Harriet Taylor Upton converted to the suffrage cause while investigating an antisuffrage article. From the moment of her conversion, Upton dedicated her time to fundraising, editing, writing press releases, and managing the office for the NAWSA. Politically savvy, Upton used her talents to further the cause for the movement. She ran the national office in Warren, Ohio including editing Progress from 1902-1910 when it changed from a local mouthpiece to the national paper.

Upton also served a president of the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association for eighteen years between 1899 and 1920, remaining active in local as well as national organizations. As an avid writer, Upton emphasized the role played by women in the development of the United States, both locally and nationally. She believed historians had ignored women’s importance for too long and aimed to rectify such omissions. Her activism and political acumen lead to her appointment as vice-chairperson of the Republican National Executive Committee under Hardin – an unusually high position for a woman. She remained active in the Republican Party and women’s reform for the remainder of her political career.

 

Works Cited:

• Reprinted from NWHM Cyber Exhibit "Rights for Women"
  Author Kristina Gupta
• PHOTO: Harriet Taylor Upton, Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, (mnwp 157014)
  

 

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