Mary Elizabeth Lease

Date of Birth: September 11, 1850

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Date of Death: October 29, 1933

Biography

Mary Elizabeth Lease was an influential American writer, lecturer, and political activist born in the late 19th century. Lease is best known for her passionate advocacy for farmers and her involvement in the Populist Party during a time of economic struggle in the United States. She was a prominent figure in the agrarian movement and a vocal critic of the banking industry, which she believed was exploiting farmers. Lease’s fiery speeches and writings called for economic reforms, including the regulation of railroads and the implementation of a more flexible monetary system. Born to Irish immigrants, Mary Elizabeth attended St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, where she developed her skills in rhetoric and writing. Her career began as a schoolteacher, but she soon turned to writing and public speaking. She published numerous essays and articles in support of the Populist cause, and her work was widely circulated among agrarian communities. Lease married Charles L. Lease in 1873, and they had four children together. Despite her domestic responsibilities, she managed to balance her family life with her burgeoning career as a public intellectual and activist. Her legacy includes not only her contributions to the Populist movement but also her role as a pioneering woman in American politics and literature.

5 Interesting Facts about Mary Elizabeth Lease

1. Mary Elizabeth Lease was often referred to as “Mary Yellin’ Lease” due to her dynamic and impassioned speaking style.

2. She is famously quoted as advising Kansas farmers to “raise less corn and more hell” during the economic crisis of the 1890s.

3. Lease was one of the first women to be admitted to the bar in Kansas.

4. She was an advocate for women’s suffrage and was active in the suffrage movement alongside her work with the Populist Party.

5. Lease wrote a novel titled “The Problem of Civilization Solved,” which explored her economic and social ideas.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Mary Elizabeth Lease

1. “Wall Street owns the country. It is no longer a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, but a government of Wall Street, by Wall Street, and for Wall Street.”

2. “You may call me an agitator, but I would rather be a conscious agitator than an unconscious conservative.”

3. “What you farmers need to do is to raise less corn and more hell!”

4. “The great common people of this country are slaves, and monopoly is the master.”

5. “I have raised four sons to manhood, and I have done my duty as a wife and mother. But I have a higher duty to perform to my country.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

Mary Elizabeth Lease’s highest net worth is not well-documented, but as a prominent writer and speaker of her time, she was known more for her influence than for her wealth.

Children

Mary Elizabeth Lease and her husband Charles L. Lease had four children: two sons and two daughters. Her family life was a cornerstone of her identity, and she often spoke about her experiences as a mother in her public addresses.