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76-463: The association worked for women's political equality in municipal- and provincial level electorates and committees. It was also active within social welfare and improvement in the conditions of prisons, schools and work force. AFF was founded in Manila, Philippines on 30 June 1905 by its first president, Concepcion Felix Rodriguez , a working class woman. The organization was later joined by women from

152-536: A 1915 campaign failed to win women in New York the right to vote, Catt redoubled her efforts. In 1917 the state approved suffrage. Although Catt, as a resident of New York, had obtained full suffrage, she kept working toward a federal suffrage amendment. In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson went before a joint session of Congress to request a declaration of war against Germany. Both the Senate and House voted to approve

228-448: A brooch consisting of a large sapphire surrounded by diamonds for her "distinguished service." National's parting gift to Catt was funded by thousands of individual contributions – including dimes, nickels and even pennies – from public subscription. Even schoolchildren contributed to the gift. In addition to the national League, women's suffrage organizations in the states also reorganized as state leagues of women voters in 1920. In 2020,

304-556: A budget of $ 5,000 and power so extensive that it became the center of women suffrage in the United States." The 1896 NAWSA Convention was notable for its debate about Elizabeth Cady Stanton 's book, The Woman's Bible , in which Stanton challenged traditional religious beliefs that women are inferior to men and should be passive. Many NAWSA members feared that the book would damage the suffrage movement by alienating its more orthodox members. Catt and Anthony, NAWSA's president at

380-569: A delegate from the General Federation of Women's Clubs. Catt told the delegates, "Sooner or later the white races must disgorge some of their spoils and give a place to the other races of the world. We stole land – whole continents; we stole it at the point of swords and guns; and we might as well understand that we must not have an acre to a man while they have an inch to a man. We must leave the door open to whatever arrangements we may make for peace in order that justice can be done to all

456-577: A delegation to the 1900 Republican Party national convention, which allowed the suffragists 10 minutes to speak. The Democrats refused to hear them at all. That year in Oregon, a second campaign for woman suffrage failed. During the winter of 1902–1903, Catt worked the New Hampshire amendment campaign in the midst of bitter cold, but lost by a vote of 14,162 to 21,788. In 1902, Catt called for an international meeting of women that would coincide with

532-484: A discussion about women's participation in the group and ultimately led to women gaining the right to speak in meetings. Catt was also a member of Pi Beta Phi , started an all girls' debate club, and advocated for women's participation in military drills. After four years at Iowa State, Catt graduated on November 10, 1880, with a Bachelor of Science degree, the only female in her graduating class. Iowa State did not name valedictorians during Catt's time there, so there

608-505: A dishwasher, in the school library, and as a teacher at rural schools during school breaks. Her freshman class consisted of 27 students, six of whom were female. Catt joined the Crescent Literary Society, a student organization aimed at advancing student learning skills and self-confidence. Although only men were allowed to speak extemporaneously in meetings, Catt demanded to be allowed to do the same thing. This started

684-454: A federal amendment. Second, women living in states where they might secure suffrage by state action would attempt to secure it. Third, suffragists in most states would advocate for presidential suffrage, and fourth, Southern states would advocate for primary suffrage. Under Catt's leadership, the movement focused on success by first working for women's suffrage in New York state. Before 1917, only western states had granted female suffrage. After

760-544: A fund that supported the Hungarian Feminist Association financially. She declined the affidavit request, noting that was she was old, had taken much responsibility on behalf of friends and associates, and the affidavit would be held against her estate after her death. The last event she helped organize was the Women's Centennial Congress in New York in 1940, a celebration of the feminist movement in

836-621: A job and a place for them to live. Catt left for California after receiving a telegram that her husband was ill with typhoid fever . While she was enroute, Catt learned that her husband died in August 1886. She remained for a while in San Francisco, where she wrote freelance articles and canvassed for newspaper ads, but she returned to Iowa in 1887. She was a young 28- and 29-year-old widow when she wrote "Zenobia" (1887) and "The American Sovereign" (1888). In 1890, she married George Catt,

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912-469: A legal identity, Felix gained the backing of a group of male doctors who incorporated one of the first non-profit organizations in the country, La Protección de la Infancia, Inc. Through the organization in 1907, Felix founded La Gota de Leche , the first organization aimed solely at the welfare of mothers and children. Felix's idea was to establish a small maternity ward to train nurses and distribute sterile milk to sickly and malnourished infants. By 1909,

988-477: A life-long friendship. In 1900, Catt became president of the NAWSA as Susan B. Anthony's handpicked successor. Anthony knew Catt had the skills to carry the movement forward and her election to the presidency was nearly unanimous. She served her first term as NAWSA president until 1904, when she stepped down to care for her ailing husband, George Catt, who died in 1905. In her first year as NAWSA president, she led

1064-592: A private institution run by Margarita Lopez. In 1893 she transferred to the newly opened Assumption Convent . Finishing her primary education, Felix attended the Instituto de Mujeres (Women's Institute), earning her teaching degree. She continued her studies while teaching math classes, earning her bachelor's degree in 1904. She went on to study law at the Escuela de Derecho (Law School) in Manila. The school had been founded by Felipe Gonzáles Calderón Roca , who drafted

1140-518: A registered voter and work within the party of her choice. However, she emphasized that "as an organization," the League "shall be allied with and support no party." Catt continued that the League "must be nonpartisan and all partisan" in leading the way – ahead of the political parties – to educate for citizenship and get legislation passed." At the 1920 convention, the League's constitution with details for membership, officers, representation and budget

1216-663: A single trip around the world from departure from New York on April 1, 1911, to arrival in San Francisco on November 4, 1912, Catt spoke and/or organized women's suffrage organizations in South Africa (Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria and a Kaffir kraal in Maritzburg); up the east coast of Africa to Zanzibar, Tanzania and Port Said; Egypt; then on to Jericho, Jordan, Riyaq and Beirut, Lebanon, and to Cairo, where she departed for Ceylon; then India, starting in Agra and leaving

1292-584: A technicality which created the Philippine Commonwealth required that the process start over again. Continuing in the fight, along with Pilar Hidalgo-Lim , Josefa Llanes Escoda , Maria Paz Mendoza-Guazon , Constancia Poblete , Rosa Sevilla de Alvero , and Pura Villanueva Kalaw, Felix lobbied during the 1934 Philippine Constitutional Convention for women's suffrage. The 1935 Constitution provided in Article V provisions for women to gain

1368-455: A true and triumphant democracy." After endless lobbying by Catt and the NAWSA, the suffrage movement culminated in the adoption of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on August 26, 1920. The 19th Amendment enfranchised 27 million women, making it the largest single expansion of voting rights in American history. Catt retired from her national suffrage work after the 19th Amendment

1444-495: A wealthy engineer and alumnus of Iowa State University. Catt continued to lecture and wrote the speeches "Subject and Sovereign" in 1893 and "Danger to Our Government" in 1894. George Catt also encouraged her involvement in women's suffrage . As a result, she was able to spend a good part of each year on the road campaigning for suffrage, a cause she had become involved with during the late 1880s. In 1887, Catt returned to Charles City, where she had grown up, and became involved in

1520-482: A year earlier at the 1919 NAWSA meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. In her presidential address on March 24, 1919, at the NAWSA convention, Catt said: "Let us raise up a League of Women Voters – the name and form of organization to be determined by the voters themselves; a League that shall be non-partisan and non-sectarian in character and that shall be consecrated to three chief aims: In fall 1919, Catt promoted ratification of

1596-503: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to women's history is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Concepci%C3%B3n Felix Rodriguez Concepción Felix Roque (9 February 1884 – 26 January 1967) was a Filipina feminist and human rights activist . She established one of the first women's organizations in the Philippines, Asociación Feminista Filipina , as well as one of

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1672-536: Is no way to know her class rank. She first worked as a law clerk after graduating. She became a teacher and quickly advanced, becoming superintendent of schools in Mason City, Iowa , in 1885. She was the first female superintendent of the district. In February 1885, Catt married newspaper editor Leo Chapman. She remained with her parents on the family farm in Iowa when her husband traveled to California to find

1748-541: Is the dominant race today but things may change. The race that will be dominant through the ages will be the one that proves itself the most worthy. ... Miss Kearney is right in saying that the race problem is the problem of the whole country and not that of the South alone. The responsibility for it is partly ours but if the North shipped slaves to the South and sold them, remember that the North has sent some money since then into

1824-411: The 19th-century purity organizations , it sponsored drives against drinking, gambling, and prostitution and implemented moral campaigns in schools and factories with lectures on hygiene, health, and infant care. It also campaigned for inclusion of women on local boards of education and municipal committees, though at this early stage, Felix was not demanding suffrage. Recognizing that women did not have

1900-627: The Carrie Chapman Catt Award by the Manila Women's Club. During the 1966 Women's Rights Day celebrations, Felix was awarded the Presidential Medal by Ferdinand Marcos . In 1984, a commemorative stamp bearing her likeness was issued. Carrie Chapman Catt Carrie Chapman Catt (born Carrie Clinton Lane ; January 9, 1859 – March 9, 1947) was an American women's suffrage leader who campaigned for

1976-498: The International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWSA) in 1902, which eventually incorporated sympathetic associations in 32 nations. She served as its president from 1904 until 1923. After George Catt's death in 1905, Catt spent much of the following eight years as IWSA president promoting equal-suffrage rights worldwide. After she retired from NAWSA, she continued to help women around the world to gain

2052-646: The Malolos Constitution and who had been acting as a private tutor to Felix. She was one of the first four women admitted to the law school and became one of the first women admitted to the bar association. In 1905, Felix founded the Asociación Feminista Filipina (Feminist Association of the Philippines) as a volunteer social reform group aimed at acquiring prison and labor reform for women and children. Like many of

2128-861: The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution , which gave U.S. women the right to vote in 1920. Catt served as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association from 1900 to 1904 and 1915 to 1920. She founded the League of Women Voters in 1920 and the International Woman Suffrage Alliance in 1904, which was later named International Alliance of Women . She "led an army of voteless women in 1919 to pressure Congress to pass

2204-415: The 19th Amendment – which had been passed by Congress earlier that year – by the states and explained the purpose of the League of Women Voters on a "Wake Up America" tour. Wearing her refurbished "ratification dress," Catt spoke at 14 conferences in 13 western and Midwestern states in eight weeks. Her group also met with women and visited state capitals to see governors and other important state officials. By

2280-621: The Federal Amendment our ultimate aim and work in the States a program of preparedness to win nation-wide suffrage by amendment of the National Constitution." According to suffragist Maud Wood Park , who was NAWSA's chief lobbyist at this time, Catt's Winning Plan had four components: First, the states where women had presidential suffrage would lobby their state legislatures to send resolutions to Congress in support of

2356-733: The Iowa Woman Suffrage Association. From 1890-92, Catt served as the Iowa association's state organizer and group's recording secretary. During her time in office, Catt began working nationally for the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), and was a speaker at its 1890 convention in Washington, D.C. In 1892, Susan B. Anthony asked Catt to address Congress on the proposed woman's suffrage amendment. After working her first suffrage campaign in South Dakota in 1890, which went down in defeat, Catt

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2432-579: The League of Women Voters comprises a national organization and more than 700 state and local leagues in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Hong Kong. According to its website, Leagues "work year-round to register new voters, host community forums and debates, and provide voters with election information they need. We engage at the local and state levels on legislative priorities and efforts to improve our elections." Catt

2508-669: The Persecution of Jews in Germany. The group sent a letter of protest to Hitler in August 1933 signed by 9,000 non-Jewish American women. It decried acts of violence and restrictive laws against German Jews . Catt pressured the U.S. government to ease immigration laws so that Jews could more easily take refuge in America. For her efforts, she became the first woman to receive the American Hebrew Medal. In 1938, Catt

2584-759: The Republic Medal of Merit and a diploma of honor, and the following year was recognized for her human rights work by UNESCO . In 1956, she was awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice by Pope Pius XII for her work with the Catholic Women's League. Felix was the first recipient of the Josefa Llanes Escoda Medal when that award was established by the National Federation of Women's Clubs, and the first recipient of

2660-519: The South to help undo part of the wrong that it did to you and to them. Let us try to get nearer together and to understand each other's ideas on the race question and solve it together." Catt was reelected as NAWSA president in 1915, following Shaw's presidency. Under her leadership, Catt increased the size and influence of the organization. In 1916, at the NAWSA convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey , she unveiled her "Winning Plan", to "make

2736-507: The United States' entry into World War I. Catt made the controversial decision to support the war effort, which shifted the public's perception in favor of the suffragists, who were now perceived as patriotic. The suffrage movement received the support of President Wilson in January 1918. On January 10, 1918, the House voted on the suffrage amendment, which passed by one more vote needed for

2812-402: The United States. Catt's views on race and immigration evolved over her long life. Early in her career, she espoused nativist sentiments. According to Jacqueline Van Voris, Catt began her public life in the 1880s with three speeches, "Zenobia", "America for Americans", and "The American Sovereign". The latter two echoed anti-immigrant sentiments popular at the time. In the 1890s, when she

2888-500: The Women's Peace Party, with Addams elected as chairman and Catt as honorary chairman. On February 25, 1917, by a vote of 63 to 18, NAWSA – with Catt as its president – offered the women's services to the government of the United States "in the event they should be needed, and in so far as we are authorized, we pledge the loyal support of our more than two million members." NAWSA made clear that its work for suffrage would continue since it

2964-427: The annual convention of NAWSA. Seven of the eight countries with women's suffrage sent delegates. Representatives from Chile, Hungary, Russia, Turkey and Switzerland also attended. Vida Goldstein of Australia, Florence Fenwick Miller of England, and Catt together wrote a Declaration of Principles that all the delegates signed that included this statement: "That men and women are born equally free and independent members of

3040-635: The case of Anthony, for permitting a letter she had written to be read before an all-black audience in New York City. Southern delegates made speeches calling for only white women to have the vote. Catt's reply: "We are all of us apt to be arrogant on the score of our Anglo-Saxon blood but we must remember that ages ago the ancestors of the Anglo-Saxons were regarded as so low and embruted that the Romans refused to have them for slaves. The Anglo-Saxon

3116-464: The constitutional amendment giving them the right to vote and convinced state legislatures to ratify it in 1920". She "was one of the best-known women in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century and was on all lists of famous American women." Carrie Clinton Lane was born on January 9, 1859, in Ripon, Wisconsin , the daughter of Maria Louisa ( née Clinton) and Lucius Lane. When Catt

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3192-521: The continent in Rangoon, Myanmar (Burma). From there, it was on to Java, Sumatra, Jakarta, Indonesia, the island of Sulawesi and the Philippines. One of the last countries on Catt's travels was China, where she visited Hong Kong, Shanghai, Peking, Nanking, and Hankow. She then traveled to Korea, Japan, Hawaii, and across the Pacific back to San Francisco. Due to the outbreak of World War I, 1913 would be

3268-409: The convention to "express the joy of the present" and "ask what political parties wanted of women and they of the parties." In an inspirational speech to the 700 members present, Catt outlined the plan and purpose of the League. She emphasized that its objective was not to seek power in organization, but to "foster education in citizenship and to support legislation." Every woman was encouraged to become

3344-489: The elite like Trinidad Rizal , Librada Avelino , Maria Paz Guanzon, Maria Francisco, and Luisa de SilyarIt. AFF conducted its first meeting at Paz Natividad Vda. de Zulueta's residence on Salcedo Street, which later became part of Rizal Avenue . It established the La Proteccion de la Infancia, Inc. and managed Gota de Leche , which advocates the health of children and women. This Philippines -related article

3420-517: The exclusion of women from politics and the public sphere as a cause, even though they believed in equality for women. The organization believed that it was their job as women to end wars because women were seen as morally courageous, in contrast to their male counterparts who were viewed as physically courageous. The NCCCW held its first conference in Washington, D.C., in January 1925, with 450 delegates in attendance. Eleanor Roosevelt attended as

3496-521: The first humanitarian NGOs , La Gota de Leche , aimed specifically at the well-being of mothers and their children. On several occasions, she spoke to legislators to promote women's enfranchisement . She has been recognized as one of the first feminists of the Philippines and was honored with many awards. Concepción Felix Roque was born on 9 February 1884 in Tondo, Manila , Philippines, to Juana Roque and Mauricio Felix. At age six, she began her schooling in

3572-589: The human race; equally endowed with talents and intelligence, and equally entitled to the free exercise of their individual rights and liberty." This formed the beginning of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, an organization that exists today as the International Alliance for Women . During the national NAWSA convention held in New Orleans in 1903, Catt and Anthony were attacked by the press for allowing black membership in NAWSA and, in

3648-688: The issue. One more state loss and the amendment would be defeated. The final battle took place in the state of Tennessee. Catt was there to lead the campaign through the hot summer months in Nashville in 1920. She wrote to the Woman Citizen , "Never in the history of politics has there been such a force for evil, such a nefarious lobby as labored to block the advance of suffrage in Nashville, Tenn. ... They appropriated our telegrams, tapped our telephones, listened outside our windows and transoms. They attacked our private and public lives." The vote count

3724-530: The last meeting of the IWSA for some years. Three days after the armistice ending the war in 1918, Catt planned to resume the meetings of the IWSA. The 1920 meeting took place in Geneva and more than 400 women met, including delegates from Germany, France, Japan, China, India and the United States. The board asked women of the enfranchised countries to help further the vote in countries without the vote. The United States

3800-460: The measure down: in Georgia, Alabama, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, Delaware, Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana and Mississippi. Since the late 19th century, they had passed state amendments that effectively disfranchised African American males. They had no interest in expanding the franchise. The governors of Connecticut and Vermont refused to call their legislatures into session to vote on

3876-539: The organization was so successful that it had to obtain a larger space and Felix spearheaded a successful drive to raise funds to purchase sterilizing equipment for the newly donated facility. In 1912, following a visit by Carrie Chapman Catt , Felix and Pura Villanueva Kalaw joined with other women to form an organization called the Society for the Advancement of Women. Catt called them reluctant suffragists, but

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3952-570: The peace movement. Because she did not want to join any existing organization, Catt and representatives of nine national women's organizations founded their own organization, the National Committee on the Cause and Cure of War (NCCCW). The group first met in spring 1924 and chose Catt to be its leader. The group divided the causes of war into four categories: psychological, economic, political, and social and contributory. They did not include

4028-412: The place and then settled down to THINK." Catt led the battle for ratification of the 19th Amendment, which required the approval of 36 state legislatures (3/4 of the then 48 states.) She urged friends of the amendment not to allow it to come to a vote in their state unless they were sure it would pass. However, opponents introduced the bill into their state legislatures. One by one, Southern states voted

4104-561: The presidency of the IWSA in 1923, she continued to attend its meetings in various parts of the world. Catt founded the League of Women Voters on February 14, 1920 – six months before the ratification of the 19th Amendment – during the annual convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in Chicago, Illinois. However, she had outlined the purpose and goals of such an organization

4180-457: The races on all the continents." In 1932, Catt resigned as chair of the NCCCW, but kept attending meetings, making speeches and supporting the cause of peace. However, she recognized that another war would soon engulf the world. By 1941, when it was clear that the United States would soon enter the war, the NCCCW fell apart. Five of the member organizations had withdrawn and the biennial conference

4256-415: The required 2/3 majority. The following day, Catt wrote all of the state suffrage association presidents asking them to begin work at once to win the votes of the U.S. Senators. The vote in the Senate was finally taken on October 1, 1918, and the proposed amendment lost by two votes. On November 11, 1918, the armistice ending World War I was declared. During a second vote in the Senate on February 10, 1919,

4332-710: The right to have equal guardianship with husbands of their children and the right to vote. The following year, Catt traveled to Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru and Panama. She concluded, "I never did a piece of work which has so interested and stimulated my desires to help as this." While visiting Peru in March 1923, Catt founded the National Council of Women in Action, which lobbied for women's suffrage in Peru until they succeeded in 1956. Although Catt retired from

4408-506: The right to vote if they were successful in attaining an affirmation of 300,000 qualified women in a special plebiscite. The Philippine women's suffrage plebiscite held on 30 April 1937 was a landslide victory for women. Felix married Felipe Calderón in 1907. They had one daughter, Concepción Calderón. Calderón died in 1908 and Felix remarried to the widower Domingo Rodriguez on 20 June 1929, with whom she had no children. Felix died on 27 January 1967. In 1948, Felix-Rodriguez received

4484-479: The right to vote. The IWSA remains in existence today, now as the International Alliance of Women , with 31 full members and 24 associate members. Catt first had the idea of an international woman suffrage organization in 1900; by 1902 she decided to begin with an exploratory meeting of women from as many countries as possible. The first meeting of the IWSA was held in Berlin, Germany, with 33 delegates present. Catt

4560-567: The time of NAWSA's "victory convention," which met February 12–18, 1920, in Chicago, 31 of the required 36 states had ratified the 19th Amendment. The 1920 convention marked the completion of NAWSA's work, except for a small board to make final disposition of records and assets, and the beginning of the League of Women Voters. During the 1920 convention, Catt honored pioneers of the movement – including past NAWSA presidents Anna Howard Shaw and Susan B. Anthony – for their "ever buoyant hope" and "unswerving courage and determination." She also wanted

4636-474: The time, met with Stanton prior to its publication to voice their concerns, but Stanton was unmoved. Catt and another future NAWSA president, Anna Howard Shaw , supported a resolution stating that "NAWSA has no official connection with the so-called Woman's Bible ." During the 1898 national convention of the NAWSA, one of the most outstanding speakers was African American activist Mary Church Terrell . She and Catt first became acquainted at that time and formed

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4712-495: The women were laying the groundwork in civic and social programs. Gradually the women became more political, and by 1920 suffrage became a plank on the agenda of the Philippine Association of University Women. In that year, Felix was one of three Filipina women who spoke to lawmakers when they presented a petition for suffrage signed by 18,000 women. In 1933, a bill was passed giving women the right to vote, but

4788-464: The women's suffrage amendment lost by one vote. However, during the 1918 election, suffrage supporters were elected to Congress through targeted efforts by leaders in the movement. The suffrage question came up again before the House on May 21, 1919, and this time it passed by a vote of 304 ayes and 89 nays. The amendment then moved to the Senate, where it passed the needed 2/3 majority by two votes on June 4. Mary Garrett Hay wrote that "CCC danced all over

4864-483: Was "the protective of all other rights." On April 2, 1917, President Wilson went before Congress to request a declaration of war. The position paper from NAWSA with Catt as its president led to her ejection from the Woman's Peace Party as well as hard feelings between her and its small cohort of pacifists. After the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified, granting women in the United States the right to vote, Catt returned to

4940-519: Was a charter member of the Provisional Council Against Anti-Semitism, to protest acts of anti-Semitism in the United States in light of the persecution of Jews in Germany. Women's advocates abroad were aware of her reputation – in 1938 she was asked to sign an affidavit in support of leading Hungarian feminists Eugénia Meller and Sarolta Steinberger 's request to emigrate to the U.S. Catt had donated money to

5016-553: Was active in NAWSA but before becoming president, Catt made public speeches that referred to the "ignorant foreign vote," and pointed to Native American men's lack of knowledge of representative government. Later, Catt noted that the votes of illiterate men in the South were "purchasable". In the same speeches, Catt blamed, variously, political corruption, a lack of education, or the tragic vestiges of slavery for these groups' shortcomings as voters. Her solutions were education and reform, not disenfranchisement. Even as she decried

5092-471: Was active in anti-war causes during the 1920s and 1930s. Upon the outbreak of World War I in 1915, a group of women pacifists in the United States began talking about the need to form an organization to help bring the conflict to an end. On January 10, 1915, more than 3,000 women attended a meeting at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., called by Catt and fellow suffragist Jane Addams . They formed

5168-434: Was approved. According to Van Voris, "Catt insisted she did not want to lead the new work, that was for younger and fresher women. ‘For thirty years and a little more, I have worked with you in the first lap of this struggle toward women's emancipation,' she said." Maud Wood Parks was elected president of the League of Women Voters with Catt accepting the title of "honorary chairman." Convention delegates also surprised Catt with

5244-627: Was asked to coordinate the suffrage campaign in Colorado. She arrived in Denver in early September 1893 and worked until Election Day. Catt traveled more than a thousand miles throughout the Rockies during the next two months and visited 29 of Colorado's 63 counties. Colorado passed women's suffrage in November 1893, becoming the second state to give women the right to vote and the first where suffrage

5320-577: Was cancelled for lack of funds. In spring 1943, the NCCCW was dissolved. It was succeeded by the Women's Action Committee for Victory and Lasting Peace, which was dedicated to giving support to the idea of the United Nations. According to Jacqueline Van Voris, Catt missed only one NCCCW meeting in its entire existence. In 1933, in response to Adolf Hitler 's rise to power, Catt organized the Protest Committee of Non-Jewish Women Against

5396-692: Was elected president. African American suffragist Mary Church Terrell was one of the delegates from the United States and addressed the meeting in three languages. Each international meeting was held in a different city, membership grew, and successes in women's rights were reported and discussed. The international meeting held in Budapest in 1913 was the largest in the history of the organization, with 500 delegates attending. The world's press had 230 representatives and 2,800 visitors came to listen and learn. Following her first term as president of NAWSA, Catt engaged in international suffrage work from 1906 to 1913. On

5472-484: Was ratified in 1920. Before she retired, she established the League of Women Voters on February 14, 1920, at the NAWSA national convention in Chicago to encourage women to use their right to vote. In 1923, with Nettie Rogers Shuler , she published Woman Suffrage and Politics: The Inner Story of the Suffrage Movement . Catt was also a leader of the international women's suffrage movement. She helped to found

5548-490: Was seven years old, her family moved to rural Charles City, Iowa . As a child, Catt was interested in science and wanted to become a doctor. After graduating from high school in 1877, she enrolled at Iowa Agricultural College (now Iowa State University ) in Ames, Iowa . Catt's father was initially reluctant to allow her to attend college, but he relented, contributing only a part of the costs. To pay her expenses, Catt worked as

5624-524: Was so close that each side believed it could easily be defeated. The proposed amendment easily passed the Tennessee Senate, but then moved to the House where – after many delays and many days of debate – it passed by one vote. At her welcome home reception in New York City, Catt said: "Now that we have the vote let us remember we are no longer petitioners. We are not wards of the nation, but free and equal citizens. Let us do our part to keep it

5700-580: Was to organize efforts in Jamaica, Cuba and South America, which was the only continent where no women had the vote. A member of the League of Woman Voters suggested that a Pan-American conference be held in 1922. After three days of round-table discussions, Catt had organized the Pan-American Association for the Advancement of Women (National Liga para la Emancipacion de la Mujer). Its objectives included educational opportunities for women,

5776-456: Was won by popular vote. By the 1895 national convention of the NAWSA, Catt was proposing major changes in the structure of the organization. "The great need of the hour is organization. Suffrage is today the strongest reform there is in this country, but it is represented by the weakest organization", the Woman's Journal reported. "Catt organized and then headed a new Organization Committee with

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