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Florence Brown Cotnam Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MC 353

Scope and Content Note

The Cotnam papers consist of speeches, speech notes, newspaper and magazine articles, and notebooks regarding suffrage, citizenship, World War I, democracy, and postwar relations; records of suffrage clubs and women's clubs; personal papers of Florence and Nell Cotnam; printed items, including publications of the National Woman Suffrage Publishing Company; postcards; photographs; and miscellaneous objects.

Dates

  • 1885-1968

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Access Information

Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.

Use Information

No Use Restrictions Apply.

No Interlibrary Loan.

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Biographical Note

Florence Brown Cotnam (1865-1932) was a dramatic reader, teacher, and political and civic leader from Little Rock, who lectured in over twenty states on behalf of women's suffrage and citizenship. She was a leader in the passage of suffrage amendments nationally and in Arkansas, the first state to grant women suffrage in primary elections. She began campaigning for suffrage in 1913 under the auspices of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. In 1915, on behalf of the suffrage amendment, she became the first woman to speak to the Arkansas General Assembly. From 1915 to 1920, as a member of the Speaker's Bureau of the National League of Women Voters, she lectured throughout the nation on behalf of the suffrage cause. In 1917 she helped establish and taught in suffrage schools for women and was elected to the national board of the League of Women Voters. She served as president of the Equal Suffrage Association in Arkansas for two years until it became the Arkansas League of Women Voters, then served as Chair of that organization in Arkansas from 1919 to 1921. Through her influence, Governor Charles Hillman Brough called a special session of the legislature in 1920 to ratify the Federal suffrage amendment.

Cotnam was also a prominent member of the Democratic party, campaigning across the country in 1920, 1924, and 1928 on behalf of the Democratic presidential candidates. She was a member of the Arkansas Democratic Central Committee, chair of the Arkansas Democratic Women's Club, delegate to several Democratic state conventions, and the first woman from Arkansas sent to a national political convention, in 1920. She became a popular "Four-minute" speaker during World War I and directed the Women's Division of the Arkansas War Savings Department for two years. Cotnam was also active in many women's clubs. Her daughter Nell Cotnam (1888-1987) was a society reporter, editor, and columnist for the Arkansas Gazette from 1917 until 1970.

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet (4 boxes)

Arrangement of the Papers

The papers are arranged in six series:

  1. Series 1. Public Speaking and Civic Work, 1900-1932. Box 1
  2. Series 1. Subseries 1. Women's Suffrage Movement, 1915-1932.
  3. Series 1. Subseries 2. World War I and Postwar Materials, ca. 1919-1930s.
  4. Series 1. Subseries 3. Clubs, 1900-1930s.
  5. Series 2. Personal Papers, 1885-1966. Box 2.
  6. Series 2. Subseries 1. Personal Correspondence and Documents, 1885-1966.
  7. Series 2. Subseries 2. Nell Cotnam Papers, ca. 1906-ca. 1960s.
  8. Series 3. Publications, 1920-1966. Box 3.
  9. Series 3. Subseries 1. Publications about Women and Suffrage, 1920-1932.
  10. Series 3. Subseries 2. Other Publications, 1921-ca. 1966.
  11. Series 4. Postcards, 1915-1931. Box 3.
  12. Series 5. Photographs, ca. 1890-ca. 1960s. Box 3.
  13. Series 6. Objects, ca. 1900-1932. Box 4.

Acquisition Information

The Florence Brown Cotnam papers were donated to Special Collections in 1979 by Warner H. Taylor of Little Rock. Florence Brown Cotnam and her daughter Nell Cotnam collected these papers, which date from 1885 to 1968.

Processing Information

Processed by Rachel Skoney, Special Collections Division, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville, Arkansas, in April l988.

Creator

Source

Title
Florence Brown Cotnam Papers
Author
Rachel Skoney
Date
1988
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Department Repository

Contact:
University of Arkansas Libraries
365 N. McIlroy Avenue
Fayetteville AR 72701 United States
(479) 575-8444