" We hold these truth to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights." Every American has heard these words, the introduction to the Declaration of Independence, the document that declared the thirteen American colonies free of British rule. From that day on in American history men had the right elect their leaders and to manage their own affairs, but what about the women? In colonial times a few colonies granted suffrage to women, however when the Constitution was drafted that right was relinquished. (pg 340).
In America by the 1850's nearly all white males could vote, but women were still denied this most basic right. Women in the 1800's were looked at as second-class citizens and had no rights of their own. According to English common law, which was the basis for American laws as well, husband and wife were considered to be one, and that one happened to be the husband. (pg340) After marriage the husband had the right to any property the woman owned, and he even had the right to her wages if she held a job. Through marriage a woman was bound to give her husband full obedience and as a result was little more than a slave. Women were held by the same laws as any other citizen of the U.S. and just like anyone else they had to pay property tax to the government, a government that they had no say in. "Having deprived her of this first right as a citizen, the elective franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls of legislation, he has oppressed her on all sides. He has made her. in the eyes of the law, civilly dead." (pg 2) .
The need for a reform in women's' rights was very obvious; undoubtedly many women had realized this, but did not know were to start. The first to take action was Elizabeth Cady Stanton. On one hot July day in 1848 in upstate New York , Elizabeth Stanton was invited to a tea with a few of her friends.