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Primary sourceBook1895–1898

The Woman's Bible

Elizabeth Cady Stanton · 1895–1898

A two-part critique of scripture's treatment of women, written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton with a committee of women and published in 1895 and 1898.

Stanton wrote and led this controversial critique of the Bible, which cost her standing within the suffrage movement she helped found.

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Scanned black-and-white page of handwritten manuscript. Top section has a title reading 'The Woman's Bible, Chapter II, by Elizabeth Cady Stanton' with a pasted printed Bible passage (Genesis 2:21-25) and a note 'Gen II 21-25'. Below, handwritten paragraphs discuss the two accounts of creation in Genesis and whether the second version is an allegory.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, draft manuscript page, The Woman's Bible, 1895.

About this source

What it is

The Woman's Bible is a non-fiction book written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton together with a committee of 26 women, published in two parts in 1895 and 1898. It challenged the traditional religious view that women should be subservient to men, aiming to promote what Stanton called a liberating theology.

Why it matters

The book shows how far Stanton's thinking went beyond voting rights, into a direct challenge of religious authority itself. It provoked strong controversy: many suffragists, worried it would damage the movement's image, pushed NAWSA to formally denounce it in 1896. Susan B. Anthony tried but failed to calm the dispute, and the backlash effectively ended Stanton's influence within the suffrage organization she had helped build.

Look closer

  • Why might questioning religious texts have been seen as more dangerous than demanding the vote?
  • What does the reaction of other suffragists tell you about disagreements within the movement?
  • Who was on the Revising Committee, and what does that tell you about who Stanton could still work with?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Elizabeth Cady Stanton on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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