"Promote the General Well-Being of Society" - Social Activism
Dublin Core
Title
"Promote the General Well-Being of Society" - Social Activism
Subject
Social Activism
Description
Like many women's rights advocates, Bradwell believed that increasing the political, economic, and social rights of women would make for a healthier American society. Like other women's rights activists, Bradwell believed this because it was assumed that women were naturally inclined to provide nuture and care as mothers and wives. This was enforced by the Victorian-Age doctrine called "the Cult of True Womanhood," which commanded women to be domestic, religious, submissive, and pure. Whether Bradwell actually believed in these feminine virtues or just utlizied them as ways to gain the attention and affirmation of her male peers remains unanswered. But, the sources in this collection show how she used her place as a woman, a wife, and a mother to achieve a variety of social reform.
Collection Items
Women's War Work in Illinois in the Civil War
This page from a 1960 book on Illinois in the Civil War contains much of what we know about Myra Bradwell during the nation's bloodiest conflict. Bradwell is listed with about a dozen other women who served their state on the home-front during the…
Woman's Committee of the World's Congress Auxiliary on Weeklies and Magazines
When the World’s Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago in 1893, a World’s Congress Auxiliary was formed to manage the exposition. Many committees and subcommittees were formed to overview all potential gatherings within the city. One of the…
The Woman's Branch of the World's Congress Auxiliary; Committee on Government Reform Congresses
When the World’s Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago in 1893, a World’s Congress auxiliary was formed to manage the exposition. Many committees and subcommittees were formed to overview all potential gatherings within the city that were…
National Woman's Rights Movement
In this speech to women's rights advocates, the speaker celebrates Myra Bradwell's contibution to the movement with her legal intelligence. Even though there were deep divisions across the movement, like whether black suffrage should come before…
Letter from Robert Todd Lincoln to Myra Bradwell
In this letter to Bradwell, Robert Todd Lincoln shares his disappointment that aunt Elizabeth Edwards is too unwell to visit his mother at Bellevue Place. He asks Myra Bradwell to visit less often, bring no one to visit Mary Lincoln that he does not…
Mrs. Bradwell Dead
The death notice of Myra Bradwell from The Daily Inter Ocean serves as an demonstration of how not only her activism, but also her life on the whole, was perceived by the outside world. This eulogy captures all professional aspects and some personal…
Girls' Industrial School
The Daily Inter Ocean reported on developments from the Girls’ Industrial School that several local women, including Myra Bradwell, helped manage. The school offered classes to teach girls skills that they would need for the workforce, since women…
The Soldiers' Home
This article from The Daily Inter Ocean in Chicago shows the developments with The Soldiers’ Home, a program for veterans where Myra Bradwell served as Vice President. The organization helped pay expenses, such as medical or property bills, for…
Letter from Myra Bradwell to Abram Wakeman
In this letter, Myra Bradwell contacts Abram Wakeman on behalf of Mary Todd Lincoln, seeking assistance in proving her sanity and leaving the "insane asylum." The widow of Abraham Lincoln was committed to the institution by her only living son,…
The Pen That Signed the Emancipation Proclamation
This pen signed arguably one of the most famous documents in American history, the Emancipation Proclamation. Abraham Lincoln used this pen during his entire presidency, as the caption states. The pen was then gifted to Myra Bradwell by Mary Todd…