Helen M. Gougar (July 18, 1843 – June 6, 1907) was a lawyer, temperance and women's rights advocate, and newspaper journalist who resided in Lafayette, Indiana.

In addition to her advocacy work, Gougar became a public speaker and frequently campaigned to elect politicians who shared her views on women's suffrage and prohibition.

She served on the committees of several local organizations, including the Young Men's Christian Association, Lafayette Home Association, Ladies Benevolent Society, and the Second Presbyterian Church, but her temperance and women's suffrage activities gained public attention in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

She wrote a weekly column called "Bric-a-Brac" for the Lafayette Courier that produced a series of essays expressing her own views and included the text of her speeches as well as the opinions of others on temperance and women's suffrage.

She appeared before members of the Indiana General Assembly in February 1881 to urge them to support a bill allowing women to vote in national elections, but it failed to pass.

[6] Gougar also campaigned for state and national political candidates to elect politicians who supported passage of women's suffrage and temperance legislation.

[4][7] Frequently criticized for her strong views on women's suffrage, temperance, and prohibition, Gougar sought legal action to protect her reputation on more than one occasion.

The Court, which considered voting a political right, denied the appeal, but Gougar's legal arguments were published in Indiana's newspapers, providing statewide exposure of her views on the subject.

The Prohibition Party nominated her for Indiana attorney general in 1896 and she campaigned for politicians who shared her views, including William Jennings Bryan.

[11][13] A state historical marker in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, was dedicated in November 2014 to honor Gougar's efforts to secure voting rights for women.