Equal Franchise Society on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Equal Franchise Society (EFS) was a state-by-state organization that advocated
Annual Report of the Equal Franchise Society 1913
{{Suffrage History of voting rights in the United States History of women in the United States History of women's rights in the United States Progressive Era in the United States Women's suffrage advocacy groups in the United States
The Equal Franchise Society (EFS) was a state-by-state organization that advocated women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
in the United States. Created and joined by women of wealth, it was a conduit through which the energies of upper-class women could be channeled into political activism conducted within a socially comfortable milieu. The New York branch of the Society, for example, often held suffrage rallies at which members spoke in the street outside the Colony Club
The Colony Club is a women-only private social club in New York City. Founded in 1903 by Florence Jaffray Harriman, wife of J. Borden Harriman, as the first social club established in New York City by and for women, it was modeled on similar ...
, to which many of them belonged. After the public rally, Club members would eat luncheon inside their Club. The EFS also invited anti-suffragists
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 ...
to meet with them for the purposes of debate
Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...
.
History
Katherine Duer Mackay founded the Equal Franchise Society (EFS) inNew York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in 1908 and also served as its president. The first meeting was held at her house on December 21, where the Constitution for the group was adopted and officers were elected. Mackey later leased offices for the group's meetings in the Madison Square Building. Mackay had a vision of the EFS uniting woman's suffrage groups into a "single body." Her vision of EFS also included the equality of men and women both in civic and political sectors and a prohibition against militant
The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...
tactics. She also hoped that both wealth
Wealth is the abundance of Value (economics), valuable financial assets or property, physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for financial transaction, transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the ...
y and working-class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
women could work together towards suffrage through the EFS. The EFS decided in 1909 to push for the right to vote in the city of New York first, before they fought for the right to vote across the country.
Mackay quit as the president of EFS in 1911, stating that she did not have enough time to devote to the project.
The Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
chapter of the EFS was formed by Jeanne Wier in 1910.
See also
*Women's suffrage organizations and publications Major women's suffrage organizations International
*International Alliance of Women – founded in 1904 to promote women's suffrage.
*Woman's Christian Temperance Union – active in the suffrage movement, especially in the U.S. and New Zealand.
A ...
* List of suffragists and suffragettes
This list of suffragists and suffragettes includes noted individuals active in the worldwide women's suffrage movement who have campaigned or strongly advocated for women's suffrage, the organisations which they formed or joined, and the public ...
* Timeline of women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant ...
* Women's suffrage in the United States
In the 1700's to early 1800's New Jersey did allow Women the right to vote before the passing of the 19th Amendment, but in 1807 the state restricted the right to vote to "...tax-paying, white male citizens..."
Women's legal right to vote w ...
References
Citations
Sources
* * *External links
Annual Report of the Equal Franchise Society 1913
{{Suffrage History of voting rights in the United States History of women in the United States History of women's rights in the United States Progressive Era in the United States Women's suffrage advocacy groups in the United States