Outspoken but no feminist

Today Harriet is gaining recognition as a striking example of a small, but significant movement of women preachers in the early 19^th century. Traveling alone, often penniless, the self-described "wayfaring pilgrim stranger’ was eccentric even for her times. Women had the right to preach the gospel, she insisted, drawing evidence directly from the Old and New Testaments. Mary Magdalen, she argued, was really the first evangelist, since it was Mary who discovered the risen Christ, and first informed the disciples. Harriet Livermore went as far as to suggest that Jesus himself exhibited feminine characteristics.

But although she has been adopted by modern feminists, Harriet Livermore was, in fact, a poor advocate for women’s rights. She accepted male authority without question, unless men treated women poorly. A wife should be her husband’s assistant and "helpmate", Harriet preached, but never his slave. Women, should be allowed to "spread the Word", but only men should be ordained as ministers, she said. As a result, evangelicals found her message too radical and "biblical feminists" thought her message was too weak.

In January 1827 Livermore became the first woman in history to preach to the US Congress. A thousand spectators packed the hall, including President John Quincy Adams and members of both houses of Congress. Many in the audience wept, according to reports, as Livermore spoke at length from the lofty chair usually reserved for the Speaker of the House. She drew her fire and brimstone sermon from the biblical passage: "He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God." According to one member of the audience, Harriet’s speech "savored more of inspiration than anything I ever witnessed." Newspapers across the nation covered the story.