Critical Analytical Essay : Laurel Ulrich

Throughout this course, we learned that women’s studies originated as a concern at the time that “women and men noticed the absence, misrepresentation, and trivialization of women [in addition to] the ways women were systematically excluded from many positions of power and authority” (Shaw, Lee 1). In the past, men had more privileges than women. Women have battled for centuries against certain patterns of inadequacy that all women experience. Every culture and customs has divergent female

Initially, Ulrich focuses on three famous women throughout her essay. Starting with Mae West, a Hollywood actress whose on-screen misbehavior ultimately led to her fame. At the time of her popularity, her behavior allowed her audience to experience what was not normally seen on screens. Known for her provocative nature on camera, West became the star of various movies and therefore added herself into history. After Mae West, Ulrich mentions Rosa Parks, who is most famously known for refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. Ulrich states, “A first-year student at California university told me that to make history, people need to do the unexpected. She offered the example of civil rights activist Rosa Parks...I like her emphasis

“Well-behaved women seldom make history.” This is a quote that was taken from a scholarly article written by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. The article for this assignment discusses how this single line ignited a fire within the female population across the nation. Ulrich published her article that was titled with this line in 1976. From there, it was used in 1995, when journalist Kay Mills used it as an epigraph for her informal history of American women, From Pocahontas to Power Suits.

Furthermore, She provides a strong tone that evaluates the potential of a woman. She presents her speech with facts and with confidence and passion. Her tone is trying to motivate young women to act up and take action. Along the way in her speech she makes up a sarcastic tone by claiming that “[women]do not have executive ability, orderly minds, stability, leadership skills, and they are too emotional”(Chisholm, 149). The use of this tone provides affirmation that conveys young women to feel capable of doing anything that men can do. These words don’t define the potential of women nor their abilities. Women are strong, women can take anything, women are smart, women have leadership. Just like Chisholm, women have a voice to speak up and advocate for a change. Throughout her positives tones, she also presents an emotional appeal to the youth who are going to college and are struggling. In reality, some women don’t get the same opportunity as others.“...when a young woman graduates from college…she is likely to have a frustrating and demanding experience ahead of her”(Chisholm, 149). Women face challenges with their eligibility when applying to jobs. Looking for a job is not as easy for women, it takes time and persistence. Unlike men, who are seen as

After studying women and gender history in early America for the past semester, my views about American history have changed tremendously. Having very little prior experience with history, I had many assumptions and preconceived notions from high school history classes. Women were never even mentioned in my previous learning about U.S. history, so I assumed they took on unimportant roles and had little, if any, impact on shaping our country’s history. However, after this semester of delving deeply into the women of early America, I could not have been more incorrect. Although they were not typically in the public realm, we cannot fully understand history without studying women. The following readings uncovered the roles of women in the private sphere and were crucial to my new understanding of the importance of women in American history by bringing women to the forefront.

Despite the achievements of women in many different fields, society still attempts to limit women to certain roles. Furthermore, in the poem, women “… are defined […] by what [they] never will be,” (lines 19 - 21); once again, the author claims that women are defined by what they are unable to do because of gender bias. Instead of being given the chance to be influential, they are continually limited to staying at home or doing jobs “meant for women.” Finally, Boland tells the tutor that women “…were never on the scene of crime,” (lines 27 - 28). This serves as a metaphor for how women are never allowed to do important jobs; instead, they are left at the sidelines due to the repeatedly ignored restrictions placed on women by our gender-biased society.

She includes illustrations and photos depicting various political cartoons, petitions, artifacts, and engravings between pages 80 and 81. In her preface she first introduces the limitation of having white, middle-class women reformers. Chapter one, The Roots of Reform, introduces us to how women, empowered by the church first start exploring various charitable forms of outreach, the effect of the Second Great Awakening, and the first leading women; such as Juliana Tappen and Maria Weston Chapman. Chapter two, Charity and the Relations of Class, explores the middle -and upper-class women's need to perform charity. (Again tying in religion) The poor merely existing as a way for the wealthy to earn their way into heaven. We see the invention of the poor house, and how to define who was the "worthy poor." We see the invention of the Asylum as well as early talks of abolitionism. Chapter three, "Drinks, Sex, Crime, and Insanity", introduces the first major movement of the antebellum era, temperance, and the role alcohol played in the antebellum life. We see the emergence of Susan B. Anthony. This is the chapter where we begin to see more radical action from women, and some earlier reformers step away because they are scared of how far the movements are going. These movements are beginning to keep the women out of the kitchen just a little too long. Women begin to have more say, and do more than just simply make speeches and hand out pamphlets. Chapter four, Antislavery, is where we see the biggest divides in the reform movement. Women were divided on issues such as colonization, ending slavery, or should they even be involved at all. Many women wanted to be abolitionists, but did not want to associate with black people. Chapter five: Women's Rights, explores the earliest movements in the women's right cause. We see the effects of the Seneca

The Author's main argument is that women, such as Jane Jacobs were instrumental in fighting urban renewal that would have had devastating consequences. He indicates that Jane had her examples of what did not work and what she needed now was a way of articulating how cities worked (Flint, 2011 pp. 96).Jacobs had identified the core tenets of a city that would work. He also argues that fighting against the status quo was not an easy thing especially only

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, an author and professor of history at Harvard University, introduced the phrase in a 1976 journal article about the characterization of women in Puritan funeral sermons. Ulrich more recently wrote a book, based on the phrase, that explores how women in the past have challenged the ways history was written. In her essay “Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History,” Ulrich discusses the history of the phrase, how it was coined, and how it has taken on a life of its own. The phrase is now commonly seen on everything from t-shirts to coffee mugs, and has been featured in magazine articles and even advertising campaigns. She reflects on how her “accidental fame” has given her new insights into her historical studies.

That both genders have common ground as people. She goes on to describe how society is becoming more progressive, that whether or not people want to admit it, changes are coming and as time goes on women will be granted more equality. This change was already being seen but just needed further progression.

thought of during the 1920s. She recognizes the large gap between women and men’s rights.

3. The message the narrator is trying to portray is to advocate women's rights and educate people on the inequality they faced in the past.

Because a writer’s voice is influenced by personal history, it is difficult to leave identity out of writing. Mattingly and Wallace & Alexander’s essays show that they are passionate about their respective subjects. Mattingly documents how historical memorials of women’s achievements have become less significant and shifted away from prominent locations. She argues that power and influence determine the public spaces that monuments fill. Traditional masculine themes of war and military action are tied to power and are typically left in place. Even though her essay focuses on a history that most readers are unfamiliar with, she ties the piece to more modern concerns by showing the probability that marginalized groups today will be pushed

In a very real sense, a woman was an outsider, one whose meaning of life is engulfed in fear and subordination passed down from Moses (cite She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry). It was common knowledge, even biological, that women were psychologically and physically inferior to man. For this reason, woman’s place was the home, boundaries were set in stone and limitations were imposed on the minds of the female from childhood. It wasn’t until the 1900’s when woman would arise and demand equality and suffrage, it was in the 1960’s and 70’s that liberation, not equality, was demanded. A movement that started in the humble therapy groups of middle class women exploded into a bra burning, role reversing, exhilarating force that would thwart women into a new mindset. In the midst of the liberation outrage, there would be clash within the groups of feminists- the liberals, and the radicals, the two mindsets. Liberal feminists, which consisted of older women who were more prevalent in the 60’s civil rights movement, were determined to fight for women through political action, blaming capitalism as the root of male superiority. Radical feminists, coming out of college angry with the situations they were faced with as educated women in a housewife culture, chose to attack the system of our society through press, demonstrations and organizing in unaffiliated groups with separate beliefs. Political and grassroot feminists would clash on the matters of tactics and actions

1. Women's lives have changed enormously this century and the actions of women themselves have played a vital role in the transformation. Putting women back into history is about giving individual women their history, but it should also be about making some collective sense out of women's divergent experiences.