 Where There's a Will, There's a Way
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, let’s take a look back through IHB’s research files and recognize one of Indiana’s early leaders in the state’s women’s rights movement, Amanda M. Way. Way was one of the founding members of Indiana’s first Woman’s Rights Convention in 1851. Held in Dublin, Wayne County, the convention gave birth to the Indiana Woman’s Rights Association. Way served as vice president of the organization in its first year and gave the opening address of the convention. In this address, she declared that “unless women demand their rights politically, socially, and financially, they will continue in the future as [they have] in the past…” (Indiana Woman’s Suffrage Association Record Book, 1851-1886, William Henry Smith Memorial Library, Indiana Historical Society, SC 1792, Department of Manuscripts and Archives, October 14-15, 1851).
Way remained active in the organization throughout the 1850s, and records show that she offered a resolution to petition the state legislature for women’s right to vote in Indiana as early as 1857. In 1869, she helped revive the organization after its work had been interrupted by the Civil War.* That same year, Way helped found the American Woman’s Suffrage Association. A lifetime advocate for women’s rights, she traveled across the nation speaking in favor of suffrage.
Keep an eye out for more information on Amanda Way as we prepare for the installation of a new marker commemorating her in Winchester, Indiana!
*The organization changed its name to the Indiana Woman’s Suffrage Association in 1869.
IHB's New Blog
Introducing Marking Hoosier History, our new blog. This blog is an outgrowth of our mission to provide learning opportunities for Hoosiers. The flexibility WordPress provides means that we can share our progress and research into Indiana’s complex history in a wider variety of formats.
Visit the blog for multimedia essays, cool library and archival finds, tips for historical research, and (coming soon!) interactive tools for navigating resources and historical markers relating to Indiana’s nearly 200 years of statehood.
Our official website at IN.gov/history will continue to be the way to access official IHB information, including the Indiana State Historical Marker and Cemetery Heritage Sign programs, downloadable classroom resources, information about state emblems, and other Indiana Historical Bureau research, bibliographies, and publications.
Congratulations to recipients of the 2013 Torchbearer Awards. Visit the Indiana Commissionfor Women online for more events honoring women this month!
|
