Women's Club Of Fargo Essay

Women’s study clubs became popular during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Many of these organizations are still prospering today in some form. Women’s clubs focused on enriching their members intellectually through the learning and understanding of different cultures from around the world. The motto for the Study Club of Fargo, “To be rather than to seem,” embodies the objective of their club. Every member should strive to be more than her current state and every member has the ability and opportunity to grow and develop beyond her formal education. The Fargo Fortnightly Club and the Women’s Club of Fargo had similar objectives in which they wanted their members to focus on their “intellectual advancement” and “awaken…interest in literature, and in topics of general information and social concern.” Study clubs offered women intellectual stimulating social experiences that forged a path for female empowerment, activism and higher education.
Three prominent women’s groups sprung up in Fargo, North Dakota during the late nineteenth century. The first women’s organization in North Dakota was the Women’s Club of Fargo which was founded in 1894. Following the Women’s Club of Fargo was the Fortnightly Literary Club, founded in 1895, would change

to the Fortnightly Club the following year. The Study Club of Fargo followed in 1897. Many study clubs that began at the turn of the twentieth century became not only literary clubs but also social reform groups.
The Women’s Club of Fargo focused its time as a literary club but participated in smaller community outreach programs. The club contributed to the movement to organize a public library in Fargo in 1899. The Fargo Public Library would open its doors in 1903. The Fargo Fortnightly Club had a focus on a literary path with topics that were aimed at learning about foreign countries, but they also took part in civic programs within the community. The Fortnightly Club is most notable for their work in erecting the Sakakawea Statue that sits on the grounds of the capital in Bismarck, North Dakota. In 1896 the Fortnightly Club became a member of the Dakota Federation of Women’s Club’s which followed under the national women’s organization, the General Federation of Women’s Club.
Up until 1945, the Study Club of Fargo was a member of the Federation of Women’s Clubs which would become the General Federation of Women’s Club. The Federation broadened from local clubs to a national organization for the betterment of society. The Study Club of Fargo eschewed social reform and kept true to its ideal purpose of being a literary club; whereas the Fargo Fortnightly Club and the Women’s Club of Fargo developed into social reform organizations. The club brought together a group of women willing to enlighten their peers through diverse topics.
Membership into all three of the women’s organizations were based on an invitation from the club and limited to only females.

Each club would invite guest speakers throughout the year to lecture and during these guest lectures the husbands of club members would be in attendance. Membership to women’s groups tended towards white, upper-middle class women whose husbands tended to be in business and professional careers. Women who became members of women’s club typically did not receive a full higher education. During the peak of women’s clubs, most women who joined were able to supplement their education. Moreover, women who received a high education continued their education through the use of study

clubs.
Meetings for the clubs focused on a specific area of interest within the program year topic. Areas of study included literature, women in history, countries from around the world, nature, and current events. The Study Club of Fargo during the 1933-1934 programming year, the topic of choice was Japan. Throughout the year, the club discussed different aspects of the country including education, art, and economy. During the 1912-1913 program year, the Fargo Fortnightly Club focused on socialism; 1934-1935 year the focus was on the Soviet Union, Germany, and Italy; and the 1936-1937 the club looked at China. The Women’s Club of Fargo followed along similar topical routes with studying the women in war, industry, reform, and politics during the 1919-1920 year and the progress of communism and the New Deal during the 1935-1936 programming year.
Study clubs sprung up across the country, especially in the northern states during the decades following the Civil War. According to Donald Ross, Jr., professor of writing studies at the University of Minnesota, there are many factors to why women’s clubs started. Women during the Civil War participated in the Union Sanitary Commission. The Commission allowed the opportunity for women to develop cooperation skills with their female peers by collecting money for medical supplies, food, and clothing for Union soldiers. The skills that women learned during this time were in need of a new outlet and study clubs were formed. At the turn of the century, new inventions such as gas lighting and plumbing allowed for daily chores to be completed quickly and more efficiently. An increase in immigrant workers allowed many upper-middle class homes the ability to hire cheap labor. With mandatory public education, women ceased homeschooling their children, which allowed women more time. These factors contributed to women having more time during the day to focus their energy on and the development of study clubs began.
By the twentieth century, society in the United States became overwhelmed with social issues. Women’s clubs began a new stage of social improvement. Ross states that women may have seen societal issues as an oncoming disturbance of their homes; however, their new knowledge of the world allowed the pursuance of reform. Women’s clubs donated their time and energy to raise money for libraries, such as the Fargo Public Library, settlement houses for immigrants, and legislation for child labor protection for example. The Fargo Fortnightly Club created clubs that would run parent-teacher associations, they campaigned to require inspections of the processing and marketing of the food industry, and promoted the first well-baby clinic.
Over the years study clubs developed practices that were used on a regular basis. The first of these, the use of parliamentary procedures, set a strong foundation for club meetings. Parliamentary procedure gave women the opportunity to work together in an organized fashion. The procedures helped new club officers to create resilient leadership for the club. Most women came into office without proper leadership training and the strict guidelines gave confidence to new officers. Usage of parliamentary procedure during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries at the state and federal governments were completely controlled by men. The sexist belief that women as a whole were too incompetent to come to conclusions without male supervision would be proven wrong due to the use of these procedures set in place. Parliamentary procedures created women to be strong leaders and future social reform activists. Most women’s clubs adopted the use of formal constitutions and by-laws in which these documents stated the rules and guidelines for the organization.
Study clubs created an environment for growth in each individual member. Mrs. R. M. Pollock was a notable pioneer in the Women’s Suffrage Movement in North Dakota. Her husband, Senator R. M. Pollock focused on multiple suffrage legislation during 1913. In 1909, Mattie Davis was elected as the President of the North Dakota Education Association. Women who participated in study clubs gained an increase in their self-esteem. Conducting research, writing papers, and oral presentation skills opened a door for women to act independently to learn, create and teach. Oral discussions produced the opportunity for members to voice their opinions and ideas and to learn from their peers. The use of parliamentary procedures gave women the opportunity to develop professional and formal organizational skills. These organizational skills also contributed to the ability for women to develop formal decision-making skills.
The Study Club of Fargo remained a member of the Federation of Women’s Clubs, now knowns as the General Federation of Women’s Clubs until 1945. The Women’s Club of Fargo became a member of the national organization in 1890 and a member of the North Dakota State Federation in 1906. The Fargo Fortnightly Club was also a member of the North Dakota Federation of Women’s Clubs. The General Federation of Women’s Clubs formed in 1890 by Jane Cunningham Croly, a New York journalist. According to the official GFWC websites, the organization is “dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service.” Whereas the Study Club of Fargo held to its literary aspect, organizations involved in the General Federation focused on social reform. Many of the issues that the General Federation advocated for involved social welfare reform such as the eight-hour work day, workplace safety and inspections, and workmen’s compensation during the early 1900s. During the 1930s, the General Federation “founded over 450 free public libraries and 4,600 traveling libraries” across the United States. The General Federation of Women’s Clubs continue to change social issues that affected women and families. The Federation celebrated its 125th Anniversary on April 24, 2015. The 125 years depicts how long the Federation has continued to fight for the communities it serves.
The General Federation of Women’s Clubs throughout the early twentieth century promoted and helped passed important legislation which have had lasting effects on the United States. The first chief of the Pure Food Bureau noted that the Federation played a key role in passing the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 through a letter and telegram campaign. During the 1910s, the Federation promoted legislation that would create an eight-hour workday, require workplace safety and inspections, and workmen’s compensation. In 1916, focused on infant and maternal mortality rates and their efforts resulted in the Sheppard-Towner Act of 1921 which allowed for advancements in maternal education. The Indian and Welfare Committee was created in 1921 which worked to improve health and education on Native American reservations. During World War II, the Federation initiated the Buy a Bomber campaign which raised enough money to purchase a total of 431 planes for the war. The Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere (CARE) organization distributed relief shipments in Korea which began in 1950. Within the first half of the twentieth century, the General Federation of Women’s Clubs supported, promoted, and created programs which enhanced the lives of American citizens.
The women’s clubs in Fargo followed very similar trends specifically in the topics that they studied. All three clubs focused on the literary aspects of their organizations with subjects that typically involving foreign nations. The programming year topics discussed were results of current issues in society such countries in crisis such as Germany during the 1930s and 1940s. The Fargo Fortnightly Club and the Women’s Club of Fargo supported and eventually were able to raise awareness for a public library in Fargo. These organizations saw literary knowledge as a way for women to become worldly citizens and gain an understanding of the world they lived in. Women’s clubs began the grassroots movement for women’s suffrage. Two major women’s organization led the way for women to vote, the National American Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and the National Women’s Party (NWP). The two groups lobbied Congress for the passage of the Constitutional Amendment for the right to vote and they picketed in front of the White House. These two groups along with its millions of members were able to successfully gain the right to vote for women and to be known as one of the most important Progressive Era advancements in American society.
Women during the early twentieth century found a way to enhance their minds while socializing with others of the same demographics – typically white upper-middle class women. As stated before, women did not always receive a higher education that their male counterparts did receive since men tended to think women with higher education degrees were a threat to traditional gender roles. The literary aspects of these clubs created the opportunity for women to continue enrich and supplement their prior education. The Fargo Fortnightly Club continued to support women pursuing their higher education by creating a program which assisted young women in colleges, business and nursing schools, through loans and scholarships.
Study clubs contributed to the intellectual betterment of women by giving them the opportunity to further their education whether or not they received a formal higher education. Since the era of study clubs and women’s groups, women have been able to acquire higher education degrees, obtain powerful social status, and changed how women are perceived in society. Present day women’s organizations may look towards turn of the century women’s groups to understand the process of women becoming a strong voice for change within society. Women’s organizations have led the way for women in politics, education, and activism since their creation. Whether or not women’s organizations such as study clubs continue, the evidence supports the claim that these groups did in fact contribute to intellectual stimulating social experiences that led to future generations of women in higher education and in roles of female empowerment.