26. The Fight for Women’s Rights Had Its Origins in the Fight For Prohibition
The fight for suffrage and women’s rights began during the fight to ban alcohol. Many early suffragettes first became politically active in the battle against booze. Susan B. Anthony, for example, abhorred alcohol and gave her first speech in 1849 to a group called the Daughters of Temperance. She joined the suffrage movement when male temperance advocates tried to keep her quiet.
In 1852, the Sons of Temperance denied her the right to speak at a meeting because she was a woman. As their chairman put it, “the sisters” were not there to speak, but “to listen and learn“. The same thing happened at a NY Temperance Society meeting, and at a World Temperance Society Convention. So Anthony joined forces with Elizabeth Stanton, who referred to alcohol as “The Unclean Thing“, and devoted the rest of her life to the suffrage movement.