Iron Jawed Angels By Katja Von Garnier

Puritans and reformers of seventeenth century England have been given a bad name for their part in history. This is primarily because they were working against the grain and trying to create change in world that saw change as a threat. The time period was turbulent and there was bound to be resistance in a world that was dominated by Catholics and those that had reformed to abide by their King’s law. The puritans of the time were considered extreme and rubbed people the wrong way because they wanted a world that abided by their morals and ethical codes. For this, they took the blame for the misery that many suffered during this age, but as we see in Fire from Heaven, this is not a fair assessment. The Puritans of this time wanted to improve the lives of the people and society as a whole through morality and purity.

Iron Jawed Angels is a film which portrays the women's suffrage movement during the 1920's. The film is a documentary and a drama which uses live action and music to deliver the sympathetic and distressful mood the film creates. An example of the distressful mood is when the suffragists refuse to eat when they go to prison. This shows how passionate and distressed the suffragists are to get the 19th amendment passed, which would give women the right to vote. The films message, which is the hardships and adversity women had to withstand to get the 19th amendment passed, is effectively portrayed because the struggle the suffragists faced is accurately and beautifully depicted. As a tool of communication, the strengths

In order for women to be taken seriously the NWP’s leaders Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, who were the party’s main leaders, produced many creative forms of campaigning for the public. The first idea that they developed was on March 3, 1913, and was an organized parade in Washington D.C, purposely the day before President Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration. Washington was filled with visitors due to this occasion so it was a perfect opportunity. The parade consisted of about eight thousand willing women marching onto Pennsylvania Avenue convincing bystanders to take consideration. They wore sashes and banners, one of the banners in the march said, “WE DEMAND AN AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION ENFRANCHISING WOMEN” (Behring). These demanding banners angered the people, men began to hang outside their windows and come out of their cars to yell at the women which turned into a violent riot. Many women were injured and police officers didn’t bother to protect the women or stop the riot, it looked more like they were enforcing the situation. This caused the super

The battle for suffrage was a long and slow process. Many women tried to initiate the fight for suffrage, like Alice Paul and Lucy Burns. “These were the New Suffragists: women who were better educated, more career-oriented, younger, less apt to be married and more cosmopolitan than their previous generation.” (pg 17) Eventually, in 1920, the 19th amendment was ratified; allowing women to vote, but it was not any one person or event that achieved this great feat. It was the confluence of certain necessary factors, the picketing and parades led by Alice Paul, militaristic suffrage parties and the influence of the media that caused the suffrage amendment to be passed and ratified in 1920. But most importantly, they successfully moved both

In the Pulitzer Prize winning civil war novel Killer Angels, Michael Shaara covers five days of the historic battle between the Northern and Southern United States at Gettysburg. Both the North and the South fought for freedom, although they did not have equivalent definitions of freedom. The North and the South were unwavering in their beliefs and their hope for a better United States, but what the two butted heads the most on was slavery. The South was a primarily agrarian region which relied heavily on the agriculture of crops like cotton and sugarcane, both of which required intense manual labor, unlike the North who was more so industrialized; however, as William Preston said, it was not cotton that was “the south’s king” but it was slavery that made them so prosperous. The South relied on slavery because having many workers to tend to these cash crops without having to pay them saved farmers and plantation owner’s money that they could use to buy more slaves that put out more work leading to more land for more crops, or to have more money to pay their taxes. Many Southerners like William Preston thought that owning other people was their divine right as white men. The Civil War was started over the North and South’s conflicting views on whether they had the “civil” right to own or not own slaves. The Northern and Southern states developed themselves much differently than one another because of their agrarian versus industrialized economy. As the states developed they

The book Black Hearts is written by Jim Frederick and tells the story of all the controversial accounts one infantry unit ran into while on deployment in Baghdad, Iraq. The book is a documentation, captured accounts and events written down to tell the crazy story these soldiers went through. The specific unit Frederick writes about and what Black Hearts is about is 2nd brigade of the 101st airborne infantry division. “Black Hearts” was the unofficial insignia of 2nd brigade. Frederick covers one platoon in particularly and their ethical dilemmas they encounter while on deployment. 1st platoon, Bravo Company, 1-502nd Regiment is the unit the book covers. Many things on deployment unfold poorly for this platoon such as having little

In the cartoon, it states “20,000,000 American Women Are Not Self-Governed” (Doc 7). This cartoon establishes the idea of women not taking part in the process of developing their own government. This is a necessary part to uphold as the equality of women leads to the right to vote, a key point in basic American rights. Two major women that fronted women's suffrage movement were Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Lucretia Mott initially started this movement with Elizabeth Stanton, in Seneca Falls, NY. In the letter to Elizabeth Stanton from Susan B. Anthony, she asks the question, “If only now--all the women suffrage women would work to this end of enforcing the existing constitution--supremacy of national law over state law over state law” (Doc 2). The idea of women's suffrage is not a simple task, as enforcing this law is a difficult task to continually maintain within both the national and state

The book The Killer Angels was published in 1975 by the Ballatine Booksand was written by Michael Shaara. The Killer Angels is a historic novel about the time of the American Civil War, more specifically The Battle of Gettysburg. Shaara wrote this historical masterpiece with the sole purpose of letting the reader know exactly how the war was for the men actually putting their lives on the line to get this great country of America to the stature it is today. In order to accomplish his goal of creating the ultimate historic journal of The Battle of Gettysburg, he went straight to the source. He went back and retrieved letters and documents written by the men themselves, who were I the war. What better way to tell a story about one of the most significant battles of American history, then getting the information straight from the warriors who were fighting in the tranches? The book is written from the viewpoints of Robert Edward Lee, James Longstreet, and a couple of other men who were in the war. Robert E. Lee was fifty-seven at the time of the war. He was a highly respected general of the Confederate Army. He was an honest, God following man who had great morals which made a great leader (Killer Angles XVI). He didn’t drink or smoke and would stay away from reading novels and plays because he felt it would make him weak minded for battle (Killer Angles XVI). This is what made him such a great leader, the fact that he lead by example of how a true gentleman and general should

The National Woman Suffrage Association was founded in 1869, one of the main suffrage organizations in the US during the 19th century. It was a unification of the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) and the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA). The (NAWSA) became the parent that combined all of women’s suffrage small and stated organizations. It was one of the largest and most important suffrage organizations as well as being the primary promoter to woman's right to vote. Women during the gilded age, progressive Era received many injustices and suffered from inequality. The National Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) main goal is to pursue the right to vote in different ways. The organization was established in 1890. In 1890 it became necessary to combine the efforts to try to pursue their goals. Their strategy is to pressure federal government to offer women the same constitutional protections in the Fifteenth Amendment (Keyssar,2009). After establishing (NAWSA) it became the mainstream and the most nationally visible women suffrage organization. NAWSA was the largest women's organization established to help pass woman suffrage legislation. For decades the woman suffrage movement story has been written as national stories. It’s a story that has been written through individuals and collective biography (Sneider, 2010).

This new generation of activists fought with this new agenda for almost 20 years until a few states in the West began to extend the vote to women. The Eastern and Southern states still refused to give in, but this didn’t stop the National American Woman Suffrage Association. In 1916, Carrie Chapman Catt, president of the NAWSA, worked vigorously to get women’s organizations from all over the country together and fight side by side. “One group of activists, led by Alice Paul and her National Woman’s Party, lobbied for full quality for women under the law” (Divine). She used mass marches and hunger strikes as strategies, but she was eventually forced to resign because of her insistence on the use of militant direct-action tactics (Grolier). Finally, during World War 1, women were given more opportunities to work, and were able to show that they were just as deserving as men when it came to the right to vote. On August 18th, 1920, the 19th amendment was ratified, allowing women to vote. This drawn-out and arduous battle opened a new window of opportunity for women all over the country. Significant changes in both social life and job availability began to create what is now referred to as the “new women.”

Activism, culture and value have always had a tremendous influence in society. When it comes to the Appalachian region of the United States, people tend to see our culture and values differently. The individuals of the Appalachian region have been stereotyped for far too long, people forget that West Virginia has played a huge role in building this country. Our coal miners have put their lives in danger time and time again, some losing them, for worker’s rights. The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest labor rebellion in the history of the United States. This was the foundation of the movement for eight hour work days and minimum wages. The novel Storming Heaven by Denise Giardina is a fictionalized tale of the conflict that took place in these coal fields of West Virginia. The novel brings to light the stereotypes, race and religion of the Appalachian people.

Holding Onto the Air an autobiography by Suzanne Farrell takes the reader backstage in the dramatic life of the world-renowned Balanchine ballerina. From her childhood in Cincinnati to her retirement from ballet in 1989, Farrell's story is truly a remarkable one. The book describes at length her time with the New York City Ballet as well as her complex relationship with the legendary Balanchine. Although Mrs. Farrell goes a bit too far into the ballet descriptions, her beautiful imagery allows reader to experience the joy of performing on stage.

Ali Eteraz is a smart and thoughtful writer. He also has a way of adding a bit of comedic value in his writings when needed. His book “Children of Dust” is a memoir of his life in Pakistan and America. This book also reads more like a story as opposed to a book that just states facts. This book “Children Of Dust” is broken down into five parts. Each one of these parts signify a different name he takes for himself. Meaning, each of these names or parts identify a certain stage in his life, that he comes to terms with something. Such as Pakistan, Islam, and America and how he belongs to each.

The film begins with Alice Paul, played by Hilary Swank, and Lucy Burns, played by Frances O'Conner, arriving from England where they had formerly been involved in the women's suffrage movement. They arrive in the United States with the goal of using what they learned in England and applying similar strategic techniques to their campaigns. Initially, the duo are active members of NAWSA, led by Carrie Chapman Catt played by Angelica Huston, however, as their approach and tactics become more aggressive, and they become independently successful as a branch of the organization, Catt voices her displeasure with Paul and Burns' approach, which leads them to separate from the organization in order to establish their own, politically aggressive party, the National Women's Party, whose sole agenda is to focus on making women's suffrage an issue within politics and society and getting an amendment passed that guarantees people the right to vote regardless of sex (Iron

Pedophilia remains a growing issue in our society. Strangers tend to take advantage of young children brought by their innocence and vulnerability. Not only are the youth victimized and traumatized, but the parents of the children are deeply affected as well. Estrella Alfon’s “Magnificence” depicts a mother’s battle against male abuse, which manifests a reversal of gender stereotypes and woman empowerment.