On February 13 the suffrage committee of the constitutional convention then in session in Illinois voted unanimously to strike "male" out of the new constitution.
We began the year 1918 with nineteen organizers, but as the legislative work came to occupy the place of chief importance most of the States expressed a preference for the services of their own women and it became necessary to reduce the national staff.[125]
During the winter of 1918-1919 a series of conferences was offered to the southern States but for various reasons not accepted. At the St. Louis convention in March, 1919, Mrs. Catt requested the southern representatives to outline the definite help desired from the National Association and their requests were accepted by the board at its post-convention meeting as follows: The National to give (a) one speaker or organizer to each State for two months; (b) a suffrage school to each; (c) one thousand copies of Senator Pollock's speech to each. This help from the National was conditional upon the promise of the southern States (a) that each State would furnish one of its own workers to be under the instruction of the national worker and to continue in charge after her departure; (b) that it would establish and maintain a speakers' bureau; (c) that it would begin the petition campaign. By October the association had fulfilled its promise of an organizer for two months to Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee and had arranged to send organizers to Kentucky, Delaware and Mississippi when those States were ready for them. Later, because of ratification, it gave additional help, sending Mrs. McMahon to Delaware, Mrs. Cunningham, Miss Watkins and Miss Peshakova to Mississippi; Miss Pidgeon, Miss Miller and Mrs. McMahon to Alabama, where a splendid campaign for ratification was directed by Mrs. Pattie Ruffner Jacobs, State suffrage president.
Not only were the promised copies of Senator Pollock's speech sent but an additional 10,000 pieces of literature were given to Maryland, North Carolina and Delaware; 5,000 to Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida; 36,000 to West Virginia and 51,000 to Mississippi. In place of the suffrage schools a series of conferences was agreed to by the southern States. Three speakers were selected with great care and an outline for the trip was submitted to the States. Some responded that they could not arrange satisfactory conferences, others that they could not make dates to fit the itinerary, two did not reply in time and two did not respond at all. Since speakers could not be sent at such great cost for small, unsatisfactory meetings or on an incomplete itinerary, we were reluctantly forced to cancel the conferences. With regard to the work which the southern States agreed to do, only one State met the provision to provide a worker of its own under the direction of the national organizer to take charge after her departure. None of the States established a speakers' bureau. Three States started the petition campaign but none finished it.
Federal Amendment. We were confident of victory for the amendment in 1919 in the 66th Congress. The House passed it May 21 by an affirmative vote of 304, a majority of 42 votes, and June 4 the Senate by a vote of 56 to 25. The passage of this amendment introduced in Congress over forty years ago by the National Suffrage Association closed a long and interesting chapter of the movement. The completion of that part of our work made it no longer necessary for us to maintain a Washington headquarters. Accordingly June 30, 1919, the doors of the Suffrage House, 1626 Rhode Island Avenue, were closed after having received cabinet members, senators, congressmen, distinguished persons from this and foreign countries, thousands of American men and women and those active suffragists who were called to Washington from time to time to assist in the work of the congressional committee. Mrs. Maud Wood Park, to whose indefatigable energy, honesty of purpose and action and infinite tact we owe much, led the way to victory for the amendment. Mrs. Helen H. Gardener, whose diplomatic abilities made her the constant adviser of the committee, Miss Marjorie Shuler, chief of publicity, Miss Mabel Willard in charge of social affairs, Miss Caroline I. Reilly and Mrs. Minnie Fisher Cunningham, secretaries, formed the personnel of the Congressional Committee at the time of victory.
During the months preceding the passage of the Federal Amendment the National Association had carried not only the burden of the actual amendment campaign but had planned and carried out the preparatory work for ratification. Legislatures had been polled, Governors interviewed on the subject of special sessions and organization and publicity built up, looking forward to the final ratification battle. The presidential suffrage campaigns and the resolutions calling upon Congress to pass the suffrage amendment, which the National Association had secured in State Legislatures, were all part of the ratification strategy, a test of the suffrage sentiment in the current Legislatures as well as an impelling force on Congress to pass the amendment.
We had hoped that from this point the State associations would undertake their own campaigns and to that end Mrs. Catt issued a bulletin May 24 telling each one just what steps to take. She stated that the National Association would immediately ask Governors of all equal suffrage States to call sessions and would circularize all the Legislatures. She called upon the State associations to (1) circularize their legislators with the news of the final victory; (2) send deputations to secure the pledge of the vote of each legislator for ratification; (3) begin a statewide campaign through the press, petitions, literature and meetings to secure their own special sessions. It soon became apparent that the States as a whole were not carrying out these plans and instead of promises of special sessions excuses came from the men with the endorsement of the women themselves. It was evident that the national office in New York must be in command.
During the following weeks up to the present time the days and nights have been filled with intensive effort. Never before have the members of the national force, the board, the office force of forty persons in the national headquarters, the Leslie Commission, the publicity department, the Woman Citizen and the Publishing Company worked with so little sparing of themselves and with such absolute concentration upon the matter in hand, still carrying on citizenship preparation, organization and all the routine work but always giving Ratification the right of way. It was Mrs. Catt who sounded the rallying call, who mapped out every step of the way, who did the work of a dozen women herself and cheered the rest on. No one will ever know the full story of her ingenious plans which brought about the ratification and in some States even the women think it was easily won because they do not know of the efforts put forth from the national office.
As soon as the amendment had passed the Senate, Mrs. Catt kept the agreement made by her in the bulletin and sent telegrams to the Governors of full suffrage States, asking for special sessions, and to Legislatures then in session asking for ratification. With the cooperation of the suffrage associations, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan ratified on June 10, in six days after the amendment was submitted by Congress. Kansas and New York ratified in special session and Ohio in regular session on June 16. Pennsylvania ratified on June 24, its blackness wiped off the map. The change of black Massachusetts to the ratified white on June 25 gave another big impetus to the campaign. Texas distinguished itself by ratifying on June 28. This made nine ratifications in nineteen days!
Mrs. Catt had previously asked the presidents of State suffrage associations to interview their Governors regarding special sessions and she had sent personal letters to them and to members of the Legislatures enclosing facts concerning the Federal Amendment. As a result the Governors of Nebraska, Indiana and Minnesota sent letters and telegrams to twenty-two other Governors asking them to call special sessions.