[1] The MWSA was founded in 1870 by suffrage activists Julia Ward Howe, Lucy Stone, Henry Browne Blackwell, and others.
[2] The MWSA lobbied for women to get the vote and the right to be officials of civic organizations such as school boards, educated people about women's rights, organized public demonstrations such as rallies and parades, and coordinated with suffrage associations in other states.
[1][3] Among the people active in the MWSA were physician Martha Ripley, social activist Angelina Grimké, reformer Ednah Dow Littlehale Cheney, and suffragist Susan Walker Fitzgerald.
[3] Others involved with the organization included Margaret Foley, Sarah E. Wall, and Jennie Maria Arms Sheldon.
During her senior year at Radcliffe College, Maud Wood Park was invited to speak at their annual dinner.