Women had few rights in pre-Civil War America. They were denied equal access to education and employment, and they were not allowed to vote. In effect, they were second-class citizens. There was no organized women's-rights movement until the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848.

The organizers of the convention were Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, both Quaker abolitionists. They decided to call a meeting to discuss "the social, civil, and religious rights of women." A newspaper editorial condemned the meeting as "shocking and unnatural," but more than 300 people attended, including abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

On the first day, Stanton and Mott presented a Declaration of Sentiments, a statement of demands and grievances patterned after the Declaration of Independence.

After two days of debates, the convention adopted long-term goals. The most controversial, passed by only a narrow margin, was a demand for the right to vote. This resolution became the cornerstone of the women's-suffrage movement, but more than 70 years passed before women won voting rights. And the fight for full equality for women continues today.

New York City
Highlights
When to go
Arrival
Transportation
Walking
Eating and drinking
KIDS:
  Kids New York
  Kids activities
  Kids toys, clothing
  Kids cultural activities
The Giuliani years
September 11, 2001
World Trade Center
Best of New York
Gays and Lesbian
G & L accommodation
G & L bars
G & L Clubs
Media
N Y tours: bus/copter
N Y tours: water/walking
Free museums hours
Staten Island ferry
Parades and Festivals
Shops and markets
Clothes, fashion
Diamond District
Food and drink
Liquor stores
Music
Music-special interest
Art galleries
 

Exploring New York
42nd Street and around
Central Park
Chelsea
Chinatown
City Hall and TriBeCa
East village
Fifth Avenue and around
Financial District
Garment District
Harlem and N Manhattan
Little Italy and NoLita
Lower East Side
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Midtown East
Park Avenue (Midtown)
United Nations
Midtown West
Murray Hill
Outer boroughs
Bronx
Brooklyn Heights
Queens
SoHo
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Is
Union Sq & Gramercy Park
Upper E side
Upper W side
Walking Tours
West village

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