Frances Elizabeth Willard (1839-1898)
An American temperance leader and reformer, lecturer, writer, and educator, Frances Willard was instrumental in the formation of the Prohibition Party and was widely known for her early support of women's right to vote. Willard traveled extensively across the US and Europe speaking in support of both movements.
Born in Churchville, NY, Frances Willard graduated in 1859 from Northwestern Female College in Evanston, Illinois, where she later became an instructor. She was appointed as the school's president in 1871 and then served as its dean when the school merged with Northwestern University. For a time Willard also worked as a journalist and was an editor of the Chicago Daily Post. Willard left the university to help organize the Chicago chapter of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in 1874 and became president of the national organization in 1879. The main objective of the WCTU was to persuade all states to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages. Under Willard's leadership, the organization brought temperance education to schools and supported the abolition of prostitution, prison reform and women's suffrage, as well as prohibition.
Her international work began in 1883 with the mission of Mary C. Leavitt and others to circulate the "Polyglot Petition" against the international drug trade. In 1888 she joined May Wright Sewall at the International Council of Women meeting in Washington, D.C. and laid the groundwork for a permanent National Council of Women, for which she served as its first president from 1888 to 1890. She also helped organize the General Federation of Women's Clubs in 1889 and was a member of the Association for the Advancement of Women. A convention of delegates from twenty-one nations met in Boston in 1891 to form the World's WCTU, of which Willard was elected president. She died in 1898 in New York.
OCP Resources
Willard, Frances Elizabeth. Home protection manual: containing an argument for the temperance ballot for women, and how to obtain it, as a means of home protection: also constitution and plan of work for state and local W.C.T. unions. New York: Published at "the Independent" office, 1879.
Wittenmyer, Annie. History of the Woman's Temperance Crusade; a complete official history of the wonderful uprising of Christian women of the United States against he liquor traffic, which culminated in the Gospel temperance movement. Introduction by Frances E. Willard. Boston, Mass.: J.H. Earle, 1882.
Willard, Frances Elizabeth. Woman and temperance, or the work and workers of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Hartford, Conn.: Park Pub. Co., 1883.
"Frances E. Willard," in Our famous women: an authorized record of the lives and deeds of distinguished American women of our times... Hartford, Conn.: A.D. Worthington, 1884.
Willard, Frances Elizabeth. Nineteen beautiful years, or, sketches of a girl's life. Chicago: Woman's Temperance Publication Association, 1886.
Willard, Frances Elizabeth. Woman's Christian Temperance Union. President. President's Annual Address. 1888
Willard, Frances Elizabeth. Glimpses of fifty years: the autobiography of an American woman. Chicago: Woman's Temperance Publication Association, 1889.
Willard, Frances Elizabeth. Do everything: a handbook for the world's white ribboners. Chicago: Woman's Temperance Pub. Association, [1895?].
Willard, Frances Elizabeth. A wheel within a wheel: how I learned to ride the bicycle, with some reflections by the way. Chicago: Woman's Temperance Publishing Association, c1895.
Willard, Frances Elizabeth. Occupations for women: a book of practical suggestions for the material advancement, the mental and physical development, and the moral and spiritual uplift of women. Cooper Union, N.Y.: Success Co., 1897.
Gordon, Anna Adams. The beautiful life of Frances E. Willard: a memorial volume. Chicago: Woman's Temperance Publishing Association, 1898.
Hillsboro crusade sketches and family records. 2d ed. Cincinnati: Jennings and Graham, 1906.
"Frances E. Willard," in Horton, Edith. A group of famous women: stories of their lives. Boston: D.C. Heath and Co., 1914.
Strachey, Ray. Frances Willard: her life and work. New York: F.H. Revell, c1913.
Whiting, Lilian. Women who have ennobled life. Philadelphia: The Union Press, c1915.
Web Resources
Women in American History, Frances Elizabeth Willard