Us online. Tonights discussion of womens suffragists and the men who supported them, the suffrage gents and their role is part of the series related to our special exhibit rightfully hers. Our partners are the 2020 womens Vote Centennial Initiative and the one woman, one vote 2020 festival. We thank them for their support. Our special twibt tells the story of womens Voting Rights. To sure these they had to win allies among men in influential positions. It was men who sat in the state legislatures that would ratify or reject the 19th amendment whos centennial we now celebrate. When it opened in our gallery last may guests at the opening reception were offered a yellow rose pin as they entered. That evoked the badges worn by members of the mens league for womens suffrage. To many guests this nod to the role that men played came as something of a surprise. Tonight were going to take a look at those suffrage gents and their contributions to the Voting Rights struggle. And its my pleasure to welcome nancy tate to the stage. Since 2015, nancy has served as the cochair of the 2020 womens Vote Centennial Initiative and is also on the board of the turning point memorial. From 2000 to 2015 she served as the director of the league of women voters. She served as the chief operating officer of the National Academy of public admin strags, department of energy, department of education, and the office of economic opportunity. Please join me in welcoming nancy tate. [ applause ] well, thank you. Its wonderful to be here, especially at the national archives, since they have opened this really lovely exhibit on women and the vote. Its called rightfully hers, american women and the vote. I myself have toured the kpiebt twice. I encourage everybody to come and see it too. She mentioned, im the coy chair of the womens vote sen Term Initiative and former executive director of the league of women voters of the United States. The league is one of the cofounders of the womens vote sen Term Initiative. And that group which in shorthand is wbci was formed as an information sharing collaborative of the Many Organizations and scholars who are working in this area. We want to celebrate the anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment which will be 2020. And in doing that woe want to shed light on the powerful but little known stories behind that very long and hard struggle to win the vote. The league itself was founded in 1920 by carie chatman cat who was the head of the largest suffrage organization, the National American womens suffrage organization. And the league under her guidance was formed six months before the amendment actually passed. The league therefore the league is having its own 100th anniversary next year. There is a league in every state and approximately 700 cities and counties around the kreentd. The league has been spending nearly 100 years now continuing the fight for full equality for all americans, and we do that through both education and advocacy. Let me just say a few more words about the 2020 womens vote sen serchl initiative. We work to establish and connect people, networks all around the country, girl scout troops, universities, any organization interested in learning about our suffrage history and how they can be part of the celebrations that they may even want to create themselves next year. Here in the d. C. Area, these Educational Programs that we put on with the archives and other groups is the main thing that we undertake. So tonight as debra said, this particular evening is part wbcis women in the vote symposium series. This was the fourth one we have done here at the archives and we hope to do at least one more in 2020. But when we picked the topics, each one of these focuses on some of the littletold stories about what went on to enable women to finally get that vote and all of the panels, including this one, will look at how some of these lessons show relevance to the issues of today. As many of you know, the 72year fight for womens suffrage is a powerful historical story and it can be used to enhance our understanding of our own times and how to navigate it. You can learn more about wbci by visiting our website, facebook, instagram and twitter, using the hashtag 2020centennial. Im pleased to introduce tonights panel. Im going to call them up by name. So come on up, ladies. We have our moderator, betsy fisher martin, who is the executive director of women in Politics Institute and american university. [ applause ] brook kroger, who is the author of the suffrage gents, how women used men to get the vote [ applause ] Joe Hanna Newman whos the author of gilded suffragists. And susan ware who is the author of why they marched. [ applause ] so betsy, i it urn it over to you. Thank you very much. Welcome, everyone. Really nice to be here with you today. So we have a special treat. Three terrific experts and i will tell you just personally i had a wonderful time reading and learning so much about this issue in preparation for tonight. So im excited to for you all to hear it as well. Brook, let me start with you. Your book tells the story of rich and powerful men mainly in new york that came together to help women earn the right to vote. Take us back to 1908, and tell us what brought these men together for the movement and how did they first come together to form the mens league for womens suffrage . Its a pretty good story. Starting around that time, ann compton sanderson who had been imprisoned in britain came to the United States. Because shed been in jail she snuck in thru canada causing quite a big stir. And she lectured around the country. And one of her themes was, how pathetic the wealthy women of america were in terms of understanding how to engage in a political process and further how the men of england had been very supportive of women in their fight for the vote and nothing of this nature wads going on here. This was in the press and very much in peoples consciousness, at least people in certain circles. Around the same time, Anna Howard Shaw wrote to oswald garrison ballard who was the editor of the nation magazine and new york evening post. Thats a nice combination. It was at the time. He was also the son of fanny garrison ballard who was an mile an hour suffragist and a grandson of an abolitionist and suffragist. She wrote to him remembering when he was at harvard he had made a wonderful speech at the massachusetts suffrage organization and wanted him to speak. He wrote back saying hes taxed to the limit of the strength, didnt think he could commit to anything like that nature, but that he was thinking it would be a very good idea, and i think this was in the zblietist. A group of men would come together to lend their names and trot up to albany or washington and speak to legislatures and politicians if the need arose. She wrote back and said that this was not a new idea, that these suffrage organization, which at this point was very much in the dole drums, had had the idea before and in fact there actually was a mens Suffrage League that started in 1874, 75, in the east vil anl, met a few times and fell out of memory. She said the men who had been willing to engage are so full of isms, its the last thing we need. The men we really need, you, oswald, never seem to have the time for our cause. So he wrote back, and he said, yp of course im paraphrasing, he said a group of men could be found who would do this work as long as there is someone to do the heavy lifting. And so some time passed and she writes back again and of course in perfect womens style says, and well do all the work to get this organized. And to his enormous credit, he said that is not a good idea. The more Strategic Plan would be for us to form this ourselves, providing we can find someone to do the work. And that would be the way to make this really effective. So he summons rabby steven weiss and john dewy of column bea professor, and they dewys student at columbia was max eastman, a philosophy student, trying to have a writing career, short of funds, living down in the village, and he becomes the secretary treasurer of the organization. His charge was to put together a list to keep this very secret and put together a list of 100 names that would just wow the world, from every profession, clergy, professors, names that america knew, and then announce this as a group that was organized to promote the suffrage cause. And so he gets to work. He gets the help of his mother, reverend anniss ford eastman whos from upstate. Theyre writing letters. Theyre going everywhere. Its unimaginable with ten, 15 noupz newspapers at the time, someone would not get wind of this. Of course the New York Times did and runs a very, very chiding front page article with the headline that was something like, mens voices to join the so prain oe chorus for womens votes. And then it names all these people whos names they had gotten wind of. And there were only 25 at that point. One the director of bellview hospital resooind, he was so embarrassed. Eastman was mortified. But he had recruited George Foster pea body who had become the mainstay. He said dont worry about it, by the time we announce everyone will have forgotten this. That is what happened. By november he didnt have 100 names, he had 150 names. They had their first meeting in early november. By january they had produced their first booklet with all these names and addresses listed with their charter and constitution. By later in the year, they gave their first banquet, 600 people, to honor ethel snowden, the wife of the british mp. This was elite in its c construction. Later they invited all men of all sorts. Having this male support was key. That leads us im sure someone else can tell the story of the parade. They march as a group of 89 men in top hats and bowlers in the second suffrage parade in may of 1911 where they are pillaried and mocked and just ever sort of insult is hurled. And they embrace this. It galvanizes them. They are no longer just offering their names. They are really ready for work. Johanna, why was this so controversial to have men . And what did they they were ridiculed in a lot of cases . I did want to pick up on brooks point. So there were 89 men in the 1911 parade. One year later in 1912, there were one thousand men. So thats how much the movement grew in a very short period. And a year later they were in 35 states and bringing in tens of thousands. And one of the men who marched, i was just looking for this quote, was rabby weiss. Rabbi weiss was a major progressive. He often lectured in the progressive causes, those isms that you spoke of. There was a time of fervent, debate among students at columbia and in max eastmans circle in greenwich village. Is capitalism the right thing . Should we look at socialism . Should we explore free love . It was everything imagine a time where everything was up for debate. And rabbi weiss participated in the 1912 parade, where many of the men he knew from elite circles were in their clubs, looking down on fifth avenue, hurling insults, as brook suggested. Those guys were rolling their eyes. They were. On the street. He wrote, i dug out his diary and he wrote of the mockery that he encountered that day. For a few moments, i was very warm and took off my hat. Whereupon someone shouted, look at the longhaired susan. Some of the other delightful exclammations that greeted us were, whos taking care of the baby . Or flossie, dear, arent they cute . Look at the molly kodles. Another male suffragist or another husband as they were called was joerchl middleton. He recalled hecklers crying, take that handkerchief out of your cuff, oh you gay desiever, you forgot to shave this morning. So i think we have there some suggestion of why it was so controversial. Because it disrupted this gender role expectation that men had. And throughout the 1910s, what i think happens is that theres a succession of events that help to normalize the idea of women voting. And you know, the great fear among men after all, the only voters here, the only people eligible to vote for womens suffrage, either as voters in their state on referenda, or as members of legislative committees or lawmakers in congress, there was this great fear that politics would harden women and emass cuelate men and also hurt the family. And a lot of things that the suffrage leaders did in those years was to reassure the public that women could be in political life and still maintain their femininity. It probably is worth saying somewhere that men have always stood some men have always stood with women. There was a famous judge in massachusetts in the American Revolution who wrote to john adams and suggested that they consider universal suffrage. So here we have at the founding some agitation forever women to have the vote. After the civil war, when Elizabeth Cady stanton and susan b. Anthony split the Womens Movement apart by vowing they will not support the 15th amendment, which remofbz the barriers to black men voting, they wont support it unless women are also included, and this horrifies the other women who start a rival organization. So for 20 years, you have these two rival groups working at crosspurposes. And but one black man named Robert Purvis stood up for Elizabeth Cady stanton and stunz b. Anthony in this rather unexpected decision to fight the 15th amendment. And purvis said, if me daughter cannot have Voting Rights along with my son, i wont vote for it because she has a double curse of being a woman and a black woman. So i think, you know, we have to say that there are always some men who have stood with women and i just wanted to throw that into the conversation. Interesting. I think whats distinct in this particular era is that they organized. Absolutely. And celebrity endorsers, its always been back to thomas paine, john stuart, this was really a unique happening. I agree. What else is strange about it is that the few people in their memoirs who write about it at all write about the 1911 parade or the 1912, and the response from the crowds. I mean, that seems to be a very affecting experience. And vallard talks about it also, the only things he mentions. No one ever mentions the league by names. Only james laid laws owe bit wary mentions it probably his wife wrote it and she was a great suffragist. They never talked about it again. I wondered why, was it chifblrous to not take credit . Were they just the consummate allies as we would talk about today . Or was it insignificant in the history of these very active lives . And by the time they died six decades later, it wasnt an important aspect of who they were . Only, only laid laws and eastmans make any mention of it. Its kind of fascinating. George kreeole, as soon as he becomes head of the committee on public information, he is not talking about it at all. Because wilson of course wasnt supportive. So its interesting. Its interesting. Shunusan i want to get back the home life. A woman goes off and joins the Suffrage Movement, what does that mean for the home life and for the husband during that time . I think it really changes can really change all aspects of it, because if especially if a woman signs on to the Suffrage Movement, its kind of like having a religious conversion. And if shes all in, its like having a fulltime job. Its an unpaid job, but its fulltime. And this is likely something that she hasnt done before. And you could see how there would be a ripple effect, that the kind of wifely or daughterly duties that she might have done before like being there when the kids come home from school or being there to entertain at dinner, those things arent going to happen anymore. And i think that what we need to remember is that its not just if a woman says, okay, im going support suffrage. It can affect all kinds of other things in her life. It can affect her family of origin, who shes partnered with, her colleagues, it can affect where she lives, traflds, how she dresses. And so its a big commitment. And one of the plagss where you see it really hitting home literally is in suffrage marriages. You write in your book why they marched a married couple ray and Gertrude Foster brown, tell us about them. Ray and Gertrude Foster brown were very much a suffrage couple. She was head of the new york state womens suffrage organization, quite powerful position. And he was a journalist. And he wrote a book, a pamphlet, published anonymously, called how it feels to be the husband of a suffragette. And in that pamphlet you can tell that he is a true feminist. He supports womens economic independence and talks about how having a wife who does things beyond the domestic sphere is so much more interesting to have around than someone who just stays home and hes sort of saying all the right things. And so he puts on this wonderful public cheerful face of, this is great. This is what its like being married to a suffragette. And yet in private things are a little more complicated. She is off traveling. She goes to conventions. Shes giving speeches. Shes out every night. And hes at home. And hes missing her. So theres this sort of difference between the cheerful public endorsement of it and that sometimes on the home front its a little harder to make it work. And that hes the one whos really feeling left behind. This had happened once before in their marriage. She was a talented singer and musician and she had gone off on the road. Had a very successful kalier. And he then felt like he was being left behind. I think whats interesting is that both times they managed to work their way through it, and they stayed married until his death in 1944. And i think its just a good reminder that we always need to think about the personal as well as the political when were telling the story. Yeah, yeah. Brook, i want to ask you about the press and how the men were depicted in the press at the time. Well, first of all, as a curiosity, i mean it was interesting, so it made news. More importantly, the men who were involved initially made news, because they always made news. So it was these were people that were followed high profile. Followed for their business dealings, everything. Being followed for suffrage