Jennie C. Van Ness
Encyclopedia
Jennie Carolyn Van Ness (August 27, 1879 – September 15, 1967) was a leader in the women's suffrage
and Prohibition
movements in New Jersey
. She was one of the first two women to serve in the New Jersey Legislature
, elected in 1920 as a Republican
.
, Illinois
in 1879, the daughter of John and Caroline Sullivan. She married Frank W. Van Ness, a businessman, and they settled in East Orange, New Jersey
, where they raised three daughters.
Van Ness worked as a substitute teacher at East Orange High School
and was an active local civic organizer. She also joined the New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association (NJWSA), a group founded by Lucy Stone
and other New Jersey suffragists in 1867. Van Ness ran the NJWSA's citizenship schools, which sought to educate women throughout the state in government and politics. In April 1920, when the NJWSA was reorganized as the New Jersey League of Women Voters
, she was made a regional director and also chaired a board to draw up a state program on legislative issues.
, designated by the Essex County
Republican Party to run on the twelve-person slate for the New Jersey General Assembly
. On announcing her candidacy, she was quoted by the Newark Evening News
as saying,
Van Ness and Laird won and became the first two women to serve in the state legislature. Also elected on the Essex County slate was Walter G. Alexander
, the first African American
to serve in the legislature.
During her single term in the Assembly, Van Ness served on the standing committees for Education and for Unfinished Business, and on the joint committees for the Industrial School for Girls, the School for Feeble Minded Children, and the State Library. She supported Republican legislation granting women equal privileges in government employment, as well as equal representation on party committees.
Van Ness was best known for her sponsorship of a prohibition enforcement bill, known as the Van Ness Act. Attorneys with the Anti-Saloon League
helped to draw up the legislation, which was intended to reinforce the federal Volstead Act
. The Van Ness Act assessed severe penalties on the sale and manufacture of alcoholic beverages and provided for the trial of offenders before a magistrate without jury:
Introduced in early 1921, the act passed the Republican-controlled legislature over the veto of Governor Edward I. Edwards and became law. In the 1921 legislative election, "wet" (anti-Prohibition) candidates strenuously opposed the Van Ness Act as a violation of constitutional and personal liberties. Anti-Prohibition forces also made a special drive to defeat Van Ness in her Essex County race. She was the only Republican candidate on the Essex County slate to fail to be reelected in November 1921.
The Van Ness Act was on the books for less than a year, as the New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals ruled it unconstitutional in February 1922.
According to Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women, "after 1931 no reference to Van Ness appears in the public record." She died on September 15, 1967 in Wilmington
, North Carolina
.
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
and Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
movements in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. She was one of the first two women to serve in the New Jersey Legislature
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...
, elected in 1920 as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
Early life and career
Jennie Carolyn Sullivan was born in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
in 1879, the daughter of John and Caroline Sullivan. She married Frank W. Van Ness, a businessman, and they settled in East Orange, New Jersey
East Orange, New Jersey
East Orange is a city in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the city's population 64,270, making it the state's 20th largest municipality, having dropped 5,554 residents from its population of 69,824 in the 2000 Census, when it was the state's 14th most...
, where they raised three daughters.
Van Ness worked as a substitute teacher at East Orange High School
East Orange Campus High School
East Orange Campus High School is a public high school located in the city of East Orange, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in grades 10-12, located in the former campus of Upsala College. The school is part of the East Orange School District, classified as an Abbott...
and was an active local civic organizer. She also joined the New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association (NJWSA), a group founded by Lucy Stone
Lucy Stone
Lucy Stone was a prominent American abolitionist and suffragist, and a vocal advocate and organizer promoting rights for women. In 1847, Stone was the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a college degree. She spoke out for women's rights and against slavery at a time when women were discouraged...
and other New Jersey suffragists in 1867. Van Ness ran the NJWSA's citizenship schools, which sought to educate women throughout the state in government and politics. In April 1920, when the NJWSA was reorganized as the New Jersey League of Women Voters
League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters is an American political organization founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt during the last meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association approximately six months before the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote...
, she was made a regional director and also chaired a board to draw up a state program on legislative issues.
Legislative tenure
In September 1920, Van Ness was one of two women, along with Margaret B. LairdMargaret B. Laird
Margaret Brydon Laird was a leader in the women's suffrage movement in New Jersey. She was one of the first two women to serve in the New Jersey Legislature, elected in 1920 as a Republican....
, designated by the Essex County
Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 783,969, ranking it third in the state after Bergen County and Middlesex County; Essex County's population has declined from 786,147 as of the bureau's...
Republican Party to run on the twelve-person slate for the New Jersey General Assembly
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...
. On announcing her candidacy, she was quoted by the Newark Evening News
Newark Evening News
The Newark Evening News was an American newspaper published in Newark, New Jersey. As New Jersey's largest city, Newark played a major role in New Jersey's journalistic history. At its apex, The News was widely regarded as the newspaper of record in New Jersey. It had bureaus in Montclair,...
as saying,
Van Ness and Laird won and became the first two women to serve in the state legislature. Also elected on the Essex County slate was Walter G. Alexander
Walter G. Alexander
Walter Gilbert Alexander was an African American physician and Republican Party politician from New Jersey. He was president of the National Medical Association and the first African American to serve in the New Jersey Legislature.-Early life and career:Alexander was born in Lynchburg, Virginia in...
, the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
to serve in the legislature.
During her single term in the Assembly, Van Ness served on the standing committees for Education and for Unfinished Business, and on the joint committees for the Industrial School for Girls, the School for Feeble Minded Children, and the State Library. She supported Republican legislation granting women equal privileges in government employment, as well as equal representation on party committees.
Van Ness was best known for her sponsorship of a prohibition enforcement bill, known as the Van Ness Act. Attorneys with the Anti-Saloon League
Anti-Saloon League
The Anti-Saloon League was the leading organization lobbying for prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century. It was a key component of the Progressive Era, and was strongest in the South and rural North, drawing heavy support from pietistic Protestant ministers and their...
helped to draw up the legislation, which was intended to reinforce the federal Volstead Act
Volstead Act
The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was the enabling legislation for the Eighteenth Amendment which established prohibition in the United States...
. The Van Ness Act assessed severe penalties on the sale and manufacture of alcoholic beverages and provided for the trial of offenders before a magistrate without jury:
Introduced in early 1921, the act passed the Republican-controlled legislature over the veto of Governor Edward I. Edwards and became law. In the 1921 legislative election, "wet" (anti-Prohibition) candidates strenuously opposed the Van Ness Act as a violation of constitutional and personal liberties. Anti-Prohibition forces also made a special drive to defeat Van Ness in her Essex County race. She was the only Republican candidate on the Essex County slate to fail to be reelected in November 1921.
The Van Ness Act was on the books for less than a year, as the New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals ruled it unconstitutional in February 1922.
Later life
After her defeat Van Ness continued to be active in the New Jersey Women's Republican Club, serving as the club's legislative chair in 1926. In 1927, she looked back on the first wave of suffragists to seek political office:According to Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women, "after 1931 no reference to Van Ness appears in the public record." She died on September 15, 1967 in Wilmington
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
.