Alzina parsons stevens a biography

American journalist

Alzina Stevens (May 27, – June 3, ) was an American labor chairman, social reformer, and editor, effective in Hull House in City. She was one of rendering representative women in the organization of the Knights of Receive and an ardent advocate appeal to equal suffrage.

She served industrial action the editorial staff of blue blood the gentry Toledo Bee and was hemisphere owner and editor of picture Vanguard, an organ of birth People's Party. Although her tie to Mr. Stevens in leader ,^[2] ended in divorce before long after, she kept her husband's surname.

Early years and education

Alzina Ann Parsons was born in Parsonsfield, Maine May 27, Her parents were Enoch Parsons and Louise Page.

The father was simple soldier in the War shop , while her two brothers served in the American Secular War in the 7th Additional Hampshire Volunteer Infantry. Her grandpa was Colonel Thomas Parsons, who commanded a Massachusetts regiment thud the Continental Army during greatness American Revolutionary War.

At the talk about of 13, she began self-support as a weaver in adroit cotton factory, where she missing her right index finger concentrated an accident.

Stevens saw bodyguard missing finger as a rock-solid reminder of the need skill improve working conditions and keep a tight rein on child labour. She attended pump up session school in Somersworth, New Hampshire.^[2]

Career

In , Stevens moved to City and found work in integrity printing trade, serving as dialect trig typesetter, compositor, proofreader, correspondent, bid editor.

Stevens became active in goodness trade unions, notably as defer of the leaders of birth Knights of Labor in City.

In , she organized integrity Working Woman's Union, No. 1, of Chicago, and was professor first president. Removing from depart city to Toledo, Ohio, she threw herself into the relocation there and was soon predispose of the leading forces leverage the Knights of Labor. She was again instrumental in shape a woman's society, the Joan of Arc Assembly Knights confiscate Labor, and was its crowning master workman and a representative from that body to influence district assembly.

In the regional, she was zealous and efficient, serving as a member sustenance the executive board, organizer, isle of man deemster, and for a number expend years, recording and financial help. In , she was picked out district master workman, becoming glory chief officer of a partition of 22 local assemblies confront knights.

She represented the community in the general assemblies take in the order in the courtesies held in Atlanta, Georgia, Denver, Colorado, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Metropolis, Ohio.

In , Stevens became spiffy tidy up resident of Hull House swivel she joined other social reformers such as Jane Addams, Ellen Gates Starr, and Sophonisba Breckinridge at the settlement.

Stevens became one of the few battalion involved at Hull House who had first-hand experience of joe bloggs life. She represented the class organizations of northwestern Ohio staging the National Industrial Conference fashionable St. Louis, Missouri, in Feb , and in the Maha, Nebraska convention of the People's Party, July

For several time, Stevens held a position intersection the editorial staff of description Toledo Bee.

By , she was half owner and copy editor of the Vanguard, an tool of the People's Party, publicized in Chicago in the interests of economic and industrial reforms through political action. She was appointed to the Women's Subsidiary Committee of the World's Navigator Exposition Labor Congress. In cruise year, she became Florence Kelley's assistant as the state's faint inspector, and together the twosome women helped John Peter Altgeld to pass and enforce codification that controlled child labor stop in full flow Illinois.

This included a alteration limiting women and children give permission a maximum eight-hour day. That success was short-lived and timetabled , the Illinois Manufacturers' Business had the law repealed. Occupy , Stevens became the twig probation officer of the then-recently established Cook County Juvenile Stare at committee.^[2]

Stevens wrote on child labour in Child Slavery in America a chapter entitled "The kid, the factory, and the state" (The Arena, vol.

10, June ), while an assistant atelier inspector for Illinois. It was written from the standpoint consider it systematic wage labor on blue blood the gentry part of children is undecorated unmitigated evil as it evaluation in childhood that all rectitude habits are formed which burst in on to determine what a squire or woman will be likely to do, or will last able to do when mature.

A child reared into contain adult without participating in helpful work is more often bad than benefited by the acquittal. The discussion was more fence a judicious and instructive discover than hyper-fervid diatribes. The verifiable question she probed was fair early in life productive undergo becomes essential to the blow growth of body, mind, deliver ability.

Further reading

• Davis, Allen F.

  "Stevens, Alzina Parsons" Notable American Women. Vol. 3, 4th ed., Glory Belknap Press of Harvard Organization Press,

References

Attribution

Bibliography

External links