Women -- Suffrage -- History; Women -- Suffrage -- United States -- History; Women's rights -- History; Women's rights -- United States -- History
Not a word was said that night upon the subject in the Convention
at the Tabernacle, except what was said by myself; and I said
what I did, because some one inquired whether I was hissed on
going upon the platform. As to that matter, when I went upon the
platform I was not hissed, at others times I did not know whether
they hissed me or others, and
"Where ignorance is bliss,'tis folly to be wise."
I stated some of the facts to our own Convention, but I did not
refer to this resolution (the one which was to exclude all but
officers or invited guests from the platform), for I was not
entirely clear with regard to the nature of it, it was passed in
so much confusion. I did state this, that there had been a
discussion raised upon such a resolution, and that it was decided
that only officers and invited guests should sit upon the
platform; but that they had received me as a delegate, and had
thus revoked the action of the Brick Chapel meeting, and that on
the morrow Neal Dow might invite me to sit upon the platform.
That was the substance of my remarks, and not one word of
objection was taken, or reply made by our Convention.
I read again from this paper. (An extract implying that among the
measures taken to browbeat the Convention into receiving Miss
Brown, was the forming of a society instantly, under the special
urgency of herself and friends, for this especial object, etc.)
That again is a statement without foundation. I intend to-night
to use no harsh words, and I shall say nothing with regard to
motives. You may draw your own conclusions in regard to all this.
I shall state dispassionately, the simple, literal facts as they
occurred, and they may speak for themselves.
When Wendell Phillips went out of the Convention, he told persons
with whom he came in contact, that a delegate had been received
by the President, and that delegate had been insulted, and nobody
had risen to sustain her. He said to me, too, "I shall not go
to-morrow, but do you go. I can do nothing for you, because I am
not a delegate." There were a few earnest friends in New York,
however, who felt that the rights of a delegate were sacred. They
organized a society and appointed just three delegates to that
Temperance Convention. Those three persons were Wendell Phillips,
of Boston; Mr. Cleveland, one of the editors of the Tribune; and
Mr. Gibbon, son-in-law of the late venerated Isaac T. Hopper. The
last two were men from New York City. The question was already
decided that women might be received as delegates to that
Convention; therefore there was no need of appointing any one to
insist upon woman's right to appear, and no one was appointed for
that purpose.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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