The Political Thought of Elizabeth Cady Stanton: Women's Rights and the American Political Traditions

Sue Davis

Published by New York University Press 2008

The Political Thought of Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Women's Rights and the American Political Traditions

Sue Davis

https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9780814785164.001.0001

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Contents

About this book

2009 Choice Outstanding Academic Title
Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) was not only one of the most important leaders of the nineteenth century women’s rights movement but was also the movement’s principal philosopher. Her ideas both drew from and challenged the conventions that so severely constrained women’s choices and excluded them from public life.
In The Political Thought of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sue Davis argues that Cady Stanton’s work reflects the rich tapestry of American political culture in the second half of the nineteenth century and that she deserves recognition as a major figure in the history of political ideas. Davis reveals the way that Cady Stanton’s work drew from different political traditions ranging from liberalism, republicanism, inegalitarian ascriptivism, and radicalism. Cady Stanton’s arguments for women’s rights combined approaches that in contemporary feminist theory are perceived to involve conflicting strategies and visions. Nevertheless, her ideas had a major impact on the development of the varieties of feminism in the twentieth century.
Thoroughly researched and engagingly written, The Political Thought of Elizabeth Cady Stanton draws on a wide variety of primary and secondary sources and promises to fill a gap in the literature on the history of political ideas in the United States as well as women’s history and feminist theory.

Author / Editor information

Davis Sue :

Sue Davis is Professor of Political Science at the University of Delaware. She is the author of American Political Thought: Four Hundred Years of Ideas and Ideologies, Understanding the Constitution, and Justice Rehnquist and the Constitution.

Reviews

A convincing case for Stanton’s significance as a central figure in the American political tradition.

In this thoroughly researched, well-written, and engaging study, Davis reveals how Cady Stanton drew upon liberalism, republicanism, ascriptive forms of Americanism, and radicalism in advancing the cause of women's rights. Daviss historical institutionalist approach to the topic is most suited for demonstrating not only the way in which Cady Stanton, as a political actor, adjusted her arguments because of strategic consideration of the way they were received, but also the normative theoretical commitments that shaped the thinking of Cady Stanton as a political philosopher. The book is a must read for scholars of the history of political thought, feminist theory, and women's studies who wish to understand the full significance of Cady Stantons intellectual and political legacy for American political thought. . . . Highly recommended.

Rogers M. Smith,author of Stories of Peoplehood: The Politics and Morals of Political Membership:
Scholars of American political thought have often failed to appreciate the significance of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Scholars of Cady Stanton have often not been deeply immersed in broader studies of American political thought. Daviss outstanding book rectifies both these deficiencies in ways that will have enduring value.

Judith Baer,author of Our Lives before the Law: Constructing a Feminist Jurisprudence:
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was open to any idea she encounteredold or new, conventional or innovatedexcept male supremacy. Daviss admirable book shows that this great feminists adaptability was both her best and worst characteristic.

Eileen McDonagh,author of Breaking the Abortion Deadlock:
Davis admirably succeeds in this book that integrates the conceptual and political legacy of Elizabeth Cady Stanton with current scholarship on heritage of the American liberal state. A must-read for students of American political development, womens rights, and legal theory.

Kristan Poirot:
Davis's monograph is a valuable resource not only for scholars across the humanities...but also for those who wish to better understand American political culture and the history of ideas.

Davis does a brilliant job of analyzing (while not excusing) the political tacticsand often, political Machiavelliismthat the early feminist employed during her long, active life.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
1. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Multiple Traditions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. Seneca Falls and Beyond Attacking the Cult of Domesticity with Equality and Inalienable Rights Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	39
3. The 1850s Married Women’s Property Rights, Divorce, and Temperance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	70
4. Gatherings of Unsexed Women Separate Spheres and Women’s Rights Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	93
5. The Civil War Years Breaking Down Barriers Between Public and Private Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	113
6. The Postwar Years Reconstruction and Positivism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	128
7. The Postwar Years The New Departure, the Alliance with Labor, and the Critique of Marriage Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	157
8. Not the Word of God But the Work of Men Cady Stanton’s Critique of Religion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	178
9. “In the Long Weary March, Each One Walks Alone” Evolution and Anglo-Saxonism at Century’s End Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	196
10. Multiple Feminisms and Multiple Traditions Elizabeth Cady Stanton in American Political Thought Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	219
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	227
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	271
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	281
About the Author Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	299

Language: English
Publisher: New York University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Keywords: Draws; wide; variety; primary; secondary; sources; tell; story; most; important; leaders; nineteenth; century; womens; rights; movement

eBook

Published: April 1, 2008
ISBN: 9780814785164