International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest

Extract

Frances Wright was a Scotch-American political radical and social reformer, feminist, humanist, and political radical of the early nineteenth century. Ahead of her time in many respects, she defied gender norms by openly opposing slavery, racism, and sexism before such ideas were publicly acceptable. Wright's radical egalitarianism and willingness to speak on divisive issues made her one of the more controversial figures of antebellum America. Frances “Fanny” Wright was born in Dundee, Scotland on September 6, 1795. A daughter of privilege (her father was a linen merchant and admirer of Thomas Paine ), she was orphaned at the age of three and inherited a substantial estate. After self-educating herself at libraries in Glasgow, where her uncle was a professor, she traveled to the United States. During her journey she wrote her first major work, Views of Society and Manners in America (1821), a traveler's tale which praised the progressive and democratic ethos of the United States in comparison to Europe. Being the first major work by a European woman on the United States, it caught the attention of European liberals ranging from James Bentham to the Marquis de Lafayette . While her travels to the United States initially prompted praise, in her subsequent visits she became appalled at the institution of slavery and its obvious inconsistency with the democratic and republican ... log in or subscribe to read full text