The Declaration of Sentiments is a document signed by 68 women and 32 men in July 1848. This was the first convention to be organized by women. This convention was known as Seneca Falls Convention, which was held in Seneca Falls, New York. Elizabeth Stanton, the principle author, based the document on the United States Declaration of Independence. Elizabeth Stanton was a key organizer of the Seneca Falls Convention along with Lucretia Mott and Martha Wright. The idea of the convention was brought to Stanton and Mott when they were attending a meeting of the Anti-Slavery Society. During this meeting the two women were denied the opportunity to speak from the floor. Stanton and Mott left the meeting and began discussing the fact they were denied the opportunity to speak on the rights of enslaved African Americans. They found out that American women were unequal in several ways; therefore, they concluded that they needed a national convention for women. …show more content…
For example, women were not allowed to vote, women were paid less than men if they decided to work, married women had no property rights, women were not allowed to gain education because they could not go to college, etc. The Declaration of Sentiments states that man made woman out to be “morally, an irresponsible being” but a resolution was made at the convention that states man “does accord to woman moral superiority.” This was contradiction because it is a men responsibility to encourage women to speak their mind and teach others. Instead of saying women are morally irresponsible
They fight for the rights of women in regard of being viewed as equal to the male gender. Although they have many similarities, they differ in several ways as well. In “Letter to John Adams” Abigail Adams urges her husband to “remember the ladies” in a well written letter. However, in the “Declaration of Sentiments of the Seneca Falls Woman’s Rights Convention” the rights of women are addressed at a city held convention fighting for our rights as women. Similarities of these documents contain the ideas of addressing the amendments and people of the Congress when standing up for what they believe
In 1840, Lucretia Mott, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton met at a World Anti Slavery Convention, where they were forbidden to enter based on their gender being female. This caused Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Stanton to create the first ever Women’s
When Thomas Jefferson wrote the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, it became one of his greatest legacies. In the first line he wrote, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal" (U.S. Constitution, paragraph 2). Jefferson wrote these words to give inspiration to future generations in the hopes that they would be able to change what he either would or could not. The word “men” in the Declaration in the early 1700 and 1800’s meant exactly that, but even then it only was true for some men, not all. Women, children, and other segments of the population such as slaves and Native Americans were clearly not included. Jefferson himself was a slave owner and held the belief that women were inferior to men. Though women played no role in the political environment, they were crucial to the development and economic success of the times. The strength, courage and work ethic of pioneer women like Martha Ballard in “A Midwife’s Tale” (Thatcher, 1990) created the very fabric of the community and wove it together so the community could thrive.
Although women did not have the same rights as men, they came to possess a mentality that was a force to be reckoned with in a fight for equality. In 1848 at Seneca Falls, New York, 150 women and 30 men met to dispute the male sovereignty of the time. At this conference, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, an educated, married abolitionist, presented the “Declaration of Sentiments”. This document was a testament to the drastic changes the United States would have to go through to include women in its widespread ideals. As the basis for their argument, the writers of the Seneca Falls Declaration utilized the Declaration of Independence to catch the attention of the public and display the severity of the situation. However, in her oration, Stanton changes the male centralized voice of the Declaration of Independence. When addressing the self –evident truths, she expressed that “all men and women are created equal” instead of the original phrase that excluded women (Anthony, Stanton, and Gage, 239). Their document was further structured with 18 grievances and 11 resolutions; each was meant to recognize women as equal members of society. As the current government has “become destructive of [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness], it is right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new government” (Anthony, Stanton, and Gage, 240). Because women were rightfully entitled to an equal station beside men, they demanded the recognition of the rights that society was currently denying them. The most controversial resolution presented at the conference was the desire to vote. Women wanted this ability because they deserved to have a voice in the laws that would inevitably affect them. As free American citizens, it was their inalienable right to vote and have some form of representation in legislation. The Seneca Falls Conference and the Declaration of Sentiments was just the beginning of a public fight for women’s equality and rights.
Rhetorical Analysis: The Declaration of Independence. Our Declaration of Independence, was penned most notably by Thomas Jefferson in response to the atrocities committed by the British Crown against the citizens of the American Colonies. At the time of the drafting of The Declaration, Jefferson was widely known to be a successful practitioner of Law as a lawyer, and an eloquent writer. It is due to this, that although Jefferson was a member of a five-man committee charged with drafting the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was tapped to be the main author. After enduring “a long train of abuses and usurpations” the colonists decided to declare themselves free of British rule (para 2).
Only a third of these girls went on to marry farmers. They instead chose to marry artisans or workers in the city . The young women were moving to the city, and away from the farms. Women were choosing their own husbands, and marrying for affection, instead of letting their parents pick their spouse. During this period was the Second Great Awaking in America, and women moving toward religion during the uncertain times. The leaders of the evangelical clergy preached against drunkenness. They also preached that women were morally stronger than men were. This led women into the temperance movement, increasing their political activities. The Second Great Awaking also led people to realize that slavery was wrong, and “a sin against humanity”. By the 1830s, many American women were involved in trying to end slavery. Women being involved in the movement to end slavery divided the abolitionists. This division was the beginning of the women’s rights movement. In 1840, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were told not to go to the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London. This refusal to let them attend, led them to discuss women’s rights. The launched the women’s right movement and changed the fabric of
At Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, Stanton helped draft a Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions. In it, the advocates of women's rights accused "mankind" of "repeated injuries and usurpations" toward women. They said that men had "oppressed them on all sides." And they demanded equal access to education, the trades, professions, and an end to the double standards that existed for men and women. Only by doing away with laws that "restricted women's freedom or placed her in a position inferior to men" could women achieve equality (153).
Stanton and Mott were infuriated with the rejection of women, so they decided to hold a women’s rights meeting. This meeting was considered a Women’s Rights convention and was held in Seneca Falls. This was the very first meeting and was held in New York. Stanton then composed “The Declaration of Sentiments.” The text proposed that women should receive the right education, and changes to the law to raise the status of a “lady.”
Convention in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848. They wrote the Declaration of Sentiments which list grievances
Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions in order to convince the men her time that women should be equal and have the right to vote. She uses the Declaration of Independence to attract readers which makes it much easier for her to explain her purpose. She is trying to explain that, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, depriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Her purpose is clear; she takes the time to show how wrongly men of this time treated women and what should be done to resolve that. She explains that women should have the right to vote and have other responsibilities in government. She shows other examples from the Declaration of Independence and resolutions on how to make man and woman equal. She is trying to show how important it is to create a balance between genders and how each can learn from each other.
Women began standing up for more rights and realizing that they could be treated better. 1840 the World Anti-slavery Convention in London showed a great example of inferiority of women. Women were denied a seat at the convention because they were women. Women like Elizabeth C. Stanton and Lucretia C. Mott were enraged and inspired to launch the women’s rights movement. Elizabeth Stanton promoted women’s right to vote. “If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to forment a rebellion and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.
In 1848, the first convention on the rights of women in the United States was held in Seneca Falls, New York. Organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The result was the publication of the "Declaration of Seneca Falls" (or "Declaration of feelings", as they called it), a document based on the Declaration of Independence of the United States in which they denounced the restrictions, especially policies, to which women were subject: not being able to vote, or stand for election, or hold public office, or join political organizations or attend political meetings.
Sixty- nine years after the Declaration of Independence, one group of women gathered together and formed the Seneca Falls Convention. Prior and subsequent to the convention, women were not allowed to vote because they were not considered equal to men. During the convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton delivered the “Declaration of Sentiments.” It intentionally resembles the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal…” (Stanton, 466). She replaced the “men” with “men and women” to represent that women and men should be treated equally. Stanton and the other women in the convention tried to fight for voting rights. Dismally, when the Equal Rights Amendment was introduced to the Congress, the act failed to be passed. Even though women voiced their opinions out and urged for justice, they could not get 2/3 of the states to agree to pass the amendment. Women wanted to tackle on the voting inequalities, but was resulted with more inequalities because people failed to listen to them. One reason why women did not achieve their goals was because the image of the traditional roles of women was difficult to break through. During this time period, many people believed that women should remain as traditional housewives.
In the beginning of the 1840s and into the 1850s, a rather modest women’s reform was in the process. This group was full of visionaries that began a movement that would soon lobby in change and this movement was the groundwork of equality for women and their right to vote within in the United States. Despite their efforts this movement required a length of seventy years to establish this necessarily equality and the right for all women to vote along the side of men. According to the CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION “After male organizers excluded women from attending an anti-slavery conference, American abolitionists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott decided to call the “First Woman’s Rights Convention.” Held over several days in
The entire Women’s Movement in the United States has been quite extensive. It can be traced back to 1848, when the first women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. After two days of discussions, 100 men and women signed the Declaration of Sentiments. Drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, this document called for equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women. This gathering set the agenda for the rest of the Women’s Movement long ago (Imbornoni). Over the next 100 years, many women played a part in supporting equal treatment for women, most notably leading to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which allowed women the right to vote.