By the time of her death in 1884, Jane Grey Swisshelm was so well known as a newspaper editor, abolitionist, and woman's rights activist that obituaries ran in at least a dozen leading newspapers, including the New York Times. These obituaries "chronicled her life, extolled her virtues, and lamented her death," writes Sylvia Hoffert, author of a new biography of Swisshelm. "But the mainstream feminists of the day were absolutely furious at this woman," Hoffert says. "And I thought, 'Why are they so mad at her, what was she doing to deserve this, and why don't I know anything about her?'"
When Hoffert, professor of history and women's studies, set out to research Swisshelm's life, her heart sank when she read that Swisshelm had burned all her papers and correspondence. But Swisshelm's newspaper columns survived, as did the papers of her correspondents, many of whom were prominent citizens.
From this material, Hoffert has put together a picture of a woman who "helped to lay the groundwork for what by the turn of the twentieth century would become known as the 'New Woman' — a woman who was educated, economically self-sufficient, often unmarried, and determined to make her mark on the world," Hoffert writes.
Swisshelm's strict Covenanter Presbyterian upbringing shaped her life. She believed in eternal damnation for all except God's chosen few, with no guarantees that you would be among the chosen. So Swisshelm came to a bargain with God. "He should prepare a place for her in heaven, and she would spend her life in any labor He should appoint, without any sign of the approval of God or men," Hoffert writes. Convinced God was on her side, Swisshelm was immune to much of the criticism she received.
The criticism arose not from Swisshelm's beliefs but from her fierce independence.
She was at odds with the women's rights leaders because she wanted to preserve "what she considered to be the privileges and immunities that derived from being female," Hoffert writes. Swisshelm was happy with the idea that women should depend on men for support and protection. And she certainly did not wish to do heavy work such as chopping wood or tending the sawmill. She did not see being feminine as being weak.
She was not at the core of the woman's movement. "Instead," Hoffert says, "she was on the sidelines watching them, and she told them what she thought."
Because Swisshelm was the owner or editor of four newspapers during her lifetime, she was in a position to express her views publicly. And while the women's rights leaders respected her writing ability and the publicity she generated, they did not always appreciate what she said. As one of the women politely put it, "We like [her], although she is forever saying something we wish unsaid."
Swisshelm has been accused of being a racist by historians because of her hatred of Native Americans. In Hoffert's opinion though, the issue was more complex than racism. Swisshelm's hatred of the Indians was formed during the bloody Dakota Sioux uprising in 1862, where she was appalled at the violence the Sioux showed the settlers. "But though she thought Indians should be exterminated, she also thought that white slave owners should be too," Hoffert says.
While Hoffert admired many of the things Swisshelm did in her life, she says she wouldn't want to be her friend.
"Being around her would be like walking on eggs," Hoffert says. "You would never know when she would turn on you, and she had a wicked pen."
