Essay Sample on Seneca Falls Convection of 1848: Pillar of Women's Rights in the US

Reviewed literature presents Seneca Falls Convection of 1848 as the pillar of American history due to the role it played in championing for the rights of women in the society. This initiative lasted for two days at Wesleyan church in New York's Seneca Falls. The main objective of the conference was to initiate the framework that could champion for women's religious, social, and civil freedoms and rights. Those in attendance included "300 women from the neighborhood and 32 men who joined the event on the second day of the event" (French 76). During the event, one of the conference organizers, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, called for the federal government to come public on issues concerning women like it had on men by allowing them to contribute to the country's economic development instead of enslaving them as domestic workers. This information could help to trace the origin of women's rights movements and assess its impact on modern society.

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According to scholars, the organizers of the Seneca Falls Conference were active members of the abolitionist movement, which demanded the end of slavery, racial segregation, and profiling. According to French, the most significant element of the Seneca convention was the declaration of Sentiments, which was the "manifesto of the Seneca Falls Convention which comprised of documented women grievances and demands" (76). This document called upon women to "collaborate and fight for their rights as guaranteed by the constitution to access equal opportunities and treatment as other American citizens" (French 77). The convention manifesto stated that men and women are equal before God and the principles of the declaration of American independence. As a result, the Declaration of Sentiment demanded that women access their rights and equal opportunities on matters, family, religion, politics, education, and religion.

These declarations commenced with 19 usurpations and abuses that targeted to damage the confidence of women in articulating their abilities and invalidate the effort to lead a self-reliant and respectful path of life. Women claimed that their exclusion from voting compelled them to "obey laws regardless of their feelings or consent" (French 122). More so, the existing laws had denied women education, thereby getting insignificant positions in the church. Another issue that gave women sleepless nights was on obeying their husbands the denial to own property and their earnings. More so, they would walk away empty-handed in the cases of divorce. This declaration, therefore, called upon women to wage war against the government.

Later on, the conference presented a list of resolutions that called for equal opportunities with men hence asking the American population to disregard any legal standing that invalidates the position of women in any sector of humanity. According to French, this strategy aimed at "forcing the authority to create equal opportunities for women" (245). The most controversial issue was the call for women to have secrete rights to the elective franchise or the right to vote.

In the same context, the conference needed those in attendance to sign the Declaration of Sentiments and make the valid for use. However, out of 300 women that attended the event, only 68 availed their signatures to the document, leaving behind 232. Besides, thirty-two men also rendered their names to the report. According to French, some resolutions in the material were too "complex and delicate to endorse at that time" (78). For instance, the issues that demanded women's suffrage posed a threat to the effort for equality in other genuine sectors. Evidence also showed that after making the document public, some women "withdrew their signatures as a result of extreme ridicule and criticism from the public courtesy of publicity from the media" (French 78). At this point, if I attended the conference, I could have gladly rendered my signature to validate the declaration of Sentiments because the issue at hand was about allowing women to participate in voting exercises. More so, I believe that involving women to vote will enable them to participate in the country's activities hence improving governance and economic development. Even though the conference initially failed to make this issue a reality, it later conquered and enabled women to exercise their voting rights.

Regarding the achievement of the Seneca Falls Convention, the press coverage of this conference attracted critic as well as drawing women from all walks of life to restructure the movement's agenda towards success. For example, Stanton used the criticism as a weapon of "strategizing thus answered most of the press critics" (French 187). She then attracted other female activists, thereby leading to the 1850 first national convention in Worcester and many other women empowerment conferences until the beginning of the American Civil War. As a result, the French states that the Seneca Convention was able to |" partner with other organizations to facilitate political equity for women as some of the radicle initiatives such as the NWSA championed for more issues beyond suffrage" (259). This movement was able to convince the federal and state governments to reform laws that discriminated against women as exemplified by rights to own property among married women, legal rights to make the contract, and use suits as well as having equal guardianship over children.

These achievements had materialized before 1890 before the formation ion of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), which integrated two major rival movements. For instance, more than a third of the college admissions comprised of female students. At such a period, schools in more than 19 states allowed women to vote during board elections. Today, American women are not only allowed to vote for their political leaders, but they are also entitled to participate in such polls courtesy of the later efforts by the more significant NAWSA movement. However, the majority of the man limit women leaders from optimizing their potential to date. This situation has influenced leaders of the movement to act emotionally rather than embracing their initial strategies. According to French, Stanton's writing of "The Women's Bible to invalidate the Biblical view of women attracted censorship from the authorities" (302). This strategy was not a professional way of championing the rights of women in the 21st Century. This leader could have aligned its members towards forcing the governments to enact laws that further provides a 50/50 gender balance in every economic sector to achieve their objectives of equity for women.

Works Cited

French Marilyn. From Eve to Dawn: History of Women. Volume 3. 15, 7, 2018. ISBN 978-155861-583-0. https:books.google.co.ke/books? Id=Emim2piaXqUC&1pg=PA188&dq/why-200-women-refused-to-sign- the-declaration-sentiments-of-the-seneca-fallsconvention/f=false.