I thought I'd spotlight an Iowa girl for my first post this month, and a Minnesota girl for my last post. Iowa is my new home (and my old home: I grew up here), and Minnesota was my adopted home for 20 years. I'll talk about Justine Kerfoot in my last post, a woman who awed me when I met her and who remains a legend of the Gunflint Trail.
But for now, I'll talk about Carrie Chapman Catt. Like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, CCC was an advocate of equal rights for women and the ratification of the 19th Amendment. I did a lot of research about CCC for a time travel book that I plan to write (whenever I get the time: how ironic!)
CCC was fascinating to me because she did a lot of campaigning -- hands on campaigning, taking a train "Out West" on a propaganda tour. It's that train ride/tour that figures heavily in my book (again: once I get the time to write it). She also helped organize the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, she founded the League of Women Voters, worked on committees that examined issues about child labor.
What motivated a girl in the 1880s to go to college, working her way through school by washing dishes and teaching? She was the only woman in her graduating class, a rare accomplishment. She became the first woman in the nation to be appointed a superintendent of schools. She later traveled to San Francisco and became the city's first female newspaper reporter, then she returned to Iowa to be a professional writer and lecturer.
When I think of women like this, who bucked convention and followed their hearts (and consciences), it's amazing to me. Are today's young women up to the challenges of the future? I'm not sure. But I suppose my parents (who endured World War II) had the same reservations about my generation, the Baby Boomers. Were we up to the challenge of the future?
I'm not sure ... I suppose only time will tell (there it is again, that pesky reference to 'time')
Showing posts with label 19th Amendment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 19th Amendment. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
You Gotta Fight for Your Right
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| Elizabeth Cady Stanton |
Born on November 12, 1815 in Johnstown, New York, Elizabeth Cady Stanton grew up knowing her father wished she were a boy. She decided at an early age to be just as good as any boy and excelled in school. In 1839, she met fellow abolitionist Henry Stanton and fell in love. The couple eloped and moved to London. During the ceremony, Elizabeth told the minister that she and Henry would be equal partners and she would not promise to "obey" him.
While in London, Elizabeth met Lucretia Mott and the pair spoke out about women's rights. They drew up a declaration of woman's rights and modeled it after the Declaration of Independence. Their points included that women had no right to property, even to the wages they earned, that only men had the power to divorce, that if a woman wanted to work, she had little choice of what she could do, and she wouldn't get much pay, that women were denied an equal education, and that women should have the right to vote. Sixty eight women and thirty two men signed a petition in support of the declaration.
Elizabeth met Susan B. Anthony in 1851, and together they continued the fight for women's rights. Elizabeth was president of the National American Women's Suffrage Association from 1869 until 1892. During the Civil War she spent time signing petitions for emancipation. She believed the only way to gain womens' suffrage would be to gain a constitutional amendment that would state the sex of a person wouldn't keep a person from obtaining the right to vote.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton died on October 26, 1902. She did not survive to see women get the right to vote nearly 20 years later, but her fight paved the way. She believed in her cause, spoke convincingly about it, and never backed down. She was a true woman of achievement.
My latest release from Whispers Publishing, Speak Easy to Me, takes place just before the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution giving women the right to vote.
Blurb:
Willa Hardwick doesn’t want to be an ordinary housewife, especially if the only available men work at Providence’s most notable speakeasy, The Fountain. She wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like that. Women should have choices, and Willa is willing to fight for those choices as well as the right to vote.
Grant Sterling hides behind his piano night after night, entertaining the guests at The Fountain. He knows the speakeasy’s owner, Ralph “Zinny” DiZinnia, is involved in shady dealings, but he’ll never tell. In fact, Grant would rather not speak at all.
When Willa’s brother, Tommy, double-crosses Zinny, Willa faces an uncomfortable proposition to save his life. How far is she willing to go for family, and can she trust the help of a quiet piano player?
Excerpt:
The Fountain was packed tonight. Women in their short, fringed dresses and feathered caps giggled and flirted. Men in their fancy suits and winged-tip shoes talked politics and patted their laps when a pretty dame happened by.
Grant and the boys had been playing nonstop in their little corner of the bar, which was fine with Grant. He had no desire to set foot on the crowded dance floor, though the rest of the boys all had taken a turn. He was comfortable at the piano and that was where he intended to hide for the evening.
Until the door at the back of the speakeasy let in a real looker. Not anything like the Janes already filling the bar. No, something in the set of this gal’s shoulders told Grant she was not the usual customer. Some dark pencil outlined her eyes, some red lipstick rimmed her lips, but it was nothing compared to the circus look on most of the female patrons tonight.
Her skin glowed white and flawless while chestnut curls played about her jaw from under a tight-fitting, cream-colored hat. A single strand of small pearls graced her slender neck.
And the dress. Good God, the off-white dress wrapped around her figure, showing off an ample bosom, a trim waist, and a heavenly set of gams that went on for miles.
She was perfect, and yet, Grant picked up on her unease, a tension in her muscles. Her wide, chocolate eyes scanned the bar as if she were a small rabbit looking out for predators. When two men approached her, however, she smiled cordially, and Grant nearly oozed off his piano bench.
Buy Speak Easy to Me today from:
Whispers Publishing
Amazon
All Romance E-books
Willa Hardwick doesn’t want to be an ordinary housewife, especially if the only available men work at Providence’s most notable speakeasy, The Fountain. She wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like that. Women should have choices, and Willa is willing to fight for those choices as well as the right to vote.
Grant Sterling hides behind his piano night after night, entertaining the guests at The Fountain. He knows the speakeasy’s owner, Ralph “Zinny” DiZinnia, is involved in shady dealings, but he’ll never tell. In fact, Grant would rather not speak at all.
When Willa’s brother, Tommy, double-crosses Zinny, Willa faces an uncomfortable proposition to save his life. How far is she willing to go for family, and can she trust the help of a quiet piano player?
Excerpt:
The Fountain was packed tonight. Women in their short, fringed dresses and feathered caps giggled and flirted. Men in their fancy suits and winged-tip shoes talked politics and patted their laps when a pretty dame happened by.
Grant and the boys had been playing nonstop in their little corner of the bar, which was fine with Grant. He had no desire to set foot on the crowded dance floor, though the rest of the boys all had taken a turn. He was comfortable at the piano and that was where he intended to hide for the evening.
Until the door at the back of the speakeasy let in a real looker. Not anything like the Janes already filling the bar. No, something in the set of this gal’s shoulders told Grant she was not the usual customer. Some dark pencil outlined her eyes, some red lipstick rimmed her lips, but it was nothing compared to the circus look on most of the female patrons tonight.
Her skin glowed white and flawless while chestnut curls played about her jaw from under a tight-fitting, cream-colored hat. A single strand of small pearls graced her slender neck.
And the dress. Good God, the off-white dress wrapped around her figure, showing off an ample bosom, a trim waist, and a heavenly set of gams that went on for miles.
She was perfect, and yet, Grant picked up on her unease, a tension in her muscles. Her wide, chocolate eyes scanned the bar as if she were a small rabbit looking out for predators. When two men approached her, however, she smiled cordially, and Grant nearly oozed off his piano bench.
Buy Speak Easy to Me today from:
Whispers Publishing
Amazon
All Romance E-books
Chris
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