Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 5.djvu/660

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HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE.

624 HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE long an unbroken record of appeals for these rights the rights of man and woman. Again and again at the close of the suffrage hearings the chairman and members of the committee said that none on other questions equalled them in dignity and ability. From 1878 to 1896 there were five favorable majority reports from Senate committees, two from House committees and four adverse reports. Thereafter, when Miss Anthony no longer spent her winters in Washington and persisted in having a report, none of any kind was made until the movement for woman suffrage entered a new era in 1912. One significant event, however, oc- curred during this time. Largely through the efforts of Senator Henry W. Blair (Rep.) of New Hampshire, the resolution for a 1 6th Amendment was brought before the Senate. After a long and earnest discussion the vote on Jan. 25, 1887, resulted in 1 6 ayes, all Republican; 34 noes, eleven Republican, twenty-three Democratic; twenty-six absent. 1 It early became apparent to the leaders of the movement that there would have to be a good deal of favorable action by the States before Congress would give serious consideration to this question and therefore under the auspices of the National Ameri- can Association, they continuously helped with money and work the campaigns for securing the suffrage by amendment of State constitutions. Miss Anthony herself took part in eight such cam- paigns, only to see all of them end in failure. Up to 1910 there had been at least twenty and only two had been successful- Colorado, 1893; Idaho, 1896; Wyoming and Utah had equal suffrage while Territories and came into the Union with it in their constitutions, but all were sparsely settled States whose in- fluence on Congress was slight. Commercialism had become the dominating force in politics and moral issues were crowded into the background. Nevertheless in every direction was evidence of an increasing public sentiment in favor of woman suffrage in the accession of men and women of influence, in the large audiences at the meetings, in the official endorsement of all kinds of organi- zations the Federation of Labor, the Grange and many others of men, of women and of the two together, for educational, patriotic, 1 For full account see History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV, Chapter VI.