We have been permitted to copy the following private letter from A.J. Grover to Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who is now at her home in Tenafly, N. J., busily at work with Miss Anthony and Mrs. Gage on the second volume of the "History of Woman Suffrage." The first volume should be on the center-table of every family in the land as a complete text-book on the woman suffrage question, which is to be one of the great issues, social and political, in the coming years. These three women have grown old and won their crowns of white hair in the cause of not only their sex, but of mankind:

CHICAGO, November 29, 1881.

MY DEAR FRIEND: You represent a movement of more importance to mankind than any that ever before claimed attention in the whole history of the race, viz.: the freedom of one-half of it. You have enforced this claim by half a century of heroic discussion—of persistent, unanswerable logic and appeal against the theory and practice of all nations, against all governments, codes and creeds. You proclaimed fifty years ago the novel doctrine that woman by nature is, and by law and usage should be, the absolute equal of man. A claim so self-evident should only have to be stated to be recognized by all civilized nations; and yet to this hour the highest civilization, equally with the lowest, is built on the slavery of woman. In the darkest corners of the earth and on the sunlit heights of civilization, the mothers of the race are by law, religion and custom doomed to degradation. And if the seal of their bondage is never to be broken, they themselves as well as the lords and masters they serve, are equally unconscious of the servitude. No religion, no civil government, has ever taught or recognized any other condition for woman than that of subjection. Against the accumulated precedents of all the ages, you and your noble coaedjutors have rebelled in the face of derision for fifty long, weary years. Was ever such sublime womanly heroism and self-sacrifice before known? Was ever such worth of culture, such wealth of womanhood, laid on the altar of country and humanity? And all this comparatively unrecognized and unrewarded. Where is the boasted chivalry of the English-speaking nations? It is a virtue we boast of, but do not possess. It never, in fact, had any real existence based on genuine respect for woman. It is a bitter sarcasm in the mouth of an American male citizen. A few men like Theodore Parker, Joshua R. Giddings, William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, Gerrit Smith, Samuel J. May and Parker Pillsbury have measurably redeemed this nation, recognizing your claim for woman as self-evidently just and righteous, and cooeperating with you in maintaining it. There are only a score or two of such men in a generation with sufficient chivalry or perception of justice to publicly claim for women the rights they themselves possess.

Science has demonstrated that men to be manly must be well born, must have noble mothers. How can a mother give birth to a noble soul while herself a slave? How can she impart a free spirit when her own is servile? A stream cannot rise higher than its fountain.

We have thought to bring about a high order of civilization by freeing our sons, while chaining our daughters, by sending sons to college and daughters to menial service for a mere pittance as wages, or selling them in marriage to the highest bidder—by robbing them on the very threshold of life of all noble ambition. By the degradation of our women we take from the inherited qualities of the race as much as is added by culture. We take from the metal before casting as much as we restore by polish afterwards, and thus we curse and stultify both sexes.

The law and religion of man can be no better than man himself. If religion, law, justice and social order are to improve, man must first be improved. Religion and law are effects, not causes. They are fruits, not the tree—the products of the human mind. If these are to be improved, mankind must first be improved. This will be impossible until freedom and culture shall become the inalienable rights of woman. It would be a thousand times better, if either must be a slave to the other, that man should be a slave to woman. The History of Woman Suffrage, on which you are engaged, if the second volume shall prove equal to the first, will be the richest legacy this age will bequeath to the future. It is a revelation from God, in which, if men believe, they shall be saved. Religion itself, without this great salvation, will continue to remain little else than "a wretched record of inspired crime" against woman. Woman must be free! Protection as an underling from man, savage or civilized, she in reality never had and never will have. Protection she does not want. What she needs is equal rights, when she can protect herself—rights of person, rights of labor, rights of property, rights of culture, rights of leisure, rights to participate in the making and administering of the laws. Give her equality in exchange for protection; give her her earnings in exchange for support; give her justice in exchange for charity. Let man trust woman as woman trusts man, with entire liberty of action, and she will show the world that liberty is her highest good.

In conclusion, let me confess that I read your first volume with a feeling of inexpressible shame and mortification for my sex.

Yours faithfully, A.J. GROVER.



Mrs. Boynton Harbert, to whom we are indebted for this chapter, has from girlhood been an enthusiastic advocate of the rights of women. Growing up in Crawfordsville, Indiana, under the very shadow of a collegiate institution into which girls were not permitted to enter, she early learned the humiliation of sex. After vain attempts to slip the bolts riveted with precedent and prejudice that barred the daughters of the State outside, she tried with pen and voice to rouse those whose stronger hands could open wide the doors to the justice of her appeals. Her youthful peaens to liberty in prose and verse early found their way into our Eastern journals, and later in arguments before conventions and legislative assemblies in Illinois, Iowa and other Western States. As editor for seven years of the "Woman's Kingdom" in the Chicago Inter-Ocean—one of the most popular journals in the nation—she has exerted a widespread influence over the lives of women, bringing new hope and ambition into many prairie homes. As editor-in-chief of the New Era, in which she is free to utter her deepest convictions; as wife and mother, with life's multiplied experiences, a wider outlook now opens before her, with added wisdom for the responsibilities involved in public life. In all her endeavors she has been nobly sustained by her husband, Mr. William Harbert, a successful lawyer, many years in practice in Chicago, whose clear judgment and generous sympathies have made his services invaluable in the reform movements of the day.

FOOTNOTES:

[351] Judge and Mrs. Catharine V. Waite, Mrs. Hannah M. Tracy Cutler, Amelia Bloomer, Dr. Ellen B. Ferguson, Mrs. E. O. G. Willard, the Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Harrison of Earlville; Professor and Mrs. D. L. Brooks, Mrs. M. E. De Geer, Mrs. Frances D. Gage.

[352] Mrs. Sunderland was one of the many New England girls who in the early days went West to teach. Speaking of the large number of women elected to the office of county superintendent (one of them her own daughter), she told me that thirty years ago when she arrived at the settlement where she had been engaged as teacher, the trustees being unable to make the "examination" deputed one of their number to take her to an adjoining county, where another New England girl was teaching. The excursion was made in a lumber wagon with an ox-team. All the ordinary questions asked and promptly answered, the trustee rather hesitatingly said, "Now, while you're about it, wouldn't you just as lief write out the certificate?" This was readily done, and the man affixing his cross thereto, triumphantly carried the applicant back to his district, announcing her duly qualified to teach; and that trio of unlettered men installed the cultivated New England girl in their log school-house, probably without the thought entering the heads of trustees or teacher, that woman, when better educated, should hold the superior position.—[S. B. A.

[353] Dr. Mary Safford, Mrs. A. M. Freeman, Hon. and Mrs. Sharon Tyndale, Hon. E. Haines, Fernando Jones, Jane Graham Jones, Professor Bailey, Mr. and Mrs. Ezra Prince, Mr. and Mrs. R. M. Fell, Mrs. Belle S. Candee, General J. M. Thompson, Mrs. Professor Noyes of Evanston, Charles B. Waite, Catharine V. Waite, Susan Bronson, E. S. Williams, Kate N. Doggett, C. B. Farwell, L. Z. Leiter, J. L. Pickard, Henry M. Smith, Frank Gilbert, Ann Telford, Mrs. L. C. Levanway, Myra Bradwell, Mary E. Haven, Mrs. A. L. Taylor, Elizabeth Eggleston, P. D. Livermore, James B. Bradwell, Joseph Haven, J. H. Bayliss, D. Blakely, R. E. Hoyt, C. D. Helmer, Alfred L. Sewell, George D. Willigton, H. Allen, R. N. Foster, W. W. Smith, M. B. Smith, Amos G. Throop, Robert Collyer, L. I. Colburn, G. Percy English, Arthur Edwards, A. Reed and Sons, S. M. Booth, Sumner Ellis, George B. Marsh, Sarah Marsh, Ruth Graham, John Nutt, J. W. Butler, Mrs. J. Butler, Mrs. S. A. Richards, Mrs. S. W. Roe, F. W. Hall, Mrs. Fanny Blake, Mary S. Waite, J. F. Temple, A. W. Kellogg, W. H. Thomson, J. W. Loomis, James E. Curtis, Elizabeth Johnston, E. F. Hurlbut, E. E. Pratt, Mrs. E. M. Warren, William Doggett, Edward Beecher, James P. Weston, E. R. Allen, J. E. Forrester, Mrs. J. F. Temple, Mrs. F. W. Adams, L. Walker, Mary A. Whitaker, Elvira W. Ruggles, W. W. Corbett, H. B. Norton, W. H. Davis, I. S. Dennis, G. T. Flanders, Mrs. H. B. Manford, Edward Eggleston, Sarah G. Cleveland, G. G. Lyon, E. Manford, William D. Babbitt, Elizabeth Holt Babbitt, I. S. Page, W. O. Carpenter, Mrs. W. O. Carpenter, Mrs. H. W. Cobb, T. D. Fitch, Harriet Fitch, Mary A. Livermore, T. W. Eddy, A. G. Brackett, Andrew Shuman, John A. Jameson, John V. Farwell, B. W. Raymond, E. G. Taylor, Mems Root and lady, Rev. John McLean, Mrs. Owen Lovejoy, Mrs. Noyes Kendall.

[354] The officers were: President, Mrs. M. Livermore; Vice-Presidents, the Rev. Dr. Goodspeed, Mrs. Helen M. Beveridge, Judge Bradwell, the Rev. Edward Beecher, the Rev. D. Eggleston, Miss Eliza Bowman, the Rev. Dr. Fowler, Mrs. Elizabeth Loomis, Mrs. M. Hawley, Mrs. M. Wheeler, Mrs. Myra Bradwell; Secretaries, Mrs. Jeanne Fowler Willing, of Rockford, Mrs. Elizabeth Babbitt, and George Graham, Esq.; Committee on Finance, Judge Bradwell, General Beveridge and the Hon. S. M. Booth. The speakers were Anna Dickinson, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Rev. Robert Collyer, Rev. Mr. Hammond, Rev. Robert Laird Collier, Kate N. Doggett, and many of the officers of the convention.

[355] For this speech see Vol. II., page 348.

[356] The officers of the convention were: President, Mary A. Livermore; Vice-Presidents, the Rev. Robert Collyer, Professor Haven; Recording Secretary, Jeanne Willing, of Rockford; Corresponding Secretary, Myra Bradwell; Executive Committee, Professor Haven, chairman; the Rev. Dr. Edward Beecher, Elizabeth J. Loomis, Hannah B. Manford, the Rev. E. Eggleston, the Rev. C. H. Fowler the Rev. E. J. Goodspeed, Rebecca Mott, Charlotte L. Levanway.

[357] The committee to visit Springfield were Hon. James B. Bradwell, Mrs. Myra Bradwell, Mrs. Kate N. Doggett, the Rev. E. Goodspeed, the Hon. C. B. Waite, and Mrs. Rebecca Mott.

[358] Indiana—Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, Dr. Mary Wilhite, Emma Mallory, and Amanda Way; Missouri—Rebecca N. Hazzard; Wisconsin—Lelia Peckham; Iowa—Mary Newbury Adams, Matilda Fletcher; Minnesota—Mrs. Bishop; Kansas—Mrs. Henry; Ohio—Margaret V. Longley; Michigan—Professor Stone; Massachusetts—Henry B. Blackwell, and Lucy Stone; New York—Susan B. Anthony, most of whom took part in the discussions.

[359] Letters were also received from Paulina Wright Davis, Frederick Douglass, Hon. Sharon Tyndale, Rev. D. H. N. Powers, Mrs. Arabella Mansfield, Rev. Willis Lord.

[360] The speakers were Mrs. Livermore, Mrs. Stone, Hon. Sharon Tyndale, Hon. E. Haines, and Judge Bradwell.

[361] One thousand three hundred and eighty women of Peoria also prayed that the constitution might not be so amended as to enfranchise women; another evidence of the demoralizing influence of any form of slavery upon the human mind. Had not these women been lacking in a proper self-respect they would not have protested against the right to govern themselves.—[E. C. S.

[362] Our limited space prevents the publication of Judge Waite's argument and Judge Jameson's decision.

[363] Jane Graham Jones and Elizabeth Loomis represented the Cook County Association. Delegates from several other districts were present. The speakers were A. J. Grover, Mrs. Jane Graham Jones, Miss Anthony, Mrs. Adelle Hazlett of Michigan, Dr. Ellen B. Furguson of Indiana, Mr. and Mrs. Fell, Mr. and Mrs. Prince.

[364] For Mrs. Bradwell's case see Vol. II., page 601.

[365] Those who have traveled and lectured through the West and spent many rainy Sundays in dreary hotels, know how to appreciate a few days rest in the delightful homes scattered over the country as well as in the towns and cities. How many of these memory recalls in the State of Illinois! What a hospitable reception we had in the cozy farm-house of Mrs. Owen Lovejoy at Princeton, and in the stately residence of Mrs. Noyes Kendall at La Moile, in the home of Judge Lawrence at Galesburg, Mrs. Judge Joslyn at Woodstock, Mrs. R.M. Patrick, Marengo; Mrs. A.W. Brayton, Mt. Morris; Mrs. Eldridge Norwood, Olney; Rev. Dr. Moffatt, Monticello; Col. E.B. Loop, Belvidere; Mrs. Judge Greer, Decatur; Mr. and Mrs. Prince, Bloomington; Col. and Mrs. Latham, Lincoln, and others too numerous to mention in all the Western States.—[S.B.A.

[366] At her beautiful home, 910 Prairie avenue, her social influence was even more than her public work. An unfriendly report in any journal was uniformly followed by an invitation to dinner to the editor or some one of his staff, to meet the lady criticised, or discuss the point of attack. Miss Emily Faithful, Mrs. Stanton, Miss Anthony and Miss Couzins have all in turn shared these dinners and discussions. If the Methodist Episcopal conference sent an opponent to preach in their church, and a little social attention did not convert him, two persons left the church. Neither Mrs. Jones nor her husband would listen to the Rev. Dr. Hatfield, for Fernando Jones was always as staunch an advocate of the suffrage for women as his wife, and had no faith in a religion that did not teach human equality.—[S. B. A.

[367] "Ducit Amor Patriae"; "1876."—Centennial Commemoration, Evanston, Ill. Music, prayer, music; recitation, Miss M. E. Brown; music, "Battle Hymn"; salutatory, "Woman and Philanthropy," Mrs. Elizabeth Boynton Harbert; "Historical Record of the Educational Work of Our Women," Mrs. Mary Bannister Willard; music, "Whittier's Hymn; recitation, Miss M. E. Brown; Missionary Roll of Honor, Miss Jessie Brown; oration, Rev. F. L. Chapell; benediction.

[368] Mary F. Haskin, Melinda Hamline, Caroline Bishop, Elizabeth M. Greenleaf, Harriet S. Kidder, Mary T. Willard, Mary I. K. Huse, Cornelia Lunt, Harriet N. Noyes, Maria Cook, Margaret P. Evans, Sarah I. Hurd, Annie H. Thornton, Abby L. Brown, and Virginia S. Kent.

[369] Prominent among these journalists were Margaret Buchanan Sullivan and Mrs. Annie Kerr of the Chicago Times, Mrs. Hubbard of the Tribune, Miss Farrand of the Advance, Virginia Fitzgerald and Alice Hobbins of the Inter-Ocean, Mrs. Myra Bradwell, editor of the Legal News, Mrs. Catharine V. Waite and Mrs. DeGeer of the Crusader, Mrs. Louisa White of the Moline Dispatch, Mrs. C. B. Bostwick of the Mattoon Gazette, Mrs. J. Oberly of the Cairo Bulletin, Miss Mary West of the Galesburg Republican, Mrs. Celia Wooley, Miss Eliza Bowman, Mrs. Clara Lyon Peters of the Watseka Times, Jane Grey Swisshelm, Elizabeth Holt Babbitt, and many others.

[370] The officers of the Illinois Social Science Association were: President, Mrs. Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, Evanston; Recording Secretary, Miss Sarah A. Richards, Chicago; Corresponding Secretary, Mrs. W. E. Clifford, Evanston; Treasurer, Mrs. H. H. Candee, Cairo; Directors, Mrs. Helen M. Beveredge, Evanston; Mrs. Frank Denman, Quincy; Mrs. C. A. Beck, Centralia; Mrs. R. McLoughrey, Joliet; Mrs. W. O. Carpenter, Chicago; Miss M. Fredricka Perry, Chicago; Vice-Presidents, First Congressional District, Mrs. Eliza R. Sunderland, Chicago; Second, Mrs. W. D. Babbitt, Chicago; Third, Mrs. Chas. E. Brown. Evanston; Fourth, Mrs. Carrie A. Potter, Rockford; Fifth, Mrs. F. A. W. Shimer, Mt. Carroll; Sixth, Mrs. Sarah C. McIntosh, Joliet; Thirteenth, Mrs. B. M. Prince, Bloomington; Fourteenth, Mrs. C. B. Bostwick, Mattoon; Sixteenth, Mrs. J. W. Seymour, Centralia; Nineteenth, Mrs. J. H. Oberly, Cairo.

[371] President, Mrs. Fernando Jones; Vice-Presidents, Mrs. Robert Collyer, Mrs. Richard Somers, Rev. C. D. Helmer; Corresponding-Secretary, Mrs. C. B. Waite; Recording-Secretary, Mrs. S. H. Pierce; Treasurer, Mrs. J. W. Loomis; Executive Committee, Mrs. Rebecca Mott, Mrs. H. W. Fuller, Mrs. Dr. C. D. R. Levanway, Fernando Jones, Miss Thayer, Rev. J. M. Reid, Mrs. Jno. Jones, Mrs. Wm. Coker, Dr. S. C. Blake.

[372] The officers of the Illinois State Association are now, 1885; President, Mrs. Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, Evanston; Vice-President-at-large, Mrs. M. E. Holmes, Galva; Secretary, Rev. Florence Kollock, Englewood; Treasurer, Dr. L. C. Bedell, 354 N. La Salle street, Chicago; Executive Committee, Hon. M. B. Castle, Sandwich: Mrs. E. J. Loomis, 2,939 Wabash avenue, Chicago; Mrs. Clara L. Peters, Watseka; Mrs. L. R. Wardner, Anna; Mrs. Julia Mills Dunn, Moline; Mrs. Helen E. Starrett, Lake Side Building, Chicago; Capt. W. S. Harbert, Evanston; Rev. C. C. Harrah, Galva.

[373] From time to time we have had for president, Mrs. Eunice G. Sayles, Mrs. Anna M. J. Dow, Mrs. Flora N. Candee, Mrs. Julia Mills Dunn, Mrs. Nettie H. Wheelock; for secretaries, Mrs. C. W. Heald, Mrs. Lucy Anderson, Mrs. Kate Anderson; among those who have been active members of the society from its formation are, Harriet B. G. Lester, Ida Peyton, L. F. M'Clennan, Catharine H. Calkins, Dr. Jane H. Miller, Margaret Osborne, Harriet M. Gillette, Laoti Gates, Mary F. Barnes, Mary Wright, M. M. Hubbard, Emma Jones, Mary A. Stewart, Kate S. Holt, Mary A. Stephens, Abbie A. Gould, Mrs. M'Cord, Lydia Wheelock, Mrs. E. P. Reynolds, J. A. Tallman, Ann Eliza Reator, Dr. S. E. Bailey, Dr. E. A. Taylor, Lucy Ainsworth, Jerome B. Wheelock, M. A. Young, Mary Knowles, M. E. Abbot, Lois Forward, Mrs. Young.

[374] Mrs. Clara Lyon Peters of Watseka, furnished the largest petition ever sent from Illinois; W. B. Wright of Greenview, Mrs. S. Eliza Lyon of Toulon, Mrs. Hannah J. Coffee of Orion, Mrs. Eva Edwards of Plymouth, Mrs. C. E. Larned of Champaign, Mrs. Barbara M. Prince of Bloomington, Mrs. F. B. Rowe of Freedom, Mrs. Jane Barnett, Mrs. E. H. Blacfan, and Mrs. E. T. Lippincott of Orion, Mrs. Julia Dunn of Moline, Mrs. Clara P. Bourland of Peoria, Sybilla Leek Browne of Odell, Mrs. Jacob Martin, Cairo, Mary E. Higbee, Kirkland Grove, Mary Thompson, LaSalle, Emily Z. Hall of Savoy, Elizabeth J. Loomis of Chicago, have all done worthy work in circulating petitions, both to congress and the State legislature.

[375] Mrs. Archibald is the daughter of Betsey Hawks, of Genesee county, N. Y. I well remember the brave-hearted mother in the early days of the movement, when in 1852 I made my first stammering speech in the town-hall at Batavia. She arranged the meeting, and entertained the speakers, and was indeed "the cause" in that conservative village.—[S. B. A.

[376] When at Durand, near Davis, in 1877, Mrs. Davis and her husband drove over, and at the close of my lecture, she gave me her maiden name and said, "Do you not remember me? I sat by your side and fairly pushed you up in that teachers' convention at Rochester, in 1853, when you made that first speech you told about; and I have been most earnestly hoping and working for the enfranchisement of women ever since."—[S.B.A.



CHAPTER XLIV.

MISSOURI.

Missouri the First State to Open Colleges of Law and Medicine to Woman—Liberal Legislation—Eight Causes for Divorce—Harriet Hosmer—Wayman Crow—Works of Art—Women in the War—Adeline Couzins—Virginia L. Minor—Petitions—Woman Suffrage Association, May 8, 1867—First Woman Suffrage Convention, Oct. 6, 1869—Able Resolutions by Francis Minor—Action Asked for in the Methodist Church—Constitutional Convention—Mrs. Hazard's Report—National Suffrage Association, 1879—Virginia L. Minor Before the Committee on Constitutional Amendments—Mrs. Minor Tries to Vote—Her Case in the Supreme Court—Miss Phoebe Couzins Graduated from the Law School, 1871—Reception by Members of the Bar—Speeches—Dr. Walker—Judge Krum—Hon. Albert Todd—Ex-Governor E. O. Stanard—Ex-Senator Henderson—Judge Reber—George M. Stewart—Mrs. Minor—Miss Couzins—Mrs. Annie R. Irvine—"Oregon Woman's Union."

It has often been a subject for speculation why it was that a slave State like Missouri should have been the first to open her medical and law schools to women, and why the suffrage movement from the beginning should there have enlisted so large a number of men[377] and women of wealth and position, who promptly took an active interest in the inauguration of the work. A little research into history shows that there must have been some liberal statesmen, some men endowed with wisdom and a sense of justice, who influenced the early legislation in Missouri.

By the constitution, imprisonment for debt is forbidden, except for fines and penalties imposed for violation of law. A homestead not exceeding $3,000 in value in cities of 40,000 inhabitants or more, and not exceeding $1,500 in smaller cities and in the country, is exempt from levy on execution. The real estate of a married woman is not liable for the debts of her husband. There are eight causes for divorce, so many doors of escape for unfortunate wives from the bondage of a joyless union.

The memory of the unjust treatment of Miss Hosmer will always be a reproach to Massachusetts. That she enjoyed the privileges of education in Missouri denied her in Massachusetts was due in no small measure to the generosity and public spirit of Wayman Crow. Speaking of the gifted sculptor, a correspondent says:

Harriet Hosmer was born in 1830. She studied sculpture in the studio of Mr. Stephenson, in Boston, and also with her father. In 1830, after being denied admission to anatomical lectures in Harvard and many other colleges at the East, she went to St. Louis, where, through the spirited determination of Wayman Crow, a most liberal benefactor of Washington University, she was admitted to the Missouri Medical College through the kindness and courtesy of Dr. Joseph N. McDowell, its founder and head. Here for a whole winter she pursued her studies under the instruction of Dr. McDowell and Dr. Louis T. Pim, the able demonstrator of anatomy of the college, who gave her the benefit of their constant and unremitting aid; also Dr. B. Gratz Moses and Dr. J. B. Johnson were particularly kind in inviting her to be present when important cases were before them. The names of these men are gratefully mentioned, now that the doors of hundreds of colleges have opened to women. While in St. Louis Miss Hosmer had a constant companion and friend in Miss Jane Peck, a lady well known in society circles, and together they daily attended at the college; indeed, Miss Peck informed the writer, that on no occasion did Miss Hosmer go to the college without her. So quietly was this done, it was not until the month of February that the students became aware of their attending, and when informed of it the entire class, numbering about one hundred and thirty, gave them a most cordial and hearty endorsement, and from that time on until the day of graduation they were treated by the young gentlemen with marked attention. The students were not aware of their attending in the earlier part of the course, because it had been the custom for the ladies to attend in the amphitheater after the class had left to go to the various hospitals. On one occasion while on their way to the college, a number of the students being behind them, they heard the gentlemen say to some men they met, "These ladies are under our charge, and if you offer them an insult we will shoot you down." They did not hear the language of the men, only the reply of the students. At the close of the session the students gave a ball and not only were Miss Hosmer and Miss Peck invited, but a carriage was specially sent to take them to it.

In March, 1869, Mrs. Stanton and Miss Anthony again visited St. Louis. In a letter to The Revolution the former said:

We went to the Mercantile Library to see Miss Hosmer's works of art, and there read the following letter to Wayman Crow, who had been a generous friend to her through all those early days of trial and disappointment. One of the best of her productions is an admirable bust of her noble benefactor:

BOSTON, October 18, 1857.

DEAR MR. CROW: Will you allow me to convey through you to the Mercantile Library Association "The Beatrice Cenci." This statue is in execution of a commission I received three years ago from a friend who requested me not only to make a piece of statuary for that institution, but to present it in my own name. I have finished the work, but cannot offer it as my own gift—but of one who, with a most liberal hand, has largely ministered to the growth of the arts and sciences in your beautiful city. For your sake, and for mine, I would have made a better statue if I could. The will was not wanting, but the power—but such as it is, I rejoice sincerely that it is destined for St. Louis, a city I love, not only because it was there I first began my studies, but because of the many generous and indulgent friends who dwell therein—of whom I number you most generous and indulgent of all, whose increasing kindness I can only repay by striving to become more and more worthy of all your friendship and confidence, and so I am ever affectionately and gratefully yours,

Wayman Crow, Esq. H.G. HOSMER.

The very active part that the women of Missouri had taken in the civil war, in the hospitals and sanitary department, had aroused their enthusiasm in the preservation of the Union and their sense of responsibility in national affairs. The great mass-meetings of the Loyal Women's Leagues, too, did an immense educational work in broadening their sympathies and the horizon of their sphere of action. So wholly absorbed had they been in the intense excitement of that period, that when peace came their hands and hearts, unoccupied, naturally turned to new fields of achievement. While in some States it was the temperance question, in St. Louis it was specifically woman suffrage.

We are indebted for the main facts of this chapter to Mr. Francis Minor, Mrs. Rebecca N. Hazard, Miss Couzins and Miss Arathusa Forbes, who have kindly sent us what information they had or could hastily glean from the journals of the time or the imperfect records of the association.

The labors of Mrs. Minor and Mrs. Couzins were exceptionally protracted and severe. The latter offered her services as nurse at the very opening of the war. The letters received from men in authority show how highly their services were appreciated. Dr. Pope who writes the following, was the leading surgeon in St. Louis:

ST. LOUIS, April 26, 1861.

Mrs. J. E. D. COUZINS—Dear Madam: Your note in which, in case of collision here, you generously offer your services in the capacity of nurse, is just received. Should so dire a calamity befall us (which God forbid), I shall, in case of need, most assuredly remember your noble offer. With high regard and sincere thanks, I am,

Yours very truly, CHAS. A. POPE.

HEADQUARTERS 2D BRIG., MO. VOL., ST. LOUIS, MO., Aug. 23, 1861.

Mrs. J. E. D. COUZINS, present—Madam: I received your kind letter, dated Aug. 17. Accept my heartfelt thanks for your generous offer. I regard the nursing of our wounded soldiers by the tender hands of patriotic ladies as a most effectual means of easing their condition and encouraging them to new efforts in defense of our glorious cause. You will please confer with Mrs. von Wackerbarth, corner Seventh and Elm streets, in regard to the steps to be taken in this matter.

Your obedient servant, F. SIGEL, Brig.-Gen. Com.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSOURI, February 18th, 1862.

The commanding officers at Cairo, Paducah, or vicinity, are hereby requested to grant any facilities consistent with the public interests that may be desired by the bearers of this note. They are Mrs. Couzins and Crawshaw, of the Ladies' Union Aid Society, who wish to administer relief to our sick and wounded. By order of

J. T. PRICE, A. D. C. Maj.-Gen'l HALLECK.

ROOMS WESTERN SANITARY COMMISSION, ST. LOUIS, Oct, 6th, 1862.

MY DEAR MRS. COUZINS: The surgeon-general has notified me that he may want me to send nurses and surgeons to Columbus and Corinth. I look to you, my dear madam, as one ever ready to volunteer when you can be of real service. In case it should become necessary, may I rely on your valuable services? Such other names as you may suggest I would be pleased to have.

Very respectfully, JAS. E. YEATMAN.

OFFICE OF WESTERN SANITARY COMMISSION, } SAINT LOUIS, MO., Oct. 8th, 1862. }

Mrs. Couzins has been detailed to service in the hospital steamer T.L. McGill, as volunteer nurse.

N.B.—If the place of service is changed, a new certificate will be issued.

JAMES E. YEATMAN, President of Sanitary Commission.

CORINTH, Oct. 13, 1862.

Pass Mrs. Couzins from Corinth to Columbus.

W. S. ROSECRANZ, Maj.-Gen'l U. S. A.

HEADQUARTERS DEP'T OF THE TENNESSEE, } BEFORE VICKSBURG, Feb'y 21st, 1863. }

The quartermaster in charge of transportation at Memphis, Tenn., will furnish transportation on any chartered steamer plying between Memphis, Tenn., and St. Louis, to Mrs. Couzins and five other ladies, members of the Western Sanitary Commission, and who have been with this fleet distributing sanitary goods for the benefit of sick soldiers.

U.S. GRANT, Maj.-Gen. Com.

Capt. J. B. LEWIS, A. Q. M. and Master of Transportation, Memphis, Tenn.

While Mrs. Couzins thus gave herself to mitigating the sufferings of the "boys in blue," in camp and hospital, Mrs. Minor was no less active and energetic in the equally important department of preserving supplies for the sanitary commission. Although Mrs. Minor resided too far from the city to attend the evening meetings, and her name does not appear in the accounts of such gatherings, she was one of the first members of the Ladies' Union Aid Society of St. Louis, and took part in the meeting of loyal women called and presided over by Gen. Curtis. Having an orchard and dairy on her place, she furnished the hospital with milk and fruit, and for more than two years, sent a supply every day to the soldiers in camp at Benton barracks. When the news came that the army around Vicksburg was suffering with scurvy, she took her carriage and drove through the country soliciting fruit, and in one week she canned with her own hands, a wagon-load of cherries, the sanitary commission finding the cans and sugar, and from time to time she continued the work until the end of the war. When the great fair was held under the auspices of the Western Sanitary Commission, she was a member of the floral department, and worked with her accustomed energy. The sanitary commission, feeling that she had done so much, wrote her a letter of thanks, and enclosed her a check for a liberal amount; but she returned the check, saying that hers was a work of love, and not for money. Although the official letter of the commission thanking Mrs. Minor for her most valuable services, is lost, the following to Mr. Minor may fairly be considered as including her also:

ROOMS WESTERN SANITARY COMMISSION, St. Louis, Oct. 7, 1863.

FRANCIS MINOR, Esq.—My Dear Sir: I am directed by our board to return you their thanks in behalf of the soldiers in the hospitals, for your long-continued remembrance of them, and for the daily supply of fresh fruits, vegetables and milk, which you have furnished for the sick, now more than two years. Your garner and sympathy have been like the widow's cruse, and may they ever continue to be so. What you have done has been in the most quiet and unobtrusive way. The sick soldier has had no more constant, uniform and untiring friend, and it is with pleasure that I convey the thanks of the board, both to yourself and wife, who have been as indefatigable at home in preparing canned fruits and other delicacies for the sick soldiers in the field, as you have been in providing for those in the hospitals. With grateful feelings and many thanks and best wishes, I remain,

Very respectfully yours,

JAMES E. YEATMAN, President Western Sanitary Commission.

The submission of a constitutional amendment in Kansas, and the preparations for a thorough canvass of that State, had its influence in heightening the enthusiasm and increasing the agitation in Missouri, as most of the speakers going to Kansas held meetings at various points. Mrs. Stanton and Miss Anthony stopped at St. Louis both going and returning, held large meetings in Library Hall, and had a pleasant reception in the parlors of the Southern Hotel, where many warm friendships that have lasted ever since, were formed.

The subject of woman's enfranchisement had doubtless often occurred to the thoughtful men and women of Missouri, long before the movement in its behalf assumed anything like a practical shape. The manifest absurdity and injustice of declaring, as the constitution of the State did, "that all political power is vested in, and derived from the people; that all government of right originates from the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole," and at the same time, denying to one-half of the people any voice whatever in framing their government or making their laws, could not fail to strike the attention of any one who gave the subject the slightest consideration. But no attempt was made towards an organization in behalf of woman suffrage until the winter of 1866-7; and the movement then had its origin from the following circumstance: During the debate in the Senate of the United States, on the district suffrage bill, December 12, 1866, Senator Brown, of Missouri, in the course of his remarks said:

I have to say then, sir, here on the floor of the American Senate, I stand for universal suffrage, and as a matter of fundamental principle do not recognize the right of society to limit it on any ground of race, color, or sex. I will go further, and say that I recognize the right of franchise as being intrinsically a natural right; and I do not believe that society is authorized to impose any limitation upon it that does not spring out of the necessities of the social state itself.

When Mrs. Francis Minor, of St. Louis, who had given the subject much thought, read the report of Senator Brown's speech, she considered that it was due to him from the women of the State that he should receive a letter of thanks for his bold and out-spoken utterances in their behalf. She accordingly wrote him such a letter, obtaining to it all the signatures she could, and it was presented to Senator Brown on his return home. But although first an advocate of the measure, he soon recanted, and gave his influence against it.

It was next determined to petition the legislature of the State then in session, January, 1867, to propose an amendment to the constitution, striking out the word "male," in the article on suffrage. Such a petition was presented, and attracted much attention, as it was the first instance of the kind in the history of the State. This move was followed by a formal organization of the friends of the cause, and on May 8, 1867, the "Missouri Woman Suffrage Association" was organized, and officers elected.[378]

We find the following letter from Mr. Minor in The Revolution of January 22, 1868:

Editors of The Revolution: In order to show the steady progress that the grand idea of equal rights is slowly but surely making among the people of these United States, I think it would be well, in the beginning, at least, to make a record in The Revolution of the fact of each successive State organization; and for that purpose I send you the list of officers for the association in Missouri not yet a year old; as also their petition to the legislature for a change in the organic law, and a brief address to the voters of the State, in support of the movement:

To the Voters of Missouri:

The women of this State, having organized for the purpose of agitating their claims to the ballot, it becomes every intelligent and reflecting mind to consider the question fairly and dispassionately. If it has merits, it will eventually succeed; if not, it will fail. I am of the number of those who believe that claim to be just and right, for the following, among other reasons:

Taxation and Representation should go hand in hand. This is the very corner-stone of our government. Its founders declared, and the declaration cannot be too often repeated, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure those rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." The man who believes in that declaration, cannot justly deny to women the right of suffrage. They are citizens, they are tax-payers; they bear the burdens of government—why should they be denied the rights of citizens? We boast about liberty and equality before the law, when the truth is, our government is controlled by one-half only of the population. The others have no more voice in the making of their laws, or the selection of their rulers, than the criminals who are in our penitentiaries; nay, in one respect, their condition is not as good as that of the felon, for he may be pardoned and restored to a right which woman can never obtain. And this, not because she has committed any crime, or violated any law, but simply because she is, what God made her—a woman! Possessed of the same intelligence—formed in the same mold—having the same attributes, parts and passions—held by her Maker to the same measure of responsibility here and hereafter, her actual position in society to-day is that of an inferior. No matter what her qualifications may be, every avenue of success is virtually closed against her. Even when she succeeds in obtaining employment, she gets only half the pay that a man does for the same work. But, it is said, woman's sphere is at home. Would giving her the right to vote interfere with her home duties any more than it does with a man's business? Again it is said, that for her to vote would be unfeminine. Is it at all more indelicate for a woman to go to the polls, than it is for her to go to the court-house and pay her taxes? The truth is, woman occupies just the position that man has placed her in, and it ill becomes him to urge such objections. Give her a chance—give her the opportunity of proving whether these objections are well founded or not. Her influence for good is great, notwithstanding all the disadvantages under which she at present labors; and my firm belief is, that that influence would be greatly enhanced and extended by the exercise of this new right. It would be felt at the ballot-box and in the halls of legislation. Better men, as a general rule, would be elected to office, and society in all its ramifications, would feel and rejoice at the change.

A VOTER.

To the General Assembly of the State of Missouri:

GENTLEMEN: The undersigned women of Missouri, believing that all citizens who are taxed for the support of the government and subject to its laws, should have a voice in the making of those laws, and the selection of their rulers; that, as the possession of the ballot ennobles and elevates the character of man, so, in like manner, it would ennoble and elevate that of woman by giving her a direct and personal interest in the affairs of government; and further, believing that the spirit of the age, as well as every consideration of justice and equity, requires that the ballot should be extended to our sex, do unite in praying that an amendment to the constitution may be proposed, striking out the word "male" and extending to women the right of suffrage.

And, as in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

On behalf of the Missouri Woman Suffrage Association.

[Signed:] President, Mrs. Francis Minor; Vice-President, Mrs. Beverly Allen; Corresponding Secretary, Mrs. Wm. T. Hazard; Recording Secretary, Mrs. Geo. D. Hall; Treasurer, Mrs. N. Stevens, St. Louis, Missouri.

Copies of the petition, and information furnished upon addressing either of above named officers. Formation of auxiliary associations in every county requested. Petitions when completely signed, to be returned to the head office.

These papers will serve to show that the idea has taken root in other States beyond the Mississippi besides Kansas; and may also be somewhat of a guide to others, who may desire to accomplish the same purpose elsewhere. A work of such magnitude requires, of course, time for development; but the leaven is working. The fountains of the great deep of public thought have been broken up. The errors and prejudices of six thousand years are yielding to the sunlight of truth. In spite of pulpits and politicians, the great idea is making its way to the hearts of the people; and woman may rejoice in believing that the dawn of her deliverance, so long hoped for and prayed for, is at last approaching.

F. M.

St. Louis, January, 1868.

The following from The Revolution shows that the women of St. Louis were awake on the question of taxation:

The women here have endeavored to find out to what extent taxation without representation, because of sex, obtains in this city, and as the result of their inquiries they are enabled to place on their records the following very suggestive document.

ASSESSOR'S OFFICE, ST. LOUIS, January 30, 1869.

To Mrs. Couzins and Emma Finkelnburg, Committee of the Ladies' Suffrage Association:

In reply to your request to report to your association the amount of property listed in the city of St. Louis in the name of ladies, permit me to state that the property in question is represented by over 2,000 tax-paying ladies, and assessed at the value of $14,490,199.

Yours very respectfully,

ROBT. J. ROMBAUER, Assessor.

This exhibit has opened the eyes of a good many people. "Two thousand on 'em," exclaimed a male friend of mine, "and over fourteen millions of property! Whew! What business have these women with so much money?" Well, they have it, and now they ask us, "Shall 2,000 men, not worth a dollar, just because they wear pantaloons go to the polls and vote taxes on us, while we are excluded from the ballot-box for no other reason than sex?" What shall we say to them? They ask us if the American Revolution did not turn on this hinge, No taxation without representation. Who can answer?

The advocates of suffrage in St. Louis made their attacks at once in both Church[379] and State, and left no means of agitation untried. There has never been an association in any State that comprised so many able men and women who gave their best thoughts to every phase of this question, and who did so grand a work, until the unfortunate division in 1871, which seemed to chill the enthusiasm of many friends of the movement.

In the winter of 1869 the association sent a large delegation of ladies to the legislature with a petition containing about 2,000 signatures. A correspondent in The Revolution, February 6, 1869, said:

It will not be feminine to say, yet I fear I must say, the women of Missouri have stormed their capitol, and if it is not yet taken, the outworks are in our hands, and I believe with a few more well-directed blows the victory will be ours. On February 3 a large delegation of ladies, representing the Suffrage Association of Missouri, visited Jefferson City for the purpose of laying before the legislature a large and influentially signed petition, asking the ballot for women; and we were gratified to see the great respect and deference shown to the women of Missouri by the wisest and best of her legislators in their respectful and cordial reception of the delegates. Both Houses adjourned, and gave the use of the house for the afternoon, when eloquent addresses were made by Mrs. J.G. Phelps of Springfield, Dr. Ada Greunan of St. Louis, and the future orator of Missouri, Miss Phoebe Couzins, whose able and effective address the press has given in full. Of the brave men who stood up for us, it is more difficult to speak. To give a list would be impossible; for every name would require a eulogy too lengthy for the pages of The Revolution. We will, therefore, record them on the tablets of our memory with a hand so firm that they shall stand out brightly till time shall be no more. Of the small majority who oppose us we will say nothing, but throw over them the pall of merciful oblivion.

The first woman suffrage convention ever held in the city of St. Louis, or the State of Missouri, assembled in Mercantile Library, October 6, 7, 1869. Many distinguished people were on the platform.[380] At this convention Mr. Francis Minor introduced a very able series of resolutions, on which Mrs. Minor made a remarkably logical address.[381] The following letter from Mr. Minor shows the careful research he gave to the consideration of this question:

ST. LOUIS, December 30, 1869.

DEAR REVOLUTION: So thoroughly am I satisfied that the surest and most direct course to pursue to obtain a recognition of woman's claim to the ballot, lies through the courts of the country, that I am induced to ask you to republish the resolutions that I drafted, and which were unanimously adopted by the St. Louis convention. And I will here add, that to accomplish this end, and to carry these resolutions into practical effect, it is intended by Mrs. Minor, the president of the State Association, to make a test case in her instance at our next election; take it through the courts of Missouri, and thence to the Supreme Court of the United States at Washington. I think it will be admitted that these resolutions place the cause of woman upon higher ground than ever before asserted, in the fact that for the first time suffrage is claimed as a privilege based upon citizenship, and secured by the Constitution of the United States. It will be seen that the position taken is, that the States have the right to regulate, but not to prohibit, the elective franchise to citizens of the United States. Thus the States may determine the qualifications of electors. They may require the elector to be of a certain age, to have had a fixed residence, to be of a sane mind, and unconvicted of crime, etc., because these are qualifications or conditions that all citizens, sooner or later, may attain; but to go beyond this, and say to one-half the citizens of the State, notwithstanding you possess all these qualifications you shall never vote, is of the very essence of despotism. It is a bill of attainder of the most odious character.

A further investigation of the subject will show that the language of the constitutions of all the States, with the exception of those of Massachusetts and Virginia, on the subject of suffrage is peculiar. They almost all read substantially alike: "White male citizens, etc., shall be entitled to vote," and this is supposed to exclude all other citizens. There is no direct exclusion, except in the two States above named. Now the error lies in supposing that an enabling clause is necessary at all. The right of the people of a State to participate in a government of their own creation requires no enabling clause; neither can it be taken from them by implication. To hold otherwise would be to interpolate in the constitution a prohibition that does not exist. In framing a constitution the people are assembled in their sovereign capacity; and being possessed of all rights and all powers, what is not surrendered is retained. Nothing short of a direct prohibition can work a disseizin of rights that are fundamental. In the language of John Jay to the people of New York, urging the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, "silence and blank paper neither give nor take away anything," and Alexander Hamilton says (Federalist, No. 83), "Every man of discernment must at once perceive the wide difference between silence and abolition."

The mode and manner in which the people shall take part in the government of their creation may be prescribed by the constitution, but the right itself is antecedent to all constitutions. It is inalienable, and can neither be bought, nor sold, nor given away. But even if it should be held that this view is untenable, and that women are disfranchised by the several State constitutions directly, or by implication, then I say that such prohibitions are clearly in conflict with the Constitution of the United States, and yield thereto. The language of that instrument is clear and emphatic: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and of the State wherein they reside." "No State shall make, or enforce any law that shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." It would be impossible to add to the force or effect of such language, and equally impossible to attempt to explain it away.

Very respectfully, FRANCIS MINOR.

The St. Louis Democrat spoke of the convention as follows:

Readers of our report have doubtless been interested to observe the fair spirit and dignified manner of the woman suffrage convention, and the ability displayed in some of the addresses. It is but due to the managers to say that they extended most courteous invitations to gentlemen not identified with the movement to address the convention, and state freely their objections to the extension of the franchise. Of those invited some were prevented by duties elsewhere from attending. Others, it may be, felt that it would scarcely be a gracious thing, in spite of the liberality of the invitation, to occupy the time of a convention in favor of the extension of the franchise with arguments against it. But the objections which, after all, probably have most weight with candid men are those which it is not easy to discuss in public, namely: "Will not extension of suffrage to women have an injurious effect upon the family and sexual relations?" "Will not the ballot be used rather by that class who would not use it wisely than by those who are most competent?" We do not argue these questions, but are sure that some frank discussion of them, however delicate the subject may be, is necessary to convince the great majority of those who are still doubting or opposed. Meanwhile the reports are of interest, and reflect no little credit upon the women of this city who have taken so prominent a part in the movement.

The officers of the Missouri Society were annually reelected for several years, and the work proceeded harmoniously until the division in the National Association. The members of the Missouri Society took sides in this division as preference dictated. Mr. and Mrs. Minor, Miss Forbes, Miss Couzins and others were already members of the National Association, and sympathized with its views and modes of pushing the question.

In order that there might be no division in the Missouri Association, a resolution was introduced by Mr. Minor and unanimously adopted, declaring that each member of the society should be free to join the National body of his or her choice, and that the Missouri Association, as a society, should not become auxiliary to either the "National" or the "American." The good faith of the association was thus pledged to respect the feelings and wishes of each member, and as long as this course was observed all went well. But, at the annual meeting in 1871, just after Mrs. Minor had for the fifth time been unanimously reelected president, in violation of the previous action of the association a resolution was introduced and passed, declaring that the association should henceforth become auxiliary to the American. This gross disregard of the wishes and feelings of those who were members of the National Association left them no alternative, with any feeling of self-respect, but to withdraw; and accordingly Mrs. Minor at once tendered her resignation as president and her withdrawal as a member of the association. She was followed in this course by Mr. Minor, Miss Couzins, Miss Forbes and others.[382] However, the work went steadily on. Meetings were held regularly from week to week, with occasional grand conventions, tracts and petitions were circulated, and constant agitation in some way kept up.

In answer to an earnest solicitation for facts and incidents of the suffrage movement in Missouri, Mrs. Rebecca N. Hazard, one of the earliest and most active friends in that State, sends us the following:

I think the cruel war had much to do in educating the women of Missouri into a sense of their responsibilities and duties as citizens; at least all who first took part in the suffrage movement had been active on the Union side during the war, and that having ended in the preservation of the government, they naturally began to inquire as to their own rights and privileges in the restored Union. My own feelings were first fully awakened by the hanging of Mrs. Surrat; for, although a Unionist and an abolitionist, I could but regard her execution by the government, considering her helpless position, as judicial murder. I wrote on the subject to the editor of the New York Independent. The letter was handed to Miss Anthony, and resulted in an invitation to the next meeting of the Equal Rights Society. This almost frightened me, for I had hitherto looked askance at the woman's rights movement.

Meeting an old friend and neighbor not long after, the talk turned upon negro suffrage. I expressed myself in favor of that measure, and timidly added, "And go farther—I think women also should vote." She grasped my hand cordially, saying, "And so do I!" This was Mrs. Virginia L. Minor. We had each cherished this opinion, supposing that no other woman in the community held it; and this we afterwards found to have been the experience of many others. This was in 1866; and in the following autumn Mrs. Minor prepared and circulated for signatures a card of thanks to Hon. B. Gratz Brown for the recognition of woman's political rights he had given in the United States Senate in a speech upon extending the suffrage to the women of the District of Columbia.[383] This card received enough names to justify another step—that of a petition to the Missouri General Assembly. This was headed by Mrs. Minor, and circulated with untiring energy by her, receiving several hundred signatures, and was sent to the legislature during the winter, where it received some degree of favor.

But as yet no effort had been made toward an organization. The first step in that direction was in May, 1867, by Mrs. Lucretia P. Hall and her sister, Miss Penelope Allen, daughters of Mrs. Beverly Allen, and nieces of General Pope, in the parlors of Mrs. Anna L. Clapp, the president of the Union Aid Society during the war. Mrs. Hall, Mrs. Clapp and myself called a public meeting on May 8, when the Woman Suffrage Society of Missouri was organized, with Mrs. Minor president.

In the winter of 1868 the association sent a large delegation of ladies to Jefferson with a petition containing about 2,000 names, to present to the legislature. The Republicans were then in the ascendency, and the ladies having many professed friends among the members, were received with every demonstration of respect. Addresses were made by Miss Phoebe Couzins and Dr. Ada Greunan. The petition was respectfully considered and a fair vote given for the submission of an amendment.

Subsequent sessions of the legislature have been besieged, as was also the constitutional convention in 1875; but beyond the passage of several laws improving the general status of women, we have not made much impression upon the law-making power of our State; not so much since the State passed into the hands of the Democrats, as while the Republicans were in the majority.

But the public meetings and social influence of our association have done much for the cause of woman suffrage. Strangers are surprised to find so little prejudice existing against a movement so decidedly unpopular in many places. The convention held in St. Louis in October, 1869, was one of the very best I have ever known, and its influence was long felt for good. In the spring of 1871 our association became auxiliary to the American, and in consequence several of our active members seceded, viz.: Mr. and Mrs. Minor, Miss Couzins, Dr. Greunan and others. In the autumn of 1872 the American Association held its annual meeting in St. Louis.

The law school of Washington University has always been open to women. Miss Couzins was the first to avail herself of its advantages in 1869, though Miss Barkaloo of Brooklyn, denied admission to Columbia Law School, soon joined her, and was admitted to the bar in 1870. While Miss Barkaloo was not the first woman admitted to the bar in the United States, she doubtless was the first to try a case in court. She died after a few months of most promising practice.[384] Miss Couzins was admitted to the bar in May, 1871.

The St. Louis School of Design, which has done much for woman, was originated by members of our association; principally by Mrs. Mary F. Henderson, who has given untiring effort in that direction. Our members were also instrumental in opening to women the St. Louis Homeopathic Medical College, and active in opposing what was known as the St. Louis "Social Evil Law." They aided Dr. Eliot in his valiant struggle against that iniquity. Mrs. E. Patrick and myself called the first public meeting to protest against the law. It was repealed March 27, 1874.

You are probably familiar with Mrs. Minor's suit to obtain suffrage under the fourteenth amendment. We all admired her courageous efforts for that object. Previous to that attempt our society had earnestly advocated a sixteenth amendment for the protection of woman's right to vote, but held the matter in abeyance pending the suit. After its failure, we again renewed our efforts for a sixteenth amendment, circulating and sending to Washington our petitions. Our association holds monthly meetings and proposes to continue the agitation.[385] I ought to say, perhaps, that our society lends all the help possible to other States. It gave $520 to Michigan in 1874, and $200 to Colorado in 1877.

R. N. H.

To bring the question of woman's right as a citizen of the United States to vote for United States officers before the judiciary, Mrs. Minor attempted to register in order to vote at the national election in November, 1872, and being refused on account of her sex, brought the matter before the courts in the shape of a suit against the registering officer.[386] The point was decided adversely to her in all the courts, being finally reported in Vol. 21 of Wallace's U. S. Supreme Court Reports. The importance of this decision cannot be over-estimated. It affects every citizen of the United States, male as well as female, if, as there pronounced, the United States has no voters of its own creation. The Dred-Scott decision is insignificant in comparison. Mrs. Minor made the following points in her petition:

1. As a citizen of the United States, the plaintiff is entitled to any and all the "privileges and immunities" that belong to such position however defined; and as are held, exercised and enjoyed by other citizens of the United States.

2. The elective franchise is a "privilege" of citizenship, in the highest sense of the word. It is the privilege preservative of all rights and privileges; and especially of the right of the citizen to participate in his or her government.

3. The denial or abridgment of this privilege, if it exist at all, must be sought only in the fundamental charter of government—the Constitution of the United States. If not found there, no inferior power or jurisdiction can legally claim the right to exercise it.

4. But the Constitution of the United States, so far from recognizing or permitting any denial or abridgment of the privileges of citizens, expressly declares that "no State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States."

5. It follows that the provisions of the Missouri constitution and registry law before recited are in conflict with, and must yield to the paramount authority of, the Constitution of the United States.

At a mass meeting held in St. Louis January 25, 1875, a committee[387] was appointed to prepare an address to the people of the State, setting forth the necessity of such action by the constitutional convention, soon to assemble, as would insure to all citizens the right of choice in their lawmakers and in the officers whose duty it should be to execute the laws. The address was prepared and widely circulated over the State. In June, the convention being in session at Jefferson, Mrs. Minor, Miss Couzins, and Mrs. Dickinson went to the capitol and were granted a gracious hearing, but no action was conceded.

In May, 1879, the National Woman Suffrage Association held its annual meeting at St. Louis, holding its session through the day, morning, afternoon and evening, and so much interest was aroused that on May 13 a local society was organized under the head of the National Woman Suffrage Association for St. Louis,[388] with Mrs. Minor president, which has continued to do most efficient service to the present. During the summer of 1879, Mrs. Minor refused to pay the tax assessed against her:

ST. LOUIS, MO., August 26, 1879.

Hon. DAVID POWERS, President Board of Assessors: I honestly believe and conscientiously make oath that I have not one dollars' worth of property subject to taxation. The principle upon which this government rests is representation before taxation. My property is denied representation, and therefore can not be taxable. The law which you quote as applicable to me in your notice to make my tax return is in direct conflict with section 30 of the bill of rights of the constitution of the State which declares, "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law," And that surely cannot be due process of law wherein one of the parties only is law-maker, judge, jury and executioner, and the other stands silenced, denied the power either of assent or dissent, a condition of "involuntary slavery" so clearly prohibited in section 31 of the same article, as well as in the Constitution of the United States, that no legislation or judicial prejudice can ignore it. I trust you will believe it is from no disrespect to you that I continue to refuse to become a party to this injustice by making a return of property to your honorable body, as clearly the duties of a citizen can only be exacted where rights and privileges are equally accorded.

Respectfully, VIRGINIA L. MINOR.

Again, in February, 1881, Mrs. Minor made an able argument before the legislative committee on constitutional amendments in support of the petition for the enfranchisement of the women of the State. Her pivotal point was, "By whatever tenure you, as one-half of the people, hold it, we, the other half, claim it by the same." And again in December of the same year at a meeting of the Knights and Ladies of the Father Matthew Debating Club, at which the subject was, "Is the woman's rights movement to be encouraged?" Patrick Long, Daniel O'Connel Tracy, Richard D. Kerwen, spoke in the affirmative; several gentlemen and two ladies in opposition, when Mrs. Minor, who was in the audience, was called out amid great applause, to which she responded in an able speech, showing that the best temperance weapon in the hands of woman is the ballot.

Of the initial steps taken for the elevation of women in the little village of Oregon, Mrs. Annie R. Irvine writes:

The Woman's Union, an independent literary club, designed to improve the mental, moral, and physical condition of women, held its first meeting in Oregon, Holt county, on the evening of January 6, 1872, at the residence of Dr. Asher Goslin. Temporary officers were elected, and a committee appointed to prepare by-laws for the government of the club. Six ladies[389] were present. The succeeding meetings grew in interest, and took strong hold upon the minds of all classes, from the fact that hitherto no outlet had been found for the energies of our women outside the circle of home and church. During the first two years of its existence, the Woman's Union had to bear in a small way, many of the sneers and taunts attending more pretentious organizations, but luckily, when the novelty wore off, we were allowed to pursue the quiet tenor of our way, with an occasional slur at the "strong-minded" tendency of the organization. During nearly fourteen years we have held regular meetings in a hall rented for the purpose, and paid for by earnings of the society. An excellent organ is owned by the club; they have a library of several hundred volumes, book-cases, carpet, curtains, pictures, tables, chairs, stove, etc., and the members take great pride in their cosy headquarters. At this writing, interesting meetings are held on each Wednesday evening at the homes of the different members of the society.[390] In the course of so long a time, this organization has had many changes. Members have removed to all parts of the United States, and many similar clubs elsewhere trace their origin to our society.

Several years ago an open letter from here to "Woman's Kingdom," in the Chicago Inter-Ocean called attention to our plan of work for small towns; as a result fifteen similar Unions were organized, some of them still flourishing. In northwest Missouri the same kind of clubs were formed in Maryville, Nodaway county, and Savannah, Andrew county, but neither of them became permanent. In the course of twelve years many of the best speakers on the American platform have addressed Oregon audiences, brought here by the determined efforts of a few women. To-day, public opinion in this part of Missouri is in advance of other sections on all questions relating to the great interests of humanity. In March, 1879, a call signed by prominent citizens[391] brought together a large assembly of men and women in the court-house. An address in favor of woman suffrage was delivered by Rev. John Wayman of the M. E. Church of St. Joseph. Mr. James L. Allen acted as chairman of the meeting, and a society was then organized, to bear the name of the Holt County Woman Suffrage Society. At the National Woman Suffrage Convention held at St. Louis later in the same year, Jas. L. Allen acted as delegate from this association and reported our progress. The best organized woman's society in the State is probably the Women's Christian Temperance Union. In its different departments, although hampered by too much theological red tape, it is reaching thousands of ignorant, prejudiced, good sectarian women who would expect the "heavens to fall" if they accidentally got into a meeting where "woman's rights" was mentioned even in a whisper. Mrs. Clara Hoffman, of Kansas City, is State president, and a woman of great force. She, as well as other leading lights in the Women's Christian Temperance Union, is strongly advocating woman suffrage as a sine qua non in the temperance work. The women of this part of the State have been given quite a prominent place among organizations mentioned in a late "History of Missouri, by Counties." The Woman's Union has taken the place of honor.[392] From the very outset we have had the most bitter and persistent opposition from the churches, more particularly the Presbyterian, although some of our most capable members were of that faith. Exceptions should be made in favor of the Christian, or Campbellite, and as a general thing, the M. E. churches. The greatest shock we have had to resist, however, came a few months since in the shape of a division among our own members, and has really discouraged the more independent among us more than anything else. The W. C. T. U. sent their Mascatine organizer here, to wake up the women in the interests of the State society. Although ignorant and prejudiced, he created a fanatical stampede, and in the goodness of their hearts and the weakness of their heads, our church women in the Woman's Union proposed to give to the three temperance clubs, numbering perhaps 150, the free use of our rooms and property, and suspend our own club, claiming that our mission was ended, and that a field of greater usefulness was opened in the W. C. T. U. line of work. The liberal element refused to abandon the old organization, although many joined in the W. C. T. U. work and attended both clubs.

However, in a small community, where the consciences of many good women are not free, we have met with serious drawbacks. We have had to submit to a sort of boycotting process, for some time, the orthodox, goody-goody people evidently trying to freeze us out; although I must claim that nearly every member of the Woman's Union is strongly interested in the temperance cause, and as the different departments in the W. C. T. U. fail to cover the ground we occupy, quite a respectable number seem determined to hold on in their own way, trying little by little to better the condition of all, and particularly to increase and strengthen the feeble germ of independent thought in women, so often smothered and destroyed by too much theology. What we need for women is not more spirituality but more hard common-sense, applied to reform as well as religion. One thing connected with our organization is a matter of pride to all women, namely, that no pecuniary obligation has ever been repudiated by the Woman's Union. Besides paying our debts we have given hundreds of dollars to works of charity and education, and keep a standing fund of $100, to be used in case of emergency, when, as often happens, we fail to make expenses on lectures, entertainments, etc. It would not be claiming too much if the Woman's Union of Oregon was to go upon the historic page as the only free, independent woman's club ever successfully carried on for any length of time, in the great State of Missouri.[393]

Missouri has always felt a becoming pride in the gifted daughter, Miss Phoebe Couzins, who was the first woman to enter the law school, go through the entire course, and graduate with honor to herself and her native State. Hence, a reception to her, to mark such an event, was preeminently fitting. This compliment was paid to her by Dr. and Mrs. G. A. Walker, and a large gathering of the elite of St. Louis honored her with their presence.[394] The drawing-rooms were festooned with garlands of evergreens and brilliant forest leaves and hanging-baskets of roses; the bountiful tables were elaborately decorated with fruits and flowers and statuettes, while pictures of distinguished women looked down from the wall on every side. After the feast came letters, toasts and speeches, a brilliant address of welcome was given by Dr. Walker, and an equally brilliant reply by Miss Couzins. Witty and complimentary speeches were made by Judge Krum, Hon. Albert Todd, Mrs. Francis Minor, ex-Governor Stanard, Judge Reber, Professor Riley, I. E. Meeker, Mrs. Henrietta Noa. Congratulatory letters were received from several ladies and gentlemen of national reputation, and the following regrets:

Rev. W. G. Eliot, chancellor of the University, with "compliments and thanks to Dr. and Mrs. Walker. I regret that engagements this evening prevent me from enjoying the pleasure of meeting Miss Couzins and welcoming her to her new and well-deserved honors, as I had expected to do until an hour ago."

James E. Yeatman sent regrets accompanied with "his warmest congratulations to Miss Couzins, with best wishes for her success in the noble profession of the law."

George Partridge regrets, "hoping every encouragement will be given to those who aspire to high honors by their intellectual and moral attainments."

General J. H. Hammond, Kansas City, Mo.: "I would feel honored in being allowed the privilege of congratulating this lady who so practically honors her sex."

In addition to the many congratulations showered upon Miss Couzins, she was the recipient of testimonials of a more enduring and equally flattering character. Among many valuable presents were twelve volumes of Edmund Burke from Miss A. L. Forbes, who wished to testify her appreciation of the event by deeds rather than words. Mrs. E. O. Stanard presented a handsomely-bound set of "Erskine's Speeches," in five volumes.

There were other gifts of great intrinsic worth. These tokens of regard were sent from admiring friends scattered all over the country, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Although Miss Couzins has never practiced in her chosen profession, yet the knowledge and discipline acquired in the study of our American system of jurisprudence and constitutional law have been of essential service to her in the prolonged arguments on the enfranchisement of woman, in which she has so ably and eloquently advocated the case of the great plaintiff of the nineteenth century, in that famous law-suit begun by Margaret Fuller in 1840, "Woman versus Man." Our junior advocate has taken the case into the highest courts and made her appeals to a jury of the sovereign people and "the judgment of a candid world." On all principles of precedent and importance our case now stands first on the calendar. When will the verdict be rendered and what will it be?

FOOTNOTES:

[377] Among them were Isaac H. Sturgeon, Francis Minor, James E. Yeatman, Judge John M. Krum, Judge Arnold Krekel, Hon. Thomas Noel, Ernest Decker, Dr. G. A. Walker, John E. Orrick, J. B. Roberts, Rev. G. W. Eliot, Bishop Bowman, Albert Todd, Rev. John Snyder, John Datro, J. B. Case, H. E. Merille, Mrs. Virginia L. Minor, Mrs. Rebecca N. Hazard, Mrs. Adeline Couzins, Miss Phoebe Couzins, Mrs. Beverly Allen, Miss Mary Beedy, Miss Arathusa Forbes, Mrs. Isaac Sturgeon, Mrs. Hall, and many others.

[378] President, Mrs. Virginia L. Minor; Vice-President, Mrs. Beverly Allen; Secretaries, Mrs. Rebecca N. Hazard, and Mrs. George D. Hall; Treasurer, Mrs. George W. Banker. There were present, besides the officers, Mrs. Anna L. Clapp, Miss Penelope Allen, Mrs. Frank Fletcher, Miss Arathusia L. Forbes, Mrs. Nannie C. Sturgeon, Mrs. Harriet B. Roberts, Mrs. N. Stevens, Mrs. Joseph Hodgman, Miss A. Greenman, etc. Among the men who aided the movement were Francis Minor, Isaac W. Sturgeon, James E. Yeatman, Judge John M. Krum, Judge Arnold Krekel, Hon. Thomas Noel, who gave the society its first twenty-five dollars, Ernest Decker, Dr. G.A. Walker, John C. O'Neill, J.B. Roberts, Wayman Crow, Rev. Dr. Wm. G. Eliot, Bishop Bowman, Albert Todd, Rev. John Snyder, John Datro, J.B. Case, H.C. Leville.

[379] The following we find in the St. Louis papers. It is significant of the sentiment of the Methodist women of the West: "We, the undersigned, join in a call for a mass-meeting of the M.E. Church in St. Louis, to meet at Union Church on the 15th inst., at 3 o'clock P.M., to consider a plan for memorializing the General Conference to permit the ordination of women as ministers. All women of the M.E. Church are requested to attend. Mrs. Henry Kennedy, Mrs. T.C. Fletcher, Mrs. E.O. Stanard, Mrs. A.C. George, Mrs. Lucy Prescott, Mrs. U.B. Wilson, Mrs. L. Jones, Mrs. E.L. Case, Mrs. W.F. Brink, Mrs. S.C. Cummins, Mrs. R.N. Hazard, Mrs. Dutro, Mrs. M.H. Himebaugh." The result of this meeting of the ladies of the Methodist churches to discuss a plan for admitting women into the pulpit as preachers was the appointment of a committee to draft a memorial to the General Conference to meet at Brooklyn, N.Y., asking that body to sanction and provide for the ordination of women as ministers of the Methodist Church.

[380] On the platform were Julia Ward Howe, Massachusetts; Lillie Peckham, Wisconsin; Miriam M. Cole, Ohio; Mary A. Livermore, Hon. Sharon Tyndale, Judge Waite and Rev. Mr. Harrison, Illinois; Susan B. Anthony, New York. The officers of the Woman Suffrage Association of Missouri: President, Mrs. Francis Minor: Vice-President, Mrs. Beverly Allen: Secretary, Mrs. William T. Hazard: Treasurer, Mrs. George B. Hall; Miss Mary Beady, Miss Phoebe Couzins, Mrs. E. Tittman, Mrs. Alfred Clapp, Miss A. L. Forbes, Isaac H. Sturgeon, Mrs. J. C. Orrick, Mrs. R. J. Lackland, Francis Minor, and many others.

[381] For speech and resolutions, see Vol. II., page 408.

[382] Dissension and division were the effect in every State, except where the associations wisely remained independent and all continued to work together, and the forces otherwise expended in rivalry were directed against the common enemy.

[383] For this speech of B. Gratz Brown see Vol. II., page 136.

[384] For full account of Miss Barkaloo see New York chapter, page 404.

[385] Besides those already named, there are many other women worthy of mention—Mrs. Hannah Stagg, Mrs. George H. Rha, Mrs. S. F. Gruff, Miss N. M. Lavelle, Mrs. Helen E. Starrett, Mrs. A. E. Dickinson, Mrs. E. R. Case, Miss S. Sharman, Mrs. Mary S. Phelps, Miss Mary E. Beedy, Mrs. Fanny O'Haly, Mrs. J. C. Orrick, Miss Henrietta Moore, Mrs. Stephen Ridgeley, Mrs. M. E. Bedford, Mrs. M. Jackson; and among our German friends are Mrs. Rosa Tittman, Mrs. Dr. Fiala, Mrs. Lena Hildebrand, Mrs. G. G. Fenkelnberg, Mrs. Rombauer, Miss Lidergerber.

[386] For a full report of Mrs. Minor's trial, see History of Woman Suffrage, Vol. II., page 715.

[387] The committee were: J. B. Merwin, Virginia L. Minor, John Snyder, Lydia F. Dickinson, Maria E. F. Jackson.

[388] The officers were: President, Mrs. Virginia L. Minor; Vice-Presidents, Mrs. Eliza J. Patrick, Mrs. Caroline J. Todd, Miss Phoebe W. Couzins; Executive Committee, Mrs. E. P. Johnson, Mrs. W. W. Polk; Secretary, Miss Eliza B. Buckley; Treasurer, Miss Maggie Baumgartner.

[389] They were, Mrs. S. L. Goslin, Mis. A. E. Goslin, Mrs. M. M. Soper, Annie E. Batcheller, Mary Curry, Annie R. Irvine.

[390] President, Emma G. Dobyns; Vice-President, Kate Evans Thatcher; Secretary, Matilda C. Shutts; Treasurer, Lucy S. Rancher; Corresponding Secretary, Annie R. Irvine.

[391] Believing that the best interests of society, as well as government, would be best served by admitting all citizens to the full rights of citizenship, we, the undersigned, hereby give notice that a meeting will be held at the court-house, Oregon, on Saturday, March 1, 1879, at 2 p. m., for the purpose of organizing a Woman Suffrage Association. Those interested are urged to attend. Clarke Irvine, C. W. Lukens, James L. Allen, S. B. Lukens, Samuel Stuckey, Sudia Johnson, D. J. Lukens, Elvira Broedbeck, Mary Curry, Jas. B. Curry, Annie R. Irvine.

[392] In 1875 I made my first visit to Oregon, and remember my surprise at meeting so large a circle of bright, intelligent women. After taking an old stage at Travesty city, and lumbering along two miles or more over bad roads on a dull day in March into a very unpropitious looking town, my heart sank at the prospect of the small audience I should inevitably have in such a spot. Wondering as to the character of the people I should find, we jolted round the town to the home of the editor and his charming wife, Mrs. Lucy S. Rancher. Their cordial welcome and generous hospitalities soon made the old stage, the rough roads, and the dull town but dim memories of the past. One after another the members of the Union club came to greet me, and I saw in that organization of strong, noble women, wisdom enough to redeem the whole State of Missouri from its apathy on the question of woman's rights. One of the promising features of the efforts of the immortal six women who took the initiative, was the full sympathy shown by their husbands in their attempts to improve themselves and the community. Miss Couzins and Miss Anthony soon followed me, and were alike surprised and delighted with the Literary Club of Oregon. I was there again in '77, and was entertained by Mrs. R. A. Norman, now living in St. Joseph, and in '79, I stayed in a large, old-fashioned brick house near the public square with Mrs. Montgomery, then "fat, fair and forty," and all three visits, with the teas and dinners at the homes of different members of the club, I thoroughly enjoyed.—[E. C. S.

[393] Among progressive women in this part of Missouri, Mrs. Adela M. Kelly, of Savannah, wife of Circuit Judge Henry S. Kelly, is prominent; in Mound City, Mrs. Emma K. Hershberger, Mrs. Mary L. Mamcher, Mrs. Mary C. Tracy, Mrs. Fanny Smith, and others, are leading women, and were once residents here, and members of the Woman's Union. Among those actively interested here now, I shall only mention a few, Mrs. Nancy Hershberger, Mary Curry, Elvira Broedbeck, Lucy A. Christian, Ella O. Fallon, Mary Stirrell, and many others.

[394] Among those present were the following ladies and gentlemen: Dr. and Mrs. Walker, Phoebe Couzins, esq., Hon. and Mrs. John B. Henderson, Gov. and Mrs. E. O. Stanard, Mr. and Mrs. Chester H. Krum, Mr. and Mrs. Francis Minor, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Patrick, Major and Mrs. J. E. D. Couzins, Major and Mrs. J. R. Meeker, Major and Mrs. W. S. Pope, Mr. and Mrs. Lippmann, Mr. and Mrs. Leopold Noa, Miss Noa, Miss A. L. Forbes, Judge Krum, Judge Reber, Judge Todd, Geo. M. Stuart (dean), Prof. Riley, State Entomologist; Prof. Hager, State Geologist; J. R. Stuart, artist, and others.



CHAPTER XLV.

IOWA.

Beautiful Scenery—Liberal in Politics and Reforms—Legislation for Women—No Right yet to Joint Earnings—Early Agitation—Frances Dana Gage, 1854—Mrs. Bloomer Before the Territorial Legislature, 1856—Mrs. Martha H. Brinkerhoff—Mrs. Annie Savery, 1868—County Associations Formed in 1869—State Society Organized at Mt. Pleasant, 1870, Henry O'Connor, President—Mrs. Cutler Answers Judge Palmer—First Annual Meeting, Des Moines—Letter from Bishop Simpson—The State Register Complimentary—Mass-Meeting at the Capitol—Mrs. Savery and Mrs. Harbert—Legislative Action—Methodist and Universalist Churches Indorse Woman Suffrage—Republican Plank, 1874—Governor Carpenter's Message, 1876—Annual Meeting, 1882, Many Clergymen Present—Five Hundred Editors Interviewed—Miss Hindman and Mrs. Campbell—Mrs. Callanan Interviews Governor Sherman, 1884—Lawyers—Governor Kirkwood Appoints Women to Office—County Superintendents—Elizabeth S. Cook—Journalism—Literature— Medicine—Ministry—Inventions—President of a National Bank— The Heroic Kate Shelly—Temperance—Improvement in the Laws.

The euphonious Indian name, Iowa, signifying "the beautiful land," is peculiarly appropriate to those gently undulating prairies, decorated in the season of flowers with a brilliant garniture of honey-suckles, jassamines, wild roses and violets, watered with a chain of picturesque lakes and rivers, chasing each other into the bosom of the boundless Mississippi. The motto on the great seal of the State, "Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain," is the key-note to the successive struggles made there to build up a community of moral, virtuous, intelligent people, securing justice, liberty and equality to all. Iowa has been the State to give large Republican majorities; to prohibit the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors by a constitutional amendment; and to present propositions before her legislature for eight successive sessions to give the right of suffrage to woman. In the article on Iowa, in the American Cyclopaedia, the writer says: "No distinction is made in law between the husband and the wife in regard to property. One-third in value of all the real estate of either, upon the death of the other, goes to the survivor in fee simple. Neither is liable for the separate debts of the other. The wife may make contracts and incur liabilities which may be enforced by or against her in the same manner as if she was unmarried; and so a married woman may sue and be sued without the husband being joined in the action." Many women living in Iowa often quote these laws with pride, showing the liberality of their rulers as far as they go. But in new countries the number of women that inherit property is very small compared to the number that work all their days to help pay for their humble homes. It is in the right to these joint earnings where the wife is most cruelly defrauded, because the mother of a large family, who washes, irons, cooks, bakes, patches and darns, takes care of the children, labors from early dawn to midnight in her own home, is not supposed to earn anything, hence owns nothing, and all the labors of a long life, the results of her thrift and economy, belong absolutely to the husband, so that when he dies they call it liberality for the husband to make his partner an heir, and give her one-third of their joint earnings.

For this chapter we are indebted to Mrs. Amelia Bloomer, who moved into this State from New York in the spring of 1855 with her husband, who commenced the practice of law in Council Bluffs, where they have resided ever since. Mrs. Bloomer had been the editor for several years of a weekly paper called the Lily, which advocated both temperance and woman's rights, and for the six years of its publication was of inestimable value alike to both reforms. She was one of the earliest champions of the woman's rights movement, and as writer, editor and lecturer, did much to forward the cause in its infancy.[395]

The first agitation of the question of woman suffrage in Iowa was in the summer of 1854, when Frances Dana Gage of Ohio gave a series of lectures in the southeastern section of the State on temperance and woman's rights. Letters written to Lily at the time show that large audiences congregated to see and hear a woman publicly proclaiming the wrongs of her sex, and demanding equal rights before the law. During the year 1855 the writer gave several lectures at Council Bluffs, and in January, 1856, by invitation, addressed the second territorial legislature of Nebraska, in Representative Hall, Omaha; and in the year following lectured in Council Bluffs, Omaha, Nebraska City, Glenwood and other towns.

In 1868 Mrs. Martha H. Brinkerhoff made a very successful lecture-tour through the northern counties of Iowa. She roused great interest and organized many societies, canvassing meanwhile for subscribers to The Revolution. In the same year Mrs. Annie C. Savery gave a lecture for the benefit of a blind editor at Des Moines. In February, 1870, by invitation, she responded to a toast at a Masonic festival in that city; and during that and the year following she lectured in several places on woman suffrage, and wrote many able articles for the press.

On April 17, 1869, the "Northern Woman Suffrage Association" was organized at Dubuque.[396] This was the first society in Iowa, though about the same time others were being organized in different localities. J. L. McCreery, in his editorial position, advocated the enfranchisement of woman, and wrote an able paper in favor of the object of the organization. Mrs. Mary N. Adams opened a correspondence with friends of the movement in other parts of the State; Henry O'Connor, Mary A. Livermore and others lectured before the society, thus educating the people into a better understanding of woman's rights and needs. Mrs. Adams not only addressed the home society, but gave lectures before lyceums and educational institutions.

Des Moines has always maintained the most successful organization having a band of earnest women enlisted in the work, and being the capital of the State, where every opportunity was afforded to facilitate their efforts. The liberality of the press, too, aided vastly in moulding public sentiment in favor of the cause. About the earliest work done in that city was in June, 1870, when Hannah Tracy Cutler and Amelia Bloomer (immediately on returning from the formation of the State Society at Mt. Pleasant) held two meetings there—one in the open air on the grounds where the new capitol now stands, on the question of temperance, Sunday afternoon, presided over by Governor Merrill; the other in the Baptist Church, on woman suffrage, the following evening, Mrs. Annie C. Savery presiding.

The Polk County Woman Suffrage Society was formed October 25, and has never failed to hold its meetings regularly each month since that time. Every congress and every legislature have been appealed to by petitions signed by thousands of the best citizens, and it is on record that the senators and representatives of Polk county, with one exception,[397] have always voted in favor of submitting the question of woman's enfranchisement to the electors of the State. When men are talked of for legislative honors they are interviewed by a committee from the society, and pledges secured that they will vote "aye" on any woman suffrage bill that may come before them.

This society has from time to time engaged the services of prominent lecturers,[398] and nearly all of the ministers and lawyers of the city have given addresses in favor of the cause. Only one minister has openly and bitterly opposed the measure, and his sermon on the "Subordination of Woman," published in the Register, called out spirited replies from Mrs. Savery and Mrs. Bloomer in the same journal, which completely demolished the flimsy fancies of the gentleman.

About 1874 Mrs. Maria Orwig edited a column in the Record, and Mary A. Work a column in the Republican. Since 1880, Mesdames Hunter, Orwig, Woods and Work have filled two columns in The Prohibitionist, of which Laura A. Berry is one of the editors. Mrs. M. J. Coggeshall has for several years served the society as reporter for the Register, proving herself a very ready and interesting writer. All of these ladies are efficient and untiring in whatever pertains to woman's interest.[399] The Register says:

The field of labor in Des Moines is pretty well occupied by the ladies. You will find them at the desks in the county and United States court-houses, in the pension office, in the insurance office, in the State offices, behind the counters in stores, in attorneys' offices—and there is one woman who assists her husband at the blacksmith's trade, and she can strike as hard a blow with a sledge as the brawniest workman in the shop.

In the autumn of 1870 a society was organized at Burlington, with fifty members. One of the earliest advocates of the cause in this place was Mary A. P. Darwin, president of the association, who lectured through the southern tier of counties during the summer of 1870. She was an earnest and forcible speaker.

At Oskaloosa the opening work was done in 1854 by Frances D. Gage, who gave four lectures there, and roused the people to thought and discussion. Mattie Griffith Davenport has long filled a prominent place in the woman suffrage movement in that city. She commenced lecturing in 1868, and during that and the two succeeding years traveled over much of the State, speaking upon temperance and woman's rights. During 1879 she edited a column of the Davenport News in the interest of suffrage. In the summer of 1870 Mrs. Cutler and Mrs. Bloomer held two meetings in Oskaloosa, in one of which a gentleman engaged in the discussions, and as is usual in such encounters, the women having right and justice on their side, came out the victors; at least so said the listeners. Following this a Woman's Suffrage Society was organized.[400] Many prominent speakers lectured here in turn, and helped to keep up the interest.

Council Bluffs also organized a society[401] in 1870, holding frequent meetings and sociables. There is here a large element in favor of the ballot for woman; and though we are unfortunate in not having an advocate in the press, still Council Bluffs will give a good report of itself when the question of woman's enfranchisement shall come before the electors for action. The trustees of the public library of this city are women; the librarian is a woman: the post-office is in the hands of a woman; the teachers in the public schools, with one or two exceptions, are women; the principal of the high school is a woman; and a large number of the clerks in the dry goods stores are women. Miss Ingelletta Smith received the nomination of the Republican party for school superintendent in the fall of 1881, but was defeated by her Democratic competitor.

Marshalltown had a suffrage organization as early as July, 1870.[402] Nettie Sanford lectured in several of the central counties of the State during that and the previous year. Josephine Guthrie, professor of Belles-Lettres at Le Grand College, in a series of able articles in the Marshalltown Times in 1869, claimed for women equality of rights before the law. In 1873, Aubie Gifford, a woman of high culture and an experienced teacher, was elected to the office of county superintendent of the public schools of Marshall county, by a handsome majority; she was reelected, serving, in all, four years.

At Algona a society[403] was formed in 1871. At the annual meeting of the State Society at Des Moines, in 1873, Lizzie B. Read delivered an address entitled, "Coming Up Out of the Wilderness," and in July, 1875, at a mass-meeting at Clear Lake, one on "The Bible in Favor of Woman Suffrage." Mrs. Read, formerly as Miss Bunnel, published a paper called the Mayflower, at Peru, Indiana, and in 1865 a county paper in this State called the Upper Des Moines.

Since 1875 Jackson county has had an efficient Equal Rights Society.[404] On July 4, 1876, Nancy R. Allen, at the general celebration at Maquoketa, the county-seat, read the "Protest and Declaration of Rights," issued by the National Association from its Centennial Parlors in Philadelphia. It was well received by the majority of the people assembled; but, as usual, there were some objectors. The Presbyterian minister published a series of articles in the Sentinel, to each of which Mrs. Allen replied ably defending the principles of the Woman Suffrage party. The Maquoketa Equal Rights Society celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the woman's rights movement July 19, 1878, by holding a public meeting in Dr. Allen's grounds, in the shade of the grand old trees. It was a large gathering, and many prominent gentlemen of the city, by their presence and words of cheer, gave dignity to the occasion. Jackson county has long honored women with positions of trust. The deputy recorder is a woman; Mrs. Allen was notary public; Mrs. Patton was nominated for auditor by the Greenback party in 1880, but was defeated with the rest of the ticket. Women are book-keepers, merchants, clerks, teachers; and, in fact, almost every avenue is open to them.

Of Fort Dodge, Mrs. Haviland writes: "The subject has never been much agitated here. I have stood almost alone these long years, watching the work done by my sisters in other parts of the State, and hoping the time would soon come when some move could be made in this place. Last spring the annual meeting of our State Society was held here, but it was with difficulty that I found places where the few who came could be entertained, people were so afraid of woman's rights. After the refusal of the other churches, the Baptists opened theirs; the crowd of curious ones looked on and seemed surprised when they failed to discover the 'horns.'" Mrs. A.M. Swain also writes: "Miss Anthony came here first in June, 1871, and has been here twice since. Mrs. Swisshelm was here in 1874. Both were my guests when no other doors were open to the advocates of woman suffrage. The late convention of the State Society held here was a decided success; the best class of ladies attended; the dignity and ability shown in the management, and the many interesting and logical papers read disarmed all criticism and awakened genuine interest. I have handed in my ballot for several years, but it has never been received or counted."

Societies were organized in 1869 and 1870, in Independence and Monticello. Humboldt, Nevada, West Union, Corning, Osceola, Muscatine, Sigourney, Garden Grove, Decorah, Hamburg, and scores of other towns have their local societies. At West Liberty Mrs. Mary V. Cowgill and her good husband are liberal contributors to the work, both State and National.

At a convention held at Mt. Pleasant, June 17, 18, 1870, different sections of the State being well represented, the Iowa Woman Suffrage Society[405] was formed. Belle Mansfield, president, Frank Hatton,[406] editor of the Mt. Pleasant Journal, secretary. W.R. Cole opened the convention with prayer. After many able addresses from various speakers,[407] in response to an invitation from the president, Judge Palmer in a somewhat excited manner stated his objections to woman's voting. He wanted some guarantee that good would result from giving her the ballot. He thought "she did not understand driving, and would upset the sleigh. Men had always rowed the boat, and therefore always should. Men had more force and muscle than women, and therefore should have all the power in their hands." He spoke of himself as the guardian of his wife, and said she did not want to vote. After talking an hour in this style, he took his seat, greatly to the relief of his hearers. Mrs. Cutler, in her calm, dignified, deliberate manner, answered his arguments. She proved conclusively that muscular force was not the power most needed in our government. If it were, all the little, weak men and women, no matter how intellectual must stand aside, and let only the strong, muscular do the voting and governing. In clearness of perception, and readiness of debate, she distanced her opponent altogether in the opinion of the convention.