This month’s Streetwise gives a nod to the ladies. March is Woman’s History month, and The New Falcon Herald hit the streets to ask people about their favorite woman in history. We also asked if they felt a woman would be elected president in this country; and, if so, when.
Jenna Daugherty
Colorado SpringsI think Hatshepsut is the most notable woman in history. She was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Ancient Egypt. She was an Egyptian king, not queen, and ruled for 22 years. Yes, I think there will be a woman president – probably sometime in the next 20 years. |  |
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 | Tammye Vines
Colorado SpringsI would have to pick Betsy Ross because she did the flag. Can you get more patriotic than that? Yes, I think there will be a woman president but not until 2020. |
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Dale Auer
ElbertMargaret Thatcher – the “Iron Lady.” She’s tough. No one messes with her. Yes, I think there will be a woman president but not until 2020. And I say that because I think the Republicans will take office in 2012 and stay until 2016. So 2020 could be the next opportunity. But I’d vote for a woman today if she was the right person. |  |
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 | Debra McCombs
FalconMother Theresa. I’m not a religious person, but I always admired what she did, how she did it and how she got started. She could get donations like nobody’s business, and I really liked that. She’s the most fascinating woman I have ever read about. As far as a woman president, I would hope that there would be one someday because women have such great compassion for others. But for that same reason, I would feel sorry for a woman president because I think some of the maleness of the office would require her to send men and women off to battle, and I think that would just tear at her heartstrings. Not that a woman couldn’t do it, but I think that would be tough for a woman. |
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A little more historyWhat were some of Hatshepsut’s major accomplishments?In comparison with other female pharaohs, Hatshepsut’s reign was much longer and more prosperous. She was successful in warfare early in her reign yet is well-known for inaugurating a long, peaceful era. She re-established trading relationships lost during foreign occupation and brought great wealth to Egypt. The wealth allowed Hatshepsut to initiate building projects that raised the caliber of Ancient Egyptian architecture to a standard comparable to classical architecture, which would not rival any other culture for 1,000 years.
How was Betsy Ross selected to sew the flag?According to the oral history, in 1777, three men – George Washington, Robert Morris and George Ross – visited Betsy Ross in her upholstery shop. Washington pulled a folded piece of paper from his inside coat pocket. On it was a sketch of a flag with 13 red and white stripes and 13 six pointed stars.As the story goes, Ross suggested changing the stars to five points rather than six. She showed them how to do it with just one snip of her scissors, and they all agreed to the five stars.
As Britain’s only female prime minister, what else is Margaret Thatcher known for?Thatcher took office in 1979 with a political philosophy and economic policies emphasizing deregulation of the financial sector, flexible labor markets, the sale or closure of state-owned companies and the withdrawal of subsidies to others. Her popularity sank amid recession and high unemployment, but economic recovery and the 1982 Falklands War brought a resurgence of support, and she was re-elected in 1983. She survived an assassination attempt the following year. Thatcher was re-elected for a third term in 1987, but her poll tax was widely unpopular and her views on the European community were not shared by others in her Cabinet. She resigned as prime minister in 1990.
What made Mother Theresa so famous?A Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, Mother Theresa founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950. For more than 45 years she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned and dying; while guiding the Missionaries of Charity’s expansion throughout India and other countries. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and India’s highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, in 1980 for her humanitarian work.
Sources: www.betsyrosshouse.org and www.wikipedia.org
