An Address to the Congress of the United States
New York: National Woman Suffrage Publishing Company, [1917].
9 x 6 inches, chromolithographed stapled wraps, 26 pp. A little chipping and rubbing, tide marks at the spine both externally and internally, rear wrap with a dog-ear crease at the lower corner. Good only, but sound, and the cover color is bright.
Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947) was a prominent leader in the movement for women's suffrage. Gifted as both an organizer and a public speaker, she traveled the country for more than a decade, giving lectures and helping local suffrage organizations to work together and grow. In 1915, she became President of the National Woman Suffrage Association, a position she held until successful passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. She delivered the address in this pamphlet on several occasions during speaking tours, but never actually before Congress. The main portion of the argument is devoted to the inevitability of female suffrage, and it essentially exhorts members of Congress to put themselves on the right side of history. She goes on to address the need for a federal rather than a state-by-state solution. She concludes by addressing three common objections: 1) that war-time is no time for domestic political squabbles; 2) that Congress does not have the authority to act; and 3) that states' rights would be violated by a Congressional act. The final five pages contain statements from a variety of luminaries on the subject of "Women's War Service in Britain," attesting to the indispensable nature of women's contributions to the war effort.
Item #19622
Sold