July 17, 2020 • 8 mins
July 19 marks the 172nd anniversary of a movement that forever changed the United States. In 1848, the first American women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York, and sparked the long fight to get equal rights for women— including the right to vote. Today we hear from Professor of History Emerita, Dr. Sally McMillen, author of Seneca Falls and the Origins of the Women’s Rights Movement.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to this episode of Here's Something Good, a production
of the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio.
Each day we aspire to bring you the good news,
the silver lining, the glass half full, because there is
good happening in the world everywhere every day, we just
need to look for and share it. Here's Something Good
(00:27):
for Today. One hundred and seventy two years ago, during
two hot days in July, three women and men gathered
in a chapel in upstate New York, and they set
off a movement that would rock the nation. America's very
first women's rights convention, held in Seneca Falls on July,
(00:50):
would lead decades later to the passage of the nineteenth
Amendment that gave women the right to vote. The Seneca
Falls Convention was originally organized by Lucrecia Mott At Elizabeth
Katie Stanton, and it was groundbreaking for many reasons, including
the fact that women gave inspiring speeches at a time
when quote nice women were not supposed to speak in public.
The centerpiece at the conference was the Declaration of Sentiments,
(01:13):
modeled on the Declaration of Independence. It declared shockingly that
women should have the same rights as men to own property,
to keep any money they earned, and of course to vote.
Now we're getting ready to celebrate not only Seneca Falls,
but next month is the hundredth anniversary of American women's suffrage.
We spoke with historian Dr Sally McMillan, Professor emeritus at
(01:36):
Davidson College and the author of the book Seneca Falls
and the Origins of the Women's Rights Movement. Here's what
she had to say. Dr McMillan, thanks so much for
joining us. It's my pleasure. So what was life like
for women in eight when the convention was held? What
were they allowed to do? And what were women forbidden
(01:57):
to do? Well, of course, it depends on what when.
And you're talking about Slave women, of course had no rights.
Their bodies were owned by a slave owner. Free black
women have very few rights, but they managed to create
an existence living in towns and working. But for the
most part, if we're talking about sort of middle and
upper class and poor white women, women at that time
(02:18):
had virtually no rights if they were married. If you
were a married woman, and of course back then most
women wanted to marry, you had no right to any
possessions that you brought into a marriage. You had no
right to any earnings you might make. UM, you could
not sign contracts, of course, you could not vote, you
could not serve on juries, and if in rare cases
of divorce, um, the children became your husband's. So women
(02:41):
were known as fem coverts. Legally that meant basically you
were covered by a man. For our listeners, could you
explain the significance of Seneca Falls and how it connected
to women suffrage? Seneca Falls was really the first organized
convention held to demand the right for women. It was
held in what was a small but very thriving town
(03:05):
in the middle of New York State, right on a canal.
And what happened to create this convention was a tea party,
very popular form of entertainment, among five women. And two
of the women there are well known, Elizabeth Katie Stanton
and Lucretia Mott. And it was at this tea party
where they began to talk, and apparently Elizabeth Katie Stanton
(03:27):
began to just spear forth all of her concerns about
the rights that women did not have, and so they
decided to hold a convention, which they had to do
very quickly because Lucretia Mott, one of the Five Women
was very well known and her name would attract a crowd.
So they sent out notices to newspapers local newspapers and
(03:47):
invited certain people to come, and in the process, of course,
drew up the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments, which was
kind of the basis for many organizations such as anti
slavery societies. And Elizabeth Katie Stanton likely was one of
the authors of this Declaration of Rights and Sentiments. And
(04:08):
so just a few days later on July nine, and
they held this convention in Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls,
New York, and some three hundred people attended the two
day convention, which was quite remarkable considering most people lived
in rural areas. The two days were devoted to going
through all of the demands that they had drawn up.
(04:31):
The fact that women lived in a separate sphere from men,
their life are basically confined at the home, and all
of the rights that married women did not have. That
I just outlined that women were taxed, but they had
no rights, they did not have equal pay, they had
no access to higher education. What they did was lay
out all of their complaints and then make resolutions for
(04:53):
change and one of the most ringing phrases, well, I
think it's the most ringing phrase of all is that
based this declaration of rights and sentiments on the Declaration
of Independence. And so what they wrote was all men
and women are created equal. And so they presented these
resolutions to the Convention. They were discussed widely. For the
(05:15):
most part, there was unanimous agreement on all of these rights.
The most controversial though, was giving women the right to vote,
and that created a lot of dissension and discussion. But
eventually it was Frederick Douglas, the abolitionist, escaped slave who
had been living in Rochester, New York, and he stood
(05:36):
up and he said, I cannot demand the right for
blacks to gain the right to suffrage unless I also
make the same demand for women. And that saved the day,
and so all resolutions passed and a hundred people signed
that declaration. What that convention did, it was a very
local convention, but it was sort of the first step
(05:57):
in women moving forward, which they did it in eighteen
fifty to create national women's rights conventions, and from eighteen
fifty until the Civil War broke out, except for one year,
women held national conventions demanding their rights, and sometimes they
drew a thousand people, They drew famous reformers, They gave
(06:18):
speeches that did reports all to show the injustices women
faced in this country. Thank you to Dr Sally McMillan
for such an incredible conversation. Make sure to check out
her book, Seneca Falls and the Origin of the Women's
Rights Movement. You'll learn more about the convention and also
get a historical dive into fifty years of women's activism
from eighteen forty to eighteen nine. So here's something good
(06:42):
for today. It's remarkable to think about women's lives in
eighteen forty eight and realize the courage it took for
women without legal rights to gather for this convention, to
speak out and to demand change. And as we approached
the anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention, let's celebrate that
a hundred and seventy two years ago, women and allied
(07:03):
men set in motion the women's rights movement. Today, we
salute them for taking those first steps on the long
journey to women suffrage and to creating a better world
for all. Have a great day, Thank you for listening,
(07:26):
and please share today's something good with others in your life.
This is Kim Azzarelli, co author of Fast Forward and
co founder of Seneca Women. To learn more about Seneca Women,
go to Seneca Women dot com or download the Seneca
Women app free in the app store. Care Something Good
is a production of the Seneca Women podcast network and
I Heart Radio Have a Great Day. For more podcasts
(07:53):
from my heart Radio, check out the I Heart Radio app,
Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to this episode of Here's Something Good, a production
of the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio.
Each day we aspire to bring you the good news,
the silver lining, the glass half full, because there is
good happening in the world everywhere every day, we just
need to look for and share it. Here's Something Good
(00:27):
for Today. One hundred and seventy two years ago, during
two hot days in July, three women and men gathered
in a chapel in upstate New York, and they set
off a movement that would rock the nation. America's very
first women's rights convention, held in Seneca Falls on July,
(00:50):
would lead decades later to the passage of the nineteenth
Amendment that gave women the right to vote. The Seneca
Falls Convention was originally organized by Lucrecia Mott At Elizabeth
Katie Stanton, and it was groundbreaking for many reasons, including
the fact that women gave inspiring speeches at a time
when quote nice women were not supposed to speak in public.
The centerpiece at the conference was the Declaration of Sentiments,
(01:13):
modeled on the Declaration of Independence. It declared shockingly that
women should have the same rights as men to own property,
to keep any money they earned, and of course to vote.
Now we're getting ready to celebrate not only Seneca Falls,
but next month is the hundredth anniversary of American women's suffrage.
We spoke with historian Dr Sally McMillan, Professor emeritus at
(01:36):
Davidson College and the author of the book Seneca Falls
and the Origins of the Women's Rights Movement. Here's what
she had to say. Dr McMillan, thanks so much for
joining us. It's my pleasure. So what was life like
for women in eight when the convention was held? What
were they allowed to do? And what were women forbidden
(01:57):
to do? Well, of course, it depends on what when.
And you're talking about Slave women, of course had no rights.
Their bodies were owned by a slave owner. Free black
women have very few rights, but they managed to create
an existence living in towns and working. But for the
most part, if we're talking about sort of middle and
upper class and poor white women, women at that time
(02:18):
had virtually no rights if they were married. If you
were a married woman, and of course back then most
women wanted to marry, you had no right to any
possessions that you brought into a marriage. You had no
right to any earnings you might make. UM, you could
not sign contracts, of course, you could not vote, you
could not serve on juries, and if in rare cases
of divorce, um, the children became your husband's. So women
(02:41):
were known as fem coverts. Legally that meant basically you
were covered by a man. For our listeners, could you
explain the significance of Seneca Falls and how it connected
to women suffrage? Seneca Falls was really the first organized
convention held to demand the right for women. It was
held in what was a small but very thriving town
(03:05):
in the middle of New York State, right on a canal.
And what happened to create this convention was a tea party,
very popular form of entertainment, among five women. And two
of the women there are well known, Elizabeth Katie Stanton
and Lucretia Mott. And it was at this tea party
where they began to talk, and apparently Elizabeth Katie Stanton
(03:27):
began to just spear forth all of her concerns about
the rights that women did not have, and so they
decided to hold a convention, which they had to do
very quickly because Lucretia Mott, one of the Five Women
was very well known and her name would attract a crowd.
So they sent out notices to newspapers local newspapers and
(03:47):
invited certain people to come, and in the process, of course,
drew up the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments, which was
kind of the basis for many organizations such as anti
slavery societies. And Elizabeth Katie Stanton likely was one of
the authors of this Declaration of Rights and Sentiments. And
(04:08):
so just a few days later on July nine, and
they held this convention in Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls,
New York, and some three hundred people attended the two
day convention, which was quite remarkable considering most people lived
in rural areas. The two days were devoted to going
through all of the demands that they had drawn up.
(04:31):
The fact that women lived in a separate sphere from men,
their life are basically confined at the home, and all
of the rights that married women did not have. That
I just outlined that women were taxed, but they had
no rights, they did not have equal pay, they had
no access to higher education. What they did was lay
out all of their complaints and then make resolutions for
(04:53):
change and one of the most ringing phrases, well, I
think it's the most ringing phrase of all is that
based this declaration of rights and sentiments on the Declaration
of Independence. And so what they wrote was all men
and women are created equal. And so they presented these
resolutions to the Convention. They were discussed widely. For the
(05:15):
most part, there was unanimous agreement on all of these rights.
The most controversial though, was giving women the right to vote,
and that created a lot of dissension and discussion. But
eventually it was Frederick Douglas, the abolitionist, escaped slave who
had been living in Rochester, New York, and he stood
(05:36):
up and he said, I cannot demand the right for
blacks to gain the right to suffrage unless I also
make the same demand for women. And that saved the day,
and so all resolutions passed and a hundred people signed
that declaration. What that convention did, it was a very
local convention, but it was sort of the first step
(05:57):
in women moving forward, which they did it in eighteen
fifty to create national women's rights conventions, and from eighteen
fifty until the Civil War broke out, except for one year,
women held national conventions demanding their rights, and sometimes they
drew a thousand people, They drew famous reformers, They gave
(06:18):
speeches that did reports all to show the injustices women
faced in this country. Thank you to Dr Sally McMillan
for such an incredible conversation. Make sure to check out
her book, Seneca Falls and the Origin of the Women's
Rights Movement. You'll learn more about the convention and also
get a historical dive into fifty years of women's activism
from eighteen forty to eighteen nine. So here's something good
(06:42):
for today. It's remarkable to think about women's lives in
eighteen forty eight and realize the courage it took for
women without legal rights to gather for this convention, to
speak out and to demand change. And as we approached
the anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention, let's celebrate that
a hundred and seventy two years ago, women and allied
(07:03):
men set in motion the women's rights movement. Today, we
salute them for taking those first steps on the long
journey to women suffrage and to creating a better world
for all. Have a great day, Thank you for listening,
(07:26):
and please share today's something good with others in your life.
This is Kim Azzarelli, co author of Fast Forward and
co founder of Seneca Women. To learn more about Seneca Women,
go to Seneca Women dot com or download the Seneca
Women app free in the app store. Care Something Good
is a production of the Seneca Women podcast network and
I Heart Radio Have a Great Day. For more podcasts
(07:53):
from my heart Radio, check out the I Heart Radio app,
Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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