1st Graduating Class 1st Female #1 Student

As I get closer and closer to graduation I began to wonder when the first female ever graduated from KU. I began my search and found out that Flora Richardson did not only graduate in the first graduating class at KU but she graduated as Valedictorian,we have the same birthday and she is one of the founders of my sorority.  KU first opened in 1866 as a preparatory school but it wasn’t until June 11, 1873 that the University saw its first graduating class—4 students 1 female. I found the story of Flora Richardson particularly interesting. Flora was born on February 17, 1851 in Monroe Wisconsin and came to Kansas at nineteen. (Same birthday as me!) Flora was not the first woman to attend KU but because of marriage, children and family commitments they were taken away from school before they could meet the university’s requirement for graduating. Flora was very active at KU.

            She joined the Oread Literary Societ, was founding member of a sorority that later became Pi Beta Phi,  (My sorority!) and worked with Prof. H. Snow to create KU’s first student entomological collection

            I find Flora to be very interesting not only because she was the first female graduate at the University of Kansas but because she had the double distinction of being her class valedictorian. Flora being the valedictorian for the first graduating class of Kansas is an incredible achievement. In a time when most women  were seen as helpful or smart in the kitchen, doing house work, or raising children Flora proved that women not only can graduate but they can achieve higher grades than all of the men.

 

*http://www.kuhistory.com/proto/story.asp?id=96 

Jayhawk History!

As a senior at the University of Kansas but originally being from Chicago I am often asked by my friends “What is a Jayhawk?”, when I tell them it is our mascot and not a real bird they ask “Where did it come from? Who’s idea was it?” I  was never really sure of the answer to that question. I probably should have listened closer to my freshman orientation tour but decided its better late than never. 

According to the University of Kansas website the term “Jayhawk” was proably first used around 1848.The name itself combines the the blue jay and the sparrow hawk. The blue jay is known for its fighting and stealing from other nests while the sparrow hawk is a fierce hunter. The message being: “Dont turn your back on this bird”* In the 1850s Kansas was filled with “Jayhawks” The state was torn between those who wanted the state to be a slave state and those who wanted a free states. People would steal and attack one another. People on both sides were called “Jayhawkers” however the name stuck with the free staters and in Lawrence where KU was founded Free Staters were the majority. 

 

The original meaning of the rough Jayhawk soon changed into a patriotic symbol during the civil war. The governor Charles Robinson made a regiment known as the “Independent Mounted Kansas Jayhawks” and by the end of the war the Jawhawks were known known at those who helped make Kansas a free state. In 1886 the Jayhawk was put in the Rock Chalk Chant and when the KU football team first took the field they were known as Jayhawkers. Soon an image was put to the Jayhawk and we had the first picture of the Jayhawk.  After several drafts the smiling Jayhawk is was has survived today . In 1971 Baby Jay was born, a large egg was brought to the 50 yard line during half time of a football game and fans witnessed his birth. 

After reading about the history of the Jayhawk I was shocked to find out how much history the Jayhawk actually has. I didn’t realize that our mascot name has so much to do with the history or Kansas as a state. I’m a little disappointed in myself that I didn’t look into this sooner but at least not I will know what to say to anyone who asks me the question “What is a Jayhawk” 

*http://www.ku.edu/about/traditions/jayhawk.shtml

Love Letter

             After reading this letter I could not help but notice the difference between dating practices now and in the 1800s. Today men are more reserved with their feelings and courtship is a process rather than just a letter. In today’s world most men and women meet at bars and exchange telephone numbers which will nine times out of ten result in a text message rather than a phone call and never a letter. In addition most of these text messages are not for a man to express his love as Aaron D. Stevens did in his letter to Jenny Dunbar after only recently meeting her. He also seems to put it all out there, whereas men these days would almost never tell a woman he loves her after just a few meetings.

            In his letter Steven is desperate to become closer to Jenny. In fact the letter that I am focusing on in this blog is the third letter he has written Jenny in a month without receiving a reply.

I have not got a [lettor] from you yet, but am looking for one with all my eyes. you cannot tell how much good it would doo me to get a [lettor] from you. if it was nothing but a friendly one, and if it was one of love I Shall not attempt to tell you how I should feel

He goes on to say

Jenny I doo long to see you so that I am almost dead, and hear you play and sing some of those songs. I am very sorry that I did not get better acquainted with you for then I should feel bettor, but I hope that I shall have the pleasure of seeing you before a very long time.

            Stevens uses this letter as a way to approach Jenny and tell her his feelings so that they may develop their relationship and possibly get married.

            Overall it is almost tragic what technology has done to us. With text messages and emails the face to face communication between men and women, especially teenagers, has become obsolete. With email the idea of writing a letter to someone seems too time consuming for our fast paced society. Letters as seen with Stevens is more personal.  I’m not saying that men need to send numerous love letters but a little more romance when trying to first pursue a woman would be nice. 

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http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/90080/text

http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/90080/text

Child Labor Laws

          While I was searching Kansas History to find something to blog about this week I remembered talking about child labor laws and decided to take a closer look at Emma Grimm’s letter to the governor concerning her son and then the governors reaction. In Grimm’s letter to the governor she expresses how she is upset that her young son was fired from his job as a grocery delivery boy. She says

I do believe it is better for children to learn to work, when they are little then when they are nearly grown, then they get stubern and want there own way and that does not work good

she goes on to explain how her young son was very upset by loosing his job

My boy was turned of from his job Saturday and he took it so hard he cried and said I can not earn any money any more and I want my job back ago 

         P.J. McBride, the commissioner of Labor and Industry, responded to Grim with a letter explaining to her the laws on child labor and emphasized the importance of play for young boys. He said that the governor could not make any exceptions He also explains to her that research has shown school is the maximum amount of time a child should be hard at work.

 

        In a later letter P.J. McBride sent to governor Arthur Capper about the enforcement of child labor he cites specifically Teddy Grimm. Edith Enderton visited the Sabetha Kansas and reported on Teddy Grimm:

this boy is only ten years old and was working on a grocery wagon nights after school and on Saturdays and was frequently required to work 14 or 15 hours, carrying sacks of flour and other heavy groceries which was likely to be injurious to him

         McBride’s letter back to Emma Grimm shows how Progressivism worked to make sure that the children in Kansas received an education. He tries to change Grimm’s view on the situation by telling her the facts. I believe that the enforcement of these labor laws were critical in furthering the education of children. Especially those whose parents did not see the importance of an education and would rather their child help with the farming or making money toward the family. The letter P.J. McBride sent to the governor shows how some parents were not concerned with the proper upbringing of their child. They did not pay attention to the laws and continued to allow their children to work long gruesome hours. After reading these letter I have a better understanding of why these laws were made and how important yet difficult it must have been to enforce these labor laws for the sake of the children of America. 

 

Indian Capture

            In class we discussed a woman named Squirrel Tooth Alice that Ms. Epps mentioned had been taken captive by Indians and later shunned by the upper class society. I began thinking about how many others were taken captive by the different Indian tribes across the United States. As I searched Kansas Memory I found a picture of Catherine and Sophia Kent.

Along the side of their pictures, a brief synopsis of how they were captured along with her sisters Sophia, Julia and Adelaide was gived. I continued my research and found that Catherine Kent’s niece as well as Sophia’s great granddaughter wrote a book about their captivity. In their books Sophia recalls September 11, 1874, the day the Indians came to camp and murdered her family. She said that her father was killed first and when her mother ran to her fathers aid she too was killed.

“First I watched the hatchet enter father’s head, then I watched it enter my mother’s head.”*

Catherine said later that both her parents were scalped while still alive.

Catherine goes on to explain that the outcome could have been different if she had not been frail with short hair. In the book, Girl Captives of the

Cheyennes, she explains

 

“Some time passed while the Indians were parleying; then they seemed to make a choice between Joanna and myself. No doubt they intended to keep the four youngest children. Joanna, though younger, was larger and fleshier than I. The Indians removed our bonnets to see if we had long hair, which would make good scalp locks. My hair was short. As I remember, Joanna was sitting on a box that had been taken from the back of our wagon. Indians detained her there, while others led us four sisters to the front of this wagon. We heard the report of a rifle, and when we looked again, our beloved sister, Joanna, was dead. The Indians then scalped their long-haired victims.”**

 Catherine, Sophia, Julia, and Adelaide were spared however, Julia (7) and Adelaide (5) were soon left and abandoned on the prairie until they were found 6 weeks later having survived on their own for six weeks. Catherine and Sophia were kept for five month before their release on February 26, 1875. Catherine and Sophia were united with their younger sister at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.  ***

I chose to do my blog on this aspect of history because the fear of Indians weighed heavily on the minds of many families as they traveled west. This story is important because it shows that the Indians did rebel against the white men but it was also stories like these that fueled the prejudice against the Indians. It is important to understand all parts of the story in order to gain a better understanding as to why some people acted the way they did. The violence against the Indians brought about violent acts against the white man, which in return brought more violence to the Indian people. 

*http://www.acmagazine.org/history.php

**http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/781

***http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/781

 

Amelia Josephine Letter

 

            Amelia Josephine Labedia is a native American woman from one of the many tribes located in the New York area. She wrote a complaint letter to James W. Denver, the commissioner of Indian Affairs, on March 8, 1857. In her letter she explains that she is very upset because white “squatters” have driven the Native Americans from their land. More specifically the squatters have been to her house in the middle of the night in an attempt to kill her husband and have burned down her house along with other Native Americans houses.

 

“The New York Indian tribes–which consisted of the Seneca, Onodaga, Cayuga, Tuscarora, Oneida, St. Regis, Stockbridge, Munsee, and Brothertown nations–had been given land in Kansas Territory according to the treaty of 1838.”*

 

Amelia had written her letter in an attempt to remove the squatters so that she and her family could live a prosperous life. Her main argument is that they have the right to claim this land but unfortunately their rights are not being protected as they should be.

 

After reading this letter from Amelia I feel that it gives us an entirely new perspective in class as to how the Indian’s were treated. The desperation in her language is apparent. She was trying to make the best of the situation the American government handed to her and she is still being persecuted. She is begging for help comparing their situation to a father helping his children.  She says

 

“..we look to you as to a father to do something for his children please to write to me if there is going to be anything done and how soon if we can get on our land…” **

 

I chose this letter for my blog because it was very upsetting to read… to know that our country was built in part on the betrayal of the Indian people. From this reading I can conclude that the American government broke promise after promise to the Indian people and were unwilling to help them even after they moved to the new Indian Territory. This source larger significance however is that it has given us an Indian perspective as to what happened in Kansas.

 

* www.kansasmemory.org/item/208235/text

** http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/208235

 

Right to claim Land

Based on our reading and discussions of Indian removal in class the U.S. government determined who had the most legitimate right to claim land by the race of the people. On June 6^th we began our discussion,“A trail of Broken Promises: The Creation of Indian Territory” with a painting titled “American Progress” by John Gast. (Shown Below) This painting shows white American settlers moving out west pushing the Indian people further away. An angel is shown above the white settlers as they continue their journey out west to spread their way of life. The image of the angel shows how many Americans put God into their government and that due to manifest destiny they had more of a right to this land before the Indian people.

 

According to our notes the U.S. government, including President Andrew Jackson believed the white race to be more “civilized” and did not believe the Indians to be equal to the white Americans.

In 1830 Andrew Jackson set up an Indian Removal Act because he wanted the white Americans to have more land. According to our notes the Indians were forced to leave because of greed (Gold found in the Appalachian mountains) and because others were trying to reduce bloodshed.  He set up for the Indians to move to Kansas and Oklahoma because Kansas and Oklahoma were not suitable for the white people. Steven Long called Kansas the “Great American Dessert” and this is the mindset Americans kept toward Kansas.

 

Through the reading of primary sources the U.S. government’s reactions to the Indian people even after the removal proves that they believe the white man to have the most legitimate claim to land. Amelia Josephine Labedia letter I believe captures best how the U.S. government treated the Indians. Amelia followed the removal act as she was from the New York land and was now setting up her home in Kansas with her husband. In her letter she pleads for help because she is still being forced away from her home by “squotters” (people who are not suppose to be on the land). These people are burning down her house and even tried to kill her husband. These squotters have forced Amelia away from her new home after the U.S. government forced her away from her first home. She speaks of Agents who are suppose to enforce the treaty but do nothing do help her. This letter shows that the U.S government not only believes the white American to have a legitimate right to land and still does not do enough to help enforce the Indian to have any claim to land. 

 

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