Lavinia Margaret Engle (1892-1979)
MSA SC 3520-11633
Biography:
The Women's Suffrage Movement, with its formal beginnings in 1848,
began to take hold of a significant portion of the population at the
dawn of the twentieth century. Women around the globe actively
fought for the passage of laws granting them greater equality with men
and the right to vote. Against this backdrop, Lavinia Margaret
Engle was swept up in the suffrage cause and devoted her life to
achieving greater equality for women and better rights for all members
of society. As the first female delegate from Montgomery County
in the Maryland House of Delegates and a prominent leader in the
suffrage movement, Engle pioneered in her activism and became a source
of inspiration to countless numbers of individuals. In Notable Maryland Women, Nancy
Revelle Johnson describes the significance Engle had for others of her
time: "Her own life was an example to other women emerging from their
cocoons of domesticity, as she led Maryland women to involve themselves
in efforts to improve not only the position of women and children but
of all people."1
Lavinia Margaret Engle was born on May 23, 1892 in Forest Glen,
Maryland. Lavinia's parents, both Quakers, undoubtedly influenced
the development of her political activism. Her father, James
Melvin Engle, was a Treasury Department official, while her mother,
Lavinia Hauke Engle, an active suffragette, frequently lectured at
various women's clubs in the area and was also the first president of
the Montgomery League of Women Voters. In addition, Lavinia
Hauke Engle had joined Susan B. Anthony to testify for women's suffrage
before Congress.2 Young Lavinia
looked up to her mother and aspired to continue in the fight for
equality. After completing her early schooling, Lavinia went to
Antioch College where she earned her BA in 1912. Later in her
life, Engle decided to return to school at The Johns Hopkins University
where she was the first woman graduate student in political
science.
For the time being, however, Lavinia chose to take a break from her
studies after receiving her BA and joined the National American Women's
Suffrage Association, or NAWSA, in 1914. This association, in
contrast to the more militant actions followed by the Women's Party,
was based on utilizing more tactful and peaceful methods to achieve the
integration of women into the existing political system. Engle
much preferred the techniques of justice, logic, and persuasion
espoused by NAWSA to obtain suffrage, and enjoyed working with the
organization. She became one of the primary coordinators of
campaigns. She spent much of her time traveling through the southern
states to spread the message of NAWSA, and was instrumental in
organizing the state association for suffrage in South Carolina.3 Her devotion to NAWSA and
women's suffrage can be seen in the great lengths she went to in order
to persuade others to support her cause. An example of this was
the occasion when she had to ride on mule back up a dry creek bed in
West Virginia to plead successfully for a legislator's support for a
suffrage amendment to the state's constitution.4 On March 3, 1913, a large march on Washinton
D.C. was planned. NAWSA wanted advocates to travel down
Pennsylvania Avenue from Capitol Hill to the White House to persuade
the President and onlookers to amend the law of the land in support of
women's suffrage. However, the women were greeted by hostile
crowds, mainly composed of men, who surged into the street forcing
police to break up the demonstration. The suffragettes
immediately demanded an investigation into the matter and garnered the
support of many senators. Eventually, a verdict was handed down
castigating the police for not providing enough protection for the
marchers, who had the right to protest. Lavinia Engle, though
realizing the dangers of her campaigning, reveled in the work she
performed. NAWSA was one of the first major groups to go public
with its message and demonstrate in cities and towns nationwide.5 Although the women had to deal
with intimidating crowds, hecklers, and violence on a regular basis,
Engle, along with her fellow suffragettes, recognized the excitement of
their venture and looked to the future with the hope that their dreams
would be realized.
Lavinia Engle and thousands of other suffrage supporters in the
country were overjoyed when the 19th Amendment granting women's
suffrage was ratified in 1920. However, when the ultimate goal of
NAWSA finally came to fruition, there was no real need for the
organization to continue, and, therefore, it disbanded. Feeling
discouraged over this latest development, Engle insisted a need for a
group, such as NAWSA, still existed. In 1920, the Maryland League
of Women Voters was innagurated as the new outlet to support women's
suffrage rights. Developed with the help of Lavinia Engle, who
was the director until 1936, the Maryland League of Women Voters sought
to ensure that women were able to effectively utilize their newly
obtained political power and safeguard against problems or set-backs
designed to hamper female voter registration.6 In April 1922, Baltimore was host to one of the
biggest functions of the Maryland League. The Pan-American
Conference of Women brought together women from around the world to
discuss suffrage and equality. The ten-day event was primarily
organized by Engle, and was a resounding success. At the close of
the ceremonies, she was honored by the conference attendees and the
National League of Women Voters: "in appreciation of the initiative
which prompted her to suggest a Pan-American Conference," which
indicated her importance to the formation of the event.7 During her tenure with the Maryland League of
Women Voters, Lavinia Engle also extended her influence to the Maryland
government as the legislative representative of the League. She
lobbied for laws to benefit women and children and was instrumental in
the passage of the Juvenile Court Act, the establishment of a State
Department of Infant and Maternal Hygiene, the establishment of the
Commission on Almshouses, the reorganzation of the Board of State Aid
to Charities, and a law providing minors compensation for injuries when
illegally employed.8
During this time, Lavinia Engle was a part of various state
commissions, such as the Commission on Reorganization of the State
Administrative Departments in 1921 and the State Commission on Higher
Education in 1930. However, in 1930, she decided to broaden her
activism by becoming intimately involved with the state government and
running for the Maryland House of Delegates. If elected, she
would then be able to better affect change over laws concerning women
and children. She promptly announced her name would be placed on
the Democratic ticket as a candidate for the member of the House of
Delegates from Montgomery County. In announcing her qualification
for the position, Engle stated, "My work for several years for
educational and social legislation has led me to believe that as a
member of the House of Delegates I should be able to present a point of
view which would make some small contribution to the solution of the
many and serious questions which will come before the next two
sessions."9
The November 1930 election proved to be successful for Engle, as she
won a seat in the House of Delegates. Immediately she set to work
to improve the rights of women and children. Although she was
only in the House of Delegates for one term, Lavinia Engle was
able to accomplish some very impressive feats. She worked on the
passage of the Marriage Bill, which required that five days had to
elapse after the issuance of a marriage license before the marriage
could be performed, and she played an important role in the campaign to
enact social insurance legislation. In 1933, she prevented the
compulsory unemployment insurance bill from being defeated and was
later invited by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to participate in
the White House Conference on Economic Security due to her work.10 In 1936, Engle resigned as
Director of the Maryland League of Women Voters in order to accept the
appointment by President Roosevelt to the Social Security Board as an
educational representative. In this position, Engle traveled
around the country to speak at college campuses to encourage students
to get involved with the Social Security program via internships and
study. She also spoke to women's organizations to explain the
provisions of the Social Security Act by showing "how the act affects
them as employers or employees and how it will affect their families
and communities."11 Based on
her exceptional work in this position, Engle was quickly promoted to
the chief of field operations in the Washinton D.C. headquarters.
Engle remained with the Social Security Board until her retirement in
1966.
Over the course of her fifty year career, Lavinia Engle was also
involved in various other activities, which include: organizer and
speaker for the Liberty Loan Committee, 1917; organizer of a suffrage
field hospital staffed by women, 1917; worker with the YMCA canteen
services in France, Belgium, and occupied Germany; 1919; delegate at
large to the National Democratic Convention in Chicago, 1932; head of
the Speakers Bureau of the Women's Division of the Roosevelt Campaign,
1932; speaker on "Unemployment Insurance" before the International
Conference of Women in Chicago, July 1933; the first woman to serve on
the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, 1933; delegate to the
White House Conference on Aging, 1972; member of the Hamilton
Street Club; member of the Board of Governors of the Baltimore
College Club; member of the Montgomery County Commission on Aging;
member of the American Political Science Association; member of the
American society for Public Administration, and president of the
Metropolitan chapter of the Public Administration Society.12 In addition, Engle was the recipient of many
distinguished awards, including: honorary membership in the Sorority of
the Women of the Republic of Salvador, 1922; the Certificate of
Distinguished Citizenship from the state of Maryland; and the Susan B.
Anthony Medal of the League of Women Voters.13
Lavinia Margaret Engle, who died on May 29, 1979, devoted her life
to
working for women's suffrage, equlity, and civil rights. Her
accomplishments vividly portray the strength of her character in the
face of extreme odds. She perservered in a period and cultural
climate that was adverse to the advancement of women. She never
gave up her fight nor relinquished her beliefs; qualities which were
admired by her contemporaries and which will continue to inspire
generations to come.
Endnotes:
1. Johnson, Nancy Revelle. "Lavinia Margaret
Engle, 1892- :Volunteer and Political Leader," in Notable Maryland Women, ed.
Winifred G. Helmes (Cambridge: MD, Tidewater Publishers, 1977)
127. return to text
2. Pearson, Richard. "Lavinia Engle, Women's
Advocate," The Washington Post,
30 May 1979. return to text
3. Luckett, Margie H. Maryland Women (Baltimore, MD: King
Brothers Inc. Press, 1931) 126. return to
text
4. Stegman, Carolyn B. Women of Achievement in Maryland History
(Maryland: Anaconda Press, 2002) 35. return to
text
5. Johnson, 123. return
to text
6. "Commission for Women - Montgomery County Women's
History Archives,"
Montgomery County Government, 2005. http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/cfwtmpl.asp?url=/content/cfw/MCWHProject/MCWHArchives/MCWomensHistoryEngle.asp.
return to text
7. "Famous Women Paid Tribute at Close of
Rally," The Baltimore Sun, 24
April 1922. return to text
8. Stegman, 35. return
to text
9. "Lavinia Engle Comes Out for Legislature,"
The Baltimore Sun, 2 July 1930. return to
text
10. Johnson, 125. return
to text
11. "Lavinia Engle Gets Security Board
Position," The Baltimore Sun, 6 June 1936. return
to text
12. Johnson. return to
text
13. Pearson. return
to text
Biography written by 2005 summer intern Lauren Morton
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