Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the many notable citizens in the early 19th century America. She was an activist that fought against the system. For centuries women felt powerless unable to turnover their fate, But Elizabeth felt like she needed to do something to switch the outcome. The day Elizabeth was born she knew that she wanted to do more than be a housewife. She was the founder of civil rights for women, one of the first head leaders , and was a writer.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born November 12, 1815 she had a total of ten siblings. Elizabeth mother and father suffered a lot because all their sons passed away at such a young age and they were only left with their daughters. In the 19th century this was a bad thing because women couldn’t do anything while men had all the power. According to Ken Nelson in the biography “Elizabeth Cady Stanton,” Elizabeth and her siblings had one brother left alive up until he turned twenty he passed away causing so much pain to their mother and father. Elizabeth father even told her that he wished she was a male instead of a female. (Nelson, Ken) After hearing her father she decided she wanted to prove him she can be better than any son he had.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton believed everyone deserves equal rights. She made it her goal to change the way people saw women and hoped to inspire women to follow her. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was knowledgeable with the law because her own father was a lawyer. She knew to have all women’s voices be heard she needed to get the right to vote. That was all about to change on February 3, 1870 they had passed the fifteenth amendment that allowed all men to vote. That set light to the women that they had hope to change the fifteenth amendment to allow everybody the right to vote.

Elizabeth and three of her friends wanted to inform other females about giving equal rights to women voting. They created a group known as the National Woman’s suffrage Association. They would have meetings where they would give speeches to empower women. On Susan B. Anthony speech, she said, “It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the union.” I thought this quote was so powerful because she’s informing people we need to be unite instead of separating people from their appearance or gender.

Not only did they give speeches, but they had a newspaper called the revolution. According to Allison Lange, Ph.D. on, “Suffragists Organize: National Woman Suffrage Association,” the revolution talked about the right to women on not only voting but the right to attend college or get a divorce. (Lange, Allison) I think this was important because it was giving women the faith to fight back. It is teaching women that they can be independent. One of the statements that the Revolution had been, “Justice, not Favors. —Men, their Rights and Nothing More; Women, their Rights and Nothing Less.”(Lange, Allison)