SENECA FALLS DECLARATION OF SENTIMENTS AND RESOLUTION, JULY 19, 1848
SENECA FALLS DECLARATION OF SENTIMENTS AND RESOLUTION, JULY 19, 1848
Seneca Fall Declaration of Sentiments is a political text created on the 19th of July in 1848, in New York City. It has a political nature but its goal is to change the laws regarding women rights. It happened in the Democratic Era of United States that lasted from 1828 to 1840. During that period, there was a development of universal manhood suffrage that did not include women right to vote. It was draft by Elizabeth Cady and Lucretia Mott two American activists in the movement to abolish slavery:
Stanton, a sceptical non-Quaker who followed logic more than religion. Elizabeth is credited with initiating the first organized woman 's rights and woman 's suffrage movements in the United States. Before Stanton narrowed her political focus almost exclusively to women 's rights, she was an active abolitionist of slavery. Unlike many of those involved in the woman 's rights movement, Stanton addressed various issues pertaining to women beyond voting rights. Her concerns included women 's parental and custody rights, property rights, employment and income rights, divorce laws, the economic health of the family, and birth control. She was also an outspoken supporter of the 19th-century temperance movement (movement to control the abuse of alcoholic drinks)
Mott, a Quaker famous for her speaking ability, a skill rarely cultivated by
The two documents “Letter to John Adams” and “Declaration of Sentiments of the Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention” are both historical documents that helped start the women’s rights movements. “Lettter to John Adams” is a letter written to founding father John Adams by his wife Abigail. “Declaration of Sentiments” was written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton for the first Women’s Rights Convention. The two documents were very similar, but they have a few key differences.
The primary source I am analyzing is the Declaration of Sentiments adopted at Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. This source was from the Seneca Falls Convention which was the first woman's rights convention of the 19th century. Women at this time were coming to the realization that they deserved the same legal rights as men, such as the right to vote or own property. Since this was from the first convention, I assume that the sentiments were recent frustrations and were refined or added to as the movement progressed. During the time period of the source, women were starting to gather formally to try to make significant changes or develop plans of action to earn rights.
Temperance was an attempt to outlaw the sale of alcohol. Both men and women were involved in the movement, but the main reason women were concerned with temperance was because men made the decisions for the household and when drinking influenced those decisions wives had no control over the results. She was introduced to Elizabeth Cady Stanton by Amelia Bloomer in 1851. When Susan was elected to be a delegate at the 1852 State Temperance Convention, the chairman would not allow her to speak, saying that women delegates were only there to learn. She and several other women left the convention and created their own organization called the Women's State Temperance Society.
The Temperance movement was a social movement with the goal to decrease the consumption of alcoholic beverages. One of the key figure in the Women’s right movement was Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She wrote the Declaration of Sentiments. This movement was
However, when thought of, most people remember her contributions to the women’s rights movement. She, and other feminists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, began to realize that there were numerous similarities between slaves and women. Both were fighting to get away from the male-dominated culture and beliefs. In 1848, these women began a convention in Seneca Falls, regarding women’s rights(Brinkley 330). They believed that women should be able to vote, basing their argument on the clause “all men and women are created equal”.
This document was modeled directly on the Declaration of Independence and stated that women, like men, were owed their natural rights as equals in society. A line from the Declaration that encapsulates the entirety of Stanton’s beliefs is “woman is man’s equal, was intended to be so by the Creator” (Stanton). This is in regard to the equality of women when it comes to voting and politics, in the workforce, and in society as a whole. Stanton believed that men and women were one and the same and that women could do everything a man could do if it were not for the limitations set by the government. This document was then taken to the Seneca Falls Convention where she spread her ideas to activists propelling the movement
The Declaration of Sentiments was written at Seneca Falls Convention in New York in July of 1848. Her purpose of writing this document was to support the issue of women’s rights and improve the civil and legal rights of women guaranteed by the Constitution. The Declaration of Independence:
Anthony, a rising leader in the woman's suffrage movement, made outstanding contributions for women to gain the right to vote. Susan was a leading force in merging the Woman's Right Society and the Anti-Slavery Society into one organization named American Equal Rights Association. Susan could hardly gain these achievements without her important partner, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who encouraged her to reside the meeting and collaborated with her on various movements for many years. The first meeting that could be regarded as the warm-up of the woman's suffrage movement was held in the home of Stanton, whose enthusiasm and leadership had a significant impact on Susan. Susan remained unmarried during her lifetime and devoted much of her time to the cause of woman’s rights.
Stanton held the women 's convention in 1848, to discuss the violation of equality toward woman in anti-slavery political debates. Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments in the Methodist Church in Seneca Falls, New York, that began the women 's suffrage movement. The Declaration of Sentiments is modeled after the Declaration of Thomas Jefferson to emphasize the political, economical, and legal wrongs done towards women. In her document, The Declaration of Sentiments, Elizabeth Cady Stanton portrays the barriers that limited women 's rights and the violation of equality towards women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s document ,
Impact of Elizabeth Cady Stanton in Women Rights and Suffrage Movement Women rights for some time were violated with men being preferred in all endeavors to women. This led to the formation of women movements made of human rights activists especially those of women. The rights movements’ history in the united states dates back in the 1840s when women started championing for their rights. Women suffrage (otherwise called women's entitlement to vote) is the privilege of women to vote in decisions. Constrained rights to cast votes were first obtained by women in western states of the United States, Sweden, Iceland and Finland in the late 19th century.
Who was Elizabeth Cady Stanton? Stanton was a radical reformer for women's rights, many people may not know who she was or what significance she held for women today. In the book, Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Radical for Women’s Rights by Lois W. Banner, the reader gets to learn more about her, her family and what her importance was from 1815 to 1902. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born on November 12, 1815 in Johnstown, New York.
During Progressive Era, there were many reforms that occurred, such as Child Labor Reform or Pure Food and Drug Act. Women Suffrage Movement was the last remarkable reform. This movement was fighting about the right of women to vote, which was basically about women’s right movement. Many great leaders – Elizabeth Cad Stanton and Susan B. Anthony - formed the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Although those influential leaders faced hardship during this movement, they never gave up and kept trying their best.
The rights women were being deprived of was voting, the right to their own property, and the right to get an education. Elizabeth Stanton and Lucretia Mott were the main figures leading the women’s rights movement. Elizabeth Stanton was the one who drafted the “Declaration of Sentiment, Grievances and Resolutions” which explained to the people what the women desired. As a result of Elizabeth Stanton and Lucretia Mott’s hard work, and the women’s rights movement, the 19th amendment was passed giving women the rights they had desired. Shortly after Elizabeth Blackwell became the first female physician and Mt. Holyoke started accepting women into their
Men should have absolute rule over society. This was the mindset back when women's rights activists were considered rare and unorthodox. In A Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, Elizabeth Cady Stanton rejects the status quo and finds solutions to the overbearing problems she sees within society. A concept that has greatly been dreamt over throughout history has been challenged, by a woman. Elizabeth Cady Stanton exerts repetition, allusion, and pathos to express her opinions in favor of increasing women's rights.
Until the Civil war, she never stopped working for the American Anti-Slavery Society. But then she was more focused on pursuing women's rights. She started claiming the rights of both sexes and she established with her friend Stanton the American Equal Rights Association. In 1863 both Susan Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton established the Women's Loyal National League to demand some constitution amendments in the United States. It was the first American Women’s organization for anti-slavery movement as it was the only political tool for women at that time.