Her Half of History

The words of "America the Beautiful" were written by Katharine Lee Bates after a trip from Massachusetts to Colorado and up to the top of Pike's Peak. This is the story of how they were written and how they became so popular. It's a holiday bonus episode to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States of America.

Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Sign up for the newsletter On This Day in Women's History, available on ⁠Patreon⁠ or ⁠Substack⁠. There are free options in both places.

This show survives on the support of listeners like you. Support the show on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and polls. Or make a one-time donation on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Me a Coffee⁠⁠⁠. Your support helps me keep bring the stories of past women into the present.

Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠Into History⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.

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The music in the episode is all recorded by me. The melodies are in the public domain, as is Katharine's text.

The featured image is the view from Pike's Peak, by
John Fowler from Placitas, NM, USA, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Traditional histories give President Franklin Delano Roosevelt a lot of credit for guiding the United States out of the Great Depression. But his best move may have been appointing the first woman ever to join a presidential cabinet. As Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins won victories on public works for increased employment, 8 hour work days, minimum wage, Social Security, workplace safety standards, and no child labor. Many of her programs are still in place for Americans today.

Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Sign up for the newsletter On This Day in Women's History, available on ⁠Patreon⁠ or ⁠Substack⁠. There are free options in both places.

This show survives on the support of listeners like you. Support the show on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and polls. Or make a one-time donation on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Me a Coffee⁠⁠⁠. Your support helps me keep bring the stories of past women into the present.

Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠Into History⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠Evergreen Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ to listen to more great shows.

Follow me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠ as Her Half of History.
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The first woman to serve in UK's Parliament was a surprise to everyone, and most of all herself. Nancy Astor was born American, and of course she was a woman. But when her husband couldn't stand for election after all, the Conservative party needed a quick substitute. Who better than his wife? And she stayed for years.

Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Sign up for the newsletter On This Day in Women's History, available on ⁠Patreon⁠ or ⁠Substack⁠. There are free options in both places.

This show survives on the support of listeners like you. Support the show on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and polls. Or make a one-time donation on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Me a Coffee⁠⁠⁠. Your support helps me keep bring the stories of past women into the present.

Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠Into History⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠Evergreen Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ to listen to more great shows.

Follow me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠ as Her Half of History.
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Bonus episode from the newsletter On This Day in Women's History!

On June 11, 1509, Catherine of Aragon married Henry VIII. It was her second marriage and his first. No one guessed how many weddings he had in his future...

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Either way, the story about the historical woman is free, along with news about the podcast, and a place to share your recommendations for historical books, movies, shows, etc. If you sign up as a subscriber, you're also helping me keep this show going, and I'll send you bonus content each week as a thank you.

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The House of Representatives had its first woman voting before women were even allowed to vote on a national scale. Jeannette Rankin was elected by the state of Montana in 1916 and again in 1940. She was also firm in her pacifist convictions: she was one of 40 Representatives to vote no on entering World War I and she was absolutely alone in voting no on entering World War II.

Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Sign up for the newsletter On This Day in Women's History, available on ⁠Patreon⁠ or ⁠Substack⁠. There are free options in both places.

This show survives on the support of listeners like you. Support the show on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and polls. Or make a one-time donation on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Me a Coffee⁠⁠⁠. Your support helps me keep bring the stories of past women into the present.

Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠Into History⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠Evergreen Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ to listen to more great shows.

Follow me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠ as Her Half of History.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices