Women -- Suffrage -- History; Women -- Suffrage -- United States -- History; Women's rights -- History; Women's rights -- United States -- History
The conventions of 1907 and 1908 took place in October at Des Moines
and Boone and the Rev. Eleanor E. Gordon was at each elected
president. Dr. Anna Howard Shaw, president of the National American
Woman Suffrage Association, who was present at the Boone convention,
had just returned from England and was accompanied by two young
English women who had campaigned for suffrage there and who took part
in the convention. She had marched in a parade in London and was very
desirous that parades should be held here. After much urging from her
and the president, and with great trepidation and many misgivings on
the part of the members, a procession was formed and marched through
the principal streets on October 29. The Boone _Daily News_ said: "The
members of the Equal Suffrage Association in convention, scores of the
local women interested in the movement and the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union united in a monster parade through the main streets.
The Wilder-Yeoman Band led with the Rev. Eleanor Gordon, president,
Mrs. Coggeshall, honorary president, Mrs. Julia Clark Hallam, Dr. Shaw
of Philadelphia and the Misses Rendell and Costelloe of London next in
the procession. From every viewpoint it was a success." This was the
first or one of the first suffrage parades to be held in the United
States and it required much courage to take part in it. The crowd
which lined the sidewalks was most respectful and when Dr. Shaw and
the English visitors spoke from an automobile there was enthusiastic
response.
In 1909 at the State convention held in Des Moines Mrs. Hallam was
made president. In 1910, at the convention in Corydon, Mrs. Harriet B.
Evans was elected to this position. The report of the corresponding
secretary, Mrs. Lona I. Robinson, was similar to those that had been
made in many preceding years and that continued to be made for several
following years. It showed that hundreds of letters were sent to the
officers of local clubs, asking them to interview the candidates for
the Legislature on their attitude towards woman suffrage; to sign the
petitions to Congress for a Federal Amendment, which were sent to
them; to strengthen their organization; to increase their propaganda
work, for which quantities of literature were furnished. The report
showed the activities of the State officers, meetings arranged,
addresses made and legislative work done.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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