Determined to transcend the boundaries placed on them during the Revolutionary era, women wrote extensively of their ideas and desire to be granted the same inalienable rights as men of the nation. In the writings of most women was a desire to participate in the national debates and development of the new American polis, one they saw rooted in democracy, equality, and liberty. With the exception of a few recorded lectures and brief mentions of women’s political and social rights in the Eighteenth Century, there are not many engaging visual and digital resources on women’s history geared towards the broader intellectual history community. Early American women’s history is integral to understanding the evolution of women’s essential political and intellectual participation in America. 

This multifaceted website presents research on women’s engagement with eighteenth century political philosophy in America and how they reinterpreted the philosophy to demonstrate that they were not only intellectually capable of engaging in debate, but that they were capable of the same political recognition as their husbands. This platform will not only ensure that a light will be shed on “the countless women in U.S. history that were previously unknown to the public,” but it will also offer historians and young academics alike the opportunity the opportunity to engage in spirited discussions surrounding new research that informs and elevates women’s history.