Uploaded June 2015 | Updated September 2026, 29 minutes ago
Women Participate in the Ratification Debate on the U.S. Constitution, by Professor Rosemarie Zagarri. This short video assesses the role of “female politicians”: women who were interested in discussing the ratification politics and processes. The most visible of these was Mercy Otis Warren who, writing as “a Columbian Patriot,” opposed many aspects of the Constitution as undermining liberty. Professor Rosemarie Zagarri notes that many women throughout the country were thinking, talking, and reading about the ratification debates.
Professor Rosemarie Zagarri is a University Professor and professor of history at George Mason University. Dr. Zagarri is the author of Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American Republic (2007), The Politics of Size: Representation in the United States, 1776-1850 (1987), and A Woman's Dilemma: Mercy Otis Warren and the American Revolution (1995), and the editor of David Humphreys' "Life of General Washington" with George Washington's "Remarks" (1991).
Professor Zagarri has been a past professor at the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation, "Summer Institute on the Constitution" held annually on the campus of Georgetown University.
American History Videos are sponsored by the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation. These videos are offered to help teachers, students and the general public learn more about America's founding and the Constitution of the United States. www.jamesmadison.gov.
Women Participate in the Ratification Debate on the U.S. Constitution, by Professor Rosemarie Zagarri. This short video assesses the role of “female politicians”: women who were interested in discussing the ratification politics and processes. The most visible of these was Mercy Otis Warren who, writing as “a Columbian Patriot,” opposed many aspects of the Constitution as undermining liberty. Professor Rosemarie Zagarri notes that many women throughout the country were thinking, talking, and reading about the ratification debates.
Professor Rosemarie Zagarri is a University Professor and professor of history at George Mason University. Dr. Zagarri is the author of Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American Republic (2007), The Politics of Size: Representation in the United States, 1776-1850 (1987), and A Woman's Dilemma: Mercy Otis Warren and the American Revolution (1995), and the editor of David Humphreys' "Life of General Washington" with George Washington's "Remarks" (1991).
Professor Zagarri has been a past professor at the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation, "Summer Institute on the Constitution" held annually on the campus of Georgetown University.
American History Videos are sponsored by the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation. These videos are offered to help teachers, students and the general public learn more about America's founding and the Constitution of the United States. www.jamesmadison.gov.
