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The Famous Five : Canada's crusaders for women's rights

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  • Author: Smith, Barbara
    Date:
    Created
    2022
    Summary:

    On August 27, 1927, five women gathered at a house on Edmonton's Southside to sign a letter that would change the course of Canadian history. Those women were Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby, and Henrietta Muir Edwards, who would become known as the Famous Five. The meeting of the women had been prompted by Emily Murphy, an Alberta magistrate, whose right to render judgements had been challenged by a lawyer who maintained that only men could be appointed as judges because only men were considered "persons" under the British North America Act. The battle for justice that began that Saturday afternoon on took several years and many miles, finally making its way to the Privy Council in London. Finally, in 1929, a landmark ruling found that women were indeed "persons" in the eyes of the law. But who were these women and how did they come together at such a pivotal moment in Canadian history? The Famous Five is a comprehensive look at the remarkable lives, prolific careers, sometimes disturbing contradictions, and extraordinary achievements of these five women who fought for equality at a time when women were barely recognized as relevant.

    Contents:
    • Who Were These Women?
    • Working Together (The 1910s)
    • The Political Battle (1917 to 1927)
    • The Legal Battle (1927 to 1929)
    • The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (1928 to 1929)
    • Later Years
    • Looking Back
    • The Famous Five.
    Original Publisher: Victoria ; Vancouver ; Calgary : Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd., [2019], Toronto, Ontario, Center for Equitable Library Access
    Language(s): English
    ISBN: 9781772032338, 9781039562820, 1039562825