1 2<!DOCTYPE html> 3<html lang="en"> 4<head> 5 6 <!-- Google Tag Manager --> 7
7<script>
vendor: 351 bytes, lines 7-11
7(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': 8 new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], 9 j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= 10 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); 11 })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','
11GTM-T62VWK2
vendor: 3 bytes, line 11
11');
11</script>
11 12 <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> 13 14 15 16
16<script async="true" data-cfasync="false" src="/static/smithsonianmag/js/freestar-adshield.1d64932a8bde.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
16 17 18 19 20
20<script data-cfasync="false" type="text/javascript"> 21 window.freestar = window.freestar || {}; 22 freestar.queue = freestar.queue || []; 23 freestar.config = freestar.config || {}; 24 freestar.config.enabled_slots = []; 25 freestar.initCallback = function () { 26 (freestar.config.enabled_slots.length === 0) ? freestar.initCallbackCalled = false : freestar.newAdSlots(freestar.config.enabled_slots); 27 }; 28 </script>
28 29
29<script data-cfasync="false" src="https://a.pub.network/smithsonianmag-com/pubfig.min.js" async type="text/javascript"></script>
29 30 31 32
32<script> 33 (function(src) { 34 var a = document.createElement("script"); 35 a.type = "text/javascript"; 36 a.async = true; 37 a.src = src; 38 var b = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; 39 b.parentNode.insertBefore(a, b) 40 })("https://experience.piano.io/xbuilder/experience/load?aid=lqcP1jI8pu"); 41 </script>
41 42 43 44 45 <title>Born in 1810, Margaret Fuller Was Labeled a Child Prodigy. She Later Used Her Intellect to Ask Important Questions About Women's Role in America</title> 46 <meta name="keywords" content=""/> 47 <meta name="description" content="Her writing posed the novel premise: What does it mean to be a woman? Her early death meant she never saw the movement she inspired"/> 48 49 <meta name="robots" content="index, max-image-preview:large, follow, archive"/> 50 51 <meta name="author" content="Megan Marshall"/> 52 <meta charset="utf-8"/> 53 <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge,chrome=1"/> 54 <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> 55 <meta name="referrer" content="unsafe-url"> 56 <meta name="mobile-web-app-capable" content="yes"> 57 <meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-status-bar-style" content="black"> 58 <meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-title" content="Smithsonian Magazine"> 59 <meta name="theme-color" content="#000000"> 60 <meta name="color-scheme" content="only light"> 61 <meta name="google-site-verification" content="T7gSFyA0e-iOH47wt5QczdsyUBwTuIJlLUbm0NYIGg4" /> 62 63 64<meta name="category" content="History" /> 65<meta name="sponsor_status" content="editorial" /> 66<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /> 67<meta name="twitter:site" content="@SmithsonianMag" /> 68<meta name="twitter:creator" content="@" /> 69<meta name="twitter:title" content="Born in 1810, Margaret Fuller Was
69Labeled a Child Prodigy. She Later Used Her Intellect to Ask Important Questions About Women's Role in America" /> 70<meta name="twitter:description" content="Her writing posed the novel premise: What does it mean to be a woman? Her early death meant she never saw the movement she inspired" /> 71 72<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/-CBvjiK7kxqox4Wbw0VHlhAUVUs=/fit-in/1200x0/filters:focal(1350x900:1351x901)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/7d/4b/7d4b3c18-c568-4ea7-a3ff-f904331fad58/margaret_fuller.jpg" /> 73<link rel="image_src" href="https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/07s7Kt81RvnXs7ntYtxs0QAT5rI=/fit-in/1600x0/filters:focal(1350x900:1351x901)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/7d/4b/7d4b3c18-c568-4ea7-a3ff-f904331fad58/margaret_fuller.jpg"> 74<meta property="cXenseParse:image" content="https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/07s7Kt81RvnXs7ntYtxs0QAT5rI=/fit-in/1600x0/filters:focal(1350x900:1351x901)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/7d/4b/7d4b3c18-c568-4ea7-a3ff-f904331fad58/margaret_fuller.jpg"/> 75<meta property="og:image" content="https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/07s7Kt81RvnXs7ntYtxs0QAT5rI=/fit-in/1600x0/filters:focal(1350x900:1351x901)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/7d/4b/7d4b3c18-c568-4ea7-a3ff-f904331fad58/margaret_fuller.jpg"> 76<meta property="og:image:alt" content="A portrait of Fuller, inspired by her 1845 Woman in the Nineteenth Century, which argued for equality of the sexes. The book&rsquo;s opening illustration featured mystical symbols of harmonizing opposites, including the Ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail." /> 77 78<meta name="cXenseParse:pageclass" content="article"/> 79<meta name="cXenseParse:publishtime" content="2026-06-04T07:00:00-04:00"/> 80<meta property="article:modified_time" content="2026-06-01T12:38:42.768617-04:00"/> 81<meta property="og:title" content='Born in 1810, Margaret Fuller Was
81Labeled a Child Prodigy. She Later Used Her Intellect to Ask Important Questions About Women's Role in America' /> 82<meta property="og:url" content="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/born-1810-margaret-fuller-labeled-child-prodigy-later-used-intellect-ask-important-questions-about-women-america-180988800/" /> 83<meta property="og:site_name" content="Smithsonian Magazine" /> 84<meta property="og:type" content="article" /> 85<meta property="og:description" content="Her writing posed the novel premise: What does it mean to be a woman? Her early death meant she never saw the movement she inspired" /> 86<meta property="og:article:author" content="Megan Marshall" /> 87<meta property="article:section" content="History, Magazine, , U.S. History, , Articles" /> 88<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/history/" /> 89<meta property="article:tag" content="Activism, American Women's History, Literature, Politics, Women's History, Womenâs Suffrage" /> 90<meta property="fb:app_id" content="419418791549947" /> 91
92<script type="application/ld+json"> 93{ 94 "@context": "https://schema.org", 95 "@type": "NewsArticle", 96 "mainEntityOfPage": "https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/born-1810-margaret-fuller-labeled-child-prodigy-later-used-intellect-ask-important-questions-about-women-america-180988800/", 97 "headline": "Born in 1810, Margaret Fuller Was Labeled a Child Prodigy. She Later Used Her Intellect to Ask Important Questions About Women's Role in America", 98 "description": "Her writing posed the novel premise: What does it mean to be a woman? Her early death meant she never saw the movement she inspired", 99 "url": "https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/born-1810-margaret-fuller-labeled-child-prodigy-later-used-intellect-ask-important-questions-about-women-america-180988800/", 100 "speakable": { 101 "@type": "SpeakableSpecification", 102 "xpath": [ 103 "/html/head/title", 104 "/html/head/meta[@name='description']/@content" 105 ] 106 }, 107 "datePublished": "2026-06-04T07:00:00-04:00", 108 "dateModified": "2026-06-01T12:38:42.768617-04:00", 109 "image": [ 110 "https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/Fa31PjSERp-KvTrVPRbY9IAtPHE=/1280x1280/filters:focal(1350x900:1351x901)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/7d/4b/7d4b3c18-c568-4ea7-a3ff-f904331fad58/margaret_fuller.jpg", 111 "https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/j--WoS-9RN76XaZicwKOrvrHUY0=/1280x960/filters:focal(1350x900:1351x901)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/7d/4b/7d4b3c18-c568-4ea7-a3ff-f904331fad58/margaret_fuller.jpg", 112 "https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/KDKeS_hOveeKqA_UB3LSL5aH62U=/1280x720/filters:focal(1350x900:1351x901)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/7d/4b/7d4b3c18-c568-4ea7-a3ff-f904331fad58/margaret_fuller.jpg" 113 ], 114 "articleSection": "History", 115 "thumbnailUrl": "https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/JxlF9jNY_qvB0HCY_oup1lqDHNA=/1072x720/filters:no_upscale():focal(1350x900:1351x901)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/7d/4b/7d4b3c18-c568-4ea7-a3ff-f904331fad58/margaret_fuller.jpg", 116 "author": [{ 117 "@type": "Person", 118 "name": "Megan Marshall", 119 "url": "https://www.smithsonianmag.com/author/megan-marshall/" 120 }], 121 "keywords": ["History", "Activism", "American Women's History", "Literature", "Politics", "Women's History", "Women\u2019s Suffrage", "Magazine", "U.S. History", "Articles"], 122 "publisher": { 123 "@type": "Organization", 124 "name": "Smithsonian Magazine", 125 "logo": { 126 "@type":"ImageObject", 127 "url":"https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/4e/c9/4ec98b8b-b9d1-4086-858b-84984e84d164/576x164_smithsonianmagazine_logo.png", 128 "width":576, 129 "height":164 130 } 131 } 132} 133</script>
133 134
135<script type="application/json"> 136{ 137 "articleID": "180988800", 138 "articleSource": "Smithsonian Magazine", 139 "articleType": "Article", 140 "premium": "0", 141 "metered": "0", 142 "articlePage": "1" 143} 144</script>
144 145
146<script type="text/javascript"> 147tp = window["tp"] || []; 148tp.push(["setTags", ["Activism", "American Women's History", "Literature", "Politics", "Women's History", "Womenâs Suffrage"]]); 149tp.push(["setContentSection", ["History", "Activism", "American Women's History", "Literature", "Politics", "Women's History", "Women\u2019s Suffrage", "Magazine", "U.S. History", "Articles"]]); 150tp.push(["setContentAuthor", "Megan Marshall"]); 151tp.push(["setContentCreated", "2026-06-04T07:00:00-04:00"]); 152</script>
152 153 154 155 156 157 158
158<script> 159 window.ENV = "production"; 160 window.SENTRY_DSN = "https://[email protected]/4507623932428288"; 161 window.RELEASE = "2026.09.23.6905"; 162 </script>
162 163 164 165 <!-- Provide the canonical URL for paginated pages to avoid duplicate-content issues --> 166 <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/born-1810-margaret-fuller-labeled-child-prodigy-later-used-intellect-ask-important-questions-about-women-america-180988800/" /> 167 <link rel="preconnect" href="//a.pub.network"/> 168 <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//www.google-analytics.com"/> 169 <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//www.googletagmanager.com"/> 170 <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//connect.facebook.net"/> 171 <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//ajax.googleapis.com"/> 172 <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//fonts.googleapis.com"/> 173 <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com"> 174 <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//use.fontawesome.com"/> 175 <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//logs1.smithsonian.museum"/> 176 <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//sb.scorecardresearch.com"/> 177 <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//th-thumbnailer.smithsonianmag.com"/> 178 <link rel="preload" href="/static/smithsonianmag/smithsonianmag.0c805cf33a62.css" as="style" /> 179 <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/static/smithsonianmag/smithsonianmag.0c805cf33a62.css"/> 180 181 182 <link rel="icon" href="/static/smithsonianmag/img/smithmag-favicon-logo.aaa6544fd317.ico" sizes="any"><!-- 32Ã32 --> 183 <link rel="icon" href="/static/smithsonianmag/img/smithmag-favicon-logo.2fad0aa1d767.svg" type="image/svg+xml"> 184 <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/smithsonianmag/img/smithmag-favicon-logo.cb31c6e193dd.png"> 185 <!-- 180Ã180 --> 186 <link rel="manifest" href="/manifest.json"> 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 <link rel="preload" href="/static/smithsonianmag/smithsonianmag.bundle.b5b0afad2b8b.js" as="script"> 194 <link rel="preload" href="/static/ads/freestar.bundle.cd9b1b1ab9b7.js" as="script"> 195 196
196<script type="text/javascript" async src="/static/smithsonianmag/smithsonianmag.bundle.b5b0afad2b8b.js"></script>
196 197 198
198<script src="https://kit.fontawesome.com/c31205bd70.js" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
198 199
199<script data-cfasync="false" type="text/javascript"> 200 window.freestar = window.freestar || {}; 201 freestar.queue = freestar.queue || []; 202 freestar.queue.push(function() { 203 freestar.newVideo("FreeStarVideoAdContainer_Slider"); 204 }); 205 </script>
205 206 207 208 209
209<script data-cfasync="false" type="text/javascript"> 210 window.GPT = { 211 DOMAIN: 'https://www.smithsonianmag.com/', 212 SITE: 'production', 213 ACCOUNT: '/308522/smithsonianmag.tmus', 214 referrer: document.referrer ? new URL(document.referrer).hostname.replace(/^www\./, '') : '', 215 216 path: '/308522/smithsonianmag.tmus/history', 217 category: JSON.parse('["history", "magazine", "us-history", "articles"]'), 218 tag: JSON.parse('["activism", "american-womens-history-initiative", "literature", "politics", "womens-history", "womens-suffrage"]'), 219 section_type: JSON.parse('["the-revolutionary-spark"]'), 220 url: 'born-1810-margaret-fuller-labeled-child-prodigy-later-used-intellect-ask-important-questions-about-women-america-180988800', 221 pagetype: 'article', 222 223 special: JSON.parse('["the-revolutionary-spark"]') 224 }; 225 window.googletag = window.googletag || { cmd: [] }; 226 window.showLeaderboard = !(['.bing.','.google.','yahoo.com'].some(function(p){return document.referrer.indexOf(p)>-1;})); 227 googletag.cmd.push(function() { 228 var fsMapping = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([1072, 0], [[728, 90], [970, 90], [970, 250], [1072, 325], [1512, 250], [1, 1] ]) 229 .addSize([970, 0], [[728, 90], [970, 90], [970, 250], [1512, 250], [1, 1] ]) 230 .addSize([768, 0], [[728, 90], [1, 1] ]) 231 .addSize([0, 0], [[300, 50], [320, 50], [1, 1] ]) 232 .build(); 233 if (showLeaderboard) { 234 googletag.defineSlot('/15184186,21714840181/smithsonianmag_atf_leaderboard_new', [728, 90], 'smithsonianmag_atf_leaderboard_new').setTargeting('pos', ['top']).defineSizeMapping(fsMapping).addService(googletag.pubads()); 235 } 236 googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); 237 googletag.enableServices(); }); 238 239 googletag.cmd.push(function () { 240 googletag.pubads().setTargeting('site', GPT.SITE || "") 241 .setTargeting('Category', GPT.category || "") 242 .setTargeting('tag', GPT.tag || "") 243 .setTargeting('type', GPT.type || "") 244 .setTargeting('special', GPT.special || "") 245 .setTargeting('url', GPT.url || "") 246 .setTargeting('pagetype', GPT.pagetype || "") 247 .setTargeting('segment', GPT.segment || "") 248 .setTargeting('post', GPT.post || "") 249 .setTargeting('section_type', GPT.section_type || "") 250 .setTargeting('referrer', GPT.referrer || "") 251 }); 252 googletag.cmd.push(function() { 253 googletag.pubads().setPrivacySettings({ 254 childDirectedTreatment: false 255 }); 256 }); 257 freestar.queue.push(function() { 258 googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function(event) { 259 if (event.slot.getAdUnitPath() === '/15184186,21714840181/smithsonianmag_adhesion' && event.campaignId === 3571320465) { 260 setTimeout(function() { 261 freestar.refresh('smithsonianmag_adhesion'); 262 }, 30000); 263 } 264 }); 265 }); 266 freestar.config.targeting = [ 267 { 268 "smithsonianmag_atf_leaderboard_new": { 269 "pos": "top" 270 } 271 }, 272 { 273 "smithsonianmag_btf_leaderboard_new": { 274 "pos": "middle" 275 } 276 }, 277 { 278 "smithsonianmag_rail_right_1_new": { 279 "pos": "top" 280 } 281 }, 282 { 283 "smithsonianmag_rail_right_2_new": { 284 "pos": "bottom" 285 } 286 } 287 ]; 288 </script>
288 289 290 291 292
292<script> 293 document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', () => { 294 const hashPattern = /^[a-f0-9]{64}$/i; 295 let hashedEmail = null; 296 const urlUserId = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search).get('user_id'); 297 if (urlUserId && hashPattern.test(urlUserId)) { 298 hashedEmail = urlUserId; 299 try { localStorage.setItem('freestar_hem', urlUserId); } catch (_) {} 300 } else { 301 try { 302 const stored = localStorage.getItem('freestar_hem'); 303 if (stored && hashPattern.test(stored)) hashedEmail = stored; 304 } catch (_) {} 305 } 306 if (hashedEmail && window.sendFreestarHashedUid) window.sendFreestarHashedUid(hashedEmail); 307 }); 308 </script>
308 309 310
310<script type="text/javascript" data-cfasync="false" src="/static/ads/freestar.bundle.cd9b1b1ab9b7.js"></script>
310 311 312 313<meta property="fb:pages" content="47619793252"/> 314<meta name="p:domain_verify" content="1cb4877f178228486592ed27f73e9fd1"/> 315<!-- OpenSearch --> 316<link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" title="Smithsonian" href="/static/smithsonianmag/xml/opensearch/smith_opensearch.7184bcff4c41.xml"> 317 318 319</head> 320<body class="article-template"> 321 322 323 324 <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->
vendor: 70 bytes, lines 324-325
324 325 <noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=
325GTM-T62VWK2
vendor: 87 bytes, lines 325-327
325" 326 height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> 327
327<!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) --> 328 329<a class="skip-main" href="#main-content">Skip to main content</a> 330 331 332 333 <div class="advertisement fullwidth adtop" id="leaderboardAd"> 334 <!-- BEGIN Freestar: Tag ID - smithsonianmag_atf_leaderboard_new --> 335 <div data-freestar-ad="__320x50 __1072x325" id="smithsonianmag_atf_leaderboard_new"> 336
336<script type="text/javascript"> 337 if (showLeaderboard) { 338 freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: "smithsonianmag_atf_leaderboard_new", slotId: "smithsonianmag_atf_leaderboard_new" }); 339 } else { 340 document.currentScript.parentElement.parentElement.remove(); 341 } 342 </script>
342 343 </div> 344 <!-- END Freestar: Tag ID - smithsonianmag_atf_leaderboard_new --> 345 </div> 346 347 348 349 350<header class="main"> 351 <div class="headerBar"> 352 <button 353 class="headerBaritem hamburger" 354 type="button" aria-label="Sections" aria-haspopup="menu" 355 aria-haspopup="menu" 356 aria-label="Site Navigation" 357 aria-labelledby="Site Navigation"> 358 <div id="mobileIcon" class="hamMenu"> 359 <div id="mobile-icon"> 360 <span></span> 361 <span></span> 362 <span></span> 363 <span></span> 364 </div> 365 </div> 366 </button> 367 <div class="headerBaritem logo"> 368 <a href="/"><img src="/static/smithsonianmag/img/smithmag-logo-horizontal-white.98dddd9f3f4d.svg" alt="Smithsonian Magazine white logo" width="255" height="30"/></a> 369 </div> 370 <div id="main_nav" class="headerBaritem" role="navigation"> 371 <span class="search-btn"><a href="/search/"><i class="fa-sharp fa-solid fa-magnifying-glass"></i>Search</a></span> 372 <span class="shop-btn"><a href="https://www.smithsonianstore.com/?code=SEMAG&utm_source=Smithsonianmag.com&utm_medium=shoplink&utm_campaign=hol2016" target="_blank">Shop</a></span> 373 <span class="newsletters-btn"><a href="/email/add/">Newsletters</a></span> 374 <span class="renew-btn-alternate"><a href="https://ssl.drgnetwork.com/flex/SMT/SMRENEWAL/" id="sticky-renew-nav-link">Renew</a></span> 375 <span class="gift-btn-alternate"><a href="https://subscribe.smithsonianmag.com/gift?idx=579&inetz=sticky_menu&promo_name=current-issue&promo_position=top-nav&promo_creative=button&promo_id=gift" id="sticky-gift-nav-link">Give a Gift</a></span> 376 <span class="subscribe-btn"><a href="https://subscribe.smithsonianmag.com/?idx=1913&inetz=sticky_menu&promo_name=current-issue&promo_position=top-nav&promo_creative=button&promo_id=subscribe" id="sticky-subscribe-nav-link">Subscribe</a></span> 377 378 <span class="white-membership-btn desktop"><a href="/membership/" aria-label="Link to Membership">Membership</a></span> 379 <span class="white-membership-btn mobile"><a href="/membership/" aria-label="Link to Membership"><i class="fa-sharp fa-solid fa-circle-user"></i></a></span> 380 381 </div> 382 </div> 383 384 <div class="navigation" id="sideNav" role="navigation"> 385 <nav role="hamburger-navigation"> 386 <div class="circulation"> 387 <i class="fa fa-times" id="closeSideNav" tabindex="0"></i> 388 <div class="navWrap search-wrapper"> 389 <form class="search-form" action="/search/"> 390 <input id="sideNavSearch" placeholder="Search..." type="text" name="q"> 391 <button type="submit"><i class="fas fa-search" title="Submit Search"></i></button> 392 </form> 393 </div> 394 <div class="navWrap">i 395 <button class="subscribe-btn" tabindex="-1"><a href="https://subscribe.smithsonianmag.com/?idx=1913&inetz=side_menu&promo_name=current-issue&promo_position=left_nav&promo_creative=button&promo_id=subscribe" id="mobile-subscribe-side-menu">Subscribe</a></button> 396 <button class="gift-btn-alternate" tabindex="-1"><a href="https://subscribe.smithsonianmag.com/gift?idx=579&inetz=side_menu&promo_name=current-issue&promo_position=left_nav&promo_creative=button&promo_id=gift" id="mobile-side-nav-gift">Give a Gift</a></button> 397 <button class="renew-btn-alternate" tabindex="-1"><a href="https://ssl.drgnetwork.com/flex/SMT/SMRENEWAL/" id="mobile-side-nav-renew">Renew</a></button> 398 </div> 399 </div> 400 401 <div class="navWrap menu"> 402 <p>Sections</p> 403 404 405 406 407 408 <ul><li> 409 410 <a href="/category/smart-news/" class="hamburger-smart-news" >Smart News</a> 411 412 413 414 </li><li> 415 416 <a href="/category/history/" class="hamburger-history" >History</a> 417 418 419 420 </li><li> 421 422 <a href="/category/science-nature/" class="hamburger-science" >Science</a> 423 424 425 426 </li><li> 427 428 <a href="/category/innovation/" class="hamburger-innovation" >Innovation</a> 429 430 431 432 </li><li> 433 434 <a href="/category/arts-culture/" class="hamburger-arts-culture" >Arts & Culture</a> 435 436 437 438 </li><li> 439 440 <a href="/category/travel/" class="hamburger-travel" >Travel</a> 441 442 443 444 </li><li> 445 446 <a href="/category/smithsonian-institution/" class="hamburger-at-the-smithsonian" >At the Smithsonian</a> 447 448 </li></ul> 449 450 451 452 453 </div> 454 455 <div class="two"> 456 <div class="navWrap menu"> 457 <p>More from Smithsonian magazine</p> 458 459 460 461 462 463 <ul><li> 464 465 <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/email/" class="hamburger-newsletters" >Newsletters</a> 466 467 468 469 </li><li> 470 471 <a href="https://photocontest.smithsonianmag.com/photocontest/" class="hamburger-photo-contest" >Photo Contest</a> 472 473 474 475 </li><li> 476 477 <a href="/podcast/" class="hamburger-podcast" >Podcast</a> 478 479 480 481 </li><li> 482 483 <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/video/" class="hamburger-videos" >Videos</a> 484 485 </li></ul> 486 487 488 489 490 </div> 491 </div> 492 <div class="three"> 493 <div class="navWrap menu" id="sideNavOurPartners"> 494 <p>Our Partners</p> 495 496 497 498 499 500 <ul><li> 501 502 <a href="https://www.smithsonianstore.com" class="hamburger-smithsonian-store" target="_blank">Smithsonian Store</a> 503 504 505 506 </li><li> 507 508 <a href="https://www.smithsonianjourneys.org" class="hamburger-smithsonian-journeys" target="_blank">Smithsonian Journeys</a> 509 510 </li></ul> 511 512 513 514 515 </div> 516 </div> 517 <i class="fas fa-xmark"></i> 518 </nav> 519 </div> 520 521 522 523 524 <div class="alert-banner" id="subscribeBanner"> 525 <p><a href="https://subscribe.smithsonianmag.com/?idx=1913&inetz=below_nav" target="_blank">Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.</a></p> 526 527 528 <button 529 role="button" 530 id="subscribeBannerCloseButton" 531 aria-label="close subscription banner" 532 ><i class="fa-sharp fa-regular fa-circle-xmark" aria-hidden="true"></i> 533 </button> 534 </div> 535 536 537</header> 538 539<div id="main-content" role="main"> 540 541
542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 <article class="main-content article history"> 550 551 <div class="article-columns"> 552 553 <div class="articleLeft"> 554 <div class="articleWrap" data-article-body> 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 <div class="article-special-wrap"> 562 <div class="article-special"> 563 <div class="article-special-text"> 564 <p class="hed"><a href="/history/the-revolutionary-spark-180988782/">America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark</a></p> 565 <p class="dek">A <i>Smithsonian</i> magazine special report</p> 566 </div> 567 </div> 568 </div> 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 <header class="article-header"> 576 577 578 <h1 class="headline" itemprop="headline">Born in 1810, Margaret Fuller Was Labeled a Child Prodigy. She Later Used Her Intellect to Ask Important Questions About Women’s Role in America</h1> 579 <h2 class="tagline article-tagline" itemprop="description">Her writing posed the novel premise: What does it mean to be a woman? Her early death meant she never saw the movement she inspired</h2> 580 581 582 <div class="article-line"> 583 584 585<section class="author-box by-line"> 586 587 <div class="author-text"> 588 589 590 591 <p class="author" itemprop="author"> 592 593 594 <a href='/author/megan-marshall/'>Megan Marshall</a> 595 596 597 </p> 598 599 600 <p class="photographer" itemprop="photographer"> 601 602 Illustration by <a href='/author/gaby-dalessandro/'>Gaby DâAlessandro</a> 603 604 </p> 605 606 607 608 <a href="/issue/smithsonian/summer-2026/"><time class="pub-date" itemprop="datePublished" data-pubdate="June 4, 2026, 7 a.m.">Summer 2026</time></a> 609 610 611 </div> 612</section> 613 614 615<div class="share-control" data-share-url="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/born-1810-margaret-fuller-labeled-child-prodigy-later-used-intellect-ask-important-questions-about-women-america-180988800/" data-share-title="Born in 1810, Margaret Fuller Was
615Labeled a Child Prodigy. She Later Used Her Intellect to Ask Important Questions About Women's Role in America"><details class="share-control__menu"><summary class="share-control__button" aria-haspopup="menu" aria-label="Share this article"><i class="fa-solid fa-share-from-square" aria-hidden="true"></i><span class="share-control__label">Share</span><i class="fa-solid fa-chevron-down share-control__chevron" aria-hidden="true"></i></summary><div class="share-control__dropdown" role="menu"><button type="button" class="share-control__item" data-share-action="copy" role="menuitem"><i class="fa-solid fa-link" aria-hidden="true"></i><span>Copy link</span></button><a class="share-control__item" role="menuitem" href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#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"><i class="fa-solid fa-envelope" aria-hidden="true"></i><span>Email</span></a><a class="share-control__item" role="menuitem" 616 href="sms:?&body=Born%20in%201810%2C%20Margaret%20Fuller%20Was%20Labeled%20a%20Child%20Prodigy.%20She%20Later%20Used%20Her%20Intellect%20to%20Ask%20Important%20Questions%20About%20Women%27s%20Role%20in%20America%20https%3A//www.smithsonianmag.com/history/born-1810-margaret-fuller-labeled-child-prodigy-later-used-intellect-ask-important-questions-about-women-america-180988800/"><i class="fa-solid fa-comment-sms" aria-hidden="true"></i><span>SMS</span></a><a class="share-control__item" role="menuitem" target="_blank" rel="noopener" 617 href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A//www.smithsonianmag.com/history/born-1810-margaret-fuller-labeled-child-prodigy-later-used-intellect-ask-important-questions-about-women-america-180988800/"><i class="fa-brands fa-facebook-f" aria-hidden="true"></i><span>Facebook</span></a><a class="share-control__item" role="menuitem" target="_blank" rel="noopener" 618 href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A//www.smithsonianmag.com/history/born-1810-margaret-fuller-labeled-child-prodigy-later-used-intellect-ask-important-questions-about-women-america-180988800/&text=Born%20in%201810%2C%20Margaret%20Fuller%20Was%20Labeled%20a%20Child%20Prodigy.%20She%20Later%20Used%20Her%20Intellect%20to%20Ask%20Important%20Questions%20About%20Women%27s%20Role%20in%20America&via=smithsonianmag"><i class="fa-brands fa-x-twitter" aria-hidden="true"></i><span>X</span></a><a class="share-control__item" role="menuitem" target="_blank" rel="noopener" 619 href="https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A//www.smithsonianmag.com/history/born-1810-margaret-fuller-labeled-child-prodigy-later-used-intellect-ask-important-questions-about-women-america-180988800/&title=Born%20in%201810%2C%20Margaret%20Fuller%20Was%20Labeled%20a%20Child%20Prodigy.%20She%20Later%20Used%20Her%20Intellect%20to%20Ask%20Important%20Questions%20About%20Women%27s%20Role%20in%20America"><i class="fa-brands fa-reddit-alien" aria-hidden="true"></i><span>Reddit</span></a><a class="share-control__item" role="menuitem" target="_blank" rel="noopener" 620 href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A//www.smithsonianmag.com/history/born-1810-margaret-fuller-labeled-child-prodigy-later-used-intellect-ask-important-questions-about-women-america-180988800/"><i class="fa-brands fa-linkedin-in" aria-hidden="true"></i><span>LinkedIn</span></a><a class="share-control__item" role="menuitem" target="_blank" rel="noopener" 621 href="https://bsky.app/intent/compose?text=Born%20in%201810%2C%20Margaret%20Fuller%20Was%20Labeled%20a%20Child%20Prodigy.%20She%20Later%20Used%20Her%20Intellect%20to%20Ask%20Important%20Questions%20About%20Women%27s%20Role%20in%20America%20https%3A//www.smithsonianmag.com/history/born-1810-margaret-fuller-labeled-child-prodigy-later-used-intellect-ask-important-questions-about-women-america-180988800/"><i class="fa-brands fa-bluesky" aria-hidden="true"></i><span>Bluesky</span></a><a class="share-control__item" role="menuitem" target="_blank" rel="noopener" 622 href="https://www.printfriendly.com/print?url=https%3A//www.smithsonianmag.com/history/born-1810-margaret-fuller-labeled-child-prodigy-later-used-intellect-ask-important-questions-about-women-america-180988800/"><i class="fa-solid fa-print" aria-hidden="true"></i><span>Print</span></a></div></details><a class="share-control__preferred-source" 623 href="https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=smithsonianmag.com" 624 target="_blank" 625 rel="noopener" 626 aria-label="Add Smithsonian Magazine as a preferred source in Google"><span class="share-control__google-g" aria-hidden="true"><svg viewBox="0 0 48 48" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path fill="#EA4335" d="M24 9.5c3.54 0 6.71 1.22 9.21 3.6l6.85-6.85C35.9 2.38 30.47 0 24 0 14.62 0 6.51 5.38 2.56 13.22l7.98 6.19C12.43 13.72 17.74 9.5 24 9.5z"/><path fill="#4285F4" d="M46.98 24.55c0-1.57-.15-3.09-.38-4.55H24v9.02h12.94c-.58 2.96-2.26 5.48-4.78 7.18l7.73 6c4.51-4.18 7.09-10.36 7.09-17.65z"/><path fill="#FBBC05" d="M10.53 28.59c-.48-1.45-.76-2.99-.76-4.59s.27-3.14.76-4.59l-7.98-6.19C.92 16.46 0 20.12 0 24c0 3.88.92 7.54 2.56 10.78l7.97-6.19z"/><path fill="#34A853" d="M24 48c6.48 0 11.93-2.13 15.89-5.81l-7.73-6c-2.15 1.45-4.92 2.3-8.16 2.3-6.26 0-11.57-4.22-13.47-9.91l-7.98 6.19C6.51 42.62 14.62 48 24 48z"/></svg></span><span class="share-control__preferred-source-label">Add as preferred source</span></a></div> 627 628 </div> 629 630 </header> 631 632 633 <figure class="article-image lead-article-image"> 634 635 <picture class="responsive-image"> 636 <source media="(max-width: 600px)" srcset="https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/HXiszRTyQTPIo35pavWbLNFtGpY=/600x400/filters:focal(1350x900:1351x901)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/7d/4b/7d4b3c18-c568-4ea7-a3ff-f904331fad58/margaret_fuller.jpg" width="600" height="400"> 637 <source media="(max-width: 768px)" srcset="https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/HA9KJANcmsoCj4VXTpWVD1X1Yo8=/768x512/filters:focal(1350x900:1351x901)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/7d/4b/7d4b3c18-c568-4ea7-a3ff-f904331fad58/margaret_fuller.jpg" width="768" height="512"> 638 <source media="(max-width: 1000px)" srcset="https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/HA9KJANcmsoCj4VXTpWVD1X1Yo8=/768x512/filters:focal(1350x900:1351x901)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/7d/4b/7d4b3c18-c568-4ea7-a3ff-f904331fad58/margaret_fuller.jpg, https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/nD9NMPkBuLk4PqQkHu_d707Dits=/1026x684/filters:focal(1350x900:1351x901)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/7d/4b/7d4b3c18-c568-4ea7-a3ff-f904331fad58/margaret_fuller.jpg 2x" width="768" height="512"> 639 <img src="https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/nD9NMPkBuLk4PqQkHu_d707Dits=/1026x684/filters:focal(1350x900:1351x901)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/7d/4b/7d4b3c18-c568-4ea7-a3ff-f904331fad58/margaret_fuller.jpg" width="1026" height="684" alt="Margaret Fuller.jpg" itemprop="image" loading="lazy"> 640 </picture>
641 <figcaption class="caption"> 642 643 A portrait of Fuller, inspired by her 1845 <em>Woman in the Nineteenth Century</em>, which argued for equality of the sexes. The book’s opening illustration featured mystical symbols of harmonizing opposites, including the Ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail. 644 <span class="credit">Illustration by Gaby DâAlessandro</span> 645 </figcaption> 646 </figure> 647 648 649 The New England<strong> </strong>writers <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/this-1837-harvard-speech-by-ralph-waldo-emerson-inspired-a-generation-of-american-writers-to-declare-their-independence-from-the-courtly-muses-of-europe-180987451/">Ralph Waldo Emerson</a> and <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/waldens-ripple-effect-180940701/">Henry David Thoreau</a> are household names today, credited with originating the American ideal Emerson termed <a href="https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/triumphnationalism/cman/text8/selfreliance.pdf">âself-reliance.â</a> Less remembered is their friend Margaret Fuller, who was every bit their intellectual equal. Yet of the three, Fuller is the easiest to imagine in contemporary America. Her breakthroughs in journalism, social reform and female self-determination have become part of the fabric of modern life. 650<p>Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1810, Fuller was the first child of an ambitious lawyer-politician who experimented with offering a boyâs college preparatory curriculum to his very bright daughter. She read fluently at age 4, translated Latin at 6, and excelled in oral argument and persuasive writing, earning a reputation as a prodigy. By 15 she was âdetermined on distinction,â she wrote to a teacher. But how? Although Fullerâs capabilities matched those of highly educated men, she couldnât attend college or enter a profession. Her close friend <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Freeman-Clarke">James Freeman Clarke</a> wondered in his journal, âWhy was she a woman?â </p> 651 652<p>Fuller pondered the question, too. What did it mean to be a woman? Or, as she asked a group of Boston women during one of her famous weekly conversation circles: âWhat were we born to do? How shall we do it?â</p> 653 654<p>By then sheâd joined the group of spiritual reformers known as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Transcendentalism-American-movement">transcendentalists</a>. The men in the group honored Fuller by making her the first editor of their influential journal, the<em> Dial</em>. Fuller shaped its contents, favoring literature, the arts and matters of the spirit over theological dispute. She introduced her own vision of the exemplary individual in a July 1843 essay titled <a href="https://www.walden.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Fuller-Dial-July-1843-The-Great-Lawsuit.pdf">âThe Great Lawsuit: Man Versus Men. Woman Versus Women.â</a></p> 655 656<p>In the essay, Fuller drew on her experience of exclusion from higher education and the professions, while being labeled unfeminine for her superior intelligence. She argued that the âgreat radical dualismâ of male and female was false: âThere is no wholly masculine man, no purely feminine woman.â All must be permitted to realize their unique capabilities to the utmost, she concluded, in order to achieve âfulness of being.â </p> 657 658<p>The month her <em>Dial</em> essay appeared, Fuller was traveling through Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin to gather material for her first book, <em><a href="https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/gdc/lhbum/01714/01714.pdf">Summer on the Lakes,</a> in 1843</em>. In this eyewitness account of Americaâs fast-developing West, Fuller sympathized with overworked pioneer wives while deploring the treatment of Native Americansâthe regionâs ârightful lordsââand the destruction of old-growth forests. She attended a gathering of Chippewa and Ottawa tribes at Mackinac Island, conversing with the Native women in sign language and joining them in pounding their breakfast cornmeal. She wandered the prairies and rode the rapids to offer vivid natural descriptions and raise her readersâ environmental awareness. Thoreau praised her ârich extempore writing; talking with pen in handââan approach he went on to take in his own books, which were yet to come. </p> 659 660<p>When the New York City newspaperman <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-horace-greeley-invented-persona-crusading-journalist-180974348/">Horace Greeley</a> urged Fuller to expand âThe Great Lawsuitâ into a book, the resultâ<a href="https://archive.org/detail
660s/womaninnineteent1845full/page/n11/mode/2up"><em>Woman in the Nineteenth Century</em></a>âsold out its first printing in a week. The book included accounts of female inmates at Sing Sing Prison, many of them jailed for prostitution. Fuller considered them âwomen like myself, save that they are victims of wrong and misfortune.â Her book exhorted men to âremove arbitrary barriersâ and allow women to pursue any profession they wished, from scholar to sea captain. She recalled watching young girls happily using carpentry tools. âWhere these tastes are indulged, cheerfulness and good-humor are promoted. Where they are forbidden, because âsuch things are not proper for girls,â they grow sullen and mischievous.â </p> 661 662<div class="binding-box"> 663 <div class="embedly-retail"> 664 <div class="column"> 665 <a href="https://subscribe.smithsonianmag.com/?idx=1913&inetz=article-banner-ad&promo_name=current-issue&promo_position=in_article&promo_creative=button&promo_id=subscribe" target="_blank"> 666 <img src="https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/pmMZ0wimjtOUeqeTWvTXlYRM0U4=/fit-in/300x401/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/d0/78/d0786fa5-dda7-4a0d-b8dd-035a4e0f3e7e/julaug2026_web_cover_1_720.jpg" width="300" height="401" alt="Cover image of the Smithsonian Magazine Summer 2026 issue" /> 667 </a> 668 </div> 669 <div class="column"> 670 <h3><a href="https://subscribe.smithsonianmag.com/?idx=1913&inetz=article-banner-ad&promo_name=current-issue&promo_position=in_article&promo_creative=button&promo_id=subscribe" target="_blank">Subscribe to <em>Smithsonian</em> magazine now for just $19.99</a></h3> 671 <p>This article is a selection from the Summer 2026 issue of <em>Smithsonian magazine</em></p> 672 <a href="https://subscribe.smithsonianmag.com/?idx=1913&inetz=article-banner-ad&promo_name=current-issue&promo_position=in_article&promo_creative=button&promo_id=subscribe" target="_blank"><button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Subscribe</button></a> 673 </div> 674 </div> 675</div> 676<div class="insight"> 677 <div> 678 679 <i class="fa-sharp fa-solid fa-messages-question"></i> 680 681 </div> 682 <div> 683 684 685 <p class="h4-style">Did you know? Margaret Fuller, Poetry critic</p> 686 687 <p>In addition to her exposé in the <em>New York Tribune </em>about conditions in Sing Sing, Margaret Fuller wrote poetry criticism in which she attacked <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/famous-once-again-145461806/">Henry Wadsworth Longfellow</a>, author of "Paul Revere's Ride" and the Song of Hiawatha. Encouraged by her editor to take a side in a literary debate that included <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/still-mysterious-death-edgar-allan-poe-180952936/">Edgar Allan Poe</a> as a critic of Longfellow, Fuller <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/longfellow-and-fuller.htm">called</a> him a man of "moderate powers" and felt his words lacked originality. </p> 688 </div> 689</div><p>After Greeley hired her as a front-page columnist for his <em>New-York Tribune</em>, Fuller published more than 200 articlesâcultural reviews and features on the cityâs asylums, as well as editorials that opposed the death penalty and supported Black voting rights and Irish immigration. In 1846, she sailed to Europe as the <em>Tribune</em>âs foreign correspondent. There, she covered the European revolutions of 1848 and directed a hospital for the wounded in Rome. In July 1850, she sailed back to the United States with a new Italian husband and a child, only to be shipwrecked in a violent storm off Fire Island. All three perished. Fuller was 40 years old.</p> 690 691<p>Had she lived, Fuller was expected to preside over the first <a href="https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/women-fight-for-the-vote/about-this-exhibition/seneca-falls-and-building-a-movement-1776-1890/seneca-falls-and-the-start-of-annual-conventions/first-national-womens-rights-convention/">National Womanâs Rights Convention</a>, held in Worcester, Massachusetts, in October 1850. Instead, the more than 1,000 delegates and speakers, who included <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/remarkable-untold-story-sojourner-truth-180983691/">Sojourner Truth</a>, <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/modesty-isnt-weakness-180975207/">Lucretia Mott</a>, Lucy Stone and <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/why-we-need-to-un
691derstand-frederick-douglass-now-more-than-ever-180983087/">Frederick Douglass</a>, remembered Fuller with a moment of silence, mourning the loss of âher guiding handâher royal presence.â</p> 692 693<p>Because Fuller didnât live to lead the campaign her book inspired, she was largely written out of history. But her lifeâs work helped people find common humanity across gender and class. Fuller asks us not to remove ourselves in practicing Emersonian self-reliance; rather she urges finding ourselves as individuals in a greater whole. As she wrote in <em>Woman in the Nineteenth Century</em>, âI must beat my own pulse true in the heart of the world; for <em>that</em> is virtue, excellence, health.â </p> 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703<div id="id_related_pages" class="widget-related-articles"> 704 705 <h3>You Might Also Like</h3> 706 <ul> 707 708 <li> 709 <div class="containment"> 710 <div class="headline"><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/harriet-beecher-stowe-wrote-work-fiction-that-seemed-so-real-changed-history-country-180988826/?itm_source=related-content&itm_medium=parsely-api">Harriet Beecher Stowe Wrote a Work of Fiction That Seemed So Real That It Changed the History of the Country</a></div> 711 <div class="pub_date">June 8, 2026</div> 712 </div> 713 </li> 714 715 <li> 716 <div class="containment"> 717 <div class="headline"><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/radical-protests-propelled-suffrage-movement-heres-how-new-museum-captures-history-180976114/?itm_source=related-content&itm_medium=parsely-api">Radical Protests Propelled the Suffrage Movement. Here's How a New Museum Captures That History</a></div> 718 <div class="pub_date">October 26, 2020</div> 719 </div> 720 </li> 721 722 <li> 723 <div class="containment"> 724 <div class="headline"><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/elizabeth-cady-stanton-known-woman-behind-suffrage-movement-new-book-reveals-tenacity-180988092/?itm_source=related-content&itm_medium=parsely-api">Elizabeth Cady Stanton Is Known as the Woman Behind the Suffrage Movement. A New Book Reveals the Story Behind Her Tenacity</a></div> 725 <div class="pub_date">February 19, 2026</div> 726 </div> 727 </li> 728 729 <li> 730 <div class="containment"> 731 <div class="headline"><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-did-the-suffragists-really-think-about-abortion-180980124/?itm_source=related-content&itm_medium=parsely-api">What Did the Suffragists Really Think About Abortion?</a></div> 732 <div class="pub_date">May 26, 2022</div> 733 </div> 734 </li> 735 736 <li> 737 <div class="containment"> 738 <div class="headline"><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/modesty-isnt-weakness-180975207/?itm_source=related-content&itm_medium=parsely-api">What Made Lucretia Mott One of the Fiercest Opponents of Slavery and Sexism</a></div> 739 <div class="pub_date">July 6, 2020</div> 740 </div> 741 </li> 742 743 </ul> 744 745</div> 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 <section class="author-box by-line single-author no-photo footer-author-box"> 757 758 759 <div class="author-text"> 760 <p class="author" itemprop="author"> 761 <span class="author-name"><a href="/author/megan-marshall/" title="Read more from this author">Megan Marshall</a></span> 762 <!-- --> 763 <span class="author-bio-text"> is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography <em>Margaret Fuller: A New American Life.</em></span> 764 </p> 765 </div> 766 </section> 767 768 769 770 771 772 <section class="author-box by-line single-author no-photo footer-author-box"> 773 774 <div class="author-text"> 775 <p class="author" itemprop="author"> 776 <span class="author-name"><a href="/author/gaby-dalessandro/" title="Read more from this photographer">Gaby DâAlessandro</a></span> 777 <!-- <span class="separator">|</span> 778 779 780 <a href="https://www.instagram.com/gabydalessandro/" aria-label="Photographer's Instagram"><i class="fab fa-instagram"></i></a> 781 <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabydalessandro/" aria-label="Photographer's LinkedIn" target="_blank"><i class="fab fa-linkedin"></i></a> 782 -->
783 <span class="author-bio-text">Gaby D’Alessandro is a Dominican illustrator known for nature-­inspired images.</span> 784 </p> 785 </div> 786 </section> 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 <div class="in-article-newsletter history"> 796 <div class="leade"> 797 <h3>Get the latest History stories in your inbox.</h3> 798 <form method="post" action="/email/history/add/"> 799 <input type="hidden" name="opt_source" value="In-Article Signup" id="id_opt_source"> 800 <div class="twocol"> 801 <input type="text" name="first_name" placeholder="First Name" required="" id="id_first_name"> 802 <input type="text" name="last_name" placeholder="Last Name" required="" id="id_last_name"> 803 </div> 804 <input type="email" name="email" placeholder="Email Address" required="" id="id_email"> 805 <input type="submit" value="Sign Up" name="submitBtn" class="history" /> 806 <p class="terms-info">Email Powered by Salesforce Marketing Cloud (<a href="https://www.salesforce.com/company/privacy/" target="_blank">Privacy Notice</a> / <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/company/legal/sfdc-website-terms-of-service/" target="_blank">Terms & Conditions</a>)</p> 807 </form> 808 </div> 809 </div>
vendor: 138 bytes, lines 809-815
809 810 811 812 813 814 815 <script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script>
815<script type="text/javascript" id="dianomi_context_script" src="https://www.dianomi.com/js/contextfeed.js"></script>
815 816 <div class="dianomi_context" data-dianomi-context-id="3107"></div> 817 818 819 820 821 <section class="tag-list"> 822 <nav class="nav-tags"> 823 <ul> 824 <li>More about:</li> 825 826 827 <li><a href="/tag/activism/">Activism</a></li> 828 829 830 831 832 833 <li><a href="/tag/literature/">Literature</a></li> 834 835 836 837 <li><a href="/tag/politics/">Politics</a></li> 838 839 840 841 <li><a href="/tag/womens-history/">Women's History</a></li> 842 843 844 845 <li><a href="/tag/womens-suffrage/">Womenâs Suffrage</a></li> 846 847 848 </ul> 849 </nav> 850 </section> 851 852 853 854 </div> 855 </div> 856 857 <div class="articleRight"> 858 859 <aside> 860 861 862 863 864 865 866 867 868 </aside> 869 870 </div> 871 </div> 872 </article> 873 874</div> 875 876 877<footer> 878 <div class="footer-container"> 879 <div class="footerLogo"> 880 <a href="/"> 881 <img loading="lazy" src="/static/smithsonianmag/img/smithmag-logo-vertical-white.ef7f9ca72042.svg" alt="Smithsonian Magazine Logo in white on the site footer" width="200" height="64"/> 882 </a> 883 884 <p>Follow Us</p> 885 886 <div id="socialIcons" class="followicons"> 887 <span> 888 <a href="https://facebook.com/smithsonianmagazine" target="_blank" aria-label="Smithsonian Magazine Facebook Page"><i class="fa-brands fa-facebook-f" aria-label="Smithsonian Magazine Facebook Page"></i></a> 889 </span> 890 <span> 891 <a href="https://www.instagram.com/smithsonianmagazine" target="_blank" aria-label="Smithsonian Magazine Instagram Page"><i class="fa-brands fa-instagram" aria-label="Smithsonian Magazine Instagram Page"></i></a> 892 </span> 893 <span> 894 <a href="https://twitter.com/smithsonianmag" target="_blank" aria-label="Smithsonian Magazine X / Twitter Page"><i class="fa-brands fa-x-twitter" aria-label="Smithsonian Magazine X / Twitter Page"></i></a> 895 </span> 896 <span> 897 <a href="https://youtube.com/smithsonianmagazine" target="_blank" aria-label="Smithsonian Magazine YouTube Page"><i class="fa-brands fa-youtube" aria-label="Smithsonian Magazine YouTube Page"></i></a> 898 </span> 899 </div> 900 901 </div> 902 903 <div id="footerPrimaryNavigation" class="footerNav"> 904 <div class="footerNavItem"> 905 <p class="textlabel">Explore</p> 906 907 908 909 910 911 <ul><li> 912 913 <a href="/category/smart-news/" class="footer-smart-news" >Smart News</a> 914 915 916 917 </li><li> 918 919 <a href="/category/history/" class="footer-history" >History</a> 920 921 922 923 </li><li> 924 925 <a href="/category/science-nature/" class="footer-science" >Science</a> 926 927 928 929 </li><li> 930 931 <a href="/category/innovation/" class="footer-innovation" >Innovation</a> 932 933 934 935 </li><li> 936 937 <a href="/category/arts-culture/" class="footer-arts-culture" >Arts & Culture</a> 938 939 940 941 </li><li> 942 943 <a href="/category/travel/" class="footer-travel" >Travel</a> 944 945 946 947 </li><li> 948 949 <a href="/category/smithsonian-institution/" class="footer-at-the-smithsonian" >At the Smithsonian</a> 950 951 952 953 </li><li> 954 955 <a href="https://photocontest.smithsonianmag.com/photocontest/" class="footer-photo-contest" >Photo Contest</a> 956 957 958 959 </li><li> 960 961 <a href="/podcast/" class="footer-podcast" >Podcast</a> 962 963 964 965 </li><li> 966 967 <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/video/" class="footer-video" >Video</a> 968 969 </li></ul> 970 971 972 973 974 </div> 975 <div class="footerNavItem"> 976 <p class="textlabel">Subscription</p> 977 <ul> 978 <li><a href="https://subscribe.smithsonianmag.com/?idx=1913&inetz=footer&promo_name=current-issue&promo_position=footer&promo_creative=link&promo_id=subscribe" id="www-footer-nav">Subscribe</a></li> 979 <li><a href="https://subscribe.smithsonianmag.com/gift?idx=579&inetz=footer&promo_name=current-issue&promo_position=footer&promo_creative=link&promo_id=gift" id="fixed-footer-gift">Give a gift</a></li> 980 <li><a href="https://ssl.drgnetwork.com/flex/SMT/SMRENEWAL/" id="fixed-footer-renew">Renew</a></li> 981 <li><a href="https://ssl.drgnetwork.com/SMT/cs/gidSMALL/login" target="_blank" id="fixed-footer-manage-account">Manage My Account</a></li> 982 </ul> 983 <p class="textlabel spacing">Newsletters</p> 984 <ul> 985 <li><a href="/email/add/">Sign Up</a></li> 986 </ul> 987 </div> 988 <div class="footerNavItem"> 989 <p class="textlabel">About</p> 990 991 992 993 994 995 <ul><li> 996 997 <a href="/about/" class="footer-about-us" >About Us</a> 998 999 1000 1001 </li><li> 1002 1003 <a href="/mediakit/" class="footer-advertising" >Advertising</a> 1004 1005 1006 1007 </li><li> 1008 1009 <a href="/contact/" class="footer-contact-us" >Contact Us</a> 1010 1011 1012 1013 </li><li> 1014 1015 <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/licensing/" class="footer-content-licensing" >Content Licensing</a> 1016 1017 1018 1019 </li><li> 1020 1021 <a href="/contact/faqs/" class="footer-faq" >FAQ</a> 1022 1023 1024 1025 </li><li> 1026 1027 <a href="/contact/feedback/" class="footer-feedback" >Feedback</a> 1028 1029 1030 1031 </li><li> 1032 1033 <a href="/about/internships-employment/" class="footer-internships-employment" >Internships & Employment</a> 1034 1035 1036 1037 </li><li> 1038 1039 <a href="/member-services/" class="footer-member-services" >Member Services</a> 1040 1041 1042 1043 </li><li> 1044 1045 <a href="https://www.si.edu" class="footer-smithsonian-institution" target="_blank">Smithsonian Institution</a> 1046 1047 1048 1049 </li><li> 1050 1051 <a href="/about/magazine-staff/" class="staff" >Staff</a> 1052 1053 </li></ul> 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 </div> 1059 <div class="footerNavItem"> 1060 <p class="textlabel">Our Partners</p> 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1066 <ul><li> 1067 1068 <a href="https://www.smithsonian.com/?utm_source=Smithsonianmag.com&utm_medium=globalfooter&utm_campaign=referlink" class="footer-smithsoniancom" target="_blank">Smithsonian.com</a> 1069 1070 1071 1072 </li><li> 1073 1074 <a href="https://www.smithsonianstore.com/" class="footer-smithsonian-store" target="_blank">Smithsonian Store</a> 1075 1076 1077 1078 </li><li> 1079 1080 <a href="https://www.smithsonianjourneys.org/catalog/?src=sjmod-new-hp&utm_source=smithsonianmag.com&utm_medium=module&utm_campaign=sjmod-new-hp&utm_content=footer" class="footer-smithsonian-journeys" target="_blank">Smithsonian Journeys</a> 1081 1082 1083 1084 </li><li> 1085 1086 <a href="https://www.smithsonianchannel.com/?utm_source=Smithsonianmag.com&utm_medium=globalfooter&utm_campaign=referlink" class="footer-smithsonian-channel" target="_blank">Smithsonian Channel</a> 1087 1088 1089 1090 </li><li> 1091 1092 <a href="https://www.smithsonianbooks.com/?utm_source=Smithsonianmag.com&utm_medium=globalfooter&utm_campaign=referlink" class="footer-smithsonian-books" target="_blank">Smithsonian Books</a> 1093 1094 1095 1096 </li><li> 1097 1098 <a href="https://www.si.edu/support" class="footer-smithsonian-membership" target="_blank">Smithsonian Membership</a> 1099 1100 </li></ul> 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 </div> 1106 </div> 1107 </div> 1108 <div id="footerSecondaryMenu" class="footerLinks"> 1109 1110 1111 1112 1113 1114 <p>
1115 <span>© 2026 Smithsonian Magazine</span> 1116 1117 <span><a class="privacy-statement" href="/privacy/">Privacy Statement [9/17/26]</a></span> 1118 1119 1120 1121 1122 1123 <span><a class="cookie-policy-2" href="/privacy/cookie-policy/">Cookie Policy [5/20/25]</a></span> 1124 1125 1126 1127 1128 1129 <span><a class="terms-of-use-2" href="https://www.si.edu/termsofuse" target="blank">Terms of Use</a></span> 1130 1131 1132 1133 1134 1135 <span><a class="advertising-notice-2" href="/privacy/ad-choices/">Advertising Notice</a></span> 1136 1137 1138 1139 1140 1141 <span><a class="your-privacy-choices" href="/privacy/manage-my-data/">Your Privacy Choices</a></span> 1142 1143 1144 <span><a id="ot-sdk-btn" class="ot-sdk-show-settings">Cookie Settings</a></span> 1145 </p> 1146 1147 1148 1149 1150 </div> 1151</footer> 1152 1153 1154 1155 1156 1157
1157<script src="/static/smithsonianmag/js/embedly-youtube.d23870c306a5.js"></script>
1157 1158
1158<script src="/static/smithsonianmag/js/social.16f7aee59ead.js"></script>
1158 1159
1159<script> 1160 (function(){ 1161 socializer( '.social' ); 1162 }()); 1163</script>
1163 1164 1165 1166 1167 1168 1169 1170 <!-- BEGIN Freestar: Tag ID - smithsonianmag_1x1_bouncex --> 1171<div align="center" data-freestar-ad="__1x1" id="smithsonianmag_1x1_bouncex" class=""> 1172
1172<script data-cfasync="false" type="text/javascript"> 1173 freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: "smithsonianmag_1x1_bouncex", slotId: "smithsonianmag_1x1_bouncex" }); 1174 </script>
1174 1175</div> 1176<!-- END Freestar: Tag ID - smithsonianmag_1x1_bouncex --> 1177 1178 1179 1180
1181<script> 1182 (function(){ 1183 // Legacy hashbang fragments ("#!") pollute analytics and arenât sent to server. 1184 // Detect and strip them without reload. 1185 const { hash, pathname, search } = window.location; 1186 if (hash.startsWith('#!')) { 1187 const cleanUrl = `${pathname}${search}`; 1188 history.replaceState(null, '', cleanUrl); 1189 } 1190 })(); 1191</script>
1191 1192 1193 1194 1195
1195<script> 1196 // ============================= 1197 // Updated sticky leaderboard ad 1198 // ============================= 1199 document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', () => { 1200 const body = document.body; 1201 document.documentElement.classList.add('scripted'); 1202 const cmsToolbar = document.querySelector('.cms-toolbar'); 1203 const leaderboard = document.querySelector('#leaderboardAd'); 1204 const leaderboardContent = leaderboard?.querySelector('div'); 1205 const headerMain = document.querySelector('header.main'); 1206 1207 function onResize(el, varname) { 1208 body.style.setProperty(`--header-${varname}-height`, `${el?.offsetHeight||0}px`); 1209 } 1210 onResize(cmsToolbar, 'cmstoolbar'); 1211 onResize(headerMain, 'main'); 1212 onResize(leaderboard, 'leaderboard'); 1213 new ResizeObserver(e => onResize(headerMain, 'main')).observe(headerMain); 1214 if (cmsToolbar) { 1215 new ResizeObserver(e => onResize(cmsToolbar, 'cmstoolbar')).observe(cmsToolbar); 1216 } 1217 if (leaderboard) { 1218 new ResizeObserver(e => onResize(leaderboard, 'leaderboard')).observe(leaderboard); 1219 } 1220 1221 if (leaderboardContent) { 1222 new ResizeObserver(e => { 1223 onResize(leaderboardContent, 'leaderboard-content'); 1224 const size = parseInt(leaderboardContent?.offsetHeight)||0; 1225 if (size>0) { 1226 body.style.setProperty(`--header-leaderboard-content-last-height`, `${size}px`); 1227 } 1228 }).observe(leaderboardContent); 1229 } 1230 1231 // Sticky ad for 5 seconds 1232 setTimeout(() => { 1233 // Start transition 1234 body.classList.add('leaderboard-transition'); 1235 headerMain.addEventListener('transitionend',(event) => { 1236 if (event.propertyName === 'top') { 1237 body.classList.add('leaderboard-lock'); 1238 } 1239 }); 1240 }, 5000); 1241 }); 1242 1243 // ========================== 1244 // Close side menu on X click 1245 // ========================== 1246 document.querySelector('.fa-xmark').addEventListener('click', function() { 1247 document.getElementById('sideNav').classList.remove('open'); 1248 }); 1249 </script>
1249 1250 1251 1252 1253 1254
1254<script async="true" data-cfasync="false" src="/static/smithsonianmag/js/freestar-block.ccab75bb8d68.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
1254 1255 1256
1257<script>(function(){function c(){var b=a.contentDocument||(a.contentWindow&&a.contentWindow.document);if(b){var d=b.createElement('script');d.innerHTML="window.__CF$cv$params={r:'a3ff95c73fd72318',t:'MTc5MDIyOTc5Nw=='};var a=document.createElement('script');a.src='/cdn-cgi/challenge-platform/scripts/jsd/main.js';document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(a);";b.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(d)}}if(document.body){var a=document.createElement('iframe');a.height=1;a.width=1;a.style.position='absolute';a.style.top=0;a.style.left=0;a.style.border='none';a.style.visibility='hidden';document.body.appendChild(a);if('loading'!==document.readyState)c();else if(window.addEventListener)document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded',c);else{var e=document.onreadystatechange||function(){};document.onreadystatechange=function(b){e(b);'loading'!==document.readyState&&(document.onreadystatechange=e,c())}}}})();</script>
1257<script type="module" src="https://static.cloudflareinsights.com/beacon.min.js/v31edd6df95cf4e85bb4c19e7a9bdbcba1788362987495" integrity="sha512-iIg7k2xntmwu6/uSb5tpc/hySgZc4eoL31yB29W6tJFo2akwjPWcEqnCEdJvGexCL0KEQwVYv5BlowfhVz26hg==" data-cf-beacon='{"version":"2024.11.0","token":"67f2fcd04947488b943852cdd7b0942b","spa":2}' crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
1257 1258</body> 1259</html>
Line numbers count LF bytes from the start of the resource, as the search results do. Vendor segments are library code the classifier recognised; they are stored but not indexed. Bytes are shown as Latin1 characters, one per byte.