Mabel Lee on the Women’s Suffrage Movement
Mabel Ping-Hua Lee (1896-1966).
Mabel Ping-Hua Lee (1896-1966), New-York Tribune, April 13. 1912. Chronicling America, National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
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Summary |
| Chinese Girl Wants Vote
Miss Lee Ready to Enter Barnard, to Ride in Suffrage Parade |
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| Regarding her as the symbol of the new era, when all their women will be free and unhampered, all Chinatown is proud of little Miss Mabel Lee, daughter of the missionary pastor, Dr. Lee Towe, and her brilliant accomplishments. Her parents brought her to this country seven years ago, and she learned quickly so much of English, Latin, and mathematics that she is now prepared to enter Barnard College. | All of Chinatown is proud of Miss Mabel Lee, who they see as the symbol of a new era for Chinese women. Miss Lee is the daughter of missionary pastor Dr. Lee Towe. Her parents brought her to the United States seven years ago. She has learned so much so quickly that she will enter Barnard College this fall. |
| Miss Lee inherits from her father a strong mind and an admiration for American institutions. The mind is, indeed, so strong that it compels her to look through what she considers the one defect in the institutions—namely, the limited franchise. She thinks that should be extended to women. Therefore she intends to march in the suffrage parade on May 4. No, not march, but ride on horseback, in Miss Annie R. Tinker’s brigade of horsewomen who will head the procession. She will be clad, like the rich and fashionable around her, in a tight fitting black brocade cloth habit and tri-cornered black hat, with the green, purple, and white cockade of the Woman’s Political Union. | Miss Lee inherited her strong mind and admiration of the United States government from her father. But her mind is so strong that she cannot overlook what she sees as a flaw in the system—limited voting rights. She thinks women should have the right to vote, so she intends to march in the suffrage parade on May 4. No, not march. She will ride on horseback in Miss Annie R. Tinker’s brigade. She will be dressed like the rich women around her in a black dress and tricorn hat. |
| When the Tribune reporter saw her yesterday at her home, No. 53 Bayard Street, however, she was in her school dress—a plain Chinese jumper, similar to the American middy blouse, a blue serge skirt and very American black patent leather pumps. Clinging to her skirt was a baby sister in a red Chinese Jacket, and the long straight pantaloons which most Chinese wear in their homes, even in New York. | When this reporter visited her yesterday at her home in Chinatown, Miss Lee was wearing a typical American school uniform. Her baby sister was dressed in the traditional Chinese outfit of a red coat and long pants. Most Chinese people wear this in their homes, even in New York. |
| Miss Lee’s mother is the link that holds her and her missionary father bound to the old era. Mrs. Lee Towe has feet about two inches long, encased in red slippers, and she seldom goes out of the house. She would have to descend four flights of stairs to do so, but it is not a question of comfort only. She is high caste, and it would not be seemly for her to walk in the streets, observed of men. | Miss Lee’s mother keeps tradition alive in the Lee household. Mrs. Lee Towe has bound feet and seldom leaves her house. As an upper-class Chinese woman, it would be improper for her to walk in public, where any passing man could see her. |
| Miss Lee means to learn all she can of American ways and to go back to China to teach her sisters there. She believes that women’s place is in the home, and that her education should be primarily for the satisfaction of her husband. | Miss Lee wants to learn everything she can in the US, and then return to China to teach Chinese girls. She believes that a woman’s place is in the home, and that a woman’s education should be aimed at satisfying her husband. |
| “How can a marriage be happy?” she asked, “unless the wife is educated enough to understand and sympathize with her husband in his business and intellectual interests? That seems to be the great difference between the American and the Chinese ideals of education. The Chinese ideal is to make the girl a comfort and delight to her parents and later to her husband. The American ideal is to help the girl toward her own improvement for her own pleasure. It seems to me that each nation has something to learn from the other.” | Miss Lee said, “How can a marriage work if the wife is not educated enough to understand and sympathize with her husband? That seems to be the main difference between American and Chinese ideas of education. The Chinese want to make a girl a comfort and delight to her parents and then her husband. Americans want to help a girl improve herself for her own pleasure. It seems both people could learn from one another.” |
Mabel Ping-Hua Lee (1896-1966), New-York Tribune, April 13. 1912.
Chronicling America, National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
To access the entire article, visit: https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030214/1912-04-13/ed-1/?sp=3&r=0.112,0.533,0.557,0.344,0
Document Text |
Summary |
| It is a fact that no matter where we go we cannot escape hearing about women’s suffrage. Yet there is hardly a question more misunderstood or that has more misapplications. So manifold are its misconceptions that it has come to be a by-word suitable for every occasion. For instance, if when in company one should wish to scramble out of an embarrassing situation, or his more fortunate brother should wish to be considered witty, all that either would have to do would be to mention women’s suffrage, and they may be sure of laughter and merriment in response. | It is a fact that everyone is talking about suffrage. But no one really understands the topic. Suffrage is so misunderstood that it has become a running joke. Any man who wants to create a distraction or entertain his friends can just mention women’s suffrage and everyone laughs. |
| The reason for this is that the idea of women’s suffrage at first stood for something abnormal, strange and extraordinary, and so has finally become the word for anything ridiculous. The idea that women should ever wish to have or be anything more than their primitive mothers appears at first thought to be indeed tragic enough to be comic; but if we sit down and really think it over, throwing aside all sentimentalism, we find that it is nothing more than a wider application of our ideas of justice and equality. We all believe in the idea of democracy; women’s suffrage…is the application of democracy to women. … | This is because at first people thought the idea of women’s suffrage was strange, and now the word had come to stand for anything ridiculous. The idea that women would want to be anything more than what their mothers were before them seems at first to be so sad it is funny. But if we sit down and really think about it, women’s suffrage just means expanding our ideas of justice and equality. We all believe in democracy. Women’s suffrage means allowing women to participate in democracy. |
| The opponents of democracy [are]…saying that the feminists wish to make women like men; whereas the feminists want nothing more than the equality of opportunity for women to prove their merits and what they are best suited to do. …It was not so long ago that even Western people thought that woman was not capable of being taught even the three R’s. …It is only a short time since she gained the victory of admission to college, and there are still many schools too conservative to open their doors for her instruction. At present there is still the cry that though woman has gone so far, she can go no further, that she cannot succeed in the professions. But this again is being refuted by the success of pioneers of today. | Opponents say that feminists want to make women just like men. But feminists only want women to have the same opportunities as men. It was not too long ago that people thought women were incapable of learning. It was only recently that women have gained entry to colleges, and most colleges still do not admit women. Today there is a general feeling that women have gone far enough, that it is not possible for women to have successful careers. But again, there are already women out there proving this is wrong. |
Mabel Lee, “The Meaning of Women’s Suffrage,” The Chinese Student Monthly (May 1914), 526-529.
Background
Mabel Lee, also known as Lee Ping-Hua, was born in China in 1897. When she was very young, her family immigrated to the US. At the time, the Chinese Exclusion Act barred male Chinese laborers from immigrating to the US. Mabel’s father was a missionary, so he and his family were allowed to enter the country. But Mabel dealt with wide-spread anti-Chinese racism throughout her childhood.
In 1911 white suffragists heard a rumor that the Chinese government had granted women the right to vote. They publicized this news to shame white American men, who generally believed that they were superior to the Chinese. To highlight China’s progress, suffragist leaders invited fourteen-year-old Mabel to ride at the head of the 1912 suffrage parade in New York City. It turned out the rumor was false. China did not grant women the right to vote until 1954.
About the Resources
The first article and photograph appeared in the New-York Tribune three weeks before the suffrage parade in New York City. The article is supposed to be about Mabel Lee’s views on women’s suffrage and education, but the author chose to highlight how Mabel and her mother were different from white American women. Very few Chinese women were able to immigrate to the US during the Chinese Exclusion era. Mabel probably faced this kind of scrutiny throughout her life.
The second piece is an excerpt from Mabel Lee’s essay “The Meaning of Women’s Suffrage.” The essay was published in the national journal Chinese Student Monthly in 1914. In the larger essay Mabel focused on the question of women’s rights in China, but these excerpts capture her general frustration with men who did not take the fight for women’s equality seriously.
Vocabulary
- Chinese Exclusion Act: A US law passed in 1882 that severely limited the number of Chinese immigrants who could enter the country legally.
- missionary: A person who travels around and tries to convert people to their faith.
- suffrage: The right of voting; in this era, suffrage often referred specifically to women’s suffrage, or the right of women to vote.
- suffragist: A person who campaigned to win women the right to vote.
Discussion Questions
- Why did suffragists feature Mabel Lee in the 1912 suffrage parade? What does this decision reveal about the prevailing attitudes towards Chinese people in America?
- One of these articles was written about Mabel Lee and one was written by Mabel Lee. How do these two articles differ? What do these differences reveal?
- Who was the audience for Mabel Lee’s article? Do you think her arguments persuaded them? Why or why not?
Suggested Activities
- Race was a sticky subject for the women’s suffrage movement. Compare Mabel Lee’s reception by the movement with the story in Race and the Suffrage Parade and consider the following questions: how were these two minority groups treated by white suffrage leaders? What accounts for the differences in their experiences? Why is it important to learn about the role of race in the women’s suffrage movement?
- To learn more about the challenges that Chinese immigrants faced during Chinese Exclusion in the United States, see:
- For a more comprehensive study of the role of race in the suffrage movement, consider this collection of resources along with these additional materials:
Themes
POWER AND POLITICS; ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE; AMERICAN IDENTITY AND CITIZENSHIP
