Ella Reeve Bloor
Ella Reeve Bloor, born in 1862 in Bridgeton, New Jersey, was a prominent figure in the early 20th-century socialist and communist movements in the United States. After attending Ivy Hall Seminary, she became deeply influenced by social and economic equality issues, inspired by feminist authors and notable figures such as Louisa May Alcott and William Jennings Bryan. Bloor's political engagement intensified after her marriage in 1881, leading her to Marxist literature and active participation in the Socialist Party. She was a pioneering woman in politics, being the first to run for statewide office in Connecticut in 1908 and attempting to secure a lieutenant governor position in New York in 1918.
Bloor joined the Communist Labor Party in 1919 and served on its central committee for 26 years, advocating for women's involvement in the party and broader labor rights. Known as "Mother Bloor," she dedicated her life to improving conditions for the less fortunate and was an outspoken supporter of women's suffrage and temperance. Throughout her life, she published numerous articles and books, including her autobiography, "We Are Many," in 1940. Despite facing significant opposition and multiple arrests for her activism, Bloor remained committed to her beliefs, arguing for American participation in World War II until her passing in 1951 at the age of eighty-nine.
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Subject Terms
Ella Reeve Bloor
Labor Leader
- Born: July 8, 1862
- Birthplace: Near Mariners Harbor, Staten Island, New York
- Died: August 10, 1951
- Place of death: Richlandtown, Pennsylvania
Biography
Born in 1862, Ella Reeve Bloor grew up Bridgeton, New Jersey. In her youth she attended Ivy Hall Seminary, a proto-aristocratic finishing school for upstanding young women, and she was soon moved by common folk and their plight for social and economic equality. Her continued interest in feminism and social justice was piqued by her readings of prominent feminist reformers like Louisa May Alcott, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and George Eliot, and by speeches given by the vibrant orator William Jennings Bryan.
In 1881, she married Lucien Ware, and a friend of his, M. V. Ball, introduced her to Marxist writings. She subsequently became enamored of socialism, employing herself in a factory to recruit women to the cause. She would become active in the Socialist Party, working with Eugene Debs and Victor Berger to found the Social Democratic Party in 1897. In 1908, Bloor became the first woman to run for a statewide office when she entered the race for secretary of state in Connecticut. Bloor also ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor of New York in 1918.
In 1919, Bloor joined the radical Communist Labor Party, which had emerged from the Socialist party, and served on the central committee for twenty-six years. Bloor also became socially active by joining the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and becoming involved with the women’s suffrage movement. Bloor published articles about her politics in numerous publications. She also helped organize the United Farmers’ League and lobbied for more active participation for women in the Communist party during the 1930’s. Known affectionately as “Mother Bloor,” she made it her lifelong mission to better the lives of the less fortunate throughout the world. In 1938, she was the Communist Labor Party’s candidate for governor of Pennsylvania.
Arrested hundreds of times for her unruly and agitating actions, Bloor’s final arrest was in 1936, when she was well into her seventies. A contributor to labor and suffrage periodicals for more than fifty years, Bloor published a few books in her life that profiled prominent women in communist Russia. In 1940, she published her autobiography, We Are Many, about her involvement in the communist movement. Although her patriotism was often questioned, Bloor pushed for American involvement in World War II and staunchly defended herself as a loyal American and the descendent of Revolutionary and Civil War veterans. Bloor died in 1951 at the age of eighty- nine, survived by her eight children.