During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, almost nothing was written about the contributions of women during the colonial period and the early history of the newly formed United States. Lacking the right to vote and absent from the seats of power, women were not considered an important force in history. Anne Bradstreet wrote some significant poetry in the seventeenth century, Mercy Otis Warren produced the best contemporary history of the American Revolution, and Abigail Adams penned important letters showing she exercised great political influence over her husband, John, the second President of the United States. But little or no notice was taken of these contributions. During these centuries, women remained invisible in history books.

Throughout the nineteenth century, this lack of visibility continued, despite the efforts of female authors writing about women. These writers, like most of their male counterparts, were amateur historians. Their writings were celebratory in nature, and they were uncritical in their selection and use of sources.

During the nineteenth century, however, certain feminists showed a keen sense of history by keeping records of activities in which women were engaged. National, regional, and local

 

women's organizations compiled accounts of their doings. Personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, and souvenirs were saved and stored. These sources from the core of the two greatest collections of women's history in the United States one at the Elizabeth and Arthur Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College, and the other the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. Such sources have provided valuable materials for later Generations of historians.

Despite the gathering of more information about ordinary women during the nineteenth Century, most of the writing about women conformed to the "great women" theory of History, just as much of mainstream American history concentrated on "great men." To demonstrate that women were making significant contributions to American life, female authors singled out women leaders and wrote biographies, or else important women produced their autobiographies. Most of these leaders were involved in public life as reformers, activists working for women's right to vote, or authors, and were not representative at all of the great of ordinary woman. The lives of ordinary people continued, generally, to be untold in the American histories being published.

In the 2^nd paragraph, what weakness in nineteenth-century histories does the author point out?

Câu hỏi liên quan

• The underlined word “they” in paragraph 2 refers to ..........

• According to the passage, what does “slip away” mean?

• Surgeons in the early 20^th century compared with modern ones ............

ZUNIA12

• The writer uses the phrase “On the other hand” in the last paragraph to .......

• What does the word “it” refer to?

• In paragraph 5, the author suggests that ..........

• A paragraph following the passage would most probably discuss_________.

• What can be the best title of the reading passage?

• All of the following are true about robots EXCEPT that ............

• The word “bodies” in paragraph 3 refers to ...........

• What is Martin Luthur King well- known for?

• The word “odd” refers to which of the following?

• Approximately when did English begin to be used beyond England?

• According to paragraph 3, which of the following fields is NOT suitable for a person who does not want to live in a big city?

• According to the passage, what does a constricted and harsh voice indicate?

• The word "vulnerable" in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to .............

• Look at the verb accelerate in paragraph 3. Which of the following is the closest in meaning to _____.

• What is the main point of the passage?

• In the United States, Thanksgiving is ______.

• According to the passage, all of the following are true about tidal waves EXCEPT that _____ .