in English The objective of this thesis is to trace and depict the beginnings of feminist thought in America. Its aim is to show how feminist thought was developed within the Puritan/Protestant community as well as its effect on the African-Americans who were integrated into the Puritan community as an inferior race through the slave trade. The thesis uses qualitative and quantitative methods of research. A variety of primary and secondary material is used to describe the beliefs of the people in the era, such as the division of the male and female spheres of influence. The views of both men and women are provided to create a more objective description of the era and its beliefs. In addition, the subject is considered from the American point of view as well as the point of view of foreigners, such as the French historian and political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville. Furthermore, feminism is depicted in various realms of the society - in literature, in the theatre, in the political and in the social life. The quantitative methods include statistical data on wages to prove women were not fairly treated in comparison to men, as well as data from the 1860 Census to prove the drastic effects of slavery upon African-American women and the immorality within the white society's marriage institution. The...