Caroline Katzenstein papers (Am.8996)

Date created 1850-1865 | approximately 1850-1865
Creator Katzenstein, Caroline
Abstract The Caroline Katzenstein papers document Katzenstein's participation in the women's suffrage movement from 1909 to 1921, her efforts to help women obtain equal pay for equal work in the 1920s, her tireless promotion of the Equal Rights Amendment from 1923 to 1965, and her early career as an insurance agent (1909-ca. 1930). Katzenstein's book, Lifting the Curtain, is in HSP's library collections. Among the materials are her typed and handwritten correspondence; papers pertaining to her book, Lifting the Curtain; her published paper, The Sporting Spirit tracts, broadsides, and convention programs from national and Pennsylvania suffrage groups; her executive secretary reports for the Pennsylvania Woman's Suffrage Association; correspondence pertaining to the National Woman's Party and the Equal Rights Amendment; ERA resolutions, hearings and congressional testimonies; a scrapbook with newspaper clippings; photographs of women suffragists; and a 1955 review of Lifting the Curtain, presented on WCAUFM, Philadelphia. There is scant information on Katzenstein's personal life or her family.
Research Interest These papers offer a lively firsthand account of the suffrage movement in Pennsylvania. Katzenstein was involved in almost every suffrage organization in Pennsylvania at one time or another, often holding positions where she was responsible for detailing the group's activities, cultivating relationships with the press, and more. Thus, these papers provide a wealth of documentation on evolving suffrage strategies, including lobbying legislators, holding open-air meetings and parades, and organizing the Liberty Bell tour. Further, they demonstrate the close relationship between state and national activism, detailing the frequent visits Alice Paul and others made to Pennsylvania and the participation of many Pennsylvania women in picketing the White House, along with their subsequent imprisonment. They also document some of the conflict within the suffrage movement, including between NAWSA and the NWP, as well as the role of race within the movement. These papers also illustrate continuity between first- and second-wave feminism through Katzenstein's long activist career.
Size 0.9 linear feet
Full collection description Home repository description for Caroline Katzenstein papers (Am.8996)
View full item https://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/findingaidam8996katzenstein.pdf
Local identifier Am. 8996
Contributing institution Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Digital materials View items from the Caroline Katzenstein papers (Am.8996)