Women's Rights Movement

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The women’s rights movements are no surprise to the public today. The movement of women’s rights started back as early as the 1800’s. One of the first women to start rioting against the government was a woman named Lucretia Mott. She and her friend Elizabeth Cady Stanton attended the 1840 World Anti Slavery Convention in London. They had to sit in the balcony and watch on as the debate between men started. They were so offended they started to rebel. This is where women all across the country started to follow. This was the beginning of the women’s rights movement. The women's rights movement was a spawn of the abolition movements. Many people supported the reforms, women’s right movement and abolition movements. Several women and…show more content…
An infamous abolitionist, also former slave, Fredrick Douglass attended and spoke at the 1848 Convention. The movement's early leaders began to fight for social justice with the cause of the slaves. They learned from the Anti-Slavery Societies how to organize, publicize and articulate a political protest. It wasn’t long before they saw that many of the men who opposed slavery were also opposed to women playing active roles, or taking speaking parts in abolitionist movement. The numerous attempts to silence all women at Anti-Slavery Conventions, in the US and England, led directly to Elizabeth Cady Stanton's and Lucretia Mott's decision to hold the first Woman's Rights Convention. One of the articles proclaimed that women were in some sense slaves of society as well. (Anti-Slavery Connection.) Both movements promoted expansions of the American promise of liberty and equality to all, including African Americans and to all women. While the women’s rights movement and the abolitionist…show more content…
All 300 participants spent July 19th and 20th arguing, refining, and voting on the Declaration of Sentiments. Most of the resolutions received unanimous support from men and women. The Declaration of Sentiments was signed in 1848 by 68 women and 32 men. They were the delegates to the first women's rights convention, in Seneca Falls, New York. The main author of the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments was Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It followed the form of the United States Declaration of Independence. According to the North Star, a newspaper published by Frederick Douglass, put forward the document as the "grand basis for attaining the civil, social, political, and religious rights of women." At a time in history when traditional roles were still very much in place, the Declaration caused much controversy. Many people respected the courage and abilities behind the making of the document, but were unwilling to abandon their conventional mindsets. An article in the Oneida Whig, published soon after the convention, described the document as "the most shocking and unnatural event ever recorded in the history of woman." Many newspapers insisted that the Declaration was drafted at the expense of women's more appropriate duties. They didn’t think a duty of women was to vote and have a say in society, they expected

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