REMEMBRANCE AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: WOMEN AND THE 1876 CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION A Dissertation Submitted to The Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Dolores Pfeuffer-Scherer December, 2016 Examining Committee Members: Kenneth L. Kusmer, Advisory Chair, Department of History, Temple University Susan Klepp, Department of History, Temple University David Waldstreicher, Department of History, Graduate Center, CUNY Judith Giesberg, Department of History, Villanova University ABSTRACT The United States Centennial was a pivotal event to celebrate the founding of the American nation. People came together to show the unity and progress of the United States, specifically after the division of the Civil War. As the industrial revolution took off in earnest, Americans were keen to show the world that they were united and taking the lead in industrial change. Further, to show that the United States was a force in the world, other nations were invited to participate by displaying their culture at the event. The Women’s Centennial Executive Committee (WCEC) became part of the effort to raise funds early on in the process. A group of thirteen women joined together with Benjamin Franklin’s great-granddaughter selected as their president and they set forth to raise funds and gain publicity for a “Woman’s Section” in the main building. When that prospect was denied them, the women then began to again raise monies, but this time for their own Women’s Pavilion. Determined not to be cut out of the exhibition, the women labored tirelessly to make their ideas reality. To raise funds and to draw attention to women’s contributions to society, the women drew upon the females of the founding generation to gain legitimacy in their efforts as women active in the civic sector. Harkening back to the American Revolution, the WCEC inserted women as active participants in the founding of the nation and they used images of Martha Washington and Sarah Franklin Bache to raise funds and bolster their cause. Women, who had sacrificed as men had for the birth of the nation, were noble members of the republic; in presenting women’s labors and inventions in 1876, the WCEC was making the point that women’s lives and contributions in nineteenth century America were as vital and necessary as they had been in the ii eighteenth century. The rewriting of the narrative of the American Revolution enabled the WCEC to celebrate women’s accomplishments in the most public manner and to herald their achievement in both domestic production as well as in terms of education and employment. The women of 1876 formed a continuous line backwards to the Revolution, and they showed the world that American women had always been a vital part of the country and that, if afforded their rights, they would continue to do so into the future. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project was possible because of the encouragement and the support of numerous individuals and organizations. I am fortunate to have had a wonderful committee who were an asset every step of the process. My greatest intellectual debt is to Dr. David Waldstreicher, who began at Temple the same semester as I did and who brought me into the world of the Franklin Family, the American Revolution and gender in ways I had not previously experienced. I read, we discussed many, many books, and I gained a knowledge that was with me throughout this study. I miss those wonderful, intellectual chats, supplemented by cake and good cheer. Dr. Susan Klepp refined how I study gender and she was always helpful with her probing questions that often forced me to rethink my writing. Dr. Kenneth Kusmer served as the committee chair and without his steadfast assistance and encouragement; this project would have been far more difficult. Dr. Judith Giesberg of Villanova University was an asset and I am grateful for her ideas presented at my defense. I also wish to thank Dr. Shawn Schurr for her continued support and guidance as well as Christa Viola for her assistance throughout. Temple University awarded me the Allen F Davis Fellowship my first year of graduate school, which enabled me to work at the then Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia. Under the guidance of Dr. Cynthia Little, their historian, my interest in Elizabeth Duane Gillespie grew and was cultivated. That year proved invaluable to me personally and in terms of my scholarship. Subsequent fellowships from the Colonial Dame of America, Pennsylvania Chapter; the American Philosophical Society; and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania/Library Company of Philadelphia assisted me with research and yielded many sources which this project rests upon. I am grateful for all of their assistance. iv I would be entirely remiss if I did not thank the wonderful historians I worked with while at Rutgers University, Camden Campus. Dr. Laurie Bernstein, Dr. Rodney Carlisle, Dr. Howard Gillette, Dr. Wayne Glasker, Dr. Janet Golden, Dr. Andrew Lees, Dr. Philip Scranton, Dr. Gerald Verbrugghe, the late Dr. Joan C. Wells, and Dr. Allen L. Woll all nurtured, challenged, and fostered my growth as a historian. I am grateful to all of them. On a personal level, I wish to thank my long-standing colleagues and friends from the doctoral program at Temple University: Henry Buehner, Paul Kahan, and Paul Sivitz. I am grateful for their gift of listening and for their friendship. My dear friend, Debbie Cellini remained by my side throughout the process, even when she was not physically here, her presence kept me strong and steady. My former Rutgers Camden Honors College students remain a force in my life that I am proud of, thanks in good measure to Dr. Allen L. Woll selecting me for the position to help create and grow the program. I want to especially thank Julian Jenkins III, Kristy Krasowski, Amy Sampson Liberi, Jennie Murabito Owens, Shakia Richardson and Craig Shellenberger for their support. Finally, I thank my wonderful parents, Herbert and Dolores Pfeuffer, for one of their greatest gifts: faith in myself. My parents have stood by my side throughout my life and I am beyond grateful. My siblings, Jerry Pfeuffer and Bonnie Warren, and our memories continue to shape me and remind me of our very enjoyable childhood. I thank Bruce J. Scherer for his optimism and confidence in me and for the gift of our son, Quentin M. Scherer. I miss my maternal grandparents daily; they were so special to me, but it is in my son that I see that their love is still with me each day. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………….ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………….iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS…………………………………………………………….vii CHAPTERS Page 1. BUILDING A LEGACY: WOMEN IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE............................... 1 2. ELIZABETH DUANE GILLESPIE AND THE FRANKLIN LEGACY………......27 3. “WE HONOR THE WOMEN OF THE REVOLUTION”: THE LADIES AND THE FUNDING OF THE WOMEN’S PAVILION AT THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION………………………………………………………………………….56 4. “LET HER WORKS PRAISE HER IN THE GATES”: THE WOMEN’S PAVILION……………………………………………………….…………………..101 5. “THE NEW CENTURY FOR WOMEN” ……………..……………………………135 6. EPILOGUE: THE LEGACY OF THE WCEC………………………………………164 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………...185 vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Illustration Page Tea Party Admission Ticket………………….……..……………..……………………...4 Site Plan Map, Centennial Exhibition Grounds………..………….……………….……30 Elizabeth Duane Gillespie in her Home…………………………….……………….…...54 Elizabeth Duane Gillespie as Martha Washington………………….……………….…..63 Interior, Woman’s Pavilion………………………………………………………….….102 View of the Women’s Pavilion…………………………………………………………107 The Dreaming Iolanthe………………………………………………………………….114 Kindergarten Class………………………………………………………………………124 Art Display, Woman’s Pavilion…………………………………………………………127 Former School for the Deaf and Dumb, Philadelphia, PA……………………………...172 Benjamin Franklin’s Chess Table……………………………………………………….179 Elizabeth Duane Gillespie Middle School……………………………………………….181 vii CHAPTER 1: BUILDING A LEGACY: WOMEN IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE On the evening of December 17, 1874, Horticultural Hall in Philadelphia was overflowing with members of Philadelphia’s elite. Decorated with flags, banners, flowers, evergreens, shields, lights, and tea tables, the hall was transformed into a celebration of Americana – an evening where the legacy of colonial and revolutionary America came together in the form of women who sought to raise funds and to celebrate their own vision of America as part of the Centennial Exhibition of 1876.1 As Benjamin Franklin’s great-granddaughter, Elizabeth Duane Gillespie, was preparing for the Philadelphia Women’s Centennial Tea party at the Academy of Music, other members of her committee were putting finishing touches on the hall’s decorations for the festivities. The tea party was being held that evening with another one the next night, and the women of the Women’s Centennial Executive Committee [WCEC] were out in force to herald the achievements of their revolutionary forefathers as well as their foremothers. The event was specifically designed and run by the women to highlight the past and insert women into the narrative of both past and present. Women, it was to be shown, were an integral part of the celebration of 1876, but also active and present at the nation’s founding. Through dress, speeches, portraits, and a variety of objects, the WCEC sought to show the public that women had always been visible participants in the nation, and as such they owned part of the historical legacy of the founders. 1 See, “Centennial Tea Party,” Godey’s Lady’s Book, February 1874 for an excellent description of the event. Smadar Shtuhl “For the Love of One’s Country: The Construction of a Gendered Memory in Philadelphia and Montgomery County, 1860-1914.” (Ph.D. Dissertation, Temple University, May 2011). See also, Elizabeth Duane Gillespie, A Book of Remembrance (Philadelphia: JB Lippincott and Company, 1901), 283 – 286. 1 At six PM the guests began to flow into the hall as the doors opened.