Kate Gordon founded the Era Club in 1896. Through this organization
-- Era stood for "equal rights association" -- she fought for a change in the
state constitution that would allow women to vote. There was a small victory
in 1898 when taxpaying women were granted this right on matters relating to
taxation.
The Era Club also formed the Women's League for Sewerage and
Drainage. Named as its president, Kate took up the cause of inadequate sewerage
and drainage, a serious public health hazard. The women of the club got 15,000
of their taxpaying counterparts to sign petitions to bring the issue up at the
next election. As a result, on June 7, 1899, eligible women voters came out
in sufficient numbers to pass a tax increase that would address the drainage
problem. The Picayune acknowledged the Gordon sisters for their successful
work in this reform.
Continuing her work in suffrage, Kate attended and spoke at
the National American Woman Suffrage Association convention in 1900. She was
a leader in the Louisiana Woman Suffrage Association from 1904-1913, and in
1913 she organized the Southern States Woman Suffrage Conference where suffragists
planned to lobby state legislatures for laws that would give white women the
right to vote.
Kate had other irons in the fire when she wasn't campaigning
for suffrage. She made it possible for women to gain admission to a full four-year
course in Tulane School of Medicine. She also worked against tuberculosis in
the South, and in 1906, she helped organize the Louisiana Anti-Tuberculosis
League. While vice-president of the New Orleans Anti-Tuberculosis League, she
helped found the city's first tuberculosis hospital.
Jean was also busy with suffrage issues, but simultaneously
devoted much of her time and energy to social services. She worked for more
than 10 years to better the lives of child laborers. In 1900, there were about
2 million children working in the United States, and Jean Gordon's efforts to
help these children were rewarded with the passage of the Child Labor Act of
1906. This act also changed the state constitution and made it possible for
women to become factory inspectors. In fact, Jean herself became New Orleans'
first woman factory inspector, holding this position from 1907 to 1911. Her
hard work locally got national recognition. Eventually the governors in the
Southern states began regular meetings, and this led to the passage of uniform
child labor laws in these states.
The plight of the mentally handicapped also did not go unnoticed
by Jean Gordon. She was the president of the Milne Asylum for Destitute Orphan
Girls, and in this capacity established a model home-school for their care and
vocational education. This home was a first for Louisiana. The Legislature had
passed a state law in 1918 to establish an institution for the mentally handicapped,
but they neglected to provide the money. It wasn't until 1921 that the first
Louisiana state institution opened. Jean was honored that year by The Times-Picayune,
which awarded her its prestigious Loving Cup for opening Milne House.
Jean continued to work for social improvements and provided
help for working mothers in the form of day care. New Orleans' first day nursery
opened at Kingsley House. Neither did she forget the creatures, as she also
worked as director of the Louisiana State Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals.
On Chatham Drive, near the intersection of Paris Avenue and
Robert E. Lee Boulevard, there is an elementary school named in Jean Gordon's
honor.
