August 2020 Lunch & Learn: Politics on the Platform

Politics on the Platform: Woman Suffrage at the Chautaugua is presented by guest speaker Sarah Bell with Humanities Kansas. Chautauqua was a movement focusing on moral education and self-improvement through programs on reform, religion, and culture. The movement was useful for advancing the cause of “womanhood" and to discuss important issues of the day. By the 1890s, women had succeeded in making it a space that promoted woman suffrage. The Ottawa Chautauqua was one of these significant venues that supported discussions of women's rights.

This presentation examines how women used the Chautauqua platform to engage in political activism, particularly suffrage and temperance, and how this early movement laid the groundwork for contemporary issues of feminism and gender equality. Sarah Bell received her PhD in History from the University of Kansas and is the Development Officer at the Watkins Museum of History in Lawrence.

This program is part of the National Archives' 19th Amendment centennial celebration made possible by the National Archives Foundation and generous support from Maggie & Robert Boroujerdi.