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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-suffragism | 4/7 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-suffragism | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T14:56:22.846092+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Friction over the Fifteenth Amendment === The cause of anti-suffragism was furthered by the friction between the women's and black suffrage movements prior to the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment. The connection between the two movements arose during the 1830s when abolitionist activists' rhetoric linked the subordination of enslaved people to the marginalization of women. Figures like William Lloyd Garrison, leader of the American Anti-Slavery Society, advocated for the collaboration of women and blacks in their respective causes. However, other abolitionists argued that simultaneous promotion of women's rights would detract from the cause of black suffrage. By 1869, a split between race and gender had formed. Pioneers of the women's suffrage movement, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, adopted overtly racist rhetoric that served to distance the causes of women's and black suffrage. This division has been attributed to a number of factors, including personal biases of women suffragists. However, some scholars argue for a reexamination of the assumption that women's suffrage was "ahead of its time" during the Reconstruction era. Relations between the two movements soured when the 1867 Kansas suffrage referendum proved unsuccessful for both causes. Women suffragists found themselves unable to endorse the conditions of the Fifteenth Amendment, which granted voting rights to black men but omitted provisions for women's suffrage. Historian Faye E. Dudden suggests that the content of Stanton and Anthony's speeches in the year prior to the Fifteenth Amendment's ratification indicates their belief that they were capitalizing on a historic moment of political opportunity that would not recur in their lifetime. Wendell Phillips, a trustee of the Hovey Fund, denied access to the capital necessary to launch their campaign. Consequently, the conflict over money misdirected the suffragists' attentions from Phillips to the Black Suffragism movement he funded instead. Ultimately, the instability between the two parties would prolong the cause of anti-suffragists for another fifty years until the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920.
=== World War I === Anti-suffragists helped contribute to war relief work during World War I. NAOWS contributed to the Belgian war relief effort. Many anti-suffrage groups highlighted their charitable efforts, painting themselves as "self-sacrificing." They wanted the country to see that women could make a difference without the vote, however, it was partly the efforts of women aiding the war that helped women gain the vote in the end.