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Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Revolutionary Life
The definitive biography of American suffragist and women’s rights pioneer Elizabeth Cady Stanton, from a preeminent historian of women’s suffrage
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a singular leader, thinker, and organizer whose fight for women’s emancipation stretched from the 1840s to her death in 1902, a full fifth of America’s history. Yet her legacy has been marked by controversy. In this landmark biography, eminent historian Ellen Carol DuBois paints a fresh portrait of this complex crusader whose tireless work made contemporary feminism possible.
Born in 1815 into a family deeply marked by the tumult of the American Revolution and surging evangelicalism, Stanton was captivated by Enlightenment ideas about individual freedom and transformed by early experiences in what she called “the school of antislavery.” Though most remembered for her fight for the vote, she was also an early crusader for women’s reproductive autonomy and reforming the institution of marriage, and against Christianity’s subordination of women. Her rifts with Black reformers and embrace of nativist ideas tarnished her reputation, but her words still have the ability to move and agitate people today.
Building upon exhaustive archival research and a deep engagement with Stanton’s copious writings, Elizabeth Cady Stanton brilliantly captures a crucial reformer in all of her intelligence, moral ambiguity, and power.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a singular leader, thinker, and organizer whose fight for women’s emancipation stretched from the 1840s to her death in 1902, a full fifth of America’s history. Yet her legacy has been marked by controversy. In this landmark biography, eminent historian Ellen Carol DuBois paints a fresh portrait of this complex crusader whose tireless work made contemporary feminism possible.
Born in 1815 into a family deeply marked by the tumult of the American Revolution and surging evangelicalism, Stanton was captivated by Enlightenment ideas about individual freedom and transformed by early experiences in what she called “the school of antislavery.” Though most remembered for her fight for the vote, she was also an early crusader for women’s reproductive autonomy and reforming the institution of marriage, and against Christianity’s subordination of women. Her rifts with Black reformers and embrace of nativist ideas tarnished her reputation, but her words still have the ability to move and agitate people today.
Building upon exhaustive archival research and a deep engagement with Stanton’s copious writings, Elizabeth Cady Stanton brilliantly captures a crucial reformer in all of her intelligence, moral ambiguity, and power.
496 pages, Hardcover
Published March 3, 2026
About the author
Ellen Carol DuBois
98 books18 followersEllen Carol Dubois is a distinguished professor of history and gender studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. She earned her bachelor's degree at Wellesley in 1968 and her Ph.D. from Northwestern in 1975.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 25, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and Basic Books for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I was so excited to pick up what is being called the definitive biography of women’s rights and abolitionist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. I had grown up learning about Susan B. Anthony; she had a dollar coin after all. I knew nothing about Elizabeth until I saw Ken Burn’s documentary Not for Ourselves Alone years ago. It was then I learned of this woman who has been mostly lost to history.
I really wanted to love this book. Really. However, this book reads like an academic tome, with dates and places and clips of correspondence every once in a while. And normally I appreciate how much work had to go into creating this comprehensive biography. The information was great in some ways, yet overwhelming in others. There’s a lot of minutiae that I felt could have been left out.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a remarkable woman. She held views about women’s place in the world that were not always well-received. She and her husband were abolitionists who also believed women should have equal rights. Yet, at the same time, Elizabeth gave birth to seven children and in many ways was a traditional wife and mother. It is this dichotomy that always intrigued me. She had very strong feelings and wrote vociferously, yet Susan B. Anthony is better known because she was the one that traveled around the country giving speeches, something Elizabeth did not want to do.
This woman, who was one of the people to start the fight for women’s right to vote also threw Black people under the bus. She excluded Black women from suffragist activities and thought white women should gain the right to vote before formerly enslaved Black men. Later in her life, she became more radical in her writings and alienated the next generation of suffragettes.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton has a complicated legacy. I’m glad that a comprehensive book was written, but I had to put this book down many times before finishing it because of its academic, dry tone.
I was so excited to pick up what is being called the definitive biography of women’s rights and abolitionist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. I had grown up learning about Susan B. Anthony; she had a dollar coin after all. I knew nothing about Elizabeth until I saw Ken Burn’s documentary Not for Ourselves Alone years ago. It was then I learned of this woman who has been mostly lost to history.
I really wanted to love this book. Really. However, this book reads like an academic tome, with dates and places and clips of correspondence every once in a while. And normally I appreciate how much work had to go into creating this comprehensive biography. The information was great in some ways, yet overwhelming in others. There’s a lot of minutiae that I felt could have been left out.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a remarkable woman. She held views about women’s place in the world that were not always well-received. She and her husband were abolitionists who also believed women should have equal rights. Yet, at the same time, Elizabeth gave birth to seven children and in many ways was a traditional wife and mother. It is this dichotomy that always intrigued me. She had very strong feelings and wrote vociferously, yet Susan B. Anthony is better known because she was the one that traveled around the country giving speeches, something Elizabeth did not want to do.
This woman, who was one of the people to start the fight for women’s right to vote also threw Black people under the bus. She excluded Black women from suffragist activities and thought white women should gain the right to vote before formerly enslaved Black men. Later in her life, she became more radical in her writings and alienated the next generation of suffragettes.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton has a complicated legacy. I’m glad that a comprehensive book was written, but I had to put this book down many times before finishing it because of its academic, dry tone.
April 14, 2026
The first edition Ellen Carol Dubois book “Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Revolutionary Life” was published by Basic Books in 2026. The biography features the importance of women suffrage and equal gender USA governance rights. Elizabeth Stanton was born in Johnston, New York in 1815 and she died in 1902 shortly before her 87th birthday. Her father Danial Cady was a prominent attorney and judge. She attended Johnston Academy until the age of 15; and then she attended the Troy Female Academy where she graduated in 1832. She could not attend a college because of her female gender. From 1843 to 1847 she resided in Boston-Chelsea Massachusetts and then she moved to Seneca Falls, New York where she lived for 15 years. She then moved to New York City and later to Tenafly, New Jersey where she lived from 1868 to 1887. Tenafly is 43 miles from New York City. Abolitionist and women’s rights advocate Elizabeth Cady Stanton was 25 years old when she married abolitionist Henry Brewster Stanton on May 1, 1840, on November 12, 1815. When she married Henry, she requested that the word "obey" be removed from their marriage vows. She and Henry left for their honeymoon at the London World Anti-Slavery Convention shortly after marrying. Her father disapproved of the marriage and provided little funding for the event. On their honeymoon they traveled by boat to Europe where they visited over 50 cities. In March 1842 They had their first baby, his name is Daniel. Their second child Henry Jr. was born in 1844. She had seven children during her life. After moving to Seneca Falls, she got caught in the crossfire of coverture —a common-law that submerged the legal rights of women submerged in the identity of within the rights of their husbands. This common-law position had a profound impact on married female property rights.
In the chapter about babies and radicalism Ellen Dubois discussed the physical, emotional, and similarities between females and males. The discussion is full of insights. She has a wonderful discussion of the anti-slavery movement in Lawrence, Kansas, John Brown’s pro slavery killings, and Charles Summer’s entanglement with South Carolinian Preston Brooks. These events peppered the stage for her anti-slavery activities and her women’s suffrage passions. She argued in public settings that “northern white women were no more free than southern Black slaves. A married woman has no legal existence; she has no more absolute rights than a slave on a southern plantation.” In 1861 Henry Stanton took a public leadership post in New York City to help the Northern states overcome the Confederate aggression. In 1862 Elizabeth and the children joined him New York City. During the American post war reconstruction initiatives Elizabeth and Susan B. Anthony with their compatriots in 1866 formed and embraced American Equal Rights to All (AERA) movement and their goal for women and racial suffrage. In 1867 the movement did not pass in New York. Elizabeth and Henry Stanton purchased property and had a home built on it in Tenafly, New Jersey. Her husband also continued to reside for employment reasons in New York City. He returned to the Tenafly family home every other weekend. Over the next 3 years Elizabeth spent an increasing amount of time making presentations of the importance of women to have voting rights. She was able to make a considerable amount of money from her presentations. Her presentations often featured principles associated with marriage and divorce reform. Elizabeth was co-founder with Susan B. Anthony, of the 1869 National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA). The Suffrage Association sought a Federal constitutional amendment. Elizabeth embraced the NWSA initiative and expanded her presentations to cover women suffrage, female civil rights, demands for women Political equality, and female property rights. These views were included in many new books and treatises on human dignity. She next began exploring the religious powers of religious canon law, doctrine, and clerical authority. Her views were published in the 1880s in Women Journals, major newspapers, and many social justice books. When Elizabeth was 62 years of age, she decided to travel to Europe to spend time with her daughter Herriot on the Southwest shore of France where she was enrolled at the University of Toulouse. Her time in Toulouse was…” her first prolonged exposure to no Catholicism.” In her diary she wrote about the respect the Catholic Church had for the veneration of Virgin Mary. She blamed Protestantism (Martin Luther) for the banishment of women presence. She also wrote about the importance of female Catholic sisterhoods, convents, and ministries. She and Harrriot boarded at the La Sagesse convent. Her son Theodore lived in France. Theodore was very active researching and writing about social justice and female social activism. He worked as a journalist and newspaper editor in Paris. During this time of Elizabeth’s life, she and Susan B. Anthony wore a three-volume set of books about their views of Women Suffrage. Susan and the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) formed a permanent International Council of Women. She served as president of the NWSA for 22 years from 1869 to 1890. In 1887 Elizabeth Stanton’s husband died from pneumonia in New York City. After her husband’s death she decided to sell her Tenafly, New Jersey home and live in the homes of her U.S. children. In the early 1890’s Elizabeth experienced debilitating physical health issues; and in 1891 her 47-year-old first born child Daniel died at in Missouri Valley, Iowa. She regretted selling her New Jersey home after living for a few years in the homes of her children at the age of 76 years she with her daughter Margaret and her husband Roberts decided to rent an apartment close to Central Park in New York City. With the formation of the “People’s Political Party” women suffrage was a high priority. The party was embraced by citizens living in Kansas, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming. The final three chapters of the book focus on Elizabeth’s religious perspectives, techniques she uses to cope with blindness, and her death on October 26, 1902. She was 86 years and died in her New York City apartment from heart failure. Elizabeth lived in the “present moment”, she was according to Ellen Dubois an “agnostic, and she believed that women have a right “to have suffrage. She was a “devoted mother, wife, and housekeeper.” Over a half a century of political and social turmoil Elizabeth and Susan B. Anthony were best friends and found a way to handle divergent religious beliefs and convergent social justice commitments. The 19th Women Right to Vote Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by Congress on June 4, 2919; and ratified on August 18, 1920. It became part of the U.S. Constitution on August 26, 1920. (L)
In the chapter about babies and radicalism Ellen Dubois discussed the physical, emotional, and similarities between females and males. The discussion is full of insights. She has a wonderful discussion of the anti-slavery movement in Lawrence, Kansas, John Brown’s pro slavery killings, and Charles Summer’s entanglement with South Carolinian Preston Brooks. These events peppered the stage for her anti-slavery activities and her women’s suffrage passions. She argued in public settings that “northern white women were no more free than southern Black slaves. A married woman has no legal existence; she has no more absolute rights than a slave on a southern plantation.” In 1861 Henry Stanton took a public leadership post in New York City to help the Northern states overcome the Confederate aggression. In 1862 Elizabeth and the children joined him New York City. During the American post war reconstruction initiatives Elizabeth and Susan B. Anthony with their compatriots in 1866 formed and embraced American Equal Rights to All (AERA) movement and their goal for women and racial suffrage. In 1867 the movement did not pass in New York. Elizabeth and Henry Stanton purchased property and had a home built on it in Tenafly, New Jersey. Her husband also continued to reside for employment reasons in New York City. He returned to the Tenafly family home every other weekend. Over the next 3 years Elizabeth spent an increasing amount of time making presentations of the importance of women to have voting rights. She was able to make a considerable amount of money from her presentations. Her presentations often featured principles associated with marriage and divorce reform. Elizabeth was co-founder with Susan B. Anthony, of the 1869 National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA). The Suffrage Association sought a Federal constitutional amendment. Elizabeth embraced the NWSA initiative and expanded her presentations to cover women suffrage, female civil rights, demands for women Political equality, and female property rights. These views were included in many new books and treatises on human dignity. She next began exploring the religious powers of religious canon law, doctrine, and clerical authority. Her views were published in the 1880s in Women Journals, major newspapers, and many social justice books. When Elizabeth was 62 years of age, she decided to travel to Europe to spend time with her daughter Herriot on the Southwest shore of France where she was enrolled at the University of Toulouse. Her time in Toulouse was…” her first prolonged exposure to no Catholicism.” In her diary she wrote about the respect the Catholic Church had for the veneration of Virgin Mary. She blamed Protestantism (Martin Luther) for the banishment of women presence. She also wrote about the importance of female Catholic sisterhoods, convents, and ministries. She and Harrriot boarded at the La Sagesse convent. Her son Theodore lived in France. Theodore was very active researching and writing about social justice and female social activism. He worked as a journalist and newspaper editor in Paris. During this time of Elizabeth’s life, she and Susan B. Anthony wore a three-volume set of books about their views of Women Suffrage. Susan and the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) formed a permanent International Council of Women. She served as president of the NWSA for 22 years from 1869 to 1890. In 1887 Elizabeth Stanton’s husband died from pneumonia in New York City. After her husband’s death she decided to sell her Tenafly, New Jersey home and live in the homes of her U.S. children. In the early 1890’s Elizabeth experienced debilitating physical health issues; and in 1891 her 47-year-old first born child Daniel died at in Missouri Valley, Iowa. She regretted selling her New Jersey home after living for a few years in the homes of her children at the age of 76 years she with her daughter Margaret and her husband Roberts decided to rent an apartment close to Central Park in New York City. With the formation of the “People’s Political Party” women suffrage was a high priority. The party was embraced by citizens living in Kansas, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming. The final three chapters of the book focus on Elizabeth’s religious perspectives, techniques she uses to cope with blindness, and her death on October 26, 1902. She was 86 years and died in her New York City apartment from heart failure. Elizabeth lived in the “present moment”, she was according to Ellen Dubois an “agnostic, and she believed that women have a right “to have suffrage. She was a “devoted mother, wife, and housekeeper.” Over a half a century of political and social turmoil Elizabeth and Susan B. Anthony were best friends and found a way to handle divergent religious beliefs and convergent social justice commitments. The 19th Women Right to Vote Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by Congress on June 4, 2919; and ratified on August 18, 1920. It became part of the U.S. Constitution on August 26, 1920. (L)
March 19, 2026
Based upon exhaustive archival research and a deep dive into Stanton’s wealth of writing, this definitive biography of American suffragist and women’s rights pioneer Elizabeth Cady Stanton is no light read but a very important one. It gives a clear portrait of one of the most influential—and controversial—figures in the early women’s rights movement. DuBois brings her to life as a complex, evolving thinker whose ideas were often ahead of her time, and sometimes deeply divisive. The book traces Stanton’s central role in launching the American women’s rights movement, particularly through her involvement in the Seneca Falls Convention, where she helped draft the ground-breaking Declaration of Sentiments. DuBois situates this moment within the broader reform culture of the 19th century, showing how Stanton’s activism was shaped by abolitionism, religion, and her own intellectual ambition.
One of the book’s strengths is its willingness to grapple with Stanton’s contradictions. DuBois does not shy away from the more troubling aspects of her subject’s legacy, especially Stanton’s opinions during the post–Civil War debates over voting rights, when tensions between the movements for Black male suffrage and women’s suffrage became acute. DuBois also gives due attention to Stanton’s later years, including her increasingly radical critiques of organised religion and marriage. Written with scholarly authority and attention to detail but always accessibly, this biography strikes an effective balance between historical analysis and narrative storytelling. It is particularly strong in explaining why Stanton mattered—not just as a campaigner, but as a theorist of women’s rights whose ideas continue to resonate. Overall, it’s is an insightful and nuanced account that will appeal both to general readers and those with a deeper interest in feminist history.
One of the book’s strengths is its willingness to grapple with Stanton’s contradictions. DuBois does not shy away from the more troubling aspects of her subject’s legacy, especially Stanton’s opinions during the post–Civil War debates over voting rights, when tensions between the movements for Black male suffrage and women’s suffrage became acute. DuBois also gives due attention to Stanton’s later years, including her increasingly radical critiques of organised religion and marriage. Written with scholarly authority and attention to detail but always accessibly, this biography strikes an effective balance between historical analysis and narrative storytelling. It is particularly strong in explaining why Stanton mattered—not just as a campaigner, but as a theorist of women’s rights whose ideas continue to resonate. Overall, it’s is an insightful and nuanced account that will appeal both to general readers and those with a deeper interest in feminist history.
March 7, 2026
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley!
I am still reading this, but because it is now published, I wanted to give my current brief thoughts! I have never read a book that discusses Ms. Stanton in so much depth and it is taking me so long because I am really learning a lot and soaking it all up. It does read academically to me in tone, which is great for me because I love that and it definitely appeals to the archivist and historian in me with all the details and dates.
When you start reading this, give yourself time to chug through, not because you need to trudge through, but because you'll need to absorb so much information! Thank you so much for this advanced copy of the book, I look forward to continuing my learning about Ms. Stanton!
I was given the opportunity to read this title by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
I am still reading this, but because it is now published, I wanted to give my current brief thoughts! I have never read a book that discusses Ms. Stanton in so much depth and it is taking me so long because I am really learning a lot and soaking it all up. It does read academically to me in tone, which is great for me because I love that and it definitely appeals to the archivist and historian in me with all the details and dates.
When you start reading this, give yourself time to chug through, not because you need to trudge through, but because you'll need to absorb so much information! Thank you so much for this advanced copy of the book, I look forward to continuing my learning about Ms. Stanton!
I was given the opportunity to read this title by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
May 8, 2026
This was a biography I picked up on a lark, mainly because of my own interest in the life of Ida Tarbell, who opposed much of what Stanton believed, although Stanton was dead by the time Tarbell was becoming better known as a writer for McClure's Magazine. Tarbell's stance against woman's suffrage would have bedeviled Stanton.
This was a fascinating look at a life that I was aware of, but knew very little about. It's well-written in a pleasant style, but remains intellectually vigorous. I read this as an ebook, so I appreciated the ability to click on a link to check a footnote and then return to the text itself.
This was a fascinating look at a life that I was aware of, but knew very little about. It's well-written in a pleasant style, but remains intellectually vigorous. I read this as an ebook, so I appreciated the ability to click on a link to check a footnote and then return to the text itself.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews