“If the fifteenth century discovered America to the Old World, the…” — Frances E. W. Harper

“If the fifteenth century discovered America to the Old World, the nineteenth is discovering woman to herself.”

A memorable comparison between geographical discovery and women's awakening sense of possibility. · Speech, Woman's Political Future, 1893

Frances E. W. Harper

About Frances E. W. Harper

24 September 1825–22 February 1911

In the rich tapestry of nineteenth-century American literature and reform, few figures shine as brightly—or with as enduring a flame—as Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. Born into freedom yet forged in the fires of racial injustice, she emerged as a poet of profound moral vision, a tireless abolitionist lecturer, a…

More by Frances E. W. Harper