Ada James facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ada James
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Born |
Ada Lois James
March 23, 1876 Richland Center, Wisconsin
|
| Died | September 29, 1952 (aged 76) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Suffragist, Social Activist |
Ada Lois James (born March 23, 1876 – died September 29, 1952) was an important American woman. She worked hard to get women the right to vote (a 'suffragist'). She was also a 'social worker,' meaning she helped people in need, and a 'reformer,' someone who worked to make society better.
Ada was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin. After finishing high school in 1894, she taught school for several years. She quickly became involved in the movement to give women the right to vote. Her parents were also very active in this cause.
In 1911, Ada became the president of a new group called the Political Equality League. She led this group until 1913. Then, it joined with another group, the Wisconsin Woman's Suffrage Association. Ada James also worked on other important causes in the 1920s. These included pacifism, which means working for peace, and prohibition, which was about banning alcohol. She also helped needy families in Richland County, Wisconsin. For many years, she led the county children's board.
Ada James's Early Life
Ada Lois James was born in 1876 to David and Laura James. She had two younger sisters, Beulah and Vida. She also had an older step-brother named Oscar. Sadly, her older brother had passed away as a baby before she was born.
After high school, Ada started to lose her hearing. She used an ear trumpet for the rest of her life to help her hear.
Ada fell in love with Charles Bingham Cornwall, who was the Richland County Clerk. They planned to get married in 1897. However, her father did not approve of the marriage. He threatened to disown her if she married Charles. Because of this, Ada broke off the engagement. She never married. Instead, she put all her energy into helping others. Her first big cause was women's right to vote.
What Ada James Achieved
Ada James is remembered as a very important suffragist from Richland Center and Richland County. She is also known for her work helping children and women who needed support. Her mother, Laura, was one of the people who started the Richland Center Woman's Club in 1882. This club worked hard for women's right to vote. It might have been the first group in Wisconsin focused on women's suffrage.
Two years later, the Woman's Club hosted the first big meeting of the Wisconsin Suffrage Association. In 1886, a famous leader named Susan B. Anthony spoke about women's right to vote in Richland Center.
In 1892, Ada and some other high school girls started their own group called the Equality Club. They wanted to help the campaign for women's right to vote. In 1911, Ada helped create the Political Equality League for the whole state. She was its president for two years. This included the important state vote in 1912. Ada used new and creative ways to spread her message. She even hired a motorboat to hand out flyers along the Wolf River. She also used an airplane to drop brochures over crowds at county fairs!
However, the vote for women's suffrage failed by a lot of votes. Ada blamed this on the money spent by breweries. They feared that women voters would support banning alcohol.
After the 1912 campaign, the Political Equality League and the Wisconsin Suffrage Association joined together. Ada became a vice president. Even though World War I started in 1917, the fight for women's suffrage continued. The war helped convince President Woodrow Wilson to support women's right to vote. In 1919, Wisconsin became the first state to officially approve the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. This amendment gave women across the country the right to vote. Wisconsin won this honor because Ada's father, former State Senator David G. James, quickly took the official documents to Washington, D.C. He just barely beat Illinois to be the first state! Women voted in a presidential election for the first time in 1920.
After women won the right to vote, Ada James spent the rest of her life helping other causes. These included temperance (banning alcohol), pacifism (working for peace), and helping children who were not as lucky. She became very interested in helping children after bringing poor kids from Chicago to Richland County for the summers. These "sunshine children" made her realize that Richland County also had children who needed help. In 1920, Ada led a campaign that convinced the Richland County Board to create a Children's Board. This was the first group like it in the state. She put a lot of her time and money into this important work.
Images for kids
-
Ada James (in plaid) during a campaign strategy session, 1912.
