Martha Wright, Two-Hundred-Year-Old Feminist Abolitionist, Made Me Laugh Out Loud
Don’t let that prim cap and long list of serious accomplishments fool you.
If it hadn’t been for the Women’s Rights National Historic Park, I might never have heard of Martha C. Wright. No, not the cornbread lady. Martha Wright. Sister to Lucretia Mott. Women’s rights activist of the 19th century. Mother. Humorist.
If you’d heard of her before reading this, you have what folks in the 1800s would have called “the whip hand over me.” Unfortunately, I hadn’t. Luckily, I follow the Women’s Rights NPS on Instagram.
…Because I’m a mega nerd and have no social life, that’s why. You didn’t need to ask. I saw it in your eyes.
Okay, so you’ve probably heard of Lucretia Mott. Feminist, rabble-rouser, some of the many brains behind the very first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, NY. Lucretia Mott, who frequently landed herself in misogynistic trouble in a time when women weren’t supposed to speak in public, is a whole story unto herself and I don’t have time to get into her today, but I suggest you read up on her if you haven’t already.
Well, her younger sister, Martha, did a heck of a lot to advance the cause of women’s rights and the abolition of slavery…
