ion's chairman of publicity, who had been working with her
during this time. They went to Washington, called on the President and
Secretary of State and in the evening addressed an enthusiastic mass
meeting that filled the largest theater to overflowing. Secretary
Colby represented President Wilson, from whom he brought this message:

"Will you take the opportunity to say to my fellow citizens that I
deem it one of the greatest honors of my life that this great event,
the ratification of this amendment, should have occurred during the
period of my administration. Nothing has given me more pleasure than
the privilege that has been mine to do what I could to advance the
cause of ratification and to hasten the day when the womanhood of
America would be recognized by the nation on the equal footing of
citizenship that it deserves."

From Washington the women, joined by others, went to New York, where
Governor Alfred E. Smith was waiting at the station and said in
greeting Mrs. Catt: "I am here on behalf of the people of the State of
New York to convey congratulations to you on your great victory for
the motherhood of America." [See frontispiece Volume VI.]

[141] Vermont was thus left the only State, except those in the
so-called "black belt," which did not ratify the Federal Amendment and
its Legislature was ready to do so any day when Governor Percival W.
Clement would permit it to meet. It ratified unanimously in the Senate
and with three negative votes in the House when it met in regular
session in 1921.

CHAPTER XXI.

VARIOUS WOMAN SUFFRAGE ASSOCIATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES.

The National Woman Suffrage Association formed in New York City May
15, 1869, by pioneers in the movement from nineteen States was the
first of the kind in the world. [History of Woman Suffrage, Volume II,
page 400.] This was followed by the forming on November 24 at
Cleveland, O., of the American Woman Suffrage Association. [Same, page
576.] In 1890 these two were combined under the name National
American. [Volume IV, pages 164, 174.] For various reasons other
organizations came into existence, as the years passed, which had some
claim to being considered national, but this great united association
was the bulwark of the movement for woman suffrage from its beginning
to its end in 1920. It was always the official authority recognized by
Congress, State Legislatures, the press and the public, but all of the
others assisted, each in