Frances Wright

An egalitarian.  A trailblazer.  A writer and speaker.  A person with the desire to disarm American culture, to keep it honest and aware, and to look out for the little guy.

Sound like I'm describing Whitman?  Well, I am, in a sense, but I'm also describing Frances Wright.

The two are not entirely the same, however.  Wright was a contemporary of Whitman's, though she was several decades older (born 1795).  She was Born in Scottland, so her interest in America was less personal and perhaps not so biased as Whitman's-- Wright was an abolitionist with no qualms about the possibility of severing the union (which is much of what held Whitman back).  Still, Wright fought for the working man, which made her more like Whitman and less like the abolitionists of the time.

Feminism was also one of Wright's primary stances.  People don't usually describe Whitman as a feminist, but after reading "A Song for Occupations," I would argue that he was a kind of feminist as well!

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