History of Woman Suffrage Volume II Part 39

Julian, of Indiana, on behalf of suffrage for woman. This week we can report similar progress in the Senate also. The following is Senator Wilson's bill to amend an act ent.i.tled an act to regulate the elective franchise in the District of Columbia:

Be it enacted, etc., That the word "male" in the first section of the act ent.i.tled "An act to regulate the elective franchise in the District of Columbia, pa.s.sed on the 8th day of January, 1867," be struck out, and that every word in said act applicable to persons of the male s.e.x shall apply equally to persons of the female s.e.x, so that hereafter women, who are inhabitants of the said District of Columbia and citizens of the United States, may vote at all elections and be eligible to civil offices in said District on the same terms and conditions in all respects as men.

Mr. Julian, in the House, on leave, introduced the following bill further to extend the right of suffrage in the District of Columbia:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress a.s.sembled, That from and after the pa.s.sage of this act the right of suffrage in the District of Columbia shall be based upon citizenship; and all citizens of the United States, native and naturalized, resident in said District, who are twenty-one years of age, of sound mind, and who have not forfeited this right by crime, shall enjoy the same equally, irrespective of s.e.x.

SEC. 2, And be it further enacted, That all acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.

Mr. Julian, on leave, introduced the following bill further to extend the right of suffrage in the Territories of the United States:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress a.s.sembled, That from and after the pa.s.sage of this act the right of suffrage in all the Territories of the United States, now or hereafter to be organized, shall be based upon citizenship; and all citizens of the United States, native or naturalized, resident in said Territories, who are twenty-one years of age, of sound mind, and who have not forfeited their right by crime, shall enjoy the same equally, irrespective of s.e.x.

SEC. 2, And be it further enacted, That all acts or parts of acts, either by Congress or the legislative a.s.semblies of said Territories, inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby declared null and void.

WOMAN SUFFRAGE IN UTAH.--March 25, 1869.--Mr. Julian introduced the following bill into Congress to discourage polygamy in Utah by granting the right of suffrage to the women of that Territory:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress a.s.sembled, That from and after the pa.s.sage of this act the right of Suffrage in the Territory of Utah shall belong to, and may be exercised by, the people thereof, without any distinction or discrimination whatever founded on s.e.x.

The bill was read twice, referred to the Committee on Territories, and ordered to be printed.

The New York _Herald_ is no more than an average of the voice of the intelligent portion of the press in the following excerpts from its columns: Senator Wilson has introduced a bill so to amend the suffrage laws of the District of Columbia as to give to women of all colors and races, as well as men, the right of suffrage. As Congress has exclusive powers of legislation over the District of Columbia in all cases whatsoever, here is a fair chance to try the two houses upon this very interesting question.

There are a few out-spoken members of the Senate in favor of Woman Suffrage, and first and foremost among them is "Old Ben Wade," who goes for the whole programme of negroes' rights and women's rights. Senator Pomeroy, of Kansas, has so far advanced in the cause of Woman Suffrage that he has proposed to make it a part of the supreme law of the land. But we like the idea of Mr.

Wilson of first trying the experiment in the District of Columbia.

We remember the time when, in full view from the west front of the Capitol, there was a regular slave pen which was also a market where negroes were bought and sold. The abolitionists first raised a hue and cry against that pen, and they kept it up to 1850, when among the compromise measures of Henry Clay pa.s.sed that year was a provision abolishing the slave trade in the District. Some twelve years later, during the rebellion, the bolder and broader experiment was tried of abolishing slavery _in toto_ in said District. These measures over a reserved bit of territory over which Congress possesses absolute authority were deemed judicious experiments and were demanded for the sake of consistency, in view of the legislation resolved upon in Southern reconstruction. So now, in view of a const.i.tutional amendment establishing not only manhood suffrage, but womanhood suffrage throughout the United States, Mr. Wilson doubtless thinks it wise first to try the experiment of Woman Suffrage in the aforesaid District, to see how it will work. As the District of Columbia has not only survived but has flourished and continues to flourish under emanc.i.p.ation and negro suffrage, we can not imagine why there should be any hesitation in trying therein the experiment of Woman Suffrage. At all events let Senator Wilson push forward his bill, so that the country may know, so that General Grant may know, and so that the women may know who in the Senate in favor of negroes' rights will dare to oppose woman's rights.

CONGRESS.--DECEMBER 16, 1869.--In the House, some discussion arose on a question involving the equality of woman to hold appointments in the government. It was on a bill providing for the taking of the census. A motion was made to amend an amendment by changing the word elector (voter) to resident.

MR. LAWRENCE, of Ohio, said: I am opposed to the amendment of the gentleman from New York. The effect will be to exclude every female from any appointment, and although I suppose there will not be many female applicants for office under this bill, I see no reason why we should exclude them. (Laughter.) I know no reason why a soldier's widow or any other female properly qualified might not receive an appointment to any office the duties of which she may be as capable of performing as those of our own s.e.x. If reasons exist let them be given. I will inquire of the gallant gentleman from New York whether he wishes to exclude this portion of his const.i.tuents and mine from the privilege of holding office under this bill? (Renewed laughter.)

Mr. WOOD: My amendment says elector, not electress, and until the ladies have the privilege of electors of the United States I propose to exclude them.

Mr. LAWRENCE: I am opposed to that. Merit and capacity to serve the people to the best advantage, after a proper consideration of claims, should be the test for office.

Mr. GARFIELD, of Ohio: The word "elector" in the amendment of the gentleman from New York (Mr. Wood) would exclude Alaska altogether. There are no electors in Alaska. I would suggest that he subst.i.tute the word "resident," which would avoid the difficulty to which I have referred.

The question being put on Mr. Wood's amendment,

Mr. GARFIELD, of Ohio, moved to amend the proposed amendment by inserting the word "resident" instead of "elector."

The question being put on Mr. Garfield's amendment to Mr. Wood's amendment, it was agreed to. The question being put on Mr. Wood's amendment, as amended, it was agreed to. So far, then, woman is not to be proscribed.

As in the war women bravely a.s.sumed duties in many departments of labor unknown to them before, so in the reconstruction they gave more earnest thought to questions of public policy, and made many valuable suggestions. A well written speech on "Reconstruction and Universal Suffrage," was delivered by Mrs. M. C. Walling, of Texas, in the Senate chamber of the Capitol at Washington, May 10th, 1866; The first and last time that a woman was ever granted the privilege of speaking there.

To Anna d.i.c.kinson belongs the honor of suggesting a XV amendment.

Although the XIV amendment to the National Const.i.tution gave to that doc.u.ment for the first time a concise definition of a "citizen," and forbade any State to abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, yet this amendment was found inadequate to protect the political rights of the colored men; and the Republican party was anxiously casting about for a method of perfecting their work, when the puzzle was solved by a proposition for a XV amendment, which should prohibit disfranchis.e.m.e.nt on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The suggestion for this amendment originated at the National Loyalists' Convention held at Philadelphia, September, 1866, in a consultation between Anna d.i.c.kinson, Frederick Dougla.s.s, and Theodore Tilton, and was in time accepted by the Republican party. It was reported in Congress Feb. 26, 1869, and received the necessary ratification March 30, 1870. Thus a woman and a colored man were two important factors in perfecting the work of reconstruction through a const.i.tutional provision prohibiting disfranchis.e.m.e.nt on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

As when the XIV amendment was pending, the efforts of women were directed toward securing the omission of the invidious word "male," so on the submission of the XV amendment their efforts were again directed toward securing the enfranchis.e.m.e.nt of woman by the introduction of the word "s.e.x" in the last line of Section 1. But Congress with the usual short-sightedness of injustice, refused to secure the political freedom of one half the entire people, even forgetting to enfranchise a portion of the colored race from their "previous condition of servitude" because of s.e.x.

The sound position taken by Anna d.i.c.kinson at this period is substantiated by Frederick Dougla.s.s, not only in his "Life and Times,"

but in the following letters:

WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 31, 1882.

DEAR MRS. STANTON:-- ... Mrs. Gage's version of the origin of the 15th Amendment is in substance true. To dear Anna E. d.i.c.kinson and brave Theodore Tilton belongs the credit of forcing that amendment upon the attention of the Nation at the right moment and in the right way to make it successful. I have given Miss d.i.c.kinson the credit you award her in my "Life and Times," and have made myself one of your earliest converts in the same.

Very truly yours, FRED'K. DOUGLa.s.s.

WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 6, 1882.

MY DEAR MRS. STANTON:--Referring, since reading your note, to what I have said of the National Loyalist Convention, held in Philadelphia in 1866, I find that I have done but very scant justice to Anna E. d.i.c.kinson and Theodore Tilton. Their courage, skill and sagacity, were never displayed to greater advantage than on that occasion. I have, as you will see, mentioned the main facts, but I have given but a meagre view of the moral conditions surrounding it. Bold and prompt action was needed, and the man and the woman were equal to the occasion. From the first Miss d.i.c.kinson, Mr. Tilton and myself felt that any reconstruction at the South leaving the freedmen without the ballot, would leave them in the absolute power of the old master-cla.s.s. Hence from the first we conferred together as to the manner of bringing the subject to the attention of the Convention. We looked to the Committee on Resolutions to bring up the subject, but waited in vain. They had nothing for us but well rounded plat.i.tudes and glittering generalities about the Union and the relation of the States to the National Government all well enough in ordinary times, but totally inappropriate in respect of the real situation of the country at the moment. When it became known that Mr. Tilton and myself meant to bring forward the subject, we were besought not to do a thing so impolitic. We were implored not to load the Republican party with this new burden. We were told of the advantage it would give the Democratic party against us; how it would intensify and concentrate the prejudice already felt for the negro. It was evident that negro suffrage was the one great dread of the Convention. The proposal to discuss it was deplored as a blunder which would cost us dearly. This apprehension was mainly confined to the delegates from the border States, and as they had the control of the Convention, they managed to keep out the disturbing question of negro suffrage till the last day.

Seeing the evident purpose to this end, Mr. Tilton, after consulting with Miss d.i.c.kinson and myself, introduced the suffrage question. His action was received as a very large fire-brand, and caused a storm of tumult and confusion, in the midst of which the President, Mr. Speed, and other officers left their places on the platform, declaring the Convention adjourned.

At this critical juncture, with the tact and skill of a veteran, Mr. Tilton seized the helm, declared the Convention not adjourned, and moved that Honorable John Minor Botts take the Chair. The Border States delegates took their hats and heels out of the Convention without standing upon the order of their going, while the men from the Gulf States n.o.bly stood their ground. The Convention was still large. The going out of the Border States unfettered the platform. Anna E. d.i.c.kinson came on the stand with all her wonted ability, and thrilled the audience by her eloquent plea for negro suffrage. Hers was the speech, not of a brilliant declaimer, but the solid logic of a statesman. When she sat down I felt that the battle was more than half won. Next after Miss d.i.c.kinson came Theodore Tilton. It was plain from the moment he took the stand that the situation suited him, and that we were to hear from him that day such words of wisdom, truth and soberness as only genius could supply. We were not disappointed.

He was the full master of the subject and the occasion, I followed Mr. Tilton, and resolutions favoring what has since become the 15th Amendment were pa.s.sed with very little opposition.

You will notice on page 480 of my book, that I don't forget my walk with you from the house of Mr. Joseph Southwick, where you quietly brought to my notice your arguments for womanhood suffrage. That is forty years ago. You had just returned from your European tour. From that conversation with you I have been convinced of the wisdom of woman suffrage, and have never denied the faith....

Very truly yours, FRED'K. DOUGLa.s.s.

When Anna d.i.c.kinson, Frederick Dougla.s.s, and Theodore Tilton pressed the question of negro suffrage on the Loyalists' convention, they were met by the same arguments and appeals against it, that were urged upon those who pressed woman suffrage when the Fourteenth Amendment was pending. Dougla.s.s knew that any reconstruction without political equality for the black man was a delusion; the women saw as clearly that any reconstruction without political equality for them was a delusion also, and their determination to have some recognition under government sprung from the same love of freedom and self-respect that moved Dougla.s.s when, with equal determination, he walked in the procession, and took his seat as a delegate, as he had a right to do, though warned that he would stir up a mob, and be a firebrand in the convention. The description of this scene by Mr. Dougla.s.s himself is a suggestive study for all oppressed cla.s.ses:

I was residing in Rochester at the time, and was duly elected as a delegate from that city to attend this convention. The honor was a surprise and a gratification to me. It was unprecedented for a city of over 60,000 white citizens, and only about 200 colored residents, to elect a colored man to represent them in a national political convention, and the announcement of it gave a shock to the country of no inconsiderable violence. Many Republicans, with every feeling of respect for me personally, were unable to see the wisdom of such a course. They dreaded the clamor of social equality and amalgamation which would be raised against the party, in consequence of this startling innovation.

They, dear fellows, found it much more agreeable to talk of the principles of liberty as glittering generalities, than to reduce those principles to practice.

When the train on which I was going to the convention reached Harrisburgh, it met and was attached to another from the West crowded with Western and Southern delegates on the way to the convention, and among them were several loyal Governors, chief among whom was the Governor of Indiana, Oliver P. Morton, a man of Websterian mould in all that appertained to mental power. When my presence became known to these gentlemen, a consultation was immediately held among them, upon the question as to what was best to do with me. It seems strange now, in view of all the progress which has been made, that such a question could arise.

But the circ.u.mstances of the times made me the Jonah of the Republican ship, and responsible for the contrary winds and misbehaving weather. Before we reached Lancaster, on our eastward bound trip, I was duly waited upon by a committee of my brother delegates, which had been appointed by other honorable delegates, to represent to me the undesirableness of my attendance upon the National Loyalists' Convention. The spokesman of these sub-delegates was a gentleman from New Orleans with a very French name, which has now escaped me, but which I wish I could recall, that I might credit him with a high degree of politeness and the gift of eloquence. He began by telling me that he knew my history and my works, and that he entertained a very high respect for me, that both himself and the gentlemen who sent him, as well as those who accompanied him, regarded me with admiration; that there was not among them the remotest objection to sitting in the convention with me, but their personal wishes in the matter they felt should be set aside for the sake of our common cause; that whether I should or should not go into the convention was purely a matter of expediency; that I must know that there was a very strong and bitter prejudice against my race in the North as well as at the South; and that the cry of social and political equality would not fail to be raised against the Republican party if I should attend this loyal national convention. He insisted that it was a time for the sacrifice of my own personal feeling, for the good of the Republican cause; that there were several districts in the State of Indiana so evenly balanced that a very slight circ.u.mstance would be likely to turn the scale against us, and defeat our Congressional candidates and thus leave Congress without a two-thirds vote to control the headstrong and treacherous man then in the presidential chair. It was urged that this was a terrible responsibility for me or any other man to take.

I listened very attentively to this address, uttering, no word during its delivery; but when it was finished, I said to the speaker and the committee, with all the emphasis I could throw into my voice and manner: "Gentlemen, with all respect, you might as well ask me to put a loaded pistol to my head and blow my brains out, as to ask me to keep out of this convention, to which I have been duly elected. Then, gentlemen, what would you gain by this exclusion? Would not the charge of cowardice, certain to be brought against you, prove more damaging than that of amalgamation? Would you not be branded all over the land as dastardly hypocrites, professing principles which you have no wish or intention of carrying out? As a mere matter of policy or expediency, you will be wise to let me in. Everybody knows that I have been duly elected as a delegate by the city of Rochester.

The fact has been broadly announced and commented upon all over the country. If I am not admitted, the public will ask, 'Where is Dougla.s.s? Why is he not seen in the convention?' and you would find that inquiry more difficult to answer than any charge brought against you for favoring political or social equality; but, ignoring the question of policy altogether, and looking at it as one of right and wrong, I am bound to go into that convention; not to do so, would contradict the principle and practice of my life." With this answer, the committee retired from the car in which I was seated, and did not again approach me on the subject; but I saw plainly enough then, as well as on the morning when the Loyalist procession was to march through the streets of Philadelphia, that while I was not to be formally excluded, I was to be ignored by the Convention.

I was the ugly and deformed child of the family, and to be kept out of sight as much as possible while there was company in the house. Especially was it the purpose to offer me no inducement to be present in the ranks of the procession of its members and friends, which was to start from Independence Hall on the first morning of its meeting. In good season, however, I was present at this grand starting point. My reception there confirmed my impression as to the policy intended to be pursued toward me. Few of the many I knew were prepared to give me a cordial recognition, and among these few I may mention Gen. Benj. F.

Butler, who, whatever others may say of him, has always shown a courage equal to his convictions. Almost everybody else whom I met seemed to be ashamed or afraid of me. On the previous night I had been warned that I should not be allowed to walk through the city in the procession; fears had been expressed that my presence in it would so shock the prejudices of the people of Philadelphia, as to cause the procession to be mobbed.

The members of the convention were to walk two abreast, and as I was the only colored member of the convention, the question was, as to who of my brother members would consent to walk with me?

The answer was not long in coming. There was one man present who was broad enough to take in the whole situation, and brave enough to meet the duty of the hour; one who was neither afraid nor ashamed to own me as a man and a brother; one man of the purest Caucasian type, a poet and a scholar, brilliant as a writer, eloquent as a speaker, and holding a high and influential position--the editor of a weekly journal having the largest circulation of any weekly paper in the city or State of New York--and that man was Mr. Theodore Tilton. He came to me in my isolation, seized me by the hand in a most brotherly way, and proposed to walk with me in the procession. I have been in many awkward and disagreeable positions in my life, when the presence of a friend would have been highly valued, but I think I never appreciated an act of courage and generous sentiment more highly than I did that of this brave young man, when we marched through the streets of Philadelphia on this memorable day.

Well! what came of all these dark forebodings of timid men? How was my presence regarded by the populace? and what effect did it produce? I will tell you. The fears of the loyal Governors who wished me excluded to propitiate the favor of the crowd, met with a signal reproof, their apprehensions were shown to be groundless, and they were compelled, as many of them confessed to me afterwards, to own themselves entirely mistaken. The people were more enlightened and had made more progress than their leaders had supposed. An act for which those leaders expected to be pelted with stones, only brought to them unmeasured applause.

Along the whole line of march my presence was cheered repeatedly and enthusiastically. I was myself utterly surprised by the heartiness and unanimity of the popular approval. We were marching through a city remarkable for the depth and bitterness of its hatred of the abolition movement; a city whose populace had mobbed anti-slavery meetings, burned temperance halls and churches owned by colored people, and burned down Pennsylvania Hall because it had opened its doors to people of different colors upon terms of equality. But now the children of those who had committed these outrages and follies, were applauding the very principles which their fathers had condemned. After the demonstrations of this first day, I found myself a welcome member of the convention, and cordial greeting took the place of cold aversion. The victory was short, signal, and complete.

This experience shows how little knowledge politicians have of what lies in the hearts of the people; that even statesmen seldom appreciate the many steps in progressive thought already achieved, before there is any popular demonstration. It shows, too, the commanding influence of personal dignity and lofty self-respect, incapable of being either flattered or coerced to take any position among men but one of absolute equality. And this was exactly the position taken by those women who opposed the Fourteenth Amendment.

The Loyalists' Convention was held at a most critical period in the Nation's life; the policy and action of all the Southern States centered in its deliberations. Though Mr. Dougla.s.s would not hold the rightful representation of his race in abeyance to the success of the Convention, the pacification of the South, the policy of the border States, nor the life of the Nation, yet he too criticised the women who took precisely the same position in maintaining the dignity of s.e.x against the action of the Republican party and the whole Northern policy of reconstruction. What to either cla.s.s was the nation's life, so long as the flag gave them no protection against the humiliating distinctions of caste? What to them were boasted republican inst.i.tutions, so long as their rights, privileges, and immunities as citizens were denied? White men could only be taught the lesson of a common humanity by just such resistance as these oppressed cla.s.ses made. Protests and pet.i.tions, falling like seeds here and there on good ground, at last moved some liberal Republicans to action, and several bills recognizing the political existence of women were duly presented. The best results of the war have been the struggle and determination of black men and women for recognition in the reconstruction, for they have compelled the nation's consideration of the vital principles of republican government, and secured for both cla.s.ses many rights and privileges heretofore unknown.

The congressional action throughout this session proves that if all the friends of woman suffrage had been steadfast to their principles, and made a simultaneous effort against any further extension of "manhood suffrage" until woman too was recognized, the measure might have been carried; at least the agitation could have been prolonged and intensified in the halls of legislation fourfold. But in the general confusion as to what might or might not be sound policy, the most liberal took each onward step with doubt and hesitation. However, the persistent hostility to the amendments kept up the agitation in Congress, which at last culminated in a proposition for a Sixteenth Amendment, for which the National Woman Suffrage a.s.sociation has, with one short interval, ever since pet.i.tioned.

THE SIXTEENTH AMENDMENT.--March 15, 1869, will be held memorable in all coming time as the day when the Hon. George W. Julian submitted a "Joint Resolution" to Congress to enfranchise the women of the Republic by proposing a Sixteenth Amendment to the Federal Const.i.tution, which reads as follows: