Women's History Commons^™

"Our Women Are Made Of The Right Stuff": Gender, Politics, And Conflict In Civil War West Virginia, Amanda Romain Shaver

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

“’Our Women Are Made of the Right Stuff:’ Gender, Politics, and Conflict in Civil War West Virginia” examines the lives and contributions of white West Virginia women and argues that they were not merely victims of the war, but dynamic participants whose opinions were influential and whose actions determined the ability of both the Union and Confederate armies to wage war in Appalachia. Striking a balance between the antebellum standards of “True Womanhood” and the emerging ideals of the women’s rights movement, West Virginia women became politically engaged in both the statehood movement and the Civil War. They transformed their …

Creating A Female Athlete: The Power Of Societal Reimaging And Advertising In The All American Girls Professional Baseball League, Kaitlyn M. Haines

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The All American Girls Professional Baseball League introduced an acceptable form of female sport to the United States during World War II. The All American Girls Professional Baseball League’s feminine image and high standards of the league provided a new quality team sport that the ever popular softball diamonds of industrial recreation had failed to reach. One of the reasons for their success was the attention to detail in the visual representation of the baseball league. Appearing in a time of heightened advertising and branding, a visual representation of the League was created to fit within the societal norms of …

Marriage Vows And Economic Discrimination: The Married Teacher Problem, Sabrina Thomas

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study analyzes the rapid increase of economic discrimination against married women teachers in the early twentieth century, particularly during the Depression. It challenges the notion that economic discrimination against married women teachers was simple, easy, and largely was unchallenged. I argue that the creation and proliferation of marriage bars in the early twentieth century involved a compounded and multifaceted set of economic and social concerns. Support for this argument is accomplished by examination of the national debate on marriage bars as well as careful investigation of the local debate illustrated in Huntington, West Virginia.

Knights In White Satin: Women Of The Ku Klux Klan, Kelli R. Kerbawy

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The Ku Klux Klan is often thought of as a male-dominated organization; however there is evidence that women contributed to Klan efforts and participated in their own group, Women of the KKK. This study analyzes women’s involvement within the KKK during the 1920s. Women’s participation in early progressive movements, including temperance and suffrage, served as a catalyst for women’s involvement with the KKK. This paper explores women’s roles in the Ku Klux Klan as leaders within the WKKK. From earlier social movements, women gained knowledge needed to promote and expand the WKKK and other white supremacist women’s organizations. This paper …

A Heart Of Glass: Women, Work Culture, And Resistance In Huntington, West Virginia’S Glass Industry, Ginny Young

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study analyzes women in Huntington, West Virginia’s glass industry through an examination of interviews with retired selectors of the Owens-Illinois plant that operated on Huntington’s west end for nearly eighty years. It explores the particular ways in which those selectors formed their own work culture and a collective identity of themselves as a group in the years prior to their being organized into the Glass Bottle Blowers Association Local 256. This project argues that the work culture of selecting acted as an “informal organization” through which selectors at Owens-Illinois could act together and separately to resist gender discrimination in …

Elizabeth Kee : A Clarion Voice Of And For The People Of Southern West Virginia 1951-1964, Shari A. Heywood

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Elizabeth Kee served as the first woman to represent West Virginia in the House of Representatives from 1951-1964. Newly available sources: taped interviews with her son, Jim Kee, from 1978 and 1980; a complete copy of Elizabeth Kee’s entries into the Congressional Record; copies of many of her “Keenotes” columns from the late 1950s and early 1960s; and correspondence between Elizabeth Kee and veterans from West Virginia from 1961-1963 allow a more complete picture of Kee to emerge. Elizabeth Kee was not only a hardworking politician, who laid the groundwork for future programs like the War on Poverty, she was …

Discourses Of Disappointment: The Betrayal Of Women's Emancipation Following The French And Russian Revolutions, Crystal Denise Helton

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Questions relating to gender are worth pursuing in order to more accurately discern the impact of the French and Russian Revolutions on society more broadly as opposed to just political leaders, well-known historical figures, or those predominately male citizens that comprised the upper echelons of their respective movements. A careful analysis of secondary sources, or the historiography on women’s place within the French and Russian Revolutions, reveals that, in spite of their use of egalitarian rhetoric, the revolutionary governments in France and Russia continued to view women based upon conventional standards. Discourses written by and about women before, during, and …

Emily Greene Balch: Crusader For Peace And Justice, Tara S. Lambert

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Emily Greene Balch was the second American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize and worked throughout her lifetime to better the world for her fellow humans. As one who was shaped by the Progressive Movement in both character and action, she has nonetheless never received the historical spotlight given to other workers of her time such as Jane Addams. A survivor of protest against war, she has been virtually ignored despite her many activities and writings on behalf of peace, suffrage, and social reform. Even Mercedes M. Randall, who wrote the only biography of Balch, fails to fully examine …

Spanish Women And The SeccióN Femenina: Rhetoric, Imagery, And Ideology, Julia Hudson-Richards

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Women never discover anything; they lack, of course, the creative talent; reserved by God for male intelligence. We can do nothing more but perform for better or worse, the tasks which men give us.

Pilar Primo de Rivera, 1942.

Though at the time of its founding in 1934 the women’s section of the Spanish fascist party may have been insignificant to many, the Sección Femenina in a few short years was installed as the premier government agency with regard to the political status of Spain’s women. With the consolidation of the Franco regime, the Sección Femenina was placed in charge …

Belles Among The Bluffs : The Experiences Of Women During The Siege Of Vicksburg, Shannon Ewing Sexton

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Throughout the retelling of the great battles and campaigns of the Civil War, there remains a voice that often goes unheard. It is the voice of those citizens who could not become political officials or military heroes but who often served their section of the country just as passionately and bravely. It is the women of the Civil War era who too often get lost amid the descriptions of battle scenes and war time politics. During the war, these women endured great loss and deprivation, which warrant their being described as "war heroes."

Thy Will Be Done, My Will Be Done: A Comparative Analysis Of The Diary Of Susanna Gordon Waddell, 1863-1867 And Selected Letters Of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, 1862-1864, Leann Elizabeth Ginther

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

“Renew my will from day to day.

Blend it with thine, and take away

all that new makes it hard to say

Thy will be done.”

December 17, 1863

Susanna Gordon Waddell transcribed the above passage in her diary to reflect her pervading belief and conviction: a resignation to God’s will. She does not indicate the author of the verse, and it so aptly describes the beliefs expressed in her diary she may have written it herself. Interestingly, this particular passage contains an inherent contradiction. The prayer asks God to renew my will while simultaneously asking that it be taken …