Two hundred and fifty years ago, a nation came into being… Will we remember the “founding feminists” who planted these democratic seeds?
Intro essay by Janell Hobson
Read MoreFEMINIST 250: Founding Feminists is an online initiative from Ms. reflecting on the semiquincentennial of U.S. democracy from a feminist perspective, launched during Women’s History Month on March 2, and continuing through April 16, with a commemorative section in the Summer 2026 print issue. The series explores how feminist histories laid the foundations that shaped 250 years of ideas about equality, freedom and social justice.
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The haiku is a poem that originated within Japanese culture and is arranged in three lines (five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second, and five syllables in the third). Originally written to celebrate nature and the seasons, haiku poems have since expanded to other subjects.
As part of Founding Feminists, we invite you to imagine the past, and the future, through this form. Reflect on the women and gender-nonconforming people who shaped the nation’s democratic foundations, or begin with our opening line, “Fifty years from now…” to envision what freedom and equality might look like in the next chapter of this ongoing experiment.
Submissions will be moderated for appropriate language and proper formatting.
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