In the early twentieth century, Montana’s native peoples suffered from higher incidences of tuberculosis and often went without medical care that was available to non-Indians. In her talk, MHS associate editor Laura Ferguson traces the rise of tuberculosis among Montana’s indigenous population and explores how Indian communities and public health officials responded to this deadly disease in the early twentieth century.

Most Montanans know that Jeannette Rankin was elected the first woman to the U.S. Congress in 1916. Fewer realize that the 1916 election (the first after Montana women won the franchise) also saw the election of May Trumper as state superintendent of public instruction and Emma Ingalls (R, Flathead County) and Maggie Smith Hathaway (D, Ravalli County) as representatives to the Montana House of Representatives. Senator Diane Sands explores the impact these women’s participation in state politics had on our state.

Billings native Hazel Hunkins joined the fight for women’s suffrage after she was denied the opportunity to work in a chemistry lab because of her gender. Western Heritage Center executive director Kevin Koostra tells the story of this determined woman who remained undeterred even after national resentment led to arrest and recrimination for Hunkins and her sister protestors.

When disgruntled members of the Butte Miners’ Union No. 1 dynamited their own union hall to express their disgust with union leadership and Butte mine owners, they inadvertently sparked a reaction from workers in the Heartland who rallied to their cause. Join MHS senior manuscript archivist Rich Aarstad for a rollicking look at the chain of events.

Montana’s first highways were built by men from the Montana State Prison, and much of their work was concentrated on one of the country’s first interstate highways, the Yellowstone Trail. Montana Department of Transportation historian Jon Axline tells the story of prison labor on the Yellowstone Trail in Park County, one of the last places where you can see the efforts of Montana’s first highwaymen

University of Montana Native American Studies professor Dr. Richmond Clow discusses how reformers began the citizenship push in 1879 as a dream for individual tribesmen. Beginning in 1882, specific statutes were passed advancing citizenship, and over the next two decades, most tribesmen became citizens even before Congress enacted the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act. Montana, like other states, experienced the consequences of these multiple and measured citizenship efforts both before and after World War I.

Following World War I, Montanans struggled with the legacies left by the Progressive Era and the harsh political environment engendered by the war. At the same time, drought put an end to the homestead boom and unions attempted to maintain their recent gains. MHS reference historian Zoe Ann Stoltz examines these forces—both natural and man-made—that not only played important roles in the post-war era, but also helped define today’s Montana.

In 1916–1917, the DuPont Company constructed a plant seven miles from Butte to produce explosives for the copper mining that was booming from World War I demand. Near it, the firm built a company town, Ramsay, to house its skilled workers away from the labor upheavals roiling the Mining City. MSU professor Dr. Janet Ore examines DuPont’s Montana experiment in welfare capitalism and evaluates the success of its efforts.

The development of the airplane as a practical means of transportation coincided with the Great War. As flying machines advanced, so too did Montanans’ fascination with all things aeronautic. After the war, experienced pilots returned home to advance the cause of aviation and establish the state’s first flying schools and airports. MHS community preservation coordinator Kate Hampton explores this watershed period.

In the spring of 1918, the Billings Rotary Club started what would become the national “War Angelus” movement. The International Association of Rotary Clubs soon adopted the idea, urging all member organizations to arrange for the observation of the War Angelus for one minute, at the hour of 11:00 a.m., in an “appeal to the Supreme Being for inspiration, strength and guidance.” Kevin Kooistra, executive director of Billings’ Western Heritage Center, shares the story behind the movement.