Invited by celebrated architect and socialite Theodate Pope, and introduced by the equally well-placed and notably outspoken Katherine Houghton Hepburn, a militant English suffragist took the stage at Hartford’s Parson Theatre today in 1913, and delivered what is now regarded as one of the greatest speeches of the twentieth-century. Emmeline Pankhurst, whose unwavering advocacy…
Tag: suffrage
October 12: Amidst Cries of “Foul Play,” Connecticut’s 1st Written Constitution Goes Into Effect
Today in 1818, Gov. Oliver Wolcott issued a Proclamation declaring the new state Constitution approved and ratified, and henceforth “the supreme law of the State.” The proclamation followed a state-wide referendum exactly one week before, on October 5th, that had seen the proposed revision of government win approval by only 1,554 votes. The 13,918…
July 26: Long Before The World Was “Woke,” These Lincoln Supporters Were “Wide Awakes”
The idea of being “woke” to the dimensions of racial injustice in America entered mainstream public awareness with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. But more than 150 years earlier, a group of young Abraham Lincoln supporters in Hartford declared themselves…
May 28: Preparing Connecticut Women to Exercise Their Rights and Responsibilities as Voters
On May 21, 1919, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a constitutional amendment that would give American women the right to vote — legislation that would eventually become the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Even though the legislation still had to be approved by the U.S. Senate and ratified…
May 28: Preparing Connecticut Women to Exercise Their Rights as Citizens
On May 21, 1919, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a constitutional amendment that would give American women the right to vote — legislation that would eventually become the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Even though the legislation still had to be approved by the U.S. Senate and ratified…
April 1: A Political Cartoonist for the 20th-Century Woman
As the first political cartoonist ever to win a Pulitzer Prize, Clarence Daniel “C. D.” Batchelor thought having been born on April Fool’s Day (in 1888) was appropriate to his calling. The cane-collecting (he died owning more than 500), dapper, Kansas-born, self-styled “character” – “It was just as easy to be a character as…
November 13: Emmeline Pankhurst Delivers One of the 20th Century’s Greatest Speeches – “Freedom or Death”
Today in 1913, British suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst delivered her famous “Freedom or Death” speech to a crowd of supporters at the Parsons Theater in Hartford, Connecticut. The famous activist, well known to Americans for the aggressive tactics she employed at suffragist rallies in England, was invited to speak by architect Theodate Pope of Farmington,…
October 12: Connecticut’s 1st Written Constitution Goes Into Effect – Opponents Cry “Foul”
Today in 1818, Gov. Oliver Wolcott issued a Proclamation declaring the new state Constitution approved and ratified, and henceforth “the supreme law of the State.” The proclamation followed a state-wide referendum exactly one week before, on October 5th, that had seen the proposed revision of government win approval by only 1,554 votes. The…
July 26: Long Before People Were “Woke,” These Abraham Lincoln Supporters Were “Wide Awakes”
The idea of being “woke” to the dimensions of racial injustice in America entered mainstream public awareness with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. But more than 150 years earlier, a group of young Abraham Lincoln supporters in Hartford declared themselves…
May 28: Preparing Connecticut Women for Full Citizenship
On May 21, 1919, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of legislation that would give American women the right to vote — legislation that would eventually become the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Even though the legislation still had to be approved by the U.S. Senate and ratified by 3/4…
November 13: Emmeline Pankhurst Delivers One of the 20th Century’s Greatest Speeches in Hartford
Today in 1913, British suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst delivered her famous “Freedom or Death” speech to a crowd of supporters at the Parsons Theater in Hartford, Connecticut. The famous activist, well-known to Americans for the aggressive tactics she employed at suffragist rallies in England, was invited to speak by architect Theodate Pope of Farmington, and…
October 12: Connecticut’s Constitution of 1818 Goes Into Effect – but Not Without Grumbling
Today in 1818, Gov. Oliver Wolcott issued a Proclamation declaring the new state Constitution approved and ratified, and henceforth “the supreme law of the State.” The proclamation followed a state-wide referendum exactly one week before, on October 5th, that had seen the proposed revision of government win approval by only 1,554 votes. The 13,918…