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The Fight for Women’s Rights

Women gathered in New York 175 years ago to fight for equality. They changed the course of history.

Imagine your class was choosing a president and girls weren’t allowed to vote. It may be hard to believe, but that’s how national elections worked early in America’s history. Voting was one of the many rights that only White men had at the time.

Over the years, small groups of women spoke out about the unfair treatment. But the issue didn’t get nationwide attention until 1848, after a meeting in Seneca Falls, New York.

“This convention was the first public meeting of its kind,” says Janine Waller. She works at the Women’s Rights National Historical Park. “It was dedicated solely to the rights of women.”

The meeting set the stage for the women’s suffrage movement.

Not Equal

One of the organizers was Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Her father was a lawyer and a judge. Stanton often helped out in his office. But she was frustrated that she could never become a lawyer herself. 

“She couldn’t have the job she wanted or really be the person she wanted,” Waller says.

Back then, few women worked outside the home and most colleges didn’t accept women. And, under the law, women could not own any property.

“Anything a woman had didn’t belong to her—books, clothes, jewelry all belonged to her nearest male relative,” Waller explains.

Making a Statement

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Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Stanton was tired of being treated unfairly and knew other women were too. In 1848, she teamed up with activist Lucretia Mott and three others to plan a meeting.

The two-day gathering started on July 19, 1848. About 300 people—including many men—showed up. Stanton read a statement she had helped write called the Declaration of Sentiments. It was modeled after a famous document—the Declaration of Independence. It included a list of resolutions that spelled out many of the rights that women were denied. 

People agreed with nearly everything Stanton said. But one item caused a stir. When she said that women should be able to vote, some people were shocked and angry.

Stanton got support from the only Black person invited to the meeting. Frederick Douglass was a formerly enslaved man who had become an activist. He said that without the right to vote, women would not be able to change unfair laws. In the end, 100 people signed the Declaration of Sentiments. 

More Work to Do

Word spread about what took place in Seneca Falls. Some people didn’t take the meeting seriously. But over the following decades, the fight continued. Women of all ages, races, and backgrounds organized meetings, wrote to their lawmakers, and protested. 

In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was approved. Women in the U.S. were granted the right to vote. Words Stanton spoke at Seneca Falls were finally coming true.

“The right is ours. Have it we must. Use it we will.” 

Words for Women

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Inspired by the Declaration of Independence, the Declaration of Sentiments called for equality for women. Here are some key passages.

 

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal. . . . [1]

The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations [2] on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny [3] over her. . . . [4]

He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable [5] right to the elective franchise. [6]

He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice. [7]

 

[1] This is based on the most famous phrase in the Declaration of Independence. The big difference is the addition of the words and women.

[2] usurpations: things taken away from someone 

[3] tyranny: unfair treatment by people in power 

[4] The Declaration of Independence mentions unfair treatment by King George III of England. This talks about the unjust power men had over women.

[5] inalienable: impossible to take away or give up 

[6] Women wanted the right to "elective franchise," or the right to vote.

[7] Women were expected to obey laws, but had no say in choosing the leaders who made them. 

  1. What is the main idea of the section “Not Equal”?
  2. Which of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s resolutions caused a stir?
  3. Based on the sidebar, “Words for Women,” describe two similarities between the Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of Sentiments.
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