Voting Station

Mary Beard

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Author

The Resume

    (August 5, 1876-August 14, 1958)
    Born in Indianapolis, Indiana
    Birth name was Mary Ritter
    Historian, labor activist, and suffragist
    Wrote 'On Understanding Women (1931),' 'America Through Women's Eyes (1933),' and 'Woman as Force in History: A Study in Traditions and Realities (1946)'
    Collaborated with husband, Charles Austin Beard, on 'The Rise of American Civilization (1927, two volumes),' 'America in Midpassage: A Study of the Idea of Civilization (1939),' 'The American Spirit (1942),' and 'Basic History of the United States (1944)'
    Establishing the World Center for Women's Archives in 1935 (closed in 1940)

Why she might be annoying:

    She and her husband both opposed US entry into World War II.
    Her center for Women's Archives lasted only five years before being shut down.
    She argued that women had been essentially written out of history books but also disputed that they had been an oppressed subgroup (contradictory).
    When her 42-page report list of suggestions for improving the Encyclopedia Britannica to be more inclusive of women was ignored, she suggested that women should no longer write for the publication.
    She broke with feminists over her opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She almost single-handedly paved the way for women's studies programs at colleges and universities.
    She met Charles Beard while attending DePauw University, and the two were married three years later.
    The two would remain married for nearly fifty years, until his death in 1948.
    She was a member of the Woman Suffrage Party, and edited the organization's publication 'The Woman Voter.'
    She became a member of Alice Paul's Congressional Committee, the most radical element of the NAWSA (National American Woman Suffrage Association), in 1913.
    She remained with Alice Paul when she seceded from the national organization to form the Congressional Union (later the Woman's Party).
    With her husband, she created one of the most balances and successful works on American history in the Twentieth Century.
    She introduced the seemingly obvious concept to American letters that women were ignored by historians despite being 'the elemental force in the rise and development of Civilization.'

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


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    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 70.0% Annoying