During the American Civil War (1861–65), the business was in crisis, as cotton wool could no longer be sourced from the United States.

In the late 1860s, a transformative experience for Marianne was the difficulty a friend of hers had in obtaining work to support her family after her husband had fallen ill.

At a meeting on 25 March 1870 she presented her article, culminating in a call for the City of Vienna to institute parallel school classes for girls.

This bombshell was widely reported in the newspapers, and resulted in the First Austrian Savings Bank donating 40,000 florins for the foundation of a girls' school.

Friederike Zeileis served as Catt's translator, and Hainisch notified the group that thousands of signatures had been collected on a petition to be presented shortly to the legislature urging the repeal of Section 30 of the Association Act.