Today in Herstory: Suffragists, Across Divides, Continue Political Efforts (16 july 1920)
(amazing the difference in the republican party then and now)
Today in Herstory: Suffragists, Across Divides, Continue Political Efforts
July 16, 1920: Both factions of the suffrage movement were quite busy today.
Alice Paul of the National Woman’s Party met with Democratic Presidential nominee Governor James Cox of Ohio, while Carrie Chapman Catt, head of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, left New York for Tennessee to coordinate N.A.W.S.A.’s ratification campaign there. Both women, sensing that victory is finally within reach, are now putting maximum pressure on anyone who can help deliver the 36th and final State needed to get the Susan B. Anthony (nationwide woman suffrage) Amendment into the Constitution in time for women to register for the November elections.
Alice Paul and the other National Woman’s Party members with her were quite demanding of Governor Cox at today’s meeting, and got the reassurances they sought from the long-time active supporter of suffrage that he would do everything he could to help:
I give to you without any reservation the assurance that my time, my strength and my influence will be dedicated to your cause as our combined councils might suggest, with a view to procuring a favorable result in Tennessee.
Following the meeting, Alice Paul told reporters:
We are glad that Governor Cox appreciates the responsibility of carrying out the party platform. His statement this afternoon indicates that he realizes the unprecedented opportunity offered the Democratic Party to enfranchise the 17,000,000 women of the nation by giving the 36th suffrage State. Alice Paul is, of course, more interested in deeds than words, so she concluded by saying: “We shall look for immediate action by Governor Cox.”
Republican Presidential nominee Warren G. Harding’s statement day before yesterday, in which he finally got around to urging Republican legislators in Tennessee and North Carolina to ratify the suffrage amendment wasn’t sufficient for the usually-diplomatic Catt. She expressed disappointment that after doing so much for the cause, Republicans are now failing to provide the final State ratification needed. As she left for Nashville, she said:
It’s not enough for Senator Harding to make an effort to secure the 36th ratification. It is not enough to point to past performances. The Republican Party must finish the task. We now pin our faith on Tennessee and North Carolina prospects. It is true that the Republican Party has a record of nearly five times as many ratifications as the Democratic, but without the 36th State that record is like a tail without a kite. Apparently it is Democrats who must supply the kite.
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http://feminist.org/blog/index.php/2015/07/16/today-in-herstory-suffragists-across-divides-continue-political-efforts/