The Maryland Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA) was a

woman'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 ...

organization in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, USA, founded in 1889.

About

The MWSA was created to fight for

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 Maryland. Carolyn Hallowell Miller started the group on January 11, 1889. The group included both men and women. MWSA met in members' homes and worked to plan statewide conventions and conferences. The first president was Miller, though only for a short time. She was followed by Mary Bentley Thomas. In 1902, MWSA opened a headquarters in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. In 1904, Emma Maddox Funck became president. MWSA invited the

National American Woman Suffrage Association The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was an organization formed on February 18, 1890, to advocate in favor of women's suffrage in the United States. It was created by the merger of two existing organizations, the National ...

to hold its 1906 conference in Baltimore. In 1910, MWSA worked closely with

Elizabeth King Ellicott Elizabeth King Ellicott (1858–1914) was an American suffragist. Biography Ellicott was born in 1858 to a wealthy Baltimore family. After studying at the Howland Institute, she returned to Baltimore. Several years later, she and several friend ...

and presented a bill for suffrage for all to the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

. The bill was soundly rejected by the delegates. In 1911, there was a split in the group, with some leaving MWSA to form the State Equal Franchise League of Maryland. MWSA continued to provide an amendment for women's suffrage in the Maryland Constitution in 1912, 1914 and 1916, with no success.

Notable members

* Emma Maddox Funck, president. * Etta Haynie Maddox, corresponding secretary.

References

{{Authority control 1889 establishments in Maryland Women's suffrage advocacy groups in the United States Women's clubs in the United States History of women in Maryland Women's suffrage in Maryland