The Social Theories of Harriet Martineau Essay Example

that apparent differences in intellect between men and women were the product of educational discrimination” (Clearly & Hughs, 2013).

Martineau considered the treatment of women to only be slightly better than the treatment of slaves. Both women and non-whites were suppressed and forced to play certain roles against their will. Martineau expressed much disappointment in the attitude of America towards women and non-whites especially because the unfair treatment contradicted the freedom that America stood for. "Is it to be understood that the principles of the Declaration of Independence bear no relation to half of the human race? If so, what is the ground of the limitation?" (Clearly & Hughs, 2013).

With this statement, Martineau made a profound and reasonable claim that was unfortunately not accepted or even taken into consideration during her time. Instead she was shunned for being an outspoken abolitionist. Nonetheless, Martineau marched forward with her theories and developed more as she continued to write with defiance of everyone who argued against her. She approached the challenges as a Sociologist would and traveled far and wide to meet with people of all different walks and parts of America. Though she was British, she dedicated herself to studying and evaluating Americans, therefore only using American conditions and expressions (Clearly & Hughs, 2013). She was careful not use the standards for British etiquette and kept the presence of American culture in the books she wrote based on her personal accounts.

Harriet Martineau also took to her own painful childhood experiences to develop theories that could possibly help other children that were going through the same problems she had to overcome. Growing up,

Martineau mainly relied on her siblings for love because her mother was very cold and lacked the maternal instinct to provide love and affection. She concluded that children need paternal-love in order to grow up with good self-esteem and a good self-image (Clearly & Hughs, 2013).

Martineau wrote until her dying days, in which she may have accomplished more than any other time in her life. She most distinctly opposed the controversial Contagious Disease Act that discriminated against unmarried women. The Act allowed unmarried women to be considered and treated as prostitutes even if they were not. It also took away their rights, which in turn left them without any type of defense or any chance to appeal their cases (Clearly & Hughs, 2013). Martineau’s campaigning inspired women to publicly discuss politics, which led to a woman’s progressive movement (Clearly & Hughs, 2013).

Harriet Martineau was the type of woman who all women should aspire to become. She was strong willed and strong minded. She began the process of breaking down the walls that suppressed women from the rest of the world. Not only did she inspire women to speak up but she also instilled a forward way of thinking to abolish slavery. Using observations, experiments, and comparisons, Harriet Martineau was able to plant many seeds, so to speak, for the feminist and non-white movements.