Olympe+de+Gouges

 §  She was born into a petit bourgeois family (lower middle social class in France ) in 1748 in Montauban, in southwestern France. Her parents were both working class a butcher and a laundress.  § She believed herself to be the illegitimate daughter of Jean-Jacques Lefranc but he rejected the claims. This is what influences her defense for the rights of illegitimate children.  §  She was married to Louis Aubry in 1765 not for love though. After her husbands death she moved with her son to Paris and took the name Olympe de Gouges.  §  In 1784 she began to write essays, and socially conscious plays. One play that she wrote was about Anti-Slavery, it took about 5 years to get published in 1789 during the French Revolution. Many other plays that she wrote were for the right of divorce and the right of sexual relationships outside of marriage. She was known for writing on very controversial subjects.  §  She was very feminist and worked for the rights of women. She was very for the Revolution but when the rights such as equal rights was not extended towards the women she became very controversial. she became part of the Cercle Social which was a group with the goal of equal political and legal rights for women.  §  She was an author of several feminist works, her best known is "The Right of Women". She wrote her beliefs for all the French women and for women of all decent. Gouges wrote "The Rights of Women", claiming for women equality with men in all aspects of both public and private life. Including the equal right with men to vote, to hold office, to public employment, to speak in public on political topics, to equal public "honors", to own and control property, to participate in the military, to an education, and to equal power in the family and the church.  §  "Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Citizen" was the first declaration of truly universal human rights. This was followed by her Social Contract proposing marriage based upon gender equality. She attempted to become involved in any matter she believed to involve injustice.  §  She opposed the execution of Louis XVI of France, partly out of opposition to capital punishment. She was not all for the reign of Maximilien Robespierre. Her disapointments of her hopes became more relevant when she started to become more and more passionate in her rightings. Her last peice "The Three Urns or The Health of the Country" it was about the potential forms of government indivisible Republic, a federalist government, or a constitutional monarchy, this led to her arrest.  §  In our constitution the 19th amendment gives all rights to vote to women in America. A lot of Gouges ideas were brought into the constitution for the women of the United States of America.

"Man, are you capable of being just? It is a woman who poses the question; you will not deprive her of that right at least. Tell me, what gives you sovereign empire to oppress my sex? Your strength? Your talents? Observe the Creator in his wisdom; survey in all her grandeur that nature with whom you seem to want to be in harmony, and give me, if you dare, an example of this tyrannical empire. Go back to animals, consult the elements, study plants, finally glance at all the modifications of organic matter, and surrender to the evidence when I offer you the means; search, probe, and distinguish, if you can, the sexes in the administration of nature. Everywhere you will find them mingled; everywhere they cooperate in harmonious togetherness in this immortal masterpiece." - Olympe de Gouges (http://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/book-sum/gouges.html)



__NOTEBOOK ACTIVITY!!!!__
Create an Acrostic Poem __Requirements__ 1.The student has their name and Period 2.The student uses the name Olympe de Gouges for their Acrostic Poem 3.The student has accurate spelling and grammar 4.The student includes any of her philosophy, physical characteristics, or general information for the poem 5.The student showed effort and good understanding of Olympe de Gouges in their work

EXAMPLE: Shiny and bright To far but still able to be seen A bunch of lights shinning through the sky Right there when the dark engulfs me Shooting through the sky to br

**__ H __****__ E __****__ R __****__ O __** Olympe de Gouges achievements consist of many incredible writings, and plays all with controversial ideas that just continue to grow on after her. She was the first to really speak out for Women’s Rights and to write a document, a Women’s Bill of Rights. She even worked with the Queen during the Revolution but was still very Pro Revolution. She didn’t allow the fact that even some of the most respected philosophers of all time wouldn’t even talk about Women’s Rights because it was so controversial. She did though talk and write about this, showing her true feminist passion; which truly made her path to the guillotines. A group of Women that also believed in Equal rights at that time were the Cercle Social. Olympe de Gouges was a part of this group which was run at the home of Sophie de Condorcet. There are many groups still fighting for women’s rights still such as the group called NOW which stands for the National Organization for Women. They also share the same beliefs as Olympe de Gouges had. They want women to have an equal chance and not be discriminated for their sex. "A woman has the right to mount the scaffold. She must possess equally the right to mount the speaker's platform." (Olympe de Gouges). Some obstacles that de Gouges had to overcome were not being raised in a high society and not having any education. She had to work her way up to were she got a trusted intulectual. The impact that Olympe de Gouges had was hat she was able to bring an in sight into the unfar world that the women had to go through. That the women were not allowed to put any of their thoughts into any discussion that they were more of an ornament at their husbands sides. So with people finally realizing and seeing the injustices that were being made you finally got right such as the 19th amendment. ** W O M E N ’ S A C T I V I S T O F T H E Y E A R **

__** W A N T E D R E W A R D   **__

Olympe de Gouges is wanted for her piece on // Les trois urnes, ou le salut de la Patrie, par un voyageur aérien // also known as The Three Urns, or The Health of the Country. She was saying a choice among three potential forms of government, indivisible Republic, a federalist government, or a constitutional monarchy. She has been in contact with the Queen Marie Antoniette. She is against our revolution she is aginast our country and our people. The Revolutionist are the ones who believe that Olympe de Gouges was working agianst them in order to bring back a monarchy control. Also because she was against and not very compassionate towards Maximilien Robespierre’s reign. Everyone thought that she was not for the working of peoples rights that they were to be under the queen and king. No one around this time now in the 21st century thought of Olympe de Gouges as a traitor they see that she was for the Revolution and that she wasn’t on the king and queens side that her only side was for Women’s Rights.

__** D E A D O R  A L I V E  **__