California Equal Suffrage Association Explained

The California Equal Suffrage Association was a political organization in the state of California with the intended goal of passing women's suffrage.

Founding

In 1870 the California State Woman Suffrage Society or California Woman Suffrage Association was founded by Laura de Force Gordon.[1] The California Woman Suffrage Association changed its name from California Woman Suffrage Association to California Equal Suffrage Association in 1896 to appeal to male sympathisers.[2]

The California Equal Suffrage Association (CESA) was headquartered in northern California and was founded by suffragist Elizabeth Lowe Watson.[3] It was incorporated in 1904.[4] The original name of the organization was The California Woman's Suffrage Association.[5] [6] Part of the reason for rebranding the organization was to reach out to men for support of the suffrage cause.[7] The CESA would actively seek out the support of men.[8] Activists affiliated with this organization lobbied for women's suffrage from automobiles and produced goods for purchase such as playing cards and postcards.[9]

Political work

Suffragist Gail Laughlin traveled the state in November 1904 campaigning on behalf of suffrage and spreading the word about this organization.[10] Historian Gayle Gullett noted that the Los Angeles Times referred to the attendees as "several hundred assertive-appearing women."[11] In 1905 the organization distributed pamphlets promoting the suffrage cause in the California Senate chamber.[12] In September of that year they held their state convention.[13] Attendees included Caroline Severance, Mary Sperry, Anna Bidwell and Ellen Clark Sargent.Caroline Severance was designated an honorary president of this organization in 1905.[14] Suffragist Lillian Harris Coffin created a central committee for the CESA in 1906.[15] Berkeley attorney Mary McHenry Keith also served as president of the CESA.[16]

Prominent leaders

References

  1. The Public City: The Political Construction of Urban Life in San Francisco .
  2. California Women and Politics: From the Gold Rush to the Great Depression
  3. Web site: History of Women's Suffrage in California.
  4. Web site: San Francisco Call 17 May 1904 — California Digital Newspaper Collection. 2021-05-11. cdnc.ucr.edu.
  5. Web site: San Francisco Call 24 October 1904 — California Digital Newspaper Collection. 2021-05-11. cdnc.ucr.edu.
  6. Book: Swatt, Susie. Paving the Way: Women's Struggle for Political Equality in California. Berkeley Public Policy Press. 2019. 66.
  7. Book: Cherny, Robert. California Women and Politics: From the Gold Rush to the Great Depression. University of Nebraska Press. 2011. 210.
  8. Web site: 6 October 1906. " Women Suffragists of State Gather in Their Annual Convention" San Francisco Call. 2021-05-11. cdnc.ucr.edu.
  9. Web site: Cooney, Jr.. Robert P.J.. A Brief Summary of the 1911 Campaign from the National Women's History Project.
  10. Web site: Marysville Daily Appeal 29 November 1904 — California Digital Newspaper Collection. 2021-05-11. cdnc.ucr.edu.
  11. Book: Gullett, Gayle. Becoming Citizens: The Emergence and Development of the California Women's Movement, 1880-1911. University of Illinois Press. 2000. 147.
  12. Web site: San Francisco Call 3 February 1905 — California Digital Newspaper Collection. 2021-05-11. cdnc.ucr.edu.
  13. Web site: Stockton Independent 28 September 1905 — California Digital Newspaper Collection. 2021-05-11. cdnc.ucr.edu.
  14. Web site: San Jose Mercury-news 6 August 1905 — California Digital Newspaper Collection. 2021-05-11. cdnc.ucr.edu.
  15. Book: Gullett, Gayle. Becoming Citizens: The Emergence and Development of the California Women's Movement, 1880-1911. University of Illinois Press. 2000. 166.
  16. Book: Cherny, Robert. California Women and Politics: From the Gold Rush to the Great Depression. University of Nebraska Press. 2011. 224.
  17. Web site: San Francisco Call 17 May 1904 — California Digital Newspaper Collection. 2021-05-11. cdnc.ucr.edu.

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