Changing or turning history into herstory has been a long, hard-fought, uphill battle that continues today. Thankfully our country has moved past the days when women were considered too childlike to be able to make decisions, vote, own or inherit property, get credit in their own names, get jobs, join the military and the list goes on and on. But some of those advances are more recent than others, while others have come at a price. Until the 1970s, some States would not allow women to have credit cards in their own names regardless of how much money they made.
As women began to make inroads into the workplace, some jobs became more associated with women: teachers, nurses and some factory work. The result was that women were payed less than men to do the same job. The rationale was that men had to support a family. Women did not and therefore did not need to earn as much money. The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the iconic television series which ran in the 1970s, addressed the issue. “Mary Richards” discovers that she is being paid less money than the man who had previously been in her position at the newsroom. When she asks “Lou Grant” about the disparity in pay, she is told that the reason she is paid less is because the man needed to make more money. She, of course, is dismayed, but cannot really do anything.
When the Statue of Liberty was dedicated in 1886, no women were allowed on the podium. A group of women protested on a boat in New York Harbor. They were indignant that women were not permitted to take part in the dedication of a statue of a woman. While the “Mother of Exiles”, with broken chains at her feet, offered hope and opportunity to immigrants, women were still very much imprisoned in a system that denied them a vote in government or a voice in much of the decision-making, even, at times, for themselves.
Women finally won the right to vote when the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920 and we are just under five years away from celebrating the centennial. The men who opposed giving women voting rights did so for two main reasons. The first was that they were very concerned that if women voted together for anything or anyone, they would have enough votes to get it passed or get the person elected. that particular worry has never happened because women do not agree on issues anymore than men do. The other reason for opposition was that women would simply vote as they were told by their husbands so why did they need to vote.
Interestingly some of the biggest opponents to changes for women were women themselves. Erma Bombeck, beloved writer whose newspaper columns were posted on many refrigerator doors, spoke out in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment, she defined it in the most simple terms, “one size fits all”. Yet not only were there women who opposed her for her pro ERA stand, there were some who accused her of being part of the problem because of her writing. Mary Tyler Moore, whose show was considered ground-breaking in its depiction of a single woman who was not dependent on a man, was criticized for not being more “militant”.
Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine became the first woman to be elected to the Senate without having first been appointed to fill a vacancy as well as the first woman elected to both the House of Representatives and the Senate. She achieved success in the male-dominated world of politics. When she went to the Senate she was quite surprised to discover there were no bathroom facilities for women even though other women had previously served as Senators. She shattered a glass ceiling in the Senate that paved the way for others. She was the first woman to be nominated for President, but did not get the nomination. She is largely overlooked in women’s history records. When I wrote a paper about her for a women’s history class I was both surprised and dismayed to find so little about her.
Now, former First lady, former Senator from New York and former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton is trying, for the second time, to shatter the highest glass ceiling in politics by becoming the first woman to be elected President of the United States. After losing the Democratic nomination in 2008 to then Senator and now President Barack Obama, she is once again trying to win the nomination In 2008, she was considered the front-runner long before she declared her candidacy. But once she did declare, the political pundits were quick to point out her flaws, her problems and whatever else they could mention. Now in 2015, there is a repeat of 2008. Prior to declaring her candidacy, quite a few polls and political pundits declared Hillary not just the front-runner, but defeating any candidate, either Democrat or Republican, who might run against her. Then, to the delight of her many supporters myself included, she declared her candidacy.
Then came Benghazi and the email scandal. Then came the questions about her trustworthiness and ethics. Then came the slip in the polls. The political pundits and writers who do not like her quickly wrote about her impending demise in articles and posts. Their delight and glee, while not always overt, was certainly noticeable. But is their relentless scrutiny of Hillary Clinton more a reflection of their own bias against her than a genuine desire to write the truth? Are they writing about and scrutinizing other candidates with the same intensity? Of course the response will be a loud and clear “YES!”. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Hillary has the wisdom and experience to be an effective leader. She is not just the right woman, but also the right person, to lead our country forward.
Hillary Clinton recently spoke about trying to strike a balance as a woman than no man has to do. Men who are strong-willed, outspoken and forceful are often praised as what a leader ought to be. However, women who display those same qualities are often described as shrill, overbearing, and too aggressive. Quite often those negatives come not just from men but from other women. Ah, we women are a complex group. We must find ways to move forward and continue writing more of herstory.
Moderately liberal, liberally moderate, American flag waving Democrat! Bachelor of Arts in History with concentration in Early American History and Abraham Lincoln
Graduate student pursuing a Master of Arts Degree online in American History at Southern New Hampshire University