Talk:Julia Ward Howe

Biography assessment rating comment
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Want to help write or improve biographies? Check out WikiProject Biography Tips for writing better articles. -- Yamara 20:02, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

Refs
I think the article is well-written and well-organized. It looks good. On the refs, it is in fact customary to give page numbers. That way you can use the Harvard ref system and avoid footnote references with all the letters of the alphabet on them. Read template:harvnb if you must and also template:cite book.Dave (talk) 15:10, 21 June 2011 (UTC)

Battle Hymn Of The Republic getting into Hymnal
It should be mentioned at least how this "Hymn" ever got incorporated into a traditional Christian Hymnal. It seems to me that you would not find this song in a Hymnal published anywhere in the South. There is also the question of biblical efficacy in the fourth stanza, that starts out: "In the beauty of lilies Christ was born across the sea", which is quite far-fetched. Ybarouch (talk) 19:37, 10 June 2012 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure if you're merely editorializing/musing. If not, you're welcome to find sources and add this information. --Midnightdreary (talk) 00:21, 11 June 2012 (UTC)

I would agree that since the song is treated by many as a religious song that this article should, at the very least, explore or discuss her religious background and viewpoint or lack thereof, whatever the case may be. I don't think this is the place to debate the biblical credibility of the song, but as a biographical article, the author's personal religious life should be discussed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Turnerjazz (talk • contribs) 20:21, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Overall Critique of Article
The Wikipedia article on Julia Warde Howe provides a general summary of who Julia Ward Howe was, and what she accomplished. However, the Wikipedia article has errors pertaining to Howe’s place of death, and the chronological order of her accomplishments. The article, “Julia Ward Howe” published by the American National Biography, written by Sandra F. VanBurkleo and Mary Jo Miles is much more informative. This article is full of accurate facts and details about Julia Ward Howe’s life. In many ways, the article published by the American National Biography is more revealing than the Wikipedia article on Julia Warde Howe.

The American National Biography article written by Sandra F. VanBurkleo and Mary Jo Miles provides more information about Julia Warde Howe’s background. To begin, Howe was born in New York City, in 1819, the youngest of seven children. Her father was a stockbroker on Wall Street, and her mother was a poet. Howe’s mother died of tuberculosis when she was only five years old. Her father passed in 1839. The Wikipedia article was less specific about this information, and had left out the information about her mother and father’s passing. Instead, the Wikipedia article added sporadic information, which did not fit well in context, such as what her eldest brother’s name was. The Wikipedia article also leads out information about Howe’s education. Howe was tutored at home, and attended school for young ladies until she was sixteen years old. In 1841, she visited Boston, and met Samuel Gridley Howe. Samuel Gridley Howe was the head of the Perkin’s institute for the blind. He had courted her several times, and by 1843, Julia and Samuel were married. Julia gave birth to her first of six children eleven months later, while honeymooning in Europe. The Wikipedia article touches on these points, but leaves out specific details. Therefore, the article by Sandra F. VanBurkleo and Mary Jo Miles is much more specific, when describing Howe’s background and early life.

The American National Biography article elaborates on what Julia Ward Howe’s husband’s career consisted of. Howe lived and raised her children in South Boston. Her husband was a reformer who worked on prison and school reforms, education for the “feeble minded”, Greek and Armenian foreign relief, and abolitionism. Howe was not happy with her husband or where she lived, because she was prohibited from doing any reform work of her own. So, she attended lectures, studied foreign languages and wrote poetry and dramas. Julia’s husband was angered by her being in the public eye, and her income generating inheritance, which led to problems in their marriage. The Wikipedia article only touches that Howe was unhappy in her marriage. It hints that Howe was unable to participate in public reform. It also does not mention that Howe contemplated divorce both in 1854 and again in 1857.

The Wikipedia article forgets to mention most of Howe’s works of literature, and the stories behind them. According to Sandra F. VanBurkleo and Mary Jo Miles she published essays on Goethe, Schiller, and Lamartine in the New York Review and Theological Review before her marriage. As a child, Howe’s father did not approve of Julia being a writer. Julia continued to write, despite her father’s disapproval, and opinion of a woman’s role in society. The Wikipedia article makes reference to the book she published anonymously in 1850, Passion Flowers, but forgets to mention the second anonymous book she published in 1857, Words for the Hour. Passion Flowers was Howe’s first book, which was based on her and her husband’s rocky relationship. Her husband did not approve of her writing, so she published anonymously. She also wrote plays based on her relationship such as, Leonora, The World’s Own and Hippolytus. In 1860, she published a book, A Trip to Cuba, which described a vacation she took in 1859. Howe also published several articles on Newport high society in the New York Tribune in 1860 as well. Julia continued to write, because she wanted to prove to herself, husband, deceased father, and men around the country that women should have an active role in society. She wanted to prove that women have just as much right to vote, write, and be hold jobs as much as men did. The Wikipedia article does not mention any of these early writing accomplishments.

The Wikipedia does a descent job on describing how Howe’s must famous work, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”. It included the same details as the contrasting source by Sandra F. VanBurkleo and Mary Jo Miles. However, the Wikipedia article does not tell of how after “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” was a success, Howe wrote eleven issues of the literary magazine, The Northern Lights. It also doesn’t mention how in the same year she wrote about her travels to Europe, in From the Oak to the Olive. She also founded the weekly Woman’s Journal, which she contributed to for twenty years. She edited a defense of coeducation in 1874, called Sex and Education. In 1880, she described her own addresses in Modern Society, and in 1883 she published a biography on Margaret Fuller, and another collection of lectures in 1895, called, Is Polite Society Polite?. Finally, she published a series of memoirs in 1899, called Reminiscences. Julia Howe was a very prolific author. She continued to write until her death, due to her passion for writing, and purpose of speaking out for the equality of women in society.

The Wikipedia article mentions the different organizations Howe founded and worked for. However, it does not mention all of them. This was a major part of Howe’s accomplishments. She was an activist, who believed in social justice and equality. In 1868, Howe helped found the New England Women’s Club and the New England Woman Suffrage Association. In 1881, Howe was elected as president of the Association for the Advancement of Women. She also became the director of the Woman’s department of the New Orleans Cotton Exposition in 1884. Four years later in 1888,, she did a speaking tour of the Pacific Coast and founded the Century Club of San Francisco. In 1890, she helped found the General Federation of Women’s Clubs., which implemented the Christian values of frugality and moderation. From 1891-1893 Howe served as president for the second time of the New England Woman’s Suffrage Association, and headed the Massachusetts Federation of Women’s Clubs. The Wikipedia article just mentions that she was president of the Massachusetts Women’s Suffrage Association and the New England Suffrage Association, the American Woman suffrage Association, and the New England Women’s Club.

Julia Ward Howe’s major accomplishments lie in her contribution to women’s rights. She participated in public life against her husband’s will. She laid a foundation for woman’s rights both at home, and for the public. The Wikipedia does not give her as much justice as she deserves. It forgets to mention much of her accomplishments. Both articles speak of Howe’s death, but the Wikipedia article reported the wrong place of death. Julia Ward Howe died in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, on October 17, 1910.

The Wikipedia article provides reliable book references, and footnotes of Howe’s accomplishments. Some references include:
 * Richards, Laura E., and Maud Howe Elliott. Julia Ward Howe, 1819—1910, vol. I. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1916
 * Williams, Gary. Hungry Heart: The Literary Emergence of Julia Ward Howe. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1999: 33. ISBN 1-55849-157-0
 * The First Anniversary of 'Mother's Day'", The New York Times, June 3, 1874, p. 8: "'Mother's Day,' which was inaugurated in this city on the 2nd of June, 1872, by Mrs. Julia Ward Howards [sic], was celebrated last night at Plimpton Hall by a mother's peace meeting...".

There is also a list for further reading. They include:
 * Representative women of New England. Boston: New England Historical Pub. Co., 1904
 * Richards, Laura Elizabeth. Julia Ward Howe, 1819–1910. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1916. 2 vol.
 * Clifford, Deborah Pickman. Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Biography of Julia Ward Howe. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1978.

Although the Wikipedia article is useful for providing a general overview of Julia Ward Howe’s life, it is not the best source of information, and definitely needs some revision. There hasn’t been too many changed to the article, and there isn’t much talked about on the “talk page”. The Wikipedia article also lacks organization, and is all over the place at times with dates. The article by Sandra F. VanBurkleo and Mary Jo Miles definitely provides more information, is more organized, and is a more reliable source. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jbenti01 (talk • contribs) 04:34, 6 November 2013 (UTC)


 * This article is in very early stages of development and is awaiting knowledgeable editors, like yourself perhaps, who will help build it up. I hope you will take the time to improve the article in the ways that you have suggested. Remember to cite using reliable sources and enjoy your work. As we say around here, be bold. --Midnightdreary (talk) 12:47, 7 November 2013 (UTC)

Orson Welles
Orson Welles claimed Mrs. Howe was both a beauty and a great singer. Is there anything to these claims?

--Abenr (talk) 20:11, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

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Howe didn't "write the Battle Hymn"
1. In the 1st sentence of the article, and in the 1st sentence of section Social activism, you say Howe simply wrote The Battle Hymn of the Republic. That means she wrote the words and music. At the risk of being obvious, demote it to wrote the lyrics of.

2. For that matter, the latter instance doesn't explicitly say that John's Brown Body's is the tune to which the Battle Hymn is set. Sure, you imply that, but it's done obliquely. All you say is that she took the tune, wrote her own words, and "it" became popular. What became popular?

3. Pandemic on Wikipedia, section Social activism starts with word She. Make the 1st iteration in every section of your article the name of the subject, not a vague pronoun. Many readers scan the article and only read the salient section(s). Besides, how are we sure you're talking about Howe?

Jimlue (talk) 14:17, 13 March 2019 (UTC)