Two of my previous essays were about the Great Men of American history. You can easily anticipate the reaction of Jane — “Where are the women?” So, even though it is a tough assignment to find women who positively affected our past, we will attempt to right the “wrong” of omitting the fairer sex.
First, it has to be admitted, that until 1920, women were not permitted to vote in federal elections. Some states had become more enlightened about this practice, but until the third decade of the 20th century, women were pretty much excluded from the political realm. Thus, they were denied the opportunity to make inroads into the leadership of the nation.
However, several women have made an impact on our past. Some are more obscure than others, and the list compiled may force a second installment on the Great Women theme.
Perhaps to many Phillis Wheatley is an unknown poet. Her remarkable life began in about 1753 in what is now Gambia or Senegal in West Africa, and as a young child was sold to slavers taking a cargo of Africans to America. In Boston, she was purchased by John Wheatley, a rich merchant in that city, as a servant for his wife, Susanna. Tutored by the Wheatley’s daughter and son, Phillis (named for the ship that brought her to America), quickly learned to read and write, and at a young age was even reading the classics as well as the Bible.
Her talent as a poet was recognized and encouraged by the Wheatleys, and after a trip to London with her master’s son, her work Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral was published in London. When this happened, she was given her freedom, and after the Wheatleys died, she married, had three children, none of which survived into adulthood. When her husband was imprisoned for debt, Phillis fell into poverty, and died at the age of 31 in December of 1784.
During her brief literary career, she corresponded with various public officials, met with important figures in London, and even met George Washington during the American Revolution. Although Phillis Wheatley had another book ready to publish, it did not come out because of a lack of financing. However, several of her poems were published in other journals.
No list of great women in American history is complete without the inclusion of Phillis Wheatley, the first African-American woman writer in what would become the United States.
Abigail Adams, wife of the second U. S. President, merits a place on our list. From Massachusetts, Abigail was born in 1744, and died in 1818, after an exemplary life during which she became the closest advisor to her husband, John. Her life is remembered through the many letters she and John sent to each other while he stayed in Philadelphia and helped with the deliberations of the Second Continental Congress. In these letters, she gave her husband counsel on the many issues of the day, showing a firm grasp of what was occurring in colonies.
In addition to that, Abigail was at her husband’s side when he went to Paris, France, as minister to that nation, and then served by John’s side as minister to Great Britain, in London.
When John Adams was elected the second President, Abigail served as a genial and gracious hostess, having formal dinners frequently in their home, which were attended by many of the leading figures of the new nations. During this time as First Lady (a term not in use at the time), Abigail continued to advise her husband on the problems he faced as the President.
She also was the mother of a President, John Quincy Adams, and grandmother to Charles Francis Adams, who served as in the same capacity as his grandfather in the embassy in London. Much of what we know of her thoughts and ideas about politics and life come from the 1200 letters written to and from her husband that have been preserved. Abigail Adams deserves her place in our pantheon of Great Women of America.
It has been said that Dolley Madison would have made a better President than her husband, James. Born in 1768 to a Quaker family, Dolley would eventually marry John Todd, a Quaker lawyer in Philadelphia. When he died in a yellow fever epidemic in 1793, it left Dolley a 25-year old widow with a young son to raise.
The next year, a 43-year-old bachelor asked to be introduced to Dolley, who was a fixture in the social circles of Philadelphia. Eventually, James Madison persuaded the vivacious Dolley to marry him. Although Madison retired from politics (he has been called “the father of the U. S. Constitution), when Thomas Jefferson became President, he asked Madison to become his Secretary of State. Because Jefferson was a widower, he frequently asked Dolley Madison to act as hostess for events in the White House.
In 1809, James Madison became President and served two terms in that capacity. Dolley became know for her weekly gatherings at the White House, which allowed for politicking by the political movers and shakers of Washington. Her most significant contribution to our national life came during the War of 1812. In September 1814, with British soldiers threatening the city, Dolley managed to save the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington, as she took that and other items in a flight from the conflict. After the British abandoned Washington, Dolley returned to her damaged home and continued her party giving, returning a sense of normalcy to the nation’s capital.
It is hard to overestimate the value that one young woman gave to the young nation in the early 19th century. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson acquired Louisiana from the French, almost doubling the size of the young United States. Because of the extent of the land bought, it was deemed necessary to have an expedition explore as much of the tract as possible.
Two men, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, were selected to lead this venture, called the Corps of Discovery, which took place from 1804-1806. Beginning in St. Louis, the group headed up the Missouri River before striking out across the continental divide, winding up on the Pacific coast of North America. When the men under Lewis and Clark returned to St. Louis after the more than two-year trip, their success was heralded because of what had been learned about what the Louisiana Territory held.
But that success would not have been possible without the Shoshone woman, Sacagawea. Probably born in 1788, was living with her husband, a French trapper when Lewis and Clark reached her settlement. Since Sacagawea had been kidnapped by a rival tribe, she had acquired the ability to speak both of those native languages. Her husband, who had adopted many of the natives’ way, spoke French as did one of the expedition’s men. When they persuaded the young family (Sacagawea was pregnant at the time) to accompany them, the knowledge of dialects and of the general physical surroundings proved vital to the explorers. Perhaps one of the most important exchanges came when the expedition needed to purchase horses from the natives. After crossing the continental divide, the Corps approached a band of Shoshones. Sacagawea recognized the leader of that band as her natural brother. The purchase of the horses went well, of course.
Sacagawea used her knowledge of the land to help the explorers “live off the land” and to help them get to their destination. On the way back to St. Louis, Sacagawea, her husband and boy stopped off at their Indian village. Three years later, Clark invited the family to come to the Gateway City, where he promised to help them set up on a farm where he would also educate the young man. However, it didn’t work out for the small family, so they left for their home, with the son, Baptiste, in Clark’s care. When Sacagawea died at the age of 25, Clark became guardian to both of her two children.
Her short life has been rightly celebrated by Americans. Today, dollar coins, with her likeness on them, have been minted each year since 2000, but from 2002-2008 were not in circulation. After 2012, they were also taken out of our money supply, even though they are still being minted. These, as are other dollar coins, are not popular with the public, but perhaps if more knew of the importance of Sacagawea’s aid to the Corps of Discovery, maybe that would change.
One woman achieved a first in both the United States and in Great Britain. Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to be certified as a doctor in this country and the first to be listed on the register of British doctors in her native land.
Becoming a doctor was an effort that took Blackwell several years and was beset with the opposition by the exclusively male profession. Born in Bristol, England, she and her family emigrated to New York City. By 1847, Blackwell had been able to study with private physicians, but could not be accepted by any established medical school. Fortunately, the Geneva Medical College in New York state took her as a student, and she graduated with a degree in 1849. After that, her life was one of breaking down barriers for women (her younger sister was the third woman doctor in the U. S.) both in Great Britain and America.
Because of her being a pioneer for women in the medical profession, Elizabeth Blackwell earned her spot in the pantheon of Great Women of America.
One woman more than earned her spot on this list; Isabella Baumfree. Most will not recognize that name, since she changed it to Sojourner Truth. Her story is rich with details of an amazing woman who worked tirelessly for emancipation and for women’s rights.
Born into slavery in Ulster County, New York, in 1797, she escaped with her infant daughter in 1826. When she learned that her son had been sold to a plantation in Alabama, Truth went to court and became the first black woman to win a lawsuit against a white man, recovering her son.
From the time of her escape from captivity, Sojourner Truth was an avid spokesperson for abolition. Although accurate records were not kept, it is estimated that she spoke to perhaps hundreds of meetings in this quest. During the Civil War, she helped recruit black men to serve in the Union Army, one of which was her own grandson. She met President Lincoln while there, and long before Rosa Parks was born, she rode the streetcars in Washington, D. C., to try to desegregate them.
After the War ended, Truth worked for women’s rights, especially the right to vote. Most know that Susan B. Anthony tried to vote in the 1872 election, but few realize that Sojourner Truth also made the effort in the same election. She met the winner of that contest, President U. S. Grant.
Her work covered many years, with appearances and speeches in numerous places. A full record of her accomplishments cannot be captured in this short essay, but she deserved her placed in Smithsonian magazine’s “100 Most Significant Americans of all Time”, published in 2014. Read her story and be inspired by a Great Woman in U. S. history.
At least one more, perhaps two, essays will follow about this subject. But, as is easily seen, the fabric of American history is richer because of the efforts of the many women who reached to heights of greatness in our nation.