, to uphold + those great principles of justice, and trust in the people which + she believed had made the Liberal party what it was, and which + alone were capable of lifting it to the highest triumphs in the + future. + +There were enthusiastic cheers when Mrs. Clark had finished +speaking. The historical interest, the self-evident justice of the +plea brought forward by the daughters of the great reform leaders +on behalf of the continuance of the grand cause of freedom for +which their fathers had so bravely battled, went to the hearts of +the crowded assembly. Delegates who had come determined to vote +against the resolution--the "monstrous political fad," as one of +our opponents in parliament had called it--said, almost with tears +in their eyes, "We can't vote against the daughters of Bright and +Cobden," and when the resolution with the rider was put, a forest +of hands went up in its support, and in that vast crowd there were +only about thirty dissentients. The following evening Miss Jane +Cobden and Mrs. Scatcherd addressed an open-air meeting of 30,000 +men who could not gain access to Victoria Hall, where John Bright +was speaking on the franchise for men, and a unanimous cheer was +given in favor of women's suffrage. + +This was only the beginning of the autumn campaign among the +Liberal associations. The general committee of the Edinburgh United +Liberal Association met on November 16, 1883, in the Oddfellows' +Hall (No. 2), Forrest road, Edinburgh, to consider the questions of +the Local Government Board (Scotland) bill, the equalization of the +burgh and county franchise, and the extension of the parliamentary +vote to women householders. After the two first subjects had been +considered, the following resolution, moved by ex-Bailie Lewis, was +adopted: + + _Resolved_, That this meeting regards the extension of the + parliamentary franchise to female householders as just and + reasonable, and would hail with satisfaction the introduction of + a government measure which would confer the parliamentary + franchise upon all female householders, whether resident in + counties or burghs. + +November 21, a meeting of the general council of the Manchester +Liberal Association was held in the Memorial Hall to consider the +resolutions passed at the Leeds conference. Mr. J. A. Beith +presided. Mr. J. W. Southern moved the following resolution: + + _Resolved_, That in order to meet the just expectation of the + country and to fulfill the pledges given at the last general + election, this council is of opinion that a measure for the + extension of the franchise should confer on householders and + lodgers in the counties the same electoral rights as those + enjoyed by householders and lodgers in parliamentary boroughs, + and should extend to Ireland the franchise enjoyed by Great + Britain; and that, in the opinion of this meeting, any measure + for the extension of the suffrage should confer the franchise + upon women who, possessing the qualifications which should + entitle men to vote, have now the right of voting in all matters + of local government. + +An amendment to strike out the portion relating to women having +been rejected, the resolution was carried unanimously. November 26, +the sixth annual meeting of the National Liberal Association was +held at Bristol. Here also one or two ladies were present as +delegates. After a resolution affirming the urgency of the question +of parliamentary reform had been passed, Mr. Lewis Fry, M. P., +moved: + + _Resolved_, That in the opinion of this meeting any measure for + the extension of the suffrage should confer the franchise upon + women who, possessing the qualifications which entitle men to + vote, have now the right of voting in all matters of local + government. + +The resolution was seconded by Dr. Caldicott, supported in +excellent speeches by Mrs. Walter McLaren and Mrs. Ashworth +Hallett, and carried by a majority of five. Many other Liberal +associations of less importance, during the autumn, affirmed the +principle of women's suffrage. All the political associations in +Ulster, both Conservative and Liberal, either formally or +informally signified their acceptance of the principle. In the +progress of the movement it was very encouraging to see so many +brave women[555] of ability crowding our platform, conscientiously +devoting their time, talents and money to this sacred cause, ready +and able to fill the vacant places that time must make in our +ranks. + +The year 1884 opened with good hopes. There was the immediate +prospect of a reform bill, intended so to widen the representation +of the people as to fix it on a satisfactory basis for another +generation at least. The time seemed opportune for the attainment +of women's suffrage. There had been repeated proof that the +majority of the Liberal party in the country admit the justice of +their claims; there were renewed promises of support on the part of +members of parliament of all shades of political opinion. Many +times the claims of women for the franchise have been set aside by +the assertion that so important a privilege could not be granted +till the time came for the general re-settlement of the question. +That time appeared to have come. A considerable extension of the +suffrage was to be granted, so as to include another 2,000,000 of +unenfranchised men; what better time to recognize the claims of +women who already possessed the qualifications of property or +residence which alone in England give the vote? A few persons +expected that the government Reform bill would contain a clause +relating to women, but this expectation was not generally shared. +It was well known that strong differences of opinion existed in the +cabinet which would render it well-nigh impossible for the +government to introduce the question as one of their own; and +though there may have been disappointment, there was no great +surprise when the Franchise bill, on its introduction, was found to +contain no reference to women. + +Meanwhile there had been a change in the leadership of the +movement. Mr. Hugh Mason having intimated his intention to resign +the conduct of the measure, Mr. William Woodall, member of +parliament for Stoke-on-Trent, consented to take charge of it. A +conference of friendly members of parliament was held in the House +of Commons on February 7, and it was then agreed that should the +government Franchise bill not extend to women, an amendment with +the object of including them should be moved at some stage of the +discussion in the House of Commons. Mr. Woodall agreed to take +charge of this amendment. + +On February 28, Mr. Gladstone moved in the House of Commons for +leave to bring in a bill to amend the representation of the people. +The forms of the House did not admit of Mr. Woodall's amendment +being placed on the notice-paper until after the second reading of +the bill, but during the adjourned debate on the second reading he +found an opportunity to announce that he would move his proposed +clause while the House was in committee on the bill. He remarked +that the fundamental principle of the bill as it was described by +the prime minister was to give a vote to every household, but as +there was no provision for giving the franchise to such +householders if they happened to be women, he intended to propose +the insertion of a clause to remedy this omission. The clause was: + + For all purposes connected with and having reference to the right + of voting in the election of members of parliament, words in the + Representation of the People acts importing the masculine gender + include women. + +A careful analysis of the opinions of members of the House of +Commons gave every promise that such an amendment might be +successful. The views of 485 out of the entire number were known, +while 155 had never expressed an opinion, about one-third of these +being new members. Of those whose opinions were known, 249, or a +majority, had expressed themselves in favor of women's suffrage, +236 had expressed themselves against it. The preponderance of +support had hitherto always been among the Liberal ranks, for +though the leaders of the Conservative party had given the +principle their hearty approval, their example had not been +followed by their partisans. It appeared probable therefore that, +if the government held itself neutral on the occasion and permitted +fair play, the amendment would be carried mainly by means of their +own friends. + +During the spring, meetings of considerable importance were held in +the country. The first was at Edinburgh on March 22. It was a +demonstration of women inferior in no respect to those we have had +occasion to chronicle of former years. No more imposing assemblage +for a political object had ever been seen in Edinburgh. The largest +hall in the city--that of the United Presbyterian Synod--was +crowded to the doors, and an overflow meeting was held in the +Presbytery Hall. Banners were hung above the platform and a roll +inscribed with the names of the principal supporters of the +movement was conspicuously displayed.[556] Lady Harberton occupied +the chair and was accompanied by the delegates.[557] Letters[558] +of sympathy were read by Miss Wigham, the secretary. + + LADY HARBERTON said: If our legislators say taxation and + representation should go together, it is right that they should + give expression to this opinion fairly and openly, and at all + times and seasons insist upon it that those women who are + ratepayers and who are in fact heads of households, ought not to + be excluded from the privilege of voting for a member to + represent them in the House of Commons. This is no question of + women usurping the place of men or any trivialities of that kind; + it is a much more serious matter. The exclusion of women from the + right to representation has already led to laws being passed + about them and their interests, that I do not hesitate to call a + disgrace to humanity. [Cheers.] That they are not more commonly + recognized as such is due, I think, to two causes. One thing is + that women of the upper classes, who are usually wealthy, are + able by the aid of money so to hedge themselves around with + barriers to oppose the inconveniences placed upon women by the + laws, that they very often do not feel them so much; while women + of the classes who are not wealthy are so crushed and oppressed + by the working of these laws that they are unable to take the + first step, which is agitation, towards getting them altered or + repealed. [Cheers.] It often seems to me that another reason why + women themselves are not more enthusiastic upon this question of + the franchise is, that from their earliest childhood they are + taught that the first duty of women is unselfishness, the putting + of their own interests and wishes behind those of others. Any + discussion of this great question only brings forth hysterical + clamor that "women should stay at Home"--with a very big "H." + [Laughter and cheers.] Well, I have been examining a little into + the conduct of those ladies who do stay at home so much, and what + do I find? Why, that they rush about and seem like the changing + colors of the kaleidoscope, now collecting at a bazaar, anon + singing at a concert, with no end of publicity [cheers], but as + long as no rational object is promoted by their action, it is all + counted as staying quietly home in the nursery, whether they have + children or not. That is their notion of being "thoroughly + domesticated." [Laughter.] Now, much as I could wish myself that + men had done their duty and agitated for us, in this case it is + an undeniable fact that they have not shown that readiness, I may + say eagerness, to begin that one could have wished; it therefore + changes at once into one of those duties men have not seen their + way to do, and so becomes of necessity women's work. + +A series of meetings[559] after this was held in Bath, Newcastle +and London. + +The audiences heartily concurred with the speakers that the time +when a reform bill was before parliament was the fittest and most +opportune moment in which to press forward the claim of women to +representation. + +We may observe once again with pride, how hearty and cheering have +always been the sympathy and assistance that men have rendered to +women in this movement in England. At no time has there been a +possibility of a feeling of bitterness between the sexes or a +conviction that their interests were antagonistic, for the plain +reason that there have always been men working side by side with +women. Our suffrage meetings have been attended and supported by +political leaders, members of parliament, town councils or +prominent movers among the working-class associations. Except in +the great demonstrations, which for special reasons were confined +exclusively to women, our movement has formed part of the ordinary +political life of the country. + +The _Suffrage Journal_ for May contains a very carefully drawn +calculation of the number of women in the United Kingdom who will +probably receive the franchise if the wider qualifications +contained in the present Franchise bill become law. It must be +remembered that there are now 3,330,720 more houses than electors +in the British Isles. In boroughs where household suffrage already +prevails for men, the unrepresented houses should guide us to a +tolerably correct estimate of the number of women householders. We +may say that practically there are 446,000 houses in the boroughs +of England and Wales, whose inhabitant in each case being a woman, +is unrepresented. The proportion varies much in different +localities; in the city of Bath one-fourth the householders are +women. If we calculate that one house in every six in the boroughs +is occupied by a woman, we find that 349,746 is the probable number +to be enfranchised there. + +For the counties there are no means of arriving at so close a +result, but by estimating the proportion of women householders to +be the same as that of women land-owners, or one in seven, we reach +the fairly approximate calculation of 390,434, in the counties. The +same method of calculation applies to Scotland and to Ireland, +where, however, the proportion of woman land-owners is one in +eight.[560] + +In order to show that the desire for the suffrage was not confined +to any one rank, class or profession of women, a circular was +signed by a large number of ladies and sent to every member of both +houses of parliament. It was as follows: + + SIR: We desire to call your attention to the claim of women who + are heads of households to be included in the operation of the + government Franchise bill. + + Women have continuously presented this claim before parliament + and the country since the Reform bill of 1867. The introduction + of a measure declared by the government to be intended to deal + with the franchise in an exhaustive manner, renders it especially + necessary now to urge it upon the attention of parliament. + + We respectfully represent that the claim of duly qualified women + for admission within the pale of the constitution is fully as + pressing as that of the agricultural laborer, and that the body + of electors who would thereby be added to the constituencies, + would be at least equal in general and political intelligence to + the great body of agricultural and other laborers who are to be + enfranchised by the government bill. + + Among this body would be found women land-owners, who form + one-seventh of the land proprietors of the country; women of + means and position living on their own property; schoolmistresses + and other teachers; women engaged in professional, literary and + artistic pursuits; women farmers, merchants, manufacturers and + shopkeepers; besides large numbers of self-supporting women + engaged in industrial occupations. The continued exclusion of so + large a proportion of the property, industry and intelligence of + the country from all representation in the legislature is + injurious to those excluded, and to the community at large. + + Several bills having special reference to the interests and + _status_ of women have been introduced in parliament during the + present session. This affords a powerful reason for the immediate + enfranchisement of women, in order that members of parliament may + have the same sense of responsibility towards the class affected + by them whether dealing with questions relating to women or to + men. + + For these and other reasons we earnestly beg that you will give + your support to the amendment to be introduced by Mr. Woodall in + committee on the Representation of the People bill for including + women householders in its operation. We are, sir, yours + faithfully,[561] + +In this circular women of all opinions were represented, but a +special circular, signed only by ladies of Conservative views, was +sent to the conservative associations. These ladies pointed out +that justice to women themselves, and the welfare of the whole +community are involved in the admission of the women householders +who at this moment are possessed of the existing statutory +qualifications: + + To bring in a new class, under new conditions, whilst continuing + to exclude those who fulfill the present conditions, would be + very injurious to those excluded and set a wrong example before + the community. Every enlargement of the electoral franchise for + men which can now take place necessarily includes many whose + interests in the country cannot equal those of the women who now + claim it. Their position is already recognized by their + possession of every local franchise whatsoever. Justice requires + that the principle should be fully carried out by extending to + women the right to vote for members of parliament, whose + legislation so strongly affects their welfare. Prudence also + requires that an important class of educated and philanthropic + persons should not be left out, or their claims postponed, when a + large addition is likely to be made to the less educated portion + of the electorate. We most seriously believe that few things + could happen more dangerous for the real happiness of the nation + than to permit the opportunity to pass without the admission of + legally qualified women within the circle of the constitution. + +A correspondence also was conducted with Mr. Gladstone by the +Bristol Ladies' Liberal Association and others whom they invited to +join them, of known Liberal views, urging him to receive a +delegation and praying that + + It may not in the future be said that women alone were unworthy + of any measure of confidence which you so rightly extended even + to the humblest and most ignorant men. + +Mr. Gladstone declined to receive the deputation, partly on the +ground of illness, partly lest the admission of their views might +interfere with his plans for the bill. So the day of battle drew +on, when a rumor began to be circulated that the government +intended to oppose Mr. Woodall's clause, on the ground that its +admission might endanger the bill. Strenuous efforts were at the +same time made to induce him to withdraw the amendment, and the +government whips plainly intimated that the question would not be +considered an open one, on which members were to be free to vote +according to their convictions, but as one which the government had +made up their minds to oppose. With the hope of changing this +determination a memorial was signed by seventy-seven members of +parliament, and presented to Mr. Gladstone, asking him to leave the +introduction of the clause an open question. It represented-- + + That the Franchise bill being now in committee a favorable + opportunity is afforded for the discussion of the amendment for + extending its provisions to women, of which notice has been given + by Mr. Woodall. + + That your memorialists have heard a rumor that her majesty's + government have declared against allowing the question to be + discussed and decided on its merits, on the ground that the + adoption of the proposal might endanger the bill. + + That your memorialists are of the opinion that the claim of women + who are householders and ratepayers is just and reasonable, and + that the time when the House is engaged in amending the law + relating to the representation of the people is the proper time + for the consideration of this claim. + + That during the discussion in committee on the Reform bill of + 1867, an amendment for extending its provisions to women was + introduced by Mr. John Stuart Mill, and that on that occasion the + government of the day offered no opposition to the full and free + discussion of the question, and placed no restriction on the free + exercise of the judgment of members of their party as to the + manner in which they should vote. The tellers appointed against + Mr. Mill's motion were not even the government tellers. + + That your memorialists earnestly pray that the precedent so + instituted may be followed on the present occasion, and that the + clause proposed by Mr. Woodall may be submitted to the free and + unbiased decision of the House on its own merits. + + They desire earnestly to express their conviction that the course + of allowing the question to be an open one, on which the + government is prepared to accept the decision of the House, + cannot possibly endanger or prejudice the Franchise bill. In + connection with this your memorialists would press on your + attention the fact that Mr. Woodall's amendment is in the form of + a new clause, and would not therefore come under discussion until + the bill as it stands has passed through committee. + +This request was refused. On June 9, such unexpected progress was +made by the committee of the House of Commons with the Franchise +bill that all the government clauses were carried. There were many +amendments on the paper which took precedence of Mr. Woodall's, but +these were hastily gone through or withdrawn, and in the middle of +the morning sitting of June 9, he rose and moved the introduction +of his clause. Mr. Woodall's speech was a masterpiece of earnest +but temperate reasoning. He was fortunate enough to present an old +and well-worn subject in new lights. He said that Mr. Gladstone had +affirmed the principle of the measure to be to give every +householder a vote, and it would now be his endeavor to pursuade +parliament that women were capable citizens, who would meet all the +conditions so clearly laid down by the prime minister. Against the +charge of inopportunity in bringing the subject forward at this +crisis, he reminded the House of Mr. Chamberlain's words on a +recent occasion, that it was always opportune to do right. + + Mr. Gladstone said there were two questions to be considered. One + of these was the question whether women were to be enfranchised, + the other whether the enfranchisement should be effected by a + clause introduced in committee on the present bill. The second + question was that on which he was about to dwell. He deprecated + the introduction of new matter into the bill. The cargo which the + vessel carried was, in the opinion of the government, as large as + she could carry safely. The proposal was a very large one. It did + not seem unreasonable to believe that the number of persons in + the three kingdoms to be enfranchised by the amendment would be + little short of half a million. What was the position in which + Mr. Woodall placed the government when he requested them to + introduce a completely new subject on which men profoundly + differed, and which, it was clear, should receive a full and + dispassioned investigation? It was not now practicable to give + that investigation. This was one of those questions which it + would be intolerable to mix up with purely political and party + debates. If there was a subject in the whole compass of human + life and experience that was sacred beyond all other subjects it + was the character and position of woman. Did his honorable friend + ask him to admit that the question deserved the fullest + consideration? He gave him that admission freely. Did he ask + whether he (Mr. Gladstone) wished to bind the members of the + Government or his colleagues in the cabinet with respect to the + votes they would give on this question? Certainly not, provided + only that they took the subject from the vortex of political + contention. He was bound to say, whilst thus free and open on the + subject itself, that with regard to the proposal to introduce it + into this bill he offered it the strongest opposition in his + power, and must disclaim and renounce all responsibility for the + measure should Mr. Woodall succeed in inducing the committee to + adopt his amendment. + +On motion of Lord John Manners the debate was adjourned till June +12. + +On the intervening day a meeting was summoned of the general +committee of the society. Miss Cobbe first, and Mr. Woodall +subsequently, presided, and the following resolutions were passed: + + _Resolved_, That the claim of duly qualified women to the + exercise of the suffrage having been continuously presented + before parliament and the country since the Reform bill of 1867, + this meeting is of opinion that the time when the legislature is + again engaged in amending the law relating to the representation + of the people is the proper time for the consideration of this + claim. + + _Resolved_, That this meeting heartily approves of the amendment + which Mr. Woodall has moved in committee on the Franchise bill + for extending its provisions to duly qualified women, and pledge + themselves to support his action by every means in their power. + + _Resolved_, That they have heard with astonishment that her + majesty's government refuse to allow this amendment to be + discussed on its merits and to be decided by the free exercise of + the judgment of members of the House of Commons, but that the + government require their supporters to refrain from such free + exercise of their judgment on the alleged ground that the + adoption of the proposal would endanger the Franchise bill. + + _Resolved_, That in the opinion of this meeting the exercise of + such pressure appears to be an infringement of the privileges of + a free parliament and an aggression on the rights of the people. + They hold that all sections of the community, whether electors or + non-electors, have an indefeasible right to have matters + affecting their interests submitted to the unbiased judgment, and + decided by the unfettered discretion of the members sent to + represent them in parliament. + + _Resolved_, That a declaration signed by 110 Liberal members of + the House of Commons was presented last session to Mr. Gladstone + which set forth that, in the opinion of the memorialists, no + measure for the assimilation of the borough and county franchise + could be satisfactory unless it contained provisions for + extending the suffrage, without distinction of sex, to all + persons who possess the statutory qualifications for the + parliamentary franchise. + + _Resolved_, That this meeting calls upon those who signed this + declaration, and all other members who believe that the claim of + duly qualified women to the parliamentary franchise is reasonable + and just, to support the clause moved by Mr. Woodall, in + committee on the Franchise bill, for extending its provisions to + such women. + + _Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to Mr. + Gladstone and to every member of parliament. + + _Resolved_, That petitions to both houses of parliament in + support of Mr. Woodall's clause be adopted and signed by the + chairman on behalf of this meeting. + +Some members of parliament who attended this meeting explained that +though they were as firmly convinced as ever of the justice of the +claim, they could not vote for it after Mr. Gladstone's distinct +declaration that he would abandon the bill if the amendment were +passed. On June 12 Lord John Manners resumed the debate. He said: + + That although this proposal had never been of a party character, + it had always been a political question. There was no question + connected with the franchise which had been more thoroughly + discussed, threshed and sifted. Guided by every consideration of + justice and fairness, of equity, of analogy and experience, he + should give it his cordial and unhesitating support. + +The next speech of importance was Mr. Stansfeld's. He maintained +that the acceptance of the clause by the government would have +strengthened rather than weakened the bill, and that its insertion +certainly would not have rendered the bill less palatable to the +House of Lords: + + The principle of this bill is household suffrage. Household + suffrage is one of two things--it is either put as a rough test + of capable citizenship, or else it means what I will call the + family vote. The women to be enfranchised under this clause would + be first of all women of property, intelligence and education, + having a status in the country; secondly a large class of women + of exceptional competency, because having lost the services and + support of men who should be the bread-winners and the heads of + families, they are obliged to step into their shoes and to take + upon themselves the burdens and responsibilities which had + previously devolved upon men, and because they have done this + with success. I decline either by word or deed to make the + admission that these women are less capable citizens than the + 2,000,000 whom the right honorable gentleman proposes to + enfranchise by this bill. Well, then, let it be the family + vote--that is to say, exceptions apart, let the basis of our + constitution be that the family, represented by its head, should + be the unit of the State. Now that is the idea which recommends + and has always recommended itself to my mind. But on what + principle, or with what regard to the permanence and stability of + that principle, can you exclude the head of the family and give + that family no voice, because the head happens to be a woman? If + this clause be excluded from the measure, as it will be, this + will not be a bill of one principle, but of two principles. It + will not be a bill containing only the principle of household + suffrage interpreted as the family vote, but one founded on these + two principles--first, a male householding vote; and, secondly, + the exclusion of the head of the household when the head is a + woman. That is a permanent principle of exclusion, and therefore + the bill with this clause left out is a declaration for ever + against the political emancipation of women. + +After some speeches against the motion Colonel King-Harman said: + + In the old state of the franchise it was not so much a matter of + importance to women whether they possessed votes or not, but now + that this bill proposed to create two million new voters of a + much lower order than those now exercising the franchise, it + became of importance to secure some countervailing advantage. + They were told this was a matter which could wait. What were the + women to gain by waiting? They had waited for seventeen years + during which the subject had been discussed, and now they were + told to wait till two million of the common orders had been + admitted to a share in the parliamentary management of the + country. The honorable member for Huddersfield (Mr. Leatham) had + used an argument which he (Colonel King-Harman) thought a most + unworthy one, namely, that the franchise was not to be extended + to women, because, unhappily, there are women of a degraded and + debased class. Because there were 40,000 of them in this + metropolis alone, the remaining women who were pure and virtuous + were to be deprived of the power of voting. But would Mr. Leatham + guarantee that the 2,000,000 men he proposes to enfranchise shall + be perfectly pure and moral men? Would he propose a clause to + exclude from the franchise those men who lead and retain in vice + and degradation these unfortunate women? No--men may sin and be a + power in the State, but when a woman sins not only is she to have + no power, but her whole sisterhood are to be excluded from it. He + believed that every idea of common sense pointed to the + desirability of supporting the amendment, and he therefore had + great pleasure in doing so. + +There were also excellent speeches from Mr. Cowen (Newcastle), +General Alexander, Sir Wilfred Lawson and Mr. Story, and finally +from Sir Stafford Northcote the leader of the Conservative +opposition. He observed: + + That the prime minister had told them that they did not consider + this clause to be properly introduced now, because this was not + the time for the question. It seemed to him, on the contrary, + that it was the very best opportunity for dealing with it, + because they were going enormously to increase the electorate, + and would, therefore, make the inequality between men and women + much greater than it was before. It would be said they were going + to extend the property franchise if this amendment were carried. + On that issue they were prepared to join and to maintain that it + was a right thing, and it was the duty of that House to make + proper provision for those classes of property holders now + without a vote. Members who had canvassed boroughs would remember + that after going into two or three shops and asking for the votes + of those who were owners, they have come to one perhaps of the + most important shops and have been told, "Oh, it is of no use + going in, there is no vote there." Such women are probably of + education and gentle character, and perhaps live as widows and + take care of their families; they have every right to be + consulted as to who should be the man to represent the + constituency in which they lived and to take care of their + interests and the interests of those dependent on them. That was + the ground on which Lord Beaconsfield stood. They had adhered to + that ground for several years, and there they stood now. + +The division took place at a late hour with the result that the +clause was defeated by 271 votes to 135, being a majority against +it of 136, or two to one. But though such a vote would have been a +sore discouragement if it had represented the real opinion of the +House, on the present occasion it meant little if anything. The +government had sent out a "five-line" whip for its supporters, and +so effective had this whip been, combined with Mr. Gladstone's +assertion that he would give up the responsibility of the bill if +the clause were carried, that 98 Liberals and 6 Home Rulers, known +to be supporters of our cause, voted with the government, even Mr. +Hugh Mason being among this number, while 34 Liberals and 7 Home +Rulers, also friends of ours, were absent from the division. We may +safely assume that had the government more wisely left it an open +question, upon which members were free to vote according to their +consciences, our defeat would have been turned into a victory. On +the other hand while our Liberal friends thus voted against the +amendment or abstained from voting, the bulk of our supporters in +this division were Conservatives, a circumstance unknown in the +previous history of the movement. + +An important conference of friends and supporters was held the next +morning in the Westminster Palace Hotel at which Mr. Stansfeld +presided. To use Miss Tod's words: + + Never had a defeated army met in a more victorious mood. There + was much indeed to encourage in the degree of importance to which + the question had attained. It had risen from a purely speculative + into a pressing political question; it had been debated during + two days, and it was heartily supported by the Conservative + leader. + +The speeches at the conference were animated and full of hope for +the future. Mr. Stansfeld congratulated the meeting on having made +a new departure; their question had become one of practical +politics, and they had now to address themselves in all the +constituencies to the political organizations. + +A magnificent meeting was held in St. James Hall the following +week. The hall was densely crowded in every part, and an overflow +meeting was arranged for those unable to gain admission. Some of +the speakers[562] proposed as the best measure for agitation, a +determined resistance against taxation.[563] + +Repeated attempts to obtain a day for the debate and division were +followed by repeated disappointments. The session commenced in +November, 1884. Mr. Woodall at once gave notice of a bill. In +presenting it to the House, he concluded after consultation with +parliamentary friends, to add a clause defining the action of his +bill to be limited to unmarried women and widows.[564] The enacting +clause of the bill was as follows: + + For all purposes of and incidental to the voting for members to + serve in parliament, women shall have the same rights as men, and + all enactments relating to or concerned in such elections shall + be construed accordingly, provided that nothing in this act shall + enable women under coverture to be registered or to vote at such + elections. + +The addition of this clause excited much discussion. Those in favor +of it argued that this limitation would certainly be imposed in +committee of the House, which though it was in all probability +prepared to give the vote to women possessed of independence, +dreaded the extension of faggot votes which would have been the +almost inevitable consequence of admitting married women; while the +result would be the same whether the limitation clause was +introduced by the promoters of the bill or by a parliamentary +committee, and it would be more likely to obtain support at the +second reading if its intentions were made clear in the beginning. +On the other hand it was argued that the principle of giving the +vote to women in the same degree that it was given to men, was the +basis upon which the whole agitation rested; that marriage was no +disqualification to men, and therefore should not prove so to +women; and that, though it might be necessary to accept a +limitation by parliament, it was not right for the society to lower +its standard by proposing a compromise. This divergence in the +views of the supporters of the movement was the cause of much +discussion in the public press and elsewhere, and unfortunately +resulted in the abstention of some of the oldest friends of the +cause from working in support of this particular bill, although it +was admitted on all sides that if a day could be obtained its +chances in a division were very good. + +The bill was introduced on November 19, 1884, and its opponents +took the unprecedented course of challenging a division at this +stage. Leave was however given to bring it in, and the second +reading was set down for November 25, and then for December 9; on +each occasion it was postponed owing to the adjournment of the +House. It was next set down for Wednesday, March 4, but its chance +was again destroyed by the appropriation by the government of all +Wednesdays for the Seats bill. Mr. Woodall then fixed on June 24, +but before that time the ministerial crisis occurred, and when that +day arrived the House had been adjourned for the reelections +consequent upon a change of government. He then obtained the first +place on Wednesday, July 22, but again ministers appropriated +Wednesdays, and all chances for the session being over, Mr. Woodall +gave order to discharge the bill. + +This delay stands in sharp and painful contrast with the promptness +with which parliament passed the Medical Relief bill. A clause had +been inserted in the Franchise bill disfranchising any man who had +been in receipt of parish medical aid for himself or family. This +clause caused great dissatisfaction as it was stated it would +disqualify from voting a large number of laborers in the +agricultural counties; parliament therefore found time amidst all +the press of business and party divisions to pass the Medical +Relief bill removing this disfranchisement from _men_, though we +are repeatedly assured that nothing but the want of time prevents +their fair consideration of the enfranchisement of _women_. It is +another proof that there is always time for a representative +government to attend to the wants of its constituents. + +Another effort was made in the House of Lords by Lord Denman who +introduced a bill for extending the parliamentary vote to women. +The committees[565] were unaware of his intention until they read +a notice of the bill in the newspapers. The enacting clause was as +follows: + + All women, not legally disqualified, who have the same + qualifications as the present and future electors for counties + and divisions of counties and boroughs, shall be entitled to vote + for knights of the shire for counties and divisions of counties + and for boroughs, at every election. + +A division was taken upon it on June 23, just after the Seats bill +had been passed and the peers were about to adjourn in consequence +of the change of government. Many protests were made that the time +was ill chosen, and some peers left the House to avoid recording +their votes while others voted against it without reference to its +merits as a question. The division showed 8 in favor and 36 +against. There appears to be a strong impression that if a bill to +enfranchise women were passed by the Commons it would be accepted +by the Lords, while there is at the same time a feeling that any +measure dealing with the representation of the people should +originate with the Commons, and not in the upper House. + +During the year 1885 we sustained the loss of many of the earliest +friends of the movement; chief among these Professor Fawcett, who +from the commencement of its history had given it his firm and +unflinching support. His conviction that justice and freedom must +gain the upper hand often caused him to take a more sanguine view +of the prospect than the event has justified. He was the firm +friend of women in all their recent efforts, and helped them to +obtain employment in the civil service, to enter the medical +profession, to open the universities, and in many other ways. Next +to be mentioned is the death of Mrs. Stansfeld. She was the +daughter of Mr. William H. Ashurst, who was a staunch advocate of +freedom and may be remembered as the first English friend of +William L. Garrison. She had been a member of the suffrage +committee in London for more than sixteen years, and gave unfailing +sympathy to all the efforts made by her noble husband, James +Stansfeld, in behalf of the rights of humanity. This year has also +been saddened by the death of Mrs. Ronald Shearer, formerly Helena +Downing, an able and true-hearted woman, who had devoted her +strength and talents to the furtherance of our cause at a time when +its advocates were still the objects of ridicule and attack. + +The electorate of three millions of men is now increased to five +millions, and by this extension of the suffrage the difficulty of +waging an up-hill fight in the interests of the still excluded +class has also been increased. The interests of the newly +represented classes will imperatively claim precedence in the new +parliament. Like the emancipated blacks who received the vote after +the American civil war, while the women who had supported the cause +of the Union by their enthusiasm and their sacrifices were passed +over, the miners and laborers of English counties have received the +franchise for which they have never asked, in preference to the +women who have worked, petitioned and organized themselves for +years to secure it. Women have now to appeal to this new electorate +to grant that justice which the old electorate has denied them; +they have to begin again the weary round of educating their new +masters by appeals and arguments; they will once more see their +interests "unavoidably" deferred to the interests of the +represented classes; they will once again be bidden to stand aside +till it is time for another Reform bill to be considered! + +In recounting the history of woman suffrage frequent allusion has +been made to the parallel movements which have been carried on +through the same course of years; the most important of these have +been: (1) The admission of women to fields of public usefulness; +(2) removal of legal disabilities and hardships; (3) admission to a +better education and greater freedom of employment. Much of the +progress that has been made has been the work of the active friends +of woman suffrage, and under the fostering care of the suffrage +societies. + +Under the first division comes the work of women on the +school-boards. The education act of 1870 expressly guaranteed their +right of being elected, and even in the first year several were +elected. One, Miss Becker, in Manchester, has retained her seat +ever since. In London the number of lady members has greatly +varied. Beginning with two, Miss Jarrett and Miss Davis, in 1879 it +rose to nine, but now, 1885, has sunk again to three, Miss +Davenport Hill, Mrs. Westlake, and Mrs. Webster. Taken as a whole, +their influence has been very usefully exerted for the benefit of +the children and the young teachers. Under this head also comes +women's work as poor-law guardians. The first was elected in +Kensington in 1875. Six years afterwards a small society to promote +the election of women was founded by Miss Mueller, and the number +elected is steadily increasing. There are now in England and +Scotland in all forty-six. In Ireland women are still debarred from +this useful work. The election occurs every year, and it is one of +the local franchises that women as well as men exercise. Last year +three ladies were appointed members of the Metropolitan Board which +looks after London hospitals and asylums. In 1873 Mr. Stansford, +then president of the local government board, appointed Mrs. Hassan +Session assistant inspector of work-houses, and after an interval +of twelve years Miss Mason was appointed to the same position. +Women are also sometimes appointed as church wardens, overseers of +the roads, and registrars of births and deaths. These are the only +public offices they fill. + +Under the second heading, the removal of legal disabilities, is +included the Married Woman's Property act, which was finally passed +in 1882, twenty-five years after it had been first brought forward +in parliament by Sir Erskine Perry. The ancient law of England +transferred all property held by a woman, except land, absolutely +to her husband. A step was gained in 1870 by which the money she +had actually earned became her own. This was followed by frequent +amendments, sometimes in Scotland, sometimes in England, and a +comprehensive bill met with frequent vicissitudes, now in the House +of Lords, now in the Commons. The honor of this long contest is +chiefly due to Mrs. Jacob Bright and Mrs. Wolstenholme Elmy, whose +unwearied efforts were finally crowned with success by the act of +1882, under which the property of a married woman is absolutely +secured to her as if she were single, and the power to contract and +of sueing and being sued, also secured to her. The right to the +custody of their own children is another point for which women are +struggling. In 1884, Mr. Bryce, M. P., brought in a bill to render +a mother the legal guardian of her children after the father's +death. This was read a second time by a vote of 207 for, and only +73 against. In 1885, however, though passing the House of Lords, it +was postponed till too late in the Commons. Another important +alteration in the legal condition of married women was made in +1878. In that year Mr. Herschell introduced the Matrimonial Causes +act to remedy a gross injustice in the divorce law, and Lord +Pensance inserted a clause which provided that if a woman were +brutally ill-treated by her husband, a magistrate might order a +separate maintenance for her and assign her the care of her +children. It is no secret that the original drafting of this clause +was due to Miss Frances Power Cobbe. The long struggle which is not +yet terminated against the infamous Contagious Diseases acts +belongs to this division of work. The acts were passed in 1866, +'69, and for many years were supported by an overpowering majority +of the House of Commons. Mr. Stansfeld, who has always been the +supporter of every movement advancing the influence of women, has +been the leader of this agitation. Mrs. Josephine Butler, Mrs. +Stewart of Ougar, and latterly Mrs. Ormiston Chant, have been the +most untiring speakers on this question. On April 26, 1883, Mr. +Stansfeld carried a resolution by a vote of 184 against 112 for the +abolition of the acts, since which time the acts have been +suspended, but we must look to the new parliament for their total +repeal. The Criminal-law Amendment act was the great triumph of +1885. It had been postponed session after session, but the bold +denunciation of Mr. Stead, editor of the _Pall Mall Gazette_, +finally roused the national conscience, and now a larger measure of +protection is afforded to young girls than has ever been known +before. + +Of the successive steps by which colleges have been founded for +women, and the universities opened to them, it is impossible to +give any record. The London University and the Royal University of +Ireland, recognize fully the equality of women; nine ladies secured +the B. A. diploma from the latter university in 1884, and nine more +in 1885. Oxford and Cambridge extend their examinations to women. +The Victoria University acknowledges their claim to examination. +The London school of medicine gives a first rate education to women +(there are 48 this session), and the Royal College of Surgeons, +Dublin, admits them to its classes. There are now about 45 ladies +who are registered as medical practitioners. One of them, Miss +Edith Stone, was appointed by Mr. Fawcett medical superintendent of +the female staff at the general post-office, London. The success of +the movement for supplying women as physicians for the vast Indian +empire has attained remarkable success during the last two years. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[536] This was called out by the movement in America. A report of a +convention held in Worcester, Mass., published in the New York +_Tribune_, fell into the hands of Mrs. Taylor and aroused her to +active thought on the question. She comments on a very able series +of resolutions passed at this convention, in which such men +as Emerson, Parker, Channing, Garrison and Phillips took +part.--[EDITORS. + +[537] _Council of the Association_--Mrs. S. Turner, Mrs. S. +Bartholomew, Mrs. E. Stephenson, Mrs. M. Whalley, Mrs. E. Rooke, +Mrs. E. Wade, Mrs. C. Ash, president _pro tem._, Mrs. E. +Cavill, treasurer, Mrs. M. Brook, financial-secretary, Mrs. A. +Higginbottom, corresponding secretary. + +[538] Mrs. Biggs, Anna Knight, Mrs. Hugo Reid and many other +English women were roused to white heat on this question, by the +exclusion of women as delegates from the World's Anti-slavery +Convention held in London in 1840. That was the first pronounced +public discussion, lasting one entire day, on the whole question of +woman's rights that ever took place in England, and as the +arguments were reproduced in the leading journals and discussed at +every fireside, a grand educational work was inaugurated at +that time. The American delegates spent several months in +England--Lucretia Mott speaking at many points. She occupied the +Unitarian pulpit in London and elsewhere. As Mrs. Hugo Reid sat in +this convention throughout the proceedings and met Lucretia Mott +socially on several occasions, we may credit her outspoken +opinions, in 1843, in a measure to these influences.--[EDITORS. + +[539] The committee as at first formed, consisted of the following +persons: The very Rev. the Dean of Canterbury, Dr. Alford, Miss +Jessie Boucherett, Professor Cairnes, Rev. W. L. Clay, Miss Davies, +the originator of Girton College, Lady Goldsmid, Mr. G. W. +Hastings, Mr. James Heywood, Mrs. Knox, Miss Manning, and Mrs. +Hensleigh Wedgwood. Mrs. Peter A. Taylor was treasurer, and Mrs. J. +W. Smith, _nee_ Miss Garrett, honorary secretary. A few months +later Mrs. Smith's death left this post vacant, and Mrs. P. A. +Taylor then assumed the office of secretary which she retained with +the aid of Miss Caroline Ashurst Biggs till 1871. No one else could +have rendered such services to our movement while it was in its +infancy as Mrs. Taylor gave. Her gentle and dignified presence, her +untiring energy, the experience of organization and public life +which she already possessed, her influence with an extended circle +of friends chosen from among the most liberal thinkers of the +nation, secured at once attention and respect for any cause she +took up. Many years before she had worked hard for the association +of the Friends of Italy, and on the breaking out of the American +civil war her sympathies and practical knowledge led her to found a +society for assisting the freedmen. In acknowledgment of the +invaluable assistance she rendered, her friends in America sent a +book containing a complete set of photographs of all the chief +anti-slavery workers. When she began her efforts for women's +suffrage, the English Abolitionists were among the first +correspondents to whom she applied, and they nearly all responded +cordially. For years her house, Aubrey House, Kensington, was the +centre of the London organization to which she gave her time, +strength, and money, well earning the title of "Mother of the +Movement," which loving friends have since bestowed. + +[540] In 1869, 255 petitions, signed by 61,475 persons; in 1870, +663 petitions, signed by 134,561 persons; in 1871, 622 petitions, +signed by 186,976 persons (75 of these petitions were from public +meetings and signed only by the chairman, or from town councils and +sealed with the official seal); in 1872, 829 petitions with 350,093 +signatures; in 1873, 919 petitions, with 329,206 signatures; in +1874, 1,494 petitions with 430,343 signatures; and in 1875, 1,273 +petitions were sent in containing 415,622 signatures. + +[541] This lady, sister of John and Jacob Bright, and wife of the +senior member for Edinburgh, Mr. Duncan McLaren, so much esteemed +that he was sometimes spoken of as the "Member for Scotland," +unites in her own person all the requisites for a leader of the +movement. She has the charm and dignified grace so generally found +among Quaker ladies, and the pathetic eloquence which belong to her +family. She is clear-sighted in planning action, and enthusiastic +and warm-hearted in carrying it out, and for the past sixteen years +the movement in Scotland has centered around her. + +[542] Mr. Thomas Hare, Mr. Boyd Kinnear, Mr. Mill, who was no +longer in parliament, the Rev. Charles Kingsley (this was the first +and only meeting at which he was present), Prof. Fawcett, M. P. and +Mrs. Fawcett, Lord Houghton, Mr. John Morley, Sir Charles W. Dilke, +Bt. M. P., Mr. P. A. Taylor, M. P., Professor Masson of Edinburgh, +and Mr. Stamfeld, M. P. + +[543] Mrs. Penington, Mr. Hopwood, Q. C. and Professor Amos were +honorary secretaries the first year, and succeeding them Miss C. A. +Biggs and Miss Agnes Garrett. The principal committees united with +the central, including Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, +Dublin and the North of Ireland. + +[544] Minutes of a meeting at the House of Commons, June 23, 1875. +Present: The Right Honorable E. P. Bouverie, in the chair; and the +following members of parliament: Right Hon. H. C. Childers, Marquis +of Hamilton, Lord Randolph Churchill, Hon. E. Stanhope, Mr. +Bentinck, Mr. Beresford Hope, Mr. Chaplin, Mr. Hayter, Sir Henry +Holland, Sir Henry James, Mr. Kay Shuttleworth, Mr. Edward Leatham, +Mr. Merewether, Mr. Newdegate, Mr. Raikes, Mr. de Rothschild, Mr. +Scousfield, Mr. Whitbread. + +_Resolved_, That a committee of peers, members of parliament and +other influential men be organized for the purpose of maintaining +the integrity of the franchise, in opposition to the claims for the +extension of the parliamentary suffrage to women. + +_Resolved_, That Mr. E. P. Bouverie be requested to act as +chairman, and Lord Claud John Hamilton and Mr. Kay Shuttleworth as +honorary secretaries. + +The following members have since joined those named above: Lord +Elcho, Right Hon. E. Knatchbull-Hugessen, Right Hon. J. R. Mowbray, +Sir Thomas Bazley, Mr. Butt, Mr. Gibson and Colonel Kingscote. + +[545] We must mention the names of the ladies who during the +previous two or three years had been most active in speaking and +organizing societies. So many meetings had been held that there was +hardly a town of any importance in England, Ireland or Scotland +where the principles of woman suffrage had not been explained and +canvassed. One of the foremost for her activity in this department +of work was Miss Mary Beedy, an American lady, resident for some +years in England. She had thoroughly mastered the legal and +political condition of the question in this country, and her +untiring energy, her clear common sense, and her ready logic made +her advocacy invaluable. The regret was general when she was +compelled to return to America. Miss Helena Downing, niece of Mr. +McCarthy Downing, member of parliament for Cork, arranged and gave +many lectures during 1873 and 1874. Miss. Lillias Ashworth, +honorary secretary of the Bristol committee, frequently spoke at +meetings about this time. In Scotland Miss Jane Taylour and others +still continued their indefatigable labors, in which they were +frequently assisted by Miss Isabella Stuart of Balgonie in +Fifeshire. In Ireland, in addition to the usual meetings in the +north, a series of meetings in the south was undertaken by Miss +Tod, Miss Beedy and Miss Downing. Other meetings were addressed by +Miss Fawcett, Miss Becker, Miss Caroline Biggs, Miss Eliza Sturge, +Miss Rhoda Garrett, Mrs. Fenwick-Miller and many others. During +1873 Mrs. Henry Kingsley, sister-in-law of one novelist and wife of +another, also spoke frequently. Space fails me to do justice to the +varied powers of the speakers who have carried our movement on +during these years of patient perseverance; to the clear logic and +convincing power of Mrs. Fawcett's speeches; to the thrilling +eloquence of her cousin, Rhoda Garrett, now, alas! no longer with +us; to Miss Becker's accurate legal knowledge and masterly +presentation of facts and arguments; to Miss Helena Downing's +eloquence marked by the humor, pathos and power which were hers by +national inheritance. During these years of trial, too, the cause +owed much to the strenuous advocacy of the Misses Ashworth, Anne +Frances and Lillias Sophia, nieces of Jacob Bright. Miss Ashworth +did not herself speak at meetings, but she comforted and helped +those who did, while Lillias possessed the family gift of eloquence +and charmed her audience by her witty, forcible and telling +speeches. So numerous and so well attended have been these meetings +during these and subsequent years, that it is impossible to +exonerate men and women from the charge of willful blindness if +they still misconstrue the plain facts of the question. + +[546] First in the list came six ladies, members of school-boards: +Mrs. Buckton of Leeds, Miss Helena Richardson of Bristol, Mrs. +Surr, Mrs. Westlake, Mrs. Fenwick Miller and Miss Helen Taylor, +London; then followed the opinions of ladies who were guardians of +the poor. Forty ladies known as authoresses or painters came next +on the list; among these were Mrs. Allingham, Mrs. Cowden Clarke, +Mrs. Eiloart, Mary Howitt, Emily Pfeiffer, Augusta Webster. Women +doctors came next: Dr. Garrett Anderson, Dr. Annie Barker, Dr. +Elizabeth Blackwell, Dr. Sophia Jex-Blake, Dr. Eliza Dunbar, Dr. +Frances Hoggan, Dr. Edith Pechey; and next to the doctors came Miss +Eliza Orme, the only woman who was successfully practicing law. The +section of education included the names of Mrs. Wm. Gray, and her +sister. Miss Shirreff, Mrs. Nichol (Edinburgh), Miss Emily Davies, +founder of Girton College, Miss Byers, founder of the Ladies' +Collegiate School, Belfast, Mrs. Crawshay and Miss Mary Gurney. +Nineteen ladies, the heads of women's colleges and high-schools, +next gave their reasons why they desired the suffrage. After these +came ladies engaged in philanthropic work, which included the +sisters Rosamund and Florence Davenport Hill, Florence Nightingale, +Miss Ellice Hopkins, eminent for rescue work; Miss Irby, well-known +for her efforts among the starving Bosnian fugitives; Miss Manning, +secretary of the National Indian Association; Mrs. Southey, +secretary of the Women's Peace Association; Mrs. Lucas, and Mrs. +Edward Parker, president and secretary of the British Women's +Temperance Society. The opinions were various, both in kind and in +length, some being only a confession of faith in a couple of lines, +others a page of able reasoning. + +[547] Miss Tod gives the spirit to each movement in Ulster, which +is the intellectual headquarters of Ireland. She is the pioneer in +all matters of reform; she is asked to speak in churches; she +instigated the efforts which led to girls participating in the +benefits of the Irish Intermediate Education act, which was being +restricted to boys; she has organized and has won friends and votes +not only over her own district of Ulster, but in many other +quarters of Ireland; and often when in England some indefinable +torpor has crept over a meeting--as will happen at times--a few +eloquent and heart-stirring words from her have been sufficient to +raise the courage and revive the interest. + +[548] Mrs. Peter A. Taylor, Mrs. Fawcett, Mrs. Lucas, Miss Biggs, +Miss Rhoda Garrett, Miss Jessie Boucherett, Mrs. Arthur Arnold, +Miss Frances Power Cobbe, Lady Harberton, Mrs. Pennington, Miss +Helen Taylor, step-daughter of John Stuart Mill, Miss Henrietta +Mueller, member of the London school-board, and others. + +[549] Mrs. Jacob Bright, Miss Becker, Mrs. Scatcherd, Miss Corbutt, +Mr. Steinthal, Mrs. Thomasson, and others. + +[550] Led by Mrs. Lillias Ashworth Hallett, Mrs. Helen Bright +Clark, niece and daughter of John Bright, Mrs. Beddoe, Miss Snyder, +Miss Estlin, the Priestman sisters, Miss Blackburn and Miss Colby, +Eliza Sturge, Mrs. Ashford, Mrs. Matthews. Mrs. Ann Comen and Mrs. +Alfred Osler, niece of Mrs. Peter Taylor, are the chief Birmingham +and Nottingham workers. + +[551] Lady Harberton, Mrs. Scatcherd, Mrs. Ashworth Hallet, Mrs. +Josephine Butler, Mrs. Ellis, Miss Eliza Sturge, Mrs. Wellstood +(Edinburgh), Mrs. Haslam (Dublin), Miss Becker, Mrs. Pearson, Miss +Jessie Craigen, Miss Helena Downing, Miss Lucy Wilson, Mrs. Nichols +(Edinburgh), Mrs. O'Brien, and in the overflow meeting Mrs. Lucas +and Miss Biggs. At the close of the meeting the enthusiastic and +prolonged cheering which rose from the crowd, the cordial +hand-shakes of utter strangers with words of encouragement and +sympathy brought tears to the eyes of many who had the privilege of +being present on that occasion. + +[552] Mrs. McLaren occupied the chair and was accompanied by Mrs. +Nichol, Miss Wigham, Miss Tod, Mrs. Charles McLaren, Miss Craigen, +Miss Becker, Miss Beddoe, Mrs. Shearer (formerly Miss Helena +Downing), Miss Flora Stevenson, Mrs. Wellstood, Miss Annie +Stoddart, Mrs. Burton and a distinguished visitor from New York, +Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was able on this visit to England +to estimate the wide difference in the position of women since the +time--more than forty years before--she had been refused a seat as +a delegate in the World's Anti-Slavery Convention in London. + +[553] MARRIED WOMEN'S PROPERTY COMMITTEE.--The committee, at the +time of the final meeting, November 18, 1882, consisted of the +following ladies and gentlemen: Mrs. Addey; Mr. Arthur Arnold, M. +P.; Mrs. Arthur Arnold; Mr. Jacob Bright, M. P.; Mrs. Josephine E. +Butler; Mr. Thomas Chorlton; Mr. L. H. Courtney, M. P.; Sir C. W. +Dilke, Bart., M. P.; Rev. Alfred Dewes, D.D., LL.D.; Mrs. Gell; +Lady Goldsmid; Rev. Septimus Hansard; Mr. Thomas Hare; Miss Ida +Hardcastle; Mrs. Hodgson; Mr. William Malleson; Mrs. Moore; Mr. H. +N. Mozley; Dr. Pankhurst; Mrs. Pankhurst; Mrs. Shearer; Mrs. +Sutcliffe; Mr. P. A. Taylor, M. P.; Mrs. P. A. Taylor; Mrs. +Venturi; Miss Alice Wilson; Miss Lucy Wilson; _Treasurer_, Mrs. +Jacob Bright. _Secretary_, Mrs. Wolstenholme Elmy. + +The immediate passage of this bill was in a large measure due to +Mrs. Jacob Bright, who was unwearied in her efforts, in rolling up +petitions, scattering tracts, holding meetings, and in company with +her husband having private interviews with members of parliament. +For ten consecutive years she gave her special attention to this +bill. I had the pleasure of attending the meeting of congratulation +November 18, and heard a very charming address from Mrs. Bright on +the success of the measure. Mr. Jacob Bright and other members of +the committee spoke with equal effect.--[E. C. S. + +[554] The Contagious Diseases acts. + +[555] Miss Henrietta Mueller and her sister Mrs. Eva McLaren, Mrs. +Ormiston Chant, Mrs. Ashton Dilke, Mrs. Oliver Scatcherd, Mrs. +Charles McLaren, Miss Florence Balgarnie, Miss Laura Whittle, +Florence and Lillie Stacpoole, Miss Frances Lord, Mrs. Stanton +Blatch and Mrs. Helena Downing Shearer. + +[556] The inscription was: "Women Claim Equal Justice with Men. +_The Friends of Women_: Henry Fawcett, John Stuart Mill, Chas. +Cameron, Jacob Bright, Leonard Courtney, Duncan McLaren, George +Anderson, James Stansfeld, Sir Wilfred Lawson, J.P. Thomasson." + +[557] Mrs. Buchanan, Curriehill; Mrs. O. Scatcherd, Leeds; Mrs. +Nichol, Mrs. M'Laren, Miss Wigham, Dr. A. M'Laren, Miss Hunter, +Mrs. Paterson, Miss L. Stevenson, Miss F. Stevenson, Mrs. M'Queen, +Mrs. Hope, Mrs. M. Miller, Miss S.S. Mair, Miss R. Smith, Miss E. +Kirkland, Mrs. Raeburn and Miss A.G. Wyld, Edinburgh; Mrs. O. +Chant, Mrs. Hodgson, Bonaly; Miss Tod, Belfast; Mrs. Somerville, +Dalkeith; Mrs. Forbes, Loanhead; Mrs. D. Greig, Mrs. Erskine +Murray, Miss Greig, Mrs. Lindsay, Miss Barton and Mrs. A. Campbell, +Glasgow; Miss Simpson, Miss Caldwell, Portobello; Mrs. M'Kinnel, +Dumfries; Mrs. M'Cormick, Manchester; Miss Burton, Liberton; Miss +Balgarnie, Scarborough; Miss A.S. Smith, Gorebridge; Miss Drew, +Helensburgh; Miss Blair, Girvan; Mrs. Smith, Mrs. F. Smith, +Bothwell. + +[558] Miss Helen Taylor, Mrs. Lucas, Mrs. Fawcett, London; Mrs. +Thomasson, Bolton; Miss Orme, Miss Jane Cobden, Miss C. A. Biggs, +Mrs. Fenwick-Miller, Mrs. Ashton Dilke, London; Mrs. Hallet, Bath; +Miss Becker, Manchester; Miss Priestman, Bristol; Mrs. Helen Bright +Clark, Street, Somersetshire; Miss Mueller, London; Mrs. Eva +M'Laren, Bradford; Mrs. Charles M'Laren, London; Mrs. Pochin, +Bodnant, Conway; Mrs. Campbell, Tilliechewan Castle; Mrs. +Charteris, Edinburgh; Mrs. Edward Caird, Mrs. Young, Mrs. Kinnear, +Mrs. A. B. M'Grigor, Glasgow; Mrs. Arthur, Barshaw, Paisley; Mrs. +Readdie, Perth; Miss Birrel, Cupar; Mrs. Dunn, Aberdeen; Miss +Duncan, Foxhall; Miss Chalmers, Slateford; Miss Smith, Linlithgow; +Miss Macrobie, Bridge of Allan; Mrs. Ritchie, Mrs. Greenlees, +Glasgow; Mrs. Ord, Nesbit, Kelso; Mrs. Gordon, Nairn; Mrs. Gerrard, +Aberdeen; Miss Stoddart, Kelso; Mrs. Robertson, Paisley; Miss +Maitland, Corstorphine. + +[559] EDINBURGH.--The first resolution was moved by Miss Tod and +seconded by Mrs. Scatcherd: + + _Resolved_, That this meeting, whilst thanking the 110 Liberal + members who signed the memorial to Mr. Gladstone to the effect + that no measure of reform would be satisfactory which did not + recognize the claims of women householders, trusts that since the + bill unjustly excludes them, these members will be faithful to + the convictions expressed in that memorial, and will support any + amendment to the bill which has for its object the + enfranchisement of duly qualified women. + +The second resolution, a memorial to Mr. Gladstone, was moved by +Miss Flora Stevenson, member of the Edinburgh school-board, +seconded by Mrs. McLaren and supported by Miss Florence Balgarnie +and Mrs. Ormiston Chant. The third resolution, the adoption of +petitions, was moved by Miss S. S. Mair, a grand-niece of Mrs. +Siddons, and Mrs. Lindsay of Glasgow. + +BATH, GUILD HALL.--Presided over by the mayor. Among other speakers +were Mrs. Beddoe, Miss Becker, Mrs. Jeffrey and Mrs. Ashworth +Hallet. + +NEWCASTLE, TOWN HALL.--Followed on April 21, under the presidency +of the mayor. The crowd was so great that an overflow meeting had +to be arranged. The speakers were Mrs. Ashton Dilke, Miss Tod, Mrs. +Eva McLaren and Mrs. Scatcherd. The audience was largely composed +of miners and working people, and the enthusiasm manifested was +striking. A Newcastle paper reports that this was the first +occasion on which Mrs. Ashton Dilke had appeared in public since +her husband's death, and tears glistened in many eyes as the men +who were his constituents welcomed her among them once more. Some +miners walked twelve miles to hear her and twelve miles back after +the meeting, who had to go down the pit at 3 o'clock next morning. +Some could not get in, and pleaded piteously for an overflow +meeting. "We have come a long way to hear Mistress Dilke; do bring +her." Some women after hearing Miss Tod said: "She's worth hearing +twice, is that," and insisted on following her to the overflow +meeting. + +LONDON, ST. JAMES HALL.--Three days later there was a great meeting +presided over by Sir Richard Temple G. C. S. I., and addressed by +Mr. W. Summers, M. P., Mrs. Fawcett, the Rt. Hon. Jas. Stansfeld, +M. P., Mrs. Charles McLaren, Mr. Woodall, M. P., Mr. J. Rankin, M. +P., Miss Tod, Mr. J. R. Hollond, M. P., Viscountess Harberton and +Miss Jane Cobden. + +[560] The result is as follows: + + No. of Inhabited Estimated No. of + Houses. Women Householders. + ENGLAND AND WALES. + Boroughs, 2,098,476 340,746 + Counties, 2,733,043 390,434 + ----------4,831,519 --------740,180 + SCOTLAND. + Boroughs, 329,328 54,888 + Counties, 409,677 58,525 + --------739,005 -------113,413 + IRELAND. + Boroughs, 129,837 21,339 + Counties, 784,571 98,034 + --------914,108 -------119,373 + ------- + 972,966 + +[561] Signed by Eveline Portsmouth (Countess of Portsmouth), E. P. +Verney (Lady Verney), Florence Nightingale, Anne J. Clough (Newham +College), Clara E. L. Rayleigh (Lady Rayleigh), Selina Hogg (Lady +Hogg), Anna Swanwick, Julia Camperdown (Countess of Camperdown), +Mina E. Holland, (Mrs. John Holland), (Lady) Dorothy Nevill, +Millicent Garrett Fawcett, Helen P. Bright Clark, Jane E. Cobden, +Elizabeth Adelaide Manning, M. Power (Lady Power), Louisa Colthurst +(Dowager Lady Colthurst), Frances E. Hoggan, M. D., Florence +Davenport Hill (Poor-law Guardian), Louisa Twining (Poor-law +Guardian), Maryanne Donkin (Poor-law Guardian), Rosamond Davenport +Hill (M. L. S. B.), Mary Howitt, Maria G. Grey, Emily A. E. +Shireff, Deborah Bowring (Lady Bowring), Emily Pfeiffer, Barbara L. +S. Bodichon, Augusta Webster, Catherine M. Buckton, Frances M. Buss +(North London Collegiate School), Sophia Bryant, B. Sc., Malvira +Borchardt (Head Mistress of Devonport High School), Louisa +Boucherett, Jessie Boucherett, Margaret Byers (Ladies' Collegiate +School, Belfast), Ellice Hopkins. + +[562] Mrs. Lucas presiding, Dr. Garrett Anderson, Miss Becker, Miss +Orme, Mrs. Beddoe, Mrs. Scatcherd, Mrs. Eva M'Laren, Mrs. Simcok, +Mrs. Stanton Blatch, Mrs. Louisa Stevenson, Miss Balgarnie, Miss +Mueller, Miss Wilkinson, Mrs. Ashworth Hallett, Miss Tod. + +[563] Miss Mueller's spirited protest against taxation without +representation, owing to her official reputation as a member of the +London school-board, attracted unusual attention. For some time she +kept her doors barred against the coarse minions of the law, but +ultimately they entered the house, seized her goods and carried +them off to be sold at public auction, but they were bought in by +friends next day. Miss Charlotte E. Hall and Miss Babb have +protested and resisted taxation for many years. + +It is probable that Miss Mueller's example will be followed by many +others next year. This quiet form of protest used to be very +generally followed by members of the society of Friends, and must +command the sympathy of our co-workers in the United States, who +date their national existence from their refusal to submit to +taxation without representation.--[E. C. S. + +[564] The bill was prepared and brought in by Mr. Woodall, Mr. +Illingworth, Mr. Coleridge Kennard, Mr. Stansfeld, Mr. Yorke and +Baron Henry de Worms. + +[565] _Central Committee of the National Society for Women's +Suffrage_--Mrs. Ashford (Birmingham), Miss Lydia E. Becker +(Manchester), Alfred W. Bennett, esq., M. A., Miss Caroline Ashurst +Biggs, Miss Helen Blackburn, Miss Jessie Boucherett, Hon. Emmeline +Canning, Miss Frances Power Cobbe, Miss Jane Cobden, Miss +Courtenay, Leonard Courteny, esq., M. P., Mrs. Cowen (Nottingham), +Miss Mabel Sharman Crawford, Mrs. Ashton Dilke, Hon. Mrs. Maurice +Drummond (Hampstead), Mrs. Millicent G. Fawcett, Miss Agnes +Garrett, Rev. C. Green (Bromley), Mrs. Ashworth Hallett (Bristol), +Viscountess Harberton, Thomas Hare, esq., Mrs. Ann Maria Haslam +(Dublin), Frederick Hill, esq., Mrs. John Hollond, Mrs. Frank +Morrison, C. H. Hopwood, esq., Q. C., M. P., Mrs. John Hullah, +Coleridge Kennard, esq., M. P., Mrs. Margaret Bright Lucas, Mrs. E. +M. Lynch, Robert Main, esq., Mrs. Laura Pochin McLaren, Mrs. Eva +Mueller McLaren (Bradford), Mrs. Priscilla Bright McLaren +(Edinburgh), Miss Henrietta Mueller, Frederick Pennington, esq., M. +P., Mrs. F. Pennington, Miss Reeves, Mrs. Saville, Miss Lillie +Stacpole, Rev. S. A. Steinthal (Manchester), J. S. Symon, esq., +Miss Helen Taylor, Sir Richard Temple, G. C. S. I.; J. P. +Thomasson, esq., M. P., Mrs. Katherine Lucas Thomasson (Bolton), +Miss Isabella M. Tod (Belfast), Miss Williams, William Woodall, +esq. M. P. _Secretary_, Miss Florence Balgarnie. _Assistant +Secretary_, Miss Torrance. _Organizing Agent_, Miss Moore. +_Treasurer_, Mrs. Laura Pochin McLaren. _Office_, 29 Parliament +street, London S. W. + + + + +CHAPTER LVII. + +CONTINENTAL EUROPE.[566] + +BY THEODORE STANTON. + + If you would know the political and moral status of a + people, demand what place its women occupy.--[L. AIME + MARTIN. + + There is nothing, I think, which marks more decidedly the + character of men or of nations, than the manner in which + they treat women.--[HERDER. + + The Woman Question in the Back-ground--In France the Agitation + Dates from the Upheaval of 1789--International Women's Rights + Convention in Paris, 1878--Mlle. Hubertine Auclert Leads the + Demand for Suffrage--Agitation began in Italy with the + Kingdom--Concepcion Arenal in Spain--Coeducation in + Portugal--Germany: Leipsic and Berlin--Austria in Advance of + Germany--Caroline Svetla of Bohemia--Austria Unsurpassed in + contradictions--Marriage Emancipates from Tutelage in + Hungary--Dr. Henrietta Jacobs of Holland--Dr. Isala van Diest of + Belgium--In Switzerland the Catholic Cantons Lag Behind--Marie + Goegg, the Leader--Sweden Stands First--Universities Open to + Women in Norway--Associations in Denmark--Liberality of Russia + toward Women--Poland--The Orient--Turkey--Jewish Wives--The Greek + Woman in Turkey--The Greek Woman in Greece--An Unique + Episode--Woman's Rights in the American Sense not known. + + +The reader of the preceding pages will be sorely disappointed if he +expects to find in this brief chapter a similar record of progress +and reform. If, however, he looks simply for an earnest of the +future, for a humble beginning of that wonderful revolution in +favor of women which has occurred in the United States, and to a +less degree in England, during the past quarter of a century, his +expectations will be fully realized. More than this; he will close +this long account of woman's emancipation in the new world +convinced that in due season a similar blessing is to be enjoyed by +the women of the old world. + +For the moment, the woman question in Europe is pushed into the +background by the all-absorbing struggle still going on in various +forms between the republican and monarchical principle, between the +vital present and the moribund past; but the most superficial +observer must perceive, that the amelioration of the lamentable +situation of European womanhood is sure to be one of the first +problems to come to the front for resolution, as soon as liberty +gains undisputed control on this continent,--a victory assured in +the not-distant future. When men shall have secured their rights, +the battle will be half won; women's rights will follow as a +natural sequence. + +The most logical beginning for a sketch of the woman movement on +the continent, and indeed of any step in advance, is of course +France, where ideas, not facts, stand out the more prominently; +for, in questions of reform, the abstract must always precede the +concrete,--public opinion must be convinced before it will accept +an innovation. This has been the _role_ of France in Europe ever +since the great revolution; it is her _role_ to-day. She is the +agitator of the old world, and agitation is the lever of reform. + + +[Illustration: George Sand] + + +The woman movement in France dates from the upheaval of 1789. +Though the demands for the rights of man threw all other claims +into the shade, a few women did not fail to perceive that they also +had interests at stake. Marie Olympe de Gouges, for example, in her +"Declaration of the Rights of Woman," vindicated for her sex all +the liberties proclaimed in the famous "Declaration of the Rights +of Man." During the empire and the restoration the reform slept; +under the July monarchy there was an occasional murmur, which burst +forth into a vigorous protest when the revolution of 1848 awakened +the aspirations of 1789, and George Sand consecrated her talent to +the cause of progress. During the second empire, in spite of the +oppressive nature of the government, the movement took on a more +definite form; its advocates became more numerous; and men and +women who held high places in literature, politics and journalism, +spoke out plainly in favor of ameliorating the condition of French +women. Then came the third republic, with more freedom than France +had enjoyed since the beginning of the century. The woman movement +felt the change, and, during the past ten years, its friends have +been more active than ever before. + +The most tangible event in the history of the question in France is +the International Woman's Rights Congress, the first international +gathering of the kind, which assembled in Paris in the months of +July and August during the exposition season of 1878. The committee +which called the congress contained representatives from six +different countries, viz.: France, Switzerland, Italy, Holland, +Russia and America. Among the eighteen members from France were two +senators, five deputies and three Paris municipal councilors. Italy +was represented by a deputy and the Countess of Travers, an +indefatigable friend of the undertaking, who died just before the +opening of the congress. The American members of the committee were +Julia Ward Howe, Mary A. Livermore and Theodore Stanton. Among the +members[567] of the congress, besides those just mentioned, were +deputies, senators, publicists, journalists, and men and women of +letters from all parts of Europe. Sixteen different organizations +in Europe and America sent delegates. The National Woman Suffrage +Association was represented by Jane Graham Jones and Theodore +Stanton, and the American Woman Suffrage Association by Julia Ward +Howe. + +The work of the congress was divided into five sections, as +follows: the historical, the educational, the economic, the moral, +and the legislative. The congress was opened on July 25, by Leon +Richer, its promoter and originator, and one of the most +indefatigable friends of women's rights in France. He invited Maria +Deraismes, an able speaker well known among Paris reformers, to act +as temporary chairman. The next thing in order was the election of +two permanent presidents, a man and a woman. The late M. Antide +Martin, then an influential member of the Paris municipal council, +and Julia Ward Howe were chosen. Mrs. Howe, on taking the chair, +made a short speech which was very well received; Anna Maria +Mozzoni, of Milan, a most eloquent orator, followed; and then +Genevieve Graham Jones advanced to the platform, and in the name of +her mother, Jane Graham Jones, delegate of the National Woman +Suffrage Association, she conveyed to the congress messages of +good-will from the United States. This address, delivered with much +feeling, and appealing to French patriotism, was enthusiastically +received. When Miss Jones had taken her seat, M. Martin arose, +thanked the foreign ladies for their admirable words, and concluded +in these terms: "In the name of my compatriots, I particularly +return gratitude to Miss Graham Jones for the eloquent and cordial +manner in which she has just referred to France, and in turn, I +salute republican America, which so often offers Europe examples of +good sense, wisdom and liberty." + +At the second session was read a long and eloquent letter from +Salvatore Morelli,[568] the Italian deputy. Theodore Stanton read a +paper entitled, "The Woman Movement in the United States." The +third session was devoted to the educational phase of the woman +question. Tony Revillon, who has since become one of the radical +deputies of Paris, spoke, and Miss Hotchkiss presented an able +report on "The Education of Women in America." After Miss Hotchkiss +had finished, Auguste Desmoulins, now a member of the Paris +municipal council, offered, as president of the section, a +resolution advocating the principal reforms--the same studies for +boys and girls, and coeducation--demanded by Miss Hotchkiss. The +resolution was carried without debate. Aurelia Cimino Folliero de +Luna, of Florence, followed in a few remarks on the "Mission of +Woman." Eugenie Pierre, of Paris, spoke on the "Vices of Education +in Different Classes of Society," and in closing complimented +America in the highest terms for its progressive position on the +woman question. In fact, the example of the United States was +frequently cited throughout the proceedings of this congress, and +the reformers of America may find some joy in feeling that their +labors are producing fruit even in the old world. + +At the last session of the congress, August 9, 1878, a permanent +international committee was announced. France, England, Italy, +Alsace-Lorraine, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Poland, +Russia, Roumania and the United States are all represented on this +committee.[569] The chief duties of this committee were to be the +advancement of the reforms demanded by the congress and to issue +the call for the next international gathering. The congress ended +with a grand banquet on the evening of the last day's session, in +which about two hundred guests participated. + +The present situation in France is full of interest and +encouragement. There are societies, journals, and different groups +of reformers all striving independently but earnestly to better the +situation of French women politically, civilly, morally and +intellectually. At the head of the agitation in favor of women's +political rights stand Hubertine Auclert and her vigorous monthly, +_La Citoyenne_[570]; the reformers of the code are lead by Leon +Richer and his outspoken monthly, _Le Droit des Femmes_[571]; the +movement in favor of divorce, which was crowned with success in the +summer of 1884, is headed by Alfred Naquet in the senate, and finds +one of its earliest and ablest supporters in Olympe Audouard; the +emancipation of women from priestly domination--and herein lies the +greatest and most dangerous obstacle that the reformers +encounter--counts among its many advocates Maria Deraismes; woman's +moral improvement, to be mainly accomplished by the abolition of +legalized prostitution, is demanded by Dr. and Mrs. Chapman and +Emilie de Morsier; while the great uprising in favor of woman's +education has such a host of friends and has already produced such +grand results, that the brief limits of this sketch will permit +neither an enumeration of the one nor the other. + + * * * * * + +The transition from France to Italy is easy and natural, for it is +on the Cisalpine peninsula that Gallic ideas have always taken +deeper root than elsewhere on the Continent, and, as might be +expected, the Italian woman movement resembles in many respects +that of which we have just spoken. + +With the formation of the kingdom of Italy in 1870 began a +well-defined agitation in favor of Italian women. The educational +question was first taken up. Prominent among the women who +participated in this movement were Laura Mantegazza, the +Marchioness Brigida Tanari, and Alessandrina Ravizza. Aurelia +Cimino Folliero de Luna, who has devoted her whole life to +improving the condition of her countrywomen, writes me from +Florence on this subject. "Here it was," she says, "that the +example of American and English women, who in this respect were +our superiors, was useful to us. While we were still under foreign +domination and ignorant of solidarity of sex, they were free and +united." The new political life produced a number of able women +orators and writers, such as Anna Mozzoni, Malvina Frank, Gualberta +Beccari, and many others. The last named founded at Venice _La +Donna_, and in 1872 Aurelia Cimino Folliero de Luna established in +Florence _La Cornelia_, which has since ceased to exist, while in +1882 Ernesta Napollon began at Naples the publication of the +short-lived _L'Umanitario_, the youngest of a goodly list of +journals which have done much to excite an interest in the woman +question. The Italian government has generously seconded the +efforts of the reformers. The code has been modified, schools have +been established, the universities thrown open and courses in +agriculture proposed. + +But the most significant sign of progress in Italy was afforded by +the great universal suffrage convention, held at Rome on February +11, 12, 1881. Anna Mozzoni, delegate to the convention from the +Milan Society for the Promotion of Woman's Interests, of which she +is the able president, made an eloquent appeal for woman suffrage +and introduced a resolution to this effect which was carried by a +good majority.[572] In 1876 a committee of the Chamber, of which +the deputy Peruzzi was chairman, reported a bill in favor of +conferring on women the right to vote on municipal and provincial +questions (_voto amministrativo_), a privilege which they had +formerly enjoyed in Lombardy and Venice under Austrian rule. This +bill was reintroduced in 1882 by the Depretis ministry and was +reported upon favorably by the proper committee in June, 1884. It +is believed that the proposition will soon become a law. If such is +the case, Italian women will enjoy the same rights as Italian men +in municipal and provincial affairs, with this exception, that they +will not be eligible to office in the bodies of which they are +electors.[573] Aurelia Cimino Folliero de Luna, says: + + I make no doubt that in a few years the question of the + emancipation of women in Italy will be better understood; will be + regarded from a more elevated standpoint and will receive a more + general and greater support; for if we turn to the past, we shall + be astonished at what has already been accomplished in this + direction. + + * * * * * + +Concepcion Arenal, the distinguished Spanish authoress, signals +several signs of progress in her country. This lady writes: + + In the schools founded by the Madrid Association for the + Education of Women, nearly five hundred girls pursue courses in + pedagogics, commercial studies, modern languages, painting, etc. + This instruction, for the most part gratis, is given by + professors who devote their time and strength to this noble + object without receiving any remuneration,--worthy continuators + of the grand work of the founder of the Madrid high-school for + women, Fernando de Castro, of blessed memory, one of the most + philanthropic men I ever met, who so loved mankind that his name + should be known in every land. Nine hundred and eighteen girls + attended the session of 1880-1881 of the school of music and + declamation at Madrid, and the number has since increased. + + A few years ago a school of arts and trades was founded at the + capital, and women were admitted to the classes in drawing. In + 1881, one hundred and thirty availed themselves of this + privilege. In 1882, one hundred and fifty-four female students + were present at the institutions (_institutos_) for intermediate + education in Spain. The coeducation of the sexes, therefore, is + not unknown to us. In that year Valencia, Barcelona, Gerona and + Seville each counted sixteen, while the single girl at Mahon + discontinued her studies on the ground that she preferred not to + mingle with boys. At Malaga, the only female aspirant for the + bachelor's degree took seven prizes, and was "excellent" in all + her studies. During the academic year, 1881-1882, twelve women + attended lectures in the Spanish universities. The three at + Madrid were all working for the doctorate, and one had passed the + necessary examinations; the two at Valladolid were occupied with + medicine, while at Barcelona five were studying medicine, one + law, and one pharmacy. Three of the medical students have passed + their examinations, but instead of the degrees, which are refused + them, they are granted certificates which do not allow them to + practice. + + Our public opinion is progressing, as is evidenced by the laws, + and especially by the educational reforms, which are the + exclusive work of men. The council of public instruction, a + consulting body holding by no means advanced ideas, was called + upon a short time ago, to decide whether the university + certificates conferred upon women could be converted into regular + degrees, which would entitle the recipients to the enjoyment of + the privileges attached to these titles. The learned council + discussed, hesitated, tried to decide the question, but finally + left it in a situation which was neither clear nor conclusive. + This hesitancy and vagueness are very significant; a few years + ago a negative decision would have been given promptly and in the + plainest terms. + + * * * * * + +Portugal is following closely upon the steps of Spain, and, in the +former as in the latter country, it is in the department of +education that the most marked signs of an awakening are to be +found. Rodrigues de Freitas, the well-known publicist and +republican statesman of Porto, says: + + There is not a single intermediate school for girls in all + Portugal. In 1883, the Portugese parliament took up the subject + of intermediate instruction, and discussed the question in its + relation to women, and the progress in this direction realized in + France during the last few years. A deputy who opposed the + reform, recalled the words of Jules Simon, pronounced in a recent + sitting of the council of public instruction at Paris. The + philosopher remarked: + + We are here a few old men, very fortunate gentlemen, in + being excused from having to marry the girls you propose to + bring up. + + Our minister of the interior, who has charge of public + instruction, followed, and declared that he was in favor of the + establishment of girls' colleges. He said: + + It is true that M. Jules Simon considers himself fortunate + in not having to marry a girl educated in a French college; + but I think I have discovered the reason for this aversion. + He is getting in his dotage, otherwise he would experience + no repugnance in proposing to such a girl, provided, of + course, that, along with an education, she was at the same + time pretty and virtuous. + + The chamber laughed. And such is the situation to-day: the + minister favorable to the better instruction of women, while + neither minister nor deputies make an earnest effort to bring it + about. + + This dark picture is relieved, however, by one or two bright + touches. There are many private boarding schools where families + in easy circumstances send their daughters, who learn to speak + several languages, are taught a little elementary mathematics and + geography, and acquire a few accomplishments. Some of the pupils + of these institutions pass with credit the examinations of the + boys' lyceums or colleges. Article 72, of the law of June 14, + 1880, on intermediate instruction, reads as follows: "Students of + the female sex, who wish to enter the State schools, or pass the + examinations of said schools, come within the provisions of this + law, except as regards the regulations concerning boarding + scholars." That is to say, girls enjoy in the State intermediate + schools the same privileges as male day scholars. Many girls have + availed themselves of this opportunity and have passed the lyceum + examinations. + + * * * * * + +Crossing the Rhine into the Teutonic countries, we find less +progress on the whole, than among the Latin races. Germany, +however, if behind France and Italy, is far ahead of Spain and +Portugal. The agitation is divided into two currents: the Leipsic +and the Berlin movements. The former is the older, the General +Association of German Women having been founded in Leipsic in +October, 1865. Louise Otto-Peters, the prime mover in the +organization of this association, may be considered the originator +of the German movement. A novelist of much power, whose stories all +teach a lesson in socialism, she established in 1848, the year of +the great revolutionary fermentation throughout Europe, the first +paper which advocated the interests of women in Germany. The aims +of the Leipsic and Berlin reformers were of an economic and +educational nature. It was felt that the time had come when woman +must have wider and better paid fields of work, and when she must +be more thoroughly educated in order to be able the easier to gain +her livelihood. A paper, _New Paths_ (_Neue Bahnen_), was +established as the organ of the association. It still exists. The +plan of holding annual conventions--much like those which have been +in progress in America for so many years--in the chief cities of +Germany was settled upon, and numerous meetings of this kind have +already occurred. At these gatherings all questions pertaining to +woman's advancement are discussed, and auxiliary associations +organized. The General Association of German Women has sent several +petitions to the Reichstag, or imperial parliament, demanding +various reforms and innovations. The principal members of the +association are Louise Otto-Peters, the president and editor of the +_Neue Bahnen_; Henriette Goldschmidt, the most effective speaker of +the group; and Mrs. Winter, the treasurer, all of whom live in +Leipsic; Miss Menzzer of Dresden; Lina Morgenstern, the well-known +Berlin philanthropist; and Marie Calm of Cassel, perhaps the most +radical of the body, whose ideas on woman suffrage are much the +same as those entertained in England and the United States. In +fact, an American is frequently struck by the similarity between +many of the features of the General Association of German Women, +and the Woman's Rights Association in the United States. + + * * * * * + +The Berlin movement, which resembles that of Leipsic in everything +except that it is rather more conservative, owes its origin to that +distinguished philanthropist, Dr. Adolf Lette. The Lette Verein, or +Lette Society, so called in honor of its founder, was organized in +December, 1865, but a few months after the establishment of the +Leipsic association. The object of the society is, as has already +been said, to improve the material condition of women, especially +poor women, by giving them a better education, by teaching them +manual employments, by helping to establish them in business--in a +word, by affording them the means to support themselves. The Lette +Society has become the nucleus of similar organizations scattered +all over the German empire. Its organ, the _German Woman's +Advocate_ (_Deutcher Frauenanwalt_), is a well-conducted little +monthly, edited by the secretary of the society, Jenny Hirsch. Anna +Schepeler-Lette, daughter of the founder, has been for many years +and is still at the head of this admirable society. She writes me: + + If we are asked whether we would have women enter public life, + whether we would wish them to become professors in the + university, clergymen in the church, and lawyers at the bar, as + is the case in America, we should make no response, for they are + but idle questions. These demands have not yet been made in + Germany, nor will they be made for a long time to come, if ever. + But why peer into the future? We have to-day many institutions, + many customs, which past centuries would have looked upon as + contrary to Divine and human law. In this connection we would say + with Sancho Panza: "What is, is able to be." + +The German philosopher, Herr von Kirchmann, is more decided in his +views concerning the future of his countrywomen. In one of his last +works, entitled "Questions and Dangers of the Hour" (_Zeitfragen +und Abenteuer_) is a chapter on "Women in the Past and Future," +where it is shown that the female sex has been gradually gaining +its freedom, and the prediction is made that the day is near at +hand when women will obtain their complete independence and will +compete with men in every department of life, not excepting +politics. + + * * * * * + +Turning to the other great Germanic nation, Austria, we find still +less progress than in the north. In fact, the movement in the south +is little more than a question of woman's self-support. The +important problem of woman's education is not yet resolved in +Germany, and in Austria still less has been done. "In two +particulars," writes a Berlin correspondent, "Austria may be said +to be in advance of Germany. The admission of women to the +university does not present such insurmountable difficulties, and +her employment in railroad, post, and telegraph offices does not +encounter such strong opposition." But it must not be supposed from +this statement that the Austrian universities are open to women. +"Our universities are shut against women," Professor Wendt, of +Troppau, informs me; "but they may pass the same examinations as +boys who have finished their preparatory studies, though it is +distinctly stated in the women's diplomas that they may not +continue their studies in the university." The professors, however, +sometimes allow foreign girls to attend lectures. Professor Bruhl, +of Vienna, for example, has lectured to men and women on anatomy. +The Academy of Fine Arts at Vienna is not open to women, though the +Conservatory of Music is much frequented by them. In 1880, in fact, +three women received prizes for musical compositions. Johanna +Leitenberger, of Salzburg, writes: + + Several newspapers are devoted to the different phases of the + woman's movement in Austria. Some years ago an ex-officer, + Captain A. D. Korn, who, if I am not mistaken, had passed some + time in England and America, founded the _Women's Universal + Journal_ (_Allgemeine Frauen Zeitung_). This newspaper was wholly + devoted to women's interest, but it soon died. The same thing is + true of the _Women's Journal_ (_Frauenblaetter_) of Gratz, which + appeared for a short time under my editorship. * * * * On October + 9, 10, 11, 1872, the third German women's convention (_Deutsche + Frauenkonferenz_) was held at Vienna, under the auspices of the + general society for popular education and the amelioration of + women's condition. The other two sittings of this society had + been held at Leipsic and Stuttgart. The soul of this new movement + was Captain Korn, whom I have already mentioned. His study of the + woman question in the United States may have prompted him to + awaken a similar agitation among the women of the Austrian + empire. Addresses were delivered at this convention by ladies + from Vienna, Hungary, Bohemia and Styria and all the various + interests of women were discussed. * * * * The proceedings of the + convention attracted considerable attention, and produced + favorable impressions on the audience, which was recruited from + the better classes of the population. But the newspapers of + Vienna ridiculed the young movement, its friends grew lukewarm, + and every trace was soon lost of this first and last Austrian + women's rights convention. + +In one important particular the Austro-Hungarian empire treats +women more fairly than is the case in other European countries. +Elise Krasnohorska, the Bohemian author, writes me: + + Women have a voice in the municipal, provincial and national + elections, though male citizens duly authorized by them cast + their vote. With this single reserve--a very important one, it + must be confessed--our women are politically the equals of men. + At Prague, however, this is not the case. The Bohemian capital + preserves an ancient privilege which is in contradiction to the + Austrian electoral law, and which excludes us from the elective + franchise. Universal suffrage does not exist in the empire, but + the payment of a certain amount of taxes confers the right to + vote. I do not enter into the details of the electoral law, which + is somewhat complicated, which has its exceptions and + contradictions, and is in fact an apple of discord in Austria in + more than one respect; but, speaking generally, it may be said + that a woman who owns property, who is in business, or who pays + taxes, may designate a citizen possessing her confidence to + represent her at the polls. Our women are satisfied with this + system, and prefer it to casting their ballot in person. + + It may be said, also, that women are eligible to office, or at + least that there is no law against their accepting it, while + there are instances of their having done so. In southern + Bohemia, a short time ago, a countess was chosen member of a + provincial assembly (_okresni zastupitestvo_) with the approval + of the body, on the condition that she should not participate + personally in its deliberations, but should be represented by a + man having full power to act for her. At Agram in Croatia, a + woman was elected, a few years ago, member of the municipal + council, and no objection was made. Of course such cases are very + rare, but they have their significance. + +Carolina Svetla, the distinguished poet and author, has done, +perhaps, the most to awaken thought on the woman question in +Bohemia. She stands at the head of a talented group of literary +women, which plays a brilliant part in the fatherland of Huss. The +means for woman's instruction, however, are most lamentable in +Bohemia. The universities are shut against women, and though two +women have been graduated in Switzerland, their degrees are not +recognized in their native land. Beyond primary instruction the +State does almost nothing for its women, though they outnumber the +other sex by two hundred thousand. In several of the large cities +of Bohemia something has been accomplished for girls' high-school +and normal-school instruction; but, in general, we may say that the +intellectual development of Bohemian girls is left to private +instruction. Associations of women have done much to fill this +void, one of which, founded by Carolina Svetla, is devoted to the +industrial and commercial instruction of girls. Two thousand women +belong to this association, and five hundred girls attend its +school annually, while many young women frequent its school for the +training of nurses. This vigorous organization has disarmed +prejudices by the success of its schools and by the arguments of +its monthly organ, the _Zenske Listy_, ably edited by Elise +Krasnohorska, one of the best known Bohemian poets, and a leader in +the work of improving the condition of her countrywomen. Vojta +Naprstek, a man who has justly been named "the woman's advocate," +has founded at Prague the Women's American Club, whose object is +charity and the intellectual elevation of women, and has presented +the club a valuable collection of books and objects of art. A lady, +writing me from Prague, says: + + The club has always been in a most flourishing condition, + although it has never had a constitution or by-laws to hold it + together,--nothing but the single bond of philanthropy. At first + it had not even a name. But outsiders began to call its members + 'the Americans,' because they adopted American improvements in + their homes. The appellation was accepted by the club as an + honorable title, and from that time it formally called itself the + "American Club." + +The Austrian code, in its treatment of women, is unsurpassed in +contradictions. Women, for example, may testify in criminal +actions, but they may not be witnesses to the simplest legal +document. There are many absurdities of this sort in the existing +law which were unknown in the ancient code of independent Bohemia, +which was more liberal in its treatment of women. Divorce exists, +but divorced persons cannot marry again. Bohemia being a part of +Austria, women vote in the same way as has already been mentioned +in what was said of the latter country. But at Prague, however, +women do not vote, the capital still retaining its old laws on this +subject. + +Concerning the other grand division of the empire of the Hapsburgs, +Hungary, much the same may be said as of Bohemia. It is only within +the last forty years that Hungary has striven to attain to the +level of occidental civilization and culture, so that the question +of the amelioration of women's condition is of very recent origin +in that country. Rose Revai, of Budapest, writes: + + Hungarian legislators have always treated us favorably in all + matters pertaining to the family, marriage and inheritance. By + the mere act of marriage we attain our majority and are + emancipated from tutelage. As heirs, our interests are not + forgotten, and as widows, we have the control over our own + children. In business and trade we enjoy equal rights with men. + And Hungarian women have not been slow to take advantage of these + privileges, as is shown by those of our sex who occupy worthy + positions in literature, art, commerce, industry, the theater and + the school-room. + +Although the Hungarian universities are still closed against women, +there are many girls' industrial and normal schools and colleges. +The impetus given to female education in Hungary is chiefly +due to the late Baron Joseph Eoetvoes, the savant, poet and +philanthropist, who was minister of public instruction in 1867. +Women are employed in the postal and telegraphic service. + + * * * * * + +Returning north, to Holland, we find much the same situation as +in the other Teutonic nations. "The women of Holland are +unquestionably better educated, and entertain as a body more +liberal ideas than French women," said a Dutch lady to me, who had +lived many years at Paris; "but, on the other hand, there is not +the little group of women in the Netherlands who grasp the real +meaning of the woman question as is the case here in France." +Woman's social position is a little better in Holland than in the +Catholic countries. In 1870 an essay on the woman question "by a +lady" demanded political rights for women, and there are a few +instances of women having lectured on that subject. The Dutch +universities are open to female students, and Aletta Henriette +Jacobs, the first and only female physician in Holland, has a +successful practice at Amsterdam. Dr. Jacobs recently attempted to +vote, and carried the question before the courts. Elise A. +Haighton, of Amsterdam, writes: + + A few of our women do not hesitate to participate in political + and social discussions. The Union (_Unic_), a society which aims + to promote popular interest in politics by meetings, debates, + tracts, etc.; the Daybreak (_Dageraad_), a radical association + which holds very ultra opinions on politics, religion and + science, and supports a magazine to which many scientific men + contribute; and the New Malthusian Band, an organization + sufficiently explained by its name, all count several women among + their members. + +Elise van Calcar, the veteran Dutch authoress, sums up the +situation in Holland, as follows: + + I am sorry to have to confess that, as regards the general + emancipation of women, we have accomplished but very little. Our + work is indirect; we can only proclaim the injustice of our + position. + + * * * * * + +Two countries, the product of Latin and Teutonic civilization, +Belgium and Switzerland, must be touched upon before we turn to the +Scandinavian people. Of the first, Belgium, about the same may be +said as of Holland with which she was so long united politically. A +correspondent in Belgium writes me as follows: + + There cannot be said to be any movement in this country in favor + of the emancipation of women. No journal, no association, no + organization of any kind exists. + +But public opinion is said to be quite favorable. Women are making +their way slowly into certain callings. The professors of the +universities of Liege and Ghent, when asked their opinion not long +ago by the minister of public instruction, expressed a desire to +see women admitted to the privileges of these institutions on the +same terms as men, and to-day female students are found at all the +institutions for higher education. Another correspondent writes: + + Within the past few years an effort has been made among the women + of the middle classes in the large cities, and secondary and + professional schools have been established for girls, which are + already producing good fruit. This movement is beginning to make + itself felt among the upper classes, and it is to be hoped that + the next generation will make longer strides in the direction of + instruction than is the case with the present generation. + +In one respect at least Belgium is far behind her neighbor, +Holland. Dr. Isala van Diest, the first and so far the only female +physician in Belgium, although she has passed successfully all the +necessary examinations and taken all the necessary degrees, may not +practice medicine in her own country. She wrote me recently: + + I fear I shall soon be obliged to give up the fight and go to + France, England or Holland, unless I wish to lose the fruit of + all my studies. + +Concerning the higher education of women Dr. van Diest writes: + + There existed in Belgium some years ago a law which required + students who would enter the university, to pass the examination + of graduate in letters (_gradue-en-lettres_). Candidates for this + degree were expected to know how to translate Greek and write + Latin. But as there were no schools where girls could study the + dead languages with the thoroughness of boys who were trained six + years in the classics, the former were almost entirely shut out + from enjoying the advantages of an university course. This + _graduat_, however, no longer exists, and the entrance of women + into our universities is now possible. Female students are found + to-day at Brussels, Liege and Ghent, but their number is still + very small. It was in 1880 that the first woman entered the + university of Brussels, but it was not until 1883 that their + admission became general. They pursue, for the most part, + scientific studies, thereby securing more lucrative positions as + teachers, and pass their examinations for graduation with + success. + +Switzerland being made up of more than a score of separate cantons +closely resembling our States in their political organization, it +is difficult to arrive at the exact situation throughout the whole +country--small though it be. However, generally speaking, it may be +said that the Helvetic republic has remained almost a passive +spectator of the woman movement, though a few signs of progress are +worthy of note. The Catholic cantons lag behind those that have +adopted Protestantism, and the latter are led by Geneva. Though +subject to the Napoleonic code, Geneva has never known that +debasing law of the tutelage of women which existed for so long a +time in the other cantons, even in the intelligent canton of Vaud, +where it was abolished only in 1873. It was not until 1881 that a +federal statute put an end to the law throughout all Switzerland. +Geneva has always been very liberal in its treatment of married +women--divorce exists, excellent intermediate girls' schools were +created more than thirty years ago, and women are admitted to all +the university lectures. Marie Goegg, the untiring leader of the +movement in that country, writes me: + + However, notwithstanding these examples of liberality, which + denote that the law-makers had a breadth of view in accord with + their time, Switzerland, as a whole, has been one of the least + disposed of European States to accept the idea of the civil + emancipation of woman, much less her political emancipation, so + that from 1848 to 1868 the demands of American women were + considered here to be the height of extravagance.... The seed + planted in America in 1848, though its growth was difficult, + finally began to take root in Europe. The hour had come. + +In March, 1868, Marie Goegg published a letter, in which she +invited the women of all nations to join with her in the formation +of a society. In July of that same year the Woman's International +Association was founded at Geneva with Marie Goegg as president. +The organization began immediately an active work, and through its +efforts, several of the reforms already mentioned were brought +about, and public opinion in Switzerland considerably enlightened +on the question. Mrs. Goegg says: + + With the object of advancing the young movement, I established at + my own risk a bi-monthly, the _Woman's Journal_ (_Journal des + femmes_). But this was a violation of that good Latin motto, + _festina lente_, and, at the end of a few months the paper + suspended publication. Swiss public opinion was not yet ready to + support such a venture. + + It may be pointed out here that, except in England, all the + women's societies created in Europe had, up to the time of the + organization of the International Association refrained from + touching the question of the political rights of women. The Swiss + association, on the contrary, always included this subject in its + programme. But, unfortunately, at the moment when our efforts + were meeting with success, and the future was full of promise for + the cause which we advocated, the terrible Franco-German war + broke out, and, for various reasons unnecessary to go into here, + I felt constrained to resign the presidency, and the association + came to an end. + +Two years later the International Association was revived in the +form of the Solidarity (_Solidarite_), whose name signified the +spirit which ought to unite all women. In 1875 Mrs. Goegg became +president of the new organization as well as founder and editor of +its organ, the _Solidarity Bulletin_ (_Bulletin de la Solidarite_). +But on September 20, 1880, both society and journal ceased to +exist. The president in her farewell address said: + + The dissolution of the Solidarity ought not to discourage us, but + ought rather to cause us to rejoice, for the recent creation of + so many women's national societies in different countries proves + that the Solidarity has accomplished its aim, so that we have + only to retire. + +The striking success of university coeducation in Switzerland calls +for a few words of notice. Mrs. Goegg writes: + + In October, 1872, I sent a petition to the grand-council of + Geneva, asking that women be admitted to the university of Geneva + on the same footing as men. The state of public opinion on this + subject in Switzerland, and especially in Geneva, may be judged + from the fact that, fearing to compromise the demand if I acted + in my own name or that of the Solidarity, the petition was + presented as coming from "the mothers of Geneva." Our prayer was + granted. + +The number of women who have pursued studies at Geneva has steadily +increased every year. In 1878 the university of Neufchatel was +thrown open to women, while the university of Zurich has long had a +large number of female students. Professor Pflueger, of the +university of Bern, writing to me in April, 1883, said: + + From February 2, 1876, to the present time, thirty-five women + have taken degrees at our medical school. The lectures are + attended each semester on an average by from twenty-five to + thirty women, while from three to six follow the lectures on + philosophy and letters. The presence of women at our university + has occasioned no serious inconvenience and many colleagues favor + it. + +The rector of the university of Geneva wrote, February, 1883: + + Up to the present time the attendance of women at our university + has occasioned us no inconvenience except in some lectures of the + medical school, where the subjects are not always of a nature to + admit of their treatment before mixed classes. + + * * * * * + +We shall now glance at the situation of woman in the three +Scandinavian countries, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Sweden stands +first, just as Germany does among the Teutonic nations, and France +among the Latin nations; in fact we may perhaps go farther and say +that of all Continental States, Sweden leads in many respects at +least, in the revolution in favor of women. + +The State, the royal family, private individuals, and, above all, +women themselves have all striven to outstrip each other in the +emancipation of Swedish women. Normal schools, high schools, +primary schools, the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Academy +of Fine Arts, both at Stockholm, dairy schools and a host of other +educational institutions, both private and public, are thrown wide +open to women. The State has founded scholarships for women at +Upsala University and at the medical school of the university of +Lund. Numerous benevolent, charitable and industrial societies +have been established and in many instances are managed by women. +But the best idea may be gained of the liberal spirit which +prevails in Sweden by showing what the State has done for the +emancipation of women. For instance, in 1845, equality of +inheritance for son and daughter was established, and the wife was +given equal rights with the husband as regards the common property; +in 1846, woman was permitted to practice industrial professions and +to carry on business in her own name; in 1861, the professions of +surgery and dentistry were opened to her; in 1864, her rights in +trade and industrial pursuits were enlarged; in 1870, she was +admitted to the universities and medical profession; in 1872, a +woman of twenty-five was given the full right of disposing of +herself in marriage, the consent of parents and relations having +been necessary before that time; and in 1874, a married woman +became entitled to control that part of her private property set +aside for her personal use in the marriage contract, as well as to +possess her own earnings. The reforms in favor of married women are +in no small measure due to the society founded in 1871 by Mrs. +E. Anckarsvaerd and Anna Hierta Retzius, whose aim was the +accomplishment of these very reforms. + +A good beginning has been made toward securing full political +rights for Swedish women. In many matters relative to the +municipality, women vote on the same terms with men, as for +example, in the choice of the parish clergy, in the election of +municipal councilors, and members of the county council. This +latter body elects the House of Lords, so that woman's influence, +through an intermediate electoral body, is felt in the upper +chamber. May this not be one reason why the Swedish legislature has +been so liberal toward women? Demands have been made, but in vain, +for the complete franchise which would confer upon women the +privilege of voting for members of the diet. Woman's interests have +found a warm and energetic advocate in the _Home Review_ +(_Tidskrift foer Hemmet_), which was founded in 1859 by the Hon. +Rosalie d'Olivecrona and the Baroness Leyonhufoud, to-day the Hon. +Mrs. Adlersparre. The paper is still edited by the latter; Rosalie +d'Olivecrona, who has always been a most active friend of the woman +movement, having retired in 1868. + + * * * * * + +If we cross the boundaries of Sweden into the sister kingdom of +Norway, we find the condition of woman absolutely changed. +"Concerning Norway, I have said almost nothing," writes Camilla +Collett, the distinguished Norwegian author, in some notes which +she sent me recently on the situation of women in Scandinavia, "for +the very simple reason that there is little to say." The long and +oppressive domination of Denmark prostrated Norway, but her close +union with Sweden since the fall of Napoleon, has begun to have a +good effect, and the liberal influence of the latter country in +favor of woman is already beginning to be felt in the other half of +the Scandinavian peninsula. One step in advance has been the +opening of the university to women--"The best thing that can be +said of Norway," says Camilla Collett. Miss Cecilie Thoresen, the +first female student to matriculate at Christiania University, +writing to me from Eidsvold, Norway, in December, 1882, says it was +in 1880 that she decided to try and take an academic degree. Her +father, therefore, applied to the minister of public instruction +for the necessary authorization; the latter referred the +application to the university authorities, who, in their turn, +submitted the portentous question to the faculty of the law-school. +In due season Miss Thoresen received this rather unsatisfactory +response: + + The admission of women to the university is denied, but we + recognize the necessity for changing the law on the subject. + +Thereupon Mr. H. E. Berner, the prominent liberal member of the +Storthing, or Norwegian parliament, introduced a bill permitting +women to pursue university studies leading to the degrees in arts +and philosophy (_examen artium_ and _examen philosophicum_). The +committee reported unanimously in favor of the bill; on March 30, +1882, it passed without debate the Odelsthing, one of the two +chambers of the Storthing, with but one dissenting voice--that of a +clergyman; on April 21, 1882, it received the unanimous vote of the +other house, the Lagthing; and it finally became a law on June 15, +1882. But Mr. Berner did not stop here. He once wrote me: + + In my opinion there hardly exists nowadays another social problem + which has a better claim on public attention than that of the + emancipation of women. Until they are placed on an equal footing + with men, we shall not have departed from the days of barbarism. + +In 1884, Mr. Berner succeeded in making it possible for women to +take all university degrees, the law of 1882 having opened to them +only the degrees in arts and philosophy. He is now pressing on the +attention of parliament other reforms in favor of women; and he has +recently written me that he believes that his efforts will be +crowned with success. + + * * * * * + +In Denmark nothing has been done in the direction of political +rights, nothing for school suffrage, though the liberal movement of +1848 improved woman's legal position slightly. But the situation of +married women is still very unsatisfactory, for it may be summed up +by saying that her property and her children are controlled by the +husband. In 1879 many thousand women petitioned the legislature for +the right to their own earnings, and a law was passed to this +effect. During the last twenty years, thanks to the example set by +Sweden, much has been done to open to women the field of work. In +1875 the university consented to receive women, but as the State +furnishes them only primary instruction, and does nothing for their +intermediate instruction, leaving this broad gap to be filled by +private efforts, the educational situation of Danish women leaves +much to be desired. But the women themselves have turned their +attention to this matter, and high schools and professional schools +for women, and generally managed by women, are springing up. + +Denmark has produced several journals devoted to the interests of +women and edited by women. The _Friday_ (_Fredagen_), issued from +July, 1875, to 1879, was edited by Vilhelmine Zahle. It was a bold, +radical little sheet. The name was probably taken from the _Woman's +Journal and Friday Society_, which appeared at Copenhagen in 1767, +under the anonymous editorship of a woman. The _Woman's Review_ +(_Tidsskrift for Kvinder_) began to appear in January, 1882. Its +editor, Elfride Fibiger, has associated with her Mr. Friis, a very +earnest friend of the women's movement, who has given a more +progressive turn to the paper, which has come out for women's +suffrage--the first journal in Denmark to take this radical step. + +Perhaps the most encouraging sign of progress is the foundation, +during the past few years, of numerous associations of women with +different objects in view. John Stuart Mill's "Subjection of +Women," which was translated into Danish and widely read; the +"Letters from Clara Raphael," of Mathilde Fibiger, which appeared +still earlier, in 1850; the writings of Camilla Collett, of Norway; +the liberal utterances of the great poets of the North, Bjoernsen, +Hostrup and Ibsen, whose "Nora" has rightfully procured for him +the title of "Woman's Poet"; the great progress in America, England +and Sweden; all these influences stimulated thought, weakened +prejudices and prepared the way for reforms in the Danish +peninsula. Kirstine Frederiksen, of Copenhagen, says: + + It is plainly evident that Danish women are weary of the part + allotted to them in the old society, a part characterized by the + sentiment that the best that can be said of a woman is that there + is nothing to say about her.... When, in due time, the claim for + political rights is made here in Denmark, then will women from + all classes unite in their efforts to secure the palladium which + alone can protect them from arbitrariness and subjection. + + * * * * * + +We shall now take up the Slavonic countries, beginning with Russia, +which stands first, not only because of its vastness, but also +because of its liberality toward women. The position of the Russian +women before the law is very peculiar. Children, whatever their age +and whether male or female, are never emancipated from the control +of their parents. The daughter can only escape from this authority, +and then only in a limited degree, by marriage, and the son by +entering the service of the State. In the provinces alone girls of +twenty-one may marry without the parents' consent. The married +woman is in the full power of her husband, though she is the +mistress of her own fortune. Divorce exists. Russian women vote on +an equality with men for members of the municipal councils and +county assemblies, and these two bodies choose the boards which +transact the public business, such as superintending the collection +of taxes, keeping the roads in order, directing the schools, etc. +The Russian woman does, not however, appear at the polls, but is +represented by some male relative or friend (as we have already +seen in Austria) who casts the vote for her. Thus the Russian +woman, except that she is ineligible to office, possesses all the +political rights of the Russian man--a privilege, however, that is +of little value in a country where liberty is crushed under the +iron heel of autocracy. The position of the Russian peasant women +is not as good as that of the women of the upper classes. They find +some comfort, however, in the doctrines of the rapidly spreading +religious sects, which resemble somewhat the American Revivalists +or Anabaptists. In fact, the subject condition of Russian women is +one of the chief causes of the growth of these sects; down-trodden +by society and the State, they seek liberty in religion. In some of +these sects women preach. Miss Maria Zebrikoff, an able Russian +writer, sends me this curious information: + + We have lately heard of a new sect which preaches a doctrine + exalting woman. She is placed above man, because she can give + birth to another being. Her pain and travail are so great, that + alleviating the other sufferings and annoyances of woman would be + but a poor reward; she is entitled to the deepest gratitude of + mankind. + +Thought concerning the emancipation of woman was first awakened +among the upper classes about 1840, inspired by George Sand, but +was confined to a narrow circle of men of science and authors. The +new ideas continued to exist in a latent form until the freedom of +the serfs in 1860, when they burst forth into life. The reforms of +the last reign, the abolishment of bureaucratic government and the +emancipation of the slaves, advanced the cause of woman, for the +daughters of the office-holders and land-owners, reduced to poverty +by these changes, were forced to go forth into the world and earn +their own living. Woman's success in the walks of higher +education--especially in medicine--has been a great victory for the +friends of the rights of woman. The government, the professors of +the university and women themselves have all united, more or less +heartily, in a common effort to give Russian women facilities for a +complete education. The first woman's medical school in Russia owes +its origin to a donation of 50,000 rubles from a woman. The war +department--for Russia thinks of medicine only in its relation to +the army--came to the aid of the new movement, and the medical +profession, though in a restricted manner, was thrown open to +women.[574] As yet women physicians may treat only diseases of +women and children, but, notwithstanding this drawback, there are +fifty-two women physicians in St. Petersburg and two hundred and +fifty in Russia. During the last war with Turkey twenty women +physicians did noble work in the army. Women flock to the +universities in great numbers. An attempt has been made to render +the profession of law accessible to them, but the government has +prohibited it. It is expected that ere long women will be +professors in the university. The chemical, medical and legal +associations have already received women into membership. + +In literature Russian women take an active part; reviews, +magazines, and political journals counting many women among their +contributors and in some cases their directors. Writes Maria +Zebrikoff: + + It is especially in the domain of fiction that Russian women + excel. After the two renowned names of Tourgueneff and Tolstoi, + the greatest genius of which our contemporary literature can + boast is Krestowsky, the pseudonym of woman. + +"The reaectionary party," exclaims the same lady with enthusiasm, +"counts in its ranks no woman distinguished for thought or talent." +Even this brief glance at woman's position in Russia conclusively +proves that when the day of liberty comes to the great Cossack +empire, the women will be as thoroughly fitted to enter upon all +the duties of citizenship as the men. The women of no other +continental nation are perhaps better prepared for complete +emancipation than those of Russia. Here, as in several other +respects, autocratic Russia resembles free America. The good-will +of every transatlantic friend of woman's elevation should ever go +forth to this brave, struggling people of the North. + +The civil law of the kingdom of Poland, a part of Russia, has been, +since 1809, the Napoleonic code; the other Polish provinces of +Russia are subject to Russian law. Under the former, the woman has +an equal share in the patrimony; but the married woman is a +perpetual minor. According to the Russian code, on the contrary, a +girl receives only a fourteenth part of the patrimony; and when a +distant relative dies, brothers alone inherit. But a woman has +absolute control of her own property: and when she becomes of age, +at twenty-one, she may buy, own, sell, without being subjected to +any tutelage, without requiring the consent of the husband--the +very contrary of the Napoleonic code. This same thing is true in +several other particulars, a striking illustration of the fact that +much-abused Russian civilization is in some respects superior to +the much-vaunted Latin civilization. In regard to education, the +Polish woman is not so well off. In the primary schools alone does +she enjoy equal rights; in secondary education she has far fewer +advantages than the boy; while as for university instruction, she +is forced to seek it in Russia or in foreign lands, the Polish +universities being absolutely closed against her. In the Polish +provinces under direct Russian authority, the State does nothing +whatever for woman's instruction; and in the kingdom of Poland, the +same thing is true except in the matter of primary instruction. +Polish women may practice medicine, if, besides this foreign +diploma, they also pass an examination before the medical school of +St. Petersburg. Tomaszewicz Dobrska is one of the few Polish women +who has succeeded in this difficult field. + +The Academy of Fine Arts at Cracow is open to men alone, but +Madeline Andrzejkowicz has endeavored to fill the gap by +establishing at Warsaw a school of painting for women. The first +woman's industrial school was founded in 1874 at Warsaw, and during +the first six years, to 1880, it had 743 scholars. Establishments +of this kind are now quite numerous in the kingdom, but, for +political reasons, they have not been founded in the Polish +provinces of Russia. The unfortunate political situation of Poland, +which robs even men of their rights, is an insurmountable obstacle +in the way of the emancipation of women. There are, however, many +encouraging signs of progress. At Warsaw there is more than one +newspaper edited by a woman. Marie Ilnicka has owned and edited for +more than sixteen years, at the capital, a paper which is widely +read and which has great influence. It is no uncommon thing for +women to deliver public lectures, which are very popular and draw +large houses. Elise Orzeszko, the distinguished Polish novelist, +tells me: + + We have confidence in the efforts of the men who are leading + society and who are sacrificing their talents and earnestly + toiling to advance liberal ideas. In the meanwhile our duty is to + awaken thought on the question of woman's rights, so that when a + better day does come to Poland, women may be ready to participate + in the common welfare. + + * * * * * + +But we cannot close this brief sketch without mentioning the +Orient, that region of transition between the darkness of Asia and +the light of occidental Europe; for, though the position of woman +is in general so lamentable that at first glance it seems best to +pass over this portion of the continent in silence, one catches +here and there a glimmer of progress that portends a better day in +the still distant future. And, too, regenerate Greece commands our +attention, for she indeed is a rich oasis in this desert of +Mohammedan conquest. + +There are many Ottoman women, especially among the rich families, +who desire to change their dress and enter into relations with the +women of other religions, but the ecclesiastical and civil +authorities are always ready to check this tendency and to +rigorously enforce the ancient customs. In certain harems earnest +efforts have been made to establish true family life and to bring +up the children under the eye and care of the parents, with the aid +of foreign governesses, who, along with the languages, inculcate +the habits and manners of occidental nations. Vain attempts have +been made to found girls' schools. There are noble natures who long +for amelioration of their state, and for progress, but fanaticism +condemns everything to mortal stagnation. + +The Jewish woman leads a contracted, monotonous existence under the +authority of the priest. The wives of many rich bankers have tried +to do something to improve the condition of Hebrew women by +founding aid societies, primary schools, and normal schools. The +Bulgarian women of the country enjoy an agricultural and pastoral +life, and those of the city are simple and primitive in their +habits and customs. But little has been done for woman's +instruction, though some worthy attempts have been made to +establish schools. The hope of the regeneration of the Oriental +woman lies in the influence of Greek civilization. The emancipation +of the Greek woman means the emancipation of the Turkish woman. + +The Greek woman in the Orient must be studied under two heads: the +Greek woman in Turkey and the Greek woman in Greece. In +both cases we find them filled with the spirit of western +civilization--perhaps it would be better to say, with the spirit of +their classic ancestors. Primary, secondary and normal schools, +asylums, hospitals, societies--all for women and generally managed +by women--are found in all the Greek centers of Turkey. Calliope A. +Kechayia, the cultured principal of the Zappion, the famous girls' +college at Constantinople, says: + + The intellectual condition of the Greek woman in the Orient is, + generally speaking, not inferior to that of women in many parts + of Europe; and as regards the instruction of the girls of the + lower classes, it is much superior to that of several Latin + countries. + +The Greek woman in Greece differs essentially from the Oriental +woman. With the independence of Greece came a great patriotic +movement for the building up of the new nationality, a movement in +which women took a most active and prominent part. Several American +women, especially Mrs. Hill, lent their aid and founded the first +girls' school at Athens. "A whole generation of women," says a +Greek lady, "distinguished for their social and family virtues, +received their education in this college." An association of +Greeks soon afterward established a normal school for women. The +Greek government also early took up the question of popular +education without excluding women from its plans. The way in which +young Greek schoolmistresses hastened all over the peninsula, +spreading knowledge, the Greek language and their own enthusiasm +throughout the newly liberated nation, is one of the most unique +episodes in modern history. "It is true and beyond dispute," I am +told by Miss Kechayia, "that the Greece of to-day owes its rapid +progress and its Greek instruction to its women." But the Greek +woman is more than a school-mistress. The wife of a public man has +other than social duties to occupy her. She often represents her +husband before his constituents. She participates actively and +usefully in many of his political affairs. It frequently happens +that the wife goes into the provinces to solicit votes for her +husband, and sometimes in drawing-room lectures she defends his +political conduct. "In truth these facts would not be believed by a +foreigner if he had not seen them with his own eyes," I was once +told by a Greek. Associations of various kinds have been formed by +women during the past few years, and there is at least one instance +of a woman lecturing in public on literary topics. However, woman's +rights in the American sense has not yet penetrated into Greece, +but from what has just been said it will be seen that when that day +comes, the reform will find a soil well prepared for its reception. + + * * * * * + +Such is a brief and general view of the present status of the Woman +Question on the European Continent. It will have been constantly +noticed in the preceding pages that in every country there are +evidences of progress. Public opinion in the Old World is slowly +but surely accepting Voltaire's statement when the broad-minded +philosopher says, with a dash of French gallantry: "Women are +capable of doing everything we do, with this single difference +between them and us, that they are more amiable than we are." In +matters of instruction, the ideas of Montesquieu and Aime Martin +are gaining ground. "The powers of the sexes," wrote the +penetrating author of the "Spirit of the Laws," "would be equal if +their education were, too. Test women in the talents that have not +been enfeebled by the way they have been educated, and we will then +see if we are so strong." "It is in spite of our stupid system of +education," declared Aime Martin, more than fifty years ago, "that +women have an idea, a mind and a soul." And even the more radical +utterances of the late Eugene Pelletan find an echo. "By keeping +women outside of politics," once said the distinguished senator, +"the soul of our country is diminished by one-half." No wonder then +that Frances Power Cobbe likens this revolution to the irresistible +waves of the ocean. "Of all the movements, political, social and +religious, of past ages, there is, I think," writes Miss Cobbe, +"not one so unmistakably tide-like in its extension and the +uniformity of its impulse, as that which has taken place within +living memory among the women of almost every race on the globe. +Other agitations, reforms and revolutions have pervaded and lifted +up classes, tribes, nations, churches. But this movement has +stirred an entire sex, even half the human race. * * * When the +time comes to look back on the slow, universal awakening of women +all over the globe, on their gradual entrance into one privileged +profession after another, on the attainment by them of rights of +person and property, and, at last, on their admission to the full +privileges of citizenship, it will be acknowledged that of all the +'Decisive Battles of History,' this has been, to the moralist and +philosopher, the most interesting; even as it will be (I cannot +doubt) the one followed by the happiest Peace which the world has +ever seen." + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[566] This chapter is, in large part, a resume of Mr. Stanton's +valuable work "The Woman Question in Europe," published in 1884 by +the Putnams of New York, to which we refer the reader who desires +to study more in detail the European movement for women.--[THE +EDITORS. + +[567] The United States was represented by Albert Brisbane and Mrs. +Brisbane, of New York; Elizabeth Chalmers and Mrs. Gibbons, of +Philadelphia; Colonel T. W. Higginson, of Massachusetts; Miss +Hotchkiss, Fernando Jones and his wife and daughter, Jane Graham +Jones and Genevieve Graham Jones (now Mrs. Geo. R. Grant), Mrs. +Klumpke and her two daughters, of Chicago; Mrs. Party and Louisa +Southworth, of Ohio. + +[568] Before closing this brief sketch, I desire to mention with +deep gratitude the name of the man who first lifted up his voice in +the Italian parliament to defend and protect women. Salvatore +Morelli deserves the veneration of every Italian woman. His first +book, "Woman and Science" (_La Donna e la Scienza_), dedicated to +Antona Traversi, was animated by a just and noble spirit, too +radical, however, to meet with universal approbation. When he +entered parliament, Morelli, with the same courage, constancy, and +radicalism, demanded the complete emancipation of women. +Conservatives laughed, and many friends of our movement trembled +for the cause. Ably seconded by Mancini, he succeeded in securing +for women the right to testify in civil actions, a dignity which +they had not previously enjoyed, although, by an absurd +contradiction they could be witnesses in criminal cases, convict of +murder by a single word and send the criminal to the scaffold. One +of Morelli's last acts was a divorce bill which was examined by the +Chamber. Guardasigilli Tomman Villa, the then Minister of Justice, +was inclined to accept it, but death, which occurred in 1880, saved +poor Morelli the pain of seeing his proposition rejected. An appeal +to women has been made to raise a modest monument to Salvatore +Morelli in memory of his good deeds, by Aurelia Cimino Folliero de +Luna. The author of this essay has been requested to receive +subscriptions to this fund. Such subscriptions will be acknowledged +and forwarded to the Italian Committee. They should be addressed to +Theodore Stanton, 9 rue de Bassano, Paris, France. + +[569] The American members are as follows: Massachusetts, Julia +Ward Howe, Lucy Stone; Illinois, Jane Graham Jones, Miss Hotchkiss; +New York, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Theodore +Stanton; Pennsylvania, Mrs. Gibbons, of Philadelphia. + +[570] The office of this journal is 12, rue de Cail, Paris. + +[571] The office of this journal is 4, rue des Deux-Gares, Paris. + +[572] See the _Index_, of Boston, May 19, 1881, where I give in +full this remarkable speech. + +[573] What is said of Austria in this respect further on in this +chapter will apply to Italy if the proposed reform is finally +accepted by parliament. + +[574] Recent reforms in the war department call for economy, and +the minister has been forced to refuse the usual subsidy for the +support of the woman's medical courses and they are unfortunately +in a very critical situation. The result will probably be the +foundation of medical colleges for women independent of government +aid. + + + + +CHAPTER LVIII. + +REMINISCENCES. + +BY E. C. S. + + +Reaching London amidst the fogs and mists of November, 1882, the +first person I met, after a separation of many years, was our +revered and beloved friend, William Henry Channing. The tall, +graceful form was somewhat bent; the sweet, thoughtful face +somewhat sadder; the crimes and miseries of the world seemed more +heavy on his heart than ever. With his refined, nervous +organization, the gloomy moral and physical atmosphere of London +was the last place on earth where that beautiful life should have +ended. I found him in earnest conversation with my daughter and a +young Englishman soon to be married, advising them not only as to +the importance of the step they were about to take, but as to the +minor points to be observed in the ceremony. At the appointed time +a few friends gathered in Portland-street chapel, and as we +approached the altar, our friend appeared in surplice and gown, his +pale, spiritual face more tender and beautiful than ever. This was +the last marriage service he ever performed, and it was as pathetic +as original, his whole appearance so in harmony with the exquisite +sentiments he uttered that we who listened felt as if for the time +being we had entered with him into the Holy of Holies. + +Some time after, Miss Anthony and I called on him, to return our +thanks for the very complimentary review he had written of the +History of Woman Suffrage. He thanked us in turn for the many +pleasant memories we had revived in those pages, which he said had +been as entertaining as a novel; "but," said he, "they have filled +me with indignation, too, over the repeated insults offered to +women so earnestly engaged in honest endeavors for the uplifting of +mankind. I blushed for my sex more than once in reading these +volumes." We lingered long in talking over the events connected +with this great struggle for freedom. He dwelt with tenderness on +our divisions and disappointments, and entered more fully into the +humiliations suffered by women than any man we ever met. His +conversation that day was fully as appreciative of the nice points +in the degradation of sex as is John Stuart Mill in his wonderful +work on "The Subjection of Woman." He was intensely interested in +Frances Power Cobbe's efforts to suppress the vivisectionists, and +the last time I saw him he was presiding at a parlor meeting at +Mrs. Wolcott Brown's, when Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell gave an +admirable address on the causes and cure of the social evil. Mr. +Channing spoke beautifully in closing, paying a warm and merited +compliment to Miss Blackwell's clear and concise review of all the +difficulties involved in the question. + +Reading so much of English reformers in our journals, of the +Brights, the McLarens, the Taylors, of Lydia Becker, Caroline +Biggs, Josephine Butler and Octavia Hill, and of their great +demonstrations with lords and members of parliament in the chair, +we had longed to compare the actors in those scenes with our +speakers and conventions on this side the water. At last we met +them, one and all, in London, York, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, +Edinburgh, in great public meetings and parlor reunions, at dinners +and receptions, listened to their public men in parliament, the +courts and the pulpit, to the women in their various assemblies, +and came to the conclusion that Americans surpass them in oratory +and the spirited manner in which they conduct meetings. They have +no system of elocution in England such as we have--a thorough +training of the voice, in what is called vocal gymnastics. A +hesitating, apologetic way seems to be the national idea for an +exordium on all questions. Even their ablest men who have visited +this country, such as Kingsley, Stanley, Arnold, Spencer, Tyndal, +Huxley, and Canon Farrar, have all been criticised by the American +public for their stammering enunciation. They have no speakers to +compare with Wendell Phillips and George William Curtis, or Anna +Dickinson and Phoebe W. Couzins. John Bright is without a peer +among his countrymen, as are Mrs. Bessant and Miss Helen Taylor +among the women. Miss Tod, from Belfast, is a good speaker. The +women, as a general thing, are more fluent than the men; those of +the Bright family in all its branches have deep, rich voices. + +Among the young women, Mrs. Fawcett, Mrs. Charles McLaren, Mrs. +Scatcherd, Miss Henrietta Mueller, Mrs. Fenwick Miller, and Lady +Harberton, all speak with comparative ease and self-possession. The +latter is striving to introduce for her countrywomen a new style of +dress, in which all the garments are bifurcated, but so skillfully +adjusted in generous plaits and folds, that while the wearer enjoys +the utmost freedom, the casual observer is quite ignorant of the +innovation. We attended one of their public meetings for the +discussion of that question, at which Miss King, Mrs. Charles +McLaren, and Lady Harberton appeared in the new costume. All spoke +in its defense, and were very witty and amusing in criticising the +present feminine forms and fashions. Lady Harberton gave us a +delightful entertainment one evening at her fine residence on +Cromwell Road, where we laughed enough to dissipate the depressing +effect of the fogs for a week to come over the recitations of +Corney Green on the piano. There, among many other celebrities, we +met Moncure D. Conway[575] and his charming wife. + +I reached England in time to attend the great demonstration in +Glasgow to celebrate the extension of the municipal franchise to +the women of Scotland. It was a remarkable occasion. St. Andrew's +immense hall was packed with women; a few men were admitted to the +gallery at half a crown apiece. It was said there were 5,000 people +present. When a Scotch audience is thoroughly roused, nothing can +equal the enthusiasm. The arriving of the speakers on the platform +was announced with the wildest applause, the entire audience +rising, waving their handkerchiefs, and clapping their hands, and +every compliment paid the people was received with similar +outbursts of pleasure. Mrs. McLaren, a sister of John Bright,[576] +presided, and made the opening speech. I had the honor, on this +occasion, of addressing an audience for the first time in the old +world. Many others spoke briefly. There were too many speakers; no +one had time to warm up to the point of eloquence. Our system of +conventions of two or three days, with long speeches discussing +pointed and radical resolutions, is quite unknown in England. Their +meetings consist of one session of a few hours into which they +crowd all the speakers they can summon together. They have a few +tame resolutions on which there can be no possible difference of +opinion printed, with the names of those who are to speak appended. +Each of these is read, a few short speeches made, that may or may +not have the slightest reference to the resolution, which is then +passed. The last is usually one of thanks to some lord or member of +parliament who may have condescended to preside at the meeting, or +to do something for the measure in parliament; it is spoken to like +all that have gone before. The Queen is referred to tenderly in +most of the speeches, although she has never done anything to merit +the approbation of the advocates of suffrage for woman. As on this +occasion a woman conducted the meeting, much of the usual red tape +was omitted. + +From Glasgow quite a large party of the Brights and McLarens went +to Edinburgh, where the Hon. Duncan McLaren gave us a warm welcome +to Newington House, under the very shadow of the Salisbury crags. +These and the Pentland Hills are the remarkable feature in the +landscape as you approach this beautiful city, with its monuments +and castles on which are written the history of the centuries. We +passed a few charming days driving about, visiting old friends, and +discussing the status of woman on both sides of the Atlantic. Here +we met Elizabeth Pease Nichol, Jane and Eliza Wigham, whom I had +not seen since we sat together in the World's Anti-slavery +Convention in London in 1840, Yet I knew Mrs. Nichol at once; her +strongly-marked face is one not readily forgotten. + +I went with the family on Sunday to Friends' meeting, where a most +unusual manifestation for that decorous sect occurred. I had been +told that if I felt inclined, it would be considered quite proper +for me to make some remarks, and just as I was revolving an opening +sentence to a few thoughts I desired to present, a man arose in a +remote part of the house, and began in a low voice to give his +testimony as to the truth that was in him. All eyes were turned +toward him, when suddenly a friend leaned over the back of the +seat, seized his coat-tails and jerked him down in a most emphatic +manner. The poor man buried his face in his hands, and maintained a +profound silence. I learned afterwards that he was a bore, and the +friend in the rear thought it wise to nip him in the bud. This +scene put to flight all intentions of speaking on my part, lest I, +too, might get outside the prescribed limits, and be suppressed by +force. I dined with Mrs. Nichol at Huntly Lodge, where she has +entertained in turn many of our American reformers. Her walls have +echoed to the voices of Garrison, Rogers, Samuel J. May, Parker +Pillsbury, Henry C. Wright, Douglass and Remond, and hosts of +English philanthropists. Though over eighty, she is still awake on +all questions of the hour, and generous in her hospitalities as of +yore. + +Later, Miss Anthony, in company with Mrs. Rebecca Moore, spent +several weeks in Edinburgh looking over Mrs. Nichol's voluminous +correspondence with the anti-slavery apostles, to see if anything +of interest could be gleaned for these volumes. She found Mrs. +Moore as a traveling companion better than the most approved +encyclopedia, as she possessed all possible information on every +subject and locality, so that all Miss Anthony had to do was to +keep her ears open whenever she was sufficiently rested to listen. +There, too, Miss Anthony visited Dr. Agnes McLaren, in her +_recherche_ home, and found her as charming in the social circle as +she was said to be skillful in her profession. She spent several +days also with Dr. Jex Blake, and from her lips heard the full +account of her prolonged struggle to open the medical college to +women, and to secure for them as students equal recognition. After +listening to all the humiliations to which they had been subjected, +and their final expulsion from the university, and of the riots in +Edinburgh, Miss Anthony felt that Dr. Jex Blake had fought the +battle with great wisdom and heroism. The failure of the experiment +in that university was not due to a want of tact in the women who +led the movement, but to the natural bigotry and obstinacy of the +Scotch people, the universal hostility of the medical professors to +all innovations, and the antagonism men feel towards women as +competitors in the sciences and professions. Before leaving +Edinburgh a public reception was tendered to Miss Anthony, Mrs. +Nichol presiding. Professor Blackie, Mrs. Jessie Wellstood, and the +honored guest herself, did the speaking. With refreshments and +conversation it was altogether a pleasant occasion. + +In the meantime I was making new friends in the other parts of the +kingdom. Mrs. Margaret Lucas, whose whole soul is in the temperance +movement, escorted me from Edinburgh to Manchester, to be present +at another great demonstration in the Town Hall, the finest +building in that district. It had just been completed, and, with +its ante-rooms, dining hall, and various apartments for social +entertainments, was altogether the most perfect hall I had seen in +England. There I was entertained by Mrs. Matilda Roby, who, with +her husband, gave me a most hospitable reception. She invited +several friends to luncheon one day, among others, Miss Lydia +Becker, editor of the _Suffrage Journal_ in that city, and the Rev. +Mr. Steinthal, who had visited this country and spoken on our +platform. The chief topic at the table was John Stuart Mill, his +life, character, writings, and his position with reference to the +political rights of woman. In the evening we went to see Ristori in +Queen Elizabeth. Having seen her many years before in America, I +was surprised to find her still so vigorous. And thus, from week to +week, were suffrage meetings, receptions, dinners, luncheons and +theatres pleasantly alternated. + +The following Sunday we heard a grand sermon from Moncure D. +Conway, and had a pleasant interview with him and Mrs. Conway at +the close of the sessions. Later we spent a few pleasant days at +their artistic home, filled with books, pictures, and mementoes +from loving friends. A billiard-room with well-worn cues and balls +may in a measure account for his vigorous sermons--quite a novel +adjunct to a parsonage. A garden reception there to Mr. and Mrs. +Howells, gave us an opportunity to see the American novelist +surrounded by his admiring friends. Howells and Hawthorne seemed to +be great favorites in the literary circles of England at that time, +but I never read one of their novels without regretting for the +honor of American women that they had not painted more vigorous and +piquant characters for their heroines. + +One was always sure of meeting some Americans worth knowing at the +Conway's in Bedford Park. We dined there with Mary Clemmer and Mr. +Hudson, just after their marriage, and a bright, pretty daughter of +Murat Halstead, who chatted as gaily among the staid English as on +her native heath. There, too, we first saw Mrs. William Mellen with +her daughters, from Colorado Springs, now residing in London for +the purpose of educating a family of seven children,[577] although +there is no so fitting place to educate children to the duties of +citizens of a republic, as under our own free institutions. If +possessed of wealth, they readily adopt aristocratic ideas, and +enjoy the distinctions of class they find in all monarchical +countries, which totally unfit them for properly appreciating the +democratic principles it is our interest to cherish at home. + +The Sunday after Mr. Conway left for Australia, I was invited to +fill his pulpit. Spending a few days with Mrs. Conway, we attended +the Ladies' Club one afternoon. The leading spirits seemed to be +Miss Orme and Miss Richardson, both attorneys in practice, with an +office in London, though not yet regularly admitted to the Queen's +Bench. The topic of discussion was the well-worn theme--the +education of girls; but no one seemed quite prepared to take off +all the ligatures from their bodies and the fears of everything +known or unknown from their minds, and leave them for a season to +grow as nature intended, that we might find out by seeing them in +their normal condition what their real wants and needs might be. I +suggested for their next topic, the proper education of boys, which +was accepted. I retired that night very nervous over my sermon for +the next day, and the feeling steadily increased until I reached +the platform; but once there, my fears were all dissipated, and I +never enjoyed speaking more than on that occasion, for I had been +so long oppressed with the degradation of woman under canon law and +church discipline that I had a sense of relief in pouring out my +indignation. + +My theme was, "What has Christianity done for Woman?" and by the +facts of history, I showed clearly that to no form of religion was +woman indebted for one impulse of freedom, as all alike have taught +her inferiority and subjection to man. No lofty virtues can emanate +from such a condition. Whatever heights of dignity and purity women +have individually attained, can in no way be attributed to the +dogmas of their religion. + +With my son Theodore, always deeply interested in my friends and +public work, we called on Mrs. Gray, Miss Jessie Boucherett and Dr. +Hoggan, who had written essays for "The Woman Question in Europe"; +on our American minister, Mr. Lowell, Mr. and Mrs. George W. +Smalley, and many other notable men and women. By appointment we +had an hour with the Hon. John Bright at his residence on +Piccadilly. As his photograph, with his fame, had reached America, +his fine face and head, as well as his political opinions, were +quite familiar to us. He received us with great cordiality, and +manifested a clear knowledge, and deep interest in regard to all +American affairs. Free trade and woman suffrage formed the basis of +our conversation; the literature of our respective countries, our +great men and women, the lighter topics of the occasion. He is not +sound in regard to the political rights of women, but it is not +given to any one man to be equally clear on all questions. He voted +for John Stuart Mill's amendment to the "Household Suffrage Bill," +in 1867, but, as he said, as a personal favor to a friend, without +any strong convictions as to the merits of what he considered "a +purely sentimental measure." + +We attended the meeting called to rejoice over the passage of the +Married Woman's Property bill, which gave to the women of England +in 1882 what we had enjoyed in many States in this country since +1848. Mrs. Jacob Bright, Mrs. Scatcherd, Mrs. Almy, and several +members of parliament made short speeches of congratulation to +those who had been instrumental in carrying the measure. It was +generally conceded that to the tact and persistence of Mrs. Bright, +more than to any other one person, belonged the credit of that +achievement. Hon. Jacob Bright was at that time a member of +parliament, and fully in sympathy with the bill; and while Mrs. +Bright exerted all her social influence to make it popular with the +members, her husband, thoroughly versed in parliamentary tactics, +availed himself of every technicality to push the bill through the +House of Commons. Mrs. Bright's chief object in securing this bill, +aside from establishing the right every human being has to his own +property, was, to lift married women on an even plane with widows +and spinsters, thereby making them qualified voters. + +The next day we went out to Barn Elms to visit Mr. and Mrs. Chas. +McLaren. Mr. McLaren, a Quaker by birth and education, has +sustained to his uttermost the suffrage movement, and his charming +little wife, the daughter of Mrs. Pochin, is worthy the noble +mother who was among the earliest leaders on this question, +speaking and writing with equal ability on all phases of the +subject. Barn Elms is a grand old estate, a few miles out of +London. It was the dairy farm of Queen Elizabeth, and presented by +her to Sir Francis Walsingham. Since then it has been inhabited by +many persons of note. It has existed as an estate since the time of +the early Saxon Kings, and the record of the sale of Barn Elms in +the time of King Athelston is still extant. What with its well-kept +lawns, fine old trees, and glimpses here and there of the Thames +winding round its borders, and its wealth of old associations, it +is indeed a charming spot. Our memory of those days will not go +back to Saxon Kings, but remain with the liberal host and hostess, +the beautiful children and the many charming acquaintances we met +at that fireside. I doubt whether any of the ancient lords and +ladies who dispensed their hospitalities under that roof, did in +any way surpass the present occupants. Mrs. McLaren, interested in +all the reforms of the day, is radical in her ideas, a brilliant +talker, and, for one so young, remarkably well informed on all +political questions. One thing is certain, those old walls never +echoed to more rebellious talk among women against existing +conditions,[578] than on that evening. + +It was at Barn Elms I met for the first time Mrs. Fannie Hertz, to +whom I was indebted for many pleasant acquaintances afterwards. She +is said to know more distinguished literary people than any other +woman in London. I saw her, too, several times in her own cozy +home, meeting at her Sunday-afternoon receptions many persons I was +desirous to know. On one occasion I found George Jacob Holyoake +there, surrounded by a bevy of young ladies, all stoutly defending +the Nihilists in Russia, and their right to plot their way to +freedom; they counted a dynasty of Czars as nothing in the balance +with the liberties of a whole people. As I joined the circle Mr. +Holyoake called my attention to the fact that he was the only one +in favor of peaceful measures among all those ladies. "Now," said +he, "I have often heard it said on your platform, that the feminine +element in politics would bring about perpetual peace in +government, and here all these ladies are advocating the worst +forms of violence in the name of liberty." "Ah," said I, "lay on +their shoulders the responsibility of governing, and they would +soon become as mild and conservative as you seem to be." He then +gave us his views on cooeperation, the only remedy for many existing +evils, which he thought would be the next step toward a higher +civilization. + +There, too, I met some Positivists, who, though quite reasonable on +religious questions, were very narrow on the sphere of woman. The +difference in sex, which is the very reason why men and women +should be associated in all spheres of activity, they make the +strongest reason why they should be separated. Mrs. Hertz belongs +to the Harrison school of Positivists. I went with her to one of +Mrs. Orr's receptions, where we met Robert Browning, a fine looking +gentleman of seventy years, with white hair and mustache. He is +frank, easy, playful, and a good talker. Mrs. Orr seemed to be +taking a very pessimistic view of our present sphere of action, +which Mr. Browning, with poetic coloring, was trying to paint more +hopeful. + +The next day I dined with Mrs. Margaret Bright Lucas, in company +with Mr. John P. Thomasson, member of parliament, and his wife, and +afterwards we went to the House of Commons and had the good fortune +to hear Gladstone, Parnell, and Sir Charles Dilke. Seeing Bradlaugh +seated outside the charmed circle, I sent my card to him, and in +the corridor we had a few moments' conversation. I asked him if he +thought he would eventually get his seat; he replied, "Most +assuredly I will. I shall open the next campaign with such an +agitation as will rouse our politicians to some consideration of +the changes gradually coming over the face of things in this +country." + +The place assigned ladies in the House of Commons is really a +disgrace to a country ruled by an Empress. This dark perch is the +highest gallery immediately over the speaker's desk and government +seats, behind a fine wire-work, so that it is quite impossible to +see or hear anything. The sixteen persons who can crowd in the +front seat, by standing with their noses partly through some open +work, can have the satisfaction of seeing the cranial arch of their +rulers, and hearing an occasional pean to liberty, or an Irish +growl at the lack of it. I was told this net work was to prevent +the members on the floor from being disturbed by the beauty of the +women. On hearing this I remarked that I was devoutly thankful that +our American men were not so easily disturbed, and that the beauty +of our women was not of so dangerous a character. + +I could but contrast our spacious galleries in that magnificent +capitol at Washington, as well as in our grand State capitols, +where hundreds of women can sit to see and hear their rulers at +their ease, with these dark, dingy buildings, and such inadequate +accommodations for the people. My son, who had a seat on the floor +just opposite the ladies' gallery, said he could compare our +appearance to nothing better than birds in a cage. He could not +distinguish an outline of anybody. All he could see was the moving +of feathers and furs, or some bright ribbon or flower. + +In the libraries, the courts, and the House of Lords, I found many +suggestive subjects of thought. Our American inventions seem to +furnish them cases for litigation. A suit in regard to Singer's +sewing machine was just then occupying the attention of the Lord +Chancellor. Not feeling much interest in the matter, I withdrew and +joined my friends, to examine some frescoes in the ante-room. It +was interesting to find so many historical scenes in which women +had taken a prominent part. Among others, there is Jane Lane +assisting Charles II. to escape, and Alice Lisle concealing the +fugitives after the battle of Sedgemoor. Six wives of Henry VIII. +stand forth a solemn pageant when one recalls their sad fate. Alas! +whether for good or ill, woman must ever fill a large space in the +tragedies of the world. + +I passed a few pleasant hours in the house where Macaulay spent his +last years. The once spacious library and the large bay window +looking out on a beautiful lawn, where he sat from day to day +writing his flowing periods, possessed a peculiar charm for me, as +the surroundings of genius always do. I thought as I stood there +how often he had unconsciously gazed on each object in sight in +searching for words rich enough to gild his ideas. The house is now +owned and occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Winckworth. It was at +one of their sociable Sunday teas that many pleasant memories of +the great historian were revived. + +We went with Mrs. Lucas to a meeting of the Salvation army, in +Exeter Hall, which holds 5,000 people. It was literally packed--not +an inch of standing-room even, seemed to be unoccupied. This +remarkable movement was then at its height of enthusiasm in +England, and its leaders proposed to carry it round the world, but +it has never been so successful in any other latitude. They not +only hold meetings, but they march through the streets, men and +women, singing and playing on tambourines. The exercises on this +occasion consisted of prayers, hymns, and exhortations by Mr. and +Mrs. Booth. When this immense audience all joined in the chorus of +their stirring songs, it was indeed very impressive. The whole +effect was like that of an old-fashioned Methodist revival meeting. +I purchased their paper, _The War Cry_, and pasted it in my journal +to show the wild vagaries to which the human mind is subject. There +is nothing too ridiculous or monstrous to be done under the +influence of religious enthusiasm. In spite, however, of the +ridicule attached to this movement, it is at least an aspiration +for that ignorant, impoverished multitude. The first thing they +were urged to do was to give up intoxicating drinks, and their +vicious affiliations. If some other organization could take hold of +them at that point, to educate them in the rudiments of learning +and right living, and supplement their emotions with a modicum of +reason and common sense in the practical affairs of life, much +greater good might result from this initiative step in the right +direction. + +One of the most remarkable and genial women we met was Miss Frances +Power Cobbe. She called one evening at 10 Duchess street, and +sipped with us the five o'clock cup of tea, a uniform practice in +England. She is of medium height, stout, rosy, and vigorous +looking, with a large, well-shaped head, a strong, happy face, and +gifted with rare powers of conversation. I felt very strongly +attracted to her. She is frank and cordial and pronounced in all +her opinions. She gave us an account of her efforts to rescue +unhappy cats and dogs from the hands of the vivisectionists. We saw +her, too, in her own cozy home and in her office in Victoria Row. +The perfect order in which her books and papers were all arranged, +and the exquisite neatness of the apartments were refreshing to +behold. + +My daughter, having decided opinions of her own, was soon at +loggerheads with Miss Cobbe on the question of vivisection. After +showing us several German and French books with illustrations of +the horrible cruelty inflicted on cats and dogs, enlarging on the +hypocrisy and wickedness of these scientists, she turned to my +daughter and said, "Would you shake hands with one of these +vivisectionists?" "Yes," said Harriot, "I should be proud to shake +hands with Virchow, the great German scientist, for his kindness to +a young American girl. She applied to several professors to be +admitted to their classes, but all refused except Virchow; he +readily assented, and requested his students to treat her with +becoming courtesy. 'If any of you behave otherwise,' said he, 'I +shall feel myself personally insulted.' She entered his classes and +pursued her studies unmolested and with great success. "Now," said +she, "would you refuse to shake hands with any of your statesmen, +scientists, clergymen, lawyers or physicians, who treat women with +constant indignities and insults?" "Oh, no"; said Miss Cobbe. +"Then," said Mrs. Blatch, "you estimate the physical suffering of +cats and dogs as of more consequence than the humiliation of human +beings. The man who tortures a cat for a scientific purpose is not +as low in the scale of being, in my judgment, as one who sacrifices +his own daughter to some cruel custom." Though Miss Cobbe weighs +over two hundred pounds, she is as light on foot as a deer and is +said to be a great walker. After seeing her I read again some of +her books. Her theology now and then evidently cramps her, yet her +style is vigorous, earnest, sarcastic, though at times playful and +pathetic. In regard to her theology, she says she is too liberal to +please her orthodox friends and too orthodox to please the +liberals, hence in religion she stands quite solitary. + +Suffering from the effects of the prolonged fogs, we took our +letters of introduction from Dr. Bayard of New York to the two +leading high-dilution homeopathic physicians in London, Drs. Wilson +and Berridge. We found the former a good talker and very original. +We were greatly amused with his invectives against the quacks in +the profession; the "mongrels," as he called the low dilutionists. +The first question he asked my daughter was if she wore high heels; +he said he would not attempt to cure any woman of any disease so +long as she was perched on her toes with her spine out of plumb. +His advice to me was to get out of the London fogs as quickly as +possible. No one who has not suffered a London fog can imagine the +terrible gloom that pervades everywhere. One can see nothing out of +the windows but a dense black smoke. Drivers carry flambeaux in the +streets to avoid running into each other. The houses are full; the +gas burns all day, but you can scarcely see across the room; +theaters and places of amusement are sometimes closed, as nothing +can be seen distinctly. We called on Dr. Berridge, also, thinking +it best to make the acquaintance of both that we might decide from +their general appearance, surroundings, conversation and +comparative intelligence, which one we would prefer to trust in an +emergency. We found both alike so promising that we felt we could +trust either to give us our quietus, if die we must, on the high +dilutions. It is a consolation to know that one's closing hours at +least are passed in harmony with the principles of pure science. On +further acquaintance we found these gentlemen true disciples of the +great Hahneman. + +As we were just then reading Froude's "Life of Carlyle," we drove +by the house where he lived and paused a moment at the door, where +poor Jennie went in and out so often with a heavy heart. It is a +painful record of a great soul struggling with poverty and +disappointment; the hope of success as an author so long deferred +and never wholly realized. His foolish pride of independence and +headship, and his utter obliviousness as to his domestic duties and +the comfort of his wife, made the picture still darker. Poor +Jennie, fitted to shine in any circle, yet doomed all her married +life to domestic drudgery, with no associations with the great man +for whose literary companionship she had sacrificed herself. It +adds greatly to one's interest in Scott, Dickens, Thackeray, +Charlotte Bronte, Bulwer, James and George Eliot, to read them +amidst the scenes where they lived and died. Thus in my leisure +hours, after the fatigues of sight-seeing and visiting, I re-read +many of these authors near the places where they spent their last +days on earth. + +As I had visited Ambleside forty years before and seen Harriet +Martineau in her prime, I did not go with Miss Anthony to Lake +Windermere. She found the well-known house occupied by Mr. William +Henry Hills, a liberal Quaker named after William Henry Channing. +Mrs. Hills received the party with great hospitality, showed them +through all the apartments and pointed out the charming views from +the windows. They paused a few moments reverently in the chamber +where that grand woman had passed her last triumphant days on +earth. On the kitchen hearth was still sitting her favorite cat, +sixteen years old, the spots in her yellow and black fur as marked +as ever. Puss is the observed of all observers who visit that +sacred shrine, and it is said she seems specially to enjoy the +attention of strangers. From here Miss Anthony drove round +Grasmere, the romantic home of Wordsworth, wandered through the old +church, sat in the pew he so often occupied and lingered near the +last resting-place of the great poet. As the former residence of +the anti-slavery agitator, Thomas Clarkson, was on Ulswater, +another of the beautiful lakes in that region, Miss Anthony +extended her excursion still further and learned from the people +many pleasing characteristics of these celebrated personages. On +her way to Ireland she stopped at Ulverston and visited Miss Hannah +Goad, who was a descendant of the founder of Quakerism, George Fox. +She was in the old house in which he was married to Margaret Fell +and where they lived many years; attended the quaint little church +where he often spoke from the high seats, looked through his +well-worn Bible, and the minutes of their monthly meetings, kept by +Margaret Fell two centuries ago. + +Returning to London we attended one of Miss Biggs' receptions and +among others met Mr. Stansfeld, M. P., who had labored faithfully +for the repeal of the Contagious Diseases acts, and in a measure +been successful. We had the honor of an interview with Lord +Shaftsbury at one of his crowded receptions, and found him a little +uncertain as to the wisdom of allowing married women to vote, for +fear of disturbing the peace of the family. I have often wondered +if men see in this objection what fatal admissions they make as to +their own selfishness and love of domination. + +Miss Anthony was present at the great Liberal conference at Leeds +on October 17, to which Mrs. Helen Bright Clark, Miss Jane Cobden, +Mrs. Tanner, Mrs. Scatcherd and several other ladies were duly +elected delegates from their respective Liberal leagues, and +occupied seats on the floor. Mrs. Clark and Miss Cobden, daughters +of the great Corn-law reformers, spoke eloquently in favor of the +resolution to extend parliamentary suffrage to women, which was +presented by Walter McLaren of Bradford. As these young women made +their impassioned appeals for the recognition of woman's political +equality in the next bill for the extension of suffrage, that +immense gathering of 1,600 delegates was hushed into profound +silence. For a daughter to speak thus in that great representative +convention in direct opposition to her loved and honored father, +the acknowledged leader of that party, was an act of heroism and +fidelity to her own highest convictions almost without a parallel +in English history, and the effect on the audience was as thrilling +as it was surprising. The resolution was passed by a large +majority. At the reception given to Mr. John Bright that evening, +as Mrs. Clark approached the dais on which her noble father stood +shaking the hands of passing friends, she remarked to her husband, +"I wonder if father has heard of my speech this morning, and if he +will forgive me for thus publicly differing with him?" The query +was soon answered. As he caught the first glimpse of his daughter +he stepped down and, pressing her hand affectionately, kissed her +with a fond father's warmth on either cheek in turn. The next +evening the great Quaker statesman was heard by the admiring +thousands who could crowd into Victoria Hall, while thousands, +equally desirous to hear, failed to get tickets of admission. It +was a magnificent sight, and altogether a most impressive gathering +of the people. Miss Anthony with her friends sat in the gallery +opposite the great platform, where they had a fine view of the +whole audience. When John Bright, escorted by Sir Wilfred Lawson, +took his seat, the immense audience rose, waving hats and +handkerchiefs and with the wildest enthusiasm giving cheer after +cheer in honor of the great leader. Sir Wilfred Lawson in his +introductory remarks facetiously alluded to the resolution adopted +by the conference as somewhat in advance of the ideas of the +speaker of the evening. The house broke into roars of laughter, +while the father of Liberalism, perfectly convulsed, joined in the +general merriment. + +But when at length his time to speak had come, and Mr. Bright went +over the many steps of progress that had been taken by the Liberal +party, he cunningly dodged all in the direction of the emancipation +of the women of England. He skipped round the agitation in 1867 and +John Stuart Mill's amendment presented at that time in the House of +Commons; the extension of the municipal suffrage in 1869; the +participation of women in the establishment of national schools +under the law of 1870, both as voters and members of school-boards; +the Married Woman's Property bill of 1882; the large and increasing +vote for the extension of parliamentary suffrage in the House of +Commons, and the adoption of the resolution by that great +conference the day before. All these successive steps towards +woman's emancipation he carefully remembered to forget. + +During Miss Anthony's stay in Leeds she and her cousin, Dr. Fannie +Dickinson, were guests of Mrs. Hannah Ford at Adel Grange, an old +and lovely suburban home, where she met many interesting women, +members of the school-board, poor-law guardians and others. The +three daughters of Mrs. Ford, though possessed of ample incomes, +have each a purpose in life; one had gathered hundreds of factory +girls into evening schools, where she taught them to cut and make +their garments, as well as to read and write; one was an artist and +the third a musician, having studied in London and Florence. It was +during this ever-to-be-remembered week that Miss Anthony, escorted +by Mrs. Ford, visited Haworth, the bleak and lonely home of the +Brontes. It was a dark, drizzly October day, intensifying all the +gloomy memories of the place. She sat in the old church pew where +those shivering girls endured such discomforts through the fearful +services, with their benumbed feet on the very stone slab that from +time to time was taken up to deposit in the earth beneath their +loved dead! She was shown through the house, paused at the place +under the stairs where the imperial Shirley had her fierce +encounter with that almost human dog, Keeper; she stood in the +drawing-room where the sainted three sisters, arm-in-arm, paced up +and down plotting their weird stories. She walked through the same +old gate, on the same single stone pavement and over the same stile +out into the same heather fields, gazing on the same dreary sky +above and the same desolate earth on every side. She dined in the +same old "Black Bull"; sat in poor Branwell's chair and was served +by the same person who dealt out the drinks to that poor +unfortunate--then a young bar-maid, now the aged proprietor. + +Miss Anthony crossed from Barrow to Belfast, where she was given a +most cordial reception at the house of one of Ireland's +distinguished orators, Miss Isabella M. Tod, who took her to one of +her Ulster temperance meetings at Garvah, where they were the +guests of Rev. Thomas Medill, a cousin of the distinguished Chicago +editor. There, as Miss Anthony listened to the prayers and +exhortations of the Presbyterian ministers and to the arguments of +Miss Tod, and heard no appeals to the audience to join in the work +of suppressing the traffic, a realizing sense of the utter +powerlessness of the queen's subjects in Ireland dawned upon her +for the first time. In all that crowd there was not one who had any +voice in the decision of that question. The entire control of the +matter rested with three magistrates appointed by the queen, who +are in nowise responsible to the tax-paying people to whom they +administer the laws. Had Miss Tod been addressing an American +audience, she would have appealed to every man to vote only for +candidates pledged to no-license. From Garvah they made a +pilgrimage to the Giant's Causeway. Miss Anthony had, when at Oban, +visited Fingal's Cave, and the two wonders that always fix +themselves upon the imagination of the youthful student of the +world's geography fully matched her expectations. + +At Dublin she visited the Castle, the old parliament building, now +a bank; Kings and Queens College, that gives diplomas to women; +the parks, the cemeteries, the tomb of Daniel O'Connell. She +attended a meeting of the common council, of which Alfred Webb, the +only surviving son of the old abolitionist, Richard D. Webb, was a +member, and there she listened to a discussion on a petition to the +queen that the people of Dublin might be allowed to elect their own +tax-collector instead of having one placed over them by "the powers +that be" at London, as the official thus appointed had just proved +a defaulter. In listening to the outrages perpetrated upon a +helpless people by foreign officials, the one wonder to her was, +not that so many of Ireland's sons are discontented, but that they +are not in open rebellion. + +There Miss Anthony made the acquaintance of numbers of excellent +Friends,[579] and with Mrs. Haslam visited their large free library +and attended their First-day meeting. In Dublin, too, she met +Michael Davitt, who seemed to her a most sincere champion of +liberty for himself and his people. Miss Anthony spent a week with +Mr. and Mrs. Haslam in Cork, visiting Blarney Castle, the old +walled city of Youghal with its crumbling Quaker meeting-house and +fine old mansion in which Sir Walter Raleigh lived, and thence to +the beautiful Lakes of Killarney, and in a jaunting-car through the +evicted tenants' district, entering the hovels and talking with the +inmates. The sad stories poured into her ears, and the poverty and +wretchedness she saw, proved to her that none of Mr. Redpath's +revelations, so shocking to the humanity of our people, were in the +least over-drawn. The circuit through Limerick, Galway, Clifton and +Belfast was made in third-class cars, that she might talk with the +people of the working class. This was the season for their county +fairs, which gave her an opportunity to see the farmers driving +their cattle and taking their meagre products to the fair. The +women and girls were uniformly barefooted, while some of the men +and boys wore shoes. In reply to her query why this was so, one man +said, "It is all we can do to get shoes for them as airnes the +money." The same old story; woman's work, however arduous, brings +no price in the market. + +While in London we attended several large and enthusiastic reform +meetings. We heard Bradlaugh address his constituency on that +memorable day at Trafalgar Square, at the opening of parliament, +when violence was anticipated and the parliament houses were +surrounded by immense crowds, with the military and police in large +numbers to maintain order. We heard Michael Davitt and Miss Helen +Taylor at a great meeting in Exeter Hall, the former on home-rule +for Ireland, and the latter on the nationalization of land, showing +that in ancient times the people had many privileges long since +denied. They even had forests and commons and the road-side, where +their cows, sheep and geese could glean something. The facts and +figures given in these two lectures as to the abject poverty of the +people and the cruel system by which every inch of land had been +grabbed by their oppressors, were indeed appalling. A few days +before sailing we made our last visit to Ernestine L. Rose and +found our noble coadjutor, though in delicate health, pleasantly +situated in the heart of London, as deeply interested as ever in +the struggles of the hour. + +Dining one day with Mrs. Lucas, we were forcibly impressed with the +growing liberality of people of all shades of belief and of all +professions. The guests on that occasion were Mrs. Hallock, +sister-in-law of Robert Dale Owen, thoroughly imbued with his +religious and social ideas; Dr. Mary J. Hall, the only woman +practicing homeopathy in England; Miss Henrietta Mueller, member of +the London school-board; Miss Clara Spence, a young actress from +America, who gave us some fine recitations; and such liberals in +politics and religion as Mrs. Stanton Blatch and myself, while our +hostess was an orthodox Friend. However we were all agreed on one +point, the right of women to full equality everywhere. In the +evening we went to see Mrs. Hallock's daughter, Ella Deitz, in the +play of "Impulse." We urged Mrs. Lucas to accompany us, but she +said she had never been to a theater in her life. + +A great discomfort in all English homes is the cold draughts +through their halls and unoccupied rooms. A moderate fire in the +grates in the family apartments is their only mode of heating, and +they seem quite oblivious as to the danger of throwing a door open +into a cold hall on one's back while the servants pass in and out +with the various courses' at dinner. As we Americans were sorely +tried under such circumstances, it was decided in the Basingstoke +mansion to have a hall stove, which, after a prolonged search, was +found in London and duly installed as a presiding deity to defy the +dampness that pervades all those ivy-covered habitations, as well +as the neuralgia that wrings their possessors. What a blessing it +proved, more than any one thing making the old English house seem +like an American home! The delightful summer heat we in America +enjoy in the coldest weather is quite unknown to our Saxon cousins. +Although many came to see our stove in full working order, yet we +could not persuade them to adopt the American system of heating the +whole house at an even temperature. They cling to the customs of +their fathers with an obstinacy that is incomprehensible to us, who +are always ready to try experiments. Americans complain bitterly of +the same freezing experiences in France and Germany, and in turn +foreigners all criticise our over-heated houses and places of +amusement. + +An evening reception at Mrs. Richardson's, in the city of York, +gave us an opportunity of a personal greeting with a large circle +of ladies identified with the suffrage movement, and a large public +meeting the next day in the Town Hall enabled us to judge still +further of the merits of English women as speakers. Here I was +entertained by Mrs. Lucretia Kendall Clarke, an American, who had +spent five years as a student in Dresden, where she made the +acquaintance of Mr. Clarke. It is said in England that the +American girls capture all the choice young men; that our rich +cattle-dealers get all their best horses, cows, sheep, dogs, and +that in time we shall rob them of all that is best in the country. +One thing is certain, we shall always regret our hospitable +invitation to the sparrows, as they are making war on our native +birds instead of fulfilling their mission to the "Diet of Worms." +In company with Mrs. Scatcherd we spent an hour in that magnificent +York cathedral, said to be one of the finest in England. Being +there at the time for service we had the benefit of the music. To +us, lost in admiration of the wonderful architecture and the +beautiful carving in wood and stone, the solemn strains of the +organ reverberating through those vast arches made the whole scene +very impressive. As women in many of the churches are not permitted +to take part in the sacred ceremonies, the choir is composed of +men, and boys from ten to fifteen who sing the soprano and alto. +But these old ideas, like the old Roman wall that still surrounds +that city, time only can remove. + +We had a merry trip from York to London. Miss Mueller, Mrs. Chant, +Mrs. Shearer, Miss Stackpole, in our compartment, discussed freely +the silly objections to woman's enfranchisement usually made by +our legislators. We found on comparing notes that the arguments +usually made were the same in the House of Commons as in the halls +of Congress. If the honorable gentlemen could only have heard their +stale platitudes with good imitations in voice and manner, I doubt +whether they would ever again air their absurdities. I regretted +that our Caroline Gilkey Rogers had not been there to have given +her admirable impersonation of a Massachusetts legislator. + +A few days later I attended another meeting in Birmingham and +stayed with a relative of Joseph Sturge, at whose home I had +visited forty years before. This was called to discuss the +degradation of women under the Contagious Diseases acts. Led by +Josephine Butler, the women of England have been deeply stirred on +the question of repeal, and are very active in their opposition to +the law. We heard Mrs. Butler speak in many of her society +meetings, as well as on several public occasions. Her style is not +unlike that we hear in Methodist class-meetings from the best +cultivated of that sect; her power grows out of her deeply +religious enthusiasm. + +In London we met Emily Faithful, who had just returned from a +lecturing-tour in the United States, and were much amused with her +experiences. Having taken prolonged trips over the whole country +from Maine to Texas for many successive years, Miss Anthony and I +could easily add the superlative to all her narrations. She dined +with us one day at Mrs. Mellen's, where we also had the pleasure of +meeting Miss Jane Cobden, a daughter of the great Corn-law +reformer, who was much interested in forming Liberal leagues, to +encourage the Liberal party and interest women in the political +questions under consideration. She passed a day with us at +Basingstoke, and together we visited Mrs. Caird, the author of +"Whom Nature Leadeth," an interesting story of English life. I +found the author a charming woman, but in spite of the title I +really could not find one character in the three volumes that +seemed to follow the teachings of nature. + +Two weeks again in London, visiting picture-galleries, museums, +libraries, going to teas, dinners, receptions, concerts, theaters +and reform-meetings; it is enough to turn one's head to think of +all the different clubs and associations managed by women. It was a +source of constant pleasure to me to drive about in hansoms and try +to take in the vastness of that wonderful city; to see the +beautiful equipages, fine saddle-horses and riders and the skill +with which the bicycles were so rapidly engineered through the +crowded streets. The general use of bicycles and tricycles all over +England, even for long journeys, is fast becoming the favorite mode +of locomotion both for ladies and gentlemen. + +It was a pleasant surprise to meet the large number of Americans +usually at the receptions of Mrs. Peter Taylor.[580] Graceful and +beautiful in full dress, standing beside her husband, who evidently +idolizes her, Mrs. Taylor appeared quite as refined in her +drawing-room as if she had never been "exposed to the public gaze," +while presiding over a suffrage convention. Mr. Peter Taylor, M. +P., has been untiring in his endeavors to get a bill through +parliament against "compulsory vaccination." Mrs. Taylor is called +the mother of the suffrage movement. The engraving of her sweet +face which adorns the English chapter will give the reader a good +idea of her character. The reform has not been carried on in all +respects to her taste, nor on what she considers the basis of high +principle. Neither she nor Mrs. Jacob Bright has ever been +satisfied with the bill asking the right of suffrage for "widows +and spinsters" only. To have asked this right "for all women duly +qualified," as but few married women are qualified by possessing +property in their own right, the result would have been +substantially the same without making any invidious distinctions. +Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Bright felt that as married women were the +greatest sufferers under the law, they should be the first rather +than the last to be enfranchised. The others, led by Miss Becker, +claimed that it was good policy to make the demand for "spinsters +and widows," and thus exclude the "family unit" and "man's +headship" from the discussion; and yet these were the very points +on which the objections were invariably based. They claimed that if +"spinsters and widows" were enfranchised they would be an added +power to secure to married women their rights. But the history of +the past gives no such assurance. It is not certain that women +would be more just than men, and a small privileged class of +aristocrats have long governed their fellow-countrymen. The fact +that the spinsters in the movement advocated such a bill shows that +they are not to be trusted in extending it. John Stuart Mill, too, +was always opposed to the exclusion of married women in the demand +for suffrage. + +If our English friends had our system of conventions and +discussions in which every resolution is subject to criticism, +changes could be more readily effected. But as their meetings are +now conducted, a motion to amend a resolution would throw the +platform into the wildest confusion and hopelessly bewilder the +chairman. We saw this experiment made at the great demonstration in +St. James' Hall the night before Mr. Mason's bill was to be acted +on in the House of Commons. For its effect on their champions some +were desirous that a resolution should be endorsed by that great +audience proposing higher ground; that instead of "spinsters and +widows," the demand should be for "all duly qualified women." After +the reading of one of the resolutions Miss Jessie Craigen arose and +proposed such an amendment. Mr. Woodhall, M. P., in the chair, +seemed quite at a loss what to do. She was finally, after much +debate and prolonged confusion, suppressed, whether in a +parliamentary manner or not I am unable to say. Here we should have +discussed the matter at length if it had taken us until midnight, +or adjourned over until next day, "the spinsters and widows" having +been the target for all our barbed arrows until completely +annihilated. + +Spending two months in traveling on the continent, Miss Anthony had +many amusing experiences. While visiting our minister and his wife, +Mr. and Mrs. Sargent, at Berlin, she occupied some rainy days, when +sight-seeing was out of the question, in doing up papers and +writing a large number of letters on our official paper, bearing +the revolutionary mottoes, "No just government can be formed +without the consent of the governed," "Taxation without +representation is tyranny." For a brief period she was in the full +enjoyment of that freedom one has when a pressing duty to family +and friends has been thoroughly discharged. But alas! her +satisfaction was soon turned to disappointment. After a few days a +dignified official appeared at the American Legation with a large +package bearing the proscribed mottoes, saying, "such sentiments +cannot pass through the post-office in Germany." So all that form +of propagandism was nipped in the bud, and in modest, uncomplaining +wraps the letters and papers started again for the land of the free +and reached their destination. + +But this experience did not satisfy the "Napoleon of our movement" +that the rulers in the old world could securely guard their +subjects from those inflammable mottoes to which from long use we +are so indifferent. She continued to sow the seeds of rebellion as +she had opportunity, in Germany, France, Switzerland and Italy. It +is well for us that she did not experiment in Russia, or we should +now be mourning her loss as an exile in Siberia. At all points of +interest books are kept for visitors to register their names; Miss +Anthony uniformly added some of our Pilgrim Fathers' heroic +ejaculations in their struggle for liberty, which friends visiting +the same places afterwards informed us were carefully crossed out +so as to be quite illegible. But we may hope for their restoration +in the near future and that they may yet do an effective work. Thus +circumscribed with her pen and not being able to speak a foreign +language, happily no rebellions were fomented by her rapid transit +through their borders. + +My sense of justice was severely tried with all I heard of the +persecutions of Mrs. Besant and Mr. Bradlaugh for their +publications on the right and duty of parents to limit population. +Who can contemplate the sad condition of multitudes of young +children in the old world whose fate is to be brought up in +ignorance and vice--a swarming, seething mass whom nobody +owns--without seeing the need of free discussion of the +philosophical principles that underlie these tangled social +problems. The trials of Foote and Ramsey, too, for blasphemy, +seemed unworthy a great nation in the nineteenth century. Think of +well-educated men of good moral standing, thrown into prison in +solitary confinement for speaking lightly of the Hebrew idea of +Jehovah and the New Testament account of the birth of Jesus! Our +Protestant clergy never hesitate to make the dogmas and +superstitions of the Catholic church seem as absurd as possible, +and why should not those who imagine they have outgrown Protestant +superstitions make them equally ridiculous? Whatever is true can +stand investigation and ridicule. + +The last of April, when the wild-flowers were in their glory, Mrs. +Mellen and her lovely daughter, Daisy, came down to Basingstoke to +enjoy its beauty. As Mrs. Mellen had known Charles Kingsley and +entertained him at her residence in Colorado, she felt a desire to +see his former home. Accordingly, one bright morning Mr. Blatch +drove us through Stralfieldsage over the grounds of the Duke of +Wellington, well stocked with fine cattle, sheep and deer. This +magnificent place was given him by the English government after the +battle of Waterloo. A lofty statue of the duke that can be seen for +miles around stands at the entrance. A drive of a few miles further +brought us to Eversley, the home of Canon Kingsley, where he +preached many years and where all that is mortal of him now lies +buried. We wandered through the old church, among the moss-covered +tombstones and into the once happy home, now silent and deserted, +his loved ones scattered in different quarters of the globe. +Standing near the last resting-place of the author of "Hypatia," +his warning words for woman, in a letter to John Stuart Mill, +seemed like a voice from the clouds, saying with new inspiration +and power, "This will never be a good world for woman until the +last remnant of the canon law is civilized off the face of the +earth." + +Mrs. Mellen's spacious home in Pembroke Gardens, Kensington, was +thrown open for her American friends in London to celebrate the +Fourth of July. A large number of our English acquaintances were +also present, who very kindly congratulated us on the stirring +events of that day in 1776. Of the Americans assembled, many +contributed to the general entertainment. Grace Greenwood, Miss +Rachel Foster, Miss Kate Hillard and Miss Mildred Conway gave +recitations. Miss Lippincott, daughter of Grace Greenwood, sang +some fine operatic music; Mrs. Carpenter of Chicago sang sweetly, +playing her own accompaniment; Mr. Frank Lincoln gave some of his +amusing impersonations; Miss Maud Powell of Chicago, only fourteen +years of age, who had been taking lessons in France and Germany for +some years, played exquisite airs on the violin; Mrs. Flora Stark, +Miss Alice Blatch and Miss Conway gave us some fine classical music +on the piano, and Nathaniel Mellen sang some pathetic negro +melodies.[581] Altogether it was a pleasant occasion and I felt +quite proud of the varied talents manifested by our young people. +Some English friends remarked on their cleverness and readiness, +all spontaneously called out without any time for preparation. + +We heard Mr. Fawcett speak to his Hackney constituents at one +of his campaign meetings. In the course of his remarks he +mentioned with evident favor as one of the coming measures the +disestablishment of the church, and was greeted with loud applause. +Soon after he spoke of woman suffrage as another question demanding +consideration, but this was received with laughter and jeers, +although the platform was crowded with advocates of the measure, +among whom were the wife of the speaker and her sister, Dr. Garrett +Anderson, who sat just behind him. The audience were evidently in +favor of releasing themselves from being taxed to support the +church, forgetting that women were taxed also not only to support +the church, in which they had no voice, but the State, too, with +its army and navy. Mr. Fawcett was not an orator, but a simple, +straightforward speaker. He made but one gesture, striking his +right clenched fist into the palm of the left hand at the close of +all his strongest assertions; but being sound and liberal, he was a +great favorite with his constituents. + +A pleasant trip southward through Bath to Bristol brought us to the +home of the Misses Priestman and Mrs. Tanner, sisters-in-law of +John Bright. I had stayed at their father's house forty years +before, so we felt like old friends. I found them all charming, +liberal women, and we enjoyed a few days together, talking over our +mutual struggles, and admiring the beautiful scenery for which that +part of the country is quite celebrated. The women of England were +just then organizing political clubs, and I was invited to speak +before the one in Bristol. They are composed of men and women +alike, for the discussion of all political questions. The next day +I spoke to women alone in the church on the Bible view of woman's +creation and destiny. It is strange that those who pretend to be +well-versed in Scripture do not see that the simultaneous creation +of man and woman and the complete equality of the sexes are as +clearly taught in the first chapter of Genesis as the reverse is in +the allegorical garden-scene in the second. The drive over the +suspension-bridge by moonlight to dine with Mrs. Garnet, a sister +of John Thomasson, M. P., was a pleasant episode to public speaking +and more serious conversation. There, too, we had an evening +reception. There is an earnestness of purpose among English women +that is very encouraging under the prolonged disappointments +reformers inevitably suffer. There is something so determined and +heroic in what Mary Priestman does and says that one would readily +follow her through all dangers. It added much to my comfort in +this visit to have an escort in Mrs. Lucas. + +Later Miss Anthony visited Bristol and had a complimentary +reception at the Misses Priestman's. She was the guest of Miss Mary +Estlin, who had spent some time in America, a dear friend of Sarah +Pugh and Parker Pillsbury. Miss Estlin was from home during my +visit, so that I did not see her while in England. The order of +English homes among the wealthy classes is very enjoyable. All goes +on from year to year with the same servants, the same surroundings, +no changes, no moving, no building even; in delightful contrast +with our periodical upheavings, always uncertain where we shall go +next, or how long our main dependents will stand by us. + +From Bristol we went to Greenbank to visit Mrs. Helen Bright Clark, +a daughter of the great orator. In the evening the parlors were +crowded, and I was asked to give an account of the suffrage +movement in America. Some clergymen questioned me in regard to the +Bible position of woman, whereupon I gave quite an exposition of +its general principles in favor of liberty and equality. As two +quite distinct lines of argument can be woven out of those pages on +any subject, on this occasion I selected all the most favorable +texts for justice to woman, and closed by stating the limits of its +authority. Mrs. Clarke, though thoroughly in sympathy with the +views I had expressed, feared lest my very liberal utterances might +have shocked some of the strictest of the laymen and clergy. +"Well," I said, "if we who do see the absurdities of the old +superstitions never unveil them to others, how is the world to make +any progress in the theologies? I am now in the sunset of life, and +I feel it to be my special mission to tell people what they are not +prepared to hear, instead of echoing worn-out opinions." The result +showed the wisdom of my speaking out of my own soul. To the +surprise of Mrs. Clark, the primitive Methodist clergyman called on +Sunday morning to invite me to occupy his pulpit in the afternoon +and present the same line of thought I had the previous evening. I +accepted his invitation. He led the services and I took my text +from Genesis i., 27, 28, showing that man and woman were a +simultaneous creation, endowed with equal power in starting. + +Mr. and Mrs. Clark I found very agreeable, progressive people, with +a nice family of boys and girls. Like all English children, they +suffered too much repression, while our American children have too +much latitude. If we could strike the happy medium between the two +systems, it would be a great benefit to the children of both +countries. The next day we drove down to see Glastonbury cathedral. +England is full of these beautiful ruins, covered with flowers and +ivy, but the saddest spectacles, with all this fading glory, are +the men, women and children whose nakedness neither man nor nature +seeks to drape. + +Returning to London we accepted an invitation to take tea with Mrs. +Jacob Bright. A choice circle of three it was, and a large server +of tempting viands was placed on a small table before us. Mrs. +Bright, in earnest conversation, had helped us each to a cup of +tea, and was turning to help us to something more, when over went +table and all, tea, bread and butter, cake, strawberries and cream, +silver, china, in one conglomerate mass. Silence reigned. No one +started; no one said "Oh!" Mrs. Bright went on with what she was +saying as if nothing unusual had occurred, rang the bell, and when +the servant appeared, pointing to the _debris_, she said, "Charles, +remove this." I was filled with admiration at her coolness, and +devoutly thankful that we Americans maintained an equally dignified +silence. + +At a grand reception given in our honor by the National Central +Committee, in Princess' Hall, Mr. Jacob Bright, M. P., presided and +made an admirable opening speech, followed by his sister, Mrs. +McLaren, with a highly complimentary address of welcome. By +particular request Miss Anthony gave a presentation of the +industrial, legal and political status of American women; while I +set forth their educational, social and religious limitations. Mr. +John P. Thomasson, M. P., made the closing address, expressing his +satisfaction with the addresses of the ladies and the progress made +in both countries.[582] + +Mrs. Thomasson, daughter of Mrs. Lucas, gave several delightful +evening parties,[583] receptions and dinners, some for ladies +alone, where an abundant opportunity was offered for a critical +analysis of the idiosyncracies of the superior sex, especially in +their political dealings with women. The patience of even such +heroic souls as Lydia Becker and Caroline Biggs was almost +exhausted with the tergiversations of members of the House of +Commons. Alas for the many fair promises broken, the hopes +deferred, the votes fully relied on and counted, all missing in the +hour of action. One crack of Mr. Gladstone's whip put a hundred +Liberals to flight in a twinkling, members whom these noble women +had spent years in educating. I never visited the House of Commons +that I did not see Miss Becker and Miss Biggs trying to elucidate +the fundamental principles of just government to some of them. +Verily their divine faith and patience merited more worthy action +on the part of their representatives. + +We formed very pleasant friendships with Miss Frances Lord and Miss +Henrietta Mueller, spending several days with the latter at 58 +Cadogan square, and both alike visited us at different times in +Basingstoke. Miss Lord has translated some of Ibsen's plays very +creditably to herself, and, we understand, to the satisfaction of +the Swedish poet. Miss Lord is a cultured, charming woman, +attractive in society, and has a rare gift in conversation; she is +rather shrinking in her feelings. Miss Mueller, her devoted friend, +is just the opposite; fearless, aggressive and self-centered. Miss +Lord discharged her duties as poor-law guardian faithfully, and +Miss Mueller, as member of the London school-board, claimed her +rights when infringed upon, and maintained the dignity of her +position with a good degree of tact and heroism. We met Miss +Whitehead, another poor-law guardian, at Miss Mueller's, and had a +long talk on the sad condition of the London poor and the grand +work Octavia Hill had done among them. Miss Mueller read us a paper +on the dignity and office of single women. Her idea seems to be +very much like that expressed by St. Paul in his epistles, that it +is better for those who have a genius for public work in the church +or State not to marry; and Miss Mueller carries her theory into +practice thus far. She has a luxurious establishment of her own, is +fully occupied in politics and reform, and though she lives by +herself she entertains her friends generously, and does whatever it +seems good to her to do. As she is bright and entertaining and has +many worshipers, she may fall a victim to the usual fate in spite +of her admirable essay, which has been printed in tract form and +circulated extensively in England and America. Miss Mueller gave +Miss Anthony and myself a farewell reception on the eve of our +departure for America, when we had the opportunity of meeting once +more most of the pleasant acquaintances we had made in London. +Although it was announced for the afternoon, we did in fact receive +all day as many as could not come at the hour appointed. Dr. +Elizabeth Blackwell took breakfast with us; Mrs. Fawcett, Mrs. +Seville[584] and Miss Lord were with us at luncheon; Harriet Hosmer +and Olive Logan soon after; Mrs. Peter Taylor later, and from three +to six o'clock the parlors were crowded. + +Returning from London I passed my birthday, November 12, in +Basingstoke. It was a sad day to us all, knowing that it was the +last before my departure for America. When I imprinted the farewell +kiss on the soft cheek of little Nora in the cradle, she in the +dawn and I in the sunset of life, I realized how widely the long +years and the broad ocean would separate us forever. Miss Anthony, +who had been visiting Mrs. Parker, near Warrington, met me at +Alderly Edge, where we spent a few days in the charming home of Mr. +and Mrs. Jacob Bright. There we found their noble sisters, Mrs. +McLaren and Mrs. Lucas, young Walter McLaren and his lovely bride, +Eva Mueller, whom we had heard several times on the suffrage +platform. We rallied her on the step she had lately taken, +notwithstanding her sister's able paper on the blessedness of a +single life. While here we visited Dean Stanley's birthplace; but +on his death the light and joy went out, and the atmosphere of the +old church whose walls had once echoed to his voice, and the house +where he had spent so many useful years, seemed sad and deserted. +But the day was bright and warm, the scenery all around was +beautiful, cows and sheep were still grazing in the meadows, the +grass as green as in June. This is England's chief charm, forever +green, some compensation for the many cloudy days. An evening +reception in Mrs. Bright's spacious parlors, with friends from +Manchester and other adjoining towns, with speeches of welcome and +farewell, finished our visit at Alderly Edge. + +As our good friends Mrs. McLaren and Mrs. Lucas had determined to +see us safely on board the Servia, they escorted us to Liverpool, +where we met Mrs. Margaret Parker, Mrs. Scatcherd and Dr. Fanny +Dickinson of Chicago. Another reception was given us at the +residence of Dr. Ewing Whittle. Several short speeches were +made, all cheering the parting guests with words of hope and +encouragement for the good cause. + +Here the wisdom of forming an international association was +considered. The proposition met with such favor from those present +that a committee was appointed to correspond with the friends in +different nations. As Miss Anthony and myself are members of that +committee,[585] now that these volumes are finished and we are at +liberty once more, we shall ascertain as soon as possible the +feasibility of a grand international conference in New York in +1888, to celebrate the fourth decade of our movement for woman's +enfranchisement. Such conventions have been held by the friends of +anti-slavery, peace, temperance, social purity and evangelical +christianity, and why may not the suffrage cause, too, receive a +new impetus from the united efforts of its friends in all +countries. + +On the broad Atlantic for ten days we had many opportunities to +review all we had seen and heard. There we met our noble friends, +Mr. and Mrs. Hussey of New Jersey; also Mrs. Margaret Buchanan +Sullivan of Chicago, just returning from an extended tour in +Ireland, who gave us many of her rich experiences. Sitting on deck +hour after hour, how often I queried with myself as to the +significance of the boon for which women were so earnestly +struggling. In asking for a voice in the government under which we +live, have we been pursuing a shadow for forty years? In seeking +political power, are we abdicating that social throne where they +tell us our influence is unbounded? No! no! the right of suffrage +is no shadow, but a substantial entity that the citizen can seize +and hold for his own protection and his country's welfare. A direct +power over one's own person and property, an individual opinion to +be counted on all questions of public interest, is better than +indirect influence, be it ever so far-reaching. + +Though influence, like the pure white light, is all-pervading, yet +it is oft-times obscured with passing clouds and nights of +darkness; like the sun's rays, it may be healthy, genial, +inspiring, though sometimes too direct for comfort, too oblique for +warmth, too scattered for any given purpose. But as the prism by +dividing the rays of light reveals to us the brilliant coloring of +the atmosphere, and as the burning-glass by concentrating them in a +focus intensifies their heat, so does the right of suffrage reveal +the beauty and power of individual sovereignty in the great drama +of national life, while on a vital measure of public interest it +combines the many voices of the people in a grand chorus of protest +or applause. + +After an unusually calm, pleasant voyage, for November, we sailed +up our beautiful New York harbor just as the sun was rising in all +his glory, gilding every hill-top and distant spire in the +landscape, and with grateful hearts we celebrated the national +Thanksgiving-day once more with loving friends in the great +Republic. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[575] He asked me confidentially if I knew what the "D" in his name +stood for. "Why," said I, "in line with your profession, it must be +for 'Divinity,' or 'Doxology.'" "No," said he, "for 'Dynamite.'" As +we were being blown up just then in all parts of London, I begged +him not to explode until Sunday morning in old South Church, as I +would rather see a wreck of the old theologies than of our charming +hostess and Corney Green, who were giving us this pleasant +entertainment. + +[576] She says she prefers to be known as the wife of Duncan +McLaren, a member of parliament from Edinburgh for sixteen years, +who always voted right on the woman question, while John Bright is +opposed to the movement. + +[577] She occupies the home of an English woman who has taken her +seven children to Germany for their education. How strange it is +that so many parents imagine that they can educate their children +better in a foreign land. + +[578] After dinner, while the gentlemen still lingered at the +table, the ladies being alone, an unusual amount of heresy as to +the rights of "the divinely appointed head of the house" found +expression. A young English-woman, who had been brought up in great +retirement, turned to me and said, "I never heard such declarations +before; do you ladies all really believe that God intended men and +women to be equal, and do you really feel that girls have a right +to enjoy as many privileges as boys?" In chorus we all promptly +said, "We do," and I added, "If you will recall all the events of +your life thus far, and your own feelings at times, you will find +that again and again your own heart has protested against the +injustice to which you have been subjected. Now," said I, "think a +little, and see if you can recall no sense of dissatisfaction at +the broad difference made between your sisters and brothers." +"Well," said she, "I did often wonder why father gave the boys half +a crown a week for spending money, and us girls a few pence; why so +much thought and money were expended on their education, and so +little on ours; but as I saw that that was the custom everywhere, I +came to the conclusion that they were a superior order of beings, +and so thought no more about it, and I never heard that theory +contradicted until this evening." + +[579] Among these were Mr. and Mrs. Haslam, Mr. Wigham, brother of +Eliza Wigham, and his cultured wife; Hannah Webb, the daughter of +Richard, and Thomas Webb and daughters, in whose old family-record +book of visitors she was shown the autographs of William Lloyd +Garrison and Nathaniel P. Rogers over the date of 1840. + +[580] On one occasion I counted fourteen: Miss Risley Seward, Mrs. +Louise Chandler Moulton, Mrs. Laura Curtis Bullard, Miss Rachel +Foster, Mrs. William Mellen and two sons and daughters, Mr. +Theodore Tilton. Miss Anthony, Mrs. Stanton Blatch and myself. + +[581] Aside from those already mentioned were William Henry +Channing, L. N. Fowler, the phrenologist, and his daughter; Mrs. +Louise Chandler Moulton, Mrs. Stanton, Mrs. Stanton Blatch, Miss +Anthony, Mrs. Powell, Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Phillips, several members +from the Bright, the McLaren and the Cobden families, Mrs. Conway, +Miss Emily Faithful, Mr. William Henry Blatch, Mr. Stark, the +artist; Philip Marston, the blind poet; Miss Orme and Miss +Richardson, attorneys-at-law; Judge Kelley, wife and daughter +Florence, Miss Lydia Becker, Miss Caroline Biggs and sisters, Miss +Julia Osgood. + +[582] Among the distinguished persons on the platform were Frances +Power Cobbe, Dr. Garrett Anderson, Mrs. Fawcett, Mrs. Jacob Bright, +Mrs. Lucas, Mrs. Thomasson, Mrs. Margaret Parker, Mrs. Alice +Scatcherd, Miss Becker, Miss Biggs, Mrs. Moore, Mr. and Mrs. +Conway, Oscar Wilde and his queenly mother, Charles McLaren, M. P., +Mrs. Peter A. Taylor, Miss Helen Taylor, Miss Orme, Miss Mueller, +Miss Lord, Miss Foster, Mrs. and Miss Blatch, Mrs. Mellen, Miss Tod +of Belfast, Mrs. Chesson, daughter of George Thompson, the great +anti-slavery orator, and very many others whose names we cannot +recall. + +[583] Where we met Mrs. Fawcett, Dr. Garrett Anderson, Sir Hugh +Staples, Mr. Mitchell, the Misses Stackpole and brothers, Madame +Venturi, Miss Biggs and sisters, Miss Frances Lord and her sister, +who is doing a noble work in her kindergarten. + +[584] Mrs. Seville, whose husband was a professor at Sandhurst +College, having recently awoke to the indignities the church heaps +upon women, made her protest in discarding her bonnet and appearing +on Sundays with her head uncovered, contrary to Paul's injunctions. +Having thus attended church for two years, involving much criticism +and disturbance, both the vicar and the bishop labored with her to +resume the bonnet, but she remained incorrigible. She read us a +letter of remonstrance from the bishop, over which we all had a +hearty laugh. + +[585] The following is the report of the action prepared that +evening by Mrs. Parker: "At a large and influential gathering of +the friends of woman suffrage, at Parliament Terrace, Liverpool, +November 16, 1883, convened by E. Whittle, M. D., to meet Mrs. +Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Miss Susan B. Anthony prior to their +return to America, it was proposed by Mrs. Margaret E. Parker of +Penketh (near Warrington), seconded by Mrs. McLaren of Edinburgh, +and unanimously passed: + +"That this meeting, recognizing that union is strength and that the +time has come when women all over the world should unite in the +just demand for their political enfranchisement; therefore + +"_Resolved_, That we do here appoint a committee of correspondence, +preparatory to forming an International Woman Suffrage Association. + +"_Resolved_, That the committee consist of the following friends, +with power to add to their number: + +"_For the American Center_--Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Miss Susan +B. Anthony, Miss Rachel Foster. _London Center_--Mrs. Peter A. +Taylor, Mrs. Margaret B. Lucas, Miss Helen Taylor, Miss Henrietta +Mueller, Miss Caroline A. Biggs, Mr. and Mrs. Charles McLaren, Miss +Eliza Orme, Miss Rebecca Moore, London; Mrs. Harriot Stanton +Blatch, Basingstoke. _Manchester Center_--Mr. and Mrs. Jacob +Bright, Manchester; Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Thomasson, Bolton; Mrs. +Margaret E. Parker, Penketh; Dr. and Mrs. Whittle, Liverpool; Mrs. +Oliver Scatcherd, Leeds; Mr. and Mrs. Walter McLaren, Bradford; +Mrs. Philips, Liverpool; Mr. and Mrs. Crook, Bolton; Mr. Berners, +Mr. Russell, Liverpool; Miss Becker, Manchester. _Bristol +Center_--Miss Helen Bright Clarke, Street; Mrs. Alfred Ostler, +Birmingham; Miss Priestman, Bristol. _Center for Scotland_--Mrs. +Duncan McLaren, Mrs. Elizabeth Pease Nichol, Miss Eliza Wigham, +Edinburgh. _Center for Ireland_--Miss Tod, Belfast; Mrs. Haslam, +Dublin. _Center for France_--M'lle Hubertine Auclert, Mr. and Mrs. +Theodore Stanton, Charlotte B. Wilbour, Paris. + + + + +APPENDIX. + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +THE CENTENNIAL YEAR. + +Among those who sent most cordial letters of greeting, with +requests that their names should be enrolled in the centennial +autograph-book as signers of the woman's declaration of sentiments, +were: _Maine_, Lavinia M. Snow, Lucy A. Snow; _New Hampshire_, +Marilla M. Ricker, Abby P. Ela; _Massachusetts_, E. T. Strickland, +Sarah E. Wall; _Rhode Island_, Paulina Wright Davis; _Connecticut_, +Isabella Beecher Hooker, Frances Ellen Burr, Julia and Abby Smith; +_New York_, Clemence S. Lozier, Henrietta Paine Westbrook, Nettie +A. Ford, Elizabeth B. Phelps, Charlotte A. Cleveland, Elizabeth M. +Atwell; _Pennsylvania_, E. A. Stetson Lozier, Anna Thomson; _New +Jersey_, Ellen Dickinson, S. Mary Clute, Mary M. Van Clief, S. H. +Cornell, Emma L. Wilde, Jennie Dixon, Casa Tonti, Marie Howland, +Lucinda B. Chandler; _District of Columbia_, Addie T. Holton, +Margaret E. Johnson, Sabra P. Abell, Ruth Carr Dennison, Ellen H. +Sheldon, Mary Shadd Cary and ninety-four others, Mary F. Foster, +Susan A. Edson; _Virginia_, Sally Holly, Carrie Putnam; _Kentucky_, +Annie Laurie Quinby; _Tennessee_, Elizabeth Avery Meriwether; +_Louisiana_, Elizabeth Lisle Saxon; _Michigan_, Sarah C. Owen, +Margaret J. E. Millar; _Illinois_, A. J. Grover, Edward P. Powell, +Cynthia A. Leonard, Susan H. Richardson; _Missouri_, Francis Minor, +Annie R. Irvine; _California_, Sarah L. Knox, Sarah J. Wallis, +Carrie M. Robinson, Mary E. Kellogg, Georgiana Bruce Kirby; +_Oregon_, Mrs. A. J. Johns, Eveline Merrick Roork, Charles A. Reed; +_Washington Territory_, Mary Olney Brown, Abby H. H. Stuart; _Utah +Territory_, Annie Godbe; _Iowa_, Amelia Bloomer, Submit C. Loomis, +Philo A. Lyon and seventy-five others of Humboldt, Jane A. Telker, +Nancy R. Allen, Margaret Euart Colby, Mrs. Ellen M. Robinson, Mrs. +G. R. Woodworth, Mrs. W. W. Johnson, Mrs. Caroline A. Ingham, Mrs. +Mabel A. Stough, Mrs. R. H. Spencer, Mrs. J. W. Kenyon, Mrs. A. M. +Horton, Miss L. T. Dood, Mary L. Watson, Mrs. Sarah A. McCoy, Mrs. +J. J. Wilson, Mrs. F. L. Calkins, Mrs. L. H. Smith, Mrs. Emma C. +Spear, Mrs. M. L. Burlingame, Mrs. G. W. Blanchard, Mrs. D. L. +Ford, Mrs. E. C. Buffam, Mrs. Cora A. Jones, Mrs. Clara M. Wilson; +_Wisconsin_, Laura Ross Wolcott, M. Josephine Pearce, Eliza T. +Wilson, H. S. Brown; _Minnesota_, Sarah Burger Stearns; _Kansas_, +Susan E. Wattles, Elsie Stewart, Henrietta L. Miller, Lottie +Griffin, Jane M. Burke, Malura Hickson, Elsie J. Miller; +_Colorado_, Alida C. Avery; _Ohio_, Sarah R. L. Williams, Margaret +V. Longley; _England_, Lydia E. Becker, Caroline A. Biggs, Jessie +M. Wellstood. + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXX. + +CONSTITUTION OF THE NATIONAL WOMAN SUFFRAGE ASSOCIATION. + +ARTICLE 1. This organization shall be called the NATIONAL WOMAN +SUFFRAGE ASSOCIATION. + +ARTICLE 2. The object of this Association shall be to secure +NATIONAL Protection for women in the exercise of their right to +vote. + +ARTICLE 3. All citizens of the United States subscribing to this +Constitution, and contributing not less than one dollar annually, +shall be considered members of the Association, with the right to +participate in its deliberations. + +ARTICLE 4. The officers of this Association shall be a President, a +Vice-President from each of the States and Territories, +Corresponding and Recording Secretaries, a Treasurer and an +Executive Committee of not less than five. + +ARTICLE 5. A quorum of the Executive Committee shall consist of +nine, and all officers of this Association shall be _ex-officio_ +members of the committee, with power to vote. + +ARTICLE 6. All woman suffrage societies throughout the country +shall be welcomed as auxiliaries, and their accredited officers or +duly appointed representatives shall be recognized as members of +the National Association. + +OFFICERS OF THE NATIONAL WOMAN SUFFRAGE ASSOCIATION, 1886. + +_President_--Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Tenafly, N. J. + +_Vice-Presidents-at-Large_--Susan B. Anthony, Rochester, N. Y.; +Matilda Joslyn Gage, Fayetteville, N. Y.; Rev. Olympia Brown, +Racine, Wis.; Phoebe W. Couzins, St. Louis, Mo.; Abigail Scott +Duniway, Portland, Ore. + +_Honorary Vice-Presidents_--Ernestine L. Rose, London, England; +Priscilla Holmes Drake, Huntsville, Ala.; Mrs. Perry Spear, Eureka +Springs, Ark.; Sarah. J. Wallis, Mayfield; Sarah Knox Goodrich, San +Jose, Cal.; Mary F. Shields, Colorado Springs, Col.; Rev. Phebe A. +Hanaford, New Haven, Conn.; Rev. Eliza Tupper Wilkes, Sioux Falls, +Dak. Ter.; Rosina M. Parnell, Susan A. Edson, M. D., Ellen M. +O'Connor, Washington, D. C.; Catherine V. Waite, Myra Bradwell, +Chicago, Ill.; Zerelda G. Wallace, Indianapolis; Eliza Hamilton, +Fort Wayne, Ind.; Amelia Bloomer, Council Bluffs; Mary V. Cowgill, +West Liberty, Ia.; Prudence Crandall Philleo, Elk Falls; Mary T. +Gray, Wyandotte; Mary A. Humphrey, Junction City, Kan.; Elizabeth +H. Duval, Rinaldo, Ky.; Ann T. Greeley, Ellsworth; Lucy A. Snow, +Rockland, Me.; Anna Ella Carroll, Baltimore, Md.; Sarah E. Wall, +Worcester; Paulina Gerry, Stoneham, Mass.; Catherine A. F. +Stebbins, Detroit, Mich.; Charlotte O. Van Cleve, Minneapolis, +Minn.; Caroline Johnson Todd, St. Louis, Mo.; Harriet S. Brooks, +Omaha, Neb.; Eliza E. Morrill, Sarah H. Pillsbury, Concord; Mary +Powers Filley, North Haverhill, N. H.; Sarah G. Hurn, Vineland; +Delia Stewart Parnell, Bordentown, N. J.; Clemence S. Lozier, M. +D., New York; Amy Post, Rochester; Sarah H. Hallock, Milton; Mary +R. Pell, Flushing, N. Y.; Elizabeth Oakes Smith, Hollywood, N. C.; +Sophia O. Allen, South Newbury; Sarah R. L. Williams, Toledo; +Louise Southworth, Cleveland, O.; Harriet W. Williams, Portland, +Ore.; M. Adeline Thomson, Philadelphia, Penn.; Catherine C. +Knowles, East Greenwich; Elizabeth B. Chace, Valley Falls, R. I.; +Elizabeth Van Lew, Richmond, Va.; Mary Olney Brown, Abbie H. H. +Stuart, Olympia, Wash. Ter.; Laura Ross Wolcott, Milwaukee; Emma C. +Bascom, Madison, Wis. + +_Vice-Presidents_--Caroline M. Patterson, Harrison, Ark.; Ellen +Clarke Sargent, San Francisco, Cal.; Mrs. L. J. Terry, Pueblo, +Col.; Isabella Beecher Hooker, Hartford, Conn.; Marietta M. Bones, +Webster City, Dak.; Mary A. Stewart, Greenwood, Del.; Ruth C. +Dennison, Washington, D. C.; Mrs. C. B. S. Wilcox, Interlachen, +Fla.; Althea L. Lord, Savannah, Ga.; Dr. Jennie Bearby, Mountain +Home, Idaho; Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, Evanston, Ill.; Helen M. +Gougar, Lafayette, Ind.; Jane Amy McKinney, Decorah, Ia.; Laura M. +Johns, Salina Kan.; Mary B. Clay, Richmond, Ky.; Caroline E. +Merrick, New Orleans, La.; Sophronia C. Snow, Hampden Corners, Me.; +Caroline Hallowell Miller, Sandy Spring, Md.; Harriette R. +Shattuck, Malden, Mass.; Fannie Holden Fowler, Manistee, Mich.; +Sarah Burger Stearns, Duluth, Minn.; Olivia Fitzhugh, Vicksburg, +Miss.; Virginia L. Minor, St. Louis, Mo.; Clara Bewick Colby, +Beatrice, Neb.; Maria H. Boardman, Reno, Nev.; Ada M. Jarrett, +Magdalena, N. Mex.; Marilla M. Ricker, Dover, N. H.; Cornelia C. +Hussey, East Orange, N. J.; Lillie Devereux Blake, New York, N. Y.; +Mary Bayard Clarke, New Berne, N. C.; Frances D. Casement, +Painesville, O.; Harriette A. Loughary, McMinneville, Ore.; Matilda +Hindman, Pittsburgh, Penn.; Anna S. Aldrich, Providence, R. I.; +Elizabeth Lisle Saxon, Memphis, Tenn.; Jennie Bland Beauchamp, +Denton, Tex.; Jennie A. Froiseth, Salt Lake City, Utah; Lydia +Putnam, Brattleboro', Vt.; Mrs. Roger S. Greene, Seaettle, Wash. +Ter.: Alura C. Collins, Milwaukee, Wis.; Amalia B. Post, Cheyenne, +Wyoming. + +_Executive Committee_--May Wright Sewall, _Chairman_, 429 North New +Jersey street, Indianapolis, Ind.; Laura DeForce Gordon, San +Francisco; Mary J. Channing, Pasadena, Cal.; Dr. Alida C. Avery, +Denver, Col.; Frances Ellen Burr, Emily P. Collins, Hartford, +Conn.; Mrs. J. S. Pickler, Falktown; Linda W. Slaughter, Bismark, +Dak. Ter.; Belva A. Lockwood, Dr. Caroline B. Winslow, Washington, +D. C.; Flora M. Wright, Drayton Island, Fla.; Julia Mills Dunn, +Moline; Rev. Florence Kollock, Englewood; Dr. Alice B. Stockham, +Ada C. Sweet, Chicago, Ill.; Mary E. Haggart, Mary E. N. Cary, +Indianapolis, Ind.; Narcisa T. Bemis, Independence; Mary J. +Coggeshall, Des Moines, Ia; Annie C. Wait, Lincoln Center; +Henrietta B. Wall, Mrs. S. A. Hauk, Hutchinson, Kan.; Sally Clay +Bennett, Mary A. Somers, Richmond; Laura White, Manchester, Ky.; +Maria I. Johnson, Mound, La.; Charlotte A. Thomas, Portland, Me.; +Amanda M. Best, Bright Seat, Md.; Harriet H. Robinson, Malden; Sara +A. Underwood, Dorchester Mass.; Julia Upton, Big Rapids; Cordelia +Fitch Briggs, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Julia Bullard Nelson, Red Wing: +Mrs. L. H. Hawkins, Shakopee; Mary P. Wheeler, Kasson, Minn.; Anne +R. Irvine, Oregon; Elizabeth A. Meriwether, St. Louis, Mo.; Jennie +F. Holmes, Tecumseh; Orpha C. Dinsmoore, Omaha, Neb.; Hannah R. +Clapp, Carson City, Nev.; Mrs. A. B. I. Roberts, Candia, N. H.; +Augusta Cooper Bristol, Vineland; Theresa A. Seabrook, Keyport, N. +J.; Mathilde F. Wendt, New York; Caroline G. Rogers, Lansingburgh; +Ellen S. Fray, Lewia C. Smith, Rochester, N. Y.; Sarah M. Perkins, +Elvira J. Bushnell, Cleveland; Sarah S. Bissell, Toledo, O.; Mrs. +J. M. Kelty, Lafayette, Ore.; Deborah L. Pennock, Kennett Square; +Harriet Purvis, Philadelphia, Penn.; Lillie Chace Wyman, Valley +Falls, R. I.; Lide Meriwether, Memphis, Tenn.; Mrs. D. Clinton +Smith, Middleboro', Vt.; Mrs. F. D. Gordon, Richmond, Va.; Eliza T. +Wilson, Menomonie; Laura James, Richland Center, Wis.; Barbara J, +Thompson, Tacoma, Wash. Ter.; Mrs. J. H. Hayford, Laramie City, +Wyoming Ter. + +_Recording Secretaries_--Julia A. Wilbur, Caroline A. Sherman, +Washington, D. C. + +_Corresponding Secretaries_--Rachel G. Foster, Philadelphia, Penn.; +Ellen H. Sheldon, Washington, D. C. + +_Foreign Corresponding Secretaries_--Caroline A. Biggs, London; +Lydia E. Becker, Manchester, England; Marguerite Berry Stanton, +Hubertine Auclert, Charlotte B. Wilbour, Paris, France; Clara +Neymann, Berlin, Germany. + +_Treasurer_--Jane H. Spofford, Riggs House, Washington, D. C. + +_Auditors_--Eliza T. Ward, Ellen M. O'Connor, Washington, D. C. + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +CONNECTICUT. + +_Is the Family the Basis of the State?_ + +BY JOHN HOOKER. + +The proposition that the family is the basis of the State has come +down through many generations, so far as I know, unchallenged; but +in the sense in which it is ordinarily understood, and for the +purpose for which it is ordinarily used, it is entirely a fallacy. +The State depends upon the family for the continuance of its +population, just as it depends upon the school for the intelligence +of its people and on religious institutions for their morality. +But the State stands in no political relation to the family any +more than to the school and the church. What is meant by the +proposition as generally used is, that the State is politically an +aggregate of families and not of individuals. This is entirely +untrue, and if true the fact would be calamitous. Civil government +is supposed to have had its origin in family government, the +patriarch becoming chief of a tribe which was substantially the +outgrowth and expansion of a single family; but if a nation was to +be formed of such tribes it would be essential to its peace and +prosperity that they should as soon as possible mingle into one +homogeneous mass, and that no citizen should consider himself of +one tribe rather than another. It is the family idea in a +government like ours that makes the feuds which are handed down +from generation to generation in some parts of the country. It made +the frequent bloody contests of the clans in Scotland, and the +dissensions of the Hebrew tribes. In a republic nothing can be more +disastrous than that great political leaders should have large +family followings. The first duty of the citizen is to forget that +he belongs to any family in particular. He is an individual citizen +of the State, and when he becomes a magistrate he must practically +ignore the fact that he has family relatives who feel entitled to +his special favor. He must, like justice, be blind to every fact +except that the applicant for office or for justice is an +individual citizen and must stand wholly on his personal merits or +the justice of his cause. + +The proposition that the family is the basis of the State thus +taken by itself is entirely false; but even if true, the use made +of it as an argument against giving suffrage to women is equally +fallacious. This can be shown by a single illustration. We will +suppose there are two families, in both of which the father dies, +leaving in one case a widow and one son, and in the other a widow +and six daughters. Where is now the family representation? The son +whom we will suppose to be of age, goes to the polls and we will +suppose sufficiently represents the family to which he belongs; but +where is the family representation for the other widow and her six +daughters? She may be the largest tax-payer in the State, and yet +she can have no voice in determining what taxes shall be laid, nor +to what purposes the money shall be appropriated. + +The question whether the family is the basis of the State cannot be +made an abstract question of political philosophy. Indeed the +question is unmeaning when put as an abstract one. We might just as +well ask, "Is the climate cold in a State?" or, "Is the English +language spoken in a State?" It is only as we ask these questions +about a _particular_ State that they have any meaning. "Is it cold +in Russia?" "Is English spoken in Connecticut?" + +Take the case of a State ruled by a despot. Here the people are not +the political basis of the State, either as families or as +individuals. They have no political power whatever. The political +basis of the State is the will of the despot. He is himself and +alone the State politically. He makes the laws himself, and shoots +and hangs those who disobey them. The people are indispensable to +the State, and so in one sense its basis, just as the square miles +that compose its territory are its physical basis, but the people +stand in no political relation whatever to the State, any more than +the rocks and gravel of its territory. It is only where the people +of the State have the whole or a part of its political power, that +the question can possibly arise as to whether individuals or +families are its political basis. And when it thus arises, it comes +up wholly with reference to a particular State, and not as an +abstract question. And then it is wholly a question of fact, not +one of political philosophy; a matter for simple ascertainment, not +for speculation and reasoning. Thus, suppose the question to be, +"Is the family or the individual the political basis of the State +of Connecticut?" We are to answer the question solely by looking at +the constitution and laws of the State. We look there and find that +it is as clear as language can make it that the political basis of +the State is the individual and not the family. The individual is +made the voter--not the family--and that is the whole question. It +was perfectly easy for the people, if they had so desired, when +they were adopting a constitution, to make families and not +individuals the depositaries of political power, but they chose to +give the power to individuals, and thus the question is absolutely +settled for the State. It is true, the State does not carry out +completely its own theory, but this was its theory, and what it did +was wholly in this direction and away from the family theory. We go +to the constitution of the State to settle this question, just as +we would to settle the question whether the governor's term is one +year or two, or whether the judges hold office for a term of years +or for life. While considering whether either of these provisions +ought to be adopted, we are dealing with a matter proper for +opinions and argument, but when the provisions have been adopted, +the whole question becomes one of fact, and we look only to the +constitution to determine it, and treat it as a matter not for +discussion but for absolute ascertainment. + +When one is advocating the theory that the family should be the +political basis of the State, he is simply saying that the +constitution ought to be amended and the right of voting taken away +from individuals and given to families. But it is idle to urge +this. Such a measure would not get even a respectable minority +of votes. It is decisive on this point that not a single +representative government, so far as the writer knows, has adopted +the theory that the family and not the individual should vote. A +law peculiar to Russia gives its villages, in the management of +their local matters, the right of voting by families--a perfect +illustration, on a very small scale, of the family as the political +basis of a State. But here woman suffrage is admitted as a +necessary result; and where there is no man to represent the +family, or he is unable to attend, the woman of the house casts the +vote. + +The advocates of woman suffrage have no interest whatever in this +question, as it is idle to suppose that it can become a practical +one. The writer has taken what trouble he has in the matter solely +in the interest of correct thinking. + +_Hartford, May, 1879._ + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXXVII. + +NEW YORK. + + _Brief on the Legislature's Power to Extend the Suffrage, + Submitted February 19, 1880, to the Judiciary Committee of the + Assembly of the State of New York._ + +BY HAMILTON WILCOX. + +I. LEGISLATURE OMNIPOTENT.--Unlike the Federal constitution, the +State constitution does not reserve all powers not expressly +delegated. It is held by the authorities that in the absence of +positive restriction the legislature is omnipotent. + +"In a judicial sense, their authority is absolute and unlimited, +except by the express restrictions of the fundamental law" (Court +of Appeals, 1863, Bank of Chenango vs. Brown, 26 N. Y., 467; S. P., +Cathcart vs. Fire Department of New York, Id., 529; Supreme Court, +1864, Clark vs. Miller, 42 Barb., 255; Luke vs. City of Brooklyn, +43 Id., 54). + +"Only on the ground of express constitutional provisions limiting +legislative power, can courts declare void any legislative +enactment" (Court of Error. 1838, Cochran vs. Van Surlay, 29 Wend., +365; Newell vs. People, 7 N. Y. [3 Seld.], 9, 109). + +"Before proceeding to amend, by judicial sentence, what has been +enacted by the law-making power, it should clearly appear that the +act cannot be supported by any reasonable intendment or allowable +presumption" (Court of Appeals, 1858, People vs. Supervisors of +Orange, 17 N. Y., 235; affi'g, 27 Barb., 575). + +II. POWERS UNDEFINED.--The constitution forbids the legislature to +do certain things. Otherwise it does not define or limit the +legislature's powers (Art. 3, Sec.Sec. 3, 18, 19, 24). + +III. NO PROHIBITION.--No constitution of New York has ever +forbidden the legislature to extend the suffrage beyond the +classes specified by such constitution; nor has any ever forbidden +unspecified persons to vote. The constitution simply secures the +suffrage to certain classes, and there leaves the matter. + +IV. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.--The constitution declares that the +object of its establishment is to secure the blessings of freedom +to the people (Preamble, Revised Statutes, vol. 1., p. 82). Hence +it, and all enactments under it, must be understood and construed, +where a contrary intent is not clearly expressed, to be aimed at +securing freedom to all. + +V. DISFRANCHISEMENT.--The constitution follows this declaration by +laying down at its outset, as its fundamental principle, that "No +member of this State shall be disfranchised or deprived of any of +the rights or privileges secured to any citizens thereof, except by +the law of the land" (Art. 1, Sec. 1, do., do.). Disfranchisement, +then, must be express by the law. It cannot constitutionally be +inflicted through mere implication or silence. + +Rules for the securing of freedom have often been found to cover +unforeseen cases. Such was the fact in the famous decision of Lord +Mansfield in 1774, that slavery was against the common law, under +which slavery was afterward abolished throughout the British +empire; and the decision of the highest court of Massachusetts, +that the terms of the constitution of 1780 conferred freedom on the +slaves of that State. + +Women, it is now fully recognized, are citizens, and hence "members +of the State," entitled to the security guaranteed. The _practice_ +under the constitution has been to treat as _disfranchised_ all +persons _not specified_ as entitled to vote. Though this practice +is plainly against the declared object and principle of the +constitution, it has been general and mostly continuous, and has +thus acquired the force of law. This, however, does not impair the +legislature's power to correct the practice by express enactment. + +VI. PRECEDENTS.--The legislature _has_ repeatedly corrected this +practice by express enactments securing freedom to various portions +of the people. + +(_a_). CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1801.--The act calling this +convention extended the suffrage for members of that body--_the +highest officers of the State_--to "all free male citizens over +twenty-one years of age," while the constitution secured suffrage +only to male holders of and actual taxpayers on a fixed amount of +real estate (Session Law 1801, ch. 69, p. 151; constitution of +1777, do., 1, 39). + +(_b_). CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1821.--The act providing for the +convention that framed the constitution of 1822, while the existing +constitution (as above) only specified as entitled to vote, holders +of and taxpayers on a fixed amount of real estate--this act allowed +_all_ freeholders, however small the value of their holdings, all +actual taxpayers, all officers and privates, ex-officers and +ex-privates, in militia or in volunteer or uniform corps, all +persons exempt by law from taxation or militia duty, all workers on +public roads and highways, or payers of commutation for such work; +to vote on the question whether the convention should be held, to +vote in the choice of delegates thereto--_again for the highest +officers of the State_--and to vote on the question of adoption of +the new constitution--_to exercise a voice in framing the State's +fundamental law_. The council of revision, including the governor, +which opposed and defeated part of this act, made no objection to +this feature (Session Laws 1821, ch. 90, p. 83). + +The vote for governor, 1820, was 93,437--the largest ever cast in +the State. That on the question of calling the convention in 1821 +was 144,247. One act of the legislature thus enfranchised _fifty +thousand persons_. The vote on the new constitution stood: For, +74,732; against, 41,402; majority for, 33,330. Thus the votes of +fifty thousand persons--enfranchised, not by the constitution but +by the legislature--carried the adoption of a new constitution, +which further secured to them the freedom which the legislature had +opened to them. The vote for governor in 1824--the next +hotly-contested election--was 190,545; so that the immediate effect +of the legislature's act was to add 97,108 persons to the +constituency--to make a mass of new voters who outnumbered those +specified by the constitution. + +(_c_). ALIENS VOTING.--The constitution specifies none but +"citizens" as entitled to vote; yet the legislature, by a school +law of many years' standing, allowed _aliens_ to vote for school +functionaries, on filing with the secretary of state notice of +intention to become naturalized (1 R. S., art. 2, Sec. 1, p. 65; 2 R. +S., 63, Sec. 12; 2 R. S., 1,096, Sec. 31). + +(_d_). NORTHFIELD.--The proprietors of swamp-lands in the town of +Northfield, Richmond county, were authorized to elect directors of +drainage, without any restriction or qualification but ownership +(Session Laws 1862, ch. 80, Sec. 2, p. 233). + +(_e_). The taxpayers of Newport, Herkimer county, were authorized +to vote on the question of issuing bonds to raise money for a +town-house. Under this law women who were taxpayers voted (Act +April 9, 1873, Session Laws, ch. 187, Sec. 3, p. 304). + +(_f_). The taxpayers of Dansville, Livingston county, were +authorized to vote on the issue of water-bonds. Under this act +women voted (Act April 24, 1873, Session Laws, ch. 285, Sec. 4, p. +409). + +(_g_). The taxpayers of Saratoga Springs were authorized to vote on +the question of issuing bonds for the construction of an additional +water-main. Under this ninety-nine women voted (Act May 13, 1876, +Session Laws, ch. 254, Sec. 4, p. 250). + +VII. SCHOOL SUFFRAGE.--If the legislature can admit aliens to vote +at school-meetings, it can admit female citizens to do so. + +VIII. PRESIDENTIAL SUFFRAGE.--1. The federal constitution provides +that electors of president and vice-president shall be appointed +"in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct" (Art. 2, Sec. +2). + +2. It also provides that "this constitution shall be the supreme +law of the land, and the judges in every State shall be bound +thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any State to the +contrary notwithstanding" (Art. 6, Sec. 2). + +3. The legislature has the power under the federal constitution to +provide whatever method it may choose for the appointment of the +electors. The courts have no power to interfere, and even an +executive veto would have no force. The legislature has sole and +full power to say who may vote for electors and how the election +shall be held. + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. + +PENNSYLVANIA. + +BY CARRIE S. BURNHAM. + +The common law of England as modified by English statutes prior to +the Revolution has been formally adopted either by constitutions +and statutes or assumed by courts of justice as the law of the land +in every State save Louisiana, and in the absence of positive +statutes is the common law of the United States. To understand the +legal status of woman in Pennsylvania it is therefore necessary, +_First_--To ascertain her condition under the common law; +_Second_--How this law has been modified in this State by statutes. + + +COMMON LAW. + +By the common law, which Lord Coke calls "the perfection of +reason," women arrive at the age of discretion at twelve, men at +fourteen; both sexes are of full age at twenty-one, entitled to +civil rights, and if unmarried and possessed of freehold, they are +equally entitled to the exercise of political rights (Blackstone, +I., 463; IV., 212; Bouvier's Institutes, 156, 157; Decisions of +English courts in 1612, quoted in 7 Mod. Rep., 264). + +"By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in law"; that is, +the legal existence of the woman is "merged in that of her +husband." He is her "baron," or "lord," bound to supply her with +shelter, food, clothing and medicine, and is entitled to her +earnings--the use and custody of her person, which he may seize +wherever he may find it (Blackstone, I., 442, 443; Coke Litt., 112 +a, 187 b; 8 Dowl., P. C., 632.) + +The husband being bound to provide for his wife the necessaries of +life, and being responsible for "her morals" and the good order of +the household, may choose and govern the domicil, choose her +associates, separate her from her relatives, restrain her religious +and personal freedom, compel her to cohabit with him, correct her +faults by mild means and, if necessary, chastise her with +moderation, as though she was his apprentice or child. This is in +"respect to the terms of the marriage contract and the infirmity of +the sex" (Bl., I., 444; 1 Bishop on Mar. and Div., 758; 8 Dowl. P. +C., 632; Bouv. Insts., 277, 278, 2,283; 1 Wend. Bl., 442, note; 4 +Petersdorf's A. B., 21, note). + +Woman's character, exposed to the vilest slanders of "malignity and +falsehood," and her chastity are protected on account of the injury +sustained by the father, husband or master from loss of her +services, or wrongful entry of his house, rather than the injury +done to her as an individual (Bl. I., 445, note; III., 141, 143, +note; 3 Serg. and Rawle, Penn., 36; 3 Penn., 49; 2 Watts' Penn., +474). + +The husband is entitled to recover damages for "criminal +conversation with his wife," or for injury to her person whereby he +is deprived of his "marital rights," or of her "company and +assistance"; also an action of _trespass vi et armis_ against the +individual enticing her away or encouraging her to live separately +from him; the offense implies force and constraint, "the wife +having no power to consent," and is punishable with fine and +imprisonment (Bl., III., 139; 2 Inst., 434; Bouvier's Institutes, +3,495). + +The wife has no action for injuries to her husband as she is not +entitled to his services, neither has she any separate interest in +anything during her coverture. The law takes notice only of the +injuries done to the "superior of the parties related"; because +"the inferior has no kind of property in the company, care or +assistance of the superior, as the superior is held to have in +those of the inferior" (Blackstone, III., 143; Bouv. Insts., +3,495). + +The husband, by marriage, becomes entitled absolutely to the +personal property of his wife, which at his death goes to his +representatives; also to the rents and profits of her lands, to the +interest in her chattels real and _choses_ in action, of which he +can dispose at pleasure, except by will. He acquires the same right +in any property whether real or personal of which she may become +possessed after marriage, and is liable during coverture for her +debts contracted before marriage (Bl., II., 434, 435; Bouv. Insts., +4,005; Coke Litt., 46, 351). + +At his death she becomes possessed of her wardrobe and jewels, such +of her chattels as remain undisposed of, and her own real estate; +also quarantine (_i. e._, forty days' residence in "his mansion"), +one-third of his personality absolutely and the use of one-third of +any real estate of which he is possessed during coverture for the +term of her natural life. _His_ mansion, realty and personalty +includes what they have jointly earned as well as that of which he +was possessed at marriage. The widow's right to one-third of the +personal estate was abolished by English statutes prior to the +Revolution, but has since been revived by Pennsylvania statutes +(Blackstone, II., 129, 134, 139, 436, 492, 493; Coke Litt., 31, 34; +Bouvier's Institutes, 1,750; Brightley's Purdon, 806, 2 and 3). + +At the death of the wife their joint earnings, also her chattels +real, vest absolutely in the husband, and if they have had a living +child the husband, as "tenant by the curtesy," becomes possessed of +her entire real estate for life. The wife loses her dower by +adultery, but the husband does not lose his curtesy on that +account. Her dower is also barred by his treason and by a divorce +grounded on his adultery (Blackstone, II., 127, 434; Roper, Husband +and Wife, 1,210; 2 Kent, 131; 7 Watts, 563; Bouvier's Institutes, +1,732). + +A husband cannot convey real estate directly to his wife, but may +through a trustee; neither can he give "anything to her nor +covenant with her, for the grant would be to suppose her separate +existence, and to covenant with her would be to covenant with +himself." Their covenants or indebtedness to each other before +marriage are by the marriage extinguished (Blackstone, I., 442; +Coke Litt., 3, 30; 112 a; 187 b; Connyn. Dig. Baron and Feme, D). + +The husband may devise any property to his wife, but the wife +cannot make a will, the law supposing her to be under his coercion; +neither can she bind her person or property, nor make nor enforce a +contract, nor can she be a witness in any matter in which her +husband is interested (Blackstone, II., 293, 498, 444; 2 Kent, 179; +Bouv. Insts., 1,441; Connyn. Dig. Pleader, 2 A, 1; Baron and Feme, +W; 2 Roper, Husband and Wife, 171). + +A wife, with the consent of her husband, may act as his or other's +attorney, may be a guardian, trustee, administratrix or executrix, +but cannot sue in _auter droit_ unless her husband join in the +suit. This incapacitates her to act independently in either +capacity (Blackstone, II., 503; 1 Anders., 117; 2 Story, Eq. +Juris., 1,367, note; 57 Penn. St. Rep., 356). + +A wife cannot enforce her rights nor defend any action brought +against her, but must plead coverture in person, being incapable of +appointing an attorney (Bouv. Insts., 2,787, 2,907; 41 N. H., 106; +2 Saund., 209; c. n. 1). + +When a woman marries after having commenced a suit, the suit +abates; but the husband may _in equity_ sue her for his marital +rights in her property; marriage of a female partner dissolves the +partnership (Bouv. Insts., 4,037, 1,494; 4 Russ. Ch., 247; 3 Atk. +Ch., 478; 2 P. Will Ch., 243). + +The father of legitimate children is bound for their maintenance +and education, is entitled to their labor and custody and has power +to dispose of them until twenty-one years of age, by deed or +legacy, even though they are unborn at his death. The testamentary +guardian's right to their custody supersedes that of their mother +(Bl., I., 447, 451, 453; 2 Kent, 191 and 193; Bouv. Insts., 344; 5 +Rawle, 323; 2 Watts, 406; 5 East, 221; Purd. Dig., New Ed., 411, +29; 5 Pitts, L. J., 406; 1 Pitts, 412). + +"A mother is entitled to no power, but to reverence and respect, +from her children"; she has no legal authority over them nor right +to their services, but her property is liable for their maintenance +if the father has not an estate. The mother's appointment of a +testamentary guardian is absolutely void (Bl., I., 453 and 461, +note by Chitty; Vaughan, 180; 1 Leg. Gaz. R., 56). + +The mother of a "natural or illegitimate" child is its natural +guardian, entitled to its control and custody and her settlement is +its domicil (Bl., I., 459; 2 Kent, 216; 5 Term Rep., 278; Newton +vs. Braintree, 14 Mass., 382). + +"Intestate personal property is divided equally between males and +females, but a son, though younger than all his sisters, is the +heir to the whole of real property" (Bl., I., 444, note by +Christian). + + +PENNSYLVANIA STATUTES AND COURT DECISIONS. + +This "perfection of reason" (the common law) has been changed in +Pennsylvania in the following particulars: + +All women, married and single, are deprived of political rights by +the use of the generic word "freeman" in the constitution (29 Legal +Intelligencer, 5). + +Heir at common law is abolished by statute; however, the right to +administer vests in the male in preference to the female of the +same degree of consanguinity. Half-brothers are entitled to the +preference over own sisters (Purdon, 410, 27; Single's Appeal, 59 +Penn. St. R., 55). + +Any property belonging to a woman before marriage, or which accrues +to her during coverture by gift, bequest or purchase, continues, by +the act of April 11, 1848, to be her separate property after +marriage, and is not liable for the debts of her husband nor +subject to his disposal without her written consent, duly +acknowledged before one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas +as voluntarily given; _provided_, that he is not liable for the +debts contracted before or after marriage, or for her torts +(Purdon's Dig., 1,005, 13). + +"This act protects the wife's interest in her separate property +both as to title and possession," but "does not empower her to +convey her real estate by a deed in which her husband has not +joined," nor "create a lease without his concurrence," nor "execute +an obligation for the payment of money or the performance of any +other act," nor in any way dispose of her property save by gift or +loan to him; she may bind her separate estate for his debts, and in +security for the loan she may take a judgment or mortgage against +the estate of the husband in the name of a third person, who shall +act as her trustee (18 Penn. St. R., 506, 582; 21, 402; 1 Gr., 402; +6 Phila., 531; Pur. Dig., 1,007, 21). + +The husband is the natural guardian or trustee of the property of +the wife; but by application "to the Court of Common Pleas of the +county where she was domiciled at the time of her marriage," the +court will appoint a trustee (not her husband) to take charge of +the property secured to her by the act of 1848. This act, however, +does not authorize the appointment of a trustee, to the exclusion +of her husband, of property owned by her prior to the passage of +the act, nor was it intended to affect vested rights of husbands +and does not protect them for the wife's benefit against the claims +of creditors (10 Penn. St. Rep., 398 and 505; 18, 392 and 509; 21, +260; 1 Jones, 272). + +In a clear case the wife's real estate cannot be levied upon and +sold by a creditor of the husband, _but the burden of proof_ is +upon her to show by evidence "which does not admit of a reasonable +doubt," that she owned the property before marriage or acquired it +subsequently by gift, bequest, or paid for it with funds not +furnished by her husband nor the result of their joint earnings. +The wife's possession of money is no evidence of her title to it +(18 Penn. St. Rep., 366; 7 Phila., 118). + +If no property, or not sufficient property, of the husband can be +found, the separate property and goods of the wife may be levied +upon and sold for rent or for debts incurred for the support of the +family (Purd. Dig., 1,006, 15; 38 Penn. St. Rep., 344). + +A married woman's bond and warrant of attorney are absolutely void, +nor can she make a valid contract except for a sewing-machine or +for the improvement of her separate property, and her bond given or +a judgment confessed by her for such debt is void (24 Penn. St. +Rep., 80; Act of 1872, Pur. Dig., 1,010). + +She may sell and transfer shares of the capital stock of any +railroad company, but cannot herself or by attorney transfer +certificates of city loan (28 Leg. Int., 116; Act June 2, 1871). + +A married woman cannot enforce her rights against third persons, +either for the performance of a contract or the recovery of her +property, without her husband join in the suit, although the party +contracting with her is liable to an action (1 Gr., 21; Act of 1850 +and 1839; 6 Phila., 223). + +If divorced or separated from her husband by his neglect or +desertion, she may protect her reputation by an action for slander +and libel; but if her husband is the defendant, this suit, as also +for alimony and divorce, must be in the name of a "next friend." +She is entitled to a writ of _habeas corpus_ if unlawfully +restrained of her liberty (Purd. Dig., 510, 12; 513, 24; 754, 1). + +The wife of a drunkard or profligate man by petitioning the Court +of Common Pleas, setting forth these facts and his desertion of her +and neglect to provide for her and their children, may be entitled +to the custody of her children, and, as a "_feme sole trader_," +empowered to transact business and acquire a separate property, +which shall be subject to her own disposal during life, and liable +for the maintenance and education of her children. Her testimony +must be sustained "by two respectable witnesses" (Pur. Dig., 692, +5; Act of 1855, 2; 2 Roper, Husband and Wife, 171, 173). + +By act of April, 1872, any married woman having first petitioned +the court, stating under oath or affirmation her intention of +claiming her separate earnings, is entitled to acquire by her labor +a separate property which shall not be subject to any legal claim +of her husband or of his creditors, she, however, being compelled +"to show title and ownership in the same." The husband's possession +of property is evidence of his title to it; not so with the wife +(Purd. Dig., 1,010, 38, 39; 4 Lansing, 164; 61 Barb., 145). + +A married woman may devise her separate property by will, subject, +however, to the husband's curtesy, which in Pennsylvania attaches, +though there be no issue born alive, and which she cannot bar +(Purd. Dig., 806, 804; I Pars., 489; 26 Penn. St. R., 202, 203; 2 +Brewster, 302). + +The husband may bar the wife's dower by a _bona fide_ mortgage +given by himself alone or by a judicial sale for the payment of his +debts. It is also barred by a divorce obtained by her on the ground +of his adultery, and in case of such divorce she is entitled to the +value of one-half of the money and property which the husband +received through her at marriage (Purd. Dig., 514; 2 Dall. 127; 12 +Serg. and R., 21; I Yeates Pa., 300). + +A single woman's will is revoked by her subsequent marriage, and is +not again revived by the death of her husband; a single man's will +is revoked by marriage absolutely only when he leaves a widow but +no known heirs or kindred (Purd. Dig., 1,477, 18 and 19; 47 Penn. +S. Rep., 144, 34, 483). + +If the husband die intestate leaving a widow and issue, the widow +shall have one-third of his and their joint personalty absolutely, +and one-third of the real estate for life; if there are no +children, but collateral heirs, she is entitled to the use of +one-half the realty, including the mansion-house, for her life, and +one-half the personalty absolutely (Purd. Dig., 806, 2 and 3; Act +of 1833, 1). + +If the wife die intestate leaving a husband and no issue, he is +entitled to her entire personalty and realty during his life; if +there are children her personal estate is divided between the +husband and children share and share alike; in either case he is +entitled to their entire joint estate (Purd. Dig., 806, 5; Act of +1848, 9). + +Married women may be corporate members of any institution composed +of and managed by women, having as its object the care and +education of children or the support of sick and indigent women +(Purd. Dig., 283; Act of 1859, 1). + +It is a crime, punishable by fine and imprisonment, to employ any +woman to attend or wait upon an audience in a theater, opera or +licensed entertainment, to procure or furnish commodities or +refreshments (Purd. Dig., 337, 112). + +A man, by marriage, is subjected to no political, civil, legal or +commercial disabilities, but acquires all the rights and powers +previously vested in his wife. He is capable of all the offices of +the government from that of postmaster to the presidency, and of +transacting all kinds of business from the measuring of tape to the +practice of the most learned professions. Woman, deprived of +political power, is limited in opportunities for education, and, if +married, is incapable of making a contract; hence crippled in the +transaction of any kind of business. + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XLII. + +INDIANA. + +[A.] + +Governor Porter made the following novel appointment: On August 30, +1882, Mrs. Georgia A. Ruggles, from Bartholomew county, presented +to Governor Porter an application for a requisition from the +governor of Indiana upon the governor of Kansas, for William J. +Beck, charged with the crime of bigamy. Beck had been living a few +months in Bartholomew county and had passed as an unmarried man; +had gained the affections of a young lady much younger than himself +and much superior to him by birth and education. After their +marriage the fact that Beck had already one wife became known and +he fled to Kansas. Mrs. Ruggles was a friend to the young lady who +had been thus duped, and upon learning the facts she called the +attention of the proper authorities to the matter, and begged them +to effect Beck's arrest. They were not disposed to do so, and upon +various excuses postponed action. She therefore determined to take +the matter into her own hands. Governor Porter granted her the +desired requisition; she went to Kansas, and on September 10, 1882, +she received Beck from Samuel Hamilton, sheriff of Ellsworth +county; she herself brought the prisoner, in cuffs, to Indiana, +and, September 13, she delivered him into the hands of Thomas E. +Burgess, sheriff of Bartholomew county. Beck was tried, convicted +and sent to the penitentiary. This bit of justice was the fruit of +a woman's pluck and a governor's good sense. + + +EXTRACT FROM GEN. COBURN'S ADDRESS. + +The people expect that they will in their own way and time +inaugurate such measures as will bring these questions in their +entire magnitude into the arena. I hope to see 10,000 women in +convention here. They can, if they will, create a public sentiment +in favor of their enfranchisement that will be irresistible. They +have the ears of the voters; they have access to the columns of the +newspapers; they control all the avenues of social life. What can +they not accomplish, if, with their whole hearts they set about it? +The sphere of public life has many vacant places to be filled by +women. Why shall they not serve upon the boards of trustees of our +great reformatory and benevolent institutions, as superintendents +in our hospitals, and as directors and inspectors in our prisons? +The last legislature conferred upon them the right to hold any +office in our great school system except one, that of State +superintendent of public instruction. From them may now be +selected, president of the State university, or of the Normal +School, or of Purdue University, school commissioners and county +superintendents. But the legislature should give them the power to +rescue our prisons, hospitals and asylums from the indescribable +horror of filth, neglect and cruelty which hangs like a murky cloud +over many of them. Men have tried it and failed. Stupidity or +partisanship or brutality or avarice, has transformed many a noble +foundation of benevolence into a hell of abomination. Some one must +step in to inspect; to enforce order, cleanliness and virtue; to +bring comfort and hope to the downcast and to the outcast of +society. This purpose must be backed up by the strong arm of power, +by the sanction of the law, and that law must have upon it the +stamp of woman's intellect. This year the women of Indiana can +place themselves in the van of human progress and dictate the +policy which mankind must recognize as just and true for ages to +come. The public mind is not unprepared for this measure. The +spread and the acceptance of great ideas is almost miraculous in +intelligent communities. + + +[B.] + +LEGAL OPINION BY W. D. WALLACE, ESQ., UPON THE POWER OF THE +LEGISLATURE TO AUTHORIZE WOMEN TO VOTE FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS. + +_Capt. W. DeWitt Wallace, Attorney-at-law, Lafayette, Ind.:_ + +DEAR SIR: You will confer a favor upon the friends of woman +suffrage in Indiana, if you will send me, in writing, your opinion, +as a lawyer, in answer to the following question, giving your +reasons therefor: Can the legislature of this State empower women +to vote for presidential electors? + + MARY F. THOMAS, _President I. W. S. A._ + +_Richmond, Ind._, December 30, 1880. + + + LAFAYETTE, Ind., January 5, 1881. + +_Dr. Mary F. Thomas, President of Indiana Woman Suffrage +Association, Richmond, Indiana:_ + +DEAR MADAM: In your favor of the 30th ult., you ask my opinion +upon, to me, a novel and most interesting question, viz.: "Can the +legislature empower women to vote for presidential electors?" After +the most careful consideration which I have been able to give to +the subject, consistent with other duties, and with the aid of such +books as I have at command, I answer your question in the +affirmative. The grounds of my opinion I will proceed to state: +Section 1, article 2, of the Constitution of the United States, +which provides that the president and vice-president shall be +chosen by electors appointed by the several States, declares in +the following words how said electors shall be appointed: + + Each State shall appoint in such manner as the legislature + thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole + number of senators and representatives to which said State may be + entitled in the congress, etc., etc. + +Now, in the absence of any provision in the State constitution, +limiting or attempting to limit the discretion of the legislature +as to the manner in which the presidential electors shall be +chosen, there can be no doubt but that the legislature could +empower female, as well as male, citizens to participate in the +choice of presidential electors. + +Section 2, article 2 of our State constitution is as follows: In +all elections, not otherwise provided for by this constitution, +every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of +twenty-one years, and upwards, who shall have resided in the State +during the six months immediately preceding such election * * * * +shall be entitled to vote in the township or precinct where he may +reside. + +Two questions at once suggest themselves upon the reading of this +section: _First_--Does the section apply to elections of +presidential electors, and thus become a limitation upon the +discretion of the legislature in case it shall direct the +appointment of the electors by a popular vote? _Second_--If so, can +a State constitution thus limit the discretion which the +Constitution of the United States directs shall be exercised by the +legislature? I shall consider the last question first. + +While the legislature is created by the State, all its powers are +not derived from, nor are all its duties enjoined by the State. The +moment the State brings the legislature into being, that moment +certain duties enjoined, and certain powers conferred, by the +nation, attach to it. Among the powers and duties of the +legislature, which spring from the national constitution, is the +power and duty of determining how the State shall appoint +presidential electors. The Constitution of the United States +declares in the most explicit terms that the State shall do this +"in such manner as the legislature may direct." In the case of +_Ex-Parte_ Henry E. Hayne, _et al._, reported in volume 9, at page +106, of the Chicago Legal News, the Circuit Court of the United +States for the district of South Carolina, in speaking of the +authority upon which a State legislature acts in providing for the +appointment of presidential electors, says: + +Section 1, article 2 of the constitution provides that electors +shall be appointed in such manner as the legislature of each State +may direct. When the legislature of a State, in obedience to that +provision, has, by law, directed the manner of appointment of the +electors, that law has its authorities solely from the Constitution +of the United States. It is a law passed in pursuance of the +constitution. + +Hon. James A. Garfield, who was a member of the Electoral +Commission, in discussing before that body the source of the power +to appoint electors, said: + + The constitution prescribes that States only shall choose + electors. * * * To speak more accurately, I should say that the + power is placed in the legislatures of the States; for if the + constitution of any State were silent upon the subject, its + legislature is none the less armed with plenary authority + conferred upon it directly by the national + constitution.--[Electoral Commission, p. 242. + +That this section of the national constitution has always been +understood to lodge an absolute discretion in the legislature, is +proved by the practice in the different States. Chief Justice +Story, in his "Commentaries on the Constitution of the United +States," in speaking of this section of the constitution and the +practice under it, says: + + Under this authority, the appointment of electors has been + variously provided for by the State legislatures. In some States + the legislatures have directly chosen the electors by themselves; + in others they have been chosen by the people by a general ticket + throughout the whole State, and in others by the people in + electoral districts fixed by the legislature, a certain number of + electors being apportioned to each district. No question has ever + arisen as to the constitutionality of either mode, except that of + a direct choice by the legislature. But this, though often + doubted by able and ingenious minds, has been firmly established + in practice ever since the adoption of the constitution, and does + not now seem to admit of controversy, even if a suitable tribunal + existed to adjudicate upon it.--[2 Story on Constitution, section + 1,472. + +Judge Strong, one of the justices of the Supreme Court of the +United States, and a member of the electoral commission, in +discussing the subject of this section, says: + + I doubt whether they [the framers of the national constitution] + had in mind at all [in adopting this section] the idea of a + popular election as a mode of appointing State electors. They + used the word _appoint_, doubtless thinking that the legislatures + of the States would themselves select the electors, or empower + the governor or some other State officer to select them. The word + appoint is not the most appropriate word for describing the + result of a popular election. Such a mode of appointment, I + submit is allowable, but there is little reason to think it was + contemplated. * * * It was not until years afterward that the + electors were chosen by vote.--[Electoral Commission, p. 252. + +Senator Frelinghuysen, also a member of the Electoral Commission, +thus speaks of the practice in the several States: + + Under this power [the power given by the section of the national + constitution, which we are now considering] the legislature might + direct that the electors should be appointed by the legislature, + by the executive, by the judiciary, or by the people. In the + earliest days of the republic, electors were appointed by the + legislatures. In Pennsylvania they were appointed by the + judiciary. Now, in all the States except Colorado, they are + appointed by the people.--[Electoral Commission, p. 204. + +If then it be true that the power to determine how the presidential +electors shall be appointed is derived from the national +constitution, and that power is a discretionary one, to be +exercised in such manner as the legislature may direct, how can it +be said that a State constitution can limit or control the +legislative discretion? If the State can limit that discretion in +one respect it can limit it in another, and in another, and in +another, until it may shut up the legislature to but a single mode +of appointment, which is to take away, and absolutely destroy all +its discretion, and this is nullification, pure and simple. One of +the questions before the electoral commission in the case of South +Carolina, was whether the electoral vote of that State should not +be rejected because the legislature, in providing for the +appointment of the electors, had failed to obey a requirement of +the State constitution in regard to a registry law. This raised, in +principle, the very question we are now considering, and on that +question Senator O. P. Morton, who was a member of the commission, +and who was an able lawyer as well as a great statesman, thus +expressed himself: + + They [the presidential electors] are to be appointed in the + manner prescribed by the legislature of the State, and not by the + constitution of the State. The manner of the appointment of + electors has been placed by the Constitution of the United States + in the legislature of each State, and cannot be taken from that + body by the provisions of a State constitution. * * * The power + to appoint electors by a State, is conferred by the Constitution + of the United States, and does not spring from a State + constitution, and cannot be impaired or controlled by a State + constitution.--[Electoral Commission, p. 200. + +The distinguished lawyer and statesman [Hon. William Lawrence] who +made the principle argument before the commission in favor of +admitting the vote of the State, took the same ground (Electoral +Commission, p. 186). + +The opinion of Justice Story, expressed in the Massachusetts +constitutional convention of 1820, on a very similar question, and +one involving the same principle, quoted by Mr. Lawrence in his +argument, is very high authority, and I reproduce it here. He +(Justice Story) said: + + The question then was whether we have a right to insert in our + constitution a provision which controls or destroys a discretion + which may be, nay _must_ be, exercised by the legislature in + _virtue_ of _powers confided_ to it by the Constitution of the + United States. The fourth section of the first article of the + Constitution of the United States declares that the times, places + and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives + shall be prescribed by the legislature thereof. Here an express + provision was made for the manner of choosing representatives by + the State legislatures. They have an _unlimited_ discretion on + the subject. They may provide for an election in districts + sending more than one, or by general ticket for the whole State. + Here is a general discretion, a power of choice. What is the + proposition on the table? It is to limit the discretion, to leave + no choice to the legislature, to compel representatives to be + chosen in districts; in other words to compel them to be chosen + in a specific manner, excluding all others. Were not this plainly + a violation of the constitution? Does it not affect to control + the legislature in the exercise of its powers? * * * It assumes a + control over the legislature, which the Constitution of the + United States does not justify. It is bound to exercise its + authority according to its _own view_ of _public policy_ and + _principle_; and yet this proposition compels it to surrender all + discretion. In my humble judgment * * * it is a direct and + palpable infringement of the constitutional provisions to which I + have referred.--[Electoral Commission, p. 186. + +The conclusion seems irresistible that a State constitution cannot +determine for the legislature who shall, or shall not, participate +in the choice of presidential electors, and that in so far as our +State constitution may attempt to do so, it is an infringement of +the national constitution. The discretion of the legislature, by +virtue of the supreme law of the land, being (except in so far as +it is controlled by the national constitution itself) thus +absolutely unlimited, it may, without doubt, as I think, authorize +all citizens without regard to sex, to participate in the choice of +presidential electors. But it has been suggested to me that +possibly by the State legislature, as used in the section of the +national constitution which we have been considering, was meant the +whole people of the State in whom the legislative power originally +resides and not the organized legislative body which they may +create. We answer first that the language of the section will not +admit of this construction. It clearly recognizes a distinction +between the State or the people of the State, and its legislature. +The language is not "each State shall appoint in such manner as +_it_ may direct," etc., but it is, "each State shall appoint in +such manner as the _legislature_ thereof may direct," etc. + +Again, it is a familiar canon of construction that in determining +the meaning of a statute, recourse may be had to the history of the +times in which it was enacted. When the Constitution of the United +States was framed, all of the States had organized legislatures, or +representative bodies who wielded the legislative power, and +without doing violence to language, we must suppose that it was to +_them_ the constitution referred. Again, the State legislatures are +referred to not less than ten times in the national constitution, +and in each instance the reference is such as to make it clear that +the organized representative bodies are intended, and in article 5 +they are, in express terms, distinguished from conventions of the +States. Indeed, the fundamental idea of the American government is +that of a representative republic as opposed to a pure democracy, +and it may well be doubted whether a State government, without a +representative legislative body of some kind, would, in the +American sense, be republican in form. + +Finally, it is apparent from the debates in the constitutional +convention which framed the constitution, and from the whole plan +devised for the election of president and vice-president, that it +was not intended by the framers of the constitution to commit +directly to the whole people of a State the authority to determine +how the presidential electors should be chosen. Nothing seems to +have given the convention more trouble than the mode of selecting a +president. Many plans were proposed. Chief among these were: +election by congress; election by the executives of the States; +election by the people; election by the State legislatures; and +election by electors. These were presented in many forms. The +convention decided not less than three times, and once by a +unanimous vote, in favor of election by the national congress, and +as often reconsidered it (2 Madison Papers, pp. 770, 1,124, 1,190). +The proposition that the president should be elected directly by +the people, instead of by the national congress, received but one +vote, while the proposition that he should be appointed by the +State legislatures received two votes (2 Madison Papers, p. 1,124). +The most cursory examination of the debates will, I think, convince +any mind that it was to the _organized_ legislature of the State, +and not to the people of a State, that the framers of the +constitution intended to commit the power of determining how the +presidential electors should be chosen. It seems, both from the +debates and the plan adopted, to have been their studied effort to +prevent the people from acting in the choice of their chief +magistrate otherwise than through their representatives, and in no +single step of the process are the people directly required or +authorized by the national constitution to act, but in every +instance the duty and the authority are devolved upon their +representatives. For these reasons I think it clear that it was +intended to invest the organized State legislatures with the power +of determining how the presidential electors should be chosen, and +that the discretion thus lodged in the legislature cannot be +limited or controlled by a State constitution. + + W. DE WITT WALLACE. + + +[C.] + +In 1868, the Indiana (Friends) Yearly Meeting appointed Mrs. Sarah +J. Smith of Indianapolis, and Mrs. Rhoda M. Coffin of Richmond, to +visit the prisons of the State, with a view to ascertain the spirit +of the management of these institutions, and the moral condition of +their inmates. In obedience to this appointment the two ladies +visited both of the State prisons of Indiana, and made a +particularly thorough examination of the condition of the Southern +prison (at Jeffersonville) where all our women convicts were kept. +Here they found the vilest immoralities being practiced; they +discovered that the rumors which had induced their appointment were +far surpassed by the revolting facts. + +They visited Gov. Conrad Baker and urged him to recommend the +General Assembly to make an appropriation for a separate prison for +women. With the full sympathy of Governor Baker, who was not only a +most honorable gentleman, but a sincere believer in the equal +political rights of women, Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Coffin appeared +before the legislature of 1869, and by an unvarnished account of +what they had witnessed and learned in the Southern prison, they +aroused the legislators to immediate action, and an act to +establish a "Reformatory Institution for Women and Girls" was +passed at that session (viz., that of 1869). By statute the new +institution was located at Indianapolis. It was opened in 1873, the +first separate prison for women in this country. Mrs. Sarah J. +Smith was made its first superintendent, and she retained that +office, discharging all its duties with great ability, until 1883, +when upon her resignation she was succeeded by Mrs. Elmina S. +Johnson, who had up to that time been associated with Mrs. Smith as +assistant superintendent. + +The first managing board of women consisted of Mrs. Eliza C. +Hendricks (wife of Hon. Thomas A. Hendricks who was governor of +Indiana on the opening of the prison), Mrs. Rhoda M. Coffin and +Mrs. Emily A. Roach. The changes upon the board have been so +infrequent that in addition to those on the first board and to +those on the board at present, only three ladies can be mentioned +in this connection, viz.: Mrs. Eliza S. Dodd of Indianapolis, Mrs. +Mary E. Burson (a banker of Muncie) and Mrs. Sarah J. Smith, who, +after resigning the superintendency, served on the board for a +brief time. + +The board at present consists of Mrs. Eliza C. Hendricks, +president, Mrs. Claire A. Walker and Mrs. M. M. James. From the +opening of this institution Mrs. Hendricks has been connected with +it; first as a member of the advisory board, for eight years a +member of the managing board and during a large part of the time +its president, she has served its interest with singular fidelity. +The position is no sinecure. The purchasing of all the supplies is +only a part of the board's work; the business meetings are held +monthly and often occupy half a day, sometimes an entire day. These +Mrs. Hendricks always attends whether she is in Indianapolis or in +Washington; from the latter point she has many times journeyed in +weather most inclement by heat and by cold, simply to look after +the prison and to transact the business for it imposed by her +position on its board. During the last eight years, since women +have had control of its affairs, Miss Anna Dunlop of Indianapolis +has served the institution as its secretary and treasurer. Perhaps +the highest tribute that can be paid to the ability with which Miss +Dunlop has discharged the responsible and complicated duties of her +double office, lies in the fact that with the General Assembly of +the State it has passed into a proverb that "The Woman's +Reformatory is the best and most economically managed of the State +institutions." The committees appointed to visit the penal +institutions always report that "The accounts of the reformatory +are kept so accurately that its financial status can always be +understood at a glance." + +This institution has two distinct departments, the penal and the +reformatory, occupying two sides of one main building and joined +under one management. Convicts above sixteen years of age are +ranked as women and confined in the penal department; those under +sixteen years are accounted girls (children) and lodged in the +reformatory department. + +The average number of girls in the institution from its opening has +been 150; the number of women 45. There are now (July, 1885,) over +200 inmates. + +All of the work of the institution is done by its inmates. A school +is maintained in the building for the children; a few trades are +taught the girls; all are taught housework, laundry work, plain +sewing and mending; the greatest pains is taken to form in the +inmates habits of industry and personal tidiness, and to prepare +them to be good servants; and when their period of incarceration +has expired, the ladies interest themselves in finding homes and +employment for the discharged convicts whom they seek to restore to +normal relations to society. The secretary estimates that of those +who have been discharged from the institution during the last +twelve years, fully seventy-five per cent. have been really +restored and are leading honest and industrious lives. + + +[D.] + +GOV. PORTER'S BIENNIAL MESSAGE, 1883: "I recommend that in the +department for women in this hospital it shall be required by law +that at least one of the physicians shall be a woman. There are now +in this State not a few women who bear diplomas from respectable +medical colleges, and who are qualified by professional attainments +and experience to fill places as physicians in public institutions +with credit and usefulness. It would be peculiarly fit that their +services should be sought in cases of insanity among members of +their own sex." + + +[E.] + +About the year 1867, Miss Lucinda B. Jenkins, formerly of Wayne +county, Indiana, left her work among the "Freedmen" in the South, +to accept the position of matron in "The Soldiers' Orphans' Home" +at Knightstown, Indiana. She afterwards became the wife of Dr. +Wishard, the superintendent; and when the office was vacated by his +death, she was authorized to assume his responsibilities, and +perform his duties, with the exception of receipting bills and +drawing appropriations, which latter duties, not being then +considered as within the province of a woman, were delegated to the +steward until the doctor's successor could be legally appointed. + +She was a lady of intelligence and true moral worth, possessing a +dignified, pleasing manner, and other good qualities, which, with +her long experience as co-manager of the institution, admirably +fitted her for the position of superintendent; but she was a woman, +without a vote or political influence, and it was necessary that +"party debts" should be paid. She therefore continued her influence +for the good of the institution without public recognition until +1882, when she left to take charge of a private orphan asylum under +the management of ladies of Indianapolis. + + +[F.] + +Miss Susan Fussell is the daughter of the late Dr. B. Fussell of +Philadelphia, to whom, with his estimable wife, women are indebted +as the founder of the first medical college for women in the United +States. At that period of our civil war, when women were admitted +to the hospitals as nurses, Miss Fussell was at her brother's home +at Pendleton, Indiana. She immediately volunteered her services, +and was assigned to duty by the Indiana sanitary commission in the +military hospitals in Louisville, Kentucky, where she served +faithfully until the close of the war, giving the bloom of her +youth to her country without hope of reward other than that which +comes to all as the result of self-sacrificing devotion to the +cause of humanity. + +At the close of the war she returned to Philadelphia, but learning +soon that an effort was being made to induce the State of Indiana +to provide a home for the soldiers' orphans, she again offered her +services in any useful capacity in that work. A benevolent +gentleman of Indianapolis who had been most urgent in calling the +attention of the officers of the State to their duty in that +matter, finding that there was no hope, offered to furnish Miss +Fussell with the money necessary to clothe, rear, educate and care +for a family of ten orphans of soldiers, and bring them up to +maturity, if she would furnish the motherly love, the years of hard +labor and self-sacrifice, the sleepless nights and endless patience +needed for the work. After a few days of prayerful consideration +she accepted, and in the fall of 1865 ten orphans were gathered +together in Indianapolis from various parts of the State from among +those who had no friends able or willing to care for them. In the +spring of 1866 they were removed to the Soldiers' Home near +Knightstown, where a small cottage and garden were assigned to +their use. In 1875, she placed the older boys in houses where their +growing strength could be better utilized, and moved with the girls +and younger boys to Spiceland to secure the benefit of better +schools. In 1877, all of the ten but one were self-supporting, and +have since taken useful and respectable positions in society. The +one exception was a little feeble-minded boy, who, with his +brother, had been found in the county poor-house; his condition and +wants very soon impressed her with the necessity for a State home +for feeble-minded children in Indiana, it having been found +necessary to send this boy to another State to be educated. +He is now in a neighboring State institution, and is almost +self-supporting. With her usual energy and directness, she went to +work to gather statistics on the subject of "Feeble-minded +Children" in this and other States, and to interest others in their +welfare. She at last found an active co-worker in Charles Hubbard, +the representative from Henry county in the legislature, and their +united efforts, aided by other friends of the cause, secured in +1876 the enactment of the law establishing the Home for +Feeble-minded Children, now in operation near Knightstown, Indiana. + +Having seen all her children well provided for, she began to look +for further work, and soon conceived the idea of taking the +children from the county poor-houses of the State and forming them +into families. She offered to take the children in the Henry county +poor-house and provide for them home, food, clothing and education, +for the small sum of twenty-five cents per day for each child, +which her experience had proven to be the smallest sum that would +accomplish the good she desired; but the county commissioners would +only allow her twenty cents per day. She accepted their terms, +furnishing the deficit from her own means, and so earnest was she +and so completely did she demonstrate the superiority of her plan +for the care of these children, that she interested many others in +the work, and the result was the passage of a law by the +legislature of 1880-1881, giving to county commissioners the right +to place their destitute children under the care of a matron, +giving her sole charge of them and full credit for her work, and +providing for her salary and their support. Under that law Miss +Fussell now has all the destitute children of Henry county under +her care, and has created a model orphans' home. Thus has this one +woman been a power for good, and by following in the direct line of +her duty, has been obliged to "meddle in the affairs of State" and +to influence legislation. + +If in giving this sketch we have exceeded the limits allotted us, +let us remember that our subject represents thousands of noble +women who care rather that their light shall carry with it comfort +and warmth, than be noted for its brilliancy, and who, having no +voice in the government, are obliged to work out their beneficent +ideas with much unnecessary labor. + + +[G.] + +The friends of woman's equality addressed the following petition to +each member of the State legislature: + +Being personally acquainted with Mrs. SARAH A. OREN, and knowing +her to be a woman of refinement and culture, we can consistently +urge upon you a favorable consideration of her claims as a +candidate for election to the office of State librarian. She has +had the benefit of a collegiate education, and has been for several +years a successful teacher in Antioch College and in the public +high-school of Indianapolis. She is mainly dependent on her own +labor for the means to support and educate her children, who were +_made fatherless by a rebel bullet_ at the siege of Petersburg. Her +education and experience have admirably fitted her for the +discharge of all the duties of the office of State librarian; and +by electing her to that office, the Republican party will secure a +faithful and efficient officer, and have the pleasure of making +another payment on the debt we owe to the widows and orphans of +those who died that our country might live.[586] + +Mrs. Oren was elected to the office of State librarian and +performed the duties belonging to it with great efficiency and +fidelity. She has been succeeded by Mrs. Margaret Peele, Mrs. Emma +A. Winsor and Miss Lizzie H. Callis. + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XLVII. + +MINNESOTA. + +[A.] + +In the early days, long before the organization of either State or +local societies, there were, besides those mentioned in the main +chapter, a few earnest women who were ever ready to subscribe for +suffrage papers and circulate tracts and petitions to congress and +the State legislature, whose names should be honored with at least +a mention on the page of history. Among them were: Mrs. Addie +Ballou, Mrs. Ellis White, Mrs. Eliza Dutcher, Mrs. Sarah Clark, +Miss Amelia Heebner, Miss Emily A. Emerson, Mrs. Mary F. Mead, Mrs. +E. M. O'Brien, Miss Ellen C. Thompson, Miss R. J. Haner, Mrs. Mary +Hulett, Mrs. Gorham Powers, Mrs. C. A. Hotchkiss, Mrs. Emma Wilson, +Mrs. Mary Wilkins, Mrs. Anna D. Weeks, Mrs. Mary Leland, Mrs. Susan +C. Burger, Mrs. A. R. Lovejoy, and others. + + +[B.] + +Of the seventy-six organized counties in Minnesota we give the +following partial list of those that have elected women to the +office of superintendent of public schools: _Mille Lacs County_, +Olive R. Barker; _Pine_, Ella Gorton; _Lac Qui Parle_, Malena P. +Kirley; _Anoka_, Mrs. Catharine J. Pierce, Mrs. Ellen Conforth, +Miss Dailey; _Benton_, Mrs. Belle Graham, Mrs. E. K. Whitney; +_Cottonwood_, Mrs. E. C. Huntington, Mrs. B. J. Banks, Mrs. L. +Huntington; _Dodge_, Mrs. Mary Powell Wheeler, Mrs. P. L. Dart, +Mrs. J. W. Willard, Barbara Van Allen; _Dakota_, Mrs. Martha +Wallace, Harriet E. Jones, Mrs. C. H. Day, Mrs. C. Teachout, Nellie +Duff, Mary Mather, Anna Manners, Jennie Horton; _Freeborn_, Mrs. J. +B. Foote, Mrs. D. R. Hibbs, Mrs. A. W. Johnson, Mrs. J. H. +Pickard; _Fillmore_, Charlotte Taeor, Margaret Hood, Mrs. M. E. +Molstad, Mrs. A. E. Harsh; _Fairbault_, Jane Harris, Georgia Adams, +Mrs. A. B. Thorp, Mrs. Levi Crump, Mrs. R. C. Smith, Mary Rumage, +Mrs. L. A. Scott; _Goodhue_, Mrs. H. A. Hobart; _Brown_, Mrs. O. B. +Ingraham; _Douglass_, Mrs. M. C. Lewis, Mrs. J. B. Van Hoesen, Mrs. +Trask; _Houston_, Mrs. Annie M. Carpenter; _Hennepin_, Angelina +Dupont, Mrs. M. F. Taylor; _Lyon_, Louise M. Ferro, M. D., Mrs. W. +C. Robinson, Mertie Caley; _Mower_, Mrs. W. H. Parker, Mrs. V. J. +Duffy, Mrs. J. F. Rockwell, Mrs. E. Hoppin, Sarah M. Dean; +_Marshall_, Mrs. L. H. Stone; _Meeker_, Mrs. A. R. Jackman, Mrs. +Orin Whitney, Mary E. Ferguson; _Martin_, Mrs. J. W. Fuller, Mrs. +M. E. St. John, Mary E. Harvey, Mary A. McLean; _Olmstead_, Adelle +Moore, Jane Haggerty, Mrs. R. S. Carver; _Polk_, Mrs. M. C. Perrin, +Mrs. J. A. Barnum; _Ramsey_, Mrs. B. McGuire, Annie E. Dunn; _St. +Louis_, Sarah Burger Stearns; _Winona_, Dr. Adaline Williams; +_Stevens_ county reports one lady serving as school-district +treasurer; _Otter Tail_ county reports six ladies serving in +different places; _Wright_ county, four serving as clerks of +school-districts; and in _Beeker_ county it is said ladies +sometimes serve as deputies during their husbands' absence. + + +[C.] + +In a volume edited by Harriet N. R. Arnold, entitled, "The Poets +and Poetry of Minnesota," published in 1864, are the following +names: Mrs. Laura E. Bacon Hunt, Mrs. Emily F. Bugbee Moore, Miss +Eleanor C. Donnelly, Miss Jane Gray Fuller, Mrs. E. M. Harris, Miss +Ninetta Maine, Mrs. J. R. McMasters, Harriet E. Bishop, Irene +Galloway, Mary R. Lyon, Miss M. E. Pierson Smith, Mrs. Helen L. +Pandergast, Julia A. A. Wood. Among the later writers possessing +true poetic genius are Mrs. Julia Cooley Carruth, Miss Eva J. +Stickney, Miss Jennie E. M. Caine, Mrs. Emily Huntington Miller. + +Among the authors who sent their books to the New Orleans +Exposition in 1885, are Frances A. Shaw, Marion Shaw, Minnie May +Lee, Eleanor G. Donnelly, Mrs. M. M. Sanford, Mrs. Julia Wood, Edna +A. Barnard, Mrs. Arnold, Miss Franc E. Babbett, Mrs. Henderson, +Miss Campbell, Mrs. C. H. Plummer, Mrs. Will E. Haskell, Mrs. Delia +Whitney Norton, Maria A. Drew, Mrs. Jennie Lynch, Miss Mary A. +Cruikshank. + + +[D.] + +Mrs. Winchell, wife of the president of the Minnesota State +University, kindly sent us the names of the fifty-six young women +who were graduated from that institution between 1875 and 1885: +Class of '75, Helen Mar Ely; '76, Martha Butler; '77, Matilda J. +Campbell, Viola Fuller, Charlotte A. Rollet, Mary A. Maes; '78, +Mary Robinson, Nettie Getchel; '79, Marian H. Roe, Caroline Rollet, +Martha J. West, Evelyn May Champlin, Etta Medora Eliot; '80, Lizzie +A. House, Bessie S. Lawrence, Minnie Reynolds, Lillian Todd, Cora +Inez Brown; '81, Emily Hough, Diana Burns, Sarah E. Palmer, Lilla +Ruth Williams; '82, Carrie Holt, Lydia Holt, Mary Eliza Holt, Alice +E. Demmon, Louise Lillian Hilbourn, Emily D. McMillan, Ada Eva +Pillsbury, Agnes V. Bonniwell, Grace W. Curtis, Marie Louise Henry, +Mary Nancy Hughes, Carrie D. Fletcher; '83, Annie Harriet +Jefferson, Kate Louise Kennedy, Sarah Pierrepont McNair, Anna +Calista Marston, Janet Nunn, Emma Frances Trussell, Helen Louise +Pierce, Martha Sheldon, Louise E. Hollister, Emma J. Ware; '84, +Hannah Sewall, Susie Sewall, Anna Bonfoy, Bessie Latho, Addie +Kingsbury, Belle Bradford, Emma Twinggi; '85, Mary Benton, Bertha +Brown, Ida Mann, Mary Irving, Mabel Smith. + +Among the women who have been successful as preceptresses in the +State University are: Helen Sutherland, M. A., Mrs. Augusta Norwood +Smith, Matilda J. Campbell, B. L., Maria L. Sanford. + +Among the teachers in the normal schools of the State are the +following: + +_Winona_--Martha Brechbill, Sophia L. Haight, Jennie Ellis, Sarah +E. Whittaker, Kate L. Sprague, Vienna Dodge, Ada L. Mitchell, Anna +C. Foekens, Rena M. Mead, Mary E. Couse, B. S. + +_Mankato Normal School_--Helen M. Philips, Defransa A. Swan, Anna +McCutcheon, Genevieve S. Hawley, Mary E. Hutcheson, Eliza A. +Cheney, Charity A. Green, M. Adda Holton. + +_St. Cloud Normal School_--Isabel Lawrence, Ada A. Warner, Minnie +F. Wheelock, Rose A. Joclin, Mary L. Wright, Kittie W. Allen. +Nearly all of the above-named teachers were graduated from Eastern +colleges and universities. + +Women occupy the same positions as men and receive corresponding +salaries. A recent report of Minneapolis schools names fifteen +women in the High School receiving from $650 to $900 per year; +twelve principals of ward schools, receiving from $750 to $1,000; +and eleven primary principals receiving from $650 to $800. At St. +Paul there were reported two principals getting $1,200 each, two +getting $900, and twelve others getting $600 each; of the five lady +assistants in the High School, one received $900, one $800, and +three received $700 each. The principal of the High School at +Duluth receives $750 per annum, and some of the assistants and +principals of ward schools, $600. + +Miss Sarah E. Sprague, a graduate of St. Lawrence University, and +of the Normal and Training School at Oswego, N. Y., has been +employed since August, 1884, by the State Department of Public +Instruction, for institute work, at a salary of $1,260 per year and +expenses. Miss Sprague is a lady of rare ability and an honor to +her profession. + +Prominent among private schools for young ladies is the Bennett +Seminary at Minneapolis, Mrs. B. B. Bennett, principal; also the +Wasioja Seminary, Mrs. C. B. P. Lang, preceptress, and Miss M. V. +Paine, instructor in music. The services of Miss Mary E. Hutcheson +have been highly valued as instructor in vocal music and elocution +in the Mankato Normal School. Miss Florence Barton at Minneapolis, +Mrs. Emily Moore of Duluth, are excellent teachers of music, and +Miss Zella D'Unger, of elocution. + +Prominent among the kindergarten schools is that of Mrs. D. V. S. +Brown at St. Paul; Mrs. Mary Dowse, Duluth; Miss Endora Hailman, +Winona. The latter is director of the kindergarten connected with +the Winona State Normal School. Miss Fannie Wood, Miss Kate E. +Barry, Miss Ella P. McWhorter and Miss Abby E. Axtell, are reported +as having rendered very efficient service as teachers in the State +Deaf and Dumb Asylum; Miss Mary Kirk, Miss Alice Mott and Miss Emma +L. Rohow are spoken of as having been earnest and devoted teachers +in the State Institution for the Blind. + +Mrs. Viola Fuller Miner of Minneapolis, graduated from the State +University, has long been known as a teacher and writer of much +ability. Her pen never touches the suffrage question except to its +advantage. Miss Eloise Butler, teaching in the High School of the +same city, would gladly have lent her personal aid to suffrage work +had time and strength permitted. We have at least the blessing of +her membership and influence. Mrs. Sadie Martin, likewise a teacher +of advanced classes and an easy writer, will be remembered as the +first president of the local suffrage society of Minneapolis, and +one much devoted to its interests. Mrs. Maggie McDonald, formerly a +teacher at Rochester and long a resident of St. Paul, has ever been +a devoted friend of the suffrage cause--commenced work as long ago +as '69, and is to-day unflagging in hope and zeal. Mrs. Caroline +Nolte of the same city, though much occupied as a teacher in the +High School, still found time to aid in forming the St. Paul +Suffrage Society. Miss Helen M. McGowan, a teacher at Owatonna, is +spoken of as "a grand woman who believes in the ballot as a means +to higher ends." Miss S. A. Mayo, a lady of fine culture and a +successful teacher of elocution, was also an active member of this +society while in the city. Miss Clara M. Coleman, a classical +scholar from Michigan University, for one year principal of the +Duluth High School, was a believer in equal rights for all and did +not hesitate to say so. Miss Louise Hollister, a graduate of the +Minnesota University, is Miss Coleman's successor and a friend of +suffrage for women, with an educational qualification; she is +vice-president of the Equal Rights League of Duluth. Miss Jenny +Lind Gowdy, graduated from the Winona Normal School, is an +excellent primary principal who teaches her pupils that girls +should have the same rights and privileges as boys--no more, no +less. + + +[E.] + +The names of the women who have been admitted to the Minnesota +State Medical Society are: Clara E. Atkinson, Ida Clark, Mary G. +Hood, A. M. Hunt, Harriet E. Preston, Belle M. Walrath, Annes F. +Wass, Lizzie R. Wass, Mary Twoddy Whetsone. + +Among the women who have practiced medicine in Minnesota are: +Catharine Underwood Jewell, Lake City; E. M. Roys, Rochester; +Harriet E. Preston, M. Mason, Mary E. Emery, Jennie Fuller, Clara +E. Atkinson, St. Paul; Mary G. Hood, Mary J. Twoddy Whetsone, R. C. +Henderson, A. M. Hunt, Adele S. Hutchinson, Mary L. Swain, D. A. +Coombe, Minneapolis; E. M. Roys, Mary Whitney, Ida S. Clark, +Rochester; Augusta L. Rosenthal, Winona; Fannie E. Holden, Anna +Brockway Gray, Duluth. + +The board of officers of the Sisters of Bethany has for many years +consisted of: _President_, Mrs. Charlotte O. Van Cleve; +_Vice-President_, Mrs. Euphemia N. Overlock; _Secretary_, Mrs. +Harriet G. Walker; _Treasurer_, Mrs. Abbie G. Mendenhall. + +The city of Minneapolis takes the lead of all others in the State +in the number of its benevolent institutions. It has its Woman's +Industrial Exchange, as an aid to business women; its Woman's Home, +or pleasant boarding-house; for the care of sick women, its +Northwestern Woman's Hospital and training-school for nurses; also +a homeopathic hospital for women; for the care of homeless infants, +its Foundlings' Home; for unfortunate girls, its Bethany Home. All +of these institutions are in the hands of the best of women. Among +the most active are: Mrs. M. B. Lewis, Miss Abby Adair, Mrs. O. A. +Pray, Mrs. J. M. Robinson, Mrs. John Edwards, Mrs. L. Christian, +Mrs. S. W. Farnham, Mrs. Wm. Harrison, Mrs. H. M. Carpenter, Mrs. +D. Morrison, Mrs. John Crosby, Mrs. George B. Wright, Mrs. Moses +Marston, Mrs. Charlotte O. Van Cleve, Mrs. T. B. Walker, Dr. Mary +S. Whetsone, Mrs. C. S. Winchell, Dr. Mary G. Hood, Mrs. R. W. +Jordan, Miss A. M. Henderson. + +In the city of Duluth there is a woman's home unlike any other in +the State. It is managed by a corporate body of ladies known as +home missionaries. The charter members are: Sarah B. Stearns, Laura +Coppernell, Jennie C. Swanstrom, Fanny H. Anthony, Olive Murphy, +Flora Davey, Jennie S. Lloyd, Fannie E. Holden, M. D. The work of +this corporation is to seek out all poor women needing temporary +shelter and employment. The classes chiefly cared for are poor +widows and deserted wives, and such small children as may belong to +them; also over-worked young women who may need a temporary +resting-place; also young girls thrown suddenly upon their own +resources without knowledge of how to care for themselves. These +ladies care also for the unfortunate of another class, but in a +retired place, unmarked by any sign. They prefer that to the usual +plan of caring for the victims of men. + + +[F.] + +Portrait and landscape-painters in oil and water-colors, who give +promise of success: _Minneapolis_, Miss Clara V. Shaw, Miss Mary E. +Neagle, Mrs. Frank Painter, Miss Mary Dunn, Mrs. Irene W. Clark, +Miss C. M. Lenora, Mrs. Arthur Clark, Mrs. A. M. West, Miss Myra H. +Twitchell, Mrs. A. L. Loring, Miss Luella Gurney, Mrs. Charles +Fairfield, Mrs. A. T. Rand, Miss E. Robeson, Miss Helen Goodwin, +Mrs. Sarah E. Corbett, Mrs. Lucille Hunkle, Miss Mary Kennedy, Mrs. +Frances A. Pray. Mrs. W. B. Mead, Miss Flora Edwards, Mrs. Knight, +Mrs. I. W. Mauley, Mrs. M. P. Hawkins; _St. Paul_, Miss Florence M. +Cole, Miss Mary Hollingshead, Miss A. M. Shavre, Miss Alice +Chandler, Mrs. Martha Griggs, Miss L. B. West, Mrs. Knox, Mrs. +Theodosia Rose Cleveland, Mrs. Genevieve Jefferson, Mrs. C. B. +Grant, Jennie Lynch, Miss Wilson, Miss Lilla Inness, Mrs. George +Eastman, Mrs. Paine, Mrs. Fannie Smith, Miss Alice Page, Mrs. +Hunter; _Winona_, Mrs. W. Ely, Mrs. Ella Newell, Miss D. E. Barr; +_Lake City_, Mrs. H. B. Sargent, Mrs. J. G. Richardson, Bessie +Milliken; _Stillwater_, Sadie S. Clark, Miss Field, Sarah Murdock; +_Albert Lea_, Birdie Slocum; _Fairbault_, Grace McKinster, Miss S. +E. Cook; _Litchfield_, Mrs. Carter; _Alexandria_, Mamie Lewis; _St. +Cloud_, Mary Clarke; _Fergus Falls_, Mrs. Wurtle; _Owatonna_, Mrs. +D. O. Searles; _Duluth_, Emma F. Shaw Newcome, Anna E. Gilbert, +Mrs. A. D. Frost, De Etta Evans, Mrs. Persis Norton, Addie W. L. +Barrow, Gertrude Olmstead, Addie Hunter, Fanny Woodbridge. +Doubtless there are many others of worth in other localities +improving their talents and finding real enjoyment and pecuniary +recompense in the pursuit of their loved art. + +It is one of the imperfections of this chapter that the names +cannot be given of the many gifted young ladies who have gone from +Minnesota for a musical education to the New York and Boston +Conservatories of Music. Of those who have gone from Duluth, and +returned as proficients, may be named Mary Willis, Mary Ensign +Hunter, Mary Munger, Florence Moore and Jessie Hopkins. With this +beautiful thought in mind, "_noblesse oblige_," the christian +workers of Duluth call upon these talented young ladies for aid in +furnishing many entertainments for charity's sake, and are seldom +disappointed. + + +[G.] + +Among the occasional speakers and writers not mentioned in the main +chapter are: Abbie J. Spaulding, Mrs. M. M. Elliot, Miss A. M. +Henderson, Mrs. M. J. Warner, Lizzie Manson, Rebecca S. Smith, +Viola Fuller Miner, Harriet G. Walker, Eliza Burt Gamble, Emma +Harriman, Eva McIntyre, Mary Hall Dubois, Minnie Reed, Mrs. G. H. +Miller, Dr. Mary Whetsone, Mrs. M. C. Ladd, Mrs. M. A. Seely, Mrs. +E. S. Wright, Mrs. M. H. Drew, Mrs. E. J. Holly, Mrs. David +Sanford, Mrs. F. E. Russell, Lily Long. Zoe McClary, daughter of +Rev. and Mrs. Thomas McClary, gives promise of distinction. + +Since the formation of the State and local societies there are many +women in their quiet homes who are ever ready to encourage any +effort toward making all women more free, helpful and happy. Let +this paragraph record the names of a few of these: Mary E. Chute, +Isabelle L. Blaisdell, Mary Partridge, Mrs. C. C. Curtis, Frances +A. Shaw, Lucy E. Prescott, Mrs. S. J. Squires, Minnie Reed, Mrs. E. +S. Wright, Nellie H. Hazeltine, Adelle J. Grow, Mrs. A. B. Cole, +Mrs. A. F. Bliss, Mrs. E. J. Holley, Frances P. Sawyer, Frances L. +James, Mrs. M. C. Clark, Lucy Gibbs, Prudence Lusk, Lizzie P. +Hawkins, M. Hammond, Mrs. E. Southworth, Josephine Strait, Kittie +Manson, Mrs. R. C. Watson, Alice B. Cash, Emma Drew, Helen M. Olds, +Mrs. W. W. Bilson, Adaline Smith, Mrs. L. A. Watts, Emily Moore, +Olive Murphy, Mrs. L. A. Wentworth, Gertrude L. Gow, Della W. +Norton, Mrs. V. A. Wright, Mrs. M. H. Wells, Aurelia Bassett, Kate +C. Stevens, Mary Vrouman, Belle Hazen, Mrs. D. C. Hunt, Mrs. L. H. +Young, Louisa Stevens, Esther Hayes, Sarah J. Crawford, Lucinda +Roberts, Carrie Rawson, Sarah Herrick, Kate Tabor, Charlotte +Herbert, Belle McClelland, Jane E. Knott, Margaret Bryson, Mary +McKnight, Emma Coleman, Sarah Ricker, Mary M. Pomeroy, Sarah +Pribble, Mary A. Grinnell, Eliza Van Ambden. + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER LIII. + +CALIFORNIA. + +We give not only the names of the delegates present at the +convention of 1870, but also of a few of the most earnest friends +of the cause in the several counties of the State, not heretofore +mentioned in connection with the early conventions. + +In San Francisco we must not omit the venerable Eliza Taylor, a +sweet-faced Quaker, eighty years of age, nor Fanny Green +McDougall--"Aunt" Fanny, as we loved to call her--nor Mrs. C. C. +Calhoun, Mary F. Snow, Minnie Edwards, Mrs. O. Fuller, Mrs. C. M. +Parker, Wm. R. Ryder, Mrs. M. J. Hendee, Kate Collins, Mary +Kellogg, Louise Fowler, M. J. Hemsley and Mrs. H. T. Perry. In +October, 1883, Elizabeth McComb, Mary Coggins, Mrs. J. V. +Drinkhouse, Dr. and Mrs. E. D. Smith, Mrs. E. Sloan, Mrs. C. J. +Furman, Elizabeth D. Layres, Miss Prince, Kate Kennedy, Carrie +Parker, Marion Hill,[587] Mrs. Olmstead, Mrs. Dr. White, Dr. Laura +P. Williams and Mrs. Olive Washburn were all members of the city +and State associations. There was the brilliant Sallie Hart, who +took such an active part in the "local option" contest in 1871, and +who as a newspaper reporter and correspondent in the State +legislature for two or three sessions was very active in urging the +claims of woman upon the consideration of our law-makers. + +Hon. Philip A. Roach, often a prominent official of the State, and +for many years editor of the _Daily Examiner_, is an advocate of +woman's rights and was instrumental in getting an act, known as +"Senator Roach's bill to Punish Wife-whippers," passed. It provided +that such offenders should be punished by flogging upon the bare +back at the whipping-post. A wise and just law, but it was +afterward declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Hon. +James G. Maguire, a brilliant and rising young lawyer, a member of +the legislature in 1875, now a judge of the Superior Court of San +Francisco, is a most reliable and talented advocate of equality for +women. Among the members of the bar and other prominent men of the +State are to be found a number who are either pronounced in their +views of woman's right to vote, or are inclined to favor all +measures tending to ameliorate woman's condition in life; of whom +are Judge G. M. Clough, Judge Darwin, D. J. Murphy, Judge L. Quint, +Col. J. P. Jackson of the _Daily Post_, Hon. Charles Gildea of the +Board of Equalization, Judge Toohey, the late Judge Charles Wolff, +Rev. Dr. F. F. Jewell, Dr. R. H. McDonald, the prominent temperance +advocate; Hon. J. T. Wharton, P. S. Dorney, esq., Judge J. B. +Lamar, Rev. Dr. Robert McKenzie, Capt. Walker of the _City Argus_, +Hon. Frank Pixley of the _Argonaut_, ex-Gov. James A. Johnson of +the _Daily Alta_, Alfred Cridge, esq., Dr. R. B. Murphy, N. Hawks, +W. H. Barnes of _The Call_, O. Dearing, Hon. W. W. Marrow, Hon. +Charles A. Sumner, representative in congress; Hon. J. B. Webster +of the _California Patron_, in San Francisco. In other parts of the +State are; Senator Cross of Nevada county, Assemblyman Cominette of +Amador, Judge G. G. Clough, and Senator Kellogg of Plumas county, +Hon. H. M. Larue, Speaker of the House, and Assemblyman Doty of +Sacramento county, Senator Del Valle of Los Angeles, Hon. O. B. +Hitchcock of Tulare county, Judge McCannaughy and Judge E. Steele +of Siskyon county, Hon. T. B. Wigginton, Judge Charles Marks, R. J. +Steele, esq., of Merced county; John Mitchell, John T. Davis and +Capt. Gray of Stanislaus; Hon. J. McM. Shafter of Marin county; +Senator Brooks and Judge J. D. Hinds of Ventura county. + +Sacramento county contains a large number of progressive men and +women, though the good work has consisted mainly in the efforts +made by committees appointed by the State society to attend the +biennial sessions of the legislature, most of whom were not +residents of the county. But among those who have done good service +in Sacramento, the first and most active for many years has been +Mrs. L. G. Waterhouse, now of Monterey. She espoused the cause in +early life, and when many added years compelled her to retire from +active service, her efforts in behalf of women were still +continued. Miss Dr. Kellogg is not only a successful practitioner +of medicine, but is gifted with eloquent speech, and has on several +occasions addressed the legislature of the State; Dr. Jennie +Bearby, for some years a resident of Sacramento, now of Idaho, is +worthy of mention; Mrs. M. J. Young, attorney-at-law since June, +1879; Annie G. Cummings and daughter, have been among the earliest +and most faithful adherents to our cause. Mrs. E. B. Crocker has, +through her social position, exerted great influence in a quiet +way, and has contributed liberally from her vast wealth to aid the +cause; she founded the Marguerite Home for aged women. Dr. and Mrs. +Bowman, now of Oakland, were pioneers in this work; while Mesdames +Jackson, Hontoon, Perley Watson, and Miss Hattie Moore are among +the recent converts. Hon. Grove L. Johnson has been one of the most +eloquent of all the fearless champions of women who have occupied a +seat in the legislature; Hon. Creed Haymond deserves to rank with +the foremost, as an able advocate of woman's political rights; Hon. +S. J. Finney of Santa Cruz, Talbot Wallis, State Librarian, Judge +Taylor, a prominent lawyer, and his brilliant wife, are also among +our friends. Sarah A. Montgomery, Mattie A. Shaw, Mrs. A. Wilcox, +Mary B. Lewis, Judge and Mrs. McFarland, Judge J. W. Armstrong, +encouraged by his devoted and talented wife, and a large number of +others, favor in a quiet way the ballot for women. + +San Joaquin county has been the home of Laura De Force Gordon since +1870, and much of her practice as a lawyer has been in the courts +at Stockton. Among the earliest advocates of suffrage were Mr. and +Mrs. William Condy, Mr. and Mrs. Harry, Judge Brush, Hattie Brush, +Judge Roysdon, William Hickman and wife, Mrs. E. Emery, William +Israel, Hannah Israel, Miss E. Clifford, Dr. Holden, Richard Condy +and his noble wife Elizabeth, who was the first president of the +San Joaquin county society. Among a host of others are Mr. and Mrs. +W. F. Freeman and their bright young daughter Sophronia, who gives +promise of future usefulness in the lecture-field; Mr. and Mrs. J. +C. Gage, whose daughter Hattie possesses marked artistic ability, +and though still in her teens has produced oil paintings of rare +beauty; Dr. Brown, physician in charge of the State Insane Asylum; +Dr. Phoebe Tabor, for many years a successful medical practitioner; +Mrs. N. G. Cary, Mrs. M. S. Webb, Mrs. Zignago, a successful +business woman; Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Loomis, R. B. Lane, Mr. and Mrs. +H. M. Bond, and Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Overhiser, both of whom are +active members of that liberal woman's rights order, the Patrons of +Husbandry. Hon. R. C. Sargent, a member of the legislature for +several terms, has always aided the woman's cause by his vote and +influence. Dr. J. L. Sargent and his intelligent wife are also +friends to every measure tending to benefit woman. Hon. S. L. +Terry, Senator F. T. Baldwin, James A. Lontitt, esq., Judge J. H. +Budd, Judge A. Van R. Patterson, George B. McStay, Judge Buckley +and a number of other prominent officials and members of the legal +profession, are all in favor of equal rights. + +Sonoma county has a few fearless friends of woman suffrage. Mary +Jewett, Mrs. Prince, Fannie M. Wertz and Miss E. Merrill were +officers in the first organization formed at Healdsburg in that +county in 1870, and together with J. G. Howell and wife, who were +proprietors of the _Russian River Flag_, kept up the society for +years. At Petaluma, Mrs. A. A. Haskell, Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Hatch, +Kate Lovejoy and Mrs. Judge Latimer organized a society in 1869. In +Solano county are Mr. and Mrs. Denio and Mrs. E. L. Hale of +Vallejo; Mrs. Elizabeth Ober and Mrs. Celia Geddes of Fairfield. +Napa county soon became an objective point for lecturers; a society +was organized at St. Helena in 1871, with Mr. and Mrs. John +Lewellyn, Charles King, Mrs. Potter and Dr. and Mrs. Allyn as +officers; at Napa were Joseph Eggleton and wife and Mrs. Ellis. In +San Mateo county was Mrs. Dr. Kilpatrick. Contra Costa county was +organized in 1870, and Mrs. Phebe Benedict, Mrs. Abbott, Mary +O'Brien, Sarah Sellers, Dr. and Mrs. Howard, Hannah Israel, an able +writer and lecturer, and Capt. Kimball of Antioch, took an active +part therein. Mrs. J. H. Chase of Martinez, E. H. Cox and wife of +Danville, were pioneers in the cause, and Henry and Abigail Bush of +Martinez, were most prominent in the first meetings held there. +Mrs. Bush had the honor to preside over the second woman suffrage +convention ever held in the United States, that at Rochester, N. +Y., in 1848. O. Alley and wife, also of Martinez, extended their +hospitality to lecturers who visited that place, and fully +sympathized in the cause. + +In Marin county a society was formed in 1870, with Isabella Irwin, +Mrs. Barney, Flora Whitney, Mrs. M. Dubois and Mary Battey Smith, +as officers; Mrs. McM. Shafter, a gifted and influential lady, was +also an active worker in the good cause. Alameda county--Rev. John +Benton and wife, Professor E. Carr and wife, Mrs. C. C. Calhoun, +Mrs. M. L. S. Duncan, Mrs. S. S. Allen, Dr. and Mrs. Powers, Mr. +and Mrs. Ingersoll, Angie Eager, Mary Kenny, George and Martha +Parry and Mr. and Mrs. William Stevens, were interested in the +earlier agitation of the question; Mrs. Sanford, Mrs. A. M. +Stoddard and Mrs. M. Johnson are among the later converts. Merced +county the home of Rowena Granice Steele, the author, and publisher +of the _San Joaquin Valley Argus_, has furnished the State with a +worthy and capable advocate of woman suffrage, both as a speaker +and writer. In her cozy, rose-embowered cottage at Merced, she +generously entertains her numerous guests, who always seek out this +distinguished and warm-hearted friend of woman. Stanislaus county +is the present home of Jennie Phelps Purvis, a talented and +brilliant woman, well known in literary circles in an early day and +for some years a prominent officer and member of the State society. +At Modesto are Mrs. Lapham and daughter Amel, and Mr. and Mrs. +Brown, good friends to suffrage. In San Diego are Mrs. F. P. +Kingsbury, Mrs. Tallant. In Santa Cruz county, Georgiana Bruce +Kirby, Mrs. H. M. Blackburn, Mrs. M. E. Heacock, Rev. D. G. +Ingraham, Ellen Van Valkenburg. In Los Angeles county, Mrs. Eliza +J. Hall, M. D. Ingo county, J. A. Jennings. Santa Clara county, J. +J. Owen, the able editor of the _San Jose Mercury_; Laura J. +Watkins, Hon. O. H. Smith and wife, Mrs. G. B. McKee, Mrs. +McFarland, Mrs. Herman, Mrs. Montgomery, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. J. J. +Crawford, Mrs. R. B. Hall, Mrs. Knox, Mrs. Wallis, Mrs. C. M. +Putney, Mrs. Damon, Miss Walsh, and many others, have all helped +the good cause in San Jose; while Louisa Smith of Santa Clara, a +lady of advancing years, was ever a faithful friend of the cause, +as was also Miss Emma S. Sleeper of Mountain View, formerly of Mt. +Morris, N. Y. In Nevada county, originally the home of Senator A. +A. Sargent, the question of woman suffrage was agitated at an early +day. The most active friends were: Ellen Clark Sargent, Emily +Rolfe, Mrs. Leavett, Mrs. E. P. Keeney, Mrs. E. Loyed, Elmira Eddy, +Mr. and Mrs. William Stevens, Mrs. Hanson, Judge Palmer and Mrs. +Cynthia Palmer. + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER LVI. + +GREAT BRITAIN. + +A CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF THE SUCCESSIVE STEPS OF PROGRESS TOWARDS +FREEDOM FOR WOMEN. + + 1848. Queen's College, Harley street, London, founded for girls. + + 1849. Bedford College, London, founded; incorporated, 1869. + + 1850. North London Collegiate School for girls opened by Miss + Buss, April 4. + + 1854. Cheltenham Ladies' College commenced.... Miss Nightingale + goes to Sentari; from hence may be dated the beginning of + training schools for nurses, metropolitan associations for + nursing the poor, etc., etc. + + 1856. Female Artists' Society founded. + + 1857. Divorce and Matrimonial Causes act passed, by which divorce + and judicial separation became attainable in course of law.... + Ladies' Sanitary Association, founded October 1. + + 1858. _Englishwoman's Journal_ started (now _Englishwoman's + Review_) by Bessie R. Parkes and Mdme. Bodichon, March 2.... + First swimming bath for ladies, opened in Marylebone, July 14. + + 1859. Society for the Employment of Women established in London, + June 22. + + 1860. Law-copying Office for women opened February 15.... + Victoria Printing Press, established March 26.... Institution for + the Employment of Needle-women commenced.... First admission of + women students to the Royal Academy (Miss Herford). + + 1861. Lectures on Physiology to ladies at University College, + April. + + 1862. Social Science Congress in London; though not the first + time ladies had read papers at the congress--this was remarkable + for the increased share they took in its proceedings.... Ladies' + Negro Emancipation Society commenced.... New church order of + deaconesses founded on the model of Kaiserwerth.... First voyage + of Miss Rye to Australia, and commencement of her system of + emigration. + + 1863. Establishment of Queen's Institute, Dublin, for industrial + training of women. + + 1864. Female Medical and Obstetrical Society begun.... Working + Women's College, Queen's Square, opened October 26. + + 1865. Miss Garrett receives her medical diploma from + Apothecaries' Hall. + + 1866. A petition of 1,500 women for the franchise presented, and + the first women's suffrage society formed. + + 1867. Mr. Mill's motion in the House of Commons to give the + suffrage to women.... Lily Maxwell voted in Manchester for Mr. + Jacob Bright. + + 1868. In the general election many women who were left on the + register voted. Women's suffrage was declared illegal by the + Court of Common Pleas, November 9.... London University + establishes a women's examination. + + 1869. Ladies' Educational Association begun in London, which was + dissolved July 18, 1878, upon London University College admitting + women as regular students.... Women's College established at + Hitchin, October ... The telegraph service was transferred to + government, and women clerks were retained, thus entering the + civil service.... Municipal Franchise act passed; women first + voted under it November 1. + + 1870. Publication of _Women's Suffrage Journal_ commenced March + 1.... Women's Disabilities Removal bill introduced by Mr. Jacob + Bright, M.P., read a second time, but rejected in committee, + May.... Lectures for women begun in Cambridge.... First + examinations of women in Queen's University, Ireland.... Married + Women's Property act (England) passed, August 9.... National + Indian Association established by Mary Carpenter (principal + object: the improvement of women's education in India), + September.... Vigilance Association established, October; mainly + occupied in women's questions.... Elementary Education act + passed.... First school-board election in London, November 25 + (Miss Garrett and Miss Emily Davies elected in London; Miss + Becker, Manchester, etc.). + + 1871. Ladies' National Health Association commenced by Dr. + Elizabeth Blackwell.... Law of Ireland amended slightly with + regard to married women's property.... National Union for + improving the education of women established by Mrs. Grey, + November. + + 1872. New Hospital for Women, opened February, in Marylebone + (women doctors).... Girls' Public Day School Company formed. + First school opened January 1, at Chelsea; there are now + fifteen.... Girton College, Cambridge, incorporated. Hitchin + College subsequently removed to it.... New Bastardy act, passed + August 10, affording a greater measure of relief to unmarried + mothers. + + 1873. Mrs. Nassau Senior, appointed assistant inspector of + workhouses, January; the first government appointment of a lady; + made permanent, February, 1874.... First school-board election in + Scotland, February (twenty ladies elected).... Second English + school-board.... Custody of Infants act passed, which enables a + man, having a deed of separation from his wife, to give up the + custody of the children to her if he chooses. + + 1874. Women's Peace and Arbitration Auxiliary of the London Peace + Society formed, April.... Women's Protection and Provident League + formed, July 8 (benefit societies and trades unions for working + women).... Protection Orders given to wives in Scotland, July + 19.... College for Working Women, Fitzroy street, London, opened + October.... London School of Medicine for Women, opened October + 12. + + 1875. A lady first elected as poor-law guardian (Miss Merington, + in Kensington), April.... Albemarle Club opened for ladies and + gentlemen, May 29.... Newnham College, Cambridge, opened.... + Employment of Women Office, opened in Brighton.... Female + clerkships in Post-Office Savings Bank.... Pharmaceutical Society + of Ireland admitted women to examinations.... Madras Medical + School opened to women.... First woman lawyer's office opened in + London (Miss Orme).... Metropolitan and National Nursing + Association formed.... Women delegates from women's unions first + admitted to Trades' Congress in Glasgow, October. + + 1876. Admission of women to Manchester New College, February + 9.... First qualified woman pharmacist established in London + (Miss Isabella Clarke).... Plan-tracing office for women opened + (Miss Crosbie).... Employment of Women Office, opened in + Glasgow.... Scholarship for women established in Bristol + University College.... British Women's Temperance Association + commenced.... Passing of the act, known as Russell-Gurney's act, + enabling universities to admit women to degrees, August.... + Resolutions of King and Queen's College of Physicians in Ireland + to confer medical degrees on women; five ladies passed their + examinations and received degrees in the following spring.... A + memorial, signed by 45,000 women, presented to the queen on + behalf of the Bulgarians. + + 1877. Teachers, Training and Registration Society inaugurated, + February 2.... Trinity College, London, decided to throw open its + musical examinations to women.... St. Andrew's University offered + "Literate in Arts" degrees to women.... A bill to amend the + Married Women's Property Law (Scotland) passed; came into force + January 1, 1878.... International Congress on Public Morality met + at Geneva, September.... Admission of women medical students to + the Royal Free Hospital, October 1.... Manchester and Salford + College for women (now affiliated to the Victoria University) + opened, October. + + 1878. Society to extend the knowledge of law among women + started.... Matrimonial Causes Amendment act passed; a clause + being inserted by Lord Penzance enabling magistrates to grant a + judicial separation to women if brutally treated by their + husbands, a maintenance to be given them, and the children to + remain under their mother's care.... Admission of women to London + University degrees and examinations, July 1.... Intermediate + Education act, Ireland; participation of girls in its benefits. + + 1879. Victoria University charter grants degrees to women.... + Oxford, Somerville and Lady Margaret Halls opened, October.... + Nine ladies elected on London school-board, November.... + Pharmaceutical Society admits women as members, October.... Order + of St. Katherine for nurses established.... School for + wood-engraving and one for wood-carving established. + + 1880. Charter of Irish University gives degrees to women.... + Demonstration of women in Manchester in favor of the suffrage, + February 3; followed by London, Bristol and Nottingham in the + same year.... Bill to give further protection to little girls + under 13 passed.... Mason College in Birmingham founded; equal + facilities to girls and boys.... First lady B. A. in London + University, October.... Melbourne University matriculates women, + March 22.... The Burial bill gives women the right to conduct + funeral services.... The House of Keys in the Isle of Man passed + women's suffrage for women who are owners of property, November + 5. + + 1881. Suffrage bill in the Isle of Man received royal assent + January 5; seven hundred women are electors; general election + began March 21.... Cambridge University admits women students to + formal examinations by a vote of 398 against 32, February 24.... + Durham University votes that women may become members. + + 1881. Sydney University (New South Wales) admits women to + matriculation and degrees.... New Zealand University confers + title of M. A. on a woman, August.... Poor-law Guardian + Association for promoting the election of ladies established, + March; seven ladies elected in London.... Somerville Club for + women opened.... Women clerks admitted to the civil service by + open competition.... Municipal Franchise act for Scotland, passed + June 3; came into operation January 1, 1882.... Married Women's + Property act for Scotland, passed July 18. + + 1882. London University Convocation resolves to admit women as + graduates, January 17.... Twelve women elected in London as + poor-law guardians, April; fifteen in the country.... Married + Women's Property act passed by the Lords and brought down to the + Commons May 22; passed and returned to the Lords August 16; + received royal assent August 18.... Addition to Municipal + Franchise act (Scotland) by inclusion of police burghs.... Women + first voted in Scotland under the new act, November 8.... + Appointment of women as registrars of births and deaths in four + parishes. + + 1883. Married Women's Property act comes into operation January + 1.... Appointment of Miss E. Shove as physician to female staff + in post-office; first appointment by government of a woman.... + Poor-law guardian elections, April; thirteen ladies in London, + two in Scotland for the first time; thirteen in other towns in + England.... Mr. Stansfeld's resolution against the Contagious + Diseases acts carried in the House of Commons by a majority of + 72, April 26; the acts consequently are suspended.... + May.--Memorial to the Prime Minister signed by 110 independent + Liberal members, asking that women's suffrage shall be included + in the coming Reform bill.... Mr. Mason's resolution for women's + suffrage thrown out by a majority of only 16.... Great conference + of Liberal associations at Leeds on parliamentary reform votes + for woman suffrage, October 17, followed by similar votes at + Edinburgh, November 16; Manchester, November 21; Bristol, + November 26, and in many smaller places.... Guarantee-fund raised + in Bombay for lady physicians and hospitals for women commenced; + Calcutta University opened to women. + + 1884. Second reading of the bill for the Custody and Guardianship + of children carried, March 26, by a majority of 134.... First + lady, Mrs. Bryant, obtained degree of Doctor of Science in London + University.... Nine ladies obtain B. A. degree in Royal Irish + University. + + 1885. College of Surgeons, Ireland, opens its degrees to + women.... Criminal-law Amendment Bill passed in August, raising + the age of protection for girls, and giving increased facilities + for rescuing them from ruin.... Municipal suffrage granted to + women in Madras.... Miss Mason appointed inspector of workhouses + by local government board, November. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[586] Signed by Superintendents Public Schools, A. C. Shortridge, +Indianapolis, Alexander M. Gow, Evansville, Wm. H. Wiley, Terre +Haute, Jas. McNeil, Richmond, J. H. Smart, Fort Wayne, Wm. Phelan, +Laporte, Barnabas C. Hobbs, Bloomingdale; Thomas Holmes, president +Union Christian College, Mrs. Thos. Holmes, Merom; Geo. P. Brown, +principal high-school, Mrs. Geo. P. Brown, Jessie H. Brown, +assistant-superintendent public schools, Prof. W. A. Bell, Prof. T. +Charles, Hon. Byron K. Elliott, Geo. Merritt, Mrs. George Merritt, +Wm. Coughlen, Jno. S. Newman, president Merchants National Bank, +Col. James B. Black, Jos. E. Perry, Dr. E. S. Newcomer, Mrs. S. E. +Newcomer, Col. Samuel Merrill, Franklin Taylor, Phebe M. Taylor, H. +H. Lee, Mrs. Elizabeth Lee, Dr. O. S. Runnels, Mrs. Dora C. +Runnels, Horace McKay, Thomas E. Chandler, David Gibson, Miss Mary +Bradshaw, Dr. J. C. Walker, Indianapolis; Elias Hicks Swayne, +Mahala M. Swayne, Richmond; Dr. Geo. M. Dakin, Mrs. Geo. M. Dakin, +Laporte. + +[587] Mrs. Hill was President of the San Francisco Woman Suffrage +Society for three years prior to her death in 1884. + + + + +INDEX + +TO + +THE HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE. + +Compiled by JOHN WEINHEIMER of _The New York Tribune_. + + + A. + + Abelard, i, 759. + + Abbott, Francis, iii, 127. + + Adam and Eve, i, 561. + + Adams, Abigail Smith, i, 32, 201. + + Adams, Hannah, author, i, 205. + + Adams, John, i, 31, iii, 79. + + Adams, John Q., iii, 479. + + Adams, Mary N., lecturer, iii, 614. + + Addresses and appeals, i, 106, 595, 676, 742, 856; ii, 51, 67, 167, + 168, 364, 485, 517; iii, 58, 129, 580. + + Adelbert College, iii, 498. + + _Agitator_, ii, 373, iii, 274. + + Agrippa, Cornelius, i, 29. + + Alabama, iii, 830. + + _Albany Evening Journal_, ii, 282. + + _Albany Knickerbocker_ on woman's rights, i, 611. + + _Albany Register_ on woman's rights, i, 608, 609, 610, 611. + + _Albany Law Journal_, ii, 691, 947. + --on "our laws," iii, 94. + + Alcibiades and the dog, ii, 103. + + Alcott, A. Bronson, iii, 193 + --on woman suffrage, iii, 519. + + Alcott, Abby May, appeal, i, 247. + + Alcott, Louisa May, letter to Mrs. Stone, ii, 831. + + Alexander, Janet, iii, 298. + + Allen, Jane, case of, ii, 592. + + Allen, Nancy R., argument before Senate Committee, iii, 160 + --legacy, iii, 624 + --Notary Public, made, iii, 626. + + Allen, Sophia Ober, iii, 502. + + Almanac, Woman's Rights, i, 863. + + Amberly, Lady, letter to Mrs. P. W. Davis, ii, 439. + + AMERICAN EQUAL RIGHTS ASSOCIATION: + --"colored," the word, discussion, ii, 214 + --Constitution, ii, 173 + --Meetings: + Academy of Music (Brooklyn), ii, 398, + Church of the Puritans, ii, 182, + Cooper Institute, ii, 309, + Steinway Hall, ii, 378 + --Memorial to Congress, ii, 226 + --name changed to "Nat. Woman Suffrage Association," ii, 400 + --officers, ii, 174 + --organized, ii, 173 + --letter of B. F. Wade, ii, 117 + --report, Susan B. Anthony's, ii, 183. + + American flag, design, i, 323. + + AMERICAN WOMAN SUFFRAGE ASSOCIATION, ii, 756 + --Celebration of Woman Suffrage in New Jersey, ii, 846 + --constitution of, ii, 763 + --conventions: + call for first, ii, 757, + Baltimore, 820, + Brooklyn in Plymouth Church, 831, + Cincinnati, O., 854, + Cleveland, O., 802, + Detroit, Mich., 834, + Indianapolis, Ind., 851, + Louisville, Ky., 861, + New York City in Apollo Hall, 821, + in Cooper Institute, 825, + in Steinway Hall, 809, 840, + Philadelphia, 815, 849, + St. Louis, Mo., 821, + Washington, D. C., 819, 858 + --letter, circular, ii, 757 + --members received at the White House by Mrs. Hayes, ii., 860 + --memorial to Congress, ii., 859, + referred to Committee on Territories, 860 + --report of chairman of Executive Committee, ii, 803 + --resolutions, ii, 805, 809, 810, 818, 826, 837, 843, 849, 851, 859. + + Ames, Chas. G., i, 271, ii, 844, iii, 754. + + Amnesty, universal, ii, 315. + + Amos, Sheldon, on vice, i, 796. + + Anderson, Geo. W., iii, 699. + + Andrews, Margaret H., letter to S. J. May, i, 531. + + Angell, John W., iii, 341. + + Ann Arbor University, ii, 541. + + Anneke, Franceska, i, 571, ii, 374, 393 + --sketch of, iii, 646. + + Anniversaries, _See Conventions_. + + Anthony, Daniel, Lucy and Mary, i. 461. + + Anthony, Hon, Henry B., on woman suffrage, i, 867, ii, 106, 273 + --Pembina Territory bill, on the, ii, 568 + --Sargent's amendment to the Pembina Territory bill, on, _ib._ + --suffrage on, iii, 339 + --woman suffrage, his last utterance on, iii, 350. + + ANTHONY, Susan B., i, 186, 465, 467,468, 476, 485, 487, 489, 490, 500, + 501, 515, 517, 526, 570, 589, 591, 607, 624, 653, 673, 679, 716; + ii, 66, 67, 116, 154, 220, 286, 287, 322, 360, 361, 363, 375, 382, + 389, 391, 427, 431, 437, 442, 456, 582, 584, 760; iii, 3, 40, 66, + 151, 175, 178, 195, 243, 257, 412, 502, 560, 580, 630, 641, 697, + 773, 811, 819 + --Abolitionists, and the, ii, 264 + --American Equal Rights Association, ii, 117, 171 + --appeal for woman rights, 1854, i, 856 + --appeal to Congress, ii, 167 + --argument before Illinois Legislature, iii, 572 + --argument before Senate Committee, iii, 160, 227 + --arrest of, ii, 628 + --arrest, incidents of, ii, 539 + --arrest, resolution concerning, ii, 537 + --birthday celebrated in Indianapolis, iii, 538 + --"Bloomer," in a, i, 128 + --bonnet and Noah's ark, iii, 522 + --"Bread and Ballot," iii, 536 + --California visit, iii, 756 + --call, loyal women, ii, 53 + --Centennial Exhibition, at the, iii, 27 + --complimented by Judge Edmunds, iii, 160 + --Constitutional Convention at Albany, before, ii, 284 + --corruptionist, as a, ii, 936 + --Declaration of Rights, reads, at Centennial, iii, 31 + --delegate to Democratic National Convention, ii, 340, + --comments of the press, ii, 342 + --Democratic National Convention, at the, iii, 182 + --_feme sole_ capable of making a contract, iii, 21 + --Fifteenth Amendment, on the, ii, 340 + --financial report, ii, 175 + --fugitive wife's escape from an insane asylum, aids, i, 469 + --general agent, appointed, i, 619 + --Grant and Wilson campaign, appeal, ii, 517 + --Grant, U. S., conversation with, ii, 544 + --Iowa, in, iii, 622 + --Kansas campaign, i, 200, ii, 239, 254, 261, 262, 263 + --lecture, "False Theory," iii, 675 + --lecturing tour, Ohio, iii, 491 + --Letters: Boston Convention, i, 256 + --Brooks, James, to, ii, 97 + --Carson League, i, 488 + --Democratic National Convention, to, ii, 340 + --Foote, E. B., to, ii, 941 + --Garfield. Jas. A., to, iii, 185 + --loyal women, from, ii, 875 + --Mott, Lydia, to, i, 748 + --Stanton, Mrs., to, announcing her having voted, ii, 934 + --Wright, Martha C, to, i, 678. + --Logan, Olive, and, ii, 385 + --"Male" in the Constitution, on the word, ii, 91 + --manhood suffrage, on, iii, 566 + --marriage and divorce, on, i, 735 + --meeting in Rahway, N. J., iii, 479 + --meetings in Virginia, iii, 824 + --Michigan campaign, iii, 522 + --Napoleon of Woman Suffrage, the, i, 456 + --Newport Convention, ii, 403 + --on Mrs. Robert Dale Owen, i, 303 + --Oregon visit, iii, 769 + --police officer, and the, ii, 540 + --portrait, i, 577 + --President Mozart Hall Convention, i, 668 + --President National Woman Suffrage Association, ii, 516 + --presentations, iii, 193 + --reception, Sorosis, iii, 571 + --registered, ii, 627 + --reminiscences, Mrs. E. C. Stanton's, i, 456 + --report, National Convention, at Cooper Institute, i, 689 + --report as secretary of American Equal Rights Association, ii, 183 + --_Revolution_, i, 46 + --Secretary Loyal League, made, ii, 66 + --sex, and her, ii, 112 + --Speeches: Anti-Slavery question, ii, 898 + --Congressional Committee, before, ii, 414, 513 + --first public speech, i, 41 + --Furness' Church, in, iii, 35 + --Is It a Crime for a United States' Citizen to Vote? ii, 630 + --Philadelphia Convention, i, 385 + --Saratoga Convention, i, 621 + --Teachers' Convention, N. Y. State, i, 513 + --Temperance Convention, Rochester, i, 483 + --Washington Convention, ii, 423, 521 + --Washington Convention, iii, 259 + --Woman's National Loyal League, ii, 57, 61. + --Suffrage, on, ii, 383 + --tableau "Mother and Susan," i, 461 + --Taxation without Representation, on, ii, 539 + --Temperance Convention at Rochester, read call, i, 481 + --testimonial, i, 534 + --tour, western, ii, 367 + --tour with Ernestine L. Rose, i, 97 + --tracts, Kansas campaign, ii, 239 + --tracts and petitions, on, i, 383 + --Train, G. F., and _The Revolution_, criticism, ii, 264 + --Trial: + --Arrest, ii, 628 + --argument, Crowley's, ii, 648, 675 + --argument, Judge Selden's, ii, 654 + --bail, refused to give, ii, 629 + --case opened by Judge Selden, ii, 652 + --Gage, Matilda J., Letter to _Albany Law Journal_, ii, 947 + --guilty, Court directs a verdict of, ii, 679 + --Hunt's, Judge, decision, ii, 677 + --Hunt's decision criticised, ii, 689 + --Hunt's decision reviewed, ii, 946 + --incidents, ii, 537 + --indictment, ii, 647 + --inspectors of elections, _See trials and decisions_ + --Jones, B. W., testimony, ii, 650 + --letter from Gerrit Smith, ii, 941 + --trial, new, denied, ii, 687 + --trial, new, motion for, ii, 680 + --opening of, ii, 647 + --petition to Congress praying for remission of fine, ii, 698 + --reports, majority and minority, ii, 701, 711 + --Pound, J. E., testimony ii, 653 + --press comments, ii, 935 + --resolutions concerning, ii, 537 + --Selden's letter, ii, 935 + --sentenced to pay a fine of $100, ii, 687 + --testimony in trial of election inspectors, ii, 692 + --Washington gossip, ii, 943. + --Tribute, "Aunt Lottie's," iii, 41 + --tribute, to Laura C. Haviland, iii, 532 + --tribute, from _The Leavenworth Commercial_ (Kansas), ii, 263 + --tribute to Lucretia Mott, iii, 189 + --tribute, St. Louis Convention, iii, 147 + --tribute, Scovill's, ii, 420 + --visit to Lucretia Mott, i, 414 + --voted for Grant for President, ii, 628 + --letter announcing her having voted, ii, 934 + --Washington Territory Legislature, hearing before, iii, 786 + --Wyoming visit, iii, 734. + + Anti-Slavery struggle, i, 39, 52, 54, 323, 325, 339, 417 + --Josephine Griffing and Freedman's Bureau, ii, 29 + --Society reorganized, ii, 153. + + Anti-Woman Suffrage Society, iii, 99. + + Antonelli's, Cardinal, sacrilegious child, i, 788. + + Appendix, i, 801, ii, 863, iii, 955. + + Archer, Stevenson, iii, 816. + + Arkansas, iii, 805 + --Constitutional Convention, iii, 806. + + Arnell's services in Congress, ii, 489, 491. + + Arnett, Hannah, i, 442. + + Art and artists, iii, 301. + + Ashley, Henry, iii, 319. + + Ashley, J. M., speech in Congress, iii, 495. + + Astell, Mary, i, 30. + + Attorneys, ii, 604. + + Augustine, i, 756. + + Austin, Helen V., sketch of, i, 312. + + Austria, iii, 904. + + Autograph book, Centennial, iii, 40. + + Avery, Alida C., iii, 719. + + + B. + + Ballard, Anna, iii, 407. + + Ballot, the, ii, 168 + --Sumner on the, ii, 95 + --what is the, ii, 155. + + _Ballot-Box_, iii, 51, 504. + + Banks, N. P., speech, iii, 10. + + Banquet, St. James Hotel, ii, 441. + + Bar, admission to the, iii, 330. + + Barber, Miss, i, 807. + + Barkaloo, Helena, lawyer, iii, 404. + + Barker, Jos., i, 114 + --Pulpit, on the, i, 140. + + Barnum, P. T., i, 503. + + Barstow, Hon. A. C., i, 499 + --battle-field, services on the, ii, 23 + --letters to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 916. + + Barton, Clara, appeal to soldier friends, ii, 418. + + Bascom, Emma C, letter to S. B. Anthony, iii, 647. + + Batchelder, Mrs. Dr. L. S., on working women, ii, 389. + + "Battle Hymn of the Republic," ii, 18. + + Battle of Lexington, commemoration of, iii, 414. + + Baxter, Richard, on witchcraft, i, 765. + + Bayard, Thos. F., ii, 567, 576; iii, 205-6. + + Beck, Senator, on woman suffrage, iii, 209. + + Becker, Lydia E., letters, iii, 62, 121, 249. + + Beecher, Catharine E., ii, 787, iii, 399. + + Beecher, Edward, ii, 368, iii, 566. + + BEECHER, Henry Ward, Kansas campaign, ii, 265 + --letter to American Woman Suffrage Association meeting in + St. Louis, ii, 825 + --letter to Lucy Stone, Presidency American Woman Suffrage + Association, ii, 808 + --letter to Washington Convention, ii, 496 + --President of American Woman Suffrage Association, made, ii, 764 + --speeches, ii, 156, 216, 399, 766, 774; iii, 52 + --suffrage, universal, and, ii, 315 + --Tilton colloquy, ii, 167 + --Tilton trial, i, 789 + --woman's right to vote, on, i, 620. + + Beecher, Lyman, i, 393. + + Belgium, iii, 909. + + Bell, Lydia, iii, 693. + + Bell, Dr. T. S., ii, 862. + + Bellows, Dr., on woman's rights, i, 245. + + Bennett, Dr. Alice, iii, 472. + + Bennett, James Gordon, i, 546. + + Bentham, Jeremy, iii, 836. + + Bequests, i, 257, 258, 667, 742. + + Berlin, iii, 903. + + Berlin Congress, ii, 404. + + Bible, Antoinette L. Brown's points, i, 535 + --divorce, and, i, 213 + --interpolations, i, 797 + --revision, i, 798 + --woman and the, discussion, i, 380. + + Biggs, Caroline A., letter to S. B. Anthony, iii, 250 + --letter to Rochester Convention, iii, 120 + --letter to Washington Convention, iii, 261. + + Biggs, Emily J., iii, 702. + + Bingham, Anson, i, 687, ii, 461. + + BIOGRAPHY: Austin, Helen V., i, 312 + --Blake, Lillie D., iii, 408 + --Barton, Clara, ii, 23 + --Boyd, Louise V., i, 312 + --Brown, Olympia, iii, 646 + --Clark, Mary T., i, 312 + --Colby, Clara B., iii, 670 + --Collins, Emily, i, 88 + --Davis, Paulina Wright, by "E. C. S.", i, 283 + --Duniway, Abigail S., iii, 768 + --Griffing, Josephine Sophie, ii, 26 + --Lozier, Clemence, iii, 411 + --Morrow, Jane, i, 313 + --Owen, Mary Robinson, i, 313 + --Owen, Robert Dale, i, 293 + --Rose, Ernestine, i, 95 + --Swank, Emma B., i, 313 + --Thomas, Mary F., i, 314 + --Underhill, Sarah E., i, 313 + --Warren, Mercy Otis, in the Revolution, i, 201 + --Way, Amanda M., i, 311 + --Wright, Frances, i, 35. + + Bird, Frank W., iii, 194. + + Birdsall, Mary B., sketch of, i, 313. + + Bittenbender, Ada M., sketch of, iii, 692. + + Blackstone on the canon law, i, 771. + + BLACKWELL, Antoinette L. B., ii, 760 + --letter to Cooper Institute Convention, i, 862 + --marriage and divorce, on, i, 723 + --speech at American Woman Suffrage Association meeting in New York, + ii, 841 + --Woman's National Loyal League, ii, 69. + (See Brown, A. L.) + + BLACKWELL, Elizabeth, i, 37, 78 + --letter to Emily Collins, i, 90 + --letter to Westchester, Pa., Convention, i, 831 + --physician, as a, i, 94 + --sanitary commission, ii, 13. + + BLACKWELL, Henry B., ii, 382 + --Kansas Campaign, ii, 232, 235 + --South, on the, ii, 929 + --speech at American Woman Suffrage Association meeting in Steinway + Hall, ii, 811 + --at American Woman Suffrage Association meeting in Cooper + Institute, ii, 830 + --Cleveland Convention, i, 126, ii, 780 + --President of Am. Woman Suffrage Association, made, ii, 856 + --_Vermont Watchman_, on, iii, 386 + --Woman Suffrage in New Jersey, on, ii, 846. + + BLAKE, Lillie Devereux, iii, 74, 223, 483 + --Argument before House Committee, iii, 163 + --sketch of, iii, 408 + --Dix's Lenten lectures, her reply to, iii, 436 + --lectures "Woman's Place to-day," iii, 436 + --Washington Convention '76, iii, 7 + --Washington Convention, at, ii, 541 + --Fable, "The Selfish Rats," iii, 114 + --speech, Battle of Lexington Commemoration, iii, 414. + + Blake, S. L., against woman suffrage, iii, 371. + + Blaine, Jas. G., iii, 164, 165, 366. + + Blair, Henry W., letter to Susan B. Anthony, iii, 380. + + BLOOMER, Amelia, i, 46 + --address before Nebraska Legislature, iii, 672 + --Cleveland National Convention, at, i, 128 + --comments on Jane G. Swisshelm, i, 844 + --portrait, i, 496 + --replies to Senator Gaylord's speech against woman suffrage, + iii, 623 + --speech at Rochester Temperance Convention, i, 483 + --work done, iii, 613. + + Bloomer costume, i, 127, 469, 844. + + Blunt, Gen., Kansas campaign, ii, 243. + + Boarding House Law, i, 688. + + Bodeker, Anna W., iii, 823 + --vote, attempted to, iii, 824. + + Bohemia, iii, 907. + + Bolton, Sarah Knowles, iii, 494. + + Bolton, Sarah T., i, 300. + + Bones, Marietta, address to Dakota Constitutional Convention, + iii, 665. + + Booth, Mary L., i, 48, 624, ii, 433. + + _Boston Commonwealth_, report of fifth Washington Convention, ii, 543. + + Boston Convention, i, 255. + + _Boston Transcript_, iii, 227. + + Bottsford, Harriette, iii, 623. + + Bower, E. S., iii, 700. + + Bowles, Ada C., iii, 194. + + Bowles, Samuel, letter to Mrs. Hooker, iii, 325. + + Boyd, Louise V., sketch of, i, 312. + + Bradburn, Geo., address, i, 56. + + Bradlaugh, Charles, speaks in New York for woman suffrage, ii, 842. + + Bradley, Judge, on the XIV. Amendment, ii, 457 + --opinion, Bradwell case, ii, 624. + + Bradstreet, Anne, i, 204, iii, 302. + + Bradwell, Myra, application to Illinois Bar, ii, 601 + --opinion denying, ii, 609 + --Carpenter's, Matt. H., argument, ii, 615 + --opinion of Justice Bradley, ii, 624 + --report of proceedings in Illinois and U. S. Supreme Courts, + ii, 614 + --U. S. Supreme Court decision, ii, 622 + --writ of error, ii, 614. + + Brent, Margaret, first woman in America to claim the right to vote, + iii, 815. + + BRIGHT, Jacob, iii, 727, 841 + --letter to Mrs. P. W. Davis, ii, 438 + --municipal franchise bill, secures, iii, 845 + --became law, iii, 847 + --Parliament, fails of reelection, iii, 853 + --speech on woman suffrage, iii, 849, 873 + --votes for woman suffrage, iii, 842. + + Bright, John, ii, 349, 366, 420 + --speech against woman suffrage, iii, 861. + + Bright, Wm. H., career of, iii, 729. + + Brinkerhoff, Martha H., iii, 614. + + British taxation, ii, 202. + + Bromwell, H. P. H., iii, 720. + + Brooklyn Bridge, iii, 440. + + Brooks, James, on woman suffrage, ii, 97. + + Brooks, Harriet S., sketch of, iii, 692. + + Broomall, John H., iii, 464. + + Brougham, Lord, i, 633. + + BROWN, Antoinette L., i, 41, 119, 186, 624 + --Bible argument, points on the, i, 535 + --colleges, on, i, 144 + --on the Half-world's Temperance Convention, i, 507 + --pastor, ordained as, i, 473 + --portrait, i, 449 + --resolutions, Albany Convention, i, 593 + --speech at Broadway Tabernacle Convention, i, 553 + --Syracuse National Convention, argument, i, 524 + --World's Temperance Convention, at the, i, 152. + (See Blackwell, A. L. B.) + + Brown, B. Gratz, speech, ii, 136 + --universal suffrage, on, iii, 598. + + Brown, David Paul, i, 333. + + Brown, Martha McClellan, iii, 226. + + Brown, Mary Olney, iii, 767 + --argument, her right to vote, iii, 783 + --vote, attempts to, iii, 780, 785. + + BROWN, Olympia, iii, 73, 267, 301 + --discussion with Fred. Douglass, ii, 311 + --Kansas, in, i, 200, ii, 239, 240, 241 + --letter to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 259 + --sketch of, iii, 646 + --speech at Equal Rights Association anniversary, Cooper Institute, + ii, 309 + --speech before Congressional Committee, iii, 95 + --speech, Washington Convention, '76, iii, 7 + --speech at Washington Convention, ii, 422. + + Brown, R. T., speech on suffrage, ii, 853. + + Brown, Sarah A., nominated for office, iii, 705. + + Brown, Wm. Wells, ii, 368. + + Bruhn, Rosa, letter to Mrs. P. W. Davis, ii, 439. + + Buchanan, James, ii, 204. + + Buck, J. D., iii, 511. + + Buckalew, Senator, speech, ii, 146. + + Buckingham, Mrs., iii, 337. + + Buckley, Brother, on women as preachers, i, 784. + + Burger, Sarah, iii, 526 (see Stearns, S. B.). + + Burleigh, Celia, ii, 402, 790, 801, 817. + + Burleigh, Charles C., i, 148, 549, 558, ii, 194, 392, 818. + + Burnet, Rev. J., i, 55. + + Burnham, Carrie S., ii, 600, iii, 444. + + Burns, Anthony, i, 254. + + Burns, Robert, ii, 266. + + Burr, Frances Ellen, iii, 319 + --letters to S. B. Anthony, ii, 912, iii, 334 + --Senate Judiciary Committee, argument before, ii, 543. + + Burtis, Sarah Anthony, i, 76. + + Burton, Mary, iii, 852. + + Bush, Abigail, i, 75, iii, 120. + + BUTLER, Benj. F., letters to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 539, iii, 255 + --report on Victoria C. Woodhull's memorial to Congress, ii, 464 + --speech, ii, 514. + + Butler, David, iii, 691. + + Butler, Deborah, ii, 348. + + Butler, Josephine E., on prostitution, iii, 145 + --vice, on, i, 795. + + + C. + + Cadwallader, John, i, 330. + + CALIFORNIA, iii, 749 + --Appendix, iii, 977 + --constitution, liberal provisions, 750 + --constitution and statute-laws, 760 + --Conventions (_see Conventions_) + --journalism, 761 + --Mill's Seminary, 751 + --petition to Legislature, 755 + --press, _ib._ + --senator, Mrs. Gordon nominated for, 756 + --silk culture, 762 + --State Society organized, 754 + --woman's lawyer bill, 757 + --woman suffrage society, first, 752 + --women made eligible to school offices, 757 + --women in the industries, 763 + --women in the State University, contest, 758. + + Cameron, Don, iii, 176. + + Campbell, Margaret W., iii, 269, 716 + --speech in Detroit, ii, 839. + + Campbell, Mary G., iii, 712. + + Canada, women's position in, iii, 831. + + Canon law, i, 755, 769, 770, 771, 774. + + Carey, Mary A. S., iii, 72. + + Carey, Samuel F., i, 121, 154. + + Carpenter Hall, application for, iii, 16. + + Carpenter, C. C., letter to Iowa Woman Suffrage Association, iii, 621. + + Carpenter, Matt. H., on Sargent's amendment to Pembina Territory bill, + ii, 562 + --Anthony, Susan B., trial, on, ii, 701 + --argument in Myra Bradwell's application to Illinois Bar, ii, 615 + --letter to Elizabeth C. Stanton, ii, 423. + + Carr, Jeanne, iii, 751. + + CARROLL, Anna Ella, iii, 153 + --claim before Congress, ii, 12, 863 + --statement of Benj. F. Wade, ii, 865 + --letters, ii, 865, 866, 867, 868 + --Tennessee campaign, ii, 3 + --Vicksburg, on, ii, 11. + + Cartter, Mrs. M. M., ii, 442. + + Cartter, Chief-Justice, opinion, Spencer-Webster suit, ii, 597. + + Cary, Alice and Phoebe, ii, 433. + + Catherine II., i, 34. + + Catholic Church, ii, 201, 207. + + Cattle expert, Middie Morgan, iii, 404. + + Cavender, John H., i, 328. + + Centennial celebration, iii, 411. + + Centennial headquarters, iii, 21. + + Centennial Tea-Party, iii, 269. + + Centennial year, iii, 1. + + Centralization, iii, 89 + --Matilda J. Gage, on, ii, 523. + + Century Club, Philadelphia, iii, 469. + + Chace, Elizabeth B., iii, 340, 341, 348. + + Chalkstone, Mrs., ii, 59. + + Chamberlain, D. H., favors woman suffrage, iii, 829. + + Chambers, Rev. John, i, 159, 167, 500, 508. + + Chandler, Dolly, iii, 275. + + Chandler, Z., on Mrs. J. S. Griffing and the freedmen, ii, 33. + + CHANNING, William Henry, i, 476, 583, 584, 587, 591 + --appeal, woman's rights, i, 588 + --resolutions, Rochester Convention, i, 580 + --social relations, report on, i, 233 + --speech at Broadway Tabernacle Convention, i, 550 + --Woman's Rights, Declaration, i, 129 + --World's Temperance Convention and John Chambers, on the, i, 508, + iii, 922. + + Chapin, Augusta, iii, 276. + + Chapin, Clara C., iii, 691, 693. + + Chapin, E. H., i, 476. + + Chaplain, Mrs. E. F. Hobart, ii, 18. + + Chapman, Maria Weston, i, 53 + --poem, i, 82. + + Chase, Salmon P., i, 167, ii, 73, iii, 808. + + Cheever, George B., ii, 226. + + Chicago Historical Society, iii, 179. + + _Chicago Inter-Ocean_, iii, 682. + + _Chicago Legal News_, iii, 562. + + Chicago Legal News Company, ii, 607. + + CHILD, Lydia Maria, i, 38, 258, 775 + --letter to E. C. Stanton, ii, 910 + --letter to St. Louis Convention, ii, 825 + --petitions Congress, iii, 266 + --universal suffrage, on, iii, 519. + + Children, guardianship of, i, 747 + --illegitimate, i, 760 + --rearing of, i, 304. + + Christine of Pisa, i, 29. + + Christlieb, Prof., i, 787. + + Church and State, i, 753. + + Church, Elmwood, Illinois, iii, 563. + + Churchill, Elizabeth K., iii, 371 + --woman suffrage, on, ii, 812. + + CITIZENSHIP, ii, 462, 468, 469, 470, 473, 532, 555, 556, 665 + --Bates, Attorney-General, on, ii, 461 + --Blake, Devereux, on, iii, 7 + --Curtis, Justice, on, ii, 472 + --Daniel, Justice, on, ii, 471 + --Stanton, Elizabeth C., speech on, iii, 80 + --Taney, Justice, on, ii, 472 + --term defined, ii, 451 + --Thorbeck, on, ii, 473 + --White, Richard Grant, on, ii, 567. + + Citizenship, women crowned with rights of, in Wyoming, iii, 726. + + Claiborne, F. L., iii, 795. + + Clark, Emily, i, 489. + + Clark, Helen Bright, iii, 874. + + Clark, Mary T., sketch of, i, 312. + + Clark, Sidney, ii, 363. + + Clarke, Hannah B., on woman suffrage, ii, 807. + + Clarke, Jas. Freeman, on suffrage, i, 258, ii, 768, iii, 266 + --speech, New England, Convention, i, 263. + + Clarke, Mary Bayard, iii, 825. + + Clarkson, Thomas, i, 54. + + Clay, Mary B., iii, 818. + + Clemmer, Mary, letter to S. B. Anthony, iii, 262 + --letter to Senator Wadleigh, iii, 111. + + Clergy, charges against, i, 135 + --celibacy of, i, 757. + + Clergymen and corkscrews, ii, 167. + + Cleveland, Grover, iii, 437. + + Clute, Oscar, on woman suffrage, ii, 770. + + Cobbe, Francis Power, iii, 865 + --letter to Mrs. P. W. Davis, ii, 438. + + Cobden, Jane, iii, 875. + + Cobden, Richard, favors woman suffrage, iii, 835. + + Coe, Emma R., i, 146, 232. + + Cogswell, Brainard, iii, 371. + + Colburn, Catharine A., iii, 774. + + Colburn, Mary J., iii, 650. + + Colby, Clara Bewick, iii, 222 + --sketch of, iii, 670. + + Colby University opened to girls, iii, 355. + + Cole, Mrs. Miriam M., ii, 790, 806, 832, iii, 501. + + Coleman, Lucy N., speech at Woman's National Loyal League, ii, 62. + + Coleridge, Lord, iii, 844. + + Colfax, Schuyler, ii, 181. + + Colleges, iii, 399 + --women in, i, 144. + + Colleges for women, iii, 296. + + College, Woman's, Evanston, Ill., iii, 578. + + Collier, Robert Laird, iii, 567. + + Collins, Emily, reminiscences of, i, 88 + --Miss Sarah Owen's correspondence, i, 91. + + Collins, Jennie, speech at Washington Convention, ii, 423. + + Collins, Stacy B., iii, 482. + + Collyer, Robert, ii, 368, 371, 372 + --recollections of Lucretia Mott, i, 409, 414 + --speech at Chicago, iii, 565. + + COLORADO: clergy, iii, 720 + --Conventions, _See Conventions_ + --Desert, great American, iii, 712 + --equal-rights mass-meeting in Denver, 722 + --leaders in the cause, 719 + --legislation, 714, 715 + --press, 715 + --suffrage amendment, defeat of, 723 + --suffrage first effort for, 712 + --suffrage, Gov. McCook's message, 713 + --woman suffrage, Gov. Evan's on, 722. + + _Colorado Tribune_, iii, 715. + + Columbia College, effort to open to women, iii, 410. + + Colvin, N. J., letters to S. B. Anthony, i, 691, 750; ii, 914. + + Conciliatory amendments, ii, 527. + + _Concord Monitor_, iii, 371. + + Congress, first Continental, iii, 17 + --Elizabeth C. Stanton runs for, ii, 180 + --Victoria C. Woodhull's memorial, 443 + --Riddle's speech in support of, 448 + --House majority report, 461 + --Minority report, 464. + + CONGRESSIONAL ACTION, ii, 90 + --Anthony, Senator, speech, ii, 106 + --arguments before House Committee, iii, 161 + --arguments before Senate Committee, iii, 155 + --Banks' N. P., speech, iii, 10 + --Brooks' James, speech, ii, 96 + --Brown's, Senator, speech, ii, 136 + --Buckalew's, Senator, speech, ii, 146 + --Butler's, Benj., speech, ii, 514 + --Committee, special, House appoints, iii, 221 + --Committee, special, on woman suffrage, Senate discussion, iii, 198 + --Committee, special, on woman suffrage, House discussion, iii, 219 + --Committee, standing, Senate discussion, iii, 190 + --Cowan, Senator, speech, ii, 103, 110 + --Cowan repels the charge of insincerity, ii, 121 + --Davis's Senator, speech, ii, 144 + --Debate, Senate and House, iii, 70 + --Democrats and the petitions, ii, 95 + --District of Columbia suffrage bill, ii, 103 + --vote, ii, 151 + --District of Columbia bill, Julian's amendment, ii, 482 + --Doolittle, Senator, speech against, ii, 150 + --electors, who constitute, House debates, ii, 326 + --female employees, iii, 811 + --Frelinghuysen's, Senator, speech, ii, 135 + --hearing before Senate Committee, iii, 227 + --Henderson, Senator, presents Mrs. Gerrit Smith's petition with a + speech, ii, 98 + --House discussion, ii, 514 + --Johnson's, Senator, speech, ii, 130 + --joint resolutions before House affecting women, ii, 72 + --Julian's bills, ii, 325 + --Morrill's, Senator, speech, ii, 118 + --National Association granted hearing, iii, 75 + --Negro's hour, ii, 94 + --Parker's bill, ii, 516 + --Pembina Territory bill, debate on, Sargent's amendment, ii, 545; + am't rejected, 582; + Anthony's remarks, 568; + Bayard's remarks, 567, 575; + Boreman's remarks, 549, 580; + Carpenter's remarks, 562; + Conkling's remarks, 558, 559; + Edmund's remarks, 562, 569, 571, 572, 573, 580; + Ferry's remarks, 568; + Flanagan's remarks, 552; + Merrimon's remarks, 552, 553, 554, 555, 556, 557, 560; + Morrill's remarks, 562; + Morton's remarks, 549, 569; + Sargent's remarks, 546, 555, 564, 567; + Stewart's remarks, 548, 558, 559, 564, 573, 579. + Petition, iii, 9 + --petition read and referred, iii, 130 + --petition, Rhode Island, ii, 560 + --petition for universal suffrage, ii, 97 + --petitions against the word "male" in Constitution, ii, 91 + --Pomeroy's, Senator, resolution, ii, 324 + --Pomeroy's, Senator, speech, ii, 151 + --Report, first favorable majority, iii, 231 + --report, first favorable, Senate, iii, 131 + --report, minority, iii, 237 + --reports on Victoria C. Woodhull's memorial, ii, 461, 464 + --reports, iii, 150 + --Republicans' protest in presenting petitions, ii, 94, 96 + --Republicans, squirming of, ii, 101 + --resolution to appoint special committee, iii, 175 + --Sargent, Senator, speech, iii, 9 + --Sixteenth Amendment, ii, 333 + --Sixteenth Amendment, resolutions, iii, 154 + --Stevens', Thaddeus, resolution, ii, 95 + --Sumner, Charles, presents a petition under protest, ii, 96; + why he protested, ii, 100. + Wade, Benj. F., speech, ii, 123 + --Williams, Senator, speech against, ii, 108 + --Wilson's, Senator, bill, ii, 324 + --Wilson's, Senator, speech, ii, 128. + + Conkling, Roscoe, ii, 363 + --on Senator McDonald's Woman Suffrage resolution, iii, 191 + --talk with, ii, 347 + --Senator Stewart and woman suffrage, on, ii, 558. + + Connecticut, iii, 316 + --Appendix, iii, 957 + --Bar, admission to the, iii, 330 + --Legislature, minority report, iii, 317. + + Constitution, Story on the, ii, 477, 478, 588. + + Constitution and suffrage, ii, 741. + + Continental Europe, iii, 895. + + CONVENTIONS: American Woman Suffrage Association (_See Am. Woman + Suffrage Association_) + --barn, in a, i, 123 + --_California_, San Francisco, iii, 753, 760 + --_Connecticut_, Hartford, iii, 197, 322 + --_Colorado_, Denver, iii, 716, 720 + --_Illinois_, Bloomington, iii, 572, + Chicago, ii, 368, iii, 175, 565, 570; + Galena, ii, 375; + Springfield, ii, 371, iii, 570. + --_Indiana_, Dublin, Wayne Co., i, 306; + Indianapolis, i, 307, iii, 175, 534, 537; + Richmond, i, 307; + Winchester, i, 308; + --_Iowa_, Des Moines, iii, 618, 623, 624; + Mount Pleasant, iii, 617; + Ottumwa, iii, 624. + --_Kansas_, Topeka, iii, 702, 709; + Salina, iii, 709. + --London, first ever held, ii, 406 + --Loyalists' ii, 329 + --_Maine_, Augusta, iii, 359, 363; + Portland, iii, 197, 352 + --_Massachusetts_, Boston, ii, 178, iii, 192 + --Worcester (Nat.), i, 215, 266 + --_Michigan_, Detroit, iii, 516; + Grand Rapids, iii, 530; + Lansing, iii, 519 + --_Minnesota_, Minneapolis, iii, 659 + --_Missouri_, St. Louis, ii, 369, 407, iii, 142, 601, 606 + --National, in 1866-67, + report by Caroline H. Dall, ii, 899 + --_Nebraska_, Kearney, iii, 688 694; + Norfolk, iii, 689; + Omaha, iii, 241, 687, 690 + --New England, i, 254, 255, 262, iii, 267 + --_New Hampshire_, Concord, iii, 270, 368; + Dover, iii, 197; + Keene, _ib._; + New Haven, _ib._ + --_New Jersey_, Vineland, iii, 479 + --_New York_, Albany, i, 591, 628, 678, 745; + Rochester, i, 75, 577, + press comments, i, 802; + Rochester, iii, 117; + Saratoga, ii, 402; + Burleigh's, Celia, description, ii, 402; + Saratoga, i, 620, 623; + Saratoga, iii, 396; + Seneca Falls, i, 67, + press comments, i, 802; + Syracuse (Nat.), i, 517, + press comments i, 852 + --New York Constitutional, ii, 269, 282 + --New York City, Apollo Hall, ii, 427, 484, 533; + Broadway Tabernacle i, 631, 546; + Church of the Puritans (Nat.), 152; + Cooper Institute (Nat.), i, 688; + Irving Hall, ii, 426, 545; + Masonic Temple, ii, 584, iii, 19, 98; + Mozart Hall (Nat.), i, 668, 672; + Steinway Hall, ii, 809 + --_Ohio_, Akron, i, 111; + Cincinnati (Nat.), i, 163; + Cincinnati, iii, 492; + Cleveland (Nat.), i, 124; + Cleveland, ii, 757; + Dayton, iii, 493; + Massilon, i, 123; + Salem, i, 103; + Toledo, ii, 377, iii, 506. + _Oregon_, Portland, iii, 773 + --Paris, International, iii, 127, 585, 896 + --_Pennsylvania_, Philadelphia, i, 375, iii, 34, 229; + Westchester, i, 350 + --_Rhode Island_, Newport, ii, 403; + Providence, iii, 197, 340 + --_South Carolina_, Columbia, iii, 828 + --_Vermont_, Montpelier, iii, 385 + --_Washington Ter._, Walla Walla, iii, 775 + --Washington, D. C., ii, 345, 356, 359, 416, 418, 425, 417, 442, + 493, 521, 537, 538, 543, 582, iii, 3, 60, 71, 128, 150, 187, + 221, 254 + --_Wisconsin_, Janesville, iii, 642; + Madison, ii, 374; + Milwaukee, ii, 374, iii, 640; + Racine, iii, 645. + + Conventions, Constitutional, Kansas, i, 189 + --Massachusetts, i, 253 + --New York, ii, 267 + --Ohio, i, 105 + --Pennsylvania, iii, 465. + + Conventions held in Washington, why, iii, 150. + + Cooper, Edward, against woman suffrage, iii, 422. + + Cooper, Joseph, i, 447. + + Cooper, Peter, iii, 399. + + "Copperheads," going over to the, ii, 320. + + Corbin, Hannah Lee, i, 33. + + Cornell, A. B., iii, 223, 423. + + Cornell, University, iii, 398. + + Corner, Mary T., i, 122, iii, 810. + + Correll, E. M., ii, 862, iii, 691. + + Correspondence, _See Letters_. + + Corson, Hiram, letter to Susan B. Anthony, iii, 472. + + Courtney, Leonard, iii, 862. + + COUZINS, Phoebe W., iii, 7, 60, 370 + --address, "Woman as a Lawyer," ii, 542 + --argument before House Committee, iii, 170 + --delegate to National Democratic Convention, iii, 27 + --Labors of, iii, 596 + --reception, iii, 610 + --Senate Judiciary Committee, argument before, ii, 543 + --Speeches: + Centennial, iii, 36, + St. Louis Convention, iii, 142; + Washington Convention, 223, 258; + Woman Suffrage, ii, 387. + + Couzins, Mrs. J. E. D., as a nurse, iii, 596. + + Covenant, Ladies' National, ii, 39. + + Cowan, Senator, speech on District of Columbia suffrage bill, + ii, 163, 110. + + Cowles, Betsey M., i, 104. + + Cox, Rt. Rev. Dr., i, 782. + + Crandall, Prudence, iii, 316, 560, 703. + + Craven, Rev. E. A., on Woman in the Pulpit, iii, 485. + + Crawford, S. J., ii, 251. + + Cromwellian era, i, 775. + + Crosby, Howard, letter to Mrs. M. J. Gage, i, 798. + + Crow, Wayman, iii, 595. + + Crowley, Richard, argument Miss Anthony's trial, ii, 648. + + "Crown and Anchor," i, 438. + + Culver, Hon. Erastus D., speech at Cooper Institute Convention, + i, 709. + + CURTIS, Geo. Wm., i, 668; ii, 378; iii, 440 + --speech on woman suffrage, ii, 795 + --speech, Constitutional Convention at Albany, ii, 288 + --suffrage for women, favors, i, 672. + + Cushman, Major Pauline, ii, 20. + + Cutler, Hannah M. T., i, 123, 163, 380, 384; ii, 773, 788, 809, 818, + 823, 853; iii, 561, 614, 675. + + + D. + + Dahlgren, Madeleine, ii, 494, 495, iii, 101. + + DAKOTA, iii, 662 + --address to women of, M. J. Gage's, iii, 663 + --Constitutional Convention, iii, 664 + --Legislative action, iii, 662 + --school suffrage, iii, 663, 666 + --suffrage bill passed Legislature, iii, 667 + --vetoed, iii, 667. + + DALL, Caroline H., "Drawing-room Convention," i, 276 + --lectures, i, 262 + --letter to _The Nation_, ii, 101 + --petition, i, 262 + --reports National Conventions held in '66 and '67, ii, 899 + --speech, New England Convention, i, 265. + + Dana, Richard H., on womanhood, i, 367 + --woman suffrage, on, i, 41. + + Darlington, Hannah M., i, 349 + --letter to Mrs. E. C. Stanton, i, 344. + + Darrah, Lydia, i, 321. + + Dartmouth College case, ii, 725. + + Daughters of Liberty, i, 203. + + Davis, Senator, speech against woman suffrage, ii, 144. + + Davis, Edward M., ii, 358, iii, 45, 462. + + Davis, Jefferson, ii, 542. + + Davis, J. J., iii, 154. + + Davis, Mary F., ii, 390, 791, iii, 480. + + DAVIS, Paulina Wright, i, 37, 46, iii, 823 + --colored women on, ii, 391 + --death of, i, 827 + --Fifteenth Amendment, on the, ii, 336 + --portrait, i, 273 + --President, made, Boston Convention, i, 255 + --President, made, Worcester convention, i, 221 + --President, made, Worcester National Convention, i, 227 + --reminiscences of, Elizabeth Cady Stanton's, i, 283 + --speech, Boston Convention, i, 256 + --speech, Syracuse National Convention, i, 533 + --_The Una_, i, 246 + --woman's rights movement, review of, ii, 428. + + Deaths, Mrs. Dall's report, ii, 905. + + Decisions and Trials, ii, 586. + + Declaration, Channing's, i, 129. + + Declaration of sentiments, i, 70. + + Declaration and pledge, ii, 486. + + DeFoe, Daniel, i, 29. + + Delaware, iii, 817. + + Democrats advocated woman suffrage, ii, 320. + + Denmark, iii, 914. + + Dentistry, Lucy B. Hobbs, iii, 401, 455. + + Dentistry, women in, iii, 452. + + Deroine, Jeanne, address to women of America, i, 234. + + DICKINSON, Anna E., ii, 375, iii, 320, 811 + --California, in, iii, 752 + --Chicago Convention, at, ii, 368 + --Fifteenth Amendment, her suggestion, ii, 227 + --letter to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 916 + --speech, Chicago, iii, 567 + --speeches, ii, 40 + --tribute, ii, 433 + --"Young Elephant," ii, 42. + + Dilke, Sir Charles, iii, 847. + + Dimock, Susan, tribute, iii, 827. + + Dinsmoor, Orpha C., sketch of, iii, 693. + + DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, iii, 808 + --Conventions (see Conventions); + --Miner Normal School, iii, 809 + --Organic Act, iii, 812 + --suffrage bill, iii, 809, ii, 103, 482 + --Universal Franchise Association, iii, 809 + --women admitted to District bar, iii, 812 + --women in government departments, iii, 808 + --women in the profession of medicine, iii, 812 + --women writers and teachers, iii, 813. + + Disraeli on woman suffrage, iii, 839. + + Dix, Dorothea, i, 479, ii, 12. + + Dix, John A., i, 530. + + Dix, Morgan, Lenten lectures, iii, 436 + --Mrs. Blake's reply, iii, 436 + --coeducation, on, iii, 410. + + Divorce (see Marriage and Divorce). + + Dodge, Mary Mapes, i, 49. + + Dolph, J. N., iii, 778. + + Doolittle's, Senator, speech against woman suffrage, ii, 150. + + Dorsett, Martha Angle, lawyer, iii, 660. + + Dorsey, Sarah A., iii, 794, 807. + + Doud, Katharine R., iii, 645. + + DOUGLAS, Frederick, i, 74, 584, 585, 587, ii, 391, iii, 74, 125 + --discussion with Olympia Brown, ii, 311 + --Fifteenth Amendment, on the origin of, ii, 326 + --Kansas campaign, ii, 265 + --letter to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, ii, 328 + --Loyalists' Convention, delegate, ii, 329 + --refuge in Mrs. E. C. Stanton's house, ii, 382 + --_Revolution_, on the, ii, 382 + --wolf-skins, in, ii, 377 + --speech, Washington Convention '76, iii, 7. + + Douglass, Sarah M., i, 332. + + Douglass, Stephen A., ii, 263, 301. + + Dow, Neal, i, 121, 154. + + Downing, Geo. T., ii, 214, 215, 377. + + Downing, Lucy, iii, 296. + + Downs, Cora M., made a Regent, iii, 706. + + Doyle, Sarah E. H., iii, 344. + + Draper, E. D., ii, 242. + + Dresser, Horace, ii, 952. + + Duchess of Sutherland, i, 421. + + Dugdale, Jos. A., on wills, i, 357. + + DUNIWAY, Abigail Scott, arrest of, ordered, iii, 774 + --career, iii, 768 + --egged at Jacksonville, Oregon, iii, 775 + --Constitutional liberty, on, _ib._ + --lecturing tour, iii, 769 + --temperance meeting, at a, iii, 772. + + + E. + + Eaglesfield, Elizabeth, iii, 549. + + Earl, Sarah H., tribute, i, 217 + --President New England Convention, made, i, 254. + + Eastman, Mary F., speeches, ii, 829, 840, 845, 854. + + Ecclesine, Thos. C, iii, 420. + + Eddy, Eliza F., will case, iii, 312. + + Edgerton, A. J., on woman suffrage, iii, 666. + + Editor, first colored, i, 91. + + Editors, opinions of three liberal, ii, 227. + + Editors interviewed, iii, 623. + + Edmunds, Senator, on State rights and suffrage, ii, 561, 569, 570, + 571, 572, 573. 580 + --woman suffrage, on, iii 70. + + Education, Mrs. Dall's report, ii, 900. + + Education, compulsory, iii, 61. + + Education, equal, ii, 909. + + Educational movement, iii, 398. + + Eggleston, Edward, on woman suffrage, ii, 810. + + Eldridge, Edward, iii, 781. + + Electors, qualification of, ii, 272, 463-4. + + Eliot, Rev. Wm. G., i, 171. + + Elizabeth, Queen, i, 30. + + Ellsworth, Bertha H., iii, 700. + + Elstob, Elizabeth, i, 30. + + Emancipation Petition, ii, 78. + + Emerson, on Power of Human Mind, ii, 427. + + Episcopal restrictions, i, 785. + + Essex County Society, iii, 270. + + Estabrook, Prof., speech for woman suffrage, ii, 839. + + "Eumenes", i, 451. + + Evans, L. D., ii, 10, iii, 801. + + Evarts, Wm. M., upon woman's subordination, i, 789, iii, 53. + + + F. + + Fable, "The Selfish Rats," iii, 114. + + Fales, Mrs. I. C, speech on suffrage, ii, 851. + + Fairchild, Governor, ii, 375. + + Faithful, Emily, letter to Mrs. P. W. Davis, ii, 440. + + Farnham, Eliza W., iii, 750 + --speech at Mozart Hall, i, 669, iii, 750. + + Ferrin, Mary Upton, i, 209, iii, 289 + --speech before Judiciary Committee, Massachusetts Legislature, + i, 212. + + Ferry, Thos. W., ii, 568, iii, 28, 154, on the Pembrina Territory + bill, ii, 568. + + Feudalism, i, 761-3. + + Flanagan, Senator, on Sargent's amendment to Pembrina Territory bill, + ii, 552. + + Florida, iii, 829. + + Field, Anna C, ii, 398. + + Field, David Dudley, iii, 647. + + Field, Kate, i, 620. + + Fields, Jas. T., letter to H. B. Blackwell, ii, 838. + + Fifteenth Amendment, ii, 314, 327, 333, 334, 335, 336, 337, 387, 455, + 463, 478, 479, 502, 503, 556, 557, 569, 616, 618, 619, 641, 642, + 663. + + Filley, Mary Powers, iii, 97, 380. + + Foeking, Emilie, iii, 816. + + Foley, Margaret, iii, 301. + + Folger, Chas. J., i, 750, ii, 271, iii, 801. + + Folsom, Marianna, iii, 703. + + Foltz, Clara S., iii, 757. + + Foote, Samuel A., i, 629. + + Forbes, Arathusa L., iii, 596. + + Ford, Jennie G., iii, 693. + + Forney, John W., on women and hospital clinics, 3, 450. + + Foster, Abby Kelly, i, 40, 53, 101, 134, ii, 216. + + Foster, J. Ellen, iii, 536. + + Foster, Julia, i, 301. + + Foster, Rachel, i, 391, iii, 474. + + Foster, Stephen S., i, 141, ii, 381, iii, 372. + + Fourteenth Amendment, ii, 313, 315, 323, 324, 327, 407, 411, 412, 422, + 455, 457, 461, 463, 468, 478, 479, 499, 500, 501, 502, 503, 556, + 586, 590, 593, 595, 596, 619, 617, 618, 619, 621, 622, 624, 625, + 626, 641, 642, 663. + + Fox, Charles James, i, 453. + + Fox, W. J., on women in politics, iii, 836. + + Fowler, Lydia F., i, 178, 478, 491. + + France, ii, 202 + --agitation in, address of Pauline Roland and Jeanne Deroine, i, 234 + --international woman's rights congress, iii, 896. + + "Frank Miller," ii, 19. + + Franklin, Benjamin, i, 324, ii, 244, 475. + + Franklin, William, i, 441. + + Freedmen's Relief Association, Mrs. J. S. Griffing, ii, 26 + --Josephine Griffing's letter to Lucretia Mott, ii, 869 + --letters on the, ii, 45 + --originator of, ii, 38. + + Freeland, Margaret, arrest of, i, 475. + + Frelinghuysen, F. G., speech, ii, 135. + + Fremont, Jessie B., letter to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 911. + + Fremont, Jno. C., Presidential campaign, i, 651. + + French, Charlotte Olney, iii, 784. + + Frothingham, O. B., ii, 186, 248, 380, 545. + + Fry, Elizabeth, i, 479. + + Fry, Elizabeth, and Lucretia Mott, i. 423. + + Frye, Wm. P., iii, 105, 366. + + Fuller, Margaret, i, 40, 49, 217, 801; iii, 307. + + Fulton, W. C., iii, 776. + + Furness' church, iii, 35. + + + G. + + GAGE, Frances Dana, ii, 112, 113, 114, 116, iii, 561 + --Cleveland Convention, at, i, 124 + --lectures in Iowa, iii, 613 + --letter to American Woman Suffrage Association, ii, 769 + --at Cincinnati, ii, 857 + --letter to Matilda Joslyn Gage, i, 117 + --letter to _National Anti-Slavery Standard_, ii, 176 + --letter to Lucy Stone, i, 656 + --letter to Rochester Temperance Convention, i, 845 + --letter to Washington Convention, ii, 424 + --mothers and their children, on, i, 360 + --National Convention, Philadelphia, at, i, 325 + --negro testimony quoted by Senator Cowan in U. S. Senate, ii, 115 + --Nichols, Mrs., and, i, 198 + --orator, as an, i, 168 + --portrait, i, 128 + --reminiscences of Sojourner Truth, i, 115 + --reply to Gerrit Smith's letter to Mrs. Stanton, i, 842 + --speech, Akron Convention, i, 111; + Broadway Tabernacle Convention, i, 563; + Winchester, Ind., Convention, i, 308; + Equal Rights Association Convention, ii, 197, 200 + --her last speech, ii, 223; + temperance and the ballot, ii, 211. + + GAGE, Matilda Joslyn, i, 589, 591, iii, 65, 151, 227, 437 + --address to women of Dakota, iii, 663 + --Anthony case, her letter to _Albany Law Journal_, ii, 947 + --appeal, iii, 413 + --argument before House Committee, iii, 167 + --Carpenter Hall, application for, iii, 17 + --church influence on woman's liberties, iii, 74 + --divorce on, i, 566 + --Grant and Wilson campaign, appeal, ii, 517 + --letter to wife of Admiral Dahlgren, ii, 494 + --letter to Dakota Constitutional Convention, iii, 664 + --letter to Omaha convention, iii, 259 + --Minor suit, her review of Judge Waite's opinion, ii, 742 + --_National Citizen_ prospectus, iii, 116 + --_National Citizen and Ballot-Box_, i, 47 + --petition, political disabilities, iii, 60 + --portrait, i, 753 + --report, iii, 522 + --sketch of, i, 466 + --speeches: + Centralization, at Washington Convention, ii, 523; + Congressional Committees, before, ii, 415, iii, 10, 93; + Furness' church, in, iii, 35; + Rochester Convention, i, 579; + Saratoga Convention, i, 622; + Syracuse National Convention, i, 528; + United States on trial, not Susan B. Anthony, ii, 630; + Washington National Convention, iii, 4 + --Sunderland controversy, i, 543 + --Van Schaick, and Mr., i, 406 + --Woman, Church and State, i, 753. + + "Gail Hamilton," iii, 365. + + Gaines, Myra Clark, iii, 801. + + Gale's, Senator, insulting epithets, i, 483. + + Gallup, J. D., iii, 319. + + Galusha, Eben, address, i, 55. + + Gardner, Nannette B., ii, 587 + --votes in Michigan, iii, 523. + + Garfield, James A., letter to Susan B. Anthony, iii, 185. + + Garret, Eliza, iii, 582. + + Garrett, Thomas, iii, 818. + + GARRISON, Wm. Lloyd, argument at Cleveland National Convention, i, 136 + --attacked by Dr. Nevin, i, 144 + --on Gen. Carey, i, 162 + --letter to American Woman Suffrage Association meeting in + Philadelphia, ii, 816 + --letter to Concord Convention, iii, 368 + --letter to Rochester Convention, iii, 122 + --letter to Worcester National Convention, i, 216 + --London Anti-slavery Convention, and the, i, 61 + --marriage and divorce, on, i, 733 + --National Convention, Philadelphia, at, i, 378 + --speech at Broadway Tabernacle Convention, i, 548, 570 + --tracts and petitions, on, i, 383 + --tribute to Mrs. J. S. Griffing, ii, 38 + --woman suffrage, apathy, ii, 322 + --women in national councils, on the right of, i, 672 + --World's Temperance Convention, on the, i, 160. + + Gay, Sidney Howard, ii, 369. + + Gaylord, Senator, iii, 623. + + Geddes, Geo., on the Property bill, i, 64. + + Generals, why kept in the army, ii, 75. + + Geneva, iii, 909. + + George Eliot, i, 302. + + Georgia, iii, 830. + + Germans against woman suffrage, ii, 231. + + Germany, iii, 902. + + Gibbons, Abby Hopper, i, 40. + + Gibbs, Sarah A., dissection of a sermonizer, iii, 391. + + Gibson, Anthony, i, 29. + + Giddings, Joshua R., on woman suffrage, i, 128 + --World's Temperance Convention, on the, i, 162. + + Giddings, Maria L., i, 114. + + Gillette, Rev. Mrs., ii, 837. + + Gillingham, Lydia, i, 324. + + Girls and boys, ii, 541. + + Gladden, Washington, on woman suffrage, ii, 815. + + GLADSTONE, ii, 293, 366 + --Catholicism, i, 27 + --speech on woman suffrage, iii, 850, 854, 877, 883, 888. + + Goddard, Sarah, i, 44. + + Godwin, Parke, on the higher education of women, iii, 433. + + Goodell, Lavinia, iii, 648. + + Goodrich, Sarah Knox, iii, 765. + + Gordon, J. W., i, 307. + + Gordon, Laura DeForce, iii, 6, 751 + --Lectures, iii, 755 + --Letter to Washington Convention, iii, 64 + --Senator, nominated for, iii, 756. + + Gougar, Helen M., iii, 540, 552, 697, 702, 708, 857. + + Government, Hooker on, ii, 475 + --Paine on, ii, 474 + --Pillsbury on, ii, 201 + --Priestly on, ii, 476 + --Radical basis of, ii, 290 + --Sharpe, Granville, on, ii, 475 + --Summers, Lord, on, ii, 475 + --theory, true, ii, 474. + + "Grace Greenwood" (_see_ Mrs. Sara J. Lippincott). + + GRANT. U. S., ii, 88 + --campaign (1872), Tremont Temple meeting, iii, 278 + --XV. Amendment, on the, ii, 646 + --talk with Susan B. Anthony, ii, 544. + + Grant and Wilson campaign, National Woman's Rights Association's + appeal, ii, 517. + + Graves, Ezra, ii, 282, 307. + + GREAT BRITAIN, ii, 202; iii, 833 + --associations formed, iii, 841 + --circular to Members of Parliament, iii, 881 + --Conference, Edinburgh, iii, 878 + --Conference, Leeds, iii, 874 + --Conference, St. James' Hall, iii, 888 + --demonstration, Birmingham, iii, 868 + --demonstration, Manchester, iii, 867 + --demonstrations, iii, 869 + --education act, iii, 850 + --education bill, Scotch, iii, 851 + --household suffrage, iii, 886 + --Isle of Man, iii, 870 + --letters, woman suffrage, iii, 865 + --Manchester Liberal Association, iii, 876 + --married women's property act, iii, 872 + --medical relief bill, iii, 890 + --meetings during 1870, iii, 852 + --memorial of the Birmingham conference, iii, 855 + --memorial to Gladstone, iii, 883 + --memorials, iii, 853, 854, 873 + --municipal franchise bill, iii, 845 + --municipal franchise bill for Scotland, iii, 871 + --Northern Reform Society, iii, 838 + --Parliament debates woman suffrage, iii, 850, 861, 862, 863, 873, + 884, 889, 890 + --petitions, iii, 866 + --petitions and pamphlets, iii, 840 + --petition to Parliament, Mary Smith's, iii, 835 + --reform act, ii, 590 + --Sheffield Association, iii, 837 + --suffrage bill before Parliament, iii, 842 + --chronological table of successive steps towards freedom, iii, 980 + --women householders, iii, 881 + --women in politics, iii, 835 + --woman suffrage, able advocates of, iii, 836 + --women suffrage meeting, first ever held in London, iii, 848 + --_Woman Suffrage Journal_, iii, 850 + --women vote, iii, 843 + --women vote in Scotland, iii, 871. + + Greece, iii, 919. + + Greeley, Ann F., iii, 356. + + GREELEY, Horace, ii, 227; iii, 408, 773 + --abolitionists, denounced, ii, 287 + --bullet and ballot, ii, 284 + --defranchisement, panacea for, ii, 101 + --enfranchisement of women, on, ii, 103 + --Kansas campaign, ii, 230 + --letter to Susan B. Anthony, i, 628 + --letter to Cleveland National Convention, i, 125 + --letter to Paulina W. Davis, i, 520 + --letter to Mrs. J. S. Griffing, ii, 36 + --letter to Sam'l J. May on woman's rights, i, 653 + --marriage, on, i, 730 + --marriage and divorce, on, i, 740 + --Owen, R. D., discussion, divorce, i, 296, 746 + --Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, and, ii, 287 + --support of, lost, ii, 269 + --temperance speech, Metropolitan Hall, i, 491 + --universal suffrage and universal amnesty, ii, 315 + --woman and work, on, i, 589 + --woman suffrage, opposed to, iii, 185 + --woman suffrage, report against, ii, 285 + --criticism, _New York Independent_, ii, 305. + + Greeley's, Mrs., petition, ii, 287. + + Green, Anna R., Md., iii, 815. + + Green, Beriah, i, 417 + --speech at Cooper Institute Convention, i, 699, 450, 487. + + Gregory, Samuel, i, 38. + + Grew, Rev. Henry, on woman's rights, i, 379. + + Grew, Mary, i, 325 + --speech at Cooper Institute Convention, i, 735 + --woman suffrage, on, ii, 814 + --President, iii, 457. + + GRIFFING, Josephine S., i, 110; ii, 345, 422; iii, 810 + --Freedman's Aid Association, letter to Lucretia Mott, ii, 869 + --Freedman's Bureau, originator of, ii, 38 + --Freedman's Relief Association, ii, 26 + --letter to Horace Greeley, ii, 36 + --letter to Lucretia Mott, ii, 33 + --letter to Catharine F. Stebbins, ii, 874 + --report 1871, ii, 484 + --"Shirley Dare," on, ii, 30 + --speech, Equal Rights Association, ii, 221 + --testimonials of Congressmen, ii, 33 + --tribute from Wm. Lloyd Garrison, ii, 38. + + GRIMKE, Angelina, i, 39, 52 + --anecdotes, by her husband, i, 402 + --letter to Wm. Lloyd Garrison, i, 397 + --sketch of "E. C. S.," i, 392 + --speech against slavery, i, 334. + + GRIMKE, Sarah Moore, i, 39, 53, 406 + --letter, West Chester, Pa., Convention, i, 353. + + Grover, A. J., iii, 560, 591. + + Guardianship law, i, 749. + + Gurney, Samuel, i, 421. + + Guthrie, Clara Merrick, iii, 790. + + Guthrie, Mrs., daughter of Frances Wright, ii, 543. + + + H. + + Haggerty, James, ii, 210, iii, 434. + + Hale, Sarah Josepha, i, 45, 388. + + Hall, Israel, ii, 377. + + Hall, Mary, admission to the Bar, iii, 330. + + Halleck, Sarah H., ii, 60. + + Hallock, Frances V., ii, 435. + + Halstead, Murat, iii, 593. + + Hamilton, Alexander, ii, 413. + + Hamlin, Senator, ii, 411. + + Hampden Society, iii, 270. + + Hanaford, Phebe, ii, 398, 791; iii, 327, 479, 481. + + Hancock, Gen. W. S., iii, 185, 431. + + Hanna, Laura, iii, 720. + + HARBERT, Elizabeth Boynton, iii, 560, 592, 621 + --delegate to Republican National Convention, iii, 26 + --oration, iii, 581 + --speech before Congressional committee, iii, 76. + + Harberton, Lady, speech at Edinburgh, iii, 879. + + Hare, Thomas, ii, 292. + + Harper, Frances E. W., ii, 838. + + Harrington, Mary L., iii, 374. + + Harris, Sarah, ii, 376. + + _Hartford Courant_, iii, 322. + + _Hartford Times_, ii, 538. + + Harvard Annex, iii, 294. + + Haskell, Mehitable, Worcester Convention, i, 232; iii, 286. + + Hatch, Junius, "pin-cushion ministry," i, 539. + + Hatton, Frank, iii, 617. + + Haven, Gilbert, ii, 388; iii, 268, 528, 620; ii, 839, 398, 840. + + Havens, E. O., iii, 526 428. + + Haviland, Laura C, iii, 532. + + Hawley, Jos. R., letter to Mrs. Stanton, iii, 28, 30, 90. + + HAY, William, letter to Broadway Tabernacle Convention, i, 655 + --letter to Susan B. Anthony, i, 631 + --letter to _The North Star_, on the Saratoga Convention, i, 621; + paper, property rights, 607. + + Hayes, R. B., iii, 165. + + Hayhurst, Martha, i, 348. + + Hazard, Rebecca N., ii, 855, iii, 604. + + Hazlett, Adelle, ii, 787; iii, 522. + + Heath, Jeannette Brown, i, 642. + + Heloise, i, 759. + + Henderson, Miss A. M., iii, 654. + + Henderson, Senator, ii, 98. + + Heroism, Kate Shelly, iii, 633. + + Herricourt, Madame, ii, 569, 395. + + Hertell's, Barbara, will, i, 63. + + Hewitt, Rev. Dr., i, 502. + + Heyrick, Elizabeth, i, 41. + + Heywood, E. H., ii, 222. + + Hiatt, Hannah, i, 306. + + Hiatt, Sarah W., iii, 803. + + Hicks, Elias, i, 412, 415. + + HIGGINSON, Thos. Wentworth, iii, 275, 277, 305 + --Brick Church meeting, i, 500 + --coeducation, on, iii, 496 + --Kansas campaign, ii, 265 + --Kansas campaign, ii, 237 + --letter to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 917 + --letter to Cleveland National Convention, i, 131 + --letter to Lucy Stone, i, 566 + --marriage ceremony, on, i, 260 + --Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, i, 253 + --_New York Times_, on the, i, 648 + --speech, in Cleveland, O., ii, 802 + --speech, in Cooper Institute, ii, 828 + --speech, Broadway Tabernacle Convention, at, i, 656 + --speech, Cleveland Convention, ii, 760, 771 + --speech, National Convention, New York, i, 642 + --voters, qualification of, i, 249 + --temperance and woman suffrage, on, ii, 819 + --theological discussion, i, 647 + --woman's rights almanac, i, 863 + --women in Christian civilization, on, i, 791. + + Hilda, Abbess, i, 30. + + Hill, Benj. H., speech, iii, 217. + + Hill, Charlotte, iii, 365. + + Hill, Peter, iii, 524. + + Hillier, C. J., iii, 756. + + Hinckley, Frederick A., on woman suffrage in Rhode Island, iii, 349 + --speech at Washington Convention, iii, 222. + + Hindman, Matilda, iii, 459, 522, 621, 719, 723. + + HOAR, Geo. F., minority report, iii, 131, + --presents petitions, iii, 104 + --letter to Washington Convention, ii, 858 + --speech, women in the Supreme Court, iii, 139 + --select committee, U. S. Senate, iii, 198-216 + --speech in 1871, ii, 820. + + Hobart's, Ella F., services as chaplain in Union army, ii, 18. + + Hobbs, Lucy B., dentist, iii, 401, 455. + + Holland, J. G., iii, 46. + + Holloway, Wm. R., iii, 534. + + Homeopathic College, ii, 765. + + Holland, iii, 907. + + Holmes, Jennie F., iii, 683. + + Holmes, Rev., iii, 390. + + Hook, Frances, as a soldier, ii, 19. + + HOOKER, Isabella B. iii, 194, 327 + --argument before House Judiciary committee, iii, 103 + --before Senate committee, iii, 105 + --declaration and pledge, ii, 486 + --letter to New York Convention, twenty-fifth anniversary, ii, 534 + --police, how she would rule,, iii, 73 + --receptions in Washington; iii, 99 + --reminiscences of, iii, 320 + --report, National Association, 1872, ii, 496 + --speech before House Judiciary committee, ii, 458 + --speech before Senate Judiciary committee, ii, 499 + --thanks the champions of woman's rights in Congress, ii, 489 + --Washington Convention, notes ii, 425. + + Hooker, John, iii, 101, 327, 957. + + Hopkins, E. A., on legal grievance of women, i, 584. + + Hosmer, Harriet, iii, 143, 301, 595, 951. + + Hospital clinics, iii, 448. + + Houghton, Agnes A., iii, 359. + + Hovey, Charles F., i, 625 + --Bequests, i, 257, 258, 667. + + Howe, Frederick B., iii, 438. + + Howe, J. H., on women as jurors, iii, 736. + + HOWE, Julia Ward, ii, 757, 770, 792, 873, portrait, 783; iii, 270, + 275, 276, 371 + --Fifteenth Amendment, on the, ii, 335 + --President of Am. Woman Suffrage Association, made, ii 834 + --Speech in Philadelphia, ii, 817; in Detroit, 834 + --Woman Suffrage in New Jersey, on, ii, 847. + + Hoyt, John W., Gov. of Wyoming, iii, 241, 474, 730. + + Hoyt, Mrs., on anti-slavery and woman's rights, ii, 59, 61, 63. + + Howitt, Wm., letter to Lucretia Mott, i, 434. + + Howland, Emily, i, 688. + + Howland, Fannie, description of Washington Convention, ii, 416. + + Howland, William, iii, 437. + + Hubbard, R. D., iii, 326. + + Hugo, Victor, ii, 369, iii, 75, 127. + + Hulett, Alta C., iii, 572. + + "Human Rights," Hurlbut's, i, 38. + + HUNT, Harriot K., i, 219, 224, 255, 356, 531, 535, ii, 583 + --medical education, on, i, 356 + --physician, as a, i, 260 + --speech at Broadway Tabernacle Convention, i, 564 + --taxation, protest against, i, 259, iii, 298. + + Hunt's, Ward, Judge, decision Anthony trial, ii, 689 + --resolution against, ii, 537. + + Hunt's, Richard, tea table, i, 68. + + Hunt, Seth, iii, 270. + + Hurlbut's "Human Rights," i, 38. + + Husband and wife, act concerning rights and liabilities of, i, 686. + + Hussey, Cornelia Collins, iii, 482. + + Husted, James W., favors suffrage for women, iii, 409, 417, 424, 437. + + Hutchinson family, ii, 59, 239, 262, 309, 542, 934; iii, 35 + --Letter, John W., i, 627. + + Hutchinson, Anne, i, 206. + + Hutchinson, Nellie, iii, 752. + + + I. + + ILLINOIS, iii, 559 + --Art Union, iii, 587 + --Bar, Myra Bradwell's application, ii, 601 + --opinion denying, ii, 609 + --Carpenter's, Matt. H., argument, ii, 615 + --opinion of Justice Bradley, ii, 624 + --report of proceedings in Illinois and U. S. Supreme Courts, + ii, 614 + --U. S. Supreme Court decision, ii, 622 + --writ of error, ii, 614 + --centennial celebration at Evanston, iii, 581 + --Conventions (see conventions) + --Elmwood church trouble, iii, 563 + --Garrett Biblical Institute, iii, 582 + --houses of ill-fame, licensing Chicago, iii, 572 + --married women's earnings act, iii, 570 + --Master in Chancery, Mrs. Schuchardt, iii, 588 + --Moline Association, iii, 589 + --Monticello Ladies Seminary, iii, 579 + --petitions, toils of circulating, iii, 590 + --pulpit utterances, iii, 564 + --Social Science Association, iii, 584 + --Suffrage Association formed, iii, 569 + --suffrage society, first, iii, 560 + --temperance petition, iii, 587 + --Woman's College at Evanston, iii, 578 + --woman, as preacher, first in, iii, 579 + --women elected as school officers, iii, 575 + --women eligible as school officers, bill making, iii, 575 + --women, trials and triumphs of, iii, 560. + + Impeachment, articles of, iii, 31. + + INDIANA, i. 290, iii, 533 + --appendix, iii, 965 + --campaign of 1882, iii, 543 + --colleges open to women, iii, 548 + --constitutional debates, i, 296 + --Conventions (see Conventions) + --electoral bill, iii, 541 + --Equal Suffrage Society Indianapolis, iii, 536 + --laws for women, changes in, iii, 544 + --legislative enactments, iii, 544 + --legislative hearings, iii, 538 + --liquor law, i, 307 + --mass meeting in Indianapolis, iii, 541 + --newspapers, iii, 555 + --Republican State Convention, iii, 542 + --secret conclave, iii, 535 + --temperance petition, Mrs. Wallace, iii, 539 + --women in schools, iii, 547. + + Infidelity, i, 143. + + International Convention, iii, 157, 585, 896, 952. + + IOWA, iii, 612 + --churches indorse woman suffrage, iii, 620 + --Clergymen's tract, iii, 624 + --Conventions (see Conventions) + --Fort Dodge, iii, 617 + --friendly associations, iii, 635 + --Governor Kirkwood appoints women to office, iii, 626 + --Governor, first, to recognize woman suffrage, iii, 622 + --Governor Sherman interviewed, iii, 624 + --Inventions by women, iii, 632 + --Journalism, iii, 629 + --laws, improvement in, iii, 636 + --lectures, iii, 630 + --Legislative action, iii, 619 + --Legislative action, summary, iii, 625 + --mass meeting at the capitol, iii, 619 + --medical profession, iii, 631 + --Polk County Society, iii, 614 + --Republican Convention, women's plank, iii, 620 + --County School Superintendents, Attorney General's opinion, + iii, 627 + --school offices, eligibility of women to hold, iii, 628 + --societies organized, iii, 615, 617 + --_State Register_, iii, 620 + --women in office, iii, 626 + --women employed as teachers, iii, 627 + --woman suffrage, first agitation of, iii, 613 + --woman suffrage society, first, iii, 614 + --women in positions of trust, iii, 616. + + Island No. 10, ii, 10. + + Italy, iii, 899. + + + J. + + Janney's, Mrs. R. A. S., recollections, i, 122. + + Jay, John, ii, 413. + + Jackson, Rev. E. M., i, 502. + + Jackson, Francis, i, 189, 257, 634, 667, 743, + will case, iii, 310. + + Jackson, James C., ii, 582. + + Jackson, Mercy B., letter, ii, 920. + + Jenkins, Lydia Ann, i, 145. + + Jerry, rescue trials, i, 474. + + Johnson, Andrew, ii, 205. + + Johnson, Mariana, i, 103, 351. + + Johnson, Oliver, i, 101, 367, 671; ii, 786, 813. + + Johnson, Rev. Samuel, letter to National Convention in New York, + i, 635. + + Johnson, Wm. H. and Mary, letter to Westchester, Pa., Convention, + i, 832. + + Jones, Mrs. E. C., Jailoress, iii, 488. + + Jones, Jane Graham, delegate to National Convention at Washington, + ii, 522, 442; iii, 229, 580 + --address International Congress at Paris, iii, 585 + --Genevieve Graham, daughter, iii, 586, 897. + + Jones, J. Elizabeth, report, i, 168 + --speech at Cooper Institute Convention, i, 694 + --speech at Syracuse National Convention, i, 530. + + Journalism, women in, i, 43, iii, 303, 629, 761, 813. + + Judge direct a verdict of guilty, can a, ii, 690. + + Julian, Geo. W., ii, 333, 489, 490, 552, 727 + --amendment to District of Columbia suffrage bill, ii, 282 + --speech on woman suffrage, ii, 801. + + Juries, venerable decisions on, ii, 705. + + Jury, women on, iii, 732. + + Justice of Peace, Mrs. Esther Morris made, iii, 731. + + + K. + + Kalamazoo college, iii, 525. + + KANSAS, Mrs. Nichols' account, i, 185, iii, 696 + --appeal, ii, 247 + --campaign, 1867, ii, 928 + --campaign, S. N. Wood's summing up of, ii, 254 + --_Champion_ (Atchison) on woman suffrage, ii, 240 + --_Commercial_, (Leavenworth) on the campaign, ii, 262 + --constitutional amendment to strike word "white" from suffrage + clause, ii, 229 + --Conventions (see Conventions) + --elections, iii, 701, 708 + --Harvey, Governor, message, iii, 696 + --legislative action, iii, 709 + --Lincoln suffrage association, iii, 701 + --Lincoln Auxiliary of the National Association, iii, 698 + --parties in convention, action of, iii, 707 + --press, iii, 699 + --property rights, iii, 704 + --Radical Reform Christian Association, iii, 703 + --reminiscences, Helen Ekin Starrett's, ii, 250 + --schools, iii, 706 + --Stanton Suffrage Society organized, iii, 702 + --suffrage organizations, history of, iii, 698 + --suffrage song, the Hutchinsons, ii, 934 + --Superintendent of Public Instruction, Sarah A. Brown nominated, + iii, 705 + --suppressed proceedings, ii, 931 + --Temperance Convention, ii, 231 + --woman suffrage facts, iii, 709 + --woman suffrage indorsed by Republican State Convention, iii, 707 + --woman suffrage petitions, report of Judiciary Franchise Committee, + i, 194 + --Women's Christian Temperance Union, iii, 703 + --Women's Impartial Suffrage Association, address, ii, 932 + --women run for office, iii, 708 + --women in office, iii, 706 + --women in the professions, iii, 706. + + Kasson, John A., iii, 619. + + Keating, Harriette C., iii, 791. + + Kelley, W. D., suffrage resolution, iii, 71. + + Kelly, Abby (_see Foster_). + + Kemble, Fanny, i, 412. + + KENTUCKY, iii, 818 + --architecture, Miss White, iii, 820 + --education, facilities for, iii, 821 + --Louisville School of Pharmacy, iii, 821 + --woman suffrage society, ii, 862 + --school suffrage, i, 869, iii, 821. + + King, Susan A., sketch of, iii, 420. + + King, Thos. Star, i, 666. + + Kingman, Judge, Kansas, i, 192. + + Kingman, J. W., ii, 836, iii, 727, 241. + + Kingsbury, Benjamin, iii, 359. + + Kingsbury, Elizabeth A., ii, 310, iii, 476. + + Kingsley, Henry, letter to Mrs. P. W. Davis, ii, 438. + + Kirk, Mrs. Eleanor (Nellie Ames), ii, 390. + + Knight, Ann, i, 438, iii, 837. + + Knowlton, Helen M., iii, 302. + + + L. + + Ladies' Art Association, iii, 399. + + Lander, Mrs. Dick, iii, 852. + + Lane, James H., i, 191. + + Langdon, Lady Anna G., iii, 854. + + Lapham, Elbridge G., presents petition, ii, 283 + --votes for, ii, 304 + --Anthony trial, ii, 647 + --printing speeches in the House, iii, 174 + --vote in Senate, iii, 218 + --Senate committee, 228, 231 + --Senate report, 232 + --thanks to, iii, 252. + + Lawrence, Amos A., iii, 330. + + Lawrence, Sybil, iii, 532. + + Lawyers, women, iii, 575. + + Lee, Mary B., legacy, iii, 624. + + Leftwich, i, 649. + + Legacy, iii, 624. + + Leipsic, iii, 902. + + Leslie, Mrs. Frank, iii, 441. + + Lester, Louise, iii, 780. + + Letters: + Alcott, Louisa May, to Lucy Stone, ii, 831 + --Amberly, Lady, to Mrs. P. W. Davis, ii, 439 + --Andrews, Margaret H., to S. J. May, i, 531 + --Anthony, H. B., to S. B. Anthony, iii, 350. + + Letters, Anthony, Susan B., to her family; Boston Convention, i, 256; + to Brooks, James, ii, 97; + to Foote, E. B., ii, 941; + to Garfield, iii, 185; + to Mott, Lydia, i, 748; + to National Democratic Convention, ii, 340; + to Wright, Martha C., i, 676. + + Letters, Barton, Clara, to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 916 + --Bascom, E. C., to S. B. Anthony, iii, 647 + --Becker, Lydia E., to Susan B. Anthony, iii, 62 + --Beecher, H. W., to St. Louis Convention, ii, 825 + --Bennett, Alice, to Susan B. Anthony, iii, 472 + --National Association to Berlin Congress, ii, 404 + --Briggs, Caroline A., to S. B. Anthony, iii, 250 + --Blackwell, Elizabeth, to Emily Collins, i, 91 + --Blackwell, Antoinette Brown, to Cooper Institute Convention, + i, 862 + --Blackwell, Elizabeth, to Westchester, Pa., Convention, i, 831 + --Blackwell, H. B., to E. C. Stanton, ii, 232, 235 + --Blair, Henry W., to Susan B. Anthony, iii, 380 + --Bowles, Samuel, to Mrs. Hooker, iii, 325 + --Bright, Jacob, to Mrs. P. W. Davis, ii, 438 + --Brown, Olympia, to S. B. Anthony, ii, 259 + --Bruhn, Rosa, to Mrs. P. W. Davis, ii, 439 + --Burleigh, Celia, giving account of Saratoga Convention, ii, 402 + --Burns, Alexander, to Des Moines Convention, iii, 618 + --Burr, Frances E., to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 912, iii, 334 + --Butler, Benjamin F., to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 539, iii, 255. + + Letters: + Carpenter, C. C., to Iowa W. S. Association, iii, 621 + --Carpenter, M. H., to Elizabeth C. Stanton, ii, 423 + --Channing, Wm. Henry, Cleveland National Convention, i, 129 + --Child, L. Maria, to St. Louis Convention, ii, 825; E. C. Stanton, + ii, 910 + --Clemmer, Mary, to Senator Wadleigh, iii, 111; + to S. B. Anthony, iii, 262 + --Cobbe, Frances P., to Paulina W. Davis, ii, 438 + --Cole M. M., to H. B. Blackwell, ii, 832 + --Colvin A. J., to Susan B. Anthony, i, 691, 750; ii, 914 + --Corner, Mary T., to Mrs. Bloomer, i, 122 + --Corson, Hiram, to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 472 + --Cutler, Mrs. H. M. T., to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 915 + --Dall, Caroline H., to _The Nation_, ii, 101 + --Darlington, Hannah M., to Mrs. Stanton, i, 344 + --Deroine, Jeanne, to women of America, i, 234 + --Dickinson, Anna E., to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 916 + --Douglass, Fred., to E. Cady Stanton, ii, 328 + --Faithful, Emily, to Mrs. P. W. Davis, ii, 440 + --Fields, James T., to H. B. Blackwell, ii, 838 + --Folger, Charles J., to Susan B. Anthony, i, 750 + --Foster, Rachel G., to _Our Herald_, iii, 243 + --Freedman's Relief Association, on, ii, 35 + --Fremont, Jessie B. to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 911. + + Letters: + Gage, Frances D., to Cincinnati Convention, ii, 857; + Steinway Hall Convention, ii, 769; + Gage, M. E. J., to, i, 47; + Rochester Temperance Convention, i, 845; + Stone, Lucy, i, 656; + Washington Convention, ii, 424 + --Gage, M. J., to Mrs. Dahlgren, ii, 494; + to Omaha Con., ii, 250; + to women of Dakota, iii, 663 + --Garfield, James A., to S. B. Anthony, iii, 185 + --Garrison, Wm. Lloyd, to American Woman Suffrage Association + meeting in Philadelphia, ii, 816; + to Third Decade Convention, Rochester, iii, 123; + to Concord Convention, iii, 368 + --Geddes, George, to M. J. Gage, i, 64 + --_Greeley_, Horace, to Susan B. Anthony, i, 628; + Cleveland National Convention, i, 125; + Davis, Paulina W., i, 520; + Marsh, Rev. John, i, 503; + May, S. J., on woman's rights, i, 653. + Severance, Mrs. C. M., i, 125 + --_Griffing_, Josephine S., to Catharine A. F. Stebbins, ii, 874; + to Greeley, ii, 36 + --Grimke, Angelina, to Wm. Lloyd Garrison, i, 397 + --Grimke, Sarah M., to Westchester, Pa., Convention, i, 353 + --Grover, A. J., to Mrs. Stanton, i, 591. + + Letters: + Hay, Wm., to Susan B. Anthony, i, 631; + Broadway Tabernacle Convention, i, 655 + --Higginson, T. W., to S. B. Anthony, ii, 917; + Cleveland (Nat.) Convention, i, 131 + --Hooker, Isabella B., to Susan B. Anthony, i, 535; + to Mrs. Dahlgren, iii, 100; Stone, Lucy, i, 566 + --Howitt, Wm., to Lucretia Mott, i, 434 + --Hugo, Victor, to Clemence S. Lozier, iii, 75 + --Johnson, Samuel, National Convention in New York, i, 635 + --Johnson, Wm. H. and Mary, to Westchester, Pa., Convention, i, 832 + --Kingman, J. W., to Lucy Stone, ii, 836 + --Kingsley, Henry, to Mrs. P. W. Davis, ii, 438 + --Lawrence, Amos A., to Abby Smith, iii, 330 + --Leo, Andre, to Second Decade meeting, ii, 439 + --Livermore, Mary A., to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 921. + + Letters: Manderson, C. F., to O. C. Dinsmoor, iii, 688 + --Marsh, J., to Horace Greeley, i, 503 + --Marsh, L. R., to Mrs. E. C. Stanton, ii, 922 + --Martineau, Harriet, to P. W. Davis, i, 229 + --Mott, Lucretia, i, 437 + --Mayo, A. D., to Syracuse Con., i, 851 + --Mendenhall, H. S., to Dr. Avery, iii, 724 + --Meriman, Emelia J., to the Second Decade meeting, ii, 451 + --Mill, John Stuart, to Paulina W. Davis, i, 220, ii, 419; + to S. N. Wood, ii, 252 + --Miller, Francis, to S. B. Anthony, ii, 536 + --Mills, Chas. D. B., to Mrs. Matilda J. Gage, ii, 424 + --Mott, Lucretia, to Daniel O'Connell, i, 432; + to Josephine S. Griffing, ii, 873; + to Salem, Ohio, Convention, i, 812 + --Mott, Lydia, to Susan B. Anthony, i, 630 + --Mott, Mary, to Westchester, Pa., Convention, i, 829. + + Letters: + _New York Tribune_, on, canvass of 1859-'60, i, 677 + --Nichols, Mrs. C. I. H., to Rochester Tem. Convention, i, 847 + --Owen, Robert Dale, to Susan B. Anthony, i, 292 + --Pastoral, i, 81 + --Phelps, Almira L., to Mrs. Hooker, iii, 100 + --Phelps, Elizabeth Stuart, to Am. W. S. Association meeting in + Cooper In., ii, 831 + --Phillips, Wendell, to S. B. Anthony, iii, 62; + to Third Decade Convention at Rochester, N. Y., iii, 122 + --Pickler, J. A., to Matilda J. Gage, iii, 668 + --Pomeroy, C. R., to Des Moines Convention, iii, 618 + --Post, Amy, to S. B. Anthony, iii, 48 + --Pugh, Sarah, to Salem, Ohio, Convention, i, 814 + --Rose, Ernestine L., to Susan B. Anthony, i, 98; ii, 423; + iii, 50, 120; + to Mrs. J. S. Griffing, ii, 356 + --Russell, Lucinda, to Harriet S. Brooks, iii, 682. + + Letters: Sanford, R. M., to Cleveland Con., i, 819 + --Sargent, A. A., to Third Decade Con., iii, 121; + to Omaha Con., iii, 245 + --Sargent, J. T., to E. C. Stanton, ii, 911 + --Saxon, Elizabeth L., to Mrs. Minor, iii, 791 + --Severance, Caroline M., to Mrs. E. C. Stanton, ii, 911 + --Shaw, Sarah B., to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 239 + --Smith, Gerrit, to Susan B. Anthony, i, 497; ii, 317, 538, 941; + Garrison, Wm. L., i, 223, 620; + Stanton, E. Cady, i, 708, 836; + St. Louis Convention, ii, 825 + --Somerville, Mary, to Mrs. P. W. Davis, ii, 440 + --Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, to Akron, O., Convention, i, 815; + Cooper Institute Con., i, 860; + Greeley, Horace, i, 738; + Mott, Lucretia, iii, 45; + Omaha Convention, iii, 244; + Salem, O., Convention, i, 810; + Smith, Gerrit, i, 839; + Syracuse Convention, i, 848 + --Stanton, Harriot, to Nebraska voters, iii, 247 + --Stebbins, Catharine A. F., to Lucretia Mott, iii, 47 + --Stone, Lucy, + to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 237, 919; + to Elizabeth C. Stanton, ii, 234; + to Salem, O., Convention, i, 813. + + Letters: + Taylor, Mrs. M., to Mrs. P. W. Davis, ii, 438 + --Tenney, Mrs. R. S., to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 257 + --Tilton, Theo., to American Woman Suffrage Association, ii, 770 + --Wade, Benjamin F., to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 117, + to Josephine Sophie Griffing, ii, 35 + --Wallace, Zerelda G., to Susan B. Anthony, iii, 257 + --Wattles, Susan E. to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 255 + --Weber, Helene M., to M. A. Spofford, i, 822 + --Weld, Angelina G., on organizations, i, 540 + --Whiting, N. H., letter to Cooper Institute Convention, i, 861 + --Winder, R. B., to Susan B. Anthony, iii, 817 + --Wright, Elizur, to Paulina W. Davis, i, 217 + --Wright, Henry C., to Garrison, i, 310 + --Wright, Martha C., to Pillsbury, ii, 240. + + Lewis, Ida, iii, 347. + + _Lily, The_, i, 486. + + _Lincoln_ (Kansas) _Beacon_, _Lincoln_ (Kansas) _Register_, iii, 699. + + Lippincott, Sarah J., i, 46 + --Saxe's poems, on, i, 828 + --Washington Convention (Nat.), description of, ii, 359 + + List, Charles, address at Worcester National Convention, i, 232. + + Little, Knox, iii, 471 + --sermon to women, i, 728. + + Livermore, Mary A., ii, 777; iii, 268, 274, 279, 388, 561, 565, 570. + + Livingston, William, i, 441. + + LOCKWOOD, Belva A., ii, 522, 240, 443, 523, 537, 585; iii, 64, 177, + 809, 811, 818 + --attempted to vote, iii, 813 + --admitted to U. S. Supreme Court, iii, 141 + --brief to U. S. Senate, on women as lawyers, iii, 106 + --motion to admit Lowry to Supreme Court, iii, 174 + --speech in Dr. Furness' Church, iii, 35 + --women's rights, the way to get, iii, 73. + + Logan, John A., on woman suffrage, iii, 207. + + Longfellow, Samuel, speech at Cooper Institute Convention, i, 711 + + Lord, Mrs. A., iii, 703. + + Loring, Geo. B., iii, 154. + + Lords, feudal, i, 760, 762. + + Loud, Huldah B., iii, 279. + + Loughary. Mrs. H. A., iii, 774. + + LOUISIANA, Constitutional Convention, iii, 789 + --married women, laws relating to, iii, 799 + --press, iii, 798 + --St. Anna's Asylum, iii, 789 + --schools, physiology in, iii, 797 + --women eligible to school offices, iii, 795 + --women's club, iii, 796. + + Love, Mary F., i, 583, 587, 589 (See Davis, Mary F.). + + Lovering, J. F., iii, 371. + + Lowell, Jas. R., poem "Endurance," iii, 695. + + Lowell, Josephine Shaw, appointed to office, i, 473; + police matrons, iii, 432 + --Com'r of Charities, made a, iii, 417. + + Lozier, Clemence S., M. D., iii, 405 + --sketch of, iii, 411, 416, 421 + --presided, 425 + --seats for shop girls, 433 + --protest against District Attorney Russell, 436 + --appeal to voters, 437. + + Lukens, Esther Ann, i, 311. + + Lunt's, Bishop, defence of polygamy, i, 776. + + Luther, Martin, will of, i, 358. + + Luther and polygamy, i, 775, 776. + + Lyford, Rev. C. P., on polygamy, i, 778. + + Lynn, Eliza, i, 34. + + + M. + + Macaulay, Catharine Sawbridge, i, 32, 790. + + McCarthy, Justin, iii, 864. + + McClellan, Geo. B., ii, 42, 75. + + McClintock, Thomas, i, 539. + + McClintock, Mary Ann, i, 67, iii, 454. + + McCook, Edward, on suffrage, iii, 713. + + McCook, Mrs. Mary, 715 + --tribute, 718. + + McDonald, Joseph E., women to the Supreme Court, iii, 111, 139, 155 + --moves Standing Committee, iii, 190 + --tribute, iii, 553. + + McDowell, Anna E., _Woman's Advocate_, i, 388 + --_Sunday Dispatch_, iii, 446 + --J. Edgar Thomson's will, iii, 468 + --Rev. Knox Little, iii, 471. + + McDowell, Gertrude, iii, 693. + + Mackey, T. J., iii, 828. + + McLaren, Mrs. Duncan, iii, 842 + --portrait, iii, 849; 951. + + McLaren, Charles, Mr. and Mrs., iii, 927. + + McLaren, Walter, iii, 874, 936. + + McRae, Emma M., argument before House committee, iii, 161. + + Madison, James, ii, 632. + + Mahan, Asa, i, 151 + --argument at Cleveland National Convention, i, 133. + + MAINE, iii, 351 + --Bar, admissions to, iii, 355 + --conventions (see Conventions) + --faithful friends, iii, 365 + --Goddard, Judge, iii, 353 + --Industrial School for girls, iii, 356 + --legislation, iii, 357, 364 + --married women, law, iii, 352 + --"Moral Eminence of Maine," iii, 359 + --suffrage society, first, iii, 352 + --women holding office, Supreme Judicial Court opinion, iii, 361 + --women in office, Gov. Dingley's message, iii, 363 + --women on school committees, iii, 351 + --woman suffrage, progress made, 1873, iii, 357 + --women tax-payers protest, iii, 356. + + "Male" in the Constitution, ii, 91. + + Manderson, Charles F., iii, 678 + --letter to O. C. Dinsmoor, iii, 688. + + Mandeville, Dr., i, 486. + + Manikin, i, 37. + + Mann, Horace, i, 356. + + Mansfield, Arabella A., case of, ii, 606. + + Manufactures in hands of women, i, 291. + + Marcet, Jane, i, 34. + + "Maria" and "Old Betty," ii, 114. + + Marriage amendment act, English, ii, 293. + + Marriage a cause of disfranchisement, ii, 621. + + Marriage and minority disabilities, ii, 603. + + Marriage, "Mrs. Schlachtfeld," on, iii, 723. + + Marriage, what is legal status of, ii, 456. + + MARRIAGE QUESTION: + Church views, i, 758 + --devils, with, i, 769 + --Greek church, under, i, 773 + --heterogeneous, i, 719 + --law, i, 107 + --law of 1860, i, 686 + --protest, Robert Dale Owen's, i, 295 + --protest, Lucy Stone's, i, 260 + --relations, i, 293 + --Rose, Ernestine L., on, i, 237. + + MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE: + Anthony, Susan B., on, i, 735 + --bill before New York Legislature, i, 745 + --Blackwell, Antoinette B., on, i, 723 + --drunkenness, for, i, 485 + --Garrison, Wm. Lloyd, on, i, 733 + --Greeley, Horace, on, i, 740 + --Greeley-Owen discussion, i, 296, 746 + --law amended in Massachusetts, i, 211 + --Mott, Lucretia, on, i, 746 + --Phillips, Wendell, on, i, 732 + --Rose, Ernestine L., on, i, 729 + --Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, on, i, 716 + --Stanton, Mrs., letter to Horace Greeley on, i, 738. + + Marriages solemnized by women, iii, 301. + + Marquette, i, 762. + + Marsh, John, letter to Horace Greeley, i, 503. + + Marsh, Luther R., iii, 408 + --letter to Mrs. E. C. Stanton, ii, 922. + + "Martian Statutes," i, 31. + + Martin, John A., ii, 249. + + MARTINEAU, Harriet, i, 34; iii, 854 + --letter to Pauline W. Davis, i, 229 + --letters to Lucretia Mott, i, 437. + + MARYLAND, iii, 814 + --Baltimore Dental Surgery, iii, 817 + --Equal Rights Society, iii, 815. + + Mason, O. P., iii, 683, 691. + + MASSACHUSETTS, i, 201, iii, 265 + --Association, anniversary, iii, 272 + --association, work done, iii, 269 + --conventions (see Conventions) + --Democratic Convention, action, iii, 278 + --divorce law amended, i, 211 + --Governors, action of, iii, 287 + --Grant campaign, Tremont Temple meeting, iii, 278 + --Harvard Annex, iii, 294 + --Legislative, action, iii, 284 + --Legislature, petition before, i, 258 + --New England Women's Club, iii, 304 + --petitions, iii, 274, 285 + --Philosophy at Concord, School of, iii, 307 + --prohibitionists, alliance with, iii, 280 + --Republican Convention, action, iii, 277, 278 + --school committees, women, iii, 290 + --school suffrage, iii, 280, 288 + --suffrage associations, iii, 273 + --Supreme Court decisions, iii, 290 + --women in the civil service, iii, 306 + --women delegates to Republican Convention, iii, 277 + --women opposed to suffrage, iii, 275 + --women at the polls, iii, 282 + --women, social condition, iii, 294 + --woman suffrage political party, iii, 276 + --woman suffrage ticket, iii, 281. + + Mather, Cotton, iii, 303. + + Maule, Mollie K., iii, 693. + + Maxwell, Lily, iii, 842. + + May, Joseph, iii, 34. + + May, Samuel J., i, 40, 485, 518; ii, 418, 422 + --"Colored," on the word, ii, 215 + --Kansas campaign, ii, 265 + --President Rochester Convention, made, i, 578 + --speech at American Equal Rights Association meeting, ii, 191 + --speech on temperance, i, 478. + + Mayo, A. D., letter to Syracuse Convention, i, 851. + + Medical, iii, 299, 549. + + Medical College, first opened to women, i, 88, 389. + + Medical Education, Harriot K. Hunt on, i, 356. + + Medical profession, i, 37 + --Iowa women, iii, 631. + + Meetings (see Conventions). + + Memorials, ii, 226, 497; iii, 130, 480, 517, 539, 855 + --Democratic Party, iii, 182 + --Gladstone, iii, 883 + --Greenback Convention, iii, 180 + --Ohio Constitutional Convention, i, 105 + --Republican Party, iii, 177 + --Woodhull, Victoria C., ii, 443 + --Legislatures, i, 673. + + Mendenhall, Mrs. H. S., letter to Dr. Avery, iii, 724. + + Meriman, Emelia J., letter to Second Decade meeting, ii, 441. + + Meriwether, Elizabeth A., iii, 27, 154, 822. + + Merrick, Caroline E., iii, 789 + --women as school officers, iii, 795. + + Merrick, Mrs. E. T., speech, Louisiana Constitutional Convention, + iii, 792. + + Merrill, Catharine, iii, 548. + + Merrimon, Senator, on the Pembina Territory bill, ii, 552-560. + + Merritt, Paulina, T., iii, 540. + + Methodists and women preachers, i, 784. + + MICHIGAN, iii, 513 + --churches, attitude of, iii, 521 + --constitutional amendment, iii, 518; + lost, iii, 522 + --Conventions (see Conventions) + --Episcopal Church bill, iii, 529 + --legislative action, iii, 516 + --local societies, iii, 529 + --memorial, iii, 517 + --Northwestern Association, iii, 516 + --State Suffrage Society, iii, 515 + --University, iii, 525 + --State University, Ann Arbor, opened to girls, iii, 525 + --vote for woman suffrage, iii, 522 + --women's literary clubs and libraries, iii, 513 + --women voting in Sturgis, iii, 514. + + Middlesex society, iii, 270. + + Miles, Nelson A., iii, 779. + + MILL, John Stuart, ii, 341, 378, 727, 833 + --death of, iii, 853 + --Fifteenth Amendment, on the, ii, 334 + --"Household Suffrage Bill" amendment, ii, 182 + --Letter to Paulina W. Davis, i, 220; ii, 419 + --letter to S. N. Wood, ii, 252 + --women government, on, iii, 77. + + MILL, Mrs. John Stuart, essay, i, 225. + + Miller, Francis, argument, ii, 523 + --Argument Spencer-Webster suit, ii, 595 + --letter to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 536. + + Mills, Chas. D. B., letter to M. J. Gage, ii, 424; ii, 915. + + Milton, John, i, 779, 780. + + Ministers, charges against, i, 135. + + MINNESOTA, iii, 648 + --Appendix: + Early friends, iii, 973; + school officers, 973; + authors and poets, iii, 974; + graduates from State University, iii, 974; + teachers and professors, iii, 975; + medical profession, benevolent institutions, painters in oil and + water colors, iii, 976; + musical clubs, speakers and writers, iii, 977 + --coeducation, iii, 656 + --constitution, bill to amend, iii, 651 + --Conventions (see Conventions) + --Evangelists, iii, 657 + --homestead law, iii, 655 + --Kasson Society, iii, 652 + --legislative hearing, iii, 651 + --petitions to Congress, iii, 651 + --property rights of married women, iii, 655 + --Rochester society, iii, 651 + --school officers, voting for, iii, 653 + --school suffrage, iii, 652 + --State association organized, iii, 657 + --teachers, iii, 660 + --temperance question, iii, 655. + + Miner, Myrtilla, iii, 808. + + Minor, Francis, resolutions St. Louis Convention, ii, 407, 717. + + MINOR, Virginia L., Dahlgren's, Mrs., memorial, on, iii, 103 + --delegate to Nat. Democratic Convention, iii, 27 + --labors of, iii, 596 + --sanitary work, iii, 597 + --speeches: + St. Louis Convention, ii, 409; + Washington Convention, iii, 257 + --suit, ii, 715 + --Chief-Justice Waite's opinion, ii, 734 + --decision reviewed by Mrs. Gage, ii, 742 + --reviewed by _Central Law Journal_, ii, 748 + --taxes, refused to pay, iii, 607 + --vote, attempted to, iii, 606. + + MISSISSIPPI, iii, 806. + + MISSOURI, i, 194, 594 + --address to voters, iii, 599 + --Church and State, iii, 601 + --colleges and law schools, iii, 594 + --Conventions (see Conventions) + --petition to Legislature, iii, 601 + --suffrage movement, facts and incidents, iii, 604 + --taxation, iii, 600 + --Woman Suffrage Association organized, iii, 599; + division, iii, 603 + --woman's union, iii, 607 + --women in the war, iii, 596. + + Mob Convention, Broadway Tabernacle, i, 546. + + Mobs, i, 467. + + Moody, W. W., iii, 662. + + Morelli, Salvatore, iii, 898. + + Morgan, E. D., i, 687. + + Morgan, John T., on woman suffrage, iii, 210. + + Morgan, Middie, live-stock reporter, iii, 403. + + Morinella, Lucrezia, i, 29. + + Mormonism, see _Polygamy_. + + Morrill, Senator, on Sargent's amendment to Pembina Territory bill, + ii, 562 + --speech on woman suffrage, ii, 118, 563. + + Morris, Esther, made Justice of Peace, iii, 731. + + Morris, W. H., iii, 691. + + Morrow, Jane, sketch of i, 313. + + Morton, O. P., iii, 114, 553 + --Pembina Territory bill, on the, ii, 549, 569, 571. + + Moss, Charles E., speech, ii, 200. + + "Mother Bickerdyke" iii, 709. + + Mott, James, i, 69, 174, 438. + + MOTT, Lucretia, ii, 177, 184; iii, 456 + --address at Westchester, Pa., Convention, i, 355 + --Bible, on the, i, 143 + --Bible, position of woman, on the, i, 380 + --Cleveland National Convention, at, i, 124 + --dangerous woman, spoken of as a, i, 423 + --divorce, on, i, 746 + --eulogy by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, i, 407 + --Farewell, last Convention, iii, 125 + --funeral, i, 835 + --Furness' church meeting, at, iii, 35 + --home of, i, 411 + --Howitt, William, correspondence, i, 434 + --letter to Lydia Mott, i, 746 + --letter to Josephine Griffing, ii, 873 + --letter to St. Louis Convention, iii, 144 + --letter to Salem, O., Convention, i, 812 + --letter to Saratoga Convention, i, 626 + --Luther's will, on, i, 359 + --marriage of, i, 408 + --marriage, on, i, 79 + --Martineau, Harriet, correspondence, i, 437 + --memorial service, iii, 188 + --ministry, engaged in, i, 412 + --O'Connell, Daniel, correspondence, i, 432 + --portrait, i, 369 + --President of the American Equal Rights Association, made, ii, 174 + --President, meeting in Dr. Furness' church, iii, 35 + --President National Woman's Rights at Syracuse, made, i, 519 + --President Washington National Convention, made, ii, 346 + --Pulpit, on the, i, 73 + --recollections of, by Robert Collyer, i, 409, 414 + --religion and theology, on, i, 422 + --Rochester Convention, at, iii, 123 + --sketch of, i, 407 + --slavery, on, i, 416 + --speech at Broadway Tabernacle Convention, i, 557 + --Syracuse National Convention, argument, i, 527 + --tribute, Susan B. Anthony's, iii, 189 + --womanhood, her reply to R. H. Dana's lecture, i, 368. + + Mott, Lydia, i, 376, 476, 519, 578, 593, 623, 744 + --letter Susan B. Anthony, i, 630; iii, 409. + + Mott, Mary, letter to Westchester, Pa., Convention, i, 829. + + Mottoes, Washington Convention, 1880, iii, 151 + --Newbury Society, Ohio, 502. + + Moulton, Louise Chandler, i, 49. + + + N. + + Nash, Clara H., iii, 358 + --admitted to the Bar, iii, 355. + + Nash, Mary E., iii, 623. + + National Association, officers 1886, iii, 956. + + _National Citizen_, iii, 114, 116, 125. + + Nations, mortality of, ii, 201. + + Neal, Alice Bradley, i, 386. + + Neal, John, ii, 435; iii, 352. + + NEBRASKA, iii, 670 + --campaign, iii, 241 + --canvass of the State, iii, 686 + --Constitutional amendment, iii, 683; + again defeated, 691; + convention, 677; + debate, 678; + new constitution, 680 + --Conventions (see Conventions) + --description of, iii, 671 + --electors, qualifications of, iii, 680 + --Fourteenth Amendment ratified, iii, 675 + --Frontier life, iii, 671 + --legislative action, iii, 672, 674, 675, 676, 683, 695 + --State, made a, iii, 675 + --suffrage societies, first, iii, 681 + --Thayer County Association, iii, 686 + --Woman Suffrage Amendment beaten at the polls, iii, 677 + --woman suffrage bill passed House, beaten in Senate, iii, 672 + --woman suffrage, first work in Lincoln, iii, 675 + --women, leading, iii, 692. + + Negro, civil and political right of, argument, ii, 59. + + Negroes opposed to woman suffrage in Kansas, ii, 232, 238. + + Negro suffrage, ii, 103, 106. + + Nevin, Dr., defence of the clergy, i, 140. + + New England Convention, i, 262. + + NEW HAMPSHIRE, iii, 367 + --married men, bill to protect, iii, 372 + --married women, Judicial decision, iii, 379 + --petitions, iii, 371 + --Republican Convention, iii, 373 + --State Association formed, iii, 370 + --woman suffrage, first organized action, iii, 367 + --women on school committees, iii, 374 + --women voting, iii, 376. + + NEW JERSEY, i, 441; iii, 476 + --Conventions (see Conventions) + --Constitution, defects in, i, 451 + --Historical Society, i, 447 + --legislative hearings, iii, 490 + --memorial to Legislature, iii, 480 + --mothers' legal claim to their children, iii, 483 + --property of married women, iii, 484 + --State Society, iii, 479 + --suffrage, progress made, iii, 479 + --Women's Club of Orange, iii, 482 + --Woman's Political Science Club, iii, 481 + --women in the pulpit, iii, 484 + --women as school trustees, iii, 484 + --woman suffrage, celebration of, ii, 846 + --woman suffrage, origin of, i, 447 + --women voted, iii, 476. + + _New Orleans Picayune_, iii, 798. + + Newspapers, women in, i, 43. + + NEW YORK, i, 63, 472, iii, 395 + --appendix, iii, 959 + --Constitutional Convention, ii, 269, 282 + --Constitutional revision commission, iii, 409 + --Conventions (see Conventions) + --disfranchisement bill, Attorney-General Russell's opinion, + iii, 434 + --Lansingburgh taxpayers, iii, 441 + --Legislative hearings, i, 464, 489, 605, 679, 745; iii, 406, 409, + 417, 420; + disfranchisement bill, iii, 426, 431, 434; + reports on petitions, i, 612; + report on woman suffrage, i, 629; + school suffrage bill passed, iii, 424; + suffrage, power to extend, iii, 959 + --License Law + of 1848, repeal, i, 474 + --property rights granted, iii, 438 + --reception at the capitol, iii, 438 + --results, iii, 443. + + _New York Christian Enquirer_ on the Worcester National Convention, + i, 243. + + _New York Evening Express_, ii, 95. + + _New York Evening Post_, ii, 102. + + _New York Herald_ on Senator Wilson and woman suffrage, ii, 325. + + _New York Independent_ on the New York Constitutional Convention, + ii, 305. + + _New York Times_, i, 645, 648. + + _New York Tribune_, ii, 101, 103, 304, 491, 820; iii, 46 + --support lost, ii, 269 + --World's Temperance Convention, on the, i, 511 + --woman as a voter, on the, ii, 248 + --Kansas campaign, on the, ii, 232. + + Neyman, Clara, speech at Washington Convention, iii, 258. + + Nichols, Elizabeth Pease, iii, 837, 925-6. + + NICHOLS, Clarina I. Howard, iii, 704 + --Centennial protest, iii, 49 + --education of women, on, i, 356 + --Kansas campaign, ii, 258 + --letter to Rochester Temperance Convention, i, 847 + --portrait, i, 192 + --reminiscences, i, 171 + --speech at Broadway Tabernacle Convention, i, 561 + --Syracuse National Convention arguments, i, 522 + --tribute, iii, 764 + --work in Vermont, iii, 383. + + Nicholson, Mrs. E. J., iii, 798. + + Nightingale, Florence, ii, 14; iii, 854. + + Nixon, Jennie C., iii, 798. + + NORTH CAROLINA, iii, 825. + + Northcote, Sir Stafford, iii, 873 + --speech on woman suffrage, iii, 887. + + Norton, Caroline, i, 229. + + Norway, iii, 912. + + Nye, Joshua, iii, 359. + + + O. + + Obituaries, ii, 905; iii, 891. + + O'Connell, Daniel, letter to Lucretia Mott, i, 432. + + O'Connor, Henry, iii, 617. + + OHIO, i, 101; iii, 491 + --centennial celebration, women decline to take part, iii, 507 + --Constitutional Convention, iii, 565 + --Conventions (see Conventions) + --Equal Rights Association, iii, 491 + --Painesville Equal Rights Society, iii, 509 + --Senate Committee report on the suffrage question, i, 870 + --Soldiers' Aid society, first, iii, 491 + --Toledo society, iii, 503, 506 + --women of Oberlin protest against enfranchisement, iii, 494. + + Oliver, Anna, debate upon ordaining, i, 784 + --suit, iii, 440. + + Oliver, Lewise, letters, iii, 40. + + _Omaha Republican_, iii, 682 + --on Omaha Convention, iii, 251. + + OREGON, iii, 767 + --clergy favor woman suffrage, iii, 778 + --constitutional amendment lost, iii, 778 + --Convention at Portland, iii, 773 + --Donation Land Act, iii, 770 + --legislative action, iii, 779 + --married woman's property bill, iii, 775 + --married woman's sole trader bill, iii, 771 + --school offices, women made eligible, iii, 775 + --suffrage organizations formed, iii, 774 + --suffrage society, first, iii, 768 + --Temperance Alliance, iii, 771 + --woman suffrage bill, iii, 771 + --woman suffrage bill passed Legislature, iii, 776. + + Oren, Mrs. Sarah A., iii, 548, 972. + + Organizations, Angelina G. Weld, on, i, 540. + + Orth, Judge, votes woman suffrage in Congress, ii, 483 + --on national platform, iii, 225. + + Orient, iii, 918. + + Orme, Miss, iii, 928, 982. + + Ostrander, Mrs. R., i, 180. + + Otis, James, ii, 291, 644. + + OWEN, Robert Dale, Women's Loyal League, ii, 50 + --"male" in Federal Constitution, ii, 91 + --birthday anniversary, 83rd, i, 619 + --Greeley discussion on divorce, i, 746 + --letter to Susan B. Anthony, i, 292 + --sketch of, by Rosamond Dale Owen, i, 293 + --speech at meeting in Philadelphia, ii, 817 + --speech, property rights of married women, i, 296 + --spiritualism, i, 301 + --testimonial, silver pitcher, i, 300. + + Owen, Mrs. Robert Dale, i, 302, 313, + (see Robinson, Mary). + + Owen, Sarah C., letter to Emily Collins, i, 91 + --speech, i, 78. + + + P. + + Pacific Northwest, iii, 767. + + Paddock, A. S., iii, 674. + + Painter, Hetty R., iii, 693. + + Paist, Harriet W., iii, 467. + + Pan-Presbyterians, i, 783. + + Panim, Ivan, i, 773. + + Parasol-makers, ii, 829. + + Parker, Alex., speech at Broadway Tabernacle Convention, i, 560. + + Parker, Julia Smith, argument before Senate Committee, iii, 156 + (see Smith, Julia, and Abby). + + Parker, Mary S., i, 39. + + Parker Theodore, i, 626; ii, 207 + --sermon "Function of Woman," i, 277. + + Parnell, Stewart, M. P., iii, 71. + + Parnell, Rosina M., iii, 956. + + Parody, woman suffrage in the courts, ii, 599. + + "Pastoral Letter," i, 81, 84. + + Pat and the Locomotive, ii, 188. + + Patridge, Lelia E., ii, 852; iii, 461. + + Patterson, Catherine G., iii, 712. + + Patterson, Jessie, iii, 708. + + Peckham, Lilia, career, iii, 642. + + Peel, Sir Robert, iii, 835. + + Pellet, Sarah, speech at Saratoga Convention, i, 621. + + Pembina Territory bill, U. S. Senate debate on Sargent's amendment, + ii, 545 + --bill rejected, ii, 582 + (see also Congressional). + + Penn, William, i, 320. + + Pennell, Mrs. Horace, i, 92. + + PENNSYLVANIA, i, 320; iii, 444 + --anti-slavery struggle, i, 323 + --appendix, iii, 961 + --Century Club, iii, 469 + --Citizens' Suffrage Association, iii, 460 + --common law, iii, 961 + --Constitutional Convention, iii, 495 + --Conventions (_see Conventions_) + --Fugitive Slave law i, 328 + --hall, destruction of, i, 333 + --Legislature recommends a sixteenth amendment, iii, 474 + --literary women, iii, 469 + --medical school controversy, iii, 447 + --petitions to Legislature, iii, 463 + --property law, married women's, iii, 445 + --school officers, women elected, iii, 467 + --school offices, women made eligible, iii, 465 + --statutes and court decisions, iii, 963 + --suffrage association formed in Philadelphia, iii, 457 + --report, annual, iii, 459 + --Swarthmore college, iii, 456 + --temperance work in, i, 344 + --University, attempt to open to women, iii, 474 + --University, clinical instruction, iii, 448 + --Woman's Medical College, i, 389 + --Woman's Medical College, report on hospital clinics, iii, 450 + --woman's rights, first legal argument, iii, 462 + --women sold with cattle, iii, 445. + + Perry, M. Frederica, lawyer, iii, 574. + + Peru, iii, 6. + + Peterson, Myra, iii, 703. + + PETITION to Congress for a XVI. amendment, ii, 851 + --first, sent to New York Legislature, iii, 395 + --Sherman-Dahlgren against woman suffrage, ii, 494 + --Woman's National Loyal League, ii, 78. + + Petitions, i, 262, 308, 315, 489, 588, 625, 629; ii, 91, 282, 283, + 286, 401, 514, 516, 560, 698; iii, 58, 104, 790 + --form of, i, 676 + --New York Legislature report, i, 612; + against, iii, 571, 841. + + Petitioners, four classes of, ii, 283. + + Phelps, Almira L., letter to Mrs. Hooker, iii, 100. + + Phelps, Elizabeth B., woman's bureau, ii, 431. + + Phelps, Elizabeth Stuart, ii, 831. + + _Philadelphia Press_, ii, 359; iii, 44 + --_Ledger_, iii, 43. + + Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society, i, 325. + + PHILLIPS, Wendell, ii, 317, 268; i, 469 + --Anti-Slavery Convention, London, i, 54 + --Grimke, Angelina, his opinion of, i, 399 + --Kansas campaign, ii, 230 + --last letter on woman suffrage, iii, 122 + --letter of regret, Saratoga Con., i, 627 + --letter to Susan B. Anthony, iii, 62 + --letter to Mrs. Stebbins, iii, 522 + --marriage and divorce, on, i, 732 + --Mrs. Eddy's will, iii, 312 + --self-government, on, i, 258 + --speeches: + Broadway Tabernacle Convention, i, 572, 637; + Cooper Institute Convention, i, 701; + Mozart Hall Convention, i, 674; + National Convention, Boston, ii, 178; + New England Convention, i, 273; + Woman's National Loyal League, ii, 84; + Worcester, Mass., Convention, i, 227 + --treasurer of Jackson fund, i, 189 + --woman suffrage, apathy, ii, 318 + --World's Temperance Convention, at the, i, 152. + + Philosophy, school of, at Concord, iii, 307. + + Physical culture, ii, 908. + + Physicians and nurses, iii, 298. + + Pickler, J. A., letter to M. J. Gage, iii, 668. + + Pierce, J. D., on woman suffrage, iii, 739. + + Pierce, Wm. S., on woman suffrage, iii, 458. + + Pierpont, Rev. John, iii, 294 + --speech at Broadway Tabernacle, i, 451, 569. + + PILLSBURY, Parker, speeches, i, 427, 671; ii, 173, 176, 201, 375; + iii, 173, 196, 275, 367, 478, 948 + --appeal for, universal suffrage, ii, 917 + --editor, _The Revolution_, ii, 264 + --Fifteenth Amendment, on the, ii, 265, 335, 337 + --Kansas campaign, ii, 265; iii, 367, 945. + + Pitkin, Benjamin C, on woman's rights, i, 209. + + Playfair, Lyon, iii, 850. + + Plumb, P. B., the Kansas campaign, ii, 231, 253. + + Plumly, Rush, i, 364. + + Pochin, Henry D., iii, 847. + + Pochin, Mrs., iii, 848, 929. + + Poem, "Endurance," Lowell, iii, 695 + --Frances D. Gage and the Hutchinsons, iii, 38 + --"From Clatsop," iii, 780 + --"Pastoral Letter," i, 84 + --"Ancient Usage," i, 371 + --"The Times That Try Men's Souls," i, 82 + --"Woman's Cause," Lowell, i, 263 + --Tennyson's Princess, iii, 258. + + POLAND, iii, 917. + + Police, women as, iii, 397, 431, 432. + + Political campaigns, Anna E. Dickinson, ii, 43. + + Political disabilities, ii, 315. + + Polygamy, i, 776, 777, 778 + --Miss Couzins on, iii, 223, 128, 130 + --Bishop Lunt's defense of, i, 776. + + Pomeroy, C. R., letter to Des Moines Convention, iii, 618. + + Pomeroy, Senator, S. C., i, 185 + --speeches, ii, 151, 324, 346, 419; iii, 727, 811. + + Poppleton, A. J., speech at Omaha Convention, iii, 241. + + Porter, Albert G., iii, 538, 553. + + Portugal, iii, 901. + + POST, Amy, i, 75 + --letter to Susan B. Anthony, iii, 48 + --Third Decade Meeting in Rochester, N. Y., iii, 117 + --tried to vote, ii, 647. + + Potter, T. B., iii, 848. + + Powell, Aaron M., i, 468, 671; ii, 783. + + Pray, Isaac C., speech at Broadway Tabernacle Convention, i, 571. + + Presidential campaigns: + --1856, John C. Fremont, i, 633, 641, 643 + --1872, Grant and Wilson, ii, 217, 520 + --1876, Hayes and Tilden, iii, 22, 26, 415 + --1880, Garfield and Hancock, iii, 175, 187, 431. + + Preston, Ann, i, 389, 390 + --address at Westchester, Pa., Convention, i, 360 + --Dean Medical College, iii, 450. + + Pretorius, Emile, letter to Woman's Nat. Loyal League, ii, 86. + + Price, Abby, speech at Syracuse National Convention, i, 532 + --Worcester Convention, i, 218, 242. + + Priestley, celibacy, i, 759, 760. + + Prince, Bradford L., iii, 417. + + Privileges and immunities, ii, 453. + + Progressive friends, i, 141. + + Prohibition Convention, iii, 183. + + Prohibitionists, alliance with, iii, 280. + + Property Bill, i, 64 + --bill, New York, i, 256 + --laws, i, 171 + --rights, Wm. Hay's paper, i, 607 + --rights of married women, iii, 325 + --opinions of Indiana Legislators, i, 299. + + Prostitution, i, 264; iii, 144, 397, 398 + (see, also, Vice). + + Pryor, Margaret, iii, 477. + + Pugh, Sarah, i, 327, 337, 376 + --letter to Salem, O., Convention, i, 814; iii, 19, 34 + --at Third Decade Convention, iii, 125. + + Pulpit, ii, 902 + --charges against, 135. + + Pulte medical college, iii, 511. + + Purvis, Robert, ii, 183, 265, 347, 358, 418; iii, 63, 72. + + + Q. + + Quakers, i, 412, 783. + + "Queen's women," i, 794. + + + R. + + Ransier, A. J., ii, 542; iii, 829. + + Raymond, Henry J., i, 547, 649. + + Reconstruction, ii, 313. + + Reed, C. A., iii, 768, 773. + + Reed, Thomas B., in Congress, iii, 219, 366. + + Reformation, i, 774. + + Reid, Mrs. Hugo, iii, 836, 838. + + REMINISCENCES: + --Collins, Emily, i, 88 + --Davis, Paulina W., by "E. C. S.," i, 283 + --Grimke, Angelina, by "E. C. S." i, 392 + --Nichols, Clarina I. H., i, 171 + --Stanton's, Elizabeth C., i, 456; iii, 922 + --Starrett, Helen E., ii, 250 + --Thomas, Mary F., i, 306 + --Way, Amanda, i, 306. + + Remond, Charles L., i,, 214, 220, 225. + + Republican Party, iii, 279. + + Republicans, treachery of, ii, 322. + + Reports (see Woman Suffrage). + + Resolutions: + i, 71, 219, 254, 535, 537, 542, 570, 574, 580, 593, 633, 641, 644, + 646, 673, 694, 706, 708, 716, 723, 787, 808, 814, 816, 817, 820, + 821, 823, 825, 827, 833, 834, 855; + ii, 57, 84, 154, 171, 190, 213, 358, 384, 388, 396, 407, 420, 436, + 493, 521, 533, 537, 583, 584, 780, 809, 810, 818, 826, 837, 843, + 859; + iii, 5, 19, 61, 69, 74, 124, 128, 152, 252, 256, 493, 566, 619, 641, + 676, 707, 708, 780. + + Retrospect, iii, 51. + + Revelation, i, 647. + + Revolution, 1776, i, 747 + --Arnett, Hannah, i, 441 + --battle, first, i, 203 + --girls, two, with a drum and fife, i, 204 + --spy, female, i, 323 + --women in the, i, 201, 321, 444. + + _Revolution, The_, i, 46; ii, 317, 319, 321, 324, 333, 340, 344, 345, + 372, 381, 382, 400, 401, 407, 411, 426, 431; iii, 397, 398, 478, + 752, 802 + --editorial correspondence, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, ii, 362, 367 + --establishment of, iii, 401 + --founded, when, ii, 264. + + RHODE ISLAND, iii, 339 + --Conventions (see Conventions) + --legislation, iii, 346 + --State Association, organized, iii, 340, + address, iii, 345; + work done, iii, 343 + --women represented, iii, 349 + --Women's Board of Visitors, iii, 345 + --women on school boards, iii, 341. + + Richards, David M., iii, 715, 716, 719, 721. + + Richardson, Susan Hoxie, iii, 560. + + Ricker, Marilla M., iii, 106 + --first woman to cast a vote, ii, 586 + --prison reform, on, iii, 578. + + Riddle, Albert G., iii, 106 + --speech at Washington Convention, ii, 421 + --speech before Congressional Committee, ii, 448 + --Spencer-Webster suit, argument, ii, 587. + + Roberts, Mrs. Marshall O., iii, 400. + + Roberts, William H., iii, 777. + + Robinson, Charles, i, 191. + + Robinson, Emily, i, 103. + + Robinson, Harriett Hanson, iii, 125, 196, 222, 227, 229, 265. + + Robinson, Lelia J., application to the bar, iii, 307 + --Supreme Court decision, iii, 308. + + Robinson, Lucius (Gov.), defeat of, iii, 423 + --vetoes school suffrage bill, iii, 418. + + Robinson, Mary, sketch of, i, 293. + + _Rochester Democrat and Chronicle_ on Miss Anthony's trial, ii, 715. + + _Rochester Evening Express_ on Miss Anthony's trial, ii, 714. + + _Rocky Mountain News_, iii, 715. + + Roebling, Mrs., iii, 440. + + Roebuck's flattery of woman, i, 537. + + Rogers, Nathaniel P., i, 61, iii, 367. + + Roland, Pauline, i, 234. + + Rome, "The City of God," i, 794. + + Root, H. K., speech at Broadway Tabernacle Convention, i, 560. + + Root J. P., on the Kansas campaign, ii, 258. + + ROSE, Ernestine L., i, 38, 52, 619, 624, 626, 636; ii, 390; iii, 514 + --biography, i, 95 + --debate, Cleveland National Convention, i, 133 + --English women, on, i, 645 + --Equal Rights Association, on the, ii, 397 + --_Letters_: + to Susan B. Anthony, i, 99, iii, 50; + to Mrs. J. F. Griffing, ii, 356; + to Rochester Convention, iii, 120 + --marriage, on, i, 237 + --marriage and divorce, on, i, 729 + --portrait of, i, 97 + --propagandist, _Albany Register_ charges, i, 608 + --resolutions, i, 707 + --_Speeches_: + Broadway Tabernacle, i, 562, 661; + Cooper Institute Convention, i, 692; + New York Legislature, i, 607; + Philadelphia Convention, i, 376; + Rochester Convention, i, 579; + Syracuse Convention, i, 537; + Woman's National Loyal League, ii, 60, 64, 73; + Worcester Convention, i, 237 + --tribute to Frances Wright, i, 692 + --Westchester, Pa., Convention, at, i, 357 + --women in colleges, on, i, 144; ii, 208 + --in London, 1883, iii, 940. + + Ross, E. G., letter to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 423. + + Ross, James, i, 449. + + Ross, Laura J., ii, 374; + (see Wolcott, Laura Ross). + + Russell, Leslie W., iii, 434 + --defeat of, iii. 437. + + Russell, Lucinda, correspondence, iii, 682 + --sketch of, iii, 692. + + Russia, iii, 915. + + + S. + + Sacrilegious child, Cardinal Antonelli's, i, 788. + + Safe deposit companies, iii, 402. + + St. Chrysostom's description of woman, i, 758. + + St. John, Gov., J. P., ii, 258. iii, 706. + + St. Paul, quotations, iii, 720. + + Salic law, i, 774. + + Sanborn, Frank B., ii, 765. + + Sandford, Arch-Deacon, iii, 848. + + Sanford, Rebecca M., i, 77 + --letter to Cleveland Convention, i, 819. + + Sandige, John M., iii, 791. + + Sanitary Commission, ii, 13. + + SARGENT, A. A., iii, 108 + --California Constitution, on the, iii, 760 + --District of Columbia suffrage bill, on the, ii, 483 + --letter to Omaha Convention, iii, 245 + --letter to Rochester Convention, iii, 121 + --Pembina Territory bill, amendment, ii, 545; + bill rejected, ii, 582 + --Pembina Territory bill, on the, ii, 546, 555, 564, 567 + --resolution, woman suffrage, iii, 70 + --speech in San Francisco, on woman's rights, ii, 483 + --speech in Senate, iii, 9 + --woman suffrage, joint resolution, iii, 75 + --minister at Berlin, iii, 944. + + Sargent, Elizabeth, M. D., iii, 763. + + Sargent, J. T., letter to Mrs. E. C. Stanton, ii, 911 + --speech at New England Convention, i, 270. + + Saunders, Alvin, on woman suffrage, iii, 226, 674. + + Savage, John, i, 38. + + Saxe, Dana, and Grace Greenwood, i, 828. + + Saxon Elizabeth L., iii, 180, 197, 241, 690, 791 + --argument before Senate committee, iii, 157. + + Scatcherd, Mrs. Oliver, iii, 875, 878, 923, 929, 936. + + Schell, Augustus, favors woman suffrage, iii, 422. + + Schenck, Elizabeth T., iii, 750, 754. + + School of Design for Women, i, 390; iii, 399. + + School officers, bill passed New York Legislature, iii, 417; + vetoed by Gov. Robinson, iii, 418. + + School suffrage (see Suffrage Gained). + + Schurz, Carl, i, 42; ii, 370; iii, 46. + + SCOTLAND (see Great Britain, iii, 833). + + Scott, Thomas A., ii, 5. + + Scovill, James M., ii, 420; iii, 477. + + Sears, Judge, in Kansas campaign, ii, 240, 253. + + See, Rev. Isaac M., trial of, i, 780; iii, 485. + + Segur, Rose L., iii, 103. + + Selden, H. R., Miss Anthony's counsel, ii, 629, 647, 652, 654, 679, + 680, 689; + appeal to Congress, 698. + + Seneca Falls Convention, i, 67. + + Severance, Caroline M., address at Broadway Tabernacle, i, 569 + --New England Convention, i, 262 + --letter to Mrs. E. C. Stanton, ii, 911. + + Sewall, Samuel E., iii, 269. + + Seward, Wm. H., on self-government, ii, 76, 77; iii, 85 + --on woman's rights, i, 457. + + Sewall, May Wright, iii, 226, 534, 557, 259. + + Seymour, Horatio, thirty pieces of silver, i, 473. + + Shattuck, Harriette R., iii, 226, 257. + + Shaw, Sarah B., letter to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 239. + + Shelly, Kate, heroism of, iii, 633. + + Sherman-Dahlgren petition against woman suffrage, ii, 494. + + Shields, M. F., iii, 719. + + Sholes, C. L., report on rights of women in Wisconsin, i, 315; + iii, 640. + + Shuman, Andrew, iii, 561. + + Silk Culture, iii, 762. + + Simpson, Bishop, favors woman suffrage, iii, 460, 616. + + Sixteenth Amendment, ii, 333, 350, 351, 352, 353, 400, 420, 422, + 425, 436; iii, 112. + + Sixteenth Amendment, reasons for a, iii, 235. + + Sixteenth Amendment, renewed appeal, iii, 58 + --press comments, iii, 67. + + Sketches, _see Biography_. + + Slave law, fugitive, Pennsylvania, i, 328. + + Slavery, Angelina Grimke's speech, i, 334 + (see, also, Anti-Slavery). + + Slavery sustained by the North, ii, 542. + + Slavery and the war, ii, 77. + + Slavonic countries, iii, 915. + + Smith, Elizabeth Oakes, iii, 117, 128, 328, 826 + --Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, at the, i, 253 + --speech at Syracuse Convention, i, 522 + --Worcester Convention, at, i, 231. + + SMITH Gerrit, home of, i, 471 + --letter to + Susan B. Anthony, i, 497; ii, 317, 538, 941; + Wm. Lloyd Garrison, i, 223, 620; + St. Louis Convention, ii, 825; + Elizabeth Cady Stanton, i, 708, 836 + --speech at Syracuse National Convention, i, 526 + --petition for woman suffrage, refused to sign, ii, 317. + + Smith, Mrs. Gerrit, petition, ii, 98. + + Smith, Hannah Whitehall, speech at Philadelphia Convention, iii, 230. + + Smith, Julia and Abby, iii, 76, 98, 328, 336. + + Smith, Sidney, iii, 834. + + Snow, Lucy and Lavinia, iii, 365. + + Social relations, Channing's report, i, 233. + + Sojourner Truth, i, 115, 567; ii, 193, 222, 224, 926; iii, 458, 531. + + Soldiers, women as, ii, 18, 869. + + Somerville, Mary, i, 790 + --letter to Mrs. P. W. Davis, ii, 440. + + Song, "A Hundred Years Hence," iii, 38. + + Song, "Kansas Suffrage," ii, 934. + + Sorosis, iii, 402, 571. + + South, what the, can do, ii, 929. + + SOUTH CAROLINA, iii, 828. + + Southwick, Thankful, i, 341. + + Southworth, Mrs. E. D. E. N., iii, 813. + + SPAIN, iii, 901. + + Spencer, Herbert, i, 26. + + SPENCER, Sarah Andrews, iii, 35, 66, 97, 103 + --argument before House Committee, iii, 166 + --before Senate Judiciary Committee, ii, 543 + --before D. C. Committee, iii, 12 + --delegate Rep. Nat. Convention, iii, 26 + --resolutions, iii, 152 + --speeches, ii, 539 + --suit, ii, 587 + --Chief-Justice Cartter's opinion, ii, 597. + + Spider-crab, Theodore Tilton, ii, 93. + + Sprague, Homer B., ii, 425. + + Stanford, Leland, iii, 764. + + Stansfeld, M. P., James, iii, 872 + --speech, iii, 886. + + Stanton, Edwin M., and Mrs. J. S. Griffing, ii, 33. + + STANTON, Elizabeth Cady, i, 61, 67, 79; ii, 322, 360, 361, 381, 382, + 383, 391, 417, 418, 428, 430, 456, 582; iii, 7, 35, 40, 195, 222, + 529, 560, 630, 644, 811 + --Abolitionists, and the, ii, 264 + --address to New York Legislature, i, 595 + --appeal to women of New York State, i, 676 + --appeal to women of the Republic, ii, 51 + --appeal for Woman's Rights, i, 858 + --argument before Senate committee, iii, 228 + --"Bloomer," in a, i, 128 + --California visit, iii, 756 + --call, loyal women, ii, 53 + --candidate for Congress, ii, 180 + --children i, 457 + --civil rights bill for women, ii, 541 + --"copperheads," ii, 320 + --divorce for drunkenness, argument, i, 485 + --editorial correspondence in _The Revolution_, ii, 362, 367 + --eulogy: Lucretia Mott, i, 407 + --Equal Rights Association, ii, 173, 174 + --eternal punishment, on, iii, 196 + --Fifteenth Amendment, on the, ii, 333 + --girls and boys at school, on, ii, 541 + --Grant and Wilson campaign, in, ii, 520 + --Greeley, Horace, and, ii, 287 + --Hurlbut, Judge, i, 39 + --Kansas campaign, i, 200; ii, 253, 254, 261, 262, 263 + --lecture, "Education of Girls," iii, 536 + --lectures in Omaha, iii, 675 + --lecturing tour, Ohio, iii, 491 + --Letters: + to Akron, O., Convention, i, 815; + to _The Ballot Box_, iii, 64; + to Cooper Institute Convention, i, 860; + to Gerrit Smith, i, 839; + to Gen. Hawley, iii, 28; + to Horace Greeley, i, 735; + to the _National Citizen_, iii, 147; + to Omaha convention, iii, 244; + to Salem, O., convention, i, 810; + to Syracuse convention i, 848; + to Washington convention, iii, 261 + --London visit, 1882-3, iii, 922 + --"male" in the constitution, on the word, ii, 91 + --manhood suffrage, on, iii, 566 + --marriage and divorce, on, i, 716, 738 + --Michigan campaign iii, 521 + --"Negro's hour," ii, 94 + --Newport Con., ii, 403 + --Oregon, Mo., visit, iii, 609 + --portrait, i, 721 + --President Albany convention, i, 592 + --President Loyal League, made, ii, 66 + --press comments on Rochester and Seneca Falls conventions, + her reply to, i, 806 + --reception, Sorosis, Chicago, iii, 571 + --reconstruction, on, ii, 214 + --Reminiscences: i, 456, 836; iii, 922; + of Angelina Grimke, i, 392; + of Paulina Wright Davis, i, 283 + --resolutions before Congress affecting women, on, ii, 92 + --resolutions, Washington convention, ii, 542 + --sermon, St. Louis, iii, 148 + --Sixteenth Amendment, urges a, ii, 350 + --Smith, Gerrit, refusing to sign petition for woman suffrage, on, + ii, 317 + --Speeches: + Cooper Institute, i, 716; + Congressional committee, before, ii, 411; + Furness' Church, in, iii, 35; + Legislature, claiming woman's rights, ii, 271; + Milwaukee, iii, 641; + National protection for National citizens, iii, 80; + New York Legislature, i, 679; + New York National convention, ii, 154; + Rochester Convention, iii, 117; + Rochester Temperance Convention, i, 481, 493; + Senate Judiciary Committee, before, ii, 506; + suffrage, question of, ii, 185; + Washington Convention, ii, 495; + Washington Nat. Convention, ii, 348; + Woman's National Loyal League, ii, 87 + --testimonial ii, 533 + --Train, G. F., and _The Revolution_, criticism, ii, 264 + --tribute from _Leavenworth Commercial_ (Kansas), ii, 263 + --view of, an objective, i, 456 + --Wadleigh, Senator, on, iii, 93 + --western trip, ii, 367 + --Wyoming visit, iii, 734. + + Stanton Harriot, letter to Nebraska voters, iii, 247, 933. + + Stanton, Theodore, iii, 262, 895, 928. + + Starrett, Helen Ekin, reminiscences Kansas campaign, ii, 250, 348. + + Stearns, O. P., iii, 528. + + Stearns, Sarah Burger, iii, 527, 649. + + Stebbins, Catharine A. F., ii, 26, 514 + --before House committee, iii, 162 + --letter to Lucretia Mott, iii, 47 + --vote, attempts to, iii, 523. + + Steck, Amos, iii, 714. + + Steele, William, iii, 319. + + Stephens, Alexander H., reception, iii, 98, 830. + + Stevens, Louisa B., iii, 633. + + Stevens, Thaddeus, ii, 354, 632. + + Stevenson, Emily Pitts, iii, 752. + + Stevenson, Sarah Hackett, iii, 579. + + Stewart's Home for Working Women, iii, 420. + + Stewart, Senator, on the Pembina Territory bill, ii, 548, 558, 559, + 564, 573, 579. + + Stone, Dr. James A. B., address at St. Louis, ii, 821; iii, 525. + + STONE, Lucy, i, 473, 619, 626; ii, 56; iii, 268, 279, 513, 722, 724, + 818 + --Constitutional Convention at Albany, ii, 284 + --husband, and her, i, 164 + --husband's name, refusing to take her, i, 261 + --Kansas, in, i, 200 + --Kansas campaign, in, ii, 232 + --letter to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 237, 919 + --letter to Salem, O., Convention, i, 813 + --letters to E. Cady Stanton, ii, 234 + --letter to _The Una_, i, 501 + --marriage of, under protest, i, 260 + --meetings held in New Jersey, iii, 479 + --petitions, iii, 104 + --National Convention, Broadway Tabernacle, i, 631 + --Philadelphia National Convention, at, i, 375 + --portrait, ii, 761 + --report, American Woman Suffrage Association, ii, 803 + --scripture, on, i, 650 + --speeches: + Broadway Tabernacle Convention, i, 554, 565, 632; + American Woman Suffrage Association meeting in Cooper Institute, + ii, 829; + in Steinway Hall, ii, 811; + in Detroit, ii, 837; + in St. Louis, ii, 823, 827; + in Washington, ii, 858; + Cincinnati, i, 165; + Cleveland, i, 163; + Concord, iii, 271; + Woman's National Loyal League, ii, 64; + Worcester, i, 233 + --suffrage, negro, first, on, ii, 383 + --Syracuse National Convention, i, 524 + --taxes, refused to pay, i, 450. + + Story, Judge, on the Constitution, ii, 477, 478, 588. + + Strahan, Robert H., iii, 417. + + Strong, Rev. A. H., iii, 155 + --on subordination of women, i, 787. + + Stuart, Abby H. H., iii, 787. + + Stuart, Mary A., iii, 158, 817. + + Studwell, Edwin A., ii, 398. + + SUFFRAGE GAINED: + _Full_ suffrage, Isle of Man, iii, 870, 982; + Utah Territory, ii, 426, 432; + Washington Territory, iii, 777; + Wyoming Territory, ii, 426, 432; iii, 730. + + SUFFRAGE GAINED: + _Municipal_ suffrage: + Canada, iii, 832, + England, iii, 845; + Madras, iii, 983; + Scotland, iii, 871, 983. + + SUFFRAGE GAINED: + _School_ suffrage: Canada, iii, 831; + Colorado, iii, 718; + Dakota, iii, 633; + England, iii, 850; + Kansas, i, 185, iii, 701, 710; + Kentucky, i, 869, iii, 821; + Massachusetts, iii, 288; + Michigan, iii, 515, 530; + Minnesota, iii, 652, 653, 654; + Nebraska, iii, 675; + New Hampshire, iii, 375, 376; + New York, iii, 424; + Oregon, iii, 775; + Scotland, iii, 851; + Vermont, i, 171, iii, 304. + + Suits (see Trials). + + SUMNER, Charles, ii, 35, 81, 168, 169 + --ballot, on the, ii, 95 + --equal rights to all, ii, 322 + --Fourteenth Amendment, opposed, ii, 323 + --voted for, ii, 324 + --letter, Woman's National Loyal League anniversary, ii, 86 + --"male," and the word, ii, 91 + --petition, presents, under protest, ii, 96 + --petitions, asks for, ii, 93 + --rebuked by Senator Cowan, ii, 113 + --speech in U. S. Senate on presentation of petition of the Woman's + Nat. League, ii, 78 + --Taxation without Representation, on, ii, 114. + + Sunday-school teachings, i, 786. + + Sunderland-Gage controversy, i, 543. + + Sunderland, Mrs. H. E., iii, 564. + + Sutherland, Julia K., iii, 6. + + Swank, Emma B., i, 307 + --sketch of, i, 313 + + Sweet, Ada, pension agent, iii, 6. + + Swisshelm, Jane Grey, i, 386; iii, 650, 813 + --_Saturday Visitor_, i, 46 + --letter, "Borders of Monkeydom," i, 807 + --speech, Washington Convention, iii, 61. + + SWITZERLAND, iii, 909, 911. + + + T. + + Taney, Justice, ii, 639. + + Tax, society, anti, iii, 413 + --Susan A. King, iii, 420 + --protest, Harriet K. Hunt's, i, 259 + --Report of N. Y. State Assessors, iii, 412 + --representation, without, ii, 114, 169, 274, 475; iii, 289, 397 + --Lucy Stone refused to pay, i, 450. + + Taylor, Helen, ii, 425; iii, 852, 923, 940. + + Taylor, Mrs. Mentia, letter to Mrs. P. W. Davis, ii, 438 + --Mrs. P. A., iii, 848. + + Taylor, R. B., in Kansas campaign, ii, 231. + + Tea, Anti, Leagues, i, 202. + + Telegrapher, Hattie Hutchinson, age ten years, iii, 805. + + Teller, Willard, iii, 715. + + TEMPERANCE conventions: + --Albany, i, 489 + --Dayton, Ohio, i, 118 + --Half World's, i, 506 + --Lawrence, Kansas, ii, 231 + --Pennsylvania, i, 348 + --World's, i, 152 + --press comments, i, 854 + --daughters of, i, 474 + --New York, Brick Church meeting, i, 499 + --New York, Metropolitan Hall meeting, i, 490 + --New York Woman's State Society, i, 484 + --Woman Suffrage, and, ii, 819. + + TENNESSEE, iii, 822. + + Tennessee campaign, Miss Carroll, ii, 3-9. + + Tenney, Mrs. R. S., letter to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 257. + + TEXAS, iii, 801 + --Constitutional Convention, iii, 801 + --Legislative action, iii, 802 + --women in government offices, iii, 804. + + Theological discussion, i, 647. + + Thirteenth Amendment, ii, 77, 313, 663. + + Thomas', Mrs. Abel C., farm, iii, 469. + + Thomas, Julia J., and Greek prize, iii, 6. + + Thomas, Mary F., ii, 860 + --reminiscences of, i, 306 + --sketch of, i, 314 + --speech, Winchester, Ind., convention, i, 308. + + Thompson, Geo., speech, i, 56. + + Thompson, Mary A., iii, 97, 775. + + Thomson, J. Edgar, will of, iii, 468. + + Thornton, J. Quinn, iii, 773. + + Tilden, Samuel J., i, 473; iii, 417. + + Tillotson, Mary A., iii, 103. + + TILTON, Theodore, ii, 117, 376 + --Beecher colloquy, ii, 167 + --Fifteenth Amendment, and the, ii, 327 + --Kansas campaign, ii, 230 + --letter to American Woman Suffrage Association, ii, 770 + --speech at Nat. Convention in New York, ii, 154. + + Tod, Isabella M., iii, 866, 888, 938. + + Toucey, Sinclair, ii, 419. + + Train, Geo. Francis, ii, 381, 431 + --Constitutional Convention at Albany, before, ii, 284 + --Kansas campaign, in, ii, 243, 254, 264. + + Tracts, prize, i, 379. + + TRIALS and Decisions, ii, 586, 934 + --Allen, Jane, case of, ii, 592 + --Anthony, Susan B. (see Anthony) + --Bly, Mrs., ii, 671 + --Bradwell, Myra (see Bradwell) + --Burnham, Carrie, suit, ii, 600 + --Gardner, Nannette B., ii, 587 + --Huntington, Sarah M. T., ii, 628 + --Inspectors of election, ii, 691 + --jury convicts, ii, 696 + --pardoned by President Grant, ii, 715 + --sentenced, ii, 698 + --trial, motion for new, ii, 696 + --Mansfield, Arabella A., case of, ii, 606 + --Minor, Virginia L., ii, 715 + --Chief-Justice Waite's opinion, ii, 734 + --opinion reviewed by Mrs. Gage, ii, 742 + --reviewed by _Central Law Journal_, ii, 748 + --parody, ii, 599 + --Ricker, Mrs. M. M., ii, 586 + --Spencer, Sarah Andrews, suit, ii, 587 + --Chief-Justice Cartter's opinion, ii, 597 + --Van Valkenburg, Ellen Rand, suit, ii, 600 + --Waite, Catharine V., suit, ii, 601; iii, 571 + --Webster, Sarah E., ii, 587; iii, 571 + --5,000 women householders and Lord Coleridge, iii, 884. + + Truman, James, on Women in dentistry, iii, 452. + + Trumbull, Lyman, ii, 498. + + Tudor, Mrs. Fenno, reception, iii, 197. + + TURKEY, iii, 919. + + Turner, Eliza Sproat, iii, 451. + + Turner, Jennie, iii, 407. + + Tyler, Moses Coit, ii, 813. + + Tyler, W. S., iii, 497. + + Tyndale, Sarah, tribute, i, 218. + + Tyndale, Sharon, ii, 371. + + + U. + + UNA, Mrs. Paulina Wright Davis, i, 46, 246. + + Uncle Tom's Cabin, i, 102. + + Underhill, Sarah E., i, 308 + --sketch of, i, 313 + + United States a nation? Is the, ii, 529. + + Updegraff, W. W., Kansas campaign, ii, 250. + + Upham, Hon. Charles W., i, 210. + + Underwood, John C., iii, 823 + --tribute, ii, 538, 640. + + UTAH, ii, 325. + + + V. + + Van Cleve, Charlotte O., iii, 653. + + Van Lew, Elizabeth, postmaster at Richmond, iii, 824. + + Van Pelt, Maggie, journalist, iii, 629. + + Van Valkenburg, Ellen Rand, ii, 600. + + Van Voorhis, John, ii, 692-697. + + Vassar College, iii, 398. + + Vaughan, Mary C., speech on temperance, i, 476. + + VERMONT, i, 171; iii, 383 + --homestead law, i, 172 + --St. Andrew's letter, iii, 384, 389 + --school suffrage, iii, 393 + --University opens to women, iii, 389 + --woman suffrage amendment, Reed's report, iii, 385 + --_Vermont Watchman_, iii, 386. + + Vest, Senator, on woman suffrage, iii, 199, 203. + + Vice, legalization of, i, 795, 796; iii, 145, 397. + + Vicksburg, naval attack on, ii, 11. + + VIRGINIA, iii, 823 + --Woman Suffrage Association, iii, 823. + + Voltaire, i, 658. + + Voris, A. C., ii, 837. + + Vote, first woman to cast a, ii, 586 + --first woman to claim the right, iii, 815 + --Mrs. Gage attempted to, iii, 406 + --woman earned her right to, ii, 89 + --in Scotland, iii, 871 + --reports of voting in New York, iii, 429 + --voted with Miss Anthony, list of, ii, 647 + --voted in New Jersey, i, 448; iii, 476 + --voting in 1776, i, 33 + --persons entitled to, ii, 272. + + Voted, 1867, Lily Maxwell, iii, 981. + + Voters, qualification of, T. W. Higginson's speech, i, 249. + + + W. + + Wade, Benjamin, F., ii, 9 + --letter to Susan B. Anthony, ii, 117; + J. S. Griffing, ii, 34 + --speech, ii, 123 + --remarks to Anna Ella Carroll, ii, 9 + --letters to Miss Carroll, ii, 866, 867. + + Wadsworth, L. A., iii, 352. + + Wait, Anna C., iii, 696, 709. + + Waite, Catharine V., ii, 601; iii, 571. + + Waite, Chas. B., iii, 569. + + Waite, Jessie T., argument before House committee, iii, 161 + --report of National Convention, iii, 254-260. + + Waite, M. R., iii, 505 + --Supreme Court opinion, ii, 734-742. + + Waldo, Peter, ii, 27. + + Walker, Dr. Mary, ii, 20, 813; iii, 103. + + Wall, Sarah E., ii, 636; iii, 310. + + Wallace, W. D., iii, 540, 966. + + Wallace, Zerelda G., iii, 536-7, 539-40, 551 + --argument before Senate com., iii, 155 + --letter to S. B. Anthony, iii, 257. + + Walling, Mrs. M. C., speech in U. S. Senate, ii, 327. + + Walter, Cornelia, iii, 303. + + War, woman's patriotism in, ii, 1, 863; iii, 596, 631. + + Warn Kate, iii, 398. + + Warner, Esther L., iii, 693. + + Warren, Mercy, Otis, i, 31; ii, 201. + + Washington Conventions (see Conventions) + --(see also District of Columbia). + + _Washington Evening Star_, iii, 97. + + _Washington Sunday Chronicle_, ii, 599. + + Washington, George, letter to ladies of Trenton, N. J., i, 447. + + WASHINGTON Territory, iii, 786 + --women enfranchised, iii, 776. + + Watterson, Henry, ii, 861, 862; iii, 182. + + Wattles, John O., i, 189. + + Wattles, Susan E., ii, 255; iii, 697. + + Way, Amanda M., iii, 533 + --legislative hearing, iii, 539 + --reminiscences, i, 306 + --sketch of, i, 311. + + Weber, Helene Marie, i, 41 + --letter to M. A. Spofford, i, 825. + + Webster, Rev. D. L., i, 114. + + Webster, Sarah E., suit, ii, 587 + --Chief-Justice Cartter's opinion, ii, 597. + + Weed, Thurlow, i, 720. + + Weld, Angelina Grimke, on organizations, i, 540 + --speech, Loyal Women's Convention, ii, 54 + --speech, Woman's National Loyal League, ii, 60; iii, 282. + + Weld, Theodore, i, 392. + + Wells, Charlotte Fowler, i, 45; ii, 435. + + Wendt, Mathilda F., iii, 405. + + Wendte, W. C., ii, 855. + + Wenthworth, Elizabeth R., iii, 643. + + Wesley, John, on witchcraft, i, 765. + + Wesley, Susannah, i, 790. + + Weston, Hannah and Rebecca, i, 203. + + WEST VIRGINIA, iii, 824. + + Wheatly, Phillis, colored, i, 205. + + Wheeler, L. May, iii, 659. + + Whipple, E. P., views of George Eliot, i, 791. + + White, Andrew D., iii, 398, 528. + + White, Bessie Heagen, pharmacy, iii, 820. + + White, Laura R., architect, iii, 820. + + White, Richard Grant, on the word "citizen," ii, 567. + + Whitehead, Wm. A., paper on woman suffrage, i, 447. + + Whiting, Lilian, iii, 303. + + Whiting, N. H., i, 861. + + Whitman, Sarah Helen, ii, 433. + + Whittier, John G., i, 83; iii, 520. + + Wife ownership, i, 772. + + Wigham, Eliza, iii, 852. + + WILBOUR, Charlotte B., iii, 396 + --organized Sorosis, iii, 403 + --President New York City Society, iii, 405 + --remarks at Washington Convention, ii, 421, 424 + --Corresponding Secretary Loyal League, ii, 80. + + Wilbur, Hervey Backus, iii, 421. + + Wilcox, Hamilton, ii, 346; iii, 441, 959. + + Wildman, John R., iii, 457. + + Willard, Emma, i, 36. + + Willard, Frances E., iii, 104, 578, 587, 660. + + Willard, Judge John, i, 750. + + Will of Bridget Smith, i, 563. + + Williams, George, iii, 774. + + Williams, Nellie, i, 48. + + Williams, Sarah Langdon, iii, 503 + --_The Ballot-Box_, iii, 51. + + Williams, Senator, ii, 108. + + Willing, Mrs. J. F., ii, 368. + + Willis (see Olympia Brown). + + Wilson, Elizabeth, i, 103. + + Wilson, Hannah, iii, 697. + + Wilson, Henry, ii, 113, 128, 322, 390; iii, 267. + + Winchell, Charlotte, S., career of, iii, 653. + + WISCONSIN, i, 178, 290; iii, 638 + --Conventions (see Conventions) + --legislation, iii, 638 + --Shole's report, i, 315 + --report of David Noggle, i, 867 + --married women, rights of, iii, 638 + --Milwaukee Female College, iii, 643 + --State Association, iii, 645 + --State University, iii, 643 + --statutes, modification of, iii, 639 + --suffrage amendment, iii, 644 + --temperance question, iii, 645 + --women as lawyers, iii, 648 + --voters, iii, 640. + + Wise, Mary E., ii, 869. + + Witchcraft, i, 759, 764, 765, 766, 767, 768, 769. + + Wives in Russia, i, 773. + + Wives, sale of, i, 792. + + Wizards, i, 766. + + Wolcott, Laura Ross, graduated medical college i, 389 + --organized Wisconsin State Society, ii, 374 + --sketch of, iii, 638 + --National Convention, Milwaukee, iii, 184. + + Wollstonecraft, Mary, eulogy of, i, 126-7 + --"Rights of Women," i, 34. + + Wollstenholme, Mrs. Almy, with Mrs. Jacob Bright, iii, 893. + + WOMAN, advice of men, warned against, ii, 268 + --Anglo-Saxon laws, i, 863 + --army, in the, i, 290 + --bar, admissions to, iii, 307, 355 + --British Parliament, in, i, 30 + --census enumerators, first appointments, iii, 174 + --church poll, at the, i, 781 + --civil service, in, iii, 306 + --clinical instruction, Pennsylvania University, iii, 448 + --coeducation, statistics, iii, 496 + --colleges, and the, ii, 541 + --colleges, in, i, 144, iii, 6 + --college in Evanston, Illinois, iii, 578 + --congress organized in New York, iii, 411 + --degradation of, i, 791, 794 + --emancipation, i, 29 + --employment of, in insane asylums, iii, 421 + --employments, varied capacity for, iii, 406, 572 + --excluded as delegates, Anti-slavery Convention, London, i, 60 + --chronological table of successive steps in England, iii, 980 + --history of, in three pictures; + under Hindoo laws, i, 863; + under Anglo-Saxon laws, i, 863, 864; + under Signs of the Times, i, 865, 866 + --illiteracy of, iii, 372 + --inventions by, iii, 632 + --jury, on, iii, 731; + list of the first grand, iii, 738 + --Kansas, of, i, 642 + --labor performed in Christian countries, i, 792 + --laborer, unpaid, i, 28 + --legal disabilities, removed of, iii, 893 + --legal rights, i, 107 + --list of names of friends in California, iii, 977-80; + list of names of friends in Minnesota, iii, 973-80 + --Loyal League, ii, 3; + address to Abraham Lincoln, ii, 67; + anniversary of, ii, 80; + letters in response to a call for a meeting, ii, 875; + petition, ii, 78; + platform, ii, 891; + press comments, ii, 893; + resolutions, ii, 84; + secretary's report, ii, 80 + --married, act relative to rights of, i, 618 + --married, laws regarding, iii, 291 + --married, and their legal status, ii, 642 + --married, property rights of, iii, 325 + --marry, will the coming, iii, 723 + --national protection, claim, ii, 531 + --naval heroines, ii, 21 + --official position, first appointed to, in New York, iii, 417 + --Ohio, protest against enfranchisement, iii, 494 + --outrages, 1880, in Ireland, i, 794 + --pharmacy, 379, 820, 980 + --physician, first, i, 260 + --physicians in insane asylums, as, iii, 473 + --politics, in, ii, 277, 304 + --preachers, as, i, 784 + --professions, in the, iii, 706 + --property rights, i, 38, 64, 146, 256, 296, 770 + --property rights granted, iii, 438 + --public affairs, why meddle in, i, 109 + --revolution, in the, i, 31, 201, 321, 444 + --Roman law, under i, 754 + --school of design, Philadelphia, i, 390 + --school boards, on, iii, 892, 981 + --school officers, bill passed New York Legislature, iii, 417; + vetoed by Gov. Robinson, iii, 418 + --school officers, made so in Illinois, iii, 575 + --science and literature, degraded in, i, 790 + --sermon to, Rev. Knox Little's, i, 782 + --Sin, Original, i, 756 + --slaves, legislated for as, i, 772 + --social evolution of, iii, 226 + --social relations, i, 233 + --sold with cattle in Pennsylvania, iii, 445 + --soldiers, as, ii, 18, 889 + --sphere, i, 76, 93, 148, 265, 317, 522, 660, 662, 694, 713, 716; + ii, 62, 163, 779 + --spy, anecdote, i, 323 + --subordination, i, 780; + Evarts in the Beecher-Tilton trial upon, i, 789; + sermon by Rev. A. H. Strong, i, 787 + --Supreme Court opened to, iii, 138; + Senator Hoar's speech, iii, 139 + --torture of, i, 26, 766, 768 + --type-setters, i, 585 + --wardens, iii, 893 + --work, statistics, i, 267 + --work done by, iii, 54 + --work and wages, i, 78, 589 + --working, of Boston, ii, 389 + --working, seats in shops, iii, 433. + + WOMAN SUFFRAGE, (see Suffrage Gained); + --appeals, i, 588, 856, 858; ii, 168, 247, 364 + --arguments in favor of, ii, 349 + --Bible argument, ii, 374; + Bible, and the, i, 380, 535 + --complaints, 1869, the, ii, 323 + --debate between Anna Dickinson and R. L. Collier, iii, 567 + --Democratic National Convention, letters and delegates, iii, 22 + --discussion at Woman's National Loyal League, ii, 59 + --England, Gen. Butler's report in, ii, 465, 466, 467 + --essay, in _Westminster Review_, i, 225 + --Equal Rights Association organized, ii, 173 + --Fifth Avenue conference, ii, 427 + --Kansas, report of Judiciary Franchise Committee, i, 194 + --_National Association_ organized, ii, 400; + address to President Hayes, iii, 129; + appeal, Mrs. Hooker's, to women of the United States, ii, 485; + appeal to women, Grant and Wilson Presidential campaign, ii, 517; + Congressional Committee grant hearings, iii, 75; + constitution and officers, ii, 401, iii, 955-6; + letter to Berlin Congress, ii, 404; + delegates to Berlin, ii, 406 + --New York and Boston wings, ii, 406 + --New York City society, iii, 405 + --opponents, iii, 570 + --organ, need of an, i, 378 + --periods, most trying, ii, 319 + --petitions in many States, one year's work, i, 869 + --power of legislature to extend suffrage, iii, 959-6 + --presidential suffrage iii, 966 + --principles, mode of disseminating, i, 379 + --progress made, ii, 905 + --"Fair Play," from Rev. Wm. H. Channing, i, 611 + --Second Decade celebration, ii, 427 + --Third Decade Celebration, iii, 117 + --subscriptions, ii, 923 + --sympathizers, celebrated, iii, 233. + + _Woman's Journal_, Lucy Stone editor, ii, 819, 820; iii, 268, 274, + 297, 388. + + "Woman's Kingdom," _Chicago Inter-Ocean_, Mrs. Harbert, editor, + iii, 583. + + _Woman's Review, English_, Caroline Ashurst Biggs, editor, iii, 120, + 970. + + _Women's Suffrage Journal_, Lydia E. Becker, editor, iii, 850, 852, + 880, 981. + + _Woman's Tribune_, Mrs. Colby, editor, iii, 695. + + Wood, Bradford R., i, 500. + + Wood, Rev. Jeremiah, i, 690. + + Wood, S. N., i, 200 + --Kansas campaign, ii, 230, 232, 233, 234, 236, 250, 251, 252, 254. + + Woodall, William, iii, 877. + + Woodhull, Victoria C., memorial to Congress, ii, 443 + --memorial supported in a speech by A. G. Riddle, ii, 448 + --memorial, House majority report, iii, 461 + --memorial, House minority report, ii, 464 + --speech before Judiciary Committee, House of Representatives, + ii, 444. + + Woolson, Abba G., ii, 832. + + Wooster, Wilder M., iii, 691. + + Worden, Mrs., i, 462. + + Wright, Elizur, letter to Paulina W. Davis, i, 217. + + WRIGHT, Frances, i, 44, 52 + --editor, _Free Enquirer_, i, 296 + --Owen, Robert Dale, and, i, 293 + --portrait, i, 1 + --sketch of, i, 35 + --tribute, ii, 429; + tribute, Mrs. Rose's, i, 692. + + Wright, Henry C., letter to Garrison, i, 310. + + WRIGHT, Martha C., i, 67, 69, 376, 429, 462, 519, 522, 535, 744 + --May Anniversary, ii, 545 + --President Cincinnati Convention, made, i, 163 + --President N. Y. State Society, i, 623; presided, 628-31 + --thanks Rev. Sam'l Longfellow, i, 716 + --portrait, i, 640 + --Equal Rights Association, on the, ii, 175 + --letter to Pillsbury, ii, 240 + --speech at Cooper Institute Convention, i, 689 + --tribute, ii, 582-3. + + WYOMING, iii, 726 + --act to protect property rights of married women, iii, 728 + --election, first, iii, 729 + --election under woman suffrage, first, iii, 738 + --jury, women on, iii, 731; + list of the first grand, iii, 738 + --press, iii, 745 + --school law, iii, 728 + --Sunday laws enforced, iii, 734 + --suffrage bill signed by Gov. Campbell, iii, 731 + --territory organized, iii, 729 + --women granted citizenship, iii, 726 + --woman suffrage act, Legislature votes to repeal, iii, 741; + bill vetoed, iii, 741 + --woman suffrage respected, iii, 744. + + + Y. + + Yocum, A. P., iii, 691. + + Yount, A. K., iii, 718. + + + + +[Transcriber's Notes: + +The transcriber made changes as below indicated to the text to +correct obvious errors: + + 1. p. 23 forgotton --> forgotten + 2. p. 83 petioned --> petitioned + 3. p. 136 neccessarily --> necessarily + 4. p. 143 Universiy --> University + 5. p. 146 engergertic --> energetic + 6. p. 151 presidental --> presidential + 7. p. 170 in ever --> in every + 8. p. 217 committe --> committee + 9. p. 218 therefere --> therefore + 10. p. 274 nnd --> and (Footnote #120) + 11. p. 291 certan --> certain (Footnote #141) + 12. p. 298 their is no need (left as published) + 13. p. 347 Footnote marker for #177 missing in original text + 14. p. 351 iniative --> initiative + 15. p. 369 suffers form --> suffers from + 16. p. 384 iniative --> initiative + 17. p. 399 mora --> more (Footnote #209) + 18. p. 429 enconnter --> encounter + 19. p. 444 thorougly --> thoroughly + 20. p. 445 enfrancisement --> enfranchisement + 21. p. 447 Text for footnote #259 missing + 22. p. 449 Hopsital --> Hospital + 23. p. 450 neccessarily --> necessarily + 24. p. 465 elegible --> eligible + 25. p. 479 Historcal --> Historical (Footnote #276) + 26. p. 496 Table header text in footnote #291 replaced with legends + to shorten table width + 27. p. 509 auxilary --> auxiliary + 28. p. 509 disappoinments --> disappointments + 29. p. 510 Footnote marker missing; placement assumed + 30. p. 517 Februay --> February + 31. p. 533 iniative --> initiative + 32. p. 571 handsomly --> handsomely + 33. p. 606 Sufirage --> Suffrage (Footnote #386) + 34. p. 621 Yonrs --> Yours + 35. p. 629 ef --> of (Footnote #420) + 36. p. 631 hnndred --> hundred + 37. p. 633 minature --> miniature + 38. p. 644 introducd --> introduced + 39. p. 660 St. Panl --> St. Paul + 40. p. 674 Footnote #459 points to two places + 41. p. 697 dilligent --> diligent + 42. p. 724 benificent --> beneficent + 43. p. 727 universites --> universities + 44. p. 740 transcient --> transient + 45. p. 743 connot --> cannot + 46. p. 751 Feburary --> February + 47. p. 769 seige --> siege + 48. p. 770 jonrnalist --> journalist + 49. p. 780 npon --> upon + 50. p. 797 objectionabie --> objectionable + 51. p. 808 origininally --> originally + 52. p. 809 Josophine --> Josephine (Footnote #525) + 53. p. 827 distinguised --> distinguished + 54. p. 887 uuhappily --> unhappily + 55. p. 943 bycicles --> bicycles + 56. p. 967 at al. --> et al. + 57. p. 978 biennial --> biennial + 58. p. 978 legislatuere --> legislature + 59. p. 985 and following, Index punctuation standardized + 60. p. 988 Snpreme --> Supreme + 61. p. 994 pseeches --> speeches + 62. p. 1000 Stan- --> Stanton + 63. p. 1005 (Convention)s --> (Conventions) + 64. p. 1007 Covention --> Convention + 65. p. 1007 Scatcherd..629... --> Scatcherd..929.. + 66. p. 1009 Suffbage --> Suffrage + +End of Transcriber's Notes] + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of History of Woman Suffrage, Volume III +(of III), by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE *** + +***** This file should be named 28556.txt or 28556.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/8/5/5/28556/ + +Produced by Richard J. 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