Contemporary women are able to participate in today's society in ways the women of the colonial era would never have dreamed. Modern women are soldiers, spies, diplomats, and doctors. They, too, have sacrificed to serve their communities and countries. Though many have gained more recognition than in the past, there are many women who work behind the scenes for home and family and are often the unsung heroes. War may not be at the doorstep of the typical citizen of the United States of America, but the women of America fight with the same passion and fortitude as revolutionary women of the past.
Modern examples of women who have sacrificed both mentally and physically for the greater good
Choose one or two of the women listed below and read more about them. Give a one to two paragraph summary of additional information you discovered.
Soldiers:
The short video above is advertising for a TV movie called Unsung Heroes: The Story of America's Female Patriots, but it also does well to show good examples of modern women in the military and their heroic actions.
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Spec. Ashley Pullen
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Cpl. Mary Beth Monson
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Spec. Ashley Pullen received a Bronze Star and Medal of Honor in 2005 for saving the life of a squad member when she shielded him with her own body during an insurgent ambush in Iraq.
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Cpl. Mary Beth Monson maintained the security of her base during a 2012 attack by Afghan insurgents who had been disguised as American soldiers in Afghanistan.
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Major General Margaret H. Woodward
Major Gen. Margaret Woodward commanded the entire United States air campaign in Libya called Operation Odyssey Dawn in 2011
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Sgt. Sherri Gallagher
Sgt. Sherri Gallagher was the U.S. Army’s 2010 Soldier of the Year. She is a top long-range rifle marksman and a member of the Golden Knights, the U.S. Army Parachute Team. To receive the award of Soldier of the Year, Sgt. Gallagher had to beat out eleven other soldiers in various skills such as hand-to-hand combat, urban maneuvers, weapons familiarity, casualty evaluation, and night firing.
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Spies and Saboteurs:
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Nancy Wake - White Mouse
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Marlene Dietrich
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Nancy Wake "was one of the most effective and cunning British agents working in German-occupied France during World War II" (Washington Post, 2011). Nancy, also known as the 'White Mouse' by the Germans, hid Allied soldiers in her home and led them to safety in Spain. In addition, she organized the French resistance fighters, gathered weaponry, and trained them for the D-Day invasion.
She earned decorations from the British, French and American governments; she was belatedly honored in Australia, where she had grown up. Exact figures are hard to establish, but she was reported to have helped save many hundreds of lives. Vertical Divider
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Marlene Dietrich was a German-born actress who moved to Hollywood in the 1930s. She renounced her German citizenship when World War II started and began a vigorous supporter of the American soldiers.
Just as the women of the Revolutionary time period, Dietrich helped raise funds to support the troops. "From 1942, Dietrich toured the country to help sell war bonds. Some historians have estimated that the US government was able to raise over a million dollars from the purchase of war bonds due to Dietrich’s efforts" (Spring 2017). Dietrich was also approached to help with a propaganda campaign by the Office of Strategic Services to record demoralizing songs in German so they could broadcast them to the Axis soldiers. Later she joined the United Service Organization (USO) to entertain the troops in a variety of places, including near the front lines--many times in dangerous and unsanitary conditions. |
Vera Atkins
Vera Atkins was born into a wealthy family in Belgium and immigrated to England when she was young. There, she attended a finishing school where she learned various languages and perfect manners. When World War II broke out, Atkins joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in charge of information gathering and became the assistant to the commander of the unit. She trained over 400 other male and female spies and was fiercely loyal to them. Unfortunately, the survival rate of her agents ended up being only a ratio of 1 in 4.
Usually [Atkins] remained in the shadows. But the accounts of some heroes whom she controlled eventually came to the fore. Four agents were captured separately, given fatal injections and burned in ovens. Violette Szabo, who was tortured and shot, became famous. So did Odette Sansom, who refused to talk even when the Gestapo pulled out her toenails one by one. She was the first woman awarded the George Cross" (Martin, 2000).
During post-war investigations, she gained valuable evidence used in the Nuremberg Trials against the Nazi war criminals. One such startling quote was recorded during an interrogation of Auschwitz commandant, Rudolf Hoess. Atkins asked Hoess if he had killed 1.5 million people at Auschwitz. ''Oh no,'' he said, as if offended. ''It was 2,345,000'' (Martin, 2000).
Atkins did her best to prepare the agents with various types of courses such as weapons mastery, parachute training, and interrogation survival. Unfortunately, many still did not survive and were taken prisoner. She refused to give up on them, however, and when the war ended, Atkins tracked down the location of 117 of the 118 missing agents.
Atkins did her best to prepare the agents with various types of courses such as weapons mastery, parachute training, and interrogation survival. Unfortunately, many still did not survive and were taken prisoner. She refused to give up on them, however, and when the war ended, Atkins tracked down the location of 117 of the 118 missing agents.
Diplomats:
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright is a Czechoslovakian-born American politician and diplomat. She is the first woman to have become the United States Secretary of State. She was nominated by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0. She was sworn in on January 23, 1997.
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Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice was born in a segregated community in the South in the 1950s. After receiving a Ph.D. in political science, she worked at the State Department during the Carter administration. During the breakup of the Soviet Block, between 1989 - 1991, George H. W. Bush appointed Rice to the National Security Council where was the first woman to have served in that position.
Rice gained enough recognition that she was appointed "as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush. Rice was the first female African-American secretary of state, as well as the second African-American Secretary of State, and the second female Secretary of State" (Ranker.com, 2018). Since her appointment, there have been many additional appointments of both women and African-Americans. |
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton grew up in Illinois where she became politically active at a young age. Interestingly, after Hillary heard a speech given by Martin Luther King Jr. in Chicago, she decided on a life of public service. Hillary met her husband, the future President Bill Clinton, at Yale Law school. Subsequently, she served in a variety of positions in the federal government, all the while gaining notoriety and influence. Eventually, Hillary was officially listed as one of the 100 most powerful lawyers in America in the National Law Journal in 1988 and 1991
Eventually, Hillary served for eight years as First Lady and thereafter sought and gained public office as New York state senator. Her bid to become the first female presidential candidate did not materialize when she first solicited nomination from the Democratic party when Barack Obama was seeking election. At Hillary's concession speech, she eloquently stated:
Eventually, Hillary served for eight years as First Lady and thereafter sought and gained public office as New York state senator. Her bid to become the first female presidential candidate did not materialize when she first solicited nomination from the Democratic party when Barack Obama was seeking election. At Hillary's concession speech, she eloquently stated:
Although we were not able to shatter that highest and hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you it has 18 million cracks in it, and the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time, and we are going to keep working to make it so, today keep with me and stand for me, we still have so much to do together, we made history, and lets make some more" (Biography.com, 2018).
Obama appointed Clinton as Secretary of State where she furthered her work for women's rights. Ultimately, Clinton made history by becoming the first female candidate for President of the United States but lost to the Republican candidate Donald Trump. Although her campaign was unsuccessful, Hillary continues her work toward equal rights for all.
Medical Field:
Lt. General Patricia Horoho is the first nurse to become the US Army Surgeon General.
As Army surgeon general, she will direct the third-largest healthcare system in the United States, behind the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Hospital Corporation of America. |
Virginia Apgar, MD was the first woman to be appointed as a full professor at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. She was a pioneer in anesthesiology as well as developing what is now known as the Apgar score. The Apgar score is a system of scoring a baby's transition from the womb to the outside world.
This was the first standardized method for evaluating the newborn's transition to life outside the womb. "Five points—heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, reflex response, and color—are observed and given 0, 1, or 2 points. The points are then totaled to arrive at the baby's score." The score was presented in 1952 at a scientific meeting, and first published in 1953. Despite initial resistance, the score was eventually accepted and is now used throughout the world" (Changing the Face of Medicine, 2015). |
Audrey Evans, MD is a pioneer in the study of neuroblastoma which is the most common solid childhood cancers. She also co-established the Ronald McDonald House where families of patients can stay during the child's treatment.
'More than any other person during the last three decades, she has transformed our thinking about neuroblastoma.' She painstakingly developed the Evans staging system for neuroblastoma in 1971 based on both the site of origin and the clinical behavior of the tumor. Part of this advance permitted identification of patients who would fare well regardless of treatment; she was also the first to withhold therapy from this group and spare these children unnecessary chemotherapy and its devastating side effects.
Dr. Evans is possibly best known for her role in creating the original Ronald McDonald House in 1974. The facility gives families of young cancer patients a place to stay while their critically ill children receive treatment. For children suffering painful illnesses and painful treatments, Dr. Evans wanted to create a place where they could have fun and enjoy being themselves, a summer camp experience for children with cancer. In 1987 the Ronald McDonald Camp was established" (Changing the Face of Medicine, 2015).
Judges and Social Activists:
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor began her career soon after she graduated from Stanford Law School. However, because she was a woman, she was turned down repeatedly for positions in law firms but was offered a job as an administrative assistant.
Through hard work and dedication, Justice O'Connor became a lawyer in the private sector and began an illustrious career. After having served as an Arizona state senator, she was eventually appointed to the Arizona State Court of Appeals. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated O'Connor for the position of Justice on the Supreme Court. She was approved after two days of hearings and became the first female to serve as a Justice on the Supreme Court. “She strived mightily to make what was momentous for women in 1981, the year she was appointed to the Court, no longer extraordinary, but entirely expectable,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said. “I am among legions of women endeavoring to follow her lead" (Haag, 2018). She was a skilled politician and judge and is an example to women across the country. Vertical Divider
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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Another example of a woman who had to work against the social norms of prejudice against women was Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. After graduating the top of her class from Columbia Law School in 1959, she had difficulties finding a job. Eventually, through the persuasion of one of her professors, she was hired on as a clerk under a district judge. This led to positions being offered at various law firms but always at a lower salary than her male counterparts
She continued her career with a wide variety of pursuits, as well as struggles for equal rights for women. Jimmy Carter appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia which then led to her appointment to the Supreme Court by Bill Clinton in 1993. Justice Ginsburg has proven time and again that she is a force to be reckoned with, and those who doubt her capacity to effectively complete her judicial duties need only to look at her record in oral arguments, where she is still the among the most avid questioners on the bench today" (Oyez, 2018). |
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey began her life as the daughter of a poor maid who was single. She lived with her grandmother for the first six years and then moved in with her mother where life became increasingly difficult. Oprah was raped four times by family members and became rebellious and began stealing. Eventually, her father took her in and gave her a very structured lifestyle under which Oprah flourished.
Oprah consequently gained stellar grades and was voted the most popular student at her high school. She competed in the Miss Black America pageant and gained an oratory scholarship to Tennessee State University. While there, Oprah was hired as the first black female anchor on a local television station at the young age of 19 and thus began her career in television. She quickly gained acclaim and through her international fame became named as one of the most influential women in America.
As a philanthropist, media executive, talk show host, television show executive, and actress, Oprah donates at least ten percent of her multi-billion dollar income to charitable causes. However, she gives the ultimate credit to those who came before her:
Oprah consequently gained stellar grades and was voted the most popular student at her high school. She competed in the Miss Black America pageant and gained an oratory scholarship to Tennessee State University. While there, Oprah was hired as the first black female anchor on a local television station at the young age of 19 and thus began her career in television. She quickly gained acclaim and through her international fame became named as one of the most influential women in America.
As a philanthropist, media executive, talk show host, television show executive, and actress, Oprah donates at least ten percent of her multi-billion dollar income to charitable causes. However, she gives the ultimate credit to those who came before her:
[Oprah] dedicates her success to her black female forerunners: author Maya Angelou (now a close friend), 19th-century abolitionist Sojourner Truth, and entrepreneur Madame CJ Walker. 'I believe I am the seed of the free,' she says. 'I believe those women are a part of my legacy and the bridges that I crossed to get where I am today. They are looking out for me' " (Hello Magazine, 2018).