Summary Of Ohio Women's Convention By Sarah Stickney Ellis

Abigail Adams’s Letter to John Adams and Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Declaration of Sentiments of the Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention are two historical works that voiced the desired rights of American women during the 17th and late 18th centuries. Both Stanton’s and Adams’s arguments succeed at bringing attention to the lack of rights women received compared to their male counterparts. However, Stanton’s and Adams’s argumental approaches in their works differed immensely in the sense that in her work, Stanton listed the rights declared in the Declaration of Independence that excluded women showcasing the inequality between men and women at the time, whereas in her writing, Adam’s used religion, logic, and the threat of rebellion in

The entire Women’s Movement in the United States has been quite extensive. It can be traced back to 1848, when the first women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. After two days of discussions, 100 men and women signed the Declaration of Sentiments. Drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, this document called for equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women. This gathering set the agenda for the rest of the Women’s Movement long ago (Imbornoni). Over the next 100 years, many women played a part in supporting equal treatment for women, most notably leading to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which allowed women the right to vote.

The origin of the women’s rights movement traces back many years to the Seneca Falls Convention. The proposal for Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s “Declaration of Sentiments” occurred at this convention in New York in July 1848. Stanton, along with Lucretia Mott, entertained the idea of such an event during the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840. These two women were told that they could not partake in the convention based solely on gender. After African Americans had finally been granted their right to vote, women felt it was unfair that they still could not participate during elections.

One key sentiment that the attendees of the Seneca Falls convention detailed, was “He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice.” This sentient is significant because it drew attention to the submissive state of women. The women were expected to submit to laws that she had no voice in or the ability to format the laws in way that would benefit them. The men were primarily benefited by laws and it hindered the women’s ability to succeed in a role outside of the home. Stating that women had no voice, showed how it had become a man’s world where they were the speakers of the people and could make decisions, as they know best. The resolution to this sentiment, is giving women their inalienable rights to actively participate in meetings regarding law making and giving them access to the elective franchise.

An example of this push could be found in a petition to a Massachusetts legislature in 1753 as it is stated “...On every principle of natural justice, as well as by the nature of our institutions, she is as fully entitled as man to vote and to be eligible to office… she is entitled to a voice in fixing the amount of taxes and the use of them, when collected, and is entitled to a voice in the laws that regulate punishment” (Document F). This quote refers to the idea of no taxation without equal representation within the Declaration of Independence and the Seneca Falls Convention in New York in 1848, as it centered around the idea that women should be able to vote. Women were also able to take a stance in promoting and gaining equal rights even if it took a backseat to other issues and was the lingering in the background. An example of this would be when Dorothea Dix sought to create change within this nation through a series of national reports on those in prisons and insane asylums. Dorothea Dix advocated improving the conditions within jails, prisons, and insane asylums as well as pin responsibility, of the individuals within the institutions, on the federal government. Her reports showed the public that insanity was a disease of the mind rather than created by one’s own will. She also reported on how many of those with mental issues were

The 19th Amendment guarantees a vote for women in the United States of America, but how did this constitutional change happen? Many females prior to this accomplishment faced struggles from external forces that denied their rights and capabilities. Feminism and equal rights were and still are prominent in American society. In order to provide women of the future what is rightfully theirs, women during the 1700s have taken control of their opinions and used their strong-will to make the necessary changes in American society. During the Seneca Falls Convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton exclaimed in her address, “The right is ours. The question now is: how shall we get possession of what rightfully belongs to us,” (Stanton). The leaders, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott of the Seneca Falls Convention, along with other female leaders, displayed civil disobedience, provided powerful lectures, and organized conventions that gave a new perspective on gender equality.

Led by a fair number of women, the Second Great Awakening opened new possibilities for women. The idea that women were subordinate to men was slowly becoming a thing of the pass. Women broke the social norm and began to lead reform movements in order to gain rights. The Grimké sisters regularly spoke to coed audiences about abolitionist efforts in order to gain support and spread the idea of abolition (Pastoral Letter to the Liberator, 1837). However, women didn’t fully receive equal legal status and rights until the mid-nineteenth century. The Seneca Falls Convention ultimately paved the way for women’s rights and the Declaration of Sentiments proposed “women’s equality in everything from education and employment to legal rights and voting”(Hewitt, Lawson

While there is no evidence of which view point The Federalist Party and the Anti-Federalist Party had when it came to the issue of women’s rights, the book, The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John jay, and Ian’ Shapiro, shows that even though the debate over the Constitution did not address women’s political roles and interests directly, it certainly shaped early American debates about women’s rights.” (The Federalist Papers, pg 535) The book also states that “the major proto-feminists of the era took account of Anti-Federalists concerns in a variety of ways, but they all ultimately supported the political arguments of the Federalists”. (The Federalist Papers, pg 535)

Back in the mid 1800’s the first women’s convention was initiated by Elizabeth Stanton, along with others who founded the Women’s Suffrage Movement. After attending an World Anti-Slavery Society meeting, where the women were required to sit is a separate area away from the men, the women decided that they were little better than slaves and decided to do something about it. (Pearson, 2017)

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).

Prior to this time period woman were expected to follow rule of man and had little to no rights, unlike men. The Seneca Falls convention was an event that changed this. Declaration of Sentiments proclaimed, “He has created a false public sentiment, by giving to the world a different code of morals for men and women,” (Seneca Falls 305) Somewhere along the way of creating America the roles of a gender were created and misinterpreted. This is saying that women are equal to men and can do everything men cannot and that it is not morally wrong for this to occur. Support for women’s rights came from important funding documents such as the Declaration of Independence. Declaration of Sentiments expressed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights;” (Seneca Falls 304) This quote explains that the Declaration of Independence is in support of women’s rights. No man should be greater than women and vice versa. The reform grows in size and significance because as soon as one person speaks up others feel as though they can as well. Many events were significant to the reform impulse but slaver and women’s rights are two that stand

The creation and advancement of the United States national government sparked recognition by women to understand the importance of and wanting the right to vote. Women’s rights and the reform movement were a contentious request at best. Not until 1848 did an organized convention occur that would later serve as a building block towards women’s rights advancements in the future. The United States was governed by all men who already had an opinion of what a women’s place in society should be, in the home, and the issue of women’s rights was

In 1921, women were granted suffrage, but suffragists were still hungry for more. Knowing that the right to vote would not eliminate sex discrimination in America, Alice Paul wrote the Equal Rights Amendment to step closer to equality. After half a century of struggle, women in America are still fighting for rights that men were given to when they were born. Even though women are just as intelligent, capable and hardworking as men, if not more, they are not considered an equal under the U.S. Constitution. Can you believe that today, in the 21st century, we still degrade women and treat them as inferiors to men? Can you believe that just because you are a woman, you are less than equal to the male population? Look around you, all those boys and girls are not equal to each other under our “just” country’s laws. As it is long overdue, the Equal Rights Amendment should be ratified because there is no other amendment that talks about sex discrimination, it would eliminate any inequality in regards to sex, and it would make the judicial stance on sex discrimination cases much clearer.

(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

The second argument, on women being too emotional and sentimental to be able to vote objectively, is dismantled because men, even political leaders, express the same emotions that could cloud the judgment of important decisions. Next, with the third argument, Blackwell explains how gender is not connected to the rights given to citizens. With the final argument, on how growing feminist and suffrage groups would destroy the home image and marital relationship, Blackwell presents the following statement, “We believe that woman’s ballot will strengthen the power of the home, and sustain the dignity and sacredness of marriage.” The central idea Blackwell was trying to convey was that women are on the same level as men, mentally and emotionally, as well as the fact that allowing women basic civil rights would not jeopardize the future of the nation, if not improve it. As stated by Blackwell, “Is there any equally good reason why no account should be taken of the opinions of women?” The truth is, there was no adequate answer to why women could not participate in society with the principals written out in the United States’ original, outdated Constitution. These weightless allegations against women’s suffrage proved nothing but the great divide between genders present at the time.