Primary Source

Henry B. Blackwell Essay: Objections to Woman Suffrage Answered

Henry B. Blackwell, "Objections to Woman Suffrage Answered," Woman's Suffrage Leaflet, Vol. 5, No. 2, March 1896

Era: Suffrage Era | Media: Commentary, Essay, Leaflets, Pamphlets

Relatively early demonstrations of prominent male support for suffrage was critically important to the movement. Henry B. Blackwell (1825-1909) was among the founders of the Republican Party and of the American Woman Suffrage Association. In this essay, he cites 19 common anti-suffrage arguments and offers point-by-point refutations of each. A copy of both pages of the leaflet is appended below.

The essay appeared in the March 1896 issue of the Woman Suffrage Leaflet, a bi-monthly publication of the Woman’s Journal. Blackwell co-edited Woman’s Journal, which his wife, the suffragist Lucy Stone, founded in 1870.

You can find a free online version here, via the National Archives. (National Archives Identifier: 306657)

You can read more about the Woman’s Journal here.

Back to Browse