DISCOVERING CATHARINE
DISCOVERING CATHARINE is a 60-minute film that brings to life the precedent-setting accomplishments of Catharine Waugh McCulloch (1862-1945) Illinois attorney and suffragist.
Synopsis
Catharine attended Northwestern Law School and was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1886, at a time where there were fewer than 100 women attorneys in the United States. Catharine had the needed legal and strategy skills to carry forth the work of suffrage leaders before her. She worked in Chicago with Frances Willard, Jane Adams, and Ida B. Wells, and with national leaders such as Susan B. Anthoney and Dr. Anna Shaw. She commanded audiences with a fortunate blend of persuasive arguments and good humor. In addition to drafting and lobbying for legislation to promote women’s rights, Catharine ran for elected offices and argued for women to serve on juries. Like other notable women leaders, Catharine had the lifelong support of her husband, attorney Frank McCulloch.
Catharine organized her many presentations, publications, meeting notes and legislative materials in files that are now digitized at Harvard’s Schlesinger Library. Over the last 20 years, Ann McCulloch has accessed the files and met with historians and legal scholars who have pieced together Catharine’s accomplishments. In “Discovering Catharine,” our interviews with experts help viewers appreciate the level of effort required of Catharine and others to overcome resistance to change while at the same time working within traditional expectations as wives and mothers. We also speak with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, State Senator Robyn Gabel and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum (Oregon) who all remark that growing up in Illinois, they wish they had learned of Catharine’s story.
The premiere is June 22, 2024, at the White Auditorium at Northwestern University’s Evanston Campus.
Directed and produced by Susan Hope Engel, Hope Productions
In Association with Ann McCulloch and the McCulloch family.
Post-production by Red Branch Ltd, Dean Bushala
Website: https://catharinewaughmcculloch.com