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“The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her…. He has endeavored, in every way that he could to destroy her confidence in her own powers, to lessen her self-respect, and to make her willing to lead a dependent and abject life…. [I]n view of the unjust laws above mentioned, and because women do feel themselves aggrieved, oppressed, and fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights, we insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of these United States.”
The Seneca Falls Convention, the first convention created by women, for women, laid the groundwork for women’s suffrage by proclaiming that women deserve all the rights articulated in the Declaration of Independence. While the ideals in the Declaration of Independence form the foundation of American Democracy, events like this enhance its relevance and ensure that it continues to resonate with our ever-evolving nation.
Whether by petitioning for their own rights, abolitionism, or temperance, women’s contributions to American democracy have been indispensable.
★ [WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE]. “Report of the Woman’s Rights Convention … at Seneca Falls, New York, July 19-20, 1848.” #27289