Flora Dunlap | |
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 Flora Dunlap, from a 1912 publication | |
| Born | 1872 Ohio, US |
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Flora Dunlap (born 1872) was an American social worker and social reform activist in Iowa. [1] She served as the president of the Iowa Equal Suffrage Association in 1913. She headed the Roadside Settlement House in Des Moines, Iowa. Dunlap was the first woman to ever serve on the Board of Education of Des Moines. [2] She was a friend of Jane Addams and a supporter of the Women's Suffrage Movement.
Dunlap was born in 1872 to Mary and Samuel W. Dunlap. Growing up in Circleville, Ohio, she attended school in nearby Columbus. [3] She graduated from Cincinnati Wesleyan College. [1]
Dunlap earned an apprenticeship at the Kingsley Settlement House a year later. [3] Following the apprenticeship, Dunlap went on to live in the Goodrich House in Cleveland, as well as the Hull House in Chicago. [4] Dunlap found the widespread fame of the Hull House to be “…a stimulating, an absorbing, and a bewildering place in which to live and work.” [4] However, she wished to work in a smaller city rather than staying in Chicago despite her love for Hull House. [4] After Dunlap resigned her position at the Roadside Settlement House in September 1916, she headed the Neighborhood Guild House in Brooklyn, New York. [3] Dunlap ultimately returned to the Roadside Settlement in 1918, where she maintained head resident until 1924.
Jane Addams referred Dunlap to the Roadside Settlement in Des Moines, and Dunlap accepted the position of head resident in 1904. [3] Dunlap had been offered to go to another house in the east, however Addams believed she would have more autonomy in the western area. The settlement was located in a commercial neighborhood, causing a decrease in clientele to serve. [4]
The settlement board voted to relocate the home to South Bottom near the Des Moines River. [4] Dunlap oversaw the construction of this three-story brick building. [4] The new home opened in 1906 and was regarded by Dunlap as one of her greatest achievements. [3] As the Roadside house became open to the public, Dunlap established several programs including sewing and cooking classes, as well as manual training and literary clubs. [4] Dunlap served as head resident of the Roadside Settlement House for two decades. [3]
In 1912 Dunlap ran for the Des Moines school board. Her community involvement earned Dunlap the support of local women’s clubs who endorsed her candidacy and distributed her campaign advertisements in various local establishments. Dunlap won the election as the first woman to ever serve on the board. [2] After three years of serving, Dunlap reported it was “the most unpleasant and most futile task” she had managed. [3] Dunlap concluded the board was not ready for women and neglected to run for re-election after complaining none of the other male members would speak or listen to her opinions. [3]
During this same time period, Dunlap served as legislative chair of the Iowa Federation of Women’s Clubs. [3] In 1913 Dunlap won the presidency of the Iowa Equal Suffrage Association. [3] She held office for this position until 1916. During her three years of presidency, Dunlap took to the streets and visited 30 towns to hold educational open-air meetings. [3] In 1916 Dunlap led a campaign in which an amendment to the state constitution was submitted to voters to allow women the right to vote. Dunlap was an active member of Des Moines Women's Club from 1907 to 1926.
In 1917 and 1918, Dunlap maintained the position of regional director of the girls division of the War Camp Community Service. [3]
Laura Jane Addams was an American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, philosopher, and author. She was a leader in the history of social work and women's suffrage in the United States. Addams co-founded Hull House, one of America's most famous settlement houses, in Chicago, Illinois, providing extensive social services to poor, largely immigrant families. In 1910, Addams was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree from Yale University, becoming the first woman to receive an honorary degree from the school. In 1920, she was a co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
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Efforts toward women's suffrage began early in Iowa's history. During the territory's Constitutional Convention, discussions on both African American and women's suffrage took place. Early on, women's rights were discussed in the state by women such as Amelia Bloomer and petitions for suffrage were sent to the Iowa state legislature. While African American men earned the right to vote in 1868, women from all backgrounds had to continue to agitate for enfranchisement. One of the first suffrage groups was formed in Dubuque in 1869. Not long after, a state suffrage convention was held in Mount Pleasant in 1870. Iowa suffragists focused on organizing and lobbying the state legislature. In 1894, women gained the right to vote on municipal bond and tax issues and also in school elections. These rights were immediately utilized by women who turned out in good numbers to vote on these issues. By the 1910s, the state legislature finally passed in successive sessions a women's suffrage amendment to the state constitution. This resulted in a voter referendum to be held on the issue on June 5, 1916. The campaign included anti-suffrage agitation from liquor interests who claimed that women's suffrage would cause higher taxes. The amendment was defeated, though a subsequent investigation turned up a large amount of fraud. However, the election could not be invalidated and women had to wait to vote. On July 2, 1919, Iowa became the tenth state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment.
This is a timeline of women's suffrage in Iowa. Women's suffrage work started early in Iowa's history. Organizing began in the late 1960s with the first state suffrage convention taking place in 1870. In the 1890s, women gained the right to vote on municipal bonds, tax efforts and school-related issues. By 1916, a state suffrage amendment went to out to a voter referendum, which failed. Iowa was the tenth state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment in 1919.
Martha Callanan (1826-1901) was a woman's suffrage advocate, newspaper publisher and philanthropist. She was born in Albany County New York and moved to Des Moines, Iowa with her husband James C. Callanan in 1863 and her home soom became the unofficial headquarters for the local women's suffrage movement.
Anna E. Nicholes was an American social reformer, civil servant, and clubwoman associated with women's suffrage and the settlement movement in Chicago. She devoted her life to charitable and philanthropic work.