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New page: Methodology So far I researched baseball in the year 1876 by using many resources. First, I went to the Archives and Special Collections in the library and saw what information they hav...
 
 
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[[History 204 Sp 08]]  |  [[Dickinson College hist204 sp08 | Political Life]]  |  [[Cultural Life hist204 sp08 | Cultural Life]]  |  [[Economic Life hist204 sp08 | Economic Life]] | [[Essays of 1876]]


= <b>The Depictions of Women in 1876</b> =


Methodology
== Women in 1876: at the Cusp of a Great Beginning ==
<Br>
On July 4, 1876 women suffragists, among them Susan B. Anthony, presented the Declaration and Protest of the Women of the United States, which outlined the oppression that faced women of the United States in 1876 and called to correct these oppressions.[[1876 Women Citations|'''1''']]  This declaration was written in response to the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, which granted rights and liberties to black men, not women.  Those two amendments ignited the second wave of feminism in the United States that would eventually lead to suffrage in 1920.  In the year 1876 women were just beginning to band together for the long struggle for suffrage.  During this year, however, the nation had two contrasting perspectives of women.  First there was the urban outlook, which consisted of women working outside the home with a more outspoken stance on their beliefs. Women during this time were just beginning to work in places such as factories and as a result forever changed the dynamic of the contemporary family.  The other perspective was that of the rural areas such as Carlisle, Pennsylvania.  In Carlisle, women were still expected to act as they had before the Civil War.  This Victorian outlook delayed the progress of women in the rural hinterland much like Carlisle.  Many sources portrayed this opinion, but it was a newspaper in Carlisle, ''American Volunteer'', that portrayed it in the most significant manner. 


So far I researched baseball in the year 1876 by using many resources. First, I went to the Archives and Special Collections in the library and saw what information they have on baseball at Dickinson College in the year 1876. When I got there I was fortunate to see that there were two very valuable resources I can use. First, an athletic director from many years ago, W.J. Gobrecht wrote a book titled 125 Years of Dickinson Baseball. I found this book to be very useful. IN addition I also found a paper written by Heather Thompson titled Dickinson Baseball 1867-1900. In this book I found more interesting facts that could be used in my paper. I lastly looked in the Dickinsonian and found an article written up on the baseball team and a game they had won. From all these sources I found that I need local newspapers from that time period, which I hope to find either when I go back to the Archives or when I go to the Cumberland County Archives.
Before the Civil War, the United States’ perception of women was more of a Victorian concept. That is, women were seen as “saint-like” and were expected to stay at home to take care of the household. Once women were married all their rights, previously maintained by their fathers, were legally written off to their husbands. In the 1830s many women fought hard to [http://www.marriage-laws.info/ obtain legal rights in marriage]. This developed into the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848, where women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony inspired women to fight to maintain their rights as people, not property in marriage.[[1876 Women Citations|'''2''']]    However, during the Civil War women’s rights were put on hold as a result of the conflict over slavery and rights for blacks. Although much changed occurred during this time period, the roles that women played did not change much in rural areas.[[1876 Women Citations|'''3''']] 
Although suffrage was a right women had demanded since the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, it was never the top priority of women’s rights activists until much later.  At Seneca Falls, women issued the “Declaration of Sentiments.” [[1876 Women Citations|'''4''']]  The “Declaration of Sentiments” listed the many ways women were oppressed in American society.  It maintained that “all men and women are created equal,” and that married and unmarried women should be granted more rights.[[1876 Women Citations|'''5''']]  Suffrage became a larger issue for women during the Reconstruction movement.  The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments granted blacks citizenship and the right to vote. Women were outraged when Congress excluded women from these Amendments.  At that point many women, including Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucy Stone, dedicated their lives to suffrage[[1876 Women Citations|'''6''']].  Unfortunately, women’s suffrage was not granted to women until 1920 with the Nineteenth Amendment.[[1876 Women Citations|'''7''']]  Until that time, however, women struggled to obtain this right.


I also used the library catalogue to find many books written about the beginnings of baseball. This helps me with background information that could be used in the long run. In addition I found many books contained unique and helpful facts about the beginnings of baseball and the Philadelphia region. I also looked on the shelves that the books were on and found other books that were helpful. Some of these books include Glory Fades Away, by Lansche, and A Century of Baseball Lore, by Thorn.
The changing and developing industry in the United States during the late nineteenth century drastically changed to roles that women played both inside and outside their homes.  In 1876, the nation was on the cusp of a great Industrial Revolution.  Although it had not fully developed, the upcoming revolution changed the roles of families, even in 1876.[[1876 Women Citations|'''8''']]  The demands that were impressed upon women changed with the evolving economy and society. The evolution of factories caused families to move to urban areas and women to get jobs.  As a result of this, the expectations pressed upon women deepened greatly.  Single women, who in prior years were expected to either marry early or stay at home until they married, were now more likely to work in factories.  This delayed marriage for many women, as they were working in factories instead of finding suitors. The expectations of married women also began to change around the year 1876. Married women were required to run the household and raise the children as before, but in addition to those expectations, married women were expected to find jobs in factories and labor long days. This changed the family dynamic because children then grew up with absent parents, which lead to a high percentage of crime beginning in the late nineteenth centuries.[[1876 Women Citations|'''9''']]


Another way I researched baseball in 1876 was by looked at online databases. Some of the online databases I searched were Proquest’s historical newspaper articles, 19th Century newspaper articles, America History & Life, as well as other. I found a lot of articles pertaining to baseball in 1876 and either Pennsylvania or Philadelphia. Although these articles provide background information as well, they are also helpful in the specifics of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. Some of the articles are found in the Dickinson print journals and I will look through the print journals to see if there is any more information on baseball that did not come up when I searched through the library catalogue.
Outside of factory labor, women were beginning to make progress outside of the home in the late nineteenth century. Women started to get jobs in the late nineteenth century to bide their time between school and marriage.[[1876 Women Citations|'''10''']]  Jobs were very limited to women, with teaching as the most popular among the few options.  In cities, very few women worked outside of education and factory labor.  However, prominent women in the nineteenth century broke many barriers for other women to succeed. In the 1840s Elizabeth Blackwell became one of the first women to work in professional fields dominated by men by being the first women to obtain a medical degree. Even though there was much progress, a setback occurred in the judicial field in 1876.  The Supreme Court denied the admittance of women to the bar association on a national level.[[1876 Women Citations|'''11''']]    However, between the years 1870 to 1890 every single state independently admitted women to the bar association. Such breakthroughs allowed women across the nation to obtain higher degrees in various fields and work as the first female professionals in the nation.


I still have a lot of research to go; I plan on searching through more databases, going to the Cumberland County Archives, and going back through methods I was already used to see if I missed anything.
Although many cities allowed women to obtain professional degrees, Carlisle and other small towns that were secluded from the developments of city life in 1876 lagged in the cultural developments that occurred during that time.  As a result of the lack of communication between Carlisle and big cities, the changed perception of women was delayed. It is true that Carlisle was well connected to the rest of the nation with many turnpikes that ran through the town, but it was still considered a frontier by many.[[1876 Women Citations|'''12''']]    In 1876, big cities still perceived women as homemakers, but developing technology and the factories that were built required many to work before marriage and even after marriage for many.  Consequently, women in cities adopted a more independent attitude.  These women sought higher education and married later in life.[[1876 Women Citations|'''13''']]  In contrast, women in Carlisle did not have the opportunity to work in factories because there were few.  In fact, Carlisle in 1876 was not considered a “place of industry, but a place of homes.”[[1876 Women Citations|'''14''']]    Women were not viewed as intelligent people, but rather people were shallow.  For example, many excerpts in the humorous section of the ''American Volunteer'', a local Carlisle newspaper often wrote about the stupidity of women. On February 17, 1876, the newspaper wrote: <br>


After my research, I plan to make an outline of what I am going to write in the paperAfter my outline I will write a couple of drafts, have the drafts revised and then finally produce my final draft.
:“A lady remarked to a popular divine that his sermons were a little too long- “Don’t you think so?” said she, “Just a little?” “Ah! Dear madam!” replied the divine, “I am afraid you don’t like the sincere milk of the Word. “Yes I do.” said she; “but you know the fashion nowadays is condensed milk.” [[1876 Women Citations|'''15''']]<br>


Context
This excerpts in the humorous section, although meant for laughs, correctly portrayed the perception of women in Carlisle in 1876.  Women were anticipated not to care about substantial subjects such as religion, but instead were expected by many to be obsessed with the latest fashions and trends such as condensed milk.  In addition, many articles and ads in the ''American Volunteer'' that were about fashions, clothes, or anything insubstantial were directed towards women.  On May 11, the American Volunteer wrote an article titled “Fashion Notes.”[[1876 Women Citations|'''16''']]  This article focused on latest fashions of dresses for the summer of 1876, including fringes.[[1876 Women Citations|'''17''']]  It is very obvious that this article was not directed towards men, unless they were interested in buying dresses for their wives.  The focus on women in this article and others is a representation of the hinterland's perspective that women were frivolous people who believed that it is more important to know the latest fashions than the latest bill passed by Congress. 


On February 2, 1876 the MLB or Major League Baseball was founded by William Ambrose Hubert. The formation of Major League Baseball was a culmination of club teams who wanted to franchise the sport. With its growing popularity, ambitious men such as Hubert sought to make money and gain status through a professional league. On April 22 that same year the first major league game was played by Boston and Philadelphia, Boston won 6-5. By June 24, 1876, a full slate of games was set to play for that summer.
Women not only in Carlisle, but also in other parts of the nation were thought of as delicate people who were inferior to men.  On April 27th, the ''American Volunteer'' published an article that reveals that women in the United States have the smallest feet.[[1876 Women Citations|'''18''']]  The article begins with, “I noticed that at Washington there is an excitement about the small feet of the fair sex.” [[1876 Women Citations|'''19''']]  The author, who is unknown, called women the “fair sex,” which immediately sends out the connotation that women were fair or delicate people that need to be taken care of. The article then went on to compare women’s feet to men’s feet, stating that “…the wife of none of our leading lawyers who has a foot to rival them.”[[1876 Women Citations|'''20''']]    The author of this article was able to use feet as a symbol of men’s perceived superiority over women. In addition, the use of lawyers rather than “common folk” is a portrayal of the author’s perception that lawyers were superior to other occupations, such as factory work or farming. It is humorous to see that while women in cities were laboring hard in factories, towns in the countryside thought of women as fair people with small feet.


In response to its growing popularity, baseball came to Dickinson College early. At Dickinson, baseball is the oldest known athletic team on record started with club teams dating back to 1867. These club teams played against local Carlisle teams at the Fairgrounds.
While most articles written in the ''American Volunteer'' portrayed women as dull, other articles, although very few, portrayed women as they had been previously portrayed in the days of the frontier.  In the early nineteenth century, women were often portrayed as tough as a result of "rouging it" on the frontier.  On March 2, an article titled, “A Women of ‘76” told a story about a women who attempted to defend her house the occupation of soldiers during the Revolutionary War while her husband was off fighting the war.[[1876 Women Citations|'''21''']]  In this story, a woman named Mrs. Bell was portrayed as strong willed, although she eventually gave in to the needs of the general.[[1876 Women Citations|'''22''']]  This article reverted back to the idea in Carlisle that women were strong willed human beings. It is true that eventually she was forced to give in to the general and sacrifice her house, but for an article that painted a strong portrait of women to be published in Carlisle in 1876 was almost unheard of. This article signifies the fact that the people of Carlisle were beginning to change their opinions of women back to the idealized "rough women" of the frontier.  


Focus
Carlisle, like many other small towns in 1876 had a different perception of women than cities.  This could have been attributed to the fact that Carlisle was displaced from the center of society, thus the perceptions and point of view of many who lived in Carlisle in 1876 was considered old-fashioned.  Also, Carlisle had not yet developed into industrial society which allowed those who lived there to maintain their ideals that women did not have to work.  Either way, those who lived in Carlisle in 1876 upheld the belief that women were not bothered by substantial topics such as the government or religion, but instead were only concerned about lighter topics.  This opinion of women was different in cities at that time.  Inn cities, there were higher expectations of women and consequently women were held to a slightly higher degree.  Although women in the year 1876 as a whole were not treated with much respect by many throughout the nation and women who lived in Carlisle and towns removed from the city atmosphere were treated as fragile women with little sense of intelligence, the nation as a whole was on the brink of many happenings that would forever change the perspective of women . 
<br>


For this paper, I am going to write about baseball at Dickinson College and the Philadelphia region in the year 1876. The title I am looking at is temporarily, “The Beginnings of Baseball in Philadelphia and Dickinson College.” This is a very broad topic because as of now I have a very broad knowledge of the topic. However, as time goes on I hope to narrow it down.
== Bibliography ==


In this paper, I hope to examine the life and times of the year 1876 in regards to sports. This was the year that Major League Baseball was founded and I aim to look at how this impacted college life, as well as life in Carlisle and Philadelphia.
“A True Boy Story,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), May 4, 1876.


Significance
“A Woman of ’76,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), March 2, 1876.


Baseball today is known as America’s favorite past time and I think that it is important to know how it got to be like that. In addition, by focusing the paper on a small area, it is easier to look at the impact the sport had on the lives of everyday people rather than just the players. In addition, 1876 was the year of the country’s centennial in addition to the year that the MLB was founded. It is very important to examine the lives and the up and comings of baseball in relation to the centennial of the nation’s birth.
“American Women Have the Smallest Feet,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), April 27, 1876.


Bibliography (so far)
“Fashion Notes,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), May 11, 1876.


Thompson, Heather. “Dickinson Baseball 1867-1900.16 May 1995, Essays History 1995, T472d, Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA.
“Humorous,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), February 17, 1876.


Grobrecht, Wilbur, J. “125 Years of Dickinson Baseball History.” 1952, G575b, Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA.
Hymowitz, Carol and Michaele Weissman. A History of Women in America .New York: Bantam Books, 1978.


Lansche, Jerry. Glory Fades Away: the Nineteenth Cenutry World Series Rediscovered. Dallas, Tex. : Taylor Pub. Co., 1991.
Katz, Jonathan N. “The Invention of Heterosexuality.” In Race, Class and Gender in the United States, edited by Paula S. Rothernberg, 69-80. 6th ed. Worth Publishers.


Thorn, John. A Century of Baseball Lore. New York, Hart Pub. Co., 1974.
“Marriage Ceremonies,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), February 17, 1876.


Seymour, Harold. Baseball. New York: Oxford University Press, 1960.
McElroy, Janice H. ''Our Hidden Heritage: Pennsylvania Women in History''. Washington, D.C.: the Pennsylvania Division of the American Association of University Women, 1983.


Ward, Geoffrey C. Baseball: an Illustrative History. New York : A.A. Knopf : Distributed by Random House, 1994.
“Mrs. Jones Elopement,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), March 23, 1876.


Church, Seymour Roberts. Base ball; the history, statistics and romance of the American national game from its inception to the present time. Princeton: Pyne Press, 1964.
Randall, Vicky. ''Women and Politics''. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1982.


THE DIAMOND SQUARED :And an Honest Base-Ball Association Born into the World, Which Required that the Philadelphia and Like Clubs Be Disfellowshiped. Grand Council of Delegates from the Representative Clubs at New York. Adoption of Constitution and Rules for the Centennial Year. Progress of the Female Pedestrians at the Second Regiment Armory. BASE-BALL. A NEW ERA. THE CONFERENCE THE FINANCIAL QUESTION OUT DOWN THE NUMBER OF CLUES CONSIDERED IN DETAIL. A CHICAGO COMMENT. THE HISTORY OF THE NEW MOVEMENT. ANNOUNCEMENT.. (1876, February 4). Chicago Daily Tribune (1872-1963),p. 5.
Sanders, Beverly. ''Women in American History: A Series, Book Three''. Massachusetts: Education Development Center, 1979.


Zingg, Paul J. “Diamond in the Rough: Baseball and the Study of American Sport History.” The History Teacher 19, no. 3 (1986): 385-403. (America History and Life)
Sigerman, Harriet. ''Laborers for Liberty: American Women 1865-1890''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.


Regalado, Samuel Octavio. “Base Lines and Beyond: The National Past Time and Its Meanings.” Reviews in American History 31, no. 2 (2003): 298-306.
''The Reader’s Companion to U.S. Women’s History'', edited by Wilma Mankiller, Gwendolyn Mink, Marysa Navarro, et. Al. new York: Houghton Mifflin Company.


Eckard, E. Woodrow. “Team Promotion in Early Major League Baseball and the Origin of the Closed Sports League.” Explorations in Economic History 42, no.1 (2005): 122-152.
“The Story of a Russian Princess,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), April 12, 1876.
Timeline
 
At this point I plan to work diligently and get this project done either by the time it is due or before that.
“Woes of a Husband,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), February 3, 1876.
 
==Pictures==
 
[[Image:wome.jpg|Women working in a factory circa 1870.]]
<br>
 
<br>   
[[Image:ohwome.jpeg|Woman in a factory circa 1870.]]
<br>
 
 
 
<br>
[[Image:fact1.jpg|On their way to work circa 1868.]]
 
 
 
 
 
*Pictures are compliments of:
 
Hymowitz, Carol and Michaele Weissman. ''A History of Women in America'' .New York: Bantam Books, 1978.
 
Sigerman, Harriet. ''Laborers for Liberty: American Women 1865-1890''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.

Latest revision as of 15:03, 25 August 2008

Menu

History 204 Sp 08 | Political Life | Cultural Life | Economic Life | Essays of 1876

The Depictions of Women in 1876

Women in 1876: at the Cusp of a Great Beginning


On July 4, 1876 women suffragists, among them Susan B. Anthony, presented the Declaration and Protest of the Women of the United States, which outlined the oppression that faced women of the United States in 1876 and called to correct these oppressions.1 This declaration was written in response to the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, which granted rights and liberties to black men, not women. Those two amendments ignited the second wave of feminism in the United States that would eventually lead to suffrage in 1920. In the year 1876 women were just beginning to band together for the long struggle for suffrage. During this year, however, the nation had two contrasting perspectives of women. First there was the urban outlook, which consisted of women working outside the home with a more outspoken stance on their beliefs. Women during this time were just beginning to work in places such as factories and as a result forever changed the dynamic of the contemporary family. The other perspective was that of the rural areas such as Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In Carlisle, women were still expected to act as they had before the Civil War. This Victorian outlook delayed the progress of women in the rural hinterland much like Carlisle. Many sources portrayed this opinion, but it was a newspaper in Carlisle, American Volunteer, that portrayed it in the most significant manner.

Before the Civil War, the United States’ perception of women was more of a Victorian concept. That is, women were seen as “saint-like” and were expected to stay at home to take care of the household. Once women were married all their rights, previously maintained by their fathers, were legally written off to their husbands. In the 1830s many women fought hard to obtain legal rights in marriage. This developed into the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848, where women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony inspired women to fight to maintain their rights as people, not property in marriage.2 However, during the Civil War women’s rights were put on hold as a result of the conflict over slavery and rights for blacks. Although much changed occurred during this time period, the roles that women played did not change much in rural areas.3

Although suffrage was a right women had demanded since the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, it was never the top priority of women’s rights activists until much later. At Seneca Falls, women issued the “Declaration of Sentiments.” 4 The “Declaration of Sentiments” listed the many ways women were oppressed in American society. It maintained that “all men and women are created equal,” and that married and unmarried women should be granted more rights.5 Suffrage became a larger issue for women during the Reconstruction movement. The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments granted blacks citizenship and the right to vote. Women were outraged when Congress excluded women from these Amendments. At that point many women, including Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucy Stone, dedicated their lives to suffrage6. Unfortunately, women’s suffrage was not granted to women until 1920 with the Nineteenth Amendment.7 Until that time, however, women struggled to obtain this right.

The changing and developing industry in the United States during the late nineteenth century drastically changed to roles that women played both inside and outside their homes. In 1876, the nation was on the cusp of a great Industrial Revolution. Although it had not fully developed, the upcoming revolution changed the roles of families, even in 1876.8 The demands that were impressed upon women changed with the evolving economy and society. The evolution of factories caused families to move to urban areas and women to get jobs. As a result of this, the expectations pressed upon women deepened greatly. Single women, who in prior years were expected to either marry early or stay at home until they married, were now more likely to work in factories. This delayed marriage for many women, as they were working in factories instead of finding suitors. The expectations of married women also began to change around the year 1876. Married women were required to run the household and raise the children as before, but in addition to those expectations, married women were expected to find jobs in factories and labor long days. This changed the family dynamic because children then grew up with absent parents, which lead to a high percentage of crime beginning in the late nineteenth centuries.9

Outside of factory labor, women were beginning to make progress outside of the home in the late nineteenth century. Women started to get jobs in the late nineteenth century to bide their time between school and marriage.10 Jobs were very limited to women, with teaching as the most popular among the few options. In cities, very few women worked outside of education and factory labor. However, prominent women in the nineteenth century broke many barriers for other women to succeed. In the 1840s Elizabeth Blackwell became one of the first women to work in professional fields dominated by men by being the first women to obtain a medical degree. Even though there was much progress, a setback occurred in the judicial field in 1876. The Supreme Court denied the admittance of women to the bar association on a national level.11 However, between the years 1870 to 1890 every single state independently admitted women to the bar association. Such breakthroughs allowed women across the nation to obtain higher degrees in various fields and work as the first female professionals in the nation.

Although many cities allowed women to obtain professional degrees, Carlisle and other small towns that were secluded from the developments of city life in 1876 lagged in the cultural developments that occurred during that time. As a result of the lack of communication between Carlisle and big cities, the changed perception of women was delayed. It is true that Carlisle was well connected to the rest of the nation with many turnpikes that ran through the town, but it was still considered a frontier by many.12 In 1876, big cities still perceived women as homemakers, but developing technology and the factories that were built required many to work before marriage and even after marriage for many. Consequently, women in cities adopted a more independent attitude. These women sought higher education and married later in life.13 In contrast, women in Carlisle did not have the opportunity to work in factories because there were few. In fact, Carlisle in 1876 was not considered a “place of industry, but a place of homes.”14 Women were not viewed as intelligent people, but rather people were shallow. For example, many excerpts in the humorous section of the American Volunteer, a local Carlisle newspaper often wrote about the stupidity of women. On February 17, 1876, the newspaper wrote:

“A lady remarked to a popular divine that his sermons were a little too long- “Don’t you think so?” said she, “Just a little?” “Ah! Dear madam!” replied the divine, “I am afraid you don’t like the sincere milk of the Word.” “Yes I do.” said she; “but you know the fashion nowadays is condensed milk.” 15

This excerpts in the humorous section, although meant for laughs, correctly portrayed the perception of women in Carlisle in 1876. Women were anticipated not to care about substantial subjects such as religion, but instead were expected by many to be obsessed with the latest fashions and trends such as condensed milk. In addition, many articles and ads in the American Volunteer that were about fashions, clothes, or anything insubstantial were directed towards women. On May 11, the American Volunteer wrote an article titled “Fashion Notes.”16 This article focused on latest fashions of dresses for the summer of 1876, including fringes.17 It is very obvious that this article was not directed towards men, unless they were interested in buying dresses for their wives. The focus on women in this article and others is a representation of the hinterland's perspective that women were frivolous people who believed that it is more important to know the latest fashions than the latest bill passed by Congress.

Women not only in Carlisle, but also in other parts of the nation were thought of as delicate people who were inferior to men. On April 27th, the American Volunteer published an article that reveals that women in the United States have the smallest feet.18 The article begins with, “I noticed that at Washington there is an excitement about the small feet of the fair sex.” 19 The author, who is unknown, called women the “fair sex,” which immediately sends out the connotation that women were fair or delicate people that need to be taken care of. The article then went on to compare women’s feet to men’s feet, stating that “…the wife of none of our leading lawyers who has a foot to rival them.”20 The author of this article was able to use feet as a symbol of men’s perceived superiority over women. In addition, the use of lawyers rather than “common folk” is a portrayal of the author’s perception that lawyers were superior to other occupations, such as factory work or farming. It is humorous to see that while women in cities were laboring hard in factories, towns in the countryside thought of women as fair people with small feet.

While most articles written in the American Volunteer portrayed women as dull, other articles, although very few, portrayed women as they had been previously portrayed in the days of the frontier. In the early nineteenth century, women were often portrayed as tough as a result of "rouging it" on the frontier. On March 2, an article titled, “A Women of ‘76” told a story about a women who attempted to defend her house the occupation of soldiers during the Revolutionary War while her husband was off fighting the war.21 In this story, a woman named Mrs. Bell was portrayed as strong willed, although she eventually gave in to the needs of the general.22 This article reverted back to the idea in Carlisle that women were strong willed human beings. It is true that eventually she was forced to give in to the general and sacrifice her house, but for an article that painted a strong portrait of women to be published in Carlisle in 1876 was almost unheard of. This article signifies the fact that the people of Carlisle were beginning to change their opinions of women back to the idealized "rough women" of the frontier.

Carlisle, like many other small towns in 1876 had a different perception of women than cities. This could have been attributed to the fact that Carlisle was displaced from the center of society, thus the perceptions and point of view of many who lived in Carlisle in 1876 was considered old-fashioned. Also, Carlisle had not yet developed into industrial society which allowed those who lived there to maintain their ideals that women did not have to work. Either way, those who lived in Carlisle in 1876 upheld the belief that women were not bothered by substantial topics such as the government or religion, but instead were only concerned about lighter topics. This opinion of women was different in cities at that time. Inn cities, there were higher expectations of women and consequently women were held to a slightly higher degree. Although women in the year 1876 as a whole were not treated with much respect by many throughout the nation and women who lived in Carlisle and towns removed from the city atmosphere were treated as fragile women with little sense of intelligence, the nation as a whole was on the brink of many happenings that would forever change the perspective of women .

Bibliography

“A True Boy Story,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), May 4, 1876.

“A Woman of ’76,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), March 2, 1876.

“American Women Have the Smallest Feet,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), April 27, 1876.

“Fashion Notes,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), May 11, 1876.

“Humorous,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), February 17, 1876.

Hymowitz, Carol and Michaele Weissman. A History of Women in America .New York: Bantam Books, 1978.

Katz, Jonathan N. “The Invention of Heterosexuality.” In Race, Class and Gender in the United States, edited by Paula S. Rothernberg, 69-80. 6th ed. Worth Publishers.

“Marriage Ceremonies,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), February 17, 1876.

McElroy, Janice H. Our Hidden Heritage: Pennsylvania Women in History. Washington, D.C.: the Pennsylvania Division of the American Association of University Women, 1983.

“Mrs. Jones Elopement,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), March 23, 1876.

Randall, Vicky. Women and Politics. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1982.

Sanders, Beverly. Women in American History: A Series, Book Three. Massachusetts: Education Development Center, 1979.

Sigerman, Harriet. Laborers for Liberty: American Women 1865-1890. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.

The Reader’s Companion to U.S. Women’s History, edited by Wilma Mankiller, Gwendolyn Mink, Marysa Navarro, et. Al. new York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

“The Story of a Russian Princess,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), April 12, 1876.

“Woes of a Husband,” American Volunteer (Carlisle, PA), February 3, 1876.

Pictures

Women working in a factory circa 1870.


Woman in a factory circa 1870.



On their way to work circa 1868.



  • Pictures are compliments of:

Hymowitz, Carol and Michaele Weissman. A History of Women in America .New York: Bantam Books, 1978.

Sigerman, Harriet. Laborers for Liberty: American Women 1865-1890. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.