[Editorial Note: Adin A. Ballou was the adolescent son of Adin
Ballou, a founder of the Hopedale utopian community in 1841 and
of the Universalist Church whose "Standard of Practical Christianity"
he co-authored two years earlier. (See the on-line
resources for a link to this text.) His son kept a diary and,
when he died while still in his teens, the senior Ballou decided
to publish it as a memorial. Adin A. was anything but a typical
youth of the period. Spending his childhood in Hopedale guaranteed
that. So his defense of the woman's rights cause can hardly be
seen as typifying the views of other young men of the period.
On the other hand, the attacks on the Worcester Convention by
the "ladies" of his boarding house were typical of the
views of many women, as several of the speakers at the Convention
themselves conceded.]
[P.110] "Saturday, Oct. 26 [1850]. A rainy day; no Shakespeare
this evening. Made a failure in Geometry, this morning, before
half a dozen Juniors. The lesson was so easy, I thought I understood
it. Truly, 'there have been more battles lost by despising an
enemy than by inferiority of force.' We are now on review of nearly
all our lessons. The hard study for the term is chiefly over;
i.e. for those who understood their lessons as they went [p. 111]
through them. Mr. Boyden felt sorry for my failure, I am sure;
and I heard of his saying that all my difficulty arose from getting
confused. That was infinitely better than to think me absolutely
ignorant. He is very considerate, and seems inclined to look with
a pretty lenient eye on my failures generally. Had some talk this
evening with him on Government. I take no pains to conceal my
convictions and opinions on any of these points. He could not
see why our Hopedale people should not vote in town affairs. He
wondered what could be done in quelling an insurrection, without
using deadly weapons. All [of] which I answered, after my fashion,
and we parted. Had a long talk too, with the ladies at my boarding
place, about 'Women's Rights,' occasioned by the recent Woman's
Rights Convention at Worcester; they taking the offensive, I the
defensive. If I am not thought the rankest hot-head, I
am greatly mistaken!" [italics in original]