Mary Wollstonecraft.A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Read and print out this webpage about the Declaration of Sentiments, 1848http://ecssba.rutgers.edu/docs/seneca.html New Study Guide Questions1. How does this Declaration compare with the Declaration of Independence? What points is it makingby imitating some aspects of the earlier declaration? What points does it echo? Does it ever critiquethe earlier declaration? 2. Where and how does the 1848 Declaration differ from the 1776 declaration? What do“sentiments” mean in 1848? (You can research this online—you must cite sources!) Cite specificlines and passages. If King George III is the villain in 1776, how would you understand theopponent in 1848? 3. Read this paragraph about the origins of The Declaration of Sentiments: “Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, two American activists in the movement to abolish slavery called

together the first conference to address Women's rights and issues in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. Part of the

reason for doing so had been that Mott had been refused permission to speak at the world anti-slavery convention in

London, even though she had been an official delegate. Applying the analysis of human freedom developed in the

Abolitionist movement, Stanton and others began the public career of modern feminist analysis.”(http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/senecafalls.asp)Given that Abolitionists in England and America were often women, in what ways can you see theseearly feminists drawing upon their greater understanding of slavery to give themselves more power?Reading the The Declaration of Sentiments with this frame of reference in mind, how does it changeyour understanding of their ideals? Cite specific lines and passages. 4. Consider the resolutions before the declaration; how would you paraphrase each of these into ourcontemporary American English? Which of the 1848 concerns still serious issues for women andmen today? Cite specific lines and passages. 5. Consider the logic and reasoning used in the resolutions of 1848; how do they parallel use of logicand reason in the 1776 declaration? Consider the emotions in the two declarations; how are theyparallel or not parallel? Where does the 1848 declaration diverge from the 1776 declaration? Arethere parts that seem to be no longer valid or no longer relevant? What parts are the most relevanttoday? Cite specific lines and passages. Read the “Address by Elizabeth Cady Stanton on Woman's RightsSeptember 1848," which fills five html pages. You have to click through the document.http://ecssba.rutgers.edu/docs/ecswoman1.html

6. Stanton in her opening explains why only a woman can speak for women. What are her reasons,and do you think they are valid even today? What is the reason that she brings up other cultures? How do women fare in her time? What is the meaning of the little quote from a Byron poem in herlecture? What famous and powerful women does she refer to, and what point is she making bybringing up their names? Cite specific lines and passages. 7. Stanton makes an argument about the supposed intellectual superiority of men; how does sheapproach this theme? What evidence does she use? Are her arguments still relevant today? Do youstill see men today making arguments against the intellectual equality of women? Cite specific linesand passages. 8. She also makes an argument about the supposed moral superiority of men. How does she take onthis question? What seems to have been the situation in between women and men in her time? Howdoes she use religion in her argument? What conclusions does she draw about men and theirmorals? Cite specific lines and passages. 9. She also considers the physical superiority of men. How does she frame this question? Whatexamples or ideas does she bring into her argument? Why does she bring poetry into this argument?Do you believe her argument is effective? If it is not credible, where does it fall short? Cite specificlines and passages. 10. How does Stanton introduce the theme of voting rights for women? What objections does sheanticipate? What do you think about her belief in the greater power of righteousness and truth vsguns and swords? What is the point she is making by discussing harems in Muslim countries? Citespecific lines and passages. 11. How does Stanton respond to the ideas often cited from the Bible that, e.g. women must obeytheir husbands? How does she interpret the Bible? How does she understand the education systemto unfairly favor men? What is her answer to the charge that women’s equality would ruin theharmony in the home? Cite specific lines and passages. 12. In the last page, Stanton brings up many examples of women; which one of these examples arethe most persuasive to you, and explain why? Do you believe that this lecture would enable womento fight against the ridicule and “horror” that she anticipates? What is inspiring about her argument?What parts of her arguments are the most relevant today? Cite specific lines and passages.