Thinkers throughout history have debated the concept of human rights, with some advocating for equal rights for all while others argued for a more limited definition. The struggle for universal rights continued for many years, with white men gradually gaining the right to vote and eventually the 14th and 15th Amendments granting citizenship and voting rights to freed male slaves. However, these rights were later undermined by Jim Crow laws. It wasn't until 1920 that women were finally granted the right to vote. The fight for equal rights has been a slow and ongoing journey.
A few hundred years ago, the great thinkers of the Enlightenment began to declare that “all men are created equal.” Some of them said that notion should include women, too. Why did those feminists—most of them men, by the way—lose the fight? How did the patriarchy survive the Enlightenment?
Co-hosts John Biewen and Celeste Headlee look into these questions, with historians Londa Schiebinger of Stanford and Toby Ditz of Johns Hopkins, and sociologist Lisa Wade of Occidental College.
Music by Alex Weston, and by Evgueni and Sacha Galperine. Music and production help from Joe Augustine at Narrative Music.