Lena Morrow Lewis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lena Morrow Lewis
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Lena Morrow Lewis (1892), Monmouth College Archives.
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| Born | December 1868 |
| Died | 1950 (aged 81–82) |
| Alma mater | Monmouth College |
| Known for | Activist |
Martha Lena Morrow Lewis (1868-1950), often called Lena, was an important American speaker, political organizer, writer, and newspaper editor. She worked hard for several big causes. These included the prohibition movement (which aimed to stop alcohol sales), women's suffrage (the right for women to vote), and socialism (a political idea about fairness for workers). Lena Lewis is best known as a leading woman in the Socialist Party of America in the early 1900s. She was also the first woman to join the party's main leadership group, the National Executive Committee.
Contents
Biography of Lena Morrow Lewis
Lena's Early Life and Education
Martha Lena Morrow was born in December 1868. She grew up in the countryside of Warren County, Illinois. Her parents were Rev. T. G. and Mary A. Morrow. Her father was a Presbyterian minister.
Lena finished high school in Paxton, Illinois. After that, she went to Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. This college was connected to the Presbyterian church. She graduated from Monmouth College in 1892.
Lena's First Steps in Activism
After college, Lena began her work as an activist. Her focus changed over time as she found new causes she cared about.
First, Lena worked as a national speaker for the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). This group worked to stop the sale of alcohol. She stayed with the WCTU until 1898. During this time, she was also a WCTU district president in Illinois.
In 1898, she started working for women's suffrage. This movement aimed to get women the right to vote. She organized events for this cause until 1901. She began her suffrage work in South Dakota. Then, in 1900, she moved to Oregon. Lena was the first woman activist to work with powerful labor unions in Chicago. She wanted their help to get women the right to vote.
Working for the Socialist Party
"Downtrodden women, just listen to this and take heart! You are in reality superior to man, and if you hadn't been you could never have survived all the centuries of servitude and persecution that have been put upon you."
Lena Morrow joined the Socialist Party of America (SPA) in 1902. She then focused her activism on socialism. She liked how socialism emphasized fair working conditions. She believed that having a job was more important for a person's life than having the right to vote. She started her socialist work in the San Francisco Bay Area in California.
In 1903, she married fellow Socialist Party speaker Arthur Morrow Lewis. She then took his last name, Lewis. Her husband was from England and was a well-known scholar. In the same year, 1903, she was arrested in San Francisco. This happened because she was speaking on the streets. She spent a few hours in jail.
Lena Morrow Lewis worked tirelessly to promote the Socialist Party. She was a national organizer and speaker from 1908 to 1914. During this time, she spoke in almost every state in the U.S. She also gave speeches in Canada and England. She spoke in many different places, from lumber camps and mining towns to large auditoriums.
Lewis was a member of the Intercollegiate Socialist Society. In 1905, she was chosen to be on the National Woman's Committee of the Socialist Party from California. She was the first and only woman member. Later, Lewis was chosen to represent the U.S. at the 1910 International Socialist Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Lena was known for her speeches, but she also wrote a lot. More than 200,000 copies of her pamphlet, "The Socialist Party and Woman Suffrage," were given out. She also wrote regularly for Progressive Woman magazine.
By 1910-1911, Lena Lewis was a powerful figure in the Socialist Party. She was one of its "outstanding lecturers and organizers." However, she faced some challenges and decided to move. She went to the Alaskan Territory to work as an organizer. From 1913 to 1917, she lived alone in a small cabin in Juneau. While there, Lena taught, lectured, wrote, and campaigned. She was the editor of the Sunday Morning Post in Juneau for over two years. She also helped edit Alaska Labor News, the official newspaper for organized labor in the state.
Returning to California and Later Work
"Lena Morris Lewis is one of the noblest of women, as I have reason to know." Eugene V. Debs, 1922.
In the 1920s, Lena Lewis was back in San Francisco, California. She continued to be active in the Socialist Party. In 1926, she was the SPA's candidate for Lieutenant Governor of California. She received a strong 56,000 votes. This was more than 10,000 votes more than writer Upton Sinclair, who was the Socialist candidate for Governor. Lewis was also the candidate for the United States Senate in 1928 for the California Socialists.
Lewis was elected State Secretary of the Socialist Party of California in 1925. She held this position until 1930. During this time, she also edited the Socialist Party newspaper, Labor World. She was also an active member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and the League of Women Voters.
In 1931, Lewis was elected to the main leadership group of the Socialist Party of America, the National Executive Committee.
In 1936, Lewis left the Socialist Party. She joined the Social Democratic Federation, a group that had different ideas from the SPA. In her final years, she helped organize the library of the Rand School of Social Science. This school was created to teach about socialism.
Lena's Death and Legacy
Lena Lewis passed away in 1950. She was 81 years old. Even though she was a top leader in the Socialist Party for most of her life, she did not write a book about her memories. However, Lena left behind many important papers. These papers are kept at the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives. This library is located at New York University in New York City. The collection of her papers is quite large and has been put on microfilm for scholars to study. There is also a small collection of photos of Lena Lewis with other socialist leaders at NYU.
Lena Morrow Lewis's Writings
- The Socialist Party and Women Suffrage. Chicago: National Office of the Socialist Party, n.d. [1911].
- Mission of the Social Democratic Federation. Washington, DC: Social Democratic Federation National Office, n.d. [c. 1936].
See also
In Spanish: Lena Morrow Lewis para niños
