Anna Howard Shaw (February 14, 1847 – July 2, 1919) was a leader of the
women's suffrage movement in the United States. She was also a physician and one of the first women to be ordained as a
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
minister in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
Early life

Shaw was born in
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
in 1847. When she was four, she and her family emigrated to the United States and settled in
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen, Massachusetts, Methuen ...
. When Shaw was twelve years old, her father took "up claim of three hundred and sixty acres of land in the wilderness" of northern Michigan "and sent
ermother and five young children to live there alone."
[Shaw, Anna Howard; Jordan, Elizabeth Garver and Catt, Carrie Chapman (1915]
''The Story of a Pioneer''
New York and London: Harper & Brothers. Her mother had envisioned their Reed City, Michigan home to be "an English farm" with "deep meadows, sunny skies and daisies," but was devastated upon their arrival to discover that it was a "forlorn and desolate" log cabin "in what was then a wilderness, 40 miles from a post office and 100 miles from a railroad."
[ Here, the family faced the dangers of living on the frontier. Shaw became very active during this period, helping her siblings refurbish their home and supporting her mother in her time of shock and despair. Shaw took on several physical tasks such as "digging of a well, chopp ngwood for the big fireplace, ndfell ngtrees."]
Seeing her mother's emotional suffering, Shaw blamed her irresponsible father for "haing
Ing, ING or ing may refer to:
Art and media
* '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film
* i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group
* The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes''
* "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...
gven
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It comprises an area of , and its popul ...
no thought to the manner in which heir family wasto make the struggle and survive the hardships before hem
A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...
" While her invalid mother was overburdened with household chores", her father in Lawrence could freely dedicate "much time to the Abolition
Abolition refers to the act of putting an end to something by law, and may refer to:
*Abolitionism, abolition of slavery
*Capital punishment#Abolition of capital punishment, Abolition of the death penalty, also called capital punishment
*Abolitio ...
cause and big public movements of his day."
The family's misfortunes grew worse over the years. During the Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, her sister Eleanor died giving birth, and her brother Tom was wounded. When Shaw was fifteen, she became a school teacher at the Crapo School in Reed City. After her older brothers and father joined the war effort, she used her earnings to help support her family. Yet with "every month of effort, the gulf between income and expenses grew wider."
Call to preach
Shaw felt a call to preach from an early age. As a child, she would spend time in the woods near her house and stand on tree stumps to preach to the forest. She was determined to go to college and follow the path that she felt was God's will for her life. Despite her family's disapproval, Shaw's drive to attend college became firmer as she matured. After the Civil War, she abandoned her teaching job and moved in with her married sister Mary in Big Rapids, Michigan
Big Rapids is a city and the seat of government of Mecosta County, Michigan, United States. The population was 7,727 at the 2020 census, down from 10,601 in 2010. The city is surrounded by Big Rapids Charter Township but they are completely s ...
. While she recalls that she would have preferred more physical and active labor, such as digging ditches or shoveling coal, she was forced to pick up the "dreaded needle" and become a dressmaker, one of the more acceptable occupations available for women at the time.
A pivotal moment in Shaw's life came when she met Reverend Marianna Thompson, a Universalist minister who came to preach in Grand Rapids. Shaw went to the service, eager to see a woman in the pulpit. After the service, Shaw confided in Thompson her desire to pursue the ministry as a vocation, and Thompson strongly encouraged her to obtain an education without delay.
Thanks to Thompson's help, Shaw entered Big Rapids High School, where the preceptress, Lucy Foot, recognized Shaw's talents and drive. At the age of twenty-four, Shaw was invited by H. C. Peck, a man looking to ordain a woman into ministry in the Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...
, to give her first sermon. Shaw hesitated initially because her only previous experience had been "as a little girl preaching alone in the forest...to a congregation of listening trees." With encouragement from Lucy Foot, Peck, and her close friend, Clara Osborn, Shaw agreed and gave her first sermon in Ashton, Michigan.
Despite the success of her first sermon, her newfound passion for preaching received disapproval from her classmates, friends, and family, who agreed to pay for her college education only if she abandoned preaching. Despite such continual opposition and isolation from so many, Anna continued preaching. She was "deeply moved" by Mary A. Livermore, a prominent lecturer who came to Big Rapids. Ms. Livermore gave her the following advice: "if you want to preach, go on and preach…No matter what people say, don't let them stop you!"
In 1873, the Methodist Church "voted unanimously to grant her a local preacher's license."
Struggles during college years
In 1873, Shaw entered Albion College
Albion College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students as of Fall 2021 ...
, a Methodist school in Albion, Michigan
Albion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 7,700 at the 2020 census. Albion is part of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The earliest ...
. Since her family frowned upon her career path, they refused financial support. At that point, Shaw had been a licensed preacher for three years and earned her wages by lecturing on temperance.
After Albion College, Shaw attended Boston University School of Theology in 1876. She was the only woman in her class of forty-two men, and she always felt "the abysmal conviction that hewas not really wanted there." This attitude was furthered by her difficulty supporting herself financially. Already running on a tight income, Shaw found it unfair that the "male licensed preachers were given free accommodations in the dormitory, and their board cost each of them $1.25 while it cost her $2 to pay rent of a room outside." Additionally, she had trouble finding employment. Unlike in Albion, where she was "practically the only licensed preacher available", at Boston University, there were many preachers who she had to compete with. As she lost money to pay the rent, she struggled to feed herself and felt "cold, hunger, and lonel " Shaw started questioning whether the ministerial profession was meant for her. In the face of these hardships, Shaw continued. In 1880, after she and Anna Oliver were refused ordination by the Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...
, despite passing with the top exam score that year. After being rejected from the Methodist Episcopal Church, she switched churches and achieved ordination in the Methodist Protestant Church.
Following her ordination, Shaw received an MD from Boston University in 1886. During her time in medical school, she became an outspoken advocate of political rights for women.
Role in the women's suffrage movement
Joint effort with Susan B. Anthony
Beginning in 1886, Shaw served as the chair of the Franchise Department of Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). Her task was "to work for woman suffrage and then to use the ballot to gain 'home protection' and temperance legislation."[Bilhartz, Terry D. "Anna Howard Shaw." ''Great Lives from History: The Nineteenth Century''. Ed. John Powell. 4 vols. Salem Press, 2007. Salem History Web. September 26, 2011.] However, her focus on temperance subsided as she became more heavily involved in the suffrage movement by lecturing for the Massachusetts Suffrage Association and later the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA).
Shaw first met Susan B. Anthony in 1887. In 1888, Shaw attended the first meeting of the International Council of Women
The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating women's rights, human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington D.C ...
. Susan B. Anthony encouraged her to join the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA). Having agreed, Shaw played a key role when the two suffrage associations merged when she "helped to persuade the AWSA to merge with Anthony's and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton ( Cady; November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 ...
's NWSA, creating for the first time in two decades a semblance of organizational unity within the uffragemovement." Beginning in 1904 and for the next eleven years, Shaw was the president of NAWSA. Under her leadership, NAWSA continued to "lobby for a national constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote."
Resignation from NAWSA presidency
During the early 20th century, Alice Paul
Alice Stokes Paul (January 11, 1885 – July 9, 1977) was an American Quaker, suffragette, suffragist, feminist, and women's rights activist, and one of the foremost leaders and strategists of the campaign for the Nineteenth Amendment to the Unit ...
and Lucy Burns, NAWSA members, began employing militant techniques (e.g., picketing the White House during World War I) to fight for women's suffrage. They, like other members, were inspired by the success of the militant suffragettes in England. As president of NAWSA, Shaw was pressured to support these tactics. Nevertheless, Shaw maintained that she was "unalterably opposed to militancy, believing nothing of permanent value has ever been secured by it that could not have been more easily obtained by peaceful methods." She remained aligned with Anthony's philosophy against militant tactics. In 1915, she resigned as NAWSA president and was replaced by her ally Carrie Chapman Catt.
Later years and death
During World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Shaw was head of the Women's Committee of the United States Council of National Defense
The Council of National Defense was a United States organization formed during World War I to coordinate resources and industry in support of the war effort, including the coordination of transportation, industrial and farm production, financial s ...
, for which she became the first woman to earn the Distinguished Service Medal. She continued to lecture for the suffrage cause for the remaining years of her life.
Only months before her death, at an appearance at Baylor University
Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...
in Waco, Texas
Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...
, Shaw said, "The only way to refute" the argument that America was a democracy--and therefore women were entitled to vote--was "to prove that women are not people." She ended the speech by urging the women in attendance to participate in the women's suffrage movement.
She was a speaker at the 1919 National Conference on Lynching, presenting women's suffrage as a step against lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of i ...
.
Shaw died of pneumonia at her home in Moylan, Pennsylvania at the age of 72, only a few months before Congress ratified the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution.[
]
Personal life
Shaw built a home at 240 Ridley Creek Rd., Media, during her tenure as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Assn. (1904–1915) and lived there with her companion Lucy Elmina Anthony (1859–1944), niece of Susan B. Anthony, until her death. Lucy and Anna were together for thirty years, and she was by her bedside when she died. Sarah Gertrude Banks was also close friends with Shaw.
Legacy
The suffragist anthem "Votes for Women: Suffrage Rallying Song" (1915) by married couple Edward M. and Marie Zimmerman was dedicated to Shaw.
In 2000, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.[ Twenty years later, in 2020, she was named an honoree of the National Women's History Alliance.]
The Anna Howard Shaw Women's Center at Albion College
Albion College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students as of Fall 2021 ...
.
The Anna Howard Shaw Center at Boston University School of Theology. Ten years after its founding in 1978, the Shaw Center was designated the women's center for the Northeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church."
The Anna Howard Shaw Junior High School, built in 1922–1924 in Southwest Schuylkill, Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, is named for her.
A statue of Anna Howard Shaw was erected next to the Community Library in Big Rapids, Michigan
Big Rapids is a city and the seat of government of Mecosta County, Michigan, United States. The population was 7,727 at the 2020 census, down from 10,601 in 2010. The city is surrounded by Big Rapids Charter Township but they are completely s ...
, in 1988.The Rev. Dr. Anna Howard Shaw 1847–1919
retrieved February 5, 2016
See also
*" Anna Howard Shaw Day", an episode of ''30 Rock
''30 Rock'' is an American satire, satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live' ...
''
* Eastern Victory, a car owned by Shaw
*'' Iron Jawed Angels'', a television film where Shaw is portrayed by Lois Smith
* List of suffragists and suffragettes
* List of women's rights activists
* Timeline of Women's Ordination in the US
*Timeline of women's suffrage
Women's suffrage – the right of women to vote – has been achieved at various times in countries throughout the world. In many nations, women's suffrage was granted before universal suffrage, in which cases women and men from certain Social ...
*Ordination of women
The ordination of women to Minister of religion, ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination ...
*Ordination of women in Methodism
The ordination of women has been commonly practiced in List of Methodist denominations, Methodist denominations since the 20th century, and some denominations earlier allowed women to preacher, preach.
Historically, ordination of women#Christiani ...
References
Sources
*
Further reading
* (autobiography)
*Pellauer, Mary D.
Toward a Tradition of Feminist Theology: the religious social thought of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Anna Howard Shaw
'. Brooklyn, NY: Carlson, 1991.
*Franzen, Trisha. ''Anna Howard Shaw: The Work of Woman Suffrage.'' University of Illinois, 2014.
*
External links
*
Anna Howard Shaw letter from the Anna Howard Shaw Papers, 1917–1919
at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Anna Howard Shaw quotation from the Anna Howard Shaw Papers, 1917–1919
at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
The Anna Howard Shaw Center
at Boston University School of Theology
Papers in the Woman's Rights Collection, 1908–1943.Schlesinger Library
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
The Story of a Pioneer
From the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
American National Biography Online, Ann D. Gordon. "Shaw, Anna Howard"
February 2000. Access Date: March 8, 2016
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Anna Howard
1847 births
1919 deaths
Boston University School of Theology alumni
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