{"id":98,"date":"2020-02-05T16:54:55","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T21:54:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/votes-for-delaware-women\/?page_id=98"},"modified":"2025-02-04T14:46:57","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T19:46:57","slug":"10-legacies","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/votes-for-delaware-women\/home\/10-legacies\/","title":{"rendered":"10 – Legacies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Remembering and forgetting Delaware’s suffrage story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After 1920, Delaware\u2019s former suffragists turned their attention to other activities, with many white women joining the new League of Women Voters. Not until the 1940s did Mary de Vou produce a version of the state\u2019s suffrage story, a chapter composed for historian H. Clay Reed\u2019s 1947 compilation, Delaware: A History of the First State<\/em>. Much as she emphasized the work of her organization, the Delaware Equal Suffrage Association, she gave short shrift to the activities of the Delaware chapter of the National Woman\u2019s Party. She completely left out the activism of Delaware\u2019s African American suffragists, even though she had recorded it in 1914 for a press release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

De Vou\u2019s correspondence with Reed produced a couple of lively anecdotes, including Carrie Chapman Catt\u2019s remembrance of a \u201cwretched\u201d visit to Delaware and de Vou\u2019s own recollection of Florence Bayard Hilles\u2019s entry into suffrage activism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For \u201cCelebration 75,\u201d <\/sup>the 75th<\/sup> anniversary of the suffrage amendment in 1995, the Delaware Heritage Commission and the Delaware Humanities Forum joined other agencies in sponsoring a variety of commemorative activities. Perhaps the biggest undertaking was First Vote<\/em>, a musical play recounting the Delaware ratification struggle in the spring of 1920. Written by Joyce Hill Stoner and Scott Mason and based on historian Carol E. Hoffecker\u2019s research, the play was performed around the state. Today, a 45-minute version can be found on YouTube<\/em>. Just type \u201cFirst Vote Delaware\u201d into the search engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remembering and forgetting are two sides of the historical coin. As we mark the suffrage centennial and note aspects of Delaware\u2019s history that earlier generations forgot to remember, we seek to avoid their errors and omissions, and hope that future generations will excuse our own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

First chronicles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Covering the suffrage story from 1848 through the early 1920s, the History of Woman Suffrage<\/em> eventually encompassed six thick volumes. By focusing on the mainstream suffrage movement, the volumes told a partial and incomplete story that minimized the work of the American Woman Suffrage Association (1869-1890) and excluded most African American suffragists\u2019 activities. Nevertheless, historians appreciate the work\u2019s importance to preserving a record of long decades of suffrage activism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volume\nIII included a report from Delaware\u2019s Mary Ann Sorden Stuart (1828-1893) and an\naccount of Elizabeth Cady Stanton\u2019s and Susan B. Anthony\u2019s 1881 testimony\nbefore the Delaware General Assembly. Volume IV contained a report from Martha\nChurchman Cranston (1846-1927), first President of the Delaware Equal Suffrage\nAssociation, founded in 1895.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • National American Woman Suffrage Association. History of Woman Suffrage<\/em>. New York: Fowler & Wells, 1881-1922. 6 volumes. Editors:\n
      \n
    • Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) \u2013 Volumes 1-3<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Susan B. (Susan Brownell) Anthony (1820-1906) \u2013 Volumes 1-3<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Matilda Joslyn Gage (1826-1898) \u2013 Volumes 1-3<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Ida Husted Harper (1851-1931) \u2013 Volumes 4-6<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Remembering and forgetting Delaware’s suffrage story After 1920, Delaware\u2019s former suffragists turned their attention to other activities, with many white women joining the new League of Women Voters. Not until the 1940s did Mary de Vou produce a version of the state\u2019s suffrage story, a chapter composed for historian H. Clay Reed\u2019s 1947 compilation, Delaware: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":47,"menu_order":10,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-exhibition.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-98","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/votes-for-delaware-women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/98"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/votes-for-delaware-women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/votes-for-delaware-women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/votes-for-delaware-women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/votes-for-delaware-women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/votes-for-delaware-women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/98\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1151,"href":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/votes-for-delaware-women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/98\/revisions\/1151"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/votes-for-delaware-women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/47"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhibitions.lib.udel.edu\/votes-for-delaware-women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}