RONALD J. ZBORAY is Professor of Communication at the University of Pittsburgh. MARY SARACINO ZBORAY is a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Communication, University of Pittsburgh. They have collaborated on and published numerous books and articles.
The authors claim that during the antebellum period, New England
women saw their political activities as a way both to express their
own political convictions and to collaborate with men to influence
American politics. In the process, however, they exposed their
awareness that they were trespassing on male territory by often
expressing their political opinions using what the authors call a
rhetoric of diffidence. Participation in politics sometimes
reflected female anxieties about the safety and economic well-being
of their Canada and the United States families, but, in general,
women s political concerns and rhetoric paralleled those of men. .
. . this book is a welcome addition to the literature on American
women and politics. American Historical Review"
This meticulously researched book offers important new insights
into women s contributions to New England politics during the
antebellum period. The authors . . . assert that many New England
women became eager partisans who not only understood the issues but
also shaped the debates of the era through letters, petitions, and
public demonstrations . . . a book that will be of great use to
scholars of both antebellum women and politics. Recommended.
Choice"
Voices without Votes succeeds as an engaging social history,
bringing to life the many voices, actions, and aspirations of
antebellum women who strongly identified with partisan politics.
The Zborays provide impressive evidence of women s political
engagement, and their efforts will undoubtedly inspire further
studies highlighting the central roles played by women and gender
in American political life. H-Net"
Women in the nineteenth century played many roles, and this study
helps us understand how important politics were to many of them
even though the vote remained elusive. Journal of American History"
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