Second Great Awakening Movement

Many of the rights we are given today are because of the various reform movements that took place in the mid-1800s. Some of these reform movements are the women’s suffrage movement, the abolition of slavery, the prison reform, and the educational reform. The Seneca Falls Convention, which was organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, and the Declaration of Sentiments, began the women’s rights movement. Women gained their right to vote through the 19th Amendment which was passed by congress and ratified in 1920.

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.

The average woman in 1848 could not vote, they worked at home for the cottage industry; which is making cloth at home, and taking care of the children; but if they did work, they worked in factories and made little to nothing. This was also known as the Cult of Domesticity. This system emphasized ideas of femininity. During this time, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott went to London with their husbands to participate in the National Slavery Abolition Convention only to find out that they were not allowed to participate in the convention because they were women. They decided to hold a Women’s Rights Convention in New York when they returned, this convention became known as the Seneca Falls Convention.

In the document “Declaration of Sentiments”, put forth at Seneca Falls in the year 1848, women repeatedly stated how they do not have the general rights of equality

Two abolitionists began to organize one of the first movements, “ It was not until 1848 that the movement for women’s rights launched on a national level with a convention in Seneca Falls, New York, organized by abolitionists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott”(History19). This movement consisted of over 300 women and some men, who were former African-American slaves. They made a statement in Seneca Falls, New York and most of the Seneca delegates agreed that women deserved their own political identities. After this convention, the press mocked women and the delegates that agreed. Naturally, some women would give up after this, but they came back

But “Stanton” put forward the “Declaration of Sentiments document in the American woman’s suffrage movement” to put forth unity between both sexes in allowing “women to

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 Women’s Rights Movement originated from the public protest meeting in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848. Many at the meeting were skeptical about the demands being made to allow women to exercise the right to participate in government and vote. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the primary organizer of the meeting, remembered that many attending, including radical Lucretia Mott, thought that the demand was too far advanced for the time. They believed that advocating for political equality was also “too morally questionable” to include in this movement

Stanton believed that a public protest of women’s right was the next step to get equality for women’s legal position. By this belief, Stanton tried to make a draft of “Declaration of Right and Sentiments”, which she modeled after the “Declaration of Independence”. In this declaration, Stanton demanded moral, economic and political equality for women. With her friends, Stanton was able to hold the first women’s right convention on 19-20 July 1848 at Stanton house in Seneca Falls, New York. That is why; the convention is called Seneca Falls Convention.

This movement gained most of its support through activists such as Elizabeth Stanton. She gave many rousing speeches, including the Seneca Falls Declaration. Here, she speaks directly to anti-suffragists explaining why the constitution justifies equal rights for women, particularly the right to vote. The expansion of these basic rights are what made this into a democratic reform. Abolition undoubtedly had the most dramatic impact on America’s history.

“Independence, free will, and personal effort are considered primary virtues that contribute not only to personal achievement but also to the success and well-being of the nation.” This quote, stated by Charles Finney, means that people must be able to choose for themselves and make their own decisions in order for the country to become better than it is. The Second Great Awakening began for several different reasons, consisted of many different church revivals and leaders, and ultimately had a lasting impact for several more years after the end of the Second Great Awakening. There were several different factors that led up to the Second Great Awakening. Some such factors are listed by Richard Kaplan in his article titled, The Second Great

This movement fought for the right for women to vote because women were denied the democratic rights that were given to men and were forced to focus on the cult of domesticity. The movement started in the late eighteenth century however it was renewed during the Second Great Awakening when reform movements started gaining popularity. The suffrage movement was aided by the abolition movement because slavery gave women a reason to unite for a separate cause. This was a new reform movement, unlike women’s suffrage and abolition, which both had roots that were as deep as those of the country’s, and was unique because of the unusually undemocratic responses that society and its people reacted with. Unlike abolition and women’s suffrage, the asylum and penitentiary reform movement did not gather popularity

Adding on to other limitations, women almost had no freedom in their marriage. Before the women’s rights movement, when a woman is married the “husband and wife are one person” but “that person is the husband” (Doc 7). Once a woman is married, her rights and property were governed by the husband. Married women could not make wills or dispose of any property without their husband’s consent to do so.

They held many meetings and conventions to discuss about how they were going to fight for their rights. " In July 1848, the Women’s Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls, N.Y. It was the opening salvo of the battle for women’s suffrage, although many years would pass before its proponents would finally achieve victory" ("Women 's Rights Convention"). This was one of the first steps in the road to freedom for women. They also had many supporters to make the United States of America pass the law for women to vote and have the rights men have.