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However, philosophers and writers often ignored women and Wollstonecraft was among the first to call for gender equality. She believed reason and education should be the foundation of social order that included equality for women. Her books (<i>A Vindication of the Rights of Women</i>, published in 1792, and <i>Maria, or the Wrongs of Women</i>, published in 1798, were controversial in their day but also demonstrated her ideas. She saw the lack of focus in educating women as making them appear less informed as men in society. Although we see her views as largely expected and normal today, for over a century her writings and influence were minimized or even avoided by later feminists due to the morals of the day. She had at least two highly publicized affairs that produced at least one child out of wedlock and was explicit about her sexuality. The focus on her behavior, rather than ideas, unfortunately, diminished her influence in the early 19th century as feminists ideas increasingly emerged.<ref>For more on Wollstonecraft, see: Taylor, B. (2003). <i>Mary Wollstonecraft and the feminist imagination</i>. Cambridge, U.K. ; New York: Cambridge University Press.</ref>

====The Birth of the Social Reform Movement====

In the United States, early 19th century women emerged advocating emancipation for slaves, temperance and greater freedom for women compared to men. These campaigns were a direct outgrowth of the [[What was the Second Great Awakening?|Second Great Awakening]]. The Second Great Awakening in the United States (1790-1830) was a religious revival that not only brought in new converts to Christianity, but it inspired female reformers in the United States. The leaders of this Christian movement argued that people had control over their lives and salvation in opposition to views of the existing Calvinist churches. As part of this movement, women were encouraged to build new churches and push for moral reforms in the United States. Fairly quickly women became moral advocates, while most women joined the Temperance Movement other were attracted to the abolition of slavery and expanding rights for women.