Carrie Chapman Catt: Iowa State University's Most Distinguished Graduate (1991)

Carrie Chapman Catt often visited this lovely home on iowa state university campus we call it the farmhouse for many years it was the home of the deans of agriculture at Iowa State University let's go in alda Wilson the companion of Carrie during her last few years was the sister of olive Wilson Curtis wife of charles f Curtis he was the Dean of agriculture at iowa state from 1902 to 1935 hello I'm Laura Klein Iowa State University archivist and during the next few minutes I'd like to share with you a little about Iowa State's most distinguished graduate Carrie Chapman Catt 1859 was an eventful year charles darwin published his origin of the species the bloody raid on Harpers Ferry Arsenal occurred with a subsequent hanging of John Brown and in a farmhouse in ripon wisconsin a second child was born to Lucius and Maria Clinton lane Carrie was six when at the close of the Civil War the lanes mood Southwest to Floyd County Iowa and bought a farm near Charles City in between school and farm chores Carrie read voraciously often memorizing and reciting entire columns in 1872 Horace Greeley editor of the New York Tribune was running against general ulysses grant Kari had attended several campaign rallies for greely and as election day came and her father was donning his good clothes to go into town Carrie turned to her mother and exclaimed my mother you're not going into town in that dress are you and when her mother replied that she wasn't going Carrie said aren't you going to vote for greely well after the general laughter had died down Lucius explained to carry that only men could vote not women this first painful awareness of inequality was to stay with Carrie the rest of her life Carrie continued her studies completing high school in three years and teaching school to earn money towards college thus in the spring of 1877 Carrie Clinton Lane enrolled at Iowa Agricultural College and farm the first class of Iowa State had graduated a mere five years earlier old main was practically all that stood on the campus at that time it contains student rooms the library laboratories classrooms faculty offices the kitchen and dining room Carrie took as many science courses as possible from a faculty who are mostly evolutionists she earned nine cents an hour washing dishes to offset expenses and by the end of her first year was earning ten cents an hour as the assistant to the librarian she also earned money by teaching in between school years from December 1878 to March 1879 she taught a class of 16 students ranging in age from 6 to 18 Carrie enjoyed extracurricular activities as well becoming a member of Pi Beta Phi and one of the literary societies through her efforts women were finally allowed to give orations and debate in these societies previously they could recite essays only another change she initiated was the formation of women's military drill units general Geddes head of military science had lectured on the physical benefits of military exercise and Carrie persuaded him to give these drills to the women as well as to the men the only woman in her graduating class of 14 Carrie was also the valedictorian she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in November 1880 having finished her coursework in three years interested in law Carrie worked for a lawyer in Charles City for almost a year when she received a telegram from the president of Mason city's Board of Education offering her a job as principal of the high school her quick wit natural leadership and teaching experience enabled her to succeed in 1883 the Mason City School Superintendent retired and recommended carry as his successor though only 24 Kerry handled her responsibilities well she was also sought as a speaker at teachers Institute's regularly because of her strength in this area by 1884 Kerry had given up thoughts of studying law through working with local papers for a student journalism project Kerry met Leo Chapman editor of the Mason City Republican previously he had been a reporter for the Des Moines Register and like Carrie had grown up in Iowa was well educated and ambitious within a short period they were engaged and subsequently married in February 1885 Carrie resigned her superintendent ship and worked on the paper with Leo for the next several months when she lost her nomination bid for County School Superintendent Leo's angry editorials led to a libel case and the forced sale of the newspaper Leo then left for San Francisco to seek work for them when a telegram reached Carrie telling her he had contracted typhoid fever Carrie took the next train West but before she could reach him Leo died after a time Carrie began working for a San Francisco newspaper observing and listening to women employees she finally realized what her life goal would be equal rights for women in 1887 to return to Charles City and soon became the state organizer for the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association by februari 1890 at the age of 31 she gave her first national speech at the National American woman suffrage association under the presidency of Elizabeth Cady Stanton she greatly impressed susan b anthony traveling with her a while later to South Dakota for her first campaign before that however she took a brief time out for her second wedding she married george w cat a college friend from ames she had run into George while living in San Francisco with her aunt and her friendship with this prominent civil engineer continued for the next two years until he convinced her to marry him he supported her suffrage work both intellectually and financially and by 1892 moved his west coast dredging company's headquarters to New York where he and Carrie then settled Carrie set up her first large suffrage conference in Des Moines where she impressed Susan Anthony further she was offered the position of finance chair of the National Association and spent the next few years campaigning through the United States by 1895 she became the chair of the organizing committee this was her forte and Carrie began setting up networks in the ten states without any during 1900 her last year's chair she visited 20 states attended 15 conventions made 51 arranged speeches spent sixty four days on trains and traveled over 13,000 miles six weeks before the national associations annual convention Kerry reluctantly accepted retiring president Anthony's wish to become her successor at the Washington Convention after Susan gave her farewell speech Kari came up to the podium stood silently for a moment and then spoke good friends I should be hardly human if I did not feel gratitude and appreciation for the confidence you have shown in me but I feel the honor of this position much less than its responsibility I was not willing to be the next president after Miss Anthony she has been much larger than our association the papers have spoken of the new president as miss Anthony successor miss Anthony will never have a successor a precedent chosen from the younger workers is on a level with the Association I pledge you to do the best I can and I hope you will all help me to bear the burden and so Carrie began her presidency at age 41 in addition to her regular duties she continued her campaign tours visiting Tennessee Arkansas Mississippi Ohio in Massachusetts another concern of carries was the importance of an international suffrage movement at the turn of the century there were only five national groups the scary managed to arrange an international suffrage conference in conjunction with the national association with their 1902 annual convention by 1903 with her mother ill and her husband showing the strains of his work Carrie decided to retire as the National Association of woman suffrage president and afterwards she traveled with miss Anthony to Germany to attend the first meeting of the international woman suffrage alliance and at its clothes found herself elected president when she returned home she began meeting with Internet tional groups and lecturing near her new york home until a lovely fall day in 1905 her husband became ill at work and arrived home in an ambulance a few weeks later George cat died and tributes poured in from all sides his death wrote Iowa State engineering professor Bissell is untimely for the profession to which he belonged and for all those who were privileged to know him shortly after George's death susan b anthony died at her home in rochester new york in 1907 Kerry returned to Charles City to care for her ill mother who died three months later somehow Carrie survived when I look forward she said I hope only that work may always be ready for me and that I may have the strength to do it so long as I remain here there was of course much work to be done Carrie inaugurated a series of world conferences to meet every two years and travel throughout Europe and Asia strengthening the Alliance and by 1909 there were twenty countries represented later that year knowing that in the United States each state needed to accept woman suffrage before a federal amendment could be passed Harry began the woman suffrage party in New York but she always kept an eye on the Iowa campaign and was apprised of all activities such as this 1908 suffrage parade in boone iowa she worked hard with the new york group for over two years and then took a few months out to work abroad her first stop in the summer of nineteen eleven was South Africa where she had a meeting with a young lawyer Mohandas Gandhi in her diary she stated that Gandhi was a fanatic guided by high intelligence and that Great Britain had by no means her the last from him upon her return to the United States she found three more states carried the vote for suffrage and by nineteen fourteen twelve states had done so Carrie had retired by then as president of the International woman suffrage alliance concentrating on us suffrage and New York State in particular the campaign culminated in the suffrage parade in October 1915 down Fifth Avenue there were nearly 40,000 women the largest Parade ever in the country at the close of 1915 the National Association nominated Carrie Chapman Catt as president she refused during the annual meeting delegates from every state filed into carries Washington hotel room while she was out when she returned she found herself facing this quiet determined group I'm old I'm no longer healthy and I'm tired then with a smile and a shrug she added I'll do my best and so during the next five years Kerry led the fight for passage of the federal amendment finally on May 21st 1919 the woman suffrage amendment was approved in the house and on june fourth in the Senate victory however was not yet certain 36 states would have to ratify passage and Carrie spent the next several months working toward this when the National American woman suffrage association met in 1919 for their 50th anniversary conference they wondered what their future would be assuming ratification of the amendment in her opening address Carrie proposed the founding of a league of women voters to continue to work toward freeing women from other legal discriminations and to adopt a program of nonpartisan political education and Leadership it met with solid support and has remained a vital force ever since in june nineteen twenty Carrie returned from the Geneva Alliance meeting and went immediately to Tennessee in order to ensure their ratification of the federal amendment when in August she received word of the 36th ratification she was to recall this quote as the happiest day of my life turning her attention back to international matter Carrie rallied women in support of the League of Nations in 1921 she returned to aims to deliver the commencement address the first woman to do so as economic problems increased in Europe Carrie founded a committee on the cause and cure of war she remained active in the league of women voters and the formation of the United Nations in 1931 at the age of 72 she gave another commencement address at Iowa State as well as receiving the pictorial review award for her international disarmament work she dedicated the Pioneer suffragist memorial plaque in the Des Moines Capitol building in 1936 and in 1939 spoke at the World's Fair the Chi Omega award was given to carry in 1941 at the White House by her friend of many years Eleanor Roosevelt and until her death in 1947 at the age of 88 Chapman Catt continued her efforts toward world peace she was one of the first inductees into the Iowa women's hall of fame and was voted several times during her life as one of the most admired women leaders of the century yet with all of these achievements by one person is she remembered by many or even known by a few here at her alma mater which she remembered all her life and to which she gave over one hundred thousand dollars for the George cat scholarship fund one thousand volumes of her war and peace library several thousand dollars to her sorority chapter and her entire estate upon her death steps have finally been taken to pay tribute to this amazing woman one of iowa state's oldest and most attractive buildings located just northwest of here will be named the Carrie Chapman Catt Hall built in eighteen ninety two as agricultural hall and later called old botany this elegant building will be completely renovated when adequate funding is attained via the university's ongoing capital campaign partnership for ominous a designated area within the restored building will be set aside to display some of the many artifacts Carrie gave to the University and to describe the achievements of this remarkable Iowan and alumna you you