The race for women’s rights is far from over. Just one year ago, a worldwide demonstration labeled the 2017 Women's March saw women gather in areas like Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Paris, and London to rally for equality, reproductive rights, LGBT rights, etc. From the witch hunts of the seventeenth century to the horrible exploitation and undesirable working conditions of factories in the nineteenth century, women’s history has shown a lengthy course of oppression. As with all cases of oppression, the marginalized group often finds ways to rebel or protest for want of better opportunities. One significant example of resistance to women’s unfair treatment is found within The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions. The Declaration of Sentiments …show more content…
Growing up, Stanton was the daughter of a lawyer, which left her family living comfortably and allowed her to acquire more educational opportunities than other women. Being white herself, Stanton was still able to empathize with the struggles of African Americans for a greater half of the nineteenth century because women too experienced hefty discrimination at the time. The Declaration of Sentiments, written in the summer of 1848, fit perfectly into it’s time period, as many people started to question who exactly the concept of natural rights applied to. This question was mostly asked in the context of African Americans, who at the time still faced brutal slavery. The blatant hypocrisy of the oppression of women was one of the key motivating factors in the Declaration of Sentiments. Of course, written in the likes of the Declaration of Independence, Stanton’s Declaration featured very similar words, stating that “all men and women are created equal” making them both deserving of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Through the similarities of diction in both documents, Stanton is able to get her point across that the natural rights of men stated in the 1776 Declaration should be applied to women as well. Through her writing, Stanton implies that the struggles of women in the nineteenth and early twentieth century are much the …show more content…
During the convention, famed black abolitionist Frederick Douglass gave a speech, solidifying the connection between the two different causes, united by their oppressors being white males. In addition to gaining black support, the Declaration of Sentiments also encouraged women to stand up for themselves and to rally for equality. All of the resolutions proposed in the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions were passed except for women’s suffrage, which at the time was seen as unachievable and destructive to women’s efforts for equality. This document was met with extreme hostility, even causing several of the signers to withdraw their names. With the publishing of this document and the Seneca Falls Convention, the race for women’s rights had officially started. Stanton’s call for better education and health among women was met with immediate action, such as the first infirmary for women, opened by Elizabeth Blackwell in 1849. When the Civil War occurred and African American men secured the right to vote in 1870, women's activists became divided. Some activists such as Lucy Stone believed that the Fifteenth Amendment was just another step in the right direction for women’s rights, while others such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton felt betrayed that black men obtained suffrage
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the most renowned women to lead campaigns for women’s rights. Her efforts were focused on "opportunities for women, for married women’s property rights, the right to divorce, and the right to custody of children; her most radical demand was for women’s right to vote" (Davidson and Wagner-Martin 845). In general Stanton wished to instill independence and self-reliance in all women. Stanton was an inspiring orator of speeches including the Declaration of Sentiments as well as the book The Women’s Bible. Upon analysis of her speeches and other works, as well as gaining knowledge of her background, one is able to assume that personal experience strongly affected her writing, which illustrates her writing as representative in that it addressed inequality based on the issue of gender. Another factor that influenced her writing was the way in which she interpreted the great works, the Declaration of Independence and the Holy Bible. Noticing the obvious discrimination and guidelines set for women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton composed a new "women friendly" version of each that she called the Declaration of Sentiments and The Women’s Bible.
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...
In anaylsing the validity of this statement, “We are all benefiting from the great feminists who struggled and suffered and worked to give us everything women now enjoy.” it can be concluded that Stanton was a women who was able to reinvent and influence women’s rights all over the world. She was a feminist who encountered many struggles, leading and influencing thousands of women throughout her career. To this day her work is still remembered and recognised by all, as the right to vote becomes increasingly important in today’s world.
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).
During the reconstruction of the South many people had opposing views on black rights. The south predominantly thought blacks were inferior, but the North was more accepting of black rights. After years of fighting between confederates and abolitionists black rights were finally put into place. Black rights caused disunity between the people just as Women's Suffrage in the 20’s did. Just as black rights were sanctioned with time, Women's suffrage should also have been acknowledged. Throughout the 20’s many woman tried to obtain popularity in women's suffrage by holding meetings. The Seneca Falls Convention, organized by Elizabeth Staton, was a convention held by women's rights activists. These meetings addressed many issues that affected women's rights. These meeting were held to start giving notoriety to the issues pertaining to woman. Women's rights in the 20th century was an extremely controversial topic. Although women had been seen as inferior for many years, looking at the documents it’s unequivocal that woman should have been given the same domestic, political and social rights as men.
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:
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.”
In the speech, Stanton mentions the “record of blood and cruelty the pages of history reveal” (Stanton) in regards to the established patriarchy. The phrasing of the “pages of history” grant Stanton support and belief because the actual historical record of Stanton’s argument displays the accurate knowledge of events and implies a need for change. Also, Stanton uses the conflict between man’s law and God’s law to support her cause: “she must respect his statutes, though they strip her of every inalienable right, and conflict with that higher law written by the finger of God on her own soul” (Stanton). Through the juxtaposition of man’s “statutes” and “higher law,” Stanton validates her standing because by using God as a higher power and implying that men are against God, it is only natural for women to gain rights because it is the “godly” thing to do. Elizabeth Cady Stanton implements ethos to gain validity in her cause in employing actual evidence for history and emphasizing the support of women’s rights by
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.
In previous times, the equality between men and women were at dramatic differences. It is frequently believed that women’s suffrage was desired and fought for only in England and the United States during the 19th century. Though these movement changes in their reasons and tactics, the battle of female suffrage, along with other women’s rights concerns, cut through many national boundaries. Women’s rights and suffrage had changed drastically from the 1890 till the time of Nixon’s Administration. During these time markers women had been treated poorly, they felt as if they weren’t equal to the other citizens of the world, especially the men. There are countless activities involving women, but the most spoke about topics is, women’s rights, their suffrage, and the roles they played.
The French Revolution was a period of time in which France underwent many changes, many which could be considered revolutionary. France’s whole system and way of being was completely changed. New ideas were proposed everyday. An idea is revolutionary when it is a new idea, when it is something that has never been thought of before. The Declaration of the Rights of Women written by Olympe de Gouges on September 1791, was one of the ideas proposed to the National Assembly (Hunt, Web 1). The document proposed that since the French Revolution was all about finding equality for all people, women should be equal to men and therefore, should have the same rights as men did. Women at the time live in terrible conditions. They had little access to education, and therefore could not enter professional occupations that required advanced education, were legally deprived of the right to vote, and were not considered citizens (Class Discussion Notes). If equal rights were not given to women, the French Revolution had not reached its full potential, according to Gouges. She expressed this idea in her document, saying, “This revolution will only take effect when all women become fully aware of their deplorable condition, and of the rights they have lost in society” (Gouges, Web). Anyone that questioned the Revolution was immediately put to death (Class Discussion Notes). If Gouges’ document and ideas were important enough to catch the attention of the National Assembly and for her to be put to death, her ideas could be considered important and revolutionary (Britannica, Web 1) But, the document was not revolutionary. The Declaration of the Rights of Women was not a revolutionary document because its ideas were taken from other people and were no...
He would see the act for what it is, wrong and inconceivable. We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (Declaration of Independence). Stanton stated that women should have the same rights as men, such as those which are stated in the declaration of independence.
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.
Women’s rights pioneer, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, in her speech, The Destructive Male, expresses her feelings about Women's suffrage in 1868, and brought to light the misconception that women are not equal to man and imply that men bring more destruction than restoration.