Women 's Oppression During The Land Of The Free

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.

During the Age of Enlightenment in the late eighteenth century, Mary Wollstonecraft presented a radical essay, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, that shed light on the largest, underrepresented groups of the time, women. The essay voiced the inequalities women at the time faced and called upon Wollstonecraft’s audience to invoke a revolution for the rights of women. Through her writing, she presented a compelling argument that slowly allowed women to question their “place” in society and demand change to the British social order. While these changes did not happen quickly, her work sparked the feminist movements through its unique message and called upon women to demand equality through the Match Girls Strike and Women’s Suffrage

Primarily, the Declaration was the main source of inspiration for social change towards women. The very structure of the Declaration and the very language of it saying that “all men are created equal” led to future movements for women's rights. For example, although 50 years out of the given time period, the Seneca Falls Convention was the first major event in US history where women’s rights were presented and stood up for by using the Declaration for a basis of argument (those at the convention rewrote the Declaration but wherever the word “men” was they replaced it with “men and women”). Arguments for the basis of women’s rights also came from within the given time period as shown by the drawing of a Patriot Woman holding a musket standing outside of a fort that has the English flag waving on it signifying the belief that women can fight for their country just as well as men can [Doc. A]. In addition, women of the time period expressed their displeasure at their lack of rights as Molly Wallace says “what then must my situation be, when my sex, my youth and inexperience all conspire to make tremble at the task at which I have undertaken?” in reference to women’s inability to gain an education. Therefore by the arguments presented, one can see that the American Revolution era was the starting point in which ideas for social change, especially towards women’s equality, was the inspiration for future events and changes in American

The eighteenth century brought about a great deal of change and a new-found interest in science and reason. Because of this, many great inventions, ideas and innovative theorists arose from this time period. Among them was a forward-thinking essayist by the name of Mary Wollstonecraft. In her book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Wollstonecraft preaches her belief that the oppression of women is largely due to lack of female education. Although the term "feminism" wasn’t coined until decades later, Wollstonecraft paved the way for future women’s rights movements by advocating equality in education for women. She believed men and women should be equal in the very basic aspects of life, such as in loyalty in marriage. Wollstonecraft

There are many important documents in history that have influenced the lives of women today, but possibly none more important than the “Declaration of Sentiments” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The declaration was able to make an extremely strong and memorable impact, not only for the ideas presented in it, but also for its strong rhetoric and use of figurative language such as anaphora and syntax; also, notable is its imitation of the “Declaration of Independence”. Though written over one hundred years ago, the declaration written at the Seneca Falls Convention addressing women’s rights has made influences still felt today including but not limited to the right to vote, gender equality in the eyes of the law, and even just simple things such as women wearing pants or the confidence of young girls.

In the Declaration of Independence it states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit

The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 in gave reasons why the United States believed its relationship with Britain could no longer work. The Declaration’s language appealed to enlightenment ideals and liberty rhetoric: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Declaration of Independence). Unfortunately, these rights were not given to women, the modern interpretation of this passage gives these rights to both men and women. Once Elizabeth Cady Stanton published her writings, Declaration of Sentiments, it received backlash from men. James Gordon Bennett wrote an article in New York’s Herald criticizing it. “The sentiments and doctrines

She was a mother, a moral and political philosopher, a writer, and a feminist. Mary Wollstonecraft was the ideal image of what represented the push towards modern feminism. Some may even consider her as the founding mother of modern feminism itself. Much of Wollstonecraft’s literature is influenced by her own life experiences. In 1785, Wollstonecraft took on an employment opportunity as a governess. While spending most of her time there, she had a moment of epiphany where she realized that she was not suited for domestic work. Soon after, she returned to London and became a translator and wrote for a well-known publisher and discovered her love of writing. Eventually, years later she was then able to publish her most notable work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is still a very popular book which can be seen as a guide to becoming a better citizen and understanding feminism in a critical context. This essay will argue that Mary Wollstonecraft is still relevant to the feminist cause today as her views portrayed in her book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman are still relatable to many of the feminist issues that currently exist around the world. This essay will do so by comparing how her views in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman can still be used as guiding principles to tackle feminist matters.

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 Declaration of Independence was the being drafted by members of the Continental Congress when Abigail Adams wrote her letter to her husband, John Adams. Abigail was requesting that her John “Remember the Ladies” while they were composing the document. Specifically, she was pushing for the rights of women to be included in the document. Abigail wanted women to have their own independence and power to make choices choice’s in matters such as politics, religion, education, and finance. She wanted women’s influence to reach beyond the boundaries of the home, and offer women the right to vote, and to have and control their own money. These are privileges that were not extended to women at that time. Abigail was asking for the same voice

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.

When writing “A Vindication of the Rights of Men”, Wollstonecraft was a woman in a “man’s world”. Her voice was a lone female amongst the opinions and politics of men and she “went up against two of the

Rousseau's views on women's equality was that women needed men more than men needed them so men could treat them however they desired. Mary Wollstonecraft believed that men and women deserved equal rights, but she asked for women to become educated. With the Declaration of Independence being released it also inspired many other political pieces of literature to be published. Mary Wollstonecraft wrote the Vindication of the Rights of Women.

The later half of the 19th century brought with it the rise of women demanding equal rights and fairer treatment. This movement was inspired by the continuous oppression of women as non equals to me. Life from before the 19th to after women got what they wanted was a lot different then before. Women were mistreated in every aspect of life. At home women were abused and treated as objects to their husbands, which they owed absolute obedience to no matter what.

Mary Wollstonecraft, who was born during the age of enlightenment in the 18th century, is one of the most prominent feminists in women’s history. Her book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman led her to become one of the first feminists, advocating for the rights of women. Born in a time where women’s education was neither prominent nor important, Wollstonecraft was raised with very little education. However, events in her life influenced her to begin writing, such as the way her father, Edward John Wollstonecraft treated her mother, “into a state of wearied servitude” (Kries,Steven)1. In 1792, she published Vindication on the Rights of Woman, which is one of the most prominent feminist pieces to date. This book is considered a reply to