In 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton hosted the first women's rights convention in her house where she gave her speech entitled, "Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, Seneca Falls." Stanton states in her speech that men and women were created equal and that both were born with certain natural rights. Through her speech, she was able to give women the encouragement to stand up for the rights that were denied to them and helped us get where we are today as women.
Stanton's main argument was that women were created to be man's equal. "Woman is man's equal-was intended to be so by the Creator." It was her reasoning as to why women deserved the same rights as men. She criticized men for denying women the rights that they were entitled to, such as, the right to vote, the right to hold property and equal terms in divorce.
In reading this speech, I was able to realize that, had it not been for Stanton and the Seneca Falls convention, we would have no right to voice our opinion. Therefore, I must say, I admire Stanton for her courage to stand up for her rights in a time where we were seen as merely child-bearers. If it were not for her, we might still be fighting for equal rights today.
Although, women are still not seen completely as man's equal, it certainly is a step up from not being able to vote or hold property because of being a woman. Because of one woman's courage and the thousands that followed her, we are now able to go to college and get an education, become ministers if we wanted to, and even hold the same jobs as men. Our role as women is not limited to just giving birth to children, cooking and cleaning anymore.
We can now do anything we want. If we feel an injustice toward us for being women, we are able to speak up about it and have the injustice corrected. We are seen for the intelligent creatures we are. I feel we have come a long way from 100 years ago and we have achieved so much.