How Did Elizabeth Cady Stanton Influence The Women's Rights Movement

The nineteenth century began on January 1st, 1801, and ended on December 31st, 1900. The nineteenth century was a period characterized by social turmoil. It was a revolutionary period of human and civil rights changes. The nineteenth century was a time of immense change in America! During this century, slavery ran rampant, and women's rights were little to non-existent. However, this particular individual, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, would initiate the first wave of a movement that would change the course of history forever.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born on November 12th, 1815. Fortunately, she could study law under her father, who was a member of the US house of representatives. However, while studying law, she became aware of discriminatory

Oxford Language Dictionary defines influential as 'having a significant influence on someone or something.' That is what describes Stanton's voice and words. At the Seneca Falls Woman's Rights convention, Stanton introduced the declaration of sentiments, which detailed the subordinate status of women compared to men. This declaration woke women up to the injustices they faced and joined them in the women's rights movement. Stanton then went on campaigning across the country with well known women's rights activist Susan B Anthony; to advocate for women's suffrage, liberal divorce laws, and legal rights for women in marriage as well as advocate for an extension of the fifteenth amendment that would give women the right to vote. Advocating across the country led to Stanton's famous "our girls" speech in the winter of 1880, in which she said, "I would have girls regard themselves not as adjectives but as nouns, not mere appendages made to qualify somebody else" In this speech, Stanton spoke out against the issue of dress reform and the traditional gender roles as well as argued women's rights given to them by

Simply because although she has done many things in the kick start of feminism with her intention in the right place, her actions and tactics seemed racially driven and did not show genuine support of the abolitionist movement she claimed she "supported." Her actions and tactics are one of the main reasons why people try to belittle Stanton's impact on the first wave of feminism because she was ignorant of the rights of lower-class women and let her emotions get in the way of her not celebrating a win for the abolitionist movement because her movement had not received that same win as the men who were considered lower class. However, besides Stanton's racial tactics, she did begin the initial wave of feminism. As humans we tend to overlook all the good someone has done because of something bad they said. I genuinely don't believe that Stanton wholeheartedly meant to do what she did in terms of the tactics she used, I think it just came down to her lack of knowledge in her actions in that particular area and how her point of view had the power to change the way people viewed her. .She held conventions, wrote declarations, advocated across the country, wrote and said speeches on behalf of women and even wrote books. She might not have carried the entire movement, but she is an integral part of the movement and a piece of the puzzle of how women got where we are