Three Ladies for Liberty

John Blundell

September 18, 2012

The Rivers Club, Pittsburgh

Following publication of his biography of Lady Thatcher (Margaret Thatcher: A Portrait of the Iron Lady) which was written specifically to explain her life and achievements to Americans, Blundell was invited to speak about her—and still does so—all over the United States. At such meetings, he was often surprised when references to his favorite women in U.S. history were met with blank stares. Yes people knew of Abigail Adams, Martha Washington, Harriet Beecher Stowe and so on, but Mercy Otis Warren, the Grimke Sisters, Madam CJ Walker, Bina West Miller, Vivien Kellams and others would all be greeted with silence. So he set out to rectify that situation and last fall published Ladies for Liberty: Women Who Made A Difference in American History, which details the lives and achievements of over 20 women. He selected for inclusion only those women who had made a major long-term contribution and whose story was different and inspiring.

The opening three chapters of his book cover Mercy Otis Warren (born 1728), Martha Washington (born 1731), and Abigail Adams (born 1744) and he will concentrate on these three Ladies for Liberty in his opening remarks. During discussion he will be happy to answer questions about the other women he highlights and his overall conclusions about their contributions.

John Blundell is the author of Margaret Thatcher: A Portrait of the Iron Lady (NYC: Algora, 2008) and Waging the War of Ideas (London: IEA, 3^rd revised and expanded edition 2007). He recently completed his new book Ladies For Liberty:Women Who Made a Difference in American History (NYC: Algora, 2011) as a visiting fellow of The Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC. He also serves as distinguished senior fellow of the Institute of Economic Affairs, London, UK where he was director general from 1993 through 2009. He is the author of two bio comics in the Female Force series namely Margaret Thatcher and Ayn Rand. He is a past president of the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University, Virginia, and the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, Washington D.C., and serves on both boards of directors. He is a past president of the Charles G. Koch Foundation, vice president of the Mont Pelerin Society and a former board member of the Philadelphia Society. In 2010 he received an honorary doctorate in science from the University of Buckingham, UK, and an honorary doctorate in social science from the Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala City, Guatemala, Central America, which also made him an honorary professor.