MARGARET FULLER - PIONEERING WOMAN

by Dr. Lawrence Wilson

All information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not for the diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.

I. INTRODUCTION

Margaret Fuller (1810-1850) was one of the most influential women of the 19^th century. She said she was here to serve God and serve the world.

She was a strong advocate of equal rights for women, and especially wanted women to become educated just as much as men.

Some consider her the forerunner of the modern women’s movement in America. She wrote a book entitled Women In The 19^th Century that is still an excellent book to read for any woman today.

She also firmly opposed slavery in America and everywhere else, and championed more humane treatment of prisoners and the poor. These are the things she wants to be remembered for.

EARLY LIFE

Margaret, as she loved to be called, was born on May 10, 1810 near present-day Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Her father was a local attorney and politician, while her mother was a homemaker. They were not wealthy, but there was usually enough food on the table and the family enjoyed living in the area of Boston, in America.

Margaret was a bright child, but she said she was not brilliant. Her father, however, insisted that she learn everything that a man would learn, including Latin, other languages, history, science and religion. He was quite harsh about it, causing Margaret to experience headaches and nightmares related to learning things.

In spite of this, she persisted with her studies. In fact, at one time she was dubbed “the most well-read person in New England among women and men.”

EARLY WORK

Margaret loved learning, teaching and writing. She worked at several jobs as an editor, a writer and a teacher. These earned her respect, and she earned money that the family badly needed after her father died and left the family with very little. Often, she was the first woman to hold type of her job, and she excelled at them.

Two of these positions were most prestigious. She was asked by Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the most eminent writers in America at the time, to edit his magazine, The Dial. After working there for a few years, she accepted a position as an editor at the New York Herald Tribune, then a leader in publishing the news.

WORK WITH WOMEN

Although she greatly enjoyed her writing and editing jobs, Margaret’s real fame came from her work with women. Around 1830, she began holding “Conversations” with groups of middle-class women throughout New England, and later in New York and in Europe. These were written lessons that she mailed to many people.

The goals of these lessons were:

1. To educate women about the issues of the day.

2. To help the women feel confident in speaking out and discussing these complex issues

3. To encourage women to become more educated about everything.

Margaret felt that this was her greatest contribution to humanity. She, like her grand nephew, Richard Buckminster Fuller, felt that she “belonged to the universe.

Her work with women was her feeble attempt to serve God and the planet. It was, she believed, her major contribution to the planet.

MARRIAGE

Early in her life, Margaret decided she would not marry because her father advised her against it. He told her she would just become an idle housewife like her mother (who was not idle!)

At first, she accepted the idea. However, at age 36 she met a wonderful Hebrew man whom she married. She had one son by her new husband and became much happier.

In fact, her marriage worked very well and she changed her mind about it completely. Her father had been wrong, in her case.

FINAL WORDS

Much more can be said about Margaret Fuller, and has been. This short article is just enough to hopefully cause you to pick up her book, Women In The Nineteenth Century, or another of her works.

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