Women Swindlers in America, 1860-1920
Women Swindlers in America, 1860-1920

Author: Kerry Segrave

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2014-11-26

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 0786481641

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Although female lawbreakers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were rarely considered dangerous criminals, there are many records of women participating in non-violent crimes including shoplifting, prostitution, and fraud. This work studies frauds and swindles perpetrated by women during that era, and offers character studies of several key female swindlers including Ann O'Delia Diss Debar, Mabel Parker, and Sarah Casselman, among others. Frauds covered include spiritually-based crimes (i.e. deceptive seances, "spirit writing") and love crimes (i.e. matrimonial racketeering), as well as "sob story" panhandling, counterfeiting, faking wealth, and pension fraud.

Women and Bicycles in America, 1868-1900
Women and Bicycles in America, 1868-1900

Author: Kerry Segrave

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2019-11-12

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 147663808X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

 In the last third of the 1800s, America was struck by a bicycle craze. This trend massively impacted the lives of women, allowing them greater mobility and changing perceptions of women as weak or in need of chaperons. This book traces the history and development of the American bicycle, observing its critical role in the fight for gender equality. The bicycle radically changed the face of fashion, health and even morality and propriety in America. This thorough history traces the sweeping social advances made by women in relation to the development of the bicycle.

The Women Who Got America Talking
The Women Who Got America Talking

Author: Kerry Segrave

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2017-08-11

Total Pages: 239

ISBN-13: 147666904X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

When the need for telephone operators arose in the 1870s, the assumption was that they should all be male. Wages for adult men were too high, so boys were hired. They proved quick to argue with the subscribers, so females replaced them. Women were calmer, had reassuring voices and rarely talked back. Within a few years, telephone operators were all female and would remain so. The pay was low and working conditions harsh. The job often impaired their health, as they suffered abuse from subscribers in silence under pain of dismissal. Discipline was stern--dress codes were mandated, although they were never seen by the public. Most were young, domestic and anything but militant. Yet many joined unions and walked picket lines in response to the severely capitalistic, sexist system they worked under.

Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance in America, 1862-1920
Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance in America, 1862-1920

Author: Kerry Segrave

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2014-09-06

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 1476617406

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Following the 2013 revelations of Edward Snowden, Americans have come to realize that many of us may be under surveillance at any time. It all started 150 years ago on the battlefields of the Civil War, where each side tapped the other's telegraph lines. It continued in 1895, when the New York Police Department began to tap telephone lines. It was 20 years before it was public knowledge, and by then the NYPD was so busy tapping they had a separate room set aside for the purpose. Wiretapping really took off in 1910, when the dictograph--the first ready-to-use bug that anyone could operate--arrived, making it easier still to engage in electronic surveillance. Politicians bugged other politicians, corporations bugged labor unions, stockbrokers bugged other stockbrokers, and the police bugged everybody. And we were well on our way to the future that George Orwell envisioned, the world Edward Snowden revealed: Big Brother had arrived.

Police Violence in America, 1869-1920
Police Violence in America, 1869-1920

Author: Kerry Segrave

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2016-08-04

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 1476624488

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Police violence is not a new phenomenon. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, police officers in America assaulted or killed many ordinary citizens, often during improper detainments or arrests where no threat existed or no crime had been committed. Based on hundreds of newspaper accounts from 1869 through 1920, this history provides a chronological listing of interactions between police and unarmed citizens in which the citizens--some of them minors--were assaulted or killed. Police who committed such acts often lied to protect themselves, assisted by fellow officers and encouraging the media to demonize the victims. The author provides information on the prosecution and punishment of officers where available.

Chewing Gum in America, 1850-1920
Chewing Gum in America, 1850-1920

Author: Kerry Segrave

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2015-01-28

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 1476619816

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Americans began chewing gum long before 1850, scraping resin from spruce trees, removing any bits of bark or insects and chewing the finished product. Commercially-made gum was of limited availability and came in three types--tree resin, pretroleum-based paraffin and chicle-based--the latter, a natural latex, ultimately eclipsing its rivals by 1920. Once considered a women-only bad habit, chewing gum grew in popularity and was soon indulged in by all segments of society. The gum industry tried vigorously to export the habit, but it proved uniquely American and would not stick abroad. This book examines the chewing gum industry in the United States from 1850 to 1920, the rise and spread of gum chewing and the reactions--nearly all negative--to the habit from editorial writers, reformers, religious figures, employers and the courts. The age-old problem of what to do with chewed gum--some saved it in lockets around their neck; some shared it with friends--is also covered.

The Electric Car in America, 1890-1922
The Electric Car in America, 1890-1922

Author: Kerry Segrave

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2019-04-11

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 1476676712

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The electric vehicle seemed poised in 1900 to be a leader in automotive production. Clean, odorless, noiseless and mechanically simple, electrics rarely broke down and were easy to operate. An electric car could be started instantly from the driver's seat; no other machine could claim that advantage. But then it all went wrong. As this history details, the hope and confidence of 1900 collapsed and just two decades later electric cars were effectively dead. They had remained expensive even as gasoline cars saw dramatic price reductions, and the storage battery was an endless source of problems. An increasingly frantic public relations campaign of lies and deceptive advertising could not turn the tide.

The National Security League, 1914-1922
The National Security League, 1914-1922

Author: Kerry Segrave

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2020-10-29

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 1476682860

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The early 20th century saw the founding of the National Security League, a nationalistic nonprofit organization committed to an expanded military, conscripted service and meritocracy. This book details its history, from its formation in December 1914 through 1922, at which point it was a spent force in decline. Founded by wealthy corporate lawyers based in New York City, it had secret backers in the capitalist class, who had two goals in mind. One was to profit immensely from the newly begun World War I. The other was to control the working classes in times of both war and peace. This agenda was presented to the public under the guise of preparedness, patriotism, and Americanization. Although the league was eventually found by Congress to have violated election spending limits, no sanctions of any kind were ever applied. This history details the secret machinations of an organization dedicated to solidifying the grip of the capitalist class over workers, all under the cover of American pride.

"Masquerading in Male Attire"

Author: Kerry Segrave

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2018-04-30

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 1476673616

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Historically, American women have dressed as men for a number of reasons: to enter the military, to travel freely, to commit a criminal act, to marry other women--most often however to secure employment. During the 1800s and early 1900s, most jobs were barred to women, and those that were available to both sexes paid women far less. This book profiles both women who passed as men and were caught--even arrested--and those who successfully masqueraded for years. Whatever the motive, all took part in a common rebellion against an economic and social system that openly discriminated against them.

The Hatpin Menace
The Hatpin Menace

Author: Kerry Segrave

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2016-03-01

Total Pages: 221

ISBN-13: 1476662150

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Between 1887 and 1920, the humble hatpin went from an unremarkable item in every woman's wardrobe, to a fashion necessity, to a dangerous weapon (it was said). Big hair and big hats of the era meant big hatpins, and their weaponized use sparked controversy. There were "good" uses of hatpins, such as fending off an attacker in the street. There were also "bad" uses, such as when a woman being arrested tried to stab a police officer. But seriously: All those protruding pins seemed to threaten people everywhere in the public sphere. It did not sit well with the patriarchy, who responded with hysterical crusades and often ludicrous legislation aimed at curbing the hatpin and disarming American women.