Eighty Years and More; Reminiscences 1815-1897
highways of experience, and counted its defeats and victories. I
remembered when a few women called the first convention to discuss their
disabilities, that our conservative friends said: "You have made a great
mistake, you will be laughed at from Maine to Texas and beyond the sea;
God has set the bounds of woman's sphere and she should be satisfied
with her position." Their prophecy was more than realized; we were
unsparingly ridiculed by the press and pulpit both in England and
America. But now many conventions are held each year in both countries
to discuss the same ideas; social customs have changed; laws have been
modified; municipal suffrage has been granted to women in England and
some of her colonies; school suffrage has been granted to women in half
of our States, municipal suffrage in Kansas, and full suffrage in four
States of the Union. Thus the principle scouted in 1848 was accepted in
England in 1870, and since then, year by year, it has slowly progressed
in America until the fourth star shone out on our flag in 1896, and
Idaho enfranchised her women! That first convention, considered a "grave
mistake" in 1848, is now referred to as "a grand step in progress."
My next mistake was when, as president of the New York State Woman's
Temperance Association, I demanded the passage of a statute allowing
wives an absolute divorce for the brutality and intemperance of their
husbands. I addressed the Legislature of New York a few years later when
a similar bill was pending, and also large audiences in several of our
chief cities, and for this I was severely denounced. To-day fugitives
from such unholy ties can secure freedom in many of the Western States,
and enlightened public sentiment sustains mothers in refusing to hand
down an appetite fraught with so many evil consequences. This, also
called a "mistake" in 1860, was regarded as a "step in progress" a few
years later.
Again, I urged my coadjutors by speeches, letters, and resolutions, as a
means of widespread agitation, to make the same demands of the Church
that we had already made of the State. They objected, saying, "That is
too revolutionary, an attack on the Church would injure the suffrage
movement." But I steadily made the demand, as opportunity offered, that
women be ordained to preach the Gospel and to fill the offices as
elders, deacons, and trustees. A few years later some of these
suggestions were accepted. Some churches did ordain women as pastors
over congregations of their own, others elected women deaconesses, and a
few churches allowed women, as delegates, to sit in their conferences.
Thus this demand was in a measure honored and another "step in
progress" taken.
In 1882 I tried to organize a committee to consider the status of women
in the Bible, and the claim that the Hebrew Writings were the result of
divine inspiration. It was thought very presumptuous for women not
learned in languages and ecclesiastical history to undertake such work.
But as we merely proposed to comment on what was said of women in plain
English, and found these texts composed only one-tenth of the Old and
New Testaments, it did not seem to me a difficult or dangerous
undertaking. However, when Part I. of "The Woman's Bible" was published,
again there was a general disapproval by press and pulpit, and even by
women themselves, expressed in resolutions in suffrage and temperance
conventions. Like other "mistakes," this too, in due time, will be
regarded as "a step in progress."
Such experiences have given me confidence in my judgment, and patience
with the opposition of my coadjutors, with whom on so many points I
disagree. It requires no courage now to demand the right of suffrage,
temperance legislation, liberal divorce laws, or for women to fill
church offices--these battles have been fought and won and the principle
governing these demands conceded. But it still requires courage to
question the divine inspiration of the Hebrew Writings as to the
position of woman. Why should the myths, fables, and allegories of the
Hebrews be held more sacred than those of the Assyrians and Egyptians,
from whose literature most of them were derived? Seeing that the
religious superstitions of women perpetuate their bondage more than all
other adverse influences, I feel impelled to reiterate my demands for
justice, liberty, and equality in the Church as well as in the State.
The birthday celebration was to me more than a beautiful pageant; more
than a personal tribute. It was the dawn of a new day for the Mothers of
the Race! The harmonious co-operation of so many different
organizations, with divers interests and opinions, in one grand jubilee
was, indeed, a heavenly vision of peace and hope; a prophecy that with
the exaltation of Womanhood would come new Life, Light, and Liberty to
all mankind.
INDEX OF NAMES.
* * * * *
Aberdeen, _Lord_ and _Lady_,
Addington, Laura,
Albert, _Prince_,
Alcott, A. Bronson,
Alcott, Louisa M.,
Allison, Miss,
Amberly, _Lord_ and _Lady_,
Ames, Mary Clemmer,
Anderson, Dr. Garrett,
André, _Major_ John,
Andrews, _Governor_ John A.,
Anthony, Daniel,
Anthony, _Senator_ Henry B.,
Anthony, Lucy,
Anthony, Mary,
Anthony, Susan B.,
Arnold, _General_ Benedict,
Arnold, Matthew,
Astor, John Jacob,
Auchet, Hubertine,
Austin, _Dr_. Harriet N.,
Ayer, Mrs. J.C.,
Backus, Wealthea,
Bagley, _Governor_,
Bagley, Mrs.,
Baird, _General_,
Baldwin, Elizabeth McMartin,
Balgarnie, Miss,
Banning, Ella B.,
Banning, William L.,
Barclay, Cornelia,
Barrau, Caroline de,
Bartlett, Paul,
Barton, Clara,
Bascom, Mr.,
Bascora, Mary,
Bayard, _Dr_. Edward,
Bayard, Henry,
Bayard, Thomas F.,
Bayard, Tryphena Cady,
Beach, Myron,
Beaman, _Rev. Dr_.,
Becker, Lydia,
Beecher, Catharine,
Beecher, _Rev_. Henry Ward,
Bellamy, Edward,
Bellows, Rev. Henry,
Benedict, Lewis,
Bently, _Judge_,
Berry, Mme.,
Berry, Marguerite,
Berry, Mrs.,
Bertaux, Mme. Léon,
Besant, Annie,
Bickerdyke, _Mother_,
Biddle, Chapman,
Biddle, George,
Biggs, Caroline,
Bigelow, John,
Bigelow, Mrs. John,
Bingham, John A.,
Bird, Frank W.,
Birney, James Gr.,
Bjornson, Bjornstjorne,
Blackburn, Miss,
Blackwell, Antoinette Brown,
Blackwell, _Dr_. Elizabeth,
Blackwell, H.B.,
Blaine, _Senator_ James G.,
Blaine, Mrs. James G.,
Blair, _Senator_ Henry W.,
Blake, Lillie Devereux,
Blatch, Harriot Stanton,
Blatch, Nora Stanton,
Blatch, William H.,
Blavatsky, Mme.,
Bloomer, Amelia,
Bogelot, Isabella,
Bogue, _Rev. Dr_.,
Bonaparte, Napoleon,
Botta, Anne Lynch,
Boucherett, Jessie,
Bowles, Samuel,
Bradburn, George,
Bradlaugh, _Hon_. Charles, M, P.,
Bradwell, Myra,
Bright, _Hon_. Jacob, M.P.,
Bright, Mrs. Jacob,
Bright, _Hon_. John, M.P.,
Broomall, John M.,
Brougham, Henry, Lord,
Brown, Antoinette L.,
Brown, John,
Brown, Olympia,
Brown, Mr.,
Browne, Sir Thomas, M.D.,
Browning, Robert,
Brownson, Orestes A.,
Bryan, William J..
Bryant, Miss,
Bryant, William Cullen,
Bullard, Laura Curtis,
Burlingame, Anson,
Burleigh, Celia,
Burleigh, Mrs. William,
Burnet, Rev. J.,
Burr, Frances Ellen,
Burroughs, Herbert,
Busbey, L. White,
Bushnell, Horace,
Butler, General Benjamin F.,
Butler, Josephine,
Byron, Lady,
Byron, Lord,
Cabot, Frederick,
Cady, Judge Daniel,
Cady, Eleazer,
Cady, Margaret Livingston,
Caird, Mona,
Cameron, Judge Hugh,
Carlisle, Lora and Lady,
Carlyle, Thomas,
Carnegie, Andrew,
Carroll, Anna,
Cary, Alice,
Cary, Phoebe,
Channing, Rev. Dr. William Ellery,
Channing, Dr. William F.,
Channing, Rev. William Henry,
Chant, Ormiston,
Chapman, Maria,
Chase, William,
Cheever, Rev. George B.,
Child, Lydia Maria,
Choate, Joseph H.,
Christie, Margaret,
Clark, Helen Bright,
Clarkson, Thomas,
Cleveland, Grover,
Clinton, Governor De Witt C,
Cluseret, General,
Cobb, Mr. and Mrs.,
Cobbe, Frances Power,
Cobden, Jane,
Cochrane, James,
Cochrane, _General_ John,
Cochrane, Mary,
Colby, Clara B.,
Cole, Senator Cornelius,
Coleridge, Lady,
Collyer, Rev. Robert,
Combe, Andrew,
Comte, Auguste,
Conkling, Judge Alfred,
Conkling, Roscoe,
Conway, Rev. Moncure D.,
Conway, Mrs. Moncure D.,
Cooley, Judge Thomas M.,
Couzins, Phoebe W.,
Croly, Jennie C,
Crowninshield, Captain A.S.,
Crowninshield, Mary,
Cox, S.S.,
Coxe, Bishop,
Curtis, George William,
Cushier, Dr.,
Cushman, Charlotte,
Dana, Charles A.,
Dana, Eunice MacDaniel,
Darling, Anna B.,
Darlington, Chandler,
Darlington, Hannah,
Davis, Edward M.,
Davis. Paulina Wright,
Davitt, Michael.
Depesyrons, Professor,
Deraismes, Mme. Féresse,
Deraismes, Maria,
Dickinson, Anna E.,
Dickinson, Mary Lowe,
Dietrick, Ellen Battelle,
Dilke, Mrs. Ashton,
Dilke, Sir Charles,
Dix, Dorothy, L.,
Dix, General John A.,
Douglass, Frederick,
Douglass, Mr.,
Dowden, Professor,
Dudley, Blandina Bleecker,
Dumas, Alexandre,
Durand, Mme. M.E.,
Dyer, Charles Gifford,
Dyer, Hella,
Eaton, Professor Amos B.,
Eaton, Daniel C,
Eaton, Harriet Cady,
Eddy, Miss,
Eddy, Mrs. Jackson, s
Edmunds, Senator George F.,
Eliot, George,
Euet, Elizabeth F.,
Ellsler, Fanny,
Elmy, Mrs.,
Emerson, Ralph Waldo,
England, Isaac W.,
England, Mrs. Isaac W.,
Everett, Charles,
Fabre, Senator Joseph,
Fairchild, Governor Lucius,
Faithful, Emily,
Farnham, Mrs..
Fawcett, Henry, M.P.,
Fawcett, Milicent J.,
Ferry, Jules,
Ferry, Senator Thomas W.,
Field, Rev. Dr. Henry M.,
Field, Kate,
Fine, Judge,
Finney, Rev. Charles G.,
Fitzhugh, Ann Carroll,
Fitzhugh, Miss,
Folsom, Abigail,
Forbes, Arethusa,
Forney, John W.,
Foster, Abby Kelly,
Foster, Rachel,
Foster, Stephen,
Frederic, Harold,
Fremont, _General_ John C,
French, Daniel C,
Frothingham, _Rev_. O.B.,
Fronde, James Anthony,
Fry, Elizabeth,
Fuller, Kate,
Fuller, Margaret,
Fuller, W.J.A.,
Furness, _Rev_. William H.,
Gage, Frances Dana,
Gage, Matilda Joslyn,
Gardener, Helen H.,
Garibaldi, _General_ G.,
Garrison, Gertrude,
Garrison, William Lloyd,
Garrison, Mrs. W.L.,
Gay, Sidney Howard,
Geddes, Mr.,
George, Henry,
Gestefeld, Ursula N.,
Gibbons, Abby Hopper,
Gillespie, Mrs.,
Gladstone, _Right Hon_., William E.,
Gladstone, Mrs. W.E.,
Godwin, Mary Wollstonecraft,
Godwin, William,
Grant, _General_, Ulysses S.,
Greeley, Horace,
Greeley, Mrs. Horace,
Greene, Beriah,
Greenough, Mrs. W.H.,
Greenwood, Grace,
Gréville, Henri,
Grévy, _President_ Jules,
Grévy, Mme. Jules,
Grew, Mary,
Grey, Maria G.,
Grimké, Angelina,
Grimké, Sarah,
Gripenberg, _Baroness_ Alexandra,
Gurney, John Joseph,
Gurney, Samuel,
Gustafsen, Mrs.,
Hammond, _Dr_. William A.,
Hanaford, _Rev_. Phebe A.,
Harbert, Elizabeth Boynton,
Harberton, _Lady_,
Harvey, _Rev_. A.,
Hawley, _General_ Joseph R.,
Hawthorne, Nathaniel,
Hazeltine, Mayo W.,
Heine, Heinrich,
Hertell, _Judge_
Hertz, Fannie,
Hicks, Elias,
Higginson, Thomas Wentworth,
Hill, Octavia,
Hill, _President_,
Hinckley, _Rev_. Frederick A.,
Hoar, _Senator_ George F.,
Hoggan, _Dr_. Frances E.,
Hoisington, Rev. William,
Holmes, Oliver Wendell,
Hooker, Isabella Beecher,
Holyoake, George Jacob,
Hosack, _Rev_. Simon,
Hoskins, Frances,
Hosmer, Harriet,
Hovey, Charles,
Howe, Julia Ward,
Howell, _Judge_,
Howell, Mary Seymour,
Howells, William D.,
Howells, Mrs. William D.,
Howitt, Mary,
Hudson, Harriet,
Hugo, Victor,
Hunt, Jane,
Hunt, _Dr_. Harriet K.,
Hunt, _Judge_ Ward,
Hunt, Richard,
Hurlbert, _Judge_,
Huron, Mr.,
Hutchinson, _Family_,
Hutchins, Mr.,
Hyacinthe, _Père_,
Ingersoll, Robert G.,
Jackson, Francis,
Jackson, _Dr_. James,
Jackson, _Dr_. Kate,
Jackson, Mr. and Mrs.,
Jackson, Mrs.,
Jacobi, _Dr_. Mary Putnam,
Jameson, Anna,
Janes, _Bishop_,
Jarvis, Helen,
Jenckes, Thomas A.,
Jenkins, Lydia,
Jenney, Mr. and Mrs.,
Johnson, Adelaide,
Johnson, Mariana,
Johnson, Oliver,
Johnson, _Sir_ William,
Joly, _Professor_ Nicholas,
Jones, Phoebe,