Interview with Marla Miller, Professor of Women's History at University of Massachusetts Amherst.
"Who was the most influential women's rights activist and why?"
" I'd say that my personal favorite among the 19th activists is Frances Willard, whom I admire for her slogan "Do Everything." I admire how she saw women's rights as part of a larger human rights and social justice agenda that included labor rights (she helped secure the 8-hour day), and public health. I'm not sure she was "most influential," since Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were also highly influential, though in different circles. But she was certainly energetic. I also admire Alice Paul."
"How did women's participation in abolition help them raise the issue of their own rights?"
" Women's work in abolition was just one of the many causes they helped them learn the organizing and speaking skills necessary to fight for the vote. Other causes included temperance, prison reform, and a host of other social issues. The roots of this can be found in a concept called Republican Motherhood, which emerged in the aftermath of the Revolution. Women had been necessary to help fight and win the war for Independence; afterwards, they were asked to step back from public life and concern themselves with raising virtuous citizens of the new Republic. In time, women interpreted that as a charge to use their role as mothers to concern themselves with pressing social issues, like drunkenness and the domestic violence it provoked (the temperance movement) and other public debates, like abolition. Willard's idea of "home protection" can perhaps be traced back to Republican Motherhood."
"What positive impact did the women's rights movement have on U.S. society?"
" The most obvious is securing the vote. But the women's rights movement goes much further than that. For instance, the fight for equal pay helps all families, since both parents need to be fairly compensated for their work to families to make ends meet. Many of the concerns expressed by the women's rights movement improve the world we live in. Discussions about gender stereotyping and toys help both boys and girls live richer lives.
The issues raised by women's rights activists, which generally seek a more equitable, more just and often kinder society, don't only improve the lives of women and girls but men and boys too."
" I'd say that my personal favorite among the 19th activists is Frances Willard, whom I admire for her slogan "Do Everything." I admire how she saw women's rights as part of a larger human rights and social justice agenda that included labor rights (she helped secure the 8-hour day), and public health. I'm not sure she was "most influential," since Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were also highly influential, though in different circles. But she was certainly energetic. I also admire Alice Paul."
"How did women's participation in abolition help them raise the issue of their own rights?"
" Women's work in abolition was just one of the many causes they helped them learn the organizing and speaking skills necessary to fight for the vote. Other causes included temperance, prison reform, and a host of other social issues. The roots of this can be found in a concept called Republican Motherhood, which emerged in the aftermath of the Revolution. Women had been necessary to help fight and win the war for Independence; afterwards, they were asked to step back from public life and concern themselves with raising virtuous citizens of the new Republic. In time, women interpreted that as a charge to use their role as mothers to concern themselves with pressing social issues, like drunkenness and the domestic violence it provoked (the temperance movement) and other public debates, like abolition. Willard's idea of "home protection" can perhaps be traced back to Republican Motherhood."
"What positive impact did the women's rights movement have on U.S. society?"
" The most obvious is securing the vote. But the women's rights movement goes much further than that. For instance, the fight for equal pay helps all families, since both parents need to be fairly compensated for their work to families to make ends meet. Many of the concerns expressed by the women's rights movement improve the world we live in. Discussions about gender stereotyping and toys help both boys and girls live richer lives.
The issues raised by women's rights activists, which generally seek a more equitable, more just and often kinder society, don't only improve the lives of women and girls but men and boys too."