By Joan Linsenmeier, Evanston Women's History Project Research Volunteer. The Cities and Villages Act adopted by Illinois in 1872 specified how city governments could be structured, the actions they could take, and what powers were retained by the state. Many Chicagoans opposed this act. Chicago was much larger than other Illinois cities, more diverse, and … Continue reading Municipal Charter Reform in Chicago: Civic Duty, Women’s Role, and Women’s Suffrage
The National Woman’s Party In Chicago
Two important moments in National Woman's Party (NWP) history took place in Chicago in the early years of its existence, in addition to its founding in the city. This was partly because Illinois had given its women the right to vote on a select group of elections, including presidential elections, in 1913. With its large … Continue reading The National Woman’s Party In Chicago
A Month of Suffrage – August 2020
The suffrage anniversary arrives this August with many events in Illinois and beyond. Stay connected as we update this website with event listings as they develop. Connect with some of the many national suffrage events through links below. National Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission The Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission will commemorate 100 years of the 19th Amendment and women's … Continue reading A Month of Suffrage – August 2020
Sculptor Adelaide Johnson: from Illinois
Illinois born sculptor Adelaide Johnson is remembered, if she is remembered at all, as the artist who created the Portrait Monument of suffragists Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott that stands in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capital. Commissioned by the National Women’s Party after the passage of the 19th Amendment in … Continue reading Sculptor Adelaide Johnson: from Illinois
The 1913 Suffrage Parade in Washington D.C. – An Illinois Perspective
By: EWHP 2020 Intern Annie Cebrzynski and EWHP Director Lori Osborne In 1913, the National American Woman’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA) announced a suffrage “procession” or parade to coincide with the March 4th inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson. The parade would take place the day before and the parade’s purpose, as stated in the official program, … Continue reading The 1913 Suffrage Parade in Washington D.C. – An Illinois Perspective
The Vote on American Experience
One hundred years after the passage of the 19th Amendment, American Experience's "The Vote" tells the dramatic story of the hard-fought campaign waged by American women for the right to vote, a transformative cultural and political movement that resulted in the largest expansion of voting rights in U.S. history. It brings to life the unsung leaders of the … Continue reading The Vote on American Experience
The 1918 Spanish Flu: How Suffragists Like Ella Flagg Young Continued Their Fight
By Annie Cebrzynski, Evanston Women's History Project, 2020 Intern The suffrage movement almost came to a halt with the sudden onset of the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918. The introduction of an international crisis became a major threat to advancing women’s rights in the U.S. Prior to the pandemic, women were starting to gain momentum … Continue reading The 1918 Spanish Flu: How Suffragists Like Ella Flagg Young Continued Their Fight
All Citizens: a new documentary
The Lombard Historical Society (LHS) and Tim Frakes Productions Inc. announced the premier and showings of a new documentary - All Citizens: The Lombard Women who Voted 29 Years Before the 19th Amendment and the Story of Those Who Made it Possible. All Citizens is a reenactment of the day that Lombard women made history and voted on April … Continue reading All Citizens: a new documentary
Voting Was Only the Beginning for American Women
By Jennifer Duvall – Loyola University Chicago, Masters in Public History Program, Fall 2019. Mrs. George Welles demonstrating with other suffragists in Chicago, Illinois, before going to Washington, DC, to participate in a suffrage demonstration on March 3, 1913. DN-0060283, Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum. In March of 1919, the United States was … Continue reading Voting Was Only the Beginning for American Women
The Illinois WCTU and Suffrage
By Matthew Norvell – Loyola University Chicago, Masters in Public History Program, Fall 2019. The women’s suffrage movement and the temperance movement were two of the largest reform campaigns of the Progressive Era. Although at first glance these two political movements appear to have had little reason for crossover, they were in fact closely related. To … Continue reading The Illinois WCTU and Suffrage
Suffrage 2020 Illinois 