The Power of a Woman's Vote

Special Events

The Power of Women's Vote

March 6, 2024

Wednesday, March 6th

6:00 – 8:00 pm

224 EcoSpace

Moderated by Janee Woods Weber of She Leads Justice

Joined by Dr. Walton Brown-Foster from CT State University, Dr. Deborah Ducoff-Barone from the League of Women Voters, and Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas.

The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, in collaboration with playwright and activist Leslie Gabel-Brett, Janee Woods Weber of She Leads Justice (formerly the CT Women’s Education and Legal Fund), the HartBeat Ensemble, and the League of Women Voters are hosting a panel discussion with legislative leaders, scholars, and community leaders discuss the history and continued importance of women’s suffrage and voting. The discussion will explore the early efforts of the women’s suffrage movement, including the complications within this movement, the journey of the 19^th century advocates to present day voting issues, and why women using their vote remains important. An advocacy organization will have a voter registration table with informative handouts available at the panel.

The March 6 panel discussion is a companion piece to a reading of a play at HartBeat Ensemble which will take place on March 8 and 9 (the Friday and Saturday after our panel).

REGISTER HERE FOR THE PANEL DISCUSSION

HARTBEAT ENSEMBLE PRESENTS

WOODHULL/BEECHER

BY LESLIE GABEL-BRETT

Directed by Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr.

A staged reading, Woodhull/Beecher is inspired by real events that took place in New York City in the early 1870’s. Victoria Woodhull and her sister opened a stock brokerage in New York City. At the time, the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher – brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe – was building his stature as an orator and abolitionist. As Woodhull campaigned against marriage and for “free love” and became a candidate for president of the United States, she faced political backlash and ruin. The story of how their lives intersected is a story of ambition, sex and gender and about whose version of the truth could be told and believed in America. The Saturday matinee performance will be followed by a conversation with the playwright, Leslie Gabel-Brett.

Staged Readings

Friday, March 8th at 8:00 pm

Saturday, March 9th at 2:00 pm

Carriage House Theatre

360 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105

REGISTER HERE FOR THE STAGED READING

Location The 224 EcoSpace

Doors Open

Program 6:00 - 8:00 pm

School Group Interest Form

School Group Interest Form 2024

Thank you so much for your interest in a group tour at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center! Please help us schedule your visit by answering the questions below.

School name:

Please suggest three dates and times when your group would like to visit. (Note: the Stowe Center is closed on Sunday and Tuesday.)

Contact Teacher Name:

Contact Teacher Email:(Required)

Contact Teacher Phone Number:(Required)

Number of students expected to attend:(Required)

Please enter a number from 8 to 40.

Please identify the grade level(s) of attending students:(Required)

Likely number of chaperones (including other teachers):

The Stowe Center requires one adult per every 10 students.

Are there special student, teacher, or chaperone accommodations that can help us serve you best?

Do you plan to have lunch on site?

Yes, please.

No, thank you.

Are you interested in scheduling a joint visit with our neighbor, The Mark Twain House and Museum?

Yes, please

No, thank you.

If yes, have you already contacted The Mark Twain House?

Yes

Adult Group Interest Form

Group Tour Interest Form 2022

Thank you so much for your interest in a group tour at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center! Please help us schedule your visit by answering the questions below.

Group Name:

Name of Primary Contact:(Required)

Contact Email:(Required)

Contact Phone Number:(Required)

What date would you like to visit? (The Stowe Center typically books group tours for Thursday through Sunday visits.)

Expected number of visitors:(Required)

Please enter a number from 20 to 42.

Please indicate the number of adults, seniors, and children expected in your group:

Are there special accommodations that can help us serve you best?

Are you interested in a joint visit with our neighbor, The Mark Twain House and Museum?

Yes, please.

No, thank you.

If yes, have you already contacted The Mark Twain House?

Yes

Isabella Beecher Hooker

Isabella Holmes Beecher Hooker (1822-1907)
An ardent member of the woman’s suffrage movement, Isabella Holmes Beecher Hooker joined in the cause along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

Isabella was the first child of Lyman Beecher and his second wife, Harriet Porter Beecher.

Isabella began her education at Catharine Beecher’s Hartford Female Seminary and lived with her sister Mary Perkins. In 1841 she married John Hooker, a descendant of Thomas Hooker, the founder of Hartford. John Hooker was a lawyer and an abolitionist.

In the early 1860s Isabella got involved in the woman’s suffrage movement. Isabella joined Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony as a member of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association in 1869. She was a founding member of the Connecticut Woman’s Suffrage Association. Isabella’s ideas of equality were influenced by John Stuart Mills’ On Liberty and the Subjection of Women.

In 1871, Isabella organized the annual convention of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association in Washington D.C. and presented her argument before the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate. Her husband, John Hooker, believed in his wife and supported her activities. He helped Isabella draft a bill to the Connecticut Legislature giving married women the same property rights as their husbands. The bill passed in 1877. Isabella annually submitted a bill granting women the right to vote, but it did not pass in her lifetime.