Getting to the Source: Hints for Wives - and Husbands

Prints the text of and describes the context for an overlooked reading at the 1848 Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention. On the first day, conference organizer Lucretia Mott read a 'humorous article' written by Martha Coffin Wright, Mott's younger sister. The article, entitled 'Hints for Wives,' appeared in the 'United States Gazette' on 23 September 1846 and presents in ironic tones a view of gender roles in marriage very different from that reflected in most contemporary literature. Abolitionist and woman's rights advocate Frederick Douglass, who was in attendance, later published Wright's article in his newspaper, the 'North Star.' [S. Danver]