During this period, there were many people, including African Americans, who felt the issue of women’s suffrage was much less important than civil rights for Blacks.
In the 1868 Constitutional Convention, future representative William J. Whipper was the only one at the convention who called for universal suffrage. The debate between African American civil rights, and women’s suffrage was a heated one. Whipper desired to have the word “male” removed, and did not expect to receive much support for this motion. Frances Rollin returns to South Carolina, with Whipper’s promise of employment. Later, Frances Rollin marries William Whipper, and becomes her husband’s most trusted political advisor.
In the spring of 1869, on behalf of the Judiciary Committee, Charlotte Rollin made a speech on the floor of the S.C. State Legislature. Her speech, in support of women’s suffrage, was the first time a women ever addressed the legislature. The committee made a motion to enfranchise women, but was denied. Charlotte later follows up with a rally on the SC State House grounds, and hosts a women’s rights convention. The Rollin family continued to grow in influence, wealth, and social status, and hosted many gatherings in their Columbia estate. Their home and salon became unofficially known as the Republican Headquarters. The Rollin Salon defied many social norms, as being a place where men and women, Black or White, could gather to discuss social and political issues.
Standards
- 8-5 The student will understand the impact of Reconstruction, industrialization, and Progressivism on society and politics in South Carolina in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
- USHC-4 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the industrial development and the consequences of that development on society and politics during the second half of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries.
- This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the growth, decline, and legacy of the Populist Party. This indicator supports inquiry into the multifaceted objectives of the Progressive Movement, including political and social reforms, which influenced both political parties of the period and resulted in lasting legislation.
- This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the causes of American expansion, such as a growing and diversifying population and the expansion of the plantation economy. This indicator promotes inquiry into the relationship between sectionalism and political compromise, culminating in the Civil War.
- This indicator was designed to encourage inquiry into the continuities and changes of the experiences of marginalized groups such as African Americans, Native Americans and women, as the U.S. expanded westward and grappled with the development of new states.
- This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into founding principles as viewed through this period of federal government involvement, the development and realignment of a new labor system not based on a system of slavery, and the significant political realignment of the South.
- 4.5.E Analyze multiple perspectives of the economic, political, and social effects of Reconstruction on different populations in the South and in other regions of the U.S.
- This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into how Reconstruction resulted in the foundation for the struggle for civil rights. This indicator was also developed to foster inquiry into Reconstruction Era policies such as Constitutional amendme...
- This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the continuities and changes experienced by Americans of various genders, positions, races, and social status during the Civil War.
