Seneca Falls Convention

Introduction

The Seneca Falls Convention was the first convention on women's rights, held from July 19 to July 20, 1848 in Seneca Falls in the United States. This meeting recognized as the nub of the American feminism.

It was organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The result of this convention was the publication of the Seneca Falls Declaration (or Declaration of Sentiments). It was a document based on the Declaration of Independence of the United States in denouncing the restrictions which were imposed on women, especially with regards to politics. The document mentions that women cannot vote or stand for election, or hold national office nor belong to governmental organizations, or attend governmental meetings (Wellman, p. 9).

Both Mott and Elizabeth were famous before this convention. Both of them took part in the World Anti-Slavery Convention held in London in 1840. From this convention, Mott indulged in activism with her friend Stanton. Both of the women knew that they are making an attempt to defend the right of slaves. However, their own position (women's position) was in a perplexing situation. After they realized this, they did not hesitate to defend the rights of women and began the movement of feminism (Wellman, pp. 32). The following part of the paper discusses the grounds on the basis of which this convention can be supported. First of all, a brief descrioptiion is given about the convention and what it was all about and how these two women fought for women's right. Secondly, the paper supports convention of Seneca Falls by showing the support of other movements of that time. In this essay, the support is extended to the Seneca Falls Convention by showing the implication of that convention that is visible in today's society and how it opens the door to further support women's right.

Discussion

The attempt that was made by the two women to support the rights of women is commendable. There can be a number of reasons on the basis of which this convention of Seneca falls can be supported.

The declaration of sentiments was built on the model of the Declaration of Independence. The final text of the declaration of sentiments affirms the right of women to access the full status of women citizens of the United States of America. It lists all of the complaints against the men, like the American colonists had done in the declaration of independence for the colonies (Stanton, Anthony & Gage, p. 70). The text highlights the severe limitations and legal rights of women in the United States at the time. It enlists all the ignorance and lack of basic rights. For example the declaration talks about the women got denied the right to vote and to participate in the development of laws that were necessary to it. It also talks about the cases of divorce where child custody automatically given to the father, and access to higher education got forbidden for women, making them inaccessible skilled positions in the labor market. Finally, the majority ...