Florence Kelley

Florence Molthrop Kelley (September 12, 1859 – February 17, 1932) was an American social and political reformer who coined the term wage abolitionism. Her work against sweatshops and for the minimum wage, eight-hour workdays, and children's rights is widely regarded today.

From its founding in 1899, Kelley served as the first general secretary of the National Consumers League. In 1909, Kelley helped to create the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Early life

On September 12, 1859, Kelley was born to William D. Kelley (1814–1890) and Caroline Bartram Bonsall in Philadelphia. Her father was an abolitionist, a founder of the Republican Party, a judge, and a longtime member of the US House of Representatives. He had the nickname "Pig Iron," due to his support for high duties on iron and steel.

Kelley was influenced mainly by her father and said, "I owe him everything that I have ever been able to learn to do." Throughout her early years, he read books to her that involved child labor. Even at 10, she was educated by her father on his activities, and she was able to read her father's volume, The Resources of California.

Caroline Bartram Bonsall, Kelley's mother, was not a less prominent figure. Bonsall was related to the famous Quaker botanist, John Bartram. Bonsall's parents died at a young age, she was then adopted by Isaac and Kay Pugh.

Kelley spent many years with her grandparents Isaac and Kay Pugh.

Kelley's great-aunt, Sarah Pugh, was a Quaker and opponent of slavery. Pugh's decision to deny use of cotton and sugar because of the connection to slave labor made an impression on Kelley from an early age. Pugh was an advocate for women and told Kelley about her life as an oppressed woman.

Kelley had two brothers and five sisters; all five sisters died in childhood. Three of her sisters were Josephine Bartram Kelley, Caroline Lincoln Kelley, and Anna Caroline Kelley. Josephine died at the age of ten months, Caroline died at the age of four months, and Anna died at the age of six years.

Kelley was an early supporter of women's suffrage after her sisters died and worked for numerous political and social reforms, including the NAACP, which Kelley helped found. In Zurich, she met various European socialists, including Polish-Russian medical student Lazare Wischnewetzky, whom she married in 1884 and with whom she had three children; the couple divorced in 1891. She wanted a divorce because of his physical abuse and overflowing debt. Unable to divorce her husband for "non-support," she fled to Chicago and received full custody of her children. She kept her maiden name but preferred to be called "Mrs. Kelley."

Education

In her early years, Kelley was severely sick and highly susceptible to infections and so was unable to go to school for a period of time. On days that she would miss school she would be in her father's library and read many books.

In 1882, Kelley attended Cornell University at age 16. At Cornell, she was a Phi Beta Kappa member. She wrote her thesis about disadvantaged children. The topic of her thesis was influenced by her father's teaching about underprivileged children. She was one of the first women to graduate from Cornell.

Although Kelley desired to study law at the University of Pennsylvania, she was refused admission because of her gender. In the meantime, she pursued her passion for working women by founding and attending evening classes at the New Century Guild for Working Women. Later, she attended the University of Zurich, the first European university to grant degrees to women, and she joined a group of students advocating socialism.

Kelley also earned a law degree at Northwestern University School of Law in 1894. She was then able to start a school for working girls in Pennsylvania.

Socialism and civil rights

Kelley was a member of the Intercollegiate Socialist Society, an activist for women's suffrage and African-American civil rights. She was a follower of Karl Marx and a friend of Friedrich Engels. Her 1885 translation of the latter's The Condition of the Working Class in England into English was published with Engels' approval in 1887, under her married name "Mrs. F. Kelley Wischnewetzky," and is still used today.

After college, Kelley assisted with the establishment of the New Century Guild branch of Philadelphia, along with Gabrielle D. Clements and led by Eliza Sproat Turner. It had classes and programs to assist working women. Kelley herself taught evening classes there.

The New Century Guild intended to increase the quality of working and living condition of the lower class in urban areas. The organization helped lead the battle for labor laws, such as the minimum wage and the eight-hour days, at the local, state, and federal levels. After moving to New York City with her husband and children, Kelley organized a campaign by the New York Working Women's Society in 1889 and 1890 "to add women as officials in the office for factory inspection". By 1890, the New York legislature passed laws creating eight new positions for women as state factory inspectors.

Kelley joined the Hull House settlement house from 1891 to 1899. Hull House allowed Kelley to advance in her career by providing her a network to other social organizations and an outlet to pursue the advancement of rights for working women and children. While at Hull House, Kelley bonded with Jane Addams and Julia Lathrop, who worked together as major labor reformers. All three women were of upper-middle-class background and had politically active fathers. She also became friends with Grace and Edith Abbott as well as Alice Hamilton, a professional physician specialized in preventing occupational diseases. Kelley interacted with the Chicago Women's Club under Jane Addams' sponsorship by establishing a Bureau of Women's Labor within Hull House. As an organization, Hull House provided Kelley the opportunity to bypass male organizations in order to pursue social activism for women, who were denied participation in formal politics at the time. She is credited with starting the social justice feminism movement.

Reform of labor conditions, in line with her socialist commitments, led to Kelley having pioneering roles in factory inspection, in organizing social movement pressure on employers, and in advocating for reform legislation and legal action over the course of her career (see below).

Kelley contributed to or led a variety of social organizations including National Child Labor Committee, National Consumers League, National Conference of Social Workers, American Sociological Association, National American Woman Suffrage Association, NAACP, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and the Intercollegiate Socialist Society.