The Grimké sisters , Sarah Moore Grimké (1792–1873) and Angelina Emily Grimké (1805–1879) were the first nationally known white American female advocates of abolitionism and women's rights. Both sisters were speakers, writers, and educators. They led the way for women's public participation in politics.
194-468: The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women's rights convention. It advertised itself as "a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman". Held in the Wesleyan Chapel of the town of Seneca Falls , New York , it spanned two days over July 19–20, 1848. Attracting widespread attention, it was soon followed by other women's rights conventions, including
388-591: A Quaker community in Philadelphia . They rented property from Richard P. Hunt, a wealthy Quaker and businessman. The M'Clintock and Hunt families opposed slavery; both participated in the free produce movement , and their houses served as stations on the Underground Railroad . Though women Friends had since the 1660s publicly preached, written and led, and traditional Quaker tenets held that men and women were equals, Quaker women met separately from
582-720: A Quaker, was famous for her oratorical ability, which was rare for non-Quaker women during an era in which women were often not allowed to speak in public. The meeting comprised six sessions including a lecture on law, a humorous presentation, and multiple discussions about the role of women in society. Stanton and the Quaker women presented two prepared documents, the Declaration of Sentiments and an accompanying list of resolutions, to be debated and modified before being put forward for signatures. A heated debate sprang up regarding women's right to vote , with many – including Mott – urging
776-439: A being whom he must have known was liable to transgress the divine command, because he must have felt that he was himself a free agent, and that he was restrained from disobedience only by the exercise of faith and love towards his Creator. Had Adam tenderly reproved his wife, and endeavoured to lead her to repentance instead of sharing in her guilt, I should be much more ready to accord to man that superiority which he claims; but as
970-494: A condition that a widow's right to property should cease on remarriage, and the Leonine Constitutions at the end of the 9th century made third marriages punishable. The same constitutions made the benediction of a priest a necessary part of the ceremony of marriage. Women throughout historical and ancient China were considered inferior and had subordinate legal status based on Confucian law . In Imperial China,
1164-466: A crime in which the victim bore no guilt and a capital crime. The rape of a woman was considered an attack on her family and father's honour, and rape victims were shamed for allowing the bad name in her father's honour. As a matter of law, rape could be committed only against a citizen in good standing. The rape of a slave could be prosecuted only as damage to her owner's property. The first Roman emperor , Augustus , framed his ascent to sole power as
1358-486: A divorced husband could easily remarry another woman, provided that his first wife had borne him no offspring. Female deities, such as Inanna , were widely worshipped. The Akkadian poet Enheduanna , the priestess of Inanna and daughter of Sargon , is the earliest known poet whose name has been recorded. Old Babylonian law codes permitted a husband to divorce his wife under any circumstances, but doing so required him to return all of her property and sometimes pay her
1552-498: A dowry from the husband, which she could administer as her personal property, the Qur'an made women a legal party to the marriage contract . While in customary law, inheritance was often limited to male descendants, the Qur'an included rules on inheritance with certain fixed shares being distributed to designated heirs, first to the nearest female relatives and then the nearest male relatives. According to Annemarie Schimmel "compared to
1746-500: A dozen other American male and female abolitionists to London for the first World's Anti-Slavery Convention , with the expectation that the motion put forward by Phillips to include women's participation in the convention would be controversial. In London, the proposal was rebuffed after a full day of debate; the women were allowed to listen from the gallery but not allowed to speak or vote. Mott and Stanton became friends in London and on
1940-409: A fine. Most law codes forbade a woman to request her husband for a divorce and enforced the same penalties on a woman asking for divorce as on a woman caught in the act of adultery . Some Babylonian and Assyrian laws, however, afforded women the same right to divorce as men, requiring them to pay the same fine. The majority of East Semitic deities were male. In ancient Egypt, women enjoyed
2134-503: A historical context, Muhammad "can be seen as a figure who testified on behalf of women's rights." Women's rights were protected already by the early Medieval Christian Church: one of the first formal legal provisions for the right of wives was promulgated by council of Adge in 506, which in Canon XVI stipulated that if a young married man wished to be ordained, he required the consent of his wife. The English Church and culture in
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#17327656332242328-514: A hot, sunny day to find a crowd gathered outside and the church doors locked—an overlooked detail. Stanton's young nephew Daniel was lifted through an open window so that he could unbar the doors from the inside. Even though the first session had been announced as being exclusively for women, some young children of both sexes had been brought by their mothers, and about 40 men were there expecting to attend. The men were not turned away, but were asked to remain silent. Mary Ann M'Clintock Jr., 26 years old,
2522-403: A humorous newspaper piece written by her sister Martha Wright in which Wright questioned why, after an overworked mother completed the myriad daily tasks that were required of her but not of her husband, she was the one upon whom written advice was "so lavishly bestowed." Twenty-seven-year-old Elizabeth W. M'Clintock then delivered a speech, and the first day's business was called to a close. In
2716-558: A husband and eventually becoming a mother. That was the core purpose set out both culturally and religiously across Medieval Europe. Rape was also seen in medieval England as a crime against the father or husband and a violation of their protection and guardianship of the women whom they look after in the household. Women's identities in the Middle Ages were also referred through their relations with men they associated with, such as "his daughter" or "so and so's wife". Despite all this,
2910-583: A husband's transferring property without the consent of his wife, but he still retained the right to manage it and to receive the money which it produced. French married women suffered from restrictions on their legal capacity which were removed only in 1965. In the 16th century, the Reformation in Europe allowed more women to add their voices, including the English writers Jane Anger , Aemilia Lanyer , and
3104-611: A lawyer and follow in her father's footsteps. She studied the books in her father's library constantly, teaching herself geography, history, and mathematics. However, her father would not allow her to learn Latin or go to college with her brother Thomas , who was attending Yale Law School . Still, her father commended her intelligence and told her that had she been a man, she would have been the greatest lawyer in South Carolina . After completing her studies, Sarah begged her parents to allow her to become Angelina's godmother. Sarah
3298-496: A lesser degree than their children. This archaic form of manus marriage was largely abandoned by the time of Julius Caesar , when a woman remained under her father's authority by law even when she moved into her husband's home. This arrangement was one of the factors in the independence Roman women enjoyed. Although women had to answer to their fathers in legal matters, they were free of his direct scrutiny in their daily lives, and their husbands had no legal power over them. When
3492-435: A major address, including in his speech a demand for "universal suffrage in its broadest sense, females as well as males being entitled to vote." The delegates approved a passage in their party platform addressing votes for women: "Neither here, nor in any other part of the world, is the right of suffrage allowed to extend beyond one of the sexes. This universal exclusion of woman ... argues, conclusively, that, not as yet,
3686-468: A man. They were simultaneously disparaged as too ignorant and weak-minded to practice law, and as too active and influential in legal matters—resulting in an edict that limited women to conducting cases on their own behalf instead of others'. But even after this restriction was put in place, there are numerous examples of women taking informed actions in legal matters, including dictating legal strategy to their male advocates. Roman law recognized rape as
3880-565: A married man did not commit adultery when he had sex with a prostitute, slave , or person of marginalized status ( infamis ) . Most prostitutes in ancient Rome were slaves, though some slaves were protected from forced prostitution by a clause in their sales contract. A free woman who worked as a prostitute or entertainer lost her social standing and became infamis , "disreputable"; by making her body publicly available, she had in effect surrendered her right to be protected from sexual abuse or physical violence. Stoic philosophies influenced
4074-511: A note to Stanton apologizing in advance for James Mott not being able to attend the first day, as he was feeling "quite unwell". Lucretia Mott wrote to say she would bring her sister, Martha Wright, and that the two women would participate in both days of the convention. On July 19, 1848, the morning of the first day of convention, the organizing committee arrived at the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel shortly before ten o'clock on
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#17327656332244268-499: A noted educator and author. The couple had one daughter, Theodora Cornelia, who died as an infant. Archibald also graduated from Lincoln University, followed by Harvard Law School ; he served as American Consul to the Dominican Republic from 1894 to 1898. The daughter of Archibald, Angelina Weld Grimké (named after her aunt), became a noted poet. When Sarah was nearly 80, the sisters attempted to vote in order to test
4462-476: A prediction to Eve into a command to Adam; for observe, it is addressed to the woman and not to the man. the consequence of the fall was an immediate struggle for dominion, and Jehovah foretold which would gain the ascendancy; but as he created them in his image, as that image manifestly was not lost by the fall, because it is urged in Gen 9:6, as an argument why the life of man should not be taken by his fellow man, there
4656-493: A professed religious life, and of due provision for the wife. The church also supported the political power of those who were friendly toward the clergy. The appointment of mothers and grandmothers as tutors was sanctioned by Justinian. The restrictions on the marriage of senators and other men of high rank with women of low rank were extended by Constantine , but it was almost entirely removed by Justinian . Second marriages were discouraged, especially by making it legal to impose
4850-484: A professor of women's history, the Seneca Falls Convention was central to their rendition of the movement's history. Neither Stanton nor Anthony had been at the 1850 convention, which was associated with their rivals. Stanton, however, had played a key role at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, at which Stone had not been present. In the early 1870s, Stanton and Anthony began to present Seneca Falls as
5044-406: A rapidly escalating awareness of the many restrictions upon their lives. Their physical and intellectual energies were soon fully expanded, as though they and their ideas had been suddenly released after a long period of germination." Abolitionist Theodore Weld , who would later marry Angelina, trained the sisters to be abolition speakers. In February 1828, Angelina became the first woman to address
5238-503: A return to traditional morality , and attempted to regulate the conduct of women through moral legislation . Adultery , which had been a private family matter under the Republic, was criminalized, and defined broadly as an illicit sex act ( stuprum ) that occurred between a male citizen and a married woman, or between a married woman and any man other than her husband. Therefore, a married woman could have sex only with her husband, but
5432-491: A series of letters to Beecher -- later published with the title Letters to Catharine Beecher -- staunchly defending the abolitionist cause and her right to speak publicly for the cause. By the end of 1836, the sisters were being denounced from Congregationalist pulpits. The following year, Sarah responded to the ministers' attacks by writing a series of letters addressed to the president of the abolitionist society that sponsored their speeches. The series became known as Letters on
5626-666: A sign of new hope for women's rights. On June 2, 1848, in Rochester, New York , Gerrit Smith was nominated as the Liberty Party 's presidential candidate. Smith was Elizabeth Cady Stanton's first cousin, and the two enjoyed debating and discussing political and social issues with each other whenever he came to visit. At the National Liberty Convention , held June 14–15 in Buffalo, New York , Smith gave
5820-419: A slave-owning family in South Carolina and became part of Philadelphia’s substantial Quaker society in their twenties. They became deeply involved with the abolitionist movement, traveling with its lecture circuit. Among the first American women to act publicly in social reform movements , Sarah and Angelina were ridiculed for their abolitionist activity and outspoken natures. They were also early activists in
6014-473: A spoiled child, or converted into a mere drudge to suit the convenience of her lord and master. Thus have all the diversified relations of life been filled with "confusion and every evil work." This principle has given to man a charter for the exercise of tyranny and selfishness, pride and arrogance, lust and brutal violence. It has robbed woman of essential rights, the right to think and speak and act on all great moral questions, just as men think and speak and act;
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6208-468: A strong philosophical basis. Roman law, similar to Athenian law, was created by men in favor of men. Women had no public voice and no public role, which only improved after the 1st century to the 6th century BCE. Freeborn women of ancient Rome were citizens who enjoyed legal privileges and protections that did not extend to non-citizens or slaves . Roman society , however, was patriarchal , and women could not vote, hold public office , or serve in
6402-990: A strong position. The Motts also visited former slaves living in the province of Ontario, Canada . Mott was present at the meeting in which the Progressive Friends left the Hicksite Quakers. They also visited Lucretia's sister Martha Coffin Wright in Auburn, NY, where Mott preached to prisoners at the Auburn State Penitentiary . Her skill and fame as an orator drew crowds wherever she went. After Quaker worship on Sunday July 9, 1848, Lucretia Coffin Mott joined Mary Ann M'Clintock , Martha Coffin Wright (Mott's witty sister, several months pregnant), Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Jane Hunt for tea at
6596-597: A total of 6.83 acres (27,600 m) of land in Seneca Falls and nearby Waterloo, New York, USA. The park consists of four major historical properties, including the Wesleyan Methodist Church , which was the site of the Seneca Falls Convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton's home, and the M'Clintock House , which was where the Declaration of Sentiments , resolutions, and speeches were drawn up for the Seneca Falls Convention. The Wesleyan Methodist Church and
6790-457: A widower. They lived together and had three mixed-race sons: Archibald , Francis , and John (who was born only a couple of months after their father died). The sisters arranged for the oldest two nephews to come north for education and helped support them. Francis J. Grimké became a Presbyterian minister who graduated from Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) and Princeton Theological Seminary . In December 1878, Francis married Charlotte Forten ,
6984-399: A woman in such a position was called frilla . There was no distinction made between children born inside or outside of marriage: both had the right to inherit property after their parents, and there were no "legitimate" or "illegitimate" children. These liberties gradually disappeared after the introduction of Christianity, and from the late 13th century, they are no longer mentioned. During
7178-656: A woman serve as chair in front of both men and women. After Mott opened the meeting, the minutes of the previous day were read, and Stanton presented the Declaration of Sentiments. In regard to the grievance "He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she earns," Assemblyman Ansel Bascom stood to say that he had recently been at the New York State Assembly which passed the Married Woman's Property Act. Bascom spoke at length about
7372-433: A woman's father died, she became legally emancipated ( sui iuris ) . A married woman retained ownership of any property she brought into the marriage. Girls had equal inheritance rights with boys if their father died without leaving a will. Under classical Roman law , a husband had no right to abuse his wife physically or compel her to have sex. Wife beating was sufficient grounds for divorce or other legal action against
7566-571: A women's rights convention in the immediate future, while the Motts were still in the area, and drew up an announcement to run in the Seneca County Courier . The announcement began with these words: "WOMAN'S RIGHTS CONVENTION.—A Convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman". The notice specified that only women were invited to the first day's meetings on July 19, but both women and men could attend on
7760-484: Is morally wrong for him to do. From Sarah Grimké's "Letter 1: The Original Equality of Woman" July 11, 1837. Sarah precedes the following quote with the comment that all translations are corrupt, and the only inspired versions of the Bible are in the original languages. We must first view woman at the period of her creation. "And God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over
7954-687: Is no reason to suppose that sin produced any distinction between them as moral, intellectual, and responsible beings. Man might just as well have endeavoured by hard labor to fulfil the prophecy, thorns and thistles will the earth bring forth to thee, as to pretend to accomplish the other, "he will rule over thee," by asserting dominion over his wife. Authority usurped from God, not give. He gave him only over beast, flesh, fowl, Dominion absolute: that right he holds By God's donation: but man o'er woman He made not Lord, such title to himself Reserving, human left from human free, Here then I plant myself. God created us equal; – he created us free agents; – he
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8148-401: Is our Lawgiver, our King, and our Judge, and to him alone is woman bound to be in subjection, and to him alone is she accountable for the use of those talents with which Her Heavenly Father has entrusted her. One is her Master even Christ. In response to a letter from a group of ministers who cited the Bible to reprimand the sisters for stepping out of "woman's proper sphere," Sarah Grimké wrote
8342-540: Is ours, and events are God's." At the end of the tract, Angelina delivered a call to action, encouraging her readers to "arise and gird yourselves for this great moral conflict." The sisters created more controversy when Sarah published Epistle to the Clergy of the Southern States (1836) and Angelina republished her Appeal in 1837. That year they went on a lecture tour to address Congregationalist churches in
8536-458: Is that of safeguarding the household property created by men. According to Aristotle, the labour of women added no value because "the art of household management is not identical with the art of getting wealth, for the one uses the material which the other provides". Contrary to Plato's views, the Stoic philosophers argued for equality of the sexes, sexual inequality being in their view contrary to
8730-504: Is that the curse, as it is termed, which was pronounced by Jehovah upon woman, is a simple prophecy. The Hebrew, like the French language, uses the same word to express shall and will. Our translators having been accustomed to exercise their lordship over their wives, and seeing only through the medium of a perverted judgment, very naturally, though I think not very learnedly or very kindly, translated it shall instead of will, and thus converted
8924-472: Is the scripture warrant for this "rhetorical flourish, this splendid absurdity?" Let us examine the account of the creation. "And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man." Not as a gift – for Adam immediately recognised her as part of himself – ("this is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh") – a companion and equal, not one hair's breadth beneath him in
9118-906: Is there one nation so far emerged from barbarism, and so far practically Christian, as to permit woman to rise up to the one level of the human family." At this convention, five votes were placed calling for Lucretia Mott to be Smith's vice-president—the first time in the United States that a woman was suggested for federal executive office. Many members of the Religious Society of Friends , known as Quakers, made their homes in western New York state, near Seneca Falls. A particularly progressive branch lived in and around Waterloo in Seneca County, New York . These Quakers strove for marital relationships in which men and women worked and lived in equality. The M'Clintocks came to Waterloo from
9312-511: Is to go free, without any payment of money" ( Exodus 21:10–11 ). The Qur'an , which Muslims believe was revealed to Muhammad over the course of 23 years, provided guidance to the Islamic community and modified existing customs in Arab society . The Qur'an prescribes limited rights for women in marriage , divorce , and inheritance . By providing that the wife, not her family, would receive
9506-409: The oikos headed by the male kyrios . Until marriage, women were under the guardianship of their father or another male relative. Once married, the husband became a woman's kyrios . As women were barred from conducting legal proceedings, the kyrios would do so on their behalf. Athenian women could only acquire rights over property through gifts, dowry, and inheritance, though her kyrios had
9700-580: The 15th Amendment , but they were unsuccessful. Sarah Grimké died in 1873. The following year, Angelina suffered a paralyzing stroke, which afflicted her until her death. Her grave is unmarked, apparently at her own request. Angelina published her Appeal to the Christian Women of the South (1836) before Sarah's similar work. Both stories emphasize the equality of men and women's creation but Sarah also discusses Adam 's greater responsibility for
9894-505: The Fall of man . To her, Eve , innocent of the ways of evil, was tempted by the crafty serpent while Adam was tempted by a mere mortal. Because of the supernatural nature of her tempter, Eve's sinfulness can be more easily forgiven. Further, Adam should have tenderly reproved his wife and led them both away from sin. Hence, Adam failed in two ways. By analyzing the Hebrew text and by comparing
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#173276563322410088-992: The Hellenistic period in Athens, the philosopher Aristotle thought that women would bring disorder and evil, therefore it was best to keep women separate from the rest of the society. This separation would entail living in a room called a gynaikeion , while looking after the duties in the home and having very little exposure to the male world. This was also to ensure that wives only had legitimate children from their husbands. Athenian women received little education, except home tutorship for basic skills such as spinning, weaving, cooking, and some knowledge of money. Although Spartan women were formally excluded from military and political life, an extremely small " upper crust " enjoyed considerable status as mothers of Spartan warriors. As men engaged in military activity, women took responsibility for running estates. Following protracted warfare in
10282-520: The Hunt home in Waterloo. The two eldest M'Clintock daughters, Elizabeth and Mary Ann Jr. may have accompanied their mother. Jane Hunt had given birth two weeks earlier, and was tending the baby at home. Over tea, Stanton, the only non-Quaker present, vented a lifetime's worth of pent-up frustration, her "long-accumulating discontent" about women's subservient place in society. The five women decided to hold
10476-580: The M'Clintock House were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In 1998 First Lady Hillary Clinton gave a speech on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention. In 2015, #FindtheSentiments was launched by the White House under Barack Obama in an effort to find an original of the Declaration of Sentiments . The call to action was picked up by social media and several historical sites. To date,
10670-703: The Massachusetts State Legislature when she brought an anti-slavery petition signed by 20,000 women to the governing body. Sarah was rebuked again in 1836 by Quakers when she tried to discuss abolition in a meeting. Following the earlier example of African-American orator Maria W. Stewart of Boston, the Grimké sisters were among the first female public speakers in the United States. They first spoke to "parlor meetings" or " sewing circles " of women only, adhering to contemporary rules of gender propriety. In one case, an interested man snuck into
10864-508: The New York State Assembly passed the Married Woman's Property Act, giving women the right to retain the property they brought into a marriage, as well as property they acquired during the marriage. Creditors could not seize a wife's property to pay a husband's debts. Leading up to the passage of this law, in 1846, supporters issued a pamphlet, probably authored by Judge John Fine, which relied on its readers' familiarity with
11058-672: The Republic of China was overthrown by communist guerillas led by Mao Zedong , and the People's Republic of China was founded in the same year. In May 1950 the People's Republic of China enacted the New Marriage Law to tackle the sale of women into slavery. This outlawed marriage by proxy and made marriage legal so long as both partners consent. The New Marriage Law raised the legal age of marriage to 20 for men and 18 for women. This
11252-532: The Rochester Women's Rights Convention in Rochester , New York, two weeks later. In 1850 the first in a series of annual National Women's Rights Conventions met in Worcester , Massachusetts . Female Quakers local to the area organized the meeting along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton , who was not a Quaker. They planned the event during a visit to the area by Philadelphia-based Lucretia Mott . Mott,
11446-621: The United States Declaration of Independence to demand "That all are created free and equal ...", and that this idea should apply equally to the sexes. "Women, as well as men, are entitled to the full enjoyment of its practical blessings". A group of 44 married women of western New York wrote to the Assembly in March 1848, saying "your Declaration of Independence declares, that governments derive their just powers from
11640-671: The city states of ancient Greece, they enjoyed a certain freedom of movement until the Archaic age . Records also exist of women in ancient Delphi , Gortyn , Thessaly , Megara , and Sparta owning land, the most prestigious form of private property at the time. However, after the Archaic age, legislators began to enact laws enforcing gender segregation, resulting in decreased rights for women. Women in Classical Athens had no legal personhood and were assumed to be part of
11834-455: The consent of the governed . And as women have never consented to, been represented in, or recognized by this government, it is evident that in justice no allegiance can be claimed from them ... Our numerous and yearly petitions for this most desirable object having been disregarded, we now ask your august body, to abolish all laws which hold married women more accountable for their acts than infants, idiots, and lunatics." New York, however,
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#173276563322412028-523: The women's rights movement . Sarah and Angelina founded a private school in 1848 on their farm in Belleville , New Jersey, with Angelina's husband Theodore Dwight Weld . After discovering that their late brother had had three mixed-race sons with one of his slaves, Sarah and Angelina helped the boys receive an education in the North. Their older nephews Archibald and Francis J. Grimké stayed in
12222-426: The " Three Obediences " promoted daughters to obey their fathers, wives to obey their husbands, and widows to obey their sons. Women could not inherit businesses or wealth and men had to adopt a son for such financial purposes. Late imperial law also featured seven different types of divorces. A wife could be ousted if she failed to birth a son, committed adultery, disobeyed her parents-in-law, spoke excessively, stole,
12416-499: The 15th century the terminology "witchcraft" was definitely viewed as something feminine as opposed to prior years. Famous witchcraft manuals such as the Malleus Maleficarum and Summis Desiderantes depicted witches as diabolical conspirators who worshipped Satan and were primarily women. Culture and art at the time depicted these witches as seductive and evil, further fuelling moral panic in fusion with rhetoric from
12610-467: The 19th century. For the upper classes, it was almost 100%. In 1912, the Chinese government ordered the cessation of foot-binding. Foot-binding involved the alteration of the bone structure so that the feet were only about four inches long. The bound feet caused difficulty in movement, thus greatly limiting the activities of women. Due to the social custom that men and women should not be near each other,
12804-445: The 300 present signed the Declaration of Sentiments, including 68 women and 32 men. Amelia Bloomer was one of the participants who did not endorse the Declaration; she was focused at that time on the temperance movement . Ansel Bascom was the most conspicuous attendee who chose not to sign the Declaration. The National Reformer reported that those in the audience who evidently regarded the Declaration as "too bold and ultra", including
12998-471: The 4th century BC, Spartan women owned approximately between 35% and 40% of all Spartan land and property. By the Hellenistic Period, some of the wealthiest Spartans were women. Spartan women controlled their own properties, as well as the properties of male relatives who were away with the army. But despite relatively greater freedom of movement for Spartan women, their role in politics
13192-662: The American Anti-Slavery Society. In 1839 in Boston, Margaret Fuller began hosting conversations, akin to French salons , among women interested in discussing the "great questions" facing their sex. Sophia Ripley was one of the participants. In 1843, Fuller published The Great Lawsuit , asking women to claim themselves as self-dependent. In the 1840s, women in America were reaching out for greater control of their lives. Husbands and fathers directed
13386-673: The Christian Middle Ages, the Medieval Scandinavian law applied different laws depending on the local county law, signifying that the status of women could vary depending on which county she was living in. The 16th and 17th centuries saw numerous witch trials , which resulted in thousands of people across Europe being executed, of whom 75–95% were women (depending on time and place). The executions mostly took place in German-speaking lands, and during
13580-572: The Christianization of Europe, there was little space for women's consent for marriage and marriage through purchase (or Kaufehe ) was actually the civil norm, as opposed to the alternative marriage through capture (or Raubehe ). However Christianity was slow to reach other Baltic and Scandinavian areas with it only reaching King Harald Bluetooth of Denmark in the year 950 AD. Those living under Norwegian and Icelandic laws used marriages to forge alliances or create peace, usually without
13774-487: The Church still emphasized the importance of love and mutual counselling within marriage and prohibited any form of divorce so the wife would have someone to look after her. In overall Europe during the Middle Ages, women were inferior to men in legal status. Throughout medieval Europe, women were pressured to not attend courts and leave all legal business affairs to their husbands. In the legal system, women were regarded as
13968-512: The Church. The origin of the female "witch" myth traces back to Roman mythical night creatures known as Strix, who were thought to appear and disappear mysteriously in the night. They were also believed by many to be of transformed women by their own supernatural powers. This Roman myth itself is believed to originate from the Jewish Sabbath which described non-supernatural women who would suspiciously leave and return home swiftly during
14162-556: The Declaration was discussed, with the vote looking favorable for including men, but the motion was tabled until the following day when men themselves could participate. The first session adjourned at 2:30 p.m. After a pause for refreshment in the 90° heat, an afternoon session began with Stanton and then Mott addressing the audience. The Declaration of Sentiments was read again and more changes were made to it. The resolutions, now numbering eleven with Stanton's addition of women's suffrage, were read aloud and discussed. Lucretia Mott read
14356-600: The Declaration: "This bolt is the most shocking and unnatural incident ever recorded in the history of womanity. If our ladies will insist on voting and legislating, where, gentleman, will be our dinners and our elbows? Where our domestic firesides and the holes in our stockings?" Soon, newspapers across the country picked up the story. Reactions varied widely. In Massachusetts, the Lowell Courier published its opinion that, with women's equality, "the lords must wash
14550-539: The Equality of the Sexes, in which she defended women's right to the public platform. By 1838, thousands of people came to hear their Boston lecture series. In 1839, the sisters, with Angelina's husband Weld, published American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses, a collection of eyewitness testimonies and advertisements from Southern newspapers. Until 1854, Weld was often away from home, either on
14744-563: The Garden of Eden. Women's inferiority also appears in much medieval writing; for example, the 1200 AD theologian Jacques de Vitry (who was rather sympathetic to women over others) emphasized female obedience towards their men and described women as slippery, weak, untrustworthy, devious, deceitful and stubborn. The church also promoted the Virgin Mary as a role model for women to emulate by being innocent in her sexuality, being married to
14938-586: The Icelandic Grágás and the Norwegian Frostating laws and Gulating laws. The paternal aunt, paternal niece and paternal granddaughter, referred to as odalkvinna , all had the right to inherit property from a deceased man. In the absence of male relatives, an unmarried woman with no son could, furthermore, inherit not only property, but also the position as head of the family from a deceased father or brother. A woman with such status
15132-560: The Liberty Party's plank on woman suffrage pre-dating the Seneca Falls Convention by a month, and she did not describe the Worcester National Women's Rights Convention, organized by Stone and Davis in 1850, as the beginning of the women's rights movement. Rather, Stanton named the 1840 Anti-Slavery Convention in London as the birth of the "movement for woman's suffrage, in both England and America". She positioned
15326-527: The Middle Ages regarded women as weak, irrational, vulnerable to temptation, and constantly needing to be kept in check. This was reflected on the Christian culture in England through the story of Adam and Eve where Eve fell to Satan's temptations and led Adam to eat the apple. This belief was based on St. Paul , that the pain of childbirth was a punishment for this deed that led mankind to be banished from
15520-450: The North, and Francis became a Presbyterian minister. Their youngest nephew, John , returned to the South. Sarah and Angelia's father, Judge John Faucheraud Grimké , was a strong advocate of slavery as a wealthy planter who owned several successful plantations and hundreds of slaves. Grimké had 14 children with his wife Mary (née Smith) and had at least three children with enslaved women. Three of his children died in infancy. Sarah
15714-509: The Northeast. In addition to denouncing slavery, the sisters denounced racial prejudice and argued that white women had a natural bond with enslaved black women , two ideas that were extreme, even for radical abolitionists. Their public speaking for the abolitionist cause continued to draw criticism, with each attack fueling the Grimké sisters' determination. Responding to an attack by Catharine Beecher on her public speaking, Angelina wrote
15908-472: The Quakers' strict adherence to traditional manners and expectation that individuals defer to the congregation before taking public action, both sisters were rebuked by the Quaker community. Despite their reproachment by Quakers, Sarah and Angelina were embraced by the abolitionist movement and started actively working to oppose slavery. Alice S. Rossi writes that this choice "seemed to free both sisters from
16102-401: The Seneca Falls meeting as her own political debut, and characterized it as the beginning of the women's rights movement, which she called "the greatest movement for human liberty recorded on the pages of history—a demand for freedom to one-half the entire race." Women%27s rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed
16296-582: The Sentiments have not been found. In 1870, Paulina Wright Davis authored a history of the antebellum women's rights movement, The History of the National Woman's Rights Movement , and received approval of her account from many of the involved suffragists including Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton . Davis' version gave the Seneca Falls meeting in 1848 a minor role, equivalent to other local meetings that had been held by women's groups in
16490-440: The absence of their brothers, do certain trades without their husbands, and widows could receive dower. In areas governed by Roman-based written laws, women were under male guardianship in matters involving property and law , with fathers overseeing daughters, husbands overseeing wives and uncles or male relatives overseeing widows. Throughout Europe, women's legal status centered around their marital status while marriage itself
16684-440: The anti-Christian doctrine of masculine and feminine virtues. By this doctrine, man had been converted into the warrior, and clothed with sternness, and those other kindred qualities, which in common estimation belong to his character as a man; whilst woman has been taught to lean upon an arm of flesh, to sit as a doll arrayed in "gold, and pearls, and costly array," to be admired for her personal charms, and caressed and humoured like
16878-498: The antislavery movement at a time when it was not popular to do so, and second, the very act of their public speaking was criticized, as it was not believed to be suitable for women. Angelina Grimké wrote her first tract, Appeal to the Christian Women of the South (1836), to encourage Southern women to join the abolitionist movement for the sake of white womanhood and black slaves. Addressing Southern women in sisterly, reasonable tones, she began her piece by demonstrating that slavery
17072-645: The audience and herself to tears, saying "I infused into my speech a Homeopathic dose of woman's rights, as I take good care to do in many private conversations." Lucretia Mott met with Elizabeth Cady Stanton in Boston in 1842, and discussed again the possibility of a woman's rights convention. They talked once more in 1847, prior to Stanton moving from Boston to Seneca Falls. Women's groups led by Lucretia Mott and Paulina Wright Davis held public meetings in Philadelphia beginning in 1846. A wide circle of abolitionists friendly to women's rights began in 1847 to discuss
17266-446: The authority of their husbands by transferring the authority to their male relatives. A wife's property and land also could not be taken by the husband without her family's consent but neither could the wife. This meant a woman could not transfer her property to her husband without her family or kinsman's consent either. In Swedish law, a woman would also only get half that of her brother in inheritance. Despite these legal issues, Sweden
17460-402: The basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behavior, whereas in others, they are ignored and suppressed. They differ from broader notions of human rights through claims of an inherent historical and traditional bias against
17654-494: The beginning of the American women's reform movement. Starting in 1832, abolitionist and journalist William Lloyd Garrison organized anti-slavery associations which encouraged the full participation of women. Garrison's ideas were not welcomed by a majority of other abolitionists, and those unwilling to include women split from him to form other abolitionist societies. A few women began to gain fame as writers and speakers on
17848-465: The beginning of the women's rights movement, an origin story that downplayed Stone's role. Pointing out that the women's rights movement could be said to have begun even earlier than Seneca Falls, Tetrault said the History of Woman Suffrage dealt with these earlier events relatively briefly in its first three chapters, the first of which is titled "Preceding Causes." In the volume, Stanton did not mention
18042-431: The case, how could she have been a help meet for him? I understand this as applying not only to the parties entering into the marriage contract, but to all men and women, because I believe God designed woman to be a help meet for man in every good and perfect work. She was part of himself, as if Jehovah designed to make the oneness and identity of man and woman perfect and complete; and when the glorious work of their creation
18236-538: The cause of woman. Lucretia Mott spoke for an hour with one of her "most beautiful and spiritual appeals". Although Lucretia Mott's reputation as a speaker drew the audience, Mott recognized Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Mary Ann M'Clintock as the "chief planners and architects" of the convention. To close the meeting, a committee was appointed to edit and publish the convention proceedings, with Amy Post, Eunice Newton Foote , Mary Ann M'Clintock Jr., Elizabeth W. M'Clintock and Stanton serving. Local newspapers printed reports of
18430-439: The chapel had been the scene of many reform lectures, and was considered the only large building in the area that would open its doors to a women's rights convention. At their home in Waterloo on Sunday, July 16, the M'Clintocks hosted a smaller planning session for the convention. Mary Ann M'Clintock and her eldest daughters, Elizabeth and Mary Ann Jr., discussed with Stanton the makeup of the resolutions that would be presented to
18624-711: The college was enabled in Guangzhou, China, by a large donation from Edward A.K. Hackett (1851–1916) of Indiana, US. The college was aimed at the spreading of Christianity and modern medicine and the elevation of Chinese women's social status. During the Republic of China (1912–49) and earlier Chinese governments, women were legally bought and sold into slavery under the guise of domestic servants. These women were known as Mui Tsai . The lives of Mui Tsai were recorded by American feminist Agnes Smedley in her book Portraits of Chinese Women in Revolution . However, in 1949
18818-415: The concept of woman suffrage, saying women would then be able to affect future legislation and gain further rights. Frederick Douglass, the only African American at the meeting, stood and spoke eloquently in favor; he said that he could not accept the right to vote himself as a black man if women could not also claim that right. Douglass projected that the world would be a better place if women were involved in
19012-494: The congregations reported to Stanton, who saw the actions of the ministers as cowardly; in their congregations, no one would be allowed to reply. Signers of the Declaration of Sentiments hoped for "a series of Conventions, embracing every part of the country" to follow their own meeting. Because of the fame and drawing power of Lucretia Mott, who would not be staying in the Upstate New York area for much longer, some of
19206-576: The continuing effort by women to gain for themselves a greater proportion of social, civil and moral rights, while it was viewed by others as a revolutionary beginning to the struggle by women for complete equality with men. Stanton considered the Seneca Falls Convention to be the beginning of the women's rights movement, an opinion that was echoed in the History of Woman Suffrage , which Stanton co-wrote. The convention's Declaration of Sentiments became "the single most important factor in spreading news of
19400-453: The convention for approval. Each woman made certain her concerns were appropriately represented among the ten resolutions that they composed. Taken together, the resolutions demanded that women should have equality in the family, education, jobs, religion, and morals. One of the M'Clintock women selected the Declaration of Independence from 1776 as a model for the declaration they wanted to make at their convention. The Declaration of Sentiments
19594-411: The convention, some positive, others not. The National Reformer reported that the convention "forms an era in the progress of the age; it being the first convention of the kind ever held, and one whose influence shall not cease until woman is guaranteed all the rights now enjoyed by the other half of creation—Social, Civil and POLITICAL ." The Oneida Whig did not approve of the convention, writing of
19788-423: The decades leading up to 1848, a small number of women began to push against restrictions imposed upon them by society. A few men aided in this effort. In 1831, Reverend Charles Grandison Finney began allowing women to pray aloud in gatherings of men and women. The Second Great Awakening was challenging women's traditional roles in religion. Recalling the era in 1870, Paulina Wright Davis set Finney's decision as
19982-481: The demand, it is but the assertion of a natural right, and such must be conceded." Some of the ministers heading congregations in the area attended the Seneca Falls Convention, but none spoke out during the sessions, not even when comments from the floor were invited. On Sunday, July 23, many who had attended, and more who had not, attacked the Convention, the Declaration of Sentiments, and the resolutions. Women in
20176-490: The despotic control of man. Additionally, Angelina wrote: "...whatever is morally right for a man to do, it is morally right for a woman to do. I recognise no rights but human rights – I know nothing of men's rights and women's rights; for in Christ Jesus, there is neither male nor female." I prize the purity of his character as highly as I do that of hers. As a moral being, whatever it is morally wrong for her to do, it
20370-476: The development of Roman law. Stoics of the Imperial era such as Seneca and Musonius Rufus developed theories of just relationships . While not advocating equality in society or under the law, they held that nature gives men and women equal capacity for virtue and equal obligations to act virtuously, and that therefore men and women had an equal need for philosophical education. These philosophical trends among
20564-703: The dishes, scour up, be put to the tub, handle the broom, darn stockings." In St. Louis, Missouri, the Daily Reveille trumpeted that "the flag of independence has been hoisted for the second time on this side of the Atlantic." Horace Greeley in the New York Tribune wrote "When a sincere republican is asked to say in sober earnest what adequate reason he can give, for refusing the demand of women to an equal participation with men in political rights, he must answer, None at all. However unwise and mistaken
20758-473: The early Vedic period enjoyed equal status with men in all aspects of life. Works by ancient Indian grammarians such as Patanjali and Katyayana suggest that women were educated in the early Vedic period. Rigvedic verses suggest that women married at a mature age and were probably free to select their own husbands in a practice called swayamvar or live-in relationship called Gandharva marriage . Although most women lacked political and equal rights in
20952-411: The elimination of laws that apply only to Sunday, and to gain for the laborer more time away from toil than just one day of rest per week. Lucretia Mott and two other women were active within the executive committee, and Mott spoke to the assemblage. Lucretia Mott raised questions about the validity of blindly following religious and social tradition. On April 7, 1848, in response to a citizen's petition,
21146-560: The evening, the meeting was opened to all persons, and Lucretia Mott addressed a large audience. She spoke of the progress of other reform movements and so framed for her listeners the social and moral context for the struggle for women's rights. She asked the men present to help women gain the equality they deserved. The editor of the National Reformer , a paper in Auburn, New York , reported that Mott's extemporaneous evening speech
21340-426: The evils of slavery, the fact that a woman was speaking in public was itself a noteworthy stand for the cause of women's rights. Ernestine Rose began lecturing in 1836 to groups of women on the subject of the "Science of Government" which included the enfranchisement of women. In 1840, at the urging of Garrison and Wendell Phillips , Lucretia Coffin Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton traveled with their husbands and
21534-651: The exercise of rights by women and girls, in favor of men and boys. Issues commonly associated with notions of women's rights include the right to bodily integrity and autonomy , to be free from sexual violence , to vote , to hold public office, to enter into legal contracts, to have equal rights in family law , to work , to fair wages or equal pay , to have reproductive rights , to own property , and to education . Women in ancient Sumer could buy, own, sell, and inherit property. They could engage in commerce, and testify in court as witnesses. Nonetheless, their husbands could divorce them for mild infractions, and
21728-400: The facts stand disclosed by the sacred historian, it appears to men that to say the least, there was as much weakness exhibited by Adam as by Eve. They both fell from innocence, and consequently from happiness, but not from equality. Let us next examine the conduct of this fallen pair, when Jehovah interrogated them respecting their fault. They both frankly confessed their guilt. "The man said,
21922-496: The family business or to acquire literacy skills that enabled them to work as scribes and secretaries. The woman who achieved the greatest prominence in the ancient world for her learning was Hypatia of Alexandria , who taught advanced courses to young men and advised the Roman prefect of Egypt on politics. Her influence put her into conflict with the bishop of Alexandria , Cyril , who may have been implicated in her violent death in
22116-459: The first American-born women to make a public speaking tour. Sarah and Angelina discerned the connection between the struggles for civil rights for African Americans and civil rights for women . Sarah Grimké's pamphlet, The Equality of the Sexes and the Condition of Women, has been called one of the most prominent discussions of women's rights by an American woman. The sisters grew up in
22310-488: The fish of the sea, and the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them." In all this sublime description of the creation of man, (which is a difference intimated as existing between them). They were both made in the image of God; dominion was given to both over every other creature, but not over each other. Created in perfect equality, they were expected to exercise
22504-509: The following in Letters on the Equality of the Sexes and the Condition of Woman in 1838. She asserts that “men and women were CREATED EQUAL.... Whatever is right for a man, it's right for a woman. I will not seek any sex-related favors. I will not surrender our right to equality. All I ask of our brethren is that they will take their feet off our necks and permit us to stand upright on that ground which God destined us to occupy.” The papers of
22698-429: The husband. Because of their legal status as citizens and the degree to which they could become emancipated, women in ancient Rome could own property, enter contracts, and engage in business. Some acquired and disposed of sizable fortunes, and are recorded in inscriptions as benefactors in funding major public works. Roman women could appear in court and argue cases, though it was customary for them to be represented by
22892-613: The influence of women in affairs of the faith. They introduced joint business meetings of men and women, giving women an equal voice. Lucretia and James Mott visited central and western New York in the summer of 1848 for a number of reasons. They visited the Cattaraugus Reservation of the Seneca Nation , which was then part of the Iroquois Confederacy ; women of that nation were known to enjoy
23086-627: The late 1840s. Davis set the beginning of the national and international women's rights movement at Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1850, at the National Women's Rights Convention when women from many states were invited, the influence of which was felt across the continent and in Great Britain. Stanton seemed to agree; in an address to the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) convention in 1870, on
23280-584: The laws of nature. In doing so, they followed the Cynics , who argued that men and women should wear the same clothing and receive the same kind of education. They also saw marriage as a moral companionship between equals rather than a biological or social necessity and practiced these views in their lives as well as their teachings. The Stoics adopted the views of the Cynics and added them to their own theories of human nature, thus putting their sexual egalitarianism on
23474-408: The lawyers known to be opposed to the equal rights of women, "failed to call out any opposition, except in a neighboring BAR-ROOM ." At the afternoon session, the eleven resolutions were read again, and each one was voted on individually. The only one that was materially questioned was the ninth, the one Stanton had added regarding women's right to vote. It read: Resolved, that it is the duty of
23668-779: The lecture circuit or in Washington, D.C., until financial pressures forced him to take up a more lucrative profession. For a time, Sarah, Angelina, and Weld lived on a farm in New Jersey and operated a boarding school , establishing the Eagleswood Academy at the Raritan Bay Union cooperative . Before the Civil War, the sisters discovered that their late brother Henry had had a relationship with Nancy Weston, an enslaved mixed-race woman, after he became
23862-465: The list of grievances and to the resolutions: the issue of women's voting rights. To the grievances, she added "He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise", and to the Sentiments, she added a line about man depriving woman of "the elective franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls of legislation ..." Stanton then copied the Declaration and resolutions into final draft form for presentation at
24056-409: The lives of women, and many doors were closed to female participation. State statutes and common law prohibited women from inheriting property, signing contracts, serving on juries and voting in elections. Women's prospects in employment were dim: they could expect only to gain a very few service-related jobs and were paid about half of what men were paid for the same work. In Massachusetts, Brook Farm
24250-410: The majesty and glory of her moral being; not placed under his authority as a subject, but by his side, on the same platform of human rights, under the government of God only. This idea of woman's being "the last gift of God to man," however pretty it may sound to the ears of those who love to discourse upon. " The poetry of romantic gallantry, and the generous promptings of chivalry," has nevertheless been
24444-412: The means of sinking her from an end into a mere means – of turning her into an appendage to man, instead of recognising her as a part of man – of destroying her individuality, and rights, and responsibilities, and merging her moral being in that of man. Instead of Jehovah being her king, her lawgiver, her judge, she has been taken out of the exalted scale of existence in which He placed her, and subjected to
24638-411: The meeting but was consequently removed. The sisters gained attention due to their background of coming from a wealthy slaveholding planter family, which gave them a unique perspective within the abolitionist sphere. As they attracted larger audiences, the Grimké sisters began to speak in front of mixed-gender and mixed-race audiences. They challenged social conventions in two ways: first, speaking for
24832-504: The meeting. When he saw the addition of woman suffrage, Henry Stanton warned his wife "you will turn the proceedings into a farce." He, like most men of his day, was not in favor of women gaining voting rights. Because he intended to run for elective office, he left Seneca Falls to avoid being connected with a convention promoting such an unpopular cause. Elizabeth Cady Stanton asked her sister Harriet Cady Eaton to accompany her; Eaton brought her young son Daniel. On July 16, Lucretia Mott sent
25026-591: The men to consider and decide a congregation's business. By the 1840s, some Hicksite Quakers determined to bring women and men together in their business meetings as an expression of their spiritual equality. In June 1848, approximately 200 Hicksites, including the Hunts and the M'Clintocks, formed an even more radical Quaker group, known as the Yearly Meeting of Congregational Friends, or Progressive Friends . The Progressive Friends intended to further elevate
25220-639: The military. Women of the upper classes exercised political influence through marriage and motherhood. During the Roman Republic , the mothers of the Gracchus brothers and of Julius Caesar were noted as exemplary women who advanced the careers of their sons. During the Imperial period , women of the emperor's family could acquire considerable political power and were regularly depicted in official art and on coinage. The central core of Roman society
25414-586: The minimum age for girls was 12, while it was 14 for boys. The rate of Wergild suggested that women in these societies were valued mostly for their breeding purposes. The Wergild of woman was double that of a man with the same status in the Aleman and Bavarian legal codes. The Wergild of a woman meanwhile was triple that of a man with the same status in Salic and Repuarian legal codes for women of child-bearing age, which constituted from 12 to 40 years old. One of
25608-492: The mistreatment of women during this time. He was well known for advocating for marital equality among the sexes in his work during the 17th century. According to a study published in the American Journal of Social Issues & Humanities, the condition for women during Locke's time were as quote: Grimk%C3%A9 sisters The Grimké sisters remain known as important women in the abolition movement and as some of
25802-529: The most Germanic codes from the Lombard tradition legislated that women be under the control of a male mundoald , which constituted her father, husband, older son or eventually the king as a last resort if she had no male relatives. A woman needed her mundold's permission to manage property but still could own her own lands and goods. Certain areas with Visigothic inheritance laws until the 7th century were favorable to women while all other laws were not. Before
25996-551: The night. Authors of the Malleus Maleficarum strongly established the link between witchcraft and women by proclaiming a greater likelihood for women to be addicted to "evil". The authors and inquisitors Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprengerh justified these beliefs by claiming women had greater credulity, impressionability, feeble minds, feeble bodies, impulsivity and carnal natures which were flaws susceptible to "evil" behavior and witchcraft. These sorts of beliefs at
26190-643: The participants at Seneca Falls organized the Rochester Women's Rights Convention two weeks later in Rochester, New York , with Lucretia Mott as its featured speaker. Unlike the Seneca Falls convention, the Rochester convention took the controversial step of electing a woman, Abigail Bush , as its presiding officer. In the next two years, "the infancy ... of the movement", other local and state women's rights conventions were called in Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Charlotte Woodward , alone among all 100 signers,
26384-486: The phrasing used there with the phrasing used in the story of Cain and Abel , Sarah found that God's "curse" is not actually a curse, but a prophecy . Her concluding thought asserts that women are bound to God alone. From Angelina Grimké's "Letter XII Human Rights Not Founded on Sex" (October 2, 1837): The regulation of duty by the mere circumstance of sex, rather than by the fundamental principle of moral being, has led to all that multifarious train of evils flowing out of
26578-415: The political sphere. "In this denial of the right to participate in government, not merely the degradation of woman and the perpetuation of a great injustice happens, but the maiming and repudiation of one-half of the moral and intellectual power of the government of the world." Douglass's powerful words rang true with many in attendance, and the resolution passed by a large majority. Lucretia Mott spoke to end
26772-473: The possibility of holding a convention wholly devoted to women's rights. In October 1847, Lucy Stone gave her first public speech on the subject of women's rights, entitled The Province of Women , at her brother Bowman Stone's church in Gardner, Massachusetts . In March 1848, Garrison, the Motts, Abby Kelley Foster , Stephen Symonds Foster and others hosted an Anti-Sabbath meeting in Boston, to work toward
26966-614: The pre-Islamic position of women, Islamic legislation meant an enormous progress; the woman has the right, at least according to the letter of the law , to administer the wealth she has brought into the family or has earned by her own work." For Arab women , Islam included the prohibition of female infanticide and recognizing women's full personhood. Women generally gained greater rights than women in pre-Islamic Arabia and medieval Europe . Women were not accorded such legal status in other cultures until centuries later. According to Professor William Montgomery Watt , when seen in such
27160-424: The pretty toy with which he whiled away his leisure moments, or the pet animal whom he humoured into playfulness and submission. Woman, instead of being regarded as the equal of man, has uniformly been looked down upon as his inferior, a mere gift to fill up the measure of his happiness. In "the poetry of romantic gallantry," it is true, she has been called "the last best gift of God to man"; but I believe I speak forth
27354-413: The project; she was of the opinion that Stanton and Anthony would not fairly portray the divisive split between NWSA and American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) . Stanton and Anthony wrote without her and, in 1881, they published the first volume of the History of Woman Suffrage , and placed themselves at each of its most important events, marginalizing Stone's contribution. According to Lisa Tetrault,
27548-614: The property of men so any threat or injury to them was the duty of their male guardians. In Irish law, women were forbidden to act as witnesses in courts. In Welsh law, women's testimony could be accepted towards other women but not against men, but Welsh laws, specifically The Laws of Hywel Dda , also reflected accountability for men to pay child maintenance for children born out of wedlock, which empowered women to claim rightful payment. In France, women's testimony had to corroborate with other accounts or it would not be accepted. Although women were expected to not attend courts , this however
27742-405: The property rights it secured for married women, including property acquired after marriage. Further discussion of the Declaration ensued, including comments by Frederick Douglass , Thomas and Mary Ann M'Clintock, and Amy Post ; the document was adopted unanimously. The question of men's signatures was solved by having two sections of signatures, one for women followed by one for men. One hundred of
27936-537: The prophetess Anna Trapnell . English and American Quakers believed that men and women were equal. Many Quaker women were preachers. Despite relatively greater freedom for Anglo-Saxon women , until the mid-19th century, writers largely assumed that a patriarchal order was a natural order that had always existed. This perception was not seriously challenged until the 18th century when Jesuit missionaries found matrilineality in native North American peoples. The philosopher John Locke opposed marital inequality and
28130-403: The removal of this concept, but Frederick Douglass , who was the convention's sole African American attendee, argued eloquently for its inclusion, and the suffrage resolution was retained. Exactly 100 of approximately 300 attendees signed the document, mostly women. The convention was seen by some of its contemporaries, including featured speaker Mott, as one important step among many others in
28324-534: The return voyage and together planned to organize their own convention to further the cause of women's rights, separate from abolition concerns. In 1842 Thomas M'Clintock and his wife Mary Ann became founding members of the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society and helped write its constitution. When he moved to Rochester in 1847, Frederick Douglass joined Amy and Isaac Post and the M'Clintocks in this Rochester-based chapter of
28518-531: The right to dispose of a woman's property. Athenian women could only enter into a contract worth less than the value of a " medimnos of barley" (a measure of grain), allowing women to engage in petty trading. Women were excluded from ancient Athenian democracy , both in principle and in practice. Slaves could become Athenian citizens after being freed, but no woman ever acquired citizenship in ancient Athens. In classical Athens women were also barred from becoming poets, scholars, politicians, or artists. During
28712-439: The right to share their responsibilities, perils and toils; the right to fulfil the great end of her being, as a moral, intellectual and immortal creature, and of glorifying god in her body and her spirit which are His. Hitherto, instead of being a help meet to man, in the highest, noblest sense of the term as a companion, a co-worker, an equal; she has been a mere appendage of his being, an instrument of his convenience and pleasure,
28906-435: The rights to purchase, own, sell, and inherit property. The Bible guarantees women the right to sex with their husbands and orders husbands to feed and clothe their wives. Breach of these Old Testament rights by a polygamous man gave the woman grounds for divorce: "If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. If he does not provide her with these three things, she
29100-506: The ruling elite are thought to have helped improve the status of women under the Empire. Rome had no system of state-supported schooling, and education was available only to those who could pay for it. The daughters of senators and knights seem to have regularly received a primary education (for ages 7 to 12). Regardless of gender, few people were educated beyond that level. Girls from a modest background might be schooled in order to help with
29294-414: The same rights under the law as a man, however rightful entitlements depended upon social class . Landed property descended in the female line from mother to daughter, and women were entitled to administer their own property. Women in ancient Egypt could buy, sell, be a partner in legal contracts , be executors in wills and witnesses to legal documents, bring court action, and adopt children. Women during
29488-503: The second day to hear Lucretia Mott speak, among others. On July 11, the announcement first appeared, giving readers just eight days' notice until the first day of convention. Other papers such as Douglass's North Star picked up the notice, printing it on July 14. The meeting place was to be the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Seneca Falls. Built by a congregation of abolitionists and financed in part by Richard Hunt,
29682-503: The session. Quaker Thomas M'Clintock served as chair for the evening session, opening it at half-past seven. The minutes were read, then Stanton spoke in defense of the many severe accusations brought against the much-abused "Lords of Creation." Following Stanton, Thomas M'Clintock read several passages from Sir William Blackstone 's laws, to expose for the audience the basis of woman's current legal condition of servitude to man. Lucretia Mott stood to offer another resolution: "Resolved, That
29876-407: The sisters became involved in the Quaker community. In 1835, Angelina wrote a letter in support of the abolitionist movement to William Lloyd Garrison , editor and publisher of The Liberator , which he published without her permission. Various members of the Quaker society asked Angelina to retract her radical statements, but she refused to change a word or remove her name from the letter. Due to
30070-466: The speedy success of our cause depends upon the zealous and untiring efforts of both men and women, for the overthrow of the monopoly of the pulpit, and for the securing to woman an equal participation with men in the various trades, professions and commerce." This, the twelfth resolution, passed. Mary Ann M'Clintock Jr. spoke briefly, calling upon woman to arouse from her lethargy and be true to herself and her God. Douglass again rose to speak in support of
30264-450: The stories about shieldmaidens are unconfirmed, but some archaeological finds such as the Birka female Viking warrior may indicate that at least some women in military authority existed. A married woman could divorce her husband and remarry. It was also socially acceptable for a free woman to cohabit with a man and have children with him without marrying him, even if that man was married;
30458-425: The subject of abolition. In the 1830s, Lydia Maria Child wrote to encourage women to write a will , and Frances Wright wrote books on women's rights and social reform. The Grimké sisters published their views against slavery in the late 1830s, and they began speaking to mixed gatherings of men and women for Garrison's American Anti-Slavery Society , as did Abby Kelley . Although these women lectured primarily on
30652-423: The subject of the women's rights movement, she said "The movement in England, as in America, may be dated from the first National Convention, held at Worcester, Mass., October, 1850." In 1876, in the spirit of the nation's centennial celebrations, Stanton and Susan B. Anthony decided to write a more expansive history of the women's rights movement. They invited Lucy Stone to help, but Stone declined to be part of
30846-527: The term man was used when the prohibition was issued by God. "And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall Ye touch it, lest Ye die." Here the woman was exposed to temptation from a being with whom she was unacquainted. She had been accustomed to associate with her beloved partner, and to hold communion with God and with angels; but of satanic intelligence, she
31040-402: The time could send female hermits or beggars to trials just for offering remedies or herbal medicine. This set of developed myths eventually lead to the 16–17th century witch trials which found thousands of women burned at the stake. By 1500, Europe was divided into two types of secular law. One was customary law, which was predominant in northern France, England and Scandinavia, and the other
31234-476: The vicegerency entrusted to them by their Maker, in harmony and love. Let us pass on now to the recapitulation of the creation of man: "The Lord god formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord God said, it is not good that man should be alone, I will make him an help meet for him." All creation swarmed with animated beings capable of natural affection, as we know they still are; it
31428-403: The woman who thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat. And the woman said, the serpent beguiled men and I did eat." And the Lord God said unto the woman, "Thou wilt be subject unto they husband, and he will rule over thee." That this did not allude to the subjection of woman to man is manifest, because the same mode of expression is used in speaking to Cain of Abel. The truth
31622-687: The women of China were reluctant to be treated by male doctors of Western Medicine. This resulted in a tremendous need for female doctors of Western Medicine in China. Thus, female medical missionary Mary H. Fulton (1854–1927) was sent by the Foreign Missions Board of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to found the first medical college for women in China. Known as the Hackett Medical College for Women (夏葛女子醫學院),
31816-480: The women of this country to secure to themselves their sacred right to the elective franchise. Those who opposed this resolution argued that its presence would cause the other, more rational resolutions to lose support. Others argued that only the social, civil and religious rights of women should be addressed, not the political rights. James and Lucretia Mott were against the resolution; Lucretia said to Stanton, "Why Lizzie, thee will make us ridiculous." Stanton defended
32010-603: The women's rights movement around the country in 1848 and into the future", according to Judith Wellman, a historian of the convention. By the time of the National Women's Rights Convention of 1851, the issue of women's right to vote had become a central tenet of the United States women's rights movement . These conventions became annual events until the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. In
32204-566: The women's say or consent. However divorce rights were permitted to women who suffered physical abuse but protections from harm were not given to those termed "wretched" women such as beggars, servants and slave women. Having sex with them through force or without consent usually had no legal consequence or punishment. During the Viking Age , women had a relatively free status in the Nordic countries of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, illustrated in
32398-451: The words of truth and soberness when I affirm, that woman never was given to man. She was created, like him, in the image of God, and crowned with glory and honour; created only a little lower than the angels, - not, as is almost universally assumed, a little lower than man; on her brow, as well as on his, was placed the "diadem of beauty," and in her hand the scepter of universal dominion. Gen 1: 27, 28. "The last best gift of God to man"! Where
32592-457: The year 415 at the hands of a Christian mob. Since Byzantine law was essentially based on Roman law, the legal status of women did not change significantly from the practices of the 6th century. But the traditional restriction of women in public life as well as the hostility against independent women still continued. Greater influence of Greek culture contributed to strict attitudes about women's roles being domestic instead of being public. There
32786-401: Was "one of the most eloquent, logical, and philosophical discourses which we ever listened to." A larger crowd attended on the second day, including more men. Amelia Bloomer arrived late and took a seat in the upstairs gallery, there being none left in the main seating area. Quaker James Mott was well enough to attend, and he chaired the morning meeting; it was still too radical a concept that
32980-552: Was Roman-based written law, which was predominant in southern France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Customary laws favoured men more than women. For example, inheritance among the elites in Italy, England, Scandinavia and France was passed on to the eldest male heir. In all of the regions, the laws also gave men substantial powers over the lives, property and bodies of their wives. However, there were some improvements for women as opposed to ancient custom; for example, they could inherit in
33174-412: Was a role model to Angelina, and the two sisters had a close relationship all their lives. Angelina often called Sarah "mother." Sarah became an abolitionist in 1835. At age 26, Sarah became acquainted with the Quakers on a trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when she accompanied her father who required medical attention. The Quakers had liberal views on slavery and gender equality , and Sarah
33368-454: Was also a growing trend of women who were not prostitutes, slaves or entertainers to be entirely veiled. Like previous Roman law, women could not be legal witnesses, hold administrations or run banking but they could still inherit properties and own land. As a rule, the influence of the church was exercised in favor of the abolition of the disabilities imposed by the older law upon celibacy and childlessness, of increased facilities for entering
33562-429: Was an essential part of countryside land reform as women could no longer legally be sold to landlords. The official slogan was "Men and women are equal; everyone is worth his (or her) salt". Both before and during biblical times, the roles of women in society were severely restricted. Nonetheless, in the Bible, women are depicted as having the right to represent themselves in court, the ability to make contracts, and
33756-560: Was appointed secretary, to take notes. Starting at 11 o'clock, Elizabeth Cady Stanton spoke first, exhorting each woman in the audience to accept responsibility for her own life, and to "understand the height, the depth, the length, and the breadth of her own degradation." Lucretia Mott then spoke, encouraging all to take up the cause. Stanton read the Declaration of Sentiments in its entirety, then re-read each paragraph so that it could be discussed at length, and changes incorporated. The question of whether men's signatures would be sought for
33950-406: Was composed to form the second part of the Declaration. Between July 16 and July 19, at home on her own writing desk, Stanton edited the grievances and resolutions. Henry Brewster Stanton , a lawyer, politician and Stanton's husband, helped substantiate the document by locating "extracts from laws bearing unjustly against woman's property interests." On her own, Stanton added a more radical point to
34144-490: Was contrary to the United States' Declaration of Independence and the teachings of Christ. She discussed the damage both to slaves and to society, advocated teaching slaves to read, and urged her readers to free any slaves they might own. Although legal codes of slave states restricted or prohibited the latter two actions, Angelina urged her readers to ignore wrongful laws and do what was right: "Consequences, my friends, belong no more to you than they did to [the] apostles. Duty
34338-498: Was encouraged by the state. By 27–14 BCE the ius tritium liberorum ("legal right of three children") granted symbolic honors and legal privileges to a woman who had given birth to three children and freed her from any male guardianship. In the earliest period of the Roman Republic, a bride passed from her father's control into the "hand" (manus) of her husband. She then became subject to her husband's potestas , though to
34532-422: Was fascinated with their religious sincerity and simplicity, as well as their disapproval of gender inequality and slavery. After her father's death in 1818, Sarah left Philadelphia and returned to Charleston. Her anti-slavery views grew more robust there and her abolitionist ideas influenced Angelina. Sarah left Charleston for good in 1821 and relocated to Philadelphia, where Angelina joined her in 1829. There,
34726-415: Was finished, "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. This blissful condition was not long enjoyed by our first parents. Eve, it would seem from history, was wandering alone amid the bowers of Paradise, when the serpent met with her. From her reply to Satan, it is evident that the command not to eat "of the tree that is in the midst of the garden," was given to both, although
34920-494: Was founded by Sophia Ripley and her husband George Ripley in 1841 as an attempt to find a way in which men and women could work together, with women receiving the same compensation as men. The experiment failed. In the fall of 1841, Elizabeth Cady Stanton gave her first public speech, on the subject of the Temperance movement , in front of 100 women in Seneca Falls. She wrote to her friend Elizabeth J. Neal that she moved both
35114-493: Was given to bouts of jealousy, or suffered from an incurable or loathsome disease or disorder. But there were also limits for the husband – for example, he could not divorce if she observed her parents-in-law's mourning sites, if she had no family to return to, or if the husband's family used to be poor and since then had become richer. Confucian thinking relegated women in China to subordinate roles and foot binding left them homemakers. About 45% of Chinese women had bound feet in
35308-406: Was in all probability entirely ignorant. Through the subtlety of the serpent, she was beguiled. And "when she saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat. We next find Adam involved in the same sin, not through the instrumentality of a super-natural agent, but through that of his equal,
35502-417: Was largely ahead and much superior in its treatment towards women than most European countries. Medieval marriages among the elites were arranged in a way that would meet the interests of the family as a whole. Theoretically a woman needed to consent before a marriage took place and the Church encouraged this consent to be expressed in present tense and not future. Marriage could also take place anywhere and
35696-442: Was not always true. Sometimes, regardless of expectations, women did participate and attend court cases and court meetings. But women could not act as justices in courts, be attorneys or members of a jury, or accuse another person of a felony unless it was the murder of her husband. For the most part, the best thing a woman could do in medieval courts was to observe the legal proceedings taking place. Swedish law protected women from
35890-629: Was not the pioneer in this case. Already, in February 1839, Mississippi had enacted its own Married Women's Property Act, the first state law anywhere to allow married women to independently own and administer property, a statute which was expanded in 1846, 1857, 1868, 1880, and 1890. The General Assembly in Pennsylvania passed a similar married woman's property law a few weeks after New York, one which Lucretia Mott and others had championed. These progressive state laws were seen by American women as
36084-447: Was not, therefore, merely to give man a creature susceptible of loving, obeying, and looking up to him, for all that the animals could do and did do. It was to give him a companion, in all respects his equal; one who was like himself a free agent, gifted with intellect and endowed with immortality; not a partaker merely of his animal gratifications, but able to enter into all his feelings as a moral and responsible being. If this had not been
36278-416: Was referred to as ringkvinna , and she exercised all the rights afforded to the head of a family clan, such as the right to demand and receive fines for the slaughter of a family member, unless she married, by which her rights were transferred to her husband. After the age of 20, an unmarried woman, referred to as maer and mey , reached legal majority, had the right to decide her place of residence, and
36472-483: Was regarded as her own person before the law. An exception to her independence was the right to choose a marriage partner, as marriages were normally arranged by the clan. Widows enjoyed the same independent status as unmarried women. Women had religious authority and were active as priestesses ( gydja ) and oracles ( sejdkvinna ); within art as poets ( skalder ) and rune masters ; and as merchants and medicine women. They may also have been active within military office:
36666-663: Was the pater familias or the male head of the household who exercised his authority over all his children, servants, and wife. Girls had equal inheritance rights with boys if their father died without leaving a will. Similar to Athenian women, Roman women had a guardian or as it was called "tutor" who managed and oversaw all her activity. This tutelage had limited female activity but by the first century to sixth century BCE, tutelage became very relaxed and women were accepted to participate in more public roles such as owning and managing property or acting as municipal patrons for gladiator games and other entertainment activities Childbearing
36860-457: Was the biggest factor in restricting women's autonomy. Custom, statute and practice not only reduced women's rights and freedoms but prevented single or widowed women from holding public office on the justification that they might one day marry. According to English Common Law , which developed from the 12th century onward, all property which a wife held at the time of marriage became a possession of her husband. Eventually, English courts forbade
37054-485: Was the only one still alive in 1920 when the Nineteenth Amendment passed. Woodward was not well enough to vote herself. A stamp was issued in 1948 in remembrance of the Seneca Falls Convention, featuring Elizabeth Cady Stanton , Carrie Chapman Catt , and Lucretia Mott as part of a Centennial Celebration in Seneca Falls. The Women's Rights National Historical Park was established in 1980, and covers
37248-435: Was the same as Athenian women. Plato acknowledged that extending civil and political rights to women would substantively alter the nature of the household and the state. Aristotle , who had been taught by Plato, denied that women were slaves or subject to property, arguing that "nature has distinguished between the female and the slave", but he considered wives to be "bought". He argued that women's main economic activity
37442-592: Was the sixth child, and Angelina was the thirteenth. John Grimké served as chief judge of the Supreme Court of South Carolina . Sarah and Angelina's uncle, Benjamin Smith , served as governor of North Carolina . Sarah said that at age five after witnessing a slave being whipped , she tried to board a steamer to live in a place without slavery. Later, in violation of the law , she taught one of her father's slaves to read. In adolescence, Sarah wanted to become
37636-469: Was then drafted in the parlor on a round, three-legged, mahogany tea table. Stanton changed a few words of the Declaration of Independence to make it appropriate for a statement by women, replacing "The history of the present King of Great Britain" with "The history of mankind" as the basis for "usurpations on the part of man toward woman." The women added the phrase "and women" to make "... all men and women are created equal ..." A list of grievances
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