Equal Suffrage Study Club

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The Wilmington Equal Suffrage Study Club (WESSC) [1] was the name of an African American women's suffrage organization, [2] founded in Wilmington, Delaware, in March 1914. [3]

Contents

History

The Equal Suffrage Study Club was founded in the East Side [4] of Wilmington, Delaware, at the Thomas Garrett House. The club focused on studying suffrage issues at every level, whether local, state, national, or worldwide, especially as relating to women's rights and advancement. [5]

Fannie Hopkins Hamilton served the founding treasurer. The club also included fellow Wilmington activists Susie Estella Palmer Hamilton, Emma Belle Gibson Sykes, Alice M. Dunbar-Nelson, Bessie Spence Dorrell, Mary J. Johnson Woodlen and Blanche Williams Stubbs. [3] [6] [7] [8]

On May 2, 1914, four hundred women demonstrated by marching through Wilmington, Delaware, in the state's first suffrage parade. [1] [9] The Equal Suffrage Study Club led the segregated section in the rear of the parade. [10] [11] On June 7, 1914, the club held "the first of a series of public meetings in Bethel A.M.E. Church," and hosted a talk by Maryland senator Washburn focusing on the significance of the suffrage movement for African American women. [5]

The club was one of Delaware's most active group of suffragists, [12] with members speaking in public, lobbying, and marching. [1]

Legacy

On August 19th, 2020, the Delaware House of Representatives passed a resolution celebrating the centennial of the passing of the 19th Amendment, noting that "a woman’s right to vote would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of Delaware women from the National Women’s Party Suffragists, the Wilmington Equal Suffrage Study Club Suffragists, and the Delaware Equal Suffrage Association Suffragists." [13]

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Fannie Hopkins Hamilton

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Womens suffrage in Montana

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Womens suffrage in Delaware

Women's suffrage in Delaware began in the late 1860s, with efforts from suffragist, Mary Ann Sorden Stuart, and an 1869 women's rights convention held in Wilmington, Delaware. Stuart, along with prominent national suffragists lobbied the Delaware General Assembly to amend the state constitution in favor of women's suffrage. Several suffrage groups were formed early on, but the Delaware Equal Suffrage Association (DESA) formed in 1896, would become one of the major state suffrage clubs. Suffragists held conventions, continued to lobby the government and grow their movement. In 1913, a chapter of the Congressional Union (CU), which would later be known at the National Women's Party (NWP), was set up by Mabel Vernon in Delaware. NWP advocated more militant tactics to agitate for women's suffrage. These included picketing and setting watchfires. The Silent Sentinels protested in Washington, D.C. and were arrested for "blocking traffic." Sixteen women from Delaware, including Annie Arniel and Florence Bayard Hilles, were among those who were arrested. During World War I, both African-American and white suffragists in Delaware aided the war effort. During the ratification process for the Nineteenth Amendment, Delaware was in the position to become the final state needed to complete ratification. A huge effort went into persuading the General Assembly to support the amendment. Suffragists and anti-suffragists alike campaigned in Dover, Delaware for their cause. However, Delaware did not ratify the Nineteenth Amendment until March 6, 1923, well after it was already part of the United States Constitution.

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Timeline of womens suffrage in Pennsylvania

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Womens suffrage in Pennsylvania

Women's suffrage in Pennsylvania was an outgrowth of the abolitionist movement in the state. Early women's suffrage advocates in Pennsylvania not only wanted equal suffrage for white women, but for all African Americans. The first women's rights convention in the state was organized by Quakers and held in Chester County in 1852. Philadelphia would host the fifth National Women's Rights Convention in 1854. Later years saw suffragists forming a statewide group, the Pennsylvania Woman Suffrage Association (PWSA) and other smaller groups throughout the state. Early efforts moved slowly, but steadily, with suffragists raising awareness and winning endorsements from labor unions.

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Mary Wilson Thompson

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Timeline of womens suffrage in New Jersey

This is a timeline of women's suffrage in New Jersey. Women and African Americans had the right to vote in New Jersey until the state constitution was changed in 1807, disenfranchising all but white men. Any early suffrage protest was taken by Lucy Stone in 1857 who refused to pay her property taxes because she could not vote. Additional attempts to make women more equal under the law took place in the 1880s and 1890s. There were also several court cases that challenged women's right to vote in the state. Eventually, a voter referendum on a state constitutional suffrage amendment took place in 1915, however the measure was voted down. Activists continued to fight both in the state and to protest in Washington, D.C. as Silent Sentinels. By February 10, 1920, New Jersey ratified the Nineteenth Amendment.

Mary J. Johnson Woodlen (1870-1933) was an influential suffragist in Wilmington, Delaware. She was vice president of the Wilmington chapter of NAACP, a founding member of the Wilmington Equal Suffrage Study Club, and a major religious speaker at Methodist churches in the area.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Delaware and the 19th Amendment (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  2. ↑ "3 – Delaware's Suffrage Organizations – Votes for Delaware Women" . Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  3. 1 2 "Biographical Sketch of Susie Estella Palmer Hamilton, 1862-1942 | Alexander Street, a ProQuest Company". search.alexanderstreet.com. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  4. ↑ "Women Who Paved the Way – Old Swedes Historic Site" . Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  5. 1 2 Humanities, National Endowment for the (1914-06-06). "Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, June 06, 1914, Image 3". Evening Journal. p. 3. ISSN   2641-6123 . Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  6. ↑ "Where Women Made History". contest.savingplaces.org. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  7. ↑ "For the Record, Oct. 12, 2018 | UDaily". www.udel.edu. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  8. ↑ Boylan, Anne M. (Summer 2019). "Delaware Women's Suffrage Timeline" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ↑ Marks, Carole C. (1996). A history of African Americans of Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore. Christian Council of Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore, Delaware Heritage Commission (Second ed.). Wilmington, Del.: Delaware Heritage Commission. ISBN   0-924117-12-5. OCLC   40960961.
  10. ↑ The Sunday Morning Star - Google News Archive Search. "Suffrage Parade Striking Success". news.google.com. Retrieved 2021-05-07.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ↑ ""Suffrage Parade Striking Success." The Sunday Morning Star - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2021-05-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ↑ "Commemorating the Nineteenth: The Nineteenth Amendment and the National Park Service". past@present. 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  13. ↑ "Legislation Document". legis.delaware.gov. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
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