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In 1848, a convention to talk about the social, civil, and religious conditions and rights of women was started in Seneca Falls, New York. The convention was prepared and run by women who later became important in the women's suffrage movement.
Many people mention the Seneca Falls Convention held in Seneca Falls, New York to be the beginning of the women's movement in America. However, the idea for the convention came about at another protest meeting. the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention in London. At that convention, the female delegates were not allowed to participate in the debates.
Lucretia Mott wrote in her diary that even though the convention was titled a World convention, "that was mere poetical license." She went with her husband to London, but had to sit behind a partition with other ladies such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton. They took a dim view of their treatment, or rather neglect, and the idea of a women's convention was born.
In the interim between the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention and the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton composed the Declaration of Sentiments, a document declaring the rights of women modeled on the Declaration of Independence. It is worth noting that upon showing her Declaration to her husband, Mr. Stanton was less than pleased. He stated that if she read the Declaration at the Seneca Falls Convention, he would leave town.
The Declaration of Sentiments contained several resolutions including that a man should not refuse to give a woman's rights, take her property or refuse to allow her to vote. The 300 participants spent July 19th and 20th arguing, refining and voting on the Declaration. Most of the resolutions received individual support. However, the right to vote had many supporters including one very famous figure, Lucretia Mott.
Why did three hundred men and women go to this small upstate New York town in July 1848? Women of the Revolutionary era such as Abigail Adams and Judith Sargent Murray raised questions about what the Declaration of Independence would mean to them, but there had never been a large scale public meeting to discuss this topic until Seneca Falls. Many women participated in improvement organizations whose goals were to improve the lives of others and to fight for the rights of those who could not speak for themselves, such as kids and the mentally ill, so the air was ready for a close test of women’s rights as well. A consciousness-raising experience, however, was necessary to turn these women’s thoughts to their own condition.


Bibliography


http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/timeline/expref/crusader/seneca.html
http://www.homeedsa.com/Articles/Seneca%20Falls%20Convention.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.npg.si.edu/col/seneca/senfalls1.htm
http://www.nps.gov/archive/wori/convent.htm
http://us.penguingroup.com/static/rguides/us/seneca_falls_inheritance.html














The Seneca Falls Convention



By Lisa Harpster
Per. 5