Declaration Of Sentiments Analysis

During the late 1700’s, the colonies in America were upset and resentful of the British tyranny. In order to make the separation between the two groups official, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. Two hundred years later, women were facing the same injustice, only it was from men; and to protest against the unfair treatment, Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions. Both parties of oppression fought against the same outcome, unjust treatment, yet, each fought against different causes and in different ways.

famous at the first Woman’s Rights Convention, held in Seneca Falls, New York, in July

The Declaration of Sentiments is modeled after the Declaration of Independence because they are both have the same wording, and they cover the same concepts but it is directed toward women wanting their rights. For instance, the Declaration of Independence states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal" (Declaration of Independence). This statement from the Declaration of Independence shows that they wanted freedom, and they thought that all men were created equal. The Declaration of Independence never says anything about women being equal, and that is exactly what the Declaration of Sentiments is about. The Declaration of Sentiments says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and

The declaration states that men have had "absolute tyranny" over women throughout all of history, and it is this idea that has prevented the progression of women's abilities an talents.1 The declaration continues to say that women have been robbed of their inalienable rights, rights to hold property, representation in government, an education, job opportunities, and many other rights that have only been applicable to men in the past.2 The ideas and concepts suggested in the Seneca Falls Declaration evoked strong feelings of equality among women, and it also sparked anger amongst men.

In the Declaration of Sentiments, author Elizabeth Cady Stanton expresses her anger of the oppression experienced by women in the United States. After being rejected to attend the World’s Anti-Slavery convention in London, Stanton was frustrated because she was being rejected for being a woman. This motivated Stanton to share her own ideas on advocating women’s rights and changing the way women are treated in society because of the mistreatment done to her, as well as many women across the nation waiting for their voices to be heard. Stanton parallels the Declaration of Sentiments with the Declaration of Independence by using laws that the male population regarded as righteous and including how it had negative effects on over half the American population. This put into question male authority and supremacy, creating a more concrete argument by revealing what men already have under the law, to what women should have. The sophistication of the Declaration of Sentiments to a document that the U.S. government values highly, threatens the values of the U.S. by making women’s rights a more pressing issue. The Declaration of Sentiments targeted the U.S. government and the population by appealing to their own opinions and beliefs in order to recognize that women were being treated like second-class citizens. Although the Declaration of Sentiments never made a significant impact on the

The opening paragraph of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Declaration of Sentiments, which narrates, “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary…,” (Stanton 1), along with the title itself reveals a connection to Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote the declaration after being excluded from the World Anti-Slavery convention, much like how the colonists were excluded from British Parliament. Declaration of Sentiments lists the grievances of women, which is another similarly to Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence where he lists the grievances of the colonists. Stanton introduced her Declaration of Sentiments at the Seneca Falls Convention, which further conveys similarity to Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence as his Declaration of Independence was introduced at the Second Continental Congress. Stanton, modeling her Declaration of Sentiments after Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence, uses anaphora, the rhetorical triangle, allusions, personification, and harsh diction to achieve her effect of inspiring change to the benefit of women in society, similar to how Thomas Jefferson inspired change in the colonies through his Declaration of Independence.

In a similar manner to the slaves, women were motivated by the beliefs preached in camp meetings and churches during the Second Great Awakening. Due to the amount of free time the women had, they attended these churches more often than men, allowing them to absorb the ideas from the sermons. These women not only became motivated to fight for the rights of slaves, but also for their own since human freedom was one of the essential ideas of the Second Great Awakening. During the international anti-slavery convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were denied the right to participate just because of their genders. With the ideas of the Second Great Awakening in their minds, they created the Women’s Right Convention in Seneca Falls, where they wrote the Declaration of Sentiments that listed all of the ways in which males have wronged them by denying equality to them. It marked the beginning of a long struggle to gain equality between men and women. Among the many things that they wanted to have equality in was divorce, inheritance, property, and children. Therefore, the concept of freedom for all Americans from the Second Great Awakening triggered a movement to give women freedom from the bonds of men by means of equality.

Home life for women, however, was not as pleasant as society portrayed it. Once married, any property that the woman owned went to her husband, not only this but women could not vote. In society, it was acceptable for men to beat their wives as long as they were using a reasonable instrument, about 10 percent of women avoided marriage because they did not want to face the cruelty of men and lose their land. In a way, women of the 19th century could be compared to black slaves and when slaves gained their freedom, women started taking stand for their own rights. Their main goal was to earn suffrage, the right to vote. With the right to vote they would have a say in the presidents and would be able to fight against their abusive husbands. Famous women’s rights leaders were Elizabeth C. Stanton, Amelia Bloomer, and Susan B. Anthony, Stanton held the first feminist convention in Seneca Falls, New York. Here, they demanded rights regarding suffrage, divorce, property rights, and equal wages. The Declaration of Sentiments, shown in document 7, was written by Stanton at Seneca Falls convention. Seen through her claims, women felt they should have the same rights as men and, since they also payed taxes, should be represented in the government. The Declaration of Sentiments stated that all men and women are created equal, as opposed to the original declaration which

The “Declaration of Sentiments” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott stated that all men and women were created equal, therefore they both should have the inalienable rights of “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness” (Doc 1). Since both women and men were created equal, the idea of suffrage should be of one for all, not subjected to only white, Anglo-Saxon males. These inalienable rights of liberty should pertain to the right to vote. Additionally, it was questioned that since women were able to take care of their families, loving and guiding their children, why were they not allowed the freedom to vote (Doc 6). This poem by Herman Paley discussed the idea of how various women throughout history “gave” the United States their leaders, then they should also have the right to

Of all the issues that were in the middle of reformation mid 1800’s, antislavery, education, intemperance, prison reform, and world peace, women’s rights was the most radical idea proposed. The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 was a rally held by Elizabeth Cady Stanton with the common goal to eventually achieve equal rights among all citizens. Frederick Douglass, who became an acclaimed activist in the African American Equal Rights movement, accompanied the movement. Moreover, The Declaration of Sentiments was a document that reflected the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, reiterating the sentiment from the Bible that “all men [and women] are created equal.” Concurrent to the publication of this document, for the first time, women insisted that they were men’s equals in every way. The Declaration of Sentiments was pivotal in Women’s history, although it was not given credit until the late 20th century. However, immediately after the Declaration of Sentiments was published, women and activist groups were inspired to take action towards rights for all underprivileged American citizens. The convention took place in a small town in upstate New York, which was home to four of the five people who organized the gathering. (DuBois, 1999, p. 45) This was the first time female equality was discussed in a public place. The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 was one of the most important events in women’s rights history.

In 1848 a group of women met at the Seneca Falls Convention in New York and began to formulate a demand for the enfranchisement of American women (Women’s Suffrage, 2011). Elizabeth Cady Stanton composed the Declaration of Sentiments, modeled after the Declaration of Independence, stating that “a man should not withhold a woman's rights, take her property or refuse to allow her to vote” (Kelly, 2011, para.3 ). The convention participants spent two days arguing and refining the content of the Declaration of Sentiments, then voted on its contents; the document received support from about one third of the delegates in attendance. The Seneca Falls Convention was not a resounding success, but it “represented an important first step in the evolving campaign for women’s rights” (Tindall & Shi, 2010, p.374, para.1).

She modeled her Declaration of Sentiments after the Declaration of Independence. The first line of the Declaration of Sentiments and the Declaration of Independence only differed in two words, “and women”. At the convention, the women signed their names on the document. As one of the youngest signers to the Declaration of Sentiments, Charlotte Woodward became the only signer to see her dream come alive at the ballot box. To discourage the women from taking any further actions, newspapers across the country published and ridiculed the Declaration and its signers. Embarrassed by the bad publicity, several women decided to withdraw their name. However, most women were still willing to fight for their cause. The tea party on that hot summer afternoon started an ongoing fight for women’s equality.

She married Leonce not because she loved him but because she could not refuse his admiration and persistence. This marriage thrusts Edna into a foreign culture. She questions her role as a mother because she is different from the typical Creole "mother-woman." Edna defies the central perception that women are mothers first

I have recently acquired and read The Declaration of Sentiments, and I found the interest of telling you the three grievances I found most important and least important about the declaration. I will start by listing the three most important grievances, followed by listing the three least important grievances of the document.

(Goldfield, 338) Since the cult of domesticity was making women inferior to men, women decided to do as the slaves did and fight for their own freedom. The women’s rights movement began in the mid-1800s. Female and male abolitionist found it necessary that women should be able to have the same rights as men. Just because biologically they are different, it does not mean they do not deserve the same rights. Women were denied the right to vote, property and a right to an education or job. (Goldfield, 338) At first the women’s movement was slow. Many women were afraid to speak out in fear of being shunned by their community. This was a brand new scary task that Women for the first time were going to deal with. A women speaking out against the norms of society was seen as a terrible thing to do. When you have many women speaking out for the same thing a change must be done. When the first national convention for women’s rights was called in Seneca Falls, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott were able to successfully use the Declaration of Independence as a model for their own Declaration of Sentiments. (Goldfield, 339) In their Declaration they branded that “male patriarchy as the source of women’s oppression” (Goldfield, 339) Stanton and Mott called for full women’s rights and to become independent citizens. Although the fight for women’s rights was always an important issue, most abolitionists deemed it less important