Queen Isabella Association membership certificate for Ellen Call Long

The Queen Isabella Association was formed to raise funds to provide a statue of Queen Isabella of Spain on the site of the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

in Chicago, Illinois. The group's additional purpose was to advance the cause of

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 ...

and equal rights.

Background

Beginning at the end of the 1880s, plans were being prepared to create an exposition celebrating the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America by Europeans (the quadro-centential). Women were organizing to become part of this exposition. Several cities were competing to host the exposition. The front-runners were Chicago, New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. By 1890 Chicago was selected as the site of the Exposition. At the same time, Congress decreed that there would be a Board of Lady Managers to address and organize the inclusion of women in the World's Columbian Exposition. Drs. Frances Dickinson and Lucy Waite were the originators of the Queen Isabella Association.

Beginnings of the Queen Isabella Association

As part of the run-up to the Exposition a group of professional women organized to bring their views of woman's place in society to the Exposition. The group believed that women were equal to men and were capable of pursuing professional careers outside the home. The group took as their inspiration Queen Isabella of Spain, who had made Columbus' voyage to the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

possible. Illinois Woman Suffrage Association founder

Catharine Van Valkenburg Waite Catharine Van Valkenburg Waite (30 January 1829, Dumfries, Ontario, Canada – 9 November 1913, Chicago, Illinois) was a United States author, lawyer, businesswoman, and women's suffrage activist. Biography Born in Canada, Van Valkenburg ...

first suggested the idea of erecting a statue of Isabella. The Queen Isabella Association originally incorporated in Chicago in 1889. It soon expanded to chapters in New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. This expansion into a national organization was an attempt to have a voice outside Chicago advocating for the Exposition's site selection in Chicago.

Membership

Women could enroll in the Association for one dollar and could also buy shares for five dollars, to raise money for the statue.

Founding members

*President: Dr.

Julia Holmes Smith Julia Holmes Smith (December 23, 1839 – November 10, 1930) was an American physician, publisher, and suffragist from Georgia. Born to a wealthy family, she received private tutoring then attended a women's school in New York City. Widowed at an ...

*Vice President: Eliza Allen Starr *Treasurer: Catharine Van Valkenburg Waite * Corinne Stubbs Brown *Frances Hale Gardener *Dr. Frances Dickinson

Ideology

Members of the Queen Isabella Association were mostly professional women, part of the

New Woman The New Woman was a feminist ideal that emerged in the late 19th century and had a profound influence well into the 20th century. In 1894, Irish writer Sarah Grand (1854–1943) used the term "new woman" in an influential article, to refer to ...

movement, who believed that women should take an equal part in society, working in professions alongside men.

Controversy

Members of the Association were referred to as "Isabellas". Their suffragist ideology was different from many other women's groups in Chicago, including the Chicago Women's Auxiliary. The Chicago Women's Auxiliary focus was on philanthropic work, making life better for poor women and children by improving education and sanitary conditions. They believed that women could serve society, but should deport themselves as ladies. This difference would carry over into how women wanted women represented at the Exposition. Specifically there were strong desires on each side to gain a position on the Board of Lady Managers.

Phoebe Couzins Phoebe Wilson Couzins (September 8, 1842 – December 6, 1913) was one of the first female lawyers in the United States. She was the second woman to serve as a licensed attorney in Missouri and the third or fourth to be a licensed attorney in t ...

, an Isabella, was elected as the Board Secretary. Her position was soon undermined by the Board's president

Bertha Palmer Bertha Matilde Palmer (; May 22, 1849 – May 5, 1918) was an American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist. Early life Born as Bertha Matilde Honoré in Louisville, Kentucky, her father was businessman Henry Hamilton Honoré. Known wi ...

, a well connected Chicago socialite. Palmer rewrote the minutes of the first meeting, including altering the bylaws to give the board president more decision-making power. When Couzins complained she was removed from office.

Queen Isabella Association at the Exposition

As the planning of the Exposition continued the Isabellas were marginalized, finally reduced to having the Isabella Club House outside the fairgrounds It was located at 61st and Oglesby Avenue. The Isabellas also ran the Isabella Hotel in the property next door. They held the "Meeting of Women Lawyers" at the Club House on August 3–5, 1983.

The sculpture of Queen Isabella

The group commissioned the statue from sculptor

Harriet Hosmer Harriet Goodhue Hosmer (October 9, 1830 – February 21, 1908) was a neoclassical sculptor, considered the most distinguished female sculptor in America during the 19th century. She is known as the first female professional sculptor. Among other ...

, herself a member of the Queen Isabella Society. Hosmer completed the statue, but the Isabellas did not have the funds to purchase it. She rejected an offer from Bertha Palmer to purchase the statue for the

Woman's Building The Woman's Building was a non-profit arts and education center located in Los Angeles, California. The Woman's Building focused on feminist art and served as a venue for the women's movement and was spearheaded by artist Judy Chicago, graphic de ...

and instead sold it to

Harriet Williams Russell Strong Harriet Williams Russell Strong (July 23, 1844 – September 6, 1926) was an American social activist, inventor, businesswoman, conservationist, and leading figure of the early woman's movement. She has been inducted into the National Wome ...

who had it placed outside the Pampas Place of the California Building at the World's Columbian Exposition.

Gallery

File:Juliaholmessmith.PNG, Julia Holmes Smith File:Eliza Allen Starr.png, Eliza Allen Starr File:CORINNE STUBBS BROWN.jpg, Corinne Stubbs Brown File:Frances Dickinson (1904).png, Frances Dickinson File:Phoebe Couzins.jpg, Phoebe Couzins File:Harriet hosmer.jpg, Harriet Hosmer File:Harriet Hosmer - Queen Isabella c. 1893.jpg, ''Queen Isabella'' by Harriet Hosmer c. 1893 File:NOVELLA JEWELL TROTT A woman of the century (page 733 crop).jpg, Novella Jewell Trott

References

Attribution

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Queen Isabella Association American suffragists Queen Isabella Association History of women in Illinois Isabella I of Castile