Basic Information

Maud Wood Park was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 25, 1871. After the passing of the 19th amendment, the National League of Women Voters was formed, and Park was their first president. She was among the younger generation to join the First Wave suffrage movement. Park was inspired by Alice Stone Blackwell to become involved in the movement, and felt a responsibility to repay her “debt to the pioneers” of the early suffragists. She used this idea to spark interest in other women to continue fighting for suffrage (Spruill, 2021, p. 244). She worked closely with Carrie Chapman Catt, Helen Gardener, Mary Hutcheson Page, Inez Haynes Gillmore, Senator Andrieus Aristieus Jones, Prince Kūhiō, and President Woodrow Wilson, among many others (Cahill, 2020, p. 173-176). Park gave hundreds of speeches (Ware, 2019, p. 255), organized countless people, and was a key player in lobbying for women’s suffrage.

Background Information

Growing up in Massachusetts, Park’s father was a police officer (Ware, p 256, 2019). She went to Radcliffe College, where she was one of two students who supported women’s suffrage (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1999). During her time as a college student in her early twenties, Park was introduced to the women’s suffrage movement by Lucy Stone’s daughter, Alice (Ware, 2019). Also during this time she met and married a man named Charles Edward Park, but she kept the marriage secret until after her graduation. In 1904 Charles passed away, and in 1908, her second marriage began with Robert Freeman Palmer. Very few select friends knew of her marriage to Palmer, as she did not want judgment from the public (Ware, p 257, 2019).

Contributions to the First Wave

Events like debates on college campuses introduced many women to feminism; Barnard, where Park was attending college, hosted debates frequently. Park founded the College Equal Suffrage League (CESL) in the year 1900 (Spruill, 2021, p. 27), which had a chapter in Barnard to advertise the suffrage movement on campus (Cahill, 2020, p. 149). These events were called “College Evenings”  which later was an event adopted by NAWSA to hold during conventions (Spruill, 2021, p. 242-244). Park founded CESL near the tail end of the first wave because she felt that women were beginning to feel complacent with the work already achieved within feminism. During the same year Park founded CESL, Alice Stone Blackwell passed her role as the chair of the executive board of the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association onto Park (Ware, p 256, 2019). Park then went on to create the Boston Equal Suffrage Association for Good Government (BESAGG) with a group of women (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1999). 

Park was not radical in her methods in working toward suffrage. She had no interest in participating in activities like picketing the White House. Instead, she used tactical methods like directly keeping track of members of congress to lobby them (Ware, 2019). While she was a member of National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) (Cahill, 2020, p. 173), Park changed president Woodrow Wilson’s mind to be in favor of suffrage with the “Front Door Lobby” this was a part of her partner, Carrie Chapman Catt’s, “Winning Plan” strategy during 1917-1919. The plan was to research members of congress, and speak directly with them to sway their opinions in favor of suffrage, one by one; the other part of this plan was to mobilize cooperative, friendly members of congress to push forward suffrage issues to be brought up in legislative sessions. The group of lobbyists Park led, learned that they had to appeal to the individual congress members with the idea that suffrage would benefit them personally, as demanding justice for women was not working up until that point (Spruill, 2021, p. 41, 376). Eventually, Park and a group of women were able to convince congress to create the Committee on Woman Suffrage in 1917 (Cahill, 2020, p. 173). During WWI, NAWSA and the lobbyists agreed to both support the country during war and still continue to fight for suffrage (Ware, 2019, p. 258). After Park and her group of Front Door Lobbyists worked diligently for years with congresspeople, the 19th amendment was passed in 1920- granting women the right to vote.

Following the 19th amendment, NAWSA switched objectives and became the National League of Women Voters (LWV) (Cahill, 2020, p. 217). During her time as the first president of the LWV, beginning in 1920, Park helped build the association into a successful entity focused on social reform and education (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1999). Park was also involved with the National Women’s Party (NWP). Upon request, Park set up a meeting between the NWP and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) representatives, to coordinate efforts to fight for women of color’s rights (Cahill, 2020, p. 221). She addressed the NWP at a conference and convinced the board to help uplift the black community from injustices and violations of the 19th amendment (Cahill, 2020, p. 222).

“I see no more reason for the men of my family to decide my political opinions and express them for me at the polls than to choose my hats and wear them, or my religious faith and occupy my seat at church.” 

-Maud Wood Park (Ware, 2019, p. 255)

Analysis and Conclusion

Park’s motivation to keep the feminist and women’s suffrage movement alive and evolving was essential to the 19th amendment passing at the time it did. She saw the potential for growth in the women’s rights movement to and beyond suffrage. Having a nonpartisan approach helped Park get members of congress as well as members of the organizations she was a part of on the same page. Her knowledge and research on federal law, ability to mobilize activists, and people skills to sway congress members aided her success. Taking time to speak with individuals one on one about women’s suffrage opened many eyes to see that suffrage was a worthwhile cause. Park knew the right moves to play to have her group be viewed positively in the press, especially during WWI. Without Park, it may have taken several more decades for women to be able to vote. She was very humble even following her achievements, often deflecting public recognition elsewhere. She was a true leader, and contributed immeasurable amounts of success to the suffrage cause.

References

Cahill, Cathleen D. (2020). Recasting the Vote. University of North Carolina Press, 149, 173, 221-222.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1999, July 2). Maud Wood Park | American Suffragist. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Maud-Wood-Park

Maud Wood outdoors ca. 1888-1889. Maud Wood Park Papers in the Woman’s Rights Collection, Schlesinger Library Collections. Retrieved Oct, 27, 2022 from Harvard Radcliffe Institute. https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/schlesinger-library/collections/maud-wood-park-papers-in-the-woman-s-rights-collection

Spruill, Marjorie J. (2021). One Woman, One Vote. Newsage Press, 27, 41, 242-244, 376.

Ware, Susan. (2019, May 5). A Tale of Two Suffragists: Hazel Hunkins and Maud Wood Park.  History News Network. Retrieved October 27, 2022, from https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/171894

Ware, Susan. (2019). Why They Marched : Untold Stories of the Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote. Belknap Press, 255-258, 262.