The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1872-03-08


ing that the Old Charter of American
Liberties be not thus desecrated. But
Republicans hushed our progress and
begged us to desist, saying, ''This is the
negro's hour" The word "male" in
that section puts up no new barrier
against woman. Even Senator Sum-
ner, standing on the floor of the Senate,
holding in his hand a remonstrance,
signed by Lucretia Mott, Ernestine i.
Rose, Lydia Maria Child and scores of
equally noble and representative wom-
en-, said: 'Tpresent this petition because
it is my duty as a representative of the
people, but consider it exceedingly in
opportune that, at a moment like this,
women should obtrude their claims
upon Congress-" When, / ask, should
women pray and protest, and that, too,
with vehemence, if not at the very mo-
ment when Congress was in the act of
laying violent hands on the legacy of
freedom cleft us by the Fathers"
Against all our appeals the Amendment,
with the word "male," became law.
Then came the proposition for the Fif-
teenth Amendment, forbidding any
State from DISTINGUISHING any citizen on
account Of race, color, etc. Again we
sprang to our guns-petitions-and fired
them into Congress like hot shot, ask
ing, nay, demanding, that "sex' should
be added. And again we were hidden
to be silent-"This is the negro's hour"
The fact that the word "sex" is not
there will not be in the slightest n bar
rier against woman. We beg you do
not embarrass us at this critical hour
with your woman question-just wait
freedom and then your turn shall come
next. And again the Republican party
of the nation, in the face of our prayers
and protests, adopted the Fifteenth
these same Republicans who bade us be
silent, who assured us the presence of
the word "male' in the Fourteenth nor
the absence of the word "sex" in the
Fifteenth would be any new barrier to
woman, now bid us go seek a Sixteenth
Amendment to undo the mischief Of the
/ implied right of the States to disfran-
chise women, because of the presence of
the one, the absence of the other Had
you, Honorable Senators, or any class
of intelligent men citizens, been thus
treated by this Government, thus
wronged and insulted, a downright rev.
olutiOn of blood would have been the re-
sult-and the only reason that the
women who appear before you to-day,
and the thousands, nay, the hundreds of
thousands of women of this Republic
your peers in intellect and culture
whom we represent, have borne all
these repeated injustiees, is attributed
to the fact of the social ties of father,
brother, husband, son. Now, gentle
men, rs you could not, would not trust
the decision of the black mans right to
the ballot to the ignorant masses of
tCliite men, so we ask you to save the
women of the nation your mothers,
sisters, wives, daughters-from the hu-
initiation and delay Of a submission of
their right to vote to the ignorant
masses of men-white and black, native
and foreign born, rich and poor, virtu-
Gus, vicious, sober and drunken. For re-
member by these two amendments you
have placed this crowning right of citi-
: zenship on the head of every man out
side of the State prison and lunatic asy-
lum. You know, as do We, that this
question of the extension of the ballot
to woman, like that of the negro, is q
question Of brains, of culture, of breadth
: Of understanding, and, hence, to remand
: us back to the States is to bid us wait a
f least q whole century for the education
and elevation of majority of the low
T; est and most besotted classes of men
: You know, as well as we, that had yoI
l waited the negro's enfranchisement TO
: the majority vote of the white men, i
{ would have taken you twice one hund
: red years to have educated them up to
s recognition of his equal rights. appea
!, to you, do not compel the cultivate,
h taX-paying women of New York to q
n down into John MOrrissey's District an
!. beg his fisti-cuff constituency to conced
t to them their right to q voice in tn
: government of the city of New York
e nor the proud-spirited, Southern-bor
v woman to sue the but yesterday planta
+ tion slaves for their right to the ballot
+, For you, gentlemen, the picked repre-
# sentative men of the nation, possessin
/ the power, as you do, by the passage of
# law, to compel the States to proteC
If their women citizens in the exercise {
{. their right to vote, precisely as yo
d have passed laws to protect men cit
10 zens; for you, possessing this power, {
10 at once lift wOmanhOOd from the pos
= ton of servitude and slavery into tbs
Is Of independence and freedom, to send U
% back to the ignorant rabble is an indiG
3 nifty you can i'll afford to inflict, and on
,r we shall not be likely to submit to wit
70 the grace and meekness you may deeI
,r fitting for subjects and aliens.
,I And the Sixteenth Amendment plaI
"a to which some of you recommend u
to though less degrading to our self-r
m spect, and less tedious and hopeless {
nr to time, will take years and years
Id hard work-first, to educate a vast M
v jority of the members of Congress
IN submit the proposition, then thre
r,f L. ,s,.rl,