Nellie McClung
... mother, Annie McClung. She had thought that Mrs. McClung would make the perfect mother-in-law. She had soon discovered that Mrs. McClung had a son who worked at the Manitou drug store. (Benham, p 12-13) Nellie and Wes had dated for five years before their marriage. (www.tv.ca/lifeandtimes) They moved to Manitou and lived above the drugstore, which Wes then owned. (Benham, p 18) Nellie McClung was a strong activist for women’s rights. She believed that women should have the same rights as men. Even as a child Nellie had questioned the traditional roles that women played. She didn’t understand why she couldn’t participate in races at picnics just because she was a girl. (www.histori.ca) But Nellie’s real start as an activist happened later in her life. She was influenced by Annie McClung, who was president of Manitou’s Women’s Christian Temperance Union, an organization that fought for the prohibition of alcohol, and a supporter of women’s suffrage. (timelinks.merlin.mb.ca) Nellie also joined the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). (Benham, p 15) She began giving speeches for the WCTU. She soon gained popularity as a speaker. She used wit and humour to get her messages across to the public. (Benham, p 18-19) This method seemed to work quite well for Nellie. The women of the WCTU soon realized that unless women were given the vote, they would never accomplish their goal of prohibition. (www.tv.ca/lifeandtimes) Nellie then became a suffragette, a woman who fought for women’s suffrage. In 1911, Wes was offered a job in Winnipeg, so the family moved there from Manitou. (Benham, p 22) It was in Winnipeg that Nellie began to make real progress in her fight for women to have the vote. She joined the Canadian Women’s Press Club. (Benham, p 24) In 1912, she, along with several other women, formed the Political Equality League. (Benham, p 26) She campaigned for women’s rights with these organizations. Nellie and Manitoba’s premier, Sir Rodmond Roblin, butted heads several times. The first of those events happened when she and another woman tricked him into touring some of the dirtiest sweatshops in Winnipeg to show him the conditions that women had to work under. (timelinks.merlin.mb.ca) In January of 1914, Nellie and a delegation of women presented their case for female suffrage to the Manitoba Legislature. The premier retorted with a speech stating all of the reasons why women should not have the vote. Nellie listened carefully to his speech, taking in every word and gesture. (Benham, p 27) She had a great plan up her sleeve. The next evening the women of the Political Equality League held a Mock Parliament to gain the support of the public. (www.histori.ca) The Mock Parliament showed what women would say if men wanted the vote. (Making Connections - Literacy and EAL Curriculum From A Feminist Perspective [Part 35 of 37]) The group even had a delegation of males come in with petitions for male suffrage. They presented their case to the women. Then Nellie McClung, playing the premier, made a speech in response to the men. Her speech made fun of Premier Roblin. It was very similar to the one that he had given the women just the day before and she used his gestures as she spoke. (Benham, p 28) Nellie said, "Politics unsettle men, and this will mean unpaid bills, broken furniture, broken vows, and divorce. Men’s place is on the farm." (Making Connections - Literacy and EAL Curriculum From A Feminist Perspective [Part 35 of 37]) The Mock Parliament was very successful. It used humour to grab the interest of the people. It was a really great idea. Even today, people still enjoy making fun of politics. An election was called soon after the Mock Parliament was held. The Political Equality League campaigned for the Liberal Party, who were in favour of female suffrage. Nellie gave many speeches. In the end the Liberals were defeated, but just narrowly. (Benham, p 29) The suffragettes were very close to achieving their goal, but they came up just a bit short. They were gaining support. They also now had the backing of a political party. In December of 1914, Wes transferred and the McClung family moved to Edmonton, Alberta. (Benham, p 29) She didn’t get to stay in Manitoba to see the reward for her efforts. There was a scandal discovered in the Conservative Party. (Benham, p 34) An election was held and the Liberals, again supported by the Political Equality League, won. (Benham, p 35) On January 27, 1916, the women of Manitoba were given the right to vote. (Benham, p 36) This was only the beginning of Nellie successes. She had continued to fight for women’s rights in Alberta. In April of 1916 Alberta became the second province to allow its women to vote. (Benham, p 38) In 1918, Nellie won one the national level when women were granted the right to vote federally. (Benham, p 39) Nellie had triumphed. Women could now vote. Nellie’s next major battle was the famous person’s case. Nellie McClung and four other women, Emily Murphy, Henrietta Edwards, Louise McKinney, and Irene Parlby, petitioned Prime Minister MacKenzie King to rule if the word "person" in a section of the British North America Act included female persons as well as male persons. The matter was referred to the Supreme Court who, in April of 1928, ruled that women were most definitely not persons. (Benham, p 46) These five women, though disappointed, did not give up. They took their case to the Privy Council in London, England. (Benham, p 46) This time they were successful. On October 18, 1929, the Privy Council declared that women were persons. (Benham, p 46) This made it possible for women to be appointed to the Senate. Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy, Henrietta Edwards, Louise McKinney, and Irene Parlby became known as the "Famous Five" because of what they did. Nellie McClung, though best known as a political activist, was also a very successful writer. In total, she had sixteen books published. (www.cbe.ab.ca) She was greatly influenced by the writings of Charles Dickens. (Benham, p 14) Annie McClung encouraged Nellie to try to have some of her work published. (Benham, p 19) Sowing Seeds in Danny was her first book to be published and was a best seller, selling a total of 100,000 copies. (Benham, p 20) She also wrote her autobiography. Clearing the West was the first volume. It was followed by The Stream Runs Fast. (Benham, p 49) Her other books included The Second Chance, The Black Creek Stopping House and Other Stories, Purple Springs, When Christmas Crossed the Peace, The Beauty of Martha, Painted Fires, All We Like Sheep and Other Stories, Be Good To Yourself, Flowers for the Living, Leaves From Lantern Lane, More Leaves From Lantern Lane, In Times Like These, and The Next of Kin. (Wallace, p 432) She wrote several short stories and articles which were published in magazines. (Hallett, p 1047) She also had a newspaper column called ...