Read Part One HERE
In this story I continue to focus on a woman named Anna Elizabeth Dickinson. She lived from 1842 - 1932. During the 1863 United States Senate Elections, with the deepening of the Civil War, Mary campaigned for several candidates. She spoke eloquently and powerfully in support of the Republicans' anti-slavery platform.
When Mary spoke at the Cooper Institute in New York City, more than 5,000 people attended the event. It was reported that she "could hold her audience spellbound for as much as two hours." Mary earned a standing ovation in 1864 for an impassioned speech on the floor of the United States House of Representatives. In attendance were President Abraham Lincoln and civic and military leaders. Invited by Republican leaders, she was the first woman to speak to Congress.
After the Civil War, she remained one of the nation's most celebrated speakers for nearly a decade, making a speech every other day on everage.She spoke about reconstruction, African - American rights, women's rights and other issues. As another means of support, she began writing. In her writings she addressed technical training for workers, better treatment of prisoners, assistance for the poor and compulsory education for all children.
Mary lived out the final years of her life quietly in New York and died in 1932.
Read Part Six HERE
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