Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1869-06-10
THE RUTLAND HERALD
TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 1869.
WOman's Work and Education.

the women of this country is not what II
should be, that there is some part OF the
social mechanism which needs reforming
and being brought moro into harmony
with the convictions of humanity. There
appears to have been a tendency among
the powers which have made human laws,
from the ancient days Of the patriarchs
down to the enlightened periods of Re-
publics, to in some degree circumscribe
the sphere of woman and keep her from
soaring away to realms higher, and fields
of labor more exalted than nature had de-
signed her for. The argument which has
ever been used to procure and sustain
these degrading laws has been tho all
powerful and oft repeated assumption of
political economist that such legislati on
was instituted to carry out the manifest
design of creative wisdom, and to assist
the Supreme Ruler in the proper govern
ment of the world.
We have no desire. to in any way place
ourselves in the path Of manifest destiny
or utter a syllable which has tendency to
bring US into opposition to the divine
order of the worlds government. If ON
impotence has decreed that woman, on ac-
count of her physical and intellectual in
feriority, shall be regarded as below the
ordinary pursuits, industries and avoca-
tons Of humanity, it will be futile to seek
to elevate her to the common plane, or on
the other hand if her mental organization
l. made of that superior material which
places her above the range of man, she
cannot be dragged down to that level
without great and lasting injury to the
human race. However, it does seem to
us that it savors of arrogance for human
legislatures to make it the principal OBJ
ject of their labors TO criticise the plan OF
creation and to interfere there puny en-
actments in opposition, or on the other
hand to emphasize their approval of crea-
tive labor by Offering their assistance in
carrying on the divine government.
We regard it as safe rule to allow
without opposition or advice, the laws OF
nature and of natures God, TO act in the
proper channel, and for the objects of their
formation, and if woman is an inferior
order of humanity, we would as quic k
think that our State legislature should
pass a bill establishing the law of gravita-
ton, az one declaring that. inferiority /;
for this cause we object to that class of
human laws that seek to keep women in
their natural sphere, as uncalled for as
support and assistant to the laws of ma
ture.
We do not propose at this time to dis
cuss the question of suffrage and citizen
ship. We are satisfied that some women
we know of, and some men also, are total
ly unfit, both by nature and education to
exercise the elective franchise, and we are
willing the enlightened civilization of the
future shall decide who ought to WELD
the sceptre of political power, but we are
of that rapidly increasing class that would
have all restrictions upon woman's indus
try, and her preparatory education for
the avocations of life removed, except
those restrictions which nature itself was
imposed, and them to be decided without
the aid of human legislation.
Wendell Phillips for many years uttered
his words of burning eloquence in favor
of the manacled slave of Southern planta-
tions and when the shackles of slavery were
I. l. I Il II I
the negro now stands forth a freeman.
Mr.. Phillips protests against the interior
ence of human legislatures, to prescribe
his natural sphere of existence, and APP
peals to the people to look behind the ne
gro and see the man. So we would have
the people in all industrial and legal
points of view, look beyond the woman,
and see only humanity.
There is no doubt but what we as a
people are governed to much, we have to
many laws upon too many subjects for a
democratic people. We have too many
legal and social distinctions, too many
and too much artificial organiza-
ton. The true theory of democratic in
stitutions Is that all human beings are
created free and equal, that there is no
field of labor or enterprise open to any
particular class or race that is not open to
every other. that the labor of each indi-
vidual j. free To seek the most remunera-
tive and benihcial employment, and that
when work is done, the value of the SER
vice performed and not the sex condi-
ton or race of the laborers should be the
measures of remuneration.
We have no fears that the giving the
female laborer the same remuneration for
the work OF her hand or brain that we
give to her brother for tho same kind of
labor will degarde her or the race, but it
will tends to elevate labor, to make it at
tractive to the nohlest and best portion
of the race, and will place woman on that
plane of independence which leaves her
free to follow the premptings of her heart,
and the Judgment of her intellect in OBJ
tanning useful and happy position in
society instead of forcing her into
marriage with the first masculine biped
who offers to provide her with food and
raiment for her accepting his name and
in the parlance of the old law in permit
ting him to suspend her entire legae ex-
istence in his, and become the non entity
in his establishment.
As practicable way of meeting this
evil and solving the vexed problem now
forced upon the world by the injustice of
our legal system, we would remove all re-
strictions from the industry of woman,
make all avocations Of labor free to her,
having no fears that she would insist in
being what she is not, or of doing work
which nature has interdicted to all but
the strongest masculine powers; giving
her the same remuneration as man for