Born on May 27th, 1818, Amelia Jenks Bloomer eventually became one of the most well-known reformers in Seneca Falls. Her work spanned the Temperance Movement, the Women’s Rights Movement, and women’s clothing reform. With religion shaping her life, Bloomer was often in disagreement with other prominent leaders such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Despite rivalries with other feminists, Bloomer continued her groundbreaking work through the newspaper she founded: The Lily.

After receiving a modest education, Bloomer became a school teacher followed by a governess. During this time, she met her future husband: Dexter Bloomer, the editor and co-owner of the Seneca County Courier. Their courtship began when he signed her autograph book, “The writer of this line humbly asks that he may be numbered in the list of Amelia’s favored friends.” Nearly six months later, the two were married. Foreshadowing her feminism, the word “obey” was omitted from the marriage ceremony.

Once the married couple acquired a house, the two of them quickly engaged in local politics. Heavily involved in the Temperance Movement, Dexter Bloomer founded the Temperance newspaper “The Water Bucket” for which Amelia was a frequent writer. The Temperance Movement introduced Amelia Bloomer to noteworthy activists such as Susan B. Anthony.

Many women joined the Temperance Movement because they were often the victims of drunken men. As such, uniting with the Temperance Movement was a way of protecting themselves.

Within the Temperance Movement, however, women were purely placed in supporting roles, which angered many. This prompted Amelia Bloomer to publish The Lily, a female-run newspaper in support of the Temperance movement which quickly morphed into a women’s rights newspaper. Women’s rights activists flocked to this newspaper with prominent leaders such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton writing numerous articles. As Stanton and Bloomer spent more time with one another, they began to notice fundamental differences between their views. The majority of these differences stemmed from Bloomer’s staunch support of Christianity, which Stanton believed needed to be held accountable for its unenlightened views on women. While the two had undeniable tensions between them, both shaped each other’s feminist journeys with Stanton shaping Bloomer’s feminist ideology and Bloomer notably introducing Stanton to Susan B. Anthony.

Not to be forgotten, Bloomer caused major reforms in women’s attire. At the time, corsets, petticoats, and long skirts were prevalent in women’s fashion; these proved detrimental to women’s efforts to join the workforce. Bloomer brought attention to this issue after noticing Elizabeth Smith Miller, the daughter of prominent abolitionist Gerrit Smith, wearing a short skirt with trousers underneath. Impressed by Miller’s innovation, Bloomer crafted herself a similar outfit. This message of women’s clothing being used for practicality was then amplified by Bloomer through the Lily, which created a national stir. Exclusively wearing short skirts with trousers for the next eight years, Bloomer popularized this outfit. The modernization of practical women’s clothing later helped women be taken seriously as they entered the workforce.

In addition to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Bloomer was Seneca Falls’ most acknowledged women’s rights activist. Despite her death in 1894, Bloomer’s legacy lives on through her suffrage activism, feminism within Christianity, and, of course, her popularization of women’s pants: bloomers.