Praising Girls: The Rhetoric of Young Women, 1895-1930

224 Pages·2016·6.542 MB·English

by  Henrietta Rix Wood

PRAISING
GIRLS
∂
The Rhetoric of Young Women
1895–1930
H E N R I ET TA R I X WOOD
Studies in Rhetorics and Feminisms
Series Editors, Cheryl Glenn and Shirley Wilson Logan

PRAISING
GIR LS
∂
The Rhetoric of Young Women
1895–1930
H E N R I ET TA R I X WOOD
Southern Illinois University Press
Carbondale
Copyright © 2016 by the Board of Trustees,
Southern Illinois University
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
19 18 17 16 4 3 2 1
Cover illustration: “Staff of The Weather-cock,” The Weather-
cock, 1901. Courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri
Research Center–Kansas City.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wood, Henrietta Rix.
Praising girls : the rhetoric of young women, 1895–1930 /
Henrietta Rix Wood.
pages cm. — (Studies in rhetorics and feminisms)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8093-3442-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-
8093-3443-8 (ebook) 1. Rhetoric—Social aspects—United
States. 2. School prose—Social aspects. 3. Young women—
United States. 4. Praise. 5. High school students’ writings.
6. School orations. 7. Feminism—United States—History.
I. Title.
P301.3.U6W66 2016
808'.0420820973—dc23 2015024126
Printed on recycled paper.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum
requirements of American National Standard for
Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
For my family, Alan, Adrienne, and Tessa Wood
∂

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xxiii
1. Girls and Rhetoric: Contexts 1
2. Amplifying Identity: Barstow “New Girls” 22
3. Persuading Diverse Audiences: Haskell Girls 56
4. Glossing (over) Historical Realities: Lincoln Girls 88
5. Creating Consubstantiality: Central Girls 115
Conclusion: Rhetorical Ramifications 145
Notes 151
Works Cited 161
Index 177

Illustrations
Illustration by Ruth Harris 2
“Staff of The Weather-cock” 30
Editorials illustration 43
Illustration by Janet Glover 44
Illustration by Louise Haas 45
Illustration by Hortense Meade 46
Illustration by Ruth Munger 47
Cover of Indian Legends 79
“History Club” 109
Helen J. Tann and the “Worms of the Dust” 125
Central High School 131
ix