Nellie McClung

(http://www.canada-heros.com/mcclung_nellie.html)

Nellie Letitia McClung was born in Chatsworth, Ontario on October 20th, 1873. She grew up in Manitoba and later spent the rest of her life out west. Nellie earned a teaching certificate at the age of sixteen and taught until she married in 1896. Nellie struggled with her husband as he was a druggist and had to raise five children at the same time. Nellie McClung’s greatest achievements were women’s suffrage movement, temperance movement, and later the Person’s Case with assistance from the “Famous Five”.

Photos courtesy of British Columbia Archives

Nellie McClung took part in an international movement for women’s suffrage. This suffrage was aimed at allowing women the right to vote because of the one-man-one-vote principal. It was also in place to extend equal suffrage between women and men. The women’s suffrage movement made its first appearance in 1878 but it was shot down. This occurred multiple times when the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, which Nellie McClung was involved in, pushed for this movement and continued to be shut down. This movement continued to become greatly recognized throughout Canada and more people were pushing for it. In 1910 widows in Alberta were granted municipal franchise although this did not apply to married women.

(http://www.canadianstudies.ca/NewJapan/mcclungunit.html)

Nellie McClung was then involved in the temperance movement which was a movement to control alcohol consumption. Nellie had troubles with the suffering of women and children. The laws for the rights of women and children were very low. If any women owed money or property they belonged to their husband as well as their wages and their children. McClung saw connections with spouse’s physical and alcohol abuse. Females were struggling with their spouses because drinking became very popular and money and time was being wasted on alcohol. During this time, it was very difficult for the women to leave the situation at home due to the fact that they did not own anything. Later on, Nellie became active in a Women’s Christian Temperance Union that targeted these problems. She wrote her first book, Sowing Seeds in Danny, and than had the ability to speak convincingly and powerful. Nellie McClung became a popular speaker.

(http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/mcclung_nl.shtml)

In April, 1928, the Supreme Court of Canada declared that the British North American Act did not include women. The other members of the Famous Five that Nellie McClung was a part of were Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney, Emily Murphy and Irene Parlby. After a year of working on the decision, the Privy Council declared on October, 18 1929, that women were classified as people by the law. A sculpture of the Famous Five was put up first in Calgary, and now one in Ottawa near Parliament Hill memorializing women and not just by their royalty.

Nellie McClung (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_McClung)

Nellie McClung is a hero because of the determination and power that she had to let all women have equal rights as men. If it was not for her efforts and hard work to win women rights, females would still have no control in their lives and all of their decisions would be made for them.