ERA update

In January I wrote about the Equal Rights Amendment.  I just found out there is a new miniseries on the ERA and Phyllis Schafly coming out in April 15 on the FX channel.  The series features an all-star women cast including Cate Blanchett as Schafly.

Here is the commercial which my niece Betsy so kindly shared with me!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIpTIPKTOkU

Mrs. Smiley the Scold

 Ben Franklin said, "They who no voice nor vote in the electing of representatives do not enjoy liberty, but are absolutely enslaved to those who have votes."

The irony of Mrs. Smiley being charged as a scold hasn't escaped me. What did surprise me was that woman could still be arrested as late as 1913 for being a scold.  

In the United Kingdom during the 16th and 17th centuries, a woman could pay a heavy price for being a scold--not only forced to wear a "scold's bridle" but be repeatedly dunked in a lake or a pond.

An interesting insight on "scolding" was taken up in the state of New Jersey in 1972:

By definition only a woman can be a "Common Scold." A man might be "troublesome and angry" and by his "brawling and wrangling among" his "neighbors break the peace, increase discord and become a nuisance to the neighborhood" yet he could not be a common scold. Commonwealth v. Hamilton, 52 Pa. Dist. & Co. Rep. 485 (Quarter Sessions 1945). The discrimination between the sexes is obvious. It is senseless. It is unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment. United States v. York.

It's important to note that "scolding" could be defined as a woman who voiced disagreement with her husband.  I suppose Mrs. Smiley was lucky that her husband didn't have her committed to an insane asylum--an action that in many states could occur without the usual process of going to court to commit someone involuntarily.  In these states, wives could be committed by their husband's without the usual legal process.  

If Mrs. Smiley went to trial, I wonder how the jury would have judged her.  Women weren't allowed to sit on juries before the 19th Amendment unless a special exception was made for what was called "A Jury of Matrons."  The matron juries were usually reserved only for pregnant women on trial.

You may think this was eradicated once the 19th Amendment was passed.  But it wasn't.  

Image from 12 Angry Men movie, 1957

Believe it or not,  women were not given the right to sit on a Federal Jury until 1957.  It wasn't until 1968 that all fifty states allowed women to sit on a jury.  Campaigns to provide women with this right were frequently organized by groups such as the League of Women Voters; the League was founded by suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt, president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

Charles Dana Gibson's 1903 illustration:  

"The Jury of the Future--One that Might Temper Justice with Mercy"

Mrs. Smiley spent a few days in jail and was given "a wholesome lecture" by the residing judge and released.  Mrs. Smiley "promised to reform" and was sent on her way.  

How do you feel about Mrs. Smiley's story?

Philly and Giveaway Winner!

Sam is the giveaway winner!  Congratulations Sam and hope you enjoy your prizes!

In other news, Philadelphia is the Greek name for "Brotherly Love"  but this year in honor of the Suffrage Centennial, the city will be referred to as "the city of Sisterly love."  Way to go Philly!  You can read the article here.

Tea and a Giveaway!

Tea and rebellion are part of our American heritage.  So it isn't surprising that one of the marketing strategies used by suffragists highlighted colonial history by selling tea themselves.  This particularly clever campaign came out of California in 1911 when suffragists there tried to obtain the vote for themselves.

One of the ways that the women combined fund raising with propaganda was by selling tea.  Two different groups in that state sold packages of tea.

"Equality tea" was sold in Northern California.

The packages were sold at grocers, by mail, and at fairs.  I like the way the group chose this pretty woman to be advertised as one of the women selling tea:

The suffragists in northern California even opened a tea room at their party headquarters.

"Votes for Women Tea" was sold in Southern California.  I couldn't find an image of the packages but I do know that Mrs. R. L. Craig, a well known grocer, was a driving force for suffrage and selling the tea.  She was also the only woman in the local grocer association.

California suffragists were lucky.  In October of 1911, California became the sixth state to grant women the right to vote.

This story may give you an idea for a quilt.  I have made numerous tea cup quilts and I know there are free patterns for paper-pieced and appliqued patterns for tea cups.

Today we are also sponsoring a giveaway!  Many of us experience what I call a "February Funk" this time of year.  Would two packs of batik charm packs perk you up?  Well we are sponsoring a giveaway that will end on Saturday night.

Just for fun, tell me what warm drink cheers you up this time of year!  Leave a comment on this post or email me at allentownquilter@gmail.com

Have a wonderful day!

Updates

A lot has been going on and I wanted to update all of you on some of the latest suffrage news.

First off I have received wonderful emails from many of you and even photos of the quilts you are working on!  We are delighted with your enthusiasm!  

I love the ingenuity and creativity I'm seeing in your photos.  I won't post photos of the quilts until after the July 4, 2020 deadline but I will share with you one creative solution that Kathleen C. shared with us.  It's fairly difficult to find ribbon with yellow, white and purple.  Enter Kathleen C. who made this wonderful ribbon by combining three kinds of ribbons to get the absolutely perfect combination:

She glued the ribbons together and it makes a wonderful suffrage pin!

If you are sponsoring or planning a suffrage event, you may find Kathleen's ingenious idea helpful!

Next on the agenda are some dates that I will be doing speaking on various suffrage topics. 

Suffrage Gardens and the 1915 Campaign

Yes, there were suffrage gardens!  Invented by Pennsylvania suffragists, the gardens became a nationwide phenomenon.  I will warn you that there is very little information about the gardens on the web (I'll be doing a blog post on them in late May) which is why I copyrighted this particular lecture.  

Now I know that many quilters are gardeners as well.  You may wish to know more about the gardens and I'll be giving this lecture at a variety of places including two public venues:

Schwenfelder Library and Heritage Center:  March 11, 2020

Historic Bethlehem:  May 2, 2020

By the Chimney No More:  Women and Quilting from 1865 to 1920

Historic Bethlehem:  June 13, 2020

Beth and I are giving this lecture at many quilt guilds this year but if you are unable to attend the lecture at your guild or your guild hasn't booked us, feel free to contact Historic Bethlehem for a ticket.  My understanding is they are announcing the programs in February, so I would wait until next month to contact them.

Suffrage in the Valley

Historic Bethlehem:  August 15, 2020

This lecture discusses some of the suffrage work that was done in the Lehigh Valley.  We chose this date because it is so close to the actual centennial.  Discussion will include local suffragists, prominent suffragists who visited this area, and other aspects of the suffrage cause.

Looking forward to seeing some of you at these events!  Have a wonderful day and keep those emails coming!

Fashion Police

Women generally don't like men dictating to them and they really don't like men dictating what they should wear.  In 1913 a new fashion emerged and v-shaped and round necklines were introduced and quickly condemned in some religious circles, even in Europe.

Enter Louis H. Capelle of Cincinnati, Ohio.  A state representative, he introduced a bill to "prescribe the fashions to be worn by the women in the state of Ohio."  Capelle sought to form a commission who would dictate women's garments--in particular to limit the neckline to "not more than two inches of the neck, below the chin."  Other regulations included a ban on transparent stockings, and to ban lace and embroider on dresses "through which the color of the skin may be distinguished."

There was even going to be a commission formed to oversee women's garments.  The commission would consist of men between the ages of 30-50 and for some reason, "not more than 2 of them would have to be married and of good moral character.  One of the members had to be an ordained minister, one a parent of not less than three children, and the third a social settlement worker."  Ohio it seems was to have their own fashion police force.

Now normally I wouldn't place an article about this on this blog but apparently it made national headlines and was a topic of discussion in suffrage circles around the country.  Even the Women's Christian Temperance Union scoffed at the plan as evidenced by an article published in Ohio and Mrs. Albaugh, a prominenet temperance leader:

But the best comment of all came at a Suffrage Sewing Circle in New York.   The women lamented the lack of input Ohio women had in their legislature while they hemmed "dusters", long cleaning aprons.  They were about to embark on a housecleaning venture to raise money for the cause.  Mrs. Ella Guilford a well known suffragist made a hilarious comment and it was syndicated throughout the country:

The Capelle Act was neither debated nor introduced for a vote.  

Lifting as We Climb

As our country celebrates Martin Luther King today, I thought it would be a great day to celebrate some of the African American suffragists who fought for our right to vote!

Some of these women you have heard of--like Harriet Tubman.

Harriet Tubman (1822-1913)

After the Civil War, Tubman continued to work for full equality of all human beings and supported the suffrage movement.

Sojourner Truth was born into slavery and endured terrible cruelties until she escaped in 1827.  


Her actual birth name was Isabelle Baumfree.  She became a minister and a well known speaker during the religious revival period of the 19th century.  She was an abolitionist, supported both women's suffrage and temperance, and civil rights.  She was also the first African American woman to win a court case against a white man.  Her son had been sold illegally to a planter in Alabama.  She won the case and her son.

Sojourner Truth (1797-1883)

Her most well known speech is referred to as "Ain't I a Woman?" and I think you might be interested in learning about the Sojourner Truth Project and the efforts to actually quote her actual speech.  You can read about that here.

There is a reason why African American feminists are bitter about how suffrage is often relayed.  Too often the stories told (even on this blog) focus on white suffragists.  Suffrage remained segregated by race throughout the struggle.  A good case in point is the 1913 Suffrage Parade in Washington D.C.  When 60 African American women wanted to join the parade, it created a controversy.  Southern suffragists threatened to abandon participation.  It was only when the Male Suffrage League (yes there was one and that is a later blog post) volunteered to march between the African American women and the white women did the southern suffragists agree to march.  The African American women were relegated to the end of the parade.

Ida B. Wells (1862-1931)

One of those women marching was Ida B. Wells a prominent suffragist who had also challenged lynching.  When an article of hers was published in Memphis that opposed lynching, threats to lynch her was so great that she could not return to Memphis.  We will talk about her more later this year.