Bio of Carrie Chapman Catt--Intro and Chapter 1

Chapter 7

 For the next five years, Carrie headed the Organization Committee, which was responsible for all of the field work of the National Association.  Her friend Mary Garrett Hay worked closely with her during this time.

            With Carrie leading its Organization Committee, the National Association became much more active.  In 1895, ten states had no state suffrage organization.  Carrie saw to it that organizations were soon started in those states.  Carrie also emphasized that organizations had to be set up everywhere on the local level.

            Teams of organizers were sent out to travel in various parts of the country to educate the public, recruit new members and organize local suffrage clubs.  Usually a speaker and a business manager traveled together.  The speaker made the speeches, met and spoke with the important people in the area and brought public attention for the cause, while the business manager made the traveling arrangements, kept track of contributions and expenses, organized meetings and publicity, recruited members, and taught local supporters how to organize and run a suffrage club.

            Carrie’s Organization Committee kept busy constantly encouraging and directing activities all over the country.  Of course this was before the time of telephone, radio, television and travel by airplane.  To communicate with people, it was necessary to write letters, publish a newspaper, or travel around by train and wagon giving speeches.  Carrie’s group sent out dozens of speakers and thousands of letters.  Their letter writing alone used up ink by the quart.

            By 1897, NAWSA had raised five times as much money as in 1892.  Although there were defeats in state campaigns in California, Iowa, South Dakota, Oklahoma and Arizona, there were also victories.  When Utah became a state in 1896, the state constitution granted full voting rights to women.  The same year, all four political parties in Idaho supported woman suffrage and the voters approved it.  In 1898 the state of Louisiana granted voting rights to women who paid taxes.  This was an important step forward in a southern state.

            Carrie started making speeches to the members of NAWSA, praising the workers who actually helped move the cause forward and criticizing members who did nothing.  This was probably something that had to be said but a lot of the members were not happy to hear it.

            Early in 1899, Carrie learned that her father had become very ill.  She went back toIowa to visit her parents.  Soon after she arrived, her father asked her why she spent all of her time and effort campaigning for woman suffrage.  He knew she was not being paid for her work.  Was she trying to gain friends, to become famous?  Carrie said she did not think so. Then why did she do it?  Carrie had no answer.  She didn’t know what drove her to fight so hard for women’s rights.  Then her father started talking about when he was young, his ambitions and how he had tried to achieve them, mainly without success.  He seemed to understand how a person could be driven without knowing why.

            Carrie stayed with her parents and helped to care for her father.  A few weeks later, he died.  Although she was very tired and sad, Carrie soon left to resume her suffrage work.