The Queen Isabella Association was formed to raise funds to provide a statue of Queen Isabella of Spain on the site of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. The group's additional purpose was to advance the cause of women's suffrage and equal rights. Background Beginning at the end of the 1880s, plans were being prepared to create an exposition celebrating the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America by Europeans (the quadro-centential). Women were organizing to become part of this exposition. Several cities were competing to host the exposition. The front-runners were Chicago, New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. By 1890 Chicago was selected as the site of the Exposition. At the same time, Congress decreed that there would be a Board of Lady Managers to address and organize the inclusion of women in the World's Columbian Exposition. Drs. Frances Dickinson and Lucy Waite were the originators of the Queen Isabella Association. Beginnings of the Queen Isabella Association As part of the run-up to the Exposition a group of professional women organized to bring their views of woman's place in society to the Exposition. The group believed that women were equal to men and were capable of pursuing professional careers outside the home. The group took as their inspiration Queen Isabella of Spain, who had made Columbus' voyage to the New World possible. Illinois Woman Suffrage Association founder Catharine Van Valkenburg Waite first suggested the idea of erecting a statue of Isabella. The Queen Isabella Association originally incorporated in Chicago in 1889. It soon expanded to chapters in New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. This expansion into a national organization was an attempt to have a voice outside Chicago advocating for the Exposition's site selection in Chicago. Membership Women could enroll in the Association for one dollar and could also buy shares for five dollars, to raise money for the statue. Founding members President: Dr. Julia Holmes Smith Vice President: Eliza Allen Starr Treasurer: Catharine Van Valkenburg Waite Corinne Stubbs Brown Frances Hale Gardener Dr. Frances Dickinson Ideology Members of the Queen Isabella Association were mostly professional women, part of the New Woman movement, who believed that women should take an equal part in society, working in professions alongside men. Controversy Members of the Association were referred to as "Isabellas". Their suffragist ideology was different from many other women's groups in Chicago, including the Chicago Women's