Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Fall/105/Section068/Georgia Crockett Aiken

Georgia Crockett Aiken

Born: 1872

Died: unknown

Ethnicity: white

Occupation: teacher, housewife

Family: Husband (John Aiken, deceased), Parents(deceased), Ten siblings (deceased)

Overview:

Georgia Crockett Aiken was a white woman born with an immediate passion for education. Georgia was a school teacher for 48 years and loved providing for her students. Georgia met her husband, John Aiken, and he soon passed away before they could move into their new house. Georgia was the last of her ten siblings and continued to have a positive outlook on life in her late years. In 1939 Georgia Aiken was interviewed by Stanley Combs.

Early Life:

Education

Georgia’s parents pushed her to go to the school right down the street from her childhood home each day. At this school, Georgia fell in love with education and made sure to show up to classes every day. At this time, a young girl receiving daily education was niche and rare. Georgia completed her schooling and later one continued to educate herself at a university.

Adult Life:

Spouse

This image shows a horse and buggy in 1910.

While Georgia was teaching, she met her husband John Aiken. John ran a horse and buggy business that would chauffeur businessmen around town and provide rides during funeral services. John and Georgia financed their savings in order to purchase land and build their dream home together. Soon before the couple moved in, John passed away. This left Georgia to pick up all aspects of her husband's business and finance her dream home by herself.

Career

Georgia became the only school teacher for seven grades for a total of 48 years. Throughout these years, Georgia would make sure to show up to class early everyday no matter the external circumstances. In the winter during frigid snow storms, Georgia would arrive to class early and set up a fire for those of her students who only wore tattered rags. Georgia saw it as her duty to provide for the children in every way she could, not just through education. Once Georgia’s husband passed, she took over the horse and buggy business. Very quickly, her business started to suffer as automobiles became widely available. Georgia made the decision to sell the business. Once Georgia retired from teaching, she became a housekeeper and hired a young woman to help her with the house as well.

Late Life:

Georgia was an advocate for women empowerment and voted every year after the 19th amendment was passed. She strongly believed many women should be in government office positions and hoped to see that in the near future. This passion also carried over into caring for others. Georgia admitted that if the young girl she hired were to stay with her, she would give her everything when she passed. Georgia had a granddaughter that would not come around often, which led Georgia to give her earnings to someone else who she valued and knew cared. Because Georgia was the last of her ten siblings, she was prepared to pass during this time where she saw great potential in the world she would be leaving behind. Georgia was a very giving spirit that believed in helping others, especially other women. There are no found details about Georgia’s passing.

Social Issues:

Education of Women

During the time Georgia was growing up, women receiving an education and becoming literate was nearly unheard of. “In fact, before 1865, only 40 percent of women were literate, as defined by being able to write their names, while 80 percent of men were literate. By 1899 women's literacy raised to the point where it was equal to men's, although African-American women and white women from the south still lagged behind.” (Women's Education, 1861–1899) Women became more educated throughout the late 1800’s, which was the first step to pushing towards women obtaining higher education and specializing their careers. The first college to admit women and men, no matter race or gender, was Oberlin College in 1833("Women's Education 1861-1869"). This was one of the first major breakthroughs that lead to more states and colleges opening their doors to women. Once women entered the workplace, women in all fields of business, politics, medicine, and more had to work for their respect and recognition. Especially when Georgia took over her husband’s business, she experienced sexism and disrespect for her pursuits. “The number of working women in the United States increased from 5,319,397 to 10,752,116, a leap of 102 percent.“ (Women in Business, 1900–1937). Many jobs were male-dominated which made it difficult at first for women to be accepted. These women provided a greater chance for equality in education for the following generations (Women's Education, 1861-1899).

Women's Suffrage Movement

Women suffragists in 1914 protesting in Boston

The Women’s Suffrage Movement began in 1848 where the first push was for equality in the education of women. Once education became more mainstream for women to receive, the fight turned towards protesting for equal rights for women.It took many more years of fighting for equal rights for women to finally receive the ability to vote in elections in 1919 with the 19th amendment (Faue). This amendment provided the first access for women to participate in politics. Throughout the 20th century women began to hold political positions. “we saw it in 1984, when Geraldine Ferraro, who had just made history as the first woman to join a major party’s presidential ticket, was asked on a campaign stop in Mississippi by the state’s Commissioner of Agriculture whether she could bake blueberry muffins.’I sure can,’ Ms. Ferraro responded. ‘Can you?’” (Gupta 2020). Georgia’s biggest wish was to see more women in politics holding the same positions as men and doing a better job. Even today, the fight for women to receive equal pay and equal opportunity is still a battle; however, the women's suffrage movement did copious amounts for moving towards a more equal society.

Bibliography:

Faue, Elizabeth. "Women's Suffrage, 1900–1920." The Emergence of Modern America, Third Edition. Facts On File, 2017. Accessed September 24, 2020. online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17243&itemid=WE52&articleId=202463.

"Women's Education, 1861–1899." Industrialization and Political Activism: 1861 to 1899. Facts On File, 2020. Accessed September 24, 2020. online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17243&itemid=WE52&articleId=163059.

"Women in Business, 1900–1937." The Progressive Era and the Great Depression: 1900 to 1937. Facts On File, 2020. Accessed October 1, 2020. online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17243&itemid=WE52&articleId=164963.

Gupta, Alisha Haridasani. “The Suffragists Fought to Redefine Femininity. The Debate Isn't Over.” The New York Times, August 29, 2020. https://nyti.ms/3liHBgB.