Example Essays Home
FAQ
Acceptable Use Policy
Tech Support
LOG IN!
Click HERE for Instant Access
 
This is a free preview of the paper.
Join Now
Log In
  

Women Struggles

Not ago, in the nineteenth century, the words that our forefathers wrote in the Declaration of Independence, “that all men were created equal,” held little value. Human equality was far from a reality. If you were not born of white male decent, than that phrase did not apply to you. During this period many great leaders and reformers emerged, fighting both for the rights of African Americans and for the rights of women. One of these great leaders was Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Stanton dedicated her entire life to the women’s movement, despite the opposition she received, from both her family and friends. In the course of this paper, I will be taking a critical look at three of Stanton’s most acclaimed speeches “Declaration of Sentiments”, “Solitude of Self”, and “ Home Life”, and develop a claim that the rhetoric in these speeches was an effective tool in advancing the movement as a whole. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born November 12, 1815, in Johnstown, New York. She was born unto a conservative, Presbyterian family of considerable social standing. Her father, Judge Daniel Cady, was considered to be both a wealthy landowner and a prominent citizen with great political status (Banner 3). Stanton was one of seven ch


ildren, 6 of which were girls, to be born to Daniel and Margaret. Growing up in the period that she did, Elizabeth was very fortunate to receive the outstanding education that she did since it was not as important to educate daughters as it was sons. She overcame that boundary when she began attending Johnstown Academy. She was the only girl in most of her classes, which was unheard of in those days. Even when females did attend schools, they were learning about “womanly” things, like how to run a household, not advanced math and science courses, like she was in. She then went on to further her education at a very prominent educational institution, Emma Willard’s Troy Seminary. After that she studied law with her father, who was a New York Supreme Court Judge. It is through this training that her awareness was raised about the discrimination that women were subjected to. In 1840, Elizabeth married an abolitionist organizer named Henry Stanton, much to her family’s dismay. After their marriage, Elizabeth and her husband traveled to London for a worldwide antislavery convention. It was here that she met Lucretia Mott, another well-know women’s rights reformist, who was chosen as an American delegate to the convention. They were both outraged that the female delegates that were attending this convention were denied participation because of their sex. It was at this convention that their fire was ignited and they became allies in the war against the discrimination of women’s rights. The first wave of the women’s movement is said to have begun roughly in the year 1840, and lasted through the year 1925. While the convention in London sparked the fire in 1840, it was not until 1845, that the fire was a full blaze. The signature event that is believed to be the official starting point of the women’s suffrage movement was in 1848 when a group of women met in Seneca Falls, New York (Wood 66). The Senaca Falls Convention was organized by a group of women, including Stanton, that were fed up with the mistreatment of women in the antislavery battle. They were now going to primarily place their focus on the rights of women. Consequently, the movement became almost entirely white, both in interest and membership (Wood 68). It was at this first convention that Stanton delivered the Speech the “Declaration of Sentiments” which addressed the grievances that women had suffered under the “unjust government of men”. I will go into much greater detail concerning the specifics of this speech, later in the paper. In the beginning, the women’s movement was not just a single-issue movement. Stanton realized that women were being oppressed in every aspect of their lives. Among the causes that she advocated are as follows: coeducation, girls’ sports, job training, equal wages, labor unions, birth control, cooperative nurseries and kitchens, property rights for wives, child custody rights for mothers, and reform of divorce laws (Wood 67). Many women did not find a problem with fighting for these grievances, they were, however, fearful of the suffrage issue. They felt that it was just too radical. Stanton, however, recognized the importance of the politics, due to the influence of her father, during the early years of her life. She knew that without the right to vote, or political recognition, women had little chance of advancement. Stanton and the other women like Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, and Sojourner Truth, who organized the Seneca Falls convention, had great hopes that this convention would trigger “a series of conventions embracing every part of the country.” And that is exactly what happened. Women’s rights conventions were held on a regular basis from 1850 until the start of the civil war (Gurko 27). It was after the civil war, that the movement suffered a setback. The main focus of political reform that dominated after the civil war was Black suffrage. This very much so influenced the struggle for women suffra

Some topics in this essay:
Declaration Independence, Solitude Self”DuBois, Seneca Falls, Falls Convention, Elizabeth Stanton, Britain’s King, King George, Lucretia Mott, Association Stanton, Thomas Jefferson, women’s movement, “declaration sentiments”, women’s rights, tyrannical rule, rights women, elizabeth cady stanton, women oppressed, civil war, suffrage movement, falls convention, elizabeth cady, wrote declaration independence, senaca falls convention, marriage indissoluble tie, grievances listed stanton,

Join now to see the rest of the essay!
Approximate Word count = 3262
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)


  

More Essays on Women Struggles


Professional Papers:
Women ampamp Family ampamp Work878 words
Womenamp39s Role in the Middle East2406 words
AMERICAN EDUCATION: OPPORTUNITIES AND STRUGGLES1442 words
The Women and Men of Brewster Place2140 words
Cultural ampamp Literary Portraits of Jewish Women5528 words
Cultural ampamp Literary Portraits of Jewish Women5538 words



Student Written Papers:
Womenamp39s Struggles With Men And God1980 words
Struggles792 words
Sexual Harassment448 words
Descent into Madness803 words
American Women in Society1297 words

Look at even more essays on Women Struggles
More Politics Essays

Join Now
(Credit Card)
Join Now
(Online Check)
Join Now
(Phone 1-900)



CUSTOMER SERVICES




Acceptance Essays
Arts
Custom Essays
English
Foreign
History
Miscellaneous
Movies
Music
Novels
People
Politics
Religion
Science
Sports
Technology
Book Notes

 

 


All papers are for research and references purposes only!
Copyright © 2002-2009 ExampleEssays.com DMCA
Saved Papers