Description
Gerrit Smith was a social reformer in support of abolition, temperance, women's rights, and ecumenism. He utilized the broadside format to espouse his views and influence public opinion, and authorized printing of more than 600 broadsides in his lifetime.
In this letter, Smith details his support for woman's suffrage, refuting arguments that the framers of the Constitution intended to deny this right. He also discusses his support for the temperance movement: "Then there are two reforms with which the Republican party cannot afford to delay identifying itself. On of them is the recognition in woman of all the political rights exercised by man. The other is the arresting of the dramshop ruin of our country by no longer licensing or suffering the dramshop, that great manufactory of all sorts and sizes of criminals."
Subject
Anthony, Susan B. (Susan Brownell), 1820-1906
Constitutional amendments
Smith, Gerrit, 1797-1874
Temperance
United States --Politics and government