The Political Thought of America’s Founding Feminists

Recovering the powerful and influential contributions of women from the nation’s formative years. The Political Thought of America’s Founding Feminists traces the significance of Frances Wright, Harriet Martineau, Angelina and Sarah Grimké, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sojourner Truth in shaping American political thinking. These women understood the relationship between sexism, racism, and economic inequality; yet, they are virtually unknown in American political thought because they are considered activists, not theorists. Their efforts to expand the reach of America’s founding ideals laid the groundwork not only for women’s suffrage and the abolition of slavery, but for the broader expansion of civil, political, and human rights that would characterize much of the twentieth century and continues to unfold today. Drawing on a careful reading of speeches, letters and other archival sources, Lisa Pace Vetter shows the ways in which the early women’s rights movement and abolitionism were central to the development of American political thought. The Political Thought of America’s Founding Feminists demonstrates that early American political thought is incomplete without attention to these important female thinkers, and that an understanding of early American women’s movements is incomplete without considering its profound impact on political thought. A complex and thoughtful guide to the indispensable role of women in shaping the American way of life, The Political Thought of America’s Founding Feminists is essential for a comprehensive understanding of the history of American political thought. Lisa Pace Vetter is Associate Professor of Political Science and Affiliate Faculty member of the Gender and Women’s Studies Department at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is the author of “Women’s Work” as Political Art: Weaving and Dialectical Politics in Homer, Aristophanes, and Plato. Recovering the powerful and influential intellectual contributions of women from the nation's formative years, The Political Thought of America's Founding Feminists traces the significance of Frances Wright, Harriet Martineau, Angelina and Sarah Grimké, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sojourner Truth in shaping early American political thinking. A century before the term "intersectionality" appeared, these feminists anticipated the interrelation between sexism, racism, and economic inequality. Although familiar to historians and literature scholars, these women are virtually unknown in American political thought because they are considered activists, not theorists. Yet their efforts to expand the reach of America's founding ideals laid the groundwork not only for women's suffrage and the abolition of slavery but also for the broader expansion of civil, political, and human rights that characterized much of the twentieth century and continues to unfold today. Drawing on a careful reading of speeches, letters, and other archival sources, Lisa Pace Vetter shows the ways in which the early women's rights movement and abolitionism were central to the development of American political thought. A complex and thoughtful guide to the indispensable role of women in shaping the American way of life, this book demonstrates that an understanding of early American political thought is incomplete without attention to these important female thinkers, and that an understanding of the early American women's rights movement is incomplete without considering its profound impact on political thought. -- from back cover Recovering the powerful and influential contributions of women from the nation's formative years. This work traces the significance of Frances Wright, Harriet Martineau, Angelina and Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sojourner Truth in shaping American political thinking. These women understood the relationship between sexism, racism, and economic inequality; yet, they are virtually unknown in American political thought because they are considered activists, not theorists. Their efforts to expand the reach of America's founding ideals laid the groundwork not only for women's suffrage and the abolition of slavery, but for the broader expansion of civil, political, and human rights that would characterize much of the twentieth century and continues to unfold today Introduction: political theory and the founding of American feminism -- Lifting the "Claud-Lorraine tint" over the Republic: Frances Wright's critique -- Of society and manners in America -- Harriet Martineau on the theory and practice of democracy in America -- Facing the "sledge hammer of truth": Angelina Grimke and the rhetoric of reform -- Sarah Grimke's Quaker liberalism -- "The most belligerent non-resistant": Lucretia Mott on women's rights -- Elizabeth Cady Stanton's rhetoric of ridicule and reform -- The shadow and the substance of Sojourner Truth -- Conclusion