January-February 2024 • Nebraskaland 63
But opposing alcohol wasn't Nation's only crusade. She
was also an ardent supporter of women's suff rage. For her,
and for many women of her generation, the two causes were
related. In one of her public debates on suff rage, Nation took
on a county judge in Seward. According to the Blue Valley
Blade, the pair spent the evening quoting the Bible at each
other.
"She seems to have a very poor opinion of the stronger
sex," the Blade commented. "Mrs. Nation contends that men
are to blame for all the evil in the land and that things will
not go right until women are allowed to vote."
Dying in 1911, Nation did not live to see the country
embrace both Prohibition and women's suff rage in the wake
of World War I. For Nebraskans, her 1902 tour showed both
the growing power — and fi rm resistance — to her causes.
N
Visit History Nebraska's website at history.nebraska.gov.
Saloon in Abie, Butler County, Nebraska, circa 1900. HISTORY NEBRASKA, RG3268-1-5
The incident in Nebraska City. OMAHA WORLD-HERALD, APRIL 6, 1902
