LAD #11: Seneca Falls Declaration

The Roll of Honor with the signatures of the people present at the convention.

The women alter the Declaration of Independence to include women - "all men and women are created equal." They relate the "usurpations and abuses" of Britain on the colonies to those of men to women. The women say that if it is written that the colonies had the right to overthrow a government that had absolute power, then they can demand equality with men, who up to that point had absolute power.

Next, a series of grievances are listed that provide evidence that women are not equal, including that women cannot vote, do not have rights that even the most ignorant and degraded men" (natives and foreigners) have, and cannot go to college. The women demand to have the rights and privileges they wrote about that they lacked at the time.

The women end by saying that it is accepted as a principle of nature that humans can pursue their own happiness. Then then list all the ways they are unequal to men, and resolve each issue by proving how it violates the principle of nature or the word of God. Any law saying women are not equal to men should be regarded as false.



The text of the Civil Rights Bill of 1866

The Civil Rights Bill of 1866 is similar to the Seneca Falls Declaration since it was a step in the right direction for a group often discriminated against to being respected, or at least acknowledged, by the majority.