In 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York the first Women’s Rights
convention was held. The women who
organized this convention created a document called the Declaration of
Sentiments. Basically, it was a
reworking of the Declaration of Independence with an important twist. “We
hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men AND WOMEN are created equal…”
We may look at these sentiments today and think that women’s rights are a
no-brainer. But in 1848 it caused great
controversy. Women were not afforded the
same rights as men. They were perceived
as property and had no voice. Frederick
Douglass who attended the convention
is quoted as saying the Declaration was, “grand movement for attaining the
civil, social, political, and religious rights of women." The part we are most familiar with is the
suffrage movement – a women’s right to vote.
Many of the women behind the women’s rights movements in the beginning,
women such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, made it
their life’s work to win rights for woman.
Their LIFE’S WORK. Equality came
in bits and pieces and many of these early suffragettes did not live to see
women earn the right to vote. But they
never gave up and that spirit inspired other women to take up the mantle to
continue the cause. Smart, learned women
who also would not accept less such as Alice Paul and Carrie Catt Chapman. The 19th amendment giving women
the right to vote was ratified in 1920, 72 years after the first women’s
right’s convention. It took dedicated,
tenacious, people who believed that women were worth no more and no less than
total equality. Even though the major
hurdle of gaining the vote has been crossed there is still a fight for equality
today. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA),
which was written in part by Alice Paul and which she fought for until her
death, was never ratified and today women STILL fight for equal rights. Seems hard to believe, right? 94 years after we gained the right to vote we
still have to fight for our rights. It
makes no sense in this day and age that woman make 77 cents to the every dollar
a man makes nationally. New York has it
better at 84 cents to the dollar. But
having it “better” is not enough. We
should NEVER accept less. Gender should
never come into play when setting a wage.
Experience, education, yes, but gender? Never. Women didn’t have a voice in 1848 but in 2014
they do. Every woman should keep in mind
those women who fought long and hard so that we could go to a polling place to
cast our vote without fear of being arrested.
Honor those courageous women who thought that women were worth more by
voting on Election Day. Honor yourself,
your daughters, your sisters, your mothers by demanding no less than equality.
