On the Equality of the Sexes

Judith Sargent Murray’s “On the Equality of the Sexes” was written in 1770 as conflict between Britain and America grew into what would become the War of Independence. This tumult prompted many in the American colonies to think about the nature of the ideal state, including freedom and equality. The war itself officially erupted in 1775 and ended in 1783 when America officially became a separate country from Britain. The founders of the independent American state were heavily influenced by earlier political ideologies of John Locke (1632-1704), which became essential to America’s revolutionary philosophy in the later 18th century. Locke argued that all men were created equal and that a government must have the consent of those who are governed, ideas enshrined in 1776 with  the Declaration of Independence. This emphasis on equality, freedom, and consent raised questions of how American social and political structures could disregard these ideals in relation to sex. Murray’s “On the Equality of the Sexes” shows the influence of Lockean ideals and of wider concerns about a society that excepted women from equal rights. The essay’s official publication in 1790 formed part of the rise of feminist thought in America as a growing subset of the