This post uses biographies of women I’ve looked at for my suffrage research to see the range of ways classroom education work intersected with the suffrage movement in terms of life experience (rather than as impacting opinion on education policies, campaigning on campuses, or any arguments that education would/should be a requirement for voting). Others on the list had experience as music, elocution, or Sunday school teachers outside of typical classrooms, but I won’t include those in this post. Schools also were frequent venues for suffrage meetings and campaign events, see the page Places of Women’s Suffrage for more on those. Next the 1911 timeline.
The women are included in my Biographies of Women Suffrage pages; some have their own page and some are part of the alphabetical pages. The source citations will be in those biographies. In the biographical research I’ve done so far, I was more thorough in including names earlier in the alphabet and then narrowed my focus to more active suffragists as I went along. As I continue filling in the research, I’ll try to remember to make edits and updates to this post.
Continue readingEdith M. Fitch —
“Last week the Minnehaha county teachers’ institute unanimously adopted a resolution asking men to vote for the sufferage[sic] amendment in the fall election. The Pennington county institute did the same thing. When women get together and deliberate on this question they always ask for the ballot.”
Dakota Farmers’ Leader (Canton SD), September 2, 1910.In 1914, Mary Maguire Thomas spoke at the Davison County Courthouse for the Mitchell Franchise League — “‘It is strange,’ said Mrs. Thomas, ‘to think that the woman teacher, who gives your son lessons in civil government and history is not as capable of casting an intelligent ballot as the pupils she has taught.’”
Mitchell Capital (SD), September 24, 1914, pg. 3, pg. 5.Blanche Barber — “Women suffrage will result in an increase of education… Men’s unsuccessful attempt to idealize woman no longer satisfies or deceives her. She wishes to cease being parasitic, a creature of immunities and privileges. Women are rebelling against occupying a restricted, dependent position, and they are seeking an opportunity for growth.”
Florence Hair — “I believe that I should have the right to vote… Because I am as well educated as the majority of men. Because I am as intelligent as the majority of men. And because it is unjust for men to delegate to themselves a right which there is absolutely no reason should not be mine also.”
Both from: Woman’s West of the River Suffrage Number, Rapid City Daily Journal (SD), October 26, 1914.