Vida Milholland - Infinite Women

Born: 17 January 1888, United States
Died: 29 November 1952
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA

The following is republished from the WAPUSH campaign, an initiative to get women’s history into US schools.

Suffragist and Performer/Singer

Vida Milholland was born on January 17, 1888, to wealthy philanthropists John E. Milholand and Jean Tory. Vida’s sister—Inez Milholland—is known widely for her suffrage involvement. In the 1904 census, Vida was labeled as “daughter” to the “head” of the household—the father, John Milholland; Vida had much work to do.

Following her sister, Vida attended Vassar College, where she became involved with activist work; the two challenged Vassar’s President James Taylor—who opposed suffrage and thought college was a place where women should “pursue their studies in disinterested tranquility, freed from demands for political or social commitment.” Additionally, Vida initially aspired to be an opera singer—and participated in Vassar’s theater productions—but abandoned this career in 1910 to focus solely on suffrage.

Along with her sister, Vida toured the United States with Alice Paul and the National Women’s Party (NWP) to combat reelection efforts by Woodrow Wilson and pressure the Democratic Party to enfranchise women. During the tour, Vida sang regularly at events and reported the group’s progress via The Suffragist.

After her sister’s death in 1916, Vida continued her impassioned work as a suffragist. She took on Inez’s role as the leading marcher in suffrage events—riding on a horse and carrying a banner that read Inez’s last words, “Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?”.

On July 4th, 1917, Milholland was arrested for picketing the White House along with other NWP members. During her brief time in jail, Vida sang to uplift the spirits of her fellow inmates and—even after her release—she scaled the walls of the prison where Alice Paul was held to sing to her. Vida was known to sing the “Woman’s Marseillaise”—a suffrage song published by the Women’s Social and Political Union, a militant British suffrage organization.

In 1919, Vida accompanied NWP members in the “Prison Special”—a train tour that aimed to share the suffragists’ prison experiences and remind individuals that the fight for women’s rights was far from over. In a New York pageant on this tour, Vida dressed as “Justice” in the center of NWP members dressed as nations where women were enfranchised.

In 1924, Vida wore a Crusader’s costume and rode atop a white horse in the “Forward Into Light” pageant to honor her sister and encourage the election of female representatives. Vida was also a part of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and eventually wrote her own pageant titled “Our America.”

Vida never stopped singing—leveraging her voice to highlight social injustices and empower women across the country. She lived with her longtime companion Margaret Hamilton at her parents’ estate—Meadowmount, which is now a highly-regarded music school.

However, Milholland became overwhelmed by taking care of what she had inherited from her parents—particularly their New York estate—and grew solemn. Following the death of her younger brother, which left her in the shambles of legal challenges, Vida took her own life at age sixty-four.