Minnesota's Scandinvian Woman Suffrage Association

n the last day of February in 1917 more Scandinavian regalia, songs, and dances.1 To an outsider, Othan 1,000 people gathered at Central High this event might have seemed a quaint ethnic demonstra- School’s auditorium in St. Paul to partake in an evening tion. Few would have guessed that the entertainment was of Scandinavian culture. The audience was privy to three a fundraiser for a women’s suffrage organization. distinct performances: a Swedish play, a Norwegian In fact, the Scandinavian Woman Suffrage Associa- “playlet,” and the much-anticipated carnival scene, which tion (SWSA) often drew upon cultural connections to its showcased international dances. Attendees raved about ethnic community in order to support its political activi- how meticulously organized and delightful the evening ties. Started as an auxiliary to the statewide Minnesota had been and how thoroughly they enjoyed the display of Woman Suffrage Association, the SWSA sought to appeal to the state’s substantial Scandina- lthough the Twin Cities tion as a valuable part of Minnesota’s vian population. The group used its A had many suffrage clubs in women’s suffrage network. unique position within this suffrage the early twentieth century, includ- In the United States, immigrants framework to diversify the move- ing the Minnesota Woman Suffrage from the Scandinavian countries ment’s base and nurture non-Anglo Association (MWSA) and the Politi- often found it useful to band to- political and financial contacts. cal Equality Club (PEC), the SWSA gether, especially in political orga- Membership in the SWSA stood out as the only ethnic organi- nizations. Norwegians, Swedes, and was limited to first- and second- zation in the area. Dr. Ethel Hurd, Danes formed groups across national generation Scandinavian Americans, a mainstay of many Minnesota suf- lines and used the term Scandina- and all who met that criterion were frage clubs, helped form the SWSA in vian to signal the boundaries of their accepted. While a number of the 1907 to take advantage of the poten- inclusiveness and exclusiveness. In members were wives of prominent tial lobbying power this club would that sense, “Scandinavian” was an Scandinavian American men in the have in the heavily Scandinavian ethnicity created to serve a purpose, Twin Cities, married women from state. According to Nanny Mattson a process historians and anthro- working-class backgrounds as well Jaeger, a later president of the SWSA, pologists have documented among as single working women also joined. the club “serve[d] as a sort of special many groups in the U.S.5 This did The SWSA’s policy of not charging committee in the general suffrage not mean that Scandinavians aban- dues most likely accounted for this work,” augmenting the activities doned their national ties. Norwegian socio-economic diversity and solidi- of other organizations through its nationalism, in particular, soared fied its reputation as a club of hard- appeal to ethnic heritage.3 when the Norwegian-Swedish union working women. Men, although not the main targets of recruitment efforts, were allowed to join, and the Norwegian and Swedish Americans often husbands and children of a few of put aside their Old Country rivalries in an the female members were also on the effort to access greater political power. membership list. The SWSA’s limited male membership reflects the organization’s emphasis on establishing a Early suffrage successes in the dissolved in 1905, after nearly 100 community of like-minded women.2 Scandinavian countries bolstered the years, and the two countries were of- The history of the SWSA shows SWSA’s status. Activists in Norway ficially recognized as separate nation how political activists utilized their enjoyed a major triumph in 1907 states. Yet in the United States, Nor- cultural heritage to elicit support when tax-paying women obtained wegian and Swedish Americans often for women’s suffrage. Close examina- full suffrage. In fact, all of the Scan- put aside their Old Country rivalries tion of the club’s member ship and dinavian nations at the time had in an effort to access greater politi- activities helps explain why the progressed farther on the issue of cal power. This was especially true organization remained steadfast in women’s suffrage than the United in urban areas where Scandinavian its ethnic identification even when States. As a result, members of the Americans were an ethnic minority. confronted with vehement assimila- SWSA saw themselves as having “a tionist rhetoric during World War I. peculiar prestige” among suffrage The story also reveals the complexi- clubs, and the group drew upon suc- Anna Peterson completed her master’s ties of the American women’s suf- cesses in Norway, Denmark, and thesis, “A Dash of Suffrage Spice: Rural frage movement at the local, state, Sweden throughout its existence.4 and Urban Ethnicity Construction in the Transnational Women’s Suffrage and national level. In turn, local and national suffrage Movement,” at the University of North organizations recognized the benefits Dakota in 2009. She is currently a of being allied to the SWSA. The doctoral candidate in history at Ohio State University. Her dissertation facing: Members of the Scandinavian perceived ties between Scandinavian research focuses on women’s roles in Woman Suffrage Association parading American suffragists and the effec- the creation of maternity-leave policies in Minneapolis on national Suffrage tive movements in their homelands in Norway from 1890 to 1940. Red Letter Day, May 1914 contributed to the SWSA’s reputa-

Winter 2011–12 289 In a metropolitan area like and even traveling to North Dakota frequently portrayed as the backbone Minneapolis/St. Paul, forming a to deliver a suffrage speech in her of the suffrage movement, while Irish pan-Scandinavian suffrage club had native language.7 and German Americans were pre- distinct political advantages. When After Martin stepped down, the sumed to be ethnically opposed.9 combined, Scandinavians made organization’s membership shifted. Suffragists often employed up the largest immigrant group in Her successor, Nanny Mattson Jaeger these stereotypes to highlight the Minnesota, surpassing Germans (who served until the vote was won foolishness of ethnic opposition to by hundreds of thousands. Thus, a in 1920), was a Swedish American the cause. In 1882 Julia B. Nelson, united Scandinavian organization married to a Norwegian American an Anglo American married to a would have a larger membership ros- newspaper publisher. Her heritage Norwegian American and a known ter than individual nationality clubs attracted a large number of Swedish suffragist and temperance activist, and might achieve greater political Americans, which ultimately affected wrote a poem that the SWSA utilized power. Besides, many people outside the club’s membership and activities. throughout its existence to ridicule the Scandinavian milieu associated Although her reputation as a promi- the antagonism of certain immigrant Norwegians, Swedes, and Danes nent Swedish American may have groups toward equality for women. with one another. Their similar lan- altered the composition of the club’s The poem referred to a farmer, Hans guages, customs, and histories led membership and introduced Swed- Dunderkopf (Hans Stupidhead) and many Americans to act as if the three ish performers and celebrations into his contradictory view of women’s nationalities were interchangeable.6 fundraising events, Jaeger herself was rights. Dunderkopf believed that The consolidated Scandinavian suf- an ardent assimilationist. Still, she women definitely had the right to frage association took advantage of used ethnic heritage as a strategy for equality when it came to sharing farm this misconception to create a stron- achieving the most important part work (a practice that Anglo Ameri- ger interest group. of citizenry for all women: the right cans abhorred) but could not see why this right should apply to voting. He was appalled at the idea of his wife Ethnic groups often argued for acceptance becoming a “man” and shouldering into American society based on their “unique” the responsibilities that came with and “natural” characteristics. that status. This type of suffragist propaganda aimed to portray certain ethnic groups as anti-democracy and Despite the Scandinavian um- to vote. She believed that the demo- thus, un-American. The SWSA juxta- brella, the nationality of the SWSA’s cratic process would allow for greater posed these stereo types with claims leaders shaped its membership assimilation into American society. that Scandinavian Americans were and program. Under its first presi- Thus, women’s suffrage was inevitably innately committed to the American dent (1907–13), Norwegian-born linked to the process of Americaniza- ideals of democracy and equality.10 Jenova Martin, the group’s activities tion, and ethnicity was a means to Scandinavians do appear to have reflected her close ties to the Nor- achieve enfranchisement.8 been more likely than other ethnic wegian American community. From groups to support suffrage. Accord- the SWSA’s early days, Martin clearly ing to political scientists Eileen L. separated its work from that of other thnic groups often argued McDonaugh and H. Douglas Price, Minnesota suffrage organizations Efor acceptance into American more Scandinavian American men by emphasizing the club’s ethnicity. society based on their “unique” and voted in favor of enfranchising Over the years, she capitalized on “natural” characteristics. Both suf- women than did any other ethnic this identity by holding Norwegian fragists and anti-suffragists drew group in the Midwest. This support, cultural events (an evening of enter- upon this framework and claimed however, was not universal. For ex- tainment in 1910 that included the that different ethnic groups either ample, when Jaeger reported on the Norwegian Dramatic Society per- supported or opposed women’s right activities of the SWSA at the Min- forming King Haakon the Seventh, to vote based on their heritage. Anglo nesota Woman Suffrage Convention for example), lobbying legislators, American middle-class women were in 1915, she added some nuance to

290 Minnesota History Cross-referencing the SWSA’s membership cards with census data provides a more complete picture of Minnesota’s suffragists. Unfortu- nately, not all of the members appear in the 1910 or 1920 Minnesota census; nevertheless, sources on the 125 traceable members reveal that Scan- dinavian American women and men from a range of economic and household situations signed up to support enfranchisement. Single working women and married women with as many as eight children joined; left: Nanny Mattson Jaeger, a voice of the Scandinavian Woman Suffrage husbands’ occupations ranged from Association, about 1915. right: Ethel E. Hurd, who campaigned for suffrage bricklayer to salesman and publisher. and chronicled the local movement. The membership of the SWSA embodied the pro-suffrage asser- tion that supporters were typical the picture: Scandinavian Americans flect the endurance of this rhetorical American women with family and who left their native lands before suf- device. While the 178 cards found budgetary concerns. This claim frage movements had taken hold or in Nanny Mattson Jaeger’s papers countered the anti-suffragist por- who lost contact with their homeland are not dated, they probably were trayal of suffragists as upper-class needed as much convincing of the collected during her tenure as presi- society women whose personal situa- benefits of women’s suffrage as non- dent. Printed above the signature tions did not and could not represent Scandinavians. This statement only line was a statement intended both the majority of American women’s reinforced the need for an organiza- to rally and shame new members needs and desires. For example, in tion like the SWSA.11 into action: “Scandinavian women 1915 the Minnesota Anti-Suffrage Jaeger’s report also demonstrated are quite often accused of being in- Association alleged that suffragists that shame was an ongoing rhetori- different as to their responsibility in were not mothers but “idle, brainless cal tool that the SWSA employed to securing the ballot. Perhaps this is society women.” Ethel Hurd of the convince Scandinavian Americans to true and it is up to us to find out if PEC contested this view, document- support women’s suffrage. In 1913, this is a fact. However, if you are ever ing the number of suffrage-club the year that Martin’s tenure ended, so interested, it will not be very ef- members in the Twin Cities who she blundered when she told the fective unless you give your name for worked inside and outside of the Minneapolis Tribune that Scandina- moral support.” 13 Coasting along on home. She pointed to the SWSA as vian women in Minneapolis “had no suffrage victories in the Old Country an example of a club “almost entirely interest in woman suffrage” because was not enough. If women wanted to composed of practical housekeepers “Scandinavians in this country have prove that Scandinavian Americans and mothers.” Census records bear been so busy making money that supported suffrage, they would have her out: In 1910 nearly half of the they are 50 years behind the times.” to join the fight officially. SWSA’s traceable members had un- While Martin probably was trying to derage children living at home, and motivate Scandinavians to support the majority of them did not have the SWSA, her strategy must have ost scholarship on live-in servants.14 backfired because she retracted her MAmerican women’s suffrage Norwegian Americans and Swed- statement with a mollifying explana- organizations not only highlights ish Americans represented more tion two days later.12 Anglo American efforts but also than 87 percent of the traceable The SWSA’s surviving tends to focus on the movement’s members. Only two were Danish membership-enrollment cards re- middle- and upper-class leaders. Americans, perhaps because of the

Winter 2011–12 291 The SWSA’s lack of dues may have encouraged membership in other ethnic clubs, or allowed poorer women to join the club. such as the Lyngblomsten Liter- ary Society.19 As the elite of the Twin Cities Scandinavian American community, these women formed Danes’ greater propensity to assimi- While some Scandinavian networks with others who had ties late or their proportionally smaller American men joined the SWSA outside of the SWSA. These relation- population in the Twin Cities. There (12 membership cards exist), they ships further broadened the reach of was one Finnish American mem- did not hold leadership positions. the ethnic suffrage club. ber, no doubt a sign of the mutual Most of them had Swedish American perception that Finns were not backgrounds; two were second- Scandinavian. It appears that the generation Norwegian Americans. he swsa utilized its SWSA was attractive both to immi- Only three had wives who were T leaders’ prominence within the grants with fresh Old Country ties members of the club.17 Scandinavian community to lobby for and to more assimilated Scandina- The SWSA’s lack of dues may support from all levels of Minnesota’s vians who had been exposed to the have encouraged or allowed poorer Scandinavian American population. American educational and political women to join the club. Again, cen- As Jaeger asserted, using ethnicity system: 69 of the members were first sus records reveal information that to further the American women’s generation, while 49 were second challenges common assumptions suffrage movement injected “a little generation.15 about suffrage supporters. Since suffrage spice into the melting pot.” Besides adding an ethnic di- most of the married female members The club worked to reach men and mension to Minnesota’s suffrage are classified as “housewife,” it is the women who might not have identi- movement, the SWSA also brought husband’s occupation that indicates fied with suffrage organizations but age diversity to the cause. Contrary a family’s economic situation. The might respond to information com- to popular perception, younger census recognized 12 occupations; municated in their native tongue. women—often faced with house- closely clustered as the SWSA’s top The SWSA also took advantage of hold responsibilities quite different job categories were skilled trades- its international alliances, gaining from those of older women or single man, professional, and merchant advice and support while solidifying working women—were a significant (in that order), but almost as many ties with successful women’s suffrage part of SWSA membership. In 1910 members were married to laborers.18 movements in Scandinavia.20 the average age of members was just Unfortunately, the women mar- Another vital function was the over 32. Nearly half of these women ried to working-class men do not SWSA’s lobbying of Scandinavian had children under the age of 18 liv- have much of a historical voice be- American lawmakers—specifically ing at home; five of them had more yond the quantitative data. There Norwegian American state sena- than five minor children. When the is, in general, considerably more tors Ole O. Sageng and N. S. Hegnes women’s suffrage movement culmi- information about the middle- or and U.S. Senator Knute Nelson—for nated in 1920, the majority of the upper-class women who assumed support of suffrage bills and amend- SWSA’s members were under the leadership positions in most orga- ments. In these efforts, SWSA age of 40.16 Thus, the maxim that nizations. Even so, little is known members often referred to Scandina- domestic responsibilities limited about the presidents and officers vian legislative victories. In 1915, for women’s participation in suffrage of the SWSA. There were many example, Jaeger informed Hegnes: work does not seem to apply to the members, however, who formed a “Our Scandinavian Woman Suffrage SWSA. It is not clear why young sort of cultural leadership for the Association is particularly anxious mothers joined the club. It probably club. These women, including Laura that no legislator of Scandinavian appealed to many as an inexpensive Bratager, Mary Tingdale, and Helen birth or blood be found less fair- way to socialize with a community Egilsrud, came from prominent minded toward his sister in this our of women while maintaining ethnic families of artists, poets and writers. adopted country than is his brother heritage and participating in Ameri- Their role in shaping the Scandina- in the old country.” 21 can political life. vian cultural community included The SWSA also acted as a liaison

292 Minnesota History between other pro-suffrage Scandi- navian American organizations and ethnic legislators. For example, in a 1918 letter to Jaeger, pastors of the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Au- gustana Synod challenged the claim that they opposed women’s suffrage; 16 of them had signed a petition call- ing for immediate implementation of the federal suffrage amendment. The pastors asked Jaeger to forward their letter to, among others, Senator Nel- son.22 Clearly, the synod aligned itself with the SWSA on ethnic grounds, proof of the value of using ethnicity to further the suffrage cause. Members also employed their heritage to aid a variety of other suffrage organizations; the Minneapolis Tribune announced that they “stand ready at any time to lend their as- sistance to any movement that may demand concerted action on the part of the women.” 23 In this way, the SWSA extended its reach beyond Minnesota. Across the country, both state-level suffrage organizations and leaders of the national campaign called upon the SWSA to petition Scandinavian populations for support. North Dakota, for instance, was a logical target for the SWSA because Scandinavian Americans made up more than a quarter of its population in 1910 and Norwegian Americans Poster, about 1912, distributed by the Woman’s Journal and Suffrage News, were involved in progressive political ofﬁcial organ of the National American Woman Suffrage Association movements such as the Nonpartisan League. When the North Dakota legislature prepared to vote on a suf- immigrants, North Dakota’s largest Jaeger sent suffrage articles to the frage amendment in 1914, the SWSA foreign-born population in 1910. She league’s ofﬁce in Fargo. Elizabeth D. sent help to the North Dakota Votes traveled the state for two weeks as a O’Neil, the league’s campaign for Women League (NDVWL) by dis- representative of the SWSA and de- manager, wrote to Jaeger about patching its former president, Jenova livered speeches in both Norwegian continuing interstate suffrage coop- Martin, to aid them. Martin, a native and English.24 eration even after the 1914 campaign Norwegian speaker, would have been In addition, the SWSA offered push failed. O’Neil indicated that the invaluable both for her suffragist practical advice. To ensure that NDVWL was interested in learning experience and her ability to com- the NDVWL had ample materials how to use ethnic heritage to better municate with recent Norwegian to lobby Scandinavian Americans, appeal to the state’s Scandinavian

Winter 2011–12 293 population and promised to have Americans across the country. As reception honoring Aino Malmberg, the articles Jaeger sent published the party learned of particular com- a Finnish women’s rights activist, en- in Fargo’s Scandinavian newspaper, munities open to information about larging its definition of Scandinavian presumably the Norwegian-language suffrage, it contacted the SWSA. As to appeal to a wider audience.28 Fram.25 late as 1920, for example, the NWP One of the largest fundraising Similarly, the SWSA reached asked the SWSA to encourage sup- events the SWSA staged was an beyond state boundaries to rally eth- port among Swedish Americans in evening of dramatic and musical nic support in the national suffrage Delaware.27 entertainment on February 28, 1917. campaign. The rift between the more The main attraction was a well- radical National Woman’s Party known Swedish suffragist play, The (NWP) and the more traditional n Minneapolis and St. Paul, Prime Minister’s Daughters. (The National American Woman Suffrage Ithe SWSA maintained a strong Norwegian fairytale “Gudbrand i Association had compelled many presence on the cultural scene in an Lien” was the curtain-raiser.) The suffrage clubs to choose sides. The effort to gain suffrage supporters. Minneapolis Tribune estimated that SWSA aligned itself with the NWP, It hosted activities and raised funds more than 1,000 people, many of possibly because of Jaeger’s sup- for the Minnesota Woman Suffrage them Norwegian and Swedish Amer- port of militant techniques, which Association and also organized its icans, attended this event at Central included her approval of the NWP’s own Scandinavian American cultural High School in St. Paul.29 decision to picket the White House events. (Some of the money it raised The SWSA joined forces with during World War I. Picketing was a from its own events helped make up the other Twin Cities suffrage clubs divisive issue within the SWSA; nev- for the lack of membership dues.) when it came to important events, ertheless, members carried the club’s In all of these endeavors, the SWSA such as the Minneapolis parade on banner during Minnesota Day on the imparted a distinctly Scandinavian national Suffrage Red Letter Day— picket line.26 flair to American suffrage goals. Folk Saturday, May 2, 1914. Ethel Hurd of Alice Paul, chairwoman of the costumes and folk dancing at many the PEC organized the celebration. NWP, saw the SWSA as an ef- of these gatherings helped to draw a President Jaeger wanted the SWSA’s ficient way to reach Scandinavian crowd. In 1915, the club even held a participation to contribute to the overall artistic feel of the parade. Ac- cording to the Minneapolis Tribune, the entire occasion was both a huge surprise and a big success: “Another continuous cheer producer. Clearly she was a Scandinavian. She carried an impressive little banner which gave forth the word that Norway and Sweden give women the same voting rights as men. Behind this banner followed a big delegation of Scandi- navian women.” 30 A photograph of the Scandina- vian section shows women dressed in traditional costumes marching along, holding the Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish flags and an English- language sign demanding the vote. Besides demonstrating the suffrag-

Preparing to picket the White House, Minnesota Day, 1917

294 Minnesota History ists’ ethnic heritage, the native costumes also made the Scandina- vian section a vibrant and festive addition to the procession. The pointed reminder that Americans were behind other countries in grant- ing women rights was another instance of using shame as a rhetorical strategy. But for Scandinavian Americans, the banner clearly linked the current battle in the United States to triumphs in the Old Country. Ethnicity did not play an overt role in all of the SWSA’s activities, however. Other local suffrage clubs Woman Citizen Building, Minnesota State Fair, 1917 often praised the group for its fundraising ability—and for good reason. In the mid-1910s the SWSA took fundraising stage, when that phase of Scandinavian identity was not on the task of raising the money for was completed the club turned the swayed by the threat of ostracism. a suffragist building on the Min- proceeds over to the state suffrage The club had long promoted both its nesota State Fairgrounds. Jaeger’s organization. ethnic heritage and suffrage as being papers reveal that the group, at first, part of American democracy. In 1917, pledged five hundred dollars; when after the U.S. entered the war, the fundraising proved successful, the he onset of World War I SWSA overtly linked its ethnicity to SWSA committed to the entire sum. T in 1914 affected European im- Americanism. At an October loyalty The local press reported that, while migrants’ status in the United States event—an evening reception with the architectural plans and some of and had ramifications for all ethnic music and entertainment—it hosted a the building materials were donated, organizations. The violent backlash Swedish opera singer and also staged most of the work was accomplished against German Americans, in partic- a “patriotic pantomime” in which with funds provided by the SWSA. ular, caused many people to renounce peace and liberty joined hands.34 Before the building opened in 1917, suffragists had worked from booths, seeking to educate and entertain fair- The onset of World War I in 1914 affected goers with literature, films, and folk European immigrants’ status in the United States dances.31 and had ramifications for all ethnic organizations. The new structure was called the Woman Citizen Building in hopes that women would use it long their ethnic heritage, try to lose their The era’s anti-ethnic mood, how- after the vote was won. It served as tell-tale Old World accents, and adopt ever, did have an effect on the SWSA. a gathering place—both an infor- the dominant Anglo cultural norms Months before the war began, Jenova mation hub, educating the public in fear of being singled out as anti- Martin wrote to Jaeger, cautioning on why women should vote, and American. Although this scenario was her about the potentially low turnout a place for all women to socialize, especially acute in German-speaking of volunteers for the Scandinavian rest, and relax in front of a central communities, its effects were far section of the May 1914 suffrage fireplace built with a bequest from reaching, touching members of other parade. She warned that many area the will of Julia B. Nelson.32 While ethnic groups as well.33 suffragists might not want to march the SWSA probably targeted Scan- As its successful public events because “they do not want to be dinavian Americans during the in this era attest, the SWSA’s use looked upon as Scandinavians.” 35

Winter 2011–12 295 The desire to avoid ethnic iden- ethnicity in other ways, such as by cut across Old World nationality tification is probably also what led adopting the English language in lines to form a coalition committed the SWSA to contemplate a name churches and schools, but the SWSA to the cause. The SWSA not only change. At its regular meeting in chose to maintain its ethnic af- serves as an example of a club that April 1918, a motion to become the filiation, even in the face of extreme flourished because of its ethnic Woman Citizen Association was assimilationist rhetoric. identity but also demonstrates the debated. Arguments ensued about usefulness of reexamining the Ameri- whether the club’s Old World identi- can women’s suffrage movement with fication was detrimental to the cause, lose study of the Scan- new methods and perspectives. The and a motion to defer the decision Cdinavian Woman Suffrage As- details of the SWSA, its membership to a later meeting was accepted.36 sociation demonstrates that a variety and activities, speak to the nuances Ultimately, the motion did not pass. of people were involved in the fight and diversity of women’s strategies in Scandinavian Americans might have for women’s rights. Men, women, and the contested arenas of ethnic identi- disassociated themselves from their children from different social classes fication and political rights. a

Notes 1. Minneapolis Tribune, Feb. 26, 1917, 6. “Introduction,” in They Chose Minne- Egilsrud, “Vore Idealer,” in Souvenir: p. 10, Feb. 27, 1917, p. 20, Mar. 1, 1917, p. 6. sota: A Survey of the State’s Ethnic Groups, “Norse-American Woman,” 1825–1925, ed. 2. Nanny Mattson [Mrs. Luth] Jaeger, ed. June Drenning Holmquist (St. Paul: Alma A. Guttersen and Regina Hilleboe report to the suffrage convention, 1915, box Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1981), Christensen (St. Paul: Lutheran Free 3, Luth and Nanny Mattson Jaeger Papers, 2; John R. Jenswold, “‘The Hidden Settle- Church Publishing, 1926), 132–35. Minnesota Historical Society (MHS). ment’: Norwegian Americans Encounter 11. McDonaugh and Price, “Woman’s Unless otherwise specified, all archival the City, 1880–1930” (PhD diss., University Suffrage in the Progressive Era: Patterns of material is from this collection. Its four of Connecticut, 1990), 97. Positions and Support in Referenda Voting, boxes contain many undated, untitled 7. Hurd, Woman Suffrage, 12; Minneap- 1910–1918,” American Political Science Re- speeches, presentations, drafts, and reports. olis Tribune, Nov. 13, 1910, p. 25, Dec. 28, view 79 (1985): 424, found that Scandina- All membership analysis in this article is 1913, p. 8, Oct. 18, 1914, p. G6. vian American men in Ohio and Michigan based on correlating SWSA membership 8. Marjorie Bingham, “Nanny Mattson were second only to Anglo Americans in cards, box 4, with the 1910 and 1920 U.S. Jaeger,” in The Privilege for Which We support. Jaeger, speech, undated, box 3. manuscript census. Struggled: Leaders of the Woman Suffrage 12. Minneapolis Tribune, Dec. 28, 1913, In 1910 the Soderberg and Sundean Movement in Minnesota, ed. Heidi Bauer p. 8, Dec. 30, 1913, p. 5. families each had daughters under the age (St. Paul: Upper Midwest Women’s History 13. Membership cards, box 4. of ten listed as members. Five other mem- Center, 1999), 80–83; Minneapolis Tribune, 14. Political Equality Club to Ole Sageng, bers were second- or third-generation July 9, 1916, p. D5, Oct. 26, 1917, p. 10; Feb. 22, 1915, Ole O. Sageng Papers, MHS; Americans from Bohemia, Germany, and Americanization folders and correspon- Anna M. Peterson, “A Dash of Suffrage Ireland. All were married to prominent dence between Jaeger and the American Spice: Rural and Urban Ethnicity Construc- Scandinavian American men, which must Assimilation League, boxes 1–3; Jaeger, tion in the Transnational Women’s Suffrage have superseded their own heritage. speech, undated, box 3. Although Scandina- Movement” (master’s thesis, University of 3. Ethel E. Hurd, Woman Suffrage in vians often intermarried, most of the North Dakota, 2009), 129. Minnesota (Minneapolis: Minnesota SWSA’s members wed men of the same 15. Peterson, “Suffrage Spice,” 126. For a Woman Suffrage Assn., 1916), 7–15; Jaeger, national background. general discussion of Danish American as- “To the Suffragists of Minnesota,” undated, 9. Orm Øverland, Immigrant Minds, similation rates, see Multiculturalism in box 3. Hurd also organized the Workers’ American Identities: Making the United the United States: A Comparative Guide to Equal Suffrage Club in 1909; Barbara States Home, 1870–1930 (Champaign: Acculturation and Ethnicity, ed. John D. Stuhler, Gentle Warriors: Clara Ueland and University of Illinois Press, 2000), 6. Well- Buenker and Lorman A. Ratner (Santa the Minnesota Struggle for Woman Suffrage known suffragists such as Harriot Stanton Barbara, CA: Greenwood Publishing, (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Blatch and Carrie Chapman Catt believed 2005), 353. Press, 1995), 81. that German immigrants were particularly 16. Stuhler, Gentle Warriors, 81; Peter- 4. Karen Offen, European Feminisms, averse to women’s political rights; this son, “Suffrage Spice,” 127, 129. Most of the 1700 to 1950: A Political History (Stanford, stereo type was often linked to Catholicism. SWSA’s female members were not single CA: University of California Press, 2000), Ellen Carol Dubois, Harriot Stanton Blatch and working. xxvi; Jaeger, speech, undated, box 3. and the Winning of Woman Suffrage (New 17. Peterson, “Suffrage Spice,” 128. Three 5. Nathan Glazer and Daniel Patrick Haven: Yale University Press, 1997), of these 12 men could not be found in the Moynihan first articulated this definition of 148–64; Cathleen Sprows Cummings, New censuses. ethnicity in Beyond the Melting Pot (Cam- Women of the Old Faith: Gender and Ameri- 18. The occupational categories were: bridge, MA: MIT Press, 1963). Kathleen can Catholicism in the Progressive Era professional, government employee, mer- Neils Conzen et al. expanded it in “The In- (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina chant, skilled worker, artisan, laborer, vention of Ethnicity: A Perspective from the Press, 2009). salesman, farmer, female occupation, own USA,” Journal of American Ethnic History 10. Julia B. Nelson, “Hans Dunderkopf’s income, none, and other. See Peterson, 12 (Fall 1992): 3–41. Views on Equality,” 1882, box 3; Helen “Suffrage Spice,” 116–19, for a breakdown of

296 Minnesota History occupations by ethnicity, generation, and 1993); Lowell Soike, Norwegian-Americans frage assn., Sept. 1917, box 3; Minneapolis gender and a discussion of methodology. and the Politics of Dissent, 1880–1924 Tribune, Sept. 4, 1914, p. 10. For an over- 19. Carl G. O. Hansen, My Minneapolis (Northfield, MN: Norwegian-American view of MWSA fundraising, see Hurd, (Minneapolis: Standard Press, 1956), 258. Historical Assn., 1991). North Dakota did Woman Suffrage, 46–49. Tingdale edited a publication called Kvin- not pass a suffrage amendment until 1917. 32. Minneapolis Tribune, Aug. 26, 1917, dens Magasin (Woman’s Magazine); News- 25. Elizabeth O’Neil to “Mrs. Jaezer,” p. B4. paper Annual and Directory: A Catalogue Oct. 19, 1914, box 1. 33. Carl H. Chrislock, Ethnicity Chal- of American Newspapers (Philadelphia: 26. A photo of the delegation is in Na- lenged: The Upper Midwest Norwegian- N. W. Ayer and Son, 1916), 474. Jaeger is tional Woman’s Party Records, Group I, American Experience in World War I the only officer who appears in the 1910 or container I:160, folder: Pickets, 1917, Library (Northfield, MN: Norwegian-American 1920 census. She was 50 years old in 1910 of Congress, http://1.usa.gov/r6DZpD Historical Assn., 1981), 41, 144. and had a teenage daughter living at home. (accessed Oct. 11, 2011); Bingham, “Jaeger,” 34. Minneapolis Tribune, Oct. 26, 1917, Her household had no domestic servants. 82–83. p. 10, Oct. 27, 1917, p. 3. Little is known about Martin’s family, but it 27. National Woman’s Party to Jaeger, 35. Martin to Jaeger, undated, box 1. has been theorized that her husband came May 4, 1920, box 1. 36. Jaeger to club members, May 9, from the working class. For an unsubstanti- 28. Minneapolis Tribune, Nov. 13, 1910, 1918, box 2. ated discussion of her economic situation, p. 25, Nov. 8, 1915, p. 7, July 1, 1917, p. B2, see Anja Bakken, Our Country Gives Us the Aug. 5, 1917, p. B1; Jaeger, report . . . 1915. Vote—America Refuses It: Norwegian- 29. Minneapolis Tribune, Mar. 1, 1917, American Suffrage Workers in Brooklyn p. 6. The photo on p. 294, by Harris & Ewing and Minneapolis, 1880–1920, and Their 30. Here and below, Minneapolis of Washington, D.C., is from Women of Gendered Sense of Ethnicity (master’s Tribune, Mar. 29, 1914, p. C6, May 3, 1914, Protest: Photographs from the Records thesis, Norwegian University of Science p. 1, 3. of the National Woman’s Party, and Technology, 1998). 31. Minnesota Woman Suffrage Associa- manuscript division, Library of 20. Jaeger, report to Minnesota women’s tion (MWSA) to SWSA, boxes 1 and 2; Congress, Washington, D.C. All other suffrage convention, 1915; Jaeger, speech, Jaeger, speech on presentation to state suf- illustrations are in MHS collections. undated; and Ellen Key, quoted in “To the Suffragists of Minnesota,” undated—all box 3. Minneapolis Tribune, Nov. 8, 1915, p. 7. 21. Jaeger, report . . . 1915; Jaeger to N. S. Hegnes, Feb. 2, 1915, box 1. Hegnes replied (Feb. 11) that he opposed suffrage. 22. G. K. Stark to Jaeger, May 23, 1918, box 2. The relationship between Lutheran synods and the women’s suffrage movement is complex and understudied. Many synods actively supported suffrage in hope of re- ceiving temperance support in return, while other churches vehemently opposed women’s political participation, both in church and in society. For overviews of the inter- play between gender, ethnicity, and religion, see DeAne L. Lagerquist, In America the Men Milk the Cows: Factors of Gender, Eth- nicity and Religion in the Americanization of Norwegian-American Women (Brooklyn: Carlson Pub., 1991); Dag Blanck, Becoming Swedish-American: The Construction of an Ethnic Identity in the Augustana Synod, 1860–1917 (Uppsala, Sweden: Uppsala Uni- versity Press, 1997). 23. Minneapolis Tribune, Nov. 17, 1912, p. 30. 24. First- and second-generation Nor- wegians, Swedes, and Danes accounted for 28 percent of North Dakota’s population in 1910; U.S., Census, 1910, Population, 343, 344; Minneapolis Tribune, Oct. 18, 1914, p. G6. On participation in the NPL, see Daron William Olson, “Norwegians, Social- ism and the Nonpartisan League in North Dakota: How Red Was Their Protest” (master’s thesis, University of North Dakota,

Minneapolis women lined up to vote for the ﬁrst time.

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