What is Judith Sargent Murray best known for?
Judith Sargent Murray. A prominent essayist of the American republic, Judith Sargent Murray was an early advocate of women’s equality, access to education, and the right to control their earnings. Her essay, “On the Equality of the Sexes,” was published a year before Mary Wolstonecraft’s renowned 1792 Vindication of the Rights of Women.
What did Judith Sargent do for Women’s rights?
She was also among America’s earliest champions of financial independence and equal rights for women. She argued forcefully for improved female education and for women to be allowed a public voice. Judith Sargent was born May 5, 1751 in Gloucester, Massachusetts, to the wealthy merchant family of Winthrop and Judith Saunders Sargent.
What did Judith Murray do for women's rights?
Women's rights advocate, essayist, playwright, poet, and letter writer. Judith Sargent Stevens Murray (May 1, 1751 – June 9, 1820) was an early American advocate for women's rights, an essay writer, playwright, poet, and letter writer.
What did Judith Sargent Murray write about in the Gleaner?
Essays in The Gleaner championed the new republic; considered citizenship, virtue and philanthropy; and decried war and violence of any kind. The book firmly established Judith Sargent Murray as a leading author and advocate for women’s equality, education and economic independence. In one of the essays, she wrote:
How did Judith Sargent Murray argue for gender equality?
In arguing that women possess equal intellect to men, Murray's “On the Equality of the Sexes” admonishes men against the assumption of superiority by offering a theological perspective that: “Our souls are by nature equal to yours; the same breath of God animates, enlivens, and invigorates us; and that we are not ...
What is the purpose of Judith Sargent Murray's on the equality of the sexes 10 points?
In her essay, “On the Equality of the Sexes”, Judith Sargent Murray (1751–1820) sardonically examines these misogynistic stereotypes, turning them upside down. She argues that the vicissitudes of female fashion are evidence of artistry, and the story-telling a natural symptom of untapped creativity.
What was Judith Sargent Murray's first published essay?
Judith's first essay was "Desultory Thoughts upon the Utility of Encouraging a Degree of Self-Complacency, Especially in Female Bosoms," which was published in 1784 under the pseudonym Constancia in the Boston periodical, Gentleman and Lady's Town and Country Magazine.
When did Judith Sargent Murray live?
May 1, 1751 – July 6, 1820Judith Sargent Murray / Years of Living
What activity would Judith Sargent Murray have praised?
In the late eighteenth century, what activity would Judith Sargent Murray have praised? Girls being given the chance to attend college.
What is the main point of gender equality?
Gender equality prevents violence against women and girls. It's essential for economic prosperity. Societies that value women and men as equal are safer and healthier. Gender equality is a human right.
Why is Judith Murray important?
A prominent essayist of the American republic, Judith Sargent Murray was an early advocate of women's equality, access to education, and the right to control their earnings. Her essay, “On the Equality of the Sexes,” was published a year before Mary Wolstonecraft's renowned 1792 Vindication of the Rights of Women.
What is the message of Murray article?
The general argument made by author Charles Murray in his article, “Are too many people go to college,” is that the college is not necessary for everyone. More specifically, the Murray argues that students who went to school should have learned the core knowledge they will learn in the college.
How does Murray answer the argument that offering education?
Murray answers the argument that offering education to woman will lead them to neglect their "domestic employments" by exploiting the inequality and unequal educational opportunities given to women.
Where did Judith Sargent Murray live?
BostonJudith Sargent Murray / Places livedBoston, officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th-most populous city in the country. Wikipedia
Who were Judith Sargent Murray and Mary Wollstonecraft?
In 1790, Massachusetts native Judith Sargent Murray questioned the status of women in her essay “On the Equality of the Sexes.” Two years later, British philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft fueled conversations about women's rights in the United States with her book The Vindication of the Rights of Women.
What was Murray's on the equality of Sexes?
19In her poem, Murray stresses the idea that all human beings are born to live together and enjoy the same rights since they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. Her poem reflects the condition of women during the colonial period and the restrictions put upon her.
What are the benefits of gender equality?
The benefits of gender equalityGender equality prevents violence against women and girls. Gender inequality is a root cause of violence against women. ... Gender equality is good for the economy. ... Gender equality is a human right. ... Gender equality makes our communities safer and healthier.
What is the importance of gender justice?
Social, political and economic equality for women is integral to the achievement of all Millennium Development Goals. Hence, gender justice entails ending the inequalities between women and men that are produced and reproduced in the family, the community, the market and the state.
Why is gender equality important in Australia?
Equal representation of women in leadership positions in workplaces and politics. Recognition of the value of unpaid and domestic work. Equal access to the economic resources such as financial services, inheritance and natural resources. No discrimination against women and girls.
What is Judith Sargent Murray's legacy?
Judith Sargent Murray's legacy is a subject of much contemporary discussion. Because her letter books were only fairly recently discovered, no one has been able to produce a complete biography of her life, though "A Brief Biography with Documents" (by Sheila L. Skemp) is useful in understanding her life's contributions to the study of intellectual history. Alice Rossi's 1974 landmark book The Feminist Papers starts with Murray's "On the Equality of the Sexes." Rossi began the reinstatement of Murray's voice to the American story. Since the discovery of the letter books in 1984 at Arlington, in Natchez, Mississippi, by the Rev. Gordon Gibson, a Unitarian Universalist minister, and through the work of the Judith Sargent Murray Society, whose founder, Bonnie Hurd Smith, was recently recognized by Oxford University Press as the leading scholar on Murray. The letter books are being transcribed, indexed, and published for researchers to use (visit http://www.jsmsociety.com to order Smith's books on Murray's letters, and Smith's brief biography of Judith Sargent Murray). David McCullough included one of Murray's letters in his biography of John Adams. Cokie Roberts used Murray's letters in Founding Mothers .
How many essays did Judith Sargent Murray write?
Judith Sargent Murray began her early career covering a wide range of literary styles. Not only did Murray write over one hundred essays, including her landmark essay "On the Equality of the Sexes" in 1790, she also published a number of books, several poems, and two comic plays throughout the late 1700s and early 1800s.
How many children did Judith Murray have?
John and Judith had two children together, one of whom survived infancy. Inspired by enlightenment thinkers like Mary Wollstonecraft, Judith Sargent Murray ensured that her daughter received a good education. She educated her daughter, Julia Maria (pronounced like Mariah), at home until she was old enough to attend an academy. John Murray encouraged Judith's literary ambitions, and where she became an active supporter of his efforts to establish Universalism in the new nation. Murray accompanied her husband on many of his preaching tours to New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, allowing her to network and meet influential citizens such as Abigail Adams and Martha Custis Washington, who became supporters of her work as an author; Adams offered her moral and financial support, and allowed Murray's work to appear in The Gleaner. During her first marriage, Judith had adopted two of her first husband's orphaned nieces, Anna and Mary Plummer, and briefly housed another young orphan to whom she was related, Polly Odell. During her years with John Murray, Judith oversaw the education of twelve children, including her daughter, the children of her brothers, and those of family friends. When she traveled, she befriended more young people and maintained a regular correspondence with them. She helped found a female academy in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1802–3. Throughout her life, Murray was a dedicated teacher of young people with whom she came into contact.
What did Judith Sargent argue about education?
Her essays argued that education would enable women to support their families if the need arose or to achieve economic independence if they chose to remain single. Judith Sargent was a staunch believer in improved educational opportunity for women. Her essays were important to the post-Revolution "Republican Motherhood" movement, a movement led by Abigail Adams and other female revolutionaries which aimed to produce intelligent and virtuous citizens required for the success of the new nation. Their keystone argument was that the education of patriotic sons – who would be voters - rested largely in the hands of mothers, which resonated with great importance to the success of the world's first experiment in governance without a monarch or other permanent authority. Sargent was a feminist pioneer, and one of the first advocates to publicly claim female equality in the new Nation. Her original insight in her 1779 essay, "On Equality of the Sexes" is repeated by feminists today,
How many letters are in the Murray book?
Containing approximately 2,500 letters, Murray's letter books make up one of the few surviving collections of writings by women from this period in American history. (The letter books are currently being transcribed and published by the Judith Sargent Murray Society.
What was the Sargent family?
The Sargent family was considered to be cultured, politically aware, and civically active. As a wealthy, ship-owning merchant family, Judith's parents were able to provide her and her siblings with a top-notch education. For a woman in that era, her education was unusually thorough.
When did Judith Sargent Stevens begin writing?
In 1782, she began writing for publication.
Who was Judith Sargent?
Judith Sargent was the daughter of a wealthy shipowner and merchant and received an unusually good education for a girl of her time. In 1769 she married John Stevens, a sea captain. She began writing in the 1770s, at first writing verse but soon turning to essay form, as the intellectual ferment of the Revolutionary period aroused interest in ...
What was the Women's Rights Movement?
Women’s rights movement, diverse social movement , largely based in the United States, that in the 1960s and ’70s sought equal rights and opportunities and greater personal freedom for women. It coincided with and is recognized as part of the “second wave” of feminism. While the…
Where was the medium play?
In March 1795 her play The Medium, or A Happy Tea Party was produced at the Federal Street Theatre in Boston, probably the first play by an American author to be produced at that theatre. Both that play and her next, The Traveller Returned (produced 1796), were unsuccessful.
What did Judith Sargent believe?
She believed that with quality education women’s accomplishments would equal those of men’s if parents raised their daughters to “reverence themselves,” as she put it in one of her essays. The Sargent family library was vast, which allowed her to read history, philosophy, geography, and literature.
Where is Judith Murray buried?
Judith Sargent Murray died June 9, 1820, in Natchez and was buried in the Bingaman family Hurricane Plantation cemetery. Her daughter inscribed on her gravestone, “Dear spirit, the monumental stone can never speak thy worth.” Julia Maria and her daughter died within a few years.
What did the Universalists do in 1782?
In 1782, the Universalists’ defiance of First Parish Church led the ruling ministers to seize valuable goods from Winthrop Sargent, Epes Sargent and others to sell at public auction. Although the Universalists had formed their own organization, they were still expected to pay taxes to support the established church – which they refused to do.
Why was John Murray expelled from the First Parish Church?
In 1780 John Murray’s Universalist supporters were expelled from First Parish Church for for refusing to attend, Judith among them. The minister they wanted to support in their own church was John Murray.
What pseudonyms did Judith use?
She went on to publish additional essays and used additional pseudonyms, including “Honora” and “Martesia,” and her writing became quite popular. A student of history, Judith used examples of women’s accomplishments dating to ancient times to prove her points and to provide leadership in what would become a long struggle for women to become fully functioning members of society.
When did John Murray die?
In 1815 John Murray died at the age of seventy-four and after twenty-seven years of marriage. Although bereft, Judith oversaw two funeral services for her husband, one in Gloucester and the other in Boston. She also completed and published John’s autobiography, Records of the Life of the Rev. John Murray, in 1816.
Who was the most famous woman essayist of the 18th century?
Judith Sargent Murray was a poet and playwright, and the most prominent woman essayist of the eighteenth century. She was also among America’s earliest champions of financial independence and equal rights for women. She argued forcefully for improved female education and for women to be allowed a public voice.
Overview
Judith Sargent Stevens Murray (May 1, 1751 – June 9, 1820) was an early American advocate for women's rights, an essay writer, playwright, poet, and letter writer. She was one of the first American proponents of the idea of the equality of the sexes—that women, like men, had the capability of intellectual accomplishment and should be able to achieve economic independence. Amo…
Life and career
Judith Sargent was born on May 1, 1751, in Gloucester, Massachusetts, to Winthrop Sargent and Judith Saunders as the first of eight children. Her parents were Judith Saunders and Winthrop Sargent, and they were an established merchant family. The Sargent children were raised in the established Congregational First Parish Church. In the 1770s, Judith, her siblings, and her parents all converted to Universalism and helped to fund and create the first Universalist Church in the n…
"On the Equality of the Sexes"
"On the Equality of the Sexes" is a 1790 essay by Judith Sargent Murray. Murray wrote the work in 1779 but did not release it until April 1790, when she published it in two parts in two separate issues of Massachusetts Magazine. The essay predated Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman which was published in 1792 and 1794, and the work has been credited as being Murray's most important work.
Legacy
Judith Sargent Murray's legacy is a subject of much contemporary discussion. Because her letter books were only fairly recently discovered, no one has been able to produce a complete biography of her life, though "A Brief Biography with Documents" (by Sheila L. Skemp) is useful in understanding her life's contributions to the study of intellectual history. Alice Rossi's 1974 landmark book The Feminist Papers starts with Murray's "On the Equality of the Sexes." Rossi be…
Selected works
List of works taken from the Judith Sargent Murray Society
• Some Deductions from the System Promulgated in the Page of Divine Revelation: Ranged in the Order and Form of a Catechism Intended as an Assistant to the Christian Parent or Teacher published anonymously (1782)
• The Gleaner: A Miscellaneous Production (1798)
External links
• The Judith Sargent Murray Society -Biographical information on Judith Sargent Murray and John Murray, Project to publish Murray's Letter Books, Murray's essays and poems, Books on Murray, Images, Research assistance, founded by Bonnie Hurd Smith, leading expert on Murray
• The Sargent House Museum -Home of Judith Sargent Murray, Gloucester, Massachusetts