27
The Continental Congress adopted
its highly moral plan for government on
July 4, 1776. But Martineau questioned
whether social virtues were possible
in a society characterized by injustice.
See also: Judith Butler 56–61 ■ R.W. Connell 88–89 ■ Sylvia Walby 96–99 ■
Teri Caraway 248–49 ■ Christine Delphy 312–17 ■ Ann Oakley 318–19
FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIOLOGY
social issues, so on her travels
she set down in book form her
impressions of US society. Her
Theory and Practice of Society
in America went beyond mere
description, however, for it analyzed
the forms of social injustice she
came across there.
Social emancipator
For Martineau, the degree to which
a society can be thought of as
civilized is judged by the conditions
in which its people live. Theoretical
ideals are no measure of how
civilized a society is if they do not
apply to everybody. The supposed
ideals of US society, notably the
cherished notion of freedom,
were “made a mockery” by the
continued practice of slavery, which
Martineau identified as the prime
example of one section of society
having domination over another.
Throughout her life, Martineau
campaigned for an end to slavery,
but she also applied her principles
of what constitutes a civilized
society to identify and oppose other
forms of exploitation and social
oppression, such as the unjust
treatment of the working class in
industrial Britain and the
subjugation of women in the
Western world.
Martineau highlighted the
hypocrisy of a society that prided
itself on liberty, yet continued to
oppress women. This treatment
was a particular affront because,
as she pointed out, women were
half the human race: “If a test of
civilization be sought, none can
be so sure as the condition of
that half of society over which the
other half has power.” Unlike many
of her contemporaries, however,
Martineau did not merely campaign
for women’s rights to education or
the vote, but described the ways
in which society restricted
women’s liberty in both domestic
and public life.
Martineau was well known in
her lifetime, but her contribution
to the development of sociology
was not recognized until recently.
Today, however, she is regarded as
not only the first woman to make a
methodical study of society, but
also the first to formulate a feminist
sociological perspective. ■Harriet Martineau
Harriet Martineau was born
in Norwich, England, the
daughter of progressive
parents who ensured she
had a good education. She
showed an early interest in
politics and economics, and
after the death of her father
in 1825, made a living as a
journalist. Her success as a
writer enabled her to move
to London, and in 1834–36
to travel around the US.
On her return to England,
she published a three-volume
sociological critique of the
US. Her experiences there
confirmed her commitment
to campaigning for the
abolition of slavery and for
the emancipation of women.
Although profoundly deaf
since her teenage years,
Martineau continued working
and campaigning until the
1860s. She had by this time
moved to the Lake District,
where, housebound by ill
health, she died in 1876.Key works1832–34 Illustrations of
Political Economy
1837 Theory and Practice
of Society in America
1837–38 How to Observe
Morals and Manners