History of Woman Suffrage
Encyclopedia
History of Woman Suffrage was produced by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
, Susan B. Anthony
, Matilda Joslyn Gage
and Ida Husted Harper
in six volumes from 1881 to 1922. It was a history of the suffrage movement, primarily in the United States.
The first three volumes were composed in a blaze of inspiration from 1876 to the 1880s, as Anthony and Stanton realized that the earliest pioneers of the women's movement were passing on or would soon be. They are filled with recollections from such pioneering spirits as Lucretia Mott
, Clarina I. H. Nichols
and Ernestine Rose
, as well as each of the co-authors.
Because of her key role in the fight for woman suffrage, Anthony and Stanton asked Lucy Stone
to help write the history of the movement. Stone refused; she believed that Anthony and Stanton would not accurately portray the divisive split in 1869 between radical National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), formed by Anthony and Stanton to fight against African American
male suffrage so that woman suffrage could be achieved first, and centrist American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA)
, formed by Stone and a greater number of supporters who were willing to work toward black male suffrage as a political expedient followed in due course by a renewed effort for woman suffrage. After she declined to assist Stanton and Anthony, Stone's wide influence in the field of women's rights
was marginalized in History of Woman Suffrage. The text was used as the standard scholarly resource for much of the 20th century, causing Stone's contribution to be overlooked in many histories of women's causes.
The latter three volumes were more records-keeping in nature. They were compiled periodically over the next 35 years as the suffrage movement inched closer to its goal of a constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote. Anthony's protege Ida Harper edited these volumes, which appeared in 1902 (Volume 4) and 1922 (Volumes 5 and 6). Anthony died in 1906.
The authors write in the introduction: "We hope the contribution we have made may enable some other hand in the future to write a more complete history of the most momentous reform that has yet been launched on the world—the first organized protest against the injustice which has brooded over the character and destiny of one-half the human race."
The first volume is dedicated to the memory of several pioneering women in the movement, with the name of Mary Wollstonecraft
listed first, above all other names.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an American social activist, abolitionist, and leading figure of the early woman's movement...
, 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...
, 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 Ida Husted Harper
Ida Husted Harper
Ida Husted Harper was a prominent figure in the United States women's suffrage movement. She was an American author and journalist who wrote primarily to document the movement and show support of its ideals....
in six volumes from 1881 to 1922. It was a history of the suffrage movement, primarily in the United States.
The first three volumes were composed in a blaze of inspiration from 1876 to the 1880s, as Anthony and Stanton realized that the earliest pioneers of the women's movement were passing on or would soon be. They are filled with recollections from such pioneering spirits as Lucretia Mott
Lucretia Mott
Lucretia Coffin Mott was an American Quaker, abolitionist, social reformer, and proponent of women's rights.- Early life and education:...
, Clarina I. H. Nichols
Clarina I. H. Nichols
Clarina Irene Howard Nichols was a journalist, lobbyist and public speaker involved in all three of the major reform movements of the mid-19th century: temperance, abolition, and the women's movement that emerged largely out of the ranks of the first two...
and Ernestine Rose
Ernestine Rose
Ernestine Louise Rose was an atheist feminist, Individualist Feminist, and abolitionist. She was one of the major intellectual forces behind the women's rights movement in nineteenth-century America....
, as well as each of the co-authors.
Because of her key role in the fight for woman suffrage, Anthony and Stanton asked 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...
to help write the history of the movement. Stone refused; she believed that Anthony and Stanton would not accurately portray the divisive split in 1869 between radical National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), formed by Anthony and Stanton to fight against African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
male suffrage so that woman suffrage could be achieved first, and centrist American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA)
American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA)
The American Woman Suffrage Association 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...
, formed by Stone and a greater number of supporters who were willing to work toward black male suffrage as a political expedient followed in due course by a renewed effort for woman suffrage. After she declined to assist Stanton and Anthony, Stone's wide influence in the field of women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
was marginalized in History of Woman Suffrage. The text was used as the standard scholarly resource for much of the 20th century, causing Stone's contribution to be overlooked in many histories of women's causes.
The latter three volumes were more records-keeping in nature. They were compiled periodically over the next 35 years as the suffrage movement inched closer to its goal of a constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote. Anthony's protege Ida Harper edited these volumes, which appeared in 1902 (Volume 4) and 1922 (Volumes 5 and 6). Anthony died in 1906.
The authors write in the introduction: "We hope the contribution we have made may enable some other hand in the future to write a more complete history of the most momentous reform that has yet been launched on the world—the first organized protest against the injustice which has brooded over the character and destiny of one-half the human race."
The first volume is dedicated to the memory of several pioneering women in the movement, with the name of Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft was an eighteenth-century British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. During her brief career, she wrote novels, treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the French Revolution, a conduct book, and a children's book...
listed first, above all other names.
Further reading
- Kelly, Martha, "A Little History of The History of Woman Suffrage," IOBA Standard Online, Volume VI, Number 1, Spring Edition 2005.