Blogging about suffrage history
& suffrage centennial events
"Rights of Woman" was published in The Philadelphia Minerva on October 17, 1795. The lyrics are "By a Lady" & set to the tune "God Save America", which is also "America (My Country tis of Thee)" & "God Save the Queen" (or King depending on the reigning monarch in Britain). While this song does not specifically reference of suffrage, it calls for the rights of women. & it calls for women to speak up & to revolt much like Abigail Adams warned in 1776. "I long to hear that you have declared an independency -- and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If perticuliar care and attention is not paid to the Laidies we are determined to foment a Rebelion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation." -Abigail Adams in a letter to her husband John Adams, March 31, 1776 My favorite part of this song is the reference to Mary Wollstonecraft & her Vindication of the Rights of Women published in 1792 in Verse 8. However, my least favorite part is the unfortunate extra line in Verse 5. It makes the verse particularly awkward to sing.
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Introduction: Each week of the NY State Suffrage Centennial year of 2017 I plan on posting a new recording of an old suffrage song, along with a bit of history. I hope to bring renewed interest to these songs & the movement that inspired them.
The first suffrage song for this first week of 2017, is "Keep Woman in Her Sphere". It 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). 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. Verse 1 I have a neighbor, one of those Not very hard to find, Who know it all without debate Ande 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 spere." Joint Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of the United States Relative to Equal Rights for Men and Women Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission by the Congress: Article-- Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Section. 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Section. 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification. When the Equal Rights Amendment fell short of ratification by 3 states, the fight to keep it alive began. The time limit for ratification by 38 states was removed, & the effort to convince 3 of the 15 states resumed. Since the mid 1970s states have created laws to protect equal rights. This is the excuse the 15 states use to not ratify the ERA. The problem with this argument is that should any of the laws passed by any of the 50 states be brought before the US Supreme Court, they could be found unconstitutional because equal rights are not guaranteed in the US Constitution. With the ERA in place, these state's laws could stand. Unless you make some noise, your representatives don't know what is important to you!
If you live in one of the 15 states that have not ratified the ERA, please contact your local representatives & implore them to reintroduce the ERA for ratification. Simply click on you state & a new window will open with your state legislature's website. Alabama Arizona Arkansas Florida Georgia Illinois Louisiana Mississippi Missouri Nevada North Carolina Oklahoma South Carolina Utah Virginia For more information: ERA FAQ Early this year, I was at work when one of the reference librarians mentioned that Post-Star journalist, Maury Thompson, had discovered that a suffrage play was performed in Glens Falls in 1916. Being that I am the resident suffrage buff, she thought I might be interested in talking with Maury about it. I did. I found a copy of the play on Internet Archive, & mentioned it might be fun to put on the play. The Post-Star ran with the story, & I was directing a play for the first time since high school. I hadn't even read it yet. Luckily, the play turned out to by funny, & relevant. There was already a lot of buzz surrounding Charles Evans Hughes (1862-1948) Day, commemorating the Glens Falls native's unsuccessful run for POTUS in 1916. Todd DeGarmo, head of the Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library, suggested we produce it in conjunction with the Hughes exhibition & the events being planned. Hughes was the first major party candidate to campaign on the idea that a federal amendment was needed to guarantee woman suffrage. Until that time, many politicians continued to support the state by state suffrage effort. He also had a group of women some called "the Hughsettes" who actively campaigned for him, travelling by train through the states where women already had the vote. I put out a casting call in late August, & enough people auditioned for me to fill the cast. On a shoestring budget, & a 5 week/6 rehearsal production schedule, we were able to pull of the one-night centennial production of The Revolt: A Play in One Act by Ellis Parker Butler (1869-1937), a banker, & prolific writer. In the end, I wound up working with much younger actors than I anticipated. These girls, ranging in age from 11-17, had very different skill levels. Some of the girls had never been on stage before. Some had more acting experience than me. I warned them that I was a collaborative director, & they took to that fairly well. They made suggestions regarding their characters, & helped with blocking. We were working with a small stage, & minimal props, but they were always thinking of ways to make the props work better, helping with the flow of the action. All-in-all, this was a great re-introduction to directing. I hope you like our production. 0:23 Suffrage Song: Vote For Women, Keep It Up
1:15 Pro & Anti Suffrage Cosplay 5:03 Suffrage Song: Bring It To Pass In the Year (1912) 6:27 Introduction to The Revolt, Glens Falls, & Charles Evans Hughes 8:21 The Revolt: A Play in One Act by Ellis Parker Butler Director (& suffrage singer): Tisha Dolton Cast (in order of appearance) Pauline: Catie LeCours Grandma Gregg: Sandi Rhodes Susan Jane Jones: Kayla Toney Kate: Amelia Elmen Grace: Rosalie Carlsen Edith: Merista Nichols Ida: Carynn Bohley May: Cecelia Bayard The Ideal Husband as himself "Oooo"s: Jereme Young Cosplay: Frieda Toth, Renee Miller, Jereme Young David Dismore is a one of the preeminent feminists in the country. Yes, he is a guy. Yes, he is the same age as my parents. Who cares? He writes these great suffrage history posts on his Facebook account. Friend request him. He will friend you back. & then you can read his very informative posts. They are #OnThisDayInHistory like you have never seen before.
Today's post is about the ill-fated 1915 NY State Suffrage referendum. It would be two more years before women gained the right to vote in NY. Hence the big push for planning centennial events next year. 70 days until the centennial year begins. I'll keep you posted! |
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