[310] I conceive that the first thing to be done by the women of this country is to demand their political enfranchisement. Among the ‘self-evident truths’ announced in the Declaration of Independence is this-“All government derives its just power from the consent of the governed.” Judging by this rule, the existing government is a despotism. One-half of the population is disfranchised on account of sex--three millions are dehumanized on account of complexion! Why should not women vote at the ballot-box? I am not pleading here as one very fond of voting. I am a disfranchised man, not because I do not believe in voting, but because I cannot vote under the United States Constitution, believing it to be unholy, knowing it to be a compromise with slavery. (Hisses in the gallery.) . . . I am just as anxious that women shall be allowed to vote as if I voted every day. I hate the law that disfranchises women. It is not for me or any man dogmatically to judge as to what is or what is not a sinful act, or to say to others you shall not exercise the right to think for yourselves. There is a law of the United States which says that no colored man shall be enrolled in the militia of this country. Now, I abhor the militia. I believe the whole military system is satanic. I do not want to see any black man enrolled in it. But I hate that law of Congress proscribing the colored man on account of his color just as I loathe a rattlesnake. It is a proscriptive spirit which has made that exception. I want the colored man to judge for himself whether he shall train or not. I want no opprobrium thrown upon him on account of his complexion.1 So with regard to women. I want the women to have the right to vote, and I call upon them to demand it perseveringly until they possess it. When they have obtained it, it will be for them to say whether they will exercise it or not . . . I wish I could see one-half of the members of Congress women. I wish I could see one-half of the members of our Legislature women. They are entitled to this. I am quite sure —I think I hazard nothing in saying—that the legislation of our country would be far different from what it is. I think the outrageous scenes which are witnessed on the floor of Congress
This text is part of:
The Century Company. , 1885-1889.
Tufts University provided support for entering this text.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.