Period+5+-+Women's+Rights

Women's Rights

The women’s rights movement was formed around 1840 during the antebellum period. Many women seeked equal rights in their personal lives, economics, and politics. It branched off of other reforms and became one of the most important of them all. Women who were part of the women’s rights movement were first part of other reforms such as abolition, the temperance movement, and the religious revival. but they realized that they couldn’t change other things if they had no power. Many women soon realized that in order to have effect in other movements and in life in general, they first needed to gain rights among women as a whole. It became necessary to gain rights among the women if they were going to change anything else in society. Although at this point some may regard this movement as a failure because women did not end up with the right to vote, it certainly sparked the idea of women gaining ranks in our country and without this initial startup of it it’s likely we would not have made the progress that we did. Although women never progressed farther with voting rights, women still made a a substantial amount of progress in other various forms of reform.

Causes
 * No schools for girls[[image:SenecaFallsConventionPhoto.jpg width="309" height="211" align="right" caption="Seneca Falls Convention"]]
 * No right to vote
 * Kept out of political discussions about war and politics in general
 * Involved in other reforms but still had limited power
 * No right to own property
 * Lower wages than men
 * Needed husbands permission to make decisions
 * Men belived "excellence could be achieved only in a public male-only arena."
 * Couldn’t get work doing anything other than teaching or writing

Goals
 * Education for girls
 * Some Political power
 * Religious leadership/power
 * Equal wages
 * Right to own or operate property
 * Right to divorce an abusive husband, or their husband in general
 * Right to the custody of their children after divorce

Tactics
 * Seneca Falls convention
 * Akron Women’s Rights convention
 * Petitioning for right to vote within reform groups
 * Hartford Female Seminary (1st female college)
 * Voiced their opinion through newspapers- Elizabeth Bisbee created the newspaper Alliance, which fought for equal rights between men and women

More Helpful Sites [|Seneca Falls] [|Elizabeth Cady Stanton] [|Women's Rights Timeline] [|Antebellum Period]

Successes/Failures

The women's reform movement in the antebellum period seems like a failure altogether at first because they didn't achieve the right to vote. Although the Women's Reform Movement did not help women achieve the right to vote, this movement was responsible for allowing However, the women of this time period made to make great progress in moving up and gaining power. For example, the Seneca Falls Convention was a great success. They created the [|Declaration of Sentiments] which was put together mostly by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony who agreed with views on the hypocrisy of the [|Declaration of Independance]. One of womens' biggest successes was the Seneca Falls Convention, where The Declaration of Sentiments was established. This document expressed how women should have more rights and explained how the Declaration of Independance worked to men's favor. Women also suceeded when it came to establishing new laws. Through this movement, they recieved the right to own property, make contracts, and gain the right to their children. The Declaration of sentiments was written at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 and the Declaration of Indenpendance was written on July 4th 1776. Another success of the women was they Women also sucessfully started their own newspaper, called "The Revolution", which had feministic articles in it. One article, written on Feb 5, 1868, can be found here [|Revolution Article]. [US History I&lesson=31&topic=3&width=800&height=684&topicTitle=Women%27s%20Right&skinPath=http://www.hippocampus.org/hippocampus.skins/default |Click Here For Video On Women's Rights]

Key Figures/People

__Lucretia Mott__
 * Born January 3, 1793[[image:http://www.constitutioncenter.org/timeline/flash/assets/asset_upload_file556_11985.jpg align="right"]]
 * Learned to read and write as a young child
 * Attended Nine Partners Boarding School
 * 1811 married James Mott
 * Took a teaching job even though she had young children
 * Read Vindication of the Rights of Women(1792) this had a strong influence on her
 * Began to speak at Quaker meetings, became Quaker minister in the 1820's
 * During the 1830s she befriended William Llyod Garrison(who founded the New England Anti-Slavery Society) this led Mott to found the Female Anti-Slavery Society in 1833
 * Fought for equality in the society, wanted women to be able to vote
 * 1840, Mott elected as an American delegate for the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society
 * She and Stanton called the Seneca Falls Convention to talk about women's rights
 * Even though she fought mainly against slavery, she was a role model for the Women’s Rights movement because she fought for their equality when she faced serious sexual discrimination
 * She was a respected leader in Women’s Rights that allowed the movement to gain credibility
 * Did not live to see the equal rights of women succeed but she did give the movement necessary motivation to get to that point
 * Died November 11 1880

__Susan B. Anthony __


 * In 1848 Anthony attended the Seneca Falls Convention (the first meeting to promote women's rights)
 * She worked as a teacher before becoming a women's right advocate
 * She met Elizabeth Cady Stanton two years later at the Seneca Falls Convention and together they fought for women’s rights attending many other national conventions
 * She became a target of the press for her work
 * Together she and Stanton created the Deceleration of Independence
 * During the Civil War she focused on abolition, she and Stanton organized the __Women's Loyal National League__, they demanded the emancipation of slaves
 * She fought for the rights of women after the fourteenth amendment was created, it included black males but not women
 * She felt this should be "women’s hour" because they fought so hard for the emancipation of slaves
 * Anthony later launched a speaking tour and a magazine called Revolution to raise awareness and support for equal pay regardless of gender, the education of girls, opening more occupations to women, and liberal divorce laws
 * She organized a Working Women's Association in New York City to further these goals in women’s rights

__Elizabeth Cady Stanton__
 * Stanton graduated from Jonstown Academy in1832
 * She learned about the unequal rights for men and women from her father who was a lawyer
 * Stanton’s early work included supporting the Married Women’s Property Act passed in March 1848
 * She called attention to her ideas in many ways such as contributing articles to the New York Tribune and in1851 by befriending Susan B. Anthony
 * 1848 formulated the first organized demand for woman suffrage
 * Stanton along with Mott started in July 1848 to create the Woman’s Rights Convention that they had projected while in London
 * Stanton drafted the Declaration of Sentiments for the convention (inspired by the Declaration of Independence) it represented the first public call for woman suffrage
 * She wrote many speeches and resolutions that were presented by her friend Anthony at meetings
 * During the Civil War she too was an advocate for abolitionism
 * Organized the Women's National Loyal League with Anthony
 * Served as president of the Woman’s State Temperance Society, she advocated liberalization of divorce laws to protect wives of alcoholics

Key Events

__Seneca Falls__
 * The idea for the convention began in London England between Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott while the were attending the World Anti-Slavery Society
 * Women were denied the opportunity to speak and this inspired discussion between the two women about unequal treatment, which they found occurred in many ways
 * They decided they needed a convention for women to secure equal rights
 * This convention took place on July 19, 1848 at the Weslyan Methodist Church in Seneca Falls, New York
 * 260 women and 40 men in attendance
 * Was the first national women’s rights convention
 * On the first day Elizabeth Cady Stanton presented the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions ( modeled after the declaration of independence)
 * The meeting convinced other women to stand up for their rights and served as a catalyst to women's rights movement
 * Debate was the basis of the convention, it was widely accepted by both men and women that they are created equal and should have the same "inalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"
 * The biggest concern was whether or not women should fight for the right to vote
 * Other concerns were the right to preach, to teach, and be educated
 * Many people in attendance believed it was too radical of an idea
 * Mott was willing to discard the idea while Stanton wanted to stand her ground
 * 100 women signed the final docment, and every right listed was granted, except the right to vote

__Akron Women’s Rights Convention__
 * Also known as the Second National Women’s Rights Convention
 * This convention was located in Akron Ohio in May 28-29 1851
 * New leaders attending this meeting included Antoinette Brown, who became the first ordained female minister, Harriot Hunt, a medical pioneer, and Sojourner Truth, an abolitionist
 * President of the convention was Frances Dana Gage who opened the convention with a speech about how men and women deserve equal rights because they struggle along side men to adapt to their environments
 * The convention was a connection between women’s rights and abolition
 * The convention served mainly as a way to shape the press, in turn allowing the ideas of women’s rights and abolition to spread to mothers at home and young minds

__Hartford Female Seminary is Founded__
 * Organized education for women, the second major female seminary to promote higher education of women
 * The seminary is founded by Catherine Beecher, a pioneer in women’s education[[image:http://www.americanantiquarian.org/images/guidebook/women/WSnationalwomenlarge.jpg width="252" height="321" align="right"]]
 * The seminary was founded in May 1823
 * It was located in Hartford, Connecticut
 * The number of girls grew from 39 to 203 in just seven years

National Women's Right Convention
 * The first women's right national convention held in Worecester,MA in 1850
 * Organized by Lucretia Mott and Abbey Kelley
 * The meeting was called to discuss and demand women the right to vote, to own property, to be admitted to higher education, medicine, the ministry, and other professions
 * More than 1,000 delegates from 11 different states were in attendance
 * There was massive press coverage which helped bring the convention to national attention and helped build support for the movement
 * Prominet speakers in the movement that spoke at the convention- Abbey Kelley, Lucy Stone, and Abby Price, Sojourner Truth

Bibliography:

Internet: Linden, Blanche M. G. "Anthon y, Susan B." __Americans at War__. Ed. John P. Resch. Vol. 2: 1816-1900. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 11-13. __Gale Virtual Reference Library__. Gale. High School. 12 Nov. 2009 [].

"Seneca Falls Convention." __West's Encyclopedia of American Law__. Ed. Shirelle Phelps and Jeffrey Lehman. Vol. 9. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 98-100. __Gale Virtual Reference Library__. Gale. High School. 10 Nov. 2009 [].

"Stanton, Elizabeth Cady (1815-1902)." __American Eras__. Vol. 7: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1850-1877. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 220-221. __Gale Virtual Reference Library__. Gale. High School. 10 Nov. 2009 <[]>. Ali Stamm Print: The 19th Century,Great Lives.Vol.1,2,3.John Powell.Salem Press.2007

The 19th Century,Great Events. Vol.1.John Powell.Salem Press.2007

Burkett, Elinor. "The Fight for Women's Suffrage — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts." History.com — History Made Every Day — American & World History. 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. .

Kickler, Troy. "Women's Rights." Marshall Cavendish (2010): n. pag. Web. 17 Nov 2010. http://www.marshallcavendishdigital.com/articledisplayresult.

"First Women's Rights Movement - Ohio History Central - A Product of the Ohio Historical Society." Ohio History Central - An Online Encyclopedia of Ohio History - Ohio Historical Society. 1 July 2005. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. .