We, as women, especially those of us who live in liberal parts of the world, often take for granted the rights and benefits which we have. We forget that in other times, women were not considered to be equal to their male counterparts; they were considered to be helpless subordinates to the men with whom they lived. So how did society's ethics and values come to the present state where women in America supposedly have the same rights as men do? Where we can vote, work outside of the home, and be educated? Though we do not often consider it, we owe much of these everyday freedoms to women of the past, who struggled and pushed for equal rights and recognition. Their determination helped us gain increased education, economic status, and political rights, among other things.
             Women in previous centuries were expected to depend on their husbands or fathers for everything they needed, and were supposed to remain involved only in household affairs. Because of this, it was presumed that an education was improper and unnecessary for women. There were some women who disagreed with this, and ignored society's view. The wife of a Mr. Hopkins had been "giving herself wholly to reading and writing; and she had written many books," ("On the Education of Women" by John Winthrop, 1645). Although many disapproved of this, Mr. Hopkins' wife educated herself, and paved the way for other women to do so. Another example is in "The Trial of Anne Hutchinson." Anne Hutchinson organized meetings for women where the church sermons were repeated and discussed, sometimes even challenged. Because she did not conform to the role society thought she should play, she introduced the idea that women had a say in things and that women were smart enough and able to think for themselves. If not for women like Hutchinson and Mrs. Hopkins, who ignored society's taboos and kept pushing for t
             ...