Extracts from Speech of Hon. Ellison D. Smith… June 4, 1919… Part of Article on Woman Suffrage Introduced… February 19, 1917… Speech of Hon. Charles S. Thomas… February 3, 1919.

Some very, very bad arguments as to why women should not be allowed to vote…

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Published weeks before the Senate passed the 19th Amendment, this pamphlet compiles arguments from three senators from the states of South Carolina, New Mexico and Colorado who opposed woman suffrage on the grounds of social disorder, moral decline, and constitutional tradition. Included are excerpts from Ellison D. Smith’s June 4, 1919 floor speech, along with earlier remarks by Thomas B. Catron and Charles S. Thomas.

The speeches draw from a range of reactionary themes—linking women’s enfranchisement to socialism, divorce, rising taxes, vice, war, and the erosion of “ideal” domestic roles. The contents page reads as a catalog of anti-suffrage arguments, including “Woman Suffrage Undemocratic,” “Woman as Office Seekers,” and “High Cost of Woman Suffrage.” Though the 19th Amendment would pass the Senate just two weeks later, this pamphlet reflects the final, coordinated rhetorical resistance of male legislators attempting to forestall political equality.

Price: $75.00