THE PURITAN AND WOMAN SUFFRAGE

by Alan P. Grimes ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 20, 1967

Alan Grimes is interested in the functional aspect of the woman suffrage issue. ""To the social and political theorist,"" he says, ""some nagging questions remain to be answered about the greatest enfranchisement in our history."" Pointing out that the existing majority has the power to determine the composition of the future majority, he asks why woman suffrage came about when, where and as it did. His intended theme, reflected by the title, is almost secondary to the particulars of his research as he reviews the fate of the movement, mainly in the West. In Utah, he found a determination to maintain the status quo (the Mormon establishment and majority) at the base of the move to give women the vote. In Wyoming, where ""men conquered the wilderness, women made it inhabitable,"" he sees it as an effort to establish a civilization. The suffrage movement was also inextricably involved with peace, temperance, abolition and the beginning of social welfare legislation: the hostile ""they"" ultimately included the political bosses, the Liquor interests, and the foreign born. But because purity was desired in American politics and ""women it was generously assumed were more moral than men,"" reform came about. More than a simple history of the movement, this provides a pragmatic other-view of the roots of change rather than this particular ""cause."" It fills a gap in the literature.

Pub Date: April 20, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Oxford

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1967

Categories: NONFICTION