Ohio inventions and firsts · First · 1850
Ohio Women's Rights Convention at Salem
In April 1850 Salem hosted the first Women's Rights Convention in Ohio and the first organized on a statewide basis; all officers were women and men could not vote or speak.
At a glance
- Year
- 1850
- Place
- Salem, Columbiana County ZIP 44460 · Salem · Columbiana County
The story
In 1850 women could not vote in Ohio, own property freely after marriage, or sit in many public offices. Ohio was about to hold a convention to write a new constitution, and women reformers wanted a voice in it.
That April, Salem, a Quaker town and an anti-slavery stronghold, hosted the first Women's Rights Convention in Ohio. All the officers were women, and men attending could not vote or speak, though they supported the effort afterward. Betsey Mix Cowles, a teacher and abolitionist, was chosen president for her standing.
Cowles had organized the Ashtabula Female Anti-Slavery Society and once quit a teaching job because the school refused to admit Black students. She was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 1989.
Salem had published an abolitionist newspaper, the Anti-Slavery Bugle, since 1845, and two local houses, the Daniel Howell Hise House and the John Street House, served as Underground Railroad stations.
Timeline
- 1845: The Anti-Slavery Bugle begins publishing in Salem. (Salem, OH) source
- 1850-04: Ohio's first Women's Rights Convention meets in Salem with women as all officers. (Salem, OH) source
- 1851: Ohio's new constitution is adopted after its convention. (Ohio) source
- 1989: Betsey Mix Cowles is inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame. (Columbus, OH) source
What it changed
- Ohio's first women's rights convention, run entirely by women.
- Pushed women's concerns toward the state constitutional convention.
Why it matters
Early statewide women's-rights organizing.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.