Skip to main content

DS, Male, Age 24




Exhibit: Domestic Life at Fort Smith


When observing the exhibits at the National Historic Site, they show how most of the political establishments and arrangements where created by men with little involvement from women. The exhibits in regards to politics where mostly pictures and summaries of men, with a very few exceptions like Florence Hammersly being a deputy clerk. When it comes to the focus of women in the exhibits, I feel like it was mainly based of domestication. A good example of this is the exhibit "Domestic Life at Fort Smith", where it focuses on the lives of the wife's of political leaders in Fort Smith.

Exhibit:  Music Class


I think this photo is relevant to the idea of women being seen in more of a domesticated role during this time. In my opinion, this photo of Chickasaw girls at Bloomfield Academy in a music class shows how women were even educated in more domesticated roles like the arts, instead of politics.

Exhibit:  Women Behind Bars


I feel like this exhibit shows the effects of the persecution of women. By denying women the same rights of men like voting, throwing them into a more domesticated role, and not allowing their involvement in politics, it seems to have caused a rise in criminal activity by women. Women like Mary Kettenring, who killed her husband, and Pearl Starr, who ran a prostitution house perhaps as a way to control men, are great examples of this criminality

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 8, 2019 at 2:12 PM

    Hello! Women had fewer rights in general during this time - fewer (to nonexistent) property rights, no voting rights, etc. There were actually far less women in jail than men during this time, likely because of their lack of mobility, rights, etc. During our guided tours, I talk about how due to the lack of rights, women often did fill a more "domestic" or "traditional" role of staying at home raising children, cooking, and cleaning. Our exhibits about the criminals highlight a few women who did commit crimes, because of course there were both men and women who committed crimes. This is a very interesting topic to discuss, please let me know if you have any questions!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A.R., Female, Age 24

Exhibit: Fort Smith in Fact and Fiction These posters are one of the first things you see when walking into the museum. I find it interesting that between the two there is only one woman pictured and she is sexualized. Both of these movies came out in the late 60’s. When the movies were produced they had the option to give women a story as well, but from the look of these posters I would say they did not. Exhibit: Women Behind Bars Near the very back of the museum they had this exhibit “Women Behind Bars.” I completely looked over this exhibit at first. If you notice at the top of it is a picture of a group of men. I noticed the men and just assumed that’s what the entire article was over until I went back and actually read the entire thing. Exhibit: Lady Desperado All of the women that are in the exhibits who are named are named because they are criminals. Each one who is named their brother and father are also named. This exhibit is about Belle Starr. It
1 comment
Read more

DN, Female, Age 19

Exhibit: Photo of Bonneville House This beautiful house is a very interesting place that hold history within itself. This house has different owners, but the latest owner was a woman. Even with changes, this place still holds a sense of fanciness and historical. Many years ago, the latest owner of this place was a well-known person. According to the Fort Smith National Historic Site, this was the place where many formal parties were being held. I personally passed through this house many times, and yet the sight of this place still got my attention.  Exhibit: Photo of Clayton House This is the famous Clayton House in Fort Smith. When I first saw this picture of the Clayton House, I was not much surprise. In fact, this gorgeous place is up for rent for many different occasions and is still well-known today. The Clayton House was own by one of the most famous people in Fort Smith. Even though there is not much history about this place related to women, however, because
Post a Comment
Read more