What if, what if . . .
Title
What if, what if . . .
Description
In the 1870s the women’s rights movement hit adolescence: cranky, difficult, awkwardly independent. Before the Civil War it was sister to the movement for Black emancipation, and close. After the war the siblings grew estranged. They were now separate movements, and weaker apart.
But the decade began with such hope. A cataclysmic war had ended slavery! Momentous change was clearly possible.
In 1870 & ‘72, southern Black male voter turnout topped 90%.
20 African-American men were elected to the House; 2 to the Senate; 300 more to state legislatures.
Black women organized to aid freedpeople; northerners came south to teach in new schools.
Despite a bitter split that led to the creation of two Suffrage Associations - the National & the American - women white and Black believed that their own enfranchisement was not far off.
They were so wrong.
It hurts to realize that in 1870, women really thought they had a chance. The 14th & 15th Amendments weren’t perfect, but they thought they’d pass a 16th Amendment soon. Wyoming enfranchised women in 1869, Utah in 1870. It seemed within reach.
Suffragists took so many dramatic actions in that decade:
* Hundreds of women--white & Black--demanded the right to register; many actually voted as a form of civil disobedience.
* Susan B Anthony was arrested!
* Victoria Woodhull ran for President!
* Protests at the centennial!
So many what ifs.
What if northern abolitionists had insisted on universal suffrage during the Reconstruction amendments? Could they have convinced the white male Senators & governors who held all the cards? Or would no one have gotten the vote?
What if Victoria Woodhull’s presidential run had been less scandal-ridden? What if Stanton & Anthony had been more willing to compromise? 🤷â€â™€ï¸
But what if . . . What if Reconstruction had lasted? What if Lincoln hadn’t been assassinated?
That could have mattered. Could have changed things.
@DrIbram points out that most Black Congressmen supported women’s suffrage.
If they had expanded power by the late 1870s instead of having it ripped away, women would almost certainly have voted sooner.
But the decade began with such hope. A cataclysmic war had ended slavery! Momentous change was clearly possible.
In 1870 & ‘72, southern Black male voter turnout topped 90%.
20 African-American men were elected to the House; 2 to the Senate; 300 more to state legislatures.
Black women organized to aid freedpeople; northerners came south to teach in new schools.
Despite a bitter split that led to the creation of two Suffrage Associations - the National & the American - women white and Black believed that their own enfranchisement was not far off.
They were so wrong.
It hurts to realize that in 1870, women really thought they had a chance. The 14th & 15th Amendments weren’t perfect, but they thought they’d pass a 16th Amendment soon. Wyoming enfranchised women in 1869, Utah in 1870. It seemed within reach.
Suffragists took so many dramatic actions in that decade:
* Hundreds of women--white & Black--demanded the right to register; many actually voted as a form of civil disobedience.
* Susan B Anthony was arrested!
* Victoria Woodhull ran for President!
* Protests at the centennial!
So many what ifs.
What if northern abolitionists had insisted on universal suffrage during the Reconstruction amendments? Could they have convinced the white male Senators & governors who held all the cards? Or would no one have gotten the vote?
What if Victoria Woodhull’s presidential run had been less scandal-ridden? What if Stanton & Anthony had been more willing to compromise? 🤷â€â™€ï¸
But what if . . . What if Reconstruction had lasted? What if Lincoln hadn’t been assassinated?
That could have mattered. Could have changed things.
@DrIbram points out that most Black Congressmen supported women’s suffrage.
If they had expanded power by the late 1870s instead of having it ripped away, women would almost certainly have voted sooner.
Creator
Daily Suffragist
Source
Date
19/02/2020
Files
Collection
Citation
Daily Suffragist, “What if, what if . . .,” Daily Suffragist, accessed April 25, 2024, https://dailysuffragist.omeka.net/items/show/246.