The Political Thought Of Elizabeth Cady Stanton: Women's Rights And The American Political Traditions

"Scholars of American political thought have often failed to appreciate the significance of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Scholars of Stanton have often not been deeply immersed in broader studies of American political thought. Sue Davis's outstanding book rectifies both these deficiencies in ways that will have enduring value."
--Rogers M. Smith, author of "Stories of Peoplehood: The Politics and Morals of Political Membership"

aSue Davis admirably succeeds in this book that integrates the conceptual and political legacy of Elizabeth Cady Stanton with current scholarship on heritage of the American liberal state. A must-read for students of American political development, womenas rights, and legal theory.a
--Eileen McDonagh, author of "Breaking the Abortion Deadlock"

aElizabeth Cady Stanton was open to any idea she encountered--old or new, conventional or innovated--except male supremacy. Sue Davis's admirable book shows that this great feminist's adaptability was both her best and worst characteristic.a
--Judith Baer, author of "Our Lives before the Law: Constructing a Feminist Jurisprudence"

Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) was not only one of the most important leaders of the nineteenth century womenas rights movement but was also the movementas principal philosopher. Her ideas challenged the conventions of the time period that so severely constrained womenas choices and excluded them from public life.

In The Political Thought of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sue Davis argues that Cady Stanton's work reflects the rich tapestry of American political culture in the second half of the nineteenth century. Consequently, as Davis demonstrates, Cady Stanton deservesrecognition as one of America's major political thinkers. Davis reveals the way that Cady Stanton's work drew from different political traditions ranging from liberal egalitarianism to radicalism. Although Cady Stanton's arguments for women's rights combined what have come to be conflicting versions of feminism, her ideas are reflected in late twentieth and early twentieth century feminisms.

Thoroughly researched and engagingly written, The Political Thought of Elizabeth Cady Stanton draws on a wide variety of primary and secondary sources, and promises to fill a gap in the literature on the history of political ideas in the United States as well as womenas history and feminist theory.