The Centrality of Feminism in American Political History, 1776-2000

This essay explores the relationship between mainstream narratives of American feminism & mainstream narratives of American political history, 1776-2000, arguing that American political culture has shaped & been shaped by American feminism. Women's rights-seeking activity has innovated & intervened to address social problems in ways that reconfigured American politics. In part this was due to the substantial social resources that women's groups commanded; & in part it derived from the peculiarities of American political development. The essay focuses on the long 19th century from 1780 to 1920 & leaps forward to 2000 with the following examples: The Ladies Association of Philadelphia in the 1780s; the explosion of women's rights in the antislavery movement of the 1830s; the women's rights conventions of the 1850s; Rights-seeking activity by African American women in the 1880s & 90s; the woman suffrage movement as a site for multifaceted rights-seeking activity, 1869-1920; & Feminists' interactions with current politics, 2000. Each example refers to the personal commitments that prompted women's willingness to innovate & challenge the status quo; the social resources that sustained women's activism; & the larger political context within which women acted. Adapted from the source document.