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“As the first national women’s reform organization, [the American Female Moral Reform Society] showed that there was power in women organizing to address societal problems,” says rhetorician Lisa J. Shaver.

The Daring 19th-Century Reformers Who Sought to End Prostitution by Offering Financial and Emotional Support to Urban Sex Workers

Led entirely by women, the American Female Moral Reform Society gave material aid to those in need and pushed for men to be held accountable for frequenting brothels