Amelia Bloomer
Journalist, Suffragist, Anti-Fashion Icon
Sara Catterall
- A
- fascinating
- look
- at
- an
- underappreciated
- woman
- in
- American
- history
- whose
- newspaper
- fostered
- a
- national
- conversation
- on
- women’s
- issues.Those
- who
- recognize
- the
- name
- Amelia
- Bloomer
- usually
- do
- so
- because
- of
- bloomers,
- the
- clothing
- item
- named
- after
- her.
- While
- she
- was
- a
- rational
- dress
- advocate
- for
- a
- time—calling
- on
- women
- to
- abandon
- rigid
- corsets
- and
- heavy
- petticoats
- and
- opt
- for
- long
- trousers,
- shorter
- skirts,
- and
- sensible
- boots—it
- was
- “but
- an
- incident”
- in
- the
- larger
- story
- of
- her
- life
- and
- impact.Bloomer
- edited
- and
- published
- The
- Lily,
- the
- first
- newspaper
- for
- and
- by
- women.
- Founded
- to
- promote
- temperance,
- it
- soon
- broadened
- to
- include
- some
- of
- the
- most
- important
- issues
- to
- women
- in
- that
- day,
- including
- the
- right
- to
- vote,
- and
- included
- contributions
- from
- thinkers
- like
- Elizabeth
- Cady
- Stanton.
- The
- groundbreaking
- paper
- brought
- the
- conversation
- from
- Seneca
- Falls
- right
- to
- the
- doorsteps
- of
- women
- across
- the
- expanding
- nation.Guided
- by
- a
- rigid
- sense
- of
- morality
- and
- a
- Puritan
- work
- ethic,
- Bloomer
- remained
- open-minded
- to
- new
- ideas.
- She
- refused
- to
- be
- swayed
- by
- social
- norms
- and
- wrote
- cutting
- responses
- to
- those
- who
- tried
- to
- intimidate
- or
- shame
- her
- and
- her
- friends,
- a
- group
- that
- included
- Stanton
- and
- Susan
- B.
- Anthony.
- This
- deeply
- researched
- biography
- by
- Sara
- Catterall
- follows
- the
- many
- chapters
- of
- her
- life:
- her
- humble
- upbringing
- in
- upstate
- New
- York,
- her
- role
- in
- the
- temperance
- movement
- (and
- its
- true
- legacy
- as
- a
- wellspring
- of
- the
- women’s
- rights
- movement),
- her
- years
- at
- The
- Lily,
- her
- groundbreaking
- position
- as
- deputy
- postmaster
- in
- Seneca
- falls,
- her
- troubled
- health,
- and
- her
- eventual
- move
- to
- Council
- Bluffs,
- Iowa,
- where
- she
- continued
- to
- move
- the
- needle
- on
- women’s
- suffrage
- in
- the
- more
- flexible
- new
- governments
- of
- the West.
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