Douglass - Analysis of 'Seneca falls declaration of independence'

Seneca Falls Declaration of Independence

The Seneca Falls Convention

The Seneca Falls Convention, which took place in Seneca Falls (N.Y.) in July 1848, was the first national women's rights convention in the history of the United States and women's rights. The idea for the convention occurred in London in 1840, when Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, who were attending a meeting of the World Anti-Slavery Society, were denied the opportunity to speak from the floor as delegates. The women left the hall where the meeting was taking place and began to discuss the fact that while they were trying to secure rights for enslaved African Americans, American women found themselves treated unequally in numerous ways. They concluded that what was needed was a national convention in which women could take steps to secure equal rights with men.

Progressive Leaders: Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Lucretia Mott

Both Stanton and Mott were progressive leaders who had been active in reform movements. Mott was a teacher who had grown up in Boston. She became a member of the Society of Friends ("Quakers") and began to travel the country, speaking on the topics of religion, peace, and the abolition of slavery. She also was an organizer of the Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women in 1837. Like Mott, Stanton and her husband were active members of the American Anti-Slavery Society. She returned to the U.S. where she began to travel and speak on women's rights.

Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions

On the first day, Stanton presented the organizer's Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions. The Seneca Falls Declaration was patterned on the Declaration of Independence that had been drafted by the colonial revolutionaries. The declaration written by T. Jotson stated that all men are created equal. The Seneca Falls Declaration held that all men and women are endowed with inalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The "Declaration of Sentiments" described 18 charges of "repeated injuries on the part of men toward women" including the denial of the right to vote and unfair laws regarding separation and divorce.

After two days of debate, 100 women and men signed the Seneca Falls Declaration.