![\"\"](\"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/harper\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-26-at-8.00.13\u202fPM-300x285.png\")
Image via Wikimedia<\/em><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Frances Elizabeth Willard was born on September 28th, 1839, in Churchville, New York. She attended Northwestern Female College and graduated in 1859 as valedictorian. After graduating, she taught at many women’s colleges, ultimately becoming the President of the Evanston Ladies’ College in Evanston, IL.[1] In 1873, Evanston Ladies College became Northwestern University’s Women’s College,[2] and Willard served as the first Dean of Women at Northwestern University.[3]She resigned from teaching in June 1874 and dedicated her time to the temperance effort.[4]<\/p>\n Willard gave her first temperance speech in 1874, which “caused when the men to weep,”[5] beginning her national lecturing career.[6]That same year, Willard was asked to run and was elected President of the Chicago Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), served as secretary of the WCTU Illinois State Convention, and was elected as the corresponding secretary of the WCTU National Convention. She also advocated for women’s suffrage, believing that women having the right to vote aligned with the mission of the WCTU.[7]<\/p>\n The WTCU advocated for temperance “to protect women against violence from men caused by excessive alcohol consumption.”[8]Willard thought the right to vote would protect the “home from the tyranny of drink.”[9] This led to racial tension within the WCTU in 1893, when Black members of the WTCU, led by Ida B. Wells, hoped that the WCTU would focus on ending lynching and sexual violence towards Black women rather than focusing their attention on winning the right to vote for white women.[10]<\/p>\n Willard also founded the National WTCU Paper, “Our Union,” and the Illinois WCTU Paper, “Signal,” which were merged into “Union Signal” in 1882. She was elected President of the National WTCU in 1879 and served for 19 years until her death in 1898.[11] As President, she organized and restructured the WTCU into the departments of “Preventative, Educational, Evangelistic, Social, and Legal.”[12] She organized to create WTCUs in all (at the time) 48 states in the United States. She also proposed a World’s WTCU and facilitated the creation of WTCUs in 35 countries.[13] Further, under her leadership, the WCTU advocated for economic justice in the form of equal pay, eight-hour work days, and workplace protections.[14]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Credits” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Written by Chasia Elizna Jeffries<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u200bHARPER AT 200 FRANCES WILLARD Frances Elizabeth Willard was born on September 28th, 1839, in Churchville, New York. She attended Northwestern Female College and graduated in 1859 as valedictorian. After graduating, she taught at many women’s colleges, ultimately becoming the President of the Evanston Ladies’ College in Evanston, IL.[1] In 1873, Evanston Ladies College became […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":6189,"parent":4647,"menu_order":69,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4633","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n\u00a0<\/h3>\n
References<\/h3>\n
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Credits<\/h3>\n