LETTER: Autograph letter signed, to a close friend.
WILLARD OFFERS CAREER ADVICE WITHIN THE WCTU
Willard, Frances. Autograph letter signed, “Frances Willard,” to “Dear Sister,” to a close friend (though not her sister), Brunswick, N.Y., March 4, 1895, one leaf of unlined paper, both sides covered, creased twice at folds.
Willard writes to a close friend, addressed as “Dear Sister,” regarding her career. Willard’s only sister, Mary, died in 1862, so it is unclear to whom she addressed this letter, but evidently a comrade in arms, not a relative. Willard suggests that the recipient contact several pertinent women who may be able to assist her, and writes, “If they had seen you perform at ‘Poly Pet Hall’ Washington, they would surely want your help in some of their public occasions. ... You must be a white ribboner here before you can ‘strike 12’ on the other side. If your status with us were moved up this Spring ... & made a good impression [with the W.C.T.U.], our dear Lady H [Lady Henry Somerset] would gladly do all in her power to open your way, so far as possible.”
Willard was prominent in both the suffrage and temperance movements, and was influential in the passage of the 18th and 19th amendments (prohibition and votes for women, respectively); she also helped found the Woman’s National Christian Temperance Union in 1874. Willard’s platform of “Home Protection” as the premise behind suffrage was designed to appeal to women everywhere. She held that if a woman had the right to vote, she could better protect her home and family and improve society.
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