The Federalist Era is a time in which society is made up of a patriarchal structure. It is a time in which women are clearly denied a speaking voice, due to the fact that certain topics are socially unacceptable for women to talk about. This cornered women into a modest and quiet lifestyle. Many men try to justify the secluded role women are given at the time, but overall, women are forced to be patriotic for a country that denied them their rights. Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren are two strong female roles in the 18th century who would not back down from their feminist opinions, by writing letters and plays with messages that are not typically appropriate topics for women. In the letters of Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren, strong opinions on the exclusions of women during the Federalist Era are expressed due to the fact that women's values are not satisfactory. This is shown through Adam and Warren’s writings about the treatment of women, education, and power.

Women in the 18th century are not treated as equals to men. During the Federalist Era, women are viewed as property to men, which means married women are not allowed to have independence away from their husbands. Abigail Adams’s views on the treatment of women are very clear. Adams believes that it is just as much a man's job to take care of a woman as it is a woman's job to uphold the house and affairs. In Abigail Adams’s letter,  “Remember the Ladies,” she proves her point by stating, "Regard us then as being placed by Providence under your protection and in imitations of the Supreme Being made use of that power only for our happiness" (Adams). Not only are women seen as property, but men only saw the value of women when it came to reproduction. Due to this belief, Abigail Adams writes that women deserve to be looked at as more than just a means of reproduction, as stated in her famous quote, "Men of all senses in all ages abhor those Customs which treat us only as vessels of your sex" (Adams). Women in the Federalist Era are not only treated as property to men, but they also had many restrictions. These restrictions are explained clearly: “Their husbands control their property, directed their labor, and provided their support. Abigail sought for American women a separate legal existence that would guarantee the wife a share in the fruits of mutual labor” (Bober 72). Moreover, Adams is sure that the major problem women are facing is legal subordination to their husbands. Women are required to live in the shadow of their husbands. Adams knows that as long as women are dependent on men, they would have no rights for themselves. Overall, the treatment of women is unfair, and women are not allowed to question male power. Abigail Adams does not question male power but does question the justice behind it: "Your sex are naturally tyrannical is a truth so thoroughly established as to admit no dispute. Why then not put it out of the power of the vicious and lawless to use with cruelty and indignity and impunity?" (Adams). Adams describes the male sex as tyrannical, as if the male sex is a power which needs to be overthrown. Adams then imposes the question, why is power in the hands of people who will use it in a cruel manner, such as leaving women out of politics and decision making. Therefore, Adams believes that women should be granted the same opportunities as men because women are indeed equal.

Adams’s beliefs on the education of women are simple. Men and women are made equally intelligent but do not receive the same opportunities. Abigail wanted equal education for children of both sexes. Abigail wrote, "It is really mortifying sir when a woman passed of a common of understanding considers the differences of education is attended to. Two children of the same parents be thus distinguished?" (Adams). Adams’s views on education also falls into the area of domesticity at the time. She believes mothers who have to teach their children should also be educated. Adams wrote, "Why should females who have a part to act upon the great theater, and a part not less important to society, is it not less important that those who are to instill the first principals should be suitably qualified for that trust" (Adams). Adams wants equal opportunities for women as Bober expresses in the quote, “Abigail believed that women should be equally educated with men not just because they raised children but because women were equally intelligent” (Bober 20).  According to Bober, the roles of women are extremely defined, “Their roles were different from their husbands’ Women deserved to be treated as equals. Abigail never denied wifehood or motherhood as the primary role of women, nor was she asserting women’s rights as equal in politics or the economy” (Bober 73). Abigail Adams tries to express her views in a letter to her husband John stating, “I most sincerely wish that our new constitution may be distinguished for learning and virtue. If we mean to have heroes, statesmen, and philosophers, we should have learned women” (Adams). Adams wants the new constitution that her husband is creating to help advance women's ability to learn so that they may educate others. Abigail looked to the future in hopes that educational opportunities would become well established for both sexes.

Lastly, women have little to no power in life and politics in the 18th century. Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren make a point to describe subordination to men in their writing. Adams wants women to be viewed as equals and not property, which is made apparent by her request not to be required to call her husband ‘master’, “She urged men to give up the title ‘master’- invoking the imagery of slavery” (Bober 16). At the time, women are trained not to overstep their boundaries. Mercy Otis Warren frankly does not agree with certain topics being off limit for women and instead expresses her beliefs on a woman's speaking role in many of her plays. She expresses this idea as Desti states, “Warren was definitely aware of the fact that, by writing political farces, not only did she step out of her prescribed feminine role, but she also presumed to occupy a subject position reserved only for men” (Desti). Women are not allowed to talk about certain topics, such as politics, for it is seen as too complicated for women to understand or get involved with. In a letter to John Adams, Mercy Otis Warren sarcastically apologizes for talking about politics and stepping beyond her ‘feminine’ boundaries claiming, “I am deeply apologetic for touching on war and politics, or anything related, as I think you gave me a hint in it is better not to approach the verge of anything so far beyond my own sex” (Warren). Warren is extremely advanced for a woman at the time, she understand that she is not to talk about things, such as politics or gender issues, but she does so in such a way that it is not viewed as inappropriate, for example, “Although she tackles political and social issues, she does so without calling attention to herself and in accordance with her prescribe feminine behavior. Gender becomes an essential component in warrens plays” (Desti). Women are not seen as valuable, yet John Adams, a powerful man, relies heavily on his wife Abigail Adams: “Although John Adams depends on his wife to run his farm in his absence, keep his records, and even asks her to use her influence to implement his political ideas, he is unable to acknowledge her very real political power. Nevertheless, he continues to become upset when she is involved with politics” (Martin). Women are not supposed to get involved with certain topics that are considered masculine, but Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren push the prescribed boundaries of women and show their opinion that women should be allowed to be on the same playing field as men because everyone is created equal.

Although the Federalist Era is a time in which America is made of a patriarchal society, Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren have strong views on how women should be treated. Women are clearly denied a speaking role, yet Adams and Warren share their beliefs in a feminine way, which expressed views of feminism in the 18th century. Women are told to be patriotic for their country, yet do not receive the rights that others obtain. Men suppress women's rights by trying to silence them. Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren are two strong females in the 18th century who stood up for their feminist opinions by writing letters and plays with strong opinions on the exclusions of women during the Federalist Era. Adams and Warren believe that women are treated as property to men and are not given the same rights, such as the right to an education, the right to vote or the right to have any say in politics. It is evident that women are not valued, as shown through Adams and Warren’s writings about the treatment of women, education, and power.

Work Cited
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