A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and A Vindication of the Rights of MenIn the midst of the Enlightenment, as men busily created new governments to secure their liberties, they left out large parts of the population. No real slave could take seriously privileged land-owners comparing their plight to slavery, and many women argued that liberty is a human condition, and not meant solely for men.
One of the best of these arguments is Mary Wollenstonecrafts A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (a follow-up to her long essay on the "Rights of Men.")
It's important to remember that Wollenstonecraft wasn't the only woman making these arguments. This recommendation is meant to be representative of the Enlightenment-era arguments for women's rights, not an exhaustive list of those arguments.
These sorts of historical works are important since they remind us that the ideas important to progressives have been around for centuries, and will continue long after we pass away.
Why this is progressive/liberal: One measure of progress is the percentage of people allowed the rights and responsibilities of full citizenship. The progress of liberty in the United States has been one of continuously expanding that pool of people. From the abolitionists and people arguing that women should have full citizenship, to the current fight to allow same-sex partners the full rights of citizenship, equality of opportunity has been the guiding light of progressivism.
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Trivia: Mary Wollenstonecraft is the mother of Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein.
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