Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
This fascinating collection presents a rare look at women writers' first-hand perspectives on early American history. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries many women authors began to write historical analysis, thereby taking on an essential role in defining the new American Republicanism. Like their male counterparts, these writers worried over the definition and practice of both public and private virtue, human equality, and the principles of rationalism. In contrast to male authors, however, female writers inevitably addressed the issue of inequality of the sexes. This collection includes writings that employ a wide range of approaches, from straightforward reportage to poetical historical narratives, from travel writing to historical drama, and even accounts in textbook format, designed to provide women with exercises in critical thinking—training they rarely received through their traditional education.
Synopsis
This fascinating collection presents a rare look at women writers' first-hand perspectives on early American history. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries many women authors began to write historical analysis, thereby taking on an essential role in defining the new American Republicanism. Like their male counterparts, these writers worried over the definition and practice of both public and private virtue, human equality, and the principles of rationalism. In contrast to male authors, however, female writers inevitably addressed the issue of inequality of the sexes. This collection includes writings that employ a wide range of approaches, from straightforward reportage to poetical historical narratives, from travel writing to historical drama, and even accounts in textbook format, designed to provide women with exercises in critical thinking-training they rarely received through their traditional education.
Edited with an introduction and notes by Sharon M. Harris
Publishers Weekly
Yes, Virginia, there were women writers in the early years of the American republic, and Harris, a scholar and founder of the Society for the Study of American Women Writers, gathers extracts from the published works of 10 of these women, covering the years 1790-1830, and forming the beginning of a women's perspective on the founding of the United States. In writing these books, says Harris, the authors claimed "the right to express publicly their opinions on the controversial issues of the era," whether religious, political or cultural. Ann Eliza Bleecker offers, in The History of Maria Kittle, the story of a neighboring woman who was taken captive by Indians during the Seven Years' War. Emma Willard's History of the United States, or Republic of America (published in 1828), reflects her nationalist perspective, and went through 53 printings in 45 years. This is a convenient compilation for readers interested in women's studies and American intellectual history. (June 24) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.