Women -- Suffrage -- History; Women -- Suffrage -- United States -- History; Women's rights -- History; Women's rights -- United States -- History
ERNESTINE L. ROSE: I always sympathize with those who seem to be
in the minority. I know it requires a great deal of moral courage
to object to anything that appears to have been favorably
received. I know very well from long experience how it feels to
stand in a minority of one; and I am glad that my friend on the
other side (Mrs. Halleck) has already added one to make a
minority of two, though that is by far too small to be
comfortable. I, for one, object to the proposition to throw woman
out of the race for freedom. (Applause). And do you know why?
Because she needs freedom for the freedom of man. (Applause). Our
ancestors made a great mistake in not recognizing woman in the
rights of man. It has been justly stated that the negro at
present suffers more than woman, but it can do him no injury to
place woman in the same category with him. I, for one, object to
having that term stricken out, for it can have no possible
bearing against anything that we want to promote: we desire to
promote human rights and human freedom. It can do no injury, but
must do good, for it is a painful fact that woman under the law
has been in the same category with the slave. Of late years she
has had some small privileges conceded to her. Now, mind, I say
_conceded_; for publicly it has not yet been recognized by the
laws of the land that she has a right to an equality with man. In
that resolution it simply states a fact, that in a republic based
upon freedom, woman, as well as the negro, should be recognized
as an equal with the whole human race. (Applause)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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