Petitions played a major role in campaigns to raise the age of consent and they represented a way for women, who did not have the vote, to seek legislative action. This petition, drafted by leaders of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and social purity reformers in New York City, was circulated through the organization's state and local branches in the U.S. Thousands of forms were submitted to state and federal legislatures; one petition to raise the age of consent in District of Columbia alone contained 200,000 signatures. The WCTU also solicited letters of support to legislators from prominent citizens, organized mass meetings, lectures, and speeches, and sought favorable press coverage. The petition deliberately does not use the term "age of consent" but instead the WCTU used "age of protection," which its members found "less objectionable."

The petitions are notable for several reasons: in addition to sexual violence, it highlights new scenarios as justifications for an increased age of consent; it also draws a link between the age of consent and the age of majority, 20 years of age in this period, when a girl could enter into contracts and control her own property.