said, "He had not given much thought to the question of Woman Suffrage, but it was his opinion that in proportion as we elevated the mothers of voters, so were the voters themselves elevated." The audiences during this convention were large, and the press not only respectful but highly complimentary.
It was just before this enthusiastic convention that Victoria Woodhull presented her memorial to Congress and secured a hearing[1] before the Judiciary Committee of the House, which called out the able Minority Report, by William Loughridge, of Iowa, and Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts. The following is from the Congressional Globe of Dec. 21, 1870.
In the House: Mr. Julian—I ask unanimous consent to present at this time and have printed in the Globe the memorial of Victoria C. Woodhull, claiming the right of suffrage under the XIV. and XV. Articles of Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, and asking for the enactment of the necessary and appropriate legislation to guarantee the exercise of that right to the women of the United States. I also ask that the petition be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
No objection was made, and it was ordered accordingly.
THE MEMORIAL OF VICTORIA C. WOODHULL.
To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled, respectfully showeth:
That she was born in the State of Ohio, and is above the age of twenty-one years; that she has resided in the State of New York during the past three years; that she is still a resident thereof, and that she is a citizen of the United States, as declared by the XIV. Article of the Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
That since the adoption of the XV. Article of the Amendments to the
- ↑ The hearing took place in the committee room, which was crowded with a goodly assemblage of men and women. Judge Bingham, of Ohio, was chairman, Gen. B. F. Butler, of Mass., was prominent in favor of the cause. Messrs. Eldridge, B. C. Cook, I. A. Peters, Ulysses Morcur, Wm. Loughridge, Michael Kerr, S. W. Kellogg, and G. W. Hitchcock formed the rest of the committee. The claimants for woman suffrage were represented by Mrs. V. C. Woodhull and Mrs. L. D. Blake, New York; Mrs. I. B Hooker, Rev. O. Brown, Conn.; Mrs. P. W. Davis, Miss K. Stanton, Rhode Island; Mrs. J. Griffing, and Mrs. Lockwood, D. C.; and Miss Susan B. Anthony. The proceedings were opened by the reading of her memorial by Mrs. Woodhull. It was the first time the lady had ever appeared in public, and her voice trembled slightly with emotion which only made the reading the more effective. She claimed not a XVI. amendment; but that under the XIV. and XV. Amendments, women have already the right to vote, and prayed Congress merely to pass a declaratory resolution to that effect.—The Washington Republican.
