Chicago Woman's Club facts for kids
The Chicago Woman's Club was a special group started in 1876 by women in Chicago. They wanted to learn new things and help make their community better. This club was famous for creating many chances for people to learn in Chicago. They even helped start the very first juvenile court (a court just for young people) in the United States. Most members were wealthy or middle-class white women, including physicians (doctors), lawyers, and university professors. The club often worked to improve society and education in Chicago. They also invited important women, like artists and women who fought for the right to vote, to give talks.
The group worked to improve hospitals for people with mental health challenges and other health issues. They also helped create the first kindergartens and nursery schools in Chicago. The club met until 1999, when it closed down. The money the club had was used to help students with scholarships and other good causes.
History
The Chicago Woman's Club first started on May 17, 1876. In 1885, the club officially became a company and changed its name to the Chicago Woman's Club. The idea for the group came from Caroline Brown. She suggested to her friends that they form a club to socialize and learn together. By 1877, the club was mentioned in the Woman's Journal and had about thirty members. Many of these women were active in social reform and in reading and charity groups.
The club's way of studying and learning was very serious, almost like a first year of college. For many women at that time, the education from the club was one of the only ways they could continue learning after high school. The Chicago Woman's Club was divided into six main groups called committees: Reform, Philanthropy, Home, Education, Art and literature, and Philosophy and science. Every member had to join at least one committee.
New members had to be suggested by current members. Getting into the club often depended on how important their sponsor was.
The club members first met at Caroline Brown's house. In 1877, they rented rooms at the Chicago Literary Club. Later, they met at places like the Palmer House and Grand Pacific. In 1894, the club moved into the Potter Building. To celebrate, they held a party where, for the first time, men were also invited. However, in 1916, the club voted against letting men become "Associate Members."
In 1929, the club moved to a new building on Michigan Avenue. This six-story building was designed by famous architects. Today, this building is part of Columbia College. The club grew from 30 members in 1881 to 600 by 1894. By 1921, there were 1,200 members. Each year, the Chicago Woman's Club made a large yearbook that showed what the club did. The club's motto was "Humani nihil a me alienum puto" which means "I consider nothing human alien to me." On May 25, 1892, they chose ivory white and gold as their official colors.
In 1876, the club welcomed its first Jewish women, Henriette and Hannah Solomon. The first African American member was Fannie Barrier Williams. Her approval process was difficult and caused some disagreements in the club. But in 1895, the club voted not to exclude anyone based on race. She finally became a member in 1896. In 1894, a club for African American women was started, based on the Chicago Woman's Club.
Helping the Community
The Chicago Woman's Club started getting involved in many social improvements around the mid-1880s. Club members were concerned about families facing tough working conditions and children who had to work. Starting in January 1896, some members held monthly meetings to study laws that affected women and children.
The Chicago Woman's Club helped improve the Cook County Hospital for people with mental health challenges. They supported Delia Howe in becoming an assistant doctor there. The club also pushed for more women doctors to be appointed after Howe left. They kept working to improve conditions for female patients, visiting the hospital and reporting problems. In 1886, they even suggested changes to laws for the care of people with mental health issues and common criminals. The club's Reform Committee did most of this work. By 1904, they had made sure there was enough food and clothing for patients at the hospital.
The Chicago Women's Club also asked for a general hospital to treat people with "infectious diseases." They worked for many years to get such a hospital built. The Reform Committee also helped create a Children's Hospital Society of Chicago. In 1909, the club suggested ways to improve medical staff at the county jail.
The Chicago Woman's Club was active in other health issues too. They put up advertisements against spitting in Chicago to promote cleanliness. They also supported laws against cigarettes. In 1930, the club promised $11,343 to support a campaign for cancer awareness. The club was one of the first groups to promote education about cancer.
In 1884, they helped appoint a night matron at the jail. This matron would look after women and children who were prisoners. Club members Ellen Henrotin and Sara Hackett Stevenson helped create a Protective Agency for Women and Children in 1886. This agency helped women and children in difficult situations. In 1897, the Protective Agency joined with the Bureau of Justice. The women asked for and received full control over cases involving women and children. In 1905, the Protective Agency joined with the Legal Aid Society of Chicago. Also in 1905, the club asked the state of Illinois to change a law to better protect children.
Important club members like Julia Lathrop, Jane Addams, and Lucy Flower helped create the Illinois Juvenile Court Law of 1899. This law started the first juvenile court in the country. The club even helped pay the salaries of the probation officers who worked in the court. Before this court, young people who got into trouble in Chicago were arrested and put in jails with adults, with no legal help.
The Chicago Woman's Club also supported the woman's suffrage movement, which fought for women's right to vote. In 1894, the group started the Chicago Political Equality League. This group was seen as careful and worked to show that women could want to vote and still be feminine and pleasant. The club also hosted talks about suffrage and invited leaders like Susan B. Anthony to speak.
Environmental issues were also important to the club. Members spoke out against killing wild birds for their feathers, which were used in women's hats. In 1905, they supported a plan to protect natural areas in Illinois.
Education Efforts
The Chicago Woman's Club was involved in many efforts to improve education. Some of these, like asking for children's schooling in prisons, were part of their other reform work. Early on, in 1887, the club asked Mayor Roche to appoint women to open spots on the Board of Education in Chicago. Later, in 1890, the club suggested five women for the school board. Ada Celeste Sweet was appointed to the Board of Education in 1892, and the club pushed for her appointment to be approved.
To show the Chicago Board of Education what a clean school should look like, the club cleaned one school "from attic to basement" in 1898. In 1916, the club urged the school board to choose teachers only based on how good they were at teaching. Club member Lucy Flower successfully worked to get a law passed in Illinois that made school attendance mandatory for children.
The Chicago Woman's Club also helped, along with Rose Haas Alschuler and Charlotte Kuh, to set up the first public nursery school in the United States. This school was connected to the Chicago Board of Education. The club was also the first to give money for a kindergarten in the public schools. In 1905, the club created a special fund for the John H. Hamline school. This fund provided money for clubs for parents and children.
The Chicago Woman's Club also supported education for the blind beyond public schools. In 1906, club members taught visually impaired people in their homes. They taught Braille, shorthand, typewriting, and weaving. This work grew so much that more money was needed. A bill was introduced to provide funds for these teachers.
In 1889, the club "adopted" Norwood Park School. They gave money and asked for more for the school. This school was both an orphanage for over 300 homeless boys and a training school. The club also helped the School Children's Aid Society by giving their time and "suitable new clothing" to poor students so they could attend school. The club also started a school for boys who were in the Chicago common jail. In 1898, the Chicago Women's Club made sure that boys in the county jail had a Thanksgiving dinner.
In 1885, the club started a training school for people who worked in homes. The club continued this work, creating a school, offering scholarships, providing housing for students, and setting up an employment agency. In 1900, the club also suggested that boys should learn how to cook in public schools. The idea also included teaching boys other home skills. This way, when they grew up, they would "make good husbands, able to help their wives in domestic economy." The Chicago Woman's Club also started vocational classes (classes for job skills) for interested students, which included scholarships.
In 1892, the club helped pay for women's dormitories (living spaces) at the University of Chicago. The dormitories cost $280,000. In 1897, the Chicago Woman's Club helped raise money to add to the Egyptian collection at the University of Chicago.
In 1898, the club created an information center for students. It provided resources and information for 50 cents per question. The club also kept records of the types of questions asked and only took serious questions about a topic.
Worker's Rights
Besides working on reforms and education, the club also supported worker's rights. During the World's Colombian Exposition (a big fair), the Chicago Woman's Club asked the organizers to keep the event open on Sundays. This would allow working people to visit. The Chicago Woman's Club also supported conferences like "Women in Modern Industrialism." These conferences reported on the situation of women in different jobs. Catherine Waugh McCulloch spoke positively about whether married women should be involved in business at this conference.
In 1894, the club helped find 200 jobs for women and girls. Later, the club started the Women's Emergency Association. This group helped about 1,500 people find jobs. The Daily Republican newspaper gave the organization credit for "influencing all the laws for the improvement of the conditions surrounding the working women and children of Illinois." The Chicago Woman's Club also created an Employment Bureau to help people find work.
The club also worked with the Women's Trade Union. They helped boycott (refuse to buy from) factories where working conditions were bad. The club voted to send people to speak up for clerks who were overworked in stores. They also pushed for these workers to have half-holidays. In 1912, the club created a committee to look into women's working conditions in factories. Their goal was to create a minimum wage for working women.
Important Members
Many important women were members of the club. Doctor Sara Hackett Stevenson was president from 1892 to 1894. Ada Celeste Sweet was elected president in 1894. Other presidents included novelist and preacher Celia Parker Woolley, reformer Lucy Flower, Lydia Avery Coonley, and Julia Holmes Smith. Many of the presidents of the Chicago Woman's Club were also members of the Fortnightly Club.
- Jane Addams
- Anna Blount
- Louise DeKoven Bowen
- Myra Bradwell
- Lydia Avery Coonley
- Lucy Flower
- Ellen Martin Henrotin
- Mary Emma Holmes
- Mary Lewis Langworthy
- Julia Lathrop
- Emma Gilson Wallace
- Lena B. Mathes
- Catharine Waugh McCulloch
- Mary McDowell
- Anna E. Nicholes
- Bertha Palmer
- Elia Peattie
- Julia Holmes Smith
- Hanna G. Solomon
- Sara Hackett Stevenson
- Ada Celeste Sweet
- Alice Bradford Wiles
- Frances Willard
- Fannie Barrier Williams
- Celia Parker Woolley
- Rachelle Yarros
