Public Women, Public Words

This expansive collection of public statements documents the history of women struggling for their civil, political, social, and economic rights. From the earliest testimonies at Salem to the pleas for fair wages at the end of the nineteenth century, these documents trace the development of feminist thought and action in its many forms. Public Women, Public Words draws material from an eclectic blend of public texts, including speeches and broadsides, testimonies and transcripts from trials and other legal proceedings, fiction and poetry, articles from popular, middle-brow, radical, and academic journals, newspapers, and magazines—all in an effort to present the many strands of feminist thought over three centuries. Instead of presenting a static interpretation of what feminism is Public Women, Public Words gives a complex and multi-sided view of this dynamic intellectual movement. Women of many backgrounds, economic classes, races, and political orientations speak up about what feminism was to them. Clear introductions to each of the book's parts place the documents within their context and offer readers suggestions on how these texts contribute to a sweeping interpretation of feminism in America.