Katherine Philips Edson

Katherine Philips Edson (January 12, 1870 – November 5, 1933) was an American reformer and social activist who had a key role in changing the labor conditions in California and across the nation.

Katherine Philips was born in Ohio in 1870. Her father was a Union surgeon in the civil war who was also a strong supporter of women’s rights. Katherine studied in Kenton, Ohio where she attended several public schools. During her earlier years, she studied at the Covent of Sacred Heart in Clifton. She then left to Chicago in order to receive the voice training that she wanted. While in Chicago, she attended the Chicago Conservatory, where she also met Charles Edson, who eventually became her husband in 1890 (they divorced in the year 1925). Soon after getting married, Katherine and Charles moved to Antelope Valley, California where she spent the next nine years. Katherine became the active leader in the Women’s Suffrage Movements while residing in Antelope Valley. Katherine and her husband eventually decided to move to Los Angeles, California where she joined the Friday Morning Club in the year 1900. The Friday Morning club was a women’s club founded by Caroline M. Severance. This club had over three thousand members at the time. The Friday Morning Club advocated for public reforms and organized local health campaigns. Katherine became secretary of the Friday Morning club within a year of being an active member. While a member of the club, Katherine worked on municipal reforms and she was a key component in the women suffrage amendment that was added to the state constitution in 1911. Edson strongly believed that women had important interests outside of their household work and it was their task to stand up against unhealthy conditions. She also believed that women should be treated as full citizens of the United States rather than half citizens. Edson’s political activism led her to make changes within our legislation. She pushed for better working conditions as well as women’s rights. The unfair treatment of women outside of their household duties, led Katherine Edson to actively fight for women’s rights. Even after her death, Edson’s work continued to influence activists around the United States to stand up against social injustices.

Katherine believed that “she was born to be a politician”. Her household was filled with politically minded individuals who influenced her early participation in different social activist groups. Her father was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1873 and supported women suffrage movements; some of which Katherine later fought for. Katherine considered her father to be the reason why she began advocating for women worker rights at an early age. Edson strived to make the nation just and fair for the “whole community engaged in the common enterprise of taking care of its own life.” Edson was prepared to accept partial solutions to the problems she aimed to resolve.

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