A petticoat is a garment worn under a skirt. Helps smooth out wrinkles in skirts. At a time when full skirts were in fashion, multiple layers of petticoats helped make them stand out. Petticoats have long been a symbol of modesty and proper female behavior. It has also been used as an insult against women who are seen as deviating from proper feminine behavior. For example, Mary Wollstonecraft, an early champion of women's rights, was called a “hyena in petticoats.”
“Petticoat government” was a derisive term for women involved in politics. It was also an implicit criticism of men who had somehow allowed women to take the lead. The first use of the term dates back to 1699, when British satirist Edward Ward wrote: The word was used to refer to women who had the courage to be politically active, but was broad enough to include women who exercised some power among men.
By the late 1800s, the term was in common use. 1894, Langdon, North Dakota Courier Democratic Party I printed the text of a recent presentation. The word was used to praise “those who have renounced allegiance to the government.” An 1898 article about Civil War nurse Clara Barton referred to the petticoat government she used to give orders to male Teamsters as the “petticoat government.”
On this day in 1905 Fargo Forum and Daily Republican They printed a letter titled “Protest.” The author said that instead of being critical and hiding behind anonymous innuendo, citizens should meet with teachers and principals to ask questions about school policies and help them understand school procedures and guidelines. He supported public schools, appealed to the public to refrain from politics and fashion, and included the petticoat government on his list of bad policies.
In North Dakota, women have been allowed to vote in state elections since 1917. The United States finally followed suit with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. However, women who actively participated in politics were still considered upstarts. In 1937, a newspaper article announced that “Petticoat Polise” had taken control of Ford City, Kansas, and the town could now look forward to her two-year Petticoat administration.
Dakota's Notebook by Dr. Carol Butcher
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