Activism > Social Reform Archives - Page 15 of 15

Florence Marie Harsant

Temperance worker, nurse, community leader, writer

Mary Colclough was a highly controversial public figure for a few years only, but she jolted the people of Auckland by fundamentally challenging contemporary assumptions and values about woman’s place in New Zealand society.

Elizabeth Packard

After defending her sanity at trial in 1864, Packard campaigned to ensure the rights of the mentally ill as well as those of married women. She publicized the story of her hospitalization at the hands of her husband in order to prevent the abuse and neglect of others vulnerable before the law.

Jane Addams

A progressive social reformer and activist, Jane Addams was on the frontline of the settlement house movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She later became internationally respected for the peace activism that ultimately won her a Nobel Peace Prize in 1931, the first American woman to receive this honor.

Mary Church Terrell

Mary Eliza Church Terrell was a well-known African American activist who championed racial equality and women’s suffrage in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Florence Kelley

Florence Kelley dedicated her life to social reform. She worked to end many social problems, including labor and racial discrimination. She influenced many social movements in the United States.

Dorothea Dix

Dorothea Dix was an early 19th century activist who drastically changed the medical field during her lifetime. She championed causes for both the mentally ill and indigenous populations. By doing this work, she openly challenged 19th century notions of reform and illness. Additionally, Dix helped recruit nurses for the Union army during the Civil War. As a result, she transformed the field of nursing.

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

As a poet, author, and lecturer, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was a household name in the nineteenth century. Not only was she the first African American woman to publish a short story, but she was also an influential abolitionist, suffragist, and reformer that co-founded the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs.