Ruza Wenclawska

Wenclawska in New York City, c.1916

Ruza Wenclawska (died 1977), also known as Rose Winslow, was a Polish-American suffragist, factory inspector and trade union organizer.[1][2]

Early life

Wenclawska was born in Poland, and came to the United States with her parents when she was an infant.[1] At the age of eleven, she began work as a mill girl in the hosiery industry in Pittsburgh.[3] She also worked as a shop girl in Philadelphia, but when she was nineteen, she caught tuberculosis, and had to quit working for two years.[3]

Later life

Wenclawska worked as a factory inspector and a trade union organizer in New York City with the National Consumers' League and the National Women's Trade Union League.[3] She also gave speeches for the National Woman's Party.[3] In 1914, she and Lucy Burns were leaders of the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage's campaign in California to urge voters to oppose Democratic congressional candidates.[3] She did similar work with other organizers in Wyoming during the electoral campaigns of 1916.[3] In 1917, she was part of the Silent Sentinels protests at the White House, for which she served time in district jail and the Occoquan Workhouse.[3] While in Occuquan, she went on a hunger strike and was force-fed.[4][3][2][5] During that time, she smuggled letters out to her husband and friends.[6] Wenclawska was also an actress and a poet.[3]

Legacy

She was portrayed by Vera Farmiga in the 2004 film Iron Jawed Angels.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Officers and National Organizers - Women of Protest: Photographs from the Records of the National Woman's Party - Collections - Library of Congress". Library of Congress. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Starving for Women's Suffrage: "I Am Not Strong after These Weeks"". History Matters. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Rose Winslow Organizer National Woman Suffrage Movement". American Civil War. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  4. Marcia Amidon Lusted (1 August 2011). The Fight for Women's Suffrage. ABDO. pp. 74–. ISBN 978-1-61783-099-0.
  5. "Women's Rights: People and Perspectives: People and Perspectives - Google Books". Women's Rights: People and Perspectives: People and Perspectives. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  6. Crista DeLuzio (12 November 2009). Women's Rights: People and Perspectives: People and Perspectives. ABC-CLIO. pp. 109–. ISBN 978-1-59884-115-2.
  7. "Iron Jawed Angels (2004) Acting Credits". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2014.

External links

Excerpt from Ruza Wenclawska's Occuquan Workhouse diary

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.