This digital collection brings together speeches, correspondence, and other ephemera documenting the public career and private thoughts of Florence Fifer Bohrer (1877–1960), Illinois’ first woman state senator. Bohrer served in the state senate from 1924 to 1932, where she advocated for legislation concerning social welfare and government reform.
Bohrer’s papers articulate her views on civic engagement and public service, as well as the rhetorical techniques she employed to convey progressive concepts to downstate audiences. Her writings also reveal the strategies she used to establish and maintain a leadership role in an era when women’s political participation was still hotly contested and frequently couched in the language of domestic responsibility. Viewed collectively, they paint a portrait of a woman who entered public life at a transformative moment in American history and spent more than four decades “push[ing] out the walls of her home to include the community.”
Collection Highlights
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A Century of
Progress International ExhibitionMemorabilia related to Bohrer’s participation in the 1933-1934 World’s Fair, which was held in Chicago to celebrate the city’s centennial.
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Illinois General Assembly Years
Documents from Bohrer’s two terms as a senator in the Illinois state legislature, 1924-1932.
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League of
Women VotersAn influential member of the League of Women Voters, Bohrer founded the McLean County chapter in 1933 and became president of the Illinois branch in 1941.
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Child Welfare
AdvocacyBohrer sponsored twenty child welfare bills as a state senator and continued to speak on the topic throughout her time in public life.