Women's Rights and Abolition Movements in the 19th Century

19th Century: Women's Rights & the Abolition Movement

Duchess Guevara's presentation focuses on two significant movements of the 19th century: Women's Rights and the Abolition Movement, both pivotal in shaping modern society.

Women's Rights Movement

The Women's Rights Movement was a diverse effort aimed at achieving equal rights, opportunities, and greater personal freedom for women.

Key Figures

  1. Elizabeth Cady Stanton:

    • Discovered discriminatory laws against women while studying law.
    • Authored “The Declaration of Sentiments.”
    • Circulated petitions for the New York Married Women’s Property Act.
    • Collaborated with Susan B. Anthony on speeches and publications.
    • Founded the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) with Anthony.
    • Published The Woman's Bible.

  2. Susan B. Anthony:

    • Started as a teacher and noticed wage disparities (male teachers earned 7x more than female teachers).
    • Served as an American Anti-Slavery Society agent.
    • Worked with Elizabeth Cady Stanton to advocate for women's equality.
    • Founded the American Equal Rights Association and edited its newspaper, The Revolution.
    • Elected president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1892.
    • Co-founded the National Woman Suffrage Association.

  3. Lucretia Mott:

    • Attended a Quaker boarding school and became aware of slavery and gender inequality.
    • Organized the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society.
    • Served as a delegate to the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention in London, meeting Elizabeth Stanton.
    • Presented the Declaration of Sentiments at the Seneca Falls Convention.
    • Protested the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
    • Became the first president of the American Equal Rights Association.
    • Decried the 14th and 15th amendments alongside Stanton and Anthony.
Main Ideas

  1. Enfranchisement:

    • The right to vote was a primary demand.
    • The fight for women's suffrage took decades.
    • The Constitution only mentioned “men,” leading women to see their exclusion as unjust.
    • Women worked in various jobs during the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) and were also citizens.

  2. Property Ownership:

    • In the 1800s, married women were legally subordinate to their husbands.
    • Wives could not own property, keep wages, or enter into contracts.
    • Upon marriage, a woman and all her possessions belonged to her husband.
    • Women aimed for economic independence and equal status within households.
Effectiveness
  • The movement achieved significant success with the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote.
  • Women gained education and the right to own property.
  • Many wrongful rules from the early 1800s were corrected.
  • However, misogyny persists, with ongoing debates about abortion and salary differences, especially for women of color.
  • Discrimination and prejudices remain due to societal issues rather than ineffective movements.
Student's Perspective
  • Complete support for the movement is expressed, emphasizing its potential to correct government mistakes and elevate society.
  • Most of the issues fought for are still relevant and controversial today.
  • The problem lies with people's attitudes, as changing preconceptions is essential to prevent repeating historical injustices.

The Abolition Movement

The Abolition Movement was a social and political campaign in the US aimed at ending slavery and achieving full emancipation for enslaved people.

Key Figures

  1. William Lloyd Garrison:

    • Initially supported resettlement in Africa but later rejected it.
    • Founded the anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator in 1831, which ran for 35 years.
    • Co-founded the American Anti-Slavery Society.
    • Collaborated with Frederick Douglass, Lucy Stone, and Wendell Phillips.
    • Advocated for women's rights in The Liberator.
    • Publicly burned a copy of the Constitution to protest the Fugitive Slave Law.
    • Refused to vote while the government sanctioned slavery.

  2. Frederick Douglass:

    • Born to a slave woman and a white man; experienced a harsh early life.
    • Learned to read in Baltimore, which he credited as opening the gateway to his prosperity.
    • Escaped slavery and became a national abolitionist leader.
    • Wrote his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.
    • Published the abolitionist newspaper The North Star.
    • Urged President Lincoln to make emancipation a war aim and arm enslaved people.
    • Became the highest-ranking Black official of his time and advocated for civil rights and women's rights.
    • Signed the Declaration of Sentiments.

  3. Harriet Tubman:

    • Experienced physical punishment and family separation as a slave in Maryland.
    • Escaped to Philadelphia using the Underground Railroad after her owner's death.
    • Served as a