Women
The history of the United States, as learned in school, generally excludes women
and their involvement in creating this nation. The norm is to learn about dead, white
men in an effort to learn about where "we" come from. It is clear that
learning solely about the ways in which white men have shaped history is not representative
of the entire population. However, when students ask about the lack of women in their
history texts, they are often told that the lack of information is due to a lack
of involvement.
In an exercise created by educational researchers, Sadker and Sadker, students are
asked to name 20 famous men and 20 famous women (http://www.women.eb.com)
from American history. Although everyone is able to compile a list of famous men,
virtually no one is able to compile a list of famous women. This is problematic for
various reasons. First of all, it shows that women’s accomplishments throughout history
have basically been ignored or trivialized in the face of men’s. If our textbooks,
and our instructors, do not include women in their teachings, students are forming
inaccurate perspectives on the history of the US. Furthermore, a "womanless
history" is problematic because girls begin to believe that they are worthless
in comparison to the pioneering and heroic accomplishments of men. This may lead
to a general lack of self-confidence due to a lack of seeing one’s self represented
in the world. This portion of my project is an attempt to highlight a few of the
many women (http://www.gale.com) who have actively
participated in the creation of this country and deserve to be acknowledged in our
history.
Helen Hunt Jackson
Helen Hunt Jackson was a well-educated woman from Massachusetts who decided to
pursue a career in writing subsequent to the deaths of her husband and children.
After attending a lecture by Chief Standing Bear in Boston, Jackson was moved and
outraged by the government’s treatment of Native American tribes. She began to expose
the government’s abuse of Native Americans in her writings, circulate petitions in
an effort to gain widespread support for the cause, raise money for legal battles,
and raise awareness about the plight of Native Americans throughout the United States.
In 1881, Jackson wrote A Century of Dishonor which exposed
treaties that the government had broken, corrupt deals that had been made, and general
mismanagement of Native American affairs. Her exposure of the situations of Native
Americans throughout the country eventually led the US Department of the Interior
to authorize Jackson to investigate the conditions and needs of Native Americans
in California. She was the first woman appointed by President Arthur to the position
of a commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1882, and continued to expose the mistreatment
of Native Americans through her work and writings. Although the genocide of Native
Americans continued to occur despite her efforts, Jackson was truly a dedicated activist
whose influence should not go unnoticed.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a pioneer in the struggle for women’s rights. Influenced
by experiences in her own life, she began to work towards opportunities for women
aside from marriage and motherhood. She was well educated and soon discovered how
women suffered from legal discrimination; this encouraged Stanton to work towards
altering the laws. In 1848, five women met to discuss the "social, civil, and
religious conditions and rights of women." At this time, Stanton wrote the meeting’s
manifesto called the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments.
This manifesto included a list of rights that women were entitled to, including the
right to vote. Although many were critical, and even hostile, towards Stanton’s ideals,
the women’s movement had been born.
In 1868, Stanton, in collaboration with Susan B. Anthony, created the National Woman
Suffrage Association with Stanton as president. She also began publishing a newspaper
called Revolution which addressed the rights of women.
Stanton was an incredibly progressive and influential person because she believed
that for women to gain equality, we must not only attempt to change the laws, but
the very way in which women are viewed.
Mary McLeod Bethune
Mary McLeod Bethune was born in South Carolina to former slaves. She overcame
many obstacles and taught in various small Southern schools until 1903. Soon thereafter,
Bethune moved to the east coast of Florida to a predominantly Black community and
started her own school called the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro
Girls. In 1923, her school merged with the Cookman Institute for Men and became the
Bethune-Cookman College, where she remained president until 1942.
At the same time, Bethune founded the National Council Of Negro Women in 1935. The
NCNW was created to build unity among various Black women’s groups and to address
issues of national and international concern. The organization flourished to represent
more than 35 national and 250 community affiliations, and 4,000,000 women. In addition,
Bethune was appointed to the position of Director of the Division of Negro Affairs
of the National Youth Administration in 1936 by President Roosevelt. Throughout her
career as an activist and educator, Bethune influenced innumerable advancements to
women of color and society as a whole.
Flossie Wong-Staal
It is probably more appropriate to say that Wong-Staal is currently creating
history, rather than to acknowledge her past accomplishments. Wong-Staal is one of
the world’s leading authorities in the field of virology, the study of viruses. After
studying molecular biology at the University of California at Los Angeles, she began
working with the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland with a prominent
researcher, Robert Gallo. In 1983, Wong-Staal and Gallo discovered the HIV virus
simultaneously with a French researcher. Wong-Staal was responsible for the first
genetic cloning and mapping of HIV in 1985, which led to the development of HIV tests
used to screen blood and test individuals.
In 1990, Wong-Staal resigned from her position at the National Cancer Institute to
accept the Florence Riford Chair in AIDS Research at the University of California
at San Diego. Wong-Staal and her staff at UCSD, along with five other research institutes,
are working towards discovering a vaccine for the AIDS virus using gene therapy.
Wong-Staal’s endeavors, and those of her colleagues, could very well lead to an immunization
for healthy people as well as more effective treatments for those already infected
with HIV.