le
written by a woman?

{There are two reasons for doing so. The first is that Susan Fenimore
Cooper (1813-1894) was no ordinary woman. She was educated in Europe
and extremely well read; she was the daughter and literary assistant of
James Fenimore Cooper, America's first internationally recognized
novelist; and she was a naturalist and essayist of great talent whose
"nature diary" of her home village at Cooperstown, published as "Rural
Hours" in 1850, has become a classic of early American environmental
literature.

{Yet Susan Fenimore Cooper argued eloquently, bringing to her task not
only her deep religious feelings but also her very considerable
knowledge of world history and of American society, that women should
not be given the vote! Hers was not a simple defense of male dominion;
her case is combined with equally eloquent arguments in favor of higher
education for women, and for equal wages for equal work. "Female
Suffrage," is thus of considerable biographic importance, throwing
important light on her views of God, of society, and of American
culture.

{At the same time, "Female Suffrage" demonstrates that no social
argument--however popular or politically correct today--can be
considered as self-evident. Those who favor full legal and social
equality of the sexes at the ballot box and elsewhere (as I believe I
do), should be prepared to examine and answer Susan Fenimore Cooper's
arguments to the contrary. Many of those arguments are still heard
daily in the press and on TV talk shows--not indeed to end women's
right to vote, but as arguments against further steps towards gender
equality. Unlike many modern commentators, Susan Fenimore Cooper
examines these arguments in detail, both as to their roots and their
possible effects, rather than expressing them as simplistic
sound-bites. She asks her readers to examine whether gender equality is
compatible with Christian teachings; whether universal suffrage can
ever resolve social problems; whether the "political" sphere is as
significant to human life as politicians believe. One need not agree
with her answers, but one can only be grateful that she forces us to
ask questions.

{Hugh C. MacDougall, Secretary, James Fenimore Cooper Society--August
1999}

FEMALE SUFFRAGE.

A LETTER TO THE CHRISTIAN WOMEN OF AMERICA.

Part I.

{Publisher's Note} [NOTE.--We have printed this Letter, which will be
continued in our next Number, not as an expres