"The Suffrage Conundrum: Theodore Roosevelt & Maria Storer"

Saturday, November 16th, 2019

For the last edition of the 2019 Speaker Nite series, we had the pleasure to welcome Constance J. Moore and Nancy M. Broermann to the Site to present The Suffrage Conundrum: Theodore Roosevelt & Maria Storer. The presentation was just a small dive into the deep and remarkable life of Maria Storer, which is elaborated on in Moore and Broermann’s new book, Maria Longworth Storer: From Music and Art to Popes and Presidents. Their talk focused on the turbulent relationship between Maria Storer and Theodore Roosevelt, particularly their opposing views on the women’s suffrage movement. It is a fascinating tale of mutual respect, disdain, realpolitik, and a steadfast adherence to one's beliefs. To begin to understand this conundrum, we must first explore who Maria Storer was and the nature of her relationship with Theodore Roosevelt.

In several ways, Maria Longworth Storer (1849-1932) can be seen almost as a female Theodore Roosevelt. She was from a prominent (Ohio) family, intelligent, incredibly talented, and determined. She used her wealth and clout to advance philanthropic endeavors such as the creation of the now annual May Festival and helped to found Cincinnati’s first children's hospital. She founded her own business (Rookwood Pottery) and employed predominantly women. She broke the mold further by claiming her independence after divorcing her first husband and remarrying a prominent Ohio politician and diplomat, Bellamy Storer. Her marriage to Bellamy would launch her into politics as she began to use her influence to advance her own political agenda. Maria Storer encountered Theodore Roosevelt for the first time in Washington after moving there with her husband. It is likely through her husband's connection with William Howard Taft that formal introductions were made. By all accounts, when the two finally met they got along quite well--sharing much in common and enjoying one another's company. The Storers and Roosevelts became close friends; they enjoyed dinner parties at each other’s homes and Bellamy was chosen as godfather to the Roosevelts’ son, Archie. However, the good times did not last. In 1902, a political scandal involving the Storers would lead to Bellamy's termination as a diplomat and the souring of their relationship. It would never recover and for the remainder of both of their lives, Maria and Theodore remained at odds with one another.

The falling out between Storer and Roosevelt in some ways highlighted their already divergent opinions on the issue of women's suffrage. Their views on the topic developed over their entire lives and evolved as the years progressed. Roosevelt’s views on women’s suffrage were complex, but it is interesting to note that, in his college thesis (1880), he wrote, “...there can be no question that women should have equal rights with men….It is doubtful women are inferior to men.” Roosevelt's views of women were quite progressive and there is an argument to be made that it was a result of his life experience with powerful and influential women. Roosevelt's personal beliefs on women likely played some role in his decision, though it is more credible that Roosevelt was able to conclude early on that women's suffrage was an inevitability. If Roosevelt was anything, he was pragmatic; he saw the political current was in favor of the suffragists and the best course of action was to join the flow rather than stand against it. Thus, throughout his career as early as his time in the New York State Assembly, he supported pro-women legislation and began advocating on behalf of the movement becoming a vocal supporter and ardent suffragist later in his life. 

Storer’s personal experiences shaped her view of women's suffrage quite differently than Roosevelt and, more importantly, from that of the women in the suffragist movement. Common arguments opposing suffrage diminished women as inferior to men, but Storer did not believe any of this. Rather, she saw women's suffrage and specifically the suffragists themselves as a threat to the ideals of femininity that she held so very dear. Storer was a traditionalist; she held values of womanhood high and held onto morals that were in line with societal norms of the time as well as her Catholic faith. She believed women should uphold traditional values and a benevolent image of female purity. Maria once said, “the Suffragette has lowered her womanhood to the level of the male felon.” Though this is an inflammatory statement, it does hold some merit. The suffragettes, a more radical branch of the women's suffrage movement, were known for visible acts of civil disobedience that fell far out of line with Maria’s ideals of womanhood. Her stance on womanhood, though opposed to women's suffrage, was not incompatible with female participation in politics. After all, she found numerous ways to wield power indirectly; through persuasion and connections, she was able to influence policy-making on both local and international levels. She believed this method was suitable for women; they could preserve their femininity and gender ideals while still gaining some political agency. Unfortunately, she could not see that this method was not achievable or even wanted by all women.  

The personal experiences and expectations of Maria Storer and Theodore Roosevelt profoundly shaped their views on women's suffrage. Roosevelt calculated that women's suffrage would inevitably occur thus he saw it as advantageous to support it. The movement was not contrary to his personal beliefs on women and because of this he had no qualms with supporting it. Storer’s personal experiences showed that a woman could be influential in politics without the ballot; for her, the threat posed by the suffragists to her ideals of womanhood were enough for her to oppose women's voting rights.

In the end, the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920 and women nationwide gained the right to vote. Unfortunately, Theodore Roosevelt died a year before its ratification, though he did vote once with his wife Edith after New York passed women's suffrage in 1917. As for Maria, she opposed the passing of Ohio suffrage bills multiple times, and up until the ratification of the 19th Amendment remained a staunch anti-suffragist. Interestingly, after ratification, she voted for the first time in 1921, since it was now her civic duty to vote. She said herself, “I am a new born voter at 72 years”. Maria Storer would spend the last years of her life in the company of the Ursuline sisters at St. Ursula Academy in Cincinnati, Ohio.

 -- Travis Ratka, Programming Assistant | Interpreter 

*****

Speaker Nite is part of the TR Site’s regular Tuesday evening programming, which is made possible with generous support from M&T Bank, as well as the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Tags: ,

« Back to Blog