Woman Suffrage Leader Carrie Chapman Catt Signed Letter Assigning Female Delegates so "A Woman's Congress May be Held" in California

Carrie Chapman Catt

Manuscripts & Autographs

Catt, Carrie Chapman. Autograph Letter Signed, circa 1906. Written at a decisive moment in the international women’s suffrage movement, this letter documents Catt’s dual leadership of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and the newly founded International Woman Suffrage Alliance. Composed shortly after establishing the IWSA in 1904 and during preparations for its Berlin congress, the letter captures the structural transition of the suffrage cause from a primarily national reform effort to a coordinated global campaign. By 1906, having succeeded Susan B. Anthony as president of NAWSA, Catt stood at the center of a rapidly expanding transnational political movement advocating women’s enfranchisement. Catt, Carrie Chapman. Autograph Letter Signed. Circa 1906. One page. Written on International Woman Suffrage Alliance letterhead.

In the letter, Catt explains her inability “to go to California” because of obligations to the NAWSA convention in Portland and to preparations for the Berlin meeting of the IWSA. Despite these constraints, she remains actively engaged in coordinating West Coast efforts, writing that she hopes “some of our women may be able to go from the Portland Convention, [so] that a woman’s congress may be held.” The correspondence provides direct evidence of the logistical realities of early twentieth-century suffrage leadership, constant travel, overlapping conventions, and strategic delegation. It also illustrates Catt’s role in linking American reform networks to international feminist institutions that would continue advocacy work long after national suffrage was achieved. Paper clean with strong legibility and preserved signature; minor handling wear consistent with age. Overall condition very good.

Item #15201

Price: $1,500.00