Since the United States declared its independence back in 1776 rich white men were seen as supreme throughout the nation. However, without the help of women, colored folk, and the Native Americans, this country would be nowhere near as successful as it is today. Despite that, a majority of rights were not guaranteed to these “minorities” and were left predominantly in the hands of the wealthier white males within the country. The Second Great Awakening was this religious revival that was based on the whole idea of moving towards a sort of perfect status. Religion, being such a large part of the culture within the states gave women as well as people of color a role in progressing the nation and served as a bit of leverage towards equality (Perfecting …show more content…
Like the Grimke sisters, Stanton first started out as an abolitionist turned women's rights activist. According to an article, Stanton was “outraged that women were denied standing at the World’s Anti-Slavery Convention” (VCU Library). From this, she set her sights on a new goal, fighting for women's equal rights. She as well as her fellow activist, Lucretia Mott, organized the Seneca Falls Convention, commonly viewed as the start of the women's rights movement. Before the meeting, Stanton had created a document known as the Declaration of Sentiments. This document was modeled directly on the Declaration of Independence and stated that women, like men, were owed their natural rights as equals in society. A line from the Declaration that encapsulates the entirety of Stanton’s beliefs is “woman is man’s equal, was intended to be so by the Creator” (Stanton). This is in regard to the equality of women when it comes to voting and politics, in the workforce, and in society as a whole. Stanton believed that men and women were one and the same and that women could do everything a man could do if it were not for the limitations set by the government. This document was then taken to the Seneca Falls Convention where she spread her ideas to activists propelling the movement
This convention was located in Stanton’s town of Seneca Falls. She drafted the Declaration of Sentiments at this time, which was the first formal statement by an American woman demanding rights based on their sex. It also set the agenda for the women’s rights movement that followed. Together both women formed several influential organizations such as,
Stanton was best known as a suffragist and civil rights activist. Stanton helped to create and organize the first women’s rights convention held in 1848, in Seneca Falls, New York. In addition, in 1863, Stanton worked with Susan B. Anthony, fellow suffragist, to create the National Women’s Loyal League, this group was created to help campaign for a constitutional amendment to end slavery. With persistent petitioning, the league significantly helped to abolish slavery and push for the thirteenth amendment. The dynamic duo, also teamed up to create the National Woman Suffrage Association.
At the Seneca Falls Convention in July 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton drafted a document, titled the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, that addressed the several issues that women faced in American society. Decades prior to the convention, founding fathers gathered together and wrote the Declaration of Independence, which became an example for the Declaration of Sentiments. Stanton modified a few words and phrases from the Declaration of Independence’s Preamble and Declaration of Natural Rights so that it would match her causes. However, her adaptation of the List of Grievances and the Resolution differed greatly from the original. I believe that Stanton’s motive for mimicking the Declaration of Independence was to take John Locke’s
However, when thought of, most people remember her contributions to the women’s rights movement. She, and other feminists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, began to realize that there were numerous similarities between slaves and women. Both were fighting to get away from the male-dominated culture and beliefs. In 1848, these women began a convention in Seneca Falls, regarding women’s rights(Brinkley 330). They believed that women should be able to vote, basing their argument on the clause “all men and women are created equal”.
The Declaration of Independence once stated “we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal” and was not true to its promise as human equality was only promised to white men. After having experienced the status as an inferior women in society, Elizabeth Cady Stanton dedicated her life to ensure that women’s roles in society would be equal to those of men’s through fighting for women’s suffrage. As a young child, Stanton was exposed to the legal boundaries that prevented women from their rights and experienced the idea that women were lesser within her own family. Her father, Daniel Cady, was a lawyer that dealt with cases involving women living with their abusive fathers and husbands, who could not be protected by
This historical and extraordinary document was drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton at the convention for the women`s rights at Seneca Falls in New York on July 19 and 20, 1848. This declaration is a political and written text, given its discursive nature It was the beginning of the feminist movement in United States. In fact, it is believed this Declaration of Sentiments to be the first wave of american feminism, the first step to get rights for women and freedom as well.
It also declared the independence of women which acted as a point of variation in the fight for gender equality that is seen even today in most of the social set ups. When Stanton listed the declaration of women independence, she expected that women would be freed from the influence of men who mistreated them. Stanton crossly asserts that women should be given rights since like men; they were also created by God. She added that God did not create man to control the woman. The document also closely examined the cases of slavery of the blacks in the United States.
Stanton knew men held the keys to the castle, to equal rights, so she needed to earn allies. Stanton's goal was to achieve equal rights for women but she could have used any structure or document to base her declaration of off. So why did she use the Declaration of Independence? Using lines from the Declaration of Independence forces men to see how sexist and hypocritical the country has been from the start. In 1776, the colonies declared independence for one of the reasons of not having a voice in government once the representative assemblies were dissolved by the king.
By emulating the Declaration of Independence and refusing to alter the etymology of the concurrent desires held by both women’s rights activists and the founding fathers throughout our history, Stanton makes us aware of the painful omission women endured from the very dreams that had been procured by men before them. Securing freedom and equality is still an issue we see today, and within this fight the documents drafted to ensure our rights have always been under
Stanton held the women 's convention in 1848, to discuss the violation of equality toward woman in anti-slavery political debates. Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments in the Methodist Church in Seneca Falls, New York, that began the women 's suffrage movement. The Declaration of Sentiments is modeled after the Declaration of Thomas Jefferson to emphasize the political, economical, and legal wrongs done towards women. In her document, The Declaration of Sentiments, Elizabeth Cady Stanton portrays the barriers that limited women 's rights and the violation of equality towards women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s document ,
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal...” --Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1848) Elizabeth Cady Stanton took a stand for women’s rights by helping to organizing the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 from July 19th to July 20th in Seneca Falls, New York. This was the first women’s rights convention, and in it, the participants discussed this issue and signed the Declaration of Sentiments; a document written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton that proclaimed that “all men and women are created equal”, because they felt that society did not treat them that way. This convention, and the Declaration of Sentiments, helped spur the Women’s Suffrage Movement into action.
Women had always been considered lesser than man, and had few rights compared to men. They were expected to stay home and nurture the family. In 1848, many women refused to allow their rights to be “compromised” and held the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. One of these women was Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She played a huge role in the women’s rights movement and became one of its founders.
Clearly, Elizabeth Stanton had to be confident to speak to crowds and to publish books with very bold ideas that supported women. During the 1870s, she traveled around the United States speaking to large crowds. The lecture she often delivered was her “Our Girls” speech, which was about the importance of education for young girls and promoted equality for women. Confidence was also displayed by her when she spoke in front of three hundred people and read the Declaration of Sentiments at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. Angered by the Bible’s statements about women serving men, she wrote “The Woman’s Bible”.(7)
Stanton states, “When the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one portion of the family of man” (Stanton 1). Stanton used this line to start her declaration as Thomas Jefferson used it in the first line of the Declaration of Independence. Using such a well trusted piece of writing that helped shaped the United States increases her credibility which helps her case in her argument. Another point in Stanton’s view, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: in that all men and women are created equal” (Stanton 1). This line starts the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, but Stanton added in “women” instead of just “men”.
Mary Schwarzer DiTomaso Seneca Falls Convention Document Quiz The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 was revolutionary for the time. A women’s rights convention that produced the historic, “A Declaration of Sentiments,” a document which contained a list of grievances over the rights that the women of the time were denied unfairly under the eyes of American law. Led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, the convention was a major step in the legal, social, and religious liberation of women (although it would be more than a century before all women were given the right to vote). Often citing Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson in the document, one of the first lines states that “all men and women are created equal (p2).”