HIST. 363: Women in U.S. History E. Nybakken

WOMAN'S SUFFRAGE

I. Nation-Wide

A. Background: Quick Review

1. Pre Civil War : Suffrage Low in Importance

2. 1865-1869: Political Rights

a. Equal Rights movements

b. Fourteenth Amendment

c. Fifteenth Amendment

3. 1869-1890: Suffrage Emphasized

a. National Woman's Suffrage Association (Stanton & Anthony)

b. American Woman's Suffrage Association (Stone & Blackwell)

c. Differences

1.) leaders

2.) program & emphases

3.) state v national effort

4.) allies

d. Woodhull-Tilton-Beecher scandal

e. survival

B.1890-1910: Only Suffrage

1. National American Woman's Suffrage Association

2. Mass Movement Grows: Allies

3. State Activity

4. Arguments: Justice to Expediency

a. home and "sphere

b. necessity for women's vote

c. offset undesirable votes

C. 1910-1915: Radical v. Moderate (Woman's Party v. N.A.W.S.A)

1. State Successes

2. National Amendment

D. 1915-1919: Final Push

1. Catt and "Winning Plan"

2. Paul and Woman's Party

3. Activity during World War I

4. Nineteenth [Anthony] Amendment Passes & Sent to States

II. Southern Variation

A. Distinctive

1. Southern “Lady?

2. “Lost Cause”

3. “Negro Problem”

B. Leaders

C. Strategy & Relation to “National”

1. 1890-1910: Mainstream (very small)

2. 1910-1915: Separation from “National” (Southern States Woman’s Suffrage Association, 1913)

3. 1915-1919: Dual activity: “National” and “Southern”

D. Reaction to Nineteenth Amendment

NATION AMERICAN WOMAN'S SUFFRAGE PRESIDENTS

1890-1892: Elizabeth Cady Stanton

1892-1900: Susan B. Anthony

1900-1904: Carrie Chapman Catt

1904-1915: Anna Howard Shaw

1915-1920: Carrie Chapman Catt

SELECTED ALLIED & SUPPORTIVE ORGANIZATIONS

Women's Christian Temperance Union

Association of Collegiate Alumnae & Southern Association of College Women (In 1920, joined to become the American Association of University Women)

General Federation of Women's Clubs...General Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs

College Settlement Association

National Consumer's League

Young Women's Christian Association

National Women's Trade Union League

Business and Professional Women

STATES WITH WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE BEFORE 1919

Wyoming.................1890 Illinois..............1913

Colorado................ 1893 Nevada.............1914

Utah........................ 1896 Montana...........1914

Washington..............1910 New York........1917

California.............. 1911

Oregon.................. 1912 **Rhode Island.....1917

Kansas.................. 1912 **Michigan...........1917

Arizona....................1912 **Nebraska...........1917

**Presidential Electors Only

WOMAN'S SUFFRAGE IN THE SOUTH

Notice that in the Alliance movement article, the point was made that women were granted equal rights and a voice in the Alliance but no one thought that should be the case in the public. Why? Why southern men and society in general opposed to women voting, even if state had granted the rights and feds had no part? Part of family and ought not be though of as individuals and voting as an individual. No be in public realm. Suggest that patriarchy is not doing job in protecting them and their interests. Would be cavorting with the unsavory. Divert interest from home. Also, industrialists and liquor interest cuz might go for reforms that hurt their interest.

collective biography of leaders. Why typical of South. How did class and family affect their job (contracts--easier--no vilified--aspersions not cast on women--eshewed strikes and demands.

Notice that more discontented with traditional relationships than usually depicted. also seeing rights in religion and clergymen greatest opponents--for work right sand espep. bitter about lack of access to the professions.

Few questioned divorce laws and family and suggested that their men were O.K. But, the rif raf who controlled government and wre supposed to be acting as true patriarchs were not and very few protected. Had created the Lost Cause to give these men a sense of confidence and self worth so that they would be magnanimous enough to grant the protection of a patriarch and it was not working. No reason to support it any more, at least on the government level for other women and children not being taken care of. Somerville's pamphlet with the telling title, "Who Takes Care of Mississippi Women" says it all--NO ONE

So, women, especially women of their class needed the vote to insure that this be done. Notice that say little about poor white women and nothing about black women for they were considered to be the ones a paternalistic government takes care of, they are not the ones to do the taking care of.

But another aspect of the Lost Cause", the happy Negroes being in a naturally subordinate position, this was more tricky after Reconstruction and the 14 and 15 Amendments, esp. the 15 which said that cannot abridge or deny right to vote to any citizen which the 14 amendment defined as male inhabitants, 21 years of age who had been born or naturalized in the U.S. Opps. And that the Federal Congress, the nation government would enforce. And so blacks were voting during and after Reconstruction. This whole question of black suffrage would make the southern movement distinctive as well as the Lost Cause.

1880's--1900

In the early suffrage movement, used the Negro question to argue that white women needed the vote to counteract the effects of black voging. Note what the older leaders who came on board early were saying about blacks. Note that Mississippi Constitutional Covention, a state with no organized woman suffrage movement, actually seriously considered suffrage for "qualified women" i.e. elite white women, or as they put it, women with education and property. Great effect and all thought the Southern states would be the first to grant white female suffrage. 1890 also the year that National and American joined. (Had split in 1869 over the 14th. and 15th. for black vote first) Wanted to expand and sympathized with South on "Negro Problem" cuz they upset at immigrants. Want South also to put pressure on Congress as state representatives of woman suffrage. Thus, they temporarily shelved push for national amending and stressed states granting suffrage so could win more sates for the federal amendment. Could always threaten national amendment to get states to grant suffrage on state level.

Really encouraged, NAWSA toured the South looking for converts and even had its convention in Atlanta in 1895 and in other southern states throughout this period.

However, they apparently missed the fact that poor men had the vote and probably would not enfranchise elite women to join with elite men against them unless their own poor women also enfranchised. Note the "qualified", those with education and property. Yet continued to appeal to the conventions in each southern state that was writing new constitutions in the 1890's..

High point in NAWSA convention in New Orleans where African American women excluded and agreed that each state decide who "qualified".

But, as able to disfranchise by other means--intimidation, poll tax, grandfather, literacy etc. and the Federal /congress not noticing and Republican party no longer supporting blacks, clear that had solved the "Negro Problem" by selves no need for qualified woman suffrage.

1900-1910

Movement went dormant and national saw not working. This becomes crystal clear by 1910. Yet Belle Kearney would not give up. and tried for a totally southern movement in 1906 with even more blatantly racial initiative. Even Kate Gordan and Laura Clay (against her own convictions) joined to seek enfranchisement for white women only. Forge the subtrfuge about "qualified." Others, like Sommerville and Kearney, who had originally pushed for southern organization, no like cuz clear that black disfranchisement working and so can do the same for black women without making it such a big deal. Besides, whites only be called unconstitutional and might even direct national attention to what had already done with black disfranchisement. But they fell in.

1910-1915

Got no support from National who figured movememt dead in South and focusing on west and so had to soften the harsh racism that it had adopted for expediency's sake to win in the southern states. Race concerns sort of quieted and now began to stress the arguments of the Progressive movement whose success gave them hope and shaped their strategy. Women should have the vote cuz knew more, were moral, naturally honest, looked after unfortunates, protect homes etc.

Same time more distancing between National and southern women. Clay and Gordon feuding with Shaw. Clay lost bid for Presidency of NAWSA in 1911 cuz of the east. She becomes very bitter and opposes National for very personal reasons and cuz hates Anna Shaw. She then starts movement for a separate organization, which she did form in 1913 called the Southern Suffrage Conference and begins to distance self from National because feel that it is insensitive to southern concerns.

2. National leaning more toward federal because of successes in western states granting suffrage, maybe even enough to force passage of national by Congress. However, the growing strength of Alice Paul backfires because she was expelled in 1914 cuz of her practices and formed the Woman's Party which was a political party in the western states (Go into how operate)

1915-1920

Final push. Carrie Chapman Catt takes over as President at end of 1915, a superb organizer and gentle lady. Things seem to be smoother between National and Southern for awhile. But, looks more toward a federal Amendment which Gordon thinks is terrible cuz it would mean federal enforcement and that might bring the federal government into the states and see how disfranchising black men. So Gordons and Clay start arguing states rights in their literature and even joining the anti suffragists in arguing against federal interference. Another threat to right to states to determine own suffrage requirements. Also, antis argued that a vote for woman's suffrage would be a vote for black female suffrage too and this would undermine the newly re-established white dominance in politics that the Lost Cause said was natural. Suffrage types responded that it would be very easy for the states to deprive black women of the vote in the same way it was depriving black men in the quiet way that the feds would not notice.

This caused a split within ranks of south. Some, like Gordon, wanted states granting and focused attention on trying to get 1916 Democratic convention to support suffrage on the state level and loyal democratic southern states would do it. She did get that on the Democratic Platform in 1916 but it made no difference.

National , under Catt, supported her "Winning Plan" which was to focus on both the federal amendment and the states, but selectively on those state where might win and thus have more Congressmen to vote for amendment. Not likely in South, so ignore and state associations have to subordinate their activities to better the national policy. Somerville and Kearny tried to straddle the two. Most of the younger types no fared a national amendment cuz not so wedded to states rights and so could see states not going to do it. A weakening of the Lost Cause.

Great fighting as SSWC asked National not to campaign cuz alienate. Others angry at the Woman's Party cuz of holding party in power responsible and, especially , with protests during War I.

Finally, Sommerville in 1915 resigned from SSWC and became V.P. of NAWSA.

Wilson did throw support to national amendment but southern senators blocked it in the Senate. Gordon joined others in her state expecting that Louisiana would pass a state amendment--lost.

Amendment passed but Clay and Gordon worked against it because it was federal. Almost all southern states refused to ratify it. Tennessee did, why?

Note: Refinement on the Dates.

Thursday, 5 April 2001 HI 4283/6283 Women in Southern History

Hi folks–One of your kind classmates pointed out that the dates of the “phases” of the southern women suffrage movement do not correspond neatly with those of the national that I presented. She is right. I should have been more specific and detailed. So, here goes an attempt to try to reconcile the South with the North

1890-1900–a few southern leaders in the NAWSA (Laura Clay and Kate Gordon) convinced the

reunited national that southern states might give upper class women the suffrage in the

new constitutions to offset the black male votes that had not yet been effectively denied.

1900-1910–these constitutions did not contain suffrage for women with property and education

(see notes for why) and the states were finding effective ways to further deny black males

the vote. Quiet time in south, but industrialization and urbanization and some club

movement is awakening some middle class types to the need for women suffrage. At the

same time national is displaying the chauvinism and racism that the south shared and was willing to woo the states rights advocates. (New Orleans, 1903)

1910-1915 –South starts to organize, but as national starts to back away from racism (cuz of

gains in West, where less racism) and state rights and reemphasize a national amendment,

Gordon et. al form the Southern States Women’s Suffrage Association in 1913 and push

states rights and national stay out. By end of period, (1915-16) more people are defecting

from Gordon as southern state attempts at suffrage fail and start to support national

amendment.

1915-18–Winning Plan and Catt in and organizing (and even though told to stay out of South,

does recruit there also. This is the big push.) Gordon unhappy with Catt and “winning

plan” but keeps losing SSWSC members who have had it with the state legislatures.

1919-20–action to defeat (antis- and states rights ). Most southern states reject amendment.