Amelia Jenks Bloomer (May 27, 1818 – December 30, 1894) was an American newspaper editor,

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, ...

and temperance advocate. Even though she did not create the women's clothing reform style known as

bloomers Bloomers, also called the bloomer, the Turkish dress, the American dress, or simply reform dress, are divided women's garments for the lower body. They were developed in the 19th century as a healthful and comfortable alternative to the heavy, ...

, her name became associated with it because of her early and strong advocacy. In her work with '' The Lily,'' she became the first woman to own, operate and edit a newspaper for women.

Early life

Amelia Jenks was born in 1818 in

Homer, New York Homer is a town in Cortland County, New York, United States of America. The population was 6,405 at the 2010 census. The name is from the Greek poet Homer. The town of Homer contains a village called Homer. The town is situated on the west bord ...

, to Ananias Jenks and Lucy (Webb) Jenks. She was one of the youngest in her large family, having at least 4 sisters and 2 brothers. She came from a family of modest means and received only a few years of formal education in the local district school.

Career

After a brief time as a school teacher at the age of 17, she decided to relocate, and moved in with her newly married sister Elvira, then living in Waterloo. Within a year she had moved into the home of the Oren Chamberlain family in Seneca Falls to act as the live-in governess for their three youngest children. On April 15, 1840, when she was 22, she married law student Dexter Bloomer who encouraged her to write for his New York newspaper, the '' Seneca Falls County Courier''. Bloomer supported her activism; he even gave up drinking as part of the Temperance Movement. She spent her early years in Cortland County, New York. Bloomer and her family moved to

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

in 1852.

Social activism

In 1848, Bloomer attended the

Seneca Falls Convention The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women's rights convention. It advertised itself as "a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman".Wellman, 2004, p. 189 Held in the Wesleyan Chapel of the tow ...

, the first

convention, though she did not sign the

Declaration of Sentiments The Declaration of Sentiments, also known as the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments, is a document signed in 1848 by 68 women and 32 men—100 out of some 300 attendees at the first women's rights convention to be organized by women. Held in Sen ...

and subsequent resolutions, due to her deep connection with the Episcopal Church. This meeting would serve as her inspiration to start her newspaper. The following year, she began editing the first newspaper by and for women, '' The Lily''. Published biweekly from 1849 until 1853, the newspaper began as a temperance journal, but came to have a broad mix of contents ranging from recipes to moralist tracts, particularly when under the influence of suffragists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and

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 ...

. Bloomer felt that because women lecturers were considered unseemly, writing was the best way for women to work for reform. Originally, The Lily was to be for “home distribution” among members of the Seneca Falls Ladies Temperance Society, which had formed in 1848, and eventually had a circulation of over 4,000. The paper encountered several obstacles early on, and the Society's enthusiasm died out. Bloomer felt a commitment to publish and assumed full responsibility for editing and publishing the paper. Originally, the title page had the legend “Published by a committee of ladies.” But after 1850 – only Bloomer's name appeared on the masthead. This newspaper was a model for later periodicals focused on

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 ...

. Bloomer described her experience as the first woman to own, operate and edit a news vehicle for women: Amelia Bloomer from Illustrated London News

Amelia Bloomer from Illustrated London News

In her publication, Bloomer promoted a change in dress standards for women that would be less restrictive in regular activities. In 1851, New England temperance activist

Elizabeth Smith Miller Elizabeth Smith Miller ( Smith; September 20, 1822 – May 23, 1911), known as "Libby", was an American advocate and financial supporter of the women's rights movement.NY History Net (April 21, 2011). Biography Elizabeth Smith was born Septembe ...

(aka Libby Miller) adopted what she considered a more rational costume: loose trousers gathered at the ankles, like women's trousers worn in the Middle East and Central Asia, topped by a short dress or skirt and vest. Miller displayed her new clothing to Stanton, her cousin, who found it sensible and becoming, and adopted it immediately. In this garb Stanton visited Bloomer, who began to wear the costume and promote it enthusiastically in her magazine. Articles on the clothing trend were picked up in '' The New York Tribune.'' More women wore the fashion which was promptly dubbed ''The Bloomer Costume'' or "

Bloomers Bloomers, also called the bloomer, the Turkish dress, the American dress, or simply reform dress, are divided women's garments for the lower body. They were developed in the 19th century as a healthful and comfortable alternative to the heavy, ...

". However, the Bloomers were subjected to ceaseless ridicule in the press and harassment on the street. Bloomer herself dropped the fashion in 1859, saying that a new invention, the crinoline, was a sufficient reform that she could return to conventional dress. Also in 1851, Bloomer introduced the suffragettes Elizabeth Cady Stanton and

to each other. In 1854, when Bloomer and her husband decided to move to Council Bluffs, Iowa, Bloomer sold ''The Lily'' to Mary Birdsall in Richmond, Indiana. Birdsall and Dr. Mary F. Thomas kept the publication going at least through 1859. Bloomer remained a suffrage pioneer and writer throughout her life, writing for a wide array of periodicals. Although Bloomer was far less famous than some other feminists, she made many significant contributions to the women's movement — particularly concerning dress reform. Bloomer also led suffrage campaigns in Nebraska and Iowa and served as president of the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association from 1871 until 1873.

Death and burial

She died in 1894, at the age of 76, and is buried in Fairview Cemetery, Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Commemorations

She is commemorated together with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Ross Tubman in the

calendar of saints The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

of the Episcopal Church on July 20. In 1975 she was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame. In 1980 her home at Seneca Falls, New York, known as the Amelia Bloomer House, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. In 1995 she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. In 1999 a sculpture by Ted Aub was unveiled commemorating when on May 12, 1851, Bloomer introduced

to Elizabeth Cady Stanton. This sculpture, called "When Anthony Met Stanton", consists of the three women depicted as life-size bronze statues, and is placed overlooking Van Cleef Lake in Seneca Falls, New York, where the introduction occurred. From 2002 until 2020, the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

produced an annual ''Amelia Bloomer List'' of recently published books with significant feminist content for younger readers. However, in 2020 the list's name was changed to Rise: A Feminist Book Project for Ages 0–18, explained as such: "The project has been promoting quality feminist literature for young readers since 2002 as a part of the Feminist Task Force and the Social Responsibilities Round Table oth of the American Library Association n 2020,the committee was made aware that, though Amelia Bloomer had a platform as a publisher, she refused to speak against the

Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers. The Act was one of the most cont ...

(Simmons). SRRT and FTF believe librarians and libraries must work to correct social problems and inequities with particular attention to intersectionality, feminism, and deliberate anti-racism. As a result, the committee unanimously voted in favor of a name change. Rise: A Feminist Book Project for Ages 0-18, reflects the diversity and inclusion for which feminism as a whole — and this committee specifically—strives."

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Bloomer, Dexter C
''Life and Writings of Amelia Bloomer''
Boston: Arena Pub. Co., 1895. Reprinted 1975 by Schocken Books, New York. Includes bibliographical references. * Coon, Anne C. ''Hear Me Patiently: The Reform Speeches of Amelia Jenks Bloomer'', Vol. 138. Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 1994. * Smith, Stephanie, ''Household Words: Bloomers, sucker, bombshell, scab, cyber'' (2006) -- material on changing usage of words. * ''The Lily: A Ladies' Journal, devoted to Temperance and Literature.'' 1849.

External links

* *Norwood, Arlisha
"Amelia Bloomer"
National Women's History Museum. 2017.
BBC video article on Amelia Jenks Bloomer, 4 July 2019
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloomer, Amelia 1818 births 1894 deaths American feminists American suffragists People from Cortland, New York People from Council Bluffs, Iowa Anglican saints 19th-century Christian saints American temperance activists American women journalists 19th-century American women writers 19th-century American journalists Christian female saints of the Late Modern era Journalists from New York (state) Activists from New York (state)