Albion Fellows Bacon

Albion Fellows Bacon was born on April 8, 1865. She was in a family of three. Her father died before her birth. She stopped her education before high school and had her early life in a small rural town, McCutchanville, Indiana. She attended high school back to Evansville, Indiana where she was born. She worked as a secretary after graduation until she married with Hilary E. Bacon. During the time period of people only concerning the industrialization, she focused on civil living condition. She started to volunteer in a local charity. She believed that substandard housing is the cause of the social ills. She drafted a model law of housing reform in 1908 when she fought for a yearlong public campaign. She tried to bring this to local build code but failed, so she started to work toward the level of state government. At the roundtable in Richmond, Virginia. She met the activist who shared same idea and willing to sponsor her legislation. In 1909, she attended Indiana General Assembly to secure her idea of improving under standard housing, and successfully made this law passed legislation. But this far beyond her ambition, she worked even harder that successfully passed this law as statewide in 1913. She was the first person who suggested this issue and Indiana housing and health committee supported her. After passing this law, she didn’t stop helping others. She focused on city planning and make improvements on living conditions. In 1931, she attended a meeting of development of federal legislation and national housing standards. In 1921, She helped founded Evansville’s city Plan Commission and as a president. Her attribution towards reform housing condition is remarkable. She worked without any salary, her only motivation is to help the society become better and more suitable for people to live. All her purpose is to improving living condition. As an author, activist, female figure back in 1900s, the progress must be tough while inspiring. As I have mentioned in my introduction page, women's suffrage  is not only help women to gain political power in American society, but also empower women and liberate women to pursue their own value, and Bacon is a great example.

Heiman, Roberta. “Civil Rights Activists, Advocates and Trailblazers among Influential Indiana Women of the Century.” USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, August 15, 2020. https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/life/women-of-the-century/2020/08/13/indiana-women-history-19th-amendment-hoosier/5401234002/.