Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920
Biography of Hope McDonald, 1872- Unknown
By Brigitta Kaiser, student, University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, Green Bay, WI
President, Hennepin County, MN, Hennepin County Suffrage Association;
Chair, MN, American Citizenship Committee, Minnesota League of Women Voters
Hope McDonald was born January 10, 1872 in Winona, Minnesota to John H. and Maggie McDonald. While she was still young, her parents moved the family to St. Paul, Minnesota, and later to Minneapolis. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1894 from the University of Minnesota and continued on there to earn a Master of Science in 1898. In 1901, McDonald was hired as an Instructor in History at the University of Minnesota. She then went on to be an Assistant Professor in History from 1903 until 1906. For the rest of her life, she appears to have resided in Minneapolis and remained unmarried.
From the beginning of her career as an activist, Hope McDonald was involved in a wide variety of organizations in the Minneapolis area, including the Woman's Club of Minneapolis and the Woman's Community Council. Much of her work during this time and throughout the rest of her career focused on the Americanization of immigrants, citizenship, and the education of immigrants and women. During the First World War, McDonald served as the chairman of the Peace Committee for the Woman's Club. She also worked with the National Women's Peace Party and the Minneapolis Woman's Committee's Council of National Defense, helping to organize the patriotic service of women and continue the work of assimilating foreigners. Newspapers show that she was involved in the Equal Suffrage Association in 1914 when she spoke on "The Government's Needs of Suffrage," arguing for better laws for child labor, sanitation, and women's wages. But it was not until 1918 that McDonald became notable for her work in the suffrage movement with her election as president of the Hennepin County Suffrage Association. The following year, McDonald was one of the Association's leading members. She served alongside Clara Ueland, who organized the League of Women Voters of Minnesota, and she served as the chairman of the League's American Citizenship Committee. In March of 1919, McDonald travelled as a Minnesota delegate to the Jubilee Convention of the National Woman Suffrage Association in St. Louis. She also attended the final convention for NAWSA in Chicago in 1920.
In the latter half of 1920, following the success of the suffrage movement in gaining the vote, McDonald dropped from the public eye and became less active. In October of that year, she resigned her position as chairman of the Minnesota Committee on Americanization for the League of Women Voters. In 1921 she was involved with the Woman's Occupational Bureau of Minneapolis, under which she served as a director and vice president. McDonald was last mentioned for her political work in 1928.
SOURCES:
Annual Report of the Minnesota Federation of Women's Clubs, 1914-1915, Hathi Trust, http://www.hathitrust.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.
"Anti-Saloon League Inquires", Duluth News-Tribune, February 11, 1920, America's Historical Newspapers. Link. Accessed November 19, 2017.
"Children Will Give Peace Pageant" Duluth News-Tribune, March 19, 1915, America's Historical Newspapers. Link. Accessed November 19, 2017.
Foster, Mary Dillon, Who's Who in Minnesota Women's History, 1924, Hathi Trust, http://www.hathitrust.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.
The Gopher, 1906, Hathi Trust, http://www.hathitrust.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.
Harper, Ida Husted (ed.), History of Woman Suffrage, Vol 6, 1922. Binghamton University, http://chswg.binghamton.edu/. Accessed November 19, 2017.
"Hope McDonald Heads Hennepin Suffragists", The Minneapolis Morning Tribune, July 14, 1918, Minnesota Historical Society. https://newspapers.mnhs.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.
"Increase is Certain", The Minneapolis Journal, April 6, 1901, Chronicling America. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/. Accessed November 19, 2017.
"League Will Teach Women Uses of Vote", Duluth News-Tribune, October 26, 1919, America's Historical Newspapers. Link. Accessed November 19, 2017.
"League of Women Voters Debates New Legislation," Duluth News-Tribune, October 9, 1920, America's Historical Newspapers. Link. Accessed November 19, 2017.
"Lieut. Cole Resigns: University Regents Accept Resignation-- Captain Morgan May Succeed Him--Instructors Promoted", The Minneapolis Journal, April 24, 1903, Minnesota Historical Society. https://newspapers.mnhs.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.
Minnesota, Births and Christenings Index, 1840-1980, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com. Accessed November 19, 2017.
Sarles-Simpson, Josephine, "Hope McDonald, Chi, 1894", The Key, February 1920, Hathi Trust, http://www.hathitrust.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.
Seventh Annual Report Combined with Annual Summary, Minneapolis Civic and Commerce Association, October 10, 1917 to October 9, 1918, Hathi Trust, http://www.hathitrust.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.
Stead, William, Opportunities for Women Trained in Home Economics, 1928, Hathi Trust,http://www.hathitrust.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.
Twelfth Biennial Report of the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota, 1901-1902, Hathi Trust, http://www.hathitrust.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.
United States Federal Census, 1900, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com. Accessed November 19, 2017.
United States Federal Census, 1930, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com. Accessed November 19, 2017.
University of Minnesota Alumni Record By Classes and Alphabetically By Colleges, 1873-1900, Hathi Trust, http://www.hathitrust.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.
Wilson, Justina Leavitt (ed.), Handbook of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and Proceedings of the Jubilee Convention, 1919, Hathi Trust, http://www.hathitrust.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.
"Woman's Club Closes a Successful Season", The Minneapolis Morning Tribune, April 4, 1915, Minnesota Historical Society. https://newspapers.mnhs.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.
"Women Are Needed in Work of Government, Says Suffrage Speaker", The Minneapolis Morning Tribune, March 10, 1914, Minnesota Historical Society. https://newspapers.mnhs.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.
"Women Declared More Apt Now In Business World", Grand Forks Daily Herald, November 18, 1921, America's Historical Newspapers. Link. Accessed November 19, 2017.
"Women Register for Patriotic Service", The Minneapolis Morning Tribune October 21, 1917, Minnesota Historical Society. https://newspapers.mnhs.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.
"Women's Occupational Bureau Elects 29 to Board of Directors", The Minneapolis Morning Tribune, January 22, 1922, Minnesota Historical Society.https://newspapers.mnhs.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.
Source: The Key, February 1920, Hathi Trust, http://www.hathitrust.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.
Source: International Falls Press, January 6, 1916, photo courtesy of Minneapolis Daily News, Minnesota Historical Society. https://newspapers.mnhs.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.
Writings
McDonald, Hope, "Carrying the Light of Democracy to Our Foreign-born", School Education, September 1918, Hathi Trust, http://www.hathitrust.org. Accessed November 19, 2017.