The root of the great error of our day is that woman must be made independent and self-sufficient… —Rev. John Todd 1867 Vision of Women's Rights Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Women's rights, as described by Rev. John Todd, are placed in a proverbial box that limits the scope, understanding, and capabilities of women generally. His statements seem to place blame on women for their supposed shortcomings and inabilities compared to men under the guise of pity. He brazenly calls out women in a way that almost belittles them while hiding behind the cloth (being that he is a Doctor of Divinity). His perspective and the place he speaks from are protected so to speak and validated by his title. Yet his message comes across as chauvinistic, misinformed, and incomplete when compared to Gail Hamilton's responses. Ultimately it is a comparison between the sexes in a period in which hypotheses were rampant. Rev. Todd immediately establishes its basic context with a reference to God and what women can and cannot do as a result. She states in response to the question of women's independence from men simply by saying "you cannot" (Todd, 1867). She then refers to the physical and legal implications of occupying the same space as men. Her next statement refers to the constriction of women by the law and control that they cannot overcome. At the beginning of the argument we see that Todd believes his word is divine, right, and without recourse. The reverend directly attacks women's mental capacity. Although I often use the term “gentle,” it does not exist in a positive thought pattern. His use of the term delicate seems to lean towards the assumption of weakness that requires some sort of protection from those 3 supposedly stronger men. He speaks from a global communication perspective and the assumption that he can speak on behalf of all humanity. It plays directly into the idea that women are poor in spirit, in thought, in physical ability, and have no inherent right to make decisions for themselves. The claim in his argument is that God has placed upon men the responsibility of providing wages and therefore they must be the only ones to continue education and hold positions such as architect, educator or anything other than "what his physical organization will possibly tolerate". . His position is presumptuous and uniform regarding the capabilities of women. The sphere, suffrage and wages Todd says of woman and her sphere of consideration: “It is her privilege and her right. It should be free from the hard work of the land...". This sphere he speaks of is such that it separates women from everything outside the home. Its short-sighted view of women deprives them of the right to politics, higher education, the right to vote and the ability to earn a fair wage. He again refers to the divinity of women's position in an attempt to validate his views. She emphasizes that voting is a civil matter and as such is not meant to be endured by women. His method of approach, mostly because of his position, allows him to speak freely and in a way that protects him from disagreement or so he assumes. Hamilton responds. Gail Hamilton takes Rev. Todd's statements and addresses them with one leading question: "So what?" He directly challenges points of contention with the reverend through confrontations, direct questions, and the perspective of one of the poor 4 women he talks about. Mary Abagail Dodge (Hamilton's real name) states that she, live..