Seneca Falls
In the early 1800's, many of the women in the United States were plain and simple getting fed up with their lack of writes. Men had dominated everything in the past and they were still continuing to do so. Women were finally ready to come forward and voice their opinions about how men and women are created equal. It was now time for women to go out and become what ever they want to be and not have to worry about the fact that they are females. The Seneca Falls Convention would soon be one of the biggest victories for women's rights.
The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848, the first women's rights convention in American history, was an outgrowth of almost twenty years of female activity in social reform. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the most important of the feminists in the 19th century. She was highly educated in law, but could not continue in law due to her sex, Stanton was involved in the abolitionist movement and many other women's rights issues. In 1848, Stanton along with some other females organized the Seneca Falls Convention, where they put together a declaration that in a way resembled the Declaration of Independence. Today many historians believe that this declaration that they drafted was a great turning point for women's rights. And they were right indeed seeing that this convention would soon lead to women gradually gaining rights so that they would eventually be equal to the rights of a male. Today it is still debated whether women are still discriminated against. I believe in some unfortunate cases this is true, but for the most part women have gained equal rights to males.
These women believed that all men and women are created equal, they have certain rights: among these are lif...
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...ven includes foreigners. This meant even if you were the smartest, kindest, and most willing to work hard woman alive, you still would be treated worse than the least respected man.
What all of this means is that at this time women were be deprived of pretty much every right that they were given by god. The Seneca Falls was the beginning, which sparked a bunch of conventions that would follow every year. Eventually it worked, and women started getting custody of children, and the government was more favorable towards women when passing property laws. As time when on women could receive higher education, and they started to gain the right to vote in some states. In the end the Seneca Falls Convention was a landmark event that forever changed the history of women. This event sparked the influence that since women were equals then they should let the men know.
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.
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.
...intolerance over the immorality of slavery. A movement to treat the insane humanely was taken up by reformer Dorothea Dix. She believed the insane deserved better treatment as they were not criminals, they were simply ill. Other reformers, such as Horace Mann sought to equalize the social classes by providing free and better education for the poor (a public education system). This cause was instrumental in sparking the flame of education which would spread though the Untied States like wildfire. Desiring equality with men, women took advantage of this spirit of reform and proceeded with the Seneca Fall Convention in New York, 1848. Drafting a document similar to the Declaration of Independence, women sought equality in all aspects of life. These and other reforms in the 1840s were a direct result of the Jacksonian ideal which “celebrated the era of the common man”.
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...
"The beginning of the fight for women suffrage is usually traced to the Declaration of Sentiments' produced at the first woman's rights convention in Seneca Falls, N. Y. in 1848." (Linder) A few years before this convention, Elizabeth Cady St...
In the times of these notorious women, there were several injustices against females, that fueled their fiery and passionate desires for equality. In 1848, activists at Seneca Falls saw the likeness between women and slaves as an issue. They enunciated, "[The husband] has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages they earn." Women advocates also stated the husband becomes, "to all intents and purposes, her ma...
Since the Seneca Falls Convention, women have accomplished a lot regarding rights to vote and exercise their citizenship rights; as well it's equality to men regards the laws that rule this country. However, women are still fighting for equality and support on the work force, and therefore, still fighting to resolve some of the issues within the “Declaration of Sentiments”, over one century and half later. Let's explore further some of these statements and how they have yet to be resolved; the “Declaration of Sentiments” (1848) stated the following:
There were many women, who thought the fact of not being able to vote was outrageous. They wanted the same rights as men and nothing was going to stop them. Obtaining the right to vote wasn’t going to be an easy process for women. So the many campaigns, petitions, pickets and organizations in the mid 1800’s to the early 1900’s were a start to many rights. This lengthy process began on July 19, 1848. On this day the Seneca Falls Convention took place in New York, New York. Over 200 men and women came in participated and gave their opinions on votin...
Women had limited rights during the 19th Century. The Seneca Falls convention was a woman’s rights convention located in Seneca Falls in what is today known as Finger Lakes District (Page 3). This convention paved the road to help women gain rights and to stop being so dependent on men. At this time period women were not allowed to vote, own land, have a professional career, they only received minor education, etc. In an interesting book, Seneca Falls and the Origins of the Women’s Rights Movement, by Sally G. McMillen she explains the widespread significance of the convention that changed women’s history. From 1840 to 1890, over the course of 50 years. Four astonishing women; Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Susan B Anthony and Lucy
Even though the Seneca Falls conference for the Declaration of Independence was in 1848 which is about 72 years after the colonies declaration of independence they had some similarities in the components that each document contain plus what each wanted to represent for it was used as a model. To start with the statement “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal”, the whole sentence is very similar to that of the colonies and it provides the content in which even though time and places are different they had similar views in how they wanted things to be and the governmental guidelines. This document wanted the women to have the same rights as men, for them to be considered individuals by society. Evidently, 68 women and 32 men signed it; which as mentioned before was different from the US Declaration of Independence where only men, 56 of them, signed it. This Declaration of Independence is a ground changing moment for it realigns women to be treated equally and goes about stating many forms of mistreatment that have been occurring to women since the start of time. So with this they are now to be given the same rights detailed in the US declaration of Independence for they are too citizens of the United States. Even though this even
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.
The outcome of the meeting had a great effect. The movement started at Seneca Falls requested the concepts by demanding legal, property, civil rights, and changes in gender-role definition and the woman’s rights to her own body (205). At the time, it was known that “all men are created equal”. When the definition is taken literally, the rights of women are demeaned. However, the women believed that as citizens and members of society, they had the rights to be treated equal as any other man.
McMillen, S. (2008). Seneca falls and the origins of the women 's rights movement. New York: Oxford University Press.
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.