Truth-Telling: Frances Willard and Ida B. Wells Main Menu Introduction How to Use This Resource Essential Context Interpretive Essays Bibliography and Further Reading About This Project / Contact Us Credits
The Center for Women's History and Leadership
Center for Women's History and Leadership
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Timeline

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The story of the conflict between Frances Willard and Ida B. Wells begins in 1890, when Willard gave a newspaper interview about her views on the South’s “race problem.” A few years later, in 1894, Wells republished the interview and criticized Willard for her reluctance to condemn lynching. Their clash attracted media coverage from the U.S. and Great Britain, and continued for over a year.

Explore the timeline above to learn more about the conflict. Each page features at least one document that is crucial to understanding what happened and why it matters. You will also find brief in-line annotations that help fill in the gaps in the story.

The pages linked to the timeline also appear in the list below.

This page has paths:

  1. Truth-Telling: Frances Willard and Ida B. Wells Josh Honn

Contents of this path:

  1. Frances Willard and the "Race Problem"
  2. Frances Harper and Black Women in the WCTU
  3. Ida B. Wells, Temperance, and "Race Progress"
  4. Ida B. Wells and "Lynch-Law"
  5. The WCTU and Lynching, 1893
  6. Ida B. Wells Abroad
  7. Willard and Somerset Respond
  8. Other Responses
  9. The WCTU and Lynching, 1894
  10. The WCTU and Lynching, 1895
  11. Postscripts