Description
Book SynopsisExamining the lives of three women - Mercy Otis Warren, Abigail Smith Adams, and Judith Sargent Murray, this book explains how their public and private actions represent the conflict of being a white woman, of being the recipient of both privilege and discrimination. It sheds light on the race and gender relations in the early American Republic.
Trade ReviewThis book should be viewed as a jumping-off point to examine the theory of racial patriarchy at different times and places throughout American history. * The Journal of American History *
Provides an excellent theory for understanding the mutual constitution of race and gender in the formation of & womens identity * Women & Politics *
Combining methodologies from history and political science, Pauline Schloesser has developed a most sophisticated and convincing interpretation of how the founding fathers constructed a theory of racial patriarchy supported by an & ideology of the fair sex. Her analysis of the political thought of Mercy Warren, Abigail Adams, and Judith Sargent Murray demonstrates that even these three independent thinkers accepted the gender and ethnic hierarchy handed them by the founders in order to protect their own racial and class privilege as white women. -- Joan Hoff,Professor of History, College of William and Mary
Pauline Schloessers work on racial patriarchy is pathbreaking in its association of concepts that previously have been studied in near-isolation from each other. The book makes compelling use of primary sources, most notably private correspondence, to provide a sense of how women in elite positions saw themselves and their society in the context of both race and gender relations. The book establishes the presence of a social contract in which Anglo-American women were encouraged to accept subordination within an existing conservative order in exchange for a position of moral and intellectual superiority, most notably over non-whites. Schloessers innovative concept of racial patriarchy, along with an impressive foundation in research, make The Fair Sex a major work in political theory and American intellectual history. -- Patrick James,Political Science, University of Missouri Columbia
Schloessers theory of racial patriarchy repositions America's founding mothers Mercy Warren, Abigail Adams, Judith Murrayat the intersections of racial privilege and gender oppression. Drawing on Habermass discourse theory, she reveals the racial contract implicit in their efforts to participate as equal citizens. The Fair Sex offers a new perspective on the intersections of class, gender, and race from the American Founding to the present day. -- Nancy S. Love,Associate Professor of Political Science
Table of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgments 1 Race, Gender, and Woman Citizenship in the American Founding 2 Toward a Theory of Racial Patriarchy3 The Ideology of the "Fair Sex" 4 The Philosopher Queen and the U.S. Constitution: Mercy Otis Warren as a Reluctant Signatory 5 From Revolution to Racial Patriarchy: The Political Pragmatism of Abigail Adams 6 Gleaning a Self between the Lines: Judith Sargent Murray and the American Enlightenment 7 Conclusion Epilogue Appendix Notes Bibliography Index About the Author
