"Introduction" and "Molly Brown and Women in Politics"

Introduction
My name is Tracy Ann Nelson, but right now I’m in the process of changing my name to Zoey Wyn Nelson. Long story short I’ve never liked my name because it’s too plain for someone as crazy as me. I grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado for the most part, but I prefer to think of Chicago as my hometown (where I was born, and lived until the age of 8). I’m an English major, and minoring in Urban Studies and American History. Hopefully I’ll be starting my Master’s in Education program next fall and then onward to be the best inner city English teacher ever…or something like that.

Throughout my education at DU I’ve seeked out opportunities to take classes about the “other”. Old, rich, dead, white guys have never been my thing. I also think that because I hope to teach a very diverse population it’s my prerogative to know much more about the non old, rich, dead, white guy. When I was registering for classes last spring I realized I wasn’t well versed in the gender other of women. I had taken for that for granted. It’s easy to forget sometime in our progressive world that women are still not treated equally if you aren’t reminded on a regular basis about your identity. Since I’ve always liked GWST colloquiums I figured it was time to start my formal education on my forgotten other.

Molly Brown and Women in Politics
I almost feel embarrassed that I only knew Margaret Brown as “the unsinkable”; thankfully I know I’m not alone on that note. One of the most paradoxical and as result most striking aspects of Molly Brown’s life, and those women she associated with during that time period was the fact that women could run for office, but could not vote. It kind of seems along the line of the colonist’s objection “no taxation, without representation” but backwards. Women could be represented in a way, but couldn’t vote for them.

Until last Wednesday I didn’t know that women could run for office, and I wonder why that isn’t more emphasized in American History. Of course, there wasn’t very many (I assume) and they probably very rarely won, it seems strange that it was never once mentioned in my mandatory history classes in high school (and if it was underplayed).

While Molly wasn’t elected, her friend was. What do you think accounted for that: personal characteristics, contingency, or simply a bad alternative? I’m interested in learning what other people think. Does this strike anyone else as particularly interesting? My guess is that Molly Brown was probably a bit more ascorbic then her contemporary. She could also have been running against a very qualified candidate that was clearly better suited for the job. It could have also been the fact that the people voting were not willing to have a woman in office.