Author: Anne M. Butler
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 9780252014666
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 236
Book Description
They were called "frail sisters," "fallen angels," "filles de Joie, " "soiled doves," "queens of the night," and "whores." They worked the seamy brothels, saloons, cribs, streets, and "hog ranches" of the American frontier. They were the prostitutes of the post-Civil War West. Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery details the destitute lives of these nearly anonymous women. Anne Butler reveals who they were, how they lived and worked, and why they became an essential element in the development of the West's emerging institutions. Her story bears little resemblance to the popular depictions of prostitutes in film and fiction. Far removed from the glittering lives of dancehall girls, these women lived at the boarders of society and the brink of despair. Poor and uneducated, they faced a world where scarce jobs, paltry wages, and inflated prices made prostitution a likely if bitter choice of employment. At best their daily lives were characterized by fierce economic competition and at worst by fatal violence in the hands of customers, coworkers, or themselves. They were scorned and attacked by the legal, military, church, and press establishments; nevertheless, as Butler shows, these same institutions also used prostitutes as a means for maintaining their authority and as a lure for economic development. Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery is based on an enormous amount of research in more than twenty repositories in Wyoming, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Kansas. Using census lists, police dockets, jail registers, military correspondence, trial testimony, inquests, court martials, newspapers, post return, and cemetery records, Butler illuminates the dark corners of a dark profession and adds much to our knowledge of both western and women's history.
Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery
Author: Anne M. Butler
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 9780252014666
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 236
Book Description
They were called "frail sisters," "fallen angels," "filles de Joie, " "soiled doves," "queens of the night," and "whores." They worked the seamy brothels, saloons, cribs, streets, and "hog ranches" of the American frontier. They were the prostitutes of the post-Civil War West. Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery details the destitute lives of these nearly anonymous women. Anne Butler reveals who they were, how they lived and worked, and why they became an essential element in the development of the West's emerging institutions. Her story bears little resemblance to the popular depictions of prostitutes in film and fiction. Far removed from the glittering lives of dancehall girls, these women lived at the boarders of society and the brink of despair. Poor and uneducated, they faced a world where scarce jobs, paltry wages, and inflated prices made prostitution a likely if bitter choice of employment. At best their daily lives were characterized by fierce economic competition and at worst by fatal violence in the hands of customers, coworkers, or themselves. They were scorned and attacked by the legal, military, church, and press establishments; nevertheless, as Butler shows, these same institutions also used prostitutes as a means for maintaining their authority and as a lure for economic development. Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery is based on an enormous amount of research in more than twenty repositories in Wyoming, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Kansas. Using census lists, police dockets, jail registers, military correspondence, trial testimony, inquests, court martials, newspapers, post return, and cemetery records, Butler illuminates the dark corners of a dark profession and adds much to our knowledge of both western and women's history.
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 9780252014666
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 236
Book Description
They were called "frail sisters," "fallen angels," "filles de Joie, " "soiled doves," "queens of the night," and "whores." They worked the seamy brothels, saloons, cribs, streets, and "hog ranches" of the American frontier. They were the prostitutes of the post-Civil War West. Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery details the destitute lives of these nearly anonymous women. Anne Butler reveals who they were, how they lived and worked, and why they became an essential element in the development of the West's emerging institutions. Her story bears little resemblance to the popular depictions of prostitutes in film and fiction. Far removed from the glittering lives of dancehall girls, these women lived at the boarders of society and the brink of despair. Poor and uneducated, they faced a world where scarce jobs, paltry wages, and inflated prices made prostitution a likely if bitter choice of employment. At best their daily lives were characterized by fierce economic competition and at worst by fatal violence in the hands of customers, coworkers, or themselves. They were scorned and attacked by the legal, military, church, and press establishments; nevertheless, as Butler shows, these same institutions also used prostitutes as a means for maintaining their authority and as a lure for economic development. Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery is based on an enormous amount of research in more than twenty repositories in Wyoming, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Kansas. Using census lists, police dockets, jail registers, military correspondence, trial testimony, inquests, court martials, newspapers, post return, and cemetery records, Butler illuminates the dark corners of a dark profession and adds much to our knowledge of both western and women's history.
Upstairs Girls
Author: Michael Rutter
Publisher: Farcountry Press
ISBN: 1560375426
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 270
Book Description
Prostitutes make up one of the most engaging chapters in the story of the American West. Upstairs Girls opens a window on the lives of these women for hire. Historian Michael Rutter offers a thorough and fascinating history of prostitution in the West, with details on why women turned to this profession and what their lives were like. Chapters on the notorious madams, the tragic Chinese sex trade, occupational hazards, rowdy dancehall girls, and the efforts of the ''Moral Purity Movement'' supplement the heart-breaking and sometimes humorous profiles on some of the most famous madams and prostitutes in history.
Publisher: Farcountry Press
ISBN: 1560375426
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 270
Book Description
Prostitutes make up one of the most engaging chapters in the story of the American West. Upstairs Girls opens a window on the lives of these women for hire. Historian Michael Rutter offers a thorough and fascinating history of prostitution in the West, with details on why women turned to this profession and what their lives were like. Chapters on the notorious madams, the tragic Chinese sex trade, occupational hazards, rowdy dancehall girls, and the efforts of the ''Moral Purity Movement'' supplement the heart-breaking and sometimes humorous profiles on some of the most famous madams and prostitutes in history.
Soiled Doves
Author: Anne Seagraves
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780961908843
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 180
Book Description
Soiled Doves tells of the grey world of prostitution and the women who participated in the oldest profession. Colorful, if not socially acceptable, these ladies of easy virtue were a definite part of the early West -- Wearing ruffled petticoats with fancy bows, they were glamorous and plain, good and bad and many were as wild as the land they came to tame.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780961908843
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 180
Book Description
Soiled Doves tells of the grey world of prostitution and the women who participated in the oldest profession. Colorful, if not socially acceptable, these ladies of easy virtue were a definite part of the early West -- Wearing ruffled petticoats with fancy bows, they were glamorous and plain, good and bad and many were as wild as the land they came to tame.
The Sentimental State
Author: Elizabeth Garner Masarik
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
ISBN: 0820366072
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 331
Book Description
With The Sentimental State, Elizabeth Garner Masarik shows how middle-class women, both white and Black, harnessed the nineteenth-century “culture of sentiment” to generate political action in the Progressive Era. While eighteenth-century rationalism had relied upon the development of the analytic mind as the basis for acquiring truth, nineteenth-century sentimentalism hinged upon human emotional responses and the public’s capacity to feel sympathy to establish morally based truth and build support for improving the welfare of women and children. Sentimentalism marched right alongside women’s steps into the public sphere of political action. The concerns over infant mortality and the “fall” of young women intertwined with sentimentalism to elicit public action in the formation of the American welfare state. The work of voluntary and paid female reformers during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries shaped what would become lasting collaborations between grassroots voluntary organizations and the national government. Women saw a social need, filled it, and cobbled together a network of voluntary organizations that tapped state funding and support when available. Their work provided safeguards for women and children and created a network of female-oriented programs that both aided and policed women of child-bearing age at the turn of the twentieth century. Through an examination of these reform programs, Masarik demonstrates the strong connection between nineteenth-century sentimental culture and female political action, advocating government support for infant and maternal welfare, in the twentieth century.
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
ISBN: 0820366072
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 331
Book Description
With The Sentimental State, Elizabeth Garner Masarik shows how middle-class women, both white and Black, harnessed the nineteenth-century “culture of sentiment” to generate political action in the Progressive Era. While eighteenth-century rationalism had relied upon the development of the analytic mind as the basis for acquiring truth, nineteenth-century sentimentalism hinged upon human emotional responses and the public’s capacity to feel sympathy to establish morally based truth and build support for improving the welfare of women and children. Sentimentalism marched right alongside women’s steps into the public sphere of political action. The concerns over infant mortality and the “fall” of young women intertwined with sentimentalism to elicit public action in the formation of the American welfare state. The work of voluntary and paid female reformers during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries shaped what would become lasting collaborations between grassroots voluntary organizations and the national government. Women saw a social need, filled it, and cobbled together a network of voluntary organizations that tapped state funding and support when available. Their work provided safeguards for women and children and created a network of female-oriented programs that both aided and policed women of child-bearing age at the turn of the twentieth century. Through an examination of these reform programs, Masarik demonstrates the strong connection between nineteenth-century sentimental culture and female political action, advocating government support for infant and maternal welfare, in the twentieth century.
Across God's Frontiers
Author: Anne M. Butler
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 0807837547
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 449
Book Description
Roman Catholic sisters first traveled to the American West as providers of social services, education, and medical assistance. In Across God's Frontiers, Anne M. Butler traces the ways in which sisters challenged and reconfigured contemporary ideas about women, work, religion, and the West; moreover, she demonstrates how religious life became a vehicle for increasing women's agency and power. Moving to the West introduced significant changes for these women, including public employment and thoroughly unconventional monastic lives. As nuns and sisters adjusted to new circumstances and immersed themselves in rugged environments, Butler argues, the West shaped them; and through their labors and charities, the sisters in turn shaped the West. These female religious pioneers built institutions, brokered relationships between Indigenous peoples and encroaching settlers, and undertook varied occupations, often without organized funding or direct support from the church hierarchy. A comprehensive history of Roman Catholic nuns and sisters in the American West, Across God's Frontiers reveals Catholic sisters as dynamic and creative architects of civic and religious institutions in western communities.
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 0807837547
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 449
Book Description
Roman Catholic sisters first traveled to the American West as providers of social services, education, and medical assistance. In Across God's Frontiers, Anne M. Butler traces the ways in which sisters challenged and reconfigured contemporary ideas about women, work, religion, and the West; moreover, she demonstrates how religious life became a vehicle for increasing women's agency and power. Moving to the West introduced significant changes for these women, including public employment and thoroughly unconventional monastic lives. As nuns and sisters adjusted to new circumstances and immersed themselves in rugged environments, Butler argues, the West shaped them; and through their labors and charities, the sisters in turn shaped the West. These female religious pioneers built institutions, brokered relationships between Indigenous peoples and encroaching settlers, and undertook varied occupations, often without organized funding or direct support from the church hierarchy. A comprehensive history of Roman Catholic nuns and sisters in the American West, Across God's Frontiers reveals Catholic sisters as dynamic and creative architects of civic and religious institutions in western communities.
Dreams of Joy
Author: Lisa See
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0679604898
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 369
Book Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Astonishing . . . one of those hard-to-put-down-until-four-in-the morning books . . . a story with characters who enter a reader’s life, take up residence, and illuminate the myriad decisions and stories that make up human history.”—Los Angeles Times In her most powerful novel yet, acclaimed author Lisa See returns to the story of sisters Pearl and May from Shanghai Girls, and Pearl’s strong-willed nineteen-year-old daughter, Joy. Reeling from newly uncovered family secrets, Joy runs away to Shanghai in early 1957 to find her birth father—the artist Z.G. Li, with whom both May and Pearl were once in love. Dazzled by him, and blinded by idealism and defiance, Joy throws herself into the New Society of Red China, heedless of the dangers in the Communist regime. Devastated by Joy’s flight and terrified for her safety, Pearl is determined to save her daughter, no matter the personal cost. From the crowded city to remote villages, Pearl confronts old demons and almost insurmountable challenges as she follows Joy, hoping for reconciliation. Yet even as Joy’s and Pearl’s separate journeys converge, one of the most tragic episodes in China’s history threatens their very lives. BONUS: This edition contains a Dreams of Joy discussion guide. Praise for Dreams of Joy “[Lisa] See is a gifted historical novelist. . . . The real love story, the one that’s artfully shown, is between mother and daughter, and aunt and daughter, as both of the women who had a part in making Joy return to China come to her rescue. . . . [In Dreams of Joy,] there are no clear heroes or villains, just people who often take wrong turns to their own detriment but for the good of the story, leading to greater strength of character and more durable relationships.”—San Francisco Chronicle “A heartwarming story of heroic love between a mother and daughter . . . No writer has better captured the voice and heart of Chinese culture.”—Bookreporter “Once again, See’s research feels impeccable, and she has created an authentic, visually arresting world.”—The Washington Post
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0679604898
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 369
Book Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Astonishing . . . one of those hard-to-put-down-until-four-in-the morning books . . . a story with characters who enter a reader’s life, take up residence, and illuminate the myriad decisions and stories that make up human history.”—Los Angeles Times In her most powerful novel yet, acclaimed author Lisa See returns to the story of sisters Pearl and May from Shanghai Girls, and Pearl’s strong-willed nineteen-year-old daughter, Joy. Reeling from newly uncovered family secrets, Joy runs away to Shanghai in early 1957 to find her birth father—the artist Z.G. Li, with whom both May and Pearl were once in love. Dazzled by him, and blinded by idealism and defiance, Joy throws herself into the New Society of Red China, heedless of the dangers in the Communist regime. Devastated by Joy’s flight and terrified for her safety, Pearl is determined to save her daughter, no matter the personal cost. From the crowded city to remote villages, Pearl confronts old demons and almost insurmountable challenges as she follows Joy, hoping for reconciliation. Yet even as Joy’s and Pearl’s separate journeys converge, one of the most tragic episodes in China’s history threatens their very lives. BONUS: This edition contains a Dreams of Joy discussion guide. Praise for Dreams of Joy “[Lisa] See is a gifted historical novelist. . . . The real love story, the one that’s artfully shown, is between mother and daughter, and aunt and daughter, as both of the women who had a part in making Joy return to China come to her rescue. . . . [In Dreams of Joy,] there are no clear heroes or villains, just people who often take wrong turns to their own detriment but for the good of the story, leading to greater strength of character and more durable relationships.”—San Francisco Chronicle “A heartwarming story of heroic love between a mother and daughter . . . No writer has better captured the voice and heart of Chinese culture.”—Bookreporter “Once again, See’s research feels impeccable, and she has created an authentic, visually arresting world.”—The Washington Post
Good Time Girls of the Rocky Mountains
Author: Jan MacKell Collins
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493038087
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Book Description
Throughout the development of the American West, prostitution grew and flourished within the mining camps, small towns, and cities of the nineteenth-century Rocky Mountains. Whether escaping a bad home life, lured by false advertising, or seeking to subsidize their income, thousands of women chose or were forced to enter an industry where they faced segregation and persecution, fines and jailing, and battled the hazards of disease, drug addiction, physical abuse, and pregnancy. They dreamed of escape through marriage or retirement, but more often found relief only in death. An integral part of western history, the stories of these women continue to fascinate readers and captivate the minds of historians today.
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493038087
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Book Description
Throughout the development of the American West, prostitution grew and flourished within the mining camps, small towns, and cities of the nineteenth-century Rocky Mountains. Whether escaping a bad home life, lured by false advertising, or seeking to subsidize their income, thousands of women chose or were forced to enter an industry where they faced segregation and persecution, fines and jailing, and battled the hazards of disease, drug addiction, physical abuse, and pregnancy. They dreamed of escape through marriage or retirement, but more often found relief only in death. An integral part of western history, the stories of these women continue to fascinate readers and captivate the minds of historians today.
Red Light Women of the Rocky Mountains
Author: Jan MacKell
Publisher: UNM Press
ISBN: 082634612X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 482
Book Description
Throughout the development of the American West, prostitution grew and flourished within the mining camps, small towns, and cities of the nineteenth-century Rocky Mountains. Whether escaping a bad home life, lured by false advertising, or seeking to subsidize their income, thousands of women chose or were forced to enter an industry where they faced segregation and persecution, fines and jailing, and battled the hazards of disease, drug addiction, physical abuse, pregnancy, and abortion. They dreamed of escape through marriage or retirement, but more often found relief only in death. An integral part of western history, the stories of these women continue to fascinate readers and captivate the minds of historians today. Expanding on the research she did for Brothels, Bordellos, and Bad Girls (UNM Press), historian Jan MacKell moves beyond the mining towns of Colorado to explore the history of prostitution in the Rocky Mountain states of Arizona, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Each state had its share of working girls and madams like Big Nose Kate or Calamity Jane who remain celebrities in the annals of history, but MacKell also includes the stories of lesser-known women whose role in this illicit trade nonetheless shaped our understanding of the American West.
Publisher: UNM Press
ISBN: 082634612X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 482
Book Description
Throughout the development of the American West, prostitution grew and flourished within the mining camps, small towns, and cities of the nineteenth-century Rocky Mountains. Whether escaping a bad home life, lured by false advertising, or seeking to subsidize their income, thousands of women chose or were forced to enter an industry where they faced segregation and persecution, fines and jailing, and battled the hazards of disease, drug addiction, physical abuse, pregnancy, and abortion. They dreamed of escape through marriage or retirement, but more often found relief only in death. An integral part of western history, the stories of these women continue to fascinate readers and captivate the minds of historians today. Expanding on the research she did for Brothels, Bordellos, and Bad Girls (UNM Press), historian Jan MacKell moves beyond the mining towns of Colorado to explore the history of prostitution in the Rocky Mountain states of Arizona, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Each state had its share of working girls and madams like Big Nose Kate or Calamity Jane who remain celebrities in the annals of history, but MacKell also includes the stories of lesser-known women whose role in this illicit trade nonetheless shaped our understanding of the American West.
The People’s Welfare
Author: William J. Novak
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN: 0807863653
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 409
Book Description
Much of today's political rhetoric decries the welfare state and our maze of government regulations. Critics hark back to a time before the state intervened so directly in citizens' lives. In The People's Welfare, William Novak refutes this vision of a stateless past by documenting America's long history of government regulation in the areas of public safety, political economy, public property, morality, and public health. Challenging the myth of American individualism, Novak recovers a distinctive nineteenth-century commitment to shared obligations and public duties in a well-regulated society. Novak explores the by-laws, ordinances, statutes, and common law restrictions that regulated almost every aspect of America's society and economy, including fire regulations, inspection and licensing rules, fair marketplace laws, the moral policing of prostitution and drunkenness, and health and sanitary codes. Based on a reading of more than one thousand court cases in addition to the leading legal and political texts of the nineteenth century, The People's Welfare demonstrates the deep roots of regulation in America and offers a startling reinterpretation of the history of American governance.
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN: 0807863653
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 409
Book Description
Much of today's political rhetoric decries the welfare state and our maze of government regulations. Critics hark back to a time before the state intervened so directly in citizens' lives. In The People's Welfare, William Novak refutes this vision of a stateless past by documenting America's long history of government regulation in the areas of public safety, political economy, public property, morality, and public health. Challenging the myth of American individualism, Novak recovers a distinctive nineteenth-century commitment to shared obligations and public duties in a well-regulated society. Novak explores the by-laws, ordinances, statutes, and common law restrictions that regulated almost every aspect of America's society and economy, including fire regulations, inspection and licensing rules, fair marketplace laws, the moral policing of prostitution and drunkenness, and health and sanitary codes. Based on a reading of more than one thousand court cases in addition to the leading legal and political texts of the nineteenth century, The People's Welfare demonstrates the deep roots of regulation in America and offers a startling reinterpretation of the history of American governance.
Encyclopedia of Women in the American West
Author: Gordon Moris Bakken
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1452265267
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 409
Book Description
Click ′Additional Materials′ for downloadable samples "This is a sound purchase for college and university libraries with women′s studies or American West programs as well as for large public libraries." --BOOKLIST "This is the first encyclopedia to focus on this neglected group. . . . There is a clear need for this encyclopedia . . . recommended for academic and public libraries and all libraries with a special interest in the western region and women′s studies." --LIBRARY JOURNAL "A highly educational and enlightening resource, the Encyclopedia of Women in the American West is a core recommendation for academic and public library American Western History Studies and Women′s Studies reference collections, as well as an invaluable resource for writers and non-specialist general readers with an interest in studying women′s experiences and contributions to American society and culture." --THE MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW Unites the American West and Women′s History American women have followed their "manifest destiny" since the 1800′s, moving West to homestead, found businesses, author novels and write poetry, practice medicine and law, preach and perform missionary work, become educators, artists, judges, civil rights activists, and many other important roles spurred on by their strength, spirit, and determination. Encyclopedia of Women of the American West captures the lives of more than 150 women who made their mark from the mid-1800s to the present, contextualizing their experiences and contributions to American society. Including many women profiled for the first time, the encyclopedia offers immense value and interest to practicing historians as well as students and the lay public. Multidisciplinary and Multicultural Cowgirls, ranchers, authors, poets, artists, judges, doctors, educators, and reformers--although these women took many different paths, they are united in their role in history, fighting not only for women′s rights, but equal rights for all in this rich and promised land. The Encyclopedia of Women in the American West chronicles the work of Native American activists such as Mildred Imach Cleghorn, and Sarah Winnemucca, the champion of rights of indigenous peoples who established Nevada′s first school for Native Americans in 1884. The encyclopedia also explores the stories of early ranchers. Among them is Freda Ehmann, who founded the California Ripe Olive Association where, according to her grandson, "science and chemical exactness failed, the experience and care of a skillful and conscientious housewife succeeded." Women in the American West have long thrived in the arts. This is evidenced by the work of authors such as Pulitzer Prize winner Willa Cather, Amy Tan, and Linda Hasselstrom, poets such as Hildegarde Flanner, and journalist Molly Ivins. All are profiled in this comprehensive work. The arts are used to address both aesthetic and serious societal issues such as Maxine Hong Kingston′s The Woman Warrior, the story of a woman′s struggle with identity as a minority in American culture. Academics will appreciate a study of Ruth Underhill′s Autobiography of a Papago Woman, which deals with the role of feminist ideology in changing the discipline of anthropology during the first part of the twentieth century. Women in the American West have also achieved many "firsts" such as Utah′s Ivy Baker Priest, the first woman to hold the office of Treasurer of the United States, and Georgia Bullock, the first woman judge in the State of California. The Many Roles of Women in the American West The Encyclopedia of Women in the American West covers nine diverse topical categories: Agriculture/Ranching Arts and Letters Education Entrepreneurs Law Pioneers Public Performance Religion Women′s organizations The West is often portrayed as a rough and tumble man′s world, but behind these men--and often independently--were women with the dreams, strength, and determination to make a difference. The Encyclopedia of Women in the American West is a tribute to their independence, intelligence, courage, spirit, perseverance, and daring. Key Features Authoritative and in-depth articles on a wide range of salient issues in women′s history Suggested readings and interpretive materials for every entry Bridges two perennially popular areas of academic and lay interest: the American West and women′s history Developed and priced to appeal to high school and public libraries as well as academic libraries Recommended Libraries Public, school, academic, special, and private/corporate
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1452265267
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 409
Book Description
Click ′Additional Materials′ for downloadable samples "This is a sound purchase for college and university libraries with women′s studies or American West programs as well as for large public libraries." --BOOKLIST "This is the first encyclopedia to focus on this neglected group. . . . There is a clear need for this encyclopedia . . . recommended for academic and public libraries and all libraries with a special interest in the western region and women′s studies." --LIBRARY JOURNAL "A highly educational and enlightening resource, the Encyclopedia of Women in the American West is a core recommendation for academic and public library American Western History Studies and Women′s Studies reference collections, as well as an invaluable resource for writers and non-specialist general readers with an interest in studying women′s experiences and contributions to American society and culture." --THE MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW Unites the American West and Women′s History American women have followed their "manifest destiny" since the 1800′s, moving West to homestead, found businesses, author novels and write poetry, practice medicine and law, preach and perform missionary work, become educators, artists, judges, civil rights activists, and many other important roles spurred on by their strength, spirit, and determination. Encyclopedia of Women of the American West captures the lives of more than 150 women who made their mark from the mid-1800s to the present, contextualizing their experiences and contributions to American society. Including many women profiled for the first time, the encyclopedia offers immense value and interest to practicing historians as well as students and the lay public. Multidisciplinary and Multicultural Cowgirls, ranchers, authors, poets, artists, judges, doctors, educators, and reformers--although these women took many different paths, they are united in their role in history, fighting not only for women′s rights, but equal rights for all in this rich and promised land. The Encyclopedia of Women in the American West chronicles the work of Native American activists such as Mildred Imach Cleghorn, and Sarah Winnemucca, the champion of rights of indigenous peoples who established Nevada′s first school for Native Americans in 1884. The encyclopedia also explores the stories of early ranchers. Among them is Freda Ehmann, who founded the California Ripe Olive Association where, according to her grandson, "science and chemical exactness failed, the experience and care of a skillful and conscientious housewife succeeded." Women in the American West have long thrived in the arts. This is evidenced by the work of authors such as Pulitzer Prize winner Willa Cather, Amy Tan, and Linda Hasselstrom, poets such as Hildegarde Flanner, and journalist Molly Ivins. All are profiled in this comprehensive work. The arts are used to address both aesthetic and serious societal issues such as Maxine Hong Kingston′s The Woman Warrior, the story of a woman′s struggle with identity as a minority in American culture. Academics will appreciate a study of Ruth Underhill′s Autobiography of a Papago Woman, which deals with the role of feminist ideology in changing the discipline of anthropology during the first part of the twentieth century. Women in the American West have also achieved many "firsts" such as Utah′s Ivy Baker Priest, the first woman to hold the office of Treasurer of the United States, and Georgia Bullock, the first woman judge in the State of California. The Many Roles of Women in the American West The Encyclopedia of Women in the American West covers nine diverse topical categories: Agriculture/Ranching Arts and Letters Education Entrepreneurs Law Pioneers Public Performance Religion Women′s organizations The West is often portrayed as a rough and tumble man′s world, but behind these men--and often independently--were women with the dreams, strength, and determination to make a difference. The Encyclopedia of Women in the American West is a tribute to their independence, intelligence, courage, spirit, perseverance, and daring. Key Features Authoritative and in-depth articles on a wide range of salient issues in women′s history Suggested readings and interpretive materials for every entry Bridges two perennially popular areas of academic and lay interest: the American West and women′s history Developed and priced to appeal to high school and public libraries as well as academic libraries Recommended Libraries Public, school, academic, special, and private/corporate