That's what I wonder upon reading this opinion piece from the New York Times about Ben Franklin's youngest sister. History often records those who have access to power, military might, and education. To put it simply, "History is written by the victors."
It was rare that history recorded a woman's contribution to her society, country, and education. Why would it be rare? When you deprive a woman of access to the privileges that men have taken for granted: power, education, medical care, and knowledge---she becomes a tragic figure whose potential for greatness has been horribly stunted due to the circumstances forced upon her.
- Lack of access to education.
- Gender inequality.
- Lack of access to birth control.
- Lack of access to medical care.
Those four simple factors were what set Jane Mecom apart from her more famous sibling, Benjamin Franklin. State law at the time required for boys to learn the art of reading and writing, and for girls to read. Even though her brother, Benjamin, went to school for two years, that drastically gave him an advantage over her that she would never catch up to. Exposure to learning helps overcome gender gaps, class gaps, and other forms of inequalities.
Even with the limited exposure to education that Jane had in terms of reading and writing, her brother remarked that she wrote better than most American women. This may have been due to the brilliance she had that was never allowed to shine fully. Here is more about Jane Mecom from the New York Times:
At 17, he ran away from home. At 15, she married: she was probably pregnant, as were, at the time, a third of all brides. She and her brother wrote to each other all their lives: they were each other’s dearest friends. (He wrote more letters to her than to anyone.) His letters are learned, warm, funny, delightful; hers are misspelled, fretful and full of sorrow. “Nothing but troble can you her from me,” she warned. It’s extraordinary that she could write at all.
...
And still, she thirsted for knowledge. “I Read as much as I Dare,” she confided to her brother. She once asked him for a copy of “all the Political pieces” he had ever written. “I could as easily make a collection for you of all the past parings of my nails,” he joked. He sent her what he could; she read it all. But there was no way out.
They left very different paper trails. He wrote the story of his life, stirring and wry — the most important autobiography ever written. She wrote 14 pages of what she called her “Book of Ages.” It isn’t an autobiography; it is, instead, a litany of grief, a history, in brief, of a life lived rags to rags.
It begins: “Josiah Mecom their first Born on Wednesday June the 4: 1729 and Died May the 18-1730.” Each page records another heartbreak. “Died my Dear & Beloved Daughter Polly Mecom,” she wrote one dreadful day, adding, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away oh may I never be so Rebelious as to Refuse Acquesing & saying from my hart Blessed be the Name of the Lord.”
She gave birth to twelve children. Eleven died. Such was the reality she faced with no access to modern medical care. Imagine if she'd had access to birth control, education, and health care.
Imagine if she'd been allowed to pursue occupations that were closed to her sex---the law, medicines, and politics. Would she have rivaled Benjamin Franklin in intellect and in literary prowess? Maybe she would've.
Maybe thousands of women all over the world in the era that Jane Mecom lived in and in eras past could've been great victors whose accomplishments were noted by historians if they had access to these four simple factors: education, birth control, gender equality, and medical care. It makes me sad to think of the potential that could've been if not for the obstacles placed in their path by men and society at large.
How many wonderful female minds have we lost due to gender inequality, lack of education, health care, and so on? We're still losing that potential in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and here in America.
Much has changed since Jane Mecom died in 1794, and in the two hundred and seventeen years since, we've come a long way in terms of rights for women. I hope in the next two hundred years, we'll have accomplished what we need to do so that every single woman in the entire world can shine fully in her intellect without any encumbrances. Education is what my grandfather refers to as the great equalizer, and that's what we need to make happen in our country and abroad.
It's why we have to keep on fighting for women's rights today. It's not over by a long shot as long as more Jane Mecoms suffer in foreign parts of the world, and in areas here in the United States that are forgotten by those in power in D.C. As long as those real atrocities exist, we have much work to do.
What are you doing to help?