Small Pamphlet: "Program for Election District Empire State Campaign".
[Suffrage]. Empire State Campaign Committee. Small Pamphlet: “Program for Election District Empire State Campaign.” 303 Fifth Avenue, New York: Empire State Campaign Committee, [ca. 1914-1915].
Small pamphlet: 3-3/8 x 6,” 15 pp.; printed self-wrappers (stapled). Mild dustiness; scrape at front panel a little affecting the “R” in “YORK”; underlining to the text in blue pencil with ink note at the end regarding suffrage supplies “order from Empire State Campaign....”
A working document from the 1915 New York woman suffrage referendum campaign. Carrie Chapman Catt assumed the leadership of the New York campaign in 1913; though the referendum was defeated in November, 1915, the campaign reflected Catt’s shrewd, often brilliant, political sense. While Catt may not have written this pamphlet herself, it illustrates her practical approach. The pamphlet addresses itself to the captains of the election districts, saying that “If a majority of the voters in each Election District is won to our cause, it follows that our amendment will be carried in November, 1915...The Election District Captains, therefore, hold the only key to certain success.” Thirty-five key campaign tactics are outlined, beginning with the basics: obtaining a map of the election district and being clear as to its boundaries, securing a list of enrolled voters and then a list of registered voters. The pamphlet emphasizes the importance of meeting directly with influential men and women, regardless of whether or not they support suffrage; of personal invitations to secure large audiences; and of enthusiasm to carry one’s convictions. Also discussed are specifics such as the decoration of automobiles to help advertise and arouse interest in a scheduled meeting; the passing of “yellow slips” (pledge forms) during meetings: “Do the work carefully and gather up the slips with care.” It exhorts: “Keep on holding meetings until the whole town is talking about woman suffrage...” and “[w]hen the town is talking of woman suffrage, begin your canvass.” The pamphlet, with its combination of sound political tactics and emphasis on patience and determination, offers vivid documentation of the qualities Carrie Chapman Catt brought to bear on the campaign for woman suffrage.
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