Read the excerpt from A History of Women’s Suffrage by Stanton, Anthony, and Gage. It would be nearer the truth to say the [gender] difference indicates different duties in the same sphere, seeing that man and woman were evidently made for each other, and have shown equal capacity in the ordinary range of human duties. In governing nations, leading armies, piloting ships across the sea, rowing life-boats in terrific gales; in art, science, invention, literature, woman has proved herself the complement of man in the world of thought and action. This difference does not compel us to spread our tables with different food for man and woman, nor to provide in our common schools a different course of study for boys and girls. Sex pervades all nature, yet the male and female tree and vine and shrub rejoice in the same sunshine and shade. The earth and air are free to all the fruits and flowers, yet each absorbs what best ensures its growth.

Which statement best summarizes the authors’ ideas?

The differences between men and women allow them to balance one another, and they should be considered as equal as they are in nature.

There are differences between men and women that should be more considered when determining what boys and girls learn in school.

Men and women are different, and they perform different duties throughout history, school, and nature.

Men and women have served different roles in government and society, but women will soon prove their superiority when they have rights.