Women's Rights Movement Essay

The Women’s Rights movement began in 1848 and throughout the years has made a difference in the lives of women in the U.S. The fight for women to be complete equals to men is still going on, but the efforts of the women of the late 1840s has helped change the status of women in several ways. Before the movement began American women were not allowed to vote, had very few rights in regards to owning property and their own earning, they couldn’t take custody of their children if they were to get a divorce, and few professions and colleges were available to women. They were essentially second class citizens. Even when they wanted to help and support a reform movement, they were held back from fully participating. During the abolition movement, women wanted to get involved and help put an end to slavery. They wanted to speak out to public crowds and participate in the movement. Unfortunately, they were not allowed to speak to public crowds that included men. They would be humiliated and threatened for “not staying in their place” for even attempting to speak to mixed groups (The Anti-Slavery and Woman Rights Movements). Due to that, they had to form separate groups for women only (Reform Movements: Women 's Rights). Women found it unfair that they could not be more directly involved in reform movements. Early women leaders of the anti-slavery movement and the women’s movement were sisters Sarah and Angelina Grimke. But, they had to fight and prove themselves, more so than men, to get involved in the abolition movement (Grimké, Angelina and Sarah). Growing up as a part of a wealthy, white family and living on a plantation, Sarah and Angelina witnessed first hand the horrors of slavery. From a young age, they were uncomfortable with the idea of their own family owning slaves, slavery in general, and the social norms that women were obliged to follow. Sarah was very intelligent and was disappointed by the fact that she could not follow in her brother’s footsteps and attend law school, simply because she was a female. By 1827, both Angelina and Sarah converted to the Quaker religion because they greatly appreciated the fact that the Quakers saw slavery as evil and advocated against it. While in Philadelphia, Sarah studied to become a clergy member, up until she realized that the Quakers had only professed gender equality and disapproved of her ambitious attitude (Grimké, Angelina and Sarah). Sarah and Angelina wanted to be more involved in the abolition movement now that it was extensive in the East. They took action by supporting groups and movements that pushed for abolition. Angelina attended the American Anti-Slavery Society meetings and became a member of the society’s committee, she also took part in it’s anti-slavery conventions, and Sarah joined the Free Produce movement, which boycotted products made by slaves (Grimké, Angelina and Sarah). The sisters took great action, as much action as women could take at this time, for the abolition movement. They were proudly accepted by the antislavery community, but the Philadelphia Quakers forced Angelina to renounce her membership because they disapproved …show more content…
African American women were mostly kept out of the women’s movement at the beginning because the white women wanted to concentrate on the women’s movement and not get the abolition movement involved (Reform Movements: Women 's Rights). Stanton presented the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, which was modeled after the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration discussed the grievances of women against existing laws and customs (Elizabeth Cady Stanton). It stated that “all men and women are created equal and are endowed with inalienable rights, including life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. It also expressed 18 charges of “repeated injuries and usurpation on the part of man toward woman”, including unfair laws regarding divorce, inequality in regard to religion, education, and employment, and the denial to vote. As for the 12 resolutions, they called for the repeal of the unfair laws that allowed women to be treated unequally, the acknowledgement that women are equal to men, the right to speak in churches, equal participation in professions, trade, and commerce, and the granting of the right to vote (Seneca Falls