The General Federation of Women's Clubs' Rhetorical
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Training a Nation: The General Federation of Women’s Clubs’ Rhetorical Education and American Citizenship, 1890-1930 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Kristin Kate White Graduate Program in English The Ohio State University 2010 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Nan Johnson, Adviser Dr. Beverly Moss Dr. Jackie Royster Dr. Jim Fredal Copyright by Kristin Kate White 2010 Abstract Historical scholarship in the field of rhetoric and composition has flourished in the last thirty years and developed a rich and diverse picture of the history of American women’s rhetorical practices. Much of the recent research surrounding women’s clubs has focused on written documents and an analysis of rhetorical strategies to demonstrate how nineteenth-century women advocated for political and social change. Scholars like Karen Blair (1980), Theodora Martin (1987), Anne Meis Knuper (1996), Anne Ruggles Gere (1997), and Jacqueline Jones Royster (2000) have focused on the civic accomplishments and reading and writing practices of African American, Jewish, Mormon, working-class, and white middle-class clubwomen. My dissertation, “Training a Nation: The General Federation of Women’s Clubs’ Rhetorical Education and American Citizenship, 1890-1930,” extends existing scholarship to include a focus on how white-middle class clubwomen developed and sustained their own programs of rhetorical education during a historical era in which women were still excluded from educational institutions, barred from most professions, and lacked any formal training in rhetoric in the United States. Existing scholarship has not focused on the connection between the seemingly less significant activities that occurred in individual women’s clubs and the public efforts of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs to educate and train better American citizens. These internal and external programs of rhetorical education established the ii General Federation as an influential cultural institution. My study focuses on the concrete and self-conscious pedagogical tools that women used to educate one another and develop a model of social change rooted in education, which had mixed results. My archival research demonstrates how the white women’s clubs of the General Federation advocated structured pedagogical techniques, such as prescribed reading lists for children and adults, uniform club programs and discussion questions, and patriotic plays and pageants, to contribute to the dialogue surrounding citizenship and thus the formation of American identity in the progressive era. The General Federation’s rhetorical campaign for promoting American citizenship both reinforced racist notions of an idealized white citizenship and, at the same time, attempted to invite immigrants, newly naturalized citizens, and young adults into the conversation. The General Federation of Women’s Clubs promotional materials and pedagogical techniques reveal how its members were a product of the ideological heritage in the Progressive movement of the early twentieth century with its focus on the cultivation of a particular kind of good American citizen that was rooted in ideas of obedience and mass education. The club movement also represents a site of rhetorical education which can show us how clubwomen in the General Federation were learning and teaching each other the politics of rhetoric in very public but non-academic sites. Ultimately, I argue that it is important to study sites where women created and supported rhetorical education to develop civic consciousness because these sites reflect evidence of clubwomen’s contributions to rhetorical theory and history. iii Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my mother, Deborah Moorman White, who would have been so proud to see me finish, and to Robert and Christopher White who have always believed in me. Finally, I dedicate this dissertation to my grandmother, Mary Lou Stark, because her faith and generosity made it possible to write, and her liveliness encouraged me to research other strong and independent women who changed the world we live in. iv Acknowledgments I wish to thank my adviser, Nan Johnson, without whom this dissertation would not have been possible. Her ability to teach, encourage, support, edit, listen, and offer advice has been unmatched; I have truly received her best. I am also eternally grateful to Beverly Moss, Jackie Royster, and Jim Fredal for the excellent instruction and feedback they have given me in the classroom and on successive drafts of this dissertation. I also wish to thank the archivists at the Oklahoma Historical Society, the Ohio Historical Society, the Ohioana Library, the Center for Archival Collections at Bowling Green State University, the Western History Collections at the University of Oklahoma, and the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library at the Ohio State University. A very special thanks goes to Gail McCormick and Ashley Carver for their guidance in the Women’s History and Resource Center at the General Federation of Women’s Clubs. I wish to express gratitude to all of my dear friends who have supported and encouraged me throughout this journey. Finally, thank you to Matt for moving to Indiana with me. v Vita 1999 ...............................................................B.A. English, Loyola University 2004 ...............................................................M.A. English, University of Oklahoma 2004-2005......................................................Graduate Teaching Associate Department of English, The Ohio State University 2005-2006......................................................Graduate Teaching Associate and Graduate Research Assistant, The Ohio State University 2006-2007......................................................Writing Program Administrator and Writing Across the Curriculum Consultant, The Ohio State University 2007-2008......................................................Writing Program Administrator and Writing Across the Curriculum Consultant, The Ohio State University 2008-2009......................................................Graduate Teaching Associate Department of English, The Ohio State University 2009-2010......................................................Writing Across the Curriculum Consultant and Writing Center Tutor, Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing Publications “Researching and Writing the Representational Trend” with Anne-Marie Schuler. Instructor’s Manual for Rhetorical Visions: Writing and Reading in a Visual Culture. Eds. Wendy Hesford and Brenda Brueggemann. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2006. vi Assistant Editor, Rhetorical Visions: Writing and Reading in a Visual Culture. Eds. Wendy Hesford and Brenda Brueggemann. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2006. Fields of Study Major Field: English Specialization: Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Studies vii Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication.......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments ...............................................................................................................v Vita .................................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures.................................................................................................................... ix Introduction .........................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1............................................................................................................................19 Every Club a Training Camp for Citizenship: Tracing the Roots of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs’ Self-Sponsored Rhetorical Education Chapter 2............................................................................................................................58 Let Literature Serve Life: The General Federation of Women’s Clubs’ Reading Recommendation as Rhetorical Education for the Public Chapter 3..........................................................................................................................101 An Equal Opportunity for the Citizenship of All Americans: Drama and Pageantry as Visual Representations of Citizenship Chapter 4..........................................................................................................................144 A History of Pioneering Spirit: The General Federation of Women’s Clubs in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Century viii List of Figures Figure 1. General Federation of Women’s Clubs’ Women of the Bible Reading Program ...........................................................................................................................................27 Figure 2. Table of Contents from Parliamentary Usage for Women’s Clubs: A Manual of Parliamentary Life and Practice.........................................................................................38 Figure 3. General Federation of Women’s Clubs’ Know Your Own Country Pamphlet..42 Figure 4. The General Federation of Women’s Clubs’ Frontier in American Literature Reading Program ...............................................................................................................64