In his essay “On the Subjection of Women” John Stuart Mill wrote at length about the moral, legal and social problems that arise because women do not share equal status with men. In the 1800's the idea of a woman having control of her body, her property and children was considered radical and rejected by most people, including women who tacitly went along with the status quo. By the time of this essay slavery had long been abolished in England, but Mill likened the status of married women to that of slaves. Men were physically stronger than women and were therefore mandated to take care of them according to conventional wisdom. Mill believed that educating women was the way forward for humanity, that the social problems that plagued society could be solved through the education and suffrage of women. He published this essay shortly after the death of his wife Harriet Taylor, who collaborated with him on this essay and had written her own essays on the subject.

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