Women's Equality Effectiveness

Equality is something that is important to all women and always has been. Women began standing up and speaking out against inequality when they had little to no rights, and have continued to do so to get to where equality is today. This all started with the women’s rights movement that formed during the reform period. But, how effective was this movement? Well, it brought women together through views and opinions to configure the women’s rights movement. The first women’s rights convention accelerated several other conventions that gave women a voice. The planning of those conventions initiated the creation of the Declaration of Sentiments. During the reform movement, the efforts made towards women’s rights were effective because of women’s

Before the women’s rights movement gained momentum, women were treated unfairly, so they united together to fight for their rights. During the nineteenth century, women lacked many basic, human rights and were often belittled by men because it was believed they could not be as superior as them. Women were discriminated in law, religion, education, politics, and professions (Finkelman 405). Unfortunately, there is a lengthy list of rights women didn’t obtain. Once the reform movement began, however, abolitionist women realized their rights could be compared to those of slaves, and a few bold women decided to do something about the inequality of men and women (Finkelman 405). What these ladies decided to do, of course, was start the women’s rights movement. A few of these brave women who spoke out were Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony. Stanton formed a friendship with Anthony and their two distinct personalities did so much to further the women’s rights movement (Schmittroth and McCall 246). Their differing personalities allowed them to work efficiently, for example, “Anthony would tend to

After reading the Declaration of Independence, the group of women organizing the Seneca Falls Convention instantly decided to base their Declaration of Sentiments on the document, and they listed eighteen grievances felt by women. The Declaration of Independence statement “all men are to be created equal” was rewritten on their own Declaration of Sentiments to state “all men and women are to be created equal” (Benson). The primary message of the Declaration of Sentiments was that women had lost their self-confidence and self respect due to their lack of rights and dependence on men (Benson). The declaration “was followed by a list of resolutions, demanding that women be allowed to speak in public, be accorded equal treatment under the law, receive equal education, receive equal access to trades and professions, have equality in marriage, have the right to sue and be sued and to testify in court, and have guardianship over children. It also demanded that women be granted the right to vote (called suffrage)” (Benson). When the Declaration of Sentiments was acknowledged at the Seneca Falls Convention, attendees voted and every resolution passed except for the right to vote, which was only approved by a small amount of people. Therefore, the efforts made to write the Declaration of Sentiments were effective in contributing to