Mid-Atlantic Region

American Women Writers Study Group

Fall Meeting

Sept. 21, 2013

Washington, D.C.

Victoria Woodhull

Our Fall 2013  meeting will focus on the writings of Victoria Woodhull. Cari Carpenter of West Virginia University, editor of Selected Writings of Victoria Woodhull: Suffrage, Free Love, and Eugenics, will lead the afternoon discussion.   In addition, we've arranged a morning tour of the Sewall-Belmont House, the headquarters of the National Woman's Party.  Preliminary information is below; we'll add more details and confirm times as the meeting date approaches.  In the meantime, please email Cathy Saunders with logistical questions, or Cari Carpenter with questions about the readings. 

PRIMARY READINGS (from Selected Writings of Victoria Woodhull):

Core Focus for the Discussion:

“The Memorial of Victoria C. Woodhull” (1871)
“Constitutional Equality” (1871)
“And the Truth Shall Set You Free: A Speech on the Principles of Social Freedom” (1871)
“My Dear Mrs. Mott” (1871)
“The Beecher-Tilton Scandal Case” (1872)
“The Scare-Crows of Sexual Slavery” (1873)
“A Speech on the Garden of Eden; or, Paradise Lost and Found” (1876)
“The Rapid Multiplication of the Unfit" (1891)
“Woman Suffrage in the United States” (1896)

Additional Selections to read if you have time:

“The Woodhull Manifesto” (1870)

“The Correspondence Between the Victoria League and Victoria C. ​Woodhull” (1871)

“Correspondence of the Equal Rights Party” (1872)

“The Naked Truth” (1873)

“The Spirit World” (1873)

“Stirpiculture; or, The Scientific Propagation of the Human Race” (1888)

“Tried As By Fire; or, the True and the False” (1874)

SECONDARY READINGS: 

Note: PDFs of the secondary readings are available in the Woodhull Readings folder , accessible only to members of this site; if you're not a member, click here to send an access request.)

Carpenter, Cari M. Introduction to Selected Writings of Victoria Woodhull.

Frisken, Amanda. Introduction to Victoria Woodhull’s Sexual Revolution: Political Theater and the Popular Press in Nineteenth-Century America.  Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004: 1-23. 

Excerpt from Horowitz, Helen Lefkowitz. Rereading Sex: Battles over Sexual Knowledge and Suppression in Nineteenth-Century America. New York: Vintage, 2002: 342-355. 

McGarry, Molly. “Spectral Sexualities: Nineteenth-Century Spiritualism, Moral Panics, and the Making of U.S.Obscenity Law.” Journal of Women’s History 12.2 (Summer 2000): 8-29.

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS:

We're looking for one or two brief readings that will help us make links and/or distinctions between Woodhull's era and ideas and those of the National Woman's Party (an early-20th-century organization). We'll post them here if/when we find them; suggestions are welcome. 

SCHEDULE FOR SEPT. 21:

10:00-c. 11:30: tour of Sewall-Belmont House, 144 Constitution Ave., NE (Metro: Union Station or Capitol South).  Cost: $8.00 per person. Please reserve your spot and pay for your ticket using this link. 

c. 11:30-1:30: walk from Sewall-Belmont House to Southeast Neighborhood Library, stopping for lunch along the way.  (Note: the walk from the Sewall-Belmont House to the library is approximately one mile, and the placement of Metro stations doesn't allow the distance on foot to be much reduced by taking Metro.   If anyone isn't able or would prefer not to walk that far, let us know when you RSVP, and we'll investigate other options: circulator bus, cab, or making sure one of the local organizers brings a private car.)

1:30-4:30: discussion led by Cari Carpenter, Southeast Neighborhood Library meeting room, 403 7th St., S.E. (Metro: Eastern Market), with mid-afternoon coffee/snack break courtesy of the George Mason University English Department. 

4:30+: coffee,drinks, and/or group dinner, depending on interest

R.S.V.P.s:

Please send questions and RSVPs by Mon. 16 Sept. to Cathy Saunders (csaunde1@gmu.edu), but note that reservations for the Sewall-Belmont tour, using the link above, need to be made a week earlier, by Mon. Sept. 9 (later reservations may be possible as long as we don't exceed Sewall-Belmont's docent-to-visitor ratio; after Sept. 9, check with Cathy for the current count).    In your RSVP, please specify whether you'll be joining us for the afternoon discussion, morning tour (so that we can keep our own count), or both, and whether you'd be interested in an evening gathering (and, if so, of what kind). 

TRANSPORTATION & PARKING:

Parking is in very short supply in the Capitol Hill area, where both of our venues are located, and especially so near Eastern Market, an historic market hall surrounded on weekends by a variety of vendors in temporary booths.  If you need to park downtown, the parking garage at Union Station is probably the best option (but an expensive one).  If you're coming by car, the best approach is probably to take advantage of the free weekend parking at a suburban Metro station on the Orange, Blue, or Red line, and take the Metro to Union Station (red line) or Capitol South (orange/blue lines), both of which are within walking distance of the Sewall-Belmont House.   I (Cathy) am more familiar with Virginia Orange Line options than Blue/Red/Maryland ones (but can consult with colleagues if need be; the Metro map has a "P" symbol next to stations with dedicated parking).  The outer Orange Line stations in Virginia are right off I-66 (the train runs down the median), which makes them easy to find.  Vienna and West Falls Church both have abundant parking, which is likely to be mostly unused on a Saturday morning, and East Falls Church is likely to have spaces open as well. 

I'm not seeing any track work (which can slow down service as shuttle buses replace trains on parts of a line) listed for 9/21, but it's a good idea to check for advisories closer to the day.  As mentioned below under "lodging," Metro's trip planner usually works well.  Information about Metro fares is available here;  fare cards can be purchased from machines in the station (make sure to consult a fare chart, since Metro fares vary by distance and time of day; it's not a one-price-per-trip system).   Metro is pushing everyone to buy a rechargeable SmarTrip card, but unless you expect to take at least six one-way trips on Metro in the near future, you're probably better off paying the $1 per trip paper farecard surcharge. 

LODGING:

Lodging options are plentiful in downtown D.C., and in nearby areas of Maryland and Virginia (which may be cheaper, and will work just fine if Metro-accessible; locations on the Red, Orange, or Blue lines will be most convenient).  If you're trying to figure out how long it will take to get from one location to another, Metro's trip planner is a useful tool (but be aware that weekends often bring track work, which can make trips significantly longer than normal; if the planner directs you to read an alert for the line you're planning to use, do so).   

Note: for more information about the Mid-Atlantic American Women Writers Study Group, including a list of past meetings, please see the home page.