The Mischiefmakers Woman’s Movement Development in Victoria, British Columbia 1850-1910 by Melanie Ihmels Bachelor of Arts, University of British Columbia - Okanagan, 2008 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of History Melanie Ihmels, 2013 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii Supervisory Committee The Mischiefmakers Woman’s Movement Development in Victoria, British Columbia 1850-1910 by Melanie Ihmels Bachelor of Arts, University of British Columbia - Okanagan, 2008 Supervisory Committee Dr. Lynne Marks, (Department of History) Co-Supervisor Dr. Annalee Lepp (Department of Women’s Studies) Co-Supervisor iii Abstract Supervisory Committee Dr. Lynne Marks, (Department of History) Co-Supervisor Dr. Annalee Lepp (Department of Women’s Studies) Co-Supervisor This thesis examines the beginning of Victoria, British Columbia’s, women’s movement, stretching its ‘start’ date to the late 1850s while arguing that, to some extent, the local movement criss-crossed racial, ethnic, religious, and gender boundaries. It also highlights how the people involved with the women’s movement in Victoria challenged traditional beliefs, like separate sphere ideology, about women’s position in society and contributed to the introduction of new more egalitarian views of women in a process that continues to the present day. Chapter One challenges current understandings of First Wave Feminism, stretching its limitations regarding time and persons involved with social reform and women’s rights goals, while showing that the issue of ‘suffrage’ alone did not make a ‘women’s movement’. Chapter 2 focuses on how the local ‘women’s movement’ coalesced and expanded in the late 1890s to embrace various social reform causes and demands for women’s rights and recognition, it reflected a unique spirit that emanated from Victorian traditionalism, skewed gender ratios, and a frontier mentality. Chapter 3 argues that an examination of Victoria’s movement, like any other ‘women’s movement’, must take into consideration the ethnic and racialized ‘other’, in this thesis the Indigenous, African Canadian, and Chinese. The Conclusion discusses areas for future iv research, deeper research questions, and raises the question about whether the women’s movement in Victoria was successful. v Table of Contents Supervisory Committee ...................................................................................................... ii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ v Acknowledgments............................................................................................................. vii Dedication ........................................................................................................................ viii Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Methodology ................................................................................................................... 3 Demographics ............................................................................................................... 18 Historiography .............................................................................................................. 22 Chapter Overviews........................................................................................................ 28 Chapter 1 The First Years, 1858 to 1880 .......................................................................... 30 Victoria’s Newspapers and the Ideology of Separate Spheres ..................................... 32 Early Social Reform in Victoria ................................................................................... 39 Victoria Newspaper Coverage of Women’s Suffrage Debates ..................................... 42 Maria Grant and Susan B. Anthony .............................................................................. 49 Legislative Endeavours ................................................................................................. 66 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 77 Chapter 2 White Women Moving, 1880 to 1900 .............................................................. 80 Women’s Christian Temperance Union........................................................................ 82 Petitions and Suffrage ................................................................................................... 96 School Act ................................................................................................................... 107 Western Egalitarianism and Women’s Reform/Suffrage ........................................... 111 Victoria’s Women’s Council ...................................................................................... 121 The Legislature and Letters ........................................................................................ 137 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 142 Chapter 3 Across Ethnicity, Really! 1850 to 1910 ......................................................... 145 Methodology and Historiography ............................................................................... 149 Indigenous Women and Social Reform ...................................................................... 154 African-Canadian Women and Social Reform ........................................................... 171 Chinese Women and Social Reform ........................................................................... 184 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 197 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 199 Main Findings ............................................................................................................. 202 Limitations .................................................................................................................. 210 Future Research .......................................................................................................... 215 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 227 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 229 Appendix ......................................................................................................................... 246 Appendix 1 ................................................................................................................. 246 Appendix 2 ................................................................................................................. 247 Appendix 3 ................................................................................................................. 270 vi Appendix 4 ................................................................................................................. 272 Appendix 5 ................................................................................................................. 283 Appendix 6 ................................................................................................................. 284 Appendix 7 ................................................................................................................. 288 Appendix 8 ................................................................................................................. 297 Appendix 9 ................................................................................................................. 299 vii Acknowledgments It is with great pleasure to thank all of those who helped make this thesis possible. To my supervisor Dr. Lynn Marks, for all of her incredible support and advice throughout this long process. I also offer a big thank you to Dr. Anna Lee Lepp, the footnote Queen, and Dr. Nancy Forestell, my eastern external (western egalitarianism rocks!) Outside of the academic, my deepest appreciation goes to my family: Richard, Nicolas, Alexander, Leanne, Troy and Autumn. Your steadfast love and support has been invaluable to me over the past few years. I love you all. Finally, to everyone else that has surrounded me with support in these past years, a heartfelt Thank You to you all! viii Dedication This thesis is dedicated to Maria Grant and the thousands of Victoria’s women who have stood up and fought for women’s rights over the past generations. To my mother…I did it! 1 Introduction ‘Shrewish Old Mischiefmaker’ was a term coined in Victoria, British Columbia in reference to American equal rights activist Susan B. Anthony.1 Anthony visited Victoria in October 1871 where she presented a series of women’s rights lectures, focusing particularly on suffrage issues.2 This term, found in the “Letter to the Editor” column of Victoria’s main newspaper