LAD #11: Seneca Falls Declaration

The Seneca Falls Declaration of 1848 begins by almost exactly mimicking the Declaration of Independence's introduction and merely adds women into the equation. It states that inalienable rights of man also apply to women and they have to the right to shrug off these abuses by government in favor of a government which supports the rights of women as well. Next, in the style of the original Declaration, the state their "sentiments" or grievances which have led them to meet and draft this document. They include, the lack of the right to vote or partake in the legislative process, the hindering effect marraige has on them, their inability to own private property, their overall subservient nature to men, the unfairness of divorce laws, their inability to gain high-paying professions, the inequality in education, and not being allowed to partake in the actions of the Church. They state that women deserve to be shed of these impediments and that they will do everything in their power to further the rights of women in the future, and proceed to state these issues to be resolved by the natural law of the universe set forth by God. These include, equality of women in government and in regard to men, ending the obedient degradation of women in favor of progressive fighting, the moral authority of women, that men should be just as moral in government as women already are, that women may address the public without ridicule, that women themselves shall move forward as designated by God, women's suffrage, and the combined efforts of men and women to usurp the patrimonial society that they live in.