In her new introduction, Ellen Carol DuBois considers the current historiographical perspective on Stanton and Anthony, observing changes in emphasis that have occurred in interpretations of their place in feminism over the years. The revised edition also features phrenological portriats from the 1850s and letters between Stanton and Anthony from 1894 to 1902.
The documents delineate the progress of American reform politics. They move from Stanton's speech at Seneca Falls in 1848 through the pre-Civil War period and Reconstruction, tracing the early development of the concept of women's rights. They cover the post-Reconstruction period, emphasizing the growing conflict between the two women as Anthony moved to unify disparate women's organizations around the cause of woman suffrage while Stanton called for more widespread reform. In material new to the revised edition, they trace the new set of problems with which the two women grappled, including race. Each section is introduced by an essay in which DuBois provides historical background and offers insightful interpretation of the primary documents that follow.
