United States Senate Select Committee on Woman Suffrage

The Select Committee on Woman Suffrage was a select committee of the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

from 1882-1921 It was established to consider an amendment to the United States Constitution granting women the right to vote in the United States.

History

The Senate established the select committee on January 9, 1882, when it approved a resolution offered by Senator George Hoar of Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. The committee was directed to consider "all petitions, bills, and resolves asking for the extension of suffrage to women or the removal of their legal disabilities." The first constitutional amendment

Constitutional amendment

A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...

granting woman suffrage was proposed January 10, 1878, by Senator Aaron Sargent

Aaron Augustus Sargent

Aaron Augustus Sargent was an American journalist, lawyer, politician and diplomat. He was sometimes called the "Senator for the Southern Pacific Railroad".-Biography:...

of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. Similar amendments were introduced and referred to the select committee each successive Congress until 1919, when a resolution that was to become the 19th Amendment

Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits any United States citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920....

to the Constitution

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

passed both houses of Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

.

The committee became a standing committee

Standing Committee

In the United States Congress, standing committees are permanent legislative panels established by the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate rules. . Because they have legislative jurisdiction, standing committees consider bills and issues and recommend measures for...

in 1909 when Senator Nelson Aldrich of Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

submitted a resolution that had the effect of giving all current select committees, including Woman Suffrage, full committee status. The committee was abolished in 1921, along with many other obsolete committees.

Woman suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony

Susan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She was co-founder of the first Women's Temperance Movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as President...

testified before the select committee several times over the year, the last occurring in 1902.

Chairmen

{|
| valign=top |
{| class=wikitable
! Name
| Party
! State
! Years
|-
| | Elbridge G. Lapham

Elbridge G. Lapham

Elbridge Gerry Lapham was a U.S. Senator from New York from 1881-1885.-Life:Lapham attended the public schools and the Canandaigua Academy. He studied civil engineering and law and was admitted to the bar in 1844 and practiced in Canandaigua, New York.He was a delegate to the New York State...

| Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

| New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

| 1882-1883
|-
| | Francis M. Cockrell
| Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

| Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

Massachusetts

| 1893-1895
|-
| | James Z. George

James Z. George

James Zachariah George was an American military officer, lawyer, writer, and politician. He was known as Mississippi's "Great Commoner."...

| Democratic
| Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

| 1898-1899
|-
| | John W. Daniel

John W. Daniel

John Warwick Daniel was an American lawyer, author, and Democratic politician from Lynchburg, Virginia. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates and represented Virginia in both the U.S. House and then five terms in the Senate...

| Democratic
| Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

| 1902-1907
|-
| | Alexander S. Clay

Alexander S. Clay

Alexander Stephens Clay was a United States Senator from Georgia.Clay was born in Powder Springs, Georgia, and graduated from Hiwassee College in Tennessee in 1875. He was admitted to the bar in 1877 and commenced practice in Marietta, Georgia...

| Democratic
| Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

North Carolina

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

| 1913-1916
|-
| | Andrieus A. Jones

Andrieus A. Jones

Andrieus Aristieus Jones was a Democratic Party politician from New Mexico who represented the state in the United States Senate from 1917 until his death.-Biography:...

| Democratic
| New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

| 1919-1921
|-
|}

External links

Report of the Select Committee on Woman Suffrage. United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

. 52nd Congress
52nd United States Congress
The Fifty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C...

, 2nd Session. January 4, 1893.

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