[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 20 (Friday, March 1, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1392-S1393]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CELEBRATING WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

  Mrs. CARNAHAN. Mr. President, when I think of women who have put 
their stamp on history, I think of so many ``Wonder Women'' from 
Lucretia Mott to Eleanor Roosevelt to Sally Ride. While these names are 
recognizable to all of us, there are others--teachers, mothers, 
grandmothers--who are unsung heroines. They are women who greatly 
influenced our lives.
  I have also come to admire our 19th-century counterparts--the women 
who were warriors on the front lines of the slavery, suffrage, and 
temperance battles. These early advocates of social justice continue to 
inspire us today. With few resources at their command, they were forced 
to use the power of ideas to affect change. The pen became a mighty 
sword; the voice, a thunderous cannon. They shook the 19th century.
  Two of these women were contemporaries. They were both reared in New 
England, were married, had large families and overwhelming personal 
responsibilities. They were especially sensitive to injustice. Both 
changed the thinking of the nation on the dominant issues of their day. 
Beyond that, the similarities cease. One was from a prominent family, 
the daughter of a renowned clergyman. Unlike most women of her time, 
she was well-educated--a teacher and a writer. The other woman was a 
slave, unable to read or write. But she could speak, and did that quite 
well.
  One was Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin--the 
woman whose writings did more to arouse the conscience of the nation 
against slavery than anyone of her day. Harriet had seven children and 
a husband who was a hypochondriac. He took to his bed whenever there 
was a crisis in life, leaving her to manage on her own. In spite of the 
demands on her, Harriet managed to do what she loved most--to write. At 
the time, women with political opinions were not taken seriously, but 
that did not prevent her from expressing her ideas. She somehow found 
time to write--letters, articles, entire books--thirty-three literary 
works in all. Uncle Tom's Cabin broke all sales records of its day. Her 
success brought her to the attention of the President of the United 
States. It is said that Abraham Lincoln referred to her as ``the little 
lady whose book started this big war.''
  Harriet recognized what women have known for centuries, that there 
are duties, intrusions, necessary things that lay claim to our time and 
thoughts. That was certainly true of Isabella Baumfree, the hearty 
slave woman who faced more than her share of adversity. She was quite a 
contrast to the very proper, primly dressed, and precisely spoken Mrs. 
Stowe.
  By 1828, New York had abolished slavery. Around the same time, 
Isabella felt the call to preach. She was 46. She took the name 
Sojourner Truth because it was her intention to sojourn the land and 
proclaim the truth. Since she couldn't read the Bible, Isabella had it 
read to her, and she memorized large portions of it. She dictated her 
life's story and sold it to support herself. Wherever she spoke, her 
simple but dynamic message attracted crowds. She confounded the 
skeptics with plain truth and images from her own life, but critics 
hounded her. When told that there were threats to burn the auditorium 
where she was to speak, Sojourner replied, ``Let them burn the building 
and I will speak upon the ashes.''
  Women of accomplishment have always been adaptive. They find a way 
when there is no way. They wear many hats. Being generalists, they come 
at problems from many different perspectives.
  A good example of this can be seen in the life of a St. Louis lady by 
the name of Frances Gage, or Aunt Fanny as she was known in the women's 
movement. Aunt Fanny loved to give speeches at the women's conventions. 
She often told her audiences about an incident that had inspired her to 
become an activist on behalf of women. ``At age ten, I made my first 
barrel. It was a beautiful barrel. The cooper who instructed me told my 
father, ``Fanny made that barrel and has done it quicker and better 
than any boy I have had after six months training.'' Fanny beamed with 
pride as she waited for her father's approval. Instead he shook his 
head and replied, ``What a pity that you were not born a boy so that 
you could be good for something. Now, run into the house, child, and go 
back to your knitting.''

[[Page S1393]]

  Having been rejected as a barrel maker, Fanny turned her energy to 
being a speechmaker for the women's movement. Her desire to make a 
perfect barrel transferred to a desire to perfect the rights of women. 
Not only are women adaptive, they are triumphant. Without the 
traditional power resources--money, position, and prestige they had to 
rely on their talents and determination.
  These women refused to see themselves as too weak, or under-
empowered, to make a difference. Their efforts on the critical issues 
of their time radically changed the course of the nation. They were not 
just taking political stands--not just writing and speaking about 
compassion, justice, and mercy. They were engaged in daily acts of 
human kindness. What they said and what they did matched. These women 
left their stamp on history with their ability to be adaptive, 
triumphant, and genuine. They have also left their stamp on us, their 
20th- and 21st-century sisters. For these traits are alive and well in 
women today.

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