Campbell Class Discussion

OPTION 1:

The document "Declaration of Sentiments" clearly served as a focus point for the woman's rights movement. According to the bibliography, this was written for "the first convention ever called to discuss the civil and political rights of women." This woman's rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York on July 19th and 20th of 1848. As mentioned in a footnote that is listed on the page, "The movers of this convention, who drafted the call, the declaration and resolutions were Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Martha C. Wright, Mary Ann McClintock, and Jane C. Hunt" -- all notable figures in the early woman's rights movement. The bibliography also indicates that the document includes the subjects of women's rights, the United States, and Congress. Based on this information provided in the bibliography alone, it is obvious that the document "Declaration of Sentiments" involves a call for the rights of women, presented by women and for women.

The first page of the document is actually a call for women to attend this convention. The call was published in the Seneca Country Courier a few days before the convention was used as an invitation. As promised in this notice, the convention was held "to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman" (1). Women were"earnestly invited to attend" the first day of the convention, while "the public generally are invited to be present on the second day" (1). This invitation also points out that on the second day, both "ladies and gentlemen will address the convention" (1). 

The rest of the document advocates equality for women. The author uses a strong driving force to argue her point by bringing up the Declaration of Independence. She quotes the Declaration, stressing the opening lines which indicate that mankind has unalienable rights. She then calls the audience's attention to the fact that women do not receive these rights and now it is necessary for women "to demand the equal station to which they are entitled" (2). She provides lists of all the ways women have been denied the rights that have been guaranteed under the US government. At the conclusion of this section, we see that "this declaration was unanimously adopted and signed by 32 men and 68 women" (4) . The document then lists the resolutions that came about because of this call to action. 

The word that I chose to search was "feminism." During the time between 1848 and 1921, many negative connotations of this word stayed the same. According to B.V. Hubbard in the section "Feminism Defined" of Socialism, Feminism, and Suffragism..., "Feminism advocates 'votes for women,' and all Feminists are Suffragettes" (143). He also argues, "She declares that 'motherhood' animal function... frowns on 'compulsory' motherhood and advocates the 'control of births' by artificial measures" (143). This idea resonates through many articles, and some similar ideas can still be seen today. It is interesting to think of what initial ideas people have even today when they hear the word "feminism." It seems to me like many people still believe that feminists are men hating, motherhood denouncing, lesbians (in extreme cases).

READING RESPONSE:

In her introduction, Campbell believes that we need to take into consideration the idea that women are stepping out of their sphere (private, home life) whenever the speak or write. Because it seems that men are associated with the competitive, political, and public realm outside the home, women are acting manly by putting their ideas out there through speech or writing. In this way, it is almost like women have to breech socially accepted norms in order to be heard. As Campbell points out, this resulted in the formation of female groups which "initiate[d] a movement for woman's rights" (295).  I think that Campbell takes these things into consideration when trying to get a fuller sense of women's speaking. Since it is seen as almost a radical idea for women to be acting 'outside the home' in this way, we must understand how a woman's speaking/writing style may be different from men.