Quote Originally Posted by leo9 View Post
One could say exactly the same of slavery. That, too, at the time of the founding of the Republic was considered not only normal, but essential for the health of the nation. The States that went to war to keep the right to own slaves were not fighting merely for their own interests, but from a principled belief that the insane idea of giving equal rights to inferior races would undermine civilisation.
Incorrect. Slavery was a contentious issue during the founding of the US and for nearly a hundred years thereafter. The Constitution itself contains language (the 3/5 clause) to balance the power of Slave and Free States as a compromise to keep the newly formed country whole. It was no longer considered "normal" outside of the Slave States and the "principled belief" was a result of generations of rationalization and justification, not any true, long-term belief system.

The comparison between slavery in the US at the founding of the Republic and patriarchy is simply invalid. The mere type of slavery practiced by European colonies during that period was an historical aberration, while patriarchy has been widespread throughout history for very valid reasons.