Transcriber: Amanda Chu Reviewer: Peter van de Ven
In the early 1780s,
Massachusetts created their first state constitution.
Now, this constitution
was created just years after the Declaration of Independence,
and you can tell because it was inspired by it,
in fact, in the first words that you'll read:
"All men are born free and equal."
Now, at this time it was the tradition:
The way that you got this information out -
this legislation, these laws -
is that you would read it in the town square.
When it was read in the town square one day,
there's an enslaved woman by the name of Mum Bett,
who's walking through that town square,
and in her enslaved state, she hears these words
that everyone in Massachusetts is born free and equal.
She's confused, obviously.
But instead of living with said confusion, she takes it to court.
She took her slave holder, John Ashley, to court,
sued for her freedom,
and her and her lawyer argued that she should be free
because the institution itself
is unconstitutional in the state of Massachusetts,
and she wins.
Now, does this story matter?
It might not,
if young girls don't hear about it.
Currently less than 10% of the history
that's taught in American history classrooms
is about women.
Now, there are two interesting things about this:
One, of the women that are required to be taught in the classroom,
two of them are Molly Pitcher and Rosie the Riveter.
(Laughter)
They weren't even real human beings.
(Laughter)
They were made up. They were fictional.
Now, of course they're symbolic
from women that did exist during that time,
but it begs the question:
Then why not speak about the actual women?
Also, of that 10%, almost 60% of that 10%
talks about women in the role of the helpmate -
cooking, cleaning, taking care of the home,
helping out the husband.
And of course women made homes, but they also made history.
As we know, stories matter.
They're incredibly important.
We share them with loved ones, we laugh about them,
they inspire us,
and they provide meaning in our lives.
Now, there's this whole body of research
that suggests that if you're not a part of the information that you consume,
whether it's what you watch or what you read in the classroom,
it suggests that you're not as important,
you consider yourself not as important or capable or competent.
Currently it takes a woman to hear about six times,
"You should run for a political office,"
before she starts to think, "I should run for political office."
Less women negotiate salaries,
and even less women will apply for a job
if they don't believe that they have 100% of the qualifications.
Maybe if young girls
start to see themselves in the pages of yesterday,
they'll believe in their capacity for all of their tomorrows.
I started a nonprofit called "Remember The Ladies,"
and one of the things that we focus on doing
is positioning teachers and school districts
to incorporate more women's history into American history classrooms,
because you cannot be what you cannot see.
And I think it's important
for young girls and young boys to see the capacity of women.
Now we do this by supplementing textbooks
and supplementing current lesson plans
because this isn't about rewriting history;
instead, it's about expanding the lens -
the director's cut, if you will.
Because while Megan Rapinoe
and Serena Williams and Ruth Bader Ginsburg
are incredibly inspiring and extraordinary humans,
what young girls need to realize
is that this has always been their lineage,
this is nothing new,
and it will always be their legacy.
In spring of 1776,
John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson
are in Philadelphia.
They're talking about declaring independence
from that of Great Britain.
And they're not simply talking about separating from Great Britain,
but instead, they are suggesting that we should declare our independence
because we believe in this set of principles:
that all men are created equal and have certain inalienable rights,
and some of those are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;
that regardless of your bloodline, regardless of who your parents were,
regardless of where you were born into the society,
that you are indeed equal.
They were figuring out the language that they wanted to use
and how they were going to get that done.
Meanwhile, John Adams wife is in Massachusetts,
holding down the farm, with four children,
and keeping the smallpox epidemic at bay,
and trying to feed those children through the winter
while the British have blocked the ports in Boston -
so the only food that they have
is what they grew from the summer before -
trying to avoid battles and any abuse that the British may provide.
And so Abigail had her two cents for her husband
as he suggested that they were writing this declaration.
She said in this extraordinary code of laws,
"I ask that you remember the ladies."
And I ask that you do the same.
Thank you.
(Applause) (Cheers)