Eric Foner, Columbia University
Elizabeth Cady Stanton is undoubtedly a central figure in nineteenth-century American history. Her autobiography, and her career, express in uniquely feminist perspective some of the era's central themes, including the struggles for equal rights and individual autonomy. This powerfully written book is essential reading for anyone who would understand not only the origins of the women's rights movements, but the nature of American society in Stanton's era
Joyce Appleby, University of California at Los Angeles
Few autobiographies are able to retrieve a world we have lost. Even fewer have the power to evoke the greatness of their subject. Elizabeth Cady Stanton's Eighty Years and More does both and much more
Eric Foner, Columbia University
"Elizabeth Cady Stanton is undoubtedly a central figure in nineteenth-century American history. Her autobiography, and her career, express in uniquely feminist perspective some of the era's central themes, including the struggles for equal rights and individual autonomy. This powerfully written book is essential reading for anyone who would understand not only the origins of the women's rights movements, but the nature of American society in Stanton's era." University
Book Description
This vivid autobiography by one of the leaders in the fight for woman suffrage is a stirring depiction of the early struggles of American women toward equality. The new introduction and afterword written for the revised edition interpret Elizabeth Cady Stanton's positions and strategies for today's readers, detail the significance of the autobiography and situate it within the body of Stanton's writings and activities, bring current scholarship to the appraisal of her importance, and reflect on the last part of her life. Elizabeth Cady Stanton writes about her life from childhood into her eighties. She recalls the discontent that led her to launch the woman suffrage movement at Seneca Falls in 1848 and the frustration of still having no voice in her own government after a half century of hard work. In lively and opinionated prose, Stanton conveys all the passion that made her a guiding force in the women's movement. She provides an affectionate picture of her friend and political partner, Susan B. Anthony, and other leaders in the abolitionist and woman suffrage movements. She describes the immeasurable pleasure of winning converts to her cause and the satisfaction of silencing opponents through the force of her argument. Sometimes humorous, sometimes touching, filled with resolve throughout, Eighty Years and More is a compelling portrait of this remarkable leader.
About the Author
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born in Johnstown, New York, in 1815. She lived in Boston, Seneca Falls, and New York City, where she died in 1902. Ellen Carol DuBois is the author of Feminism and Suffrage: The Emergence of an Independent Women's Movement in America, 1848-1869, and is completing a biography of Harriot Stanton Blatch, second generation suffragist. She has written extensively on the history of women's rights and woman suffrage. She is Professor of History at UCLA. Ann Gordon is co-editor of The Papers of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.
Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences, 1815-1897 FROM THE PUBLISHER
Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) devoted her life to the cause of advancing the political, legal, and social standing of women, and she became the women's rights movement's most eloquent spokesperson. Her autobiography records as much about the cause as it does about her personal life.
Stanton vividly describes momentous occasions of the women's rights movement such as organizing the Seneca Falls (New York) Convention in the summer of 1848, and also gives her views on theology, marriage, and divorce, as well as reminiscences of her parents, husband, and seven children. Two chapters are devoted to Susan B. Anthony, and there are many anecdotes about Lucretia Mott, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and other leading feminists of the day.
This account of history in the making displays Stanton's unflagging, exuberant optimism and her determination that the noble goal to which she had dedicated her life would someday be accomplished. This unabridged edition is enhanced with an introduction by Denise M. Marshall, trustee of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Foundation, Seneca Falls, New York.
FROM THE CRITICS
Booknews
Orator and journalist Cady (1815-1902) campaigned for legal, political, and industrial equality for women and liberal divorce laws. She was one of the initiators of the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, and worked with such others as Susan B. Anthony, Parker Pillsbury, and Matilda Joslyn Gage. Her memoir was published in 1898 by European Publishing Company, New York. This title is cited in . Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)