|
Elizabeth Cady
Stanton
(1815 - 1902)
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born in
1815, the daughter of Judge Cady, of
Johnstown, New York. She was raised in a
community where most of the people were
Scotch and where the idea of a woman's place
and ability was very limited in scope.
Elizabeth had an older brother, upon whom
her father had set his hopes and gave an
excellent education. This brother, however,
died just after he graduated from Union
College, when Elizabeth was only ten years
old.
Elizabeth saw her father's grief and
disappointment and was determined to fill
her brother's place. By his own words, he
had made it clear to her that a girl was not
as worthwhile to him as a boy. She applied
herself to her studies and excelled in
Greek, Latin, and mathematics, hoping to
please her father and proving to him that a
girl could be as good a student as a boy.
But the expected commendation did not come.
She then took up additional studies and
prepared herself to enter Union College, but
she was refused because of her sex.
Upon this denial, Elizabeth entered
the Troy Female Seminary and received and
excellent education, the finest available to
women at that time. After a few years at
Troy Female Seminary, Elizabeth returned
home and spent seven years studying law in
her father's office.
In time, Elizabeth met and married
Henry Stanton, an activist in the
anti-slavery cause. The word "obey" was
omitted from the wedding ceremony at her
insistence. The couple attended the World's
Anti-Slavery Convention in London on their
wedding tour. Here Mrs. Stanton met Lucretia
Mott, who, with others, had been sent as
delegates from the United States. During the
convention, the women delegates were not
seated or allowed to vote. This convinced
Elizabeth that women should hold a
convention for their own rights (Adelman,
Famous Women, p. 172).
Upon her return to America, Mrs.
Stanton was instrumental in calling the
first Women's Rights Convention. The idea
first came about in 1847 after her move to
Seneca Falls, where she was isolated and
increasingly exhausted by a growing family.
Her father, hearing of this, feared she had
become insane and visited her to discourage
her from undertaking such a project.
Finally, in 1848, when Elizabeth was
34 years old, she met with Lucretia Mott and
three other Quaker women in nearby Waterloo,
NY. Together they issued the call for the
first Women's Rights Convention. At the
convention, Stanton introduced the
resolution, "That it is the duty of the
women of this country to secure to
themselves the sacred right of the elective
franchise." (James, Notable Women, p. 343).
Mrs. Stanton was far in advance of
her age and was subjected to both opposition
and ridicule, but she continued to be an
educator of public opinion and a champion of
women's rights. She continued to work for
the cause of women's rights throughout her
golden years. Though she died before
seeing her dream come to fruition, her
relentless work was instrumental in bringing
about the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920,
which gave women the vote.
|
