Full Description
This book explores the role of Quaker women in social reform during the period from 1790-1920, particularly among the leading female reformers of the Northeast, focusing especially on the reforms of abolition, women's rights and peace witness. Historian Nancy Hewitt's question is addressed; did the Hicksite schism lead to liberal reform among women? That is, were there positive repercussions from the Hicksite schism for women in the sense that the Hicksite schism became the platform for the women's movement, or that Hicksite Quaker women were far more involved in liberal social reforms than their Orthodox Quaker counterparts? The study concludes that Hicksite and Orthodox Quaker women were equally involved in liberal social reform and activism, but that they differed primarily in the expression of their theological beliefs and hermeneutics.As for the creation of the woman's rights movement, the study charts two theories of the creation of the women's movement-One that begins in Seneca Falls with the Women's Rights Convention of 1848 which involves predominantly Hicksite Quakers, and the second which sees the creation of the American women's rights movement evolving from the work of female abolitionists. This second theory focuses largely on Orthodox Quaker women.
Contents
Chapters; 1Orthodox and Hicksite Girls: Quaker Training for Leadership in Fundamental Quaker Values; 3: The Schism and the Women Reformers; 4: Hicksite and Orthodox Abolitionists; 5: Orthodox Originators of the Women's Rights Movement and Suffrage; 6: The Hicksite Reformers and Women's Rights Movement and Suffrage; 7: 19th Century Peace Witness and the Women Reformers; 8: Early 20th Century Peace Reformers Bring Early Healing of the Schism.
