Carnegie museum honors 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage

FAIRFIELD – 'How About A Woman For Mayor?”

That was the headline of a Fairfield Daily Journal article from December of 1920. It might have seemed like a radical idea back. After all, women had just earned the right to vote nationwide after the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution four months prior.

And now, exactly 100 years that story appeared in print, Fairfield has its first female mayor, Connie Boyer. Boyer recently visited the Carnegie Historical Museum to view its new exhibit marking the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage, where this newspaper article from 1920 has been enlarged and features prominently on the wall. The exhibit is the work of museum curator Stan Plum. Plum scoured through old newspapers and other archives to learn about the role local women played in the quest for political equality.

Some of the women featured in the exhibit include Carrie (Lamson) Ross, who gave Lamson Woods to the city upon her death and whose father, Ward Lamson, founded Fairfield and many of its institutions. Mary Howard, whose husband was Elmer Howard after whom Howard Park was named, was a turn-of-the century housewife and an outspoken supporter of giving women the right to vote. Elizabeth Louden, wife of R.B. Louden of Louden Machinery Company, was a political organizer who used her wealth to further women's rights.

Boyer said she is proud to stand on the shoulders of all these women who paved the way for later generations.

'All these women had a vision, and they had confidence that women could lead,” Boyer said.

Boyer remarked that she has read about the history of women's suffrage, such as in the book 'Women Win the Vote,” by Nancy Kennedy. Boyer said she is amazed at the courage women showed in the years leading up to the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

'They had to put up with a lot,” Boyer said. 'And black women had to go through even more than white women did.”

Plum noted that it was dangerous for a woman to speak out on the issue, and he said women were harassed and beaten for participating in marches. One famous incident occurred in 1917 when prison guards brutally assaulted a group of 33 suffragists in Washington D.C. in what the women later dubbed their 'Night of Terror.”

Boyer said there was debate in the suffrage movement as to whose voting rights should be prioritized, if the activists should push for full equality, or focus on the voting rights of white women. At the time, it was difficult or even impossible for black men to vote in certain jurisdictions. Ultimately, the view that won out was to prioritize white women, and try to do other groups later.

Plum said he dug through two local newspapers from the era for his research, and one had many more articles than the other. The Fairfield Daily Journal had numerous stories on women's suffrage leading up to the ratification of the 19th Amendment. The Fairfield Ledger, on the other hand, scarcely mentioned the subject, and when it did, it was often to criticize it. Plum said he suspects the town of Fairfield was split on the issue of women's voting equality, as evidenced by the two papers adopting different attitudes toward it.

Though 1920 was the year women got to vote in national elections, some states allowed them to vote earlier, though not Iowa. Women earned limited suffrage in 1894 when they were allowed to vote on ballot measures but not candidates. Plum notes that the first time Fairfield women participated in an election of any kind was in 1898 when the townsfolk voted to purchase the Carnegie Library, making it city property.

Plum's wife Debi contributed a piece to the exhibit, sewing a sash with the words 'Votes for Women” on it. It is draped on a mannequin wearing a white dress courtesy of the Fairfield High School drama department that is meant to depict the kind of clothing suffragists wore during their marches, since white was the color of their movement.

The exhibit shows a photograph of group of women all dressed in white participating in the 1912 Old Settlers Parade carrying signs that read 'Political Equality.” Not everyone in town supported suffrage, and some were even derisive of the idea. The exhibit shows a photograph of men from Parsons College's debate society Orio, who dressed up as women and held a sign that read 'Votes for Woemen,” with an intentional misspelling.

In one of the main pieces of art, the 1920 Fairfield Daily Journal article titled 'How About A Woman For Mayor?,” the author interviews numerous women in town who were movers and shakers to get their view on the prospect of a female mayor. The general sentiment among interviewees was that women should first get experience at lower positions of power before seeking the town's highest office. Some expressed concern about the effect of female empowerment on men.

One women, whose names is given as 'Mrs. William S. Allen,” (reflecting a custom of the time) is quoted in the article as saying 'Women suffrage always had strong support, but I do not believe in women pushing forward with undue haste. There is no reason why women should try to push themselves into these positions, and the men out, just for the sake of getting recognition.”

The exhibit features a large newspaper cartoon that was printed in the Fairfield Daily Journal showing a woman carrying a baby marked 'votes” across a frozen lake with dogs barking at her on the other side. Plum said the cartoon was inspired by an image that appeared in the novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,” which would have been familiar to readers at the time.