The Rights of Women in 1700s

"Women ought to have representatives, instead of being arbitrarily governed without any direct share allowed them in the deliberations of government." (Wollstonecraft, 1792). Women began to consider that the way they had been being treated might have not been fair. Women of the eighteenth century did not wish to have greater power then men. They only wished for equal rights.

Young girls could only dream of continuing their schooling and obtaining a higher education. Men, who had control over women, didn't believe women were intelligent enough. God forbid they hurt themselves through straining their brains! In men's minds, a woman should have stayed at home taking care of her husband's house and children while he was away on business. Women were also expected to educate the male children before they were old enough to go to school and acquire more knowledge then their mother. Girls looked upon their brothers who would leave home to explore the world and start new lives with jealousy. Girls only had the option to dwell at home and learn the responsibilities of being a good wife and very much a slave to her future husband.

Mary Wollstonecraft, an English writer, didn't agree with that philosophy. She wrote an essay; which was as long as a book, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, on women's lives. She stressed the unfairness of their short education and limited possibilities. She argued that women were rational creatures too and should be granted the same rights as every male citizen. In her opinion, fashion and beauty were a waste of time that denigrated women and provided men with stereotypical ideas about them. Mary was aware of the importance of the family life, however, she believed that a woman's social life was important too, since it educated her. Her responsibility was to teach the children, that is why she must have had some life experience as well. She stated that-

"Contending for the rights of women, my main argument is built on this simple principle, that if she be not prepared by education to become the companion of man, she will stop the progress of knowledge, for truth must be common to all, or it will be inefficacious with respect to its influence on general practice."

(womenshistory.about.com, Retrieved: March 22)

She has been nicknamed the "1st feminist" or "mother of Feminism". Wollstonecraft was usually considered a liberal feminist because she primarily focused on individual women and their rights. She honored other women's natural talents and insisted that women should not be measured by men's standards.

(womenshistory.about.com, Retrieved: March 23)

Mary Wollstonecraft loathed the realities of women's lives. She viewed her own life history and the lives of other women in her family. Women had been abused. There were only a few legal ways of protection where a woman could turn to someone for help.

(www.spartacus.schoolnet.com, Retrieved: March 22)

Judith Sargent Murray, who lived in America, was also a great woman writer who stood up for women and decided to speak her mind about the way they had been treated. She married John Murray, a minister who transported the Universalistic religion from England to America. He also supported the right of education for women. Together they fought for women' rights, which proves there were men who believed that women were capable of education as well. (hurdsmith.com, Retrieved: March 28, 2006)

Judith became encouraged, thanks to her husband to continue writing. She brought a great deal of feminist beliefs in to the Universalistic religion. Still she is mostly famous for her short essays on the equality of the sexes, in which she greatly advocated equal educational opportunities for women. According to her, the work around the house, like the needle and the kitchen work, did not help women provide the growth of their intelligence.

(Kerber, Linda K. and Dehart, Jane Sherron.(1991). Women's America: Refocusing the Past. New York: Oxford University Press)

She found it exceptionally not fair that boys were encouraged to learn and grow intellectually