What Happened?

Class Date: January 14th

Location: Your couch! See your weekly e-mail for Zoom link!

The end (of the semester) is near! It’s been a wonderful semester, so let’s take a short stroll down memory lane! Remember, questions this week come from class and the readings! 

• The Seminole People

We moved up pretty far into our American history timeline for this class! We discussed the Seminole People and the myriad of wars between them and the Spanish, English, and American governments. They are among the few who never fully conceded to American power and they put up a massive amount of resistance to American invasion. 

• Phillis Wheatley

Though Phillis didn’t remember her real name or age, that didn’t stop her from becoming one of the first published female poets in the American colonies. She had to work hard to prove her abilities, as many doubted that she could be so elegant because she was a Black woman. While abolitionists pointed to her poems as proof of her humanity, others like Thomas Jefferson believed that Black people were simply unable to feel emotions. Phillis’s work survives today as a testament to her commitment to art and beauty. 

• Moores Creek Battlefield - Guest speaker

What an interesting trip to learn about this battlefield! We got to talk about how colonists chose sides in the debate between revolutionaries and loyalists and how the militia engaged in the early battles of the Revolution. We also got to see a revolutionary musket and discuss how they worked! 

• Harriet Lane

We revisited this lovely ‘first lady’ just prior to the Civil War. While President Buchanan had a somewhat checkered legacy as a president, his niece was a beloved fixture in Washington, D.C. Orphaned young, Harriet was taken in by her beloved uncle who remained a lifelong bachelor. Her social graces, fashion choices, and ability to converse on the political topics of the day helped set the standard for First Ladies after her time in the White House.

• Civil War (instead of George Washington Carver Historic Site)

We moved everything up a week and talked about the Civil War (very, very broadly). We worked on understanding the root causes of the conflict (ahem, slavery) and reviewed the reasons stated by the seceeding states themselves. This class was meant to lay the groundwork for our later class on the Daughters of the Confederacy, as their ‘lost cause’ narrative was created specifically to obfuscate the true reasons for treason. 

• Wong Chin Foo 

What a character! Wong Chin Foo learned English from a missionary and then emigrated to America. While he was aware of growing anti Chinese sentiment, he applied and became a U.S. citizen just before it became impossible to do so as a Chinese person. His string of failed businesses notwithstanding, he became a leading voice in the fight for rights for Chinese Americans. 

• History of Novels

We talked about the history of novels in America, ranging from Puritanical texts to novels and children's books. We worked our way all the way up to favorites like the Box-Car children and discussed the companies that produced scores of books under a penname, like the Bobbsey Twins, The Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew series. 

• Maggie Lena Walker (instead of George Washington Carver Historic Site again)

One more change of plans led us back to the work of Maggie Lena Walker, the first African American woman to be a bank president. Maggie believed that the betterment of her community would come through opportunities they provided one another through economy, banking, and education. Her newspaper, department store, and bank left a lasting legacy that led to schools and statues dedicated to her and her work.

• Donaldina Cameron

We got to take a look at the life of missionary and activist Donaldina Cameron. She took over the Mission Home in San Francisco and dedicated herself to rescuing trafficked women, primarily those held by the Chinese tongs. He bravery and work going in and taking girls and women earned her the nickname “White Devil” among the gangs of Chinatown. The Occidental Home, renamed the Donaldina Cameron House, stands today. During Donaldina’s tenure more than 3,000 women passed through the home for help and escape. 

• Belle Da Costa Greene (Book: “The Personal Librarian”)

We got to talk about the extraordinary work of Belle Da Costa Greene, who, after changing her name, was able to pass as a white woman. She became the personal librarian to JP Morgan and curated his personal collection of books, rare manuscripts, and art. After Morgan’s death, she oversaw the library becoming a public institution that dominated the art scene in New York for decades. 

• The Osage (Movie/Book: “Killers of the Flower Moon”)

Even though the Osage people became the wealthiest people on Earth, thanks to the discovery of oil on land they had purchased as a reservation, they suffered through scores of murders in the 1920s and 30s. While our story focused on the murders perpetrated against one family, the ‘reign of terror’ over murder for oil headrights impacted the entire Osage community. 

• Mildred Lewis Rutherford/Daughters of the Confederacy

After we covered the causes of the Civil War, we headed to the Jim Crow era and took a look at the work of white supremacist Mildred Lewis Rutherford and the Daughters of the Confederacy. Both were dedicated to creating and preserving the ‘Lost Cause’ narrative that created a mythical, genteel south in which everyone lived happily under the auspices of forced human enslavement. Their dedication extended to influencing school textbooks for decades. 

• Bletchley Park (Book: “The Rose Code”)

We got to head across the pond to talk about the women of Bletchley Park and their efforts in code breaking. It was interesting to learn about the efforts to break the Enigma Machine code in order to intercept German war plans. Breaking the code was particularly impactful in the Atlantic in saving ships from German U-boats. An effort has been made in recent decades to tell the stories of the women who worked there, as their work was largely kept secret. 

• Medgar Evers

For our last class, we talked about civil rights leaders, Medgar AND Myrlie Evers. Though Medgar was assassinated for his work in organizing and becoming the first NAACP field secretary, it was his wife, Myrlie, who took up the mantle and became a pioneering civil rights activist, as well as a tireless advocate for justice for her husband, which she helped oversee 30 years after his death. 

I hope the review has helped!