User:Btaylor1724/sandbox

Article Evaluation
As I was researching, I came across the wikipedia page on Helen Keller, which is a C-rated page. The talk page was critical of the citations in this article as being invalid or irrelevant, and criticized the writing style presented as being too "trivia" oriented and less focused on the tangible facts of her life. As I did my own reading of the article, it was quickly clear that the author had some confusing writing styles, for example stating in the summary "Her June 27 birthday is commemorated as Helen Keller Day", which is not concise or clear enough for an encyclopedia style article. Most concerning is the limited information on Helen Keller's autobiography, The Story of My Life, in the "Writings" section of this page. This autobiography was monumental for Keller, writing it at 22 years old, but has also been impactful in the lives of deaf-blind persons everywhere. There seems to be on overemphasis on her political work in comparison to the details of her more personal life.

I am also interested in adding to the Wikipedia page on Sarah Grimke who I found to be extremely interesting during our coursework this year. This page is a "c-rated" page which means there is definite room for improvement. The main things I noticed in this were a great lack of citations, they only use seven sources total, where some large paragraphs will have a multitude of 'facts' with only one citation somewhere in the mix, which brings concern to the legitimacy of the information. Second, because I was so fond of the writings we read in class, I do think it is strange that there is more focus on her brother in law school than there is on her literature that we have a lot of access to. Her writings, even though the are compiled in to a book, do not have their own wikipedia page, which is why I think it would be important to provide more examples and excerpts from it when understanding a fuller picture of who Sarah Grimke was. Lastly, the section on 'faith' is only a few sentences long which does not match what we know about Sarah. Her faith is what motivated her and inspired her to be involved in the all the movements she was involved in, including abolition and suffrage, so a couple sentences is not sufficient when we have so many primary sources to build information on.

Women's America: Refocusing the Past, Linda K. Kerber

 * 1) brief and thorough summary of the life and progression of faith of the Grimke sisters
 * 2) "Letters on the Equality of Sexes and the Condition of Women"
 * 3) she rejects any ideas that women should not have equal education and that women need "mental cultivation"
 * 4) "whatsoever it is morally right for a man to do, it is morally right for a woman to do" and that it is up to women to enforce this idea in the minds of men  (regardless of mortal law, the only 'law' is God's)
 * 5) "Pastoral Letter" excerpt that inspired her letters

"Letters on the Equality of Sexes and the Condition of Women"


 * 1) significant quotes that support her reliance upon faith for her activism

Addition to "View on Faith and Creation"
Sarah Grimke used Scripture in most of her writings that demonstrated her dedication to the Quaker faith and her genuine belief in its compatibility with activism. In 1837, Sarah responded to a Pastoral Letter that reinforced Biblical interpretations supporting the role of females in the "private sphere" only, using Scripture to provide the benefits and power of this position. Sarah responded to this letter also with Scripture, encouraging women to take on a motto of " 'The Lord is my light, and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; whom shall I be afraid?' She must feel, if she feels rightly, that she is filling one of the most important duties laid upon her as an accountable being, and that her character, instead of being 'unnatural', is in exact accordance with the will of Him,". Her faith and closeness to God were a critical factor in her ability to be unafraid during times of opposition and to argue on behalf of women and slaves well.

Writings:
Sarah composed a plethora of letters regarding women and their place in society, specifically within the church, that were later compiled in to a book titled Letters on the Equality of Sexes and the Condition of Women. It is in these letters that she discusses the wrongs done to women that are inconsistent with the Bible and gives advice on how women ought to be currently combatting it. This book was published in 1863, however her writing and letters, as well as her sisters, had been circulating for years due to the publications of her sisters letters in The Liberator by William Lloyd Garrison. This book proves to be a helpful source in understanding and evaluating the relationship between Christianity and Feminism in the 19th century among female writers, although there were few.

In her first letter dated the 1st Month, 11th Day, 1837, she states her purpose to rely solely on Scripture because she believes "almost everything that has been written on this subject [women's sphere], has been the result of a misconception of simple truths revealed in the Scriptures" outlining a clear intent and purpose for the analysis that follows. It is in these letters that she condemns the behavior of American's treatment of women and slaves simply as a means to promote and benefit themselves. Letters 5-8 are dedicated to the evaluation of the condition of women in different countries, including Asia, Africa, Greenland and the US, revealing the depth and breadth her interest in women's issues stretched. In the conclusion of her letters she acknowledges the striking ideas they pose and the newness to these discussions among Christians, but urges them to "investigate them fearlessly and prayerfully, and not shrink from the examination," which was characteristic of her writing and speeches.

= Wikipedia Edits: US from 1914-- =

Article Evaluation
I have been reading some poetry by Mae Virginia Cowdery in another class and have become very intrigued by her life and what is revealed in her poetry. She has very little information about her available on the internet, however her Wikipedia article does no give any excerpts of her poetry or discuss its details, which I believe would be helpful in understanding her better when we have so little information about her. Even just a few short lines from her most famous pieces and a few added details that I have found regarding her biography would make this a more complete article.

Th most promising option I have come across so far is the wikipedia page on the Social Purity Movement in America. This page has a ton of room for improvement, consisting of only two paragraphs that are both incredibly brief. Especially being in a Christian setting, I think this topic would prove to be interesting to learn more in depth, hopefully leading to some personal connections I could make regarding this topic today. Already mentioned in the article is this movement's connection to eugenics and feminism in the 20th century, which directly connects to the learnings from our class, as well of more extensive studies that we encountered in women's history. No key leaders were mentioned in this article, or any direct connections to temperance, which are basic and vital details necessary in completing this article. There are many different directions I could go with this article, which is ideal for this assignment and the paper that will follow. This is my top choice so far.

Lastly, the American Birth Control League, founded by Margaret Sanger, requires much more attention and detail for a wikipedia page. Especially since Margaret Sanger is a fairly well known 20th century activist, it is important that the league she started provide sufficient and accurate information. The article does a good job of outlining the principles of the league, but does little to provide information on how these principles were enacted and what the influence of this league was on society. The league made ground on the recognition and legality of birth control under the Comstock Act, and is credited with preliminary ideas for the birth of Planned Parenthood, an organization that is widely relevant today. It is important as well to outline the true intentions of this league, and maybe some key differences between the ABCL and Planned Parenthood, for example their view around abortion.

Social Purity Movement
The rapid changing in American society was evident in temperance, women’s rights, evangelical revivalists, and workers rights movements. Born out of a few debatable movements was the “Social Purity Movement” that has left a lasting legacy on sexual ethics and female bodily autonomy in the United States. Although this movement was mainly focused on the the specific task of eliminating prostitution, its advocates had varying agendas and the results of this movement were skewed from the original task. Evangelism and a general moral panic around venereal diseases fueled the movement into gaining widespread support across the American public, including the support of some feminists and conservatives alike. Leading up to the social purity movement, the prevalence of prostitution was growing and conversations were being had around legalizing prostitution and regulating its commerce. With the focus being on white women, even more specifically newly immigrated Eastern European white women, it was crucial that the popularity of prostitution be diminished to preserve the purity of white women (hence social purity). Prostitution was never legalized, yet the social purity movement had already begun and was breaking ground in other avenues to dampen prostitution and other products of lust.

Social purity as a movement took roots in the mid 1800’s in England and was prominently lead by an evangelical woman Jane Ellice Hopkins. She spent her early childhood and early adulthood on the east coast of America, however her transformative social work began in the United Kingdom. Hopkins was responsible for a multitude of organised support groups for the movement and became successful in her appeal to male involvement in ways that other social puritists were not. Her deep dedication to the church not only gave her helpful connections in the spreading of this movement in Europe, but also gave her a characteristic drive and passion for this work. She was able to make changes in very practical ways, such as raising the legal age of consent for women to 16, and in individual moral ways, such as asking good Christian men to pledge themselves to respecting women and dismantling hypocrisy in sexual standards. Her work set a precedence for what was to be done in the United States.

The Social Purity Movement came to fruition under the White Slave Traffic Act passed in 1910, otherwise known as the Mann Act, named after politician James Mann. This Act originally intended to restrict the transportation of women by men across state lines for the purpose of ‘prostitution or debauchery’ but was later amended to include ‘any other immoral purpose’, which was interpreted in wildly different ways. The Mann Act was made possible through the use of regulating foreign commerce which could have its own philosophical discussion regarding the agency of women in the early 1900’s. Under the revised Act under Section 3, it was stated that any man transporting a woman across state borders “with the intent and purpose of such person that such woman or girl shall engage in the practice of prostitution or debauchery, or any other immoral practice, whether with or without her consent...shall be deemed guilty of a felony”. There was a gray area in this movement where feminists, eugenicists, and social purists could agree. Feminists were concerned about the sexual exploitation of women as an act of violence against them and eugenicists were concerned with the preservation of the ‘fittest’ citizens, needing white female chastity to achieve these aspirations. There was some intersection of goals with the social purists in this sense, and they inevitably influenced one another. Religion, feminism, and eugenicists found common ground in the control and/or protection of women’s bodies as something sacred and necessary, but only white women’s bodies were included in this protection