Among these many freedoms was the suffrage movement, a cause championed the Suffragettes. Suffragettes were members of women's organizations in the late 19th and early 20th century which advocated the extension of the "franchise", or the right to vote in public elections, to women. British suffragettes were mostly women from upper- and middle-class backgrounds, frustrated by their social and economic situation much like the Crawley women at Downton.
For the United States the suffrage movement traces back to the 1840’s, but didn’t gain momentum until the late 1880s and early 1890s, when the nation experienced a surge of volunteerism among middle-class women—activists in progressive causes, members of women’s clubs and professional societies, temperance advocates, and participants in local civic and charity organizations. The tireless efforts of these women would eventually affect change.
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| Pennsylvania Capitol Building |
The first
self-governing country to allow all
women the right to vote was, in fact, New Zealand which did so in 1893.
In England, women over the age of 30 who met certain property qualifications,
were given the right to vote in 1918; 10 years later suffrage was finally extended
to all women 21 and older. For the United States, few may realize that women over
the age of 21 were actually allowed
to vote in the western states/territories of Wyoming in 1869, Colorado in 1893,
and both Utah and Idaho in 1896. By 1919 most states outside the South granted
women suffrage, but it wasn’t until ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, however, that the right was fully extended
to white women across the U.S., and just in time for the 1920 presidential
election too.
Achieving
the right to vote may have ended one phase of the women’s rights movement, but
it set the stage for the equally difficult process of securing women a measure
of power in local and national political office. Such was the challenge recognized
by Alice M. Bentley (1859 - 1946).
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| Pennsylvania College of Women Suffragettes |
As
a suffragette, Bentley strongly believed that women’s involvement in, not only
voting, but also serving in public office could only make the political system
that much better. Born April
12, 1859, in Wayne Township, she attended public schools before then graduating
from Edinboro State Normal School (now Edinboro University of Pennsylvania) in
1883. Born
April 12, 1859, in Wayne Township, she attended public schools before then
graduating from Edinboro State Normal School (now Edinboro University of Pennsylvania)
in 1883. For the next twenty years Bentley
would teach elementary school in Guys Mills and later Meadville before working
as a solicitor for the Mutual Life
Insurance Company of New York.
While the
1920 presidential election marked a milestone for women’s rights, Bentley was
disappointed by the promised impact of the woman-voter on the outcome. Not one
to sit passively by, Bentley decided to run for the General Assembly of the
Pennsylvania Legislature in 1922 which she won at age 63.
With the
strong support of educators and local business leaders, Bentley was among eight
women who were the first women to serve as a state representatives, all as Republicans.
She would hold this position for three, elected terms representing Crawford
County until 1928.
In November
of 1923 the Pennsylvania State Council of Republican Women held its first
annual convention during which, Bentley was the featured speaker in a session
held in the House of Representatives. Her speech entitled "Impressions of
a Woman Legislator" was recorded
as such:
Miss
Bentley humorously described the experience of running for office and sewing in
the legislature. Out of the 50 (there actually were only 38) women candidates
for the Assembly in Pennsylvania eight women were elected. She is proud of the
record of Crawford County. In 1921, a woman was elected for Jury Commissioner;
in 1922 women were elected to the county committee, and in 1923 a woman was
elected to the legislature. Several minor Court House offices were also filled
by women. No woman [noted Bentley] who has run for office in Crawford County
has been defeated.
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| Representative Alice M. Bentley |
These eight
new women legislators did, however, resolve to approach their status in the
Assembly with tact and diplomacy. On the day these women were to take their
place in the Capitol Building during a New Year’s reception, Bentley said,
"that the other women were urging her to introduce a resolution asking 'that
the men please smoke.'"
Bentley’s
presence and leadership proved beneficial as she would become the first woman to serve
as Speaker Pro Tempore as well as the first to chair a committee (House
Educations Committee). During her time in office she also helped found the
National Council of Republican Women.
In 1929, Bentley
eventually retired, splitting her time between her home on Arch Street in
Meadville and St. Petersburg, Florida. She died in 1946 and was buried in the Mount
Hope Cemetery. In the wake of her efforts, Bentley helped usher in the
change that would result in a long line of influential women leaders in our
state’s government.
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