Laura De Force Gordon: A Biographical Account - Research Paper Example

?Laura De Force Gordon: A Biographical Account There are certain figures in the history that are memorized for their grace, nature and achievements. Laura de Force is one of those figures who are remembered and still respected for the initial steps she took to aid the humanity and specially the spiritual enlightenment of women of that era. The birthplace of Laura de Force is the North East Pennsylvania. This legendary and enthusiastic character in the history was born on August 17th, 1838. Laura de Force’s parents, Catherine Doolittle Allan and Abram de Force, had a tough life due to rheumatism of her father. Since her childhood she observed circumstances that were not too positive towards their family life. The threats of rheumatism and the worsening household conditions, De force’s mother took the responsibility to support her family. She struggled by the handcrafts including needlework and lace making to financially aid the family. The fortunate Laura and her younger sister were, somehow, managed to be educated even in those tough times. The schooling at Erie County and Chautauqua County gave rise to a figure that is still known for her speech and writings (National Cyclopedia of American Biography, 1899). The family life of Laura De Force was full of miseries and tragedies. The family faced certain difficulties and mental stress as one of her brothers died during 1855. The demise of her brother ended up with her mother’s inclination towards Spiritualism, whereby, she made contact with the dead through trances. Laura, following her mother’s belief, also stepped ahead towards the Spiritualism paradigms. She became much involved with the sought-after speaking process and continued her journey of life. While travelling through Northeast, Dr. Charles H. Gordon came across her. It was in 1862 when they decided to get married and their life changed from the ever stable pace. The couple continued the life and travelled to Nevada and finally to Lodi, California. Laura Gordon changed her path of life from a Spiritualist to a rather socialist (Crabtree 1996). She initiated and promoted the Suffrage Movement, which later on became a part of her identity. She got famous among the suffrage organizations within the state and was highly regarded for the depth of her thoughts and views. She was a great speaker and writer. Her speeches and lectures changed the focus point from evading the secrets of Spiritualism to the topic of Suffrage. Keeping her aims high and diverting her thoughts and ideas towards the Suffrage movement, Laura Gordon addressed in Platt’s Hall remarkably on Feb 19th, 1868. This is known as one of the most crucial speeches by her. During her speech, on that day, she evaded the core values of the movement in San Francisco. Her speech was so well organized and encouraging that within that year she was successful in planning and organizing members for the California Woman’s Suffrage Association. The California Woman’s Suffrage Association was finally founded officially in the beginning of 1870 (Braude, 2001). The foundation of this association spread her name among the people working on suffrage of women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were the two greatest promoters of Laura Gordon after her emergence as an influential figure in the suffrage movement. Laura Gordon had keen interest in journalism. Her interest and inclination towards this field was one the motivating factors that led her to enter in this career. Like any other field, Laura Gordon excelled and over performed in journalism. After Oratory, journalism was easier and more interesting to Laura Gordon. She took part in Stockton Narrow Gauge’s women’s department as a reporter and editor. Her professionalism did not allow her to bind herself in this field only. She stepped ahead and within that year she began issuing a daily newspaper. She is known as the first lady to test her luck in the newspaper publishing business. ‘The Daily Leader’ was her first attempt in this field which later on emerged as her acquisition of ‘Oakland Daily Democrat’. Laura Gordon published this newspaper till the end of her journalism career in 1878. During to some uncalled events and circumstances, she got divorced with her husband. Her publication ‘The great Geysers of California and How to reach them’ was published during that time period. Laura Gordon was neither eligible nor practically qualified to take part in the legislature, yet she kept her eyes open on the development of the proposal she had founded, i.e. Women Lawyer’s Bill. The title suggests that the legislation mainly revolved around the legal profession but practically it covered all professions. It took a place of a provision in the California State Constitution (Berry, 1996). According to it, women were given the freedom to choose, move ahead and practically enter any profession or career that they like or wish to acquire. The urge and enthusiasm of Laura Gordon to aid the suffrage movement and take part in the legislative proceedings related to it required Laura Gordon to enter the law school. Failing to get admission did not bother her by any means but instead her personal knowledge and struggles led her to a more proficient law analyzer and law studies that she qualified to California Bar in 1879 (Lichtenberg, 2011). Her life journey and struggles did not end. She founded her own law firm in San Francisco during the year 1880. She made her way to the general legal proceedings as well as crime laws. The defense case of an Italian immigrant that she won, made her an honorary member of Royal Italian Literary Society of Rome. She saved the immigrant from death penalty as per the excellence of tackling legal issues and providing deeper and more critical defense arguments. Her law career remained successful for more or less 20 years and she earned fame, honor, respect and experience in California and other states. She also took part in US Supreme Court in the year 1883. She is known as the second lady to participate in the US Supreme Court and is respected for her magnificent treatment of law. Laura Gordon remained known as a sough-after speaker, journalist, lawyer and suffragist throughout her career. Her fame and respect among people is apparent from a number of accounts made in her name. The New York Times 1880 brings into attention the decent yet distinct style of her speech and mentions her as a differentiating character in the history of their Republic. The New York Times appraised her style of speech, completeness of ideas, clarity of words, effects of expressions and deepness of thoughts by explaining how a man encouraged her speech in favor of women to be given chances to speak, work, take active part in every field and be given a distinct position in the society. The greatest affirmation of the effects Laura Gordon’s words had on people is the proposal of a man to other men in upholding and appraising her thoughts (Jalowitz, 2006). She had an inspirational personality and acted as a leader for women to join the Suffrage movement and make them stronger under the shade that the movement provided to women. She did not leave the movement until the end of her life. She continued to act as the strongest part of the movement and confirmed her existence by continuously acting in favor of it. For the State of California, Laura Gordon can be marked as a figure of change, evolution and reformation. She and Clara Foltz managed to acquire a decision from California Supreme Court in favor of women admission in the Hastings college of Law. This decision alone is a remarkable victory of women in the past. The struggles of Laura Gordon opened the doors to law colleges for women which was never been thought of in the past. It indeed was a success of women at large by her individualistic efforts accompanied by her colleague, Clara Foltz (Stanton, Gordon & Anthony, 2006). She played a vital role in giving the suffrage movement a turn towards a change. She was one of the strongest proponents of the women Suffrage movement. She was a feminist who is ever ready to take steps in favor of women rights and protecting their freedom. She wanted an independent women society where women have the right to adopt practices that they feel comfortable with. Her efforts and striving nature led her to believe the most impossible things and visualize them to be possible. Her struggles made her dreams become true. She was daring, dominant and stubborn in her aims. She stepped forward to initiate the movement and strengthening its roots. Her content and lectures gave a true motivational guide to the members of the movement. Her arguments and distinct style grabbed the readers and listeners at every instance. She never stepped back from what she planned to do. Her stubbornness and devotion led her achievement in altering the law and further the thoughts of people around her (James et al., 1971). Laura Gordon, indeed, was an influential personality and a good leader. Under her leadership, the suffrage movement in California and beyond became more effective and successful. Her devotion was not meant for her own selfish interest but her struggles are still working for the modern ladies. The movement she encouraged is still aiding women and the modern society. Laura Gordon left this mortal world during the first half of 1907 after 68 years of her successful yet struggling life. She stayed in the farms of California during the last years of her life. The death of her adopted child took the freshness and peace of her life. She began counting her day’s right after her son’s death and never recovered from this incident. She was buried in Lockeford, California (American National Biographies, 1999). Her life was full of tragedies and struggles, yet her extreme brave nature and ability to accept challenges made her life easy. She kept her aims higher than her comforts in the priority list. She kept the good of people above her own interests and benefits. Her kindness and loyalty with people ended up with her extremely reverend position in the historical studies. Californian state is one of the places which benefitted the most from her struggles. She was a gem which left the sparkling light behind forever. Bibliography "Gordon, Laura De Force." American National Biography. 9 (1999). Print. Berry, Dawn B. The 50 Most Influential Women in American Law. Los Angeles: Lowell House, 1996. Print. Braude, Ann. Radical Spirits: Spiritualism and Women's Rights in Nineteenth-Century America. Bloomington, Ind. [u.a.: Indiana University Press, 2001. Print. Crabtree, Campbell. "Guide to the Laura Gordon papers [ca. 1856-1882]." The University of California, 1996. Web. 19 Oct 2011. . Jalowitz, Alan. "Gordon, Laura deForce ." The Pennsylvania State University, Spring 2006. Web. 19 Oct 2011. . James, Edward T, Janet W. James, and Paul S. Boyer.Notable American Women, 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971. Internet resource. Lichtenberg, Paula. ""On Account Of Sex": The Long Struggle For Women's Rights." NoCall. Northern California Association of Law Libraries, 29 Sep 2011. Web. 19 Oct 2011. . "Gordon, Laura De Force: Lawyer, Journalist and Orator."National Cyclopedia of American Biography. 2 (1899). Print. Stanton, Elizabeth C, Ann D. Gordon, and Susan B. Anthony. When Clowns Make Laws for Queens: 1880 to 1887. New Brunswick, NJ [u.a.: Rutgers Univ. Press, 2006. Print. Read More