Truth-Telling: Frances Willard and Ida B. Wells

1895 WCTU Convention

In November of 1895, the WCTU met in Baltimore for its annual convention. A year and a half after Fraternity reprinted Willard’s interview, it is clear that the conflict was still on the temperance leader’s mind.


In July, Willard had sent a letter to the presidents of the state WCTUs proposing text for a resolution that she hoped would “silence the absurd outcry against us.” She asked that it be passed in Baltimore and for each state’s conventions to adopt it as well.

The assembly did pass Willard’s resolution at the Baltimore convention. Found below, it reflects her frustration at “the false position in which we have been placed.”

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