Ghanima Atreides (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
atreideslioness) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2013-01-14 09:57 am
atreideslioness) wrote in fandomhigh2013-01-14 09:57 am
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History of American Feminism, Monday, 2nd Period.
When students came in today, the desks were still in a circle, and Ghanima had written on the blackboard:
"If you follow American news," Ghanima began once everyone had arrived, "--lately all you'll hear about is 'the intent of the Founding Fathers' on almost every topic; from guns to the right to marry."
"No one ever asks about the intent of the 'Founding Ladies' who played a role in the Revolution."
"If you grew up taking American History, you would have heard of Paul Revere, George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and Peyton Randolph, but some of the very first people helping to create this country and establish the rights of citizens were women."
Ghanima smiled and hopped off her desk, picking up her mug of tea to walk around the room. "Robert Shirtliffe enlisted in the 4th Massachusetts Regiment in 1778. Except, his name wasn't Robert and he wasn't a man," she shared. "Deborah Sampson cut her hair and wrapped a cloth firmly around her chest. Thus, disguised as a man, she enlisted in the Revolutionary Army using her brother's name. Deborah fought for her country for years. She was wounded in battle, although sources differ as to where. Some say her shoulder; others her thigh. Coming down with a fever did her in - not in the mortal sense, but in her disguise. A kindly doctor treating her discovered her secret. He helped her keep her secret until the war ended, taking her to his house to recover in private. At the end of the war, Deborah was given an honorable discharge, and Deborah's husband was the only man to receive a widower's pension from the Revolutionary War. "
"Sally St. Clair was a Creole girl who disguised herself as a soldier in a South Carolina Regiment and followed her lover into battle fighting beside him. She was killed in the Battle of Savannah reportedly protecting him, and it was upon her death that her gender was discovered."
"Margaret Corbin and her husband, John Corbin, both from Philadelphia, along with some 600 American soldiers, were defending Fort Washington in northern Manhattan from 4,000 attacking Hessian troops under British command. John and Margaret crewed one of two cannons the defenders possessed. When her husband fell, with no time to grieve, Margaret continued loading and firing the cannon by herself until she was wounded by gunfire which tore her shoulder, mangled her chest and lacerated her jaw. She later became the first woman in U.S. history to receive a pension from Congress for military service, and never regained use of her left arm."
"Some political pundits may scoff, call these folk-tales and say that the women were simply serving their menfolk. Unfortunately for them, official government documentation begs to differ." Ghanima stated. "There exists a very unusual document discovered by the Daughters of the American Revolution. It is a list reading a "Classed Returne of Capt. James Green's Company for filling up the New Jersey Regiments as Well as for Raising the men to be stationed on the Frontears of the County, as Follows Viz: ...". It is dated 29 June 1780. The list of names includes 95 men and 19 women. The names of the women are not segregated into a particular class or division, but are interspersed within the names of the men. There are some women's surnames that match those of the men indicating some relation, but in other cases there are single women, and even a widow, with no other family members on the list. The women with surnames the same as a man's on the roster are not necessarily listed near him. There appears to be no separation between the males and females in Capt. Green's roster. It is a distinct possibility that these women were fighting members of equal stature to the men."
She halted her walk by the blackboard, and looked at the quote. "Phillis Wheatley, whom I have quoted here today, was America's first published black author. In 1761, at the age of 7, Phillis was bought as a slave by the Wheatley family of Boston. The Wheatley children, Mary and Nathaniel, took it upon themselves to teach Phillis how to read and write. Phillis discovered the joy of putting words together in poems. She became a celebrity, reading her poems in public. Phillis's poems were about learning and virtue. She also wrote poems about patriotism, battles, and the greatness of America. Phillis was finally given her freedom in 1778, when the Wheatleys all passed away or left the colonies."
"Female writers were few, but not silent. Mercy Otis Warren wrote the first history of the Revolutionary War. She should know. She was there. "
"Mercy got her start before the War officially began because she wanted to do something to reach the common people with revolutionary ideas. The first Committee of Correspondence was formed in the Warren home. She wrote plays poking fun at the British, but could not put her name on the plays, as making fun of the British carried a high price - punishment and possibly jail time. In all, Mercy wrote six plays. With her husband gone off to fight, Mercy decided to write the history of the American Revolution using her notes from meetings and conversations. Her efforts were published in 1805, History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution."
"Abigail Adams, was the wife of John Adams, who was the second President of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth. She was the first Second Lady of the United States, and the second First Lady of the United States."
"If you think she was a dainty flower who allowed the powerful men in her life to have their way, you would be wrong."
"She took an active role in politics and policy, unlike the quiet presence of Martha Washington. She was so politically active, her political opponents came to refer to her as "Mrs. President". Adams was an advocate of married women's property rights and more opportunities for women, particularly in the field of education. Women, she believed, should not submit to laws not made in their interest, nor should they be content with the simple role of being companions to their husbands. They should educate themselves and thus be recognized for their intellectual capabilities, so they could guide and influence the lives of their children and husbands. She is known for her March, 1776 letter to John and the Continental Congress, requesting that they, "...remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.""
"Despite Abigail Adams’s famous plea to "remember the ladies," many of the contributions of Revolutionary War era women have been forgotten, and the opinions of women relegated to unimportance by special interests, corporations, and political parties." Ghanima said, turning her attention back to the class. "But you've all listened to me talk, so now I want to hear from you. Were these women the first American feminists, or simply patriots? Or both? Can you be a feminist if you don't explicitly state that you're fighting for women's rights - or equal rights - as well as national sovereignty when you're busy loading artillery shells? Can we assign feminist aspirations to women, merely because they broke from patriarchal tradition during a revolution?"
[OOC:Please hold for the OCD. Tag away!]
In every human Beast, God has implanted a Principle, which we call Love of Freedom; it is impatient of Oppression, and pants for Deliverance.
"If you follow American news," Ghanima began once everyone had arrived, "--lately all you'll hear about is 'the intent of the Founding Fathers' on almost every topic; from guns to the right to marry."
"No one ever asks about the intent of the 'Founding Ladies' who played a role in the Revolution."
"If you grew up taking American History, you would have heard of Paul Revere, George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and Peyton Randolph, but some of the very first people helping to create this country and establish the rights of citizens were women."
Ghanima smiled and hopped off her desk, picking up her mug of tea to walk around the room. "Robert Shirtliffe enlisted in the 4th Massachusetts Regiment in 1778. Except, his name wasn't Robert and he wasn't a man," she shared. "Deborah Sampson cut her hair and wrapped a cloth firmly around her chest. Thus, disguised as a man, she enlisted in the Revolutionary Army using her brother's name. Deborah fought for her country for years. She was wounded in battle, although sources differ as to where. Some say her shoulder; others her thigh. Coming down with a fever did her in - not in the mortal sense, but in her disguise. A kindly doctor treating her discovered her secret. He helped her keep her secret until the war ended, taking her to his house to recover in private. At the end of the war, Deborah was given an honorable discharge, and Deborah's husband was the only man to receive a widower's pension from the Revolutionary War. "
"Sally St. Clair was a Creole girl who disguised herself as a soldier in a South Carolina Regiment and followed her lover into battle fighting beside him. She was killed in the Battle of Savannah reportedly protecting him, and it was upon her death that her gender was discovered."
"Margaret Corbin and her husband, John Corbin, both from Philadelphia, along with some 600 American soldiers, were defending Fort Washington in northern Manhattan from 4,000 attacking Hessian troops under British command. John and Margaret crewed one of two cannons the defenders possessed. When her husband fell, with no time to grieve, Margaret continued loading and firing the cannon by herself until she was wounded by gunfire which tore her shoulder, mangled her chest and lacerated her jaw. She later became the first woman in U.S. history to receive a pension from Congress for military service, and never regained use of her left arm."
"Some political pundits may scoff, call these folk-tales and say that the women were simply serving their menfolk. Unfortunately for them, official government documentation begs to differ." Ghanima stated. "There exists a very unusual document discovered by the Daughters of the American Revolution. It is a list reading a "Classed Returne of Capt. James Green's Company for filling up the New Jersey Regiments as Well as for Raising the men to be stationed on the Frontears of the County, as Follows Viz: ...". It is dated 29 June 1780. The list of names includes 95 men and 19 women. The names of the women are not segregated into a particular class or division, but are interspersed within the names of the men. There are some women's surnames that match those of the men indicating some relation, but in other cases there are single women, and even a widow, with no other family members on the list. The women with surnames the same as a man's on the roster are not necessarily listed near him. There appears to be no separation between the males and females in Capt. Green's roster. It is a distinct possibility that these women were fighting members of equal stature to the men."
She halted her walk by the blackboard, and looked at the quote. "Phillis Wheatley, whom I have quoted here today, was America's first published black author. In 1761, at the age of 7, Phillis was bought as a slave by the Wheatley family of Boston. The Wheatley children, Mary and Nathaniel, took it upon themselves to teach Phillis how to read and write. Phillis discovered the joy of putting words together in poems. She became a celebrity, reading her poems in public. Phillis's poems were about learning and virtue. She also wrote poems about patriotism, battles, and the greatness of America. Phillis was finally given her freedom in 1778, when the Wheatleys all passed away or left the colonies."
"Female writers were few, but not silent. Mercy Otis Warren wrote the first history of the Revolutionary War. She should know. She was there. "
"Mercy got her start before the War officially began because she wanted to do something to reach the common people with revolutionary ideas. The first Committee of Correspondence was formed in the Warren home. She wrote plays poking fun at the British, but could not put her name on the plays, as making fun of the British carried a high price - punishment and possibly jail time. In all, Mercy wrote six plays. With her husband gone off to fight, Mercy decided to write the history of the American Revolution using her notes from meetings and conversations. Her efforts were published in 1805, History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution."
"Abigail Adams, was the wife of John Adams, who was the second President of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth. She was the first Second Lady of the United States, and the second First Lady of the United States."
"If you think she was a dainty flower who allowed the powerful men in her life to have their way, you would be wrong."
"She took an active role in politics and policy, unlike the quiet presence of Martha Washington. She was so politically active, her political opponents came to refer to her as "Mrs. President". Adams was an advocate of married women's property rights and more opportunities for women, particularly in the field of education. Women, she believed, should not submit to laws not made in their interest, nor should they be content with the simple role of being companions to their husbands. They should educate themselves and thus be recognized for their intellectual capabilities, so they could guide and influence the lives of their children and husbands. She is known for her March, 1776 letter to John and the Continental Congress, requesting that they, "...remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.""
"Despite Abigail Adams’s famous plea to "remember the ladies," many of the contributions of Revolutionary War era women have been forgotten, and the opinions of women relegated to unimportance by special interests, corporations, and political parties." Ghanima said, turning her attention back to the class. "But you've all listened to me talk, so now I want to hear from you. Were these women the first American feminists, or simply patriots? Or both? Can you be a feminist if you don't explicitly state that you're fighting for women's rights - or equal rights - as well as national sovereignty when you're busy loading artillery shells? Can we assign feminist aspirations to women, merely because they broke from patriarchal tradition during a revolution?"
[OOC:
Re: During the Lecture
She really, really liked this class so far.