The Feminist Thought of Sarah Grimk

About this book

Sarah Grimk feminist activist and abolitionist was one of the nineteenth centurys most important feminist thinkers. She was the first American woman to write a coherent feminist argument and her writings and work championing the emancipation of woman still carry a powerful message for contemporary women. In the view of historians Sarah Grimk as long been overshadowed by her sister Angelina. In The Feminist Thought of Sarah Grimk Gerda Lerner corrects this appraisal by placing Sarahs work in the context of the long history of feminist thought and Biblical criticism showing that she was indeed a major figure and a pioneer. Based on her meticulous study of primary sources--Sarahs writings letters and journal entries--Lerner at last gives full credit to Sarah Grimkes contribution to the womens rights movement. As Lerner explains "That Sarahs work came to us in snippets and fragments handwritten on paper cut out of a notebook embedded in the manuscript collection of her brother-in-law unnoticed and forgotten for over a hundred years is typical of what happened to the intellectual work of women " but it is not indicative of her accomplishments as a major thinker. The Feminist Thought of Sarah Grimk not only revises our appreciation of Sarah Grimk thought and life but it represents some of Gerda Lerners most significant work in documenting womens role in history.