Week 12 Questions/Comments-327 13

1 Comparative source questions
Many of the anti-slavery sources come from the early decades of the nineteenth century; the latest is from 1852, the same year Uncle Tom's Cabin was published. What is there of literature closer to the explosion of the country in the 1860s? What are women saying of Bleeding Kansas or the spreading of slavery from the war with Mexico? -Ryan Quint

In A Letter to the Liberator, O, Ye Daughters of Africa, Awake!, Reply to the Massachusetts Clergy, and a few other of the readings used religion as a way to argue for women's rights. I find it interesting that religion and the Bible can be used and has been used as a means to explain why women are inferior and has also been used as to show why women should be equal. How did people react to these arguments that the Bible actually advocates for women to be equal? - Sandra Sanchez

2 The Advocate of Moral Reform, 1838
This was interesting in that, similar to how it is today, the author pinned all the responsibility of reform onto women. This article was written to deter women from straying away from the constrained control of their parents, because villainous men cannot be trusted. But why not try and correct men's behavior towards these "innocent" women? Also would a woman who was "rescued" be able or allowed to marry later in life or was her reputation far too tainted? -Katie Redmiles

The biblical allusions in this text (such as the one to the Good Samaritan) seem to line the reform movements up with God and holiness. Considering that they often used religion as a reason behind their causes, it is not surprising that it is sprinkled throughout their stories as a constant reminder of their moral obligation to these causes. - Amy Wallace

Why was there animosity among moral reformers about circuses? -Suzannah C.

Why are the letters published anonymously. Is it so that it would be harder to disprove the stories that they were telling? Or was there fear of backlash for what they were claiming to be doing? Ike C.

I don't understand why a man would trick a girl into leaving her home, and instead of marrying her, he just leaves her? Why not just stay where they originally lived and leave her? -Suzannah C.

With the emphasis on the dangers of elopement away from parental authority and the corrupting influence of cities, it seems like fear of the changing society motivated a lot of the condemnation of prostitution in this tract. It's that dual issue of reform fixing issues that definitely need to be address but also reform as a way to reign in society--a fundamentally conservative approach to reform. -Sarah Palmer

Although this account stresses the villainy of men, it really places most of the blame on the shoulders of the parents. It seemed as though the author was saying that men and even cities were villainous and full of debauchery, but there is not much they can do about that. Instead of trying to fix the cities where the problem lies, the blame falls on the parents, as “not having done their duty, in warning their child of the evil of sin, and the snares of the wicked” (235). I do not see how attacking the parents rather than the source of the problem would be helpful. – Jess Hopkins

Going off of Jess' point about blaming the parents. It seemed odd to me that they didn't blame the girl or the man that took her away, they just justified this as being a parental problem and that as long as parents teach their children right these things won't happen. It takes responsibility off of both the girl, who went with this stranger, and off the guy that did this to her. Also, they only blame the girl's parents for not teaching her right. Based on their logic, shouldn't the man's parents also be blamed because he tricked her into leaving her home? - Sandra Sanchez

I agree with Suzannah C. I did understand why men tried to influence women to leave their homes? Was it to get away from the woman's mother and father?-Melanie Houston.

3 Maria Stewart, 1831, “O, Ye Daughters of Africa, Awake!” in the Liberator.
I find Stewart's notions to be quite progressive in context of the time she was writing, therefore I wonder how well received the message was and if she faced any consequences for publishing something like this even in the forum of the Liberator? -Katie Redmiles

Were enslaved African American Women reading the Liberator? How much of the Liberator was being read by mixed audiences? - Kasey Moore

This is interesting because it shows how middle class white America affected other groups of Americans. Both through the idea of women's groups and the ideals that they were striving to achieve, this group of African American women were obviously affected by middle class white American women. -Amy Wallace

In Maria Stewart's last lines, she asserted that black women claim their rights and that the only thing they should fear is the killing of the body. That really speaks to the American protestant population because for protestants, the body is simply material, it's what is within the sould that dictates whether you are "saved." How did whites react to blacks who saw themselves as "saved?" --Mae D'Amico

I think it is interesting that she encourages her audience to achieve advanced education. Do we know how many black women at this time would even have had enough education to have read her words by themselves? Ike C.

When Stewart writes that "according to the Constitution of these United States, [God] hath made all men free and equal", it shows how the rhetoric of egalitarianism spread beyond the limits the Founders intended for it. The Constitution explicitly classifies slaves as 3/5 of a person, but its lofty language and broad statements of equality allow Stewart to argue that equality ought to be considered innate in the human condition and in the United States government. She also can do this by pointing to the fact that it is "the blood of [her] fathers, and the tears of [her] brethren that have enriched [American] soil." Through their labor, she argues, African Americans have earned rights that should have been theirs by virtue of their humanity.--Sarah Palmer

What exactly influenced the start of educating African American women? How did the Liberator increase or decrease African American women's chances of getting an education- Melanie Houston.

4 Letter to Liberator from Andover Female Antislavery Society (AFAS), 1836
This letter is a good representation of beliefs about women being changed in the Second Great Awakening. The AFAS not only asserts that women are more pious than men, but that anti-slavery allies women across race lines. --Mae D'Amico

I find it very interesting that the “responsibilities of women” that women were supposed to follow during this time was also used to support women abolitionists. Most of their reasoning on why women should be able to protest slavery seems to derive from religion. This is ironic to me because not long before religion was used to justify slavery. Is it because women were not seen as more moral and spiritual that they were able to use the word of God as a way to fight slavery? - Morgan H.

5 Sarah Grimke’s response to the Mass Clergy, 1837
I think that Sarah Grimke's response that dealt with the translation of the Bible was very clever. In this sense she was smart to argue women's rights through the possible misinterpretation of the Bible. Even today there are many different versions and people interpret them differently. She not only uses her belief in the right as a woman but as her right as the child of the Creator. Grimke revealed that men were the ones who had misinterpreted the Bible and therefore challenged the female character. She uses the New Testament for her defense which is brave and unchallengeable because of interpretation. -Courtney Collier

This is the first account by a woman using the bible in this class to assert that male physical superiority over women is actually makes them inferior if they use it like brutes. --Mae D'Amico

6 Declaration of Sentiments at Seneca Falls, 1848 (written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton)
Overall, I think it is interesting that women such as those at the Seneca Falls convention used religious language rather than the political rhetoric of freedom and equality. - Kasey Moore

I think formatting this declaration like the Declaration of Independence was a smart decision and it probably had something to do with the amount of attention it received. -Dana Nordling

I think that it is clever that the Seneca Falls Convention not only formatted, but used the same language of that of the Declaration of Independence. The United States was so proud of being a democracy; they had fought so hard to rid themselves of the tyranny of the monarchy. This declaration clearly compares men in their democratic nation to that of the tyrannical monarch. I believe these women were hoping to shock men with the similarities. – Jess Hopkins

While I appreciate the rhetoric of equality among men and women, I find it extremely ironic that this was written in 1848 when slavery was still legal in many states within America. This declaration only applies to white women, despite the emphasis on "inalienable rights." -Katherine Miller

My favorite resolution is on page 244, the same amount of virtue, delicacy, and refinement of behavior must be required of men, that is already required in women. I think this is an ode to the time period, it was something so delicately put, and now it seems such an obvious notion. The way it's written, so intricate and wordy, it acts as its own validation, which is sad really. I'm sure there were many men of the day who couldn't formulate a rule that read that well on paper. --Tanner Carlton

7 Lucy Stone (and Henry Blackwell)’s Marriage Protest, 1855
Lucy Stone’s Marriage Protest :Do you think that Henry Blackwell and Lucy Stone were radical? How much of what they said was all talk? Many people make crazy promises in their vows, why wouldn’t you promise to have an equalitarian marriage especially since the protest was not legally binding. I wonder how this marriage actually worked out? Part of me believes that because their daughter took on her father’s last name, Blackwell, rather than the mother’s, Stone, that technically the husband did have “control and guardianship of their children” (246).

The fact that Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell's marriage protest was done at their wedding was quite interesting. I believe it was also mentioned that Lucy Stone kept her last name, which was very subversive for the time period. With the activism that they had, as evidenced by this event, I would bet their lives subsequent to their wedding were quite fascinating as well. Does anyone know what happened to them later? -Kearsten Lehman

I was really surprised reading this, especially at the fact that her husband agreed to doing this. I wish there was information on their married life, to see if they carried out with what they vowed to do. -Suzannah C.

8 Sojourner Truth (Isabella Van Wagener), 1851 (Ohio Convention).
I have read this passage before and every time I read it I get chills. Sojourner Truth makes a great argument. She talks about what men do for other white women, but no one ever does them for her. Is she not a woman?? By the end of her speech she is not only talking about how black women were treated she talks ablut women in general and what men assumed about all of them.She makes a very valid point and I think it was eye opening for everyone who was able to hear her speak. –Katie Way

Sojourner Truth's argument is nearly flawless against the treatment that women and black women in particular receive. However, the main problem that I had with this passage was the two forms her account came in. One version is written clearly and articulately while the other is not, which one is accurate I am not quite sure but that was probably meant to set Sojourner apart as different which was exactly the point she was arguing against. Her argument is that she, along with other women, deserves to be treated equally and not with disdain. -Kearsten Lehman

So I noticed that one of the publications (Antislavery Bugle) was written with correct grammar when quoting Truth, while the other publication (Independent) quotes her with a certain dialect. . . I wonder if this presents a certain bias from any of the publications or if it was just the style they went for? --Tanner Carlton

9 Isabelle Graham and Society for Relief of Poor Widows, 1806
The letter has a strange tone in the section where Graham says that one might read god's punishment into the suffering of the widows now that they must fend for themselves since they lived in careless luxury when their husbands were alive. She points out that they never needed to learn how to manage finances when they were married, but she still seems to think that it's a moral failing as she points out that "God forgives". --Sarah Palmer

We talked in one of my other courses last week about how the idea of God has changed drastically over the span of the 19th and 20th centuries. I think that is obvious here as we see God acting as the moral compass for society at the time. -- Becca Sherman

11 American Female Reform Society Warns Mothers of “Solitary Vice”, 1839
Given the views on sexuality and gender during the 1830s, I can understand why people thought masturbation, particularly among girls, was a sin not a natural human activity. However, I find it interesting that the Female Moral Reform Society tries to attribute the ten-year-old girl's lack of academic success to masturbation while masturbation clearly did not impact the academic success of the theology student. I also find it interesting that they thought masturbation caused insanity and death in the theology student and other young men but sexual intercourse (and orgasms) did not have the same effects on the married women's husbands. Did the belief that masturbation was a sin originate in biblical interpretations? -Mary Fesak

12 1848, Elizabeth McClintock and Elizabeth Cady Stanton defend the Declaration of Sentiments and the 1848 convention
I think an important point they made was that they weren't necessarily challenging men in their daily lives, but rather the institutional oppression they faced through laws. -Katherine Miller

13 Sarah Josepha Hale, Editor of Godey's Lady's Book, Praises Women's Indirect Political Influence, 1852
I thought this was really interesting, particularly the quote "I control seven votes; why should I desire to cast one myself". It makes me wonder if women actually really felt that way or if men were putting these ideas in their heads to placate them. This concept also seems like a remnant of republican motherhood to me. -Dana Nordling

Did men give women the idea that if they trust their country and the men who are voting that everything will work out?? I question whether all women thought this way. I understand that women could influence their husbands to vote in a certain way but did they always believe that they would actually do it? Is there any way of really knowing? –Katie Way

I think Hale was voicing a prominent conservative response to the suffrage movement. I believe that many women, especially those of middle-class were so heavily invested in Republican Motherhood and the cult of domesticity as the way women should behave that they opposed suffrage. They believed that voting would bring women into the men's public sphere which was too aggressive for pure, refined, delicate women. Many middle-class women also probably thought that they had enough political power under the social systems of the day that granting women suffrage could potentially threaten their power and their protected status by exposing themselves in the public arena. This type of conservative response seems to occur relatively often in American society when people feel like the status quo is threatened by dramatic liberal action on a controversial topic like female suffrage. -Mary Fesak

did women actually have this influence over their husbands or was the law correct in not allowing women to vote because of a husbands influence. do the women really control the husbands votes or do the husbands influence the wives into thinking this way.--Charlotte O.

I agree with Mary in her assessment of this reading in that women were simply trying to protect the status quo and the roles they were given in society. I think it's just as likely, however, that women were putting this idea into each other's heads just as much as men were because nobody wanted to rock the boat by shifting roles or changing norms. -- Becca Sherman

14 Julie Roy Jeffrey, “Ordinary Women in the Antislavery Movement,” in the Introduction to The Great Silent Army of Abolitionism: Ordinary Women in the Anti-slavery Movement, 1998.
I had difficulty with a sentence of Jeffrey's in this essay: "Women formed the backbone of the movement, and without their involvement, as William Lloyd Garrison JR, recognized, the leaders would have been powerless" (152). While Garrison's comments were made in 1847, a time when slavery was being spread through the Mexican-American War, rather than being hindered, Jeffrey comes close to ignoring individuals who came later. Throughout the 1850s the Abolitionist movement had a a new burst of life through the Jayhawks in Kansas, the Secret Six, John Brown, and a multitude of others whose actions can hardly be described as anything but the backbone of the abolition movement. -Ryan Quint

16 Shirley Yee, “Free Black Women in the Abolitionist Movement,” in Black Women Abolitionists: A Study in Activism, 1828-1860, (1992).
It was not surprising that society was hesitant about allowing women to lecture and give public speeches. However, I did not know that some African American men were also trying to stop women from speaking even when they were speaking on antislavery and trying to help the cause. Did some African American men want women to stay out of their business from fear that they would hurt their cause?-Courtney Collier

I thought it was interesting how the values of society trickled down, with women expected to not speak at public speeches against slavery. To some extent I understand that black men did not want black women to undermine them, perhaps because they felt they got enough of that from society, but it was quite odd to read about. -Kearsten Lehman

I wonder how much of the resistance to women speaking out in public about anti-slavery had to do with the ideas of the separate public and private spheres instead of African men being concerned with women hurting their cause to end slavery. Does the expectation of them not speaking out against slavery have to do with inherent purity and what not that was seen with the eventual societal shift. ie slavery is something that women should not mess with because its political and really only for men?--Charlotte O.