Belva Lockwood was the first qualified woman to run for President of the United States and she did it while suffragists were still battling for the vote in 1884 and 1888.
Shirley Chisholm was the first black woman to run for POTUS in 1972 and the first female nominee for the Democratic party.
This week we divide and conquer to give you a remastered two-fer of glass-ceiling crashing women in US politics. Beckett shares the life of Belva Lockwood and Susan talks about Shirley Chisholm in this mini-series of women who ran for the office of POTUS.
One of these days it will happen, Belva said so…and we agree.
For more information on either (or both, they are both worth looking into some more) please visit their original shownotes from 2016 BELVA LOCKWOOD and SHIRLEY CHISHOLM!
Break music in the Belva section is Keep on the Path by The Mystery Body; all music in Shirley’s part is Worth the Fight, by Marie Hine both used with permission from MusicAlley.
Victoria, deep in thought about…we have no idea. Brandley Rulofson
The 2020 US Presidential election is officially underway so we that this was a perfect time to revisit the life of the very first woman to run for the US Presidency in 1872, years before women could legally vote. Victoria Woodhull crafted a life for herself from pretty raw materials. She traveled from an abusive childhood to a very aristocratic end and, in the middle, was the first woman to run for the American Presidency. In 1872. She was a woman ahead of her time.
Time Travel with The History Chicks
For recommendations and links to things that we talked about in this episode, give a little CLICK HERE to the original shownotes from 2016.
It’s been over four years since we last stepped from behind the curtain to answer questions from the other end of the mic. We put out a call in our private Facebook group, The History Chicks Lounge for questions not answered in either of our two previous Q&A episodes…and the response was fast and overwhelming! Unless you like six-hour podcasts, there isn’t time to answer all those questions in one episode, but we narrowed down the list, combined some similar ones, and then threw some of our own into the discussion after we hit RECORD. (more…)
Empress Sisi at 28 by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, dress by Charles Frederick Worth (of course it was) 1865
Empress Sisi’s story often reads like a fairytale … usually because it’s fiction. The basics of her life do parallel those tales: a vivacious, beautiful young woman is chosen from all the lands as the love of the Austrian emperor. As a beloved Empress, she added a fresh energy to Viennese court while riding horses, maintaining her youthful glow, being a fashion icon, mingling with her people, and raising a family.
But the reality behind that lovely facade is s a little darker, a little sadder, and did not end in a “happily ever after.”
When we left Sisi in Part One, she had returned from a successful diplomatic mission to Italy with her husband, Emperor Franz Joseph, and found a rather disturbing, and anonymous (cough Aunt Sophie cough), message basically saying, “You’re replaceable until you produce a male heir.”
Cool. Cool.
(Not really cool.)
One of two racy boudoir portraits of Sisi about age 28 by Franz Xaver Winterhalter
Sisi did, eventually, deliver a male heir (and even helped name him, so that’s an improvement over baby Sophie and Gisela) but the joy was overshadowed by the loss of her firstborn, many years of living under Aunt Sophie’s thumb, a desire to be out of the public eye, and a growing nonchalance towards Franz Joseph. Sisi retreated into a restrictive and … um … unique personal care routine and as much extended travel as she could arrange. (Helllooooo, Corfu!) Even when she finally returned to court she realized that life as the freshly crowned Queen of Hungary was more to her liking than what being the Empress of Austria in Vienna offered her.
Hungarian Imperial Palace, Gödöllő via Irene Nemess pixabay
House on Corfu, Achillion, thankfully not destroyed wikicommons
What Hungary also gave her was a place to give birth to and raise on her own, her fourth and final child, Valerie. But the thrill of her semi-independence and Friend-Zoned marriage was again overshadowed by tragedy when her son, Rudolf died by suicide when Sisi was 51 and Rudi was only 30.
Last photo of Sisi taken the day before her assassination with companion, Irma Sztaray wikicommons
For the remaining nine years of her life, Sisi traveled almost exclusively and retreated from public life as much as a recognizable empress with paparazzi stalking her could. Although her Aunt/Mother-in-law had passed away, the damage she had created to Sisi’s reputation in the Viennese court was long-lasting and Sisi’s See Ya Later lifestyle ignited an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality in Austria. FJ had his hands full losing territory and power, but when Sisi was assassinated by an anarchist simply for being the wrong royal at the wrong place at the wrong time, on September 10, 1889, he mourned her deeply and said, “You do not know how much I loved that woman.” Sisi was 60 years old.
Although Sisi was physically no longer alive, her image took on a life of its own. She was beautiful and kind (also very eccentric and vain) but in the collective memory of her, she became the most beautiful, generous, kind, glamorous woman the world had ever known … and when the Sisi movies came out in the 1950’s that’s the image that had a serious power boost.
Sisi is buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.
Time Travel with The History Chicks
Web!
Sisi Museum in Vienna has a fantastic online collection of artifacts and articles, going would be great…but this is a good one for us keyboard travelers, we do love a good virtual tour: Sisi Museum
We love the Court Jeweller, she really does a great job of documenting the history of royal jewels including Sisi’s famous edelweiss stars that she wore in her hair and ignited (another) fashion trend.
If you or anyone you know are having thoughts of suicide, please reach out for help. In the US, call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or visit THIS LINK for free, confidential support. In the UK you can call Samaritan’s Purse at 116 123 or text SHOUT to 85258 .
The one we both put as our favorite. It’s very contemporary for a book from the 1930s! By Bertita Harding
By Joan Haslip, Susan’s most Post-it flagged
Beckett’s Number Two, by Andrew Sinclair
If you want ALL the political intrigue and love the deep, deep…deep dives. By George Marek
By Empress Elisabeth herself. Good luck finding it, but if you can read German, it’s on Projekt Gutenburg-De
It’s a translation and could use a good copy editing, but the pictures are terrific. By Katrin Unterreiner
Fiction, one of several by Allison Pataki (the audiobook Susan’s son was listening to when he said “That Sophie is a b**ch!”)
For kids:
Royal Diaries series, we’re fans of these books for younger readers. Fiction, but very well researched.
Moving Pictures!
This is the site/app that we use through our libraries for movies and documentaries, KANOPY, and for ebooks and audiobooks we like Libby (Not sponsored, none of our recommendations ever are and we do not accept books in exchange for reviews.)
Here’s a little taste of the Sisi of the movies with Romy Schneider Beer, beer, beer…:
And the more contemporary (and doppelganger) Italian Sisi of 2009:
Princess Sissi was an animated series for a couple of seasons in Canada, three cheers if you can find it online, but here is the wikifandom page for it!
The Dorell’s in Corfu is on Amazon Prime and PBS (in the US) but here is an article about the real family behind the semi-autobiographical books turned TV series. Wait. Larry Didn’t Write Them??
This episode was sponsored by you (when you donate through our tasteful link to your right or use the links and codes listed in the Sponsor Tab) Thank you!
Break Music: Hungarian Holiday, by Fernwood; Hypnotized, by Proper Authorities
End Song: She is looking for something, by LYNX and Janover
Empress Sisi’s story often reads like a fairytale…usually because a lot of the coverage of her life is fiction. The basics do parallel those tales: a vivacious, beautiful young woman is chosen from all the lands as the love of the Austrian emperor. As a beloved Empress, she adds fresh energy to Viennese court while riding horses, maintaining her youthful energy, being a fashion icon, and raising a family.
But the reality behind that lovely facade is a little darker, a little sadder, and did not end in a “happily ever after.” (more…)
With the release of Amazon Prime’s new movie, Radioactive, we thought a revisit to Marie Curie’s real life was in order. Since Prime put her story into one movie, we thought it was fitting to combine both parts of our 2016 coverage into one episode. Think of it as an audiobook with several chapter breaks. For shownotes, recommendations, and links to the things we talked about in this double-episode, visit the original MARIE CURIE PART TWO (or PART ONE if you want to read her story from the beginning.)
Intermission song: Made of Stars, Xavier and Ophelia; End song: Marie Curie, The Crypts used with permission from MusicAlley
Break music: Awakening, Keri Newdingate, used with permission from iLicenseMusic
Lady Bird’s official White House portrait by Elizabeth Shoumatoff Library of Congress
While researching Zephyr Wright, we both learned quite a bit about her employer, Lady Bird Johnson. Since we knew a lot about her (and our libraries were still closed) we thought we would share the story of this intelligent woman who had her own interests and accomplishments outside the work she did with her husband, President Lyndon B. Johnson. (more…)
For photos, recommendations, and links to things we talked about today, click on over to our original STATUE OF LIBERTY SHOWNOTES.
We would like to say thanks to the sponsors of this episode! Did you know that when you support the companies that support us, YOU become a sponsor, too? Thank you!
Hello Fresh, America’s # meal kit! Visit HelloFresh.com/80HistoryChicks for a total of $80.oo off, including free shipping on your first order!
Nancy Green was the first of several women who played the role to sell pancake mix
In 1889, Aunt Jemima crossed from the footlights to the grocery store, where she’s been a fixture for 131 years. On the eve of her departure, we give you the dark history of this American icon – and the stories of a few women who made her come alive. (more…)
Fannie giving her testimony in 1964 at the Democratic National Convention…despite the president’s attempts to silence her.
Fannie Lou Hamer was called the “Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement” and, sometimes, “The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement” and both are very appropriate. (more…)
