“‘Remember the Ladies’: Abigail Adams vs. John Adams” (p. 7-15)
Summary:
This text includes six letters, four written by Abigail Adams and two written by John Adams. The letters concern Abigail Adams’ desire for women’s rights to be addressed by the Second Continental Congress. The letters are not strictly a dialogue between husband and wife, included are personal letters from Abigail Adams addressing two different friends and a final letter from John Adams to James Sullivan. The letters are presented in a cohesive way that allows us to see Abigail Adams’ argument develop and ultimately be rejected by her husband and fellow politicians.
Abigail Adams begins her first letter detailing her interest in travel, and her inability to do so, based on her sex. It is clear that she is not satisfied with this inequality. The next letter is arguably the most famous and was written approximately five years later by Abigail Adams to John Adams. She recommends that he “Remember the Ladies” (p. 10) while drafting laws for the new country. She also warns that women are likely to start a revolution if they will have no “voice, or Representation” within the new government. John Adams response was that he could not help “but laugh” (p. 11) at the proposition. The following letter from Abigail Adams addresses a friend and she is clearly outraged. She details how she will respond, but in the following letter, which is actually her response to her husband, she appears weak and submissive. The final letter is addressed to James Sullivan by John Adams. He clearly dismisses the whole notion of women’s representation and does not provide a clear or logical response as to why women should be denied this right.
Response/Critique:
I thoroughly enjoyed reading these short letters. I was immediately struck by the seeming independence of Abigail Adams. She began by stating clearly and concisely what she desired. However, her husband’s response upset her, next she planned her rebuttal and then did little to nothing, thus leaving history unchanged for the moment. I was not surprised by John Adams’ response based on the historical timeframe. In the final letter, John Adams writes: “Shall we say that every individual of the community, old and young, male and female, as well as rich and poor, must consent, expressly to every act of legislation? No, you will say, this is impossible” (p. 13). I found this interesting because today it is my understanding that everyone in the U.S. deserves to have their voice heard. For instance, they are not disqualified because of old age or economic status. Declaring something impossible is always easier than actually executing it and I felt like John Adams quickly denied Abigail Adams’ request without giving it any critical thought. He also provides other elusive explanations stating women’s “delicacy renders them unfit for practice and experience in the great business of life” (p. 13) and that women are clearly best suited for domesticity. These statements are not based on fact and I believe that he never really answered the question at hand: Why shouldn’t women be allowed to have the right to vote? I believe that this collection of letters was an appropriate beginning to discuss the eighteenth century and the rights of women as they have progressed throughout history. This was clearly a failure, but it began the dialogue on women’s rights within the United States.
“The Blackwell Clan,” “Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell: Medicine as a Profession for Women,” and “Antoinette Brown Blackwell: Sex and Evolution (p. 323-377)
Summary:
These three texts concern the Blackwell family that lived during the nineteenth century. Many of the members helped further women’s rights in the United States based on the following subjects: “moral reform, abolition, higher education and professional opportunities, political rights” (p. 322). The family originally had nine Blackwell children and later three women married into the family. This first text, “The Blackwell Clan” focuses on the fact that five of the Blackwell women never married. The author presents various perspectives to explain possible emotional problems that led the women into career centered lives. The women made it clear that marriage was not the ultimate satisfaction that they searched for in their lives. However, the Blackwell family was very close-knit and perhaps it was here that the women found the intimacy and friendship necessary to sustain themselves. The men in the family are mentioned, but not as important figures in history. Nevertheless, they introduced Lucy Stone and Antoinette Brown into the Blackwell family. Both women felt strongly about women’s rights, particularly in the domain of academia.
“Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell: Medicine as a Profession for Women” focuses on the need for women to study medicine. Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell can be considered authorities on the subject because they were the first two women to practice medicine with an American medical degree in the United States. They argue that women are invaluable in the field of medicine because there are some medical conditions that only women could relate to or feel comfortable sharing with another woman. They also explain that medicine can be applied to every day life, they state: “Yet the medical profession is at present too far removed from the life of women; they regard these subjects from such a different stand-point that they can not supply the want” (p. 349-350). This suggests that the female perspective was also lacking in medicine. They also propose that women should be teaching medicine. Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell conclude this section by suggesting that women should not be limited to medicine. Women should accordingly be part of all different domains because “For what is done or learned by one class of women becomes, by virtue of their common womanhood, the property of all women” (p. 355). Basically, they are suggesting that by taking varied interests in life and careers, all women will benefit in the end because the next generation can have limitless possibilities.
In the final reading, “Antoinette Brown Blackwell: Sex and Evolution,” the author examines the theory of evolution as presented by Darwin and Spencer. Antoinette Brown Blackwell was the first woman to become an ordained minister in the United States. However, this article is written in a very calculated, scientific style. She disproves points made by Darwin and Spencer with logic and additional facts. She begins her discussion by saying, “Any positive thinker is compelled to see everything in the light of his own convictions” (p.357). Here she is suggesting that Darwin and Spencer are operating from the standpoint of male superiority. Therefore, they had not considered the points she made because they were inclined to find evidence solely in support of their own thinking. She continues her scientific analysis throughout the text. In spite of this, her conclusion returns to the idea of men and women in contemporary society and the institution of marriage. She states: “If Evolution, as applied to sex, teaches any one lesson plainer than another, it is the lesson that the monogamic marriage is the basis of all progress” (p. 376). She continues by explaining that men and women must cooperate and complement one another in order to attain further progress.
Response/Critique:
The first reading surprised me because there was a definite focus on reasons behind the lifestyle chosen by the Blackwell women. I felt like the author focused too much on what was potentially “wrong” with these women instead of presenting them as they were. I understand that mental problems could have potentially defined their personalities, but I felt that the author went too far in some respects to make the point that these women did not choose to be single, there was something inherently wrong with them that then made them choose to be single. I would have preferred to read more about their work and what they did to further women’s rights than speculate as to why they chose not to marry.
The last two readings were interesting because it seemed that Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell traded places with Antoinette Brown Blackwell. Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell discussed the rights of women to pursue a career and made connections specifically to women and medicine. Conversely, Antoinette Brown Blackwell became the first ordained woman minister and she chose to discuss the theory of evolution. If I had to guess before reading, I would have felt that Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell wrote the scientific text and Antoinette Brown Blackwell the more general text on the many capabilities of women. I found the Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell text to be progressive and empowering. Of course, they were arguing for the greater presence of women in medicine, but they did not limit themselves strictly to this field. There was a greater sense that women should strive for more collectively and contribute to the “property of all women” (p. 355). The Antoinette Brown Blackwell text seemed to strictly present the theory of evolution, with the main purpose being to contradict Darwin and Spencer. I preferred the text entitled: “Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell: Medicine as a Profession for Women.” The first text presented many negative aspects about the Blackwell women’s personal lives and the last text read like a scientific article. I felt like this second text by Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell said the most about women being capable of more. I also really enjoyed the positive representation of women and the idea of promoting women to succeed. I feel like this is still important today, but since this was written in the nineteenth century I believe it was very progressive at the time and I enjoyed thinking about the historical mindset when this text was originally published.
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