Queen Isabella Association facts for kids
The Queen Isabella Association was a group created to raise money for a statue of Queen Isabella of Spain. This statue was planned for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. The group also wanted to help women gain equal rights, including the right to vote (called women's suffrage).
Contents
Planning the World's Fair
In the late 1880s, people started planning a big event called the World's Columbian Exposition. This fair was meant to celebrate 400 years since Europeans first arrived in America. Many women wanted to be involved in this important event.
Several cities hoped to host the fair, like Chicago, New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. In 1890, Chicago was chosen. At the same time, the U.S. Congress decided there would be a special group called the Board of Lady Managers. Their job was to make sure women were included and organized in the Exposition. Drs. Frances Dickinson and Lucy Waite were the first to suggest forming the Queen Isabella Association.
Starting the Queen Isabella Association
As the World's Fair plans moved forward, a group of professional women came together. They wanted to show their ideas about women's roles in society at the Exposition. This group believed that women were just as capable as men. They felt women should be able to have professional careers outside the home.
They were inspired by Queen Isabella of Spain, who helped Christopher Columbus's voyage to the New World. Catharine Van Valkenburg Waite, who founded the Illinois Woman Suffrage Association, first suggested building a statue of Isabella.
The Queen Isabella Association officially started in Chicago in 1889. It quickly grew, forming chapters in New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. This growth helped the group speak up for Chicago to be the fair's location.
Joining the Association
Women could join the Queen Isabella Association by paying one dollar. They could also buy shares for five dollars to help raise money for the statue.
Important Members
- President: Dr. Julia Holmes Smith
- Vice President: Eliza Allen Starr
- Treasurer: Catharine Van Valkenburg Waite
- Corinne Stubbs Brown
- Frances Hale Gardener
- Dr. Frances Dickinson
What the Association Believed In
Most members of the Queen Isabella Association were professional women. They were part of the "New Woman" movement. This movement believed that women should have an equal role in society. They thought women should work in professions alongside men.
The Association at the World's Fair
As the World's Fair planning continued, the Queen Isabella Association's role became smaller. They ended up having their own Isabella Club House outside the main fairgrounds. It was located at 61st and Oglesby Avenue. The Association also ran the Isabella Hotel next door. They held a "Meeting of Women Lawyers" at their Club House from August 3 to 5, 1893.
The Queen Isabella Statue
The Association asked sculptor Harriet Hosmer to create the statue. Harriet Hosmer was also a member of the Queen Isabella Society. Hosmer finished the statue, but the Association did not have enough money to buy it.
Bertha Palmer offered to buy the statue for the Woman's Building at the fair, but Hosmer said no. Instead, she sold it to Harriet Williams Russell Strong. Strong had the statue placed outside the Pampas Place of the California Building at the World's Columbian Exposition.
Images for kids
-
Julia Holmes Smith
-
Eliza Allen Starr
-
Corinne Stubbs Brown
-
Frances Dickinson
-
Phoebe Couzins
-
Harriet Hosmer
-
Queen Isabella by Harriet Hosmer c. 1893
-
Novella Jewell Trott
.png)
.jpg)
