Women & The Right To VoteBy Devlyn DeAugustine

Historical Context● By 1919, 39 states already granted suffrage to women, allowing them either full or partial voting

rights, most of them including a vote for President● The territory of Utah was the first to pass such measures, doing so in 1870 with the support of

Mormons who wished to use the women vote to keep Mormon influence in the state● The support for women’s suffrage found its roots in the antebellum era, were the idea of

“republican motherhood” gave way to the belief that our mothers should have a greater say in the nation

● The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 outlined the demands of women for rights, and their request for suffrage would not be granted until 72 years later

● The U.S. Supreme Court case, Minor v. Happersett (1875), which sought to challenge the constitutionality of laws restricting women from voting, set a court precedent that voting was not a constitutionally guaranteed right (specifically for women) regardless of the states’ laws giving certain classes of society (men) the right to vote.

● Following the decision, women began to rally and protest for the right to vote across the United States under leaders like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Julia Ward Howe, 1909

American Women Should Have the Right to Vote

● Appeal primarily to women & citizens outside states which already had suffrage to women

● Congressmen and political leaders● Magazine & Newspaper Readers (which happened to be primarily the middle

class, including women)

Intended Audience

Purpose● To convince all those who would read the article of the benefits of women’s

suffrage, what women have done to deserve suffrage, and how women should earn suffrage if it had already been granted to African Americans under the 13th Amendment

Outside Info

● Women of the time believed that if African Americans got the vote, then they deserved the vote as well

● Julia Ward Howe, while being an abolitionist, did not believe in racial equality and thus did not believe in suffrage for black people

● Howe would die in 1910, a year after his article was published

Point of View● Julia Ward Howe was a social

reformer who originally advocated for abolitionism & had helped lead the push for women’s suffrage

● Founder or leader of many different organizations including the Association for the Advancement of Women, American Women’s Suffrage Association, and similar groups

● Wrote the Battle Hymn of the Republic

“Black Men Gain Suffrage”● Argues that with suffrage granted to former slaves, it is only true that “in order to

maintain his freedom, he must perform the offices of a free citizen.”● If the “great mass of ignorant men” received the vote, then women for certain deserved

to share that same right● The “newly enfranchised men were generally illiterate and of rather low morality”,

arguing that women are not only smarter but morally superior to African American men, and yet they were still not given the right to vote

● Argues against the idea that giving women suffrage will strip them of their purity and dignity as hoped in the “republican motherhood”, instead supporting that it will give them increased dignity and influence to be able to be informed and be part of American democracy

● Provided a story of success in Colorado, where “women count for more in all the affairs of this State than they do where they have not the power that suffrage gives.”

“Improving The Laws”● Howe argues that it will lead to improvement in laws regarding the healthcare and

welfare of not only children but the general public● Supported by a statement given from Judge Lindsey, of the Denver Juvenile Court: “We

have… the most advanced laws of any State in the Union for the care and protection of the home and the children, the very foundation of the Republic. We owe this more to woman suffrage than to any one cause.

● Contends that other laws relating to causes of morality, such as the criminalization of gambling, the humane treatment of animals and the “age of protection” being raised to 18, can all be attributed to women.

● Supported by Mrs. Grenfell’s report to Congress in 1908 that Colorado held the “most humane,” most progressive laws regarding women and children in the world.

“Women’s Influence”● Howe further argues that the woman’s vote will be far more influential than the indirect

methods women had sought before, such as appeals to Congress and the public.● Provides an example in which it took mothers 50 years to get legislation passed

recognizing their equal guardianship over their children with the father, but after the Colorado legislature gave women suffrage that very same type of legislation passed in the next session

● Women were concerned with issues other than money or power, and such made for better voters who would:○ Vote down radical or otherwise unfit candidates for office○ Vote on issues concerning the welfare of the public, not of just the economy○ Provide order in political discussions and prevent rambunctiousness ○ Increase political honesty

“Suffrage and the Family”● Howe then argues that women’s suffrage “binds the family more closely together.”● Political meetings became a new source of connection for the family, as men would

take the women of the household to these meetings and later discuss these events with them○ Provided unity of thought and interest within the family

The Japanese Government sent a commission to the United States to determine whether or not Christianity as a religion was fit for a morally, developed nation, with the intention of either introducing it or disavowing it to Japan, where they ultimately reported Christianity was a failure due to the evils witnessed in America. Similarly, opponents argued that in states where women were granted suffrage, evils were present in that state and as thus women’s suffrage was a failure. Howe then contends in both scenarios “that these evils exist not because but in spite of it.”

Emily P. Bissell, 1909

American Women Should Not Have the Right to Vote

● New York voters● Supporters of the New York State Association Opposed to Women’s Suffrage● Political thinkers

Intended Audience

Purpose● To prevent the garnering of support for women’s suffrage, in order to

maintain much more powerful influence for women as those “removed from the political process.”

● To provide support for the “cult of domesticity”● To direct suffragettes’ energy towards other issues plaguing America at the

time

Outside Info

● Some women of the time supported the progressive ideology but did not advocate for women’s suffrage, believing there to be more important issues

● Others held traditional convictions (such as Catherine Beecher) that women should only be involved with “Kinder, Küche, Kirche”, or “Children, kitchen, church”

Point of View● Emily Bissell was by and large a

social reformer● Organized the Delaware

chapter of the American Red Cross

● Was the first president of the Consumers’ League of Delaware

● Fought for the passage of laws regulating labor for women and children

● Raised money to fight tuberculosis, becoming famous for her “Christmas Seals”

“A Mistake For Individuals?”● Bissell first contends that in order to secure suffrage, the vote will be forced “on the rest

of womankind in America.”● Women already have their time taken by domestic duties or by labor, as well as the

raising of the household, which would leave less time for concerns such as politics, ultimately serving as a detriment to these women and not a benefit.

● Opens the way for the less desirable women of society “from the college girl to the immigrant woman who cannot read and the [African American] woman in the cotton field…” to have a sway in national politics

“Duty To The Family”● Women are part of the family, and the “American home is the foundation of American

strength and progress.”● A woman cannot be in her own role and the role of the man, suggesting that women

should be devoted to the domestic life before subjecting herself to politics○ Has religious connections to the idea that one cannot “serve two masters” as

outlined by the Ten Commandments● Unnatural for the woman to take up the role of the man, instead a woman needs to

serve her family to the best of her abilities

“The Women’s Vote”● Bissell argues that American political system is not like the English or Danish system,

where the suffrage is restricted and can be “sorted out”, but rather that “equal manhood suffrage” is ingrained in the American system, and to that extent women’s suffrage will result in an uncontrollable upset to politics.

● Argues further that most women already due not want the vote, but even the most energetic suffragettes will become bored with the privilege to vote, and that most women will contribute to a substantial group of indifferent voters.

● Argues that suffrage will result in the corruption of women, that they will take place in bribery and fraud, or otherwise manipulate or degrade the American political system○ “What, for example, would the Tenderloin [red light district] woman’s vote be in

New York? For good measures and better city politics?● Women already use their intelligence and influence for public good without needing a

ballot, and indifferent women take no place in politics, whereas universal suffrage would cause both the best of women and the worst of women to decide the issues in the country

QuestionsDoes Howe exhibit racial prejudice in her comments on black suffrage?Howe most definitely exhibits racial prejudice in her comments, as her argument effectively boils down to “if they can get it, anyone should be able to”

Does Howe argue that women’s suffrage would cause radical changes in American society?She does argue that it would cause radical changes in American society, as one of her focuses is that the woman would vote for issues important for the public welfare and happiness and not just for the greater economic good, as well as that women would vote diligently on pressing issues to further society (in a seemingly progressive stance).

Bissell believed that suffrage would allow the influence of the corrupted and the worser of women to change the will of the country, whereas the reforms were promoted only by women who were intelligent with good intentions.

Bissell effectively argue that due to the political impact of the vote in America, it is much less restricted and has far more important than a vote would carry in another nation like Denmark or England, and as thus it needs to be protected from those with poor intentions.

Why is suffrage different from reforms opening up higher education and work opportunities for women who desire them, according to Bissell?

She makes rather heavy distinctions between the two, that good women serve the family and the home, as well as that they can advocate for their causes without the ballot, whereas a bad women will attempt to put herself in a man’s role. These distinctions are relatively important, as part of her argument speaks to the nature of women, and suggests that they can’t be trusted with the duty due to the nature of “bad” women.

What opinions does she express about voting rights and restrictions in America compared with other countries?

What distinctions does she make between “good” and “bad” women, and how important are these distinctions in her arguments?