Chapter 16: Progress and Backlash When the feminism that had
been planted and nurtured by the Shakers took firm root in the
secular world, the growth of the women's moment was phenomenal.
Facilitated by the developing technology that transformed the
world of transportation and communications in the late
nineteenth century, female equality quickly became a central
issue in western civilization. By 1840 the first transatlantic
steamship had been launched and with the same ease that people
could travel to other countries, they could also exchange ideas
and information with each other. By mid-century, paperback books
had been popularized and a decade later mass circulation
magazines appeared. The telegraph was invented, and news
gathering became an international, cooperative effort. And one
of the issues most passionately discussed and debated was the
emancipation of women. Playwrights, ministers, novelists,
theologians, and philosophers endlessly discussed the place--or
misplacement--of women in society. Biology