Elizabeth J. Hauser letter to Lucile Atcherson, July 17, 1914   Save
Franklin County Woman Suffrage Association Records
Description: On July 17, 1914, Elizabeth J. Hauser, a suffragist from the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association, sent this letter to Lucile Atcherson, the executive secretary of the Franklin County Woman Suffrage Association. Hauser wrote to discuss legislative candidates in Ohio and their stances regarding women's right to vote. A woman named Mrs. Bachman had contacted Hauser concerning interviewing Republican candidates, and Hauser told Atcherson to consult Mrs. Bachman. Hauser was also very interested to know whether Miss Atcherson had assurance from Colonel Kautzman of Mr. Willis's support for suffrage, because some suffragists had met Mr. Willis but he had declined to sign their petition despite verbal assurance that the suffragists had good chances in the election. Hauser then encouraged Atcherson to put as much pressure as she could on candidates to support equal suffrage. Frank B. Willis was an Ohio Republican who served as governor from 1915 to 1917. The Franklin County Woman Suffrage Association was formed in 1912, after the Ohio Constitutional Convention elected to bring to a vote the question of removing the words "white male" from the state constitution with regard to voting rights. Headquartered in the Chamber of Commerce building in Columbus, Ohio, the organization put out regular publications, organized public speeches and meetings, distributed literature and held parades in support of the suffrage movement. Women's suffrage in Ohio was defeated in a special election in 1912 and again in 1914 and 1916 before a resolution narrowly passed in 1917 allowing municipal voting by women in Columbus. In 1920, the 19th Amendment passed, extending the vote to women and prohibiting state and federal government from denying suffrage on the basis of sex. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MSS1025_B01F04_14_01
Subjects: Women--Suffrage; Social movements; Franklin County Woman Suffrage Association; Political elections; Governors--Ohio
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio); Warren (Ohio); Trumbull County (Ohio);