Blogging about suffrage history
& suffrage centennial events
"Equality Before the Law" is set to the same tune as "Yankee Doodle" with words by lyrical lawyer Experience Estabrook, who also wrote the lyrics to "Keep Woman in Her Sphere" which I addressed in my previous post. Verse 2, to oversimplify, refers to the 14th & 15th Amendments granting citizenship to freed slaves, & granting the right to vote to black men respectively. Verse 3 plays into the stereotype of the ignorant, criminal immigrant, that is, unfortunately, still used to divide us today. Equality Before the Law (1882) Tune "Yankee Doodle", Lyrics by E. Estabrook Verse 1 Equality before the law, Fit motto for the nation, Was on our state's great seal inscribed As through by inspiration. And where shall any man be found, If he be but true man, Who dare maintain that this was meant For him and not for woman. Verse 2 Equality before the law! The thought inspired devotion! The black man heard the sweet refrain 'Mid was and wild commotion. The slave transformed by freedom's power At once became a new man, And what the nation gave to him, Shall we withhold from woman? Verse 3 Equality before the law! The lesson is resounding Throughout the world from pole to pole' Old dynasties confounding. A foreign pauper, stained with crime, Comes here a full-fledged yeoman, And we, while giving him a vote, Deny it to a woman. *As always, listen to me singing the song by clicking on the orange title of the song. This post was originally published on Medium & my Suffrage newsletter, October 30, 2019.
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This month's song is "The Yellow Ribbon" set to the tune "Wearing of the Green" with words by Marie LeBaron (1842-1894). Lebaron was a highly regarded journalist, poet, and suffragist. She wrote for the St. Louis Daily Globe and her poetry appeared in publications such as Kansas Magazine & Appleton's Journal. It seems fitting that her suffrage lyrics should be about yellow, the color of the US Suffrage Movement. The sunflower, being the state flower of Kansas, was used by the suffragists during the unsuccessful Kansas Impartial Suffrage Campaign of 1867 to grant impartial voting rights regardless of sex or color. Adopted by the National Woman Suffrage Association of Susan B. Anthony & Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the use of yellow stemmed from that campaign. Stanton also used the pseudonym Sunflower when writing for Ameila Bloomer's newspaper, The Lily. Use of the tune The Wearing of the Green, is also very telling. First published in an Irish newspaper in 1841, it tells the story of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 in which the Irish Presbyterians & Catholics, inspired by the American & French Revolutions, sought to overthrown the British. The suffragists often used American Revolution imagery in their songs, articles, lectures, cartoons, and plays. By setting these words to another song about rebellion, LeBaron is adding further emphasis on her rebellious lyrics which clearly reference the American Revolution in the first verse, and the Civil War, and Abolitionist Movement in the second verse. The Yellow Ribbon 1876- Lyrics: Marie LeBaron, Tune: The Wearing of the Green VERSE 1 ‘Tis just a hundred years ago our mothers and our sires Lit up, for all the world to see, the flame of freedom’s fires; Through bloodshed and through hardship they labored in the fight; Today we women labor still for Liberty and Right. CHORUS Oh, we wear a yellow ribbon upon our woman's breast, We are prouder of its sunny hue than of a royal crest; ‘Twas God’s own primal color, born of purity and light, We wear it now for liberty, for justice and for Right. VERSE 2 We boast our land of freedom, the unshackling of the slaves; We point with proud, through bleeding hearts to myriad of graves; They tell the story of a war that ended slavery’s night, And still we women struggle for our Liberty, our Right. CHORUS The post was originally published in my Suffrage newsletter on April 22, 2020.
The Suffrage song "Keep Woman in Her Sphere" is set to tune of "Auld Lang Syne", a Scottish song not written by, but first recorded in writing by the Scottish poet & bard Robert Burns. The suffrage lyrics appear in The Woman Suffrage Campain Song Book published in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1882. The lyricist is noted as E. Estabrook. I believe this to be Experience Estabrook (1813-1894) who was appointed attorney general of Nebraska territory in 1855. His daughter, Caroline Augusta (Gussie) Estabrook Clowry was the composer G. Estabrook, who was quite the rock star of her day, selling over one million copies of sheet music, but more about her next month! Experience Estabrook was born in Lebanon, NH & raised in Clarence, NY outside of Buffalo in Eerie County. He attended college & law school in Pennsylvania, before being admitted to the NY Bar in 1839. Shortly thereafter, Estabrook moved to Wisconsin where he practiced law, served in the Assembly, and was Attorney General for two years. Later, he served as a territorial delegate to the 36th Congress for Nebraska, & was a prosecuting attorney. Verse one suggests that women must know there place, & it is in the home. One arguments of the time revolved around women influencing their husbands, &, therefore, not needing the vote. Verse two brings in the question of temperance. One of the major arguments for giving women the right to vote was that women could have control over their own inheritance, wages, and custody of their children, particularly if they married a drunkard. Temperance & suffrage seemed to go hand in hand from the beginning (more on that in future posts). The third verse has the narrator at last speaking to a reasonable man. He comes across as educated, &, possibly, an attorney (as Mr. Estabrook himself was). Finally, a glimmer of hope from the patriarchy. Keep Woman In Her Sphere 1882- Lyrics: Experience Estabrook, Tune: Auld Lang Syne Verse 1 I have a neighbor, one of those Not very hard to find, Who know it all without debate And never change their mind. I asked him "What of women's rights," He said in tones severe- "My mind on that is all made up, Keep woman in her sphere." Verse 2 I saw a man in tattered garb Forth from the grog-shop come; He squandered all his cash for drink, And starved his wife at home; I asked him "Should not woman vote?" He answered with a sneer- "I've taught my wife to know her place. Keep woman in her sphere." Verse 3 I met an earnest, thoughtful man, Not many days ago, Who pondered deep all human law The honest truth to know; I asked him "What of woman's cause!" The answer came sincere- "Her rights are just the same as mine, Let woman choose her sphere." This post was originally published on Medium & through my Suffrage Newsletter, July 29, 2019.
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