"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men AND WOMEN are created equal." Declaration of Sentiments, Seneca Falls Convention

In this episode, Prof. Rosemarie Zagarri explores the legal, social, and political status of women from the Colonial Era through the Revolutionary War, the Seneca Falls Convention (1848), and beyond.

Topics include:

-The tensions between the ideals of the phrase "all men are created equal" and the lived reality of women

-"Coverture" and the legal status of women in the Colonies

-The evolving trans-Atlantic dialogue about women's rights from the Enlightenment through the Revolutionary War

-The incorporation of Colonial women into the political resistance to King George

-Female literacy and early American female authors, including Mercy Otis Warren and Phillis Wheatley

-An exploration of the concept of "Republican Motherhood"

-Women's contribution to the Revolutionary War effort

-The brief period from 1790 to 1807 when women could vote in New Jersey

A selection of Rosemarie Zagarri's publications is below:

Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American Republic (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007; paperback, 2008).

A Woman’s Dilemma: Mercy Otis Warren and the American Revolution (Wheeling, Ill.: Harlan-Davidson, Inc., 1995; 2nd. ed. Wiley, 2015).

David Humphreys’ ‘Life of General Washington’ with George Washington’s ‘Remarks’ (edited, with an introduction) (Athens, Ga.: The University of Georgia Press, 1991; paperback, 2006).

The Politics of Size: Representation in the United States, 1776 - 1850 (Ithaca, N.Y: Cornell University Press, 1987; paperback, 2010).