Synopses & Reviews
This biography of Barbara Egger Lennon artfully demonstrates how individual women negotiated the demands of family and friends as they moved toward the independence and autonomous thinking the New Woman celebrated. Lennons long career as an educator and labor activists is a shining example of how the New Woman carried her identity into the workplace.”
Tonia Compton, assistant professor of History, Columbia University
Praise for the Lives of American Women series:
Finally! The majority of studentsby which I mean womenwill have the opportunity to read biographies of women from our nations past. (Men can read them too, of course!) The Lives of American Women series features an eclectic collection of books, readily accessible to students who will be able to see the contributions of women in many fields over the course of our history. Long overdue, these books will be a valuable resource for teachers, students, and the public at large.”
Cokie Roberts, author of Founding Mothers and Ladies of Liberty
Facets of Barbara Egger Lennons life depict an ordinary white Midwestern woman of her time: teacher, wife, mother. Her work as a union organizer and political activist, however, complicate that picture. The way in which Egger Lennon balanced these roles illustrates how many women of her time shaped their lives in the face of three significant forces: work, family, and politics. Enriched by years of her detailed diary entries, Barbara Egger Lennon: Teacher, Mother, Activist deepens our understanding of the ways in which work and political activism existed alongside the traditional role of women in the early 20th century.
Tina Stewart Brakebill is an instructor at Illinois State University whose classes focus on the experiences of women and minorities. She recently won the highest honor bestowed on teachers: the Outstanding University Teaching Award. Her first book Circumstances are Destiny”: An Antebellum Womans Struggle to Define Sphere received the William and Henry Harrison Award for the best book for an Ohio related family history.
Series Editor Carol Berkin is a well-known womens historian and the author of many popular and scholarly books, including Civil War Wives. She is Professor of History Emerita at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and she is a member of the Society of American Historians.
Review
Praise for Barbara Egger Lennon"This biography of Barbara Egger Lennon artfully demonstrates how the New Woman impacted the lives of individual women who had to negotiate the demands of family and friends as they moved toward the independence and autonomous thinking the New Woman celebrated. Lennons long career as an educator and labor activist is a shining example of how the New Woman carried her identity into the workplace and in very important ways generated change for teachers throughout Illinois."
Tonia M. Compton, assistant professor of History, Columbia College of Missouri
"This study adds an interesting tessera to the mosaic that is contemporary womens history. Originating in the diary of Barbara Egger Lennon and against the backdrop of modern social history, it also substantiates the claim that the personal is indeed political. Brakebills book is an object lesson and a source of inspiration, offering us a valuable insight into the life of an otherwise neglected front-runner as a daughter, wife, mother, teacher, union organizer, and political activist."
Wanda Balzano, Department Chair and Associate Professor in Womens, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Wake Forest University
The impressive job Brakebill does with her deep research is documenting the daily life triumphs and woes of a woman who cut a path through social expectations
This well-written local history is a snapshot of womens lives in the early 20th century and deserves a place on your shelf.” Grand Prairie Union News
Praise for the Lives of American Women series
"Finally! The majority of studentsby which I mean womenwill have the opportunity to read biographies of women from our nations past. (Men can read them too, of course!) The Lives of American Women series features an eclectic collection of books, readily accessible to students who will be able to see the contributions of women in many fields over the course of our history. Long overdue, these books will be a valuable resource for teachers, students, and the public at large."
Cokie Roberts, author of Founding Mothers and Ladies of Liberty
"Just what any professor wants: books that will intrigue, inform, and fascinate students! These short, readable biographies of American womenspecifically designed for classroom usegive instructors an appealing new option to assign to their history students."
Mary Beth Norton, Mary Donlon Alger Professor of American History, Cornell University
"For educators keen to include women in the American story, but hampered by the lack of thoughtful, concise scholarship, here comes Lives of American Women, embracing Abigail Adamss counsel to Johnremember the ladies. And high time, too!"
Lesley S. Herrmann, Executive Director, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
"These books are, above all, fascinating stories that will engage and inspire readers. They offer a glimpse into the lives of key women in history who either defied tradition or who successfully maneuvered in a mans world to make an impact. The stories of these vital contributors to American history deliver just the right formula for instructors looking to provide a more complicated and nuanced view of history."
Rosanne Lichatin, 2005 Gilder Lehrman Preserve America History Teacher of the Year
"Students both in the general survey course and in specialized offerings like my course on U.S. womens history can get a great understanding of an era from a short biography. Learning a lot about a single but complex character really helps to deepen appreciation of what womens lives were like in the past."
Patricia Cline Cohen, University of California, Santa Barbara
"Biographies are, indeed, back. Not only will students read them, biographies provide an easy way to demonstrate particularly important historical themes or ideas. . . . Undergraduate readers will be challenged to think more deeply about what it means to be a woman, citizen, and political actor. . . . I am eager to use this in my undergraduate survey and specialty course."
Jennifer Thigpen, Washington State University, Pullman
"The Lives of American Women authors raise all of the big issues I want my classes to confrontand deftly fold their arguments into riveting narratives that maintain students excitement."
Woody Holton, author of Abigail Adams
Synopsis
An examination of Barbara Egger Lennon illustrating how early 20th century American women balanced traditional roles with work and activism.
Synopsis
Facets of Barbara Egger Lennons life depict an ordinary white Midwestern woman of her time: teacher, wife, mother. Her work as a union organizer and political activist, however, complicate that picture. The way in which Egger Lennon balanced these roles illustrates how many women of her time shaped their lives in the face of three significant forces: work, family, and politics. Enriched by years of her detailed diary entries,
Barbara Egger Lennon: Teacher, Mother, Activist deepens our understanding of the ways in which work and political activism existed alongside the traditional role of women in the early 20th century.
About the Lives of American Women series:
Selected and edited by renowned womens historian Carol Berkin, these brief biographies are designed for use in undergraduate courses. Rather than a comprehensive approach, each biography focuses instead on a particular aspect of a womens life that is emblematic of her time, or which made her a pivotal figure in the era. The emphasis is on a good read,” featuring accessible writing and compelling narratives, without sacrificing sound scholarship and academic integrity. Primary sources at the end of each biography reveal the subjects perspective in her own words. Study questions and an annotated bibliography support the student reader.
About the Author
Tina Stewart Brakebill is an award winning author and teacher. As an instructor at Illinois State University, Brakebills classes focus on the experiences of women and minorities. She recently won the highest honor bestowed on teachers: the Outstanding University Teaching Award. Similar to her pedagogical goals, her research and writing also aims to give voice to the previously unheard. Her first book
"Circumstances are destiny": An Antebellum Womans Struggle to Define Sphere explores the way in which the life of one "ordinary" woman can broaden and deepen our understanding of historical themes and trends. It tells the story of an Ohio wife, mother, and rural dairy farmer as she attempted to incorporate the roles of writer, abolitionist, and womens rights advocate into her life. It received the
William and Henry Harrison Award for the best book for an Ohio related family history.
Series Editor Carol Berkin is a well-known womens historian and the author of many popular and scholarly books, including Civil War Wives. She is Professor of History Emerita at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and she is a member of the Society of American Historians.
Table of Contents
Series Editors Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 From Student to Teacher, 1880s 1902
2 Personal and Professional Deference to Authority, 1902 1908
3 Aspiring New Woman, 1909 1915
4 New Woman, 1915 1918
5 From New Woman at Work to New Woman at Home, 1919 1921
6 Motherhood and the New Woman, 1921 1928
7 Navigating the Great Depression: Union Organizing and Local Politics, 1929 1937
8 Looking Outward: From Depression to War, 1937 1945
9 Looking to the Future: Political Battles Won and Lost, 1945 1950
10 Retirement: Continuity and Change, 1950 1983
Primary Sources
Abbreviations Used
Study Questions
Notes
Annotated Bibliography
Index