In 1776, the founding fathers faced the question, "How will we liberate our country?" In 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton faced the question, "How will I liberate my fellow women?" A leader of the blossoming Women's Rights Movement, Elizabeth Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions-a document enumerating the injustices done to women and how to solve them-during the antebellum period. In the antebellum period, discussions of rights were occurring because of the rising abolition movement; including discussions of the rights, or lack of, for women. Stanton hoped to incite guilt and courage from her audience by using the structure and lines of the Declaration of Independence which the American people coveted. Stanton advocated for women to fight for their rights "by every righteous means." Her first mean was making her Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions nearly identical …show more content…
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. Yet, men in America “has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice.” Women had no suffrage because of the government, just like men did under King George III. The comparisons in the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions could have forced some men to evaluate their actions and fight with women instead of against them. Stanton did achieve this as thirty-two men signed her
The Comparison of Two Declarations Thomas Jefferson and Elizabeth Cady Stanton fought for what they believed; which was being free and equal from unjust rule or unjust laws. In the “Declaration of Independence” By Thomas Jefferson; Jefferson writes about his concerns about current Government ruled by the King of Great Britain in the United States and proceeds to list conflicts that many people face in the United States due to the King’s unjust treatment towards its citizens. In the end of the essay he persuades that the United States should separate from the rule of Great Britain. In another essay written like the “Declaration of Independence” comes the “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, in Stanton’s essay she writes about issues that women face towards unjust laws. These laws were to prohibit and limit a women’s rights due to the fact they are married to their spouse; an example of these laws was “denied... the facilities for obtaining a through education” (149) to clarify this quotation women weren’t allowed to receive an education due to being married.
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
But “Stanton” put forward the “Declaration of Sentiments document in the American woman’s suffrage movement” to put forth unity between both sexes in allowing “women to
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”.
This document was also the very first time that women gathered to fight for their independence. Regardless of the disapproval women received, this document allowed women to make progress for their independence. Declaration of Sentiments was a turning point for women’s rights, which is a significant issue still discussed today in America. Another way Stanton’s article is significant is the format of the document. It was based on the Declaration of Independence.
Stanton believed that a public protest of women’s right was the next step to get equality for women’s legal position. By this belief, Stanton tried to make a draft of “Declaration of Right and Sentiments”, which she modeled after the “Declaration of Independence”. In this declaration, Stanton demanded moral, economic and political equality for women. With her friends, Stanton was able to hold the first women’s right convention on 19-20 July 1848 at Stanton house in Seneca Falls, New York. That is why; the convention is called Seneca Falls Convention.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a woman who was denied entry to the World Anti-Slavery Movement because she was a woman. After being denied entry, Stanton realised that women should have just as many rights as men, including women’s suffrage (History.com Staff). When men and women are compared, neither one is greater than the other. We are all equal. Stanton shared the same views stating that we are all equal.
Lucretia Mott was an official delegate that was supposed to speak at the world anti-slavery convention in London but she was revoked from these privileges because she was a woman. This upset Mott but, it lit a fire in her when she met Elizabeth Stanton because she was a modern feminist. The both of them decided to write “The Declaration of Sentiments” because they wanted gender equality. They saw how many of the women's unalienable rights were taken away due to men thinking they were more important. Stanton and Mott admits, “She had no voice”(2).
The declaration essentially mocked the Declaration of Independence saying that all men and women were created equally. Even though they never experienced change in their rights, Mott and Stanton made a huge mark on history, changing women's rights forever. Of all the people who signed the Declaration of Sentiment, Charlotte Woodward was the only one who actually got to experience improved rights. Women would not have the same rights they do today if the fight for women's rights never
Her uncommon background did not detract from her beliefs and principles, rather they served to edify her. Stanton used her knowledge in penning the Declaration of Sentiments to decry men’s disenfranchisement of women, arguing for equality of rights for both
From the Collections book, an essay called, "Declaration of Sentiments" written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, point out how women are treated compare to men. She said, "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal" (Stanton 295). Then she went on to show how women are treated by saying “The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her” (Stanton 296). To Stanton, the law does not allow women to voice their opinions, and are put down and blamed for most things. Stanton said on page 297, “He has endeavored in every way that he could, to destroy her confidence in her own powers, to lessen her self-respect, and to make her willing to lead a dependent and abject life.”
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott meet at a National Anti-Slavery Convention, which influenced them to hold a Women’s Rights Convention. In 1848 they held a national women’s rights convention, known as the Seneca Falls Convention. At the convention Elizabeth Cady Stanton created the “Declaration of Sentiments”. Proposed in the Declaration was “that all men and women are created equal”. Over 300 men and women gathered at Seneca Falls for the convention and unanimously voted for women to have the right to have equal rights as men.
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”.
“I have encountered riotous mobs and have been hung in effigy, but my motto is: Men's rights are nothing more. Women's rights are nothing less.” Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony is considered by some as the founding mother of the women’s suffrage movement in the United States. Her goal: men and women treated equally under the eyes of the law and society. The 19th Amendment in 1920 would be the culmination event for this movement, but the winds of change began blowing in 1848.
While one was meant to be seen by a single person, privately, another was meant for the public. Adams’ letter, as previously stated, was only meant to be read by her husband, who would possibly be able to include women’s liberties as part of the nation’s new freedom, asking for him to please “remember the ladies.” Stanton’s declaration, however, was intended for a larger number of people and would be read at the Seneca Falls convention. The more people that were to read Stanton’s declaration, the more people that would be able to see exactly why women should have all the rights of men. This would eventually have led to women actually acquiring these rights such as the right to vote, as the Declaration of Sentiments began a significant portion of the women’s rights