Discusses womens ratings rights activists belle, la follette. Active in the early 20th centuries. She is the author which tell the story of this journalist, suffragist and pacifist who campaigned alongside her husband and son in their own bids for office. The humanist association of the greater sacramento area hosted this event and its about an hour. Todays truly delightful speaker, professor nancy unger, asked me if i could give her only a brief introduction. Lets see if i can. Subject is and i would like to pronounce it, belle la folette, who lived a full life from 1859 to 1931. In doing the research for her new book, nancy discovered that the work of previous historians including herself, had drastically underestimated this great humanist. She discovered the surprising truths about the radical reformer who was denounced by some as disgraceful to the white race. What . Disgraceful . She fought for women, peace, civil rights. And for so much more. The New York Times hailed her as perhaps the least known, most influential of all American Woman who had to do with Public Affairs in this country. Today, professor unger will help us to know belle le folette for who she was and is. A marvelous model of progressive reform. Nancy . [ applause ] hello. Thank you for that lovely introduction. I have given eight talks to the humanist community of Silicon Valley and they are one of my favorite audiences because they stay awake and they ask great questions. So i really have been looking forward to this talk. And i want to thank you for inviting me to the humanist association of greater sacramento area. I want to thank bill potts for his heroic efforts to publicize this talk and make me feel welcome. I have written this brandnew biography and i am dying to talk with you about it. About her as a representative of the many women who contributed significantly to american politics, even long before women had the vote. Hillary clinton may well be the first female president and if she is, shell deserve the credit for it. But as a clinton herself acknowledges, it took a lot of work by previous women and some men to compellingly make the case that women are capable of political leadership. Even at the highest levels. Belle le follette she was one of those women and as we look forward or maybe not looking forward quite so much to the 2016 elections, we have a lot to learn from this Great American and not only about politics. Lesson one. Dont make the mystic of underestimates a woman just because she was first known as a political wife. Although the New York Times eulogized Belle Le Follette in 1931 as perhaps, quote, the most influential of all american women who have had to do with Public Affairs in this country. She faded quickly from popular memory. And when she is recalled, its usually in relation to her husband and sons. And i am afraid that i contributed to this approach in my biography of her husband, fighting bob le follette. I have to say in my own defense, he started it. This minimization of his wifes accomplishments began with this progressive reform giant famously calling her my wisest and best counselor. Bob openly deferred to belles judgment throughout his storied professional life. As district attorney, three term congressman, lawyer, three term governor of wisconsin, and most significantly during his 19 years in the u. S. Senate. According to their soninlaw, playwright george middleton. Except john adams with his abigail, no man in public life was to have so equal a mate. Books, articles, a short film and plays including a full length musical hail belle la follette as the little woman behind the great man. Only a few go so far as to recognize her as an important reformer in her own right and no account until now reveals the depth and range of her interests, her ambitions and activisms and the contributions she made to meaningful progressive reform. So lesson two. Dont believe everything that you read or hear. Upon her death in 1931, newspapers across the nation hailed belle la follette for her selflessness, her willingness to remain out of the public eye, her contentment in eschewing a career for herself in favor of carrying out a higher calling, that of wife and mother. She had a masculine mind, one backhanded accolade conceded. But then quickly praised her for being essentially feminine, maternal. Its like that old compliment, you know, you dont sweat much for a fat girl. Another tribute concluded hers is an interesting career. For those women who of necessity must remain in the background. Famed journalist lincoln stefans, a family friend who really should have known better painted la follette as a selfsacrificing woman who consciously surrendered her own ambitions, quote, she could act he said, but she was content to beget action and actors. She played herself, the womans part. She sat in the gallery in the congress or at home with the children and the advisors. She could, but she did not often make the speeches or do the deeds. Although this helpmate behind the scenes assessment came to dominate the historical record, in reality, belle la follette exhibited considerable political leadership. Although she and her husband worked together to promote the many progressive goals they shared, she was far from being merely his assistant. She held no elected office and could not even cast a ballot until she was 61 years old. Yet she overcame her natural shyness to wield tremendous influence as a journalist and public speaker. Activities she took on not only out of idealism, but because her family needed the money. All those who joined lincoln stefans in identifying her as the victorious mother did her a grave disservice. She did make the speeches and do the deeds and the nation improved because she did. So lesson three. Dont buy into tired ideas about gender or anything else. Born belle case in 1859, she grew up in the Farming Community of wisconsin where her commitment to feminist principles was cemented at a young age. In her experience, men and women were both so indispensable to the success of farm life that few couples quibbled over whose work was more important. As she put it, quote, while traditions and laws fixing the legal disabilities and the interior status of women prevailed, womens great practical usefulness and highly developed judgment placed them, for all practical purposes, on an equal footing with men. Such a perspective was consistent with her familys religious views. When her mother, mary case, heard Anna Howard Shaw lecture at the familys free Congregationalist Church promoting womens right to vote, she was captivated by the words of this pioneering minister and physician. Mary case later told her daughter that she felt, quote, quite indignant that women did not have the same rights as men. Belles brother agreed, stating matter of factually, i do not see any reason why i should vote if belle cannot. Lesson four. Be fearless and challenge authority. Belle case refused to accept the differential meek role assigned to girls. A friend recalled that young belle case, quote, frequently discomforted her teachers and fellow pupils by questioning and challenging things that were taught and accepted. And was fearless in insisting on things being understood and being worthwhile before accepting them. Her years as a student at the university of wisconsin fueled her fearlessness. One professor recalled miss case with her eagerness for knowledge and readiness to pay the price in hard work profited to the full by the universitys opportunities. Lesson five. Remain your own person. Belle cases classmate, bob la follette, pursued her avidly. It was at her insistence that their engagement remain a secret. And bob grew increasingly frustrated when belle seemed far more interested in pursuing her career than planning a life with him. Only after belle completed two years of teaching did she marry bob on new years eve in 1881 in a ceremony conducted by a unitarian minister who honored the brides request that the word obey be omitted from the marriage vows. Lesson six. Stop wasting your time. Eight months and ten days after their wedding, belle gave birth to the first of their four children. Although belle la follette said the supreme experience in life is motherhood, she also said there is no inherent conflict in a mothers taking good care of her children, developing her own talents, and continuing to work. Even when her children were small, la follette refused to waste her time on the activities most people assumed should take up the day of a middle class wife and mother. La follette believed in quote, simplicity and ease in dress, furnishings even food, asking what custom could be more barbarous than a ten course dinner . She advocated, quote, less kinds of food, fewer courses, less work. Lesson seven. Stop apologizing for not wasting your time. Belle la follette rejected the expectation that women would cling to outmoded conventions at the same time that men flocked to new conveniences that made their lives easier and more efficient. As the telephone came into popular use, for example, she found it absurd that women were criticized as both lazy and extravagant for phoning in their grocery orders, while men were praised for their efficiency in transacting business over the phone. Why is it, she asked sardonically, that those who are most deeply convinced that womens place is in the home are most concerned when women stay at home and telephone for supplies instead of going to the market. Following the advent of the typewriter she complained, women apologize for a typewritten personal letter as though it were an offense even though the deciphering of their handwriting is a most nerve racking process. She believed women should embrace any innovations that may spare them from unnecessary labor. To those who bemoan the loss of womens personal touch, she responded in favor of preserving womens time health and energy. Quote, Many Associates with the hand made and home made has been sacrificed for the greater gain. Lesson eight. Be comfortable, guard your health. Belle la follette further defied convention by abandoning stays and corsets for more comfortable looser fitting garments and urged other women to do the same. She noted with some disgust, the man who said women ought not to vote as long as they cannot fasten their own gowns made the best antisuffrage argument ive ever heard. Its certainly humiliating we submit to the tyrannies of dress as we do. La follette reserved special scorn for the time women were encouraged to waste bemoaning their inability to live up to unrealistic bodily ideals. Although she struggled to keep her own weight in check, she strove not to obsess about it but to focus instead on remaining fit. Now in case youve let your subscription to the wisconsin magazine of history lapse, this is the cover of the current issue. And thats la follette briskly walking in the 1920s with bud, the family bulldog. I found this image the original image for this on ebay for 5. In 1912, la follette still ran three miles before breakfast every day. And in 1914, at the age of 55, the Washington Post celebrated her scaling of a 12,000 foot volcano in costa rica. Lesson nine. Involve yourself in the larger world. La follettes always passionate believe pin quote, the growing desire of women of leisure to employ themselves worthily and share in the work of the world was emphasized in 1912 in the book women and labor. La follette viewed it, quote, like an epic poem, majestic, powerful and thrilling. It described women who led empty lives and who were wholly dependent upon their husbands incomes as, quote, parasitic. A term la follette would use repeatedly in her demands that women be allowed equal opportunities and useful occupations. Early in their marriage, belle so enjoyed helping bob with his legal studies that she took up the law course as well becoming, in 1885, the first woman to graduate from the university of Wisconsin Law school. See if you can pick her out. One of my friends notes she seemed to be the only one who actually earned a diploma. A passion that was not shared by the young couple was life in the Nations Capital once bob was elected to congress in 1888. To the query what do washington women talk about . Belle la follette complained all too much about the weather. And exceeding graciousness and desire to please pervades every function like having all the meals, only dessert. She tartly reminded her sisters in washingtons official life, we are not supposed to belong to the butterfly and parasitic class. Lesson ten. Recognize that the personal is political. Belle la follette urged all women to start recognizing that problems they thought of as personal were in fact political and, therefore, required womens political activism. Quote, how much we pay for food, coal, and clothing is very largely determined by control of a Natural Resources. The tariff, the distribution of tax and by the regulation of the great private monopolies and freight rates. These are womens problems. La follette strenuously opposed her husbands plan to begin a magazine in 1909. Was the die was cast she devoted herself to making la follettes magazine a meaningful voice of progressivism. That magazine is published today as the progressive. In an article entitled foolishness she railed against the narrow range of superficial topics others deemed suitable for women readers. She concluded lets fool these men publishers and put our time on the worlds events. In countless columns in the magazines home and education pages belle la follette introduced defined and expanded and celebrated promoted progressive reforms. Women readers responded with gratitude and other journalists celebrated her innovative approach. Celine harmine of the cincinnati inquirer noted one of the cleverest and most readable womens pages in the country is edited by belle case la follette. Shes the first editor of a Womens Department to go on strike against the conventional formulas for hair dye and accepted recipes for beauty. La follette is always independent and fearless in her expression of opinion. In 1911 the north American Press syndicate engaged la follette to provide articles six days a week. Her series, thought for the day which covered topics including suffrage, economics, dress, children, womens work, health appeared in 57 newspapers in more than 20 states. Lesson 11. Fight for whats right. Even if it violates time worn traditions. In addition to the standard slate of progressive goals, including labor protection, Natural Resource conservation and tariff and tax reform, belle la follette advocated a wide range of less conventional innovations. She supported the right of a woman not to take her husbands name upon marriage. She pr promoted the Montessori School of education, opposed Corporal Punishment for children and supported Sex Education for children. She saved special ire for Capital Punishment which she termed a survival of barbarism whose existence is contrary to the best thought and practice of modern civilization. She also according to her youngest child, ultimately became an agnostic. Although both the la follettes peppered their speeches and writings with religious imagery they did not attend church which was unusual for a u. S. Senator and his family. To protect her husbands reputation, however, in this one area, belle bent rather than freely acknowledged the truth. Bob delighted in telling Family Friends that as belle guided a wealthy couple from bobs district through washington, d. C. , they asked point blank which church the la follettes attended. Belle quote, told them we attended the Congregational Church oftener than any other in washington. This was technically not a lie, belle rationalized, because a minister we had known well in madison had preached in the Congregational Church one sunday and we had gone to hear him. Belle la follette advocated cleaner Railroad Cars and depots and schedules designed to shorten layovers. She also proposed postponing president ial inaugural ceremonies until april. Writing in 1912, must we go on forever suffering the inconveniences of dates so badly adjusted to our present day life just because they were written into the constitution over 100 years ago . In this way, she saw womens lack of political experience as working to their favor as they were less conditioned to accept outmoded traditions. Lesson 12. Meaningful change almost always requires persistence. In 1930 the National League of women voters honored 71 women, including la follette, for their service to the league and to the american women suffrage association. When her name was inscribed on a bronze tablet housed in the National Headquarters in washington, d. C. , la follette protested that she did not deserve such an honor. Yet her contemporary, alice paul, called la follette the most consistent supporter of equal rights of all of the women of her time. And in a 1912 story on suffrage, one New York Times headline declared simply mrs. La follette is leader. Looking back on the battle she wanled for sufficierage in that year, la follette admitted, i spoke seven days a week in succession, usually three or four times a day, sometimes six or eight. During one 12 day tour, she gave 31 speeches in 14 different counties. Lesson 13. Be able to compellingly articulate your political goals. La follette marched in the great suffrage parade in new york city on may 4th, 1912. And less than a year later, she testified before the u. S. Senate committee on womens suffrage, that granting women the vote was, quote, a simple matter of common sense. You know how lincoln defined government at gettysburg. Ours is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. And are not women people . According to the national magazine, mrs. Robert la follette gave a remarkable and forcible address and the audience hung upon her words. Congress did not grant women the vote. Early in the first term of the Wilson Administration, belle la follette was a member of a contingent of suffrage advocates that met with the president. Although wilson listened respectfully, they were hurried out of the white house after ten minutes. Having failed to persuade the u. S. Senate or the president , la follette took her case back to the american people. She spoke for 63 consecutive days in july and august of 1914 in a tour that included pennsylvania, ohio, indiana, and michigan. The Senate Finally approved the suffrage amendment on june 4th, 1919, with la follette observing from the visitors gallery. We shed a few tears she recorded, noting with pride that wisconsin was the first state to ratify the 19th amendment. Bob la follette confided to their children that wisconsin beat them to it on the suffrage amendment because of your smart mother. Belle la follette worried that illinois would try to steal the first honors, wired representatives in her home state to be sure that wisconsin acted first. And as soon as a telegraph of confirmation was received i went on the floor and read it into the congressional record. Mama and all of us feel good, you bet. Lesson 15. Black lives matter. Belle la follette was widely acknowledged within the Africanamerican Community nationwide, but especially in washington, d. C. As a dedicated and fearless leader in the fight for racial equality. Beginning in 1913 she wrote a series of searing articles decrying the efforts of the Wilson Administration to racially segregate federal services. She urged to action her washington female readers in particular, revisiting her oft repeat assertion that privileged wives were quote not supposed to belong to the butterfly and parasitic class but should represent the earnest intelligent womanhood of the nation and fight for the equality of all. La follette denounced the injustice in violation of democratic principles imposed by the new orders. As she did that, she skewered the hypocrisy of whites who supported segregation. It seems strange she observed caustically that the very ones who consider it a hardship to sit next to a colored person in a street car entrust their children to colored servants and eat food prepared by colored hands. On january 4th, 1914, she spoke to the colored ymca on 12th street in washington, d. C. It was an electrifying event. Wild cheering by the 1,000 people present, almost all of whom were black interrupted her speech many times. According to the Washington Post in a front page story headlined, wife of la follette says government fails. Said there would be no constitution of peace until the question is settled and settled in the right way. And ovation of several minutes follow her remarks. An africanAmerican Woman noted quote, the tremendous effect upon all who heard your stirring speech. Its the topic overshadowed all the others in the black community. She concluded her message of thanks, may god continue to bless you. May he continue to lead you and may he continue to give you courage to do and to dare. La follette delivered essentially the same speech to the annual banquet of naacp in new york city. And offered solutions. The race issue, like the suffrage question, the sex question, are any other perplexing unsettled problem disturbing society today, should be freely and seriously discussed in private conversation, in the public press, and from the pulpit. The situation does not call for violence but demands unaltering faith in welldirected efforts. She added that integration was quote, in no way a matter of social privilege. Its a matter of civil right. Lesson 16. Opposition can sting but support is validating and provides much needed encouragement. One anonymous writer warned belle la follette that quote, for a white lady to address a negro audience is out of place. Adding it does not raise you very much in the estimation of decent white people. A correspondent from tennessee denounced la follette for her quote, idotic demands. Other critics exhibited less restraint. One reader termed belle la follette disgraceful to the white race. And suggested the only true reason for her actions was that she was herself black but only a little light in color. It was signed a real white person with no black stripes down the back like you. La follettes efforts also generated support. A white employee of the Government Printing office and a Civil War Veteran addressed la follette directly. I thank you the black race needs such as you to aid them and the white race needs you to bring it to its senses. Navy department arbiter ralph tyler an organizer for the National Business league. Wrote he read her article with renewed inspiration and courage. Because it clearly indicated to me that my race still has good, strong and imminently fair white friends in this day of threatened segregation. Just as we did in the dark days of subjugation before our emancipation. I thank you for your article and i know i but voice the sentiment of my race in doing so. In 1914, la follette spoke to a predominately black audience at the National Trade and professional school for women and girls in washington, d. C. And when she was introduced by africanamerican activists as the successor of harriet beacher stowe, lawyer james hayes bowed his head and said amen. Speaking for his race, hayes told la follette we thank god for such a white woman as you. We thank god for sending you to us and thank you for coming. A few more like you would awaken the sleeping conscious of this nation. Lesson 17. Promote peace always. At the same time that she was writing for the family magazine fighting racism and campaigning for womens suffrage, belle la follette took up a new cause. Ultimately becoming one of the most recognized leaders in the crusade for world peace. La follette widely promoted recognition of wars futility and the practical possibilities of world peace through binding arbitration. Her impassioned advocacy would bring a rain of complaints. But she steadfastly refused to modify her beliefs. La follettes argument was that in the quote, struggle for balance of power, this idea that war is the only way of settling differences among nations is a survivor of the dark ages. On january 10th, 1915, belle la follette was one of 3,000 women who gathered in washington, d. C. As a meeting that culminated in the formation of the womens peace party four years later became the womens interNational League for peace and freedom. So this is belle right there, thats jane adams. Lesson 18, dont be intimidated by the rich, powerful or the popular if you believe they are wrong. Theodore roosevelt was outraged by such passivism. On april 16th, 1915, the chicago herald published a scathing assessment of the womens peace party. In which the still enormously popular former president called the partys platform silly and base. Influenced by physical cowardice, vague and hysterical. Foolish and noxious and ignoble abandonment of National Duty containing not particle of good and exposed our people to measureless contempt. Belle la follette fired by that roosevelt assumed that war is the only means of settling International Differences and moreover that war is bound to settle them right. History demonstrates that even imperfect and temporary plans of mediation conciliation and arbitration have been more effective than war in securing justice. That, therefore, the enlightened and progressive thought of the age should be organized to eradicate the madness of war and be concentrated upon the future settlement of International Disputes by an international tribunal. Roosevelts charge that the party was cowardly and foolish particularly rankled. Was christ cowardly . How long did the agitation before human slavery last before it was abolished . To roosevelts assertion that by war alone can we acquire those viral qualities to win. La follette observed the problem with mr. Roosevelt is that he is intoxicated with a false idea of war. History, la follette urged sewed that people were capable of coping how they changed changing how they coped with disagreements. More enlightened forms of resolutions ultimately replaced dueling for example. Which had been considered an honorable way to settle individual differences. In a speech on peace day, 1915, la follette reminded her listeners about 70 of the National Income each year went for paying for past wars or building up arms for future ones. She put this in terms that she felt would most resonate with her audience. What would you think of a housekeeper who was afraid of burglars and who instead of working to get a Communal Police organization to protect her home with all the other homes let her obsession destroy all her equity and spent 70 of all the Household Budget on iron fences and iron doors and high walls which shut out all the light and had only 30 of her income left to clothe and feed her children. When the children of the woman in this scenario died because of her misallocation of resources, la follette asked, wouldnt you consider such housekeeping such mothering sheer insanity . And yet that is exactly the kind of housekeeping our great nation is engaged in. Womens call for peace la follette concluded is not sentimental rebellion against the inevitable toll of life. It is calm recognition of the utter futility of this method of solving differences between nations that gives us today a deep and burning determination to contribute all our powers toward the end of international warfare, to cease the inevitable retardation for the development of humanity and civilization. Lesson 19. Were coming to a close here. It wont go on forever. Put your heart for the long run into what you believe. The vilification endured by her entire family for the peace activism of herself and her husband during the war years did not curb belle la follettes post war efforts to reject military preparedness, which she denounced as, quote, the awful folly of wasting the billions in dollars that should go for education and human betterment. La follette toured 14 cities in 1921, urging voters to reject any candidate not committed to the reduction of preparedness and arms. When criticized for efforts publicly denounced as futile, if not unamerican, la follette took the long view to counsel others against discouragement. Every effort of this kind is slow in actual results, democracy, slavery, suffrage. Lesson 20. You can make a difference. When la follette learned that secretary of state Charles Evan Hughes opened the Washington Naval conference in 1921 by proposing a 50 reduction in the three great navies of the world, it took her breath away. She was thrilled when idaho senator william bora credited the Public Opinion that she had been so central in generating as the motivating factor behind hughes proposal. The conference resulted in three major treaties and a number of smaller agreements. Most important to la follette was the five power treaty, which involved the major naval powers including britain, the United States and japan. La follette also worked to gain the release of americans imprisoned for their criticism of their countrys role in the war. After la follette helped obtain the release of socialist and labor leader on Christmas Day of 1921, he hailed her as a gifted woman of extraordinary vision and understanding superb moral courage, a deep love of humanity and a profound sense of obligation to her fellow beings and to the cause of the common people. Lesson 21. After a victory, dont rest on your laurels for long. La follette turned to military recruitment. In 1923 she spoke in washington, d. C. Before the annual meeting of the american section of the womens interNational League for peace and freedom. She criticized the militarys determination to conflate patriotism with military training. To read the posters and look at the alluring pictures that confront us on the streets, she complained, we would think that the army and navy offer one long life of gaiety. That same year, she wrote admiringly of some of the changes she witnessed first hand in the newly created soviet union. And in 1924 she broke precedent as a political wife by formally campaigning for her husbands final president ial bid. And i want you to take notice at that hand bill. It shows one of the problems i had doing my research. I did an initial search for belle la follette in the New York Times and got 110 hits. I thought it cant be right. There has to be more. She wasnt belle la follette to the New York Times she was mrs. Robert la follette. I put that in and got 708 hits. You have to be thinking in the context of the times. Lesson 22. Strategic long term thinking usually beats knee jerk reactions. Following the death of robert la follette in 1925 a petition circulated among members of the Wisconsin Legislature asking belle la follette to become a candidate to fill her husbands unexpired term. She could easily become the first woman senator. But she chose not to run. A petition signed by hundreds of women asked, dear mrs. La follette, will you, can you turn away from your heritage, your people your shepherdless flock . Those who knew her best thought her refusal to run in favor of her son was a typically shrewd move. A we we author observed belle case la follette will stand as one who ambitious for her husband and their sons was ambitious first of all that their shared ideals of social justice, which were also her ideals, should prevail. According to phil la follette, his mother recognized her term would be granted more as a tribute to her late husband than as a serious political investment. By virtue of his sex as well as his age, robert jr. Would be far more likely than his mother to be repeatedly reelected and could therefore, lead the la follette Progressive Movement for years to come, further cementing its legacy. With his mother serving as his campaign manager, robert la follette jr. Was elected to the senate seat which he would occupy for the next 21 years. Lesson 23. Progressive activism is a lifelong commitment. Following her husbands death, belle la follette not only kept the family magazine alive, she served as the chief advisor to both robert jr. And her son, phil, elected in 1930 to the first of three terms as wisconsins governor. She also continued to advise wisconsin congressman james freer urging him to remind the folks over and over again of the cost of the world war. And to give them concrete suggestions and ways and means of preventing another war. Although writing her husbands biography was her top priority, as the nation sank deeper into the great depression, she could not resist continuing to campaign for Progressive Solutions to problems old and new. She denounced president Herbert Hoover for doing too little to alleviate the growing unemployment. Criticizing him for being a friend of the power trust. She championed absentee voting, campaigned to save the Childrens Bureau and wrote admiringly of the efforts of gandhi to implement his fivepoint program in india. Particularly his dedication to womens equality with men. Only her death in 1931 brought an end to her activism. So the final lesson, give credit where its due. Belle la follette deserves recognition for contributing significantly to the political achievements of her husband and sons. But the determination to provide that recognition has obscured the contributions that she made in her own right to causes of her own choosing. Blocking recognition of her full legacy. A closer look reveals an unexpected belle la follette a passionate feminist, dedicated to peace, civil rights, and making her nation a better place through a variety of innovative reforms. Her life, i believe, offers valuable lessons for today. Thank you. [ applause ] thank you very much. I am delighted you stayed awake and youre here. This is terrific. I certainly would welcome any questions or comments. Say anything about her orientation towards socialism and her relationship with eugene . She did not say that she was a socialist. But she was a pacifist and she was certainly far more radical than her husband, who was pretty radical for a u. S. Senator. So i would say that in many ways she was a socialist but did not claim that title. She and her husband, though, did argue about this issue. And they were pretty open about it. So i would say that she did not go as far to claim herself a socialist. I cant go that far. I hope that answers your question. Its a little iffy. Yeah. Are girls in Todays Schools finding out about people like belle la follette . Is that in the curricula . Are girls today learning about belle la follette in Todays School system . Obviously depends on who is teaching. I think you have a much better chance if youre in wisconsin. But if you go online and put in belle la follette and do video, theres a fourminute video of her that is just terrific. And my son is vice principal in East Palo Alto when i guest lectured to his sixth graders they know about her. That isnt answering your question. I think political history is not really in fashion right now. Its more social history. Because she does womens issues and so forth she can bridge that divide. But i would say even in wisconsin, most people dont know who the la follettes are. So i think that she is a hidden gem im trying to, you know, get a little more attention for her. Im wondering how you were introduced to her and also was that an excerpt from your book . No. So how did i first come to find belle la follette and was it an excerpt. I took a few quotes from any book, but i put together this just for you. But i wrote a biography of robert la follette when i was in graduate school. I had never heard of him. I read this paragraph about this man who did all these things politically that i approved of. He was very liberal and able to achieve a lot of meaningful reform, the direct election of senators, a lot of protection of workers, the stuff that was really changing peoples lives on a daily basis for the good. I was interested in why someone who had been such a successful senator and who really wanted to be president wasnt able to parlay that into the presidency. I got very interested in him. Once you get interested in him, the la follettes write to each other every day and save every scrap of paper. You have so much information. And you cant really do him without her. Because he is so he just he loves her so much and all of these things shes saying is getting a lot of criticism and he doesnt care. He never says to her once, could you tone it down. The stuff about peace, because she pushed him hard to vote against u. S. Entry into world war i. He was really struggling. He said, you know, that la follette jr. Said, mom, you have to come, you have to be with him. He cant take the strain. He was very dependent upon her. Once you get into him, then you get into her. Then you get into the children. Because they all write to each other every five minutes too. Its a package deal. You cant just do one la follette. Could you Say Something about robert la follette jr. And his career in the u. S. Senate was like. I presume he was one of the socalled isolationist senators, correct me if im wrong. Well, junior, like what was la follette jr. Like as a senator . I would first of all say la follette jr. Did not want to be a senator. This was not his passion. This was his obligation as a member of his family. His younger brother wanted desperately to be senator but he was too young, only junior had reached the age of requirement. So he is a dutiful senator. Yes, he opposes u. S. Entry into world war i. Once its in, like everybody else, he lines up in support of the war. Hes a solid senator. He does good work all of these years. But he hates campaigning. At one point hes campaigning someone brays out from the audience, youre not as good as your pa and you never will be. And he said no one knows that better than i my friend. No one knows that better than i. He does his duty and stays in the senate for 21 years. And then hes supposed to go back to wisconsin and do some campaigning, so he doesnt. And is defeated by joe mccarthy. And which as you can imagine is devastating for a great progressive. And his health is impaired and he talks about how he let his father down. Hes very upset. And he struggles for a few years and in the end hes a suicide. Its a very sad story. I used to live in washington, d. C. Near the Supreme Court which is near the alice paul house, which president obama just i think just this week has dedicated the belmont paul house there. And i just wonder if you had and i also used to live in wisconsin for a couple of years. So i was curious, do you have any tidbits to add about the relationship between alice paul and her efforts and mrs. La follette . Im delighted to comment on any tidbits about the relationship between bella la follette and alice paul, because theyre fascinating. Alice paul as many of you may know is an american she sort of got her suffrage training in britain where she was shouting out at politicians and getting arrested. And they were force feeding her and so forth. She really believed this was the way to go. You had to get attention, you had to get headlines. Belle la follette is so polite. That just seems so she doesnt approve of this method. Then she says every day shes going to congress to, you know, sit in the galleries and listen. She walks by what are called the silent sentinels. I showed you that one slide of the women standing in front of the white house with their sashes, indicating where they got their university degrees. And she starts thinking maybe alice paul is on to something. And she admires them and her writing goes from sort of a scolding tone of this is going to put people off and dont do it. To more of a perhaps we do need to be more aggressive. So she does come to admire paul. Then after women get the vote, they have a bit of a break. Because alice paul wants only the equal rights amendment and nothing else. Belle la follette says we still need to campaign for rights for our working sisters, to improve conditions we need other things as well. Alice paul says no, its equal right amendment and thats it. They start off, they come back together and then they separate again. I was wondering if there was a meaningful relationship between belle and Elizabeth Kate stanton. And being a secularist as to whether belle was influenced by stanton the womans bible published in 1895. So what kind of a relationship if any did belle la follette have with Elizabeth Katie stanton. I cant trace a relationship there. She never said anything about the feminist bible i ever saw. I know that she got very impatient with women like Elizabeth Katie stanton who were willing to throw other races under the bus to get womens rights. She was really had very little patience for that. But i dont recall. She talks in general terms about other great Women Leaders but nothing about stanton in particular. Nothing with susan b. Anthony. No, no. She talks about a couple of them, you know, speaking in wisconsin on tours and so forth. She was clearly, of course aware of them and so on. She really didnt tend to spend a lot of time focusing on the past. She was really dedicated on getting things done today. Yeah. I am just discovering and enjoying learning about mother jones. Did belle la follette know or appreciate or i know the style is so completely different. But i hope she appreciated what mother jones did. I have never read any ive never found anything in belle la follettes writings about mother jones. Which doesnt mean that it isnt there it means i havent found them. I havent seen that. Again, i mean, when she gives her speeches she rarely harkens back to the past. You know [ inaudible ] was she labor the way mother jones was . Yes. She was very supportive of labor towards the end of her papers there are some wonderful tributes from big unions and so forth writing not to her husband but to her. Thanking her on support of organized labor and the stance she took for them. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, let me once more on behalf of everybody thank you for the brilliant presentation you have made. It was a delight. Well, thank you all very much. [ applause ] thank you. Now im talking about the books. Oh, yes, lets talk about the books. You will buy these or you will be shot. I would hope you would need no persuasion to buy them. They are excellent books. I would just to give you a little incentive theyre cheaper than they are on amazon. So if youre ever going to buy them, this would be the time to do so. Thats pretty good. Amazon will be discounting later on. Because thats their normal thing. This is cheaper than the amazon discount im giving you my authors price. And of course you get a precious valuable signature. Well, my husband says the unsigned ones are rarer and more valuable. Actually can you hand me that . Im still so this is beyond natures housekeepers. This is american women and environmental history. This is Oxford University press. I got very impatient with some feminist issues. And i got tired of hearing how women were more environmentally attuned than men, which i just think is not true genetically. Its talking about why do men and women respond differently. Why have they in American History responded differently to the environment over time . From the beginning of the precolonial period up to the present. So i really sort of an examination of how what were told it means to be a man or a woman. Men are naturally this way. Women are naturally that way. This really saying how does that get constructed . Where do the ideas come from. One quick example. I have some boy scout manuals and girl scout manuals. Boys are told that the camp fire represents camaraderie and the battlefield. Girls are told it represents hearth and home. Its a fire for crying out loud. But the best thing about this book i want to tell you is this is my motherinlaw when she was 16 years old at ranch camp. Just for the cover alone i just absolutely adore this cover. I think its so fabulous. And i was talking to the editor about what i wanted on the cover. I said let me tell you what i want on the cover. We were talking on the phone. We had the pictures all set out. And he said, look, you know, you may suggest but the cover is the most important Marketing Tool that we have. You know, you can suggest but we will decide. And i said okay, i want the cowgirl. Hes its pretty freaking good i think were going with that. That was how i got the cover. So, yes, theres a biography of bob and one of belle and then this one as well. Okay. I hope your minds are not closed to the idea of buying the books. On lectures in history, Boston College professor Heather Cox Richardson teaches a class on the new roles women assumed in the workforce in politics during the late 19th century. She describes the gains women made in fields such as nursing, teaching, and social work. She also looks at the growth of political organizations run by women that focused on issues like prohibition and women suffrage. This class is just over an hour. Lets go ahead and start. As you know the theme of this course comes from the idea that the civil war dramatically changes American History because what it really does is it destroys everythingve