In July of 1871, the Ashley County Times included nine closely-printed columns detailing the arguments of the latest meeting of the Hamburg Debating Society. The topic of the debate was whether or not women should have the right to vote.
The Arkansas Gazette reported on Ashley County’s coverage of the debate, noting not only that the issue had been decided in the negative, but went on to “call the attention of” national women’s suffrage leaders Victoria Woodhull, Tennie Claflin, and Lucy Stone “to this exhaustive treatment of the subject,” stating “the decision is rendered. This do settle it.”
To learn more about the debate surrounding the Women’s Suffrage Movement in Arkansas, visit ARvotesforwomen.com.