Florence Kelley

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Florence Kelley (1859 - February 17, 1932) was a reformer from Philadelphia

She was the daughter of Congressman William Darrah "Pig Iron" Kelley. He was a self-made man, who renounced his business activities to become an abolitionist, a founder of the Republican party and a judge. He who worked for numerous political and social reforms.

1 Socialism, marriage and translations
2 National Consumers League
3 Socialism and Civil Rights
4 Heritage
5 Publications
6 External links and references

[edit] Socialism, marriage and translations

Florence Kelley was an early supporter of women's suffrage. In Zurich, she met various European socialists, including Polish-Russian medical student Lazare Wischnewetzky, whom she married in 1884. She is best known for her translation of Die Lage der arbeitenden Klasse in England, written in 1844 by Friedrich Engels. As The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844, it has been in print ever since. She appears there as 'Mrs. F. Kelley Wischnewetzky' and was also known as Florence Kelley Wischnewetzky.

[edit] National Consumers League

As well as doing translations, she was inspired to work with the poor, and she went to Hull House to help out in 1892. The next year, Kelley was appointed to serve as Illinois' first factory inspector. In 1899, she created the National Consumers League (NCL), which encouraged consumers to buy products only from companies that met the NCL’s standards of minimum wage and working conditions. Kelley led campaigns that reshaped the conditions under which goods were produced in the United States. Among her accomplishments were the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 and laws regulating hours and establishing minimum wages.

[edit] Socialism and Civil Rights

She was a member of the Intercollegiate Socialist Society, an activist for woman suffrage and African-American civil rights. In 1909 Kelley helped create the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and thereafter became a friend and ally of W.E.B. DuBois. She also worked to help the child labor laws and the working conditions.

[edit] Heritage

John Haven Emerson, inventor of the Emerson iron lung and many other beneficial medical devices, was a nephew of Kelley's.

Maxfield Parrish, the famous illustrator, was also a close relative.

She strongly influenced Frances Perkins, the USA's first female cabinet minister. Among Perkins' achievements as Franklin D. Roosevelt's Secretary of Labor were bringing an end to child labour in the USA.

[edit] Publications

The responsibility of the consumer. New York City: National Child Labor Committee, 1908?
The Present Status of Minimum Wage Legislation. New York City: National Consumers' League, 1913.
Modern Industry: in relation to the family, health, education, morality. New York: Longmans, Green 1914.
Women in Industry: the Eight Hours Day and Rest at Night, upheld by the United States Supreme Court. New York: National Consumers' League, 1916.
Twenty Questions about the Federal Amendment Proposed by the National Woman's Party. New York: National Consumers' League, 1922.