Often as I have written about next political steps after November 4 - regardless of what happens on November 4 - in terms of remedying the misogyny run rampant this election season. But I do not mean to suggest that it has been only women who were disregarded or disrespected this political season. On the Democratic side of things over 18 million people found themselves with a Party leadership that decided that regardless of how people voted an indeterminate result was for that leadership to decide the candidate. Millions of those 18 million were men, and not all were even Democrats - some were Independents or Republicans. (I cannot speak with any authority about the Republican side of things - a better source might be found here.) After the election and post-election frenzy subsides we will need to come together to find a way to make our political parties, the legislature, and the executive more responsive to more of the electorate. To prepare myself, I am studying a number of leaders and historical movements that achieved more democratic, more responsive government, without resorting to civil war. I have discussed the black civil rights movement of the latter part of the twentieth century; the noncooperation movement led by M.K. Gandhi; Franklin Roosevelt's implementation of a New Deal between government and governed, business and labor; and have begun now to examine more closely the American suffragist movement. I will continue to gather and share information and ideas from a variety of democratic struggles.
Each of the photographs below comes from the Women of Protest collection in The Library of Congress. This collection is a treasure trove for those men and women considering precedents for organizing the expansion of political opportunity not just for women but for all those whose votes were ignored this political season and who will be seeking Democratic Party reform or, in the alternative, the formation of a new party (still in my opinion the harder route, but not one I would rule out). There are further photographs and background notes on the National Women's Party's lobbyists and national organizers, among other notable NWP members. Consider starting with the excellent online historical overview of the NWP, and downloading full essay on the topic. Then delve throughout the site - there's more there than I can highlight here.
Iris Calderhead, daughter of former Representative Calderhead and wife
of John Brisben Walker, of Colorado. Miss Calderhead is a graduate of
the university of Kansas, and Vermont. Gave up teaching literature in
Wichita (Kansas) High School to organize for the National Woman's
Party, and was one of the group arrested for picketing the White House
with suffrage banners.
Ernestine Hara, New York City, young Romanian, arrested for picketing
Sept., 1917, and sentenced to 30 days in Occoquan workhouse.
Nell Mercer of Norfolk, Virg., was a member of the Norfolk branch of
the NWP. She was a business woman. In February 1919, she was arrested
for participation in the final watchfire demonstration and sentenced to
five days in the District Jail.
Elizabeth Stuyvesant, State Organizer, National Woman's Party, her
great-grandfather died in the Revolution, her grandfather in the Civil
War, and her brother is fighting in France. Five years of social work
in New York City brought her to the determination to join the fight for
woman's political liberty--Suffrage. Stuyvesant was a professional dancer. She was active in settlement work and in the
campaign for birth control. On July 4, 1917, she was arrested while
picketing the White House for suffrage and sentenced to three days in
District Jail.
Helena Hill Weed, Norwalk, Conn. Serving 3 day sentence in D.C. prison
for carrying banner, "Governments derive their just powers from the
consent of the governed." Helena Hill Weed of Norwalk, Conn., was a graduate of Vassar
College and Montana School of Mines. She was a geologist, a daughter of
a member of Congress, and a vice-president of the Daughters of the
American Revolution (DAR). She was a prominent member of the
Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage and the NWP. She was one of the
first pickets arrested, July 4, 1917, and served three days in District
Jail. In January 1918, she was arrested for applauding in court and
sentenced to 24 hours, and in August 1918 she was arrested for
participation in Lafayette Square meeting, and sentenced to 15 days.
Lead on Heidi Li. Thanks for the examples of courage and commitment to democracy. That they all did "time" is foreboding, but I realize that The Resistance will not be easy.
Posted by: purplefinn | November 03, 2008 at 07:53 AM