Margaret Fuller

Personal Statement: My name is Margaret Fuller and I was born on May 23, 1810 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I received my basic education from my father, Timothy Fuller, but later on I studied in the Harvard Library where I learned languages such as Latin and Greek. I am a strong advocate of women's rights and I present radical views to the antebellum American society. I am a feminist, teacher, literary critic, and writer. Through my work, I contribute to the spreading of the women's rights movement.

Issues: In 1839, I started holding meetings for men and women called "Conversations". I led all of the speeches and organized the topics for each meeting. These meetings sought to stimulate women's self-expression, independent thinking and allowed them to express their worries as well as difficulties. Around 1841, I began allowing men to attend these meetings. I believe that having men there encouraged them to fight for women's rights and allowed them to support us by letting them see how gender inequality affected women throughout our speeches and discussions. Conversations became a strong base for feminism. My technique for these meetings was motivated by Socrates; I devoted each conversation to a philosophical question and had the participants engage in discussion before sharing my own views.


Solutions: My solution to this issue of inequality between genders is individual moral reform. I write books and publish articles in newspapers that display the women's perspective and call both genders to action. I am a journalist in The Dial, where I write columns filled with contributions from other women. My written works are my greatest success, because thanks to them, people were able to realize what was going on and take a stand. My opposition, co-workers and other editors in the newspaper, deeply criticized my writing and felt that it should not be published due to my feminist views.

Relationship to Others:
I would feel most comfortable with my fellow women’s rights activists like Susan Brownwell Anthony, Lucretia Mott, Angelina Grimke, and Elizabeth Stanton as they share the same views as I do.