Later Years and Legacy
Although Lucy Stone was not as active in her later years, she still made occasional public appearances to speak on causes she believed in. In 1888, to honor the fourtieth anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention, she spoke about her involvement with the women's rights movement. When discussing the early history of the women's movement in the United States, Stone placed emphasis on those who paved the way for the Seneca Falls Convention by advocating for women's rights to speak in public and at conventions. She stated that the women's movement truly began "when the sisters, Angelina and Sarah Grimke, and Abby Kelley, began to speak on behalf of the slaves."1 A potential reason Stone brought this up was to provide a history of the movement that was different than what Anthony and Stanton wrote in their history of the women's rights movement.
Similarly in 1883, a 65-year-old Lucy Stone wrote a speech praising Oberlin for allowing women and people of color to attend earlier than most other schools in the nation. Stone states that "the work for women is not done. I [must] ask the younger Oberlin to take the next step in the great movement for political equality of women."2 Stone went on to say that "on behalf of twenty millions of women, take one more step and lift us from the peerage of Jefferson Davis."3 Here, Stone was referencing that, in the eyes of the government, women, since they cannot vote, and viewed at the same level as Jefferson Davis, a man who led the Confederacy during the Civil War and was punished by having his right to vote taken away. The argument that Stone made in this essay is indicative of her unwavering commitment to universal suffrage, and her devotion to making sure the next generation continues the work that she started.
In 1890, after many discussions and compromises between Stone and Anthony, the AWSA and NWSA united to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Stone was unable to make it to the meeting, as she was incredibly sick. Stanton was initially voted as president of the organization, but left to live with her children in England, which meant that Anthony "as vice president, took over the organization in Stanton's absence."4 In this way, Stone's worries that the work that she had done with AWSA would be ignored in favor of the work of the NWSA came true.
Throughout the last few years of her life, Stone suffered health problems, caused by stomach cancer. Despite her poor health, Stone attended the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago with her daughter, Alice Stone Blackwell. Displayed at the event was a bust of Stone, made by sculptor Anne Whitney.5 At this fair, she gave her final speech "The Progress of Fifty Years." In this speech, she stated that "all we need is to continue to speak the truth fearlessly, and we shall add to our number those who will turn the scale to the side of equal and full justice in all things."6 A few months later, she died on October 18th at age 75.
After Stone's death, Henry Blackwell and Alice Stone Blackwell continued to publish The Woman's Journal. The significant population growth that Massachusetts experienced in the late 19th and early 20th century was due to the fact that the Woman’s Journal made it a hub for supporters of women’s suffrage. The Journal gave women an opportunity to publish their opinions and discuss their experiences. Even after large cities like New York became the center of the women's suffrage movement, many suffragists would still visit places like West Brookfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of Lucy Stone.7
In 1894, Frederick Douglass gave a speech called "Lucy Stone: Her Memory is Safe." In this speech, he said that Stone was always provided "wise counsel and noble inspiration in work for advancement of woman."8 He also emphasized her early role in the abolitionist movement, saying, "She comprehended the claims of human liberty and human brotherhood on all their many sides." 9
In addition to rememberance speeches, several biographies of Lucy Stone have been published, including one by her daughter, Alice Stone Blackwell. However, even after the first few biographies were published, Stone's legacy was not well-known. On February 15th, 1921, a statue was installed in the Capitol Rotunda of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott.10 Despite the efforts of her family, friends, and collaborators from AWSA to preserve her memory, Stone was not included. For most of history, Stone's contributions went unnoticed because she was not discussed in the books that Stanton, Anthony, and their allies wrote about the women's suffrage movement. However, in 2003, once more of Stone's contributions began to be discovered, she was honored with a statue in the Boston Women's Monument.11
Through her involvement in the Abolitionist Movement, her involvement in the Women's Suffrage Movement, and her refusal to confrom to her culture's expectations of women, it is obvious that Stone had a great impact on the world in which she lived and on history at large. Although she was not included in history books for some time, she is now being given her dues. It seems that Frederick Douglass was right when he said "[Lucy Stone's] services...have won for her a name and fame which time cannot dim and which history will not allow to die."12
by Emily Schley
Works Cited
1Stone, Lucy. “The International Council, Pioneer’s Day.” The Woman’s Journal. April 14, 1888. p.2
2 Stone, Lucy. "Oberlin and Woman." Essay. In The Oberlin Jubilee 1833-1883, edited by W.G. Ballantine, 311-21. Oberlin, OH: E.J. Goodrich, 1883
3Stone, Lucy "Oberlin and Woman."
4McMillen, Sally G. Lucy Stone: An unapologetic life. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2015. p.240
5 McMillen, Sally G. Lucy Stone: An unapologetic life. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2015. p.242
6Stone, Lucy. “The Progress of Fifty Years.” 1893 Columbian Exposition. Speech presented at the 1893 Columbian Exposition, 1893. https://womenshistory.info/progress-fifty-years/
7Richardson, Todd H. “‘Another Protest That Shall Be “Heard Round the World”’: The ‘Woman’s Journal’ and Women’s Pilgrimages to Concord, Massachusetts.” The Concord Saunterer 23 (2015): 20–49. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44484697.
8Douglass, Frederick. “Lucy Stone, Her Memory Is Safe.” Speech, February 16, 1894.
9Douglass, Frederick. “Lucy Stone, Her Memory Is Safe.” Speech, February 16, 1894.
10“Portrait Monument to Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.” Architect of the Capitol. Accessed November 26, 2024. https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/portrait-monument-mott-stanton-anthony.
11Women's Advancement. Boston Women’s Memorial. 2019. https://www.boston.gov/departments/womens-advancement/boston-womens-memorial
12Douglass, Frederick. “Lucy Stone, Her Memory Is Safe.” Speech, February 16, 1894.
