After doing all of my research on the topic of women’s rights in the state of Wisconsin, I found some very interesting information and I learned a lot along the way. When I had first started doing research on my question “How did women’s rights evolve in the late 1800’s and into the 1900’s in the state of Wisconsin?” I didn’t know where to really start my search. I often times found myself punching the keyboard with words like “women’s movements in Wisconsin” which led me to more specific branches of where women’s rights turned. I came across a specific that really spiked my interest and really narrowed my search, which was the organization NOW (National Organization for Women). I found out all of the various ways that this organization alone shaped not only the state of Wisconsin concerning women’s rights but, more specifically, the city of Eau Claire as well.

I am now aware of what it took for women to feel like they belonged in the state of Wisconsin. It was no easy task to accomplish in feeling equality for all, it took determination, hard work, and good leaders to do such a hard thing. Although I know much more about this topic then when I first started doing my research, I always think that there is more to learn on any subject. I do not think that my question has been fully answered due to the fact that there are many different aspects to every topic of which only a small portion were addressed in my research. I do, however, think that I did partially answer my research question because I found a lot of credible information that was useful in my inquiry to this topic and taught me a lot that I hadn’t previously known. So after looking back, I do think that a great amount of progress was made along the way in my research journey, but more information is needed to answer my question to the fullest.

The third source that I am writing about is one that was found in my very own library, right here at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire on the 5^th floor of the archival collections. This primary source is the collection of the Margo House Papers that describe how women’s rights, specifically in Eau Claire, WI, improved through the years 1973-1980. Margo House was born in August 1929 and grew up to get her bachelor’s degree in art and history. After school, she moved on to work for the board of Regents at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire for four years, and following that she actually taught the subject of English at UWEC. During the 1970’s House was an active part in the rights of women in Wisconsin, and was even the president of the Wisconsin Feminist Project Fund, as well as the state coordinator for the National Organization for Women (NOW).

This primary source is very helpful because not only do these papers portray the evolution of what NOW is, it also gives local information about the organization which is very helpful in my individual inquiry. Having so much content in this source, it is hard to know exactly what to read, and what to leave out. I think that having the actual documents that Margo House contributed to really create emotion for those of us who live in the city of Eau Claire, WI, or may attend UWEC. This source strengthens the answer to my research question: “How did women’s rights evolve in the late 1800’s and the state of Wisconsin?” by creating localization not only for me, but for all of the women that do live, or have previously lived, in the beautiful city of Eau Claire.

Not only do the Margo House papers provide subsequent information on my topic, they also use the rhetorical term of kiaros, or timeliness. By being created in a time that, in every way, was very important in the shaping of women’s rights, makes this source worthy of taking a close look at. I think this source is a very reliable one because the papers in the collection were written during the timeframe of which I am concerned. This also builds credibility for Margo House because of the things she says in the papers regarding her involvement in various women’s groups focused on Eau Claire. However, this source is missing information for the rest of the state regarding the rights of women in society. After knowing information from the Margo House papers, I would like to know more about what organizations were involved in the equalization of women’s rights, whether they be state or locally based.

From reading all of my sources, I find it very intriguing to continue my search on this topic. I have learned so much, but there is still so much that I really would like to know too. Before diving into my research I never knew the history of women’s rights at all in the state of Wisconsin, and knowing more about why and when these rights were established really peaks my interest. I would, however, like to narrow my search to something deeper in this topic, which has not been noted at this time yet

The overall topic of my research project is the idea of general  women’s rights in the state of Wisconsin previous to now in time, which leads me to my research question. My research question is as follows: “How did women’s rights evolve in the late 1800’s and into the 1900’s in the state of Wisconsin”? I chose this research question because that is exactly where my inquiry leads me. I really would like to know more about how women became more powerful in the state of Wisconsin throughout the years that are closest to my time and era. With knowing fairly minimally about my topic, I am very interested in learning more about this topic in general, but the area of my question is where I am focused on the most. The reason that I do not know much about this topic is because in all of my years of life, as a student, I have never have come across material like this in a classroom setting, which has caused me to skip past something that is undoubtedly important to the history of creating Wisconsin. I look forward to knowing more about this topic as the process of my research focuses in on my question at hand.