History of Father’s Day

Illustration of two men in early 20th century clothing and hats shaking hands holding banners that read "Men's League for Woman Suffrage" and "National Woman Suffrage Association"

Image designed by artist Meneese Wall

Thanks to Sonora Smart Dodd, Father’s Day was born.

In the United States the first event recorded in honor of fathers was held on July 5, 1908 in a West Virginia church to honor the hundreds of men who died in a coal mine explosion. It was a one-time commemoration and not an annual holiday.

The next year, Sonora Smart Dodd, the daughter of a widower who raised his six children as a single dad in Spokane, Washington, began to work for the equivalent of Mother’s Day for male parents. With the help of local churches, the YMCA, shopkeepers and government officials she worked to generate support for her idea. Her effort was successful when Washington State celebrated the nation’s first statewide Father’s Day on June 19, 1910.

The movement for Father’s Day was honored by President Wilson in 1816 when from Washington, DC he pressed a button to telegraph signals to unfurl a flag in Spokane. By 1924, President Calvin Cooledge urged state governments to observe Father’s Day.

In 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring that the third Sunday of June 1966 to be recognized as Father’s Day. It would take six more years before President Richard Nixon established Father’s Day as a permanent national holiday to be observed on the third Sunday of June every year.

Take the Quiz: Men Who Have Supported Women’s Rights

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How much do you know about the men who've fought for women's rights throughout American history?

Historical marker for the Rochester Women's Rights Convention of 1848

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One of the strongest voices for abolitionism, this free Black man attended the first women’s rights conference in 1848 and supported the controversial issue of woman suffrage. He continued working for woman’s suffrage throughout his life, including a speech at a women’s rights conference on the day he died in 1895.

Willis Augustus Hodges (1815–1890)

Frederick Douglass (1818–1895)

William Cooper Nell (1816–1874)

Henry Box Brown (c.1815–1897)

Oh no. Not quite!
In 1848, Frederick Douglass was the only African American to attend the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention. Elizabeth Cady Stanton asked the assembly to pass a resolution asking for women's suffrage. Douglass stood and spoke in favor of women's suffrage, saying that the world would be a better place if women were involved in the political sphere.

Hooray!
In 1848, Frederick Douglass was the only African American to attend the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention. Elizabeth Cady Stanton asked the assembly to pass a resolution asking for women's suffrage. Douglass stood and spoke in favor of women's suffrage, saying that the world would be a better place if women were involved in the political sphere.

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Founder of the Woman Suffrage Media Project in 1993, he spent nearly 20 years researching and writing about the drive for equal rights, resulting in his landmark book, Winning the Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement.

Timothy Wernette (1947–)

Michael Scott Kimmel (1951–)

Robert P. J. Cooney, Jr. (1950–)

Michael Messner (1952–)

Oops. Not quite!
Robert P. J. Cooney, Jr. (1950–) is the author of Winning the Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement, a widely praised and beautifully illustrated history of this important movement. Director of the Woman Suffrage Media Project since 1993, he has spent years delving deep into the nation’s photographic archives and has also consulted on numerous documentary films, books, and special projects. And he's a member of the NWHA Board!

Good job!
Robert P. J. Cooney, Jr. (1950–) is the author of Winning the Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement, a widely praised and beautifully illustrated history of this important movement. Director of the Woman Suffrage Media Project since 1993, he has spent years delving deep into the nation’s photographic archives and has also consulted on numerous documentary films, books, and special projects. And he's a member of the NWHA Board!

This suffragent was an English-born American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary. He authored the two most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution and inspired the patriots in 1776 to declare independence from Great Britain.

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In 1775, this Revolutionary-era patriot wrote an essay supporting women's rights. In "An Occasional Letter on the Female Sex" he wrote, "[T]he women, almost—without exception—at all times and in all places, adored and oppressed. Man, who has never neglected an opportunity of exerting his power..."

George Washington (1732–1799)

Thomas Herttell (1771–1849)

Thomas Paine (1737–1809)

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)

Oops! Thomas Paine was was an English-born American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary. He authored the two most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution and inspired the patriots in 1776 to declare independence from Great Britain.
He also wrote "An Occasional Letter on the Female Sex," published anonymously under his editorship in the Pennsylvania Magazine in August 1775. It features the "Letter," which argues that the oppression of women is universal and pleads for the better treatment of women.

Well done! Thomas Paine was was an English-born American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary. He authored the two most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution and inspired the patriots in 1776 to declare independence from Great Britain.
He also wrote "An Occasional Letter on the Female Sex," published anonymously under his editorship in the Pennsylvania Magazine in August 1775. It features the "Letter," which argues that the oppression of women is universal and pleads for the better treatment of women.

He's most well known for his portrayal of a womanizing doctor in the television show M*A*S*H in the late 1970s, but in his life off screen he has been a long-time advocate for women's rights.

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At the Equal Rights Amendment rally in Washington, D.C., in 1981, this award-winning actor gave an impassioned speech calling on the American people to take action to protect the rights of their daughters, wives, sisters and mothers by working to make the ERA the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Alan Alda (1936–)

Dustin Hoffman (1937–)

Harrison Ford (1942–)

Robert De Niro (1943–)

Oops. Not quite.
Actor and author Alan Alda may be most well known as the boozing, womanizing Dr. Hawkeye Pierce from M*A*S*H, but in his life off screen he has been a long-time advocate for women's rights, lending his time and energy to the push for the Equal Rights Amendment during the 1970s and early-1980s. He even served as a cochair on the ERA subcommittee for the National Commission on the Observance of the International Women's Year, established by President Ford in 1975.

Well done!
Actor and author Alan Alda may be most well known as the boozing, womanizing Dr. Hawkeye Pierce from M*A*S*H, but in his life off screen he has been a long-time advocate for women's rights, lending his time and energy to the push for the Equal Rights Amendment during the 1970s and early-1980s. He even served as a cochair on the ERA subcommittee for the National Commission on the Observance of the International Women's Year, established by President Ford in 1975.

This caring father named his second child after his own sister, Susan Anthony Brownell, reversing a couple of the names.

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This Quaker father was an important role-model for his famous daughter, and provided her with financial and moral support in her work for abolitionism and women’s rights.

Frederick Douglass (1818–1895)

Daniel Anthony (1794–1862)

Samuel Joseph May (1797–1871)

Thomas Paine (1737–1809)

Opps! Good try!
Susan Brownwell Anthony was born on February 15, 1820, in Adams, Massachusetts. She was the second of seven children born to Daniel and Lucy Read Anthony.

Well done!
Susan Brownwell Anthony was born on February 15, 1820, in Adams, Massachusetts. She was the second of seven children born to Daniel and Lucy Read Anthony.

This suffragent, named for a famous former president, was a leading opponent of slavery, and was the Free Soil Party's candidate for vice president in the 1852 election and was a prominent Radical Republican during the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era.

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As early as 1847, as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives, he supported women’s right to vote; and in 1868 as a member of U.S. House of Representatives, he introduced a constitutional amendment conferring the right to vote on women.

Parker Pillsbury (1809–1898)

George Washington Julian (1817–1899)

Robert Dale Owen (1801–1877)

Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)

Not quite!
George Washington Julian had espoused the cause of women's suffrage as early as 1847. As Julian explained in his memoirs, "the subject was first brought to my attention in a brief chapter on 'the political non-existence of woman,' in Miss [Harriett] Martineau's book on 'Society In America,' which I read in 1847. She there pithily states the substance of all that has since been said respecting the logic of woman's right to the ballot, and finding myself unable to answer it, I accepted it. On recently referring to this chapter I find myself more impressed by its force than when I first read it."
Julian was also close friends with Lucretia Mott, co-organizer of the Seneca Falls Convention. In 1868 he proposed a constitutional amendment on women's suffrage, but it was defeated.

Well done!
George Washington Julian had espoused the cause of women's suffrage as early as 1847. As Julian explained in his memoirs, "the subject was first brought to my attention in a brief chapter on 'the political non-existence of woman,' in Miss [Harriett] Martineau's book on 'Society In America,' which I read in 1847. She there pithily states the substance of all that has since been said respecting the logic of woman's right to the ballot, and finding myself unable to answer it, I accepted it. On recently referring to this chapter I find myself more impressed by its force than when I first read it."
Julian was also close friends with Lucretia Mott, co-organizer of the Seneca Falls Convention. In 1868 he proposed a constitutional amendment on women's suffrage, but it was defeated.

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At a time when married women did not have any property rights, he introduced a bill to grant married women the right "to hold and control property" in the New York State Legislature in 1837.

Daniel Anthony (1794–1862)

Thomas Herttell (1771–1849)

Rev. Luther Lee (1800–1889)

Thomas Paine (1737–1809)

Oops! Good try! In 1836, Thomas Herttell, a 65-year-old reformist lawyer and state legislator from New York City who advocated for universal suffrage, introduced a bill into the New York legislature to protect the property rights of women, who by law lost that right to their husbands upon marrying, writing:
"It is doubtless obvious to those who have paid due attention to the provisions of this bill that its primary principle is to preserve to married women the title, possession, and control of their estate, both real and personal after as before marriage; and that no part of it shall innure to their husbands, solely by the virtue of their marriage."

Well done! In 1836, Thomas Herttell, a 65-year-old reformist lawyer and state legislator from New York City who advocated for universal suffrage, introduced a bill into the New York legislature to protect the property rights of women, who by law lost that right to their husbands upon marrying, writing:
"It is doubtless obvious to those who have paid due attention to the provisions of this bill that its primary principle is to preserve to married women the title, possession, and control of their estate, both real and personal after as before marriage; and that no part of it shall innure to their husbands, solely by the virtue of their marriage."

Image of text from History of Women's Marches

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To help women in California win the right to vote in 1911, this wealthy Pasadena banker founded the Political Equality League. He was very successful in recruiting prominent business men to join the California Woman Suffrage campaign which mobilized thousands of local supporters.

Eugene Victor Debs (1855–1926)

John Hyde Braly (1839–1923)

Max Eastman (1883–1969)

Charles Chapman Grafton (1830–1912)

Oops!
California banker John Hyde Braly attended a meeting of suffragists in Los Angeles and was immediately drawn to their cause, freely using his own money and social capital to spread the word for suffrage. When he wrote his memoirs, Memory Pictures, he dedicated an entire chapter to his work in the suffrage movement, claiming it was the "crowing work of his long life."

Well done!
California banker John Hyde Braly attended a meeting of suffragists in Los Angeles and was immediately drawn to their cause, freely using his own money and social capital to spread the word for suffrage. When he wrote his memoirs, Memory Pictures, he dedicated an entire chapter to his work in the suffrage movement, claiming it was the "crowing work of his long life."

He started out as a lawyer working with sports greats like Willie Mays, but eventually found his way to sports broadcasting, bringing his unique style of commentary to radio and then television, as he covered boxing matches and Monday Night Football.

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A famous sport journalist, he wrote an article, "Why I Support the ERA" that appeared in the October 1975 issue of Ms. Magazine.

Howard Cosell (1918–1995)

Vin Scully (1927–)

Hal Scott (1923–2010)

Marv Albert (1941–)

Oh no. Not quite!
Howard Cosell was a sports broadcaster with strong opinions, and a national audience. His friendship with boxing great Muhammad Ali is well known in sporting history. But he was also the commentator for the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis matches between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.
In the October 1975 issue of Ms. Magazine, Cosell wrote, "It's long since past time in this society that women were treated coequally with men and I don't think they are in many important areas of human existence."

Oh no. Not quite!
Howard Cosell was a sports broadcaster with strong opinions, and a national audience. His friendship with boxing great Muhammad Ali is well known in sporting history. But he was also the commentator for the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis matches between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.
In the October 1975 issue of Ms. Magazine, Cosell wrote, "It's long since past time in this society that women were treated coequally with men and I don't think they are in many important areas of human existence."

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On February 26, 1861, this self-made man presented a college board with half of his fortune and a deed for 200 acres of land to be used to build one of the first women’s colleges in the United States.

Frederick A. P. Barnard (1809–1889)

Matthew Vassar (1792–1868)

Samuel Joseph May (1797–1871)

Rev. Luther Lee (1800–1889)

Oops! Good try!
Matthew Vassar's niece, Lydia Booth, a teacher who ran the "Cottage Hill Seminary" out of a building Vassar owned on Garden Street, encouraged him to establish a women's college in Poughkeepsie. In January 1861, the New York Legislature passed an act to incorporate Vassar College, one of the first women's colleges in the U.S. On 26 February 1861, at the Hotel Gregory in Poughkeepsie, Matthew Vassar presented the college's Board of Trustees with a tin box containing half of his fortune, $408,000 (approximately $9,700,000 in 2008 dollars) and a deed of conveyance for 200 acres of land to establish the campus.

Good job!
Matthew Vassar's niece, Lydia Booth, a teacher who ran the "Cottage Hill Seminary" out of a building Vassar owned on Garden Street, encouraged him to establish a women's college in Poughkeepsie. In January 1861, the New York Legislature passed an act to incorporate Vassar College, one of the first women's colleges in the U.S. On 26 February 1861, at the Hotel Gregory in Poughkeepsie, Matthew Vassar presented the college's Board of Trustees with a tin box containing half of his fortune, $408,000 (approximately $9,700,000 in 2008 dollars) and a deed of conveyance for 200 acres of land to establish the campus.

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He helped draft the constitution of the feminist American Equal Rights Association in 1865, and served as vice-president of the New Hampshire Woman Suffrage Association. In 1868, he was co-editor with Elizabeth Cady Stanton of The Revolution, published by Susan B. Anthony.

Frederick Douglass (1818–1895)

Parker Pillsbury (1809–1898)

Aaron A. Sargent (1827–1887)

Samuel Gordon Daily (1823–1866)

Not quite!
Parker Pillsbury was an American minister and advocate for abolition and women's rights. Pillsbury lectured widely and earned a reputation for successfully dealing with hostile crowds through non-resistance tactics. The American Equal Rights Association was formed by prominent leaders in the anti-slavery and women's rights movements, such as Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, Frederick Douglass, and Susan B. Anthony, with the goal of bringing together abolitionists and women's rights advocates in the fight for universal suffrage, and Pillsbury joined their effort.

Good job!
Parker Pillsbury was an American minister and advocate for abolition and women's rights. Pillsbury lectured widely and earned a reputation for successfully dealing with hostile crowds through non-resistance tactics. The American Equal Rights Association was formed by prominent leaders in the anti-slavery and women's rights movements, such as Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, Frederick Douglass, and Susan B. Anthony, with the goal of bringing together abolitionists and women's rights advocates in the fight for universal suffrage, and Pillsbury joined their effort.

Image of newspaper clipping from the Library of Congress

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He helped found the Men's Equal Suffrage League in 1910 and was President of the Men's Equal Suffrage League of New York State. He regularly spoke about suffrage, including a speech given in Rochester, NY, entitled "Man's Attitude toward Woman Suffrage," where he advocated for full political equality for women saying, "Democratic government has not been established except in those states and nations where women have exactly the same privileges as men."

John Hyde Braly (1839–1923)

Max Eastman (1883–1969)

Eugene Victor Debs (1855–1926)

Arthur Caswell Parker (1881–1955)

Not quite!
Max Eastman was a prominent socialist whose parents were both ordained ministers. In 1910 he helped found the Men's Equal Suffrage League. Eastman was President of the Men's Equal Suffrage League of New York State when he delivered his talk at Bryn Mawr in 1913, titled "Woman Suffrage and Why I Believe in It." The Lantern reported that "the result of his speech was a number of converts to woman suffrage." His sister, Crystal Eastman, was a prominent member of the Congressional Union and the National Woman's Party.

Well done!
Max Eastman was a prominent socialist whose parents were both ordained ministers. In 1910 he helped found the Men's Equal Suffrage League. Eastman was President of the Men's Equal Suffrage League of New York State when he delivered his talk at Bryn Mawr in 1913, titled "Woman Suffrage and Why I Believe in It." The Lantern reported that "the result of his speech was a number of converts to woman suffrage." His sister, Crystal Eastman, was a prominent member of the Congressional Union and the National Woman's Party.

Image from Storytelling + Research = LoiS

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A Native American who served as director of the Rochester Museum of Arts and Science, he gave a brief argument for modern American women to consider in 1909: “...that the red woman that lived in New York state five hundred years ago had far more political rights and enjoyed a much wider liberty than the twentieth century woman of civilization...”

Arthur Caswell Parker (1881–1955)

John L. Bullis (1841–1911)

Samuel Benton Callahan (1833–1911)

John Arthur Gibson (1850–1912)

Oops!
Arthur Caswell Parker was an anthropologist, historian, and museum pioneer, who wrote about the history and culture of the Iroquois People, including the role of Haudenosaunee women in political decisions. In 1909, he wrote "Woman's Rights in America Five Hundred Years Ago," which appeared in the Albany Press on April 11, 1909.

Yes! You got it!
Arthur Caswell Parker was an anthropologist, historian, and museum pioneer, who wrote about the history and culture of the Iroquois People, including the role of Haudenosaunee women in political decisions. In 1909, he wrote "Woman's Rights in America Five Hundred Years Ago," which appeared in the Albany Press on April 11, 1909.

Image from Nevada City Foursquare

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This man, who represented California in the U.S. Senate, introduced a joint resolution proposing an amendment that would enfranchise women on January 10, 1878. He was good friends with both Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

Aaron A. Sargent (1827–1887)

Rev. Luther Lee (1800–1889)

Frederick Douglass (1818–1895)

Parker Pillsbury (1809–1898)

Oops! Not quite!
In January 1878, Senator Aaron A. Sargent introduced the 29 words that would later become the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, allowing women the right to vote. Sargent's wife, Ellen Clark Sargent, was a leading voting rights advocate and a friend of such suffrage leaders as Susan B. Anthony. The bill calling for the amendment would be introduced unsuccessfully each year for the next forty years.

Well done!
In January 1878, Senator Aaron A. Sargent introduced the 29 words that would later become the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, allowing women the right to vote. Sargent's wife, Ellen Clark Sargent, was a leading voting rights advocate and a friend of such suffrage leaders as Susan B. Anthony. The bill calling for the amendment would be introduced unsuccessfully each year for the next forty years.

His sister's daughter was an American novelist, short story writer and poet best known as the author of the novel Little Women.

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A Unitarian minister, he was one of the most well-known abolitionists and reformers on the national scene. He preached the first women's rights sermon in 1845. Most notably, he wrote The Rights and Condition of Women in 1846 in favor of giving women the right to vote and allowing them equality in all aspects of life.

Samuel Joseph May (1797–1871)

Frederick Douglass (1818–1895)

Matthew Vassar (1792–1868)

Robert Purvis (1810–1898)

Oops! Good try!
Samuel Joseph May was an American reformer during the nineteenth century, and championed multiple reform movements including education, women's rights, and abolition of slavery. May argued on behalf of all working people that the rights of humanity were more important than the rights of property, and advocated for minimum wages and legal limitations on the amassing of wealth.

Good job!
Samuel Joseph May was an American reformer during the nineteenth century, and championed multiple reform movements including education, women's rights, and abolition of slavery. May argued on behalf of all working people that the rights of humanity were more important than the rights of property, and advocated for minimum wages and legal limitations on the amassing of wealth.

Image from Long Island Wins

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In 1850, as a member of the Indiana Constitutional Convention he was instrumental in securing to widows and married women control of their property, and later succeeded in passing a state law giving greater freedom to women in divorce.

Rev. Luther Lee (1800–1889)

Daniel Anthony (1794–1862)

Samuel Joseph May (1797–1871)

Robert Dale Owen (1801–1877)

Oops! Not quite!
Robert Dale Owen served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1835–38 and again from 1851–53. He was instrumental in introducing legislation and argued in support of widows and married women's property rights. He also proposed laws granting women greater freedom of divorce.
In addition to serving in the state legislature, Owen was elected as a delegate to the Indiana Constitutional Convention in 1850. At the convention, he initiated a proposal to include provisions for women's property rights in the state constitution. Although it was not approved, this early effort to protect women's rights led to later laws that were passed to secure women's property, divorce, and voting rights.

Yes!
Robert Dale Owen served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1835–38 and again from 1851–53. He was instrumental in introducing legislation and argued in support of widows and married women's property rights, but the bill was defeated. He also proposed laws granting women greater freedom of divorce.
In addition to serving in the state legislature, Owen was elected as a delegate to the Indiana Constitutional Convention in 1850. At the convention, he initiated a proposal to include provisions for women's property rights in the state constitution. Although it was not approved, this early effort to protect women's rights led to later laws that were passed to secure women's property, divorce, and voting rights.

He was the Socialist Party presidential candidate in 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912, and 1920. In 1920, he ran from a prison cell, where he was serving a 10-year sentence for sedition after giving a speech in Canton, Ohio, urging resistance to the military draft of World War I. He received no electoral votes, but his total of 913,693 votes still remains the all-time high for a Socialist Party candidate.

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In the 1920 U.S. presidential campaign leaflets addressed “To the Woman Voter” were distributed that praised this imprisoned Socialist Party presidential candidate for his long time commitment to women’s rights including his support of votes for women, equal pay in the workplace, and a stance against the criminalization of prostitution.

John Hyde Braly (1839–1923)

Arthur Caswell Parker (1881–1955)

Eugene V. Debs (1855–1926)

Max Eastman (1883–1969)

Oops! Not quite.
Eugene V. Debs was serving a 10-year sentence in prison during the 1920 election, but his decades-long commitment to women's rights helped him earn nearly 1 million votes, a record for the Socialist Party candidates that still stands today.
Debs first met Susan B. Anthony in 1879, when he invited her speak in his hometown of Terre Haute, Indiana. His friendship with Ida Husted Harper was also quite formative in his early years as a writer and socialist thinker, and he always included full equality for women in his platform.

Yes! Good job!
Eugene V. Debs was serving a 10-year sentence in prison during the 1920 election, but his decades-long commitment to women's rights helped him earn nearly 1 million votes, a record for the Socialist Party candidates that still stands today.
Debs first met Susan B. Anthony in 1879, when he invited her speak in his hometown of Terre Haute, Indiana. His friendship with Ida Husted Harper was also quite formative in his early years as a writer and socialist thinker, and he always included full equality for women in his platform.

Photo by Carl LaVO

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The patriarch of one the wealthiest and most prominent Black families in Philadelphia, this 19th century activist used his considerable wealth to support progressive causes including abolitionism and women’s rights.

George Middleton (1735–1815)

James Forten (1766–1842)

Wentworth Cheswell (1746–1817)

Robert Purvis (1810–1898)

Oops! Good try!
Robert Purvis supported many progressive causes in addition to abolition. With Lucretia Mott, he supported women's rights and suffrage. When Mott was president, he was a member of the American Equal Rights Association. Purvis also attended the founding meeting of the Pennsylvania Woman Suffrage Association.

Well done!
Robert Purvis supported many progressive causes in addition to abolition. With Lucretia Mott, he supported women's rights and suffrage. When Mott was president, he was a member of the American Equal Rights Association. Purvis also attended the founding meeting of the Pennsylvania Woman Suffrage Association.

19 / 20

He gave a sermon, "Women's Right to Preach the Gospel," in 1853 at the ordination of Antoinette Brown, the first woman to be ordained a minister in the United States.

Parker Pillsbury (1809–1898)

Robert Purvis (1810–1898)

Frederick Douglass (1818–1895)

Rev. Luther Lee (1800–1889)

Not quite!
In 1853, Rev. Luther Lee ordained Miss Antoinette Brown, one of the first women to be ordained in the Congregational church. To recognize this historical event, Rev. Lee gave a special sermon, stating in his introduction, “The ordination of a female, or the setting apart of a female to the work of the Christian ministry, is, to say the least, a novel transaction, in this land and age. It cannot fail to call forth many remarks, and will, no doubt, provoke many censures. As I have been called upon to deliver the discourse on the occasion, I should deem it out of place, tame and cowardly, for me to deliver an ordinary sermon setting forth the duties and responsibilities of a Christian minister, without taking hold of the peculiarity of the occasion, and vindicating the innovation which we this hour make upon the usages of the Christian World.”

Well done!
In 1853, Rev. Luther Lee ordained Miss Antoinette Brown, one of the first women to be ordained in the Congregational church. To recognize this historical event, Rev. Lee gave a special sermon, stating in his introduction, “The ordination of a female, or the setting apart of a female to the work of the Christian ministry, is, to say the least, a novel transaction, in this land and age. It cannot fail to call forth many remarks, and will, no doubt, provoke many censures. As I have been called upon to deliver the discourse on the occasion, I should deem it out of place, tame and cowardly, for me to deliver an ordinary sermon setting forth the duties and responsibilities of a Christian minister, without taking hold of the peculiarity of the occasion, and vindicating the innovation which we this hour make upon the usages of the Christian World.”

20 / 20

While addressing the New York Historical Society in 1866, this Cayuga leader encouraged white men to use the occasion of Southern reconstruction to establish universal suffrage, "even of the women, as in his nation."

Lewis Bennett (1828–1897)

Ely S. Parker (1828–1895)

William Fowler (1815–1862)

Dr. Peter Wilson (1761–1837)

Oops! Good guess!
Peter Wilson, a member of the Cayuga Nation, was the First Native American graduate of Geneva Medical College. He went on to practice medicine, served as an interpreter and was a noted orator. He frequently spoke in front of the New York Historical Society about topics related to Native American issues. In 1866 he spoke in favor of universal suffrage, admonishing the members that Reconstruction was a good opportunity to extend the vote to all Americans.

Well done!
Peter Wilson, a member of the Cayuga Nation, was the First Native American graduate of Geneva Medical College. He went on to practice medicine, served as an interpreter and was a noted orator. He frequently spoke in front of the New York Historical Society about topics related to Native American issues. In 1866 he spoke in favor of universal suffrage, admonishing the members that Reconstruction was a good opportunity to extend the vote to all Americans.

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