Clara Colby Urges Seattle to Support Woman Suffrage
A visiting suffrage advocate inspires a local crowd, framing the political franchise as a tool for household and civic management.
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At the meeting in the Congregational Church last evening, the audience, consisting of a large number of our best citizens, was pleasantly surprised when the chairman introduced Clara Bewick Colby, of Beatrice, Neb. This lady is editor of The Woman's Tribune, which excellent journal has adopted for its motto, 'Equality Before the Law.' Mrs. Colby, by previous arrangement, had come prepared, and by invitation of the presiding officer, proceeded to deliver one of the most able addresses yet pronounced in Seattle in favor of woman suffrage. Her theme was 'The New Citizen,' in which she demonstrated beyond a doubt that woman is capable to manage her household affairs and also take a hand in politics. Rev. F. H. Taylor then addressed himself to the young voters of the audience, urging them to work together and strive to win in this the important municipal election Seattle has as yet seen.
“Equality Before the Law.”
This meeting highlights the late 19th-century struggle for the vote in Washington Territory, which had granted women suffrage in 1883, only for it to be repeatedly challenged and struck down by courts. It reflects the intersection of temperance and suffrage movements that defined women's civic participation in the 1880s.
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