American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA)
Encyclopedia
The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) was formed in November 1869 in response to a split in the American Equal Rights Association
over the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
. Its founders, who supported the Fifteenth Amendment, included Lucy Stone
, and Henry Blackwell. The AWSA founders were staunch abolitionists, and strongly supported securing the right to vote for the Negro. They believed that the Fifteenth Amendment
would be in danger of failing to pass in Congress if it included the vote for women. On the other side of the split in the American Equal Rights Association, opposing the Fifteenth Amendment, were "irreconcilables" Elizabeth Cady Stanton
and Susan B. Anthony
, who formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) to secure women's enfranchisement through a federal
constitutional amendment
. AWSA believed success could be more easily achieved through state-by-state campaigns.
and Fifteenth
amendments as blatant injustices to women. As well as advocating votes for women, the NWSA also advocated easier divorce
and an end to discrimination in employment and pay.
Some suffragists thought it was a mistake to become involved in other controversial issues. Later that year Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe and Josephine Ruffin
formed the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) in Boston. Less militant than the National Woman Suffrage Association, the AWSA was only concerned with obtaining the vote and did not campaign on other issues.
A supporter of the American Woman Suffrage Association was Fanny Baker Ames
, and her husband, the Unitarian activist Reverend Charles Gordon Ames. Mr. and Mrs. Ames were not only devoted to the suffragist movement, but also dedicated abolitionists and social reformers. Mrs. Ames worked especially to invoke a new approach to philanthropy in the late nineteenth century. In her speech "The Care of Dependent Children" before feminists at the National Council of Women, Fanny Baker Ames advocated society to deal with poor people as individuals, instead of "helpless masses". When there was conflict between the American Woman Suffrage Association and the National Woman Suffrage Association, Mr. and Mrs. Ames quietly withdrew their support from the AWSA.
In 1870 the AWSA founded its own magazine, the Woman's Journal
. Edited by Lucy Stone, it featured articles by members of the organizations and cartoons by Blanche Ames, Lou Rogers, Mary Sigsbee, Fredrikke Palmer and Rollin Kirby
. Some of the regional groups also produced journals, most notably, the Women Voter (New York City
), Maryland Suffrage News (Baltimore
) and the Western Woman Voter (Seattle).
In the 1880s it became clear that it was not a good idea to have two rival groups campaigning for votes for women. After several years of negotiations, the AWSA and the NWSA merged in 1890 to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association
(NAWSA). The leaders of this new organization include Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, Frances Willard
, Mary Church Terrell
, Matilda Joslyn Gage
and Anna Howard Shaw
.
American Equal Rights Association
The American Equal Rights Association , also known as the Equal Rights Association, was an organization formed by women's rights and black rights activists in 1866 in the United States. Its goal was to join the cause of gender equality with that of racial equality...
over the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits each government in the United States from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude"...
. Its founders, who supported the Fifteenth Amendment, included Lucy Stone
Lucy Stone
Lucy Stone was a prominent American abolitionist and suffragist, and a vocal advocate and organizer promoting rights for women. In 1847, Stone was the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a college degree. She spoke out for women's rights and against slavery at a time when women were discouraged...
, and Henry Blackwell. The AWSA founders were staunch abolitionists, and strongly supported securing the right to vote for the Negro. They believed that the Fifteenth Amendment
Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits each government in the United States from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude"...
would be in danger of failing to pass in Congress if it included the vote for women. On the other side of the split in the American Equal Rights Association, opposing the Fifteenth Amendment, were "irreconcilables" Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an American social activist, abolitionist, and leading figure of the early woman's movement...
and Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony
Susan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She was co-founder of the first Women's Temperance Movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as President...
, who formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) to secure women's enfranchisement through a federal
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
constitutional amendment
Constitutional amendment
A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...
. AWSA believed success could be more easily achieved through state-by-state campaigns.
Origins
In 1869 Julia Ward Howe, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony formed a new organization, the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA). The organization condemned the FourteenthFourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
and Fifteenth
Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits each government in the United States from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude"...
amendments as blatant injustices to women. As well as advocating votes for women, the NWSA also advocated easier divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
and an end to discrimination in employment and pay.
Some suffragists thought it was a mistake to become involved in other controversial issues. Later that year Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe and Josephine Ruffin
Josephine Ruffin
Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin was an American publisher, journalist, African American civil rights leader, suffragist, and editor for Women’s Era, the first newspaper published by and for African American women...
formed the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) in Boston. Less militant than the National Woman Suffrage Association, the AWSA was only concerned with obtaining the vote and did not campaign on other issues.
A supporter of the American Woman Suffrage Association was Fanny Baker Ames
Fanny Baker Ames
Fanny Baker Ames was a philanthropist and women's rights leader. Born Julia Francis Baker in Canandaigua, New York she briefly attended Antioch College. When the American Civil War came, she volunteered in military hospitals.Ames married her husband, the Unitarian activist Reverend Charles Gordon...
, and her husband, the Unitarian activist Reverend Charles Gordon Ames. Mr. and Mrs. Ames were not only devoted to the suffragist movement, but also dedicated abolitionists and social reformers. Mrs. Ames worked especially to invoke a new approach to philanthropy in the late nineteenth century. In her speech "The Care of Dependent Children" before feminists at the National Council of Women, Fanny Baker Ames advocated society to deal with poor people as individuals, instead of "helpless masses". When there was conflict between the American Woman Suffrage Association and the National Woman Suffrage Association, Mr. and Mrs. Ames quietly withdrew their support from the AWSA.
In 1870 the AWSA founded its own magazine, the Woman's Journal
Woman's Journal
Woman's Journal was a women's rights periodical published from 1870-1931.Woman's Journal was founded in 1870 in Boston, Massachusetts by Lucy Stone and her husband Henry Browne Blackwell as a weekly newspaper. The new paper incorporated Mary A...
. Edited by Lucy Stone, it featured articles by members of the organizations and cartoons by Blanche Ames, Lou Rogers, Mary Sigsbee, Fredrikke Palmer and Rollin Kirby
Rollin Kirby
Rollin Kirby was an American political cartoonist. In 1922 he was chronologically the first winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning, an honor that he would receive three times....
. Some of the regional groups also produced journals, most notably, the Women Voter (New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
), Maryland Suffrage News (Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
) and the Western Woman Voter (Seattle).
In the 1880s it became clear that it was not a good idea to have two rival groups campaigning for votes for women. After several years of negotiations, the AWSA and the NWSA merged in 1890 to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association
National American Woman Suffrage Association
The National American Woman Suffrage Association was an American women's rights organization formed in May 1890 as a unification of the National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association...
(NAWSA). The leaders of this new organization include Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, Frances Willard
Frances Willard (suffragist)
Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard was an American educator, temperance reformer, and women's suffragist. Her influence was instrumental in the passage of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution...
, Mary Church Terrell
Mary Church Terrell
Mary Church Terrell , daughter of former slaves, was one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree. She became an activist who led several important associations and worked for civil rights and suffrage....
, Matilda Joslyn Gage
Matilda Joslyn Gage
Matilda Electa Joslyn Gage was a suffragist, a Native American activist, an abolitionist, a freethinker, and a prolific author, who was "born with a hatred of oppression".-Early activities:...
and Anna Howard Shaw
Anna Howard Shaw
Anna Howard Shaw was a leader of the women's suffrage movement in the United States. She was also a physician and the first ordained female Methodist minister in the United States. Her birthday is celebrated as Anna Howard Shaw Day, as an alternative to St. Valentine's Day.-Early Life:Shaw was...
.