April 4th

Born this day in 1802, Dorothea Dix, Author of "Social Bill for the Benefit of the Indigent Insane". Dix ran away from home at the age of 12 to get away from her alcoholic family and abusive father. In 1821, Dix opened a school for the well to do families of Boston and at her home she taught poor and neglected children. Because of poor health, Dix then spent the next several years writing for children "Conversations On Common Things", which explains anything from what is an acorn to how were the days of the week named and what do they mean?
Dix health did not improve and in 1836 a visit to England in hopes of a cure. And it is there,her interest in government helping those who insane and poor formed her opinion and inspired her work to come.
When Dix returned back to the United States she toured the many states to see how the poor insane were treated. It was a horror. People locked in cages, chained naked to walls, beaten and caned into going things- no compassion. SPeaking before Congress, and educating them about the cruel treatment. Land was set aside to build hospitals and the changing the laws to protect the poor and insane.
Dorothea's work changed the treatment of the mentally ill for the better.
And yes the Dorothea Dix Hospital which has been opened since 1848, is now threaten to be closed due to "budget shortfalls", not even during the Great Depression or the Civil War did this hospital close.
And yes, I am sorry, but corporate greed is robbing the poor and insane-- so they can be richer. Big government means me, you and our neighbors are in charge of what happens in our country.

April 3rd

Born this day in 1817,Mathilde Franziska Anneke, journalist, suffragette, educator and abolitionist. Born in Germany, Anneke life was one of novels! Her first marriage was an unhappy one and she fought for a divorce and won. And to support herself and her infant daughter,Mathilde began to write and was published. Fritz Anneke, her second husband, with whom she had six children, only three survived to adulthood. A husband who was a soldier, their first post was in Cologne. It is in Cologne, Mathilde and her husband who was more than a soldier,he too was a writer and editor. And together they published their first daily newspaper for the working class, Neue Kölnische Zeitung.
And this is the times of the working class 1847, begin demanding their rights, the seeds for unions are being planted. And Neue Kölnische Zeitung, fanned the wave of change by educating their readers about their rights. Adjitating for change landed her husband in prison as political prisoner. Mathilde continued the work to publish their newspaper until it was banned. 1848, Mathilde starts her second newspaper, Neue Kölnische Zeitung which is the first feminist newspaper in Germany. "Denounced the suppressed position of women."
The same year, Fritz goes to war in Palatinate and Mathilde goes with him, she was an excellent horsewoman. And with a bird-eye view, Mathilde keeps a daily diary of the this Revolution. And this leads to the couple emigrating to the United States.
And of course, Mathilde brings her passion for social justice. Joining the suffrage movement and the abolitionists, it wasn't long before, Mathilde was publishing again.And like her life, her writing was her point of view in life. The family settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And again, true to her heart, Mathilde opened a women's academy knowing if women's lives were going to change, they would need training and most importantly, an education. Mathilde over saw the school until her death in 1884.

April 2nd

Born this day in 1861, Clara Driscoll,stained glass designer for Tiffany's. Yes, it was once believed that only Louis Comfort Tiffany and some of the male designers were the only designer of all those beautiful lamps and stained glass windows and glass. Margaret K. Hofer and Martin Eidelberg researching at the Queens Historical Society found in a box some books and letters written to Clara's mother, revealed the truth about the work and designs of Clara Driscoll and her Tiffany Girls! Again, when history takes a closer look, women are indeed involved!
Tiffany, himself was very close about what went on in his company. Men and women worked separately from each. Only the men were allowed to join the unions, and the women were not allowed to join the unions AND if they married, they had to quit their job.
Now, back to Clara Driscoll who worked for Tiffany for over twenty years. She designed and directed the designs of lamps, mosaics, windows and other decorative objects. The researchers who discovered Driscoll's letters believe her first design, was the "Daffodil lamp" and some of Tiffany's most famous works are now credited to Driscoll. "Wisteria, Dragonfly, and Peony" are some examples of her work.
The Tiffany Girls were also responsible for the selection of the glasses for each project, and many historians have wondered as to why the glass that was being used improved...it is when Driscoll came to work! So, for over 100 years, Tiffany and the male designers took credit for art that was not theirs to take. And so the light now shines where it should. "A New Light on At Tiffany"(the title of the exhibit of their work at New York Historical Society in 2007.)

April 1st

The truth is finally revealed, as Matilda Gage wrote in 1874,"George Washington was a woman! A tall woman, but a woman." Washington understood the importance of hiding her identity and did so by pulling out all of her teeth and by using a masculine mouth piece, white wigs, rouse, and those frilly white shirts. But, the greatest faux was her marriage to Martha or should one say Martin. Martin was a man who enjoyed cross dressing as much as Georgette. April Fools!

Born this day in 1776, Sophia Germain,French mathematician, physicist and philosopher.
Known for her number theory and her work on Fermat's Last Theorem, was used by mathematicians for hundreds of years. Germain was the first woman awarded the grand prize from the Paris Academy of Sciences for her essay on "elasticity theory."
To get notice for her work, Germain used the name, M. LeBlanc to correspond with fellow mathematician; allowing her work to speak for itself. Disapproval from her family and knowing because she was a woman, she could never work professionally in science- Germain worked her whole life as a mathematician. And her fellow scientist also supported and respected her because of her great mind. And no April foolin'.

March 31st

On this day in 1776, Abigail wrote to her husband, John Adams: "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."

Many women came to the New World with the idea that it was a place for Civil and Religious freedom. WOMEN LOST THE RIGHT TO VOTE: New York 1777, Massachusetts 1780,
New Hampshire 1784.
And then in 1787:

US Constitutional Convention places voting qualifications in the hands of the states. Women in all states except New Jersey lose the right to vote.
Women Join the Abolitionist

In the 18th century, women in America rights dwindled as the laws of England influenced law in America. And in the 19th century women began the hard road toward suffrage and removing the concept of Coverture
But, why? Coverture.

COVERTURE: Obs. in most nations. The state or condition of a married woman. During coverture, the being of the wife is civilly merged, for many purposes, into that of her husband; she can, therefore, in general, make no contracts without his consent, express or implied.
To this rule there are some exceptions: she may contract when it is for her benefit, such as to save her from starvation.
In some cases, when coercion has been used by the husband to induce her to commit crime, she is exempted from punishment.

Oppression is a common theme in human history. And who the oppressed are changed with the society.
But the United States is a democracy, we as a society claim that all are free. It is still not so. Women are still not protected under the Constitution. And at this moment, today right now- teachers incomes are being slashed at alarming rate. Yes, more than 79% teachers are women.