f the Americans that neither one of them, nor Lucy Stone,
should take the presidency of the united association, but from the
Nationals in every part of the country came a cry of dissent. Letters
poured in declaring that Miss Anthony and Mrs. Stanton had borne the
brunt of the battle for forty years, that they had not once lowered the
flag or made the question of woman suffrage subservient to any other,
that they were the head and heart of the movement, and that for them to
be deposed was out of the question.[37] It soon became evident that
unless this point were conceded all hope of union would have to be
banished. While most of the delegates agreed that, in respect to
seniority in years and work and also in consideration of her commanding
ability, Mrs. Stanton should be president, there were many who thought
that, because of her advanced age and the fact that she spent most of
her time abroad, it would be better to elect Miss Anthony. The latter
was distracted by such a thought and at the final meeting of National
delegates preliminary to the joint convention, with all the earnestness
of her strong nature and in a voice vibrating with emotion, she said:

I appeal to every woman who has any affection for the old National
or for me not to vote for Susan B. Anthony for president. I stand
in a delicate position. I have letters which accuse me of having
favored the union solely for personal and selfish considerations,
and of trying to put Mrs. Stanton out. Now what I have to say is,
don't vote for any human being but Mrs. Stanton. There are other
reasons why I wish her elected, but I have these personal ones:
When the division was made twenty years ago, it was because our
platform was too broad, because Mrs. Stanton was too radical; a
more conservative organization was wanted. If we Nationals divide
now and Mrs. Stanton is deposed from the presidency, we virtually
degrade her. If you have any love for our old association, which,
from the beginning, has stood like a rock in regard to creeds and
politics, demanding that every woman should be allowed to come upon
our platform to plead for her freedom--if you have any faith in
that grand principle--vote for Mrs. Stanton....

The National always has allowed the utmost liberty. Anything and
everything which stood in the way of progress was likely to get
knocked off our platform. I want