Tag: 19th Amendment

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Celebrating Women’s History in IDHH Collections

The IDHH contains some content that may be harmful or difficult to view. Our cultural heritage partners collect materials from history, as well as artifacts from many cultures and time periods, to preserve and make available the historical record. Please view the Digital Public Library of America’s (DPLA) Statement on Potentially Harmful Content for further information.

In recognition of Women’s History Month, the IDHH would like to highlight several collections from our contributors and curated searches of IDHH items that tell different stories about the history of women in Illinois:

    • Jane Addams: explore photographs and documents related to Jane Addams, social reformer, and settlement and women’s suffrage activist, who co-founded Chicago-settlement Hull House in 1889 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
    • Gwendolyn Brooks: explore photographs related to Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet Laureate of Illinois and the first African American poet to win the Pulitzer Prize.
    • The Creative Woman (Governors State University): a collection containing issues of GSU’s quarterly feminist journal The Creative Woman,  which featured articles, essays, and creative writings on the lives and experiences of women.
    • The Woman’s Study Club of Joliet (Lewis University): a collection containing documents and records of the Women’s Study Club of Joliet, a club with the goal of educating women members which grew from the Columbian Clubs and The Woman’s Building organized by Bertha Palmer for the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition.

You can also visit the IDHH’s Digital Exhibits to learn about the life and career of two turn-of-the-twentieth-century Illinois women: Rachel Crothers, a playwright from Bloomington, Illinois, and Fanny Butcher,  Literary Editor at the Chicago Tribune.

You can also view the IDHH’s previous posts with topics related to Women’s History Month:

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Celebrate Women’s Fight for the Vote with Hazle Buck Ewing

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we at the IDHH would like to introduce Hazle Buck Ewing, passionate activist for women’s suffrage and lifelong member of the Bloomington League of Women Voters.

Ewing joined the women’s suffrage movement in 1915, and worked to secure voting rights for women through her writing, her attendance at conferences, and her financial support of the movement. She continued to promote women’s rights after the passage of the 19th amendment by supporting the Equal Rights Amendment and voting in every election beginning in 1920, only stopping when she was too ill to leave her home. She died at the age of 88 on August 29, 1969. 

The Hazle Buck Ewing Women’s Suffrage collection from Illinois State University is comprised of materials created and collected by Ewing during her involvement in the women’s suffrage movement. The collection has over 150 items and includes letters, articles, pamphlets, and photographs that give insight into the efforts made by early 20th-century suffrage activists to secure women the right to vote. 

To celebrate Hazle Buck Ewing and Women’s History Month, here are a few of our favorite items from the collection: 

Image of purple and gold voter ribbon from national woman's party
National Women’s Party Sash and Ribbons, circa 1916-1919. Circa 1916-1919. Illinois State University. Hazle Buck Ewing Women’s Suffrage Collection. Courtesy of Illinois State University.
black and white newspaper clipping of two small children standing in front of a large, lopsided snow person.
Hazle Buck Ewing’s nieces with snow suffragette at home of Nelson L. Buck, December 25, 1915. December 25, 1915. Illinois State University. Hazle Buck Ewing Women’s Suffrage Collection. Courtesy of Illinois State University.
black ink transcript typed on yellow-aged paper of Hazle Buck Ewing's poem "Out West".
Hazle Buck Ewing poem “Out West”. October 1916. Illinois State University. Hazle Buck Ewing Women’s Suffrage Collection. Courtesy of Illinois State University.
black ink typed transcript on yellow-aged paper of two short letters by Hazle Buck Ewing.
Hazle Buck Ewing Letters to Claude Kitchin and Thomas Martin, January 5, 1918 (copy). January 5, 1918. Illinois State University. Hazle Buck Ewing Women’s Suffrage Collection. Courtesy of Illinois State University.
color telegram to Hazle B. Ewing
James Lewis telegram to Hazle Buck Ewing, May 10, 1918. May 10, 1918. Illinois State University. Hazle Buck Ewing Women’s Suffrage Collection. Courtesy of Illinois State University.
color trifold invitation to attend the Victory Convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, with the left panel listing available hotels, the middle panel with the mailer information, and the third panel listing the details of the convention.
Invitation to National American Women Suffrage Association and League of Women Voters conference, Chicago, February 12-18, 1920. 1920. Illinois State University. Hazle Buck Ewing Women’s Suffrage Collection. Courtesy of Illinois State University.
black ink typed letter on aged paper with a handwritten signature in blue ink.
Scott W. Lucas Letter to Hazle Buck Ewing, March 14, 1949. March 14, 1949. Illinois State University. Hazle Buck Ewing Women’s Suffrage Collection. Courtesy of Illinois State University.

In August, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, featuring images of women exercising their right to vote from the McLean County Museum of History’s Pantagraph Negative Collection (1940-1945). 

View the complete Hazle Buck Ewing Women’s Suffrage Collection in the IDHH. 

View more items related to women’s suffrage in the IDHH. 

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100 Years of the 19th Amendment

On August 18th 1920, women were finally granted the right to vote in the United States. The Susan B. Anthony-style suffragettes are certainly the most known figures behind the fight for women’s votes, but an entire network of suffragettes across the nation organizing in major cities made the demand clear. The Suffragette movement continued its momentum far into the 20th century with women’s voting advocacy groups such as the League of Women Voters (founded in February 1920) establishing chapters nationwide that continue to fight for people’s participation in elections.

To commemorate 100 years of Votes for Women, here are some of our favorite images of women exercising their right from the McLean County Museum of History’s “Pantagraph Negative Collection“.

black and white photo of women voting in booths with curtains, where only their shoes are visible.
Women Voting, 1940. McLean County Museum of History. Pantagraph Negative Collection (1940-1945).
black and white photo of a smiling woman coming out of the voting booth holding her voting paper and her purse.
Women Voting, 1940. McLean County Museum of History. Pantagraph Negative Collection (1940-1945).
black and white photo of women standing in line to vote with a man sitting in front to register people.
Women Voting, 1940. McLean County Museum of History. Pantagraph Negative Collection (1940-1945).
black and white photo of a group of five women talking together at a polling station.
League of Women Voters, Pontiac IL, 1941. McLean County Museum of History. Pantagraph Negative Collection (1940-1945)

In March we made a post about Mary Salome Ott Brand, and her first time at the polls as documented by her son Orson Brand and collected by the Highland Park Public Library.

For more on suffrage visit the IDHH’s holdings.