Summary of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions”
Stanton focuses on the rights women deserve based on the statement all men and women are created equally. And all men and women have inherited inalienable rights from the Creator. She believes it is necessary for women, half of the family of man, to live up to their intended purpose as being equals to men. Stanton believes the most effective way is for women to examine the causes that have led them to occupy a state of being less than equal to men. By examining the causes that have kept them from furthering their rights, men and women will be able to understand why change needs to be implemented in the society of men and women. Stanton makes her argument personal by using the pronouns he and she. The pronoun usage brings the level of tyranny down to the individual man and woman as oppose to using the collective term. Stanton understands government as been in place since the beginning of time and that transient causes should not alter government form or legislation. However, Stanton is calling for all women to realize their suffers delivered by men and to fight for change within the legal system. She calls for women to not abide by the laws that are not supportive of their rights, for they are endangering their future security. Men have denied women their rights and have been abusive by keeping them out of the legislation process. Stanton points out that men have made women abide by laws in which they had no voice in creating. This is really interesting because of America’s known reputation of freedom. At this time, the white men were the ones who decided who was worthy of freedom. Stanton also points out that rights are with held from women that are given to even the scum of men. The men who are the most degraded in society. Stanton is calling for all women to fight for their safety, to fight for their freedom that God has entailed for them. Most importantly, women were given these rights as humans from the Creator and they have been forced to be unused and hidden as men have abused women by making them feel as if they had no inalienable rights.
Summary of Sojourner Truth’s Two Speeches
Truth’s first speech is moving in ways that a white woman could not convey. Truth is a former slave who has been on plantations performing the same duties that men had performed. She related herself to a man by being physically capable to do anything that a man can do. Isn’t that enough to be considered equals? I think it is really interesting how Truth proposes the question of if women have a smaller intellectual capacity than men, then why not let a woman’s full intellectual capacity be reached? Clearly, Truth is pointing out the fact that men are scared women will surpass them and become more powerful. She foreshadows what will happen in history by ending her speech saying man is in a good place, but slaves and women are coming up right behind them in fury of their inequality.
In 1867, Truth makes another speech as she has aged in to her eighties. She comes across as that this idea of wanting equality is no big deal. All women want is equality and that should not affect men. Women need money and deserve money just like men. There is no reason why women should not have equal rights. Truth points out that this is the time for women to get equal rights as colored people have just to some extent achieved their goals. Truth’s speech is incredibly moving in that she feels the only reason she is still alive on this planet is because she has change left in her. She wants to see women get the right to vote and encourage women to keep fighting and fighting and when things get tougher to fight even harder.
Summary of Ellen Dubois’ Feminism Old Wave and New Wave
This article is exactly what we were talking about in class on Tuesday. The first wave of feminism lasted for almost a century. Women were fighting for suffrage well in to the 1800s. I found the part of the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London extremely interested. To me I saw the men in the group supportive of the women in the abolitionist group, but only to a certain extent. Once it came down to the actual convention, it seemed that the majority of the men carried the attitude that since now we are here let us men take care of business. If the men really cared about the women involved in their abolitionist group then they would have boycotted the convention as a GROUP, not as a sex.
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