How do civilizations imagine themselves? One way is for each of us to look at ourselves through our society’s most remarkable figures. For example, Nellie McClung, she was many things throughout her life but most importantly she was an author, social activist, and politician.
Nellie chose to capture her experiences in print. She first established her reputation as the bestselling author of the novel Sowing Seeds in Danny published in 1908. In addition to writing 16 books, including several bestsellers, McClung was a “columnist for various newspapers and a contributor to magazines such as Maclean’s, Canadian Home Journal, Country Guide, and Chatelaine”. (ournellie.com) Nellie wrote both fiction and non-fiction, with wide-ranging topics that included gambling, justice, prohibition, and marriage. There was also women’s suffrage, balancing a career and family, and women’s role in the church. But she wanted to do more than write about the people she knew… she wanted to improve society. (Gray, 2008)
…show more content…
(Gray, 2008) Her zest, her convictions, and her campaigns helped shape the Canada we live in today. But Nellie was not alone. She fought alongside other women – Cora Hind, Francis Beynon, Emily Murphy, and Louise McKinney – who played a full part and shared the credit. “Conservative Premier Roblin strongly opposed giving women the right to vote, and in 1914, Nellie McClung and her fellow reformers wanted to defeat him. They put on a play called “The Women’s Parliament,” a satire that turned the tables and poked fun at the dangers of giving men the right to vote”.
Best selling author, Michelle McNamara, wrote some of the greatest crime novels of our time, but few people knew about her secret life. Michelle had her own private drug den filled with a variety of prescription and illegal drugs.
Women were also allowed to get educations and go into teaching and nursing positions. The Person’s Case was another highlight which demonstrates the advancements of women’s right in Canadian history. This case included five women who ultimately help transform the way women were seen. Emily Murphy played a significant role in establishing women’s rights which led to women being called “persons” in matters of rights and privileges. Furthermore, another female Canadian named Nellie McClung helped in getting the right to vote for women. Ultimately resulting in the May 24th, 1918 Act allowing all women 21 years of age or more in Canada the official right to vote even if they did not have the provincial license. The war brought many changes to Canada and around the world. Women were finally being recognized for their efforts and perseverance and acquiring new freedoms and improved rights for themselves. During the 1920’s, women became more involved in society and continued to participate in the work force. Women continued to make half the earning men were making at that time but by 1929 women made up about 20% of the workforce. The Women’s Labour League worked to defend women workers and the labour movement. They exposed shortfalls in the minimum wage laws and fought for equal pay, maternity care and a women right for birth control. Women were finally making their mark in government. By 1939,
When it comes to curly health questions, there's a minefield of conflicting advice out there. Bonnie Cleaver has the bottom line.
One of them is probably giving independence to Women all around Canada. She Convinced the Supreme Court to make Womens as Qualified person such as the right for Women to vote and be part of the senate(“About Nellie.”). Nellie Letitia McClung forged an identity for Canada to be an equal to all genders and Without her movement to get equal rights, women now probably won’t have the type of rights for women as men today or most likely it would’ve came later in the time such as for women to vote(“About Nellie.”). So basically she had forge an identity for millions of women all across of Canada. The way that Nellie Letitia McClung might regard Canada today would be that today’s Canada is probably the beginning for all races to have equality (so far really).
In 1914 Mrs. Murphy and Mrs. McClung joined forces and in 1916 after long negotiations a suffrage bill was introduced to the legislature. Because of the war now ranging in Europe "there was an even greater sense of urgency for women's suffrage, and Murphy - McClung team doubled its efforts". The first session in February 24, 1916 Premier Sifton read the bill and along with it approximately forty thousand signatures. The next day he brought a bill of his own allowing "women a status of complete political equality with men in all provincial, municipal, and school matters."
The second cartoon from 1910 depicts an anti-suffragette prediction of what Parliament would look like if women were allowed to participate. This drawing is in reply to a statement made by a British feminist who says “The day will come when women will sit in your Canadian Parliament.” On one side of this cartoon, the Canadian Parliament is filled with women who are busy trading recipes, worrying if their hat is on straight, petty topics to discuss in parliament. On the other side there is Prime Minister Borden busy flirting while a minister behind him is arguing: “the appropriation for doilies and tidies for members desks is, I claim, not inadequate to the dignity and toodleyumptyido of this house.” This is a kind of vocabulary that is not at the same high standard that is associated with politicians, therefore bringing down the quality and intentions of the debates in Parliament. In the upper left-hand corner there is a man saying, “Well I’ll be damned,” while leaning on a balcony beside a snail, which symbolizes the rate of progress that parliament would assume if women were allowed to participate. This is a demonstration of the importance of the male dominance in government, and an argument against the suffragette movement.
Lorraine O’Gradys’ unintentionally historic performances, seemingly elevate everyday life to the status of art. In her ‘exhibit’ at the Studio Museum, her work is represented through photographs, in ‘Art is…’. Thirty years ago, O’Grady presented ‘Art is’ in the form of a float in the African American Day Parade right here in Harlem. Performers pranced with empty frames, metaphorically capturing fleeting pictures of the people and places that surrounded the route of the parade. By doing so, the trappings of high art were brought out of the museum, into the street, which promotes a new way people might begin to recognize this new art form in the celebrations of every day life. The
The government and the general populace realized how hard the woman had worked for the sake of Canada, and this earned woman the respect that they had longed for from the general populace and the government. Furthermore, this very sense of respect was proved when the government under Prime Minister Borden approved the War measures act on September 20, 1917(“Woman’s right to vote in Canada”). This very act was a prime gesture from the Canadian government that illustrated how winning the respect of the people resulted in the destruction of the misogynistic sentiments of that era. Furthermore, many historians regard the “War Times Act” as a gesture that was carried out in order to acknowledge the efforts that women had done in order to aid in the war(“Suffrage in Canada”). As said previously, woman raised funds for war, they volunteered as nurses overseas, worked endless hours in factories in order to build munitions, and provided countless other services for the benefit of the economy and the government. Moreover, they simultaneously kept their families together,”while men went overseas”(“Woman get the vote”), and kept war efforts moving through funds raised by various non-profit organizations run by women. The government witnessed this and rewarded the services of such woman by granting them the right to vote. Furthermore, the fact the government wanted to integrate women into the Canadian political system reveals that the long arduous toiling that woman had done for the nation was finally beginning to reap rewards for their own battle for gender equality.. Although, the right to vote was only bestowed upon those who were related to soldiers fighting overseas, it nonetheless
When married, all of a woman's money would automatically become their husbands. Women could not sign legal contracts. Women did not hold any social, political or economic power and they were prohibited from voting. Overall, compared to men, women had a lower quality of life due to all of the limitations they had. Women began to realize that they could do more than just domestic work, that they should be achieving just as much as men were. Women’s suffrage was the fight for women’s right to vote along with other basic rights. Many people were opposed to this such as male legislators and leaders of the Catholic Church. A group that fought for women’s rights in Canada was called the Famous Five. This activist group consisted of the five women; Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney and Irene Parlby. Nellie McClung was a Canadian feminist, politician, author and social activist. She hosted a mock play with a reversal of roles, depicting a society in which women ruled and men were restricted in Manitoba which brought light to all the problems women were struggling with daily. The result of the play provoked conversation about the topic. As more people became informed on women’s suffrage, more people began to support it. Protests proved to be effective when women gained the right to vote in Manitoba, and became the first province to grant women the right to vote. However,
French-Canadians in the east, who had revoked female voting rights in the 1840's, saw suffrage as a threat against their culture. As a consequence, it took years, decades for these ideals to alter the ink on voting legislation, even in municipalities, longer still for state/federal votes, even longer still for women of ethnic minorities to be included.
“We may yet live to see that day when women will no longer be news. And it cannot come too soon. I want to be a peaceful, happy, normal human being, pursuing my unimpeded way through life, never having to explain, defend, or apologize for my sex” (Nellie McClung, 1929). Throughout most of history, men have had greater rights than women. In present days, the equality between men and women have improved, despite the fact that some countries are still striving to establish those same rights for both genders. What impact did Nellie McClung make on Canadian society? She is a perfect example of a Canadian social activist who advocated for the rights of women throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In this essay, I will examine the depictions of the fight for suffrage and the stand for electoral office, in addition to the contribution of the Famous 5 and the type of feminism she represented in order to demonstrate the impact and influence she had as a Canadian woman.
The word “persons” has enormous legal power (The Persons Case). Prior to the 1920s, women were not considered persons (Persons Case). No woman had yet been appointed to the Canadian Senate or other government job because according to the British North America Act, the word “persons” did not include females (Bolotta 85). Hence, in 1928, a group of famous western women called Alberta’s “Famous Five” took this legal battle to Canada’s supreme court (The Persons Case). On October 28, 1929, when Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, and 3 others were denied their appeal, the Famous Five took the case to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Britain (Persons Case). Subsequently, the British Privy Council overruled the Supreme Court decision and stated that women were legally persons and were eligible to be appointed to the Senate (Bolotta 94). The Persons Case opened the Senate to women, enabling them to work for change in both the House of Commons and the Upper House. Thus, Emily Murphy became the first female magistrate in the British Empire (86). This was an important victory for the women’s rights movement in Canada and a major development that made the twenties “roar.” The Famous Five not only won the right for women to serve in the Senate but helped pave the way for women to participate equally in – and contribute equally to – all other aspects of life in Canada. Moreover, the legal recognition of women as “persons” meant that women could no longer be denied rights based on narrows interpretation of the
The first reason that shows that Canada has become a “just society” is the changes to women’s legal rights. Since the 1970s, many women have stepped up to the work of politics. Several instances include Kim Campbell, the first woman to become the prime minister of Canada,1 Kathleen Wynne, the first premier of Canada to be lesbian,2 Beverley McLachlin, the “first female chief of justice of the Supreme Court of Canada,”3 and Catherine Callbeck, the second female provincial premiere and first woman to win
Women being able to vote was a huge step forward for Canadian women, but even though they could run for certain political positions, they could not be Senators. During the early twentieth century women were not legally considered “persons” and could not be Senators (Women become Persons). This act of exclusion portrayed Canada as an immature nation. A milestone with significant importance occurred in the Persons Case. The first constitution of Canada was the BNA Act (British North America Act). In this constitution it referred to a group of people as “persons” but when one individual was referenced they used the word ‘he”. The constitution restricted women from holding public office. (History Canadian resources book) The act declared that “women are persons in matters of pain and penalties, but are not persons in matters of rights and privileges.” Therefore, women could be given the same penalties as men for breaking a law, but could not receive the same basic benefits that men could. Unfair legalities like this proves that Canada was
In the nineteenth century women had no place in national politics. They couldn’t stand as candidates for Parliament, they were also denied the right to vote. It was assumed