Ella Alexander Boole (July 26, 1858 – March 13, 1952) was an American

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

leader and social reformer. She served as president of the World's

Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...

(WCTU) from 1931 to 1947, after serving as president of the United States' national WCTU.

Biography

She was born as Ella Alexander on July 26, 1858 in

Van Wert, Ohio Van Wert is a city in and the county seat of Van Wert County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwestern Ohio approximately 77 mi (123 km) SW of Toledo and 34 mi (54 km) SE of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The po ...

. Boole's father was a prominent lawyer, who edited a

free soil The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery into ...

newspaper and supported reforms during

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

following the Civil War. She attended public schools in Van Wert, then the

College of Wooster The College of Wooster is a private liberal arts college in Wooster, Ohio. Founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian Church as the University of Wooster, it has been officially non-sectarian since 1969 when ownership ties with the Presbyterian Church ...

where she studied classics. She had an aptitude for natural science and developed skills in public speaking. She received an A.B. degree (1878), followed by an A.M. degree (1881). She married Reverend William H. Boole of the Willet Street Methodist Church on July 3, 1883. Her husband died in 1896 and she became a deaconess in his church.

Political activities

Women's Christian Temperance Union

Boole's husband was active in

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

and

activities, in which she joined him. Boole joined the

Women's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program ...

(WCTU) in 1883. She showed great skill as an organizer of new unions, and became vice-president of the New York state union in 1891. After the death of Boole's husband, she was able to support her family through an inheritance from her father and income from her speaking engagements and temperance activities. In 1898, she became president of the New York WCTU. She held this position until 1925, with the exception of a six-year period when she was corresponding secretary of the Woman's Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church (1903-1909). From October 1926 till October 1933, she served as Editor-in-Chief of the National WCTU's organ, ''

The Union Signal ''The Union Signal'' (formerly, ''The Woman's Temperance Union'', ''Our Union'') is a defunct American newspaper, established in 1883 in Chicago, Illinois. Focused on temperance, it was the organ of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), a ...

''. One of her key activities was in shifting WCTU work away from its emphasis on collecting petitions, and towards direct lobbying of legislators.

Political activities

Following the enfranchisement of women in the United States, Boole decided to run for office herself. In 1920, she unsuccessfully challenged

James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. (August 12, 1877June 21, 1952) was an American politician, a Republican Party (United States), Republican from New York (state), New York. He was the son of New York State Comptroller James Wolcott Wadsworth, and the ...

for the Republican Party nomination for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. After losing the nomination, she ran as a candidate for the Prohibition Party against Wadsworth and the Democratic and Socialist Party candidates in the general election. Wadsworth won easily with 52% of the vote, while Boole came in third place with 7% of the vote, not far ahead of the

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

candidate. Boole served as head of the national

from 1931 to 1947. She died on March 13, 1952 at age 93. Her other causes included supporting legislative changes to bring about social reform, including laws to protect the rights of women and children in industry, the establishment of separate courts and deputies for juvenile offenders, and

woman suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

. As President of the international WCTU, she promoted disarmament, the end of the international illicit drug trade, and supported international women's rights.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boole, Ella 1858 births 1952 deaths Women in New York (state) politics New York (state) Prohibitionists People from Van Wert, Ohio College of Wooster alumni New York (state) Republicans American social reformers Activists from Ohio Progressive Era in the United States Woman's Christian Temperance Union people 20th-century American newspaper editors

Biography

Political activities

Women's Christian Temperance Union

Political activities

See also

References