Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born in 1815 to the affluent parents Daniel and Mary Livingston Cady in Jamestown, NY. Cady's parents made it obvious that they preferred sons to daughters when they showed their mutual displeasure of the birth of the Elizabeth's younger sister. Determined to succeed at a level relative to her brothers, Elizabeth attended Jamestown Academy and studied Greek and Mathematics. It was here that she learned to become a skilled debater. She went on to attend the Troy Female Seminary in New York. It was one of the first universities to offer an education equal to that of male academies. While at Troy she studied logic, physiology, and natural rights philosophy.
After graduation, she began to work for her father who was a judge and a lawyer. Here she saw first hand the legal discrimination women faced every day. From then on, she was determined to change the laws. Stanton traveled around the country and even the over seas fighting for civil rights for both blacks and women. During her trips she met up with such women as Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, and April Bloomer. With the help of her husband Henry Stanton and Mott, Stanton drafted the Declaration of Sentiments in Seneca Falls, NY. It was here, that she was able to get over one hundred men and women to sign the declaration. Stanton managed to become the leading feminist philosopher of the first generation of women's rights activists, write a number of books on women's rights, and become the first president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, despite having seven children. Because of her large family at home, Stanton was not able to travel with Anthony and the other women. However, she did write speeches for Anthony to give. Stanton's knowledge and ability to write combined with Anthony's oratorical skills, made for a very powerful team in the fight for equality.
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
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.
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.
“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.”(History.com Staff. (2009) Women’s Rights began in 1848, with the start of a Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, which was held by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. On May 15, 1869 the National Woman Suffrage Association was formed. This helped women gain the right to vote along with African Americans.
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...
Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female physician in America, struggled with sexual prejudice to earn her place in history. She was born in Bristol, England on February 3, 1821 to a liberal and wealthy family. She was the third daughter in a family of nine children. Her father, Samuel Blackwell, believed in the value of education and knowledge and hired a governess for the girls, even though many girls were not educated in those days. In 1832, the family sugar cane plantation went bankrupt, forcing the family to move to America.
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).
Susan B. Anthony who was a Quaker, was therefore opposed to the immorality slavery but also played a role in the movement calling for equality and rights of women. Anthony was inspired by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was also active in both movements, but very famous for her aggressive action in the Women's Movement, which can be shown by Document I. Elizabeth Cady Stanton played a very important role in The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848. This convention also sought to expand democratic ideals, and more radically than perhaps any other event of any movement. They produced a declaration which stated that all men and women are created equal, and should therefore be treated equal. Stanton believed that women should be equally "represented in the government" and demanded for the right to vote.
Nonetheless, this reform of women did not halt to the rejection, nor did they act in fear. The CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION states: “One of the main leaders of the women’s suffrage movement was Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906). Brought up in a Quaker family, she was raised to be independent and think for herself. She joined the abolitionist movement to end slavery. Through her abolitionist efforts, she met Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1851. Anthony had not attended the Seneca Falls Convention, but she quickly joined with Stanton to lead the fight for women’s suffrage in the United
Susan B. Anthony was born February 15, 1820 in Adams Massachusetts to Daniel and Lucy Anthony. Susan was the second born of eight children in a strict Quaker family. Her father, Daniel Anthony, was a stern man, a Quaker abolitionist and cotton manufacturer. He believed in guiding his children, not directing them. He did not allow them to experience the childish amusements of toys, games, and music, which were seen as distractions from the Inner Light. Instead he enforced self-discipline.
Susan B. Anthony is the most well known name in women's rights from the 1800s. Most people who are not familiar with the history of this time are aware of Susan's reputation and nearly everyone of my generation has seen and held a Susan B. Anthony silver dollar. For these reasons I was greatly surprised to learn that Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the original women's rights movement spokeswoman and Susan B. Anthony her protégé.
	Elizabeth Blackwell was a great woman. She was the first woman to receive a Medical degree in America. She opened an Infirmary for women and children in New York.Elizabeth Blackwell was born on February 3 1821 in Bristol, England. But was raised differently then most children at this time. See women were treated differently than men. Women were given little education and were not allowed to hold important positions. They were not allowed to be doctors, bankers, or lawyers, and all the money they made had to go to the men in the family. Since women couldn't become Doctors their were few around. Many women would lose their babies because there was no medicine around. This happened to Elizabeth's mom. Her parents wanted a big family but almost every time her mom gave birth she would lose the baby. This made made Elizabeth sad. Elizabeth was determined that when she grew up she would become a doctor, so that she could help babies and children to stay healthy. She was going to study and work hard to reach her goal.
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.