Elizabeth Cady Stanton
I was once called the most dangerous woman in America because I dared to ask for the unthinkable- the right to vote. I challenged my culture's basic assumptions about men and women, and dedicated my life to the pursuit of equal rights for all women. My name is Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
I was born in Johnstown, New York, on the 12th of November, 1815. My father is the prominent attorney and judge Daniel Cady and my mother is Margaret
Livingston Cady. I was born the seventh child and middle daughter. Although my mother gave birth to eleven children- five boys and six girls- six of her children died. Only one of my brothers survived to adulthood, and he died unexpectedly when he was twenty. At ten years old, my childhood was shadowed by my father's grief. I can still recall going into the large darkened parlor to see my brother and finding the casket and my father by his side, pale and immovable. As he took notice of me, I climbed upon his knee. He sighed and said, " Oh my daughter, I wish you were a boy!" I threw my arms around his neck and replied that I will try my hardest to be all my brother was.
I was determined to be courageous, to ride horses and play chess, and study such manly subjects as Latin, Greek, mathematics, and philosophy. I devoured the books in my father's extensive law library and debated the fine points of the law with his clerks. It was while reading my father's law books that I first discovered the cruelty of the laws regarding women, and I resolved to get scissors and snip out every unfair law. But my father stopped me, explaining that only the legislature could change or remove them. This was the key moment in my career as a women's rights reformer.
As I grew older, my intellectual interests and masculine activities embarrassed my father. He told me they were inappropriate in a young lady, especially the daughter of a prominent man. I was educated at the Johnstown
Academy until I was 15, and was always the head of my class, even in the higher levels of mathematics and language, where I was the only girl. But when I graduated, and wanted to attend Union College- as my brother had done- my father would not allow it. It was unseemly, he said, for a woman to receive a college education, f...
... middle of paper ...
...ough to vote freely.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton's writings, her speeches, her enthusiasm and her life provide inspiration for generations of American feminists, even to the present day. I think that Elizabeth, were she here today, would be pleased to see her work was not in vain. And that the revolution she and other ladies of
Seneca Falls began that hot July day in 1848 did not end 76 years ago when women acquired suffrage. And that her life still inspires new genrations of young women. If it were possible for me to meet with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, I would be delighted to take part in that opportunity. Stanton's spirit lives on today whenever and wherever American women use their voices and their votes to proclaim equality.
Works Cited
Faber, Doris. Oh Lizzie! The Life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. New York: Lothrop,
Lee, and Shepard Company, 1972.
Franck, Irene and David Brownstone. Women's World: A Timeline of Women in
History. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1995.
Rossi, Alice S. The Feminist Papers: From Adams to deBeauvoir. New York:
Columbia University Press, 1973.
Weatherford, Doris. American Women's History.
turn the light of truth upon,”10 which is something she truly fought for and succeeded
America is well known for many things, and one of the main qualities is the idea and practice of freedom and liberty. When thinking of the United States, one would probably say “Land of the free, Home of the brave.” America is a place where citizens have rights, can have happiness, and are free to live the life they choose. Although America is so free now, have citizens always had the rights that they have today? The founding fathers of the United States of America made the way to freedom when the Declaration of Independence was written, but even though it was written down, not all citizens had freedom. When Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote The Declaration of Sentiments, she used The Declaration of Independence as a guide. Freedom was still freedom, of course, but Stanton used it for a purpose that was different from how the founding fathers used it. When Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments, she not only included the way Americans believe in freedom and liberty, she also included the way the beliefs can change and be interpreted in different ways.
“To deny political equality is to rob the ostracised of all self-respect.” - Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, along with many other women, packed into a convention on a hot July day to all fight for a common cause; their rights. At the first Women’s Rights convention, Stanton gave a heroic speech that motivated the fight for the cause to be even stronger. Through Stanton’s appliances of rhetorical devices such as emotional, logical, and ethical appeals, she was able to her win her point, change the opinions of many, and persuade people to follow her.
She argued and fought for all women to have access and with it freedom to choose when and or if they wanted to be mothers.
The most critiqued argument is that mandating voting is just un-American. The con side argues that forcing people to vote violates our freedom of speech. But they don’t feel that the requirement to pay taxes and serve as a jure are unjust. This seems contradictory. The second argument is that requiring all citizens to vote would result in many uninformed and carelessly voters. They continue this argument by stating many people would cast “donkey votes” which are votes for a random candidate because they are required to vote by law. There are many arguments for and against compulsory voting but it comes down to what makes something
The Seneca Falls Convention took place in Seneca Falls, New York on July 19th and 18th in 1848. The convention was held to address the condition of women in the United States. Approximately three hundred women, including 40 men participants, showed for the convention. This convention marked the beginning of the women’s rights movement that would last for several years to come.
From the beginning of “The Metamorphosis”, the character Gregor Samsa, woke up one morning transformed into an insect without any explanation. He was unsure of what was happening to him or why. Samsa, days were routinely the same, giving up and going to work every day, no matter what. Gregor’s father had owned a business that failed and left the family in debt,
Gregor Samsa awakes one morning to discover that he has been transformed into a repugnant vermin. One may never know what initiated this makeover, but the simple truth is that Gregor is now a bug, and everyone must learn to live and move on in this strenuous situation. In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the characters that interact with Gregor, including his mother, his father, and his sister Grete, must come to terms with his unfortunate metamorphosis, and each does so by reacting in a unique way. Gregor’s family members are constantly strained by this unusual event, and all three of them are pressed to their breaking point.
During Luther’s early life he faced a severe inner crisis. When he sinned he looked for comfort in confession and followed the penance, the fasting, prayer and observances that the church directed him. But, he found no peace of mind and worried about his salvation. But reading St. Paul’s letters he came to believe that salvation came though faith in Christ. Faith is a free gift, he discovered, it cannot be earned. His studies led him to a conclusion that, “Christ was the only mediator between God and a man and that forgiveness of sin and salvation are given by god’s grace alone” (Martin Luther, 01). Historians agree that, “this approach to theology led to a clash between Luther and the Church officials, precipitating the dramatic events of Reformation”.
Early one morning, Gregor woke to discover he had transformed into a human-size bug. However, it was not him turning from a young man into a bug in the matter of one night that worried Gregor, but the fact that he was going to be late for work! After reading the first several pages, one might find themself bewildered as to why and how Gregor dealt with this transformation with such stride. No, Gregor had not lost his mind, nor had he expected this situation to ever occur (How could something so singular ever be anticipated for that matter?). It was instead, the mere fact that working as a slave to the relentless, capitalist society he knew as life had alienated Gregor to the point that such a change as becoming a bug was nothing more than a confirmation of his insignificant place in the world.
She used this to address the issue of women’s rights to work the same job as men. She also wrote several articles in which she discussed the struggle for women in the workplace. In the 1880s and 90s, the State Department selected her to be a delegate at a gathering in Switzerland called the Congress of Charities. For several years to come she spoke on world peace, and in 1912 she retired from practicing law. A few years before her death she traveled to Europe to give on last speech to women, encouraging them to continue her life’s work of obtaining women’s rights in a male dominated world. After nearly 40 years of advocation for women and practicing law she passed away in 1917, just three years shy of seeing women obtain the right to vote.
From Gregor and his parents we see a rather fast transformation in their attitude towards Gregor's metamorphoses. Gregor himself doesn't seem to think twice about the fact that he has awaken as a giant insect, rather he spends his thoughts on the mundane, things that he needed to get done as if being a giant cockroach wouldn't impinge on his normal activities.
Franz Kafka’s stories and novels contain such disturbing situations that the word Kafkaesque has been created to define the most unpleasant and bizarre aspects of everyday modern life. A master of dark humor and an artist of unique vision, Kafka captures perfectly the anxiety and absurdity of contemporary urban society (Norton Anthology 1866). In 1912, Kafka produced his longest, as well as his most famous novella written, The Metamorphosis. Metamorphosis means change, which is something readers see a lot of in this novella. The story is about a man, Gregor Samsa, who wakes up and sees that is has been transformed into a bug. He, as well as his families, lives are completely turned upside down. They had all depended so heavily on Gregor,
Only around fifty to sixty percent of registered voters actually go to the polls. This is a problem that the United States has been facing. Because of these low turnouts, some people say that voting should be made compulsory. Compulsory, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is, “required by a law or rule”. Voting should not be made compulsory because voting is a right, not a duty; there are alternatives that tackle the real causes of voter disengagement; and persuasion is more effective than coercion.