Similarities Between Dubois And Judith Wellman

Dubois and Judith Wellman are both looking at the women’s right movement. Dubois discusses the leading historical reforms, meetings, and individuals that led up to the Sceneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention in 1848. Wellman looks at who the one hundred individuals were that signed the Declaration of Sentiments during The Sceneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention and why they chose to sign it. Wellman examines the connections and the networks between all of the individuals involved at the convention and what influences those connections had on the Declaration of Sentiments.
Wellman uses a variety of resources to come to conclusions on her questions presented. She uses, "census reports, local histories, genealogies, cemetery records, newspapers,

Dubois describes women originals created moral reform societies that expanded the sense of true womanhood (264). These were concerned with topics such as the sexual rights of women and were put in to place to protect virtue many of the time. The different moral reform societies set the ground floor for various movements such as the Women’s Temperance Movement in 1852, which asserted women’s power to protect their homes and livelihood, when their husbands were participating in troublesome behavior, like drinking (Dubois, 265-266). When this movement and others took hold, women became involved movements, like the abolitionist movement, which brought the women in direct conflict with the political and religious institutions during this time. The Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society in 1833, was not only important because of trying to end slavery, but it was essential ground work that pushed women in the direction of obtaining their rights (271). Women in this society asserted that the slave’s rights were being violated and in doing that, they came to the conclusion that they need to fight more hastily to gain their rights, as they had barriers to personhood too. Resulting from all of the moral reforms, temperance movements and anti-slavery women activist, many of the women reformers were led to women’s rights (Dubois, 273 Wellman, 11). Various groups who laid the foundation

These three networks were legal reformers who raised the question of political rights, abolitionists that assisted in the establishment of the Free Soil Party, and Quaker Abolitionists. These legal reformers eventually managed to get the Married Women’s Property Act in 1848, which allowed women to own their own property. The passage of this act, rationalized the more radical ideas, helping people be comfortable with radicalness of the discussions of the convention, (Wellman, 20). Another organization that helped the local people become more prepared for the convention, was the Free-Soil party where of the twenty six families that signed the declaration, eighteen were also a part of this party, (Wellman, 24). At the heart of these three networks, stood Elizabeth Cady Stanton who tied the groups together. Stanton knew champions of legal reforms, had friends and husband in the Free-Soil party, and had a devoted friendship to Loretta Mott who was involved with the Quaker as Waterloo (Wellman, 28). Stanton was the answer to why people came to the convention and the acts leading up to the convention helped rationalize the necessity of the convention, so women could gain