Woman and the Republic: A Survey of the Woman-Suffrage Movement in the United States and a Discussion of the Claims and Arguments of Its Foremost AdvocatesJohnson, Helen Kendrick
History
Woman and the Republic: A Survey of the Woman-Suffrage Movement in the United States and a Discussion of the Claims and Arguments of Its Foremost Advocates
Johnson, Helen Kendrick
Women -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- United States; Women -- Suffrage -- United States
Of the state of things at this time in the Anti-slavery societies, General
Birney says, "The no-government men made up in activity what they lacked
in numbers. While refusing for themselves to vote at the ballot-box, they
voted in conventions and formed coalitions with women who wished to vote
at the ballot-box." Mr. Henry B. Stanton wrote to William Goodell: "An
effort was made at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts society, which
adjourned today, to make its annual report and its action subservient to
the non-resistant movement, and through the votes of the women of Lynn and
Boston it succeeded." A little later, January, 1839, Mr. Stanton wrote
again to Mr. Goodell, as follows: "I have taken the liberty to show your
letter to brothers Phelps, George Allen, George Russell, O. Scott, N.
Colver, and a large number of others, and they highly approve its
sentiments. They, with you, are fully of the opinion that it is high time
to take a firm stand against the no-government doctrine. They are far from
regarding it merely as a humbug." John A. Collins, the Anti-slavery agent
referred to, founded a community at Skaneateles, N. Y., based upon the
following dictums: A disbelief in any special revelation of God to Man, in
any form of worship, in any special regard for the Sabbath, in any church,
disbelief in all governments based on physical force, because they are
"organized bands of banditti," whose authority is to be disregarded, a
disbelief in voting, in petitioning, in doing military duty, paying
personal or property taxes, serving on juries, testifying in "so-called"
courts of justice. A disbelief in any individual property. A belief that
as marriage is designed for the happiness of the parties to it, when such
parties have outlived their affections, the sooner the separation takes
place the better, and that such separation shall not be a barrier to their
again uniting with any one. The community lived two and a half years, and
broke up with a debt of ten thousand dollars. John O. Wattles, who was
associated with Collins in the disturbance referred to by Frederick
Douglass, founded a community in Logan County, Ohio, which was called "The
Prairie Home." They had no laws, no government, no opinions, no
principles, no form of society, no test of admission. They professed to
take for their creed the dictum "Do as you would be done by." The
association broke up in anarchy within a few months. Mr. Collins and Mr.
Wattles were always promoters of the Woman-Suffrage movement.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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