The convention was called to order by Mrs. Dr. Thomas, of Richmond, President of the State Suffrage Association. The services of the day were formally opened with prayer by Dr. J. H. Bayliss, of Roberts Park Church. The resolutions[203] were presented by the Business Committee.

Mrs. I. C. FALES, of Brooklyn: What is needed is an amelioration of the nature and conditions of man by a powerful moral influence brought to bear upon all classes and conditions so that the conscience and the intellect may both be quickened to perceive and redress the wrongs, with their consequent sufferings, which inhere in the social structure. The moral sentiment must go into harness and be thoroughly trained in order to do its work effectually. The corruptions of to-day are the legitimate results of the want of woman's influence in the formation of public opinion. That influence is comparatively ineffectual because it is narrowed to the small sphere of domestic life. No one can suppose that an opinion unsupported by authority can have weight enough to grapple with evils which have their root in the lawless part of man's uneducated, undeveloped nature. The most that such a sentiment can do is to enlarge itself by discussion, and every other available method, until it is strong enough to incorporate itself into legislative enactments, from whence it may shape and modify daily life.

While much can be done in molding and directing public opinion, the consummating force of legislation must be brought into play. If woman possessed the elective franchise, her influence would be greatly strengthened by her political power. The desire of reform would naturally express itself in the selection of candidates who would embody those ideas. Legislators chosen by men and women together, would represent a higher level of thought, and would tend to legislate more directly in favor of reform than if chosen by men alone, for woman represents the moral principle, even as man the intellectual, and knowing that the tone of legislation rarely, if ever, rises higher than the moral level of the people by whom the legislators are chosen, we insist upon the absolute necessity of that principle being allowed to officially express itself. Maudsley justly remarks "that great as is the intellect, the moral nature is greater still;" that "the impulses of evolution which move the world come not from the intellect, but from the heart."

Long and cordial letters were read from William Lloyd Garrison and Mrs. Frances D. Gage. At the first evening session addresses were made by Mr. Blackwell, Mrs. Stone, and Mrs. Campbell, of Maine. The reports from the different State societies were listened to the next morning. After the report from Massachusetts had been given by Mr. Blackwell, Miss LELIA PATRIDGE, of Pennsylvania, spoke as follows: To one advocating this matter of equal suffrage, one of the noticeable things is the monotony of the objections brought against it, although each one is brought forward as if just evolved from the inner consciousness of the objector and never thought of before. One of these most commonly heard is that women do not want to vote. Suppose they do not, gentlemen; that is no excuse for you, for it is a matter out of their jurisdiction—a thing which you control, and as they have no power, they have no responsibility, and you can not shift it thus from your shoulders. But they do want it; the best, most intelligent, thoughtful women—those of whom we are proud—do want it, and it is only those who are either ignorant or selfish who say, "I have all the rights I want." This sounds hard, but it is true. Because a woman is so shut in, protected and happy that she does not feel the need of the ballot for herself, it is sadly selfish for her to fail to consider that all women are not so fortunate. But if she could once experience the great gain which woman suffrage would be to all the great questions of morals and reform which have seemed to belong particularly to those who are wives, mothers and sisters, she would hesitate no longer, but hasten to join that grand army of noble women who are pleading for equal political rights. There is hardly a large-brained, large-hearted woman either in this country or England who is not a pronounced suffragist. How can women who are indifferent upon this subject, so keep back the coming of right and justice to their sex, when such women as Lucy Stone and others are giving their lives to the cause? She is no more a woman than we. Some men say, with the one in Colorado: "Now, I'm agin suffrage. I believe that the Almighty made one spear for wimmin and one spear for men, and I b'l'eve that the wimmin orter keep to her'n, and the men ort to keep to his'n;" and I agree. But who shall decide as to "spears?" Are the men alone to say?

At the afternoon session LUCY STONE presented to the audience Prof. R. T. BROWN, who has never failed to lift his voice in favor of the recognition of woman's equal right to a collegiate education, and who received the public thanks of many ladies of this city recently, as a testimonial of their appreciation of the step taken by him in resigning his chair in the Medical College Faculty, because women were to be henceforth debarred entrance thereto.

Dr. BROWN said: I have been engaged in this work for forty years. When I began, I stood absolutely alone. I worked ten years and made only one proselyte, and that was my wife. All mathematicians know that if they can establish one or two points in a curve, they can project that curve to its completion. In this way we have established several points in our great work of suffrage, and now we can see how to complete it. The work must go on. Truth is immortal and will prevail. From the boasted civilization of ancient Greece and Rome, which was nothing but an aristocracy, we trace the gradual development of woman up to the present time. During all that time the right of suffrage has been extended, and now we have a male oligarchy. And we call this a republic! This is not a popular government, as it has been called. Only one half its citizens have a voice in its management. Now, we are trying to make this a strictly popular government, and, to do this, the right of suffrage must be extended to woman. The great object of all government is the higher development of its citizens. The government can not be an entire success until women have the same rights as men.

Mrs. Dr. MARY F. THOMAS, of Indiana, said: In behalf of the woman doctors of the State, I will say that Prof. Brown has stood up for their advancement for the last twenty-five years. A few years ago the women of Indiana petitioned for a local-option temperance law. To-day I believe that they demand a prohibitory law, and nothing short of that will satisfy them. I am in favor of woman suffrage. To secure to us this right we must work for it. What women can do when they try, was shown by the women's exhibit at the late State Fair. Public sentiment is increasing on our side, and we intend to show our power at the next Legislature.

Mrs. H. M. TRACY CUTLER said: Many of us have grown old in this work, and yet some people say, "Why do you still work in a hopeless cause?" The cause is not hopeless. Great reforms develop slowly, but truth will prevail, and the work that we have been doing for thirty years has paid as well as any work that has ever been done for humanity. The only hope of a nation's salvation from miserable demagogy lies in woman suffrage. With the advancement in education and civilization, I say to myself—the glory of the Lord is shining on women. With the advance in womanhood there will be an advance in manhood, and this will be one of the grand results of equal suffrage.

A long argument was then made by Hon. George W. Julian. After the Convention was called to order at the evening session, the Committee on Nominations[204] reported.

Miss MARY F. EASTMAN, of Massachusetts, spoke as follows: It has been said that the greatest study of mankind is man. I do not know but we shall all believe, before we get through the three days' session of this congress, that the greatest study of womankind is woman! Indeed, from being a good deal overlooked in various ways, she has come to be almost the topic of the age, and strangely enough is she considered. According to the standpoint of the observer, woman is a riddle to be solved, a conundrum to be guessed, a puzzle to be interpreted, a mystery to be explained, a problem to be studied, a paradox to be reconciled. She is a toy or a drudge, a mistress or a servant, a queen or a slave, as circumstances may decide. She is at once an irresponsible being, who must accept the destiny which comes to her with as little power of resistance as the thistle-down upon the wind, or the sea-weed which the tide leaves to bleach on the rocks or sucks back to engulf in its own unfathomed depth—or she is responsible for everything, from Adam's eating of the apple in Paradise to the financial confusion which agitates us to-day; the first because she coveted so much knowledge, the second because she wants so many clothes. I wish we could, as speedily as possible without a general crash, lay aside this nonsense (regardless of the great loss of sirens and angels, which really never seemed to me exactly adapted to earthly conditions), and learn to regard woman as simply a human being, plus the powers and gifts peculiar to her sex, just as man is a human being, plus the powers and gifts peculiar to his sex. Here is a common basis of likeness sufficient to give community of interests and pursuits, with a variation which makes them mutually attractive and serviceable, each recognizing in the other the complement of himself and herself....

Speeches were also delivered by Mrs. S. E. Franklin, Rev. Fred. A. Hinckley, and Mrs. J. Ellen Foster. The Rev. John Snyder, of St. Louis, the last speaker of the evening, although the hour was late, highly entertained the audience with an address on the rights of all humanity.

* * * * *

The Tenth Annual Meeting of the American Woman Suffrage Association was held at Cincinnati, November 4th and 5th, 1879. The hall had been tastefully decorated. Over the platform in large letters were inscribed, "Equal Work;" "Equal Wages;" "Welcome;" while around the entire hall ran evergreens in loops and circles. Elias Longley, the constant and true friend of suffrage for women, had taken charge of the advertising, and it was most effectively done. The newspapers showed good will in advance by pleasant local notices. Mrs. Margeret V. Longley, who has been a member of the American Association from the time it was organized, who is clear-eyed and true-hearted, took charge of arrangements for entertainment and hospitality. She was aided in this by Mrs. E. A. Latta, who has come later to the work, but who has brought her heart and conscience to it, and in her church and out of it she remembers the rights of women; Mrs. Morse, of Walnut Hills, and other ladies co-operated, so that as delegates arrived they were assigned to pleasant homes. At the appointed hour on Tuesday evening a full hall greeted the speakers. The Cincinnati Gazette said:

The first meeting of the American Woman Suffrage Association at the Melodeon Hall last evening, was one that would do credit to any cause. The large hall was nearly filled with people who would rank high in intelligence and good standing in this cultured community. And the fact that the larger portion were women meets the objection often made to this movement, that the women themselves are not in favor of suffrage for themselves.

Rev. W. C. WENDTE, the first speaker of the evening, said: Woman should not only be allowed a fair chance so far as business and the administration of an estate is concerned; every woman ought to have the ballot. Many will say, I believe woman ought to have the right to equal education, wages, carry on business, and choose any vocation she wants, but doubt after all whether it is best to put upon her the responsibility of the ballot. We have not a very exalted opinion of our right to vote, and this objection is often made with a kindly, honest, and earnest fear that she will drag herself down to the low filth of politics. Leave out the ballot, and woman's rights is like a pyramid without the apex, or, better still, like building a temple without the corner stone. I have no Utopian notions concerning the immediate effect of woman's voting. I do not think the millennium is coming when she can vote. But if women could vote it would not be possible for those disreputable shows on Vine street, the foulest and filthiest that ever disgraced a Christian city, to continue one day longer. They would be put down by the overwhelming power of moral sentiment of the mothers, sisters, wives, and sweethearts, expressed at the ballot-box; and the men who are now so derelict, careless and indolent, will be wakened up to some earnestness against those exhibitions.

I will say, in conclusion, that I most heartily welcome these women among us, some of whom, like Mrs. Lucy Stone, have labored long and faithfully. I would say that you may come up like Moses of old, and see the promised land, and unlike him, unless all signs fail, you shall enter and receive the just reward of all your toil. The time is coming when women will have the ballot. State after State is wheeling into the line. In Massachusetts they have the right of the ballot for school committee. Step by step they are climbing up, and soon the time will come when the American people will rise up in new-found manhood and say: "My sister, we will not ask you to receive the ballot from our hands as a condescending privilege, but will ask you to go forward and take it as your inalienable right."

Mrs. REBECCA N. HAZARD, of St. Louis, President of the Association, spoke as follows: As one after another the milestones are reached which mark the progress of our cause, we pause to examine the ground upon which we stand. If to our impatient vision in looking forward the journey seems long, we have only to look back to see how much of the way has been left behind. To those who have borne the burdens of this undertaking the work may appear to move slowly. But this is always the case where enduring principles are to be planted. "What the ancients said of the avenging gods, that they are shod with wool," says Lieber, "is true of great ideas in history. They approach softly. Great truths always dwell a long time in small minorities." Growing in unobserved places, they take root and become strong before their spreading branches attract the public gaze.

To many the pursuit of an abstract principle under so many difficulties seems an absurdity. They therefore impute motives more or less unworthy to those who are willing to immolate themselves for an idea. There are always at least two ways of looking at any question, and I have sometimes placed myself in the position of those who take an unfavorable view of woman suffrage, and who reason in this wise: "These women are discontented. They must have been unfortunate. They seek to overstep the limits which nature and circumstance have placed about them. Not content with the round of domestic duties which has hitherto constituted the sum total of woman's life, they seek to perform the functions which custom has allotted to man. They desire to be independent, self-sustaining—strong, while the more attractive ideal woman is fragile, clinging, dependent. Why should they desire to overturn the existing order of things? The world gets on pleasantly enough, why introduce these disquieting questions, when by patient acquiescence we might have tranquillity, and, perhaps, more of the pleasant things of life?" or as I once heard it formulated by a lady: "Why should Mrs. A. want to vote when she has such an indulgent husband." This is one view of the subject and there are times in the life of every woman when such reasoning has more or less weight.

But there is another side to this question, and how changed the picture. The whole scope and meaning of this wonderful woman's movement here dawns upon us. We find a new order of things indeed. We behold amid the changing dynasties of the world a new government arise—a republic based, not upon the will of the strongest, not upon property, but upon the rights of the individual. With a code of political ethics more perfect than any the world has yet seen, we find it still hesitating to put these principles to the test. As a consequence it struggles in the waves of political disorder like a ship without ballast. Recognizing as vital doctrines the equality of the race, and the value of the family as the political unit, we find the woman principle, the mother element, subdued, subjected, deprived of any fair expression in the conduct of the government. As a result we have corruption in high places, fraud, public distrust, and their host of accompanying evils. We find forces at work which threaten the security of our homes, the manhood of our sons, the purity of our daughters; in a word, the whole social structure of society. Reflecting on these things we begin to understand the meaning of the ballot for woman. Scrutinizing closely, we find that it means justice, integrity, peace, purity, temperance, sweeter manners, wiser laws.

Lucy Stone made the next and last speech of the evening, on "The Meaning of the Woman Suffrage Movement, the What and the How."

The session of Wednesday morning was devoted to business, the election of officers,[205] and hearing of reports of the auxiliary societies. At the afternoon session, Dr. Mary F. Thomas, of Indiana, Dr. Hannah Tracy Cutler, of Illinois, Rev. Thomas J. Vater, of Ohio, and Rev. Sarah M. Perkins, of Vermont, made earnest and able addresses. Mrs. Perkins had come fresh from the Women's Christian Temperance Union in Indianapolis, baptized with its earnest spirit of work. Rev. T. J. Vater appealed to the women to strive for solid excellence, leaving forever the tinsel and the show which have been held as appropriate to woman. His speech excited discussion, and added much interest to the afternoon session. The Business Committee reported the following resolutions:

Resolved, That in the death of Wm. Lloyd Garrison, who signed the "Call" for the meeting which formed this Association, who was an officer in it from the beginning, and its President last year, the cause of equal rights has suffered an irreparable loss.

Resolved, That suffragists everywhere owe a debt of gratitude to the memory of Angelina Grimke Weld, lately deceased, who as one of the first women speakers, prepared the way and opened wide the door for all other women to be heard in their own defense.

Dr. Mary F. Thomas and Lucy Stone spoke feelingly to these resolutions, which were adopted by a standing vote of the meeting. At the last evening, Mrs. Cutler read a letter from Mrs. Frances D. Gage.

Friends of the American Woman Suffrage Association, of my dear native State, Ohio:

WITH what joy and gladness I would lift my heart to the All-good, All-true, and All-beautiful, if I could be with you to-day, and speak my emphatic yes and amen in the behalf of all true efforts for woman suffrage. But what word can I speak that will not be better spoken? What argument is not already familiar to the reading and thinking mind? Are not "the truths as self-evident" to-day to the intelligent public as they were a century ago? That all people, "not men only," are born equal and endowed by the Creator with inalienable rights, among which are those to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Has the human race ever been made more miserable for one progressive step toward liberty since the days when Christ was hung upon the cross for daring to say, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you do ye the same unto them." What else does woman suffrage mean? What else is needed but this principle to settle the vexed question of "Solid North" or "Solid South"? What else but its recognition to drive every liquor-saloon from the land, making temperance universal? What but this to bring about the great system of social morality—making it as heinous a crime for man to do wrong as for woman....

FRANCIS D. GAGE.

Bunker Hill, McCoupin Co., Ill., Oct. 23, 1879.

Mrs. Cutler continued in a pertinent speech. Miss Hindman followed with an able argument to show why and where women need the ballot. Mrs. E. Dickerson, of St. Louis, Dr. Wilson, of Cincinnati, and Lucy Stone followed. Each of these in their special way showed how to secure justice to women. Mrs. Dickerson answered objections, and put phases of the law as applied to women in fine contrast with the law as applied to men. Dr. Wilson, in a wide-awake lively speech, advised women to try a new method, and starve out the men who would not concede their rights. He said, "Give them no coffee for breakfast, nor steak for dinner, and nothing good for supper until they put the ballot in your hands." He gave deserved blame to women for not being more active in their own behalf. This breezy speech was often applauded, and good-natured criticism followed, putting the heaviest duty on the shoulders of men who have the power to free women, but still do not do it. The last speech of the evening was made by Lucy Stone, who showed the dreary helplessness implied in disfranchisement, and who sought to arouse women to a proper resentment against such degradation of position. Then was sung, "Praise God, from whom all blessings flow," and thus closed the tenth annual meeting of the American Woman Suffrage Association.

* * * * *

The Eleventh Annual Meeting of the American Woman Suffrage Association held its sessions in 1880 at Washington, D. C. Delegates were present from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, and Iowa. A large and intelligent audience nearly filled the body and galleries of the large hall. The meeting was called to order by the President, HENRY B. BLACKWELL, who said: Fellow-citizens, Ladies and Gentlemen: The Annual Meeting of the American Woman Suffrage Association is not a mere mass meeting of individuals. It is a body of delegates from State and local societies assembled in a representative capacity, and as such I welcome you to-night. We meet for the first time in this capital city of the republic, to promote a great social and political change. We propose to substitute for the existing political aristocracy of men alone, a government founded upon the united suffrages of men and women. We urge the enfranchisement of women, not in a spirit of antagonism between man and woman, but as the common interest of both. We urge the enfranchisement of woman as an act of political justice, and also as a measure of the highest expediency. Women need the ballot for their own protection and self-respect. Men equally need the votes of women as an added power for order, temperance, purity, and peace.

Mr. BLACKWELL read a dispatch from Gov. Hoyt, of Wyoming Territory:

GREEN RIVER, W. T., Dec. 15, 1880.

To the Committee on Woman Suffrage:—Your kind invitation was delayed, so that my acceptance is impossible. Understand, however, that I fully recognize the justice of the cause you represent, and wish you and your co-laborers God-speed in the great work of its furtherance.

JOHN W. HOYT.

Mrs. LUCY STONE was the last speaker. She spoke with a quiet earnestness that showed the depth of her convictions, and how greatly her heart was in her work. Her address was an entirely argumentative one, abundant illustrations being used to clinch her statements. She said that she felt keenly the degradation of being disfranchised. To bring about a change in the present state of affairs, she would have every mother impress upon her children, when they were as young as nine years of age, that women have as much right to govern as their fathers; then the boys would grow up on the side of their mothers and the girls would become advocates of the cause. Personally she cared more for woman suffrage than anything else under the sun. In conclusion, she urged the people of Washington to help them in obtaining from Congress a XVI. Amendment to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote, and for the enactment of a law giving women suffrage in the Territories.

The following letter was read:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 1880.

MY DEAR MRS. HOWE:—My time is to be so crowded with occupations for the next ten days that I must decline your courteous invitation to speak at the annual meeting of the American Woman Suffrage Association.

I shall be very glad to take some fitting opportunity publicly to reaffirm my conviction, which grows stronger with every year's experience, that the admission of woman to her full and equal share in the Government is essential to a perfect republic.

I am, yours very truly, GEO. F. HOAR.

Letters were read from W. G. Elliot, President of the University of Missouri, Lorepiza Haynes, Frances D. Gage, Emma C. Bascom, Mrs. Mary F. Henderson, and George B. Loring.

Mrs. HELEN M. GOUGAR, of Lafayette, Ind., read a carefully prepared statement of objections, and answered them with force and spirit. Her address was happily conceived and gracefully delivered. Her voice is a clear soprano, distinct, well modulated, with not a little melody in its pure, soft tones.

Miss EASTMAN read a form of memorial which had been prepared to be presented to Congress to-day. It was adopted.

Miss GREW moved that the President of the association be requested to take steps to present it at once. Adopted.

To the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled:—The American Woman Suffrage Association at its annual meeting of delegates, convened in Washington, Dec. 16, 1880, respectfully pray your honorable bodies to enact a law securing to women, citizens of the United States, resident in the Territories, the same political rights as are exercised by the male citizens of the United States resident therein.

(Signed) H. B. BLACKWELL, President. LUCY STONE, Chairman Ex. Com. MATILDA HINDMAN, Secretary.

(The names of the Executive Committee, thirty in number, were also added).

Mrs. LUCY STONE, chairman of the Executive Committee, read the tenth annual report of the American Woman Suffrage Association. After which reports from the different States were given. At the afternoon session, after a statement by Mrs. STONE, in regard to the finances of the meeting, an invitation was extended to become members of the Association by the payment of $1. Mrs. Antoinette Brown Blackwell, of Somerville, N. J., made an address upon the right and necessity of granting woman suffrage. Mrs. Blackwell read from her manuscript, and made a quiet but effective appeal for the cause.

Miss MARY GREW, of Pennsylvania, was the next speaker. She maintained that the chief reason women were disfranchised was that men did not think about it, and the women did not either. She urged her hearers hereafter to think about it. This right should be conferred on women in accordance with the principles of this Government. But it is asked: What do you want of the ballot? And the speaker said that she wanted it to do with it the same as men did, and for the protection of her rights and those of other women. She could not say how women would vote if they got the ballot, but she supposed they would use it much as other citizens had done.

At the evening session, before the regular programme of speeches was begun, the resolutions[206] were read and adopted.

As the last resolution was put, Mrs. Lucy Stone arose and paid very graceful and eloquent tributes to the memories of Lucretia Mott, Mrs. Child, and Mr. Nathaniel White.

Marshal DOUGLASS was then introduced, and said he was not there to make a speech, but to show his sympathy with the cause. He was so entirely in love with it that he thought it deserved the highest eloquence and the profoundest earnestness it could command to advance it. He knew of no reason why a man should vote and a woman not. The republic needed the good qualities of its citizens to help it, and recognizing the intelligence and heart of women he was in favor of opening every avenue by which their moral worth could be utilized for the benefit of the country. It was an injury to keep any person in this country from the ballot when suffrage was universal. It was a degradation. If you want to keep a man out of the mud, black his boots. If you want to develop woman's best qualities, give her the ballot.

Mrs. MARY E. HAGGART, of Indiana, followed with a bold and brilliant argument, presenting the claims of her sex to the ballot.

Mrs. MARY A. LIVERMORE asked how it was that women to-day are exposed to a hotter fire than ever before. Women are not as much toasted at banquets or flattered with extravagant compliments as a few years ago. She warned her hearers that if woman continued to make of herself a peg to hang millinery goods on, she would be riddled with the shafts of ridicule. If she entered the sphere of man, and sought, by the cultivation of her intellect, to elevate both herself and man, she would equally expose herself to satire. The times were different now from the past. The question of woman suffrage in one form or another was constantly coming up everywhere.

Officers[207] were elected for the ensuing year.

Mrs. LIVERMORE said, as this was a political meeting of men and women, she hoped it would be closed after the usual fashion, by singing the doxology. The whole audience rose and sang it, and the Convention adjourned.

A memorial, signed by the officers of the American Woman Suffrage Association, asking Congress to establish suffrage for women in the Territories, was presented to the Senate by Hon. George F. Hoar, and referred to the Committee on Territories, which was to give a hearing to a committee from the Suffrage Association. But no quorum of the Senate Committee came together, and the opportunity was lost.

On Friday afternoon Mrs. Hayes received the members of the Suffrage Association with a cordiality and grace most becoming to her, and most delightful to us; our hearty sympathy with her good stand for temperance opened the way for conversation, and a very pleasant two hours were spent at the White House. Mrs. Hayes took us through the large conservatories, which, she said, had few flowers, as she "had most of them cut off for the Children's Hospital Fair." But there were a great many rare and beautiful flowers remaining. She cut and distributed some among us, and showed us the private family rooms, the new china ordered for the White House, and the writing desk made from the wreck of the ship that went in search of Sir John Franklin, which was presented by Queen Victoria to the President of the United States. In numberless ways she showed herself a fine hostess, as well as an accomplished lady. When at last we separated it was to carry away the memory of this pleasant visit, and of an excellent meeting.

* * * * *

Nothing could have been finer than the reception given by Louisville to the American Woman Suffrage Association, which met in that city October, 1881. The need of extending the outposts, and of winning new friends to the cause, had decided the executive committee of the Association to hold its Twelfth Annual Meeting in Louisville. It was an experiment which the result more than justified. Success was due in a great degree to the fairness and friendliness of the press. Mr. Watterson, of the Courier-Journal, said in advance that his paper would give full and accurate reports. Mr. Clark, of the Commercial, personally expressed his purpose to deal justly by the proceedings of the meetings. This was all that was needed. Any true statement of the claim of suffragists is sure to command the respect of right minded people.

The first session was for business. It was thinly attended by the citizens of Louisville, there being not more than a hundred and fifty or two hundred people present. But each succeeding session increased in numbers until on the last evening, the Grand Opera House had not seats to hold the great and sympathetic audience, which completely filled the body and galleries of the house, and left rows of men and women standing all around against the walls. The Courier-Journal gave nine columns of verbatim report of the first day and evening, together with philosophic and friendly editorials. The Commercial, not so large in size, and hence with less space to use, yet did editorially and by its reports excellent service, by giving to its readers a true idea of the work which was sought to be done.

Delegates had come with encouraging reports in most cases, of the work in twelve States by auxiliary societies. Local societies in towns sent letters, and letters from individuals—a very large number—came to hand, all showing how widely woman suffrage ideas are spreading, and how earnestly its advocates strive to advance their cause. All these reports the Louisville Courier-Journal published entire, together with the letters of Gov. Long, Gov. St. John, John G. Whittier, Wendell Phillips, President Bascom, President Eliot, and others, along with full reports of each session to the last, and crowned the whole by friendly editorials the morning after the close of the meetings.

Col. J. W. Ward, of Louisville, had kindly attended to preliminary arrangements, seconded by Mrs. Sylvia Goddard and Mrs. Col. Carr. At the opening session, Col. Ward called the meeting to order, and introduced Dr. Mary F. Thomas, of Indiana, the President of the association. Rev. Mr. Jones opened the meeting with prayer. The speaking was excellent; the tone of the meeting just what we should desire. Col. Ward, Mrs. Mary B. Clay, and Miss Laura Clay, daughters of Cassius M. Clay, took part. The two first-named arraigned the laws of Kentucky for their injustice to women. The old Common Law to a great extent prevails there still. Dr. T. S. Bell, one of the oldest and most justly celebrated physicians of Louisville, sat on the platform, supporting the cause by his presence. People from New Albany and Evansville, Indiana, crossed the river to attend the sessions. Lawyers, physicians, clergymen, the educated, the wealthy and the plain people made up the audiences which crowded the Opera House, where the earlier and the later advocates of this sacred cause united to forward it in this new field. At the last of the six sessions, Rev. Mr. Ashill, in a brief speech, indorsed our principles, and after prayer by Rev. Mr. Fyler, and the singing of the doxology, the meeting, which had been one of the most successful ever held, adjourned, having elected for its president next year, Hon. Erasmus M. Correll, of Nebraska, who so nobly championed the suffrage amendment in the State Legislature last winter, and who now, by speech and pen, devotes himself to secure its final success.

The seed sown had fallen on good ground—as appears in the fact that at the last session an invitation was given to all who desired to form a woman suffrage society to meet in adjoining rooms the next morning at nine o'clock. At the appointed time, a fine group of men and women came together, who proceeded at once to the organization of a "Kentucky Woman Suffrage Society." A constitution was adopted, which was subscribed to by every person present, with a dollar membership. Miss Mary B. Clay was chosen president, and the society made auxiliary to the American Woman Suffrage Association. The formation of this strong and live society is of great value, as the organized beginning of the movement at the South.

The citizens and public institutions of Louisville extended unsolicited courtesy to the members of the association, who were officially invited to the Home for the Widows and Orphans of Masons, the only home of the kind in the United States; to the House of Refuge; to the Hospital for Women and Children; and to the High School. Not the least pleasant thing was an interview with Henry Watterson, the morning after the close of the meetings. His friendly attitude, his comprehensive view of the whole situation and question, with his position of large influence as editor of the Courier-Journal, made even those who have grown old in the service of this cause hopeful of living to see it victorious. Another mile stone is passed, and the end of this long bloodless strife comes daily nearer. Let us thank God and take courage.

FOOTNOTES:

[179] The history of this Association from its formation is compiled by Harriot E. Stanton, from reports in The Agitator and Woman's Journal.

[180] Mrs. Mary A. Livermore, of Chicago; Mrs. Caroline M. Severance, of Boston; A. J. Boyer, of Dayton; Mrs. H. T. Hazard, of Missouri; Mrs. C. G. Ames, of California; and H. B. Blackwell, of New Jersey.

[181] Mrs. Frances D. Gage, of N. J.; George W. Curtis, of N. Y.; George F. Downing, of the District of Columbia; Rev. Henry Blanchard, of Indianapolis; William Lloyd Garrison, of Boston; Mattie M. Griffith, of Iowa; Rev. R. Fisk, Canton, N. Y.; A. N. Fretz, of Virginia; Rev. Edward Eggleston, of Chicago; Hon. Sharon Tyndale, and Hon. George Fisher, of Illinois.

[182] New Hampshire—Nathaniel White, Armenia S. White, Miss Dr. Hunt, of Concord; Miss H. A. Simons, of Manchester. Massachusetts—Julia Ward Howe, Rev. Rowland Connor, Boston; Mrs. Caroline M. Severance, T. C. Severance, West Newton; Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, Reading; Stephen S. Foster, Worcester; Rev. A. Bronson Olcott, Concord; Miss Ellen E. Miles, Waltham; F. B. Sanborn, Springfield. Rhode Island—Col. T. W. Higginson, Newport. New York—Mrs. Celia Burleigh, Mrs. Anna C. Field, A. E. Bradley, Miss Mary Hillard, Mrs. A. E. Bradley, N. Y. City; Mrs. Jennie F. Culver, Syracuse; Ira E. Davenport, Buffalo. New Jersey—Mrs. Lucy Stone, Henry B. Blackwell, Newark; Mary F. Davis, Andrew Jackson Davis, Orange; Antoinette Brown Blackwell, Somerville; John Gage, Portia Gage, Vineland. Pennsylvania—John K. Wildman and Mrs. Charles Pierce, Philadelphia. Delaware—Dr. John Cameron, Isabella H. Cameron, and Samuel D. Forbes, Wilmington. Ohio—Dr. Hannah M. Tracy Cutler, Mrs. D. R. Tilden, Miss Edwards, Mrs. Dr. Merrick, Mrs. H. H. Little, Miss Deane, Cleveland; Mrs. M. V. Longley, Miss Helen J. Wolfe, Cincinnati; A. J. Boyer, Dayton; Mrs. M. M. Cole, Sydney; Jane O. DeForest, Findlay; Rev. H. J. McConnel, Yellow Springs; Mrs. Joshua R. Giddings, Ashtabula; Mrs. Esther Walters, Oberlin; Mrs. Lucinda Poole, Brownville; Rev. G. S. Abbott, Willoughby; Mrs. Jennie R. M. Eagleson, Cadiz; Mrs. Mercy B. Lane, Braceville; Mrs. C. T. Crain, J. J. Belville, Dayton; Mrs. E. D. Stewart, Springfield; Mrs. Lyon Jefferson. Indiana—Amanda M. Way, Rev. Charles H. Marshall, Mrs. Emi Swank, Indianapolis; J. T. Sage, Danville; Miss Lizzie M. Boynton, Crawfordsville; Dr. Alice B. Stockham, Lafayette; Nettie M. Pease, New Albany. Illinois—Myra Bradwell, Hon. James B. Bradwell, Mrs. E. J. Loomis, Mary A. Livermore, Chicago; Rev. J. B. Harrison, Bloomington; Mrs. A. Steward, Plano; Mrs. M. S. Severance, Dixon. Michigan—Rev. Dr. J. B. Stone, Mrs. L. H. Stone, W. S. Blakeman, Mrs. D. C. Blakeman, Kalamazoo; Giles B. Stebbins, Catharine A. F. Stebbins, Mrs. Dr. S. L. Jones, Mrs. Booth, Detroit; Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Sanford, Ann Arbor. Wisconsin—Lillie Peckham, Julia Ford, Milwaukee; E. L. Cassels, Lone Rock; Harriet Leland, Elkhorn. Minnesota—Mrs. Addie L. Ballou. Iowa—Capt. Judson N. Cross, Lyons. Missouri—Mrs. W. S. Hazard, Mrs. Ida S. Fialla, Miss Ellen Palmer, St. Louis. Florida—Henry S. Campbell, St. Augustine. Kansas—Gov. J. P. Root, Lawrence. California—Mrs. C. G. Ames and Mrs. Jennie B. Ritter.

[183] From Ohio—Dr. Hannah M. Tracy Cutler, Chairman. Florida—Henry T. Campbell. Indiana—Amanda M. Way. Illinois—Mary A. Livermore. Massachusetts—F. W. Sanborn. Rhode Island—Colonel T. W. Higginson. New York—Celia Burleigh. New Jersey—Henry B. Blackwell. Pennsylvania—Mrs. C. Pierce. Michigan—Rev. Dr. Stone. Wisconsin—Lilie Peckham. Minnesota—Addie L. Ballou. Missouri—Mrs. W. T. Hazard. California—Mrs. C. G. Ames. New Hampshire—Mrs. A. White. Delaware—Dr. John Cameron.

[184] President—Thomas Wentworth Higginson, of Rhode Island.

Secretaries—Mrs. Myra Bradwell, of Illinois; Mrs. Mary F. Davis, of New York.

Vice-President—Hon. Nathaniel White, of New Hampshire; Mrs. Caroline M. Severance, of Massachusetts; Mrs. Annie C. Field, of New York; Rev. Antoinette Brown Blackwell, of New Jersey; John K. Wildman, of Pennsylvania; Dr. John Cameron, of Delaware; Rev. Charles H. Marshall, of Indiana; Hon. James B. Bradwell, of Illinois; Rev. H. K. McConnell, of Ohio; Mrs. Addie L. Ballou, of Minnesota; Miss Lilie Peckham, of Wisconsin; Dr. L. H. Jones, of Michigan; Mrs. Ida Fialla, of Mississippi; Mrs. Ritter, of California; Captain Judson F. Cross, of Iowa; Mrs. Henry F. Campbell, of Florida.

Treasurer—William N. Hudson, of the Cleveland Leader.

[185] The discussions were participated in by Rev. Antoinette Brown Blackwell, A. Bronson Alcott, Messrs. Bellville, Foster, Gage, Blackwell, Marshall, Connor, McConnell, Mesdames Ames, Howe, Livermore, Cutler, Stone, and Hanaford.

[186] Rev. James Freeman Clarke, Rev. Oscar Clute, Mrs. and Miss Beecher, Lucy Stone, Henry B. Blackwell, Julia Ward Howe, T. W. Higginson, Mary A. Livermore, Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, Celia Burleigh, Antoinette B. Blackwell, Miriam M. Cole, Margaret V. Longley, Elizabeth K. Churchill, Margaret Campbell, Mrs. Oscar Clute, Agnes Kemp, Mary F. Davis, Andrew Jackson Davis, G. B. Stebbins, H. M. Tracy Cutler, Oliver Johnson, A. J. Boyer, Aaron M. Powell, Hon. George W. Julian, "Grace Greenwood," and others.

[187] WHEREAS, the Democratic party, in the days of Jefferson, abolished the political aristocracy of wealth and established "a white man's government;" and

WHEREAS, the Republicans have recently abolished the political aristocracy of race and established "manhood suffrage;" therefore

Resolved, That the progressive tendencies of the age demand the abolition of the political aristocracy of sex by a XVI. Amendment to the Federal Constitution, extending suffrage to women.

Resolved, That pending the adoption of the XVI. Amendment, we urge the friends of woman to work in their respective States for the establishment of this reform by State legislation, especially as the ratification of any Constitutional Amendment must finally depend upon the State Legislatures.

Resolved, That the American Woman Suffrage Association seeks a thorough organization of the friends of the cause throughout the country by the following method, viz.: A central organization (already existing), organized by delegates from State societies; they in turn being organized by delegates from local societies, and the whole originating in primary meetings of the friends of woman suffrage in every locality.

Resolved, That we remonstrate against the proposition now pending in the Senate of the United States to disfranchise the women of Utah, as a movement in aid of polygamy, against justice, and a flagrant violation of a vested right.

Resolved, That we congratulate the friends of woman suffrage upon the unexampled progress of the cause during the past year; upon the enfranchisement of women in Wyoming and Utah; upon the submission of the question in Vermont; upon its discussion in eleven State Legislatures, in numerous public meetings and in newspapers; upon the introduction of the XVI. Amendment in Congress; upon the extension of municipal suffrage to the women of Great Britain, and the passage of a bill to a second reading in Parliament removing all political disabilities on account of sex, and upon the rapid growth of public opinion in favor of woman's equality throughout the civilized world.

[188] Ohio—Mrs. M. V. Longley, Mrs. M. M. Cole, Mrs. J. O. De Forest, Mrs. R. A. S. Janney, Mrs. Mary Graham, Mrs. Harvey Sharpe, Mrs. Mary L. Strong, J. J. Belville, Mrs. H. M. Little, Miss Rebecca Rice, Mrs. Currier Brown, Mrs. Emmett, Mrs. Esther Wattles, Mrs. S. E. Newton, Mrs. E. Calt, Mary A. Currier, Olive C. Atkinson, Rebecca Ream, A. J. Boyer, Mrs. Hannah M. Clarke, Mrs. Agnes Cook; New York—Mrs. Celia Burleigh, Mrs. Rogers; Massachusetts—Margaret W. Campbell, Mrs. Hewitt, Lucy Stone, H. B. Blackwell; Rhode Island—T. W. Higginson; New Hampshire—Armenia S. White, Mrs. S. C. Pipher; New Jersey—Judge Whitehead, John Gage, Rev. Oscar Clute, Miss E. L. Bush; Missouri—Mrs. W. T. Hazard, Fanny Holy; Pennsylvania—John K. Wildman, Gulielma M. Jones, Dr. H. T. Child, Mrs. Ellen M. Child, Sarah Pearce, Miss M. W. Abbott, Mrs. E. S. Chapel, John Finlayson; Indiana—Mrs. Dr. Ellen B. Ferguson, Miss M. F. Burlingame, Miss Amanda M. Way; Michigan—Catharine A. F. Stebbins, Sarah C. Owen; Illinois—Hon. J. B. Bradwell, William D. Babbitt, Mrs. E. O. G. Willard, George M. Campbell; Delaware—S. D. Forbes, Mrs Forbes; Louisiana—Laura L. D. Jacobs; Nevada—Mary C. Hart. Total number of States represented, fourteen.

[189] 1. Resolved, That the ballot in government means power and freedom for all; that adult citizens in this republican country can not be free without it, or be properly clothed with the necessary means for their own protection; that woman needs this power and freedom, and therefore should be enfranchised.

2. Resolved, That the primary object of the American Woman Suffrage Association is to secure the ballot for woman, and its general object includes the establishment of her equality of rights in all directions.

3. Resolved, That the officers of this Association and of each of the auxiliary State Associations be requested to memorialize Congress for a XVI. Amendment to the Federal Constitution, prohibiting political distinction on account of sex. Also, that each State society be requested to memorialize its Legislature for a change in the organic law, so as to secure the extension of suffrage to women.

4. Resolved, That the ballot for woman means stability for the marriage relations, stability for the home, and stability for our republican form of government.

5. Resolved, That we recommend the appointment of a Committee of Conference, of like number with the one appointed by the Union Suffrage Association, with a view to the union of both organizations.

[190] 3. Resolved, That it is the duty of every woman to resent the cowardly indignity which classes educated, virtuous women as the political inferiors of the meanest and most degraded men; and that she should demand the ballot in order to help to make good laws and elect worthy representatives.

5. Resolved, That we recommend a concerted effort on the part of the woman suffragists to obtain from their respective Legislatures an act authorizing women to vote at the next Presidential election under the authority conferred by the first section of the second article of the Constitution of the United States.

6. Resolved, That we cordially approve of the effort to obtain suffrage for women in the District of Columbia, in Michigan, and elsewhere, under the provisions of the XIV. and XV. Amendments.

7. Resolved, That we urge upon Congress the passage of a XVI. Amendment, prohibiting political distinctions on account of sex, and also of a law conferring legal and political equality.

8. Resolved, That the claim of woman to participate in making the laws she is required to obey, and to equality of rights in all directions, has nothing to do with special social theories, and that the recent attempts in this city and elsewhere to associate the woman suffrage cause with the doctrines of free love, and to hold it responsible for the crimes and follies of individuals, is an outrage upon common sense and decency, and a slander upon the virtue and intelligence of the women of America.

[191] 8. Resolved, That the Executive Committee be instructed to address memorials in behalf of woman suffrage to Congress, and to the national conventions of every political party.

[192] Resolved, That suffrage means equality in the home, and therefore means greater constancy and greater permanency in marriage.

Resolved, That the agitation of the peace, temperance, and other reforms of the day is valuable as a means of creating a public sentiment in favor of woman suffrage, not only by convincing the men engaged in them of the necessity of co-operation at the ballot-box, but by educating woman to a sense of her obligation to avail herself of every power to secure their consummation.

Resolved, That the Executive Committee of the American Woman Suffrage Association be requested to appoint a deputation to address the Legislatures of the several States on the subject of woman suffrage, with the co-operation of the State societies.

[193] 3. WHEREAS women, as a class, have special interests to protect and special wrongs to remedy, and, as individuals, have peculiar feminine characteristics and developments in which they differ from man; therefore,

Resolved, That a government of men alone is neither republican nor representative, but is an aristocracy of sex inconsistent alike with the highest welfare of man, of woman, and of society.

4. And WHEREAS, The National Republican platform of 1872 affirms that the admission of woman to wider spheres of usefulness is viewed with satisfaction, and the honest demand of woman for additional rights should receive respectful consideration; and

WHEREAS, The Republicans have a large majority in both houses of Congress; therefore,

Resolved, That we call upon Congress to enact a law establishing impartial suffrage for all citizens irrespective of sex, in the District of Columbia and the Territories; also to declare woman eligible to all offices under Government, with equal pay for equal work: also to submit a XVI. Constitutional Amendment prohibiting political distinctions on account of sex.

5. Resolved, That we demand from the State Legislatures laws establishing equal suffrage for women in choosing electors of President and Vice-President of the United States, also in choosing municipal and State officers, in every case where the qualifications of voters are not restricted by the State Constitutions; also to amend the State Constitutions so as to establish equal rights for all.

6. And WHEREAS, many women have recently applied for registration as voters, and in some cases, have actually voted, and are now being prosecuted on the charge of having voted illegally; therefore,

Resolved, That we call upon the State and Federal courts to interpret all legal provisions that will admit of such a construction in favor of the equality of women.

8. Resolved, That the Executive Committee be instructed to address memorials to Congress, and State Legislatures, and National Conventions of every political party, in behalf of the legal and political equality of woman.

9. Resolved, That we rejoice at the recognition of the rights of woman in the National Republican platform, and at the explicit indorsement of woman suffrage by the Republican Convention of Massachusetts; we congratulate the Republican party upon having enlisted the heart and intellect and conscience of woman in its support, and we call upon the party, in this hour of victory, to consolidate its supremacy by establishing impartial suffrage for all citizens, irrespective of sex.

[194] President—Thos. Wentworth Higginson, R. I.

Vice-Presidents at Large—Julia Ward Howe, Hon. Henry Wilson, Mary A. Livermore, Wm. Lloyd Garrison, Mass.; Hannah M. Tracy Cutler, Ill.; Geo. Wm. Curtis, N. Y.; Mrs. M. T. Hazard, Missouri; Margaret V. Longley, Ohio.

Chairman of Executive Committee—Lucy Stone, Mass.

Foreign Corresponding Secretary—Kate N. Doggett, Ill.

Corresponding Secretary—Henry B. Blackwell, Mass.

Treasurer—John K. Wildman, Pa.

Recording Secretaries—Mary Grew, Pa.; Amanda Way, Kansas.

Vice Presidents Ex Officio—Mrs. Oliver Dennett, Me.; Armenia S. White, N. H.; Hon. C. W. Willard, Vt.; Jas. Freeman Clarke, Mass.; Elizabeth B. Chace, R. I.; Celia Burleigh, Conn.; Oliver Johnson, N. Y.; John Whitehead, N. J.; Passmore Williamson, Pa.; Mrs. Elizabeth Smith, Del.; Miriam M. Cole, Ohio; Mary F. Thomas, M.D., Ind.; Robert Collyer, Ill.; Augusta J. Chapin, Wis.; Stephen L. Brigham, Mich.; Mrs. A. Knight, Minn.; Mrs. Helen E. Starrett, Kansas; Amelia Bloomer, Iowa; Mrs. Beverly Allen, Mo.; Hon. Guy W. Wines, Tenn.; Seth Rogers, Fla.; Gen. Rufus Saxton, Oregon; Rev. Charles G. Ames, Cal.; Hon. John C. Underwood, Va.; Rufus Leighton, Wash. Ter.; A. K. P. Safford, Arizona; Sarah Jane Lippincott (Grace Greenwood), D. C.; Hon. D. K. Chamberlain, S. C.

Executive Committee Ex Officio—Mrs. T. B. Hussey, Me.; Hon. Nathaniel White, N. H.; Albert Clarke, Vt.; Margaret W. Campbell, Mass.; Mary F. Doyle, R. I.; Phebe A. Hanaford, Conn.; Anna C. Field, N. Y.; Mrs. C. C. Hussey, N. J.; Annie Shoemaker, Pa.; John Cameron, Del.; Mrs. Rebecca A. S. Janney, O.; Martha N. McKaye, Ind.; Myra Bradwell, Ill.; Mrs. Frank Leland, Wis.; Lucinda H. Stone, Mich.; Abby J. Spaulding, Minn.; Hon. Isaac H. Sturgeon, Mo.; John Ritchie, Kan.; Mrs Lizzie B. Read, Iowa; Rev. Charles G. Woodbury, Tenn.; Miss Lottie Rollin, S. C.; Fannie B. Ames, Cal.; Col. Edward Daniels, Va.; Mrs. Matilda G. Saxton, Oregon; Rev. Frederick Hinckley, D. C.; Mrs. C. I. H. Nichols, Cal.; Hon. John A. Campbell, Wyoming.

[195] Mrs. Howe was elected President.

[196] Resolved, That our thanks are due to the twenty-two United States Senators who, at the last session of Congress, voted and paired in favor of woman suffrage in the Territory of Pembina, and we rejoice at the submission of woman suffrage to the people by the Legislatures of Michigan and Iowa, as acts of enlightened statesmanship, which can not fail, whatever may be the immediate result, to hasten the day of woman's enfranchisement.

Resolved, That the recent indorsement of woman suffrage by the Methodist Convention of Michigan, by the Conferences of Iowa, and by various other religious bodies of these and other States, is evidence that the value of woman's work in the churches begins to be recognized, and in view of the fact that three-fourths of American church members are women, we cordially invite the aid of Christians of all denominations in securing woman's enfranchisement.

Resolved, That the recognition of the right of women to vote and hold office, by the Patrons of Husbandry in their Granges, by the Sovereigns of Industry in their Councils, and by the Good Templars in their Lodges, entitles us to regard these societies as practical auxiliaries of the woman suffrage movement.

Resolved, That we protest against the appropriation by Congress or by State Legislatures of one dollar of the public money, which is paid in part by women who are taxed without consent, for the purpose of celebrating the Centennial anniversary of a political independence in which women are not allowed to participate.

[197] President—Bishop Gilbert Haven, D.D.

[198] Among those on the platform were Bishop Gilbert Haven, Mrs. Lucy Stone, Miss Mary F. Eastman, Mrs. S. R. Hewitt, Mrs. Maria F. Walling, Thomas J. Lothrop, and H. B. Blackwell, of Mass.; Mrs. Rebecca Morse, Mrs. Margaret E. Winchester, Mrs. Halleck, Mrs. Frances D. Gage, Rev. Dr. Thompson, of New York; Mrs. Mary F. Davis, Rev. Antoinette Brown Blackwell, Mrs. Henrietta W. Johnson, of New Jersey; Mrs. Margaret V. Longley and Miss Jane O. De Forest, of Ohio; Mrs. Emma Malloy, of Indiana; Lelia E. Patridge and C. C. Burleigh, of Pa.; Mrs. Armenia S. White and Hon. Nathaniel White, of New Hampshire; Mrs. Frances E. W. Harper, of Md.; S. D. Forbes, of Delaware; and Charles Bradlaugh, of England.

[199] 1. The American Woman Suffrage Association, in its seventh annual meeting assembled, re-affirm the great self-evident principle of equal rights for women, and demand its practical application in the public and private life of the nation. We declare that women who obey laws should have a voice in their enactment; that women who pay taxes should have a voice in their expenditure. We protest against the subjection and disenfranchisement of woman as injurious to society, destructive of morals, corrupting to politics, and a reproach to civilization. We attribute the alarming increase of insults and personal outrages inflicted upon women to a public sentiment hostile to their individuality and equality of rights. We affirm that a Government of the people, by the people, for the people, must be a Government composed impartially of men and women, and that the co-operation of the sexes is essential alike to a happy home, a refined Society, a Christian Church, and a Republican State.

2. In view of the approaching Presidential election, in which a great party will struggle to retain possession of power, while all the elements of opposition are organizing for its overthrow, we urge our friends in each State to petition their Legislature for the enactment, next winter, of a law enabling women to vote in the Presidential election of 1876.

3. In view of the evident disintegration of parties, we rejoice at the steady growth of the new issue of woman suffrage, at its successful establishment in Wyoming and Utah, in England, Holland, Austria, and Sweden, and at the recent promise of the Republicans of Massachusetts, at their State Convention, that they "will support all measures regarding the promotion of equal rights for all American citizens, irrespective of sex."

And whereas, on the second day of July, 1776 (two days before the Declaration of Independence), the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, assembled at Burlington, extended suffrage to all inhabitants, men and women; therefore,

Resolved, That in commemoration of that notable event we hold a woman suffrage Centennial celebration at Burlington, N. J., on the 2d day of July, 1876, or at such other place as the Executive Committee may select.

Resolved, That heroic deeds done for justice and human rights deserve and should receive commemorative tribute from all those who love justice and respect human rights; that a Centennial celebration on the Fourth of July next, of the one-hundredth Anniversary of the Independence of the United States is in the highest degree proper, and is due to the brave dead who periled all they had to secure the right to govern themselves; nevertheless,

Resolved, That men who use their political and personal power to deprive women of their right to govern themselves, can not with consistency have any share in that Centennial celebration.

[200] President: Mrs. Mary A. Livermore.

[201] These facts are given in the chapter on New Jersey, Vol. I.

[202] Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Texas, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Colorado, California, Oregon, District of Columbia.

[203] WHEREAS, The United States Courts have affirmed that the regulation of suffrage belongs exclusively to the States, and that "women are citizens and, as such, may be made voters by appropriate State legislation;" and,

WHEREAS, A sixteenth amendment to the Federal constitution abolishing political distinctions on account of sex, although just and necessary, can be more easily obtained when several States have set the example; therefore,

3. Resolved, That we urge every existing State association to renewed effort upon the next and each following State Legislature; and in every State where no such association exists, we urge individual effort and the immediate formation of a State Society.

[204] President—Mrs. Rebecca N. Hazard, of Missouri.

[205] The President chosen for the ensuing year was Henry B. Blackwell.

[206] 1. Resolved, That we urge upon Congress the performance of three important duties in behalf of the women of America—

First, To enact a law giving women citizens of the United States, resident in the Territories, the same political rights as are exercised by the male citizens of the United States resident therein.

Second, To reform the laws affecting the rights of married women in the District of Columbia and the Territories.

Third, To submit to the States a constitutional amendment prohibiting political distinction on account of sex.

2. Resolved, That we advise our auxiliary State societies to petition their respective Legislatures to enact a law this winter conferring suffrage on women in Presidential elections under Section 2, Article 2, of the Federal Constitution.

WHEREAS, Since the last annual meeting of the Association, three eminent advocates of the claim of women for equal political rights have passed away—Lucretia Mott, Lydia Maria Child, and Nathaniel White—therefore,

3. Resolved, That the American Woman Suffrage Association records its grateful appreciation of their invaluable service and its sense of irreparable loss, now that the eloquent voice is silent, the ready pen dropped, and the generous hand is cold in death. In the wealth of their matured character and great achievement they have left us the permanent inspiration of a noble example.

[207] President, Dr. Mary F. Thomas, of Indiana.



APPENDIX.

CHAPTER XVI.

WOMAN'S PATRIOTISM IN THE WAR.

House of Representatives (46th Congress, 3d Session. Report No. 386).

ANNA ELLA CARROLL.

March 3, 1881.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House, and ordered to be printed.

Mr. Bragg, from the Committee on Military Affairs, submitted the following Report (to accompany bill H. R. 7,256):

The Committee on Military Affairs, to whom the memorial of Anna Ella Carroll was referred, asking national recognition and reward for services rendered the United States during the war between the States, after careful consideration of the same, submit the following:

In the autumn of 1861 the great question as to whether the Union could be saved, or whether it was hopelessly subverted, depended on the ability of the Government to open the Mississippi and deliver a fatal blow upon the resources of the Confederate power. The original plan was to reduce the formidable fortifications by descending this river, aided by the gun-boat fleet, then in preparation for that object.

President Lincoln had reserved to himself the special direction of this expedition, but before it was prepared to move he became convinced that the obstacles to be encountered were too grave and serious for the success which the exigencies of the crisis demanded, and the plan was then abandoned, and the armies diverted up the Tennessee River, and thence southward to the center of the Confederate power.

The evidence before this Committee completely establishes that Miss Anna Ella Carroll was the author of this change of plan, which involved a transfer of the National forces to their new base in North Mississippi and Alabama, in command of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad; that she devoted time and money in the autumn of 1861 to the investigation of its feasibility is established by the sworn testimony of L. D. Evans, Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, to the Military Committee of the United States Senate in the 42d Congress (see pp. 40, 41 of memorial); that after that investigation she submitted her plan in writing to the War Department at Washington, placing it in the hands of Thomas A. Scott, Assistant Secretary of War, as is confirmed by his statement (see p. 38 of memorial), also confirmed by the statement of Hon. B. F. Wade, Chairman of the Committee on the Conduct of the War, made to the same Committee (see p. 38), and of President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton (see p. 39 of memorial); also by Hon. O. H. Browning, of Illinois, Senator during the war, in confidential relations with President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton (see p. 39, memorial); also that of Hon. Elisha Whittlesey, Comptroller of the Treasury (see p. 41, memorial); also by Hon. Thomas H. Hicks, Governor of Maryland, and by Hon. Frederick Feckey's affidavit, Comptroller of the Public Works of Maryland (see p. 127 of memorial); by Hon. Reverdy Johnson (see pp. 26 and 41, memorial); Hon. George Vickers, United States Senator from Maryland (see p. 41, memorial); again by Hon. B. F. Wade (see p. 41, memorial); Hon. J. T. Headley (see p. 43, memorial); Rev. Dr. R. J. Breckinridge on services (see p. 47, memorial); Prof. Joseph Henry, Rev. Dr. Hodge, of Theological Seminary at Princeton (see p. 30, memorial); remarkable interviews and correspondence of Judge B. F. Wade (see pp. 23-26 of memorial).

That this campaign prevented the recognition of Southern independence by its fatal effects on the Confederate States is shown by letters from Hon. C. M. Clay (see pp. 40-43 of memorial), and by his letters from St. Petersburgh; also those of Mr. Adams and Mr. Dayton from London and Paris (see pp. 100-102 of memorial).

That the campaign defeated National bankruptcy, then imminent, and opened the way for the system of finance to defend the Federal cause, is shown by the debates of the period in both Houses of Congress (see utterances of Mr. Spalding, Mr. Diven, Mr. Thaddeus Stevens, Mr. Roscoe Conkling, Mr. John Sherman, Mr. Henry Wilson, Mr. Fessenden, Mr. Trumbull, Mr. Foster, Mr. Garrett Davis, Mr. John J. Crittendon, etc., found for convenient reference in appendix to memorial, pp. 47-59. Also therein the opinion of the English press as to why the Union could not be restored).

The condition of the struggle can best be realized as depicted by the leading statesmen in Congress previous to the execution of these military movements (see synopsis of debates from Congressional Globe, pp. 21, 22 of memorial).

The effect of this campaign upon the country and the anxiety to find out and reward the author are evidenced by the resolution of Mr. Roscoe Conkling, in the House of Representatives 24th of February, 1862 (see debates on the origin of the campaign, pp. 39-63 of memorial). But it was deemed prudent to make no public claim as to authorship while the war lasted (see Colonel Scott's view, p. 32 of memorial).

The wisdom of the plan was proven, not only by the absolute advantages which resulted, giving the mastery of the conflict to the National arms and evermore assuring their success even against the powers of all Europe should they have combined, but it was likewise proven by the failures to open the Mississippi or win any decided success on the plan first devised by the Government.

It is further conclusively shown that no plan, order, letter, telegram, or suggestion of the Tennessee River as the line of invasion has ever been produced, except in the paper submitted by Miss Carroll on the 30th of November, 1861, and her subsequent letters to the Government as the campaign progressed.

It is further shown to this Committee that the able and patriotic publications of memorialist, in pamphlets and newspapers, with her high social influence, not only largely contributed to the cause of the Union in her own State, Maryland (see Governor Hicks' letters, p. 27, memorial), but exerted a wide and salutary influence on all the Border States (see Howard's report, p. 33 and p. 75 of memorial).

These publications were used by the Government as war measures, and the debate in Congress shows that she was the first writer on the war powers of the Government (see p. 45 of memorial). Leading statesmen and jurists bore testimony to their value, including President Lincoln, Secretaries Chase, Stanton, Seward, Welles, Smith, Attorney-General Bates, Senators Browning, Doolittle, Collamer, Cowan, Reverdy Johnson, and Hicks, Hon. Horace Binney, Hon. Benjamin H. Brewster, Hon. William M. Meredith, Hon. Robert J. Walker, Hon. Charles O'Conor, Hon. Edwards Pierrepont, Hon. Edward Everett, Hon. Thomas Corwin, Hon. Francis Thomas, of Maryland, and many others found in memorial.

The Military Committee, through Senator Howard, in the Forty-first Congress, third session, document No. 337, unanimously reported that Miss Carroll did cause the change of the military expedition from the Mississippi to the Tennessee River, etc.; and the aforesaid Committee, in the Forty-second Congress, second session, document No. 167, as found in memorial, reported, through the Hon. Henry Wilson, the evidence and bill in support of this claim.

Again, in the Forty-fourth Congress, the Military Committee of the House favorably considered this claim, and General A. S. Williams was prepared to report, and being prevented by want of time, placed on record that this claim is incontestably established, and that the country owes to Miss Carroll a large and honest compensation, both in money and honors, for her services in the National crisis.

In view of all the facts, this Committee believe that the thanks of the nation are due Miss Carroll, and that they are fully justified in recommending that she be placed on the pension rolls of the Government, as a partial measure of recognition for her public service, and report herewith a bill for such purpose and recommend its passage.

Hon. E. M. Stanton came into the War Department, in 1862, pledged to execute the Tennessee campaign.

Statement from Hon. B. F. Wade, Chairman of the Committee on the Conduct of the War, April 4, 1876.

DEAR MISS CARROLL:—I had no part in getting up the committee; the first intimation to me was that I had been made the head of it. But I never shirked a public duty, and at once went to work to do all that was possible to save the country. We went fully into the examination of the several plans for military operations then known to the Government, and we saw plainly enough that the time it must take to execute any of them would make it fatal to the Union.

We were in the deepest despair, until just at this time Colonel Scott informed me that there was a plan already devised that if executed with secrecy would open the Tennessee and save the National cause. I went immediately to Mr. Lincoln and talked the whole matter over. He said he did not himself doubt that the plan was feasible, but said there was one difficulty in the way, that no military or naval man had any idea of such a movement, it being the work of a civilian, and none of them would believe it safe to make such an advance upon only a navigable river with no protection but a gun-boat fleet, and they would not want to take the risk. He said it was devised by Miss Carroll, and military men were extremely jealous of all outside interference. I plead earnestly with him, for I found there were influences in his Cabinet then averse to his taking the responsibility, and wanted everything done in deference to the views of McClellan and Halleck. I said to Mr. Lincoln, "You know we are now in the last extremity, and you have to choose between adopting and at once executing a plan that you believe to be the right one, and save the country, or defer to the opinions of military men in command, and lose the country." He finally decided he would take the initiative, but there was Mr. Bates, who had suggested the gun-boat fleet, and wanted to advance down the Mississippi, as originally designed, but after a little he came to see no result could be achieved on that mode of attack, and he united with us in favor of the change of expedition as you recommended.

After repeated talks with Mr. Stanton, I was entirely convinced that if placed at the head of the War Department he would have your plan executed vigorously, as he fully believed it was the only means of safety, as I did.

Mr. Lincoln, on my suggesting Stanton, asked me how the leading Republicans would take it—that Stanton was so fresh from the Buchanan Cabinet, and so many things said of him. I insisted he was our man withal, and brought him and Lincoln into communication, and Lincoln was entirely satisfied; but so soon as it got out, the doubters came to the front, Senators and Members called on me, I sent them to Stanton and told them to decide for themselves. The gun-boats were then nearly ready for the Mississippi expedition, and Mr. Lincoln agreed, as soon as they were, to start the Tennessee movement. It was determined that as soon as Mr. Stanton came in the Department, that Col. Scott should go out to the western armies and make ready for the campaign in pursuance of your plan, as he has testified before committees.

It was a great work to get the matter started; you have no idea of it. We almost fought for it. If ever there was a righteous claim on earth, you have one. I have often been sorry that, knowing all this, as I did then, I had not publicly declared you as the author. But we were fully alive to the importance of absolute secrecy. I trusted but few of our people; but to pacify the country, I announced from the Senate that the armies were about to move, and inaction was no longer to be tolerated, and Mr. Fessenden, head of the Finance Committee, who had been told of the proposed advance, also stated in the Senate that what would be achieved in a few more days would satisfy the country and astound the world.

As the expedition advanced, Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Stanton, and myself, frequently alluded to your extraordinary sagacity and unselfish patriotism, but all agreed that you should be recognized for your most noble service, and properly rewarded for the same. The last time I saw Mr. Stanton he was on his death-bed; he was then most earnest in his desire to have you come before Congress, as I told you soon after, and said if he lived he would see that justice was awarded you. This I have told you often since, and I believe the truth in this matter will finally prevail.

B. F. WADE.

FROM HON. ELISHA WHITTLESEY.

Found among his private papers, and transmitted to Miss Carroll in 1874.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE, } February 20, 1862. }

This will accompany copies of two letters written by Miss Anna Ella Carroll to the War Department.

Having informed me of the contents of the letters, I requested her to permit me to copy her duplicates. When she brought them to me she enjoined prudence in their use. They are very extraordinary papers as verified by the result. So far as I know or believe, our unparalleled victories on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers may be traced to her sagacious observations and intelligence. Her views were as broad and sagacious as the field to be occupied. In selecting the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers instead of the Mississippi, she set at naught the opinions of civilians, of military and naval men.

Justice should be done her patriotic discernment. She labors for her country and her whole country.

ELISHA WHITTLESEY.

LETTERS TO MISS CARROLL FROM HON. BENJAMIN F. WADE.

Hon. Benjamin F. Wade, who during the war was Chairman of the Committee on the Conduct of the War, and during the last period of his services, after the assassination of President Lincoln had elevated Andrew Johnson to the Presidency, was acting Vice-President and President of the Senate, was a friend of Miss Carroll. He addressed the following letter to her in 1869, just before the close of his last Congressional session:

WASHINGTON, March 1, 1869.

MISS CARROLL:—I can not take leave of my public life without expressing my deep sense of your services to the country during the whole period of our National troubles. Although a citizen of a State almost unanimously disloyal and deeply sympathizing with secession, especially the wealthy and aristocratic class of her people, to which you belonged, yet, in the midst of such surroundings, you emancipated your own slaves at a great sacrifice of personal interest, and with your powerful pen defended the cause of the Union and loyalty as ably and effectively as it has ever yet been defended.

From my position on the Committee on the Conduct of the War, I know that some of the most successful expeditions of the war were suggested by you, among which I might instance the expedition up the Tennessee River.

The powerful support you gave Governor Hicks during the darkest hour of your State's history, prompted him to take and maintain the stand he did, and thereby saved your State from secession and consequent ruin.

All those things, as well as your unremitted labors in the cause of reconstruction, I doubt not, are well known and remembered by the members of Congress at that period.

I also well know in what high estimation your services were held by President Lincoln: and I can not leave the subject without sincerely hoping that the Government may yet confer on you some token of acknowledgment for all these services and sacrifices.

Very sincerely, your friend, B. F. WADE.

On the 28th of February, 1873, three years after his leaving public life, Judge Wade addressed the following letter:

To the Chairman of the Military Committee of the United States Senate:

DEAR SIR:—I have been requested to make a brief statement of what I can recollect concerning the claim of Miss Carroll, now before Congress. From my position as Chairman of the Committee on the Conduct of the War, it came to my knowledge that the expedition that was preparing, under the special direction of President Lincoln, to descend the Mississippi River, was abandoned, and the Tennessee expedition was adopted by the Government in pursuance of information and a plan presented to the Secretary of War, I think the latter part of November, 1861, by Miss Carroll. A copy of this plan was put into my hands immediately after the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson. With the knowledge of its author I interrogated witnesses before the Committee to ascertain how far military men were cognizant of the fact. Subsequently President Lincoln informed me that the merit of this plan was due to Miss Carroll; that the transfer of the armies from Cairo and the northern part of Kentucky to the Memphis and Charleston Railroad was her conception, and was afterwards carried out generally, and very much in detail, according to her suggestions. Secretary Stanton also conversed with me on the matter, and fully recognized Miss Carroll's service to the Union in the organization of this campaign. Indeed, both Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Stanton, the latter only a few weeks before his death, expressed to me their high appreciation of this service, and all the other services she was enabled to render the country by her influence and ability as a writer, and they both expressed the wish that the Government would reward her liberally for the same, in which wish I most fully concur.

B. F. WADE.

We give extracts from letters written Miss Carroll by Judge Wade, after his retirement from public life:

JEFFERSON, OHIO, Sept. 9, 1874.

This Congress may be mean enough to refuse to remunerate you for your services, but thank heaven they can not deprive you of the honor and consciousness of having done greater and more efficient services for the country in the time of her greatest peril than any other person in the Republic, and a knowledge of this can not long be suppressed, though I do not underrate the mighty powers that may be arrayed against you.

B. F. WADE.

JEFFERSON, OHIO, Aug. 14, 1876.

I rejoice that you are to have the testimony in your case published by Congress, as I can not but believe that Congress, when they have the facts properly before them, will be shamed into doing you justice, though late.

I fully appreciate and deeply regret the injustice done you as though the case were my own. The country almost in her last extremity was saved by your sagacity and unremitted labor; indeed your services were so great that it is hard to make the world believe it. Many have been most generously rewarded for services having no more proportion to yours than a mole hill to a mountain—and that all this great work should be brought about by a woman is inconceivable to vulgar minds, but I hope and believe that justice will triumph at last.

B. F. WADE.

JEFFERSON, OHIO, Oct. 3, 1876.

The truth is, your services were so great that they can not be comprehended by the ordinary capacity of our public men, and then again your services were of such a character that they threw a shadow over the reputation of some of our would-be great men. No doubt great pains has been taken in the business of trying to defeat you; but it has been an article of faith with me that truth and justice must ultimately triumph.

Ever yours truly, B. F. WADE.

FROM REVERDY JOHNSON.

WESTMINSTER PALACE HOTEL, } LONDON, Nov. 29, 1875. }

MY DEAR MISS CARROLL:—I remember very well that you were the first to advise the campaign on the Tennessee River in November, 1861. This I have never heard doubted, and the great events which followed it demonstrate the value of your suggestions. That this will be recognized by the Government sooner or later I can not doubt....

Sincerely your friend, REVERDY JOHNSON.

FROM ORESTES H. BROWNSON.

QUINCY, ILL., Sept. 17, 1873.

MISS A. E. CARROLL:—During the progress of the war of the rebellion, from 1861 to 1865, I had frequent conversations with President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton in regard to the able and efficient part you had taken in behalf of the country, in all of which they expressed their admiration and gratitude for the patriotic and valuable services you had rendered the cause of the Union. In the hope that you would be adequately recompensed by Congress....

I am your obedient servant, O. H. BROWNSON.

LETTER OF HON. THOMAS A. SCOTT TO HON. JACOB M. HOWARD, Chairman of the Senate Military Committee upon Miss Carroll's claim for a pension after the close of the war:

HON. JACOB M. HOWARD, UNITED STATES SENATE:—On or about the 30th of November, 1861, Miss Carroll, as stated in her memorial, called on me as Assistant Secretary of War, and suggested the propriety of abandoning the expedition which was then preparing to descend the Mississippi River, and to adopt instead the Tennessee River, and handed me the plan of the campaign as appended to her memorial, which plan I submitted to the Secretary of War, and its general ideas were adopted. On my return from the South-west in 1862, I informed Miss Carroll, as she states in her memorial, that through the adoption of this plan, the country had been saved millions, and that it entitled her to the kind consideration of Congress.