The May 8, 1863 Liberator, on the first full page, “groups together some of the numerous flattering testimonials which this gifted young lady has recently elicited from the press, and from distinguished professional gentlemen and prominent citizens, in various places.” There are tributes to her, with reports from speeches in Concord, New Hampshire; Middletown and Hartford, Connecticut; Springfield, Massachusetts; and Cooper Institute, New York. Here are “sample” words from the New York Independent: “Those who have prejudice against women who speak in public, ought not to hear Miss Anna. E. Dickinson, of Philadelphia, if they mean to keep those prejudices. She has a right to speak in public!” …..
….She has that to say on great subjects which people wish to hear. She says it so eloquently that they who hear her once, desire most of all to hear her again. On Tuesday evening, Miss Dickinson spoke in Cooper Institute, to an audience that taxed the utmost capacity of that hall. It was necessary to close the doors and refuse to sell tickets long before the hour appointed. Her subject was, “The Day — the Cause”. We wish that speech might be uttered in every town and neighborhood in the land! The audience were supremely possessed by the power of this gifted woman. They laughed and wept till tears and laughter were cheap…..
…..Miss Dickinson is not a woman speaking like a man. She is a woman. She thinks and feels like a woman. And she proves beyond all controversy that there are elements of truth, and phases of public affairs, important to be known, that can be given from no other stand-point than the heart of a true woman. …” (Liberator, May 8, 1863, pgs 1 & 2)
