The Selected Letters of Florence Kelley, 1869-1931

by Florence Kelley, Kathryn Kish Sklar (Editor), Beverly Wilson Palmer (Editor)

Overview

As head of the National Consumers' League from its founding in 1899 until her death in 1932, Florence Kelley led campaigns that reshaped the conditions under which goods were produced in the United States. Her efforts produced the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, as well as laws providing for an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage. She mobilized women's organizations to support the passage of the first federal health legislation for women and children in 1921, and she headed the crusade against child labor between 1890 and 1930. An ally of W.E.B. Du Bois, she was a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and served on its board for twenty years.

This volume collects nearly three hundred of Florence Kelley's letters, written over the course of more than six decades and embracing such topics as improved working conditions for women and children, intense engagement in electoral politics, struggles against manufacturing interests, and the machinations of a conservative Supreme Court. Rendered in Kelley's vivid, often combative prose, these letters also provide an intimate view into the personal life of a dedicated reformer who balanced her career with her responsibilities as a single mother of three children.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780252034046
Publisher:	University of Illinois Press
Publication date:	05/04/2009
Edition description:	1st Edition
Pages:	640
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Kathryn Kish Sklar is a distinguished professor of history at SUNY, Binghamton and coeditor of the online journal and database Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000. She is the author of Florence Kelley and the Nation's Work: The Rise of Women's Political Culture, 1830-1900 and other books in the history of American women. Beverly Wilson Palmer is a research associate at Pomona College and the editor of The Selected Letters of Lucretia Coffin Mott and other books.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations . xv
Acknowledgments . xvii
Introduction . xxi
Editorial Principles . xlvii
Abbreviations . li
Chronology of Selected Events in Florence Kelley's Life . lvii
Chronology of Selected Events Related to Florence Kelley's Political Agenda at the NCL . lix

CHAPTER 1. 1869-1891 "The Wrong to the Working People" . 1
Introduction . 1
1. To William Darrah Kelley, 12 January 1869 . 6
2. To Elizabeth Kay Pugh and Isaac Pugh, 7 August 1872 . 6
3. To William Darrah Kelley, 27 July 1876 . 7
4. To Caroline Bonsall Kelley, 29 September 1876 . 9
5. To William Darrah Kelley, 2 December 1878 . 12
6. To William Darrah Kelley, 2 January 1884 . 14
7. To Susan B. Anthony, 21 January 1884 . 18
8. To William Darrah Kelley, ca. May 1884 . 19
9. To Mary Thorne Lewis, 19 March 1885 . 21
10. To Woman's Tribune Editor, ca. April 1885 . 26
11. To Frederick Engels, 10 January 1886 . 29
12. To Frederick Engels, 9 June 1886 . 31
13. To Frederick Engels, 6 June 1887 . 34
14. To Caroline Bonsall Kelley, 20 December 1887 . 35
15. To Frederick Engels, 29 December 1887 . 35
16. To Frederick Engels, 29 March 1888 . 40
17. To Frederick Engels, ca. July 1888 . 42
18. To WIlliam Darrah Kelley, 11 December 1889 . 43
19. To Richard T. Ely, after 11 December 1890 . 44
20. To Richard T. Ely, 4 February 1891 . 45
21. To Richard T. Ely, 23 April 1891 . 46

CHAPTER 2. 1892-1899 "This Beloved Hull House" . 51
Introduction . 51
22. To Henry D. Lloyd, 4 January 1892 . 55
23. To Caroline Bonsall Kelley, 24 February 1892 . 56
24. To Frederick Engels, 7 April 1892 . 57
25. To Frederick Engels, 27 May 1892 . 58
26. To Caroline Bonsall Kelley, ca. 2 June 1892 . 60
27. To Henry D. Lloyd, 30 June 1892 . 61
28. To Frederick Engels, 27 November 1892 . 63
29. To Henry D. Lloyd, 28 November and 2 December 1892 . 65
30. To Henry D. Lloyd, 13 July 1893 . 67
31. To Richard T. Ely, 20 August 1893 . 67
32. To Henry D. Lloyd, 10 October 1893 . 68
33. To Frederick Engels, 21 November 1893 . 69
34. To Caroline Bonsall Kelley, 31 December 1893 . 70
35. To John P. Altgeld, 9 January 1894 . 71
36. To Rand McNally and Company, 9 January 1894 . 72
37. To Richard T. Ely, 21 June 1894 . 73
38. To John P. Altgeld, 15 July 1894 . 74
39. To Henry D. Lloyd, 18 July 1894 . 75
40. TO Miss Williams, 1 September 1894 . 76
41. To Richard T. Ely, 14 November 1894 . 77
42. To Miss Williams, 18 November 1894 . 78
43. To Jessie Bross Lloyd, 2 March 1895 . 80
44. To Richard T. Ely, 22 August 1895 . 81
45. To Henry D. Lloyd, 3 March 1896 . 82
46. To Frank A. Manny, 18 April 1896 . 82
47. To Henry D. Lloyd, 18 June 1896 . 83
48. To Henry D. Lloyd, 1 October 1896 . 84
49. To Agnes Hamilton, 8 December 1896 . 85
50. To Henry D. Lloyd, 19 August 1897 . 87
51. To Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 24 May 1898 . 87
52. To Caroline Bonsall Kelley, 24 July 1898 . 89
53. To Henry D. Lloyd, 26 September 1898 . 91
54. TO Caroline Bonsall Kelley, ca. 15 December 1898 . 92
55. To Caroline Bonsall Kelley, 26 December 1898 . 93
56. To Lillian D. Wald, 24 January 1899 . 95
57. To Lillian D. Wald, 23 March 1899 . 97

CHAPTER 3. 1899-1907 "The Power and Responsibility of the Purchasers"
Introduction . 99
58. TO Henry D. Lloyd, 14 October 1899 . 105
59. To Katherine Lucy Trevett, 25 July 1900 . 106
60. To Caroline Bonsall Kelley, 19 January 1901 . 107
61. To Edward A. Filene, 9 July 1901 . 108
62. To Richard Yates, 26 July 1901 . 109
63. To Clara Bewick Colby, 27 November 1901 . 110
64. To Nicholas Kelley, 15 March 1902 . 111
65. To Nicholas Kelley, 29 June 1902 . 113
66. To Nicholas Kelley, 7 May 1903 . 114
67. To Nicholas Kelley, 7 May 1903 . 115
68. To Nicholas Kelley, 10 May 1903 . 116
69. To Nicholas Kelley, 5 July 1903 . 117
70. To Nicholas Kelley, 5 July 1903 . 119
71. To Nicholas Kelley, 30 April 1904 . 120
72. To Nicholas Kelley, 11 July 1904 . 122
73. To Nicholas Kelley, 18 August 1904 . 124
74. To Jane Addams, 19 August 1904 . 127
75. To Nicholas Kelley, 15 July 1905 . 129
76. To Margaret Kelley, 27 August 1905 . 130
77. To Nicholas Kelley, 29 August 1905 . 131
78. To Margaret Kelley, 20 September 1905 . 133
79. To Nicholas Kelley, 4 October 1905 . 134
80. To Nicholas Kelley, 29 October 1905 . 135
81. To Nicholas Kelley, 7 February 1906 . 136
82. To Nicholas Kelley, 18 February 1906 . 137
83. To Nicholas Kelley, 28 March 1906 . 139
84. To Nicholas Kelley, 11 July 1906 . 140
85. To Lillian D. Wald, 15 August 1906 . 141
86. To Nicholas Kelley, 31 August 1906 . 142
87. To Edith M. Howes, 10 September 1906 . 143
88. To Lillian D. Wald, 9 October 1906 . 144
89. To W. E. B. Du Bois, 30 October 1906 . 144
90. To Caroline Bartlett Crane, 21 January 1907 . 146
91. To Jane Addams, 23 January 1907 . 147
92. To Lillian D. Wald, 3 February 1907 . 148
93. To Nicholas Kelley, 20 February 1907 . 148
94. To Alice Stone Blackwell, 21 February 1907 . 149
95. To Alice Stone Blackwell, 17 March 1907 . 150
96. To Nicholas Kelley 1 July 1907 . 151
97. To Nicholas Kelley, 6 July 1907 . 152
98. To Nicholas Kelley, 25 August 1907 . 154
99. To Lillian D. Wald, 11 September 1907 . 155
100. To Nicholas Kelley, 19 October 1907 . 158
101. To Nicholas Kelley, 2 November 1907 . 158
102. To Nicholas Kelley, 7 November 1907 . 160
103. To Nicholas Kelley, 10 November 1907 . 161

CHAPTER 4. 1908-1916 "The Fight to Extend the Labor Laws" . 165
Introduction . 165
104. To Nicholas Kelley, 20 January1908 . 171
105. To Nicholas Kelley, 6 April 1908 . 172
106. To Nicholas Kelley, 8 April 1908 . 174
107. To Nicholas Kelley, 19 June 1908 . 175
108. To Nicholas Kelley, 6 September 1908 . 176
109. To Nicholas Kelley, 26 September 1908 . 177
110. To Nicholas Kelley, 7 November 1908 . 179
111. To Nicholas Kelley, 9 November 1908 . 180
112. To Augusta Maverick Kelley, 31 July 1909 . 181
113. To William Kent, 4 August 1909 . 182
114. To Augusta Maverick Kelley, 4 June 1910 . 184
115. To Nicholas Kelley, 9 July 1910 . 184
116. To Nicholas Kelley, 27 July 1911 . 186
117. To Jessica B. Peixotto, 15 April 1912 . 187
118. To Nicholas Kelley, 4 August 1912 . 189
119. To Katherine Philips Edson, 22 November 1912 . 190
120. To John Graham Brooks, 13 August 1913 . 192
121. To Nicholas Kelley, 13 September 1913. 194
122. To Katherine Philips Edson, 16 April 1914 . 195
123. To Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont, 19 July 1914 . 197
124. To Joel Spingarn, 27 July 1914 . 198
125. To Paul Kellogg, 18 October 1914 . 198
126. To Paul Kellogg, 12 February 1915 . 200
127. To Lucy Burns, 6 September 1915 . 202
128. To Myrta Jones, 18 September 1915 . 204
129. To Myrta Jones, 21 September 1915 . 205
130. To Joel Spingarn, 23 October 1915 . 207
131. To George E. Hooker, 17 December 1915 . 209
132. To Isaac M. Rubinow, 13 January 1916 . 211
133. To Edith Abbott, 30 January 1916 . 212
134. To Charles A. Prosser, 17 May 1916 . 213
135. To Katherine Philips Edson, 16 July 1916 . 214
136. To Norman Hapgood, 22 August 1916 . 216

CHAPTER 5. 1917-1921 "The Work of the Nation" . 221
Introduction . 221
137. To Louis D. Brandeis, 9 April 1917 . 227
138. To Katherine Lucy Trevett, 25 June 1917 . 228
139. To Edith Abbott, 16 July 1917 . 230
140. To Newton D. Baker, 13 August 1917 . 231
141. To Sidney Hillman, 17 August 1917 . 235
142. To Newton D. Baker, 11 November 1918 . 236
143. To Newton D. Baker, 7 February 1919 . 237
144. To Mary Rozet Smith, 22 May 1919 . 238
145. To Mary R. Sanford, 14 June 1919 . 242
146. To Newton D. Baker, 19 June 1919 . 243
147. To Nicholas Kelley, 25 July 1919 . 244
148. To David L. Edsall, 9 September 1919 . 246
149. To Newton D. Baker, 22 September 1919 . 248
150. To Nicholas Kelley, 2 October 1919 . 248
151. To Nicholas Kelley, 18 October 1919 . 251
152. To Agnes de Lima, 1 January 1920 . 254
153. To Anna E. Rude, 13 June 1920 . 254
154. To Nicholas Kelley, 1 October 1920 . 256
155. To Jane Addams, 7 November 1920 . 258
156. To Robert W. La Follette, 18 December 1920 . 259
157. To Julia C. Lathrop, 3 March 1921 . 260
158. To Elsie Hill, 21 March 1921 . 262
159. To Roscoe Pound, 3 June 1921 . 264
160. To Nicholas Kelley, 5 June 1921 . 266
161. To Nicholas Kelley, 1 July 1921 . 268
162. To Molly Dewson, 7 July 1921 . 270
163. To Alice Pal, 14 October 1921 . 272
164. To Maud Younger, 19 October 1921 . 273
165. To Felix Frankfurter, 28 November 1921 . 275
166. To A. Estelle Lauder, 30 November 1921 . 278
167. To Clara Southwick, 17 December 1921 . 279

CHAPTER 6. 1922-1924 "Necessary Protection for Women" . 283
Introduction . 283
168. To Grace Abbott, 8 January 1922 . 292
169. To Edward P. Costigan, 12 January 1922 . 293
170. To Nicholas Kelley, ca. 23 January 1922 . 295
171. To Walter Lippmann, 17 February 1922 . 297
172. To Newton D. Baker, 3 June 1922 . 298
173. To Sophonisba Breckinridge, 5 July 1922 . 301
174. To Percival B. Baxter, 30 July 1922 . 303
175. To Julia C. Lathrop, 27 September 1922 . 306
176. To Alice Hamilton, 13 October 1922 . 308
177. TO Julia C. Lathrop, 18 February 1923 . 309
178. To Harry W. Laidler, 22 March 1923 . 311
179. To Julia C. Lathrop, 21 April 1923 . 312
180. To James A. Haight, 19 May 1923 . 313
181. To Felix Frankfurter, 26 May 1923 . 316
182. To Edward P. Costigan, 31 May 1923 . 318
183. To Edward P. Costigan, 2 October 1923 . 320
184. To W. E. B. DuBois, 18 October 1923 . 322
185. To Charles Amidon, 26 October 1923 . 323
186. To James Weldon Johnson, 13 November 1923 . 325
187. To Lavinia L. Dock, 24 November 1923 . 326
188. TO Victor L. Berger, 19 December 1923 . 328
189. TO Joseph T. Deal, 18 January 1924 . 330
190. To Molly Dewson, 17 February 1924 . 331
191. To Annette Mann, 15 March 1924 . 332
192. To Molly Dewson, 26 March 1924 . 334
193. To Ellery Sedgwick, 1 April 1924 . 335
194. To Roger Baldwin, 6 May 1924 . 337
195. To Herbert Bayard Swope, 27 May 1924 . 339
196. To Newton D. Baker, 24 June 1924 . 341
197. To Edward P. Costigan, 7 July 1924 . 343
198. To Laurence Todd, 22 July 1924 . 345
199. To Julia C. Lathrop, 28 July 1924 . 347
200. To John R. Commons, after 2 August 1924 . 348
201. To Grace Abbott, 11 August 1924 . 350
202. To Jane Addams, 11 October 1924 . 352
203. To Frances Perkins, 4 December 1924 . 354

CHAPTER 7. 1925-1927 "No Good Decision Seems Secure from Reversal" . 357
Introduction . 357
204. To Royal S. Copeland, 19 January 1925 . 363
205. To John R. Commons, 26 February 1925 . 364
206. To Walter Lippmann, 14 March 1925 . 366
207. To Julia C. Lathrop, 20 March 1925 . 368
208. To John A. Fitch, 26 March 1925 . 370
209. To Charlotte E. Carr, 28 April 1925 . 371
210. To Katherine Philips Edson, 2 December 1925 . 372
211. To Katherine Philips Edson, 28 January 1926 . 374
212. To Seward C. Simons, 20 March 1926 . 377
213. To james A. Hamilton, 24 May 1926 . 379
214. To John A. Lapp, 16 June 1926 . 380
215. To Edward P. Keating, 22 July 1926 . 381
216. To Virginia Roderick, 24 July 1926 . 382
217. To Paul Kellogg, 17 August 1926 . 384
218. To John A. Ryan, 20 August 1926 . 385
219. To Mary Anderson, 10 December 1926 . 387
220. To Jane Addams, 1 January 1927 . 388
221. To Consumers' League Branches, 4 January 1927 . 390
222. To James Couzens, 19 January 1927 . 390
223. To Grace Abbott, 21 January 1927 . 391
224. To Lillian D. Wald, 21 January 1927 . 393
225. To Edith Valet Cook, 24 January 1927 . 395
226. To Arthur B. Spingarn, 8 February 1927 . 396
227. To Julia C. Lathrop, 22 March 1927 . 396
228. To John R. Commons, 26 March 1927 . 398
229. To Lillian D. Wald, 4 April 1927 . 399
230. To Warren Gibbs, 7 April 1927 . 400
231. To Albert B. Kelley, 24 May 1927 . 401
232. To Pauline Goldmark, 27 May 1927 . 402
233. To Carrie Chapman Catt, 4 June 1927 . 404
234. To Myrta Jones, 14 July 1927 . 407
235. To Jane Addams, 20 July 1927 . 409
236. To Nicholas Kelley, 9 August 1927 . 409
237. To Robert M. La Follette, Jr. 20 August 1927 . 414
238. To Albert B. Kelley, 17 September 1927 . 416
239. To Walter Lippmann, 16 November 1927 . 417

CHAPTER 8. 1928-1931 "How to Keep the Interest of the Careless Public Alive" . 421
Introduction . 421
240. To Ernest Gruening, 29 March 1928 . 427
241. To Harold Gifford, 11 June 1928 . 429
242. To the New York World, 11 June 1928 . 430
243. To Alice Hamilton, 20 June 1928 . 432
244. To Mabel Cory Costigan, 30 June 1928 . 434
245. To Bruce Bliven, 13 September 1928 . 438
246. To Alice Hamilton, 22 November 1928 . 439
247. To Presidents of State Consumers' Leagues, 10 January 1929 . 440
248. To Walter White, 14 January 1929 . 442
249. To Frances Perkins, 17 January 1929 . 443
250. TO Elizabeth S. Magee, 3 and 7 June 1929 . 443
251. To Ray L. Wilbur, 9 July 1929 . 446
252. To Roscoe Pound, 15 October 1929 . 447
253. To Eleanor Roosevelt, 16 December 1929 . 449
254. To George W. Alger, 18 December 1929 . 450
255. To Joseph R. Swan, 18 December 1929 . 451
256. To Norman Thomas, 5 February 1930 . 452
257. To Elizabeth S. Magee, 5 March 1930 . 453
258. To John B. Kelley, 11 March 1930 . 455
259. To George McAneny, 29 March 1930 . 456
260. To Elizabeth S. Magee, 24 April 1930 . 457
261. To Nicholas Kelley, 5 July1930 . 458
262. To Mabel Cory Costigan, 23 September 1930 . 460
263. To Julia C. Lathrop, 4 November 1930 . 461
264. To Grace B. Drake, 6 December 1930 . 463
265. To Mrs. Wallace Grayston, 23 December 1930 . 466
266. To Anthony F. Dirksen, 11 February 1931 . 467
267. To Robert La Follette, Jr., 10 March 1931 . 468
268. To Elizabeth S. Magee, 5 May 1931 . 469
269. To Jane Addams, 8 May 1931 . 470
270. To Frances Perkins, 12 June 1931 . 470
271. To Millie R. Trumbull, 10 July 1931 . 472
272. To Nicholas Kelley, 22 July 1931 . 475
273. To Lucy R. Mason, 7 August 1931 . 477
274. To Albert and Esther Kelley, 21 October 1921 . 480
275. To Emily Sims Marconnier, 30 October 1931 . 483
Biographical Directory . 485
Bibliography . 501
Index . 525
 

Editorial Reviews

"This comprehensive edition ... offers readers a true understanding of Kelly's thought and activism. . . . A valuable addition to the historical canon.  Recommended."—Choice

"An important book for general readers and scholars alike. Sklar and Palmer provide an excellent account of the unifying themes of Florence Kelley's lifelong commitments to social legislation in general and women and children in particular."—Ellen Carol DuBois, coeditor of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Feminist as Thinker: A Reader in Documents and Essays

"Since this is the first and only publication of Florence Kelley's correspondence, it marks a singular contribution to scholarship that is invaluable and long-awaited. This collection of Kelley's vivid correspondence, with its insightful introduction and excellent notes, has been well worth the wait."—Charlene Haddock Seigfried, editor of Jane Addams' Democracy and Social Ethics and The Long Road of Women's Memory

From the Publisher