Declaration Of Sentiments And Resolutions

4 Pages 916 Words

Women’s suffrage has been a long and difficult road for all involved, especially at its earlier stages. Just as we have founding fathers that framed the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, there were also many women to whom we owe many of our liberties. The Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 was a time to confer about the public and political condition and the civil liberties of women. At this convention, the women who drafted the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, Elizabeth Stanton and Lucretia Mott, followed the structure of the Declaration of Independence for guidance. Their declaration imitates or parodies Jefferson’s declaration so that it displays the intelligence of Stanton to compare the two. Although the King of England is replaced with the “tyrant man,” both documents still share many similarities, as well as differences.
The Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions are similar in that they share the same structure. The way in which they are written follows an almost identical pattern. The beginning of the documents details the purpose of each declaration and those who it is representing. The following section conveys the grievances that are being criticized. The last segment lists the wishes of each of the represented groups. Another sense in which the two declarations are alike is that they are both addressing the same audiences. They are speaking to the ignorant masses of the United States in order to raise awareness of their causes. They are also addressing those who were in power over them—the king of England and man. They both demand the overthrowing of their present political and social status, and both had previously appealed to the higher authority of their time. They asked for liberty and equality between two different groups of people—king and colonist—man and woman. Both express the injustices done to them under the current state of g...