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Sixth Conference of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance was held in June 1911 in
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, Sweden. It was led by the organization's president,
Carrie Chapman Catt Carrie Chapman Catt (; January 9, 1859 Fowler, p. 3 – March 9, 1947) was an American women's suffrage leader who campaigned for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave U.S. women the right to vote in 1920. Catt ...
. The proceedings were inaugurated on Sunday, 11 June in the
Gustaf Vasa Church Gustaf Vasa Church ( sv, Gustaf Vasa kyrka) is a church located in the Vasastaden district of Stockholm, Sweden. Inaugurated in 1906 and named after 16th century King Gustav Vasa, it was designed by architect Agi Lindegren in the Baroque Revival ...
. The welcome address was delivered at the Academy of Music by the president of the National Association for Women's Suffrage. There were 24 organized countries in attendance. One of the outcomes of the conference was the formation of an International Men's League which was joined by New York, England, Holland, Hungary, Germany and France.
Ann-Margret Holmgren Anna Margareta "Ann-Margret" Holmgren, ( née Tersmeden; 17February 185012October 1940), was a Swedish author, feminist, suffragist, and pacifist. Life She was born at Hässle Manor in Uppland, Sweden. She was the daughter of Baroness Aug ...
n gave the Monday evening address.
Ethel Snowden Ethel Snowden, Viscountess Snowden (born Ethel Annakin; 8 September 1881 – 22 February 1951), was a British socialist, human rights activist, and feminist politician. From a middle-class background, she became a Christian Socialist thro ...
also spoke. On Tuesday evening,
Selma Lagerlöf Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish author. She published her first novel, ''Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the 1909 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Pr ...
spoke, saying, :"''Woman with man by her side, has created the Ideal Home; it is now time that woman should co-operate with man, and together they can create the "Ideal State"''."


Preparations

The committee which had been appointed to prepare for the congress and had been working for many months beforehand consisted of the Executive Committee of the central board of the National Suffrage Association and the presidents of sub-committees formed for different purposes.
Signe Bergman ''Signe'' Wilhelmina Ulrika Bergman (10 April 1869 – 1960) was a Swedish feminist. She was the chairperson of the National Association for Women's Suffrage (LKPR) which was then called The Swedish Society for Woman Suffrage in English (see pho ...
acted as president, Axianne Thorstenson as vice-president, Anna Frisell as treasurer, Nini Kohnberger and Elise Carlson as secretaries. Axeline Virgin was at the head of the Finance Committee. The work of the Press Committee was directed by Else Kleen. Lily Laurent was at the head of the Committee on Localities. Lizinski Dyrssen headed the Committee for Festivities. Ezaline Boheman was the head of the Information Bureau. Alfhild Lamm and
Eva Andén Eva Johanna Andén (23 April 1886 – 26 March 1970) was a Swedish lawyer. She became the first woman member of the Swedish Bar Association on 14 March 1918. Life Eva Andén was born to the merchant Heribert Andén and Elin Forssman. In 1907, s ...
directed the work of the thirty university students who served as pages. At the head of the Travelling Committee was Dr. Martin Wester-Hallberg, who arranged the journey to Lapland.


Proceedings

The Sixth Conference and Congress of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance took place in the banquet hall of the
Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America. Grand Hotel may refer to: Hotels Africa * Grande Hotel Beir ...
, Stockholm, 12–17 June 1911. The coming of Carrie Chapman Catt, president of the Alliance, had been widely heralded. She had been received in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
with national honors by cabinet ministers and foreign legations. In Christiania, she was met with a greeting from a former Prime Minister and an official address of welcome from the Government and was received by King Haakon. In the midst of it all the woman suffrage bill came up for discussion in both Houses of the Parliament. The international president was escorted to the Lower House by a body of women that crowded the galleries. After a stormy debate the bill to enfranchise the women of Sweden received a majority vote. In the midst of the applause Catt was hurried to the Upper Chamber, the stronghold of caste and conservatism. Her presence did not save the bill from the usual defeat. The congress opened with representatives from 24 affiliated National Associations and two Committees, those of Austria and Bohemia. The government of Norway sent as its official delegate Dr.
Kristine Bonnevie Kristine Elisabeth Heuch Bonnevie (8 October 1872 – 30 August 1948) was a Norwegian biologist, Norway's first female professor, women's rights activist and politician for the Free-minded Liberal Party. Her fields of research were cytology, genet ...
. The list of delegates filled seven printed pages, the United States, the Netherlands and Sweden having the full quota of twelve delegates and twelve alternates, Germany lacking only three of the latter, while Great Britain, France, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Hungary had twelve or more. Six were present from Russia; Bulgaria, Serbia, Switzerland, South Africa, Iceland and Canada had representatives. Of fraternal delegates from other organizations there was no end—about 70 men and women—among them members of five Men's Leagues for Woman Suffrage—in the United States, Great Britain, Netherlands, Hungary and Sweden. In addition to the spoken words letters and telegrams of greeting were read from societies and individuals in twelve different countries. The distinguished guests of the occasion were Dr.
Selma Lagerlöf Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish author. She published her first novel, ''Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the 1909 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Pr ...
of Sweden, who had recently received the Nobel Literature Prize, and
Helena Westermarck Helena Charlotta Westermarck (20 November 1857, Helsinki – 5 April 1938, Helsinki) was a Finnish artist and writer (belonging to Swedish-speaking population of Finland). She is known for her pioneering biographies of women. Biography Westerma ...
of Finland. Among prominent speakers were Mayor
Carl Lindhagen Carl Albert Lindhagen (17 December 1860 – 11 March 1946) was a Swedish lawyer, politician, and pacifist. Carl Lindhagen was the chief magistrate (''borgmästare'') of Stockholm 1903–1930 (i.e. a legal position, not mayor). Life Lindhagen ...
and
Ernest Beckman Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor *Ernest, M ...
, M. P., the Rev. Knut Henning Gezelius von Schéele, Bishop of Visby, and the Rev. Dr. Samuel Fries. The ushers and pages were women students of the universities. On the Sunday afternoon preceding the convention the precedent of all past ages was broken when Dr.
Anna Howard Shaw Anna Howard Shaw (February 14, 1847 – July 2, 1919) was a leader of the women's suffrage movement in the United States. She was also a physician and one of the first ordained female Methodist ministers in the United States. Early life Shaw ...
preached in the ancient State Church of Gusta Vasa. Sunday evening a reception was given at the Restaurant Rosenbad to the officers, presidents of national auxiliaries and Swedish Committee of Arrangements by its chairman,
Bertha Nordenson Bertha Harriet Nordenson (1857–1928) was a devoted Swedish women's rights activist and suffragist. From the late 1880s, she supported women's emancipation, becoming a member and later a board member of the Married Woman's Property Rights Associ ...
. The official report of the first executive session Monday morning said: "Miss Janet Richards, delegate from the U. S. A., with an admirable speech, presented to the Alliance from the State which had recently given full suffrage to women a gavel bearing the inscription: "To the International W. S. A. from the Washington Equal Suffrage Association." It was announced that National Suffrage Associations had been formed in Iceland and Serbia and they were gladly accepted as auxiliaries, bringing the number up to twenty-six. The municipality had contributed 3,000 crowns to the congress, which proved to be the largest ever held in Stockholm. Season tickets had been sold to 1,200 persons and other hundreds bought tickets to the various meetings. During the entire week the flags of the nations represented at the congress floated from the flagstaffs that lined the quay in front of the Grand Hotel facing the royal palace, as far as the eye could reach. All the time Mrs. Catt was in the city the American flag was run up for her as a public guest wherever she went and the Swedish colors dipped a salute. The Congress was formally opened in the afternoon of 12 June with addresses of welcome from Anna Whitlock, acting president of the National Suffrage Association of Sweden, and the Hon.
Ernest Beckman Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor *Ernest, M ...
, M. P., president of the National Swedish Liberal Association, and response from the Alliance was made by
Chrystal Macmillan Jessie Chrystal Macmillan (13 June 1872 – 21 September 1937) was a suffragist, peace activist, barrister, feminist and the first female science graduate from the University of Edinburgh as well as that institution's first female honours gradu ...
of Great Britain, proxy for
Millicent Garrett Fawcett Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett (née Garrett; 11 June 1847 – 5 August 1929) was an English politician, writer and feminist. She campaigned for women's suffrage by legal change and in 1897–1919 led Britain's largest women's rights associati ...
, its first vice-president.
Anna Kleman Anna Kleman at the International Congress of Women in 1915 Anna Sofia Kleman (1862–1940) was a Swedish insurance officer and feminist. She is remembered for her work as a women's rights activist and pacifist, especially in regard to voting right ...
, president of the Stockholm suffrage society, then presented the beautiful white satin, gold embroidered Alliance banner, which was carried by six university students in white dresses with sashes of the Swedish colors. Catt announced that the Alliance flag was now flying over the Grand Hotel where they were assembled. The banner was the gift of Lotten von Kroemer, a pioneer suffragist of Sweden, and the flag of the resident Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Tea Co., US. A suffrage song written by K.G. Ossiannilsson and the music composed by
Hugo Alfvén Hugo Emil Alfvén (; 1 May 18728 May 1960) was a Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter. Career Violinist Alfvén was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and studied at the Royal College of Music (Kungliga Musikhögskolan) from 1887 ...
for the occasion was sung by the Women's Choir of
Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
, after which an official delegate of the Government extended its greeting while the audience rose and the flags of the nations waved from the galleries. Catt received an ovation as she came to the front of the platform to make her address. It filled twenty-three pages of the printed minutes and was a complete resume of the early position of women, the vast changes that had been wrought and the great work which the Alliance was doing. At the official reception given by the National Suffrage Association of Sweden in the evening the guests were welcomed by
Ann-Margret Holmgren Anna Margareta "Ann-Margret" Holmgren, ( née Tersmeden; 17February 185012October 1940), was a Swedish author, feminist, suffragist, and pacifist. Life She was born at Hässle Manor in Uppland, Sweden. She was the daughter of Baroness Aug ...
and their appreciative responses were made by
Margaret Hodge Dame Margaret Eve Hodge, Lady Hodge, (née Oppenheimer, formerly Watson; born 8 September 1944) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Barking since 1994. A member of the Labour Party, she previously served as ...
, Australia; Gabriella Danzerova, Bohemia; Mrs. Daisy Minor, Austria; Miss Helen Clay-Petersen, Denmark; Miss Annnie Furuhjelm, Finland; Madam DeWitt Schlumberger, France; Dr.
Anita Augspurg Anita Theodora Johanna Sophie Augspurg (22 September 1857 – 20 December 1943) was a German jurist, actress, writer, activist of the radical feminist movement and a pacifist. Biography Augspurg was born the youngest daughter of the lawyer ...
, Germany;
Olga Ungar Olga may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olga (name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters named Olga or Olha * Michael Algar (born 1962), English singer also known as "Olga" Places Russia * Olga, Russia, ...
, Hungary; Mrs. Philip Snowden, Great Britain. These were followed by a cantata beautifully rendered by the Gothenburg choir, words and music by women. During the convention Lieutenant Colonel W. A. E. Mansfeldt of Holland made the report for its Men's League for Woman Suffrage; Dr. C. V. Drysdale for Great Britain; Jean du Breuil for France; Dr. Alexander Patai for Hungary; Frederick Nathan for the United States, and the founding of an International Men's League was announced with Mansfeldt as secretary. The reports of the work of the different branches and their discussion, bringing before the Alliance the experience and opinions of women from all parts of the world, were perhaps the most valuable feature of the conference. The most animated and vital of these discussions was the one of a political nature, divided into three parts: # What political work have the women of the enfranchised countries done, what is their relation to the different parties and how do these treat them? Have they any advice to offer? led by Miss Hodge, Mrs.
Louise Keilhau Louise Keilhau (1860–1927) was a Norway, Norwegian teacher and peace activist. She founded the ''Norwegian Committee for Permanent Peace'' and she was a founding member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Women's Internati ...
, Norway; Dr. Tekla Hultin, M. P., Finland. # How can woman's political influence be brought to bear most effectively on Parliaments and governments? Led by Mrs. Snowden; Mrs. Anna B. Wicksell, Sweden; Dr.
Käthe Schirmacher Käthe Schirmacher ( Danzig, 6 August 1865 – Meran, 18 November, 1930) was a German writer, journalist, and political activist who was considered to be one of the leading advocates for women's rights and the international women's movement in th ...
, Germany; Miss Richards. # What should be the relation of the suffrage movement to political parties in the unenfranchised countries? Led by
Eline Hansen Eline Johanne Frederikke Hansen (22 October 1859 – 6 January 1919), was a Danish feminist and peace leader. Biography Hansen was born 22 October 1859 in Assens, the daughter of Christian Jacob Hansen (1832–1880) and Johanne Margrethe Rasmu ...
, Denmark;
Rosika Schwimmer Rosika Schwimmer ( hu, Schwimmer Rózsa; 11 September 1877 – 3 August 1948) was a Hungarian-born pacifist, feminist, world federalist, and women's suffragist. A co-founder of the Campaign for World Government with Lola Maverick Lloyd, her ra ...
, Hungary; Madame Pichon, France; Zinaida Mirovitch, Russia, there was a wide divergence of opinion but at last a resolution was unanimously adopted that "woman suffrage societies do their best work when organized in a non-partisan manner." In order to remove persistent misunderstanding a statement presented by Mrs. Catt was adopted explaining the wording of the resolution demanding "the franchise for women on the same terms as it is or may be exercised by men." It declared that the Alliance had on no occasion taken a position for or against any special form of suffrage but that the affiliated societies were left entirely free to determine for themselves which form they would demand. The Alliance did not express an opinion as to what should be the qualifications for enfranchisement, its sole object being to establish the principle that sex should not be a disqualification. Eminent women speakers spoke in the
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...
of Stockholm on the second evening of the convention. Catt presided and addresses were made by Miss Westermarck, Dr. Augspurg, Mrs. Snowden, Miss Schwimmer, Dr. Shaw and Sweden's Selma Lagerlöf. Another which differed from all that had gone before was the great gathering in Skansen park, where at 7 o'clock, from two platforms, noted speakers from ten countries addressed an audience of thousands. A dinner followed in the park house, Hogenloft, with music, and then in the open air, the visitors saw the national dances and processions by the young people in the costumes of the country. Although the official languages of the Alliance were French, German and English, a crowded meeting was held one evening in the People's House with the speeches in Scandinavian languages. It was opened by Mayor Lindhagen, an ardent advocate of woman suffrage. At another session the Woman Question in the Russian Parliament was considered by Dr. Shiskin-Yavein; the Suffrage Outlook in Bohemia by Miss Marie Tůmová, recent candidate for Parliament; the Future of South African Women by
Nina Boyle Constance Antonina Boyle (21 December 1865 – 4 March 1943) was a British journalist, campaigner for women's suffrage and women's rights, charity and welfare worker, and novelist. She was one of the pioneers of women police officers in Britain ...
. A special meeting was held one afternoon in the hall of the Young Women's Christian Association. Marie Stritt, Germany; Maria Verone, France, and Miss Macmillan were appointed to compile a pamphlet of information about woman suffrage in all lands to be used for propaganda work. The closing speech of the congress was made by the international president at
Saltsjöbaden Saltsjöbaden is a locality in Nacka Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 9,491 inhabitants in 2010. It is on the Baltic Sea coast, deep in the Stockholm Archipelago. History Saltsjöbaden () was developed as a resort by Knut Agathon Wa ...
.


See also

*
International Alliance of Women The International Alliance of Women (IAW; french: Alliance Internationale des Femmes, AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international org ...


References

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Bibliography

* {{Suffrage 1911 conferences 1911 in Sweden Events in Stockholm Women's suffrage Women's conferences 1910s in Stockholm 1911 in women's history June 1911 events History of women in Sweden Women in Stockholm