Board Of Lady Managers Of The World's Columbian Exposition
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The Board of Lady Managers of the
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 from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...
was organized November 19, 1890. It oversaw the construction of The Woman's Building in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
and organized the exposition's
World's Congress of Representative Women The World's Congress of Representative Women was a week-long convention for the voicing of women's concerns, held within Art Institute of Chicago Building, the World's Congress Auxiliary Building in conjunction with the World's Columbian Expositio ...
(1893). A cookbook with autographed recipes of board members was also issued. The Board of Lady Managers was created by the
U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...
to see that women were placed upon the Juries of Award, which were to pass upon work done wholly or in part by women, and to perform such other duties as might be assigned by the Exposition's National Commission. It was subsequently given by the Commission full management and control of the building known as the Woman's Building, together with the general charge and management of the interests of women in all of the Exposition buildings. It was made the official channel of communication through which all women or organizations of women were to be brought into relation with the Exposition, and through which applications for space for women or their exhibits should be received. The members of the Board succeeded in securing for women the fullest possible representation in the department buildings, and modified their original plans in order to increase the amount of space to be put at their disposal in the Woman's Building.


Origins

Beginning in 1889, activist women in Chicago lobbied to make their city the site of the
world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...
of 1892. They also petitioned for an official place for women in the planning and exhibitions at the fair. Led by Emma Gilson Wallace, they suggested forming a "Women's Department for the Fair". These activists came from various women's organizations involved in philanthropy, education, and suffrage. The Quatro-Centennial Committee of the Senate (i.e. commemorating the 400th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage to the
New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
) approved the Fair Bill naming Chicago as the site. When the bill was sent to the House of Representatives,
William McKendree Springer William McKendree Springer (May 30, 1836 – December 4, 1903) was an American attorney and politician who represented Illinois in the United States House of Representatives and served on the United States Court for the Indian Territory. Ear ...
attached an amendment to create a Board of Lady Managers. The House accepted the bill and in 1890 President
Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...
signed the bill into law. The Board appointments, made by the National Commission, numbered 117, including two Lady Managers from each state, territory and the District of Columbia, as well as members-at-large. Among their duties related to the Fair, the Lady Managers were in charge of the plans for the Women's Hall.


Administration

There were five convenings of the Board: * First Session, November 19–26, 1890 * Second Session, September 2–9, 1891 * Third Session, October 1892 * Fourth Session, April 1893 * Fifth Session, July 1893 The by-laws of the Board of Lady Managers, as amended, included provisions for an official title, quorum, powers of alternate managers, officers of the board, an executive committee, duties of the board president, duties of the board vice-presidents, duties of the board secretary, vice-chair of the executive committee, and amendments.


The Woman's Building

Bertha Honoré Palmer served as the president of the 117-woman strong Board of Lady Managers, the organization which dealt with women's business at the World's Columbian Exposition. The Board constructed The Woman's Building, designed by 21-year-old Sophia Hayden, as the showplace for women's art. The building itself was decorated by women artists, featuring architectural ornament sculpted by
Enid Yandell Enid Yandell (October 6, 1869 – June 12, 1934) was an American Sculpture, sculptor from Louisville, Kentucky, who studied with Auguste Rodin in Paris, Philip Martiny in New York City, and Frederick William Macmonnies, Frederick William MacMonn ...
and Alice Rideout, both 19, and a large painting by
Mary Cassatt Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side (Pittsburgh), North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, whe ...
, ''Modern Woman'', one of two extensive murals in the Woman's Building, the other one, ''Primitive Woman'' being by Mary MacMonnies. Interior art was curated by
Candace Wheeler Candace Wheeler (née Thurber; March 24, 1827 – August 5, 1923), traditionally credited as the mother of interior design, was one of America's first woman interior and textile designers. She helped open the field of interior design to women, s ...
and Sara Hallowell. The Board also built a Children's Building, a child-care center required to support fair-goers and convention-goers who brought children. As well, the Board built a women's dormitory near the fairgrounds, to house women traveling alone or with small children.Smith 2000, p. 354.


Legacy

Carrie V. Shuman compiled a cookbook, ''Favorite Dishes: A Columbian Autograph Souvenir Cookery Book. Over three hundred autograph recipes, and twenty-three portraits, contributed specially by the Board of Lady Managers of the World's Columbia Exposition'' (Chicago, 1893) with illustrations by May Root-Kern, Mellie Ingels Julian, Louis Braunhold, and George Wharton Edwards. After the exposition, the Woman's Building was torn down, and the mural by
Mary Cassatt Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side (Pittsburgh), North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, whe ...
was misplaced and lost.
Bertha Palmer Bertha Matilde Palmer (; May 22, 1849 – May 5, 1918) was an American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist. She was the wife of millionaire Potter Palmer and early member of the Chicago Woman's Club, as well as president of the Board of ...
was appointed United States Commissioner at the Paris Exposition of 1900 by President
William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
, the only woman so distinguished by any government.Anthony 1902, p. 608.


Notable people


Officers

Prominent officials: * Mrs. Bertha Palmer – President *Mrs. Susan G. Cook – Secretary *
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 ...
, Secretary * Mrs. V.C. Meredith – Vice Chairman Executive Committee *Mrs. Russell B. Harrington – Vice-president at Large * Mrs. John A. Logan – Vice-chairman Committee on Ceremonies Vice-presidents: *Mrs. Ralph Trautman – First Vice-president *Mrs. Edwin C. Burleigh – Second Vice-president *Mrs. Charles Price – Third Vice-president *Miss K.L. Minor – Fourth Vice-president *Mrs. Beriah Wilkins – Fifth Vice-president *Mrs. Susan R. Ashley – Sixth Vice-president *Mrs. Flora Beall Ginty – Seventh Vice-president *Mrs. Margaret Blaine Salisbury – Eighth Vice-president


Committee on Congresses

* Susan R. Ashley * Frances Elizabeth Newbury Bagley, Vice-chair *
Helen Morton Barker Helen Morton Barker (, Morton; December 7, 1834 – May 6, 1910) was an American social reformer active in the temperance movement. For twelve years, she served as treasurer of the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). Early life a ...
* Laurette Lovell * Mary Kavanaugh Eagle , Chair * Eliza M. Russell * Julia Ball Reed Shattuck * Lillian M. N. Stevens


Members

*
Alice Barbee Castleman Alice Barbee Castleman ( Barbee; December 5, 1843 – February 5, 1926) was an American social leader, philanthropist, and suffragist. She was known throughout the country for her activities in political and civic endeavors. Early life and educ ...
, Kentucky * Mary A. Cochran, Texas * Ellen M. Chandler, Vermont * Mrs. John Sergeant Wise, Virginia * Mrs. K. S. G. Paul, Virginia * Melissa D. Owings, Washington * Alice Houghton, Washington * Mrs. W. Newton Linch, West Virginia * Lily Irene Jackson, West Virginia * Flora Beall Ginty, Wisconsin * Mrs. William P. Lynde, Wisconsin * Mrs. F. H. Harrison, Wyoming * Frances E. Hale, Wyoming


Resident members

* Helen Morton Barker * Mrs. Matilda B. Carse *Dr. Frances Dickenson *Mrs. James R. Doolittle Jr. *Mrs. James A. Mulligan *Mrs. Potter Palmer *Mrs. Leander Stone *Mrs. L. Brace Shattuck *Mrs. Solomon Thacher Jr. * Mrs. M.R.M. Wallace Source:


References


Attribution

* Anthony, Susan B.; Harper, Ida Husted, editors
''History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV''
(1883–1900), published 1902, at Internet Archive * * *


Bibliography

* Smith, Karen Manners, author; Cott, Nancy F., editor
''New Paths to Power'', 1890–1920
Chapter 7 of ''No Small Courage'', Oxford University Press, 2000, pp. 353–357. *Wadsworth, Sarah, and Wayne A. Wiegand. 2012. ''Right Here I See My Own Books : The Woman’s Building Library at the World’s Columbian Exposition.'' Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.


External links


''Appropriations for Board of Lady Managers World's Columbian Exposition: Letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, Transmitting, an Estimate of Appropriation, Submitted by the President of the World's Columbian Exposition, for Expenses of the Board of Lady Managers for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 1893''
(U.S. Government Printing Office, 1892) {{authority control World's Columbian Exposition Women's organizations based in the United States 1890 establishments in the United States