“The Power of Combination”: Emmeline B. Wells and the National and International Councils of Women

BYU Studies Quarterly Volume 33 | Issue 4 Article 2 10-1-1993 “The Power of Combination”: Emmeline B. Wells and the National and International Councils of Women Carol Cornwall Madsen Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq Recommended Citation Madsen, Carol Cornwall (1993) "“The Power of Combination”: Emmeline B. Wells and the National and International Councils of Women," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 33 : Iss. 4 , Article 2. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol33/iss4/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the All Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in BYU Studies Quarterly by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact , . Madsen: “The Power of Combination”: Emmeline B. Wells and the National an emmeline B wells As a representative of the relief society wells was a member of the national and international councils of women photographer charles W savage courtesy LDS church archives Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 1993 1 BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol. 33, Iss. 4 [1993], Art. 2 power of combination the emmeline B wells and the national and international councils of women after overcoming antipolygamy sentiment in the national council of women wells achieved international notice as a leader of womens causes and enjoyed the best of london society carol cornwall madsen at a celebration of her eighty second birthday in 1910 emmeline B wells was eulogized as a woman whose sphere of influence extended well beyond the community in which she lived she has traveled tens of thousands of miles to render service in defense of her church and sex the tribute read and she enjoys the respect in many instances the intimate acquaintance and affection of the leading women not only of america but of the world emmeline wells indeed moved well beyond the borders of Mormon dorn as she fulfilled her personal commitment to work for mormondom the betterment of women especially latter day saint women 2 A high point of that work was the 1899 congress of women in london called by the international council of women which emmeline attended as an officer of the national council of women such an auspicious achievement seemed unlikely when as a fourteen year old provincial daughter of new england emmeline wells converted to mormonism it was a decision her friends warned certain to eclipse her precocious talents and lead her into ignominious obscurity they were wrong her attendance at the womens congress in london crowned her successful and highly visible role as an honored advocate for women and as a bridge builder for the often maligned and misunderstood women of her faith though she went on to become the first utah woman to receive an honorary degree from a university the first to be invited to 1 BYU studies 33 no https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol33/iss4/2 4 1993 2 Madsen: “The Power of Combination”: Emmeline B. Wells and the National an byustudies BYU YU studies B 648 dedicate a public monument in utah and the fifth general president of the LDS relief society the london conference represented to her not only the triumph of the spirit of united womanhood a longheld long held personal idea but also an unexpected adventure into the elegant world of european nobility and accomplished women this great female gathering embodied a fundamental princomans ciple of her advocacy for women womans Wo mans work in this day and age she wrote in 1875 at the beginning of her public career is all ali ail not only an individual work but a universal work a work for an her suffering sisterhood 1133 for nearly thirty years emmeline wells stretched the boundaries of her field of labor envisioning a grand union of diverse women unitedly working for the elevation and liberation of women in all aspects of their lives we are engaged comans expin a stupendous work she told the readers of the womans onent the newspaper she edited the seed we sow will assuredly spring up blossom and bear fruit in the future and having the same prize to obtain the same goal to reach aiming at the same great result the regeneration of women 4 creation of the councils of women wellas odyssey into internationalism followed the developwellss ment of a global outreach by suffrage leaders in late nineteenth century america 5 the success of a worldwide association of the womans christian temperance union organized by frances willard comans prompted plans to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the first womans comans rights convention held in 1848 in seneca falls new york by calling an international convocation of women 6 of the seventy seven organizations invited fifty three sent representatives from seven countries nearly a hundred women addressed this 1888 conference 7 at the meeting organizers created both a national and international council of women as permanent organizations hoping to instill in the assembly a realizing sense of the power of combination the committee of arrangements charged the international representatives to spread the council idea in their respective countries and organize national councils in preparation for the first meeting of the international council of women planned for Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 1993 3 BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol. 33, Iss. 4 [1993], Art. 2 7 be power of combination the 649 london in 1893 though much is said of universal brotherhood the committee reported more subtle and more binding is universal sisterhood 8 emmeline wells did not attend the 1888 celebration in washington DC however the relief society the young ladies mutual improvement association YLMIA and the primary all member societies of the national woman suffrage association were represented by utah women then living in the east 9 278 118 178 membership in the national council at the first meeting of the national council of women NCW in 1891 in washington DC the relief society and YLMIA applied for membership the application was problematic however though enfranchised for seventeen years mormon women had lost the vote in 1887 in large measure because of the fervent antipolygamy activism of many of the womens groups which had already joined the national council despite the fact that the woodruff manifesto had been issued the year before the meeting of the national council polygamy would remain a thorny issue among national womens associations for at least two more decades emmeline wells who attended the membership meeting with jane richards of the relief society and carrie S thomas of the YLMIA along with other utah women was apprehensive about the acceptance of their credentials in a meeting with wells may wright sewall the corresponding secretary asked her to write a statement on the objectives and accomplishments of the relief society sewall then submitted the document to the membership committee for its consideration we were left in suspense emmeline note (...truncated)