Quaker women as well as men testified against slavery in the 1780s, writing statements on the topic in separate women’s meetings. Although few other women experienced such spiritual autonomy, many gained a greater sense of economic and political independence during the Revolution.

Abigail Adams had written her husband John in 1776, “[I]f perticuliar care and attention is not paid to the Laidies we are determined to foment a Rebelion” (see Document 6.7 in chapter 6). While she and other elite women sought a more public voice, only New Jersey granted women—widowed or single and property-owning—the right to vote. The vast majority of women could shape political decisions only by influencing their male relatives and friends. Fortunately, many leaders of the early Republic viewed wives and mothers as necessary to the development of a strong nation. In 1787 Benjamin Rush, in his Essay on Female Education, claimed that women could best shape political ideas and relations by “instructing their sons in principles of liberty and government.” To prepare young women for this enhanced role, Rush suggested educating them in literature, music, composition, geography, history, and bookkeeping.

Judith Sargent Murray offered a more radical approach to women’s education, arguing that “girls should be enabled to procure for themselves the necessaries of life; independence should be placed within their grasp” (see Document 7.2). A few American women in the late eighteenth century did receive broad educations, and some ran successful businesses; wrote plays, poems, and histories; and established urban salons where women and men discussed the issues of the day. In 1789 Massachusetts became the first state to institute free elementary education for all children, and female academies also multiplied in this period. While schooling for affluent girls was often focused on preparing them for domesticity, the daughters of artisans and farmers learned practical skills so they could assist in the family enterprise.

While women’s influence was praised in the post-Revolutionary era, state laws rarely expanded women’s rights. All states limited women’s economic autonomy, although a few allowed married women to enter into business. Divorce was also legalized in many states but was still available only to the wealthy and well connected. Meanwhile women were excluded from juries, legal training, and, with rare exceptions, voting rights.

African American and Indian women lived under even more severe constraints than white women. Most black women were enslaved, and those who were free could usually find jobs only as domestic servants or agricultural workers. Among Indian nations, years of warfare enhanced men’s role as warriors and diplomats while restricting women’s political influence. U.S. government officials and Protestant missionaries encouraged Indians to embrace gender roles that mirrored those of Anglo-American culture, further diminishing women’s roles. Indian women forced to move west also lost authority tied to their traditional control of land, crops, and households.