How did Chicago women win suffrage for themselves and other women? Who were these politicians and activists, and what did they accomplish on the long path toward suffrage from the years after the Civil War until passage of the Nineteenth Amendment? The answers--from securing local elections that were open to women as early as 1880, to working behind the scenes as loyal party operatives to shape the Republican party ticket--might surprise us. Long before the Nineteenth Amendment women in Chicago--Frances Willard, Ida B. Wells, Ella Stewart, and Catharine Waugh McCulloch--spoke, wrote, canvassed, rallied, lobbied, negotiated, and voted their way to full suffrage in 1920.

Join us for this very special online presentation in honor of the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage, co-sponsored by Glessner House, the League of Women Voters of Illinois, and Friends of Historic Second Church.

Our speaker will be Rachel Bohlmann, Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections, American History and American Studies Librarian, and Gender Studies Librarian at the Hesburgh Libraries at the University of Notre Dame. She previously served as Director of Public Programs at the Newberry Library.

This program is generously funded by a grant from Wintrust. The program is free of charge but advanced registration is required.