New England Woman Suffrage Association
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The New England Woman Suffrage Association (NEWSA) was established in November 1868 to campaign for the right of women to vote in the U.S. Its principal leaders were
Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe (; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the original 1870 pacifist Mother's Day Proclamation. She was also an advocate for abolitionism ...
, its first president, and
Lucy Stone Lucy Stone (August 13, 1818 – October 18, 1893) was an American orator, abolitionist and suffragist who was a vocal advocate for and organizer promoting rights for women. In 1847, Stone became the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a colle ...
, who later became president. It was active until 1920, when
suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...
for women was secured by the Nineteenth Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...
. The NEWSA was formed during a period when a split was developing within the women's rights movement and also between one wing of that movement and the
abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...
movement. Disagreement was especially sharp over the proposal to
enfranchise Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
African American men before enfranchising women. The NEWSA, which accepted that approach, was organized partly to counter the activities of
Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...
and
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton (November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 Seneca ...
, who opposed it, insisting that women and black men should be enfranchised at the same time. The NEWSA also maintained close ties with the abolitionist movement and the Republican Party whereas Stanton and Anthony were working toward an independent women's movement. The NEWSA was the first major political organization with women's suffrage as its goal. It was formed on a regional basis several months before the establishment of two national women's suffrage organizations, the
National Woman Suffrage Association The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) was formed on May 15, 1869, to work for women's suffrage in the United States. Its main leaders were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It was created after the women's rights movement spl ...
and the
American Woman Suffrage Association The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) was a single-issue national organization formed in 1869 to work for women's suffrage in the United States. The AWSA lobbied state governments to enact laws granting or expanding women's right to vote ...
. The NEWSA played a key role in the formation of the latter and had overlapping leadership with it.


Background

The New England Woman Suffrage Association (NEWSA) was formed during a period when a split was developing within the women's rights movement and also between one wing of that movement and the abolitionist movement. Disagreements had already weakened the
American Equal Rights Association The American Equal Rights Association (AERA) was formed in 1866 in the United States. According to its constitution, its purpose was "to secure Equal Rights to all American citizens, especially the right of suffrage, irrespective of race, color o ...
, which was formed in 1866 by women's rights advocates and abolitionists to campaign for equal rights, including
suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...
, for all citizens regardless of race or sex. Priority had become an issue: should
universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
be the immediate goal, or should African American men be enfranchised first? After slavery was abolished in the U.S. in 1865, the
American Anti-Slavery Society The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS; 1833–1870) was an abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave, had become a prominent abolitionist and was a key leader of this society ...
declared that its work would not be finished until African Americans were also guaranteed political equality. By the time of the NEWSA's founding, hope for fulfillment of that goal was embodied in a proposed Fifteenth Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...
that would prohibit the denial of suffrage because of race. Because it would not also prohibit the denial of suffrage because of sex, however, it became a focal point for discord within the women's movement. Some members of the women's movement, such as
Abby Kelley Foster Abby Kelley Foster (January 15, 1811 – January 14, 1887) was an American abolitionist and radical social reformer active from the 1830s to 1870s. She became a fundraiser, lecturer and committee organizer for the influential American Anti-Sl ...
, supported the amendment because they believed that suffrage for African American males was a more pressing need than suffrage for women. Others, such as
Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...
and
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton (November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 Seneca ...
, opposed any amendment that would in effect
enfranchise Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
all men while excluding all women, believing it would create an "aristocracy of sex" by giving constitutional authority to the idea that men were superior to women.
Lucy Stone Lucy Stone (August 13, 1818 – October 18, 1893) was an American orator, abolitionist and suffragist who was a vocal advocate for and organizer promoting rights for women. In 1847, Stone became the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a colle ...
, who played a leading role in the NEWSA, argued that suffrage for women was more important than suffrage for black men but also supported the Fifteenth Amendment. The split also involved different assessments of the ruling Republican Party. Many leading women's suffragists had been introduced to social activism through the anti-slavery movement and felt loyalty to both that movement and to the Republican Party, which had provided political leadership for the abolition of slavery in the U.S. and was still in the difficult process of consolidating that victory. After the uncomfortably close elections of 1868, Republican leaders recognized the importance of enfranchising African American men, most of whom were recently freed slaves, as a way of helping to preserve the victory over slaveholders during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
(1861–1865). They and their abolitionist allies increasingly viewed women's suffrage as an objective that, even if successful, would not produce comparable political benefits, and they considered the campaign for it to be a drain on resources that were needed elsewhere. Women's rights activists generally had been strong supporters of the abolitionist movement and had also depended heavily on its resources. Those who distanced themselves from abolitionist and Republican leadership during this period, however, found themselves increasingly cut off from abolitionist resources and sometimes the target of outright hostility from Republicans. Stanton, Anthony and their allies felt betrayed and began to criticize the Republican Party and some of the abolitionist leadership.
Olympia Brown Olympia Brown (January 5, 1835 – October 23, 1926) was an American minister and suffragist. She was the first woman to be ordained as clergy with the consent of her denomination. Brown was also an articulate advocate for women's rights and one ...
, an ally who played a role in the NEWSA's creation, criticized abolitionist leaders by name and said, "We must look for our support to new men". Stanton and Anthony greatly inflamed feelings by accepting help from
George Francis Train George Francis Train (March 24, 1829 – January 18, 1904) was an American entrepreneur who organized the clipper ship line that sailed around Cape Horn to San Francisco; he also organized the Union Pacific Railroad and the Credit Mobilier in th ...
, a supporter of women's rights who was also a wealthy Democrat and an outspoken racist. Other women's suffrage activists, however, continued to support the abolitionist leadership and the Republican Party to varying degrees.


History


Planning committee

Olympia Brown Olympia Brown (January 5, 1835 – October 23, 1926) was an American minister and suffragist. She was the first woman to be ordained as clergy with the consent of her denomination. Brown was also an articulate advocate for women's rights and one ...
, who had recently become one of the first ordained woman ministers, initiated the proposal for a
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
women's suffrage organization. She hoped to create an association that would limit its activity to a campaign for women's suffrage, believing that campaigning for suffrage for both women and African Americans, as the
American Equal Rights Association The American Equal Rights Association (AERA) was formed in 1866 in the United States. According to its constitution, its purpose was "to secure Equal Rights to all American citizens, especially the right of suffrage, irrespective of race, color o ...
had done, would cause women's suffrage to be overshadowed. She sought to create an organization that would, in her own words, campaign on a "clear-cut, separate and single question." On the advice of
Abby Kelley Foster Abby Kelley Foster (January 15, 1811 – January 14, 1887) was an American abolitionist and radical social reformer active from the 1830s to 1870s. She became a fundraiser, lecturer and committee organizer for the influential American Anti-Sl ...
, she announced a meeting in Boston in May 1868 to discuss her proposal and succeeded in gathering a hall full of people. The meeting established a planning committee chaired by
Caroline Severance Caroline Maria Seymour Severance (1820–1914) was an American abolitionist, suffragist, and founder of women's clubs. Early life and education Caroline Maria Seymour was born on January 12, 1820, in Canandaigua, New York, the daughter of a bank ...
. Brown found herself and her single-issue approach sidelined by the planners of the new organization. Seeking to counter the initiatives of
Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...
and
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton (November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 Seneca ...
, the committee launched an organization that supported suffrage for both blacks and women and was willing for black men to achieve suffrage first. In addition to Brown and Severance, key figures in the planning for the new organization included John Neal, Abby Kelley Foster, her husband
Stephen Symonds Foster Stephen Symonds Foster (November 17, 1809 – September 13, 1881) was a radical American abolitionist known for his dramatic and aggressive style of public speaking, and for his stance against those in the church who failed to fight slavery. His ma ...
, and
Thomas Wentworth Higginson Thomas Wentworth Higginson (December 22, 1823May 9, 1911) was an American Unitarian minister, author, abolitionist, politician, and soldier. He was active in the American Abolitionism movement during the 1840s and 1850s, identifying himself with ...
, many of whom had been important figures in the abolitionist movement.
Lucy Stone Lucy Stone (August 13, 1818 – October 18, 1893) was an American orator, abolitionist and suffragist who was a vocal advocate for and organizer promoting rights for women. In 1847, Stone became the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a colle ...
, a pioneering worker for women's rights who later became a leading figure in the new organization, had not yet moved to Boston from New Jersey and was not deeply involved in its planning. She attended the founding convention, however and was elected to the new organization's executive committee.


Founding convention

The New England Woman Suffrage Association (NEWSA) was formed on November 19, 1868, during the second and last day of a regional women's rights convention in Boston, Massachusetts, where the new organization was to be headquartered. Instead of distancing itself from the Republican Party, as Anthony and Stanton were doing, the planners for the NEWSA convention worked to attract Republican support and seated leading Republican politicians, including a U.S. senator, on the speaker's platform. At the time of the NEWSA convention, Congress was considering the proposed Fifteenth Amendment, which would prohibit the denial of suffrage because of race but would not, as many women suffragists had hoped, also prohibit the denial of suffrage because of sex. (The amendment was approved by Congress in February 1869 and ratified by the states in 1870.) At the convention, Francis Bird, one of the most powerful politicians in Massachusetts, said, "Negro suffrage, being a paramount question, would have to be settled before woman suffrage could receive the attention it deserved." Amid increasing confidence that the Fifteenth Amendment was assured of passage, Lucy Stone, a future president of the NEWSA, showed her preference for enfranchising both women and black men by unexpectedly introducing a resolution calling for the Republican Party to "drop its watchword of 'Manhood Suffrage'" and support
universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
instead. Despite opposition by
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...
,
William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he found ...
and
Frances Harper Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (September 24, 1825 – February 22, 1911) was an American abolitionist, suffragist, poet, temperance activist, teacher, public speaker, and writer. Beginning in 1845, she was one of the first African-American women to ...
, Stone convinced the meeting to approve the resolution. Two months later, however, when the Fifteenth Amendment was in danger of becoming stalled in Congress, Stone backed away from that position and declared that "Woman must wait for the Negro." The NEWSA supported the Fifteenth Amendment, believing that achieving suffrage for all men would be a step toward suffrage for women. The wing of the women's movement associated with the NEWSA expected the Republican Party to push for women's suffrage after the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified (an expectation that was not realized).
Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe (; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the original 1870 pacifist Mother's Day Proclamation. She was also an advocate for abolitionism ...
, author of "
The Battle Hymn of the Republic The "Battle Hymn of the Republic", also known as "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory" or "Glory, Glory Hallelujah" outside of the United States, is a popular American patriotic song written by the abolitionist writer Julia Ward Howe. Howe wrote her l ...
," was elected as the NEWSA's first president. A member of a prominent family, she had recently been convinced to join the women's suffrage movement by Higginson and Stone. During the convention, Howe said she would not demand suffrage for women until it was achieved for blacks.


Activities

State affiliates of the NEWSA were formed in most New England states. In January 1869, supporters of the NEWSA began publishing a newspaper called the ''Woman's Advocate'' from the office of the
American Anti-Slavery Society The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS; 1833–1870) was an abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave, had become a prominent abolitionist and was a key leader of this society ...
. Although the NEWSA waited until suffrage for blacks was assured before it began campaigning for women's suffrage at the national level, it pressed at an early stage for laws that would enfranchise women in the District of Columbia and the federal territories. Another of its early initiatives was the collection of 8000 signatures on petitions to the Massachusetts legislature in 1869 in support of women's suffrage in that state, which led to the practice of annual public hearings on that question in the state legislature. The NEWSA's work in subsequent years included fund-raising bazaars, lectures, petitions and legislative hearings. The split in the women's movement was formalized in May 1869 when Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton created the
National Woman Suffrage Association The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) was formed on May 15, 1869, to work for women's suffrage in the United States. Its main leaders were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It was created after the women's rights movement spl ...
to represent their wing. The executive committee of the NEWSA responded by laying the groundwork for a rival organization called the
American Woman Suffrage Association The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) was a single-issue national organization formed in 1869 to work for women's suffrage in the United States. The AWSA lobbied state governments to enact laws granting or expanding women's right to vote ...
(AWSA), which was founded in November 1869.
Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the Abolitionism, abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery ...
, a prominent minister, agreed to become the first president of the AWSA, but NEWSA leaders Lucy Stone and Julia Ward Howe played key roles both in the formation of the AWSA and in its leadership in subsequent years. Julia Ward Howe served as president of the NEWSA until 1877. Lucy Stone was elected president that year and served until her death in 1893. Howe was again elected president in 1893 and served until her death in 1910.
Alice Stone Blackwell Alice Stone Blackwell (September 14, 1857 – March 15, 1950) was an American feminist, suffragist, journalist, radical socialist, and human rights advocate. Early life and education Blackwell was born in East Orange, New Jersey to Henry Browne ...
, Lucy Stone's daughter, was president from 1911 until the organization ceased to exist in 1920. When the Nineteenth Amendment, which secured suffrage for women, was ratified in 1920, the NEWSA simply ceased to function rather than formally dissolving.Stanton, Anthony, Gage, Harper (1881–1922), Vol. 6, pp.
267
footnote 1
281


See also

*
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 ...
* List of major women's suffrage organizations *
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 ...
*
List of women's rights organizations This is a list of women's organizations ordered by geography. International * Alliance of Pan American Round Tables – founded 1916 to foster women's relationships throughout the Americas * Arab Feminist Union – founded 1945 * Associated Cou ...
*
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 ...
*
Voting rights in the United States Voting rights in the United States, specifically the enfranchisement and disenfranchisement of different groups, has been a moral and political issue throughout United States history. Eligibility to vote in the United States is governed by ...


Notes


References

* Brown, Olympia (1911).
''Acquaintances, Old and New, Among Reformers''
* Harper, Ida Husted (1899).
''The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony, Volume 1.''
Indianapolis & Kansas City: Bowen-Merrill. * DuBois, Ellen Carol (1978)
''Feminism and Suffrage: The Emergence of an Independent Women's Movement in America, 1848-1869.''
Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. . * Dudden, Faye E. (2011)
''Fighting Chance: The Struggle over Woman Suffrage and Black Suffrage in Reconstruction America''
New York: Oxford University Press. . * Elwood-Akers, Virginia (2010)
''Caroline Severance''.
Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse. . * Howe, Julia Ward (1900)
''Reminiscences.''
Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company. * Garrison, William Lloyd (1981).
''The Letters of William Lloyd Garrison'', Volume 6.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. . * Kerr, Andrea Moore (1992)
''Lucy Stone: Speaking Out for Equality.''
New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. . * Stanton, Elizabeth Cady; Anthony, Susan B.; Gage, Matilda Joslyn; Harper, Ida (1881–1922). ''
History of Woman Suffrage ''History of Woman Suffrage'' is a book that was produced by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage and Ida Husted Harper. Published in six volumes from 1881 to 1922, it is a history of the women's suffrage movement, prima ...
'' in six volumes. Rochester, NY: Susan B. Anthony (Charles Mann Press).


External links


"New England Woman's Suffrage Association"
from ''The Woman's Advocate'', Vol 2, July 1869. A contemporary report of the NEWSA's 1869 convention. (The first edition of that journal reported the official name of the organization as the "New England Woman Suffrage Association". See "Declaration of Principles" i
Vol 1, No. 1
)
"Woman's Right and the Public Welfare"
Number 6 in a series of "Woman's Suffrage Tracts" published by the "New-England Woman's Suffrage Association." It lists the titles and authors of tracts 1 through 6. {{Lucy Stone Organizations established in 1868 Women's suffrage advocacy groups in the United States