I found the article by Ellen DuBois to be very interesting, and one particular paragraph really caught my attention. I was surprised to hear that when the American abolitionists traveled to Britain they were told the women were not allowed inside the convention and they were to be seated behind a curtain instead. While I do not know the history the feminist movement in Britain, I would be curious to learn more about it and see when they began to try for equality and when they were successful in gaining it.
I thought Stanton’s article that she modeled on the Declaration of Independence was very unique. I would have never thought to portray my thoughts and feelings in such a way, and I believe that if someone were to present me with a similar modeling for a different cause I would take notice right away. The Declaration of Independence was written to clarify that Britain no longer ruled the United States and should be applicable to all US citizens. That it was not originally applicable to all seems to me unfair and unacceptable. Stanton’s point that the man has monopolized and closed all possible avenues to women is very clearly in this format and therefore has the power to have more of an impact.
I enjoyed reading the speeches of Sojourner Truth from 1851 and 1867. This is the first account we have read of a non-white female fighting for equality and she has done a great job of being very persuasive in these speeches. One point I was surprised she made in the May 1851 speech was that men “need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear that we will take too much, for we can’t take more than our pint’ll hold” (Truth 64). So much of the feminist movement is convincing men that women are equally as capable of them, equally as smart, etc. and here she is going against that saying that we should be equal because we have a “pint” as opposed to their “quart”.
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