The Origins of Modern Feminism: Women in Britain, France and the United States 1780–1860

Abstract

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Adam Smith, Stage Theory, and the Status of Women

“…Turgot. That the development of the four stages theory influenced the analysis of the social position of women made by various members of the Scottish Historical School, has been widely recognised. (Bowles 1984;Tomaselli 1985;Rendall: 1985Rendall: ,1987 This awareness has motivated a number of individuals to give consideration to precisely where the analysis of women fits into the four stages theory and how the development of the theory influenced the school's perspective regarding relations between the sexes. The work of Bowles (1984) has been of particular significance in this regard.…”

Reason vs Revelation: Feminism, Malthus, and the New Poor Law in Narratives by Harriet Martineau and Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna

“…16 For the most part the theory was used conservatively (and complacently) to justify separate spheres for men and women on the basis that such gendered demarcations were in themselves evidence of civilized achievement. 17 Yet it was also amenable to a much more radical and subversive interpretation. One of the most influential four stages theorists was John Millar, a pupil of Adam Smith.…”

Women resisting the vote: a case of anti feminism?

“…The politicisation of the domestic sphere by Mary Wollstonecraft -what Jane Rendall has called 'republican motherhood' [70] and Miriam Brody 'mov[ing] the home, with the woman in it, toward the state' [71] -has remained one of the most persistent ideological teachings of A Vindication.…”