It took at least seven decades for Woman Suffrage Movements to realize ultimate success, marked by Congress passing the 19th Amendment on June 4, 1919, and its ratification on august 18, 1920. This was the desired outcome of the journey that began in 1848, inspired by the desire to elevate women to a status equal to that of men in social, political, and economic spheres of life after decades of undermining women. The 19th Amendment was a culmination of multiple historical events and bold movements by suffragists who primarily included women with the support of some men. Many primary sources document the events and progress the suffragists made during their campaign and demonstrate how they leveraged their efforts. This essay will answer the question, “How did the 1948 Women’s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls draw the roadmap for Woman Suffrage Movements that would later accomplish the central objective?” The Seneca Fall Convention was instrumental in creating the foundation for suffragist movements and influencing the petitions to Congress to grant women the right to vote.
Proceedings and Declaration of Sentiments in the Seneca Convention
The journey of the fight for woman’s voting rights required determination, boldness, courage, and women who understood the value of the vote. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Mary M’Clintock were ideal women who demonstrated these attributes. They led a group of men and women in the Seneca Convention that created a roadmap for the granting of women’s right to vote.[1]. The declarations laid a good ground for the fight for right:
The Convention declared that all laws that opposed women’s true and substantial happiness were contrary to the great percept of nature.[2] In this regard, this declaration meant that the existing laws that prevented women from accomplishing critical elements of their happiness, such as education and voting, were against women’s progress and thus were considered invalid. The laws were discriminative because they only barred women the right to accomplish these essential aspects of life but allowed men to enjoy them as privileges. This declaration marked the starting point for the agitation for better laws that promoted women’s progress.
The Seneca Convention also resolved that all laws which placed women in a position of inferiority to that of men or which barred women from occupying a station in society contradicted the precept of nature and thus were invalid.[3] From this Convention, women understood and believed they were equal to men, and therefore it was unjustified for them to occupy inferior positions. This belief prompted Elizabeth Candy Stanton, who would in 1869 co-found the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), to propose an adjustment to the 1776 Independence Declaration statement. She stated, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal…”[4] She believed that, as originally documented, the statement ignored women, thus ideologically placing them in a state of inferiority to men. This belief was supported by the declaration that woman is equal to man according to the Creator’s intentions.[5] Therefore, there were no grounds to justify undermining women, placing them as subordinates, and denying them the right to vote.
Women understood that they were solely responsible for fighting for their recognition in the country. As a result, they declared that “ it is the duty of the women of this country to secure themselves their sacred right in the elective franchise.”[6]. This declaration was directly related to voting rights that women continued to lack. It was evident that women could not easily be granted the right to elective franchise without struggling. It was their responsibility to lobby and mobilize. Match, petition, demonstrate, and even create associations to reach that end.
The Seneca Convention gave the attending men and women the opportunity to review historical injustices that men have undergone in man’s hands since the start of time. Among the most prominent ones were that the man compelled the woman to submit without choice to laws, denied her rights, excluded her from representation in legislative halls, and denied her the right to own property and wages from her work[7]. These injustices agitated women and men who supported suffrage movements, creating a dire need to rectify the historical “mess” that men had put on women. This review created the foundation that would enable women to ardently struggle for their own liberation and rectify the injustices. It influenced the subsequent steps by the activists and suffragists beyond the 19th Amendment.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Others Petition to Congress
Inspired by the declarations in the Convention, women were determined to steer ahead of agreed decisions. They resorted to implementing the strategies to push further the quest for women’s liberation and voting rights. For instance, in December 1871, Susan Bb. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, influential in the Seneca Convention, petitioned Congress to grant women the right to vote. They sent the petition through the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), the suffragist association they had formed to advance their ambitions.[8] Besides Stanton and Anthony, four other influential leaders forwarded the petition to the House of Representatives and Senate to consider the request.
Petitioning Congress emerged as one of the surest ways of championing granting women the right to vote. It was also adopted by the American Woman Suffragist Association (AWSA), which opposed the strategies used by NWSA to advocate for the changes. Founded by Julia Ward Howe, Lucy Stone, and Thomas Higginson in 1869, AWSA also sent a petition to Congress in 1872 asking it to allow women in D.C. and those who inhabited territories to be granted the right to hold office and allowed to vote[9]. This move was inspired by the deliberations in the Seneca Convention and NWSA’s move to send a petition a year earlier.
The Convention set the stage for the petitions to Congress. Besides AWSA and NWSA sending their petitions, Fredrick Douglass’s daughter and son, with the support of his son-in-law, also petitioned Congress in 1878 to allow for woman suffrage. The petitions from different quarters pressured Congress to grant women the right to vote, which was ultimately accomplished.
Conclusion
Suffragist activities after 1848 were inspired by the Seneca Convention and followed the roadmap it created. The Convention made the Declaration of Sentiments after reviewing the injustices against women in various aspects of life, including denying them the right to vote. The formation of AWSA and NWSA and the petitions they sent to Congress asking it to grant women the right to vote indicated the dire need for the right to vote. The foundation given by the Seneca Convention inspired the suffragists to leverage their efforts and get the right in 1919.
Author’s note
I met the criteria for the assignment by creating a question and responding to them using primary sources. I do see where I have not met the criteria. I am proud of using primary sources in the paper. However, it was challenging to decide which sources to utilize. I would like to write a longer paper using the other primary sources in the next paper.
Bibliography
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Women Fight for the Vote: Declaration of Sentiments” (1848). https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/women-fight-for-the-vote/about-this-exhibition/#explore-the-exhibit
John Dick, “Report of the Woman’s Rights Convention, held at Seneca Falls, New York, July 19th and 20th, 1848. Proceedings and Declaration of Sentiments” (1848). https://www.loc.gov/item/rbcmiller001106/.
National Archives Education Team, “Letter to the United States Congress from Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony and Others in Support of Women’s Suffrage; 12/1871; Petition and Memorials, Resolutions of State Legislatures, and Related Documents which were Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary during the 42nd Congress; (SEN 42A-H11.4); Committee Papers, 1816 – 2011; Records of the U.S. Senate, Record Group 46; National Archives Building, Washington, DC.” [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/congress-stanton-anthony, September 19, 2022]
National Archives Foundation. “Memorial of the American Woman Suffrage Association praying that women in D.C. and the territories may be allowed to vote and hold office; 2/6/1872; (SEN42A-H11.4); Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Record Group 233; National Archives Building, Washington, DC.” [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/awsa-memorial, September 19, 2022]
[1] John Dick. “Report of the Woman’s Rights Convention, held at Seneca Falls, New York, July 19th and 20th, 1848. Proceedings and Declaration of Sentiments” (1848). https://www.loc.gov/item/rbcmiller001106/.
[2] Dick “Report of the Woman’s Rights Convention, held at Seneca Falls, New York, July 19th and 20th, 1848. Proceedings and Declaration of Sentiments” 7
[3] Dick “Report of the Woman’s Rights Convention, held at Seneca Falls, New York, July 19th and 20th, 1848. Proceedings and Declaration of Sentiments” 8
[4] Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Women Fight for the Vote: Declaration of Sentiments” (1848). https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/women-fight-for-the-vote/about-this-exhibition/#explore-the-exhibit
[5] Dick “Report of the Woman’s Rights Convention, held at Seneca Falls, New York, July 19th and 20th, 1848. Proceedings and Declaration of Sentiments” 8
[6] Dick “Report of the Woman’s Rights Convention, held at Seneca Falls, New York, July 19th and 20th, 1848. Proceedings and Declaration of Sentiments” 8
[7] Dick “Report of the Woman’s Rights Convention, held at Seneca Falls, New York, July 19th and 20th, 1848. Proceedings and Declaration of Sentiments” 11
[8] National Archives Education Team, “Letter to the United States Congress from Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony and Others in Support of Women’s Suffrage; 12/1871; Petition and Memorials, Resolutions of State Legislatures, and Related Documents which were Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary during the 42nd Congress; (SEN 42A-H11.4); Committee Papers, 1816 – 2011; Records of the U.S. Senate, Record Group 46; National Archives Building, Washington, DC.”
[9] National Archives Foundation. “Memorial of the American Woman Suffrage Association praying that women in D.C. and the territories may be allowed to vote and hold office; 2/6/1872; (SEN42A-H11.4); Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Record Group 233; National Archives Building, Washington, DC.” [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/awsa-memorial, September 19, 2022]
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