In the early twentieth century, a trio of sisters from Charleston, SC, known as the Pollitzer sisters (Carrie, Mabel, and Anita) embraced the opportunities for social reform. The Pollitzers came from a prominent, wealthy Jewish family, who were active members of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, the birthplace of Reform Judaism in America. The Pollitzer sisters, inspired by their father, actively took part in reform movements at the local and national levels, at a time when the Jewish community was not supporting suffrage. By moving within the art and political circles in the Jewish community, the Pollitzer sisters were able to gain momentum with their suffrage movement in Charleston. Carrie Pollitzer was crucial in getting the College of Charleston to admit women. Mabel Pollitzer opened Charleston’s first public library, and taught biology at Memminger High School for over forty years. Anita, the youngest of the Pollitzers, studied art at Columbia University in New York. While there, she befriended a young Georgia O’Keeffe, who was an unknown artist at that time. Although Anita spent most of her life outside of Charleston, she became one of South Carolina’s most well-known suffragists.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the causes of American expansion, such as a growing and diversifying population and the expansion of the plantation economy. This indicator promotes inquiry into the relationship between sectionalism and political compromise, culminating in the Civil War.
- 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.
