Primary sourceDocument25 January 1864

Women's Loyal National League petition for the abolition of slavery

Women's Loyal National League (Elizabeth Cady Stanton, president) · 25 January 1864

A mass petition form created by Stanton and Anthony in 1863–64 asking Congress to abolish slavery, part of the largest petition drive in the nation's history up to that time.

Stanton led this League and co-created the petition, linking her abolitionist organizing to her suffrage work.

Ask Elizabeth Cady Stanton about this source View the original

Scan of the upper portion of the Women's Emancipation Petition, a printed form with instructions for collecting signatures, addressed to the Senate and House of Representatives, followed by handwritten names and residences of signers in columns. — Women's Loyal National League (Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton), petition for the abolition of slavery, 25 January 1864. U.S. National Archives.

About this source

What it is

This is the printed heading of a petition form from the Women's Loyal National League, an organization formed in 1863 with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as president. The petition asks Congress for the entire abolition of slavery, followed by columns of handwritten signatures and addresses of signers. It is held by the U.S. National Archives.

Why it matters

Created by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, this petition was part of a drive that collected hundreds of thousands of signatures, the largest petition drive in the nation's history up to that point. It shows how women who could not vote or fight still found ways to influence government through organized petitioning, and it connects Stanton's abolitionist work to her later suffrage activism.

Look closer

Why does the text remind women that petitioning is their only way to act on politics?
What does the goal of a million signatures tell you about the scale of this campaign?
How might collecting names from

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.