Powerful Women In History Magazine

POWERFUL WOMEN FEATURING:

ALICE PAUL MARGRET SANGER JANE ADDAMS LILLIAN WALD

G A S L I G H T,.

G A T E K E E P, G I R L B O S S.. quiz pg 7

IN HISTORY

WHAT WOULD THEY DO TODAY?

or

NOT

ALICE PAUL?

LILLIAN WALD?

HOT

HOT

NOT

NOT

MARGARET SANGER?

HOT

But What Would Maragret Sanger Do Today?

Besides Margaret Sanger being an ugly racist, she was one of the first women to advocate for birth control and aborotion.

She made a difference in our world today by creating the first ever birth control clinic. Margaret was a dedicated woman even after laws were created against her. Since she was pro choice and pushed for birth control and sexual reform, males questioned her for going against Purity Laws. Purity Laws did not exist, but charges were still pressed against her. Margaret’s goal was women

NOT

PWIH | Page 1

empowerment and when she couldn’t make a difference in America, she went to Europe. Years later after the charges dropped and Purity Laws were deemed unnecessary, Margaret came back to the US and opened her clinic.

2021?

What would Margaret Sanger do in 2021? On May 19th, 2021, Governor Greg Abbot signed Texas Senate Bill 8 of the 87th legislation, a heartbeat bill which prohibits abortion once a heartbeat is detected. A fetus’ heartbeat can be detected six weeks into the pregnancy which occurs before a woman could even know she is pregnant. If Margaret Sanger was still alive today, she would obviously protest against this bill. This Texas bill goes against everything Margaret had fought for and created. Margaret would fight for the bill to be killed or amended since the heartbeat can be detected before women can even tell if they are pregnant. Most women have irregular menstrual cycles and sometimes women don’t start their next cycle for anywhere between 21 to 35 days; therefore, six weeks can be too early for a woman to know if she is with child or not. Before a woman even knows she is pregnant, the choice of her keeping the fetus is already decided for her. Margaret was very pro-choice, so obviously she would do the absolute most that she can to fix this bill.

PWIH | Page 2

A

WOMEN CRUSH WEDNESDAY

lice Paul was a leader of the Equal Rights Movement and played an

influential role in the ratification of the 19th Amendment to grant women the right to vote. She grew up as a Quaker working on her fathers farm which instilled her with feminist ideals. The Quaker lifestyle held men and women in equal power so she never had any other idea. In 1907, Alice left home to live in England, where she learned the efficacy of militant protesting. She returned to the states and continued to work as a suffragette. Paul began working for a federal equality amendment with the NAWSA (National American Woman Suffrage Association) while attending the University of Pennsylvania. Alice Paul and Lucy Burns (a fellow suffragette) organized a massive march on Pennsylvania Ave, March 3, 1913 in an attempt to gain traction for their movement. Alice held president elect Woodrow Wilson and his party accountable for their lack of action on Women’s rights.

This contradicted the NAWSA’s viewpoint so in 1916 she formed the National Woman’s Party (NWP). The NWP acted quickly to bring attention to their cause, this included picketing in front of the White House, something that had never been done before. These picketers were called the “Silent Sentinels’’ because of their stoic disposition and dedication. Initially Wilson did not acknowledge them but when WWI began calls for unity created an enemy of the NWA. Over the course of several weeks 168 of the Picketters were arrested, the NWA saw this as an attempt to silence them which caused them to rebuttal with hunger PWIH | Page 3

strikes. The grueling conditions these women were experiencing (including being force fed) brought immense attention to Paul’s work. By 1919 The U.S Senate voted to pass the 19th amendment granting women the right to vote. Alice Paul has left a lasting effect on today’s society and without her women’s rights would have never reached where they are today.

2021?

Alice Paul puts the boss in girlboss, she organized protests to fight for women’s rights and if she were alive today she would have played an influential role in the women’s March 2017. Fun Fact: The Women’s March in 2017 was the largest march in US history, attracting between 3.2 and 5.2 million people. Her work made a massive impact in women’s rights and today she would have been proud of how far we’ve come but would continue to work towards closing the gender pay gap. Studies show that the average woman is paid 18% less than her male counterparts, this is because of deep rooted gender bias in the workforce. Paul would give speeches at feminist rallys about body positivity and the 97%.

As a society there is lots of pressure on women to look a certain way and this leads to insecurity among younger girls, she would use social

media to spread love and positivity.

Recently a statistic was released saying that 97% of women have experienced some sort of sexual harassment or assasult, Alice would have been appalled by this and would raise awareness about the reality the female gender faces.

PWIH | Page 4

JANE ADDAMS & LILLIAN WALD Lillian Wald fought for public

health care, women’s rights, and children’s rights. She was a leader in the Settlement House Movement. From a young age, Lillian was inspired to go into nursing and graduated from New York Hospital Training School. After she graduated, Lillian went on to work in an orphanage and later on focused on organizing and providing nursing for poor immigrant families on the Lower East Side. These families lived in tenement housing and would frequently get sick from the cramped quarters and the lack of upkeep on the buildings. Lillian saw this issue and decided to dedicate her life’s work to help fix the tenement community. With the help of donors and her friend Mary Brewster, Lillian started the Henry Street Settlement House. This was an organization that provided the Lower East Side community with social services. The settlement house expanded to seven buildings on Henry Street. Lillian PWIH | Page 5

Wald didn’t just start the Henry Settlement House, she also started the Children’s Bureau, Nation Child Labor Commitee, and Nation’s Women Trade Union League. She was a part of the women’s suffrage movement and worked towards a woman’s right to birth control.

Jane Addams was a social re-

former and activist who was on the frontline of the settlement house movement and was international-

ly respected for her peace activism.

Jane Addams was the first American woman to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. In 1889, Jane and her friend Ellen Gates Starr founded the Hull House which was located in Chicago’s poor, industrial west side. The Hull House was the first settlement house in the United States. The goal was for educated women to share their knowledge with the poorer people within the community. The Hull House provided an abundance of services to thousands of people each week. Aside from Jane’s courageous works with the Hull House, she expanded her efforts to improve society. Along with other progressive women reformers, she was successful in the establishment of a juvenile court system, better urban sanitation and factory laws, protective labor legislation for women, and more kindergartens and playgrounds throughout Chicago. Jane was also a founding member of the National Child Labor Commitee, which played a role in passing the Federal Child Labor Law. She was also very active in the women’s suffrage movement and became an officer in the National American Women’s Suffrage Association.

2021?

What problem couldn’t Jane Addams and Lillian Wald solve? These two phenomenal women could make such a tremendous impact on our world today. Both women cared deeply about children and an evolving issue in our world today is Foster care. In our world today, there are over 400,000 kids in Foster Care in the United States.

Addams and Wald wouldn’t stand for the conditions some of these children are living in. Due to the pandemic, many children aren’t receiving proper medical care since hospitals are overcrowded and give less of a priority to children. If Jane Addams and Lillian Wald were alive today, they would most likely establish foundations to assist these less fortunate kids. They would also fight to pass legislation that requires adequate living standards in the foster system. Since both of these women were so involved in the medical industry, they would make sure children that are less fortunate, kids in Foster Care, and just children in general all had access to attend school and learn safely. These women would certainly be involved not only in COVID-19 related politics, but would also try to help those struggling with mental illnesses through the pandemic. While Jane Addams and Lillian Wald didn’t work towards helping those with mental illnesses in the past, they definitely would today. These two women are such kind and caring souls that if they saw the impact mental illnesses have on people today, they would indubitably put effort into raising awareness.

PWIH | Page 6

Which Girlboss Are You? Take this quiz below to find out which Progressive Era feminist you are!

1

: What is your favorite thing to do? a: Babysitting b: Voulenteering c: Hanging out with the girls d: Camping

2

: What were you like in highschool?

a: Star student b: Book nerd c: Social butterfly d: All star athlete

3

5

: What is your biggest turn of in a man

a: When men. b: When they have bad hygene c: When they say things about my body d: When they comment on my eating habits

6

: Where do you enjoy most meals?

a: In my dining room b: In my kitchen c: I usually eat out d: Prison

: Do you keep your promises/ comitments?

AND FINALLY...

a: Depends on if it affects anyone negatively b: Yeah, sometimes c: No, I run when things get hard d: Yes, absolutely

IF MOST OF YOUR ANSWERS ARE:

4

: How do you want to spend your future?

a: Educating the less fortunate b: Becoming a nurse c: Traveling the world d: Taking over my family farm

PWIH | Page 7

A: You're Jane Addams!!

B: You're Lillian Wald!!

C: You're Margret Sanger!

D: You're Alice Paul!!

Gasslight, Gatekeep or Girlboss?

D: You're Gaslight C: You're Gatekeep A & B: Girlboss