Women's Economic Writing: Key moments and texts

Bank Restriction Act of 1797

The Bank Restriction Act removed the requirement for the Bank of England to convert banknotes into gold. It was prompted by an increase in the number of people seeking to convert banknotes into gold, which created concern about the Bank of England's gold reserve. The Restriction Act was in place until 1821; the period between 1797-1821 is referred to as the "restriction period." In 1821, the formal gold specie standard was established in Great Britain and it lasted until the onset of WW1.https://www.branchcollective.org/?ps_articles=mark-crosby-the-bank-restriction-act-1797-and-banknote-forgery

Jane Marcet, Conversations on Political Economy

Jane Marcet published Conversations on Political Economy in 1816. The popular text used a dialogue between Mrs. B and her pupil, Caroline, to popularize the theories of Adam Smith, T.R. Malthus, and David Ricardo. 

Bank failures in London

On December 1825, bank failures began in London. The collapse of important City banks lead to further bank failures across Britain and brought financial crisis to the point where the Bank of England must take extreme measures. Image: The main Bank of England façade, c. 1980. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.

Articles

Alexander J. Dick, “On the Financial Crisis, 1825-26″

Related Articles

Angela Esterhammer, “1824: Improvisation, Speculation, and Identity-Construction”

Lana L. Dalley, “On Martineau’s Illustrations of Political Economy, 1832-34″

Illustrations of Political Economy

Between February 1832 and March 1834, Harriet Martineau’s Illustrations of Political Economy was published serially by Charles Fox (London). Image: Portrait of Harriet Martineau. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Lana L. Dalley, “On Martineau’s Illustrations of Political Economy, 1832-34″

1842 Report on Millinery and Dress-Making

The report was written by R.D. Grainger, as part of his wokr at the Children's Employment Commission. His report outlined the dangers to young women--mostly between the ages of 14 and 16--from the conditions of millinery and dress-making work. Initiated a lot of public discussion about the relationship between women's reproductive and laboring capacities, and inspired the fiction of Charlotte Tonna, specifically The Wrongs of Woman. 

Income Tax Act of 1842

The Income Tax Act of 1842 passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom reintroduced income tax. The tax rate was 7 pence on the pound for income higher than 150 pounds a year. This was the first income tax enacted outside of wartime. Though intended to be temporary, an income tax has continued to be collected. 

Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna, The Wrongs of Woman

Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna's well-known piece, The Wrongs of Woman, is a four-volume collection of stories each following women through their labor-intensive industrial jobs. Tonna explores themes of labour, industry, women's work, child factory work, starvation, reproduction, and prostitution. 

http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/tonna/diniejko.html

Louisa Twining, Workhouses and Women's Work, also, A Paper on the Condition of Workhouses

Louisa Twining's Workhouses and Women's Work, also, A Paper on the Condition of Workhouses (1858) details the harsh living conditions of people in workhouses. In an attemp to advocate for a change in their treatment, Twining suggests better education, more nurses, and an increase in training. Twining argues that it is a nation's duty to care for their poor, elderly, and others who may be in need of assistance.

Society for Promoting the Employment of Women

The Society for Promoting the Employment of Women was established in 1859 by Jessie Boucherett, Barbara Bodichon, and Adelaide Anne Proctor. Their official journal was the English Women's Journal, published by Emily Faithfull's Victoria Press from March 1858-August 1864. It changed its name twice in the 20th century: in 1926, it became the Society for Promoting the Training of Women, and in 2014 it was rebraded Futures for Women. 

Emma Sheppard, Sunshine in the Workhouse

Originally published as a series of pamphlets spanning 1857-1859, Sunshine in the Workhouse is a book dedicated to confronting the subpar living conditions of workhouses. In it, Sheppard discusses themes such as child-rearing, educational training, labour, Poor Law, and prostitution. It includes her more popular pamphlet "The Expereinces of a Workhouse Visitor" in full. 

Married Women's Property Act of 1870

The Married Women's property Act of 1870 gave married women the right to keep their wages and income separate from their husbands. It also granted women the ability to inherit property. Prior to this time, any money, property, and assests a woman gained would instantly become the property of her husband under coverture laws. 

Rachel Ablow, “‘One Flesh,’ One Person, and the 1870 Married Women’s Property Act”

Millicent Garrett Fawcett, Tales in Political Economy

Fawcett published Tales in Political Economy in 1874. The four chapters each focus on a different concept within political economy through fictional portrayals. There is a particular focus on valuation, labor, and trade. 

Annie Besant, The Law of Population: Its Consequences, and Its Bearing upon Human Conduct and Morals

Besant published The Law of Population: Its Consequences, and Its Bearing upon Human Conduct and Morals in 1877. She writes about Malthus' Law of Population. She links overpopulation to disease, poverty, famine, and an overabundance of laboring. Besant also outlines various means of birth control in order to regulate the population. 

Related Articles: 

Eleanor Courtemanche, “On the Publication of Fabian Essays in Socialism, December 1889″

Carol Hanbery MacKay, “A Spiritual Materialist Turns Material Spiritualist: Annie Besant Rewrites Her Secularist Years, 1889 and 1891”

Married Women's Property Act of 1882

This Act advances the Married Women's Property Act of 1870. The Married Women's Property Act of 1882 granted women the ability to rent, buy, and sell property independent of their husband. They maintinaed control of their wages and income, as well as their inheritances. They were granted the ability to create legal contracts and to sue (and be sued). This law also made both parents equally responsible for their children.

Jill Rappoport, “Wives and Sons: Coverture, Primogeniture, and Married Women’s Property”

Women's Trade Union Association (WTUA)

Formed in part by Clementia Black in an attempt to promote the working conditons of women. However, they found it difficult to maintain membership given women's low wages. So, in 1894, they regrouped and rebranded themselves as the Women's Industrial Council (WIC).

https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/…

Mary E. Hobart, A Scientific Exposure of the Errors in Our Monetary System: A New Chapter in Political Economy

Hobart published A Scientific Exposure of the Errors in Our Monetary System: A New Chapter in Political Economy in 1891. Hobart delves into what she deems the "fallacies" of using a specie system in the United States. She discusses the use of metallic currency, labor, value, and commodification of labor. 

A. Amy Bulley and Margaret Whitley, Women's Work

Women's Work outlines various jobs that 19th-century women held. Bulley and Whitley address some of the concerns of each major job, such as pay, dangerous working conditions, long-term health effects, and societal disapproval. 

Adeline Knapp, One Thousand Dollars A Day: Studies in Practical Economics

Knapp published One Thousand Dollars A Day: Studies in Practical Economics in 1894. Dedicated to "The thoughtful men and women of America," Knapp uses a series of vignettes to describe concepts of labor, money, and Capitalism. 

Women's Industrial Council (WIC)

Originally created under the name the Women's Trade Union Association (WTUA) in 1889 by Clementia Black, the Women's Industrial Council (WIC) aimed to improve women's working conditions and rights. The WIC carried out investigative work on women's poor working conditions and worked to influece policymakers to improve those harsh conditions. Given the wartime efforts, the group disbanded in in 1917. 

https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/…

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Women and Economics

Gilman published Women and Economics in 1899. It details women's economic and political positions. Gilman argues in favor of further educating women in order to decrease women's financial dependency on men. She also disucsses domesticity and motherhood as economized principles. 

Clara Collet, Educated Working Women: Essays on the Economic Position of Women Workers in the Middle Class

Collet published Educated Working Women: Essays on the Economic Position of Women Workers in the Middle Class in 1902. It is a collection of 6 of her most popular essays spanning 1890-1902 on women's work, education, and economic involvement. She uses numerical data, charts, and primary material to show women's political and economic activities. 

Olive Schreiner, Woman and Labour

Olive Schreiner's seminal text on women and economics, published in 1911.