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Commonwealth Museum   Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin
Commonwealth Museum Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin

Suffragist of the Month: Amelia Bloomer (1818-1894)


Amelia Bloomer:   Download the PDF

Known for her controversial advocacy of “dress reform” Amelia Bloomer was a serious suffragist and women’s rights activist.

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“When you find a burden in belief or apparel, cast it off.”

– Amelia Bloomer

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Amelia Bloomer Alamy - Alamy
Amelia Bloomer Alamy
-  Alamy

In the nineteenth century many thought that the “bloomer costume” was immodest.
In the nineteenth century many thought that the “bloomer costume” was immodest.
- Alamy
Elizabeth Smith Miller
Elizabeth Smith Miller
- Library of Congress
Cartoonists found an eager audience when satirizing the bloomer costume. Women in bloomers were portrayed as “mannish,” smoking cigars and pipes, or displaying aggressive “unladylike” behavior.
Cartoonists found an eager audience when satirizing the bloomer costume. Women in bloomers were portrayed as “mannish,” smoking cigars and pipes, or displaying aggressive “unladylike” behavior.
- Unknown
In 1851 Amelia Bloomer introduced Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Susan B. Anthony in Seneca Falls, New York. This historic meeting is commemorated by a statue which can be visited at the Women’s Rights
In 1851 Amelia Bloomer introduced Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Susan B. Anthony in Seneca Falls, New York. This historic meeting is commemorated by a statue which can be visited at the Women’s Rights
- National Historical Park. United States Department of Interior
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Amelia Bloomer Alamy - Alamy
Amelia Bloomer Alamy
-  Alamy

Designing Woman
Elizabeth Smith Miller designed the costume, being “thoroughly disgusted with the long skirt” when working in the garden. She was the daughter of wealthy abolitionist Gerrit Smith and a cousin of suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. A lifelong woman’s rights activist, she provided financial support for the movement and organized an annual speakers program that hosted Lucy Stone, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Carrie Chapman Catt.

After moving to Council Bluffs, Iowa, Amelia Bloomer submitted this letter to the United States Congress in 1878 arguing that denial of women’s suffrage amounted to taxation without representation.

Potatoes

The Lily
 The wife of an abolitionist editor in Seneca Falls, New York, Amelia Bloomer witnessed the first Women’s Rights Convention in 1848. She published her own newspaper “The Lily” advocating temperance. (The effects of alcohol abuse on the family were an important concern for many activists.) Elizabeth Cady Stanton persuaded her to take a wider view, promoting suffrage and women’s issues generally. Amelia Bloomer’s advocacy of the “bloomer” costume increased circulation of The Lily and made her name a household word.