Maeve's Pledge by Linda Shenton Matchett |

Maeve’s Pledge

By Linda Shenton Matchett

The Story Behind the Story

When asked to contribute a story to the Suffrage Spinsters series, I immediately sat down and researched the suffrage movement. I was surprised to discover that the men and women began their crusade to get women the right to vote in the 1830s. Nearly twenty years later, a women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York, an event considered the real “birthplace” of women’s suffrage.

The history of suffragism is fascinating because a large percentage of women were against getting the right to vote, and the reasons are numerous. Fear that women would become “masculinized” and the belief that women lacked the expertise and the mental capacity to form an opinion about political issues were among the most prevalent. Others claimed that most women didn’t want the right to vote. They were too busy taking care of the home and raising their children. Another popular belief was that women’s votes wouldn’t add any value, only double the electorate (probably assuming a woman would vote exactly as her husband did).

Intriguingly, one of the main reasons women began to seek the right to vote was taxation. Because they couldn’t vote, they felt taxed without representation. Hmmm, just like the impetus behind that little altercation in 1773 when a group of American colonists tossed crates of tea into Boston harbor.

As I continued to delve into the history of the movement, I unearthed many references to an incident that occurred at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. I knew I had my story.

By 1876, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and others had traveled the length and breadth of America for more than twenty-five years lecturing, conducting rallies, and distributing pamphlets. They were often were met with ridicule and derision. As Anthony and Stanton discussed strategies about how to be taken seriously an idea surfaced. They would write a document similar to the US “Declaration of Independence,” call it the “Declaration of the Rights of Women,” and present it at the July 4^th celebration that was to be held at Independence Hall.

Perfect. Or not. Their request to speak was summarily dismissed, and in fact, few women were able to obtain tickets to the event.

Undeterred, Anthony came up with an alternate plan. On July 4th, in the midst of Richard Henry Lee’s speech (grandson and namesake of one of the Declaration of Independence signers), she marched down the aisle inside Independence Hall and handed the scroll tied in a festive navy-blue ribbon to the host, then turned and made her way out of the building, distributing copies to the clamoring crowd as she went. Outside, she read the document in full as the remaining copies were handed out. Newspapers covered her presentation and printed portions of the document. Word spread, and countless newspapers outside of Philadelphia picked up the story.

If she’d been given the opportunity to speak during the celebration, would she have received as much press? I wonder. Unfortunately, neither Anthony nor Stanton lived to see the ratification of the 19^th amendment forty-four years later.

Maeve’s Pledge

Pledges can’t be broken, can they?

Finally out from under her father’s tyrannical thumb, Maeve Wycliffe can live life on her terms. So what if everyone sees her as a spinster to be pitied. She’ll funnel her energies into what matters most: helping the less fortunate and getting women the right to vote. When she’s forced to team up with the local newspaper editor to further the cause, will her pledge to remain single get cropped?

Widower Gus Deighton sees no reason to tempt fate that he can find happiness a second time around. Well past his prime, who would want him anyway? He’ll continue to run his newspaper and cover Philadelphia’s upcoming centennial celebration. But when the local women’s suffrage group agrees that the wealthy, attractive, and very single Maeve Wycliffe act as their liaison, he finds it difficult to remain objective.

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Author Bio:

Linda Shenton Matchett writes about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by. She is a volunteer docent and archivist for the Wright Museum of WWII and a former trustee for her local public library. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Linda was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry (of Star-Spangled Banner fame) and has lived in historical places all her life. She now makes her home in central New Hampshire where her favorite activities include exploring the outdoors and immersing herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors.

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