Alabama Women's Hall of Fame
Dr. Hallie Farmer is remembered as anoutstanding leader in the movement to bring women into full politicalparticipation in governmental affairs, an effective foe of votingdiscrimination and prison abuse, an educator of note, and a progressivereformer.
Described in theBirmingham News as the "undisputed championof Alabama's politically-minded women, this head of the department of politicalscience and history at Alabama College [now the University of Montevallo] gaveleadership to women's organizations in the state for more than thirty years,being especially active in the Business and Professional Women's Clubs and theAmerican Association of University Women."
Dr. Farmer was a firm believer in citizen participation in government.When public affairs were not pleasing to her, she wrote letters to herrepresentatives at all levels of government and advised women's organizationsto do likewise. She is particularly remembered for her service on thelegislature-appointed committee to investigate the prison system, her drive forpenal reforms, and her leadership of the crusade among women to abolish thepoll tax. For several years she was on the Bureau of Public Administration atthe University of Alabama and was one of the founders of a cooperative programat the Universities of Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee for training young menand women for governmental positions. Dr. Farmer served two four-year terms onthe Montevallo Town Council.
An extensive write on legislative and historical subjects, herLegislative Process in Alabama is considered a classic in its field. ThescholarlyDictionary of American Biography, published in the 1930'sincludes some fifty biographical sketches that she contributed, and sheregularly published articles in leading professional magazines.
This Indiana native who came to Montevallo in 1927 with A.M. and Ph.D.degrees was awarded an honorary degree in 1956 upon her retirement. In 1954,the State Business and Professional Women's Clubs gave her their first"Woman of Achievement" award. She was among the first group of womenelected to the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame.
Bibliography
Farmer, Hallie.The EconomicBackground of Frontier Populism. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: 1924.
----. “The Economic Background of Southern Populism.”SouthAtlantic Quarterly (29 January 1930): 77-91.
----.The Legislative Process in Alabama. University, Alabama:University of Alabama Press, 1949.
Griffith, Lucille.Alabama College, 1896-1969. Montevallo: Universityof Montevallo, 1969.
Sammon, Patricia.Hallie Farmer: Teacher and Leader. Huntsville:Writers Consortium Books, 1989.
Who’s Who of American Women,1st ed. Chicago:Marquis—Who’s Who 1950, 401.
Other InducteesAlabama Women's Hall of Fame