Emily Newell Blair - A Voice for Women in Politics

Emily Newell Blair was a pioneering political organizer and writer who fought for women’s suffrage and helped bring thousands of women into American politics and public service.

Born on January 9, 1877, in Joplin, Missouri. Joplin was a rough mining town, so in 1883, her family moved to the nearby town of Carthage to find a safer place to live. Emily went to Carthage High School, where she began to understand the world around her. Her small-town experiences helped shape her ideas about fairness and rights. After finishing high school in 1894, Emily went to college at the Women’s College of Baltimore and later studied at the University of Missouri. Sadly, when her father passed away, she had to leave school to return home and help care for her family. She started teaching at a nearby school to earn money.

In 1900, Emily married Harry Wallace Blair, a friend from high school. They had two children, Harriet and Newell. Emily spent the next few years raising her family and helping with community projects in Carthage. Emily’s interest in writing and politics began in 1909 when she sold an article called "Letters of a Contented Wife" to Cosmopolitan magazine. After that, she wrote stories and essays for The Saturday Evening Post, The Nation, and Harper’s Magazine. Writing helped Emily see that her voice could be used to support big causes, especially women’s rights. In 1912, she joined the local group working for women’s right to vote.

By 1914, Emily became editor of Missouri Women, a magazine that supported voting rights. She also worked as the publicity chair for the Missouri Equal Suffrage Association. Emily helped organize events, spread the word about voting, and build support across the state. One of her most famous ideas was the ‘Golden Lane’ protest at the 1916 Democratic National Convention in St. Louis. Thousands of women wearing white dresses and gold sashes lined the streets in silence as politicians walked by. It was a peaceful but powerful way to demand voting rights. Thanks to efforts like this, Missouri women gained the right to vote in 1919. In 1920, the U.S. government passed the 19th Amendment, giving all American women the right to vote. After this win, the Missouri Equal Suffrage Association became the League of Women Voters, and Emily was one of its founding members. The group still works today to educate voters and support fair elections.

Emily didn’t stop there. In 1921, she was chosen to represent Missouri on the Democratic National Committee, and a year later, she became vice-chair. This made her one of the highest-ranking women in the Democratic Party. She helped organize over 2,000 women’s clubs, including a national Democratic women’s clubhouse in Washington, D.C. These clubs helped women learn about politics and speak up about issues that mattered to them. Emily also worked as a writer and editor during this time. She was associate editor of Good Housekeeping from 1925 to 1933 and published two books: The Creation of a Home and A Woman of Courage.

In the 1930s, Emily worked to get more women involved in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. She helped women find jobs in government and pushed for fair treatment. In 1935, she became chair of the Consumers’ Advisory Board of the National Industrial Recovery Act. Later, during World War II, she served as head of the Women’s Interests Section of the War Department’s Bureau of Public Relations.

Emily worked hard for women’s rights and public service until 1944, when she had a stroke and had to retire. She passed away on August 3, 1951. Her lifelong efforts opened doors for women in politics and helped shape the future for generations to come.

References:
Anderson, Kathryn. “Practicing Feminist Politics: Emily Newell Blair and U.S. Women’s Political Choices in the Early Twentieth Century.” Journal of Women’s History, Johns Hopkins University Press, 25 Mar. 2010, muse.jhu.edu/article/363776/summary.
“Emily Newell Blair.” SHSMO Historic Missourians, 5 Sept. 2024, Isabella Aiona Abbott Artworks