The United States was born in 1776. The Declaration of Independence stated “that all men are created equal.” In 1848, another declaration said something different. It said “all men and women are created equal.”
These words came from the Seneca Falls . About 300 people joined from July 19–20, 1848, “to discuss … the rights of woman.” They came together at a chapel in Seneca Falls, New York. This convention marked the start of the women’s rights movement in the United States. This fight for women’s rights is now 175 years old.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Seneca Falls Convention. Lucretia Mott helped. They were leaders. That means they fought to end slavery. They also worked to support women. In 1848, women were not allowed to vote. Leaders at the convention spoke out against this.
Stanton gave a speech. She said American women should have greater rights. Those included voting rights and the right to an education. They should also be able to own land. Stanton read from the Declaration of Sentiments. She was its lead author. That document called “men and women” equal.
One hundred people signed the Declaration of Sentiments. They supported women’s . Also, 32 men signed the document. One man was a former slave named Frederick Douglass. Douglass wrote about the Declaration of Sentiments. He called it the “grand movement” for “the civil, social, political, and religious rights of women.”
The Seneca Falls Convention marked the start of the movement for women’s rights. Yet it did not change any laws. American women still had to wait for the right to vote. The U.S. government gave women that right in 1920. Only one woman who signed the Declaration of Sentiments lived long enough to vote. That was Charlotte Woodward Pierce.
Lisa Tetrault teaches history. She said the Seneca Falls Convention was important. “At the time, women weren’t supposed to be out in the public speaking their minds,” explained Tetrault. She said the convention “spurred people to think about women’s rights.”
The Declaration of Sentiments was not perfect. “The demands focused on the needs of white women,” Tetrault explained. However, it pushed for greater . And the fight for women’s rights continues.
“We are still fighting for equal ,” said Tetrault. “The Seneca Falls Convention began a long march of progress,” she added. But she called it “not yet complete.”
Updated July 19, 2023, 5:01 P.M. (ET)
By Shira Haus
