Table of Contents

Editor's Preface
Preface
Acknowledgments
Part I. "The Way of Obedience": Foundations
1: Governing Women in British North America
2: Toward the Revolutionary Settlement
Part II. "Talk is the Fountain-Head of All Things": Republican Speech Communities and Coequality
3: Law, Gender, and Domestic Culture
4: Republican Speech Communities
5: Toward Coequality and Self-Possession
6: Capitalism and the New American Empire
7: The Civil War Settlement
Part III. "Governments Try Themselves": Democratic Suffrage Communities and Equality
8: Democratic Suffrage Communities
9: Economic Protection versus Equal Rights
10: Physical Protection versus Self-Sovereignty
11: The Civil Rights Settlement
12: Afterword
Notes
Bibliographic Essay
Index

Reviews

"Sandra VanBurkleo's magisterial analysis of women and the law is a brilliant book that will reshape the familiar narrative of American history. A powerfully written, subtle analysis of the gendered dimensions of American legal and constitutional traditions, "Belonging to the World" makes complex legal analysis clear and accessible; it is rich in wit and wisdom."--Linda K. Kerber, University of Iowa
"Beautifully written, broad in conception and full of scintillating insights, this book is sure to become the standard history of women's rights in America. A treasure for anyone who wants to know the story of women's place in American society."--Michael Les Benedict, Ohio State University
"Sandra F. VanBurkleo executes brilliantly the difficult task of synthesizing the history of women's quest for liberty in the United States...VanBurkleo deftly ties together constitutional developments with women's history." - - American Historical Review