No new readings for this day. Welcome back from Spring Break.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment XIX, United States Constitution (1920)
As the date of adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment shows, the movement to extend the suffrage to women moved at a glacially slow pace. Most of the brave women at Seneca Falls never lived to see the fruits of their work.
For many years following the adoption of this amendment, American society acted as if equality issues had been resolved. Students of mine in recent years have tended to believe the same thing. But by the 1970s, inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, women began to investigate the issues once again. And even today, issues at home and abroad remind us that opinion and policy continue to evolve. We'll explore the reawakening of feminism and "women's liberation" by watching a video from the PBS People's Century series: Half the People. Happy Women's History Month.
Edie Phillips of the University of Maryland analyzed aspects of the Women's Liberation Movement of the 1970s, comparing television images of women with the view of women promoted by persons in "The Movement". The Television image of the Ideal Woman is presented at the left. Sarah Grimke would not be surprised, I think. Click on the image to visit the website. Then, in your notebook, make a few remarks about what has changed (or not changed) by 2004.
Learn a little more . . .
I don't watch a lot of television--in fact about the only time is see it is in the lower commons. Have things changed much since the television images of women of the 1970s? For the better or for the worse, in your judgment? Write about this in your journal.
First, consider the text of the proposed, but not adopted Equal Rights Amendment, and compare it with the text of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, which you’ve read for Investigation Three. Is there any suggestion of a relationship between these two? Read the brief history of the attempt to pass the E. R. A. Thirty-five states ratified the Amendment, three short of the necessary 38. Look at the ratification map and see if you can discern a pattern. If you do, hypothesize what may be the reason for the pattern.
Next, consider the essay by John Stuart Mill. Mill was an English philosopher and is considered by many to be the father of the Libertarian movement. He is perhaps less well known as a staunch advocate for Women’s Rights. His thesis is presented in the first paragraph
You are not going to find Mill an easy read. So give yourself time, prepare to be a little frustrated, and slog on through it. You’re looking for some very specific things.
1.Mill considers why it is difficult to apply reason and argument to the issue of equality for women. Why doesn’t reason and logic work? Note references to this.
2.What are Mill’s ideas on the force of habit relative to what is considered “natural”?
3.Is there any evidence that Mill was aware of, and possibly used, ideas coming out of the American struggle for women’s rights?
4.Do men really understand women? If so why, if not, why not?
5.Is there any motivation for men to resist equality for women? Is there any motive for women to resist equality with men?
When you analyze this document use a marking up system which lets you locate information on these issues easily. Try not to over-mark your copy. Restrict yourselves to these questions as much as possible
Next, focus your attention on the Grimké letter on Legal Disabilities. The object is not to memorize the entire list. Three things should suffice here.
First, make sure you understand what a legal disability is. You may want to write a little definition in the margin. Be able to demonstrate you understand the concept by presenting an example or two.
Second, when you read Mill you looked for evidence that he was aware of the American situation. Is there evidence that Grimké was equally aware of the influence of English custom and culture on American practices? The Gentleman to whom she frequently refers sat for the portrait at the left.
Finally, returning to the primary issue in this investigation, is there evidence that Grimké makes explicit connections between the status of women in her era and the status of blacks in her era? If so, make note of it.
As a result of this system, according to his own account, he believed this gave him an advantage of a quarter of a century over his contemporaries....His Considerations on Representative Government belongs to the year 1860; and in 1863 (after first appearing in magazine form) came his Utilitarianism. In the Parliament of 1865-68, he sat as Radical member for Westminster. He advocated three major things in the House of Commons: women suffrage, the interests of the laboring classes, and land reform in Ireland.
Click on his name or his portrait to learn more about him and Utilitarianism.
Sir William Blackstone
(1723-1780)
Born: 10th July 1723 at Cheapside, London
Head of New Inn Hall, Oxford
Died: 14th February 1780 at Wallingford, Berkshire
For Thursday, March 24
The object of this Essay is to explain as clearly as I am able grounds of an opinion which I have held from the very earliest period when I had formed any opinions at all on social political matters, and which, instead of being weakened or modified, has been constantly growing stronger by the progress reflection and the experience of life. That the principle which regulates the existing social relations between the two sexes--the legal subordination of one sex to the other--is wrong itself, and now one of the chief hindrances to human improvement; and that it ought to be replaced by a principle of perfect equality, admitting no power or privilege on the one side, nor disability on the other.
Finally, consider Letter VIII: On the Condition of Women in the United States (pp. 3 - 7 of Document 29) (It won’t kill anyone to read letter IV as well, but I’m not requiring it). Here, as you read and analyze, look for specific evidence of linkage between the struggle to end slavery and the struggle for equality for women. Is there convincing evidence that the two causes were linked? If so, what might be some of the reasons why the struggle for women’s suffrage and equal rights for women occupied so many more years?
Sarah Grimké, pictured to the left, was one of the bravest women of her time. Born and raised in South Carolina to a family of wealthy slave-owning planters, she defied her father, a staunch supporter of slavery and of an inferior role for women. She later settled in Philadelphia, where a strong Quaker community was sympathetic to at least some of her views. Read about her and her sister, Angelina by clicking on her portrait.
The best laid plans of mice and professors sometimes go awry. I had hoped to have this posted in the middle of last week, but I got distracted by the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster in Japan, and spring break in general. We may not get through all of Thursday's readings on Thursday. But I'd like to give it a good shot, so please read as much as you can.
Finally read the letters between John and Abigail Adams. We hear lots about "Founding Fathers" but not as much as we should about their female counterparts. Nobody deserves to be called a "Founding Mother" as much as Abigail Adams does. It would not be going too far to suggest she deserves the title of First American Feminist. She lost this one, though some of the more radical states (New Jersey, among them) actively considered giving women the suffrage. Her portrait reckons her not a woman to be trifled with. A younger Abigail makes her appearance at the top of the document I've prepared for you.
