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Madeline McDowell Breckinridge, National Suffrage Leader
and Reformer
Discussion published by Lindsey Apple on Sunday, April 2, 2017
Madeline McDowell Breckinridge was born in Franklin County on May 20, 1872, to Major Henry Clay
McDowell and Anne Clay. A member of two historic families, Madge would later marry Desha
Breckinridge. Given such a heritage, no Kentucky politician could ignore this Progressive Era
reformer and woman suffrage advocate.
In 1882, Major McDowell purchased Ashland, the estate of Henry Clay, placing Madge at the center
of Bluegrass society during the most important years of her adolescence. She received her formal
education at two Lexington girls’ schools. The schools did not emphasize academics: a Clay relative
called it an education in “King Arthur and rainbows.” She did, however, learn the social skills
required of gentry women.
In 1889-90, she attended Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, Connecticut. Far from home and
family, she made friends and became a leader. Miss Porter’s School was also rather traditional, but
the young women read Darwin and Spencer, discussed socialism, and questioned the established
church. Major McDowell brought her home after one year. He considered it a risk to separate her
during “four impressionable years” from the “community in which she expected to live out her life.”
Returning from Farmington she faced contradictory values. She wondered what she would do with
her life. She took classes at the university, studied several languages independently, and read
widely. She also maintained a full social calendar. Yet, she found life boring.
In 1895 she published an article about her great grandfather, Henry Clay, in Century magazine.
Friends encouraged her to write more. Sophonisba Breckinridge, who had already broken the
traditional bonds, invited her to Chicago where she met reform-minded women such as Grace and
Edith Abbott, Marion Talbot, and Julia Lathrop. A visit to Hull House led to a life-long friendship with
Jane Addams.
Madge also spent an increasing amount of time with another Breckinridge. Desha praised her article
on Henry Clay and they shared opinions on books they read. He suggested things she should read,
and encouraged her to write for his newspaper, the Lexington Herald. Clearly more progressive
initially, she slowly changed his views. A mutual admiration would bring marriage, but not until
November 17 1898.
In 1890, McDowell suffered what was thought to be a sprained ankle. She was eventually diagnosed
with tuberculosis of the bone and had her foot amputated on June 22 1896.
Decisions made soon after suggest that the diagnosis helped her find the sense of purpose that had
been absent in her life. First, she agreed to Desha’s insistent entreaties to marry him. James C.
Klotter, biographer of the Breckinridge family, suggests that they were brought together by hidden
scars: Madge’s tuberculosis and a sex scandal involving Desha’s father that had damaged the family
reputation. Strong intellectual bonds created a marriage and a partnership that led the progressive
Citation: Lindsey Apple. Madeline McDowell Breckinridge, National Suffrage Leader and Reformer. H-Kentucky. 04-02-2017.
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movement of Central Kentucky.
In 1899 Madge resurrected a group called the Gleaners affiliated with Lexington’s Christ Church
Episcopal and led them in mission activities in Eastern Kentucky. Asked by Lexington’s mayor to help
with relief efforts in the harsh winter of 1899-1900, the group participated in the creation of two new
organizations, the Associated Charities of Lexington and the Civic League. As parts of a single
movement, the organizations sponsored reforms on the eradication of poverty, education, and health
care. Madge Breckinridge wedded the call for woman’s suffrage to that tripod and the failure of allmale government to address the issues.
All of Madge’s efforts were interconnected and on-going. Poverty informed her on the horrible state
of health care and education, and the need for reform there confronted her with the lack of
leadership in state politics. Lack of action by all-male government on education, food quality, health
issues and the legal protection of women led her to the cause of suffrage.
Kentucky women were slow to embrace suffrage, but male politicians gave them a powerful weapon
in 1902. The legislature revoked an 1894 law that allowed women in second-class cities to vote in
school board elections. As legislative chairman of the Federation of Women’s Clubs, Madge fought
until 1912 to repeal the action. Finally successful, she urged women to fight for full suffrage.
Serving as President of the Kentucky Equal Rights Association from 1912-1915 she increased its
membership from 1,779 to 10, 577. From 1913-1915, she served as Vice-President of the National
American Woman Suffrage Association. She spoke throughout the nation, often invoking the name of
Henry Clay. In Kentucky she challenged old-school politicians such as Ollie James and J. Campbell
Cantrill. She is probably best known for a retort to Governor James B. McCreary: “Kentucky women
are not idiots---even though they are closely related to Kentucky men.” However, she also revealed a
knowledge of politics worthy of her great-grandfather. In 1918, KERA, under her leadership, hung a
banner listing the legislators who had opposed woman’s suffrage. The heading read “Lest We
Forget.”
It was not just men who caused problems for the suffrage movement. She had to walk a narrow line
between factions that threatened to destroy NAWSA. Kentucky’s Laura Clay and leaders in the South
wanted NAWSA to support only state amendments because they believed that a federal constitutional
amendment would open the door to African-Americans voting. Breckinridge believed the intent was
to divide and destroy the movement. When Kate Gordon created the Southern States Woman
Suffrage Conference Madge tried to emphasize that the battle was against men and the traditional
values that undervalued women. She also tried to avoid the power struggle involved in Alice Paul’s
creation of the National Woman’s Party. A true border state politician, she chose middle ground.
A personal animosity Breckinridge could not avoid involved Dr. Anna Howard Shaw, the president of
NAWSA. According to Sophonisba Breckinridge, Shaw saw Madge as nothing more than the
descendant of a great man and resented her popularity among the membership. A group seeking to
defeat Shaw asked Madge to run against her, but she refused. In February, 1915, Madge resigned
her position in NAWSA, claiming health issues and overwork. It probably had more to do with her
traditional values. She had avoided a complete break with Laura Clay because she respected Clay’s
contributions to the movement. Respect for one’s elders and for leaders probably played a role in her
reaction to Shaw as well. Had she challenged Shaw she perhaps would have been the president of
Citation: Lindsey Apple. Madeline McDowell Breckinridge, National Suffrage Leader and Reformer. H-Kentucky. 04-02-2017.
https://networks.h-net.org/node/2289/discussions/174094/madeline-mcdowell-breckinridge-national-suffrage-leader-and
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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NAWSA when the Nineteenth Amendment passed.
Madge’s personal life also became an issue. Despite a strong intellectual bond, Desha proved
unfaithful to their marriage. Knowing Lexington well, the gossip was certainly costly to such a proud
woman. Her health was also declining. Increasingly, she sought treatment in tuberculosis centers
around the country.
On November 25, 1920, Breckinridge died of complications from a stroke. Forty-eight years old, she
had just voted in her first presidential election. Madeline McDowell Breckinridge fought in the male
arena of politics, but she made women’s voices heard.
Resources:
Apple, Lindsey. “Madeline McDowell Breckinridge: A Sense of Mission,” in Melissa A. McEuen and
Thomas H. Appleton Jr. Kentucky Women: Their Lives and Times. Athens: University of Georgia
Press, 2015.
Hay, Melba Porter. Madeline McDowell Breckinridge and the Battle for the New South. Lexington:
University Press of Kentucky, 2009.
Breckinridge, Sophonisba P. Madeline McDowell Breckinridge: A Leader in the New South. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1921.
Klotter, James C. The Breckinridges of Kentucky: 1760-1981. Lexington: University Press of
Kentucky, 1986.
Madeline McDowell Breckinridge Papers. Special Collections. Margaret I. King Library, University of
Kentucky.
Citation: Lindsey Apple. Madeline McDowell Breckinridge, National Suffrage Leader and Reformer. H-Kentucky. 04-02-2017.
https://networks.h-net.org/node/2289/discussions/174094/madeline-mcdowell-breckinridge-national-suffrage-leader-and
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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