Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Declaration of Sentiments

The authors parallel the Declaration of Independence due to its call for equality. The
latter claims that all men are created equal and, therefore, should enjoy the same rights and
freedoms. In this way, the authors of the Declaration of Sentiments argue that men and women
are equal and have the same inalienable rights. The right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness
are universal to human beings regardless of gender. These rights are drawn from the Declaration
of Independence and the government has to respect them and ensure that all citizens access them.
In this way, Stanton an Mott feel that they have the right to denounce allegiance to the
government due to its failure to protect equality. Further, they feel that the state has interfered
with women's right to happiness and safety, which is a contradiction of the Declaration of
Independence. Therefore, their decision to air their sentiments was a way of urging the
government to implement the Declaration of Independence without gender discrimination.
The authors of the Declaration of Sentiments argue against the economic privileges
enjoyed by men. Women providing labor in the industries are paid through their husbands, and
they do not have the right to own property. In addition, the wages for men are higher than those
of women despite doing the same amount of work. Women are also prohibited from elections
that select their representatives in the labor unions. As a result, women cannot voice their
struggles to the unions since they do not participate in the elections. Further, women were
morally corrupt since it was legal for them to commit crimes with impunity provided their
husbands were presents. Men also had control of divorce proceedings since they drafted the laws
that determined the guardianship of children and ownership of property even when women were
not satisfied with them.

Men also interfered with the right to education, religion, and profitability from property
ownership. Men were in charge of industries and collected taxes from single women who owned
property. In this way, the authors claim that men play the role of God by determining which
rights women are supposed to enjoy. Further, men had made women overly dependent on them
for social and economic needs. Since the government had turned a blind eye to their suffering,
the authors urge women to denounce the it for failing to protect their rights and equality as
indicated in the Declaration of Independence.
The publication of the document led to intense criticism that forced some of the
signatories to withdraw their support. The proposed on women suffrage was considered
controversial since it called for equality in education, voting, and property ownership among
others. The controversy surrounding the document made it difficult for the government to
implement all their demands. In addition, a majority of the whites were against the anti-slavery
movement. In this way, supporting the sentiments would encourage the abolitionists to push for
the complete abolition of slavery in the country. As a result, most people were against the
document to protect their interests.