Letter from Anna Rawle to Mrs. Shoemaker, 30 June 1780, in Letters and Diaries of Rebecca Shoemaker and her daughters Anna and Margaret Rawle, Typescript Am.13745, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

The following letter described fundraising by the Ladies' Association of Philadelphia:

   H. Thompson, Mrs. Morris, Mrs. Wilson, and a number of very genteel women, paraded about the streets in this manner, some carrying ink stands, nor did they let the meanest [poorest] ale house escape. The gentlemen also were honored with their visits. Bob Wharton declares he was never so teized [bothered] in his life. They reminded him of the extreme rudeness of refusing anything to the fair, but he was inexorable [unmovable] and pleaded want of money, and the heavy taxes, so at length they left him, after threatening to hand his name down to posterity with infamy [bad reputation]. I fancy they raised a considerable sum by this extorted [forced] contribution, some giving solely against their inclinations [beliefs] thro' fear of what might happen if they refused, and others to avoid importunities [demands] they could not otherwise satisfy — importunities carried to such an excess of meaness as the nobleness of no cause whatsoever could excuse.

— Excerpt from a letter from Anna Rawle to Mrs. Shoemaker, 30 June 1780

13. Was Anna Rawle in favor of, or against, fundraising to support the revolutionary effort?

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14. According to Anna Rawles, how did women activists attempt to force people to give money to the revolutionary cause?

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