Post #3612344
2026-07-05 19:52 UTC
The Massachusetts-born Bates attended the all-women Wellesley College and Oxford University before joining the Wellesley College faculty. A social reform advocate — especially for women, immigrants, laborers, people of color, and the poor — she was engaged in myriad socio-political activities.
Involved in a “Boston marriage” with colleague and friend Katharine Coman, Bates never married; had she done so she likely would have lost her faculty position and the relative independence she enjoyed. 🧵
Replies (1)
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@aleciabatson@mastodon.social 2026-07-05 19:54
“America. A Poem for July 4.” was drafted in summer 1893 while Bates taught English at Colorado College. The wondrous views atop Pikes Peak (Tavi'wachi Núuchi name: Tavakiev) inspired her wish for a wholly egalitarian, inclusive U.S. given the sexist and anti-equality prejudices of the period, the havoc of the Industrial Revolution, her direct knowledge of urban poverty’s effects, and the Panic of 1893, a severe economic depression lasting eight months. Full text » https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_the_Beautiful#Lyrics 🧵