S01 E02 Alabama Part 1: Bringing to Fruit the Seeds of Democracy

In the first of two episodes on Alabama, Dr. Alex Colvin, Public Programs Curator at the Alabama Department of Archives and History, talks about the the suffrage struggle up until 1920 by visiting sites along the National Votes for Women Trail.

We visit sites of the events and foot soldiers in the AL votes for women campaign:

• Susan B. Anthony’s visit to the Alabama Woman Suffrage Association in Decatur where newspapers commended Anthony for being “as good a lecturer as a good man lecturer.”
• Adella Hunt Logan was a prominent Black suffragist who was renowned nationally for her oratory and writing skills. She taught at Tuskegee University and was of African American, Cherokee, and white descent. 
• Francis Griffin was the first woman to speak to an Alabama lawmaking body in Montgomery in 1901. Even though some members tried to silence her, she advocated for a women’s suffrage provision in the new constitution.
• The Selma Equal Suffrage Association with suffragist Hattie Hooker Wilkins’ found inventive ways to spread information in Selma and statewide.
• The Alabama Equal Suffrage Association convention in February 1914 in Huntsville, where hundreds of women and men assembled to learn about suffrage.
• The “Suffrage Day” baseball game in Birmingham in 1915 where the Birmingham Barons team wore yellow sashes and local women’s teams played exhibition innings.

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Alex Colvin is the Public Programs Curator at Alabama Department of Archives and History and State Coordinator for the National Votes for Women Trail. Her PhD is in early American history with a focus on Creek history at the turn of the 19th Century.

Links to People, Places, Publications

• Alabama and the 19th Amendment (here)
• Suffrage–The Alabama Story (here)
• How Women Got the Vote in Alabama (here)
• Visit the Votes for Women historical marker in Decatur (here)
• Adella Hunt Logan Biographical Sketch (here)
• Visit the Votes for Women historical marker in Tuskegee (here)
• Frances Griffin Biographical Sketch (here)
• Visit Bicentennial Park at the Capitol in Montgomery (here)
• Hattie Hooker Wilkins Biographical Sketch (here)
• Visit the Votes for Women historical marker in Selma (here)
• “Suffrage Day” and the Birmingham Barons baseball game (here)
• Visit the Votes for Women marker at Rickwood Field in Birmingham (here)

CM Marihugh is a public history consultant and currently conducting independent research for a book on commemoration of the U.S. women’s suffrage movement. She has an M.A. in Public History from State University of New York, and an M.B.A. from Dartmouth College.

Learn more about:

• National Votes for Women Trail (here)
• National Votes for Women Trail - William G. Pomeroy historical markers (here)
• National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites (here)

Do you have a question, comment, or suggestion? Get in touch! Send an e-mail to NVWTpodcast@ncwhs.org

Transcript

SPEAKERS

Alex Colvin, CM Marihugh, Earth Mama

CM Marihugh  00:00

Welcome to Her March to Democracy where we're telling stories along The National Votes For Women Trail. The trail chronicles the fight for voting rights for women. The Suffragists or Suffs, as they were called, were the revolutionaries of their day and they battled the powers that be. These foot soldiers cut across the lines of geography, race, ethnicity, class, and gender, and numbered in the many 1000s over 70 plus years.

Earth Mama  00:37

We are standing on the shoulders 
Of the ones who came before us
They are safe, and they are humans 
They are angels, they are friends. 

We can see beyond the struggles 
And the troubles and the challenge 
When we know that by our efforts 
Things will be better in the end.

CM Marihugh  01:09

Each episode is a tour on the trail to the places of struggle. The cities, the towns, where wins and defeats happened over and over again, our theme music is "Standing On the Shoulders" by Joyce Johnson Rouse and recorded by Earth Mama. Join us on our travels to hear the stories along The National Votes For Women Trail. 

Today we'll be talking about stories and sites to visit along the national votes for women trail in Alabama. And I want to welcome Dr. Alex Colvin. She is the public programs curator at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. And the state coordinator for the National Votes For Women Trail. I looked at the online trail map and database. And see the Alabama has at this point 36 sites linked to suffrage, and that is added to regularly. 

I also looked to the historical marker database and I found at least nine markers that reference suffrage. And so we're going to be visiting some of those sites in this episode. Alex, could you start by giving us an overview of Alabama's role in the in the battle for votes for women?

Alex Colvin  02:36

Of course! The story in Alabama doesn't really start until the 1890s. This movement grew alongside other progressive era reforms, including temperance, education, child labor reform, and so much more. And many Alabama suffragists started out in these other reform movements, and became suffragists because they realized they needed the vote to enact real change. 

There are two main challenges in the Alabama story. The first is this resistance against a women's suffrage legislation that have started growing both on the political level and on personal levels, with other women. And suffragists attempted to have statewide legislation twice and are met with a general population that is indifferent. And a few individuals who are ardently opposed to women's suffrage. And so both of those statewide campaigns ultimately failed. 

When the 19th Amendment was passed, a group of women formed the Alabama women's anti ratification league to block ratification in the state. And once they were successful in Alabama, they formed a regional anti ratification organization, and many Alabama women were present in other states, including Tennessee to try to block ratification. 

A second challenge that you find in the Alabama story is like many other southern states, the issue of race, the main statewide organizations were segregated and only allowed white women to join. So you have two parallel movements happening within the state. One looking to get white women the right to vote, and one looking to expand the vote to African American women and men. Race became a central argument and both pro and anti suffrage organizations. 

Because of this, the story of Alabama women and the vote cannot end in 1920 when you're talking about Alabama. It is inherently connected to the civil rights movement in the 1960s when all Alabama women were given the right to vote. 

CM Marihugh  04:45

The anti suffragists were so powerful and it's interesting to hear you say that they started in Alabama and then expanded regionally, they played such a highly significant role in blocking first suffrage legislation, and then trying to block states from ratifying the 19th amendment. 

So that would- it would be adopted into the constitution. We don't hear enough about them and how strong they were. The other thing that you mentioned is how the issue of race permeates the suffrage story. And I'm glad you raised that point that the fight went beyond 1920. Because barriers put up by state to voting were essentially impassable. 

And I think the challenge of voting rights continuing today shows that this 70 plus year suffrage movement is- is one point in time, the continuum of achieving the ideas of full representation. Where are we traveling to first on the national votes for women trail in Alabama?

Alex Colvin  05:59

The first city that we're going to travel to is Decatur. There's a historical marker that stands at 619 Bank Street in Decatur that honors the first women's suffrage chapter and a visit by a national suffrage icon. Now in 1892, you have the first women's suffrage chapter officially founded in Decatur, Alabama, and has seven charter members at first. 

The next year, they established a state sufferage organization, the Alabama woman's Suffrage Association, and Decatur member Mrs. Ellen Hildreth is the association's first president. The organization ties themselves to Susan B. Anthony's National American Woman Suffrage Association, and invited Anthony and her vice president Carrie Chapman Catt to stop in Decatur before continuing on to Atlanta for the National Convention in 1895.

Anthony spoke of how the movement began; their plans to get a sufferage amendment to the federal constitution, and she argued for the mental equality of women to men. Newspapers reported that Anthony talks fluently, distinctly and makes easy and graceful gestures. In a word, she is as good a lecturer as a good man lecturer. 

The marker stands in front of the former Eccles Opera House where Anthony spoke to suffered supporters in Decatur while the building itself was sadly destroyed. One of the exterior walls remains on the site. Well, Alabama suffragists aligned with Anthony's organization. They chose to focus their efforts on getting legislation at the state level. They thought that was the best path for Alabama was to get state legislation versus trying to go for a federal law to begin with. 

CM Marihugh  07:46

She was as good a lecturer as a good man lecturer? When I heard you, I was thinking about how much Susan B. Anthony deserved some kind words by then. And I remembered that she said that in the beginning of her campaign, rotten eggs were thrown at her. And she judged the progress of the movement from when the rotten eggs became plain fresh eggs. So at least- that she deserved to be acknowledged as such a great lecturer. 

So we've been to Decatur in the northern part of Alabama, what part of the state are we traveling to next? 

Alex Colvin  08:30

So the next place I want to take you is Tuskegee so we're going down into more central Alabama now, but in Tuskegee at 905 West Montgomery road a historical marker is located at Tuskegee University in front of the old administration building, where Adella Hunt Logan once worked. 

You see in 1895, that same year that Susan B Anthony and Carrie Chapman Catt, were speaking in Decatur, The Tuskegee Women's Club is founded for African American women to join in progressive era activities, including education reform, prison reform, temperance, and suffrage. The Founding President Margaret Murray Washington focused primarily on other reform movements. 

So the founding president was Margaret Murray Washington who was dean of women's education at that time, and she really focused on other reform movements, but she still thought suffrage was important. Washington said, "I am sure before this country is able to take its place amongst the great democratic nations of the earth it has got to come to the place where it is willing to trust its citizens; black as well as white women as well as men." 

But it was Adella Hunt Logan who served as the head of the sufferage department into the 20th century. Logan was of Cherokee, African-American and White descent. Her light complexion often allowed her to,  "pass for white". But Logan lived her life as a woman of color. After earning her degree from Atlanta University, she became a teacher at Tuskegee Institute. She shared pamphlets and information on suffrage with women at the University Library. 

And she was the only woman of color in Alabama to become a lifetime member of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. She attended a segregated meeting in Atlanta, and impressed everyone she met with her writing and oratory skills. Some women wanted her to speak at the national convention, but Anthony would not allow her to because of her race. 

Instead, she wrote for national journals, including the woman's journal, from the National suffrage organization, and The Crisis for the NAACP and continue to argue that African American women needed to be included in the movement. In one article for The Crisis. Logan wrote, "a number of colored women are active members of the National Woman's Suffrage Association. 

They are well informed and are diligent in the spread of propaganda women who see that they need the vote see also that the vote needs them. Colored Women feel keenly that they may help in civic betterment." Unfortunately, Logan died in 1915 and never saw the 19th Amendment ratified. Her granddaughter, historian Adele Logan Alexander wrote about Logan's life and work in a recent biography; Princess of the Hither Isles: A Black Suffragist's Story from the Jim Crow South.

CM Marihugh  11:46

The stories of women of color in the movement need to be amplified as their struggle was so challenging in the face of racism, not only in the society, but also what they experienced in the movement. And yet they persisted. I also read the Princess of the Hither Isles, which is a remarkable story. Where are we going to next? 

Alex Colvin  12:17

Well, just down the road from Tuskegee is Montgomery, Alabama. And Montgomery is the capital of the state of Alabama. But I also want to take you to the actual Capitol building. And that's a really important place for a lot of suffrage activity, both it's where the legislature meets, so it's where they're going to meet to talk about suffrage. It is where Martin Luther King Jr. stands at the end of the Selma to Montgomery March. But the first thing I want to tell you about is a meeting that happens there in June of 1901. 

Now, there's not a historic marker that's actually marking this location or this place for this particular event. But there is at the foot of the Capitol Building on Dexter Avenue, Bicentennial Park. This was dedicated in 2019 for the state's bicentennial. And there are 20 different bronze plaques that are looking at different aspects of Alabama's history from pre history all the way to the present. And in this one plaque, it looks at a woman named Frances Griffin, who gave a speech to The Alabama Constitutional Convention in June of 1901. 

Now the convention was called as the Reconstruction Era was officially ending, and states across the south started to legislate Jim Crow restrictions that had segregation and voting requirements that really kind of ostracized African American citizens. One major focus of the 1901 constitution was the issue of voting. And so it was within this context that Frances Griffin, who at that time served as the president of The Alabama Women Suffrage Association, was able to speak on behalf of women's suffrage and adding a provision to this new constitution. 

On June 11th 1901, Griffin became the first woman to speak in front of an Alabama lawmaking body. Even as she stood to take the lectern, delegates were trying to block her entry. And even some members of the voting committee they decided to leave and not listen to what she had to say. But she was allowed to speak. She tore apart the argument that if given the right to vote, women would lose their silent influence and politics, claiming, "did you ever hear of a man who wanted to be disenfranchised in order to increase his influence? I have found that the silent influence is a little too silent in the ears of the legislator. The man without a vote is a subject, not a citizen. The woman without a vote is an inferior, not an equal." She concluded "that so long as laws affect both men and women, men and women together should make those laws." 

Now women who were able to sit in the chambers, they gave her a standing ovation. And even the delegates commented that her speech was very well done. Nevertheless, they ignored her plea and provided no provision for women voters. In fact, in 1901 constitution had such restrictive voting requirements that it ended up taking the right to vote away from many African American and poor white men. through things like poll taxes, literacy test, grandfather clauses. All of those restrictions made it so that Alabama's voting population decreased instead of increased. 

CM Marihugh  15:48

I love hearing powerful words like that. "Did you ever hear of a man who wanted to be disenfranchised in order to increase its influence?" She was throwing their logic right back at them. She was beyond being polite, and nice, and just stating what she was demanding. And yet the Constitution, The New Alabama Constitution, not only leaves out women, but you said African American men and poor white men. It was also a class issue. When you say the delegates tried to block her, do you mean physically was there a scuffle?

Alex Colvin  16:28

It was more that they kind of kept having objections for her to get up. They said it wasn't necessary. It was wasting time, they needed to move on to the next provision to the next argument. And so they kept trying to get it so that she could- she wouldn't actually be there. I think some men did stand up to try to make sure she couldn't take the stage. But there wasn't any physical altercation. It was more of them trying to cross her name off the list. But luckily, she had enough friends at the convention that they said, we've given her this time, she deserves the right to be able to speak.

CM Marihugh  17:03

 So where are we heading to next? 

 lex Colvin  17:06

Well, now I'd like to move a little further west. And talk about a historic marker that's in Selma. At 912 Selma Avenue, there's a historic marker outside of a former library, where the Selma Equal Suffrage Association was founded. Now, this historic building is still standing but no longer serves as a library. It is now the Selma and Dallas County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism. And so there's some tourist information inside of the building. So see after the Alabama Women's Suffrage Association failed to get a provision in the 1901 constitution, the state organization and many of the local organization chapters went dormant, kind of fizzled out. 

There was this huge push that "we're finally going to get it." And then that disappointment led to people kind of not really being as engaged, they went back to their other reform movements. But you still had some people who were saying suffrage is the first issue around the state. And they knew they needed to reorganize to kind of reform. And of course, I'm talking about the white organizations over in Tuskegee you still have the Tuskegee Women's Club going, you still have Adella Hunt Logan providing information, but the kind of large statewide white organization went dormant. But then after a vote to end the sale of whiskey and Selma failed, the women of Selma met at the public library on March 29 1910, to form the Selma Suffrage Association. 

Soon after, the Birmingham Equal Suffrage League formed, and the two groups worked parallel to each other until the Birmingham group issued an invitation to the women of Selma to form a statewide organization. Delegates from both groups met in October of 1912, to form the Alabama Equal Suffrage Association. The purpose of this group was to, "bring to fruit, the seed of democracy, sewn by our forefathers, when they declared taxation without representation is tyranny." Mary Partridge of Selma was elected vice president of the state organization. 

Then the next year, in 1913, they hosted the first convention of the Alabama Equal Suffrage Association in Selma, where they adopted the motto, "we mean to make Alabama lead the South for women's suffrage." Now a fun fact also about Selma is that Selma Suffrage's Hattie Hooker Wilkins was compiling four traveling libraries of suffrage books and pamphlets that could be shipped to organizations around the state. And after the 19th amendment was finally ratified in 1920, Wilkins became the first woman to serve in the Alabama legislature when she was elected in 1922. 

CM Marihugh  19:53

I'm reminded when you talk about the traveling library of the era that we're talking about trying to do a social change movement, no internet, phones, but early on no phones, mail service exists, but really everything they did involved so much physical activity; knocking on doors for petitions, riding on trains, eating bad food, as I've read about Susan B. Anthony and some of her trips, they found ways to do it nonetheless. 

The other thing that you mentioned, reminded me of how entwined the nature of the prohibition and the suffrage movements are. That each league in different states had to figure out how they would address it depending on the local political considerations. The other thing that comes up often is among the suffragists, they regularly make this link between their battle, their campaign and the principles of the revolution. They were the foot soldiers continuing to fight for independence and representation. So to hear quotes, like the one you mentioned, they drew a direct link to that. So where are we going next on the tour? 

Alex Colvin  21:28

Well, next I'd like to head back up north to Huntsville, Alabama, at 203 Greene Street in downtown Huntsville there's a historic marker at the old YMCA building, commemorating Huntsville suffragists and the 1914 Alabama Equal Suffrage Association's meeting that was held in that building. While it is no longer a YMCA, its appearance has remained unchanged from when it first opened back in 1910. And in the early 2000s, the current property owners carried out a Certified Rehabilitation of the historic building and restored WYMCA's interior to its original appearance. Now this is the location that the Huntsville Equal Suffrage Association was relaunched in 1912. 

Again, they had had one earlier, it went dormant, its relaunched in 1912. And they held their first public meeting and lecture here soon after. It was chosen as the site for the second annual Alabama equal suffrage Association's Convention in February of 1914. And newspapers said that the receptions and rallies brought in a lot of attention. And they reported that Huntsville and Madison County residents filled the gymnasium and its balcony to capacity, taking advantage of the opportunity to meet delegates and learn about women's suffrage. 

At the convention, the delegates of the Alabama Association voted to bring a suffrage bill before the Alabama legislature in 1915. You see, at this time, the state legislature only met every four years. So they had to get it in in 1915. Or they would have to wait another four years before they could attempt it again. And so this was going to be their last effort to get statewide legislation versus federal legislation.

CM Marihugh  23:14

One thing that you mentioned that I wanted to ask about; there were men allies across the country in the movement, but we don't always hear about the silent ones who may be showed up to rallies, they supported women's suffrage. Maybe they voted for it, but they didn't speak publicly. I'm wondering in the newspaper coverage in that 1914 meeting, did they mention men and women attending? 

Alex Colvin  23:47

They did. This was something that both men and women came to this convention to be able to hear from the suffragists. And some of them were husbands of women who had joined into the movement, but others were people who are coming with wives, sisters, daughters to kind of hear as well. And like you said, it's usually very silent kind of alliance that- that's there. 

Sometimes they speak out, sometimes they help in their own way. But there were a lot of men across Alabama who did support the movement, because they believed that it was something for their family, something that their wives and daughters and sisters deserved. 

CM Marihugh  24:28

So where are we traveling to next? 

Alex Colvin  24:30

So next I'd like to go a little further south than Huntsville to Birmingham, Alabama. There's a historic marker in Birmingham at Rickwood Baseball Field, which is 1931 Second Avenue, and it discusses Suffrage Day that was held at the ballpark. Now, to fully understand why they were hosting the Suffrage Day. You have to know that they were in fact successful. 

So the suffragettes were successful in 1915. They got legislation introduced. In fact, they had representative Jay W. Green from Selma, who asked them if he could introduce the bill to the legislature. So in January of 1915, he brings it forth and they now have about eight months before, they're going to have to have a vote on it. So the first stage in Alabama is you have to have the vote done by the legislature. If they pass it, then it's going to go out to the public, so the male voters, to be ratified. So- so the first step they have to do is convince the legislators that they need to pass the amendment. 

One way they did this was they drove around the state and one woman in particular Bossie O'Brien Hundley from Birmingham drove her car around the state to go and gather signatures for this petition, saying that women were ready and willing to take on the vote and she gets 10,000 signatures. She as well as other Birmingham sufferagists get 10,000 signatures on this petition, and they go to present it to the legislature. And we have this wonderful photograph of them standing in front of the Capitol building with a sign that says "Justice, not favor." And they're holding up the petition proudly, and it is the streams of paper that are full of these signatures, they're going to present to them. And Bossie O'Brien Hundley was also the Legislative Chair for the Alabama Equal Suffrage Association. 

So she wrote pamphlets explaining the legal ramifications of it, how it would help Alabama, and she helped fight against the legal arguments against giving women the right to vote. And so they're lobbying, they're writing, they're holding receptions for legislators, and they're really kind of making sure that they're on board. But once they have legislators, or they feel like they have legislators on board, they're gonna pass the amendment. 

Now they have to start working on a campaign to get the public to ratify it. Once it gets passed. It's gonna go out to the public and they need to ratify this as an amendment. So they start hosting luncheons, lectures, other kinds of receptions. But that generally attracts one stream of people, right? Maybe only certain people want to go to a lecture, or even go to a party. So they wanted to think of something that was more widespread where they could get even more attention. And so they partnered with the local Birmingham baseball team, the Birmingham Barons to host Suffrage Day at RickWood field. 

They put large banners across the park that said "Votes For Women" and "Justice", "Equality". And the players were wearing yellow sashes to support the suffragists with managers wearing votes for women's sashes. There were women dressed in all yellow from head to toe, handing out pro suffrage pamphlets. And they were also giving out prizes to fans who cheered the loudest who was wearing the best outfit, things like that, they were going through and handing out prizes to them. between innings they played suffered anthems including "It's a Long Way to Suffrage" as the women proudly sing along, "It's a long way to suffrage, but watch how they grow. So it's goodbye voteless women, farewell Auntie's dear. It's been a long way to women's suffrage, but it's almost here." 

The suffragists nominated Alfred Turner, a four year old Barons fan to be their mascot for the day. Not only did Turner cheer for the baseball victory, he also expected to cast his first vote for a woman when he came of age. So he expressed confidence that not only would women be able to get the vote, but they'd be running for office by the time he was going to vote. And the first inning of the game was played by two local women's teams. And they did this to show that women can play the game just as the men do. It was considered immensely successful, even though the Barons ended up tying the Chattanooga lookouts in their game. 

The game itself was a successful moment for the suffragists. Rickwood field is still standing and operational so people can tour the field. And they can even attend games there. Unfortunately, the legislature did not pass the amendment. You see, there was this huge kind of push to block it once again. And it was an internal push in the legislature, and even representative Green, who had first begged them for him to introduce the bill, he changed his mind and voted against it. When interviewed he said that he really hadn't thought about what the measure would mean. But ultimately, he felt that it would lead to the question of African-American women voting and that was too dangerous to consider. And so he switched his position. 

The suffragists just nicknamed him The Dallas County Acrobat because he flipped flopped between positions. And a fun fact is if you remember me discussing Hattie Hooker Wilkins before, when she ran for office in 1922. She ran against Representative Green. And she won against him. And so eventually the suffragists got their justice. But yous see, this is the second attempt. They've gone once at the convention. Now here the legislature to get statewide legislation, they've been blocked both times. They're not done. They want to go for a federal amendment. And Pattie Ruffner Jacobs, who was the president of the Alabama Equal Suffrage Association actually joins the board of directors for the National American Woman Suffrage Association. And they are now putting all Alabama efforts towards federal legislation.

CM Marihugh  24:30

I love that "justice not favor" exactly, exactly what the demand was. I love the baseball story. There's also a baseball story in Tennessee. And apparently this was used as a favorite tactic, as you said to reach people that maybe wouldn't attend a lecture. So it's incredible how they got so savvy in using PR opportunities. And I think that's something you know, they've they learned over time, it really was that they learned how to play the political game, which included public relations, marketing, and they did it in a fun way. I've also gotta hand it to the baseball teams that were supporting suffrage because, as we've talked about here, this was a time when men were ridiculed for supporting suffrage. 

So the fact that they're wearing yellow sashes, and supporting it is really admirable. I want to thank Dr. Alex Colvin, for being our guest historian and telling us stories along The National Votes for Women Trail in Alabama. 

This is part one of The Alabama Experience, up until 1920. Our next episode will be part two that will cover stories from 1920 and beyond. Thank you for joining us this week. We hope you'll contact us with comments or questions. The National Votes for Women Trail Project is a work in progress. Please click on the support the project link to contribute to our ongoing work. 

The trail is a project of the National Collaborative for Women's History Sites, a nonprofit organization dedicated to putting women's history on the map. Our theme is "Standing On the Shoulders" by Joyce Johnson Rouse and recorded by Earth Mama, be sure to join us next time.

Earth Mama  32:47

I'm standing on the shoulders
Of the ones who came before me 
I am honored by their passion 
For our liberty. 

I will stand a little taller
I will work a little longer
And my shoulders will be there to hold 
The ones who follow me. 

My shoulders will be there to hold 
The ones who follow me!