Laurel Thatcher Ulrich is the woman behind the famous quote: “Well-behaved women seldom make history.”
A professor at Harvard University, Ulrich is a distinguished historian of early America and the history of women. She received the Pulitzer Prize in history for A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard based on her diary, 1785–1812.” Her academic credentials are highly impressive; she received her B.A. in History at the University of Utah, an M.A. in English Literature at Simmons College, and her Ph.D. in History at the University of New Hampshire.
Her most recent book, Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History, is an iteration of the quote she inadvertently made famous in a 1978 American Quarterly article. The book is amazingly educational, reflecting Ulrich’s expertise and masterful writing style.
Of course, I own a T-shirt with the quote (as do thousands of others.) It’s just one of the many reasons I’m thrilled to share this interview.
Laura Cococcia: You are widely known as the author of the famous quote “Well-behaved women seldom make history” from your 1976 article “Virtuous Women Found: New England Ministerial Literature, 1668-1735,” in American Quarterly. At that time, from what I’ve researched, you wrote the introductory sentence given that it was difficult to find sources for your article.
When conducting research for Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History, did you encounter any similar challenges in finding information on your subjects (Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Christine de Pizan, Virginia Woolf) or did today’s times, with greater access to information, make it easier to find sources?
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich: One of the themes of the new book is that there has been an explosion of research in women’s history since I began my own work. The resources are astounding. Not only are there hundreds of books on topics nobody had thought of before, but there are specialized journals, websites, museum exhibits, films, and wonderful new collections of primary sources from which scholars at every level can create history.
It is important to understand that this didn’t just happen on its own. It took years of work by people who cared about the things missing from history. This renaissance was created by laypeople as well as by professionals, by volunteers doing things like documenting old quilts as well as by teachers willing to rewrite curriculum to account for new material and new ideas.
Laura Cococcia: What inspired you to write Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History? I’m sure there were many reasons, but what was the most compelling motivation for this recent book? And, why did you choose to write it now, rather than 10 or 20 years ago?
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich: I started getting “fan mail” thanking me for the slogan, asking me about it, or wanting permission to use it in some way. The range of their questions and comments intrigued me and I thought it would be fun to use this “teaching moment” as a jumping off place to think about what has happened in women’s history since the time I wrote that original article.
Laura Cococcia: The question I ask all interviewees: what advice can you give writers looking to sharpen their writing craft and find their own voice, regardless of genre?
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich: Years ago a writing teacher I knew said that each of us has a writer and an editor in our brain. The key is to know which one to call upon when. I often tell my students that I am not a very good writer but that I am a really good editor. It takes me many drafts to get anything right. **
Many thanks to Ulrich for spending some time with us to share her expert insights on writing and research – and for reminding us of how far we’ve come in the quest for finding information that helps to understand and shape our past.
If you’re interested in reading Ulrich’s book, I’ve included the Amazon.com link: Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History
For more information about Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, you can read her Harvard faculty profile.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Fantastic interview! Always wanted to know where that quote came from. I'm definitely going to buy the book. Thanks Laura!
Thank you! Very excited to share this!
I love this quote so much and am thrilled that you were able to interview Laurel. It's a motto I live by — with those few words, she's done so much for women!
Hi Christa – yes, it's a fantastic quote and it's great to read the story behind it. I'm going to dive into some of Ulrich's other works given her expertise in women's history – so intriguing! Thanks for your thoughtful comment!