As an aspiring Politics and Government major with a possible History minor, I’m always on the prowl for interesting combinations of the two subjects. This little book, The Woman’s Manual of Parliamentary Law was exactly what I was looking for. The author, Harriette R. Shattuck, born in 1850, was a journalist and taught Parliamentary law during her lifetime. She was a leader in the women’s suffrage movement and helped organize the National Woman Suffrage Association in her home state of Massachusetts. This book was meant to explain Parliamentary practice using “illustrations” focusing on women’s organizations as examples. This book was actually very popular with 30 different editions printed between 1891 and 2012.
This book includes many different subjects such as advice on how to form a permanent society or about voting. One chapter in particular caught my eye which was titled, “Nature and Effect of Amendment” which went through the basics of what an amendment is, its relevancy, and how to propose a legitimate one as well as primary and secondary amendments. This little book is very thorough, and through even just reading part of it, I realized I still have a lot to learn to catch up to these 19th century women! If you want to learn a little more about parliamentary practice or even just marvel at the wonderful combination of history and politics like me, you can stop by and see The Woman’s Manual of Parliamentary Law. Check it out on Primo!
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By Laure Mounts