elizabeth

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A woman of many roles; suffragist, abolitionist, author, and women’s rights activist, Elizabeth Cady Stanton generated the plan for woman’s rights that has led to the present day opportunities women have. Henry Thomas said “She was the architect and author of the movement’s most important strategies and documents.” Born on November 12, 1815 in Johnstown, New York she was raised by her two affluent parents who were able to provide her with great educational opportunities. And even so, she was unable to further her education past Johnstown Academy because opportunity for higher education was left solely for men. Elizabeth would attend court with her father, Daniel Cady, who was a judge and lawyer. It was in doing this that she saw firsthand the suffering women had to endure facing legal discrimination. Doing this, she realized how unfair the laws were for women and from this point on, she decided to take action and do whatever she could to transform the adversity into equality. In 1840, she married her husband, Henry Brewster Stanton, who was an abolitionist. During their honeymoon, they traveled to London to attend the World’s Anti-Slavery Convention. It was during this convention women were denied the right to participate. They were told to sit behind a curtain and were unable to voice their opinions. This outraged Elizabeth, who hoped she would be able to advocate for the abolishment of slavery alongside her husband. This sparked her relationship with Lucretia Mott and several other women. "The general discontent I felt with woman's portion as wife, housekeeper, physician, and spiritual guide, the chaotic conditions into which everything fell without her constant supervision, and the wearied, anxious look of the majority of wo... ... middle of paper ... ... that held women back. She was a remarkable woman who deserves to be credited for all of the immeasurable effort she put into the advancement of women. In 1902, she passed away, 20 years shy of seeing her ultimate dream of gaining the right to vote as a woman turn into reality. Works Cited 1. Gottshall, Jon. “Seneca Falls, New York: The First Women’s Rights Convention July 19 & 20th, 1848.” 12 March 2014 2. “Stanton, Elizabeth Stanton.” Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online 2004. 12 March 2014 http://public1.hccc.suny.edu:2128/ea-ol/static/0000013.html 3. Stanton, Elizabeth Cady. The Selected Papers of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony: In the School of Anti-Slavery, 1840-1866 (Rutgers: Rutgers University Press, 1997). 4. Waggenspack, Beth M. The Search for Sovereignty: The Oratory of Elizabeth Cady Stanton (Greenwood Press, 1989).

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