Hi! Just a little update on the Women's History blog posts -- the articles might be a bit shorter from now on, it's a bit hard to keep up with otherwise. Don't worry though, I'll still give tons of resources! :)
Anne Sullivan & Helen Keller, 1897 Anne Sullivan: Who Was She?
Anne Sullivan was the teacher and lifelong companion of the well-known Helen Keller. But who was she? Anne Mansfield Sullivan was born on April 14, 1866, in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts. At the age of 5, she was diagnosed with an eye disease called trachoma, which resulted in her being partially blind and without reading or writing skills. Her childhood was very difficult, with her mother dying when she was 8 and her father abandoning her and her siblings soon after. She was sent to live at the Tewksbury Almshouse, where disabled and/or poor people were sent to live. The conditions were horrifying and it was likely very traumatic for Sullivan. However, during her time at the almshouse she was able to receive treatment for her blindness that gave her limited, short-term relief. She also learned that there are schools for blind people, and it became her main goal of her childhood to get into one of them. Her life changed greatly when she reached that dream and started attending Perkins School For The Blind in 1880. At age 20, she graduated as valedictorian of her class. Her graduation speech was thus: “....duty bids us go forth into active life. Let us go cheerfully, hopefully, and earnestly, and set ourselves to find our especial part. When we have found it, willingly and faithfully perform it; for every obstacle we overcome, every success we achieve tends to bring man closer to God." Almost immediately after graduation, Sullivan began teaching Helen Keller. Keller was blind, mute, and deaf, and her father was searching for a good teacher with whom she could learn how to communicate better. Sullivan was immediately recommended to him. Upon Sullivan’s arrival at the Keller home in Tuscambia, Alabama, Sullivan actually got into an argument with Keller’s parents about the Civil War and the fact that the Kellers were slaveholders. But upon meeting Helen, they clearly had a connection. The two would remain companions for 49 years. Originally, Sullivan’s curriculum was very strict. But she soon realized that this did not suit Keller, and so she changed it to suit her. Rather than introducing new words constantly, she took a slower approach, teaching her words that corresponded with what she was interested in at the time. Sullivan taught Keller new words by drawing the shapes of the letters on Keller’s palm. These methods proved to work when, six months into teaching, Keller had learnt 575 words, some multiplication tables, and the Braille system. In 1888, Keller’s parents, after Sullivan strongly encouraging it, sent Keller to Perkins School for the Blind. Sullivan accompanied her and it is said that this is when their friendship really blossomed. Keller became a symbol for the school, helping it fundraise and improve. Sullivan and Keller remained companions for the rest of Sullivan’s life, with Sullivan assisting Keller in her educational and career pursuits. When Anne married John Albert Macy in 1905, he moved in with Keller and Sullivan, who were already living together, as Sullivan was still Keller’s personal teacher. John and Anne’s marriage faded away not to long after, however. Sullivan had no children. During Sullivan’s lifetime and after, Helen Keller made many strides for the rights of disabled people and women. Anne Sullivan died in 1936, with Helen Keller holding her hand. Anne Sullivan was a talented teacher, loving friend, and should serve as a huge source of inspiration for all people. Resources for your Research: 1. "Anne Sullivan - Biography." - for a detailed biography 2. "Anne Sullivan Found 'the Fire of a Purpose' Through Teaching Helen Keller - Biography." - For research on Anne & Helen's relationship 3. "Anne Sullivan." - for a detailed biography on Anne Sullivan 4. "Helen Keller." - for a detailed biography on Helen Keller 5. "Anne's Formative Years: 1866-1886." - For research on Anne Sullivan's childhood Citations: 1. "Anne Sullivan." Wikipedia. Accessed March 2, 2021. 2. "Anne Sullivan." Biography.com. Accessed March 2, 2021. 3. "Anne Sullivan." Perkins School for the Blind. Accessed March 2, 2021. 4. "Helen Keller." Wikipedia. Accessed March 2, 2021. 5. "Tewksbury Almshouse." American Foundation for the Blind. Accessed March 2, 2021. (Trigger Warning: Abuse) 6. "Helen Keller FAQ." Perkins School for the Blind. March 2, 2021. This image is in the public domain. Martha Washington, nee Dandridge, is most well known for simply being the wife of the first president of the United States, George Washington. But who was she, apart from her husband?
Martha Dandridge was born on June 2, 1731, on her parent’s plantation in the Virginia Colony. Unlike most girls of the time, she was taught to read and write at a young age, enabling her to be an avid reader and writer for the rest of her life. She was the eldest sister to seven siblings, as well as a possible illegitimate half-sister, Ann Dandridge Costin, who was born into slavery. At age 18, Martha was married to 38-year-old Daniel Parke Custis. Together, they had four children, two of which survived to young-adulthood, however Martha outlived all of them. At age 25, she found herself a wealthy widow when her husband died on July 8, 1757. Daniel left her a large inheritance of around 17,500 acres of land and 300 slaves, as well as lots of investments and cash. She independently owned all of this for a year, as well as, according to her biographer, “capably [running] the five plantations left to her when her first husband died, bargaining with London merchants for the best tobacco prices.", until she married George Washington at age 27, on January 6, 1759. Since they lived in the same area, it is likely that George knew the Custis’s before Daniel’s death. They never had any children together, but they raised Martha’s surviving children together, as well as financially supporting their extended families. The Washington family hit with hardship, however, when Patsy, one of the Custis children, died from a seizure at age 17. Since her husband was usually off traveling for business and the war, Martha was often the main manager of the household. In the winters, she stayed with Geroeg in the military encampments, helping out however she could. Tragedy struck again with Martha’s last son, Jacky’s death during the Revolution. Martha and George adopted two of his children, who lived at Mount Vernon while they grew up and were raised by their grandparents. After the colonists won the American Revolutionary War, George Washington was asked to assume the office of the President, as the first President of the United States. Martha was not in support of George accepting the offer, but she still served as a great First Lady. Every Friday evening, she held “levees”, where citizens of the U.S. could come and discuss matters with her. George also held his own weekly levees, but those ones were much more formal than Martha’s more sociable ones. She wanted to be seen as a normal person to the public of the U.S. These receptions were based on the European tradition of the king holding levees in which he could hear from the people. George Washington died on December 14, 1799. It is said that Martha’s health declined after her husband’s death. In George’s will, he indicated that upon Martha’s death, all of his slaves, which would become hers upon his death, would all be freed. Out of fear that her slaves would murder her to get their freedom, she freed them all early, in 1801. Martha Washington died on May 22, 1802. She left her inheritance to her grandchildren, and, unfortunately, did not emancipate any of her own slaves in her lifetime or in her will. Resources for your own Research:
On March 1st, 1987, Congress passed a resolution making March officially Women’s History Month in the United States of America. But how did March become Women’s History Month?
Originally, Women’s History Month was actually just a week long, called Women’s History Week. It all began when the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women planned the first Women’s History Week in 1978, which was to be celebrated in Santa Rosa, California. The week of March 8 was selected for the event, to correspond with International Women’s Day (March 8). In the following years, the tradition of celebrating women’s contributions in this one week of the year spread across the country. In 1980, a collection of women’s groups and historians, who were led by the National Women’s History Alliance, succeeded in lobbying for national recognition of Women’s History Week. That February, President Jimmy Carter issued the first ever presidential proclamation recognizing the week of March 8 as Women’s History Week, in it stating that: “From the first settlers that came to our shores, from the first [Native American] families who befriended them, men and women have worked together to build this nation.” In the following years, it became custom that the president would issue a proclamation marking March as Women’s History Week for that year. In 1987, as stated above, Congress passed a resolution that made March officially Women’s History Month in the U.S. The National Women’s History Alliance selects the theme of each year’s Women’s History Month (this year’s is on the suffragette movement of the late 19th century and early 20th century). Since 1995, presidents have continued to write and publish these annual proclamations of March as Women’s History Month, all of them in some way celebrating and recognizing the contributions that women have made in the history of the United States. It is vital that we all ensure we are learning history from a variety of perspectives, as well as learning about the history of all people of the world, not just some. Resources for Further Research:
Happy Women's History Month! To celebrate, I've made a calendar of "On This Day" events, all focused on Women's History! Each weekday in this month, I will post a short article on the topic of the event for that day.
Please share my blog with anyone you know who you think would enjoy my content! I greatly appreciate it! :) Events March 1, 1987 -- Congress passes a resolution designating March as Women’s History Month March 2, 1903 -- Martha Washington Hotel, catering to women only, opens in NYC March 3, 1887 -- Anne Sullivan begins teaching 6 year old Helen Keller March 4, 1917 -- Jeannette Rankin took her seat as the first female member of Congress March 4, 1522 -- Anne Boleyn makes her debut at the English court at the Green Castle pageant March 5, 1922 -- "Annie Oakley" (Phoebe Ann Moses) broke all existing records for women's trap shooting. She hit 98 out of 100 targets. March 6, 1960 -- Switzerland granted women the right to vote in municipal elections. March 7, 1530 -- Pope Clement VII forbade Henry VIII from marrying Anne Boleyn March 8 -- International Women’s Day March 8, 1702 -- England's Queen Anne took the throne upon the death of King William III. March 9, 1959 -- Mattel introduced Barbie at the annual Toy Fair in New York. March 10, 1898 -- Josephine Groves Holloway was born. She founded the first unofficial Girl Scout troop for African American girls and worked for two decades to have her troops recognized by the Nashville Girl Scout Council. March 11, 2006 -- Michelle Bachelet is inaugurated as the first female president of Chile March 12, 1912 -- Juliette Gordon Low assembled 18 girls together in Savannah, Georgia, for the first-ever Girl Scout meeting March 13, 1944 -- Susan Gerbi, a biochemist, was born today in 1944. She helped devise a method to map the start site of DNA replication and researched the role of hormones in certain cancers. March 14, 2018 -- Angela Merkel sworn in for fourth term as German Chancellor, head of a coalition government, 171 days after the general election March 15, 2019 -- Climate change strikes held by school children take place around the world inspired by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg March 16, 1799 -- Botanist and photographer Anna Atkins is born. She is considered to be the first person to publish a book with photographs. March 17, 1917 -- Loretta Perfectus Walsh became the first woman to join the navy and the first woman to officially join the military in a role other than a nurse March 18, 1970 -- Dana Elaine Owens (known professionally by her stage name Queen Latifah) is an American rapper, songwriter, singer, actress, and producer is born. She has long been considered one of hip-hop's pioneer feminists. March 19, 1875 -- Margaret Foley, a labor organizer, suffragist, and social worker, was born today. As a passionate suffrage activist, she would loudly confront anti-suffrage speakers at events and even made a solo balloon flight where she tossed suffrage literature from the basket. March 20, 1852 -- Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin is published and becomes the best-selling book of the 19th century March 21, 1986 – Debi Thomas becomes first African American woman to win the World Figure Skating Championship March 22, 1972 -- Congress approves Equal Rights Amendment (never ratified). March 23, 1884 -- Florence Ellinwood Allen, the first woman to serve on a state supreme court and one of the first two women to serve as a United States federal judge, was born today. March 24, 1853 -- Anti-slavery newspaper "The Provincial Freeman" first published in Windsor, Ontario, edited by Samuel Ringgold Ward and Mary Ann Shadd Cary, first black woman publisher in North America March 25, 1934 -- Gloria Steinem, women’s rights activist, organizer, and journalist, was born today. She was the founding editor of Ms. Magazine, and also helped found National Women’s Political Caucus, the Women’s Action Alliance, and the Coalition of Labor Union Women. March 26, 1533 -- Anne Boleyn is presented to the world at last as Queen Consort March 27, 1997 -- Pamela Gordon became Bermuda's first woman prime minister today. March 28, 1911 -- In New York, suffragists performed the political play "Pageant of Protest." March 29, 1871 -- Royal Albert Hall opened by Queen Victoria in London March 30, 1533 -- Henry VIII divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. March 31, 1776 – Abigail Adams writes to her husband John who is helping to frame the Declaration of Independence and cautions, “Remember the ladies… Resources for the Calendar 1. On This Day 2. On This Day (2) 3. “March Events”, National Women’s History Alliance 4. “International Women’s Day”, Wikipedia 5. “Equal Rights Amendment”, Wikipedia 6. “This Day in Tudor History”, The Tudors Wiki 7. Today in Women’s History |
the authorHello there! I'm Gemma, and I love women's history! archive
May 2021
sort
All
|