Blog 4

July 19-20, 1848, a very important convention was held for womens rights. One of the rights that stood out the most to me was that women is man's equal--was intended to be so by the Creator, and the highest good of the race demands that she should be recognized as much. The reason why this kind of stood out to me from all the others is mostly because of adam and eve. This right is basically saying that the creater made one man and one women at the same time. This should mean that they are equal. Man was not create before women, they were created at the same time.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the first women to think of putting together a convention for womens rights when 8 years earlier, Elizabeth and other women delegates were barred from participating in the 1840 World Antislavery Convention. This convention was very important because it promoted women's rights.
Another part of the convention that stood out to me was where they talked about declaration of sentiments. It reads a very important part from the decleration of independance: We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men AND women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. This is very important cause it says men AND women are created EQUAL. They should have both the same rights and I think this convention did a lot of good for womens rights.

Week 4 - Person 1

“Woman is man's equal…” is one of the phrases that really stands out to me in The Declaration of Sentiments. This declaration is a very important piece of this nation’s history because it started giving women the equal rights that they deserve. Of course as with any equality act, it is never resolved right away or at all, in some cases.
One woman that really made this movement happen, was Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The sole moment that got her convinced that women should hold a convention to better their rights, was when women delegates were not permitted into the Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840. After this, she moved to Seneca Falls where she, Lucretia Mott, and three other Quaker women met and called for the first women's rights convention.
This convention lasted for two days and six sessions and the women met and made some of their rights better. After this convention, Stanton met Susan B. Anthony and they then started a life-long cause in bettering women's rights.
One of her most famous quotes that fits this issue perfectly is as follows, "The prolonged slavery of woman is the darkest page in human history.” This is a very powerful statement that took a lot of courage to write and even say. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a very powerful woman who fought for what she believed in. In some of her arguments, when she was fighting for the rights of a married woman, she wasn't even supported by her husband and friend, Lucretia Mott. This just goes to show how tough this issue was. If she wasn't even getting support from her family and friends, this issue must have really been heated.

Week 4- Person 5

In July 1848, one of America’s most important conventions occurred that took the first big step towards giving women equal rights. To this point women have not had a voice with anything, and have in a sense been overlooked compared to the male dominance up to this point. They casted a vote and making a proposal asking that The Declaration of Sentiments be re-read by paragraph and then suggest that changes be made, and eventually were adopted into the document.

One of the great aspects resolved from having this convention in Seneca Falls, New York was summarized as follows: “That, being invested by the Creator with the same capabilities, and the same consciousness of responsibility for their exercise, it is demonstrably the right and duty of woman, equally with man, to promote every righteous cause, by every righteous means; and especially in regard to the great subjects of morals and religion, it is self-evidently her right to participate with her brother in teaching them, both in private and in public, by writing and by speaking, by any instrumentalities proper to be used, and in any assemblies proper to be held; and this being a self-evident truth, growing out of the divinely implanted principles of human nature, any custom or authority adverse to it, whether modern or wearing the hoary sanction of antiquity, is to be regarded as self-evident falsehood, and at war with the interests of mankind.”

The above quote shows the whole purpose of this conventions goal of moving towards equal rights for women. It’s a fight for women to be seen as equals with the men and their fight and inalienable right to life, liberty, and the upmost important right of all to have their pursuit of happiness. The whole history of America to this point has been about the dominance of male over the female and during the convention they pointed out a list of facts as an example of how they’ve been denied their right as not only a woman, but as a human being living in the United States.

Lucretia Mott finished out the convention with a quote that I think was very well spoken. She stated that, “That the speedy success of our cause depends upon the zealous and untiring efforts of both men and women, for the overthrow of the monopoly of the pulpit, and for the securing to woman an equal participation with men in the various trades, professions and commerce.” The resolution ended up being adopted and the women had finally taken their first step towards getting the rights they’ve been denied for so long.

Week 4 Blog

On July 19-20, 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York many women from New York were some of the first women in history to decide that they wanted equal rights, and equal treatment as the men in the society that they lived in. What resulted was the Seneca Falls Convention, In the convention the women proposed that the Declaration of Sentiments be re-read by paragraph, and provided a list of what they would like to see changed. The meeting lasted two days and six sessions which sparked many heated debates over women's rights, including women's right to vote in America. There were about 300 people who were in attendance for the six sessions and at the end of the two-day convention one-hundred of the people in attendance, which were mostly women, signed the revised Declaration of Sentiments which allowed many more rights to the women of that time period.

As many of us know now the struggle for women's rights and equality lasted way beyond the Seneca Falls Convention. For many people who follow and study the women's rights movement, the Declaration of Sentiments is seen as one of many historical documents included on the timeline of the women's rights struggle. The Seneca Falls Convention was one of the brave early steps that American women took for their equality as citizens.

Blog 3

In the blog this week, many points were brought up by Lyndon B Johnson. Throughout the speech, the main idea is equality with African Americans. Right in the title of the speech, "We Shall Overcome" you know that Lyndon is going to be discussing something that needs to be overcome. He stresses some key issues. In the Speech, he talks about how African Americans have slowly been fitting in more and more and getting their rights back. Lyndon B. Johnson brings throughout the speech is looking for one specific thing. He's protesting to get African Americans the right to vote. He mentions a few rights that we have written in the U.S. Constitution. "All men are created equal." "Government by consent of the government." "Give me liberty or give me death." He says these are not just words that stand for nothing. No African American should be denied his/her right to vote. He mentions on how he is going to put in a bill that gives all African Americans the right to vote. One of the important things about this though is that he says even after the bill passes, their will still be issues. Everything will not happen right off. It is an issue that will take time.

Week Three Summary

This week T.J. started off our blog posts. He started off by speaking about the right to vote and the right to protest. He also stated that he liked the manner in which President Johnson addressed the problem. “There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem.” This was the quote that T.J. pulled from the article. As an example, T.J. explained how people who go to city hall when they turn 18 would feel if he/she were told that he/she were unable to vote. He continues by talking about the march from Selma to Montgomery, where a minister was killed and several people were seriously hurt. This was due to “police and local officials deciding that they were above the law.” T.J. concludes by saying, “now, we can all vote as citizens of the United States; however, we are still fighting the civil rights battle today.”

The next person to post was Stephen. He starts by giving some background about the article. Stephen speaks about President Johnson and how he “showed unprecedented leadership qualities and spoke on what he believed was best for his country, and what he believed was best for the future.” He talked about the Voting Rights Act that President Johnson signed on August 6, 1965. This put a stop to allowing “the unfair tests of literacy…that stopped most of the African-American people from voting.” Stephen concluded that even though the Voting Rights Act was established, on August 11, 1965, the Watts Riots happened in Los Angeles. Provided, was a link to Wikipedia, were it tells that 34 people died, 1,032 people were injured, and 3,438 people were arrested.

Adam continues on about President Johnson. He speaks about the way President Johnson was a “man of true equality and stood behind civil equality one-hundred percent.” He believes that there is no divide between people based on gender or color; we are all one, Americans. Adam concludes by saying that one of the biggest points made by Johnson was that the United States “was the first nation in the history of the world to be founded with a purpose.” Adam posted a link to YouTube which shows a video of President Johnson’s speech on voting rights.

Becca stresses the point that everyone is an American. She speaks about the quote that all group members touched upon, “There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem.” She continues by speaking about the test that no one could pass for the right to vote. She believed this test was unnecessary. She concludes her post by speaking about the march from Selma to Montgomery.

Week 3 - Person 4

For this week’s post, there were many great points presented. There was a great discussion as to how ALL American’s regardless of who they are, should have equal rights. This issue is constantly coming up. Racism, today, isn’t so much an issue as sexuality, but it all ties into the same point, that we are all American’s. Almost everyone posted the following quote, “There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem…” This quote really drives this point home that everyone regardless, needs to be treated equally.
Another great point made throughout this week’s discussion was that we as American’s are entitled to the right to vote and the right to protest. TJ goes into discussion about how this right isn’t always remembered especially when it comes to voting. Many people, if held by a restriction, were told that they were not allowed to vote unless they passed a literacy/history test. This test was impossible. The questions were difficult and 90% of already registered voters wouldn’t have been able to pass this test. Did they not want ALL American’s to have to equal right to vote? I don’t understand this restriction, I think it was unnecessary. African American’s are still American citizens. They were not granted the right to vote based solely on their skin color which is unfair and completely racist.
The last issue I would like to touch upon is the protests made to give everyone the right to vote. 500 civil rights activists marched from Selma to Montgomery to show that ALL American’s should be given the right to vote. The police were violent and unnecessary, a Boston minister was killed, and many others were injured. The police and local officials thought they were higher than the Constitution. This issue has been taken care of now, we are all given the right to vote as American citizens. Unfortunately though, the fight for civil rights is never over.