Female Political Identity: How American Freedom, Inequality Impacted It

There is an innate difference between the ideologies of freedom and equality, which is ironic since the two are so closely linked in American history. For white, landowning males, liberty and equality became the basis of American political culture, and their identities became a balance of self sovereignty and equal opportunity. Yet, even as the war for independence raged, it was patent that this political identity was not universal. Those who were not a member of the aforementioned elite were equalized paradoxically through their inequality. There seems to be some truth, then, in Robert Ferguson's paradox of democracy, in which all other groups actually lose ground, as the rights of citizenship spread to a greater populace (Ferguson 497). For Americans, without any history or tradition of feudalism, societal distinctions were not necessarily synonymous with political leverage. Although culturally and socially, the disenfranchised enjoyed varying levels of opportunity, they were essentially the same in the political realm.

There was a clear distinction between the type of individual deemed suited for this American democratic experiment, and the rest of the populace. Paul Downes explains this idea of the "proper voting subject," who is able to uphold the correct democratic virtues, as opposed to the "endless string of voting types" (Downes 149). He focuses on the words end and endless, explaining that with men, there is an "end to the beginning of democratic legitimacy; with women comes endlessness" (Downes 149). There was a fear that enfranchisement of one improper voting group could open the floodgates for others, which would in turn threaten the sovereign, democratic individual. In the original New Jersey constitution, the general wording expanded the number of eligible voters, and in 1797, a significant number of women showed up to vote in a county election. Thus, the question was not whether or not women themselves understood the political process, but rather, if they could be considered a part of the correct voting type. The disenfranchisement of women in the New Jersey constitutional amendment in 1807 highlighted the result of the ongoing debate over the undesirability of female voters (Downes 146). Their greatest fear stemmed from the idea that women could be easily coerced by their men, thereby ruining the notion of the democratic, free thinking individual.

Consequently, early American women themselves must be divided into subcategories, namely, between the married and the single or widowed, and between the educated and the uneducated. Married women not being a category that is wholly determined by the institution of marriage itself, but rather, by whether or not a woman functions in a role outside of the wife, as both Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley, upon whom this thesis focuses, were married at some point in their lives. Downes points out that "democratic idealism is invested in the independence of the individual political will and the married woman presented an unavoidable image of the compromise of subordination of will" (Downes 151). Alexis de Tocqueville also observes that American democracy does not extend to the family, and that the natural head of this unit is the man. He claims that Americans "do not deny

The education of women in early America, specifically white, upper class, women, was not, like their enfranchisement, a debated issue. It was taken for granted that well bred women were also well educated. Catherine Drinker Bowen writes of a Frenchman who visited colonial America and spoke of his amazement that everyone could read and write, although almost no French sailor could do so. The Frenchman also wrote of the innumerable newspapers and gazettes and that they "busied themselves much with politics, and from the landlord to the housemaid they all read two newspapers a day" (Bowen 158). Although this was an obvious hyperbole, the American attitude towards political and educational enlightenment was ironically not limited to just the enfranchised. Tocqueville claims that a part of this was based on the Protestant nature of America, as "in... Protestant nations, girls are infinitely more the mistresses of their actions than in Catholic peoples" (Tocqueville 563). Yet, he also states that "although Americans are a very religious people, they have not relied on religion alone to defend the virtue of women they have sought to arm her with reason" (Tocqueville 565). Despite the exclusion of women from the political sphere, the same democratic individualism was pervasive, influencing even the religious education women received.

Women embody an interesting duality in early America, enjoying more freedoms, and even more education than other disenfranchised groups, yet, an ultimate denial of political sovereignty. Sara Rivett claims that two models of female piety appeared in 17th century Puritan sermons, that of the "submissive captive" and "the maternal redeemer" (Rivett 46). This produced, according to Rivett a "gender specific tension between personal and communal expressions of piety" (Rivett 46). Linda K. Kerber explains that "western political theory... only occasionally contemplated the role of women in civic culture" (Kerber 59). Even with the creation of the ideology of the Republican mother, who would dedicate her life to the education of her sons in civic virtue and correct her husbands lapses, the female role was based on subservience and maintenance (Kerber 58). Despite political interest from women in the New Jersey elections, there was still this idea of deference that continued to persist in female identity. Kerber claims that this hesitancy of women to become political actors is based on this deference, in which women still thought of themselves subjects, while men were becoming citizens. Thus, women must balance between two roles, that of the subservient, and submissive wife, and the Republican mother who must learn and teach the individualist virtues of democracy.

It is important to realize that early feminism was not based on the single goal of female suffrage. In fact, as Kerber claims, the idea of enfranchisement was not wholly embraced by early American women, as it violated their deferential views and position. Early American feminism, as defined by Wendy McElroy was a "moral, pietistic crusade... which was broader than rights for women. It encompassed a view of human nature and of one's proper relationship to God and other human beings" (McElroy 11). Many early feminists wed the idea of abolition to women's rights, focusing on the idea of liberty for all people. Angelina Grimké, an early feminist and abolitionist, made the argument that "human beings have rights because they are moral beings" (Grimké 29). Thus, early female political identity was inevitably linked to the idea of morality. An upright and virtuous female citizen not only upheld the democratic ideals of individualism, but also, the correct political morality.

Early American writing was inevitably an extension of their English ancestry and roots. Edwin T. Bowden states that actually it was not a "self conscious imitation of another work of culture," but rather, that the earliest American colonists actually felt themselves a part of the English culture and society (Bowden 172). Jay Parini claims that it is difficult to find anything especially American in the first poets, as transplanted English poets (Parini 4). The poetry is overtly religious, and generally fixates on the Puritan tendency to dwell on "humanity's sinfulness, life's brevity, and the consequent need for salvation" (Parini 4). Yet, it is in these poets that the very first roots of an American literary tradition is found. Despite their belief that they were indeed a part of the English literary culture, the very fact that they were recognized as the first American poets, makes their work unique. There is a general trend in the use of the commonplace, and even domestic as imagery for the religious contemplation (Parini 4). Thus, it follows, that early American female identity was in large part shaped by these ties to English literary tradition, particularly, the domestication and submission of the female, especially in the role of a wife.

By the mid 18th century, many writers lost this sense of belonging to England. Bowden makes the claim that a sense of inferiority sparked a more self conscious imitation, fueled by a desire for acceptance (Bowden 172). The poetic style, consequently, was still very English, following the Augustan tendencies, which, as outlined by Bowden, included end stopped couplets, iambic pentameter lines, smooth meter and rhythm, balanced line, and often stereotyped phraseology of the church (Bowden 178). Deviations from such a style were not common, and most poetry fairly strictly adhered to these traditions. Yet, as European visitors noted, it seemed that Americans were creating their own variation of the English language. Noah Webster linked the creation of this new American language to a need for independence, stating that they should "establish a national language, as well as a national government" (Bowen 160). Additionally, he distinguished between New England and the South, stating that the "idea of equality of birth and fortune gives a singular tone to their language and complexity to their manners" (Bowen 160). Thus, early America incorporated its subtle touches, while maintaining most poetical traditions.

This thesis focuses on two prominent female American poets, Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley, as examples of both 17th and 18th century poets who both published the first volumes of poetry in America, Bradstreet as the first original work from America, and Wheatley as the first African American. It will follow the very beginnings of an American female identity through to the advent of the American Revolution. It will examine the evidence of political overtones in their poetry, particularly, that of democratic individualism. It makes the claim that through their poetry, an American female political identity is found. This identity is inexorably linked to a sense of morality, and thus, tended to be religious in nature. It is not to be confused with feminism, which can be defined as an explicit attempt to improve women's conditions, but rather, the formation of the a shared ideology based on gender (Keetley and Pettegrew xiii). However, it is important to note that this political identity did not apply to all women, but was limited to those women who were both educated and possessed a role outside of a marriage.

Early American identity is patently linked to a Protestant tradition. The Pilgrims were among the first Puritans to settle in the American colonies, seeking refuge from religious persecution (O'Connor and Sabato 9). Thus began the unique relationship that religion held with politics in colonial America. Although later, the Framers sought to guarantee freedom of religion, early America was based on the Puritan model of democracy. As Tocqueville explained, "religion... [which] never mixed directly in the government of society, should... be considered as the first of

Religion held a strange role for American women, as it simultaneously restricted them to certain familial and gender capacities and allowed for a certain moral equality to men. The first signs of dissent from a patriarchal society were founded in individual acts of rebellion against the Puritan church by women. According to Dawn Keetley and John Pettegrew, the women paradoxically "drew their power to challenge established religion and the sexual hierarchies... from Puritanism itself (Keetley and Pettegrew 3). The individualism of Puritanism sparked the belief that "even the ministry became an obstacle to faith" (Keetley and Pettegrew 3). This radical potential of the individual and God lead to the belief of "the spiritual equality of each individual regardless of sex" (Keetley and Pettegrew 4). Other denominations emphasized the same aversion to authoritarian practices within the church, and Quakers believed in the "Inner Light." They were the most vocal in spiritual equality and even encouraged women to preach (Keetley and Pettegrew 4). Female religious identity was different from a male one in some senses, but they were still upheld to the same rigid morality. This expectation equalized them in that their relationship with God was deemed just as important as a man's. Being a woman did not mean that God would regard them as less virtuous, and this allowed for the same personal rapport that was established in the colonies between the individual and God to flourish in both genders.

Anne Bradstreet is among one of the first American poets, regardless of her gender. She published her book of poems, The Tenth Muse in 1650, and it was the first book of original poetry written in America (Keetley and Pettegrew 7). However, her cultural identity, and consequently, her poetry, is often categorized as innately English. Thus, it follows to ask the question, why is it that she, then, can be considered an American poet and how did she influence the formation of an American political identity? There were many facets of Anne Bradstreet that impacted her poetry, but what made it uniquely American was its Puritan nature. Stylistically, she followed in the English tradition without any self conscious imitation as she considered herself a part of the English culture. Yet in her stark Puritanism she set herself apart from them unknowingly, embracing the strange balance between spirituality and its political nature. Her poetry is not overtly political, but in its American religious tradition, she sets the foundation for a female political identity that is innately moral in its nature.

Bradstreet's poem On my dear grandchild Simon Bradstreet who died on 16 November, 1669, being buried but a month, and one day old seems to be a simple poem devoted to the memory of her grandson. Its religious overtones are obvious, and it seems much more devoted to the explanation of God's will than her previous poem written after the death of her granddaughter, In memory of my dear grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet, who deceased August 1665, being but a year and a half old. Of the two poems, the one written later is more patently religious and follows a more irregular meter. The earlier poem flows more easily, both with a more regular meter, less punctuation, and the alliteration of such words as "farewell fair flower" (3). In contrast, the latter poem is littered with irregular mid line commas, and an intensely harsher diction. While the first poem claims that God "guides nature and fate" (14), the second poem states that He "cropt" (4) the flowers with "dreadful awe" (5), and that He will eventually make up for their "bitter crosses" (10). In spite of her faith, there is also an undercurrent of questioning in both of these poems, although more obvious in the later one.
A hint of this doubt is evident in the rhyme scheme of the first, in which she deviates slightly from her easily rhymed words to a slant rhyme in lines two and four, in "eye" (2) and "eternity" (4), when the "pleasure of [her] eye" (2) is taken from her forever. Yet, it is not until the second poem that her doubt becomes less subtle. She fixates on her own human emotion more so than the first, as the death "caused [her] to weep" (2) and linger on her "losses" (9). The caesura in line four, denoted by the only semicolon, occurs between the idea that God has "cropt" these babes, "yet is He good" (4). Note the strange wording of the second half of that line, reading so that is sounds as if it is being phrased as a question. This strange positioning of words repeats throughout the poem, as in line six when she inserts the phrase "but why" (6) and again in line eight when she begins with "let's say," as if posing a hypothetical situation. A slant rhyme is incorporated into the second poem as well, in the crucial third and fourth lines, as the last babe was "i' th' bud" (3) but "is He good" (4). As she continually repeats the image of silence with "let's be mute" (5), "let's not dispute" (6), and lets "mouths put in the dust" (7), it seems as if she is trying hard to silence her own doubts about God's will. The only enjambed line is line ten, and the loss of end punctuation creates a flow between getting over her "losses" (10) quickly in order to "smile again" (11) quickly. She ends what appears to be the first and second stanzas with definitive statements about God as he is "good" (4), and he is "merciful" and "just" (8), but her decision to put all of the stanzas together without any spaces between them detracts from their emphasis. It is significant then that the actual last line of the poem is not about God, but rather, about her lost grandson, as she tells him "in endless joys remain" (12). Bradstreet struggles with the duality of her Puritan faith, with emphasizes the individualism of free thinking and also, the subservience to God. She looks at God oxymoronically with "dreadful awe," as an all powerful and amazing deity, and also, the merciful creator with whom she has a personal rapport (5). Bradstreet's identity is based on this innate need to question God's will, and a desire to think as an individual.
Yet, Anne Bradstreet was also characterized by her Puritan piety, and closely linked to this, the unimportance of material wealth and luxury. In her poem Here follows some verses upon the burning of our house July 10th, 1666, copied out of a loose paper, the general theme is the loss of her material property. She focuses on the immortal wealth and riches of eternity and God, while attempting to trivialize her actual material possessions. While it is a seemingly simple poem, with fairly regular meter and rhyme, the irregularity of the punctuation suggests a deeper complexity. The poem begins with a very quick pace, with no punctuation and the lines are enjambed, flowing into each other until she hears the words "Fire!" (5). As she evaluates her burning house, Bradstreet inserts end punctuation into most lines, and the pace consequently slows, yet, the poem still flows fluidly. Later, as she laments all the things she has lost, and the memories that will never again happen, the lines are shorter, more heavily punctuated, and choppy. The poem reads like a list, with the repetition of the words "no pleasant" (31). Additionally, the lines, which are previously divided into groupings ranging from two to four lines according to the use of a period, are consistently grouped into couplets during this section. Bradstreet abruptly ends list with another, this time of questions, which she utilizes to scrutinize herself superficially, but forces the reader to actually ask herself the very same questions as they are fired off one after another. The previous enjambed lines appear again, as Bradstreet praises the infinite riches of God. Yet, the last five lines all have end punctuations, and she concluded with an attitude and feeling of contemplation that is vastly different from the lighthearted pace of the beginning. It is significant to note that while Bradstreet does maintain the same sense of questioning in this poem as she did in the poems about her grandchildren, it is not nearly as negative in its tone. The diction surrounding God's will is more positive, with "glory richly furnished" (45) and "His gift" (50). Her negativity seems to actually be reserved for herself, and her fixation on her material possessions. The diction is not necessarily outright dislike, but rather, seems to mock her love for these tangible goods. Her things are merely "pleasant" (27), and reduced to "mold'ring dust" (39). She links this desire for material luxury to a European, or more specifically, a French tradition, in line thirty six, as she cries "Adieu, Adieu, all's vanity" (36), emphasizing it especially with the slant rhyme of "vanity" (36) with "lie" (35). The poem is not entirely devoid of similar skepticism of his will, however, and although her "heart did cry" (8) to God, her possessions must ultimately lie "in silence" (35). Finally, she inserts a period between the lines "farewell my store" (52) and "the world no longer let me love" (53), isolating the second line, so that it reads independently, as opposed to an extension of the previous line. Bradstreet implies that in choosing God and his will, she is some aspect is losing her ability for worldly love.
Bradstreet's religion is uniquely American in her close and personal relationship with God. He is not only the one whom she worships; she also speaks constantly to him directly in her poetry, without the need for fellowship from society, or even clergy to facilitate the relationship. In the poem, As Weary Pilgrim, she becomes the archetypal pilgrim she originally describes, embracing the fast approaching move towards eternal life and Heaven. Bradstreet introduces the concept of gender neutrality in the poem, using the pronoun he for the pilgrim, but ultimately, using it to portray man as a whole, and not man as separate from woman. This is important in early female identity, because women did not seek to create a political identity that was centered on being a female, but rather, one that was based on the moral equality of all people. In the poem Bradstreet focuses on the loss of human emotion in embracing death. The pilgrim will "bid farewell" to both "fears" and "cares," an interesting use of the word "care", which can be taken with both a negative and a positive connotation (17). Similarly, although Bradstreet is full of "sin" "cares" and "sorrows" (20), she is "perplexed" (19) by them. Yet, there is obvious tension, and Bradstreet seems to regard her own curiosity and doubt with dislike, and the diction surrounding her human form is "corrupt" (35) and full of "dishonour" (37). Her use of such words seems almost political, especially when she claims that she is sown with dishonour, instead of immorality, or a lack of virtues. Bradstreet seems unable to reconcile her human corruption with her religious knowledge, and her faith does not seem entirely authentic. The slant rhyme in between the lines "A corrupt carcass down it lays/ A glorious body it shall rise" (35-36) is not even close to a true rhyme, and this irregularity in a poem almost perfectly rhymed is especially unique. Bradstreet is not actually claiming that she is actually looking forward to that day, in fact, she asks "Lord make me ready for that day," implying that she is somewhat reluctant, or even hesitant (43). The poem concludes with her personal relationship to God, addressing him even as her "dear Bridegroom" (44). Despite her weariness, and the sorrows she has experienced as a human, there is an underlying fear in death, and consequently, a constant doubt of what is to come.
Bradstreet emerged in an era that was highly skeptical of female writers, and to say that she was not influenced by her forced subservient role is not true. She was very much a product of her environment, and Carrie Galloway Blackstock argues that she "invested herself in numerous roles, among them... dutiful daughter, Puritan... devoted wife, mother, grandmother, poet... and advocate of woman's worth" (Blackstock 222). Yet, Bradstreet sought to reconcile these different roles, and claims in The Prologue that "who says my hand a needle better fits." She does not seek to imitate poetry as a male form of expression, but rather, challenges this conception and created works that sought to assert the compatibility of her different roles.
Anne Bradstreet actually used her poetry to further the importance of a woman's role in family and society. Robert Hilliker claims that she "cement[ed] the family as the primary locus of identity development" (Hilliker 436). Despite the innate religiousness of her poems, she has a difficult time reconciling the loss of her family with God's will. In her poetry, "she often struggles to account for God's actions in a rhetorically effective fashion" (Hiliker 444). As Hilliker states, there is a "problematic divide between God's will and the continued unity of family" and thereby, a potential tension between a religious and a political identity (Hilliker 444). Bradstreet has a difficult time truly reconciling all of these different facets of herself, as a religious individual and a familial head. Yet ultimately, she does not distinguish herself as a radical feminist, but instead, a woman who works within the confines of her established gender role, pushing the limits, as opposed to breaking them.
Phillis Wheatley emerged nearly a century after Bradstreet, as colonial America was moving towards independence. With this advanced time, her American identity is more evident in her work, although stylistically, she also does not stray far from her English literary predecessors. Wheatley writes in the traditional mode of neoclassicism, "with its heroic couplets and poetic diction" (Shields 632). She became the first African-American to publish a poetic work, with her Poems on Various Subjects (Keetley and Pettegrew 7). Much of her work was overtly political, and based on her visions of equality and pre-Revolutionary fervor. Influenced hugely by her Christian upbringing, Wheatley also prescribed to the belief in the spiritual equality of all people, regardless of gender or race. Her African heritage is often thought to have hugely impacted her writing, and she did seek to break out of the confines of expectancy. As a woman, however, her role was infinitely more established, and while she sought to prove herself as a poet, it was actually this accepted gender role that shaped much of the writing itself.
The poem Thoughts on the Works of Providence is a series of stanzas that focuses on the works of God in nature and in man. It progresses from what seems to be simple lines of ardent praise to scorn for man and his inability to recognize the work of God. Most evident throughout the poem is Wheatley's control of her vowel and consonant sounds in the beginning, generally maintaining soft sounds through most of the lines. She begins with the alliteration and consonance of the letters s and r in the first stanzas. When she thinks of a "seraphic strain" (10) or the God that "whirls surrounding spheres" (14) they roll smoothly off the tongue and there is a kind of more muted eloquence to the speech, in spite of their fantastical meanings. The diction in the first part of the poem is generally pleasant, evoking imagery of nature and its beauty, as she rises "on wings enraptur'd" (1) and the "morning glows with rosy charms" (5). Yet, by the end of the third stanza, the glory is "unador'd" (28) and consequently, she describes how the earth would be "destitute" (33) and a "dire contagious taint" (38). Man becomes "ungrateful" (128) with "little homage" (129). It is interesting to look also at Wheatley's use of pronouns through the poem, in which only God is the only singular he, but earth, Reason and Love are all personified as female. Additionally, while man is generally supposed to be gender neutral, its juxtaposition to the female pronouns only emphasizes the innate masculinity of the word. Wheatley seems to have a difficult time reconciling the different aspects of individuality and the equality in which she believes. She simultaneously repeats the importance of "various beauty" (29) and the "so various... beauteous dies" (43) and the "lovely copies" which are man (74). In this, she captures the epitome of American political tension between individualism and equality.
Wheatley fixates on the metaphor of light and wisdom, and she constantly repeats this throughout the stanzas. God is "unseen" (11) by humans, but paradoxically, "dazzles mortal sight" (18). He creates the first light from "eternal night" (75), and Wheatley takes care to surround the concept of night with an ignorant diction. Night is "peaceful, but the brow of care" (36), and later, reason is lost through dreams, and "reasons pow'rs by day" (83). Wheatley scorns human desires, and mocks the "giddy triumph" of "Fancy's queen" (88). In the next stanza, the only slant rhyme in the entirely length of a very regularly rhymed poem is in the lines "When thus to Reason (so let Fancy rove)/ Her great companion spoke immortal Love" (106-107). Wheatley's mockery of man is patent, as a creature who cannot recognize the goodness and mercy of God.
Phillis Wheatley's poetry is so subtly subversive that is becomes difficult to decipher the points at which it deviates from a reinforcement of traditional ideals. Betsy Erkkila argues that "while Wheatley seemed to utter ideals of her time in the ordered and allusive heroic couplets... of the neoclassical writers, she also knew how to manipulate language, image, and phrase in a manner that destabilized while it appeared to reinforce the categories of dominant culture" (Erkkila 170). Phillis Wheatley's poetical identity was structured by her role as a part of the disenfranchised. The fact that was also African American further restricted her societal and cultural role, but changed little about her political status. Similarly to Anne Bradstreet, her poetical work did not seek to redefine her place in society, but sought to reconcile all of her different roles.
For a nation with no established religion, its effect was pervasive throughout colonial America. More so than any strict adherence to a code of conduct though, the influence of individual morality and the personal relationship with God molded the creation of the female political identity. The idea of spiritual or moral equality introduced a wholly new idea for women, in which they were on the same level as men, and held to the same virtuous expectations. Even within the context of religion, however, the ever present tension between democracy and equality existed. Women struggled to find a balance between this individualistic desire to have a personal rapport with God and the moral equality that equalized everyone.