Can humankind think of a world where women do not have a voice? How insane would it be that, nowadays, only men could own property, vote, and share an opinion that is going to change a nation’s future? In actuality, this sounds unreasonable and horrifying; however, that was the reality that women went through. People must acknowledge the fact that it was a long and difficult struggle to make basic civil rights for every person a possibility, no matter sex or race; for example voting, delivering an opinion, and standing up for one’s beliefs. Although Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Alice Paul both sought women’s civil rights, Stanton introduced the movement with the Seneca Falls Convention, while Paul gave it the final push with a parade that focused …show more content…
More than 300 people attended this first women’s convention in the world, mostly women, but also men. Without this first convention for women's equality in the United States, it is possible that the right to vote, education, own property, child custody, and control of self-income may be perceived by modern society as something that should not be given to women. (“What Happened at the Seneca Falls Convention? | History”).
Side by side, Elizabeth Stanton and her friend Susan B. Anthony established the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in 1869. With commitment and hard work, they assembled a campaign that sought not only the right to vote, but also support to other causes; such as, birth control and reformed divorce laws. Stanton was advocating for civil rights in general, including the end of slavery for African American people; however, it was not after the American Civil War that she started focusing more on women’s issues.
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It first started with a wave of middle-high class women, and then followed by a second wave of educated women that were more radical than the first groups of suffragists. The females achieved a change in the political and economical status; furthermore, this would not have been possible without the work of activists such as Elizabeth Stanton and Alice Paul. Both women were highly educated for the period they lived in and they were considered leaders and decisive characters for the women’s rights struggle. They had different inspirations that led them into abolitionists’ movements. Elizabeth Cady Stanton found her interest in the subject thanks to the knowledge her father gave her, she saw all the bias against women reflected in law, that was just the start for her to began making contributions to the women’s rights history, such as the “Declaration of Sentiments” at Seneca Falls; however, Alice Paul was raised in a Quaker family, gender equality was instilled in her, Paul and her followers used hunger strikes, and protests at the White House’s surroundings, they were favored by the press and the public; consequently, all the struggle and suffering these women went through made possible one of the most legendary and heroic milestones for the American
“Even in the modern day world, women struggle against discriminatory stigmas based on their sex. However, the beginnings of the feminist movement in the early 20th century set in motion the lasting and continuing expansion of women's rights” (Open Websites). One such organization that pushed for women’s rights was the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA), established in 1890. The NAWSA was the largest suffrage organization and worked toward securing the right to vote. The NAWSA however was split into two, the NAWSA and the National Women’s Party (NWP), when suffragists were disagreeing on how to achieve their goal.
While being born in the modern times, no woman knows what it was like to have a status less than a man’s. It is hard to envision what struggles many women had to go through in order to get the rights to be considered equal. In the essay The Meanings of Seneca Falls, 1848-1998, Gerda Lerner recalls the events surrounding the great women’s movement. Among the several women that stand out in the movement, Elizabeth Cady Stanton stands out because of her accomplishments. Upon being denied seating and voting rights at the World Antislavery Convention of 1840, she was outraged and humiliated, and wanted change. Because of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s great perseverance, the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 was a success as well as a great influence on the future of women’s rights.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, born in 1815, was known for her dedicated role as a women’s rights activist. At the peak of her career, she teamed up with Susan B. Anthony and formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) and also eventually brought about the passage of the 19th amendment, giving all American citizens the right to vote. But before all that, Stanton started out as an abolitionist, spending her time focused on abolishing slavery but then later becoming more interested in women’s suffrage. One of her most famous moments was
However, the writers of the Constitution had omitted women in that pivotal statement which left women to be denied these “unalienable” rights given to every countryman. Gaining the support of many, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the leader of the Women’s Rights Movement declared at Seneca Falls that women had the same rights as men including the right to vote and be a part of government. The Women’s Rights movement gained support due to the years of abuse women endured. For years, men had “the power to chastise and imprison his wife…” and they were tired of suffering (Doc I). The new concept of the cult of domesticity supported women’s roles in society but created greater divisions between men and women.
Men their rights, and nothing more; women their rights, and nothing less,” and the aim of establishing “justice for all”. Susan B. Anthony was a leader of the nineteenth-century feminist activist, dedicated practically her whole adult life. Susan B. Anthony became a leader of the National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA) in 1869 for more than 50 years, alongside with partner Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Susan B. Anthony believed that women should vote just like men they should not be restricted from their citizen rights. Susan B. Anthony believed that “women are persons”.
A women suffrage amendment was brought to the U.S. Congress in 1868 but failed to win support as well as a second amendment in 1878. In 1869 a woman named Elizabeth Cady Stanton got together with Susan B. Anthony, a women’s rights activist, and organized an association called the National Woman Suffrage Association. With this union they would gather with women and fight for women’s suffrage. Later, in 1890 they joined with their competitor the American Women Suffrage Association and became the National American Women Suffrage Association. “NAWSA adopted a moderate approach to female suffrage, eschewing some of the more radical feminism of other women’s rights groups in favor of a national plan designed to gain widespread support” (3). What the association did was they changed their initial tactic towards suffrage for women so that they can be able to obtain support from all over. Having little to no movement on the national front, suffragists took the next step to sate level. That was when Eastern states granted women suffrage, but hadn’t spread to Western states.
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.
In the 1840’s, most of American women were beginning to become agitated by the morals and values that were expected of womanhood. “Historians have named this the ’Cult of True Womanhood’: that is, the idea that the only ‘true’ woman was a pious, submissive wife and mother concerned exclusively with home and family” (History.com). Voting was only the right of men, but women were on the brink to let their voices be heard. Women pioneers such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott wrote eleven resolutions in The Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments; this historical document demanded abolishment of any laws that authorized unequal treatment of women and to allow for passage of a suffrage amendment.
During America's early history, women were denied some of the rights to well-being by men. For example, married women couldn't own property and had no legal claim to any money that they might earn, and women hadn't the right to vote. They were expected to focus on housework and motherhood, and didn't have to join politics. On the contrary, they didn't have to be interested in them. Then, in order to ratify this amendment they were prompted to a long and hard fight; victory took decades of agitation and protest. Beginning in the 19th century, some generations of women's suffrage supporters lobbied to achieve what a lot of Americans needed: a radical change of the Constitution. The movement for women's rights began to organize after 1848 at the national level. In July of that year, reformers Elizabeth Cady Stanton(1815-1902) and Lucretia Mott (1793-1880), along with Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) and other activists organized the first convention for women's rights at Seneca Falls, New York. More than 300 people, mostly women but also some men, attended it. Then, they raised public awar...
“I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves” – Mary Wollstonecraft. In the 19th century the hot topic was women’s rights everybody had an opinion about it. Of course the expected ones like Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton had much to say but a few unexpected ones like William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass spoke out for women’s rights. The focus will be the responsibilities and roles that the activists played in the Women’s Rights or Feminist Movement. The relevance to the theme is the activists had a very important role toward reaching the ultimate goal of the Women’s Rights Movement. The Women’s Rights Movement was one of the most essential times in American history; it was the fight for women acquiring the same rights as men. Susan B. Anthony was considered the leader of the Women’s Rights Movement after she was denied the right to speak in a temperance convention; she had the responsibility of creating the National Women’s Suffrage Association (NWSA) and helping to secure voting rights by her historic court case, the Trials of Susan B. Anthony. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an important women’s rights activist that helped plan the first organized women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York and wrote the Declaration of Sentiments. Lucretia Mott worked along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton to plan the first women’s rights convention and wrote the, “Discourse on Women”. Lucy Stone formed the American Women’s Suffrage Association (AWSA) and convince individual states to join the effort towards women rights. These women had an influence in the National American Women’s Suffrage Association’s (NAWSA) achievement of the goals in the Women’s Rights Movement. These women had a profound effect on reaching equal rights between men and women.
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.
It was Theodore Roosevelt, who stated that, “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care”, conveying the idea that with no voice comes no change. In the morning of August 26, 1920, the 19th amendment was ratified, which centralized mainly on the enfranchisement of women. Today, they have the legal right to vote, and the ability to speak openly for themselves, but most of all they are now free and equal citizens. However this victorious triumph in American history would not have been achieved without the strong voices of determined women, risking their lives to show the world how much they truly cared. Women suffragists in the 19th century had a strong passion to change their lifestyle, their jobs around the nineteenth century were limited to just children, family, and domestic duties. It consisted of a very low rate of education, and job opportunities. They could not share their opinion publicly and were expected to support their male family members and husbands during the time. Women knew that the way to enfranchisement was going to be tenacious, and full of obstacles along the way. Therefore a new organization was formed, The National American Women Association (NAWSA), representing millions of women and Elizabeth Cady Stanton as the first party president. This organization was founded in 1890, which strategized on the women getting education in order to strengthen their knowledge to prepare for the suffrage fight. NAWSA mainly focused on the right to vote one state at a time. In 1917, a member named Alice Paul, split apart from NAWSA because of the organization’s tactics and major goals. Due to this split, many other suffragists from NAWSA bitterly divided into a new organization named, National Women’s ...
In 1869, Susan B. Anthony, a woman suffragist and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the NWSA or the National
In 1869, two organizations for the promotion of women’s suffrage were founded with different opinions on how to reach the same goal. The National Women’s Suffrage Association (NWSA) was headed by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. This group opposed the 15th amendment, while suggesting the passage and ratification of another, new amendment, specifically granting women the right to vote. This was considered a more radical view on the matter, and promoted a wide variety of other feminist views as well. The other organization, called the American Women’s Suffrage Association (AWSA), supported the 15th amendment, while calling for yet another amendment for women’s enfranchisement. This organization was more focused on trying to make this and other feminist reforms seem less radical, and more in tune with the values of the American people. After the negative response to the proposal of a new federal amendment, both groups tried new approaches, such as challenging the constitutionality of their exclusion from the vote in the supreme court, only to be rejected again.
The Seneca Falls Convention and Its Impact Susan B Anthony, one of the first women to participate in the women’s rights movement said “I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand.” For a long time women were seen as inferior to men. They weren't capable of the things that men were. They were expected to stay in the household and tend to the children. They were subjected to their own oppression and for a long time they just let it happen.