Month: August 2011

Elizabeth I: The Education of the Future Queen of England

Posted by

1

King Henry VIII once said, “without knowledge our life would not be worth our having.” In fact, he took pride in the intelligence of his wives and determined that his daughters would be equally smart. Since his first daughter Mary Tudor received an education that included not only “women’s work” but also the study of other languages and the classics, it made sense that his second daughter should be similarly educated.

Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth I, took her first lessons from her governess Katherine Champernowne. Katherine taught her student the fundamentals of languages such as French, Italian, and Spanish. She also introduced the young girl to history, math, and science. Since Elizabeth’s mother died when she was very young, she had a close bond with her kind, intelligent governess. Katherine took motherly pride in Elizabeth’s accomplishments, but she knew her bright student would need to continue her studies with a more accomplished teacher.

When her father married Katherine Parr, the new stepmother took an interest in Elizabeth’s education. She appointed a private tutor for the young girl. William Grindal was a Latin scholar who also excelled in teaching Greek. Under his instruction, Elizabeth mastered both languages, exceeding her sister Mary’s knowledge of them as well as her father’s.

After William Grindal died of the plague, Grindal’s teacher Roger Ascham became Elizabeth’s tutor. The schedule Ascham arranged for his pupil makes today’s school day seem easy by comparison. In the morning Elizabeth studied Greek, including the Greek New Testament and Greek literature. In the afternoon she worked on Latin authors, and in the evening she learned history and studied oratory. Unlike other teachers in the sixteenth century, however, Ascham thought that learning should be enjoyable. He believed in praising rather than punishing students. He wrote, “I have dealt with many learned ladies, but among them all the brightest star is my illustrious Lady Elizabeth.” He also thought his students should learn about a variety of things, so in addition to her schoolwork Elizabeth also played musical instruments, hunted, and rode horses.

Although her father never intended her education to aid her as a ruler, her tutors gave her a love of learning that aided her when she took the throne. Her knowledge of languages and speech-making skills helped her talk with foreign ambassadors. As Queen she “entered…first into the school of experience” and had to devote herself, as she stated, to “the study of that which was meet for Government.” Her desire to learn new things and her education helped her to become a successful ruler.

What Did Girls Accomplish during the U.S. Civil War?

Posted by

0

When people think of the contributions of children during the Civil War, they often think of the young boys that snuck into battle, but the contributions of girls were equally important. Girls at the home front displayed their loyalty to the North and South in a variety of ways. Almost all girls found themselves performing new roles around the house when their fathers and brothers went to battle. In addition, many girls found inventive ways to support the soldiers.

After their fathers and brothers left for war, girls learned to help their mothers with more tasks. Southern families had to do housework without the aid of slaves. Emma LeConte wrote, “This afternoon I washed the dinner things and put the room to rights…this is my first experience in work of this kind.” Northern children also did housework. An Iowa mother remarked how cheerfully the children, led by her thirteen-year-old daughter, helped her run the family farm.

A common task for older girls was caring for and teaching their younger siblings. Emma LeConte became a teacher to her younger sister Sallie. Emma took pride in her work, stating, “I am fairly launched as a school marm.”

Girls did whatever it took to help their families survive, even if the tasks were unladylike. Anna Howard of Michigan remembered, “I was the principal support of our family.” She and her mother took in boarders, sold quilts, sewed, and taught school. “It was an incessant struggle to keep our land, to pay our taxes, and to live.”

Northern and Southern girls also contributed to the war effort by aiding soldiers.  When Union infantry passed by her house during the Battle of Gettysburg, Tillie Pierce sprung into action. “I soon saw that these men were very thirsty…obtaining a bucket, I hastened to the spring, and there, with others, carried water to the moving column until the spring was empty. We then went to the pump standing on the south side of the house, and supplied water from it.” Tillie gave water to the soldiers during the first two days of battle. When the battle ended, she became a regular visitor at the makeshift hospital nearby, bringing treats to the soldiers. Just as Tillie gave out water to Union soldiers, Sally Hawthorne of Fayetteville, North Carolina handed out sandwiches to Confederate soldiers fleeing from Sherman.

Girls on both sides of the conflict participated in raising money for soldiers. In the North, the biggest fundraising efforts that included children were fairs given by the Sanitary Commission. Girls worked four hour shifts at some fairs dressed as the Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe and surrounded by dolls for sale. Southern efforts were not as massive as Northern fundraisers because of wartime shortages, but the girls who participated were equally enthusiastic. Emma LeConte helped with a bazaar that raised money for sick soldiers. She wrote, “I was at the State House helping to arrange the tables until four o’clock…Everything to eat can be had if one can pay the price—cakes, jellies, creams, candies.”

Often girls did not wait for a big community event to help raise money. Some held their own fairs in their backyards. The Chicago Tribune described one of these “fairs.” Tables were filled with fruit, lemonade and cake. The tables “were presided over by veritable fairy queens” charming “the quarters and dimes out of the purses of visitors.”

Though they worked for different causes, northern and southern girls both had the desire to help their families and the soldiers fighting for their side.

The Education of Mary Tudor

Posted by

0

Though her father Henry VIII still wanted a son to rule England, in the 1520s Mary Tudor was his only legitimate heir. Her mother Katherine of Aragon thought women could rule just as well as men—after all, Katherine’s own mother had ruled as queen of Castile. Katherine decided that Mary needed an education that went beyond the role of women as wives and mothers if, as it happened, she ruled England someday.

Katherine did not teach Mary how to read and write herself. Like other princesses, Mary had male tutors. Her mother was very involved in the planning of her education, however. Katherine asked Spanish humanist Juan Luis Vives to write a manual for the education of the future queen. In Katherine’s opinion, his original version encouraged girls to be educated only so that they could raise children and be intelligent companions to their husbands. To be fair to Vives, no one in sixteenth century England knew what sort of education to recommend for a female ruler since the country never had one.

When Mary was seven years old, Vives wrote a more specific guide called On a Plan of Study for Children, which he dedicated to the princess. It emphasized how to pronounce Greek and Latin and recommended books by authors such as Thomas More, Erasmus, and Plato’s dialogues “particularly those which demonstrate the government of the commonwealth.” Mary was not allowed to read romances since, according to sixteenth century educators, they gave young girls immoral thoughts.

Mary’s intelligence was evident in her ability to learn new languages quickly. By age nine, she could write a letter in Latin. She also learned Greek, French, some Italian, and could understand Spanish.

Although Mary’s lessons might sound dull to today’s students, she also had opportunities to enjoy herself by playing music—something she excelled at and loved since she was a toddler. The Italian Mario Savagnano met Mary as a teenager and said that in addition to her knowledge of languages “she sings excellently and plays on several musical instruments, so that she combines every accomplishment.” Dancing and hunting were other favorite pastimes.

Like all Englishmen and woman, Mary was instructed by her mother to serve God. Young Mary was taught to attend mass several times a day and prayed regularly. At the time, her countrymen were all participating in the same religious rituals. Once Catholicism became unpopular with her father and others, however, Mary, like her mother, would remain Catholic.  When she ruled Mary would seek to bring the country back to the Catholic Church and get rid of other religions.

The History of the Purple Heart

Posted by

0

If you have family members who served in the U.S. military, one or more of them may have received an award called the Purple Heart. Though it did not always have the name it does today, the Purple Heart was awarded early in the history of the United States.

The idea of giving a Badge of Merit, as it was called then, was conceived by General George Washington following the end of the American Revolution. In 1782, Congress could not afford to give extra money to soldiers who showed exceptional bravery while serving in the Continental Army. Washington knew there were men who deserved special recognition, so he issued a general order that created the Badge of Merit.

Originally, the requirements for receiving the badge included instances of “unusual gallantry”, “extraordinary fidelity and essential service” to the U.S. army. The badge was shaped in “the figure of a heart in purple cloth or silk, edged with narrow lace or binding.” The word merit was crocheted into the fabric.

We know that at least three men who served in the Revolutionary War received the Badge of Merit. There were probably others, but their names aren’t known because the book which listed its recipients was lost. Washington meant the badge to be given to U.S. soldiers in future conflicts; however, its use declined after the Continental Army disbanded. The first newly named Purple Heart was given to General Douglas MacArthur in 1932.

Both the design of the Purple Heart and the requirements for receiving it have changed. The Purple Heart now displays a bust of George Washington and his coat of arms.  It is given to members of the U.S. military who were killed or wounded by enemy action or who were mistreated as prisoners of war.