Hattie Corkett First Woman Juror November 1912

In her chapter on women and jury service in No Constitutional Right to be Ladies (New York: Hill and Wang, 1998) Linda Kerber reminds us that many women considered the call for jury service to be a second suffrage campaign. This was true for many Oregon women, including Hattie Corkett of Bend.

Hattie Corkett, Oregonian, November 30, 1912, 6.

As we've seen, the question of whether woman suffrage meant that Oregon women could also serve as jurors was not, apparently, officially settled. In some communities court staff called women to service soon after the election.

In Bend during the week of November 25, 1912 Hattie Corkett became the first woman in central Oregon and indeed perhaps the first woman in the state to serve as a juror after the November 5, 1912 election.  According to the Bend Bulletin two other women, Mary E. Coleman and Mrs. C.D. Brown, were called but not selected. Corkett's five male "co-jurors made her foreman, or rather, forewoman." On November 26 "about half of Bend quit work" to attend the trial to see Corkett.

The Oregonian noted: "That she happens to be an ardent suffragette, and worked for the suffrage amendment during the recent election, adds further to the interest of her unique position."

The coverage of the trial (regarding who owned a calf and who was liable for its expenses) in both the Bend and Portland papers reflects the interest in women jurors but also questions about their entrance into the male domain of the jury box. The Bend Bulletin reported that "the new order of things was introduced at the outset by Justice [Ward H.] Coble, whose first case it was, by a graceful announcement that inasmuch as the fair sex was to participate, smoking would be tabooed in the court room. He also warned against careless use of language, a warning that had to be repeated on several occasions as the trial progressed, eliminating or at least expurgating some of the proffered testimony."

"Choose Woman Jury Foreman," Bend Bulletin, November 27, 1912, 1.

"Bend Woman First," Oregonian, November 30, 1912, 6.

A week later Portland began its own dramatic experience with women and jury service that would also highlight the complex and strong feelings in support of and in opposition to women's expanded civic roles. Stay tuned for the story of this "experimental jury" that includes an "honorary subpoena" for Abigail Scott Duniway, reporting by juror and Oregonian columnist Leone Cass Baer, and a controversial role for suffrage stalwart William M. "Pike" Davis.

Women and Jury Service in Oregon: Raising the Question in November 1912

Following the successful campaign for woman suffrage in Oregon in November 1912 supporters turned their attention to the many ways that women could exercise the rights of citizenship and fulfill their civic obligations. I have and will continue to blog about women and office holding, with emphasis on Esther Lovejoy's run for U.S. Congress in 1920, the Oregon Women's Legislative Council and other civic claims by women in the state in this period. And I'm also interested in unique and informative story of jury service for women in Oregon.

As the following newspaper reports from November 1912 reveal, jury service for women became a question even before the results of the election were tabulated.

On November 3, two days before the election, the Oregonian reported that "considerable opposition has developed to the suffrage amendment among voters who express themselves as being highly favorable to giving the women the ballot, but who are opposed to their being harassed with the onerous duties of the juror."

Oregon law defined jurors as "male" but the question was whether an amendment to the state constitution removing the word "male" from voting statues would also imply that women could be jurors. But some attorneys in Salem contended that a ballot victory for woman suffrage "would not automatically operate" to make women "subject to jury duty."

Attorney General Andrew Crawford could not make a definitive statement about the matter at the time. But he did tell the Oregonian that he had no doubt "but a law could be passed by the legislative assembly exempting women from jury duty and that such a law would be constitutional and not deny to all the equal protection of the laws."

The Attorney General was not sure, and the matter was "undecided," but the Oregonian ran the headline "Women Not to be Jurors."

"Women Not to be Jurors," Oregonian, November 3, 1912, 4:11.

On November 9, the Oregon Journal reported that "Woman May Vote But She Cannot Sit Upon a Jury," but gave no official statement by the Attorney General or anyone else about this assertion. The Journal used the authority of the existing statute that defined jurors as men.

 

"Woman May Vote But She Cannot Sit Upon a Jury," Oregon Journal, November 9, 1912, 1.

Medford, Oregon women were having none of it. Members of the Medford Equal Suffrage Association protested immediately. At a banquet celebrating the victory of the woman suffrage amendment members resolved: "'We protest against any curtailment of our rights . . . and maintain that if suffrage is granted this is an implied amendment to the constitution and wherever the word man is used woman is included.'"

"Jury Rights Demanded," Oregonian, November 10, 1912, 4.

This was just the beginning. Come back to read about the continuing story, including fears that the floor of the courtroom would collapse in Portland in early December because of the crowds attending a trial with an "experimental" all-woman jury.

Portland Political Study League, Women Citizens, and Jury Service 1916

Many Oregon women and their supporters joined women in the U.S. and other nations and looked to women's political and civic participation beyond the vote as a key to progress. As we've seen with the case of Astoria, Oregon, women participated in civic organizations to take action to better their communities.
In Portland many women activists joined the Political Study League to prepare themselves for informed voting and other civic action. Many believed that jury service was a next step in political participation and worked to pass state legislation removing restrictions on women's jury service.
This article from the Oregonian in November 1916 reports on a meeting of the Political Study League with featured speaker lawyer and activist C.E.S. Wood. Wood echoed the view that women would bring a particular perspective to political action that was different from men. And he made this argument specifically for women's jury service.
"Woman, with her sympathy and intuition, can do more than the man," he noted. "In the jury a woman is in her own right. The judges and lawyers exalt law above justice, while the jury comes in as a fresh breeze and cares for the human side of the case."

 

"Woman Rated Higher," Oregonian, November 19, 1916, 5.

Astoria, Oregon Women and Political Activism 1914: The Civic Club

More news from Astoria's microfilmed newspapers on women's political participation.

In October, 1914 Mary (Mrs. Gabriel) Wingate wrote an article outlining the goals of the Civic Club of Astoria. She emphasized the importance of women using their newly-won civic power of the vote.

Wingate told her readers that the members of the Civic Club were interested in all forms of community betterment and the group was "wishful to have every woman who is a resident of our city and interested in its welfare to join with us and it should be a heartfelt duty with every woman to help along these lines." Like many other recently-enfranchised women in the state, Wingate emphasized that women had a civic obligation to put their votes to good use. Members saw the Civic Club as an institution to harness that duty for collective action.

Like Portland activist Sarah Evans, Wingate contrasted women's limited "influence" before they held the right to vote with the power they now wielded with the ballot. "A few years ago we had a prosperous women's club in this city," she wrote, "with a large and enthusiastic membership who were zealous to aid in all matters that would better social and business conditions." But the women learned, she said, that "any suggestions for improvement of our city, made to the powers that be, were never seriously considered by them."

The right to vote changed that, Wingate insisted. "Now that women have the vote, and a voice in affairs, conditions in that regard are radically different, and any suggestions or recommendations we may make will, no doubt, be given careful and serious consideration." Optimistic about this new power, Wingate noted that the Civic Club was an "outgrowth" of the women's club and urged Astoria's women to register to vote and to exercise their right to have a voice in community affairs.

"The Civic Club," Astoria Daily Budget, October 12, 1914, 7.

Mary Wingate and other Astoria women were part of a larger pattern when they formed civic clubs to study legislation and civic education. "It is natural for women to be interested in the governing of their city, county, and state," she wrote, "and they should all cultivate civic pride and patriotism." Wingate was not alone in her view that women could make a significant difference in their new civic roles. Oregon women achieved the vote earlier than most women in the nation but the transformation of the National American Woman Suffrage Association to the National League of Women Voters in 1920 mirrors the activities and organizations of women in Astoria and across Oregon in their local organizations after achieving suffrage in 1912.

Astoria women also worked to become office holders, to become part of and transform what Wingate called the "powers that be." The Astoria Civic Club supported the candidacy of Mary Strong Kinney for the Oregon legislature in 1921 and helped her remain there through 1927.

Mary Strong Kinney Successful Candidate for Oregon House of Representatives 1920

On a recent visit to Astoria, Oregon (a vibrant community celebrating its bicentennial) I spent time at the Astoria Public Library (thank you Jane Tucker and staff!) with the Morning Astorian on microfilm. I gathered some great information about Astorian Mary Strong Kinney, who ran for the Oregon House of Representatives in 1920, the same year Esther Lovejoy ran for U.S. Congress from Oregon's third district.
Kinney ran as a Republican in the May primary and won the field in this first election after the First World War. Oregon women had been voting since the 1912 achievement of suffrage and the Nineteenth Amendment would pass in August 1920.
Her campaign advertising emphasized a variety of qualities to appeal to her constituency: she was a successful businesswoman and mother, would work to support Astoria, Clatsop County, and Oregon, and was free of "political obligations" so she could represent "all the people." And, in the postwar climate of fears about radicalism that Lovejoy and other candidates also had to face, Kinney was "not only an American, but a GOOD American."
As with other Oregon women candidates, Kinney gained support (and advertising dollars) from organized women. In Astoria the Women's Civic Club had formed after women achieved the vote with the particular purpose of studying legislation and working to make their new civic power a reality. The Civic Club members who paid for Kinney's campaign ad for the May primary also chose a frame of trees, fountains and flowers.

"Vote for Mrs. Kinney," Morning Astorian, May 21, 1920, 4.

Kinney won election that year and was a sponsor of legislation for women's jury service (more on this topic in future posts). She won election to the Oregon Senate in 1923 and 1925.

Oregon Heritage Commission Proclamation: Statewide Celebration of Woman Suffrage for 2012

Last Tuesday night at the kickoff for the upcoming centennial of woman suffrage in Oregon for 2012 Kyle Jansson, Coordinator of the Oregon Heritage Commission, read the official document proclaiming 2012 a year of statewide celebration to commemorate the centennial.
With thanks to Kyle Jansson, the Commission members and staff and Commission chair, George Kramer, here is a copy of the proclamation:

Century of Action and New Documents Projects

Last night at the official kickoff of the Oregon woman suffrage centennial commemoration at the state capitol Secretary of State Kate Brown hosted an event that did us all proud. Former Governor Barbara Roberts inspired everyone as she spoke, and Oregon Heritage Commission Coordinator Kyle Jansson read the official proclamation declaring the 2012 woman suffrage centennial a statewide event. Many thanks to everyone who attended to show their support and to the best co-conspirators possible, Jan Dilg, Project Director of Century of Action, and Eliza Canty-Jones, President of the Oregon Women's History Consortium and editor of the Oregon Historical Quarterly.

The Heritage Commission grant for the Century of Action website has helped us create a dynamic resource. Last night I was proud to introduce the work of Western Oregon University history and honors students on documents projects for the website. They started with articles from local newspapers from 1912 and with additional research created contextual essays introducing these newspaper articles on themes, people, organizations and events from the 1912 campaign. They also transcribed the articles, some 130 in all, and all are hyperlinked and posted to the website.

Two history students, Sarah Hardy and Jenn Newby, facilitated class discussion on using newspapers as primary sources and their essay is included in the documents project on the site. Visit the site and return often as we add new resources.