Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions Written by Douglas M. Rife Illustrated by Bron Smith Teaching & Learning Company 1204 Buchanan St., P.O. Box 10 Carthage, IL 62321-0010
This book belongs to For my daughters, Aliya and Sofia I would like to acknowledge the assistance of Kip Koss, President of the J.N. Ding Darling Foundation, for his helpfulness during my quest for permission to reprint the Ding Darling cartoons found in this book. Cover photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. Images of American Political History. All images are believed to be in the public domain. Every attempt has been made to contact and secure permission for any copyrighted material in this book. Please contact the publisher if any item has inadvertently been overlooked. Copyright 2002, Teaching & Learning Company ISBN No. 1-57310-350-0 Printing No. 987654321 Teaching & Learning Company 1204 Buchanan St., P.O. Box 10 Carthage, IL 62321-0010 The purchase of this book entitles teachers to make copies for use in their individual classrooms only. This book, or any part of it, may not be reproduced in any form for any other purposes without prior written permission from the Teaching & Learning Company. It is strictly prohibited to reproduce any part of this book for an entire school or school district, or for commercial resale. The above permission is exclusive of the cover art, which may not be reproduced. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. ii TLC10350 Copyright Teaching & Learning Company, Carthage, IL 62321-0010
Table of Contents Objectives........................... 5 Seneca Falls Convention................ 6 From the Seneca Falls Convention to the Passage of the Nineteenth Amendment Time Line............. 13 Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions......... 14 Vocabulary Match.................... 19 Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions................... 20 Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions: Grievances Matching......................... 22 Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions: Grievances Matching II....................... 24 Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions...................... 26 Suffrage Campaign Song............... 27 Beyond the Suffrage Campaign Song..... 29 Understanding the Suffrage Campaign Song................... 30 Editorial Cartoons................... 31 There s a couple of distinguished gentlemen to see you, Ma.......... 34 Understanding the There s a couple of distinguished gentlemen to see you, Ma Editorial Cartoon...... 35 Beyond the There s a couple of distinguished gentlemen to see you, Ma Editorial Cartoon...... 36 All ready but the last button.......... 37 Understanding the All ready but the last button Editorial Cartoon....... 38 Beyond the All ready but the last button Editorial Cartoon....... 39 Enter Madam...................... 40 Understanding the Enter Madam Editorial Cartoon................. 41 Beyond the Enter Madam Editorial Cartoon................. 42 The Passage of the Nineteenth Amendment Map.................. 43 Understanding the Passage of the Nineteenth Amendment Map........ 44 Bibliography......................... 45 Answer Key......................... 46 TLC10350 Copyright Teaching & Learning Company, Carthage, IL 62321-0010 iii
Seneca Falls Convention People to Know Who Were at the Seneca Falls Women s Right Convention Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born in Johnstown, New York, the daughter of Margaret and Judge Daniel Cady. She married Henry B. Stanton in 1840, the same year they attended the Anti-Slavery Convention in London, England. She and Henry had seven children. Cady Stanton worked tirelessly for women s rights. In 1869, Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony founded the National Woman Suffrage Association, which was dedicated to seeing that women in the United States were granted voting rights. Cady Stanton served as the organization s president until 1890. Lucretia Coffin Mott (1793-1880) Lucretia Mott was an outspoken opponent of slavery and had gained a reputation as an eloquent public speaker. Mott was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and raised a Quaker. Mott met Elizabeth Cady Stanton in London at an Anti-Slavery Convention. Both women were incensed that they were not seated as delegates because they were women. They vowed to fight for women s rights as a result of that meeting. Mott was one of five women who called for a Women s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls. Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) Douglass was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey as a slave in Tuckahoe, Maryland. Douglass escaped to the North and became one of the most eloquent voices in American history to speak about the evils of slavery. Douglass founded the anti-slavery newspaper The North Star in 1847. While many newspapers derided the Seneca Falls Convention, The North Star did not. Frederick Douglass not only attended the Seneca Falls Convention but was one of 32 men to sign the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions. 6 Handout 1 TLC10350 Copyright Teaching & Learning Company, Carthage, IL 62321-0010
In July of 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton traveled to Waterloo, a small town not far from where she lived in Seneca Falls, New York. She went to the home of Richard and Jane Hunt to have tea with her old friend Lucretia Mott. Also at the tea, were Jane Hunt, Martha Coffin Wright (Lucretia s sister) and Mary Ann McClintock. All of the women were Quakers except Stanton. As Quakers they had experienced some measure of equality as members of that religion. For instance, women were allowed to speak in church in front of the congregation before audiences of men and women. Mott and Stanton had met eight Seneca Falls Convention The Seneca Falls Women s Rights Convention Now eight years later the group gathered socially. As they talked, Stanton led the group in a rousing discussion about the inequality of treatment of women. At the tea, the women there decided to call for a convention to address the condition of rights for women. The women placed the following ad for their convention in the Seneca County Courier: WOMEN S RIGHTS CONVENTION A Convention to discuss the social, civil and religious condition and rights of women, will be held in the Wesleyan Chapel, at Seneca Falls, years before at the Anti-Slavery Convention in London, England. The convention proved to be a disappointment because the women delegates to the convention were not recognized and allowed to participate, other than to watch, simply because they were women. The London group met to discuss granting rights to all men regardless of color or race, but saw no irony in not allowing half of the world s population women the same rights as men. Handout 1 TLC10350 Copyright Teaching & Learning Company, Carthage, IL 62321-0010 7
Seneca Falls Convention N.Y., on Wednesday and Thursday, the 19 th and 20 th of July, current; commencing at 10 o clock a.m. During the first day the meeting will be exclusively for women, who are earnestly invited to attend. The public are invited to be present on the second day, when Lucretia Mott of Philadelphia, and other ladies and gentlemen will address the convention. Now that the ad was placed, the group set about preparing for the meeting which was only a few days away. Cady Stanton drafted the Declaration of Sentiments, which was to be read at the convention. The document was modeled after the Declaration of Independence. Instead of listing specific grievances against the king, however, the document listed the grievances against he. And instead The morning of the convention, the attendees found the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel to be locked. A nephew of Cady Stanton s crawled through an open window to let the waiting attendees into the church. Though the ad in the Courier had invited women only to the first day, men had come nearly 40 of them. The convention leadership decided to allow the men to stay. of saying all men are created equal the Declaration of Sentiments said, all men and women are created equal. But the part that proved explosive was the call for women to have the vote. Even some of the women in the group thought that would cause others not to take the convention seriously. Cady Stanton s own husband wanted that portion stricken from the document, but Elizabeth refused. Henry left town during the convention. 8 Handout 1 TLC10350 Copyright Teaching & Learning Company, Carthage, IL 62321-0010