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Mrs. Colby devoted a large part of her time from 1902 until her death in 1916 to advocacy of the ideas represented by the Federal Suffrage Association. For this reason a short account of the history and principles of this society are a necessary adjunct to a sketch of her life.

After the union of the National and American Associations in 1889 the work with Congress which Mrs. Stanton and Miss Anthony had pressed with such vigor ceased to receive the attention which had previously been given it. State work took the place of national effort. The failure of Mrs. Virginia Minor to maintain the right of women to vote under the XIVth amendment had discouraged many, and it seemed evident that the time had come for a new departure. These things led to the organization of the Federal Suffrage Association of the United States. Judge Francis Minor of St. Louis had prepared the way by articles published in the Forum in 1886 and later in the Arena, urging upon women the importance of demanding the right to vote under the Rh