Read Part One HERE
In this post I continue to focus on a woman named Abigail Norton Bush. She lived from 1810 - 1898.
Back in Rochester an Arrangements Committee met to organise the convention. A nomination committee composed of Amy Post, Rhoda DeGarmo and Sarah Fish met on the evening of 1st August, 1848 to select officers for the convention.
On 2nd August, 1848 - twelve days after Seneca Falls the second Women's Rights Convention was held. Amy Post called the meeting to order and reported on behald of the committee the following persons to serve as officers: Abigail Bush as president; Laura Murray vice president; Catharine A. F. Stebbins, Sarah L. Hallowell and Mary H. Hallowell, secretaries.
Women serving as officers? This radical departure from the norm created much controversy - men always presided over meetings. Abigail later recalled that those who opposed her stopped her in the hall, and tried to persuade her to give up her position as president. According to Abigail the group said that James Mott (the husband of Lucretia Mott) would be happy to serve in her place. She refused their offer.
Even the most committed feminists were strongly against the idea of a woman president. They did not want to give a bad public image to the new Women/s Rights Movement. Elizabeth Cady Stanton asked how could a woman serve as president without any knowledge of parliamentary procedure and no experience in holding public meetings?
Amy, Rhoda and Sarah convinced Abigail to proceed, but when Abigail took her position as president, Lucretia and Alizabeth left their places of honour on the platform and took seats in the audience. One of the secretaries then read the minutes of the previous convention at Seneca Falls.
Abigail went on to perform her duties through all three sessions of the convention, becoming the first women to preside over a public meeting attended by a mixed audience of men and women.
Read Part Sixty-Five HERE
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