Madeline McDowell Breckinridge

Madeline (Madge) McDowell Breckinridge (May 20, 1872 – November 25, 1920) was an American leader of the women's suffrage movement in Kentucky. She married Desha Breckinridge, editor of the Lexington Herald, which advocated women's rights, and she lived to see the women of Kentucky vote for the first time in the presidential election of 1920. She also initiated progressive reforms for compulsory school attendance and child labor. She founded many civic organizations, notably the Kentucky Association for the Prevention and Treatment of Tuberculosis, an affliction from which she had personally suffered. She led efforts to implement model schools for children and adults, parks and recreation facilities, and manual training programs.

In their book, A New History of Kentucky, Lowell H. Harrison and James C. Klotter, state that Breckinridge was the most influential woman in the state. She was named one of the Kentucky Women Remembered in 1996 and her portrait is permanently displayed at the state capitol.

Biography

Early life and family

She was born in Woodlake, Kentucky and grew up at Ashland, the farm established by her great-grandfather, nineteenth-century statesman Henry Clay. Her mother was Henry Clay, Jr.'s daughter, Anne Clay McDowell, and her father was Major Henry Clay McDowell (a namesake of Henry Clay), who served during the American Civil War on the Union side. They purchased the Ashland estate in 1882. and Thomas was a renowned thoroughbred racehorse owner, breeder and trainer who won the 1902 Kentucky Derby.

Breckinridge was grandniece of Dr. Ephraim McDowell. Her distant cousin, Laura Clay, founded the Kentucky Equal Rights Association in 1888, of which Breckinridge later became president. She suffered from illness during her college years and, due to tuberculosis of the bone, part of one leg was amputated and she received a wooden leg. The once athletic young woman became more studious. She wrote book reviews for the Lexington Herald and studied German philosophy and literature with other Fortnightly Club members.

Marriage On November 17, 1898, Madeline McDowell married Desha Breckinridge, the editor of the Lexington Herald. He was the brother of the lawyer and pioneering social worker Sophonisba Breckinridge,

The Breckinridges together used the newspaper's editorial pages to promote political and social causes of the Progressive Era, especially programs for the poor, child welfare and for women's rights. Desha was not a faithful man during their marriage, and as a result Breckinridge escaped her embarrassment by being busy with her civic activities. which created public kindergartens, parks, and recreational opportunities for children, even before the 19th Amendment granted full suffrage.

Women had gained the right to vote in school elections in 1912, based on her lobbying efforts as legislative chair of the Kentucky Federation of Women's Clubs. Breckinridge had argued that Kentucky had an illiteracy rate of over 12%. She went on to argue that the rate was much lower in all other states where women were able to vote in school elections. She also said that men had not taken enough interest in school elections and were not going to the polls and voting. This led to about two-thirds of the district trustees being appointed by county superintendents rather than being elected. A "leading political figure", she was involved with the Woman's Democratic Club of Kentucky.

Madeline McDowell Breckinridge stands behind (second from the right) Governor Edwin P. Morrow as he signs Kentucky's ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. The most influential woman in the state, she used new tactics, such as suffrage marches, as well as her speaking ability and humor, to gain more support. In a strong voice coming from a slim and often weak body, she told audiences to look at male-led Kentucky, with its poor schools, violence, and corrupt politics, and asked if the question should not be whether women were fit for suffrage but whether men were.

The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution ratified in Kentucky on January 6, 1920. Breckinridge campaigned across the country for the Democratic party and She turned her efforts, then, on forming the state League of Women Voters from the Kentucky Equal Rights Association. Breckinridge was also a vocal supporter for the League of Nations. She had a stroke and died on Thanksgiving Day, 1920 at the age of 48. She was busy on that day preparing donations for the poor. Her papers are held at the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Breckinridge, named one of the Kentucky Women Remembered in 1996, was "regarded by some as militant, was one of Kentucky's most active suffragists and a fervent supporter of the Nineteenth Amendment." She married Lexington Herald editor Desha Breckinridge and together they advocated women's rights in the newspaper with arguments that delineate Kentucky's progressive ideals in this time period. Her portrait is a permanently hung in the capitol's "Kentucky Women Remembered" display.

Publications

- accessible online via the Kentucky Woman Suffrage Project on the H-Kentucky network.