The ’People’s Joan of Arc’: Mary Elizabeth Lease, Gendered Politics and Populist Party Politics in Gilded-Age America

324 Pages·2014·9.69 MB·English

by  Brooke Orr Speer

OrrBrooke_hardcover_cpi:AUS dd.qxd 12/14/2013 9:56 PM Page 1
The ‘People’s Joan of Arc’: Mary Elizabeth Lease, Gendered Politics, and Pop- O A M E R I C A N U N I V E R S I T Y S T U D I E S
ulist Party Politics in Gilded-Age Americais the first comprehensive biog- r
r
raphy tracing the captivating life of renowned activist Mary Elizabeth
Lease. While Lease is most remembered in American history textbooks
as the radical leader of the Populist Party who directed desperate farm-
ers “to raise less corn and more hell,” her influence and involvement
in the late-nineteenth-century women’s suffrage movement and early-
twentieth-century feminist movement place her on par with luminar-
T
ies such as Susan B. Anthony. Lease’s story stretches from the American h
Civil War to the Great Depression and particularly illustrates how gen- e

der conventions and the related complexities of class and ethnic iden- ‘
P
tity have historically shaped American politics. The diverse suits Lease e
o
wore, including housewife, teacher, lawyer, women’s rights activist,
p
temperance advocate, Populist Party orator, Knights of Labor activist, Irish l
e
Nationalist, Socialist, Progressive reformer, Republican Party supporter, ’
s
and “Bull Moose” campaign worker, reflect and highlight the factors fuel-
J
o
ing America’s reform impulse in the decades framing the turn of the
a
twentieth century and likewise make her a fascinating historical char- n
acter. Lease’s political opponents accused her of raising too much o
“hell,” while her supporters praised her for translating their sense of soci- f

A
etal and economic disempowerment into concrete, proactive political
r
actions. Mary Elizabeth Lease was a heroine to her supporters and a dan- c
’
gerous, unfeminine demagogue to her opponents. Either way, she was
unquestionably one of the most captivating figures of her time.
Brooke Speer Orr is Associate Professor of U.S. History at Westfield
State University in Massachusetts. She won the Edgar Langsdorf Award
for Excellence in Writing for her article on Mary Elizabeth Lease pub-
lished in the prestigious Kansas History journal.
x
x The ‘People’s Joan of Arc’
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Mary Elizabeth Lease, Gendered Politics,
and Populist Party Politics in Gilded-Age America
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L
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A M E R I C A N N
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U N I V E R S I T Y
BROOKE SPEER ORR
S T U D I E S
www.peterlang.com
OrrBrooke_hardcover_cpi:AUS dd.qxd 12/14/2013 9:56 PM Page 1
The ‘People’s Joan of Arc’: Mary Elizabeth Lease, Gendered Politics, and Pop- O A M E R I C A N U N I V E R S I T Y S T U D I E S
ulist Party Politics in Gilded-Age Americais the first comprehensive biog- r
r
raphy tracing the captivating life of renowned activist Mary Elizabeth
Lease. While Lease is most remembered in American history textbooks
as the radical leader of the Populist Party who directed desperate farm-
ers “to raise less corn and more hell,” her influence and involvement
in the late-nineteenth-century women’s suffrage movement and early-
twentieth-century feminist movement place her on par with luminar-
T
ies such as Susan B. Anthony. Lease’s story stretches from the American h
Civil War to the Great Depression and particularly illustrates how gen- e

der conventions and the related complexities of class and ethnic iden- ‘
P
tity have historically shaped American politics. The diverse suits Lease e
o
wore, including housewife, teacher, lawyer, women’s rights activist,
p
temperance advocate, Populist Party orator, Knights of Labor activist, Irish l
e
Nationalist, Socialist, Progressive reformer, Republican Party supporter, ’
s
and “Bull Moose” campaign worker, reflect and highlight the factors fuel-
J
o
ing America’s reform impulse in the decades framing the turn of the
a
twentieth century and likewise make her a fascinating historical char- n
acter. Lease’s political opponents accused her of raising too much o
“hell,” while her supporters praised her for translating their sense of soci- f

A
etal and economic disempowerment into concrete, proactive political
r
actions. Mary Elizabeth Lease was a heroine to her supporters and a dan- c
’
gerous, unfeminine demagogue to her opponents. Either way, she was
unquestionably one of the most captivating figures of her time.
Brooke Speer Orr is Associate Professor of U.S. History at Westfield
State University in Massachusetts. She won the Edgar Langsdorf Award
for Excellence in Writing for her article on Mary Elizabeth Lease pub-
lished in the prestigious Kansas History journal.
x
x The ‘People’s Joan of Arc’
v
i
i

(cid:129)

1
4
Mary Elizabeth Lease, Gendered Politics,
and Populist Party Politics in Gilded-Age America
P
E
T
E
R
L
A
A M E R I C A N N
G
U N I V E R S I T Y
BROOKE SPEER ORR
S T U D I E S
www.peterlang.com
The ‘People’s Joan of Arc’
SERIES XXVII
FEMINIST STUDIES

VOL. 14

This book is a volume in a Peter Lang monograph series.
Every volume is peer reviewed and meets
the highest quality standards for content and production.

PETER LANG
New York  Washington, D.C./Baltimore  Bern
Frankfurt  Berlin  Brussels  Vienna  Oxford
BROOKE SPEER ORR

The ‘People’s Joan of Arc’

Mary Elizabeth Lease,
Gendered Politics, and
Populist Party Politics
in Gilded-Age America

PETER LANG
New York  Washington, D.C./Baltimore  Bern
Frankfurt  Berlin  Brussels  Vienna  Oxford
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Orr, Brooke Speer.
The ‘people’s Joan of Arc’: Mary Elizabeth Lease, gendered politics, and
Populist Party politics in Gilded-Age America / Brooke Speer Orr.
pages cm. — (American University studies XXVII: feminist studies; vol. 14)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Lease, Mary Elizabeth, 1850–1933. 2. Populist Party (U.S.)—Biography.
3. Progressivism (United States politics)—History. 4. Social reformers—
United States—Biography. 5. United States—History—1865–1921. I. Title.
E664.L46O77 973.8—dc23 2013042299
ISBN 978-1-4331-0257-8 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4539-1198-3 (e-book)
ISSN 1042-5985

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data is available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

Cover photograph of Mary Elizabeth Lease
provided by the Kansas State Historical Society

The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity
of the Council of Library Resources.

© 2014 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006
www.peterlang.com

All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.

Printed in Germany
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction.........................................................................................................1
Chapter 2: Mary Elizabeth Clyens Lease: Origins of a Radical, 1853–1888...............13
Chapter 3: Mary Lease, Annie Diggs, and the Rise of Radical Agrarian Politics
in the Late 1880s–Early 1890s...........................................................................................36
Chapter 4: To “Raise Less Corn and More Hell,” Mary Lease and Populist
Politics in the Early 1890s...................................................................................................56
Chapter 5: Mary Lease and the Women’s Rights Movement, Party Politics,
and Agrarian Radicalism, 1892–1894................................................................................90
Chapter 6: Mary Lease, Organized Labor, Socialism and ‘Civilization,’ and the
Evolution of Populist Party Politics, 1894–1895.........................................................127
Chapter 7: Mary Lease and the Politics of Silver, Gold, and Nationalism,
1896–1900...........................................................................................................................151
Chapter 8: Mary Lease, Urban Reform, and Republican Politics; A Reformer’s
Transition from Populism to Progressivism, 1896–1904...........................................172
Chapter 9: Mary Lease and the Progressive Movement in America,
1900–1920...........................................................................................................................194
Chapter 10: Mary Elizabeth Lease and the Legacy of Reform, 1921–1933............218
Notes...................................................................................................................................227
Bibliography.......................................................................................................................287
Index....................................................................................................................................305

Chapter 1
Introduction
M
ary Elizabeth Lease is typically referred to in contemporary American
history textbooks as a radical leader of the People’s (or Populist) Party
who directed desperate Midwestern farmers “to raise less corn and more
hell,” thus symbolically launching the fervent agrarian revolt stemming from the
late-nineteenth-century agricultural depression. Although thorough research
demonstrates that the oft-quoted phrase was a partisan newspaper embellishment,
Populists and anti-Populists of her time associated the phrase with Mary Lease
helping to solidify her place within America’s radical history narrative.1 She was
affectionately dubbed the “People’s Joan of Arc,” the “female Old Hickory,” “Our
Queen Mary,” or simply the “heroine” by agrarian, labor, and women’s rights
supporters during the late nineteenth century.2 While supporters lauded her as “the
modern Joan of Arc,” opponents ridiculed such adulation. “Mrs. Lease, outside of
her own country, is honored by being called ‘Joan of Arc.’ There is a difference
between the two, however. Mrs. Lease burns the steak instead of being burned at
it.”3
In her lifetime Lease’s activist roles moved well beyond those associated with
the briefly influential third-party Populist politics of the Gilded Age, a time of
intense class conflict in America as the nation adjusted to the wide-ranging and
often chaotic changes associated with the processes and consequences of a
modernizing capitalist society. Though Lease played a key role in bringing about the
electoral successes enjoyed by the Populists in the 1890s, her contributions to the
nation’s radical tradition expanded beyond the agrarian revolt. The current
historiography recalls Lease’s celebrated Populist Party speeches, but generally does
not address her varied and numerous non-Populist activities both before and after
the 1890s’ agrarian revolt. Lease was also a teacher, homemaker, journalist,
women’s club member, women’s rights activist, temperance supporter, practicing
lawyer, Union Labor Party member, Knights of Labor activist, Irish Nationalist,
socialist, Henry George reform advocate, Catholic Church member, Republican
Party supporter and political aid, “Bull Moose” campaign worker, and Progressive
reformer. Lease apparently recognized the diverse nature of her own career as an
“advocate” or cause joiner when she explained in an interview toward the end of
2 CHAPTER 1

her life that she used her “energy . . . to advocate the cause of the underdog.”4 One
commentator insisted that Lease seeks reform “in everything” and “with a big R.”5
Despite her many endeavors, Lease’s contribution to the 1890’s Populist movement
remains her most celebrated, influential, and well-recorded role.
Mary Lease’s Populist Party story particularly illustrates how gender
conventions and the related complexities of class and ethnic identity shaped
Gilded-Age American politics. An investigation of how and why Lease moved into
overtly public activities at a time when women’s access to public political realms
was severely limited reveals how women’s status was changing during this dynamic
period. Lease’s political success and national fame developed in part because she
quickly learned how to manipulate American political culture and use traditional
male party-politicking styles to assume a public platform. Opponents attacked
Lease’s presumed gender-role deviance by portraying her as a man, as physically
masculine, as an unfit mother, and as a general threat to the social order. Lease’s
supporters extolled her reputed masculine traits while simultaneously linking her
political work with female purity, moral virtue, maternalism, and social uplift.
Opponents’ comments equating her behavior with manliness implied that
Lease violated social norms and likewise insinuated that her supporters were
tainted, or at least politically misled, by heeding the council of a deviant and
degraded female. Lease and her supporters freely oscillated between associating her
political work with socially prescribed masculine, aggressive behavior and with
feminine domestic virtue, suggesting that gendered political discourse was
somewhat fluid as Gilded Age society broke down Victorian gender-role hegemony.
Lease utilized and in fact exploited feminine and masculine sex-role ideals to justify
her Populist Party activities, to defend herself against opponents’ attacks, and to
champion particular political candidates. Just as effectively, Lease’s opponents
ridiculed her political work with derisive gendered language. Adversaries’ discourse
rooted in gendered stereotyping was widely understood and appealed to many, even
though these anti-Populists probably most feared her class-conscious calls for a
people’s revolt. Speaking of Lease, her Populist contemporary Annie Diggs wrote
that “Seldom, if ever, was a woman so vilified and so misrepresented by malignant
newspaper attacks. A woman of other quality would have sunk under the avalanche.
She was quite competent to cope with all that was visited upon her. Indeed, the
abuse did her much service. The people but loved her the more for the enemies she
made.”6
In a period when many public officials and private citizens agreed that
women’s disenfranchisement and political marginalization were simply an “accident
of gender,” Mary Lease’s political activities incited much public criticism for
moving beyond accepted gender boundaries. One Republican newspaper chastised
Lease’s party’s “monopoly of the women speakers,” informing readers that the
Republican Party was more relevant than the Populists because “time spent by the