In American history classrooms not too long ago one might have been convinced
that all the important contributions to human history were made by wealthy white
men. In the documentary we watched (partially) earlier this year by Dr Jarred
Diamond entitled "Guns, Germs, and Steel" we learned why white Europeans, who as
recently as five or six centuries ago were woefully primitive in comparison to
their middle-eastern and Asian contemporaries, would become the dominant culture
through the age of imperialism and colonization. And, because of western social
structure (much of which comes from the Bible) and physiology (men tend to be
physically stronger than women), men have usually occupied the positions of
leadership in society.
The modern study of history emphasizes the
contributions of all parts of society. Indeed, rather than "great individuals"
moving history, the opposite was often the case - doors of opportunity were
opened to those in leadership because of the collective actions and decisions of
ordinary people - regardless of race or gender. In an effort to remind us that
history is about everybody, not just the powerful and wealthy few, historians
now celebrate the history of previously underreported segments of society by
dedicating a month to their story. Just as February was Black History Month,
March is Women's History Month. Because of the way the school schedule worked out I wasn't able to get a Womens' History assignment in last month, but...better late than never, right?
Your assignment this week is to visit
the link Womens' History Month which is hosted by the US Library of
Congress and follow the link entitled "Exhibits & Collections". There you
will choose an article to read and report back to the class. Share what you
learn and comment on what knowledge we would lose if we focused solely on the
"great men" of history while neglecting everyone else.
Remember to meet
all the requirements for this assignment and to post your essay on time for full
credit. Have a good week!
Born on December 25, 1821, Clara Barton was the youngest of five children. She lived in Oxford, MA with her parents, Stephen and Sarah Barton. As a child, Clara helped to nurse her brother David through illnesses he had and later on when he was fighting for the Union Army during the Civil War. Since this was her first experience in nursing, it gave her a great love and generosity for people. Clara additionally loved and cared for all the animals on her family’s farm. Barton was also a very well-rounded individual enjoying activities such as singing, playing the piano, dancing, charades, sewing, painting, drawing, card and board games, and horseback riding. Reading was also very important to Mrs. Barton. At the age of 17 Clara Barton became a teacher in North Oxford, MA. While she was in Bordentown, NJ, she was credited for establishing the state’s first free public school. Clara then moved to Washington, D.C. where she became a recording clerk for the U.S. Patent Office. Since she was a very good skilled worker, she was able to coordinate the transportation of supplies to wounded soldiers, and she served as a Civil War “nurse.” Mrs. Barton established an organization to locate missing soldiers, and she was a well-respected public speaker and supporter of equal rights and women’s voting rights. She also did field work during the Franco-Prussian War for the German Red Cross, and then founded the American Red Cross thereafter. Clara headed this for 23 years after its founding in 1881. She and the American Red Cross assisted in many relief efforts and disasters until 1904. After which, Clara founded another organization called the National First Aid Association of America where she was President until her death on April 12, 1912 at the age of 90. As an accomplished writer, she wrote about the American Red Cross, her Religious and personal beliefs, and her life in her autobiography she published. As a speaker during the Women’s Suffrage, she once stated, “I may sometimes be willing to teach for nothing, but if paid at all, I shall never do a man's work for less than a man’s pay.” Clara Barton is a true role model, and she showed us that women are just as important as men and should not be taken for granted.
ReplyDeleteFor this week’s assignment I chose to write about Belva Lockwood. She was born on October 24, 1830 in Royalton, New York. Belva Lockwood was born into a family of farmers, and wasn’t promised a fine education. At the age of 22, her husband died and she was left alone with her 3 year old daughter. She left her child for three years to go to college, and then came back and reclaimed her daughter. Belva Lockwood taught school until she moved to Washington DC in 1866. After moving she then remarried to man named Ezekial Lockwood. She began practicing law in Washington DC and graduated with her degree in 1873. Three years later, in 1876, the Supreme Court refused to let her into the bar saying “none but men are permitted to practice before us attorneys and counselors”. She basically continued going to Congress until they passed “An Act to relieve certain legal disabilities of women”. In 1884 Lockwood became the first woman to run a full campaign for the presidency of the United States. She believed running would help women gain the right to vote and to be accepted in politics. Her husband was very supportive and even quit his dentistry job to help her start her own small law office out of their home. The Lockwood law office attracted laborers, painters, maids, tradesmen, veterans, and owners of small properties. A few years later the Lockwood family took rooms in a house at 512, 10th Street, which was a block from Ford’s Theatre where Lincoln was shot. Three months after her husband died she bought the 20 room house that they had been living in which helped her career very much. Belva Lockwood was very brave, and because of her women are able to become successful in law. If it wouldn’t have been for brave women like Belva Lockwood the world today may be different today because what they contributed wouldn’t be here.
ReplyDeleteExcellent job on your essay this week, Summer! It was full of interesting facts and informative information. Belva Lockwood sounds like a very inspirational person of women’s history. Without people like Belva taking a stand against equal rights among women and people from different cultures or races, the world miss out on a lot only being left with the “great men” of history. Again, nice work on your well-written and insightful essay, Summer! You did an awesome job.
DeleteGreat job on your essay summer! I could tell that you did much research for this topic. It was very well-written!
Deleteim going to do my essay on women's rights overall to start with the issue of women and the rights that they had slowly began to develop years after America gained its independence from Britain during this time women weren't near as important as men because they were considered to be lesser than men therefore women had less power than men did their rights were extremely limited and their opinions were most of the time ignored and not appreciated. and I think one of the main things that the women were deprived of was voting in political elections they said that the elections represented all people but in reality it only represented the men. and another thing they were treated un fairly was that they were always abused by the men but in those days there were no laws to protect women. They were treated extreamly unfair god created all men equal and it does include women because women were made form men. Which means that they should all be treated the same. White black orange yellow young old male female but finally after many years passed by and our country and our people began to grow people started realizing how important it was for women and all other people to be treated as equal as men. The inventions of the Industrial Revolution and the movements that followed changed the lives and status of some women and They spoke out for their rights, placing new thoughts about women in America.
ReplyDeleteGood essay Austin. You made several good points about how neglected and unprotected were up until the mid 19th century.
DeleteSorry that was supposed to say "neglected and unprotected women were..."
Deletemy report is on a female artist who was known for her depictions of women and children, Mary Cassatt was one of the few American artists active in the nineteenth-century French avant-garde. Born to a prominent Pittsburgh family, she traveled extensively through Europe with her parents and siblings while a child. Between 1860 and 1864 she attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. At the age of twenty-two Cassatt went abroad, studying old master paintings in European museums. In Paris, she studied with prominent academic painters and independently at the Louvre. Returning to the United States for a short period, Cassatt went back to Europe in 1871, spending her time painting and copying the old masters in museums in Italy, Spain, and Belgium.
ReplyDeleteIn 1874 she settled permanently in Paris. Although she had several works accepted for exhibition by the tradition-bound French Salon, her artistic aims aligned her with the avant-garde painters of the time. In 1877, Edgar Degas invited her to join the progressive group of artists popularly known as the impressionists; she particularly admired the work of Degas, as well as that of Manet and Courbet. A close working relationship developed between Cassatt and Degas. From similar upper-class backgrounds, the two painters enjoyed a friendship based on common artistic sensibilities and interests in bold compositional structure, the asymmetry and high vantage point of Japanese prints, and contemporary subject matter.
During her long residence in France, Cassatt sent paintings back to exhibitions in the United States. Thus, hers were among the first impressionist works seen in this country. In advising wealthy American patrons on what to acquire, she also played a crucial role in the formation of some of the most important
Good essay Logan! I was surprised to hear about a woman that was able to become as educated and well known as Mary Cassatt. That's rare most of the time.
DeleteNice work on your assignment on Mary Cassatt, Logan! I had heard the name of Mary Cassatt, but I didn’t know anything about her. You helped to inform us about the different accomplishments and events that happened during her life as a painter and artist during the 1800s. I didn’t know that Mary Cassatt was the one who brought impressionist artwork to America. Excellent work on your well-thought out and factual essay, Logan!
DeleteI decided to write my essay this week on one of the most amazing and controversial women to ever grace the White House, Eleanor Roosevelt. Born in New York City on October 11, 1884, daughter of Anna Hall and Elliott Roosevelt, younger brother to Theodore Roosevelt. When her mother died in 1892, the children went to live with Grandmother Hall; her adored father died only two years later .Herself and Franklin D. Roosevelt found themselves engaged in 1903, married in 1905, and six children around them in the first eleven years. In Albany, where Franklin served in the state Senate from 1910 to 1913, Eleanor started her long career as political helpmate. She gained a knowledge of Washington and its ways while he served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. When he was stricken with poliomyelitis in 1921, she tended him devotedly. She became active in the women's division of the State Democratic Committee to keep his interest in politics alive. From his successful campaign for governor in 1928 to the day of his death, she dedicated her life to his purposes. She became eyes and ears for him, a trusted and tireless reporter. When Mrs. Roosevelt came to the White House in 1933, she understood social conditions better than any of her predecessors and she transformed the role of First Lady accordingly. She never shirked official entertaining; she greeted thousands with charming friendliness. She also broke precedent to hold press conferences, travel to all parts of the country, give lectures and radio broadcasts, and express her opinions candidly in a daily syndicated newspaper column, "My Day." Her avid campaigns for woman’s suffrage and other rights made her a target for political attacks constantly.
ReplyDeleteGood essay, Allisha. I enjoyed your essay because it was well written and because you wrote about the same person I did. I learned some new things about Eleanor Roosevelt from your essay. I think it is cool how she was able to decicat her life to her husbands purposes
DeleteFor this week our history assignment to read and report back on an article supporting the United States of America's Women's History Month. I have chose to read and report back on the article about Sandra Day O'Connor (March 26, 1930). Sandra Day O'Connor was the very first Supreme Court Justice in the United States. Sandra Day O'Connor was nominated for office by President Ronald Reagan in 1981. Sandra Day O'Connor's journey to this high and respected position in our U.S. government was not an easy one. Sandra Day O'Connor graduated in the top ranks of her class at Stanford Law School. Though this is very impressive, many law firms didn't agree. Why you ask? It was simply because she was a woman. The only job she could find at the law firms was a position as a legal secretary, but Sandra Day O'Connor wasn't going to take no for an answer. Sandra Day O'Connor finally accepted a job as a deputy county attorney in San Mateo, California. Sandra Day O'Connor moved on to Arizona and became an Assistant Attorney General and State Senator. Sandra Day O'Connor was elected as Majority Leader in 1972, which had never happened before in the United States. By 1974, Sandra Day O'Connor was elected to judgeship on the Maricopa County Superior Court. Sandra Day O'Connor's final event before accepting a position on the Supreme Court was an Appointee on the Arizona Court of Appeals. Two months after Sandra O'Connor's retirement from the Supreme Court, she was appointed to the the Iraq Study Group. Sandra Day O'Connor is just one example of the great women who have shaped our world. If we never focused on great women of history we would lose all knowledge of the great, powerful, and influential roles that women have played in our U.S. and world history.
ReplyDeleteGood essay, Lydia. I enjoyed your essay because it was very well written and very informative. I really learned a lot about Sandra Day O'Connor from reading it. I think it is awful that despite her credentials that O'Conner couldn't get a job as a lawyer just because she was a woman.
DeleteFor this week’s assignment on women’s history, I chose to write about one of my personal inspirations, Sandra Day O’Connor. Born on March 26, 1930, Justice O’Connor grew up on a cattle ranch in Arizona. She lived with her maternal grandmother for a while in El Paso attending school there, ranked 6th in her graduating class. From there she attended the very prestigious Stanford Law School where she was a contributor to the Stanford Law Review. After graduation, however, she struggled to find work- no one would hire the very qualified new attorney simply because she was a woman. Eventually, she became a deputy county attorney but worked with no office and without pay. While that seems crazy, Justice O’Connor wanted to work and was determined and passionate enough to never give up. Thankfully, her persistence paid off. Before her time as the first woman United States Supreme Court Justice, she was elected to the Arizona state senate twice and became the first woman Majority leader as well as becoming the Assistant Attorney General of Arizona. However, she is best known for becoming the first female Supreme Court Justice. On July 7, 1981 she was appointed to the United States Supreme Court by then President Ronald Reagan. Justice O’Connor served on the Supreme Court from September 21, 1981 to February 1, 2006. That’s twenty four years that she served. Overall, Justice O’Connor has such a fascinating story. From struggling to find a job and working without pay to being a key leader in our country is amazing. I believe that if we do not study the amazing women of history, we lose so many amazing things such as Justice O’Connor’s story. If you omit several parts of history, we never truly know the whole story.
ReplyDeleteFor this week history assignment i have chose to read an article that talks about the life of Susan B. Anthony.
ReplyDeleteShe joined the women's rights movement in 1852. In 1868, the two collaborated in publishing a weekly journal, The Revolution, which promoted women's and African Americans' right to suffrage and discussed issues of equal pay for equal work, more liberal divorce laws and the church's position on women's issues.
In 1872, Anthony demanded that women be given the same civil and political rights that had been extended to black males under the 14th and 15th amendments. Thus, she led a group of women to the polls in Rochester, N.Y., to test the right of women to vote. She was arrested two weeks later, found guilty of violating the voting laws and was sentenced to pay a $100 fine. She refused to pay the resulting fine, and no attempt was made to force her to do so.
After her trial, Anthony continued to campaign for women's rights. Between 1881 and 1886, she and Stanton published three volumes of the "History of Woman Suffrage,". In 1890 they strengthened the suffrage cause by forming the larger National American Woman Suffrage Association. At the time of her death in 1906, however, only four states - Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho and Utah - had granted suffrage to women. But her crusade carried on, and in 1920 Congress adopted the 19th Amendment, finally giving women throughout America the right to vote.
Lydia Ramsey- I really enjoyed reading your essay for this week’s assignment. I, too, wrote on Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and she truly is an inspiration. It was interesting to learn even more from your essay. I agree with your statement about why learning about great women in history is very important. Overall I thought your essay was well written, concise, full of information, and very interesting. Great job as usual.
ReplyDeleteSarah Flinchum- I also really enjoyed reading you’re essay for this week’s assignment. I’ve always known about Clara Barton and some of the amazing things she accomplished, but your essay really helped me understand ALL of the amazing things she did throughout her life. Clara Barton truly was an amazing woman. Overall, I could tell that you put a lot of thought into your essay and it was very well- written, easy to understand, and interesting. Great job!
This week I decided to right my history assignment on Eleanor Roosevelt. Roosevelt, the niece of former president Teddy Roosevelt, was born in 1884. In 1905 Roosevelt married her sixth cousin, Future President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Eleanor Roosevelt is probably best known as a social activist who advocated for women’s rights, social reform, and social justice. Eleanor Roosevelt significantly changed the role of the First Lady, having much more influence and being more vocal on political issues than previous First Ladies; she even had regular press conferences, and toured the nation, the first First Lady to do so. She also helped her husband govern in many ways. Despite being so busy with political activism and helping with her husband’s administration, she also found the time to raise six children. Eleanor Roosevelt didn’t stop after her husband, FDR’s death. After the death of FDR she continued her career of social activism. She was also part of the first US delegation to the United Nations and was an important role in the drafting and signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1961 she was appointed by John F Kennedy as the first chair of the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. Roosevelt remained politically active until she died in 1962.
ReplyDeleteI think that we lose a lot of valuable information when you only study the “great men” of history. It is important to remember not only the “great men” and what they contributed to society but also who and what went before them to pave the way for them .
Great job on your assignment this week, Bobby! You did a great job.
DeleteSometimes, Dolly Parton is overlooked by her glamorous lifestyle , but Appalachian folk, country, and bluegrass music have influenced her incredibly. it was such an amazing influence to where it based her future career in music. Dolly was born on January 19, 1946 in Sevierville, Tennessee. She wrote her first song in 1951 entitled, "Little Tiny Tassle Top." Two years later, she constructed her first guitar by herself. she then, in 1956 made her first recording and then began singing in the Grand Ole Opry. in 1975, Dolly was awarded the Female Vocalist of the Year award. one year later, she aired her own tv show entitled, "Dolly." Her first film was released 3 years after her tv show started. in the year 1986, she opened her own amusement park which she called Dollywood. Not only is Dolly a singer but she is also a songwriter, record producer, author, actress, musician, and business woman. She can play a total of 12 instruments plus vocals. Her record company was founded in 2007 and is still continuing on today. In 1996, she created an new idea, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, to benefit the kids of her home county in east Tennessee. She wanted to give a gift of reading throughout her county’s preschool children and their families by providing them with a special selected book each month. She could be sure that every child would have books, regardless of their family’s income. Personally, I feel that having women such as Dolly to stand up for circumstances such as literacy is a tremendous thing. Yes, men are called by God to lead the house, but they wouldn't be there if it weren't for the help of women.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your essay, Eduardo! Your essay was written well and full of good information. Again, great job on your essay!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your essay, Bobby! Your essay was full of information and written very well. Again, great job on your essay!
Great job on your essay, Sara! Your essay was full of information and written well. Again, great job on your essay!
Great job on your essay, Allisha! It was full of good information and written well. Again, great job on your essay!
Great job on your essay, Summer! It was full of good information and written well. Again, great job on your essay!
Great job on your essay, McKenzie! Your essay was full of information and written very well. Again, great job on your essay!
Great job on your essay, Rebecca! Your essay was full of information and written well. Again, great job on your essay!
Women’s Suffrage is a right that women fought for, specifically the right to vote. They thought, and personally I am thankful that they did, they had a right to vote. The article I read was about the parade that the women “paraded” around for the right to vote. On March 3, 1913, right around Wilson’s inaugural inauguration, women went around in Pennsylvania Avenue claiming the right to vote. This was the first parade to have used the nation’s capitol. The women were so determined to get this right; the article said that it was almost a riot! They were dedicated to tell American citizens their “identity.” This parade brought Women from all over the country to Washington to show that they were going to pass this bill or idea. The determination from this almost riot, showed up in the newspaper and news for weeks and months after the parade/ riot ended. There is a 30 foot long showcase that has sashes and masks and other things in it to recreate the mood of the parade and riot just like it was back then. It has the first and second floor and it displays History from way back then. The History that is displayed has neat artifacts and other example to display how it was.
ReplyDeleteRebecca Dunmore, Awesome Job on your essay! I didn’t know all the information that was in your article/ essay so it was, to me, very informative. Sandra Day o’Connor was a pretty inspirational/ amazing women. Her efforts were high and she succeeded. Sandra Day O’Connor is a great person to look to because she worked for what she got and she tried and she very well accomplished what she had her mind set to! Great Job on yours!
ReplyDeleteSarah Flinchum, Great Job on your essay! Clara Barton was always a great character for me to study because I always loved her! I thought your essay was remarkably filled with information that was very useful and informative. Barton did so much stuff and it was clearly written in your essay in a nice order and it flowed very nice also! Great Job!
During World War II, some 350,000 women served in the U.S. Armed Forces, both at home and abroad. They included the Women's Airforce Service Pilots, who on March 10, 2010, were awarded the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal. Meanwhile, widespread male enlistment left gaping holes in the industrial labor force. Between 1940 and 1945, the female percentage of the U.S. workforce increased from 27 percent to nearly 37 percent, and by 1945 nearly one out of every four married women worked outside the home. One of the biggest examples wa in the factories. This is where rosie riveter comes in. While women worked in a variety of positions previously closed to them, the aviation industry saw the greatest increase in female workers. More than 310,000 women worked in the U.S. aircraft industry in 1943, representing 65 percent of the industry's total workforce compared to just 1 percent in the pre-war years. The munitions industry also heavily recruited women workers, as represented by the U.S. government's "Rosie the Riveter" propaganda campaign. Based in small part on a real-life munitions worker, but primarily a fictitious character, the strong, bandanna-clad Rosie became one of the most successful recruitment tools in American history, and the most iconic image of working women during ww2. In movies, newspapers, posters, photographs, articles and even a Norman Rockwell-painted Saturday Evening Post cover, the Rosie the Riveter campaign stressed the patriotic need for women to enter the work force—and they did, in huge numbers. Though women were crucial to the war effort, their pay continued to lag far behind their male counterparts: Female workers rarely earned more than 50 percent of male wages.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a fifth grader at Hillside Elementary school in Farmington Hills, Michigan we were assigned famous people from Michigan. Our assignment was to write a ten page report on our person and preform a play in front of the entire school of our people. The woman my teacher assigned me is a woman I will never forget not only because she and I share the same first name but Lucinda Stone was an incredible woman. Lucinda Stone was born in Hinesburg, Vermont on September 30, 1814. She is the youngest of twelve children and her parents were Aaron and Lucinda Hinsdale. Stone was brought up in the schools Hinesburg Academy and Middlebury Female Seminary. After being denied from Vermont University, Stone taught at Burlington Female Seminary, a seminary at Middlebury, and in Natchez, MS. In 1840 she and James Stone were married in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They stayed in Massachusetts for a short while before returning to Michigan where Doctor Stone was in charge of Kalamazoo College. Mrs. Stone was in charge of the woman of the college. In 1890 Stone was the first woman ever to be awarded an honorary Ph. D from the university. She was also very interested in woman’s clubs, which earned her the nick name "Mother of Women's Clubs". When Stone lived in Mississippi she focused her mind and soul on her opinion on slavery. She was highly against it and started an abolishment movement. There are many more facts about this amazing woman; I just gave you a small history about her.
ReplyDelete