Judith Sargent Murray and the Roots of American Feminism

A forgotten voice sharpened the edge of American liberty—she did it with clarity, courage, and a printing press that didn’t always want her words. We sit down with Dr. Kirstin Burkhaugto explore the life and legacy of Judith Sargent Murray, the self-taught Boston writer whose 1790 essay On the Equality of the Sexes argued that women possess the same moral and intellectual capacities as men. Years before Mary Wollstonecraft’s landmark work, Murray was already building a distinctly American case for women’s political equality—rooted in empirical observation, everyday experience, and a Universalist theology that saw all souls as one.We trace how Murray turned personal frustration into public contribution, growing up in a prominent family where her brother received the education she craved. That slight fuels a relentless autodidact who reads widely, writes cleanly, and navigates a male-dominated publishing world with strategic savvy. Rather than attacking the founders head-on, she dedicated essays to John Adams and leveraged the era’s language of liberty to expand its logic: if rights are universal, they cannot stop at the gender threshold. Along the way, we unpack the Universalist belief that earthly differences do not change the worth of a soul—and how that spiritual framework emboldened a political argument for inclusion.The conversation lands in the present with fresh relevance. We connect Murray’s claims to modern questions about who gets educated, who leads, and how families balance care with public life. You’ll hear practical pointers for reading her today—start with On the Equality of the Sexes and Sheila Skemp’s biography, The First Lady of Letters—and a candid look at the resistance she faced from literary gatekeepers who tried to mute her voice. If you rethink the founding through a wider lens, this story will change how you hear the word “we.” Subscribe, share with a history-loving friend, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway so more listeners can find these Founding Mothers. Check Out the Civic Literacy Curriculum!School of Civic and Economic Thought and LeadershipCenter for American Civics