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1888: Willard and the National Suffrage Movement

Willard also had opportunities outside the WCTU to take a stronger stand on suffrage as a right. Representing the WCTU, but also reflecting her own convictions, she became in involved in the National Council of Women, a coalition of women’s organizations. She also brought the WCTU into a closer connection with the Prohibition Party because it endorsed woman suffrage.

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Willard spoke on Temperance at the International Council of Women’s meeting, as a delegate of the WCTU. Her impact on the national suffrage movement was clear, as this cartoon shows her shaking hands with Uncle Sam. The caption reads, "If the women get the suffrage, the first thing they will do is to elect Miss Willard President of the United States."  

Most notably, she appeared in a two-page rotogravure in the popular national Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper alongside such suffrage stalwarts (some of whom deplored the work of the WCTU) as Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Matilda Joslyn Gage.

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This photograph has become an icon of the suffrage movement, appearing in textbooks, documentaries, and such popular venues as Life magazine.

1888: Willard and the National Suffrage Movement