Seneca Falls Convention facts for kids
The Seneca Falls Convention was the first big meeting about women's rights. It was advertised as "a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman." This important event happened in the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York. It lasted two days, from July 19 to 20, 1848.
The convention got a lot of attention. Other women's rights meetings soon followed. One was the Rochester Women's Rights Convention in Rochester, New York, just two weeks later. In 1850, the first of many yearly National Women's Rights Conventions took place in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Contents
Why Women Wanted Rights
In the 1840s, women in America wanted more control over their own lives. At that time, husbands and fathers usually made all the big decisions for women. Many opportunities were not open to women.
Laws often stopped women from owning property or signing agreements. They could not serve on juries or vote in elections. Jobs for women were also very limited. They could only get a few types of service jobs. Plus, they were paid about half of what men earned for doing the same work.
The Declaration of Sentiments
The meeting was organized by local Quaker women and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Stanton was not a Quaker herself. They planned the event when Lucretia Mott visited the area. Mott was a Quaker from Philadelphia. She was well-known for her great speaking skills. This was unusual because women were often not allowed to speak in public back then.
The convention had six sessions. These included a talk about law and a funny presentation. There were also many discussions about women's place in society. Stanton and the Quaker women brought two main documents. These were the Declaration of Sentiments and a list of resolutions. They wanted people to discuss and change these documents before signing them.
A big debate happened about women's right to vote. Many people, including Lucretia Mott, wanted to remove this idea. But Frederick Douglass, the only African American person at the convention, spoke strongly for it. Because of him, the idea of women voting stayed in the document. About 100 of the 300 people who attended signed the document. Most of the signers were women.
Some people at the time, like Lucretia Mott, saw the convention as one important step. They believed it was part of a bigger effort for women to gain more social, civil, and moral rights. Others saw it as a revolutionary start to women's fight for full equality with men. Elizabeth Cady Stanton thought the Seneca Falls Convention was the true beginning of the women's rights movement. She wrote about this in the History of Woman Suffrage.
The convention's Declaration of Sentiments became very important. A historian named Judith Wellman said it was "the single most important factor in spreading news of the women's rights movement." This happened across the country in 1848 and for years after. By the time of the National Women's Rights Convention in 1851, women's right to vote was a main goal. These conventions happened every year until the American Civil War started in 1861.
Remembering the Convention
In 1948, a special postage stamp was made to remember the Seneca Falls Convention. It showed Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Carrie Chapman Catt, and Lucretia Mott. This was part of a 100-year celebration in Seneca Falls.
The Women's Rights National Historical Park was created in 1980. It covers land in Seneca Falls and nearby Waterloo, New York. The park includes four main historical places. These are the Wesleyan Methodist Church, where the convention took place. It also includes Elizabeth Cady Stanton's home. Another important site is the M'Clintock House. This is where the Declaration of Sentiments, resolutions, and speeches were written. Both the Wesleyan Methodist Church and the M'Clintock House were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
In 1998, First Lady Hillary Clinton gave a speech. She spoke on the 150th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention.
In 2015, the White House under Barack Obama started #FindtheSentiments. This was an effort to find an original copy of the Declaration of Sentiments. Many people on social media and at historical sites helped with the search. So far, the original Sentiments document has not been found.
Images for kids
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This mahogany tea table was used on July 16, 1848, to compose much of the first draft of the Declaration of Sentiments.
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Lucretia Mott was described as "the moving spirit of the occasion".
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Frederick Douglass stood up to speak in favor of women's right to vote.
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See also
In Spanish: Convención de Seneca Falls para niños
