Chicago Woman's Club

The Chicago Woman's Club was formed in 1876 by women in Chicago who were interested in "self and social improvement." The club was notable for creating educational opportunities in the Chicago region and helped create the first juvenile court in the United States. The group was primarily made up of wealthy and middle-class white women, with physicians, lawyers and university professors playing "prominent roles." The club often worked towards social and educational reform in Chicago. It also hosted talks by prominent women, including artists and suffragists.

The Chicago Woman's Club was responsible for creating the first Protective Agency in the United States that dealt with assault and rape of women. The group was active in reform of the Cook County Insane Hospital and of other health reforms. They helped establish the first kindergartens and nursery schools in Chicago. Later, the club became involved with both the woman's suffrage movement and also with promoting birth control.

The club met until 1999, when the group dissolved. Assets of the club went to support scholarships and other philanthropic endeavors.

The Chicago Woman's Club was first formed in 1876, on May 17th. In 1885, the club incorporated, and changed the name officially to the Chicago Woman's Club. The founder of the group was Caroline Brown, who suggested to friends that they form a group in order to socialize and associate. By 1877, the club was written up in the Woman's Journal and had approximately thirty members, many of which were active in social reform and in literary and philanthropic circles. The kind of self-improvement study that the club was involved with was "often as demanding as a first year college curriculum." The education provided by the club was, at the time, one of the only ways most women could pursue a "post graduate education." The Chicago Woman's Club organized itself into six main committees: Reform, Philanthropy, Home, Education, Art and literature and Philosophy and science. Each member of the club was required to serve on at least one committee. The club's officers were not all members of the Chicago Woman's Club. Instead, half of the officers were members and the other half came out of other Chicago club organizations. Membership was exclusive and new members had to be sponsored by current members, "and their acceptance into the club was often dependant on the importance of their sponsor."

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