[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 34 (Tuesday, March 24, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E454-E455]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN F. TIERNEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 24, 1998

  Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, the great suffragist Susan B. Anthony once 
said, ``Failure is impossible.'' The confidence and inspiration of her 
words are as powerful today as they were almost a hundred years ago. 
Women have played integral roles in American history, from the 
fledgling days of a new republic, to today's shattering of glass 
ceilings in corporate management. They are mothers, teachers, elected 
officials, athletes and entrepreneurs. Today's young girls will 
experience less discrimination and have fewer limits imposed on them 
than their grandmothers.
  As we celebrate this month the many accomplishments of women in 
American history, I would like to call to the attention of my 
colleagues a few women whose accomplishments and dedication offer 
strength and inspiration to many individuals.
  Edith Nourse Rogers from Bedford, MA, was first elected to Congress 
in 1925 to fill the office vacated by the death of her husband. A 
former World War I Red Cross volunteer, Mrs. Rogers earned the title of 
Angel of Walter Reed Hospital. During her 18 terms as a Member, she 
fought unabashedly for veterans rights, serving as an inspector of 
veterans' hospitals as well as a mentor to many of the young soldiers 
interned there. One of her first major bills appropriated $15 million 
to build additional veterans hospitals. She was a leading sponsor of 
the GI Bill of Rights of 1944 and helped create a volunteer women's 
Army Corps.
  Judith Sargent Stevens Murray of Gloucester closely followed the 
works of Abigail Adams and questioned why women were not granted the 
same rights and freedoms that men touted. Using the pseudonym 
Constantia, she began writing on the status of women, and published an 
essay ``On the Equality of Sexes'' in the Massachusetts Magazine. In 
her essay, Murray questioned the differences in education for boys and 
girls, asking ``How is the one exalted and the other depressed * * * 
the one is taught to aspire, and the other is early confined and 
limited.'' Her powerful voice helped spur the fight for equal 
educational opportunities for young girls.
  Anne Bradstreet of Ipswich and Swampscott, was New England's first 
woman poet. While keeping house at the edge of the

[[Page E455]]

wilderness for her husband and eight children, she wrote poetry despite 
criticism that she was not devoting enough time to ``domestic 
responsibilities.'' To that, she replied, ``I am obnoxious to each 
carping tongue who says my hand a better needle fits.''
  Finally, Louise du Pont Crowninshield of Salem, was a great and 
knowledgeable collector of antiques and a tireless advocate of 
historical preservation. Crowninshield's energy and dedication to 
charity work and historic preservation benefitted and continues to 
serve the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Peabody-
Essex Museum in my hometown of Salem, Massachusetts.
  Mr. Speaker, America would not have flourished were it not for the 
tireless work of women. They have been, and continue to be, essential 
to building a country where all citizens, male and female, are free to 
live to their fullest potential.

                          ____________________