Basic Information

Ida Crouch-Hazlett was born around 1875. Her maiden name was Ida Estelle Crouch. She was active in the fight for women’s rights and is mostly known for being the first Colorado woman to run for congress. She ran as a socialist for a seat in the House of Representatives. Crouch-Hazlett was a public speaker in her political activism and held several other roles throughout her life. She was also a teacher, an organizer for the suffrage movement, and a talented writer. Crouch-Hazlett worked as a journalist and newspaper editor in between campaigning and before she died in 1941.

Background Information

Although Ida Crouch-Hazlett was born in Chicago, she was raised in Monmouth, Illinois. Both of her parents were teachers and education was an important theme in their home. This was evident throughout her life as Crouch-Hazlett attended several different schools. She completed grade school and seminary before moving on to post-secondary education. Crouch-Hazlett then studied teaching at the Chicago Municipal College and Stanford (Fink, 1984). As a teacher, she taught her students the art of public speaking. This experience led to her becoming an expert at it which would help her later in her political career (Fink, 1984). Crouch-Hazlett became a journalist after teaching (Fink, 1984). She then developed a desire to fight for women’s rights and decided to become a political activist in the suffrage movement (Nehls, 2007). She was also a poet and her feminist inspired writings were published in newspapers during her life, including one of her well-known works called “Mother of Men” in which she describes women’s countless contributions to society and how poorly they were treated in return (We Never Forget, 2018). In 1896, she joined the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) where she was made an official organizer (Fink, 1984). Crouch-Hazlett had an energetic and outspoken personality. This made her compelling and able to connect well with people as she spoke (Nehls, 2007). In her later life, she continued to build her educational credentials by enrolling at New York University to obtain her doctorate (Fink, 1984).

Contributions to the First Wave

Ida Crouch-Hazlett was active in the suffrage movement around the turn of the century. During this time, suffragists in some areas of the country were losing steam in their fight for women’s rights. This was the case for the area in South Dakota where Crouch-Hazlett began her most noteworthy suffrage mission. She knew it would be an uphill battle because the vice president of the national organization had refused to speak there due to opposition in the area. Yet, Crouch-Hazlett headed there anyway with an eager and optimistic outlook. She was determined to fight against the reported apathy of the people (South Dakota State Historical Society, 1994). Traveling alone, her organizational skills were put to the test as she worked with Black Hills area suffrage clubs to reestablish leadership and rebuild broken down groups. She also led suffrage fundraisers while on assignment (Deadwood History, 2020). During her time in South Dakota, she faced the expected problems of campaigning in a rural environment (Deadwood History, 2020). In her letters to update the NASWA, she expressed frustration regarding street speaking and women who wouldn’t listen to her. In her travels, she also had to ride in uncomfortable boxcars and sometimes came across wildlife which startled her (South Dakota State Historical Society, 1994). Although Crouch-Hazlett encountered many challenges during her suffrage work, she continued her fight and ended up changing some minds along the way, particularly in the Keystone region (South Dakota State Historical Society, 1994). Later, Crouch-Hazlett also traveled on the same suffrage campaign trail as Susan B. Anthony (Nehls, 2007). However, it was her suffrage work in South Dakota that highlighted her tenacity and willingness to do the unpopular work that other leaders sometimes avoided.

It was Crouch Hazlett’s work as a suffragist that inspired her to get into politics. She understood that representation mattered and joined the socialist movement (Nehls, 2007). Once again, her experience in public speaking and organizing benefited her. She was hired as a lecturer and organizer for the Socialist Party in the Midwest. Her goal was to make women’s rights a priority issue in her party’s political agenda. At the time, the socialist party was viewed by women participants as a way to improve morality in a government that they felt was severely lacking (Nehls, 2007). This aligned well with Crouch-Hazlett’s mission to obtain equal rights for women. During her political tours, Crouch-Hazlett was often physically attacked by vigilantes of an opposing political group called the Legionnaires. They heckled and threw eggs and pies at her during her speeches. They even threw her into a car and kidnapped her with police escort to prevent her from speaking. The Legionnaires later said that it was for her protection and they were never charged with a crime (Nehls, 2007). Yet, Crouch-Hazlett was arrested for supposedly disturbing the peace just by being present during a reading of the Declaration of Independence (Nehls, 2007). The violence and corruption that Crouch-Hazlett experienced reflected a larger societal divide between those who supported civic rights and others who were focused on patriotism. Crouch-Hazlett eventually became the first Colorado woman to run for congress when she ran as a socialist for a seat in the House of Representatives. She did not win the election, but she continued fighting for women’s equality for the remainder of her life through her writing as a journalist and newspaper editor (Nehls, 2007).

“And women shall yet be free.”

~ Ida Crouch-Hazlett (We Never Forget, 2018)

Analysis and Conclusion

Although Ida Crouch-Hazlett is best known for her political ventures, it is the lesser-known information that tells the true story of who Crouch-Hazlett was. There was seemingly nothing this woman could not do. She successfully combined her many talents with different avenues to garner support for women’s rights. This was evident in her suffrage and political lectures around the country as well as her written works. The first wave was an era where many women were fighting uphill battles due to widespread Euro-American ideology and societal norms that said they were the inferior sex. Crouch-Hazlett believed in women and proved that she was willing to take on the most difficult work in her efforts for equal rights. In the process, Crouch-Hazlett endured heavy opposition and discrimination which discouraged her. However, she never gave up fighting much like many women of her time. It is this collective perseverance that American women can thank for the rights we enjoy today.

References

Deadwood History. (2020) In line with mighty forces: Ida Crouch-Hazlett’s Black Hills woman suffrage campaign. Retrieved November 1, 2020, from https://www.deadwoodhistory.com/event/86-preservation-thursday-in-line-with-mighty-forces-ida-crouch-hazlett-s-black-hills-woman-suffrage-campaign.html

Fink, G. M. (1984). Biographical Dictionary of American labor. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Montana News. (1904) Mrs. Ida Crouch-Hazlett, Socialist Orator [Photograph]. Newspapers.com. Retrieved November 1, 2020, from http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024811/1904-08-03/ed-1/seq-1/

Nehls, C. (2007). “Treason is treason: The Iowa American legion and the meaning of disloyalty after world war I.” The Annals of Iowa, 66, 131-160. Retrieved November 1, 2020, from https://doi.org/10.17077/0003-4827.1113

South Dakota State Historical Society. (1994). Dakota Resources: The Pickler family papers and the Humphrey family papers at the South Dakota state historical society. Retrieved November 3, 2020, from https://www.sdhspress.com/journal/south-dakota-history-24-2/dakota-resources-the-pickler-family-papers-and-the-humphrey-family-papers-at-the-south-dakota-state-historical-society/vol-24-no-2-dakota-resources.pdf

We Never Forget. (2018, December). Hellraisers Journal: From the Ohio Socialist: A Poem for the “Mothers of Men” by Ida Crouch Hazlett. Retrieved November 1, 2020, from http://www.weneverforget.org/hellraisers-journal-from-the-ohio-socialist-a-poem-for-the-mothers-of-men-by-ida-crouch-hazlett/