Ess, Phoebe Jane Routt

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Athenaeum club pushes for suffrage.

American women’s growing participation in public and political life during the 1920s was the cause of much national tension and debate. While many Americans felt that a woman’s proper place ought to be confined to the home, increasing numbers of women demanded influence outside that narrow sphere. After gaining the right to vote in 1920, women in Kansas City made their influence felt through their work in women’s clubs like the Athenaeum. This early training in civic reform efforts would ultimately position Kansas City women as one of the more powerful forces for change during the reform elections of 1940.

Citizens' League Bulletin issue with the main article covering the dinner given in honor of Phoebe Ess, founder of the Kansas City Athenaeum, the Woman's City Club, and the Susan B. Anthony Civic Club.

KANSAS CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY | DIGITAL HISTORY