Massachusetts Association Opposed to the Further Extension of Suffrage to Women Records 1895-1920 Guide to the Collection The Massachusetts Association Opposed to the Further Extension of Suffrage to Women records are stored offsite and must be requested at least one business day in advance. Contact the Library at library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before requesting cartons by barcode.

Table of Contents Collection Summary Historical Sketch Collection Description Acquisition Information Restrictions on Access Detailed Description of the Collection Preferred Citation Access Terms

Collection Summary

Historical Sketch

The Massachusetts Association Opposed to the Further Extension of Suffrage to Women was founded in May 1895 by Mrs. J. Eliot Cabot, Mrs. C.E. Guild, Mrs. Henry O. Houghton, Elizabeth Johnson, Cornelia Baylis Lowell, Kate Gannett Wells, and Margaret Green Whitney. Prior to the formation of the Massachusetts Association Opposed to the Further Extension of Suffrage to Women, the organized women's opposition to the suffrage movement in Massachusetts consisted of an anti-suffrage committee formed in 1882. Its primary function was to obtain signatures for "remonstrances" against "the imposition of any further political duties upon women." These "remonstrances" were circulated to offset the petitions of the suffragists.

In 1890, The Remonstrance, the official organ of the anti-suffrage movement in Massachusetts, was first published by the anti-suffrage committee. It appeared annually until 1908, when it was issued quarterly. In 1914, its title was lengthened to The Remonstrance Against Woman Suffrage.

The Massachusetts Association Opposed to the Further Extension of Suffrage to Women eventually changed its name to the Women's Anti-Suffrage Association of Massachusetts. By 1915, the association had nearly 37,000 members, and was headquartered in the Kensington Building, Boylston St., Boston. The activities of the members (as summarized by the president) were to: 1) furnish material to the press; 2) publish leaflets and pamphlets, and 3) work with the Men's Anti-Suffrage Committee in organizing rallies, furnishing speakers, maintaining anti-suffrage shops in Boston and other cities, and carrying on publicity work.

Collection Description

This collection consists of administrative records, minutes of various committee meetings, lectures and reports, correspondence, material concerning the organization's history and the legislative history of the suffrage movement, and a small number of miscellaneous printed items. There are also transcripts of lectures by Talcott Williams, Felix Adler, and Emmaline G. Pankhurst. There is also an English translation (in manuscript) of Frauenstimmrect (Woman Suffrage) by Fr. Sigismund, Leipzig, Dieterichsche Verlagsbachhandlung, T. Weischer, 1912.

Acquisition Information

This collection was the gift of the Mrs. Randolph Frothingham, (estate), May 1946.

Restrictions on Access

The Massachusetts Association Opposed to the Further Extension of Suffrage to Women records are stored offsite and must be requested at least one business day in advance. Contact the Library at library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before requesting cartons by barcode.

Detailed Description of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Massachusetts Association Opposed to the Further Extension of Suffrage to Women records, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.