Woman Suffrage Society of the County of Philadelphia (Am 3154)

Date created 1892-1901
Creator Woman Suffrage Society of the County of Philadelphia
Abstract Made up of meeting minutes of the Woman Suffrage Society of the County of Philadelphia, these notes are largely procedural, noting budgets, the election of officers and members, committee reports, and the like. These notes demonstrate the kinds of tactics suffragists used at this time, including pursuing press coverage, distributing literature, bringing suffrage speakers to women's groups, holding letter writing campaigns, sponsoring essay contests, and hosting fundraisers. There is also some discussion of petitioning the state legislature, as well as of related issues including women's employment, the single tax movement, the arguments of anti-suffragists, and suffrage developments elsewhere in the nation. Among those involved in this activism were such prominent Pennsylvania suffragists as Jane Campbell, Charlotte Peirce, Lucretia Blankbenburg, and Rachel Foster Avery. Additionally, these notes include summaries of lectures given by speakers including Henry Blackwell and Anna Howard Shaw. Finally, this volume documents debates over relationships among local, state, and national organizations.
Research Interest Although a single volume, these notes are dense and information-packed. Researchers interested in a case study of a local suffrage organization will find them of use, but there is little that will advance the literature on the broader suffrage movement in the last decade of the nineteenth century. As noted, however, they do shed some light on membership, tactics, and relationships among local, state, and national organizations.
Size 0.08 linear feet
Local identifier Am. 3154
Contributing institution Historical Society of Pennsylvania
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