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Reveals the untold story of over 6,000 women who ran for office between 1850-1920, expanding our understanding of women's fight for full political citizenship beyond suffrage
Her Hat Was in the Ring details the fascinating story of the thousands of women who ran for elective office in the United States between 1850 and 1920. Contrary to popular belief, women’s right to vote and the right to hold elective office weren’t always tied to one another. Whether women could become candidates, and for which offices, was determined by each state. For several decades after 1850, women ran for local and some state offices without themselves sometimes having the right to vote, motivated by the desire to advance women’s rights and serve their communities as well as personal ambition.
Drawing on newspapers, state government reports, historical and biographical archives, and other resources, historians Wendy E. Chmielewski and Jill Norgren trace the legal, social, and cultural shifts across the country that made it possible for women to gain election to political office. This history is told through the stories of the trailblazing women candidates who ran in thousands of elective campaigns. Chmielewski and Norgren examine how these women were received in their communities, in male-dominated political parties and legislatures, and what administrative and policy contributions they made once elected.
This book expands our understanding of American women’s demand for full citizenship, a struggle that included the successful battle for the right to elective office. At once comprehensive and deeply compelling, Her Hat Was in the Ring illuminates the revolutionary efforts of these candidates throughout this virtually unknown, yet fascinating chapter in American history.
An extremely well-written, well-researched, and impressive account about the thousands of women who ran for public office before the passage of the 19th amendment. The topic has been touched upon only tangentially in the past, and, in this essential study, the writers enable us to see how important it ultimately is to our understanding of the history of suffrage and of women’s rights in America.
— Kenneth Florey, author of Secrets of the Suffragists: Murder, Martyrdom, and the Occult on the Movement’s Fringes
This book is full of surprises! By treating women’s ambitions for public office as related to but not identical with the woman suffrage movement, it enriches our understanding of how American women expanded their presence in public life. My hat is off to Her Hat Was in the Ring!
— Robyn Muncy, Professor of History, University of Maryland, College Park
How illuminating to learn about the thousands of women who ran for office long before women secured the right to vote. Her Hat Was in the Ring makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of women’s political history, providing us with insight into the untold stories of these political pioneers.
— Debbie Walsh, Director, Center for American Women and Politics
Wendy E. Chmielewski served as the George R. Cooley Curator of the Swarthmore College Peace Collection from 1988 through 2020. She is a co-editor of Jane Addams and the Practice of Democracy and numerous other works. Chmielewski is a co-founder of the “Her Hat Was in the Ring” digital history project.
Jill Norgren (Author)
Jill Norgren is Professor Emerita in the Department of Political Science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and the Graduate Center, The City University of New York, and the author of numerous books including Belva Lockwood: The Woman Who Would be President, and Stories from Trailblazing Women Lawyers: Lives in the Law. She is a longtime member of New York’s Women Writing Women’s Lives Seminar and a co-founder of the “Her Hat Was in the Ring” digital history project.