Peter Sleeth nominates Mattie Cone Sleeth

I must say that the research and writing required to submit an entry to the National Votes for Women Trail was relatively easy and a bit of fun. The fun came from getting to know my entrant again, Mattie Cone Sleeth, who also happens to be my great grandmother. I never knew her, she died in 1934, but she made a few dents in life. Not just as a suffragist, a temperance advocate and a Methodist Minister, but as an example for subsequent generations.

My wife and I named our youngest daughter after Mattie, and have told both our daughters of her courage in the Old West as a preacher and in 20th Century Oregon where she fought so hard for a woman’s right to vote.

I would advise anyone who wishes to submit an entry to use the practice form provided by the OregonWomen’s History Consortium. The beauty of the practice form is you can get all your ducks in a row before having to submit the entry. It is much easier.

Sources I used included the Century of Action website; the Historic Oregon Newspaper website; the Oregon Encyclopedia; and the Sleeth Family Collection at the archives of Lewis & Clark College.

May I also add a special thanks to Jan & Greta.

–Peter Sleeth

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Kim Argraves Huey Nominates Gladstone Chautauqua Park

Our new NVWT site nomination highlight is by Kim Argraves Huey, Historian of the Gladstone Historical Society and author of  the books “Images of America – Gladstone,” and “Chautauqua at Gladstone – Historical Fun Facts and Activities about the Third Largest Chautauqua in the United States.”

Kim supplied a crucial bit of information needed to put together our information packet for the
Gladstone Chautauqua Park, and then offered to take on the nomination! Here are her thoughts on the nomination process and even more history for us to learn from:

Gladstone Park was a magical place in its heyday, and researching it is always fun.  Each new venture into the park’s past always brings something new to light. Did you know that in 1893, Gladstone Park served as a military training camp for the Oregon Nation Guard?  Or that in 1907,  Gladstone Park hosted the first appearance of a Ferris Wheel at an Oregon fair?  And even more importantly, from 1894-1927, Gladstone Park functioned as the permanent location of the third largest Chautauqua Assembly in the United States.

During the Chautauqua years, many important and famous people came to Gladstone Park to appear before audiences that numbered in the thousands:  orators like William Jennings Bryan, politicians like Theodore Roosevelt,  educators like Booker T. Washington, and dancers like Isadora Duncan.  But along with the usual variety of self-enrichment classes, outdoor activities, and evening entertainments, Chautauqua gave civic, charitable, and cultural groups an opportunity to promote their causes.  One such group that maintained an active presence at the annual summer assembly was the Women’s Club of  Portland.

Until the Oregon Women’s History Consortium asked the Gladstone Historical Society, of which I am both a member and the historian,  to nominate Gladstone Park for the National Votes for Women Trail, I hadn’t really considered what an important part Gladstone Park played in the women’s suffrage movement.  This experience was enlightening.

Beginning in 1896, leading suffragettes such as Susan B. Anthony, Anna Howard Shaw, and Abigail Scott Duniway began making appearances at the Gladstone Park Chautauqua.  And on July 17, 1912, fifteen hundred women (and some men sympathizers) converged on Gladstone Park for a major Women’s Suffrage Day Rally.  So engrossed in the day’s events, which included speeches, impassioned poetry readings, and the long-awaited pro and con debate about a woman’s right to vote, the attending ladies forgot all about their lunch to sit in place and demand that the argument for the cause continue.  It did.  Their zeal changed minds.

The process of nominating a site for the National Votes for Women Trail is easy.  I would recommend doing all the groundwork (research) first.  It can take time.   Even searching your own historical, already-researched, files can take time.  And do use the practice form.  Copy and paste makes filling in the final online application a breeze. . .except,  I did have one surprise.  My perfect, concise, and precise 85 word nomination summary was rejected for too many words.   After three failed attempts at downsizing, the online form finally accepted 67 words/469 characters with spaces–an even more concise and precise, but equally perfect submission (in my humble opinion).

–Kim Argraves Huey

Interested in doing your own site nomination and helping us put Oregon on the NVWT map? Send us an email at oregon2020@latest.oregonwomenshistory.org and we’ll help you get started!

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Mary Hansen and Eva (Mrs. Francis James) Bailey

OWHC is working to nominate more Oregon sites on the National Votes for Women Trail (NVWT) map, which “seeks to recognize and celebrate the enormous diversity of people and groups active in the struggle for women’s suffrage.”

Currently, the map has 1,386 sites total nationally, with 13 sites in Oregon. The 1912 suffrage campaign was truly a statewide campaign, and the Oregon Legislature voted unanimously to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. We believe every county in Oregon should be represented on the map.

We asked Mary Hansen of Portland City Archives and Records to do a site nomination for the National Votes for Women’s Trail (NVWT) map. What follows is an account of her experience.

Anti suffragist Eva (Mrs. Francis James) Bailey and Archivist Mary Hansen

When Jan asked me to be “Test Mapper” for the National Votes for Women Trail, I said I would be happy to help as best I could. I am not a public historian or a historian of any kind. As an archivist, my focus is on finding the materials and letting other folks write up the history. I was glad that there is a place in this process for multiple kinds of skill sets. I also felt reassured that Jan would review my work and answer my questions about the process.

To begin, each volunteer “mapper” is given articles, census data, Polk City directory information for a particular group, place or person. I did a little more digging, but I found the materials already collected were just what I needed.

As I read through the materials for Eva Bailey (Mrs. Francis James Bailey), I was surprised to find she was an anti suffragist. She placed editorials and paid advertisements in newspapers all over Oregon talking about the dangers and burdens of women voting.

“To put upon these women a responsibility from which they have hitherto been exempted and which they do not wish to assume is not  ‘Woman’s Rights’.” Woman’s Suffrage Opposition Strong, Mrs. Francis J Bailey, The Times Herald (Burns)_Oct 19, 1912, 1

The most surprising language was from a speech given by Miss. I.T. Martin from New York. Bailey, President of the Association of Women Opposed to Equal Suffrage introduced her.

“We hear a great deal about the right to vote. We all know that there is no such thing as an inherent right to vote. Voting is a duty, not a privilege, and women have been exempted from this duty and not deprived of a privilege. The obligation to vote carries with it other obligations – the right to bear arms if need be, to quell riots, to fight fires, to serve upon juries, to act as policemen. Women are absolved  from these duties, just as they are absolved from the duty of voting.”

The process of entering information is quite simple and getting ii typed up in the sample form/template beforehand makes it even easier. And I was reminded again, that history repeats itself over and over.

Author Mary Hansen, Portland City Archives and Records

Interested in doing your own site nomination and helping us put Oregon on the NVWT map? Send us an email at oregon2020@latest.oregonwomenshistory.org and we’ll help you get started!

#ChalkTheVoteOR

The year 2020 marks the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. That amendment eliminated gender as a reason to deny access to the ballot. The long history of voting rights—who has had access to the ballot, how voting rights have been gained, or lost, by US citizens—extends beyond the anniversary of the 19th Amendment.  In recognition of this ongoing struggle for voting rights, the Oregon Women’s History Consortium and the Oregon Historical Society are spearheading: Chalk the Vote! This DIY project will commemorate the 19th Amendment, as well as all constitutional amendments and acts that expanded voting rights. The year 2020 is the:

• 150th anniversary of the 15th Amendment (removed race, color or prior servitude from denying voting rights)
• 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment (removed sex from denying voting rights)
• 56th anniversary of the 24th Amendment (ended the poll tax)
• 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act (prohibited racial discrimination in voting)
• 49^thanniversary of the 26^th Amendment: right to vote cannot be denied on account of age for those 18 or older (This amendment has roots in an Oregon legal case, Oregon v. Mitchell, 1970)

Together these five legislative remedies extended the right to vote/suffrage/the franchise to vast numbers of citizens who had previously been denied full citizenship. Each of these pieces of legislation righted previous wrongs by adding new voices to the governance of our nation, and moved us closer to the stated equality laid out in our nation’s founding documents.

To honor all of these important changes to our state’s and our nation’s history of voting rights, OWHC and the Oregon Historical Society are collaborating on #ChalkTheVoteOR for August 26, 2020. 

What is #ChalkTheVoteOR?

#ChalkTheVoteOR is a DIY activity to mark these five legislative milestones. So:

• Grab some chalk
• Find a sidewalk or other outdoor surface
• Copy out the text of the voting rights amendment/act of your choice. Text to amendments provided in multiple languages below.
• Be creative—add flair to your Chalk art!
• Post your Chalk the Vote! creations to your social media accounts, tag OHS (@oregonhistory) and OWHC (@oregonwomenshistory) on Facebook or on the OHS (@oregonhistoricalsociety) and the OWHC (@oregonwomenshistory) Instagrams, include the hashtag #ChalkTheVoteOR, and we’ll share posts on our social media channels.
• If you don’t use social media, you can send your photos to oregon2020@latest.oregonwomenshistory.org

When is Chalk the Vote?: August 23-29, 2020. There will be a focus on August 26^th, the day the 19^th Amendment was officially added to the US Constitution.

Chalk the Vote! is a non-partisan activity, intended to raise awareness of these historical milestones and discover new twists and turns in the American story. We encourage you or your organization to plan now for chalking the text of any or all of these significant amendments and acts (English and Español amendment text available below. More translations coming soon).

 

#ChalkTheVoteOR Amendment Text

15th Amendment (1870):

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

19th Amendment (1920):

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

24th Amendment (1964)

The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

Voting Rights Act (1965):

AN ACT To enforce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States . . . No voting qualifications or prerequisites to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color.

26th Amendment (1971)

The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.

En Español

15th Enmienda, 1870

Los Estados Unidos o cualquier Estado no negarán ni restringirán el derecho de los ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos a votar por motivos de raza, color o condición previa de servidumbre.

19th Enmienda, 1920

El derecho de los ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos a votar no será denegado ni restringido por los Estados Unidos ni por ningún Estado por razón de sexo.

24th Enmienda, 1964

El derecho de los ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos a votar en cualquier elección primaria u otra para Presidente o Vicepresidente, para electores para Presidente o Vicepresidente, o para Senador o Representante en el Congreso, no será denegado ni restringido por los Estados Unidos ni un Estado por no pagar impuesto de votación u cualquier otro impuesto.

Voting Rights Act, 1965

UNA LEY Para hacer cumplir la decimoquinta enmienda a la Constitución de los Estados Unidos. . . Ningún estado o subdivisión política impondrá o aplicará calificaciones de votación o requisitos previos para votar, o estándar, práctica o procedimiento para negar o restringir el derecho de cualquier ciudadano de los Estados Unidos a votar por motivos de raza o color.

26th Enmienda, 1970

Los Estados Unidos o cualquier estado no negarán ni restringirán el derecho de los ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos, que tienen 18 años de edad o más, a votar.

Chinese

Click here to view Illuminated Amendments & Historical Nuggets

#ChalkTheVoteOR Flyer

Some History of Chalking for Suffrage

Chalking sidewalks in support of Votes for Women is nothing new! Noted national lecturer on suffrage and labor issues, Frances Squire Potter, came to Oregon in 1912. On the day the Potter was to lecture at the Taylor Street Methodist Episcopal Church, young supporters chalked the sidewalks around the church to encourage passersby to attend that lecture.

Morning Oregonian, July 9, 1912, p3.

To see an example of a contemporary chalk project that inspired this project, click here.

To see an Image Roundup of #ChalkTheVoteOR, click here.

                       

#ChalkTheVoteOR Project Partners:

              

    

 

It is difficult to preserve something as ephemeral as chalk, but we wanted to try. On this page, you will find images* from community partners and inspired individuals who showed up to #ChalkTheVoteOR in the streets, on sidewalks, on walls, or wherever they felt the mood strike them. While these images reflect only a fraction of the many that are out there in the social media stratosphere (search #chalkthevoteor on Facebook and Instagram to see more!), the images here highlight a diversity of approaches, abilities, and interpretations around creating voting-rights related chalkings. We believe they are all striking in their creativity, innovation, and strength of message.

Our education on the history of the 19^th Amendment and the women’s suffrage movement accelerated as the centennial year unfolded. We understood that our approach to #ChalktheVoteOR, originally titled Chalkthe19th, needed to expand and change. Highlighting just the 19th Amendment, without also focusing on the 15th, the Voting Rights Act, the 24th, and the 26th Amendments would not accurately detail the long history and ongoing struggle of all U.S. citizens to achieve full voting rights, or suffrage. In the midst of these tumultuous times, social distancing and masking requirements were not enough to make many people want to gather with others, even out of doors. The stress of the pandemic and social and political upheaval have left many burned out, and many people are working on their own projects or going to their jobs.  We understand and share those issues. So, the enthusiastic public turnout exceeded our expectations and we hope this public demonstration around a core piece of our democracy—voting—resonates with you long after the chalking vanishes. A heartfelt thank you to all who participated in #ChalkTheVoteOR events during the week of August 23rd-29th, 2020!

For more information about this project, visit the #ChalkTheVoteOR main page.

*Image credits and location provided in captions where possible.

#ChalkTheVoteOR Image Roundup

KTVZ Bend press coverage of #ChalkTheVoteOR at Deschutes Historical Museum with Executive Director Kelly Cannon-Miller

KATU press coverage of #ChalkTheVoteOR: “Project Celebrates 100 Years of Women Having the Right to Vote.”

#ChalkTheVoteOR Project Partners: