Charles & Fanny, 19th Century Reformists Part 1, Uplifting the Human Condition

Meet two 19th century human rights activists who worked with the abolitionists, suffragists, and labor reformers in California, Philadelphia, and Boston between 1858 and the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Part 1 of 5 tells the story of how Charles and Fanny Ames came to dedicate their entire lives to uplifting the human condition.

Researching my great-great-grandparents, I learned about these liberal causes that are still prevalent today. The War on Drugs has replaced the Temperance Movement. Anti-racism has replaced anti-slavery. And though women can now vote, the civil rights amendment has not yet passed, even though women have been fighting for it for a hundred years.

These videos were inspired by the 100-year anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. The State of Massachusetts honored Fanny for being one of the first two women hired as police officers in the United States. Minnesota honored Charles and Fanny's daughter, Alice Vivian Ames Winter, for her work as a suffragette. And I learned that Alice's sister, Edith, wrote the original version of the Serenity Prayer.

Part 1 explains how Charles and Fanny met in Ohio and how they became human rights activists.
Part 2 introduces the cluster of Unitarians, abolitionists, and suffragists with whom Charles involved himself in Boston in 1859, two years before the Civil War broke out.
Part 3 takes newlyweds Charles and Fanny to California, where the women's rights movement was just taking root, then to Philadelphia in time for the Panic of 1873.
Part 4 describes Charles and Fanny’s participation in social reform in Philadelphia and Boston.
And Part 5 describes the suffragists' final push to pass the 19th Amendment in 1920.

[SkiUSA]

Mary - I grew up in Seneca Falls and I instantly recognized the factory @ 4:16 - It's in Waterloo, NY! One of the elementary schools in Seneca Falls was named Cady Stanton. AND my father was born in Canandaigua. - It's Nancy Evans

[rebeccakehoe]

Rebecca Ames Kehoe and daughter Luciana Ames Oviedo Kehoe watching from México. Very interesting! Thanks for making this!

[amymacdonald]

Just discovered this series via Charlotte Wright Lewis. Loving it.