Women's Rights Movement: Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Following the Gilded Age in the United States, (U.S.) where prices were high, working salary was low, political corruption was everywhere, child labor was brutal and women were suffering, came the period in history called the Progressive Era. The Progressive Era was a period of social activism and political reform that grew immensely from the 1890s to the 1920s to fix these problems. Although not every part of this progressive movement made big impacts, reformers and the federal government were mildly successful in bringing reform at a national level to correct some injustices such as working conditions, political corruption, child labor laws and women 's suffrage in American life.

Most people do not know of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, but much to people’s surprise, she was just as important in Women’s Rights Movement as Susan B. Anthony, if not more important. Elizabeth Cady Stanton helped to create remarkable strides in the Women's Rights. During her life, Elizabeth was an American suffragist, social activist, abolitionist, writer, lecturer, and chief philosopher of the women’s rights movement. She also organized the Seneca Falls Convention with Lucretia Mott whose aim was to obtain equal rights for women. During the Convention, Cady Stanton wrote the “Declaration of Sentiments” which declared that American women should have the same civil and political rights that American men had, including the right to vote. In 1870, Elizabeth Cady Stanton would establish the National Women's Suffrage Association, with Susan B. Anthony.

The Women’s Rights movement is a movement about women wanting their rights and freedom as a women, and later on wanting the right to vote in the 20th century. The emergence of the movement was a gathering of women’s rights in the United States held July 19-20, 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York. The principal organizers are Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. Cady Stanton was a mother of four in upstate New York, and Lucretia Mott was a Quaker abolitionist.

During Progressive Era, there were many reforms that occurred, such as Child Labor Reform or Pure Food and Drug Act. Women Suffrage Movement was the last remarkable reform. This movement was fighting about the right of women to vote, which was basically about women’s right movement. Many great leaders – Elizabeth Cad Stanton and Susan B. Anthony - formed the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Although those influential leaders faced hardship during this movement, they never gave up and kept trying their best. This movement was occurred in New York that has a huge impact on the whole United States.

It was not until 1963 the Feminine Mystique was written and published by Betty Friedan which was claimed to start the women’s rights movement of the 1960s “The Feminine Mystique is remembered as the book that “started” the women 's movement and 1960s feminism in the United States.” In her book Friedan described her life as a typical housewife of the 1960s, she argued that women’s role was not just to be housewives and do housework, but instead they are a lot more important than that; she also called women to recognize their potential, to speak up and to aspire to work in professional jobs and become equal to men, “She also helped advance the women’s rights movement as one of the founders of the National

Many lower class citizens such as women, African American, and immigrants demanded their god-given rights of suffrage and freedom, and being accepted in society as an equal citizen. The Women’s Rights Movement assembled due to the unfair distribution of rights in men and women. According to Document I, women demanded their right to “be free as man is free, to be represented in the gov’t… [and]…we now demand our right to vote according to the declaration of the gov’t under which we live.” Elizabeth Cady Stanton protests of being inferior to men, being governed without their consent, yet still being taxed by the “democratic” gov’t to which they mean nothing.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born in Johnstown, 12 November 1815. She was the 8th children out of 11 children. Her father Daniel Cady was a judge and also a prominent Federalist Attorney. Her mother Margaret Livingston Cady was descended from Dutch settler. (Elizabeth Cady Stanton) (The oratory of women's suffrage, 2005)

Women have been been trying to gain their rights since the beginning of the United States. The first protest or gathering in the United States was held in July 1848, in New York ("The Women’s Rights Movement, 1848–1920"). Even

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was, no doubt, one of the most important activists for the women’s rights movement in the nineteenth century. Not only was she the leading advocate for women’s rights, she was also the “principal philosopher” of the movement . Some even considered her the nineteenth-century equivalent of Mary Wollstonecraft, who was the primary British feminist in the eighteenth century . Stanton won her reputation of being the chief philosopher and the “most consistent and daring liberal thinker” of the women’s right movement by expounding through pamphlets, speeches, essays, newspaper and letters her feminist theory . However, despite being an ardent abolitionist during the Civil War who fought for the emancipation of all slaves , her liberal feminist theory was tainted by a marked strain of racism and elitism that became more conspicuous as she started pressing for women’s suffrage .

Elizabeth Cady Stanton forever changed the social and political landscape of the United States of America by succeeding in her work to guarantee rights for women. Stanton as a young girl wanted to make her father proud and tried to live to the men’s ways (as Daniel Cady’s only son had died at the age of 20). She graduated from the Emma Willard 's Troy Female Seminary in 1832 and then was drawn to the abolitionist. Later on she married an reformer as she joined other women in the movement. Then she met Susan B. Anthony and the two had started to work together to change the world of women’s rights. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an important leader and left a legacy because she gave thoughtful/well-spoken speeches, made a very influential person

Elizabeth Cady Stanton is the first person thought of when people think of Women’s Suffrage. She and her friends were the ones who made Women’s Suffrage known to America. Throughout her life she had the chance to have seven children, and still get to work and fight for Women’s Suffrage. She started many organizations and really pushed to get Suffrage. If she didn’t Suffrage most likely wouldn’t of been amended in 1920.

Women used many different methods to earn the right to vote in the Women’s Suffrage Movement. One method women used to earn support is that they organized a parade in Washington, D.C., the same day the president was coming into town so that there was large crowds. Many of the people in the crowd were men who, along with drinking also disagreed with the right for women to vote. They began to yell then even throw objects at the women walking in the parade. Eventually, the police walked away giving the men the opportunity to attack. In the end, over 100 women were injured. This unfortunate event lead to published newsletters stating the events that day and gained much support for the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Another method the women used to

Women would no longer be looked upon as the lesser half, they wanted to be seen just as capable as men. So they fought for their right starting in 1848. This movement took years, to be exact 72 years. These women had some persistence to stay with their battle no matter how tough it was. The first part in winning women's suffrage was the parades and protests.

It began to pick up steam in the 1850s, but was shut down because of the Civil War. The movement began in the years before the war, but received a major hindrance as the war started. Although women were enforced to go back to their domestic lives, the time period of the Civil War was a turning point for women. Women began gaining more recognition for their roles in the Civil War, and that was a huge motivation for women’s rights. People began to support women’s rights, and that was a huge win for advocates.

Who was Elizabeth Cady Stanton? Stanton was a radical reformer for women's rights, many people may not know who she was or what significance she held for women today. In the book, Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Radical for Women’s Rights by Lois W. Banner, the reader gets to learn more about her, her family and what her importance was from 1815 to 1902. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born on November 12, 1815 in Johnstown, New York. She was born to a lawyer that had no problem expressing favoritism toward his son and a mother who was sweet and taught her children to follow their dreams.