although some members of the liberty party supported woman's rights, including women's suffrage, garrison's "liberator" continued to be the leading advocate of woman's rights throughout the 1840s, publishing editorials, speeches, legislative reports, and other developments concerning the subject. in february 1849, garrison's name headed the women's suffrage petition sent to the massachusetts legislature, the first such petition sent to any american legislature, and he supported the subsequent annual suffrage petition campaigns organized by lucy stone and wendell phillips. garrison took a leading role in the may 30, 1850, meeting that called the first national woman's rights convention, saying in his address to that meeting that the new movement should make securing the ballot to women its primary goal. at the national convention held in worcester the following october, garrison was appointed to the national woman's rights central committee, which served as the movement's executive committee, charged with carrying out programs adopted by the conventions, raising funds, printing proceedings and tracts, and organizing annual conventions.