One of the most intriguing aspects of the Kentucky equal rights movement is the tension that led to Laura Clay’s break from the Kentucky Equal Rights Association (KERA) and the National Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). From the establishment of KERA in 1888, Clay had dedicated her life to the organization and fighting for women’s rights. She was the longtime president, one of the major driving forces of its work, and, for many, the face of the woman suffrage movement in Kentucky. However, Clay’s place in the state and national movement began to shift in the early 1910s. Clay’s beliefs began
Hi everyone! It’s the end of another week and so its time for another blog update. Research continued this week, and I had a few really interesting finds. The first was a speech by Madeline McDowell Breckinridge given before the House of Representatives’ Committee of Rules regarding the Committee on Woman Suffrage. During a hearing that lasted from December 3-5, 1913, Breckinridge and other leaders of the movement from around the country, including Anna Howard Shaw and Carrie Chapman Catt, spoke to lend their support to the suffrage cause. Though in a national setting, Breckinridge centered