American feminist thought contains at least two different lines: ＂egalitarianism＂ and ＂maternalism＂. ＂Egalitarianism＂ originated from the concept of enlightenment human rights. Borrowed from the enlightenment concept of human rights, American feminists have been calling for equality between men and women since the first wave of feminist movements at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. However, in the struggle of the real world, the demand for equality between men and women has encountered excessive resistance, and the feminist movement has made limited progress. They had to change their strategy from ＂egalitarianism＂ to ＂maternalism＂. ＂Maternalism＂ emphasizes the traditional role of women as wives and mothers, who sets foot in the public sphere in this name, breaking through the boundaries of ＂separate spheres＂. In this way, ＂maternalism＂ has changed from an early expedient to an increasingly mature feminist thinking. These two lines of feminism gradually extended from the feminist practices to the historical writing, giving birth to two different ways of feminist historical writing: One focuses on gender inequality, and the other focuses on women's power.