Inez Milholland
Encyclopedia
Inez Milholland Boissevain (August 6, 1886 - November 25, 1916) was a suffragist, labor lawyer, World War I
correspondent, and public speaker who greatly influenced the women's movement in America.
, New York
, she grew up in a wealthy family. She was the eldest daughter of John Elmer and Jean (Torrey) Milholland. She had one sister and one brother. Her father was a New York Tribune reporter and editorial writer who eventually headed a pneumatic tubes business that afforded his family a privileged life in both New York and London. Her father supported many reforms, among them world peace, civil rights, and women suffrage. Her mother exposed her children to cultural and intellectual stimulation.
On July 14, 1913, she was married in London, England to Eugen Jan Boissevain, a Dutch
importer. She admitted to proposing to Boissevain first, and she referred to this initiative as being a woman's "new freedom." They never had children.
During her attendance at Vassar College
she was once suspended for organizing a women's rights meeting. The president of Vassar had forbidden suffrage meetings, but Milholland and others held regular "classes" on the issue, along with large protests and petitions. As a student she was known as an active radical. She started the suffrage movement at Vassar, enrolled two-thirds of the students, and taught them the principles of socialism. With the radical group she had gathered about her, she attended socialist meetings in Poughkeepsie which were under the ban of the faculty. An athletic young woman, she was the captain of the hockey team and a member of the 1909 track team; she also set a record in the basketball throw. Milholland was also involved in student productions, the Current Topics Club, the German Club, and the debating team.
After graduation she tried for admission at both Oxford and Cambridge with the purpose of studying law, but was denied due to gender. She also failed to gain admission to the Harvard Law School, but was finally matriculated at the New York University Law School, from which she took her LL.B. degree in 1912.
She was later admitted to the bar, joining the New York law firm of Osborne, Lamb, and Garvan, handling criminal and divorce cases. In one of her first assignments, she had to investigate conditions at Sing Sing prison. At the time female contact with male prisoners was not looked upon well, but she insisted on talking personally with the prisoners to uncover the horrible conditions.
, the Women's Trade Union League
, the Equality League of Self Supporting Women in New York (Women's Political Union), the National Child Labor Committee
, and England's Fabian Society. She was also involved in the National American Woman Suffrage Association
, which later branched into the grassroots radical National Woman's Party
. She became a leader and a popular speaker on the campaign circuit of the NWP, working closely with Alice Paul
and Lucy Burns
.
In 1913, at the age of 27, Milholland made her most memorable appearance, as she helped organize the suffrage parade in Washington D.C., scheduled to take place the day before President Woodrow Wilson's inauguration. She led the parade wearing a crown and a long white cape while riding atop a large white horse named "Gray Dawn."
At the beginning of World War 1, Milholland traveled overseas as a war correspondent for a Canadian newspaper to gain access to the front lines. From there she composed pacifist articles, which led to her censure by the Italian government, which ousted her from the country
She was also a leading figure on Henry Ford
's ill-fated Peace Ship expedition of late 1915, steaming across the Atlantic with a team of pacifist campaigners who hoped to give impetus to a negotiated settlement to the First World War. However, she left the ship in Stockholm because the trip was unorganized and dissension had ensued between passengers. Her role has recently been fictionalized by the British novelist Douglas Galbraith in his novel King Henry.
Milholland vehemently protested against America's involvement in World War I
. She was a labor lawyer and was involved in the production of the socialist journal, The Masses
.
In 1916, she went on a tour in the West, speaking for women's rights, despite suffering from pernicious anemia
, despite the admonitions of her family who were concerned about her deteriorating health . On October 22, 1916, she collapsed in the middle of a speech in Los Angeles
, and was rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital
. Despite repeated blood transfusions, she died on October 22, 1916, at 10:55. Her last public words were, "Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?" She was known as the martyr
of the women's movement. In a tribute to Milholland, Mount Discovery in the Adirondacks was renamed Mount Inez.
's representation of Milholland was received with accolades in the movie Iron Jawed Angels
, which received a standing ovation at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival
.
Carl Sandburg
wrote a poem about her entitled "Repetitions," which appears in his 1918 volume, Cornhuskers. Edna St. Vincent Millay
also wrote a poem, "To Inez Milholland," included in her collection The Buck in the Snow.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
correspondent, and public speaker who greatly influenced the women's movement in America.
Biography
Born and raised in BrooklynNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, she grew up in a wealthy family. She was the eldest daughter of John Elmer and Jean (Torrey) Milholland. She had one sister and one brother. Her father was a New York Tribune reporter and editorial writer who eventually headed a pneumatic tubes business that afforded his family a privileged life in both New York and London. Her father supported many reforms, among them world peace, civil rights, and women suffrage. Her mother exposed her children to cultural and intellectual stimulation.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
importer. She admitted to proposing to Boissevain first, and she referred to this initiative as being a woman's "new freedom." They never had children.
Education
Inez Milholland received her early education at the Comstock School in New York and Kensington High School in London. After finishing school, she decided to attend Vassar but when the college wouldn't accept her graduation certificate she attended Willard School for Girls in Berlin. She obtained a B.A. degree at Vassar in 1909 after four years of education.During her attendance at Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
she was once suspended for organizing a women's rights meeting. The president of Vassar had forbidden suffrage meetings, but Milholland and others held regular "classes" on the issue, along with large protests and petitions. As a student she was known as an active radical. She started the suffrage movement at Vassar, enrolled two-thirds of the students, and taught them the principles of socialism. With the radical group she had gathered about her, she attended socialist meetings in Poughkeepsie which were under the ban of the faculty. An athletic young woman, she was the captain of the hockey team and a member of the 1909 track team; she also set a record in the basketball throw. Milholland was also involved in student productions, the Current Topics Club, the German Club, and the debating team.
After graduation she tried for admission at both Oxford and Cambridge with the purpose of studying law, but was denied due to gender. She also failed to gain admission to the Harvard Law School, but was finally matriculated at the New York University Law School, from which she took her LL.B. degree in 1912.
She was later admitted to the bar, joining the New York law firm of Osborne, Lamb, and Garvan, handling criminal and divorce cases. In one of her first assignments, she had to investigate conditions at Sing Sing prison. At the time female contact with male prisoners was not looked upon well, but she insisted on talking personally with the prisoners to uncover the horrible conditions.
Activism
Her causes were far reaching: in addition to prison reform, she sought world peace and worked for equality for African Americans. Milholland was a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeopleNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
, the Women's Trade Union League
Women's Trade Union League
The Women's Trade Union League was a U.S. organization of both working class and more well-off women formed in 1903 to support the efforts of women to organize labor unions and to eliminate sweatshop conditions...
, the Equality League of Self Supporting Women in New York (Women's Political Union), the National Child Labor Committee
National Child Labor Committee
The National Child Labor Committee, or NCLC, is a private, non-profit organization in the United States that serves as a leading proponent for the national child labor reform movement...
, and England's Fabian Society. She was also involved in the National American Woman Suffrage Association
National American Woman Suffrage Association
The National American Woman Suffrage Association was an American women's rights organization formed in May 1890 as a unification of the National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association...
, which later branched into the grassroots radical National Woman's Party
National Woman's Party
The National Woman's Party , was a women's organization founded by Alice Paul in 1915 that fought for women's rights during the early 20th century in the United States, particularly for the right to vote on the same terms as men...
. She became a leader and a popular speaker on the campaign circuit of the NWP, working closely with Alice Paul
Alice Paul
Alice Stokes Paul was an American suffragist and activist. Along with Lucy Burns and others, she led a successful campaign for women's suffrage that resulted in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920.-Activism: Alice Paul received her undergraduate education from...
and Lucy Burns
Lucy Burns
Lucy Burns was an American suffragist and women's rights advocate. She was a passionate activist in the United States and in the United Kingdom. Burns was a close friend of Alice Paul, and together they ultimately formed the National Woman's Party.-Early life and education:Lucy Burns was born in...
.
In 1913, at the age of 27, Milholland made her most memorable appearance, as she helped organize the suffrage parade in Washington D.C., scheduled to take place the day before President Woodrow Wilson's inauguration. She led the parade wearing a crown and a long white cape while riding atop a large white horse named "Gray Dawn."
At the beginning of World War 1, Milholland traveled overseas as a war correspondent for a Canadian newspaper to gain access to the front lines. From there she composed pacifist articles, which led to her censure by the Italian government, which ousted her from the country
She was also a leading figure on Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
's ill-fated Peace Ship expedition of late 1915, steaming across the Atlantic with a team of pacifist campaigners who hoped to give impetus to a negotiated settlement to the First World War. However, she left the ship in Stockholm because the trip was unorganized and dissension had ensued between passengers. Her role has recently been fictionalized by the British novelist Douglas Galbraith in his novel King Henry.
Milholland vehemently protested against America's involvement in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. She was a labor lawyer and was involved in the production of the socialist journal, The Masses
The Masses
The Masses was a graphically innovative magazine of socialist politics published monthly in the U.S. from 1911 until 1917, when Federal prosecutors brought charges against its editors for conspiring to obstruct conscription. It was succeeded by The Liberator and then later The New Masses...
.
In 1916, she went on a tour in the West, speaking for women's rights, despite suffering from pernicious anemia
Pernicious anemia
Pernicious anemia is one of many types of the larger family of megaloblastic anemias...
, despite the admonitions of her family who were concerned about her deteriorating health . On October 22, 1916, she collapsed in the middle of a speech in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and was rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital
Good Samaritan Hospital (Los Angeles)
Good Samaritan Hospital is a hospital in Los Angeles, California, United States. The hospital has 408 beds.-History:Good Samaritan Hospital was founded in 1885, although the current hospital was built in 1976...
. Despite repeated blood transfusions, she died on October 22, 1916, at 10:55. Her last public words were, "Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?" She was known as the martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
of the women's movement. In a tribute to Milholland, Mount Discovery in the Adirondacks was renamed Mount Inez.
Legacy
Julia OrmondJulia Ormond
Julia Karin Ormond is an English actress who has appeared in film and television and on stage.-Early life and education:...
's representation of Milholland was received with accolades in the movie Iron Jawed Angels
Iron Jawed Angels
Iron Jawed Angels is a 2004 American drama film. It was directed by Katja von Garnier and starred Hilary Swank, Frances O'Connor, Julia Ormond, and Anjelica Huston. It focuses on the American women's suffrage movement during the 1910s. The film received acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival...
, which received a standing ovation at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
.
Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
wrote a poem about her entitled "Repetitions," which appears in his 1918 volume, Cornhuskers. Edna St. Vincent Millay
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Edna St. Vincent Millay was an American lyrical poet, playwright and feminist. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, and was known for her activism and her many love affairs. She used the pseudonym Nancy Boyd for her prose work...
also wrote a poem, "To Inez Milholland," included in her collection The Buck in the Snow.
See also
- History of feminismHistory of feminismThe history of feminism involves the story of feminist movements and of feminist thinkers. Depending on time, culture and country, feminists around the world have sometimes had different causes and goals...
- List of suffragists and suffragettes
- SuffragetteSuffragette"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
- Women's Social and Political UnionWomen's Social and Political UnionThe Women's Social and Political Union was the leading militant organisation campaigning for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom...
- Women's suffrageWomen's suffrageWomen's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
External links
- Inez Milholland Papers. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
- Sidesaddles and suffragettes - the fight to ride and vote Horsetalk.co.nz