1 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:06,640 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the short Stuff. I'm Josh, and 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,719 Speaker 1: there's Chuck and this is short stuff and this is 3 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:12,080 Speaker 1: a good one. I'm I'm excited about this one. Chuck. 4 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: Let's go, go, Chuck go. Yeah. I mean, we're talking 5 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:20,840 Speaker 1: about Petticoat rulers. And it might surprise people considering America 6 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:24,799 Speaker 1: today is ranked eighty one out of a hundred ninety 7 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: three countries, and women representation and government that we actually had, 8 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:32,400 Speaker 1: uh women who were mayors and city council people way 9 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 1: back in the eighteen hundreds. Yeah. There are two towns 10 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:41,559 Speaker 1: in particular, um Oscaloosa, Kansas and cannab Utah that had 11 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 1: elected all female town councils in eighteen nineteen twelve, respectively, 12 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: which is pretty substantial. But then Jackson, Wyoming, home to 13 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:54,320 Speaker 1: the famous checks in Whole, Wyoming, which I guess is 14 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: a hamlet or a burg or some sort of affiliated town, 15 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: but it's basically the same place from what I understand. 16 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:02,640 Speaker 1: Oh man, we're gonna get some email from the Jacks 17 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:06,400 Speaker 1: and people. Um, they said, you know what, hold our beer, 18 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: our hold our Sasaparilla, because we're gonna one up both 19 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:12,959 Speaker 1: of those towns. And in nineteen twenty, the year that 20 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:16,760 Speaker 1: um women were granted suffrage by the Constitution or the 21 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: Bill of Rights. I should say that same year Jackson, 22 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: Wyoming elected not only in all women town council, Chuck, 23 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: but also a mayor, a woman mayor for the first 24 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,479 Speaker 1: time ever. And the the that group, these petticoat rulers, 25 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: as they came to be known, appointed women to the 26 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 1: highest positions in the town clerk, health, treasurer, and marshall. 27 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:46,360 Speaker 1: Isn't that amazing? It is amazing? And I'm I was 28 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:50,120 Speaker 1: surprised to see that the first woman elected mayor in 29 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: the United States was all the way back in I 30 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: had and I had no idea. Yeah, it was in Agoria, Kansas. 31 00:01:57,240 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: Her name was Well, this one was the one I 32 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: believe we covered before in something, Susann Assaulter, who was 33 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 1: placed on the ballot as a as a sort of 34 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 1: a prank by men in the town who didn't think 35 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 1: that women should hold office. They put her on the 36 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 1: ballot thinking that she would be humiliated and it would 37 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: set women back politically. And she didn't know she was 38 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:20,640 Speaker 1: on the ballot. It was like a blind ballot until 39 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 1: the day of the election. And she she won and 40 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: went on to be mayor UM. The other ones Oscaloosa, 41 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:33,080 Speaker 1: Mary D. Loman, She was UM legitimately elected mayor and 42 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:37,080 Speaker 1: the first woman elected as mayor UM in Kansas within 43 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: all UH city council full of women, nothing but ladies. 44 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: That's amazing. But the thing is, yeah, like we we 45 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 1: think about it today and we're like, that's just that's 46 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 1: unheard of, you know, like literally unheard of. I hadn't 47 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 1: heard about that before. UM. But the state of Wyoming 48 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:57,519 Speaker 1: is actually known as the equality State. And one of 49 00:02:57,520 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: the reasons why is because you know, we associate nine 50 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: ten twenties the year that women were granted the right 51 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 1: to vote. That's a national thing. UM. They had the 52 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 1: right to vote back in eighteen sixty nine in Wyoming. 53 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:10,639 Speaker 1: So it kind of like gives it a little more 54 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:15,520 Speaker 1: UM texture or context or both UM to know that 55 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,359 Speaker 1: that women already had the right to vote for UM 56 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:22,040 Speaker 1: more than fifty years before UH Mayor Miller and the 57 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:26,919 Speaker 1: all female town council UM were elected in Jackson. Yeah, 58 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:30,639 Speaker 1: and that's how Mary Loman won in Oscaloosa, is they 59 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:33,400 Speaker 1: had in Kansas, they had the right to vote in 60 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 1: municipal elections, and they won by a two to one 61 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 1: margin on the Oscaloosa Improvement ticket. UM. The one in 62 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:43,720 Speaker 1: Utah was interesting too, and they both kind of had 63 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: similar stories and that when they got in office. UM, 64 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:48,960 Speaker 1: one of their big things was to kind of just 65 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 1: clean up the town collect back taxes. I think they 66 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 1: had something like two hundred dollars in collected taxes just 67 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:00,240 Speaker 1: because people just refused to pay, and they went round 68 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: personally to the houses and I think they left office 69 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: with two thousand dollars in the city coffers Um and 70 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: then Mary Woolley chamberlain of kenneb Utah. She was mayor 71 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: for two years and she had a female city council 72 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: and she was one of the enacted one of the 73 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 1: first leash laws for dogs, and then wanted to protect 74 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:25,599 Speaker 1: local business, so she enacted a uh a daily tax 75 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:29,159 Speaker 1: on traveling salesman coming through town because she was like, 76 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:31,480 Speaker 1: you can't just come through town, steal a bunch of 77 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 1: business and then leave with your pockets full. So we're 78 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: gonna text you guys per day just to kind of 79 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: dry business, to protect local business. That's some smart government 80 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 1: right there. Yeah. Well, let's take a break and we'll 81 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: come back and talk about some more smart government that 82 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:50,279 Speaker 1: was instituted by women around the turn of the last century. Okay, 83 00:04:51,120 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 1: let's do it. St alright, So, Chuck, you said cannabs 84 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,039 Speaker 1: Town Council were elected by a two to one margin. 85 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:24,160 Speaker 1: I saw the same thing too for Jackson's Petticoat rulers, 86 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:26,680 Speaker 1: which really kind of goes to underscore this. This was 87 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,960 Speaker 1: not like some fluke or a joke. Like the first 88 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:33,240 Speaker 1: female mayor in America, Salt Salter. Is that what you said? 89 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:36,960 Speaker 1: Her name was? Uh, yes, Susannah Salter. She reminds me. 90 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:40,800 Speaker 1: That story reminds me of Elizabeth Blackwell getting into med school. 91 00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 1: Remember it was supposed to be a prank and kind 92 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: of blew up in the face, which that's probably what 93 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,480 Speaker 1: I was thinking of. Actually, yeah, yeah, because I don't 94 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:52,040 Speaker 1: remember talking about Susanna Salter before either. Um. But the 95 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 1: fact that they won, that the Petticoat Rulers and uh 96 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:59,360 Speaker 1: the cannab Utah Town Council won by like a two 97 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:01,720 Speaker 1: to in margin really shows that this was not like 98 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: a joke or a fluke. Um. I think one woman, 99 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 1: one of the city council members, beat her husband in 100 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:16,200 Speaker 1: the election in Jackson in n Yeah, and um, which 101 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 1: that had to taste pretty pretty sweet. And then the 102 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: the fact is that a lot of them were re 103 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:25,919 Speaker 1: elected when they came up for re election. So um, 104 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,240 Speaker 1: not only was it a good idea, they proved themselves 105 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:32,359 Speaker 1: as worthy for re election too. And some of the 106 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: things they did, like you said, they beefed up the 107 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:38,760 Speaker 1: town coffers. Um. I saw. They didn't institute a leash 108 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:41,880 Speaker 1: law in Jackson, but they did criminalize littering for the 109 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:45,960 Speaker 1: first time. Um. They cleaned up the town square, meaning 110 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 1: that they didn't allow cattle grazing there anymore. That was 111 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: another thing they did. What else, Uh, they graded the streets. 112 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 1: They said, how about some street lights and street lamps. Um, 113 00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: let's expand electrical service. Let's get a cemetery going in 114 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 1: this town, because everyone's always shooting each other, right are 115 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 1: they used to when the men ran the place. That 116 00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:09,200 Speaker 1: was another thing I saw too. I mean you were 117 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:12,960 Speaker 1: talking about the back taxes not being collected and them 118 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:17,920 Speaker 1: getting like an additional eighteen hundred dollars into the treasury. Um. 119 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 1: One of the things that I saw, I think it 120 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 1: was in the Jackson Whole newspaper. The reason for that 121 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 1: was that this town had been run like really insusent 122 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: lee by men up to that point, and that there 123 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:32,080 Speaker 1: was like this this kind of pioneer spirit where everyone 124 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:34,360 Speaker 1: was expected to take care of their neighbor and everyone 125 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:38,320 Speaker 1: didn't stepped up when help was needed, but it wasn't 126 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:44,320 Speaker 1: like an organized structural civic pride. And that that's what 127 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:48,000 Speaker 1: the Petticoat rulers came in and instituted. They basically said, hey, 128 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:49,720 Speaker 1: you know that the whole take care of your neighbor. 129 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:53,000 Speaker 1: Think there's actually a lot of things we could be doing, um, 130 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:56,000 Speaker 1: you know, through government, and let's let's just let's start 131 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 1: doing that. And that actually kind of took off. Yeah, 132 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: and Grace mell Or, the mayor of I think she 133 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 1: was Jackson right. She said in an interview. We simply 134 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 1: tried to work together. We put into practice the same 135 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:12,840 Speaker 1: thrifty principles we exercise in our own homes. We wanted 136 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 1: to clean, well kept, progressive town in which to raise 137 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 1: our families. What is good government but a breathing space 138 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:21,400 Speaker 1: for good citizenship. And it sort of reminds me of 139 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 1: that quote. Um, I don't know the exact quote, but 140 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:27,440 Speaker 1: it's sort of like, if you want, if you want 141 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:30,600 Speaker 1: the job done on time and write like hire a 142 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 1: working mom or something like that. I think you're talking 143 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:39,480 Speaker 1: about something to do with like lipstick and pit bulls. Now, No, 144 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:43,960 Speaker 1: is that a different one? I think so? Okay, Um, 145 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:46,520 Speaker 1: the one you're talking about makes a tremendous amount of 146 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:53,240 Speaker 1: sense though. Um. So, the Petticoat Rulers came in, and 147 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:57,119 Speaker 1: from what I understand, there's a town historian Morgan Albertson. 148 00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: I'm going to take a stab at this last name, Joan. 149 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:05,199 Speaker 1: What do you j A O U E N. It's 150 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 1: a beautiful right either way, it looks very very nice 151 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:16,679 Speaker 1: spelled out. Um. But historian that we're just gonna call 152 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: this person. The historian basically said that the Petticoat rulers 153 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:22,720 Speaker 1: shaped shape Jackson and Jackson Hole into the town that 154 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: they know and love today. Um, and that it may 155 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 1: have just kind of become a town that ended up 156 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:35,000 Speaker 1: deserted and misused and mistreated and misgoverned and lost to history. Um. 157 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:38,320 Speaker 1: The historians willing to go so far as to say 158 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 1: that either way, they they rulers definitely deserve credit for 159 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 1: for shaping the place. But the weird thing is, Chuck 160 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:49,439 Speaker 1: is like, despite how successful the all female town council 161 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: and mayor and appointed positions was for Jackson. It's like 162 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:56,200 Speaker 1: the town was like, Okay, well we tried that. Let's 163 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:58,839 Speaker 1: wait another eighty or so years before we do it again. 164 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:02,640 Speaker 1: We try that works out really great, so let's just 165 00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:05,640 Speaker 1: wait till the nineteen eighties. Yeah, nineteen eighties was the 166 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:09,880 Speaker 1: first time that women's city council people were elected again, 167 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:12,760 Speaker 1: and it wasn't until two thousand one when they had 168 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:15,959 Speaker 1: another woman. Mayor Jeane Jackson was elected in two thousand one. 169 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 1: So it went from Mayor Miller Grace Miller in to 170 00:10:21,679 --> 00:10:26,480 Speaker 1: Jeene Jackson in two thousand one. That was quite a drought. Yeah, uh, 171 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:29,520 Speaker 1: you got anything else? I got nothing else. We salute them. 172 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:31,360 Speaker 1: I I do too, but I have one last thing. 173 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:34,880 Speaker 1: The um. The women were all members originally what was 174 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:37,959 Speaker 1: called the Pure Foods Club, which was a social group 175 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,319 Speaker 1: that met a couple of times a month, and that's 176 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:45,160 Speaker 1: where the idea to run was hatched and nurtured. And 177 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 1: that group is still around today, but they call themselves 178 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 1: the Birthday Club. But in then Adorable. This group has 179 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:53,440 Speaker 1: been around since the early nineteen hundreds and they still 180 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:56,320 Speaker 1: meet twice a month. And now men are allowed. I 181 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 1: love the birthday Club. I want to be in that group. 182 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 1: They'll let you in. You're in and and likable, So 183 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:04,880 Speaker 1: I think those are the two qualifications. And I have birthdays. 184 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:07,920 Speaker 1: You do you have a birthday? Well? Yeah, hats off 185 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:10,560 Speaker 1: to the Petticoat rulers and all of the women who 186 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:14,920 Speaker 1: helped shape the United States then and now. Uh and uh. 187 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:20,400 Speaker 1: I guess that means short Stuff is out. Stuff you 188 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,079 Speaker 1: Should Know is a production of iHeart Radios How Stuff Works. 189 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:25,760 Speaker 1: For more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the iHeart 190 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:28,520 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 191 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:32,240 Speaker 1: favorite shows. H