Natural Rights.

In the discussion of the question of woman's equality with man, I
purpose to prove from the Bible, as I believe I can, that at the
creation there was neither superiority nor inferiority ordained between
Adam and Eve; and that the partial distinctions which have for ages
existed, and which still exist, are of man's invention; and may,
therefore with propriety, be examined, and, where found unfair or
oppressive, may be justly condemned.

I hope also to be able to establish the fact, from history, that in
every age, whenever an opportunity has afforded itself, women have
proved themselves to be fully men's equals in intellectual capacity, in
morality, industry, and religion; and that, in matters of government,
they have proved themselves to be as wise and judicious rulers as any of
the opposite sex, under the same, or similar, circumstances. That the
instances in which women have been called to places of power and
responsibility in the State are comparatively rare, is not to be
attributed to natural incapacity or mental inferiority, but to the fact
of the persistent efforts made by men to keep them as much as possible
in the background; that in many instances women have broken the fetters
of oppression and prejudice by which they were bound, and have ascended
the hill of fame in advance of their male opponents. If, then, women
have in other and darker ages over-leaped the formidable barriers placed
in their way, and thus benefited their respective nations, and sometimes
the world, by their intrepidity, why should obstructions be placed in
their path now, in this day of professed light and progress? Freedom,
improvement, and righteousness ought to be the watchwords of the
nations.