Clubwomen, The Pollitzer Sisters & The Vote, Part 2 | Sisterhood: SC Suffragists

Beginning in 1899, the Poppenheim sisters published a monthly magazine called The Keystone. The magazine pointed out the manner in which the Confederate “Lost Cause” movement celebrated the Confederacy and suffused White middle and upper class society. This club movement by both Black and White middle class women were parallel; out of this particular movement came offshoots which dealt with suffrage. Marion Bernie Wilkinson of Charleston, SC became the most important Black club woman in the state. Wilkinson founded the SC Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs in 1909, which becomes an important organization in the state. Wilkinson was also active in the National Association of Colored Women, and very involved in a network of Black professional women who led reform efforts in cities across the U.S.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the national movement for women’s suffrage surged ahead. The day before President Woodrow Wilson’s first inauguration, a parade held in Washington, D.C. brought new inspiration and attention to the call for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. This led to a new generation of South Carolina women to advocate for the vote.

Standards

• 8-5 The student will understand the impact of Reconstruction, industrialization, and Progressivism on society and politics in South Carolina in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
  • During the periods of Reconstruction, industrial expansion, and the Progressive movement, South Carolina searched for ways to revitalize its economy while maintaining its traditional society. To understand South Carolina’s experience as represen...
    • 8-5.8 Compare the Progressive movement in South Carolina with the national Progressive movement, including the impact on temperance; women’s suffrage; labor laws; and educational, agricultural, health, and governmental reform.
• USHC-4 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the industrial development and the consequences of that development on society and politics during the second half of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries.
  • Political democracy depends upon the active participation of individuals working through political and economic-interest groups to protect their welfare. To understand how groups in the past have protected their rights, the student will utilize the kn...
    • USHC-4.6 Compare the accomplishments and limitations of the women’s suffrage movement and the Progressive Movement in affecting social and political reforms in America, including the roles of the media and of reformers such as Carrie Chapman Catt...
• This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the growth, decline, and legacy of the Populist Party. This indicator supports inquiry into the multifaceted objectives of the Progressive Movement, including political and social reforms, which influenced both political parties of the period and resulted in lasting legislation.
  • USHC.3.CE Assess the causes and effects of significant turning points in the Populist and Progressive era from 1877–1924.
• This indicator was designed to encourage inquiry into the continuities and changes of the experiences of marginalized groups such as African Americans, Native Americans and women, as the U.S. expanded westward and grappled with the development of new states.
  • 8.3.CC Analyze debates and efforts to recognize the natural rights of marginalized groups during the period of expansion and sectionalism.
• This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into founding principles as viewed through this period of federal government involvement, the development and realignment of a new labor system not based on a system of slavery, and the significant political realignment of the South.
  • 4.5.E Analyze multiple perspectives of the economic, political, and social effects of Reconstruction on different populations in the South and in other regions of the U.S.
  • This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into how Reconstruction resulted in the foundation for the struggle for civil rights. This indicator was also developed to foster inquiry into Reconstruction Era policies such as Constitutional amendme...