Introduction Second annual Women’s March in Chicago, January 20, 2018; Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Visionary Women
Woman holding sign “Empowered Women Empower Women”; courtesy of Mujeres Latinas en Acción
Stepping Stones to Suffrage
Voter Adriana Reyes, center, casts her vote as her 9-month-old baby, Ariana, waits during the voting for the primary elections at St. Agnus Bishop Manz Hall on March 15, 2016, in Chicago; Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Votes for Women
Attendees at a get-out-the-vote rally with former President Barack Obama, gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker, and other members of the Illinois Democratic ticket on November 4, 2018, at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago; Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Underpaid, Undervalued
Employees and union activists protest low wages outside a Chicago Whole Foods Market store in July 2013; Scott Olson via Getty Images
Organize! Take Action!
Signs carried at the Women’s March in Grant Park, Chicago, on January 21, 2017; Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Introduction
Introduction Parade of women during the garment workers’ strike in Chicago, which took place on December 12, 1910, during United Garment Workers of America strike; DN-0056264, Chicago Daily News collection, CHM
May 1914 Women’s suffrage parade, May 2, 1914; DN-0062620, Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Daily News collection, CHM
January 2018 Second annual Women’s March in Chicago, January 20, 2018; Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images
October 1916 Suffragists demonstrating against Woodrow Wilson in Chicago, October 20, 1916; National Woman’s Party records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
February 2017 Girls and women protest against US President Donald Trump, February 19, 2017; Joshua Lott/AFP via Getty Images
March 1913 Ida B. Wells-Barnett with Belle Squire and Virginia Brooks, March 3, 1913; Chicago Tribune, March 5, 1913
July 2016 Black Lives Matter demonstrators, July 11, 2016; Steve Schapiro/Corbis via Getty Images
December 1910 Parade of women during the United Garment Workers of America strike in Chicago, December 12, 1910; DN-0056264, Chicago Daily News collection, CHM
July 2013 Fast food and retail workers hold protests in Chicago, July 31, 2013; Scott Olson/Getty Images
August 1970 Flyer for August 26, 1970, “Women’s Strike,” National Organization for Women; CHM, ICHi-177306-01
January 2017 Women’s March held in Chicago, January 21, 2017; John Gress via Getty Images
The Many Paths to Suffrage slide show
Mary Richardson Jones
CHM, ICHi-022363, Baldwin & Drake, photographer
“Ladies, You Can’t Vote”
Catherine Van Valkenburg Waite; CHM, ICHi-177304A
The Right to Petition
Woman’s Christian Temperance Union Petition, 1879; CHM, ICHi-176751-E1
Meeting at Farwell Hall
Detail from “Illinois-Opening of the Presidential Campaign. Incidents of the National Republican Convention at Chicago” by W. Parker Bodfish, Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, June 19, 1880.
“Women Seeking Ballot”
“Women Seeking Ballot are Enlisted as Roosevelt Campaigners,” Chicago Examiner, August 6, 1912
A Limited Victory
“Governor Dunne Signing Bill Which Gives Vote to Illinois Women,” Chicago Record Herald, June 27, 1913; CHM, ICHi-036849
“Our Hat’s in the Ring”
Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage broadside, June 1916; CHM, ICHi-026348
Democracy is Not a Spectator Sport
Program for Victory Convention (1869‒1920) of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and League of Women Voters Congress; CHM, ICHi-177297. League of Women Voters of Chicago; designed by Erin Kelly Herrera of Eclectik Design, using licensed illustration from Angelina Bambina
How Is Democracy Still Limited Today? Suffragists demonstrating against Woodrow Wilson in Chicago, October 20, 1916; National Woman’s Party records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Visionary Women
Visionary Women
Woman holding sign “Empowered Women Empower Women”; courtesy of Mujeres Latinas en Acción
Mary Richardson Jones
CHM, ICHi-022363, Baldwin & Drake, photographer
“The Agitator” The Agitator, March 13, 1869, CHM. Inset: undated portrait of Mary A. Livermore; CHM, ICHi-051132
Home vs. Saloon
Temperance reformers viewed the saloon, where men drank alcohol that fueled their reckless and violent behavior, as a threat to family and national well-being. Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, 1910; CHM, ICHi-177315. Inset: Frances E. Willard, c. 1880; CHM, ICHi-062268, Charles D. Mosher, photographer
Myra Bradwell
CHM, ICHi-009585, Charles D. Mosher, photographer
Fannie Barrier Williams
Representatives from twenty-five states attended the first national Colored Woman’s Congress, at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Atlanta, December 28, 1895. First Congress of Negro Women, December 28, 1895; CHM, ICHi-176767. Inset: portrait of Fannie Barrier Williams, 1900; CHM, ICHi-177354
National Association of Colored Women Minutes of the Second Convention of the National Association of Colored Women: held at Quinn Chapel, 24th Street and Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Ill., August 14th, 15th, and 16th, 1899; Library of Congress, Daniel Murray Pamphlet Collection, https://www.loc.gov/item/91898212/. Inset: Elizabeth Lindsay Davis; CHM, ICHi-177324
“The Progress of Colored Women”
Cover of “The Progress of Colored Women” and Terrell inset; Library of Congress, Daniel Murray Pamphlet Collection, https://www.loc.gov/item/90898298/
“Loyalty to Women and Justice to Children”
Portraits of the Presidents of the Illinois Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, from The Story of the Illinois Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, 1900‒1922; CHM, ICHi-063063
Ida B. Wells and the Campaign for Racial Justice slide show
Portrait of Ida B. Wells; Ida B. Wells Papers, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Ida B. Wells with Maurine Moss and her children; Ida B. Wells Papers, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
“Appeal to the Supreme Court in behalf of ‘Chicken Joe’ Campbell,” Negro Fellowship League, 1917; CHM, ICHi-177323_01
Urban Reform
Sweatshop inspection, c. 1903; DN-0001246, Chicago Daily News collection, CHM
What Women of Hope, Vision, and Action Inspire You Today? Representatives from twenty-five states attended the first national Colored Woman’s Congress, at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Atlanta, December 28, 1895. First Congress of Negro Women, December 28, 1895; CHM, ICHi-176767
Stepping Stones to Suffrage
Stepping Stones to Suffrage
Voter Adriana Reyes, center, casts her vote as her 9-month-old baby, Ariana, waits during the voting for the primary elections at St. Agnus Bishop Manz Hall on March 15, 2016, in Chicago; Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
“To Fill Empty Seats”
Detail from W. Parker Bodfish, “Illinois-Opening of the Presidential Campaign. Incidents of the National Republican Convention at Chicago,” Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, June 2, 1880
The Business of Politics
Illustration of National Republican Committee Headquarters, Palmer House, Chicago, 1880; CHM, ICHi-026370
The So-Called “Natural” Order
Illinois Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage, “Woman’s Best Work: The Making of Voters,” 1912; CHM, ICHi-062393. Inset: Caroline F. Corbin, 1893; CHM, ICHi-177352A
Fearing Women’s Power
Interior of saloon with six men sitting around a table drinking alcohol, Chicago, c. 1905; DN-0003264, Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Daily News collection, CHM
“I Want to Vote” slide show
Farwell Hall meeting, detail from W. Parker Bodfish, “Illinois-Opening of the Presidential Campaign. Incidents of the National Republican Convention at Chicago,” Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, June 1, 1880
Postcard from Mrs. Frank S. Allen; CHM, ICHi-177327_02
Postcard from Mary S. Quigley; CHM, ICHi-177325_02
Postcard from Fanny Olmstead; CHM, ICHi-177326_02
“Women of Chicago! Register.”
“Women of Chicago! Register. Vote for Trustees of the State University” flyer; CHM, ICHi-014326. Inset: Lucy Flower, 1888; CHM, ICHi-029968
Why Women Should Vote
Address by Jane Addams titled “The Modern City and the Municipal Franchise for Women,” given at the 1906 meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in Baltimore, Maryland, reprint 1910; CHM, ICHi-177317. Inset: Jane Addams, 1900; CHM, ICHi-035457
Statewide Suffrage Campaign
Mrs. Florence M. Lorenz, Mrs. Ella S. Stewart, and Miss Bertha Seass, March 7, 1911; DN-0056700, Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Daily News collection, CHM
“Do You Approve…?”
Ballot box used in a preferential primary election in Ward 18, Precinct 22, Chicago and Cicero, IL, on April 9, 1912. This election was held by order of County Judge John E. Owens on the issue of approving the extension of suffrage to women; CHM, ICHi-032106
The Telephone Brigade
Grace Wilbur Trout (marked with an x), being embraced by a suffragette after her return from a trip to Springfield, Illinois, to campaign for the right of women to vote, Chicago, June 14, 1913; DN-0060624, Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Daily News Collection, CHM
“Why Do We Strive For Equality?” Glos Polek (Polish Women’s Voice); Polish Women’s Alliance of America Records, Women and Leadership Archives, Loyola University Chicago
Illinois’s Suffrage Law
“Waiting for the Governor’s Signature,” Chicago Tribune, June 25, 1913
Wage Earners’ Suffrage League
Emma Steghagen, The Omaha Daily Bee, May 15, 1904; Library of Congress
Wager Earners’ Suffrage League ribbon
CHM, ICHi-178179
Alpha Suffrage Club Alpha Suffrage Record, March 18, 1914; Ida B. Wells Papers, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library. Inset: Sadie Lewis Adams; CHM, ICHi-177303A
Ella G. Berry
From The Story of the Illinois Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs 1900-1922 by Elizabeth Lindsey Davis, 1922; CHM, ICHi-177302A
“I March for Full Suffrage”
Pro-suffrage button; CHM, ICHi-061937
How Can Small Achievements Build Momentum Toward Larger Goals?
Margaret Dreier Robins and a group of women suffragists in front of the Coliseum at the time of the 1912 Republican National Convention in Chicago; DN-0059234, Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Daily News Collection, CHM
Votes for Women
Votes for Women
Attendees at a get-out-the-vote rally with former President Barack Obama, gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker, and other members of the Illinois Democratic ticket on November 4, 2018, at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago; Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
The Spectacle of Suffrage
Grace Wilbur Trout (left), Belle Squire, S. Grace Nicholes, and Ella S. Stewart, photographed in front of Michigan Avenue’s Fine Arts Building, headquarters for the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association; DN-0008359, Chicago Daily News collection, CHM
“Motoring Militant Suffragettes”
The Chicago Tribune sent a reporter to tour with suffragists and later published essays by tour participant Belle Squire; Chicago Tribune, July 10, 1910
Parade Preparations Mrs. Florence McCall preparing to participate in a women’s suffrage parade, May 2, 1914; DN-0062690, Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Daily News Collection, CHM. Inset: suffrage hat; CHM, ICHi-178180
The Ballot for Women banner CHM, ICHi-175957
Ida B. Wells Protests
Ida B. Wells-Barnett with Belle Squire and Virginia Brooks, March 3, 1913; Chicago Tribune, March 5, 1913
Suffrage Plays Bridget’s Sisters or The Legal Status of Illinois Women in 1868 by Catharine Waugh McCulloch, 1911; CHM, ICHi-177291
Laura Cornelius Kellogg Washington Herald, February 16, 1915, Library of Congress. Inset: Laura Cornelius Kellogg, Our Democracy and the American Indian, 1920; CHM, ICHi-177308
“To the Voting Women of the West”
Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage, “Route of Envoys . . .” in the “Itinerary of the ‘Suffrage Special,’ April 9–May 16, 1916,” National Woman’s Party records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
“Birth of the Woman’s Party”
“Birth of the Woman’s Party,” Chicago Daily Tribune, June 6, 1916
Demonstrations Against Wilson
Suffragists demonstrating against Woodrow Wilson in Chicago, October 20, 1916; National Woman’s Party records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Inset: detail from The Suffragist, January 10, 1917
Sentenced for Picketing
“First Spoils of ‘War’” and “Jailed for Wilson Heckling” inset; Chicago Tribune, August 19, 1917
“Thrown into the Workhouse”
Left: Arrest of White House pickets Catherine Flanagan of Hartford, Connecticut (left), and Madeleine Watson of Chicago (right), Washington, DC, August 1917; Harris & Ewing, photographer, Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/mnwp000228/. Right: The Suffragist, September 18, 1917
“Prison Special”
“’Prison Special’ of Suffragists Reaches Chicago,” Chicago Tribune, March 6, 1919
Educating Women Voters
Elizabeth Lindsay Davis seated in the first row of the first class in citizenship at Women’s City Club, Mrs. Sue Hutchison Dodd instructs the group, Chicago, 1923; CHM, ICHi-034341
Native Voting Rights
Zitkála-Šá; from American Indian Stories by Zitkála-Šá, Washington: Hayworth Publishing House, 1921
Continued Barriers
Fannie Lou Hamer, Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party delegate, at the Democratic National Convention, Atlantic City, NJ, August 1964; Warren K. Leffler, photographer, Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2003688126/
Even Without Formal Political Power, What Tools Can Activists Use to Create Change?
Elizabeth Lindsay Davis seated in the first row of the first class in citizenship at Women’s City Club, Mrs. Sue Hutchison Dodd instructs the group, Chicago, 1923; CHM, ICHi-034341
Underpaid, Undervalued
Undervalued, Underpaid
Employees and union activists protest low wages outside a Chicago Whole Foods Market store in July 2013; Scott Olson via Getty Images
Walking Off the Job
Parade of women during the United Garment Workers of America strike in Chicago, December 12, 1910; DN-0056264, Chicago Daily News collection, CHM
Under Arrest
Police putting a woman into the back of a police wagon during 1910 Garment Workers Strike, Chicago; DN-0056132, Chicago Daily News collection, CHM
“Is This an Even Bargain?”
Women’s Trade Union League of Chicago, Official Report of the Strike Committee: Chicago Garment Workers’ Strike October 29, 1910‒February 18, 1911, page 29; CHM, ICHi-067060
“Girl Strikers”
“Girl Strikers in Riot with Police,” Chicago Examiner, February 10, 1914
Ellen Gates Starr
Ellen Gates Starr, arrested for interfering with a waitress strike in front of the Henrici restaurant, located at 67 West Randolph Street in the Loop community area of Chicago; DN-0062287, Chicago Daily News collection, CHM
“The Girls Who Did the Work”
Front cover of pamphlet titled “The Eight Hour Fight in Illinois by The Girls Who Did the Work,” leaflet no. 4, published by The Women’s Trade Union League of Chicago, 1909; CHM, ICHi-177353. Inset: portrait of Agnes Nestor as a young woman; CHM, ICHi-067687, Dooser Rohde, photographer
“Four Girl Lobbyists” “Four Girl Lobbyists Who Ran a Legislature,” Chicago Tribune, July 25, 1909
Addie L. Wyatt
Photo 040, Box 346, Rev. Addie and Rev. Claude Wyatt Papers, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature, Chicago Public Library
Chicago Women in Trades
Nuts and Bolts newsletter, Winter 1990; CHM, ICHi-177311
Breaking the Law “Is your employer breaking the law?” flyer from Women Employed, 1973; CHM, ICHi-177355
Fights for $15 Employees and union activists protest low wages outside a Chicago Whole Foods Market store in July 2013; Scott Olson via Getty Images
Fair Paying, Safe Jobs Activists and union members marked International Women’s Day on March 8, 2018; Scott Olson via Getty Images
When Have You Experienced Being Underpaid or Undervalued? Parade of women during the United Garment Workers of America strike in Chicago, December 12, 1910; DN-0056264, Chicago Daily News collection, CHM
Organize! Take Action!
Organize! Take Action! Detail from Phyllis Wheatley Home Association, Chicago, pamphlet, interior pages, c. 1915; CHM, ICHi-064245
Pearl M. Hart
Pearl M. Hart in her office; CHM, ICHi-039673
Mujeres Latinas en Acción slide show
Members of the Young Professionals Advisory Committee (YPAC) attend the January 21, 2017, Women’s March in Chicago; courtesy of Mujeres Latinas en Acción
Flyer for Festival de Mujeres, held June 30, 1979, on Seventeenth Street between Wood and Wolcott Streets. Sponsored by Mujeres Latinas en Acción; CHM, ICHi-177314
MLEA postcard for Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2019. At a Chicago immigration rally, a Mujeres community leader wears a shirt, which reads in English and Spanish: “Empower a woman to empower a family to empower a community to strengthen a nation”; courtesy of Mujeres Latinas en Acción
Apna Ghar slide show
Apna Ghar staff and supporters at the “Stride Against Violence” annual 5k fundraiser. Courtesy of Apna Ghar, Inc.
Former Executive Director Ranjana Bhargava (right) with Apna Ghar board members, Illinois First Lady Brenda Edgar (third from left) and Christine Takada (left), Asian American liaison to Governor Edgar, 1993; courtesy of Apna Ghar, Inc.
Apna Ghar’s economic empowerment program; courtesy of Apna Ghar, Inc.
Guadalupe A. Reyes From El Valor annual report, 2003; CHM, ICHi-177361
Marca Bristo Courtesy of Access Living
Carol Warrington Carol Warrington and her children set up camp in the lion house of the Lincoln Park Zoo to protest the treatment of Native people, November 30, 1971; ST-70005529-0013, Chicago Sun-Times collection, CHM
Diane Latiker Portrait of Diane Latiker. The memorial tribute honors people that have lost their lives to violence in the area, July 31, 2008; Chris Sweda/Chicago Sun-Times
American Indian Center
National Voter Registration Day @ the AIC; courtesy of the American Indian Center of Chicago and National Urban Indian Family Coalition
Carmen Velásquez
Carmen Velásquez stands in front of Alivio Medical Center/Centro Médico Alivio’s 2355 S. Western Ave. location; STM-038523458, Pablo Martínez Monsiváis/Chicago Sun-Times
What Do You Care About? How Can You Make a Difference? Signs carried at the Women’s March in Grant Park, Chicago, on January 21, 2017; Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images
