---
title: "18 Gerda Lerner Quotes - Famous Historian (The Grimke Sisters from South Carolina)"
description: "Gerda Hedwig Lerner was an Austrian-born American historian and woman's history author. In addition to her numerous scholarly publications, she wrote po..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-gerda-lerner-38303.jpg"
---

![Portrait of Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-gerda-lerner-38303.jpg)

# Gerda Lerner

(1920–2013)   Historian   United States

 **18** quotes in **218** categories

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Gerda Lerner was a historian from the United States, best known for *The Grimke Sisters from South Carolina*.

## Quick Facts About Gerda Lerner

Born April 30, 1920

Died January 2, 2013

Nationality United States

Profession Historian

Notable works The Grimke Sisters from South Carolina

Known for Women and History

Spouse Carl Lerner

## About Gerda Lerner

Gerda Hedwig Lerner was an Austrian-born American historian and woman's history author. In addition to her numerous scholarly publications, she wrote poetry, fiction, theatre pieces, screenplays, and an autobiography. She served as president of the Organization of American Historians from 1980 to 1981. In 1980, she was appointed Robinson Edwards Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she taught until retiring in 1991.

## Awards & Honors

honorary doctor of Harvard University honorary doctorate from Columbia University Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences honorary doctor of Brandeis University Austrian Decoration for Science and Art Bruno Kreisky Prize for the Political Book Guggenheim Fellowship Bruce Catton Prize

Show 3 more awards Käthe Leichter Prize honorary doctor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem honorary doctor of the University of Vienna

##  Quotes by Gerda Lerner

> [Women's history is the primary tool for women's emancipation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/women-s-history-is-the-primary-tool-for-women-s-emancipation/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[Emancipation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emancipation/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/gerda-lerner-28685_emancipation_women-s-history-is-the-primary-tool-for_2333533.jpg)

> [Black people cannot and will not become integrated into American society on any terms but those of self-determination and autonomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/black-people-cannot-and-will-not-become-integrated-into-american/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[American society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-society/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2b/gerda-lerner-28685_american-society_black-people-cannot-and-will-not-become_98452.jpg)

> [The main thing history can teach us is that human actions have consequences, and that certain choices, once made, cannot be undone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/the-main-thing-history-can-teach-us-is-that-human-actions-have/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/960/gerda-lerner-28685_action_the-main-thing-history-can-teach-us-is-t_1340562.jpg)

> [Everything that explains the world has in fact explained a world that does not exist, a world in which men are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/everything-that-explains-the-world-has-in-fact-explained-a-world-that/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18e/gerda-lerner-28685_business_everything-that-explains-the-world-has-i_1462699.jpg)

> [Women's history is women's right-an essential, indispensable heritage from which we can draw pride, comfort, courage, and long range vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/women-s-history-is-women-s-right-an-essential-indispensable-heritage/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/gerda-lerner-28685_comfort_women-s-history-is-women-s-right-an-esse_563195.jpg)

> [ \[There is a\] depth and urgency of the search of Jewish and Christian women for connection to the Divine, which found expression… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/there-is-a-depth-and-urgency-of-the-search-of-jewish-and-christian/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/gerda-lerner-28685_christian_there-is-a-depth-and-urgency-of-the-sear_2925245.jpg)

> [nursing was regarded as simply an extension of the unpaid services performed by the housewife - a characteristic attitude that haunts the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/nursing-was-regarded-as-simply-an-extension-of-the-unpaid-services/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f36/gerda-lerner-28685_attitude_nursing-was-regarded-as-simply-an-extens_2857470.jpg)

> [Long-term commitment to an intimate relationship with one person of whatever sex is an essential need that people have in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/long-term-commitment-to-an-intimate-relationship-with-one-person-of/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[Commitment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commitment/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/gerda-lerner-28685_commitment_long-term-commitment-to-an-intimate-rela_2115466.jpg)

> [When I started working on women's history about thirty years ago, the field did not exist. People didn't think that women had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/when-i-started-working-on-women-s-history-about-thirty-years-ago-the/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17a/gerda-lerner-28685_feminism_when-i-started-working-on-women-s-histor_845138.jpg)

> [Autonomy means women defining themselves and the values by which they will live, and beginning to think of institutional arrangements which will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/autonomy-means-women-defining-themselves-and-the-values-by-which-they/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[Arrangements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrangements/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/gerda-lerner-28685_arrangements_autonomy-means-women-defining-themselves_80892.jpg)

> [“perhaps the greatest challenge to thinking women is the challenge to move from the desire for safety and approval to the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/perhaps-the-greatest-challenge-to-thinking-women-is-the-challenge-to/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[Arrogance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aac/gerda-lerner-28685_women_perhaps-the-greatest-challenge-to-thinki_1256740.jpg)

> [Men develop ideas and systems of explanation by absorbing past knowledge and critiquing and superseding it. Women, ignorant of their own history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/men-develop-ideas-and-systems-of-explanation-by-absorbing-past/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constant/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01f/gerda-lerner-28685_constant_men-develop-ideas-and-systems-of-explana_1757578.jpg)

> [We can learn from history how past generations thought and acted, how they responded to the demands of their time and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/we-can-learn-from-history-how-past-generations-thought-and-acted-how/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18e/gerda-lerner-28685_action_we-can-learn-from-history-how-past-gener_737792.jpg)

> [. . . black women . . . are trained from childhood to become workers, and expect to be financially self-supporting for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/black-women-are-trained-from-childhood-to-become-workers-and-expect/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/gerda-lerner-28685_black_black-women-are-trained-from-childhood-t_2230739.jpg)

> [The appeal of the New Right is simply that it seems to promise that nothing will change in the domestic realm. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/the-appeal-of-the-new-right-is-simply-that-it-seems-to-promise-that/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[Appeals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appeals/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/gerda-lerner-28685_appeals_the-appeal-of-the-new-right-is-simply-th_2334215.jpg)

> [The system of patriarchy is a historic construct; it has a beginning; it will have an end. Its time seems to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/the-system-of-patriarchy-is-a-historic-construct-it-has-a-beginning/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b39/gerda-lerner-28685_age_the-system-of-patriarchy-is-a-historic-c_337856.jpg)

> [The effect on men has been very bad, too, of the omission of women's history, because men have been given the impression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/the-effect-on-men-has-been-very-bad-too-of-the-omission-of-women-s/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[Aspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspiration/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/gerda-lerner-28685_aspiration_the-effect-on-men-has-been-very-bad-too_892759.jpg)

> [For boys, the family was the place from which one sprang and to which one returned for comfort and support, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/for-boys-the-family-was-the-place-from-which-one-sprang-and-to-which/)

[Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/)

[Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b7/gerda-lerner-28685_action_for-boys-the-family-was-the-place-from-w_2978195.jpg)

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                        "text": "Autonomy means women defining themselves and the values by which they will live, and beginning to think of institutional arrangements which will order their environment in line with their needs… Autonomy means moving out from a world in which one is born to marginality, to a past without meaning, and a future determined by others--into a world in which one acts and chooses, aware of a meaningful past and free to shape one's future.",
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                        "text": "“perhaps the greatest challenge to thinking women is the challenge to move from the desire for safety and approval to the most \"unfeminine\" quality of all -- that of intllectual arrogance, the supreme hubris which asserts to itself the right to reorder the world. The Hubris of the god makers, the hubris of the male-system builders.”",
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                        "text": "Men develop ideas and systems of explanation by absorbing past knowledge and critiquing and superseding it. Women, ignorant of their own history [do] not know what women before them had thought and taught. So generation after generation, they [struggle] for insights others had already had before them, [resulting in] the constant inventing of the wheel.",
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                        "text": "We can learn from history how past generations thought and acted, how they responded to the demands of their time and how they solved their problems. We can learn by analogy, not by example, for our circumstances will always be different than theirs were. The main thing history can teach us is that human actions have consequences and that certain choices, once made, cannot be undone. They foreclose the possibility of making other choices and thus they determine future events.",
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                        "text": ". . . black women . . . are trained from childhood to become workers, and expect to be financially self-supporting for most of their lives. They know they will have to work, whether they are married or single; work to them, unlike to white women, is not a liberating goal, but rather an imposed lifelong necessity.",
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                        "text": "The appeal of the New Right is simply that it seems to promise that nothing will change in the domestic realm. People are terrified of change there, because it's the last humanizing force left in society, and they think, correctly, that it must be retained.",
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                        "text": "The system of patriarchy is a historic construct; it has a beginning; it will have an end. Its time seems to have nearly run its course—it no longer serves the needs of men or women and in its inextricable linkage to militarism, hierarchy, and racism it threatens the very existence of life on earth. What will come after, what kind of structure will be the foundation for alternate forms of social organization we cannot yet know. We are living in an age of unprecedented transformation. We are in the process of becoming.",
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                        "text": "The effect on men has been very bad, too, of the omission of women's history, because men have been given the impression that they're much more important in the world than they actually are. It has fostered illusions of grandeur in every man that are unwarranted. If you can think as a man that everything great in the world and its civilization was created by men, then naturally you have to look down on women. And naturally, you have to have different aspirations for your sons and for your daughters.",
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                        "text": "For boys, the family was the place from which one sprang and to which one returned for comfort and support, but the field of action was the larger world of wilderness, adventure, industry, labor, and politics. For girls, the family was to be the world, their field of action the domestic circle. He was to express himself in his work and, through it and social action, was to help transform his environment; her individual growth and choices were restricted to lead her to express herself through love, wifehood, and motherhood--through the support and nurture of others, who would act for her.",
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