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The Trailblazing Seneca Falls Convention Essay
The Trailblazing Seneca Falls Convention Essay
The Trailblazing Seneca Falls Convention Essay
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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. If we face the freedom, perhaps among many representations, come to mind the picture of Delacroix "Freedom guiding the people" that celebrated the revolution of 1830 as
Foner not only focuses on the dimensions of freedom, he also focuses on the second and third theme as well. The second theme covers the social conditions which makes freedom possibl...
Accessed April 3, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41420902. Rozbicki, Michal Jan. Culture and Liberty in the Age of the American Revolution. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2011. Accessed April 3, 2014.
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.
More than three hundred citizens came to take part in one of the most important documents written in women’s history during the Women’s Right’s Convention in upstate Seneca, New York, led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott on July 19-20, 1848 (Ryder). Stanton became persistent when she included a resolution supporting voting rights for women in the document, intimidated by this notion her loyal husband threatened to boycott the convention. “Even Lucretia Mott warned her, ‘Why Lizzie, thee will make us ridiculous!’ ‘Lizzie,’ however, refused to yield” (Rynder). As Mott dreaded, out of eleven resolutions the most argumentative was the ninth–women’s suffrage resolution. The other 10 resolutions passed consistently. “According to Cady Stanton’s account, most who opposed this resolution did so because they believed it would compromise the others. She, however, remained adamant” (Rynder). When the two-day convention was over, one hundred men and women signed the historical the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments to...
According to the Collins Dictionary, “freedom” is defined as “the state of being allowed to do what you want to do”(“freedom”). The definition of freedom is simple, but make yourself free is not easy. Concerning about some common cases which will take away your freedom, such as a time-cost high education attainment. In this essay, I shall persuade that everyone should try his or her best to insist on pursuing freedom. For the individual, it appears that only if you have your personal freedom, can you have a dream; for a country, it seems that only if the country is free, can the country develop; for mankind, it looks like that only if people has their own pursuit of freedom, can their thoughts evolve.
dangerous. So by giving away more public roles to women the society on South became
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.
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.”
Many men attended the Seneca Falls convention and defended women’s rights. There were many conventions prior to the Seneca Falls convention to speak on women’s rights and to gather petitions, like the Rochester Convention to consider the rights of women religiously, industrially, and politically (page 95). Many years after the Seneca Falls Convention and many more years of protesting and meetings the First National Women’s Rights Convention was held in Worcester, Massachusetts on October 23rd and 24th (page 106). There was said to be up to a thousand people attending, including men (page
The topic of freedom can be seen throughout the short story “The Censors” by Luisa Valenzuela. In the short story “The Censors”, it says, “...thinking that something might happen to Mariana because of his letters. Of all people, Mariana, who must who must finally feel safe there where she always dreamed she’d live.” This evidence shows freedom because based on the quotes, it shows how the letters might harm an individual. This means that if someone sends a rebellious letter to the government, the person who receives or sends the letter will be executed if caught. Another evidence that was stated in the book is, “Juan knows there won’t be a problem with the letter’s contents, that it’s irreproachable,
In Waterloo, on July 13, 1848, a tea party at the home of activist Jane Hunt became the catalyst for the women’s rights movement. Jane Hunt’s guests were Lucretia Mott, Martha Wright, Mary Ann McClintock and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. As the women drank their tea, they discussed the misfortunes imposed upon females – not having voting rights, not being able to own property, few social and intellectual outlets – and decided that they wanted change. By the end of the gathering, the five women organized the first women’s rights convention set for Seneca Falls, NY, and wrote a notice for the Seneca County Courier that invited all women to attend the influential event. And the right to vote was what advocates of women’s equality
The Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 started a women’s rights movement; a small group of women demanded the right to vote, claim progress in property rights, experience employment and educational opportunities, have social freedoms, and other essential demands touching every aspect of life. Women wanted a change and needed a new place in society. They did not have the most basic democratic equality of all, the equal right to vote, until the 19th amendment was adopted in 1920. As they gained the right to vote, women began feeling the right to explore other opportunities.
It is easier to describe what is not freedom, in the eyes of Rousseau and Marx, than it would be to say what it is. For Rousseau, his concept of freedom cannot exist so long as a human being holds power over others, for this is counter to nature. People lack freedom because they are constantly under the power of others, whether that be the tyrannical rule of a single king or the seething majority which can stifle liberty just as effectively. To be truly free, says Rousseau, there has to be a synchronization of perfect in...
Freedom is a human value that has inspired many poets, politicians, spiritual leaders, and philosophers for centuries. Poets have rhapsodized about freedom for centuries. Politicians present the utopian view that a perfect society would be one where we all live in freedom, and spiritual leaders teach that life is a spiritual journey leading the soul to unite with God, thus achieving ultimate freedom and happiness. In addition, we have the philosophers who perceive freedom as an inseparable part of our nature, and spend their lives questioning the concept of freedom and attempting to understand it (Transformative Dialogue, n.d.).