ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an over view of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the policies and public debates affecting women's rights in the United States. The book discusses policy debates which show campaigns by women's rights advocates to convince legislatures to reform the provisions of common law. More important and long lasting than the substantive law are the procedures the English brought that are now basic to the American legal system: judge-made law, case law and respect for precedent. The book introduces some of the terms that will be used in describing public policy as it relates to women's rights. To explore public policy about women's rights, it is essential to study the participation and impact of feminists specifically. Feminists participated in the development of conceptual frameworks of gender difference and women's place in society, which were the basis for policy debates in areas of political rights, work, family, education, and sexuality.
