Qualities Of Amelia Earhart

Thanks to the efforts of twentieth century pilots, the world of aviation has become a place where all are equal. Most of the Earth has been explored and charted by these flyers, some of which were women. People like Harriet Quimby, for instance, broke “gender barriers” when she was the first woman to earn a pilot’s license and helped ease America into the idea of having female pilots (“The First Women”). Bessie Coleman was the first African American to gain a pilot’s license, and her stunt flying proved to men what women were fully capable of (“The First Women”). All of these women served as inspiration to Amelia Earhart, whose daring stunts brought publicity and record-breaking achievements smashed any barriers in her way. She was clever
Her loving, encouraging father soon turned to drinking when he lost his job. He “brooded and raged” around the house and was generally unpleasant to be around (Fleming). His easy-going, supportive nature disappeared and the children were often scared of him when he was “sick” (Fleming). The family was left scrounging for pennies to pay the bills (Fleming). Earhart took charge of the family finances, one of her first leadership roles. She learned “a lesson in making do with cheerfulness” because of the lack of money. She was an excellent saver and walked everywhere to save the bus fare, no matter the weather (Fleming). After she left for college, Earhart saw her family sparingly, and her father even less; she became an independent woman very early in her life. These important life lessons will be crucial when she begins her efforts to make change in the world of
She went across the country winning speaking engagements about aviation and the rights of women (Haugen). She believed that women should be treated equally, and because of her hard work, she won Outstanding Woman of the Year in 1932 from the Philadelphia Enquirer. She personally delivered a petition for an equal rights amendment to the US Constitution to President Hoover (Haugen). She used her fame to advocate for the furtherment of women’s rights, and she was completely dedicated to the cause. She believed that “publicity was necessary in order to advance the field” of aviatrixes. Because she believed the press would help carry her message worldwide, she took a job at Cosmopolitan Magazine writing articles about aviation, encouraging women to pursue careers in flight. Many companies wanted her, but after she left Cosmopolitan, she ended up choosing the role of assistant manager at Transcontinental Air Transport, where she had the special responsibility of “attracting women passengers onto the airlines” (Stone). Earhart knew exactly what needed to be done to draw attention to the problems she wanted to fix: publicize