Changing Ideas about Women in the United States, 1776-1825

Book excerpt: Written in 1954 and published in 1981, this fascinating study remains authoritative as an account of a body of opinion about women’s nature and role that was in vogue in America during the first half-century after independence. Combining intellectual and social history, this work was one of numerous attempts being made at the time to add depth to American social history dealing with women and women’s experiences before feminism. The author explores British sources of American thought as well, presenting an early comparative history, and offers a focus on religion to show how processes of change to ideas about women occurred.