World's Congress of Representative Women
Encyclopedia
The World's Congress of Representative Women was a week-long convention for the voicing of women's concerns, held within the World's Columbian Exposition
(Chicago World's Fair) in May 1893. At 81 meetings, organized by women from each of the United States, 150,000 people came to the World's Congress Auxiliary Building and listened to speeches given by almost 500 women from 27 countries.
The World's Congress of Representative Women was arranged, sponsored and promoted by the women's branch of the World's Congress Auxiliary, under the guidance of President Pauline Kohlsaat Palmer, the wife of prominent Chicagoan Potter Palmer. The men of the Auxiliary formed seventeen departments and held more than 100 congresses with a variety of political, social and technical agendas; the women's branch held just one congress. Of all the congresses at the World's Columbian Exposition, the World's Congress of Representative Women was the most highly attended.
served as the president of the 117-woman strong Board of Lady Managers, the organization which dealt with women's business at the World's Columbian Exposition. The Board built the Woman's Building, designed by 21-year-old Sophia Hayden
, as the showplace for women's art. The building itself was decorated by women artists, featuring architectural ornament sculpted by Enid Yandell
and Alice Rideout, both 19, and a large painting by Mary Cassatt
, one of two extensive murals in the Woman's Building. Interior art was curated by Candace Wheeler
and Sara Hallowell. The Board also built a Children's Building, a child-care center required to support fair-goers and convention-goers who brought children. As well, the Board built a women's dormitory near the fairgrounds, to house women traveling alone or with small children.
After the Exposition, the World's Congress Auxiliary Building where the various congresses had convened, was given to the Art Institute of Chicago
. The Woman's Building was torn down, and the mural by Mary Cassatt was misplaced and lost. Bertha Palmer was appointed United States Commissioner at the Paris Exposition of 1900
by President William McKinley
, the only woman so distinguished by any government.
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
(Chicago World's Fair) in May 1893. At 81 meetings, organized by women from each of the United States, 150,000 people came to the World's Congress Auxiliary Building and listened to speeches given by almost 500 women from 27 countries.
The World's Congress of Representative Women was arranged, sponsored and promoted by the women's branch of the World's Congress Auxiliary, under the guidance of President Pauline Kohlsaat Palmer, the wife of prominent Chicagoan Potter Palmer. The men of the Auxiliary formed seventeen departments and held more than 100 congresses with a variety of political, social and technical agendas; the women's branch held just one congress. Of all the congresses at the World's Columbian Exposition, the World's Congress of Representative Women was the most highly attended.
Woman's Building
Bertha Honoré PalmerBertha Palmer
Bertha Palmer was an American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist.- Biography :Born Bertha Matilde Honoré in Louisville, Kentucky, her father was businessman Henry Hamilton Honoré...
served as the president of the 117-woman strong Board of Lady Managers, the organization which dealt with women's business at the World's Columbian Exposition. The Board built the Woman's Building, designed by 21-year-old Sophia Hayden
Sophia Hayden Bennett
Sophia Hayden Bennett was the first woman to receive an architecture degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology....
, as the showplace for women's art. The building itself was decorated by women artists, featuring architectural ornament sculpted by Enid Yandell
Enid Yandell
Enid Yandell was an American sculptor who studied with Auguste Rodin and Frederick William MacMonnies. She was the daughter of Dr. Lunsford Pitts Yandell, Jr. and Louise Elliston Yandell of Louisville, Kentucky. Yandell was a prolific sculptor creating numerous portraits, garden pieces and small...
and Alice Rideout, both 19, and a large painting by Mary Cassatt
Mary Cassatt
Mary Stevenson Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker. She lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists...
, one of two extensive murals in the Woman's Building. Interior art was curated by Candace Wheeler
Candace Wheeler
Candace Wheeler , often credited as the "mother" of interior design, was one of America's first woman interior and textile designers. She is famous for helping to open the field of interior design to women, making decorative art affordable, and for encouraging a new style of American design...
and Sara Hallowell. The Board also built a Children's Building, a child-care center required to support fair-goers and convention-goers who brought children. As well, the Board built a women's dormitory near the fairgrounds, to house women traveling alone or with small children.
Lecturers
- Jane AddamsJane AddamsJane Addams was a pioneer settlement worker, founder of Hull House in Chicago, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace...
- Susan B. AnthonySusan B. AnthonySusan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She was co-founder of the first Women's Temperance Movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as President...
- Frances Ellen Watkins HarperFrances HarperFrances Ellen Watkins Harper was an African American abolitionist and poet. Born free in Baltimore, Maryland, she had a long and prolific career, publishing her first book of poetry at twenty and her first novel, the widely praised Iola Leroy, at age 67.-Life and works:Frances Ellen Watkins was...
- Mary KennyMary Kenny O'SullivanMary Kenny O'Sullivan , was an organizer in the early U.S. labor movement. She learned early the importance of unions from poor treatment received at her first job in dressmaking...
- Lucy StoneLucy StoneLucy 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...
Legacy
Women at the World's Congress achieved the goals they sought. They had come from each state in the Union to staff and run offices, gather and spend resources, pay their workers, sign contracts; all without going into debt as had many of the men's subcommittees.After the Exposition, the World's Congress Auxiliary Building where the various congresses had convened, was given to the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
. The Woman's Building was torn down, and the mural by Mary Cassatt was misplaced and lost. Bertha Palmer was appointed United States Commissioner at the Paris Exposition of 1900
Exposition Universelle (1900)
The Exposition Universelle of 1900 was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from April 15 to November 12, 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next...
by President William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
, the only woman so distinguished by any government.
See also
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against WomenConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against WomenThe Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women is an international convention adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly....
(CEDAW) - FeminismFeminismFeminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
- History of feminismHistory of feminismThe history of feminism involves the story of feminist movements and of feminist thinkers. Depending on time, culture and country, feminists around the world have sometimes had different causes and goals...
- First-wave feminismFirst-wave feminismFirst-wave feminism refers to a period of feminist activity during the 19th and early twentieth century in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. It focused on de jure inequalities, primarily on gaining women's suffrage .The term first-wave was coined retroactively in the 1970s...
- List of suffragists and suffragettes
External links
- The Congress of Women, digital transcript at University of Pennsylvania
- The World's Congress of Representative Women, digital transcript at Google Book Search
- The Women's Building at the 1893 Exposition. Photographs and commentary about the architecture, statuary and murals
- Postcard of Woman's Building, 1893
- New York Times article, May 7, 1893