Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1920-08-19
SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT DATES
BACK TO Revolutionary DAYS
WAY. WAY BACK


legalize votes for women began in pre-
revolutionary days. when Mistress Mar
garet Brent of Maryland, heir of Lord
Calvert. demanded place and voice n
the legislature of Maryland in 1647 as a
property holder of wide extent.
Those who formed the copstitution
might have heard the voice of women
if they had listened. for Mrs Abigail
Adams, the wife Of John Adams. wrote
to her husband in ITS. while he sat In
the constitutional assembly, Il long to
hear that you have declared an indie
tendency. and. by the way, in the new
code of laws which l suppose it will be
necessary for you to make desire
you would remember the ladies and %
| more generous and favorable to them
| than were your ancestors. Do not put
such unlimited power into the hands
! of husbands. Remember all men would
be tyrants if they could. II particular
care and attention are not paid to the
ladies we are determined to fonent n
rebellion, and will not hold ourselves
| bound to obey any laws in which We
have no voice or representation"
| One Of the events leading to the for
NATION of a definite woman movement
! in this country was the refusal TO allow
women to have voice in the anti
! slavery convention of 1910. Out of this
refusal grew the plan to held woman's
rights convention in 1873 In Seneca
| Falls, y. Y. when the suffrage move
ment really took concrete form. Among
those chiefly active in calling the 1913
conference were Lucretia Mott, Eliza
I beth Cady Stanton. Martha G. Wright
and Mary Ann McClintock From this
1 convention the suffrage movement in
! the United states can be definitely
! dated.
| Four years later. in 1852. woman's
! rights convention. with delegates pres
ent from eight states and Canada. was
held in Syracuse. From this convention
dates the Joint leadership Of Susan 3.
Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
watch brought the movement out of the
! wilderness and into the honor won by
its many successes in ameliorating the
/ position of women; although neither Of
| these women lived to see their work
crowned with final success
The National Woman Suffrage Asso-
/
New York in 1869 and in the same year
! the American Woman Suffrage Associa-
! ton was organized in Cleveland, ..
! Elizabeth Cady stanton and Susan 3.
| Anthony were the leaders in the Ma
tional Association. while Lucy Stone and
Julia Ward Howe were leaders in the
American association. The two organr
cations differed chiefly on the question.
Of policy. Miss Anthony AMI Mrs. Stan
ton considered it better to get a suf-
frage amendment through the federal
congress, while Mrs. Howe and Lucy
Stone thought it wiser to work for suf-
| frage state by state. Later the two as
! sociations united under the name of
National American Woman Suffrage
! Association, the name which is today
/ that Of the great na.icnal suffrage body.
/ One permanent victory marked the
year 1850. The territory of Wyoming
gave the vote to it's women. 1t was a
| remote portion of the United Safes,
but for "a years 1t was the only region
in which women were given equal po-
litical rights with men In 1872 Miss
Anthony, with 30 other women. deter
.
she cast her vote. For this she was
prosecuted by the United states govern
! ment, and fined 500 This fine she re-
! fused to pay-an4~ never did. Another
! test case Of the kind being carried to
! the Supreme Court and lost. Miss An
| thony turned her attention to securing
| the passage of new amendment that
| Should give to women the rigdt Of suf-
| frage. So in 1875 she drew up the
amendment which from that day until
| this has been tefore Congress and
which is the one now finally passed BY
Congress and ratified by the necessary
number of states.
| The amendment reads as follows:
Resolved by the senate and House of
! Rep: esentatives of the United STATES u
America in Congress assembled two
thirds OF each House concurring there
| in). That the following article be pro-
| posed to the legislature Of the several
states as an amendment TO the Consli-
! futon of the United States. which when
! ratified by three-fourths of the said
legislatures, shall be valid as part Of
said constitution, namely:
| ArLlcle -, section !. Inc rlsnt 9I
citizens Of the United States to vote
| shall not be denied or abridged by the
United States or by any state on ac-
count Of sex.
| Section . Congress shall have
power, by appropriate legislation. to en-
force the provisions of this ar,icle,."
| This amendment was first introduced
into Congress- in the Senate, in 1878,
and reported adversely: and since that
year has been introduced into each sue
ceeding Congress, Miss Anthony herself
! undertaking the burden of the work
until 1890
Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the
first president Of the National Ameri-
can Woman suffrage Association. the
union of the two former organizations,
and Miss Anthony and Lucy Stone were
associated with her in the leadership.
In 1892 Miss Anthony became president
and Dr. Anna Howard Shaw vice presi-
dent. Miss Anthony remained president
until 1900, when she was succeeded By
Mrs. Carrie Chapman Gait. Four years
later DR. Shaw became president and
in 1915 Mrs. Gait again was elected to
head the organization. In 1900 the Ma
tional Association opened headquarters
OF suffrage organizations in 4S stateS
and is now affiliated with the 1nterna-
tional Suffrage Alliance, of which Mrs.