In the Pursuit of Equality From the mouth of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the author of “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions,” came the fiercely depicted words that draws a picture of disparity among the treatment between man and woman. She wholeheartedly believed in the justice of having equal representation of the rights of either gender. When she decided, in July of 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York, to present this document to the members of the rudimentary women’s right convention, she knew this would be the colossal beginning for the dissension of gender equality. In addition to being published in the same month of the Declaration of Independence, it also borrowed the structure and intended purpose to create an eye-opening declaration …show more content…
From the words of Thomas Jefferson, he states the reason for the Declaration of Independence being written in this fashion, "In order to place before mankind the common sense of the matter in terms so plain and simple as to command their assent." Similar to the Declaration of Independence, Stanton shares sixteen “he has” oppressions by men towards women. These oppressions are hinted from the Declaration of Independence when King George III released his distress aiming at the colonies by sending an attack of the British military against the colonists. This attack included the burning of the colonists’ towns, invading any of their ships away at sea, and essentially eradicating the lives of these people. Next, King George III ordered mercenaries from foreign countries to combat against the colonists. Afterwards, he had any American sailor confiscated at sea, where they were forced into alliance with the British military. During any Native American attack, he refused to protect the colonists, thus causing dismembered trust between the colonies. This caused colonists to fight against one another. In awareness to all the atrocious actions of King George III, these “he has” demands were made so another attack to the rights of mankind would be prevented. Unlike Stanton’s version there where eighteen “he has” statements in the …show more content…
It says that when God first created people He made them male and female, so that both together were God’s image and likeness. At that time He provided that the two should be “one flesh.” There is no hint that God intended in the beginning for either male or female to have superiority” (1). With this explanation, we are able to grasp an understanding of what our rights should be. Stanton displays these rights like so, “We hold the 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…” With the case of being “civilly dead” when married, there is absolutely no pursuit of happiness displayed or found in any woman’s
“To deny political equality is to rob the ostracised of all self-respect.” - Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Over the centuries, society’s had influential speakers who have incited change for the better. These speakers had the same ambition to sway the public masses to believe in their cause, but how they delivered their message and the action they took is where they differ. Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Keynote Address to the Seneca Falls Convention on July 19, 1848 and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963 were impactful speeches on the public masses during their era; however, they both had similar goals of achieving rights for their respected groups, there were key differences in the way they went about seeking change. Stanton’s Address was in the nineteenth century, before woman had the right to vote, but the white women had
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.
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...
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...
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).
One of the greatest conflicts in the history of the United State of America, the Revolutionary War, was started when the colonies of North America declared themselves independent from British rule. A group of men known as the Founding Fathers, which included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John and Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and others, formed the Continental Congress to rule their new nation. They chose Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence, which they would send to King George III to make their independence official. Jefferson knew that he needed to use strong language to make a solid agrument against British rule in the colonies and to convince the colonists that independence was the only choice to maintain their freedom as human beings. The powerful use of parallelism, ethos, pathos, and logos helpd Thomas Jefferson to convey his idea that all men are created equal with unalienable rights and that it is the duty of the government to protect those rights.
Perhaps the most crucial reformists of the time period were those battling to obtain their God-given rights. Many lower class workers, such as African Americans, women, and immigrants, sought after the opportunity to vote, work it certain facilities, and be accepted in society as a whole. An engraving by Patrick Reason depicts an African American female in chains; with the inscription ‘Am I not a Woman and a Sister?’(Doc C) The woman shown is crying out, begging to be heard and listened to. Many males of the time period did not take female reformists seriously, or listen to them at all. On August 2nd, 1848, through the Seneca Falls Declaration, Elizabeth Cady Stanton prote...
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.”
On July 13, 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, was invited to a tea with four other women. During this tea, they of course began to discuss the position of women and the lack of their individual stability within the American society. Even though, America had just fought in the American Revolution, women still had no place in society. Stanton proclaimed her annoyance with the situation, and her friends agreed. Although this was not their conversation about this, this particular conversation was enough for them to begin a movement which would later change the lives of women forever.
The Declaration of Independence is focused for the most part toward King George III and the British Parliament. Jefferson wanted them to understand the reasoning behind the American's decision of independence. From paragraphs 6-32 he lists all the acts of tyranny that King George III forced upon the Americans. The list is longer than all the other parts of the document put together. It demonstrates how much emphasis Jefferson placed on providing reasons. But, this list is not only directed at Jefferson, it is a reminder to all Americans and the whole world of what disturbing times have been overcome in the past.
All men were created by God with certain God-given rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is the right of the people to eradicate this form of government when it becomes destructive to these rights. The Declaration then goes on to state many things that the king of England has done wrong or against America. He has not allowed Governors to pass laws that are of great importance. He has made judges dependent upon him for their salaries; they must do what he says is right in order to get paid. He has cut off their trade from other parts of the world. He has waged war against them. He has done numerous things that have not been taken care of after multiple petitions have been set out to be received by the king. They want to be enemies in times of war and friends in times of peace. It is the right of these colonies to be free and independent states, and they have freedom to do that of which all independent states have to do. They end with the statement that they have a firm belief that this is the Providence of God to be
Stanton did not reveal much in her memoirs, so the author had to work hard to bring this information to the surface. The convention changed the course of history by starting by protecting women’s rights and enhancing overall gender equality. The book is a reflection of women’s activity in the name of their freedom and rights and equality for fifty years. The book is significant both to the present and to the past, as long as there are many issues in the society related to the women’s rights, and to the time studied in the class. 2.
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.
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.