The ''Queen Bee'', formerly known as ''The Colorado Antelope'' was an American journal dedicated to

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

. The paper was founded by Caroline Nichols Churchill in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1879. The ''Antelope'' came out monthly until 1882, when Churchill moved to a weekly format and renamed the paper the ''Queen Bee''. The paper was popular and was praised by

Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...

. Both papers covered various issues, including

women's 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 ...

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

, and had a strong pro-

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

stance. Churchill continued to publish the paper until a few months before she died in 1926.

History

Queen Bee - DPLA - 857449b80657c0361b3ec7e134a9796a (page 1 crop)

Caroline Nichols Churchill founded ''The Colorado Antelope'' in

in 1879. The paper was published with her own money at 386 Holladay Street and the first edition came out in October. She wrote the paper for women and had a small staff made up of women. Churchill even traveled on her own throughout frontier regions to sell the paper. She chose the name because she felt that antelopes were "alive, active, and hard to take down." The motto of the paper was "Come let us reason together."''The Colorado Antelope'' was published monthly until 1882. The ''Queen Bee'' started on July 5, 1882 and was published weekly. That year, the paper had a circulation of around 2,500 readers. Churchill traveled throughout the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

to promote the paper and gather news to write about. Churchill continued to publish the paper until 1926, a few months before she died.

About

''The Colorado Antelope'' was a three-column paper that sold for $1.50 a year. The heading of the paper read "Devoted to the Interests of Humanity, Woman's Political Equality and Individuality." The ''Queen Bee'' had an unusual format with the first page of the paper populated with

epigrams An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two millen ...

and

mottoes A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

in the left-hand column. Churchill also added poems and stories throughout the news she printed. Both papers were sold to subscribers and also in bookstores in Denver. Both papers expressed Churchill's philosophy of equal rights for women. Churchill's vocal

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

was expressed in the paper. The paper promoted the work of women in business and urged readers in Denver to boycott businesses that mistreated women. Her papers were pro-

. She also wrote an

advice column An advice column is a column in a question and answer format. Typically, a (usually anonymous) reader writes to the media outlet with a problem in the form of a question, and the media outlet provides an answer or response. The responses are w ...

on various topics for young women. Churchill also addressed issues of

and was often supportive of minority groups, such as

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

immigrants, though she was less supportive of various Native American tribes.

Reception

Both papers were criticized by the community. However, they were also very popular among women readers and a few men. One woman wrote, "I could not do without your paper."

praised the ''Colorado Antelope'' in 1881.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Library of Congress recordColorado Historic Newspapers Collection
{{Authority control Defunct newspapers published in Colorado Feminist newspapers Newspapers established in 1879 1879 establishments in Colorado Mass media in Denver Women in Colorado Women's suffrage publications in the United States Colorado suffrage Publications disestablished in 1926 1926 disestablishments in Colorado