Why Is Elizabeth Cady Stanton Important To The Women's Rights Movement?

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Believe it or not, women did not always have the same rights as men did. If fact, the majority of women could not keep their own wages that they had earned until 1860, thanks to Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an American leader in the women’s rights movement during the Civil War era. Her amazing writing skills and perseverance helped her and women all across America get the rights that they deserved. Stanton was born November 12, 1815 in Johnstown, New York. Her father was an accomplished lawyer, who made no effort to try to hide his dismay at having another daughter. She received a superior education at the Johnstown Academy and at Emma Willard’s Troy Female Seminary, from which she graduated in 1832. Elizabeth learned…show more content…
Later that year, she and Mott organized the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. 240 people attended, including 40 men. At the convention, Stanton introduced her “Declaration of Sentiments”, which was modeled after the “Declaration of Independence”. The paper detailed the subordinate status of women, calling for extensive reforms, which effectively launched the women’s rights movement. At the convention Stanton met Susan B. Anthony and worked with her for 50 years planning campaigns, addressing gatherings in conventions, and speaking before legislative bodies. The two women perfectly complimented each other, with Stanton being the better orator and writer, and Anthony the better organizer and tactician. Stanton wrote many of Anthony’s addresses, along with many letters, pamphlets, and essays for several…show more content…
She was the principal author of the “Declaration of Rights for Women”. She also wrote “The Women’s Bible” and “Eighty Years and More”, her autobiography. She has published various essays and helped write the first three volumes of the “History of Woman Suffrage” with Susan B. Anthony & Matilda Joslyn Gage. Elizabeth Cady Stanton died October 26, 1902, two weeks before her 87th birthday. Neither she nor Susan B. Anthony would live to see the day where women were allowed to vote. The 19th Amendment was passed August 18th, 1920, almost 18 years after Stanton died. This amendment would not change the way women were perceived as much as women had hoped. It wasn’t until the late 20th century that Stanton’s ideas were recognized and women’s lives changed for the better. “If the civilization of the age calls for an extension of the suffrage, surely a government of the most virtuous educated men and women would better represent the whole and protect the interests of all than could the representation of either sex alone.” –Elizabeth Cady

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