The Invisible Mentor

Wanna Make History? Learn How Today!

March 3rd, 2010 |

Most people would like to make history and leave a legacy behind. So, how do you go about making history? Recently I interviewed Nathalie Lussier for this blog, and when I asked her what her favourite quote was, she responded, “Well behaved women never make history,” Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. I thought, what a great quote, what are your thoughts about the quote? Would you rather be well-behaved or make history? And what does it mean to be well-behaved?

I decided to research Laurel Thatcher Ulrich to see what I could learn about her. When did she say “Well behaved women never make history,” and in what context did she say it? Born in 1938, Thatcher Ulrich, a Pulitzer Prize winner for “A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard based on her diary, 1785–1812” is a “historian of early America and the history of women and a university professor at Harvard University,” according to Wikipedia.

Thatcher Ulrich wrote an article and included the phrase “well-behaved women seldom make history,” which resonated with many, and the phrase took off like wild fire. After the popularity of the phrase she wrote the book, Well Behaved Women, which looked at the ways women shaped history. Nowhere in the article is the phrase explained, but in the book, she looked at lives of Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat to a white passenger, Christine de Pisan who challenged the hatred of women and girls and stereotypes in a male dominated world way back in the late 14th century, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and many other notable women who practiced social activism. These women stood up for what they believed in.

This means to me that we have to take a stand and make a difference. How can you make a difference? What do you believe in? What is your moral compass? Would you stand up for what you believed in if necessary? These are tough questions. To make a difference, and to make history, is to take the path less traveled and be willing to stand up for what you believe in. You have to take a risk.

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Homework: Review what the other women mentioned did to be considered not well-behaved.

Reference: Wikipedia