Blogging about suffrage history
& suffrage centennial events
For Women's Equality Day 2020 & the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment I decided to sing "Give the Ballot to the Mothers" (1888) & post it on social media. I even uploaded it to my YouTube channel, which I hope to feature more suffrage related content in the weeks & months to come. Give the Ballots to the Mothers (Tune: Air-Marching through Georgia, Lyrics: Rebecca N. Hazard, 1888) VERSE 1 Bring the good ole bugle, boys! we’ll sing another song. Sing it with a spirit that shall start the world along. Sing it as we hope to sing it cheerily and strong, Give the ballots to the mothers. CHORUS Hurrah! Hurrah! We bring the jubilee! Hurrah! Hurrah! The homes they shall be free! So we’ll sing the chorus from the mountains to the sea, Giving the ballots to the mothers. VERSE 2 Bring the dear old banner, boys! Fling it to the wind. Mother, wife, and daughter, let it shelter and defend. 'Equal Rights' our motto is, we're loyal to the end, Giving the ballots to the mothers. CHORUS Hurrah! Hurrah! We bring the jubilee! Hurrah! Hurrah! The homes they shall be free! So we’ll sing the chorus from the mountains to the sea, Giving the ballots to the mothers. The lyrics to "Give the Ballot to the Mothers" (1888) were written by suffragist Rebecca Ann Naylor Hazard (1826-1912). Many suffrage songs sung at rallies and meetings were set to popular tunes of the day so that lyric sheets could be passed out & folks could just sing along since they already new the tune. This particular song was set to the tune "Marching Through Georgia". Upon a bit of further research I found this was actually a reworking of Hazard's own lyrics. She previously penned a version of this song called "Woman Suffrage Jubilee" in 1882. According to Danny O. Crew's wonderfully useful book, Suffragist Sheet Music, "Woman Suffrage Jubilee" appears in the Woman Suffrage Campaign Book published by Tribune Printing Company of Lincoln, Nebraska in 1882 along with "Keep Woman in Her Sphere", and "Equality before the Law" (Crew, 72-82). The song was reprinted in 1892 on a song sheet called Woman Suffrage Songs (Crew, 133,139) with one alteration; in verse two "freeman's dwelling" is changed to "freeman's home", presumably to remedy the clumsiness in singing the extra syllable in "dwelling". The reworking of the lyrics of "Woman Suffrage Jubilee" appears in the South Dakota Equal Suffrage Song Book published by the South Dakota Suffrage Association, Huron, South Dakota in 1888 under the title "Give the Ballot to the Mother". The lyrics are attributed as "Arranged from the words by Rebecca N. Hazard." Crew, 112) This same disclosure appears on the 1889 Woman Suffrage Leaflet published by the American Woman Suffrage Association, Boston (Crew, 121) , and the 1897 reprint by The Woman's Journal, Boston (Crew, 154). Hazard was an active member of the American Woman Suffrage Association, even serving as president for a term, until the death of her husband in 1879. "Give the Ballot to the Mothers" by Rebecca Naylor Hazard was performed on Day two of the convention. Minutes of the Kentucky Equal Rights Association, November 19th, 20th, and 21st, 1889, Court House, Lexington, Kentucky. With Reports and Constitution. Collection: Kentucky Equal Rights Association minutes and reports, University of Kentucky Libraries. "Give the Ballot to the Mothers" was sung by a choir on November 20, 1889, the second evening of the Kentucky Equal Rights Association convention, as you can see in the image above. You can view the minutes of the entire convention on the University of Kentucky Libraries website. I have provided the lyrics to "Woman Suffrage Jubilee" below for comparison. Woman Suffrage Jubilee (Tune: Air-Marching through Georgia, Lyrics: Rebecca N. Hazard, 1882) VERSE 1 Bring the good ole bugle, boys! we’ll sing another song. Sing it with a spirit that shall start the world along. Sing it as we hope to sing it fifty thousand strong, When comes the news in November. CHORUS Hurrah! Hurrah! We bring the jubilee! Hurrah! Hurrah! We’ll vote to make you free! So we’ll sing the chorus from the mountains to the sea, When we win in November. VERSE 2 Bring the dear old banner, boys! Fling it to the freeze. Mother, wife, and daughter, let it shelter all of these. Those who share a freeman’s dwelling*, should themselves be free, Then vote for freedom in November. CHORUS Hurrah! Hurrah! We bring the jubilee! Hurrah! Hurrah! We’ll vote to make you free! So we’ll sing the chorus from the mountains to the sea, And we’ll sing it in November! *The 1892 version changes "dwelling" to "home". SOURCES:
Crew, D. O. (2002). Suffragist sheet music: An illustrated catalog of published music associated with the women's rights and suffrage movement in America, 1795-1921, with complete lyrics. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. Minutes of the Kentucky Equal Rights Association, November 19th, 20th, and 21st... (n.d.). Retrieved September 03, 2020, from https://exploreuk.uky.edu/catalog/xt7v9s1km53j Rebecca Ann Naylor Hazard (1826-1912) - Find A... (n.d.). Retrieved September 03, 2020, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23126/rebecca-ann-hazard Willard, F. E., & Livermore, M. A. (1897). Hazard, Mrs. Rebecca N. In American Women Fifteen Hundred Biographies with over 1,400 Portraits: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of the Lives and Achievements of American Women during the Nineteenth Century (Rev. ed.) (Revised ed., Vol. 1, pp. 367-368). New York, NY: Mast, Crowell, & Kirkpatrick.
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