It is important to remember that the following stories are short snippets of these women’s lives. They all did so much more than what is shared in this presentation. If you are interested in learning more about any of these women of strength please use the references noted throughout this page. There is much more that could be said about any one of them, but for the purposes of this presentation, I used only the parts of their lives that were needed.
The definitions used in this presentation are how I define each word. They do not necessarily represent the classes’ interpretation of these words.
Strength comes in many forms. Here are a few different types of strengths, as well as examples of women that used these strengths in order to help fight the oppression they faced.
The definitions used in this presentation are how I define each word. They do not necessarily represent the classes’ interpretation of these words.
Strength comes in many forms. Here are a few different types of strengths, as well as examples of women that used these strengths in order to help fight the oppression they faced.
Strength- using your Voice, using your words, in order to impact those around you.
Abigail Adams (1744 – 1818) knew that her words to her husband were the best way to fight the oppression that women faced in the 1700’s. Though she spent most of her time away from her husband, since he was traveling and helping draft the declaration of independence. During this time Abigail wrote her husband reminding him to “Not forget the Ladies!” (thelizlibrary.org, 2011) In the same correspondence, Abigail wrote to her husband, "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.” (thelizlibrary.org, 2011) At the time, her husband dismissed her words and called her “saucy,” however, Abigail did not wavier in her beliefs and raised her son, John Quincy Adams, to believe in equality not only for women, but for all mankind. John Quincy Adams became the 6th President of the United States.
Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) is another example of a women that knew that her words were her biggest strength. In 1851, Sojourner stood before the Woman’s Convention in Akron Ohio and delivered her now famous speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?” The words delivered to the crowd resounded not only with black women, but all women. She talks about rights of the black people, as well as rights of women. Throughout her speech she speaks about different people in the crowd, at one point she singles out a man in black and states, “Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.” (sojournertruth.org, n.d.) Once she finished speaking, Sojourner walked quietly back to her corner and sat down, as the crowd exploded in applause and admiration for her and the words she spoke.
Strength – Resiliency. Throughout history women had to be resilient, they had to brush themselves off and keep going.
Margaret Sanger (1879-1966) in the 1910’s, fought against the federal government and their Comstock laws, which prohibited women from using birth control. In 1914, she coined the term birth control and began to illegally supply contraceptives to women. She was indicted in 1915 for sending diaphragms through the mail and arrested in 1916 for opening the first birth control clinic. (pbs.org, 2001) Sanger did not let the law deter her though. After being arrested she dusted herself off, continued to provide contraceptives to women and still fought for women’s rights to birth control. In 1921, Sanger founded the American Birth Control League, which was the precursor to Planned Parenthood. (pbs.org, 2001) Still not happy with the types of birth control available to women, Sanger sought out the help of a medical specialist who eventually created the first form of birth control in pill form in 1951. In 1960, Sanger saw the FDA approve the first birth control pill, and in 1965 watched as the Supreme Court ruled the Comstock Laws unconstitutional. (biography.com, n.d.)
Helen Keller (1880-1968) Born a healthy child, Helen Keller did not lose her hearing and sight until the age of 19 months, due to some unknown disease. Until she was 7, Helen had very limited ways to communicate with her family. This changed when a teacher, Anne Sullivan, was hired to teach Helen. Once Helen learned to connect words with objects there was no stopping her. Despite being deaf and blind Helen graduated from Radcliffe University, cum laude, in 1904. (afb.org, 2015) Even at an early age Helen was a fighter for the underdog, and this did not stop as she grew into a women. She continuously fought against WWI and for women’s suffrage. She also worked for the American Foundation for the blind and used that platform to advocate for those that had vision loss. (The Biography.com website, n.d.)
Strength - Physical Endurance – To continue to go through the pain in order to finish what was started.
Alice Paul (1885-1977) Alice Paul is considered the leader of the women’s suffrage movement. She and her colleagues founded the National Women’s Party and began picketing the White House to get the attention of President Woodrow Wilson. Paul was arrested and imprisoned in hopes to deter her followers from picketing the White House after the start of WWI. (history.com, 2015) Her arrest did not deter them. The day she was imprisoned, Alice began her hunger strike, when the prison realized they could not beat Alice into submission they began to force feed her raw eggs. They did this three times a day for three weeks. Luckily, people outside of the prison walls began hearing of the deplorable treatment of the women and the women were released. Two months later, the House of Representatives passed Constitutional Amendment for woman suffrage, though the Nineteenth Amendment was not ratified for another 3 years. (nwhm.org, n.d.)
Child Birth – A great example of physical endurance that women have had since the beginning of time. A women goes through having contractions, pushing the baby out of her vagina and then having to deliver the placenta after the delivery of her child. (womenshealth.gov, 2010)
Strength – Action, to do something in order to get things done.
Rosa Parks (1913 – 2005) Rosa Parks is nationally known as the “mother of modern day civil rights movement” because of her refusal to give up her seat on a bus to a white male. (rosaparks.org, 2015) Rosa believed in nonviolent protest, and that fateful bus ride was a shining example of her nonviolent beliefs. She did not yell, she did not fight, and she just sat and acted as though she did not hear the men telling her to get out of her seat. The police were called and she was arrested for Civil Disobedience. Her arrest sparked a protest against the city bus lines that lasted 381 days. This protest in Montgomery, Alabama sparked nonviolent protest throughout the country and thousands of people joined the protest for equal rights. The protest ended when segregation on the city bus lines was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Rosa Parks was active in civil rights before the day she refused to give up her seat, and she continued to be active in the movement after that day. Her case is partially credited for the fame of Martin Luther King Jr. (thehenryford.org, 2002)
Jane Addams (1860-1935) Known as the pioneer of social work in America. Jane saw a need for a settlement house and she cofounded the Hull House in Chicago. The Hull House was one of the first settlement houses in America and the first settlement house in Chicago. Her expressed purpose of the settlement house was “to provide a center for a higher civic and social life; to institute and maintain educational and philanthropic enterprises and to investigate and improve the conditions in the industrial districts of Chicago.” (nobelprize.org, 2014) The Hull House residents worked on projects in the micro, macro and mezzo aspects of social work. Some of these projects included a music class, a nursery, the first public playground and bathhouse in Chicago, improved garbage removal and they helped establish the first juvenile court in the United States. (encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org, 2005) Jane was publicly against the war (WWI) and spoke against it whenever the occasion arouse. Because of this, she was considered a radical that was a threat to US security. However, before she died she was honored with a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts at keeping peace. She was the second woman in history to receive this honor. (nobelprize.org, 2014)
References
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biography.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from Margaret Sanger Biography : http://www.biography.com/people/margaret-sanger-9471186#legacy
encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org. (2005). Retrieved from Encyclopedia Of Chicago : http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/615.html
history.com. (2015). Retrieved from History : http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/alice-paul
nobelprize.org. (2014). Retrieved from Noble Prize : http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1931/addams-bio.html
nwhm.org. (n.d.). Retrieved from Nationa Womens History Museum : http://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/alice-paul/
pbs.org. (2001). Retrieved from PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/peopleevents/p_sanger.html
rosaparks.org. (2015). Retrieved from BIOGRAPHY: http://www.rosaparks.org/biography/
sojournertruth.org. (n.d.). Retrieved from Sojourner Truth Speeches and Commentary: http://www.sojournertruth.org/Library/Speeches/Default.htm#RIGHTS
The Biography.com website . (n.d.). Retrieved from Helen Keller Biography : http://www.biography.com/people/helen-keller-9361967#social-activism
thehenryford.org. (2002). Retrieved from The Henry Ford : https://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/rosaparks/story.asp
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afb.org. (2015). Retrieved from American Foundation for the Blind: http://www.afb.org/info/about-us/helen-keller/biography-and-chronology/biography/1235
biography.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from Margaret Sanger Biography : http://www.biography.com/people/margaret-sanger-9471186#legacy
encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org. (2005). Retrieved from Encyclopedia Of Chicago : http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/615.html
history.com. (2015). Retrieved from History : http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/alice-paul
nobelprize.org. (2014). Retrieved from Noble Prize : http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1931/addams-bio.html
nwhm.org. (n.d.). Retrieved from Nationa Womens History Museum : http://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/alice-paul/
pbs.org. (2001). Retrieved from PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/peopleevents/p_sanger.html
rosaparks.org. (2015). Retrieved from BIOGRAPHY: http://www.rosaparks.org/biography/
sojournertruth.org. (n.d.). Retrieved from Sojourner Truth Speeches and Commentary: http://www.sojournertruth.org/Library/Speeches/Default.htm#RIGHTS
The Biography.com website . (n.d.). Retrieved from Helen Keller Biography : http://www.biography.com/people/helen-keller-9361967#social-activism
thehenryford.org. (2002). Retrieved from The Henry Ford : https://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/rosaparks/story.asp
thelizlibrary.org. (2011). Retrieved from Letters Between Abigail Adams and her husband John Adams: http://www.thelizlibrary.org/suffrage/abigail.htm
womenshealth.gov. (2010, September 27). Retrieved from Office on Women’s Health U.S. Department of Health and Human Services : http://www.womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirth-beyond/labor-birth.html
www.youtube.com. (2008, July 20). Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvqnjwKW7gA&feature=share
youtube.com. (2008, April 26). Retrieved from YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO70ZjZ0wrw
Photo References
biography.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from Margaret Sanger Biography : http://www.biography.com/people/margaret-sanger-9471186#legacy
childfreedom.blogspot.com. (2011, January 16). Retrieved from Childfreedom: http://childfreedom.blogspot.com/2011/01/hey-scaredy-cat.html
nobelprize.org. (2014). Retrieved from Noble Prize : http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1931/addams-bio.html
sojournertruth.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from sojourner truth: http://www.sojournertruth.com/
womenshistory.about.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from About Education : http://womenshistory.about.com/od/sangermargaret/p/margaret_sanger.htm
www.indybay.org. (2012, January 27). Retrieved from Central Valley : http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/01/27/18705770.php
biography.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from Margaret Sanger Biography : http://www.biography.com/people/margaret-sanger-9471186#legacy
childfreedom.blogspot.com. (2011, January 16). Retrieved from Childfreedom: http://childfreedom.blogspot.com/2011/01/hey-scaredy-cat.html
nobelprize.org. (2014). Retrieved from Noble Prize : http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1931/addams-bio.html
sojournertruth.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from sojourner truth: http://www.sojournertruth.com/
womenshistory.about.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from About Education : http://womenshistory.about.com/od/sangermargaret/p/margaret_sanger.htm
www.indybay.org. (2012, January 27). Retrieved from Central Valley : http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/01/27/18705770.php