Anti-suffragism

Political movement opposing votes for women

Anti suffragism was a political movement composed of both men and women that began in the late 19th century in order to campaign against women's suffrage in countries such as Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States. To some extent, Anti suffragism was a Classical Conservative movement that sought to keep the status quo for women. More American women organized against their own right to vote than in favor of it, until 1916. Anti suffragism was associated with "domestic feminism," the belief that women had the right to complete freedom within the home. In the United States, these activists were often referred to as "remonstrants" or "antis."

The anti suffrage movement was a counter movement opposing the social movement of women's suffrage in various countries. It could also be considered a counterpublic that espoused a democratic defense of the status quo for women and men in society. Countries in the Western World began to explore giving women the equal right to vote around the mid 19th century, beginning with the Wyoming Territory in 1869. Areas with the most visible women's suffrage movements were Great Britain and in the United States, although women's suffrage movements took place in many Western countries. Anti suffrage activities began to emerge in many countries as women publicly advocated for suffrage.

Anti suffrage movements were present in Australia through the 1880s and 1890s. Anti suffrage organizations in Australia were "closely associated with the Conservative Party, manufacturing interests and anti socialist forces." The Australian media took part in the anti suffrage movement, and depicted women as being "weak and unintelligent," emotional and too involved in domestic and trivial matters. The Australian anti suffragist movement was founded on a platform of patriotism. Australia stood out as one of the few members of the British Empire where women held the right to vote at the turn of the twentieth century. Consequently, they were held accountable when the 1916 referendum on compulsory overseas military service was defeated. Anti suffragists consistently pointed to the defeat of Australia's referenda as evidence to support their assertion of the universal unreliability of women voters. Even in the face of loyal efforts by Australian women, such as those within the Australian Women's National League (AWNL), opponents of suffrage persisted in characterizing Australian women's participation in the referenda as a failure to fulfill their responsibilities. The Anti Suffrage Review also used shame as a tool to fight against the suffrage movement. An Anti suffrage correspondence had taken place in the pages of The Times through 1906–1907, with further calls for leadership of the anti suffrage movement being placed in The Spectator in February 1908. Possibly as early as 1907, a letter was circulated to announce the creation of a National Women's Anti Suffrage Association and inviting recipients to become a member of the Central Organising Committee or a member. It was issued under the names of thirty peeresses who would become prominent anti suffragists, as well as a number of peers and MPs. However, the first meeting of the Women's National Anti Suffrage League only took place the following year on 21 July, at the Westminster Palace Hotel with Lady Jersey in the Chair. Seventeen persons were nominated to the central committee at this meeting, including Mrs Humphry Ward in the chair of the Literary Committee and Gertrude Bell as secretary. Other members were Mrs. Frederic Harrison, Miss Lonsdale, Violet Markham and Hilaire Belloc MP. Beatrice Chamberlain served as the editor of the Anti Suffrage Review. The League's aims were to oppose women being granted the parliamentary franchise, though it did support their having votes in local and municipal elections. It published the Anti Suffrage Review from December 1908 until 1918. It gathered 337,018 signatures on an anti suffrage petition and founded the first local branch in Hawkenhurst in Kent. The first London branch was established in South Kensington under the auspices of Mary, Countess of Ilchester. Soon after, in May 1910, a Scottish branch was organised into the Scottish National Anti Suffrage League by the Duchess of Montrose. By December of that year, there were 26 branches or sub branches in the country, a total which grew to 82 by April 1909, and 104 in July 1910. It was announced that 2000 subscriptions had been received by December, 1908, rising to 9000 in July, 1909. In 1910, the group amalgamated with the Men's League for Opposing Woman Suffrage to form the National League for Opposing Women's Suffrage with Lord Cromer as president and Lady Jersey as Vice President. The merger was in effect a takeover, as the president of the former organization, Lord Cromer, became president of the new one. In 1912 Lord Curzon and Lord Weardale became joint presidents. By 1914, there were around 15,000 members. The organization continued its activities and the publication of the Anti Suffrage Review until 1918 when both came to an end as women's suffrage was granted. This branch of the League also opposed suffrage in Britain as well.

Irish opposition to the women's vote was both religious and cultural. Both Catholic and Protestant churches in Ireland wanted women's influence to remain domestic in nature. While men were involved in the anti suffrage movement in the United States, most anti suffrage groups were led and supported by women. In fact, more women joined Anti suffrage groups than suffrage associations, until 1916. While these groups openly stated that they wanted politics to be left to men, it was more often women addressing political bodies with anti suffrage arguments. The first women led anti suffrage group in the United States was the Anti Sixteenth Amendment Society. The group was started by Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren in 1869. During the fight to pass the nineteenth amendment, women increasingly took on a leading role in the anti suffrage movement. Helen Kendrick Johnson's Woman and the Republic (1897) was a lauded anti suffrage book that described the reasons for opposing women's right to vote. Other books, such as Molly Elliot Seawell's The Ladies' Battle (1911), Ida Tarbell's The Business of Being a Woman (1912), Grace Duffield Goodwin's Anti Suffrage: Ten Good Reasons (1915) and Annie Riley Hale's The Eden Sphinx (1916) were similarly well received by the media and used as a "coherent rationale for opposing women's enfranchisement." Anti suffrage dramas were also published between the mid 1800s and up to the 1920s. The first playwright to create anti suffrage plays was William Bentley Fowle, who wrote the one act play for amateurs, Women's Rights, published in 1856. Later plays were adapted for the professional stage, such as The Rights of Man (1857) by Oliver S. Leland and Election Day (1880) by Frank Dumont. Nellie Locke published an anti suffrage drama in 1896, called A Victim of Women's Rights. Many anti suffrage dramas were overtly political and incorporated the use of farce to paint suffragists as "self absorbed" and "mannish in dress and manner." They also criticized the idea of the New Woman in general and advocated for women and men to occupy separate spheres of influence. The Remonstrance, a journal published by the Massachusetts Association Opposed to the Further Extension of Suffrage to Women (MAOFESW) between 1890 and 1920 was used to promote anti suffrage ideas and also to react to and refute the claims of suffragists.

The anti suffrage movement began in the United States after the Massachusetts State legislature introduced a proposal to promote female voting rights. Two hundred women opposed this initiative as they did not want women to gain full citizenship. Though nothing became of this proposal, its introduction mobilized the suffrage movement on both sides. In 1871, a petition to the United States Congress was published by nineteen women in Godey's Lady's Book and Magazine in opposition to votes for women, the first instance of the mobilization from anti suffrage women. Women turned out at the New York State Constitutional Convention in 1894 to protest women's suffrage.

In 1895, the Massachusetts Association Opposed to the Further Extension of Suffrage to Women (MAOFESW) was created and is noted to be the first effort of the anti suffragists to institutionalize their cause. In Des Moines, Iowa, 35 women formed the Iowa Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage in 1898. California, Illinois, New York, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington all formed groups by 1900. Ohio formed an anti suffrage group, the Ohio Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage in 1902. The New York State Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage was founded in 1897, and by 1908 it had over 90 members. It was active in producing pamphlets and publications explaining their views of women's suffrage, until the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed in 1920. A Geneva branch was founded in 1909. The suffragists in New York often extended invitations to open discussion with the anti suffragists. The New York association had its own magazine, The Anti Suffragist, published by Mrs. William Winslow Crannell from July 1908 to April 1912. The National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (NAOWS) was the first national organization of women who challenged the fight for women's suffrage. Several state associations assembled for an anti suffrage convention in New York City and formed the NAOWS. The association gained significant momentum between 1912 and 1916 and was operational in twenty five states. The NAOWS was said to have as many as 350,000 members. Figures like William Lloyd Garrison, leader of the American Anti Slavery Society, advocated for the collaboration of women and blacks in their respective causes. However, other abolitionists argued that simultaneous promotion of women’s rights would detract from the cause of black suffrage. Relations between the two movements soured when the 1867 Kansas suffrage referendum proved unsuccessful for both causes. Women suffragists found themselves unable to endorse the conditions of the Fifteenth Amendment, which granted voting rights to black men but omitted provisions for women's suffrage. Historian Faye E. Dudden suggests that the content of Stanton and Anthony’s speeches in the year prior to the Fifteenth Amendment’s ratification indicates their belief that they were capitalizing on a historic moment of political opportunity that would not recur in their lifetime. Wendell Phillips, a trustee of the Hovey Fund, denied access to the capital necessary to launch their campaign. Consequently, the conflict over money misdirected the suffragists’ attentions from Phillips to the Black Suffragism movement he funded instead. NAOWS contributed to the Belgian war relief effort. Many anti suffrage groups highlighted their charitable efforts, painting themselves as "self sacrificing." They wanted the country to see that women could make a difference without the vote, however, it was partly the efforts of women aiding the war that helped women gain the vote in the end.

There were several concerns that drove the anti suffrage argument. Anti suffragists felt that giving women the right to vote would threaten the family institution. Illinois anti suffragist, Caroline Corbin felt that women's highest duties were motherhood and its responsibilities. Some saw women's suffrage as in opposition to God's will. Antis such as Catharine Beecher and Sara Josepha Hale both shared a religiously based criticism of suffrage and believed women should be only involved with Kinder, Küche, Kirche (children, kitchen and church). Some anti suffragists did not want the vote because they felt it violated traditional gender norms. Many anti suffragists felt that if women gained the vote there would be an end to "true womanhood." There were also those who thought that women could not handle the responsibility of voting because they lacked knowledge of that beyond the domestic sphere and they feared the government would be weakened by introducing this ill informed electorate. Anti suffragists did not see voting as a "right," but as a "duty" and that women already had their own unique responsibilities and duties in the domestic sphere. Also, since Antis believed that governments had authority due to "force," women wouldn't be able to "enforce the laws they may enact." Anti suffragists, such as Josephine Dodge, argued that giving women the right to vote would overburden them and undermine their privileged status. Being against women's suffrage didn't mean, however, that all Antis were against civic pursuits. Jeanette L. Gilder, a journalist, wrote "Give women everything she wants, but not the ballot. Open every field of learning, every avenue of industry to her, but keep her out of politics." Dodge encouraged women to become involved in "charitable, philanthropic and educational activities." It was also cited that women had made reforms such as raising the age of consent without the vote and that gaining this right was, therefore, unnecessary and could even be harmful to further reform movements. The thought was that women were able to influence the government because they were seen as politically neutral and non partisan and giving them the right to vote would strip them of this unique position. In addition, because voting is "only a small part of government," they believed there was no need to vote in order to participate in politics. Anti suffragists saw women's efforts to gain the vote to be all surface dressing with a lack of serious intent to change the world for the better. Other Antis believed that social reform was better accomplished through trade unions and non partisan groups. Progressives criticized suffrage in the Utah Territory as a cynical Mormon ploy, resulting in the passage of the Edmunds Tucker Act. Another argument employed by anti suffragists related to the issue of the uninformed voter. This argument was grounded not so much in opposition to women’s right to vote, but rather in the concern that their participation would exacerbate an already overtaxed ballot system. The steady rise in immigration between 1850 and 1880 made this rationale popular among middle class voters, who suggested that these new voters were "illiterate, unfamiliar with democracy, or inclined to sell their votes for liquor or money." Educational requirements were proposed to counter these concerns but became contentious with the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment. Educated women voiced their resentment that less educated and frequently illiterate men should have the right to vote before themselves. Accusations of being associated with unpopular radical movements was named after the second president of NAOWS, Alice Wadsworth, and called "Wadsworthy" attacks. In addition to associating suffrage with radicalism, the antis also felt that they were oppressed and had lost much perceived political power by 1917. Anti suffrage movements in the American South included an appeal to conservatism and white supremacy. Unreliable source: reason=Source states that Southern anti suffragists appealed to white supremacy, but doesn't provide evidence or even a direct citation for this claim. It is also potentially biased against the anti suffragists, considering the activist nature of the site. A better source (such as one that they list under "further reading") should probably be used instead to support this claim. In Virginia, the NAOWS chapter even linked race riots to women's suffrage.

Once the nineteenth amendment was passed, some women who opposed suffrage exercised this right. They took the energy they were investing in the anti suffrage movement and turned it towards supporting the platform of the Republican party. Former members of anti suffrage groups in New York became involved in the Women's National Republican Club. In this way, they left the private sphere and entered the public sphere, one of the things that they were resisting in their anti suffrage efforts. Former anti suffragist, Ida Tarbell, pointed out that it would take some time for women to get comfortable with voting. Some women didn't vote or get involved in politics. Others, like Annie Nathan Meyer advocated for all anti suffrage women to not vote in order to allow the country to suffer from what she saw as a terrible decision to allow women to vote. The passage of the Nineteenth Amendment also kickstarted a coalition of anti suffragists who organized themselves into a political anti feminist movement in order to "oppose expansion of social welfare programs, women's peace efforts, and to foster a political culture hostile to progressive female activists. This coalition effectively blended anti feminism and anti radicalism by embracing and utilizing the hysteria of the post World War I Red Scare."

There was contemporary criticism of the anti suffrage movement in the United States. One criticism was that anti suffragists did not present a consistent argument against suffrage. Other arguments were seen as inconsistent, such as Antis claiming that voting meant women must hold office, when members of anti suffrage groups were already holding offices such as being on the school board. Other critics, such as Alice Stone Blackwell, pointed out that the anti suffrage groups exaggerated certain claims, such as membership numbers. Critics also argued that there were no new arguments presented over time. Some critics were "almost contemptuous," such as Anna Howard Shaw, who said, "You'd think they would have loyalty enough to their sex not to make us all out a set of fools." Shaw believed that Antis were "puppets of more power male forces." Florence Kelley called anti suffragists "lazy, comfortable, sheltered creatures, caring nothing for the miseries of the poor."

The Times, Wednesday, Jul 22, 1908; pg. 13; Issue 38705; col D
The Times, Thursday, Dec 08, 1910; pg. 9; Issue 39450; col E: "Woman Suffrage. The Anti Suffrage Movement, A New Organization."

Almroth Wright. The Unexpurgated Case Against Woman Suffrage. London: Constable & Co. Ltd, 1913. Available online: