The Seneca Falls Convention

The First Step to Womens Rights

By Student Name

05/19/14 Hour: 7


























Imagine a United States where women were expected to stay home, cook, and take care
of the family. They would not be expected to go to school for very long and definitely wouldnt
go to college. Women werent allowed to vote, own property, or have much say in the society.
They also had to deal with abusive husbands and had a very hard time trying to get a divorce. In
fact, imagine wives being slaves to their husbands with many of their rights stripped away from
them the second they say, I do. This was life of all women in 19th century America. However,
now women have many rights. They can vote, get a well-paying job, marry and divorce, own
property, receive any education desired, and so much more (Mayfield 39). So what caused this
dramatic shift over the past 200 years? There were many important steps to the womens rights
movement that had everlasting effects; however, the Seneca Falls Convention was the first big
step that propelled the womens rights movement into action. The Seneca Falls Convention was
an important step in womens rights because it was the first convention stating the need for more
rights protecting women, it showed that women could work together to achieve common goals,
and it encouraged other well-known and important conventions to be formed on the same issue.
The start of the Seneca Falls Convention took place in 1840 at the World Antislavery
Convention in London where Lucretia Mott was denied a seat at the conference due to her sex
(Lucretia Mott, 1991). The fact that she wasnt able to contribute to the conference infuriated
Lucretia and caused her to preach about womens inequality outside of the conference room
thus beginning a long battle for her (Lucretia Mott, 1991). Later on, during her trip to London,
Mott met Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the wife of an abolitionist delegate, and discussed womens
rights (Lucretia Mott, 1991). They met again eight years later along with Martha C. Wright,
Mary Ann McClintock, and Jane Hunt, and together they decided that it was time to discuss the
social, civil, and religious conditions and rights of women publicly, so they organized a
convention that would take place in Seneca Falls, New York within five days (The Seneca Falls
Convention, 2007). They spread the news of this convention mostly through word of mouth;
however, they did post a small ad in the local newspaper (The Seneca Falls Convention and the
Early Civil Rights Movement, 2007). It clearly wasnt going to be a very big, important
convention; however, they all agreed that it was going to be a start. The fact that this group of
women could come together to organize a convention on an important matter was proof that
women werent as simple-minded as many men believed.
On July 19th, 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention (originally called the Womens Rights
Convention) began. About 200 women gathered at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New
York to review the Declaration of Sentiments and Grievances a document drafted by Stanton
prior to the convention (Seneca Falls Convention Begins, May 16, 2014). The Declaration of
Sentiments detailed the injustices women faced in the United States and urged women to
organize and petition for their rights (Seneca Falls Convention Begins, May 16, 2014). It
closely resembled the Declaration of Independence, and its preamble had the phrase, We hold
these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain inalienable rights (Seneca Falls Convention Begins, May 16,
2014).
On the second day of the convention, men were allowed to attend, and approximately 40
men did come including Frederick Douglass, the prominent abolitionist (Seneca Falls
Convention Begins, May 16, 2014). It was on this day that the Declaration of Sentiments was
signed and adopted. Along with listing the grievances these women faced, the Declaration of
Sentiments listed 12 resolutions, among which 11 of them passed unanimously (Seneca Falls
Convention Begins, May 16, 2014). The only resolution that faced controversy was the ninth
one that stated, It is the duty of the women of this country to secure themselves their sacred
right to the elective franchise (Seneca Falls Convention Begins, May 16, 2014). This meant
women should be allowed to vote. After a lot of discussion, this resolution was passed after
Douglass sided with Stanton stating the importance of women enfranchisement (Seneca Falls
Convention Begins, May 16, 2014). After discussing the Declaration of Sentiments and
Grievances, it was adopted and signed by 68 women and 32 men out of the total of 300 attendees
(The Seneca Falls Convention and the Early Civil Rights Movement, 2007).
Many people respected the courage and abilities needed to create the Declaration of
Sentiments; however, they couldnt properly support it due to the mindset the nation had about
women those days. In fact, an article published in the Oneida Whig described the document as
the most shocking and unnatural event ever recorded in the history of womanity (Declaration
of Sentiments, May 16, 2014). Many newspapers argued that the Declaration didnt allow
women to do their required duties like taking care of home and family (Declaration of
Sentiments, May 16, 2014). However, the Seneca Falls Convention, over time, changed this
way of thinking. After the convention, women were slowly gaining the independence they
deserved. Many of the rights women received included being allowed to speak in public, gaining
laws protecting rights of married women, being able to own property in their own name, keeping
their own earnings, and retaining guardianship of children in a divorce (Brown, June 1, 2005).
These simple rights changed the mindset others had of women forever.
The Seneca Falls Convention was an important step in womens rights, in fact, it even
created a huge domino effect and caused many other womens rights conventions to be held. For
example, a meeting in Rochester, NY was held only two weeks after the Seneca Falls
Convention. Also, there was the Nation Womens Rights Convention, which focused on the
womens suffrage movement and was held annually. Not only did the Seneca Falls Convention
influence others to hold other conventions for womens rights, but in 1920, the 19th Amendment
was adopted which allowed women the right to vote (Seneca Falls Convention Begins, May 16,
2014).
The Seneca Falls Convention made a huge impact on the world today especially for
women. It was the first convention stating the need for more rights protecting women; it showed
that women could work together to achieve common goals; and it encouraged other well-known
and important conventions to be formed on the same issue. This convention not only made a
great impact on the rights that women received, but, by going through this process, women
gained strength and respect. Today, we can reflect upon the Seneca Falls Convention as women
continue their fight for equality.























Works Cited

Brown, Deborah. Seneca Falls Convention Began Womens Rights Movement. IIP Digital
U.S. Department of States Rights Movement. N.p., 01 June 2005. Web. 16 May 2014.
<http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/article/2008/02/20080229183432liameruoy0.6
444055.html#axzz30I10ECD8>.

Declaration of Sentiments. Princeton University. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2014.
<https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Declaration_of_Sentiments.h
tml>.

Lucretia Mott. History.com. A&E Television Networks, 1991. Web. 20 May 2014.
<http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/lucretia-mott>.

Mayfield, Sue. Women and Power. London: Dryad, 1988. Print.

The Seneca Falls Convention and the Early Suffrage Movement. Rights for Women. NWHM,
1 Jan. 2007. Web. 21 May 2014. <https://www.nwhm.org/online-
exhibits/rightsforwomen/SenecaFalls.html>.

Seneca Falls Convention Begins. History.com. History Channel, n.d. Web. 16 May 2014.
<http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/seneca-falls-convention-begins>.