Edith Houghton Hooker (December 29, 1879 – October 23, 1948) was an American

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

and social worker. She was a leader of the suffrage movement in Maryland in the early twentieth century and was posthumously inducted into the

Maryland Women's Hall of Fame The Maryland Women's Hall of Fame (MWHF) recognizes significant achievements and statewide contributions made by women who are Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virgin ...

. She was a maternal aunt of actress Katharine Hepburn.

Early years and education

Edith Houghton was born in 1879 in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. A member of the

Houghton family The Houghton family is a prominent New England and Upstate New York business family. The Corning Glass Works were founded and run by some members of the family. Family members and descendants Their family includes: * Amory Houghton Sr. (1812–18 ...

, her parents were Caroline Garlinghouse and Alfred Augustus Houghton, and her sister

Katharine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

, was a prominent feminist. Alfred A. Houghton, Edith's father, died in 1892 of suicide. Her mother, Caroline, supported the advancement of education for women. Before Caroline's death in 1894 from stomach cancer, she provided instructions regarding the education of her daughters. Close relatives preferred the girls attend a traditional finishing school. After a family conflict Edith and Katharine were permitted to engage in higher education and both applied to Bryn Mawr College. She attended

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...

, graduating in 1901, before moving to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

to enroll at the

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1893, the School of Medicine shares a campus with the Johns Hopkins Hospi ...

as one of the medical school's first female students. While at Johns Hopkins, she met Donald Hooker, a professor, and married him in June 1905, and had 5 children, and adopted 3 more.

Career

Hooker spent a year studying in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

before returning to Baltimore to commence a career in social work. Her studies in Berlin included casework related to prostitution issues in the military. During the first half of the 20th century social issues involving public health, such as prostitution, could contribute to prejudice towards unwed mothers. Discrimination could restrict housing options, limit the potential of marriage and financial stability. Through her research Hooker learned that prostitution had been connected to some types of illness, disease and death which she wrote about in an article written for the ''Journal of Social Hygiene'' in 1919. Hooker's work in Berlin led to her determination that men and women should be held equally responsible in the societal issue of prostitution. In the context of

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

, she further developed her views of equality and women's rights in one of her key publications, ''The Laws of Sex'' . Edith and Donald Hooker established the

Guild of St. George The Guild of St George is a charitable Education Trust, based in England but with a worldwide membership, which tries to uphold the values and put into practice the ideas of its founder, John Ruskin (1819–1900). History Ruskin, a Victorian ...

of Baltimore, which provided housing and services for unwed mothers and their children. Hooker was president of the

from 1906 to 1911. Through her work at the Guild she promoted awareness of public health issues and the rights of women. During the years 1918-1920 Hooker continued her research and wrote several journal articles on her findings. She considered sex education for both men and women an important strategy to decrease the societal costs of disease. Within the medical community there was continued research on germ theory, as well as recognition of the effect of germs on disease, and attempts were being made to isolate related bacteria. Hooker and other suffragists working in the public health field knew that strategically there would be a struggle because of the entrenched double standard that permeated society. This kind of research further propelled Hooker in her decision to bring even greater awareness and support for

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduc ...

. Similar public health and societal issues worldwide led Hooker and other suffragists to study the benefits of women's right to vote.

Suffrage activism

Hooker determined that the most efficient way to achieve reform was to campaign for the right of women to vote by joining the suffrage movement in Baltimore. She joined the Equal Suffrage League of Baltimore in 1907 but resigned in 1909 to found the Just Government League, an affiliate of the

National American Woman Suffrage Association The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was an organization formed on February 18, 1890, to advocate in favor of women's suffrage in the United States. It was created by the merger of two existing organizations, the National ...

. In 1910, she began educating the public about suffrage through open air meetings at locations across Maryland. As a speaker Hooker was deft with persuasive use of language and practical evidence gathered from her research. In order to promote support she noted that women's suffrage would reduce disease, improve water quality, and make women better wives. This was a tactic used by Hooker and other suffragists who supported combining

Social Hygiene Movement The social hygiene movement was an attempt by Progressive era reformers to control venereal disease, regulate prostitution and vice, and disseminate sexual education through the use of scientific research methods and modern media techniques. Soci ...

and the women's suffrage movement to improve society. Additionally, Hooker would appeal to men by noting that women active in politics, which could arise only if given the right to vote, would encourage them to discuss politics with their husbands and thereby promote better marriages. In 1912, Hooker established the ''Maryland Suffrage News'', a weekly newspaper and the official organ of the Just Government League, and in 1917, she was invited to become the editor of ''

The Suffragist ''The Suffragist'' was a weekly newspaper published by the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage in 1913 to advance the cause of women's suffrage. The publication was first envisioned as a small pamphlet by the Congressional Union (CU), a new ...

'', the weekly newspaper of the

National Woman's Party The National Woman's Party (NWP) was an American women's political organization formed in 1916 to fight for women's suffrage. After achieving this goal with the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the NW ...

. The ''Maryland Suffrage News'' ceased publication in 1920 when the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. Hooker was also active in the Congressional Union, and was elected finance chairman of the organization's executive committee in 1915. After suffrage was granted to American women, her efforts focused on introducing a bill that would ensure women equal political and civil rights. Although the bill was passed by the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

, it was rejected by the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single-m ...

; a subsequent revision, which was revised to include only a section stating that women would be allowed to hold office, was passed by both houses in 1922.

Later years

Hooker died in 1948 after a seven-year illness. She was inducted into the

in 1999.

Publications

* *

References