The National Association Opposed to Women Suffrage (NAOWS) was founded in the United States by women opposed to the suffrage movement in 1911. It was the most popular anti-suffrage organization in northeastern cities. [1] NAOWS had influential local chapters in many states, including Texas and Virginia.
The National Association Opposed to Women Suffrage (NAOWS) was established by Josephine Jewell Dodge in New York City in 1911. [1] Dodge had the first meeting at her house and women came from New York and surrounding states. [2] Dodge was currently the president of the New York State Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (NYSAOWS). [3] Dodge resigned from NYSAOWS to take over as president of NAOWS. [4] Shortly after formation, state branches of NAOWS began to form. [5] [6] Headquarters in Washington, D.C., were opened in 1913, giving the organization a front in both New York and the U.S. Capital. [7] [8]
Like other anti-suffrage organizations, NAOWS published a newsletter as well as other publications, containing their opinions on the current political issues of the time. The newsletter of the association was called Woman's Protest (later renamed Woman Patriot in 1918). [9] Dodge also toured the country, spreading anti-suffrage views to other states. [10]
Josephine Dodge, the founding president, was replaced in 1917, [11] by Alice Hay Wadsworth, wife of U.S. Senator James W. Wadsworth, Jr. from New York. [12] Upon amendment to the New York State Constitution granting women the right to vote, the focus of the NAOWS shifted from the state level to the federal level. The organization also began to see more men join NAOWS than before. [13] The headquarters were moved solely to Washington D.C. and they merged with the Woman Patriot Publishing Company. [14] The organization disbanded in 1920 as a result of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. [15]
The Delaware Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (DAOWS) was formed in 1914. [16] Mary Wilson Thompson served as the president. [17] Thompson's influence on politics was effective at preventing the initial ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in Delaware. [18]
Prominent Georgia women, Dolly Blount Lamar and Mildred Rutherford, formed the Georgia Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (GAOWS) in Macon, Georgia in May 1914. [19] [20] GAOWS was affiliated with the national group. [20] Both Lamar and Rutherford were involved in Confederate memorial work. [21] Rutherford's influence with the Confederate daughters of Georgia helped raise the profile of GAOWS and the group quickly grew to 2,000 members. [20] For women who supported the idea of the Lost Cause, suffragists represented a change to traditional class and gender roles in the South. [19] [21] Anti-suffragists in Georgia linked women's suffrage to the Reconstruction era. [22] They were also concerned with keeping power out of the hands of African-American women who were seeking equal rights. [23] GAOWS was also concerned with keeping political power out of the hands of poor white women. [24]
Members of GAOWS testified in front of the Georgia General Assembly against women's suffrage. [25] After Georgia rejected the Nineteenth Amendment, Lamar went to other states to campaign against the amendment's ratification. [26]
The Maine Association Opposed to Suffrage for Women (MAOSW) was formed in 1913. [27] [28] By 1917, almost 2,000 members joined the group. [28]
The New Jersey Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (NJAOWS) was formed on April 14, 1912. [29] Many members of NJAOWS were wealthy and involved in "patriotic, heritage organizations" like the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). [30] Anti-suffragists in New Jersey linked women's suffrage with anti-patriotism. [31] Many did not want to see traditional roles in the community change. [32] Members of NJAOWS were also worried about socialism and immigrants voting. [33]
In 1916, a South Dakota affiliate of NAOWS was created and led by Mrs. Ernest Jackson and Mrs. C. M. Hollister. [34] The group started publishing a newspaper called the South Dakota Anti-Suffragist and campaigned against upcoming suffrage referendums in the state. [34]
In March 1916, the Texas Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (TAOWS) was created as a chapter of NAOWS in Houston with Pauline Wells as the president. [35] [36] The chapter in Texas also connected the increase in African Americans voting to women's suffrage and they stoked fears of "domination by the black race in the South." [35] They also believed that women's suffrage was linked to "feminism, sex antagonism, socialism, anarchy and Mormonism." [35] Like their parent organization, TAOWS had local chapters in major Texas cities. [37] TAOWS fought against the Texas Equal Suffrage Association who were pushing for Texas women's right to vote in Texas primary elections in 1918. [35] In April 1919, headquarters were moved to Fort Worth. [38] In 1919, TAOWS successfully campaigned against a state measure for women's vote which was defeated by 25,000 votes in May. [35] However, in June 1919, Texas passed a suffrage amendment, allowing women to vote and the TAOWS stopped fighting against women's suffrage. [35]
A group, the Virginia Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (VAOWS) formed in Richmond in March 1912 and affiliated with NAOWS. [39] Jane Rutherford served as the president of VAOWS. [40] Local branches in different cities formed by 1913 and the organization distributed anti-suffrage literature. [41] [42] In 1915, VAOWS helped raise money for the Belgian Relief Fund during World War I. [43] By May 1917, VAOWS had doubled in size and continued to grow through 1918. [44] [45] Around 8,000 women had signed up with the anti-suffrage cause in Richmond by 1919. [46]
Like the Texas Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage, VAOWS also suggested that race riots, the black vote and women's suffrage were connected. [46] In a sponsored editorial published in The Richmond Times-Dispatch on September 2, 1919, VAOWS exclaimed, "Race riots will increase if there is more politics between the races and if women are mixed up in politics!" [46] One anti-suffragist in Virginia said it would be harder to keep Black women from the polls than Black men saying that Black women were "exempt from fear and physical consequences." [47]
VAOWS also threatened that if women were given the vote, it would lead to socialism. [48] Linking socialism to women's suffrage brought class issues into the debate on the vote for women. [47] Virginia had already worked to disenfranchise Black voters, poor white voters, and Republicans in 1902. [49] VAOWS worked to make sure that this supremacy over the poor and over differing political ideologies was maintained. [50] VAOWS appealed to state's rights as a means to oppose federal oversight of their voting practices. [51]
One of NAOWS' publications included a pamphlet, Some Reasons Why We Oppose Votes for Women, [52] which, as the title suggests, outlines some of the reasons why they are opposed to women suffrage. They believed it was irrelevant to the success of the country, as stated in their pamphlet: [52]
Because the great advance of women in the last century— moral, intellectual and economic— has been made without the vote; which goes to prove that it is not needed for their further advancement along the same lines.
The National Association Opposed to Women Suffrage opposed women's right to vote because they said that the majority of women did not want the right to vote, [53] and because they believed that the men in their lives accurately represented the political will of women around the United States. NAOWS submitted pamphlets like these to the general public as well as directing them to government officials so that political figures would see that women opposed the then-unratified nineteenth amendment. They did this in order to counteract the rhetoric of the suffragettes of the time. According to the NAOWS and the state-based organizations that it inspired, voting would severely and negatively affect the true submissive and domestic state of the feminine. These organizations were championed by women who thought themselves the prime examples of true womanhood—quiet, dignified, and regal. They looked with disdain at the outward protests of suffragettes.
NAOWS wanted to appeal to conservative and traditional members of their community, including other women and religious figures. [54] They positioned themselves as being in opposition of "the militant suffragette" and militant or "hysterical" tactics. [55] [56] NAOWS also believed that women's involvement in politics would interfere with their "civic duties for which they are peculiarly adapted." [2] NAOWS believed that women were equal to men, but had different duties and "functions". [57]
"We believe that political equality will deprive us of special privileges hitherto accorded to us by law." [52]
"[We oppose suffrage] Because it means simply doubling the vote, and especially the undesirable and corrupt vote of our large cities." [52]
"[We oppose suffrage] Because our present duties fill up the whole measure of our time and ability, and are such as none but ourselves can perform." [52]
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and its states from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, in effect recognizing the right of women to vote. The amendment was the culmination of a decades-long movement for women's suffrage in the United States, at both the state and national levels, and was part of the worldwide movement towards women's suffrage and part of the wider women's rights movement. The first women's suffrage amendment was introduced in Congress in 1878. However, a suffrage amendment did not pass the House of Representatives until May 21, 1919, which was quickly followed by the Senate, on June 4, 1919. It was then submitted to the states for ratification, achieving the requisite 36 ratifications to secure adoption, and thereby went into effect, on August 18, 1920. The Nineteenth Amendment's adoption was certified on August 26, 1920.
The Silent Sentinels, also known as the Sentinels of Liberty, were a group of over 2,000 women in favor of women's suffrage organized by Alice Paul and the National Woman's Party, who nonviolently protested in front of the White House during Woodrow Wilson's presidency starting on January 10, 1917. Nearly 500 were arrested, and 168 served jail time. They were the first group to picket the White House. Later, they also protested in Lafayette Square, not stopping until June 4, 1919 when the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed both by the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Anti-suffragism was a political movement composed of both men and women that began in the late 19th century in order to campaign against women's suffrage in countries such as Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.To some extent, Anti-suffragism was a Classical Conservative movement that sought to keep the status quo for women. More American women organized against their own right to vote than in favor of it, until 1916. Anti-suffragism was associated with "domestic feminism," the belief that women had the right to complete freedom within the home. In the United States, these activists were often referred to as "remonstrants" or "antis."
Women's suffrage was established in the United States on a full or partial basis by various towns, counties, states, and territories during the latter decades of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century. As women received the right to vote in some places, they began running for public office and gaining positions as school board members, county clerks, state legislators, judges, and, in the case of Jeannette Rankin, as a member of Congress.
The Leslie Woman Suffrage Commission was an American woman's suffrage organization formed by Carrie Chapman Catt in March 1917 in New York City, based on funds willed for the purpose by publisher Miriam Leslie. The organization helped promote the cause of suffrage through increasing awareness of the issue and through education.
Alice Evelyn Hay Wadsworth was an American anti-suffrage leader during the early 20th century. She was daughter of John Hay, 37th United States Secretary of State, and Clara L. Stone and was married to U.S. Senator James W. Wadsworth Jr., of Geneseo, New York in 1902.
The New York State Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (NYSAOWS) was an American anti-suffrage organization in New York. The group was made up of prominent women who fought against the cause of women's suffrage by giving speeches, handing out materials and pamphlets and also publishing a journal. There were several auxiliaries of the group throughout New York and it was considered one of the most active anti-suffrage groups in the state.
The Massachusetts Association Opposed to the Further Extension of Suffrage to Women (MAOFESW) was one of the earliest organizations formed to oppose women's suffrage in the United States. The organization was founded in May of 1895. However, MAOFESW had its roots in earlier Massachusetts anti-suffrage groups and had a publication called The Remonstrance, started in 1890.
Minnie Bronson was an American anti-suffragist activist who was general secretary of the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage.
Women's suffrage was granted in Virginia in 1920, with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The General Assembly, Virginia's governing legislative body, did not ratify the Nineteenth Amendment until 1952. The argument for women's suffrage in Virginia began in 1870, but it did not gain traction until 1909 with the founding of the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia. Between 1912 and 1916, Virginia's suffragists would bring the issue of women's voting rights to the floor of the General Assembly three times, petitioning for an amendment to the state constitution giving women the right to vote; they were defeated each time. During this period, the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia and its fellow Virginia suffragists fought against a strong anti-suffragist movement that tapped into conservative, post-Civil War values on the role of women, as well as racial fears. After achieving suffrage in August 1920, over 13,000 women registered within one month to vote for the first time in the 1920 United States presidential election.
Women's suffrage efforts in Texas began in 1868 at the first Texas Constitutional Convention. In both Constitutional Conventions and subsequent legislative sessions, efforts to provide women the right to vote were introduced, only to be defeated. Early Texas suffragists such as Martha Goodwin Tunstall and Mariana Thompson Folsom worked with national suffrage groups in the 1870s and 1880s. It wasn't until 1893 and the creation of the Texas Equal Rights Association (TERA) by Rebecca Henry Hayes of Galveston that Texas had a statewide women's suffrage organization. Members of TERA lobbied politicians and political party conventions on women's suffrage. Due to an eventual lack of interest and funding, TERA was inactive by 1898. In 1903, women's suffrage organizing was revived by Annette Finnigan and her sisters. These women created the Texas Equal Suffrage Association (TESA) in Houston in 1903. TESA sponsored women's suffrage speakers and testified on women's suffrage in front of the Texas Legislature. In 1908 and 1912, speaking tours by Anna Howard Shaw helped further renew interest in women's suffrage in Texas. TESA grew in size and suffragists organized more public events, including Suffrage Day at the Texas State Fair. By 1915, more and more women in Texas were supporting women's suffrage. The Texas Federation of Women's Clubs officially supported women's suffrage in 1915. Also that year, anti-suffrage opponents started to speak out against women's suffrage and in 1916, organized the Texas Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (TAOWS). TESA, under the political leadership of Minnie Fisher Cunningham and with the support of Governor William P. Hobby, suffragists began to make further gains in achieving their goals. In 1918, women achieved the right to vote in Texas primary elections. During the registration drive, 386,000 Texas women signed up during a 17-day period. An attempt to modify the Texas Constitution by voter referendum failed in May 1919, but in June 1919, the United States Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment. Texas became the ninth state and the first Southern state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment on June 28, 1919. This allowed white women to vote, but African American women still had trouble voting, with many turned away, depending on their communities. In 1923, Texas created white primaries, excluding all Black people from voting in the primary elections. The white primaries were overturned in 1944 and in 1964, Texas's poll tax was abolished. In 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed, promising that all people in Texas had the right to vote, regardless of race or gender.
Women's rights issues in Ohio were put into the public eye in the early 1850s. Women inspired by the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention created newspapers and then set up their own conventions, including the 1850 Ohio Women's Rights Convention which was the first women's right's convention outside of New York and the first that was planned and run solely by women. These early efforts towards women's suffrage affected people in other states and helped energize the women's suffrage movement in Ohio. Women's rights groups formed throughout the state, with the Ohio Women's Rights Association (OWRA) founded in 1853. Other local women's suffrage groups are formed in the late 1860s. In 1894, women won the right to vote in school board elections in Ohio. The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was headquartered for a time in Warren, Ohio. Two efforts to vote on a constitutional amendment, one in 1912 and the other 1914 were unsuccessful, but drew national attention to women's suffrage. In 1916, women in East Cleveland gained the right to vote in municipal elections. A year later, women in Lakewood, Ohio and Columbus were given the right to vote in municipal elections. Also in 1917, the Reynolds Bill, which would allow women to vote in the next presidential election was passed, and then quickly repealed by a voter referendum sponsored by special-interest groups. On June 16, 1919, Ohio became the fifth state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment.
The first women's suffrage group in Georgia, the Georgia Woman Suffrage Association (GWSA), was formed in 1892 by Helen Augusta Howard. Over time, the group, which focused on "taxation without representation" grew and earned the support of both men and women. Howard convinced the National American Women's Suffrage Association (NAWSA) to hold their first convention outside of Washington, D.C., in 1895. The convention, held in Atlanta, was the first large women's rights gathering in the Southern United States. GWSA continued to hold conventions and raise awareness over the next years. Suffragists in Georgia agitated for suffrage amendments, for political parties to support white women's suffrage and for municipal suffrage. In the 1910s, more organizations were formed in Georgia and the number of suffragists grew. In addition, the Georgia Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage also formed an organized anti-suffrage campaign. Suffragists participated in parades, supported bills in the legislature and helped in the war effort during World War I. In 1917 and 1919, women earned the right to vote in primary elections in Waycross, Georgia and in Atlanta respectively. In 1919, after the Nineteenth Amendment went out to the states for ratification, Georgia became the first state to reject the amendment. When the Nineteenth Amendment became the law of the land, women still had to wait to vote because of rules regarding voter registration. White Georgia women would vote statewide in 1922. Native American women and African-American women had to wait longer to vote. Black women were actively excluded from the women's suffrage movement in the state and had their own organizations. Despite their work to vote, Black women faced discrimination at the polls in many different forms. Georgia finally ratified the Nineteenth Amendment on February 20, 1970.
This is a timeline of women's suffrage in Georgia. Women's suffrage in Georgia started in earnest with the formation of the Georgia Woman Suffrage Association (GWSA) in 1892. GWSA helped bring the first large women's rights convention to the South in 1895 when the National American Woman's Suffrage Association (NAWSA) held their convention in Atlanta. GWSA was the main source of activism behind women's suffrage until 1913. In that year, several other groups formed including the Georgia Young People's Suffrage Association (GYPSA) and the Georgia Men's League for Woman Suffrage. In 1914, the Georgia Association Opposed to Women's Suffrage (GAOWS) was formed by anti-suffragists. Despite the hard work by suffragists in Georgia, the state continued to reject most efforts to pass equal suffrage. In 1917, Waycross, Georgia allowed women to vote in primary elections and in 1919 Atlanta granted the same. Georgia was the first state to reject the Nineteenth Amendment. Women in Georgia still had to wait to vote statewide after the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified on August 26, 1920. Native American and African American women had to wait even longer to vote. Georgia ratified the Nineteenth Amendment in 1970.
The women's suffrage movement in Pennsylvania was an outgrowth of the abolitionist movement in the state. Early women's suffrage advocates in Pennsylvania wanted equal suffrage not only 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.
Women's suffrage started in South Dakota when it was part of Dakota Territory. Prior to 1889, it had a shared history of women's suffrage with North Dakota. While South Dakota was part of the territory, women earned the right to vote on school related issues. They retained this right after it became a separate state. The state constitution specified that there would be a women's suffrage amendment referendum in 1890. Despite a large campaign that included Susan B. Anthony and a state suffrage group, the South Dakota Equal Suffrage Association (SDESA), the referendum failed. The state legislature passed additional suffrage referendums over the years, but each was voted down until 1918. South Dakota was an early ratifier of the Nineteenth Amendment, which was approved during a special midnight legislative session on December 4, 1919.
Suffrage was available to most women and African Americans in New Jersey immediately upon the formation of the state. The first New Jersey state constitution allowed any person who owned a certain value of property to become a voter. In 1790, the state constitution was changed to specify that voters were "he or she". Politicians seeking office deliberately courted women voters who often decided narrow elections. This was so the Democratic-Republican Party had an advantage in the presidential election of 1808.
Eugenia DorothyBlount Lamar was an American historian and activist from Macon, Georgia. A staunch defender of the values of the American South during the early 20th century, she was the president of the Georgia Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (GDUDC) and for many years was the organization's historian.
Mary Guthrie Kilbreth was an American anti-suffragist and an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She became president of the New York State Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (NAOWS) in 1919.