New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-06-12
WOMAN As A POLITICIAN.
AN ADDRESS
,r,p At THB woNAN'S RIGHTS CONVENTION
urtp m MAssILLoN, STARK CO., OHIO,
Nay %, 1859,
By LOUIS L. HIYE
A sbrewd observer has remarked, that if

.o.a this lecture with truism, yet shall hops
~ 40 fortfy my positions as advance as TO escape
Al. imputation Of paradox or even extravaganza.
That the Human Race is composed Of Male.
.,a Females, is, to me, perfectly transparent
,,oposition. That there is the masculine and the
smnine body, the masculine and the feminine
LAD the male and the female mind am alto
either innocent Of doubt. That man was made
On and designed to engage in those pursuits which
l.mspdi the most ply seal and intellectual strength,
"a testified unto by his broad shoulders, large
homes. and coarse muscular fiber. Woman, on the
contrary, was evidently made for and designed to
6lov those pursuits which require less physical
strength bat more elevated tone Of feeling and a
higher moral character, as is proven by her smaller
homes greater muscular frmness aud delicacy, and
N, predominance of her moral sentiments social
and domestic affections. These are facts in the
,outaratve anatomy Of Man and Woman in all
eos Of the world, and all states of civilization
Ple ND a huge stack of male and female skulls
sDd The anatOmlst can separate a.. u
~ aDy aGmITeT uf beauty can distinguish mae
from female face. Open the skulls and pour out
fbe b,ain of man and woman into an indiscrimnate
hfsp. and the man Of science with his microscope
viii separate them oil without single mistake.
w nat thfn w U1, IL lOHOHs lliuN 40 uii
action is en- external manifestation OF internal
oualities, the occupations OF the sexes, whether
Oh, steal or mental, may be classed INTO masculine
and feminine. What is naturally inclined TO
upder true education, rs necessarily masculine
What woman is or would be naturally inclined to
reriorm under true education Is, necessarily
kuinine. The sound Of the woodlands ak, the
ring of the blacksmith's hammer are, undoubtedly,
masculine notes in the diatonic scale OF Labors
Harmonies On the contrary, the gentler tones
Of the factory and the lighter ring of the crockery
are evidently feminine notes in the same scale.
What say is, that Man. with al his thoughts,
feelings and actions, is masculine and Woman,
with all her thoughts, feelings and actions, is lem
mine. The effects certainly grow out Of ana par
take of the character and qualities OF the cause.
In much that constitutes human character we can
oph Judge of the cause by the effects. We only
know a mser with certainty by his avarice III daily
Ih. Notwithstanding the assertion of the Phrenolo-
gis,s TO the contrary. PhrenOlogy may mslead,
but action points as unerringly 10 the mental
quality that produced the action as the needle 10
the poles. In respect to the sexes, however, they
sneak for themselves in every form and feature:
As certainly as we cannot mistake face ana
head whether it belong to a man or woman, so
certainly can we be assured that the thoughts
feelings and actions of the man and woman VIII
be distinguished by corresponding differences, and
this is what mean by male and female action.
II is true that both men and women have the
same mental faculties, but in this sense they are
as essentially distinguished by Eek as are their
forms and features. To hold otherwise is to say
there is no such thing as cause and sequence-that
tbe relations of cause and effect are not lmmuta-
ble-that there is no order in Nature-no certainty
nj least in the moral government OF God. Man
has the organ known as ldeaiity and so has
Woman-but in one it is masculine, III the other
feminine and these distinctions can be seen lnthe
al Man hpC 'nT a A Z
and 80 has Woman-and though it has been said
that Woman never argues logically, and is lot
philosopher. vet more careful reflection would
convince us that Woman is as much philosopher
by nature as Man, and was designed as well as he
to observe effects and learn causes, to consider
causes and predict effects. This is the great hght
by which the dark passage of Woman as well as
Man through this life is umned, and to deny her
tbe use Of this power is to rule out portion Of
tb, essential attributes of mind and place her en-
finely in another scale of being. Nov oman rs
as mich n philosopher as Man; but in this, as in
everything else pertaining TO Humanity, there is
Masculine and Feminine philosophy. Ii any
woman has contempt Tor every hihS ,lat Is
feminine--a contempt for what God has done IN
making her fcmae-a contempt for her seX-she
VIII d, spise this distinction have made.
" hat do yOu say, then, as TO the Equality OF the
Sexes DO YOU hold Man Ms superior to Woman
Not by any means. As Han, he IS superior, be-
cause II is utterly impossible for woman to enact
A masculine life Then, is Woman superior to
MANI NO-Abut as Woman, she is superior, for
no man can enact feminine llte-though some
struggle hard to do so. One sex is neither nie-
ror nor superior to the other and IN tins light 1t
becomes stupid TO argue the question OF their
equality. Between man and nun, tins question
can be raised but between Man and Woman, 1t
is absurd.
But, saws the Conservative, YOU yield the whole
- poittteal RIUht0 least nv
the distinction YOU make in the obligations, duties
and actions OF the sexes, denominating those OF
the male masculine and of the female feminine.
That il my position, and it is Oil claim. little
hasty, my Conservatye friend. clam more tilan
YOU 90. | carry the distinction INTO all the rela-
tons OF human life. You heard what was SAID
about masculine and feminine philosophy and you
admitted the Justice of the conclusion, for YOU
know il must be admitted. Mat thenI why
that no system of philosophy is complete unless 1t
be the Joint product of man and woman unless le
contain both the feminine and the masculine cle-
ments. Man must write and W oman must write,
and both the sexes should read what Is written by
both, TO secure correct discipline OF both the III
ttllect and the moral sentiments. The produce
tons Of true man are exact, rgld ana severe
those of true woman are gentle, refined, delicate
and serene both united complete the qualities OF
apeIfcct sy stem. In reading feminine philosophy,
mans humaniti sympathes and laws are devel-
oped and disciplined; while in reading masculine
philosophy, womans courage, iortltnde and resist
ing pow or Strengthened so that she shlSks not
before the rising cloud nor trembles iu the Storm
One Of the greatest miSlortunes Of mankind has
been that philosophy has been almost alt gether
masculine, aud the race has continued rude, un-
pt,ing and meiciess. Under its influence Man
has continued too unbeneyoient and unlraternal.
Had the two elements been blended from the first,
the race wol Id be lar ahead of It's present position
in all that is good and noble. Capital Punishment,
floggng in the Navy, the Family, or the School,
Antl-Slayery, Land Reform, and Woman's Rights
would not now be the agitation; for the bcne 20
lepcc Of oman, infused INTO the philosophy OF the
word, would have long SINCE settled these qGes-
tons.
Sanilar remarks may be- made in reference to
seienthc pursuits. Man cutNates science as a
nlee INF elltctuality, n materially; Woman would
cnlIga,e Ihis noble field with reference to the deep
fountain of religion, and the innumerable tnbu-
taries that now in onward and upwsrd toward
G.. -. H. 81 -