Elizabeth Selden White Rogers (July 23, 1868 – December 18, 1950) was a civic reformer who worked to improve the New York public schools, and to win suffrage for women in the state of New York and the nation.

Suffrage writing

One of Rogers' major roles in the suffrage movement was to write articles in various newspapers calling for woman suffrage. In one issue of the San Francisco Call and Post in 1911, Rogers stated that "An attack on woman suffrage is an attack on democracy." In May 1912, Rogers helped lead a parade to fight for woman suffrage in the state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. "The wonderful procession clearly showed that women will win the vote in New York, and very soon, too" she wrote in the

New-York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''New York Tribune'') was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s ...

. "The majority of the women of New York were not marching, but that fifteen thousand women of all kinds were sufficiently interested in Votes for Women to march for this principle of justice is proof that the movement is of such a force that it is bound to win." She expressed her admiration for the strength and dedication of the women involved, as she wrote:

As I marched on Saturday and felt that behind me was line after line and thousands upon thousands of women, all joined by their love of liberty and belief in equality of human rights and opportunities, it seemed to me that never was the outlook brighter for the welfare of humanity. For it simply mean that the best, most intelligent and sweetest of New York women were bravely showing their eagerness to help make the world a better place to live in, so that all little children may have a better chance of growing up good and happy and strong.

Rogers worked with

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 ...

, founder of the

National Woman's Party The National Woman's Party (NWP) was an American women's political organization formed in 1916 to fight for women's suffrage. After achieving this goal with the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the NWP ...

, to establish suffrage groups under the name Women's Political Union. In 1915, Rogers toured with Oxford-educated suffrage speaker Eleanor Brannan. In Putnam, they met with Edith Diehl, Marjorie Addis, Antoinette Hopkins, Helena Fish, Kate deForest Crane, and many more. The following is an excerpt from Elizabeth Selden Rogers's editorial, "Why We Withdrew," published in ''Women's Political World'' in 1915:

A great deal is said of the value of co-operation of all societies and the economy of not duplicating work. While believing heartily in a certain amount and kind of co-operation, we are not blind to the fact that too complete unity may result. in stagnation ... The [Women's Political) Union believes that the existence of many suffrage societies is an evidence of the vitality of the movement, and that the friendly rivalry of such societies results in more and better work being done, that it gives the freedom necessary to growth, affording scope for individuality, and allowing personality to count. ... To those of our members who are worrying over this co-operate (sic) idea, we would point out that if in the past four or five years the Women's Political Union in New York City had been bound by a two-thirds vote of a campaign committee, like the one now formed, we would never have had a parade, or an outdoor meeting, or a campaign against certain enemies in the Legislature.

Suffrage Protests and Arrest

Rogers helped the Congressional Committee, which later became the National Woman's Party, organize a parade in Washington the day before President Woodrow Wilson's inauguration, with the hope of making a statement to Wilson and instigating negotiation with the President and Congress. Alice Paul, the leader of the Committee, sought Rogers' support. The two appealed to Rogers' brother-in-law, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, to ask that he assign military personnel to help keep order. Stimson could take little action due to his position, but he was sympathetic to the movement and ordered the Fifteenth Cavalry from Fort Myer, Maryland, to bivouac on the western perimeter of Washington to help protect the suffragists. On July 14, 1917, the French holiday of

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. It is referred to, both legally and commonly, as () in French, though ''la fête nationale'' is also u ...

, sixteen Silent Sentinels, including Rogers, picketed the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

, carrying a banner with the French motto " Liberty, Equality, Fraternity". All sixteen were arrested, tried, and sentenced to sixty days in the Occoquan Workhouse in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

for unlawful assemblage. In her defense, Rogers stated:

We are not guilty of any offense. We know full well that we stand here because the President of the United States refuses to give liberty to American women.... The President puts his power behind all measures in which he takes a genuine interest. If he will say one frank word advocating this measure it will pass as a piece of war emergency legislation.

Following the arrests, Rogers and fellow suffragist Eunice Dana Brannan sent a telegraph to The Sun newspaper, which read:

We were arrested to-day for carrying an appeal to the White House. The guilt lies with those who deny justice, not with those who demand justice. In all this question the country should blame the President for failing to secure the passage of the Federal Woman Suffrage amendment and should uphold women who are fighting for American ideals of government.

President Wilson was under pressure to pardon the suffragists, and did so after just a few days. Although President Woodrow Wilson had displayed public support for an amendment granting woman suffrage, many in Congress did not take it seriously. On December 16, 1918, with Wilson in France to attend the Peace Conference to end

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 ...

, hundreds of women marched through Washington, carrying lighted torches and purple, white, and gold banners. A crowd watched as they set fire to all of Wilson's speeches and books concerning "liberty," freedom," and "democracy" in an urn. Rogers, chairman of the National Advisory Council of the

and its legislative chairman for New York, spoke to the crowd:

We hold this meeting to protest against the denial of liberty to American women. All over the world today we see surging and sweeping irresistibly on, the great tide of democracy, and women would be derelict in their duty if they did not see to it that it brings freedom to the women of this land.... Our ceremony today is planned to call attention to the fact that President Wilson has gone abroad to establish democracy in foreign lands when he has failed to establish democracy at home. We burn his words on liberty today, not in malice or anger, but in a spirit of reverence for truth. This meeting is a message to President Wilson. We expect an answer. If the answer is more words we will burn them again. The only answer the National Woman's Party will accept is the instant passage of the amendment in the Senate.

Prison Special

In the spring of 1919, Rogers participated in the Suffrage "Prison Special" Tour, in which 26 women, all of whom had been arrested for picketing the White House in support of women's suffrage, organized a train tour to share their stories as political prisoners in the Occoquan Workhouse and D.C. jails. Their slogan was "From Prison to People" and they called their train the "Democracy Limited." The suffragists traveled to 15 major cities in the United States, including many in the more conservative South, believing that Southern support was the key to passing a suffrage Amendment. The women, including Rogers, wore replicas of their prison uniforms, gave speeches, and fundraised. A ''

Suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

'' article about the Prison Special described how their audiences in the West had “become a path of people freshly awakened to the deep importance of immediate national action.”

Early life and education

Rogers was born on July 23, 1868, in

Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to four other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Queens, Long Island C ...

, New York. Her sister was Mabel Wellington White, wife of US Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson. She was also the maternal granddaughter of Union Major General Amos Beebe Eaton and a descendant of

Roger Sherman Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an early American politician, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign all four great state papers of the United States: the Continental Association, ...

, one of the

Founding Fathers of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American Revolution, American revolutionary leaders who United Colonies, united the Thirteen Colon ...

and signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Personal life

She married John Rogers (1866-1939) in 1895. He was later a Professor of Clinical Surgery at the Cornell Medical School. They had a daughter, Elizabeth Selden Rogers, who married Francis H. Horan, and had two sons. Her grandfather General Eaton was the son of Amos Eaton and Sally Cady Eaton, and was the first cousin of

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 ...

. She was also the great-niece of Henry R. Selden, who defended Susan B. Anthony when she was arrested for voting in the 1872 national election. Henry was the brother of her grandmother and namesake Elizabeth Selden Eaton. The Rogers' lived in Putnam County, New York. They also owned a summer home in Towners, New York, known as "Freedom Farm." She died on December 18, 1950, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

References

External links

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Nationality Rights in International PerspectiveMrs. John Rogers Jr. -- at suffrage shop - Library of CongressOctober 6, 1911: As California Suffrage Vote Nears, Activists Remain Positive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Elizabeth Selden American women's rights activists American feminists Suffragists from New York (state) National Woman's Party activists People from New Haven, Connecticut 1868 births 1950 deaths