Seneca Falls, New York, July 19-20, 1848: The Women’s Rights Convention
Introduction
The Seneca Falls Convention, which was held on July 19-20, 1848 in the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York, was referred to as the first women’s right convention. It was through this convention that an organized women’s right movement was initiated in the United States. Many historians associated the Seneca Convention as part of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s biography, owing to the fact that she was the event’s main organizer. In fact, it was only recently when the Seneca Convention was recognized by historians as a significant event in history (Lerner, 3). Consequently, it was through this recognition that the convention was acknowledged as a result of women’s increased awareness of their rights during that period. This historical event paved the way for women to express their sentiments about their right to be heard, and through the Declaration of Sentiments, they asserted “that women should have equality in every area of life: politics, the family, education, jobs, religion, and morals” (Wellman, 1).
The Seneca Falls Convention became known as a major event that initiated the women’s right movement. It was through this event that women leaders, who were supported by a number of men in their advocacy, professed the Declaration of Sentiments, which was referred to as “first public demand for women’s rights” (Tetrault, 10). The signers of the Declaration of Sentiments were determined to achieve equality by letting the people realize how women have been suffering from social and religious degradation (Wellman). For one, the idea of the 1848 convention has arisen in an event in 1840 when US women delegates to the World’s Antislavery Convention in London were denied seats by the British Abolitionists. Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Stanton, who were present during the event were displeased by the undue treatment and has since planned to protest against the discrimination on their return to their country. It was only after eight years later when the women leaders were able to pull off their plan for an equality protest, and used this event to declare their rights and sentiments. In the text of the Declaration of Sentiment reads:
equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights;
that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure
these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed (Text of the ‘Seneca’).
One thing that is noticeable about the Declaration of Sentiments was in it being tailored in an almost similar manner to that of the US Declaration of Independence (Wellman, 1). It was through this similarity with the US Declaration of Independence that women were able to paved a way for the gradual recognition of the women’s rights. Moreover, a reference to the US Declaration of Independence had been used by women to fight for their rights. Even before the Seneca Falls convention, women already made their appeal on many important issues, an example of which was their demand to have property rights, which was granted on April 1848.
However, it was the Seneca Falls Convention that considerably fetched countrywide attention about women’s rights and advocacies. The convention, which was planned by Stanton and Mott gathered a massive reporting across the country, and has gathered varied response from the people. For instance, one newspaper editor commented that the convention was an insane and ridiculous move, while there are those who expressed negative thoughts about the event. Nevertheless, there are also people who viewed the convention positively, such as the editor of the St. Louis Daily, who commented that “the flag of independence has been hoisted for the second time on this side of the Atlantic” (Wellman, 2).
The recognition of women’s equality is inevitable, as even the editor of the New York Tribune, which was the leading newspaper in the country during time sensed a feeling of uncomfortability with the concept of women's equality. However, he also acknowledged the logic behind the Declaration of Sentiments; that is, if the Americas believed in the idea of equality among all men, then they must approve of the women’s right to vote. The convention and the demands made by the women “marked the beginning of a women’s rights movement” (Tetrault, 10). This claim was seconded by historian Ellen DuBois, who argued that women’s movement was one among the other three important human rights movement in the history of the United States. It was the ideals embodied in the Declaration of Sentiments, specifically about the equality of men and women that spoke forcefully, not only to the Americans, but to other people around the globe. The fight for equality is always perceived as a noble cause, because they replicated the universal essence of humanity.
Another reason why the Seneca Falls Movement became prominent was that the audiences, were composed of men and women who were largely predisposed to the idea of reforms. They were abolitionist, which means that they have spent considerable time advocating about the eradication of slavery and the advancement of equality. The participation of men and women from groups that advocate for political and social change was one among the factor that made the movement noticeable. The message of the Seneca Falls Convention became widespread, and this resulted in the formation of a national movement (Lerner, 5).
In a way, one may say that the Seneca Falls convention failed to achieve its objective. For one, women were not able to gain the right to vote immediately, and such was denied to them for many years until the ratification of women’s right to vote in 1920. In addition to that, some of the women’s rights that were granted by virtue of the Seneca Convention were limited only to middle-class white women. The rights of the working class women and women of color were not evenly addressed, and this was apparent in the life expectancy and infant mortality gap between the middle-class white women and the African American women. There was also the feminization of poverty where the burden of legal restrictions has often fallen among women in poverty (Lerner, 8).
Despite its failures and being an event that was almost forgotten in history, the Seneca Falls Convention was able to fulfill its intentions, as expressed in the Declaration of Sentiments. The convention was able to ignite the spirit of a national reform movement for women’s right, that eventually lead to the recognition of equality. While the impact was not immediate, it paved the way for women to be able to express their sentiments and to be considered for their rights in some aspects. One of the success of the Convention was the passage of the first woman suffrage law in the U.S in the state of Wyoming sometime in 1869 (Timeline). It is to be noted that several years have passed since the Seneca Convention before laws that recognize women’s right to suffrage, and it was only in 1920 when women’s right to vote was ratified. The 19th Amendment reads: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United Sates or by any State on account of sex” (Timeline). The Women’s emancipation, which is referred to as the “freedom from oppressive restrictions imposed by reason of sex” (Lerner, 7), was made possible by the effort of women leaders who initiated the Seneca Convention. Further, women were able to attain self-determination, allowing them to enjoy the freedom to choose their own destiny and define their role in the society.
Conclusion
It has been over 150 years since the Women’s Convention was held in Seneca Falls in New York. Women have achieved a considerable progress in terms of education, employment, and other aspects and this can be attributed to the effort of the men and women who advocated for the equal recognition of women’s right in 1848. While there are new inequities and grievances that are encountered by women, one can say that women have gained so much since the said convention. For one, women were able to accomplish many things without the costs of blood shed and social unrest. For this reason, one can say that the principles of equality that was advocated during the Seneca convention will live on. Women from all over the world will have their grievances, but they will always find a way to organize and resolve them.
Works Cited
Wellman, Judith. “The Seneca Falls Convention: Setting the National Stage for Women’s Suffrage.” History Now 7 (Spring 2006): n. pag. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
Lerner, Gerda. “The Meaning of Seneca Falls.” Living with History/Making Social Change. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 2009. Web.
Tetrault, Lisa. “Prologue: Getting Acquainted with History.” The Myth of Seneca Falls: Memory and the Women's Suffrage Movement, 1848-1898. University of North Carolina Press. Ebook 2014.
Text of "The Seneca Falls Declaration of Rights and Sentiments." from History of Women Suffrage Vol. 1, ed. Elizabeth Cady Stanton et al. New York: Fowler and Wells, 1881.
Timeline of Legal History of Women in the United States. National Women’s History Project. Web.
