Judith Sargent Murray Essay

The Industrial Revolution was a period of industrial and urban growth in America during the 18th and 19th centuries. This period marked a transition from an agrarian based system, to one focused exclusively on economics and commodity production. Industrialization introduced innovative technology and the formation of factories would ultimately change how goods and materials were made. During the American Revolution, women were responsible for in-home production that aided the war effort, using their production as a means to contribute publically. As America transitioned from this period into the period of the Industrial Revolution, these widened roles became more restrictive, women were no longer producers, they were consumers, and it was not a common practice for women to work outside of the home. This generated an opportunity for women to challenge newly forming gender ideals in which women’s societal expectations were constructed according to the masculine majority and falling outside of these expectations was deemed inappropriate. The Industrial Revolution prompted an enlightenment period in which gender ideals suggested that men were intellectually superior to women and this perceived superiority helped to influence distinct public and private spheres of influence for both men and women and presented the idea that women had a specific set of virtues to uphold according to the “cult of true womanhood.”

Judith Sargent Murray was a revolutionary woman- born into a socially prominent and wealthy family during the start of the American Revolution, Murray was recognized for her intellect at a young age and given an education along with her brother. Later in life, she had her written works widely published and read during a time when women’s voices were seen as fundamentally inferior to those of men. In one of her most influential and strongly opinionated works, ‘On the Equality of the Sexes’, Murray makes a strong case for the spiritual and intellectual equality of men and women, arguing that women and men are born equal, but that men are simply given more education and

In the issue “Was the Colonial Period a “Golden Age” for Women in America?” the core difference of whether or not it was a golden age for women is seen in the variation of roles women had in the colonies compared to later generations and whether or not these differences led to them having more opportunities or just more work. In Gloria Main’s article “Gender, Work, and Wages in Colonial New England” she argues that women’s status in the colonies was elevated by the lack of both females and people in general. She focuses on the economic benefits and increased role diversity women had during the colonial period as what increased the colonial “women’s status and condition” (43). While in Mary Beth Norton’s argues against the belief that women had an elevated status in her article “The Myth of the Golden Age, she’s bases this on the fact that women were still required to do what traditional gender roles required them to do as well as the new responsibilities found in the colonies. Norton focused on the fixed status women seemed to have throughout the colonial time period and while they did take on some different and extra roles, their place in society was still primarily “focus[ed] on the household” (48). Both of these women agree that colonial women had a more

In early America, women were expected to take care of the household and of the children. However, writers such as Anne Bradstreet and Judith Sargent Murray wanted to emphasize the importance of education for women. The two texts by these authors that will be discussed are the poem, “The Prologue” by Anne Bradstreet and the essay, “Desultory Thoughts upon the Utility of Encouraging a Degree of Self-Contemplacency, especially in Female Bosoms,” By Judith Sargent Murray. A theme seen prominently throughout both texts is fairer treatment of women through education. Although both women do believe in opportunity for women in education, Bradstreet focuses more on the idea that women should have more acceptance in the intellectual world by men while Murray however, emphasizes the importance of women to be raised properly which resulted in them understanding their self-worth.

The economic “market revolution” and the religious “Second Great Awakening” shaped American society after 1815. Both of these developments affected women significantly, and contributed to their changing status both inside and outside the home. Throughout time, women’s roles and opportunities in the family, workplace, and society have greatly evolved.

In the mid to late 1700's, the women of the United States of America had practically no rights. When they were married, the men represented the family, and the woman could not do anything without consulting the men. Women were expected to be housewives, to raise their children, and thinking of a job in a factory was a dream that was never thought impossible. But, as years passed, women such as Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, and Elizabeth Blackwell began to question why they were at home all day raising the children, and why they did not have jobs like the men. This happened between the years of 1776 and 1876, when the lives and status of Northern middle-class woman was changed forever. Women began to

In her next chapter, Kerber examines the newfound need for the educating of women. Women were not allowed freedom or a political opinion, but they could not be completely pushed aside. For years women had been taught that education made them undesirable to men and educated women were scorned. Kerber argues that a new need for

During the 1800s in the United States of America, women were nothing more than the inferior gender whose sole job was to raise children and to take care of the house, however the occurrence of the Market Revolution within 1800-1850 was able to widen the range of duties women were allowed to perform. This idea of the growth of the female role is strongly demonstrated by three main events and causes of the Market Revolution. The first being the creation of the Lowell-Waltham system, where teenage girls were influenced to work in factories in return for a place to live, food and money. The Lowell-Waltham system had a monumental impact in contributing to the duties of women. The second event was the Second Great Awakening, the spiritual enlightenment helped heed some of the preconceive notions about the weakness of women.

After stating these points she continues on to discuss the importance of women having the same opportunities as men. One of the first opportunities being the choice to pursue the education she desires and not one that be designated to her, “The education that will fit her to discharge the duties in the largest sphere of human usefulness, will best fit her for whatever special work she may be compelled to do.” She states that, “The strongest reason for giving woman all the opportunities for higher education, for the full development of her faculties, her

This trouble, however, can still be sourced to men, who have forwarded the cultural idea that women are innately more emotional and hysterical than men: “render women more artificial, weak characters, than they would otherwise have been” (Wollstonecraft). By receiving an education, women can live up to Enlightenment virtues, and “become the friend, and not the humble dependent of her husband” – in essence, her education will bring her toward reason and not emotion, becoming a further recourse for society as a whole (Wollstonecraft). To that end, Wollstonecraft asks for a “a great man…with sufficient strength of mind” to dispel these prideful notions of women not deserving a good education, and to put their strength to the test by competing in a world with educated

However, she focuses on the importance and value of education, believing that “the most perfect education…is such an exercise of the understanding as is best calculated to strengthen the body and form the heart” (Wollstonecraft 134). Like her Enlightenment contemporaries, she believed that reason was a virtue since it empowered the mind to think freely and independently. Reason allowed one to truly express his or her ideas. The best way to cultivate such reasoning was to become educated. Thus, both men and women should be educated for the betterment of society as a whole since both sexes would then be able to contribute a broader range of ideas. However, the general consensus amongst her contemporaries in 18th century England was that women were “more artificial, weak characters…and, consequently, more useless members of society” (Wollstonecraft 134). Women were expected to lead domesticated lives and become dependent on men. They were considered as housewives, not expected to contribute to society or stand out in anyway. Therefore, women did not have the same amount of access to a proper education as men did since they were not expected to be involved with forming their own reasoning and opinions. As a result, women only learned what they perceived and experienced from the world, left to play “guess-work” rather than make observations and draw conclusions and speculations. Without critical thinking,

“But, suffer me to ask, in what the minds of females are so notoriously deficient, or unequal,” writes Murray with an acerbic wit in the prosaic section of “On the Equality of the Sexes” (Murray, Equality of the Sexes, 132). This first essay written by Murray begins with an extensive poem highlighting the separation of men and women for unsound reasons. In the poem, Murray acknowledges that no two minds think the same, but also notes that women as a whole are viewed as the weaker, lesser sex. Women, as the inferior sex in this time period, must submit themselves completely to their husbands or fathers. Although some Colonial Americans do not view females as lesser beings, “imbecility is still confin'd, And by the lordly sex to us consign'd” (Murray, Equality of the Sexes, 132). Women cannot stop the misogyny against their gender due to society’s twisted views. Following the poetic section of the essay, Murray expresses her reasoning in prose. Based on her commentary, the commonplace perception of women as humans with naturally inferior brain capacities does not occur to Murray; in fact, she claims “their minds are by nature equal” (Murray, Equality of the Sexes, 133). Even though society shows little respect for women’s rights, Murray never once shows the slightest implication of sharing these misogynistic views with the world. The entirety of “On the

The articles that are presented in the “On the EQUALITY of the SEXES” where written from a woman perspective between 1751 and 1852 to portray the treatment of women and their status in society. The author portrays her prospective of how women felt during an era of oppression for women. The reason Judith Murry was not as effective and persuasive in her writings, is because she failed to use logical statements to back-up her claim, she didn’t draw on actual experiences, and overly expressed her personal views and beliefs. When combined with the emotional argument made by the author, the proper use of logic, personal experiences and passion agreement, provide for solid and persuasive writings.

The Enlightenment was an era when many classical ideas about culture, governance, and the laws of nature were challenged by brilliant philosophical minds. The whole intellectual landscape was changing and a new emphasis on reason was placed, and it was during this time that “women became more involved in public life through travel, conversation, reading and writing.” (22) With their increased involvement in the Salons and Masonic lodges that made up the public sphere, and in essays, letters and novels, women were finally starting to be heard, and “their general education” was put on the “intellectual agenda as never before.” (22) But despite the growing influence of female voices “everywhere in the Western world, women were still excluded from formal higher education,” (22) and the prevailing notion of women back then could be perfectly summed up by Rousseau in his essay Duties of Women, where he explains that women “are specially made for man’s delight,” (569) and women “will always be in in subjection to a man, or to his judgment, and she will never be free to set her own opinions above his.” (579) Even today there still isn’t equality between the sexes, but we have come a long way from the world as Rousseau describes it, and the whole discipline of feminist studies may have never existed without the groundwork that was laid by proud men and women alike who assert that women were more than just the property of the husband, and were just as integral to society as their

Providing equal education to men and women can only be useful if the society they live in view them as equals. If societies perspective of women dehumanizes them, than they are the slaves of a community that tricked them into believing that they are contributing members of society. In the short story, “From a Vindication of the Rights of Women”, May Wollstonecraft explores how “much cannot be expected from education” if society isn’t constituted differently. Thus, society’s opinion of women proves that education gives women the appearance of weakness.