Question

How does Cady Stanton further develop and refine ideas from the “Declaration of Independence” in her address?

Answer 1

Cady Stanton's keynote address at the Seneca Falls Convention (1848) touches on several issues that had already been discussed in the Declaration of Independence. However, she expands on them to prove that although those rights and liberties are meant to be for the enjoyment of all Americans, they remain inaccessible to women. Some of the ideas present on both texts are:

• Every man is born free. Women need to be as free as men in terms of property, deciding the outcomes of their lives, and participating in public life.

• Government requires the consent of the people. Stanton argues that if government wants to implement its laws upon women, then they need to ask for women's consent. They deserve to be represented in government and limit the control a man has over his wife (such as being able to imprison her). Moreover, women deserve the right to vote.

• Right to property. Stanton complaints that women often lose their wages, property, inheritance and even her children when she enters a marriage. However, women have a right, as much as men, to property and to the pursuit of happiness.