Women’s Suffrage Movement and Abolitionist Legacy: William Lloyd Garrison Essay in the National American Woman Suffrage Association Political Equality Series, 1900

William Lloyd Garrison

Ephemera and pamphlets

Garrison, William Lloyd. “The Nature of a Republic Form of Government,” 1900 printing of an essay by the abolitionist reformer whose activism against slavery also extended to early advocacy for women’s rights and political equality. William Lloyd Garrison, founder of The Liberator and one of the most influential voices of nineteenth century American abolitionism, supported women’s suffrage beginning in the 1830s and frequently argued that democratic government required the political participation of both men and women. This pamphlet was issued by the National American Woman Suffrage Association as part of its Political Equality Series, a publication program designed to circulate key texts supporting the extension of voting rights to women.

Political Equality Series. Vol. V, No. 4. New York: National American Woman Suffrage Association, July 1900. Pamphlet measuring approximately 5 ¾ x 3 ¼ inches and consisting of four pages in original printed wrappers. The issue reprints Garrison’s essay “The Nature of a Republic Form of Government,” in which he argues that the preservation of democratic institutions depends upon confronting social injustice within the nation. In the text Garrison writes that “the dangers of the country are not from outside attack, but from social wrongs within,” concluding that “the true advancement of common interest waits for the active and responsible participation of women in political matters.”

The National American Woman Suffrage Association, founded in 1890 through the merger of earlier suffrage organizations, published pamphlets and reprinted essays to educate readers and promote the cause of women’s political rights. By republishing the work of a prominent abolitionist reformer, the organization emphasized the historical connections between the antislavery movement and the struggle for women’s suffrage. The pamphlet appeared twenty one years after Garrison’s death and reflects the continued influence of nineteenth century reform rhetoric within the suffrage campaigns that ultimately culminated in the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. Handling creases with light toning to the first and last pages, scattered staining along the outer edges including a stain at the upper right corner extending through the leaves. Overall very good condition.

Item #16402

Price: $750.00