S02 E17 Indiana: Suffrage Battles at America's Crossroads

In this episode, we talk about the suffrage movement in Indiana.  

Some of the activists and events in the IN voting rights campaign:

• Sojourner Truth traveled to Indiana several times to speak in a number of towns, while the state’s 1851 constitution barred Black persons from entering to reside or settle.
• Helen Gougar mobilized scores of women to show up at the polls around the state in 1894, demanding the right to vote, and she sued her county for denying her suffrage, ultimately testifying before the Indiana Supreme Court.
• Madam C.J. Walker–pioneering Black business owner of a hair and beauty empire–hosted meetings of the African American Indiana Equal Suffrage Association in her Indianapolis home and donated generously to the movement.
• Ida Usted Harper was a Hall-of-Fame journalist and worked with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton on the history of women’s suffrage project. 

About our Guest:

Melissa Gentry is the Supervisor of the Paul W. Stout Map Collection at Ball State University Libraries. She was a featured speaker for the Indiana Suffrage Centennial and created a set of maps about the history of Indiana women battling for the ballot. She also serves as the coordinator of the Muncie and Delaware County Notable Women local history project, which won the Outstanding Collaborative Project Award from the Indiana Historical Society in 2023.

Links to People, Places, Publications:

Indiana & the 19th Amendment (here)

Visit the Sojourner Truth statue (here)

Naomi Anderson Biographical Sketch (here)

Visit the Naomi Anderson memorial sculpture  (here)

Helen Gougar Biographical Sketch (here)

Visit the Helen Gougar historical marker (here)

Visit the Marie Stuart Edwards statue (here)

Ida Usted Harper Biographical Sketch (here)

Madam C.J. Walker Biographical Sketch (here)

Visit the Madam Walker Legacy Center (here)

Carrie Barnes Biographical Sketch (here)

Visit the May Wright Sewall historical marker (here)

Visit the Grace Julian Clark historical marker (here)

CM Marihugh is a public history consultant and currently conducting independent research for a book on commemoration of the U.S. women’s suffrage movement. She has an M.A. in Public History from State University of New York, and an M.B.A. from Dartmouth College.

Learn more about:

• National Votes for Women Trail (here)
• National Votes for Women Trail - William G. Pomeroy historical markers (here)
• National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites (here)

Do you have a question, comment, or suggestion? Get in touch! Send an e-mail to NVWTpodcast@ncwhs.org

Transcript

CM Marihugh  00:00

Welcome to Her March to Democracy, where we're telling stories along The National Votes for Women Trail. The trail chronicles the fight for voting rights for women. The suffragists, or suffs, they were called, were the revolutionaries of their day, and they battled the powers that be, these foot soldiers cut across the lines of geography, race, ethnicity, class and gender, and numbered in the many 1000s over 70 plus years. 

Earth Mama  00:41

We are standing on the shoulders of the ones who came before us. They are saints and they are humans. They are angels, they are friends. We can see beyond the struggles and the troubles and the challenge when we know that by our efforts, things will be better in the end.

CM Marihugh  01:09

Each episode is a tour on the trail to the places of struggle, the cities, the towns where wins and defeats happened over and over again. Our theme music is Standing On The Shoulders by Joyce Johnson Rouse and recorded by Earth Mama. Join us on our travels to hear the stories along The National Votes For Women Trail. 

CM Marihugh  01:36

Today, we are going to Indiana to hear stories about the women's suffrage movement. Indiana has 32 sites in The National Votes For Women Trail database and at least 30 historical markers related to suffrage, which is the most we have seen from a single state. Also, this state has three of those rare entities, which are public art statues dedicated to suffragists, and we'll talk about them in this episode. I'd like to welcome Melissa Gentry, who is the supervisor of the Paul W Stout Map Collection at Ball State University Libraries. She was a featured speaker for the Indiana Suffrage Centennial and created a set of maps about the history of women battling for the ballot. She also serves as the coordinator of the Muncie and Delaware County notable women local history project, and that won the Outstanding Collaborative Project Award from the Indiana Historical Society in 2023. So welcome Melissa, we're so glad to have you with us.

Melissa Gentry  02:50

Thank you so much for inviting me. It's very nice to be here. 

CM Marihugh  02:54

Could we start by you giving us an overview of what went on in Indiana during the suffrage movement?

Melissa Gentry  03:01

Yes, I think a lot of people will be surprised, if you're familiar with Indiana and current politics, that Indiana was very progressive and it- it was actually one of the earliest states where women began organizing for equal rights. Frances Wright, who was a friend of the Marquis de Lafayette and called the Declaration of Independence her Holy Bible, was publicly speaking out on behalf of women's rights from New Harmony Indiana in the 1820s so just after Indiana became a state in 1816 but women's suffrage in Indiana and elsewhere, as you know, was definitely not inevitable. War and epidemic played the cause. Women's presumed association with temperance and their opposition from breweries, especially in places like the German-American town of Jasper, Indiana, side tracked and postponed the victory for women voters and Indiana women's suffrage state historical marker dedicated in March 2022, at the Indiana State House in Indianapolis, describes the diversity of the women and the tactics they employed in the fight for the right to vote. 

Melissa Gentry  04:10

So it reads, "Hoosier suffragists represented diverse, religious, political, ethnic, racial and socio economic backgrounds. They petitioned the General Assembly, made bold speeches, marched in the streets, undertook automobile tours and attempted to vote without a suffrage law", unquote. And if you visit the state house, there's also a plaque identifying the location of the office that was designated as the suffragist headquarters during the battle for the ballot. 

Melissa Gentry  04:41

In January of 1851, just three years after the historic convention at Seneca Falls, the state hosted its own convention, adopting resolutions for the rights of women, officially forming the Indiana Women's Rights Association. A state historical marker in Dublin, which is in Wayne County highlights the location of the first convention and the two subsequent ones in 1852 and 1853. In nearby Winchester. You can visit a historical marker commemorating the spunky Amanda Way, a founding member of that Indiana Women's Rights Association in 1851. She also revived the Women's Association in 1869 following the Civil War, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony dubbed her "The Mother of Women's Suffrage Association in Indiana". And in 1859 three Indiana suffragists Mary Birdsall, Agnes Cook and Dr Mary Thomas proudly appeared before the state legislature with a petition signed by 1000 women who wanted to vote. 

Melissa Gentry  05:50

Three generations of women would battle for the ballot in Indiana, working class white women and women of leisure and even their husbands were suffragists. In Peru, Indiana, Native American women fought for the ballot. Notes from that Women's Suffrage Association meeting in Indiana in 1869 mention an African American woman asking about being involved in the cause and black suffrage chapters were established in the years leading up to ratification. Susan B Anthony traveled to every congressional district in the state in the fall of 1887 speaking at churches and auditoriums on behalf of women voting. She also addressed a joint session of the Indiana General Assembly in 1897 urging them to consider supporting a federal suffrage amendment. Famously saying, quote, "make the brain under the bonnet count as much as the brain under the hat." 

Melissa Gentry  06:44

1000s turned out for a suffrage parade in Logansport, Indiana in June of 1912. At the historic suffrage march in Washington, DC in March of 1913 the Indiana delegation was composed of only 10 women, but they were a mighty force. One of the standard bearers was Mary Haute Tarkington Jameson. Haute Jameson was from a prominent family in Indianapolis. Famed poet James Whitcomb Riley tried to court her. And her baby brother was Pulitzer Prize winning author Booth Tarkington Jameson was very active in charitable and club activities and was a fervent activist for suffrage. Another marcher was Flora millspaugh, who was a suffragist from the historic Chesterfield spiritualist camp. Anna Dunn Nolan, who organized that big parade in Logansport and served as the equal Suffrage Association State president for 13 years was also a marcher. 

Melissa Gentry  07:44

Meanwhile, in Indianapolis, on that exact same day, the Indianapolis Star on March 4, 1913 reported that quote, "while the woman suffrage army was fighting its way up Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington yesterday, Indianapolis suffragists were besieging the Indiana capitol. 500 women flocked to the State House and demanded that the legislature change the state constitution that they may have the right to vote. The women were trying to pin votes for women streamers on the coats of legislators." 1914 and 1915 featured fun events like picnics and pep rallies, tents at county fairs and the State Fair and motion picture showings. 300 men and women in Fort Wayne attended a showing of a film called "What 80 Million Women Want." 

Melissa Gentry  08:33

A famed aviator from Muncie named Frances Wilson Grayson, who just happened to be the niece of President Wilson sang suffrage songs at a Franchise Day picnic here in McCulloch Park. Grayson competed in the race to be the first to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, but unfortunately, her plane went missing in December of 1927. And in 1917 the women of Indiana had a small glimmer of hope when the Indiana legislature passed a partial suffrage law allowing women to vote in municipal elections. The decision sparked a massive voter registration drive across the state and in Muncie, at least two and possibly three African American franchise leagues were established during that brief summer of suffrage. 

Melissa Gentry  09:21

This momentary glimmer of hope resulted in a treasure trove for suffrage researchers like myself. The Indianapolis news sent correspondence to every county in the state and published photographs and short blurbs about the first women to register to vote in each location when registration opened in June of 1917. Forever recorded in history are the names of women like 92 year old Rebecca Mitchell Daggy of Bedford, teacher May Wright Sewall of Fort Wayne, Deputy Recorder, Lorna Dresser of Peru and Margaret Irvin of Carrollton, who threatened to move to California. California where she could vote if Indiana didn't enact suffrage. Unfortunately, the Indiana Supreme Court determined that the state's women's suffrage law was unconstitutional. 

Melissa Gentry  10:11

Nationally, In 1917 suffragists became the first people ever to protest at the gates of the White House, beginning with Wilson's second inauguration, and all through the Summer and Fall. When World War One ended in November of 1918, suffragists believed that they would be rewarded with the vote thanks to their dedicated war work. But instead, more delays happen. So once again, suffragists decided to picket outside the White House, this time burning speeches of President Wilson's in an urn. Lucille Calmes of Princeton, Indiana, was one of the 22 suffragists arrested and jailed for participating in these "watch fire" demonstrations. And there's a fun fact, Alice Paul awarded prison cell pins to suffragists who were jailed, and Lucille's pin is in the Smithsonian along with Alice Paul's. The fact that the suffragists were willing to risk being jailed is very telling about their inherent courage and dedication to the cause.

CM Marihugh  11:11

Well, Indiana certainly was a hotbed of activity for the suffrage movement, especially going back to the 1820s that's very early. I'm glad that you mentioned this film "The 80 million women want- What do they want? 

Melissa Gentry  11:29

Right.

CM Marihugh  11:30

We've discussed how the suffrage movement used theatrical plays, but we haven't discussed how suffragists use this new medium of film to any extent, and apparently it was a 1913 silent film. It was produced by NAWSA, the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and was about an hour long, and it featured prominent figures, including British suffragists Emmeline Pankhurst and Harriot Stanton Blatch, who was Elizabeth Cady Stanton's daughter, they were showing their activism and arguments. I saw a short excerpt, but I want to watch the entire film. And apparently there were at least a dozen films made, both in America and in the UK. Of course, they would have been self produced and self financed and promoted. I don't think all of them survived, but I think it's fascinating how the suffragists use this new medium to try to get their message across.

Melissa Gentry  12:40

Yeah, it was very clever approach. I thought. 

CM Marihugh  12:44

So where are we going to start our tour In Indiana?

Melissa Gentry  12:47

So we're going to start in the far northeastern corner of the state, in Angola, just outside the Steuben County Courthouse entrance, a beautiful display stands in honor of National Human Rights activist and abolitionist Sojourner Truth, a marker is posted next to a beautiful bronze statue of this courageous woman in American history. Living nearby in Michigan, Truth first visited Indiana in 1858 which was actually in violation of the state's 1851 constitution, which allowed no more African Americans in the state. At Silver Lake in Kosciusko County, a hostile crowd insisted that Truth was really a man in disguise and was challenged to reveal her breasts to the women in the audience. Instead, she showed her breasts to the crowd, and the account was published by William Lloyd Garrison in his abolitionist newspaper. 

Melissa Gentry  13:43

In 1861 Sojourner Truth traveled to Angola to speak on behalf of the Union cause. Local Republican leaders were, in fact, reluctant to allow her an audience, but were equally opposed to restraining her abolitionist message. Truth faced another extremely hostile crowd as she spoke about her experiences as a formerly enslaved woman. She was arrested, tried before a friendly justice of the peace and set free. Truth remained in Indiana for about a month during the visit, and she spoke at a number of places in northeastern Indiana in favor of preserving the union, which was not controversial, but also the abolition of slavery, which received mixed reviews in the state. Truth reported being called before courts on six occasions, but was never convicted for her visit to the state. I think it's pretty remarkable that they have a beautiful statue and a marker there outside the courthouse in Angola for Sojourner Truth.

CM Marihugh  14:41

It is so this is one of the public art statues that Indiana has. And stories of Sojourner Truth are so remarkable, and they are across many states because she was a traveler. This story just reminded me of her incredible courage to go to a state where the Constitution prohibited her entry. And she was arrested for basically being black in Indiana, correct?

Melissa Gentry  15:12

Right, exactly. 

CM Marihugh  15:13

I was reading that. Here she is speaking, surrounded by white people, by white men, who, one source that I read, said they threatened to tar and feather her, which is essentially a death sentence, most of the time, a real act of political violence. And yet, this is the kind of thing she did. It's incredible.

Melissa Gentry  15:35

Yeah. She persevered. Amazing. 

CM Marihugh  15:39

Yeah. And also it reiterates the connection of the abolitionist movement and the women's suffrage movement, because this was a period where it had started earlier, but reformists, particularly women, were including messages of women's rights in their abolition lectures. 

Melissa Gentry  16:01

Right, and that's a common thread that I noticed too in the study of Indiana history for women's suffrage was the abolitionists were the "abos" of the activists. 

CM Marihugh  16:09

So where is our next stop?

Melissa Gentry  16:12

So it's another public art display. So in 2021 the Michigan City Main Street Association erected a sculpture garden by Bernard Williams called celebrating Naomi Anderson. It's located next to the Charles R Westcott Park on Michigan Boulevard. Eight different white posts depict scenes and symbols related to the life of this extraordinary African American woman, Naomi Bowman Talbert Anderson was born in Michigan City in 1843 to Gillian and Elijah Bowman, who were free people of color. 

Melissa Gentry  16:49

The schools in Michigan City were segregated, but at the age of 12, Naomi was noticed for her poetic talent and invited to attend the previously all white public school to finish her education. Her mother also hired a tutor for Naomi and wanted her to attend Oberlin College, but unfortunately, her mother died when Naomi was only 17, so she stayed at home to care for her father and siblings. Naomi married and moved to Chicago, where she became a public figure for her poetry and her lectures on behalf of temperance, civil rights for African American women and suffrage. 

Melissa Gentry  17:26

In 1869 Naomi was a speaker at the Illinois Women's Suffrage Association women's convention at library Hall in Chicago. And just as a backdrop, just one year earlier, the 14th amendment passed, granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the US, including formerly enslaved people. The 15th Amendment, giving African American men the right to vote, passed in February of 1869 so at that convention, Naomi argued in her speech, woman has a power within herself, and the God that reigns above is with us and for us, and will hear the call of woman and her rights will be granted and she shall be permitted to vote. 

Melissa Gentry  18:11

The Chicago newspapers inaccurately reported that Elizabeth Cady Stanton had announced at the convention that she did not want black men to vote without white women being afforded the same right. Naomi Anderson wrote to the Chicago Tribune to correct the record, saying that Stanton was actually pleading with black men not to oppose women's suffrage. Naomi continued campaigning alongside suffragists as a public speaker and lecturer for women's and African American civil rights around the Midwest, she wrote countless newspaper articles for the cause. In the 1890s she moved to California and lobbied the state legislature front of one of the nation's first women's suffrage referenda.

CM Marihugh  18:55

She sounds like an incredible person to think that she was only 26 at that 1869 convention, and one of the reports that I read said it was a fiery speech was quoted in newspapers across the country. Apparently, that's what started her recognition. I saw that she would get headlined with Susan B Anthony. She is not a name we have heard that much of, but that's not unusual for the suffrage movement, particularly black women, but there were so many of these really critical people that we haven't heard of, so it's wonderful that she's getting that recognition.

Melissa Gentry  19:38

And there are so many others. I wish that I could mention all the young African American suffragists, especially in Indiana history, but it's really amazing.

CM Marihugh  19:47

So where are we going to head to next? 

Melissa Gentry  19:51

So we're heading south to Lafayette, and you'll find a historical marker. The address is 914, Columbia in Lafayette, but it's actually. The marker is actually sitting on 10th Street, and it's for a woman named Helen Gougar, and it was erected in 2014 by the Indiana Historical Bureau. So this marker celebrates a rebellious woman named Helen Gougar of Lafayette, who addressed the Indiana General Assembly in 1881 and the Indiana Republican convention in 1882. She successfully persuaded the party to endorse both suffrage and temperance on their platform. Gougar traveled with Susan B Anthony around Indiana on a speaking tour in 1887 and was inspired by Anthony's attempt to vote in Rochester, New York. 

Melissa Gentry  20:38

Gougar mobilized women around the state and on election day in 1894 scores of women showed up at the polls demanding to vote when she was denied the right, Gougar filed suit against the Tippecanoe county election board after gaining admission to the bar, Gougar argued for the constitutional rights of Women in Indiana in the county court. In 1897 she argued her case demanding her right to vote before the Indiana Supreme Court, one of the first women to appear before the state's highest judiciary. 

Melissa Gentry  21:12

Gougar's tactics reveal that not all of the suffrage activism in Indiana was peaceful, however. Helen Gougar was described as feisty by a number of contemporary newspaper accounts. In fact, she was a fierce rival of Indianapolis suffragist May Wright Sewall. When Sewall was serving as the organizer of the World's Congress of Representative Women at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 she purposely omitted Gougar's name from the main program, and allegedly sent word to all of the leaders of the women's meetings to exclude Gougar from participating in any proceedings. 

Melissa Gentry  21:52

The Champagne Daily Gazette reported it was regarded by her friends as a direct insult, and they prepared for a fight. The idea of anybody trying to hold a congress of representative women and ignoring Helen Gougar, Wow, the newspaper reported. Helen Gougar told the Daily Gazette that quote "May Wright Sewall and herself are bitter personal enemies." And other newspapers reported news of Mrs. Gougar on the warpath, black balling, spite work and stormy scenes. The Indianapolis Journal said that women on the committees, quote, "hurled their resignations because of the dramatic situation between the two rivals." So that shows a little bit of the history of some of the conflict between some of the women and that would happen in any advocacy group, but I thought that was kind of interesting.

CM Marihugh  22:42

I agree, and we've talked in other states about often different strategies that showed up and so a splitting of the movement's actions. This is unique in that both of them seem to admit that they were highly bitter enemies. I wonder what the start of that was. But in any case, I saw that this election in 1894 that 200 women had showed up in another Howard County, 

Melissa Gentry  23:14

Yes, in Kokomo. 

CM Marihugh  23:16

And so she definitely got the word out to show up at the polls. I also find the fact that she was a lawyer who argued her case before the state Supreme Court was amazing. The Indianapolis Sentinel quoted one of the Supreme Court judges as saying, "Mrs. Gougar made one of the most forcible, logical and concise legal arguments ever made before this court". And these are high words of praise, particularly when you think about one of the tropes at the time were how women were such illogical beings. So I think he was being pointed in admiring her skills.

Melissa Gentry  23:59

Yeah, she was a very skilled speaker and a very skilled attorney, and I don't think May Wright Sewall was her only rival. It sounds like from some of the newspaper reports, she had some other rivals, also in Lafayette, so she sounded like a real character.

CM Marihugh  24:15

What town is next on our list?

Melissa Gentry  24:18

So we're heading to the middle of the state in Peru, Indiana, which we mentioned previously in reference to the Native American women who were attempting to vote. And this was actually a marker ceremony that I actually got to speak thanks to Regine Brendel from Miami County worth remembering and Nicole Politica from the Indiana Historical Bureau. So this is kind of a this one holds kind of a special place in my heart. 

Melissa Gentry  24:43

So in Peru, you can actually visit two sites commemorating one suffragist who is important to not only Indiana but national suffrage history, Marie Stuart Edwards, a historical marker located on Main Street at the Edwards home reads quote, "As the Indiana Women's Franchise League President 1917, to 1919, Edwards mobilized a statewide network of suffragists." And just to add to that quote, she was a very, very clever organizer, and that was one of her strong skills as a suffragist leader. She was a graduate of Smith College, and she actually led that suffrage organization while volunteering in World War One relief efforts and managing her husband's chair factory when he was away at war. 

Melissa Gentry  25:33

During a lobbying trip with President Wilson at the White House in the fall of 1918 Edwards and fellow national leader Carrie Chapman Catt, actually contracted the influenza virus that was killing 1000s of young people across the country. Undaunted, Edwards recuperated at the historic French Lick Springs Hotel here in southern Indiana, and had returned to work at the factory and on the cause of suffrage in a matter of days. 

Melissa Gentry  26:02

Following ratification of the 19th Amendment, Marie Stewart Edwards was elected vice president of The New League of Women Voters. From the marker quote, "Edwards forged a national network of League of Women Voter branches and citizenship schools. She worked with the league for decades helping pass legislation protecting women and children, lobbying for public sanitation and working for disarmament." In addition to the historical marker, a life size bronze statue of Marie Stewart Edwards as a young girl, erected outside the Carnegie Library in Peru also stands as a memorial to this notable suffragist.

CM Marihugh  26:40

So before our discussions about doing this episode on Indiana, I was unaware that there are actually three statues to suffragists, and this is the third. I wondered, after hearing about it and looking at it online, I wondered why she's portrayed as a young girl with a bicycle. But apparently there was a local lore that she was the first one to ride the bicycle in town.

Melissa Gentry  27:09

Yeah, she actually grew up in Lafayette. At the library, they just decided to portray her as a young girl because she was was such an interested learner, she was reading books all the time. So that was just how they chose to portray her in relation to the library.

CM Marihugh  27:25

Right? And also the- send this message of hope and potential for young people, really. 

Melissa Gentry  27:32

Yeah. So she was very innovative in lots of things, including just riding the bicycle.

CM Marihugh  27:36

Okay, where are we headed to now? 

Melissa Gentry  27:38

Okay, so now we're coming to my hometown where Ball State University is located, which is Muncie, Indiana. It's in East Central Indiana, and Muncie is a unique part of the story of suffrage in Indiana. As I mentioned, there were at least two African American Franchise League Chapters established here during the push for the partial suffrage law in 1917 the local chapter of the American Association of University Women is currently raising money for the installation of a historical marker at Muncie Central High School in honor of a suffragist and a hall of fame journalist from here named Ida Husted Harper. 

Melissa Gentry  28:17

So Ida Husted Harper was only 16 when she graduated from the Muncie Central Academy, along with six other girls in 1868. Her valedictory address actually advocated for women's equality, even all the way back in 1868. Ida was working as a columnist in Terre Haute Indiana in 1878 when She met Susan B Anthony. She was elected secretary of Anthony's National Women's Suffrage Association in 1887 and promoted a statewide bill to allow women the right to vote in municipal elections. By 1896 Ida was the head of press relations for the National American Woman Suffrage Association campaign for voting rights in California.

Melissa Gentry  29:04

 Susan B Anthony invited her to New York to write her official biography. Ida published two volumes about Anthony's life in 1898 and co-wrote with Anthony The History of Woman Suffrage. Ida Husted Harper took charge of the press relations for the national organization and published hundreds of articles persuading readers to support giving women the ballot. Her ability to sway newspaper editors was critical in changing the public's opinion towards suffrage. Her articles about the violent outbreaks during that 1913 Washington suffrage March were especially influential for the first time, portraying suffragists not as radicals, but as concerned, capable citizens, participating in democracy.

CM Marihugh  29:52

She is definitely a name that is often known by people that are familiar with the movement. And because of her work for Susan B Anthony and so she was really influential in recording the suffrage movement. And there, there have been valid criticisms of that history, but it's a highly detailed account of a true grassroots movement involving hundreds of 1000s of individuals, many of which are named fighting for this cause over 70 years. Also her volumes life and work of Susan B Anthony give an incredible insight into that remarkable woman.

Melissa Gentry  30:39

Yeah, I would highly recommend reading The History of Women's Suffrage, for anyone that's interested in beginning suffrage history research, because it's just such an detailed, multiple volumes book.

CM Marihugh  30:52

Yes, it can be a little dry, right, but it's an excellent it's an excellent account of how much it took and how many people it took to take all these individual actions to hopefully culminate in the vote.

Melissa Gentry  31:12

Right. And as you mentioned, it's just the list of names that she provided. It's a good starting point if you have a newspapers.com subscription, and you can start looking up some of those names and learn a little bit more about some women that you might be interested in history.

CM Marihugh  31:26

Right, some women in your own state or community that were involved in this. And where are we going to go to next?

Melissa Gentry  31:36

Okay, so we're headed to the state capitol in Indianapolis, and at 617 Indiana Avenue, you'll find a historical marker for the Madam Walker Legacy Center. So entrepreneur, Madam CJ Walker, reportedly the first American woman to be a self made millionaire, moved to Indianapolis in 1910 where she expanded her successful hair product manufacturing company and school of beauty. In 1912 Walker hosted meetings of The African American Indiana Equal Suffrage Association in her home, serving as its treasurer and donating generously to suffrage organizations. Carrie Barnes Ross was the first president of that branch, number seven chapter, and was pivotal in organizing African American women for the vote. It was the first suffrage organization in Indiana to be led entirely by African Americans. 

Melissa Gentry  32:33

Ross a 1905 graduate of Columbia University in New York, was an educator who had previously taught at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, before moving to Indianapolis around 1908. Carrie actively worked within the black community to educate women, arguing that African American women, quote, "have the need for the ballot that white women have, and great many needs that they have not" end quote. Sadly, Carrie Ross died in 1918 and Madam CJ Walker died in 1919 before the passage of the 19th Amendment. But the collaboration between Madam CJ Walker and Carrie Barnes Ross and others highlights the significant role black women played in the national suffrage movement. In January 2020, Indiana Congresswoman Susan Brooks recognized Carrie Ross on the floor of the US House of Representatives in honor of her suffrage work in Indiana. So I was especially proud when that happened.

CM Marihugh  33:35

Madam CJ Walker is also an incredible figure. I first became acquainted with her by the series- 

Melissa Gentry  33:42

Right. Yes.

CM Marihugh  33:43

-Self Made starring Octavia Spencer, and that really gave you a sense of her level of dedication and intensity uplifting black women. And even though it wasn't directly mentioned, she was an active supporter of women's suffrage.

Melissa Gentry  34:04

Yes, and definitely monetarily as well. She added financial support, especially to the women in Indianapolis. And she was also a big benefactor for the NAACP as well.

CM Marihugh  34:15

And where are we heading to next? 

Melissa Gentry  34:19

So we're saying in Indianapolis, and if you go on East North Street, there's something called Obelisk Square. It's between Pennsylvania and Meridian streets in downtown Indianapolis. It's across from the American Legion Mall. And there was a marker that was erected in 2019 so this historical marker in Indianapolis commemorates the work of the previously mentioned suffragists leader, May Wright Sewall, who was an educator, proponent of the arts, and advocate for women's rights and world peace. 

Melissa Gentry  34:50

May Wright Sewall was born in 1844 in Wisconsin, and graduated in 1866 from what would later become Northwestern University. She and her husband founded the girls classical school of Indianapolis, along with many civic clubs promoting equality for women, including the Indianapolis Propylaeum, which is located near her marker. The Propylaeum, was founded in 1888 by a quote group of visionary women with a mission to buy hold and acquire a building to be used for literary, artistic, scientific, industrial, musical, mechanical and educational purposes, to provide a center for cultivation for the public and particularly the women of Indianapolis. 

Melissa Gentry  35:36

Sewall was its first president. From her marker quote, "Sewall promoted women's suffrage through her lectures, writings and organized leadership. She helped establish the Indianapolis Equal Suffrage Society in 1878 and the International Council of Women in 1888. In fact, Sewall was a critical advocate for the near successful campaign from 1881 to 1883 for a state suffrage amendment. As we mentioned before. In 1893 Sewall organized The World's Congress of Representative Women, which was held in conjunction with the world Colombian Exposition in Chicago. She also was a frequent witness before numerous congressional committees in Washington, DC. May Wright Sewall was another suffragist who did not live to see the ratification of the 19th Amendment, though, as she passed away in July of 1920 just one month before its ratification.

CM Marihugh  36:35

Another soldier for the cause who did not live to see the war won. 

Melissa Gentry  36:39

Right. 

CM Marihugh  36:40

But it's a reminder how long this movement lasted. 

Melissa Gentry  36:44

Exactly. 

CM Marihugh  36:45

Where are we headed to next?

Melissa Gentry  36:47

So we're staying in Indianapolis, but it's in a historic neighborhood called Irvington on the east side of Indianapolis, and you'll see a marker there at 108 South Audubon road. It's one of the newest historical markers in the Indiana historical Bureau database, and it honors the life of Grace Julian Clarke, who was a journalist and author and suffragist. Clarke's father was George Washington Julian, who was an abolitionist, we were talking about the connections there. He was a social reformer and a US congressman from Indiana. He actually introduced the first federal suffrage Amendment to the US Constitution in 1868. 

Melissa Gentry  37:26

Her grandfather was noted abolitionist and US congressman, Joshua Reed Giddings of Ohio. Clarke was born in 1865 and graduated from Butler University in Indianapolis. She was a master of networking, often encouraging her fellow journalists around the state to advocate for women's suffrage in their local newspaper. Her marker reads, quote, "As Indiana Federation of Clubs President 1910 to 1911 she advanced women's social and political reform work. Clarke helped revive Indiana's suffrage movement in 1911 by  co-founding The Women's Franchise League. By undertaking automobile tours, founding the Legislative Council of Indiana women at the State House, writing for the Indianapolis Star and leveraging Women's World War One relief work, Clarke was integral to Indiana's 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment." End quote. 

Melissa Gentry  38:26

After 60 years of petitioning the State House, The Women's Franchise League decided to re-energize their cause by taking their message directly to the people. The Indianapolis Star reported about what was likely the first women's suffrage automobile tour in the state in June of 1912 quote, "Five prominent suffragists, including Clarke, wooed Nora, which is a North Side neighborhood in Indianapolis, stormed Carmel and Westfield, which are two suburbs in Hamilton County, and splintered their verbal swords, maces, spears and daggers against two club closing days and a bridge party in Noblesville", which is another suburb in Hamilton County, north of Indianapolis. 

Melissa Gentry  39:13

So this exciting tour led to the creation of new branches for the league. Automobile tours were considered a novelty, especially with women drivers and passengers. The women attached yellow votes for women banners to the car and loaded it with suffrage flyers. They would preach from the running board and some of the residents even decorated the cars with flowers. The following week, the group headed northwest to Boone County, where the Reverend at the Zionsville Christian church not only announced his support for the cause, but asked to join The Women's Franchise League.

CM Marihugh  39:49

That's wonderful. The Reverend asking to join The Women's Franchise League. 

Melissa Gentry  39:54

Right.

CM Marihugh  39:55

We've mentioned many times how important male allies were in this fight. And I was also thinking about the wording of the newspaper quote. It's an element that we consistently see across the suffrage movement, which is the echoes of the principles of 1776 as well as the parallels to military engagements. Here, they say they're using their verbal swords, spears and daggers, 

Melissa Gentry  40:26

Right.

CM Marihugh  40:26

You can't get much closer to battle like encounters described like that. 

Melissa Gentry  40:32

Exactly. 

CM Marihugh  40:33

Could you give us an overview of what happened in the state after 1920?

Melissa Gentry  40:38

Yes, so this is when it starts to get really exciting. So following decades of persuasive tactics and hard work, suffragists had gained good favor and momentum. Congress passed the 19th Amendment in the spring of 1919, as you know, to be sent to the states for ratification at the ceremony when the Speaker of the House, Frederick Gillette signed its passage. Two Indiana suffragists were in the room where it happened, Ida Husted Harper of Muncie and Mary better known as Molly Garrett Hay of Charlestown, Indiana. The two are memorialized with the speaker in the official photograph of the signing. Governor James Goodrich praised state lawmakers on January 16, 1920 for their efforts to quote "free the women of America from the last vestige of political disability." End quote with a very quick ratification of the amendment. The House ratified the measure unanimously within 15 minutes of the Senate vote in Indiana. 

Melissa Gentry  41:41

Suffragists surrounded the governor at the signing ceremony, and the Muncie Morning Star reported that the governor used 10 pins in signing the document, and that these were presented to the women as tokens of the occasion. In the end, Indiana women won the vote by sustaining both moderate and militant strategies, as we just discussed, Indiana suffragists were a mixed company of women with what that Indianapolis suffragist Grace Julian Clark described as quote, "that rare combination of the idealistic and the practical" end quote. They were a colorful mix of gumption, resilience, unapologetic sass, diligence, confidence, style, courage, savvy, stamina and dedication, and on election day, finally, in 1920 in Greenfield, Indiana, one woman described some of these supposedly difficult happenings of that historic occasion in the newspaper The Daily Reporter. She wrote that it was a quote, "trying day for the first-time, women voters in Indiana." Quote, "As early as 6am you could look out your window most any minute and see them flitting past at breakneck speed, some in spring wagons, some in flivvers," which I learned are cars, "and most of them on foot. The ones on foot, you would have thought were chasing a fire so fast did they travel." 

Melissa Gentry  43:07

In Lafayette, The Journal and Courier reported that the nuns and the Sisters of St Elizabeth Hospital and several of the parochial schools marched in, quote, a solemn procession to the polls to cast their votes. It was likely the first election day in Indiana where the fashion in the voting lines was reported in newspapers thanks to what they were calling Mrs. Voter. And back to Peru, reporter Harriet Henton was actually shocked by the behavior of men at the polling places. She wrote, "it certainly was astonishing to go into the voting rooms and be greeted with a fire of small talk and jokeful jests. We thought the polls would be serious, dignified places our club voting rooms always are. No one is allowed to speak unnecessarily there when going in to vote, but hi-ho, we are living and learning." The Indianapolis news noticed that African American women were voting early and in swarms and praised all women voters. Quote, old fashioned politicians who formally croaked their doubts about the ability of women in politics rapidly changed their minds when they saw what the women were doing." End, quote. 

Melissa Gentry  44:19

In some Indiana towns, 100% of the registered women voted. In Marion County, where Indianapolis is located. The Indianapolis Star reported that 71,000 out of 76,000 registered women voted. So back to Harriet Henton, she reflected on that momentous day in history, saying, "No longer wards of the government. Is it really true? Are we full citizens and complete human beings at last? The pride with which women went to the polls Tuesday seemed to say that they full realized that their shackles were off and that the position of master and slave or ruler and incompetent no longer obtains between men and women of America. They are free and equal, proudly, quietly, determinedly did the women all over this land of ours go to the voting places Tuesday and register their opinions, knowing then that each was as great as any of the rest, and all were equal." End quote. 

Melissa Gentry  45:23

And I think it's important that we've talked about a lot of especially unidentified women of all backgrounds that were so important to the cause. But I think especially in Indiana, I think it's important to highlight women like Harriet Henton and other journalists who became dedicated proponents of women winning the ballot. There was a bold squad of Indiana writers and journalists like Grace Julian Clarke and Ida Houston Harper. There was a young editor from Logansport named Sage Fenton, Mindwell Crampton Wilson of Delphi, African American educator and reporter Frances Berry Coston from Indianapolis, and Ella Keith Wooldridge of Muncie, she was a very young reporter She wasn't even old enough to vote, Marie Barnett of Evansville and the feisty Esther Griffin White of Richmond, aided and abetted the franchise cause using the time honored power of the pin. In fact, Griffin White celebrated women as equal citizens, writing quote, "let the women surge in such numbers that they can control the steering apparatus and guide the ship of state into what they may deem some fairer port, some safer haven." End Quote, 

Melissa Gentry  46:39

And on that historic election day in 1920 in Muncie, the first woman was elected to the Indiana General Assembly. She had been described in newspapers as a good quote home woman who knew how to make waffles for breakfast and get dinner on the table in time, her name was Julia Nelson, and she was elected to the state legislature after her name was added to the ballot the weekend before the vote, when the original candidate passed away, her victory speech was humble. She said, "I am thankful for the honor that has been conferred upon me, but more I am happy at this great triumph for America. Good, gracious. That's all I have to say."

CM Marihugh  47:21

What wonderful quotes. 

Melissa Gentry  47:23

Yeah.

CM Marihugh  47:23

I thought that's about all I have to say. That's about all I have to say. I don't think I can add anything else. The only mention I'll make is that we have not yet heard the reports that the nuns and sisters of a hospital marched to the polls. That's wonderful.

Melissa Gentry  47:43

And I did want to point out, if anyone is interested in reading a comprehensive of the history of women's suffrage in Indiana, Dr Anita Morgan wrote a wonderful book called We Must Be Fearless and I like to use that in my research, and I always like to promote that book, so.

CM Marihugh  47:59

Yes, thank you. I have watched her give a presentation on YouTube, and it was fascinating.

Melissa Gentry  48:07

Yeah, she did a very, very comprehensive research of Indiana suffrage, so.

CM Marihugh  48:12

Well, thank you so much for being with us today. We really appreciate it. There's some wonderful stories. 

Melissa Gentry  48:19

Thank you so much for having me.

CM Marihugh  48:22

Thank you for joining us this week. We hope you contact us with comments or questions. The National Votes for Women Trail Project is a work in progress. Please click on the support the project link to contribute to our ongoing work. The trail is a project of the National Collaborative for Women's History Sites, a nonprofit organization dedicated to putting women's history on the map. Our theme is Standing On The Shoulders by Joyce Johnson Rouse and recorded by Earth Mama. Be sure to join us next time. 

Earth Mama  48:57

I am standing on the shoulders of the ones who came before me I am honored by the passion for our liberty. I will stand a little taller. I will work a little longer And my shoulders will be there to hold the ones who follow me. My shoulders will be there to hold the ones who follow me.