Congratulations to everyone and welcome to the History of Feminism Group
We are very pleased to be up and running and want to give a big thanks to Boston Bean for her work in getting this going. I also want to give thanks to more than 20 of you who were part of the very initial planning process. As you may remember Boston Bean has agreed to be the interim host for this group while we work to gain consensus on a finalized SOP and become organized-- after which we'll convene elections. During this period, Violet Crumble and I (Hlthe2b) have agreed to assist as interim co-hosts.
While the group has taken a little longer than we'd planned to get up and running, we are very pleased and thank the admins for making this possible and for each of you for your interest and support.
Currently, the Statement of Purpose reads as follows: The History of Feminism group serves as a safe haven to discuss, and learn the history of feminism. Apply the lessons of historical and modern day feminist struggles to current issues and events that impact women. This group will also serve as safe haven for women (and supporters of feminism) to openly and honestly discuss and learn how the patriarchy affects women individually and collectively.
We have already had many express interest in having a bit more academic discussion, including book club type readings be a regular feature of this group. We'll be posting separate threads to encourage discussion of the SOP and even some procedural suggestions for the functioning of members, hosts and co-hosts as we move forward. For now, please do consider what you might like to see and look for those threads in the future.
On a personal note, on behalf of myself and the group I want to express my condolences and support for Boston Bean during a particularly difficult time. As some of you may know she lost her father this week. Understandably, she will not be here as frequently as she might have wanted during this difficult time. Violet_Crumble and I will try to step in on her behalf, but we look forward to her return and leadership when she is feeling ready. I know she appreciates your thoughts and support in the meantime
Welcome! 
= new reply since forum marked as read
Been so busy with the band that I haven't had time to do much else! But they're doing well!
Howya been?
It might also be cool to have a pinned thread that lists interesting books and websites.
Thank you Boston Bean and hlthe2b and Violet Crumble and everyone else who helped get this going. 
My number one --
Elizabeth Cady Stanton!
She's 21 now.
This is one of the few children's books that she still has:
But she was actually named after THIS woman:
born 3rd February 1821, died 31st May 1910,
the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States, as well as the first woman on the UK Medical Register. She was the first openly identified woman to graduate from medical school,
a pioneer in promoting the education of women in medicine in the United States,
and a social and moral reformer in both the United States and in England.
After her graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, Paul joined the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and was appointed Chairwoman of their Congressional Committee in Washington, DC.[3] Her initial work was to organize a parade in Washington the day before President Wilson's inauguration, which was a success. After months of fundraising and raising awareness for the cause, membership numbers went up in 1913. Their focus was lobbying for a constitutional amendment to secure the right to vote for women. Such an amendment had originally been sought by suffragists Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton who tried securing the vote on a state-by-state basis.
Paul's methods began to create tension between her and the leader of NAWSA, who felt that a constitutional amendment was not practical for the times. When her lobbying efforts proved fruitless, Paul and her colleagues formed the National Woman's Party (NWP) in 1916 and began introducing some of the methods used by the suffrage movement in Britain. The National Woman's Party was funded by Alva Belmont who was a multi-millionaire socialite at the time. The NWP was accompanied by press coverage and the publication of the weekly Suffragist.[3]
In the US presidential election of 1916, Paul and the NWP campaigned against the continuing refusal of President Woodrow Wilson and other incumbent Democrats to support the Suffrage Amendment actively. In January 1917, the NWP staged the first political protest to picket the White House. The picketers, known as "Silent Sentinels," held banners demanding the right to vote. This was an example of a non-violent civil disobedience campaign. In July 1917, picketers were arrested on charges of "obstructing traffic." Many, including Paul, were convicted and incarcerated at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia (later the Lorton Correctional Complex) and the District of Columbia Jail.[3]
In a protest of the conditions in Occoquan, Paul commenced a hunger strike, which led to her being moved to the prison’s psychiatric ward and force-fed raw eggs through a feeding tube. This, combined with the continuing demonstrations and attendant press coverage, kept pressure on the Wilson administration.[3] In January, 1918, Wilson announced that women's suffrage was urgently needed as a "war measure", and strongly urged Congress to pass the legislation. In 1920, after coming down to one vote in the state of Tennessee, the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution secured the vote for women.[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Paul
http://www.democraticunderground.com/125537
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/triangle-lemlich/
Courtesy of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union Archives, Kheel Center Collection, Cornell University.
http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/shavelson-clara-lemlich
Triangle Fire: One Woman Who Changed the Rules
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/one-woman-who-changed-the-rules/
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/index.html
Glad to see more History at DU!
I watched and watched for the new group ... and then just when it did appear I had wandered off from DU for a bit and was really busy with work -- so fortunately somebody PMed demanding to know why I wasn't here or I might never have known. 
(I had really hoped to see the new group in the arts and humanities department, but oh well.)
I have had a couple of academic/historical-type subjects in mind for discussion here and will try to start up a thread later this long weekend.
Meanwhile, my cast has been off for about 10 days, and I'm in the throes of physiotherapy to get back on both feet.
My best wishes to boston bean too. I joined the fatherless daughter club nine years ago last month, and it is not a club I've ever been eager to welcome any new member to. I will look forward to seeing you here, bb.
